someone from turning the 20 bitcoin into 40 bitcoin because they are good at computer coding? this is the answer, you have this enormous ledger tracking the transactions so that once a spent, not only can you see that it has been spent, but everyone in the network and see it has been spent. this is part of the power and isic and ruler of bitcoin the crypto currency of the future. host: we are running out of time, quickly, who started bitcoin? guest: nobody knows. to me this is another ingredient in the power of this currency. a currency needs trust and faith for people to use it and for it to have value and i think that the mysterious creation myth of bitcoin is part of the magic of conjuring this value. there is a name for this guy or group of guys out there, but no one knows who did it.

host: wolman david wolman, joining -- david wolman, joining us from portland, oregon, thank you, sir. guest: my pleasure. live coverage of the house begins now. for morning hour ebate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip , but in o five minutes no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. schiff, for five minutes. mr. speaker, for much of the past decade, iran's nuclear weapons program has

been a top national security concern for the united states, and iran armed with nuclear weapons capable of threatening israel and other regional states would touch off a nuclear arms race in the world's most volatile region. for this reason i have pressed for ever-increasing sanctions to isolate iran from the global economy and have supported a policy that leaves all options on the table, including military force. the stakes are too high to risk any miscalculation of our resolve by iran's leaders. in pushing for ever more punitive sanctions, i've held out the hope that increased economic pressure might force iran to give up its nuclear weapons ambition and rejoin the community of nations. now we are at a moment in the standoff with tehran that will test that assumption. repeated statements since his election as iran's new president in june, he explored a negotiated end to the sanctions in exchange for walking back its nuclear

program. while the first geneva meeting did not lead to a breakthrough on an interim deal, the parties reportedly came close and will be reconvening today for a second round. some have called on the senate to continue work on a new round of sanctions that was passed by the house with my support earlier this year. advocates of this approach say that sanctions brought us to this point and increased pressure during the negotiations will improve the likelihood of success at the bargaining table. i disagree. president obama and secretary of state kerry have asked for more time to test iran's willingness to enter into a tough and verifiable agreement, and i think we should give it to them. i'm pleased to see reports that there appears to be a bipartisan agreement in the senate that will hold off for now. we'll know soon enough if the iranian regime will have a new direction with their nuclear program and relationship with the west. there is not, there will be opportunity to have further

sanctions that will have my full support. some warn that any relaxation deal ctions in an interim risks unraveling. any partial lifting of the freeze on iranian assets must be quickly reversible if the iranians balk on a football deal. the absence -- on an interim deal. the iranians must be made to understand that if they walk away or cheat, the sanctions will be tightened to the point of strangulation and the international community must be prepared to make good on that threat. i have no illusions about the character of the iranian regime, nor do i trust it. i do not believe we can look into rouhani's eyes and see the truth, let alone his soul. even if rouhani was good on his agreement there's no that forces iran to swear

development of the bomb. ultimately, this is not about trust. it's not about making concessions to iran or rewarding the mullahs for thwarting the will of the international community for many years. it is about seizing the opportunity to see whether we can end iran's nuclear weapons program without resorting to military action. and if we cannot, no doubt will remain that the united states made every effort to resolve this grave threat diplomatically. no negotiation is without risk, and the iranian's trask record is cause for great skepticism. -- iranians' track record is cause for great skepticism. we must advance the security interest of those and our allies. the former israeli prime minister who signed the oslo accords two decades ago once noted, you make peace with your enemies, not the queen of holland. i agree and urge us to give diplomacy a chance. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. carter, for five minutes. mr. carter: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize and congratulate general james d. thurman on his retirement from the united tates army after 38 years of dedicated, distinguished and honorable service. he will retire on november 22, 2013, concluding his service over the past few years as commander of the u.s. forces in korea. during both war and peace, general thurman has served with courage and distinction in the face of tremendous adversity, demonstrating his commitment to america and to our people. during his long and honorable career, general thurman successfully commanded 10 different communities untse, including the extension of operational combat development

and deployment. besides his command of the fourth infantry division and the multidivision in baghdad, iraq, he made significant contributions during the initial invasion of iraq as the chief operations for coalition -- chief of operations for coalition forces, land component command. other notable assignments during his tenure including operations in had kosovo as chief of plans and policy division for allied forces, southern europe, battalion executive officer during operations desert shield and desert storm. in his final assignment, general thurman served as the senior u.s. military officer in korea where he was responsible for 28,500 u.s. forces stationsed there. his top command -- stationed there. his top command was to defend and deter against north korean provocations and aggression and should deterrence fail be

prepared to fight tonight and win. he ensured the readiness of his multinational command and joined forces through a broad range of additions. as a result of a change, he directed during the two be aual multinational combined and joint exercises in korea, forces under his command, because most mission-focused training sessions in his u.s. history of u.s.-iraq relations. his initial assessment of existing capabilities on the peninsula resulted in the addition of an armed reconsauns squadron and other changes to better prepare u.s. forces to respond. his steady hand and strong relationships with counterparts as well as senior civilian and military leaders in the u.s. was critical to safely navigating several operational crises. a native of marietta, oklahoma, general thurman graduated from

east central oklahoma university where he earned a commission through the reserved officers training corps. his first assignment was with the fourth infantry division which he later commanded and deployed to iraq. since his first assignment. he and his wife, dee thurman, have moved 25 times in 38 years, including four tours in germany, two at the national training center, three in my district at fort hood, texas. during that time he raised two daughters and they are proud grandparents. retirement is to be celebrated and enjoyed. it is not the end of a career but the beginning of a new adventure. i commend general thurman for his selfless service to the nation and for the united states army. i wish him and his wife the best in the years ahead and welcome them as new constituents to the 31st congressional district. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts,

mr. mcgovern, for five minutes. mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. speaker, next week is thanksgiving. all of us in this chamber will go back to our districts and we will celebrate this holiday with our families, usually with a big turkey dinner with all the fixings and all these wonderful desserts. mr. speaker, for millions and millions of americans, they won't have anything to celebrate next week. they don't have enough to put food on the table for their families because close to 50 million people in the united states of america, the richest country in the history of the world, that are hungry. close to 17 million of them are kids. of mr. speaker, in the face these terrible statistics, we have a congress that is working overtime to make life for many

of these people even more miserable. there has already been a cut in snap as a result of the ending of the recovery act moneys that provided an extra boost to the program. so everybody who's on this program on november 1 received a cut in their benefit, a benefit that is on average about $1.50 per meal per day they received a cut. on top of that, the house of representatives passed a farm $40 that has an additional billion cut in this program. it will result in hundreds of thousands of children who right now are able to take advantage of free breakfast and lunch program at school, they would lose that benefit. and it would result in about 170,000 veterans losing their benefit. i want to talk a little bit today about the -- our veterans and about how they are being

adversely impacted by some of we are ies that pursuing here in the house of representatives. johnathan kapart of "the washington post" on november 1 wrote a column called "oh, snap, veterans get dised by the g.o.p." want to read a few paragraph his -- of his piece. remember how they held world war ii vets storm their memorial on the first day, remember how one of the members of congress snarled at a public -- at a park service ranger for trying to abide by the law and keep the memorial closed to the public? remember how the likes of cruz and sara palin railed against -- sarah palin railed against the cuts of benefits that resulted from the cruz-caused shutdown? our veterans should be above political games, cruz said, at the million vets march on november 13. he continued by saying,

veterans have proven they are not timid and we will not be timid in call on the military as pawns. palin said at the event, we can only be america, home of the free, if we are america, home of the brave. so kapart continues to write, where the hell are they now at a multibillion-dollar cut to the food stamp program has hit thousands of veterans squarely in their wall etc.? he was referring to the cut that occurred on november 1. according to the center for budget and policy priorities, at any given month, a total of 900,000 veterans nationwide lives in households that relied on snap, the supplemental nutrition assistance program, to provide food for their families. and on any given year or any given month, millions and millions of dollars of snap unds are spent at military commisaries to help feed military families and their families who struggle against hunger. mr. speaker, i raise this issue because there seems to be

somewhat of a contradiction here in this people's house of representatives. we're all very good at kind of talking the talk. people get up time and time again and talk about how important and how wonderful our veterans are. we all go back to our districts on veterans day and memorial day and we praise our veterans, we thank them for their service to our country and for their sacrifice. but on -- when it comes to making sure that our veterans have enough to eat, have enough food to put on their table for their families, we're worse than indifferent in this house of representatives. we're making things worse for them. if this cut to the house of representatives passed goes into effect, this $40 billion cut in snap, as i say, 17,000 veterans and their families will lose their benefit altogether. this is on top of the cut in the benefit they already received. i don't know what people think is meant by praising our

veterans, but, you know, instead of talking the talk, we ought to walk the walk a little bit more. we ought to make sure that the men and women who served our country, who this congress voted to send over to iraq and send over to afghanistan, we ought to ensure when they come back that they at least have enough to eat. you know, many veterans that come back have a tough time getting back into the work force, and yet some of the language that was put in the house farm bill would actually make it almost impossible for them to get this benefit. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues, as we approach thanksgiving, to not forget our veterans. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. . the speaker pro tempore: the chair now recognizes the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jones, for five minutes. mr. jones: thank you, very much. i am again on the floor today because our nation has failed to heed the warning of george washington who told us to beware of foreign entanglements. we have lost over 4,474 americans in iraq, and 2,276

americans in afghanistan, and both of these wars combined, 46,720 of our service members have been wounded. furthermore, the american taxpayer is spending $10.5 million every hour to pair for tsh -- pay for the cost of the war in afghanistan since 2001. let me repeat that, we are spending $10.45 million an hour just to pay for the money spent in afghanistan since 2001. despite these facts, we are now entering into a long-term agreement that at best is a failure. at best is a failure. it is with great disappointment i share an nbc article entitled, i quote, endless afghanistan. the united states-afghanistan agreement would keep troops in place and funds flowing perhaps indefinitely. perhaps until 2024. i would like to read a short

paragraph and ask unanimous consent that a few additional excerpts be submitted for the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. jones: and i quote, while led to ricans have been believe the with aer in afghanistan would soop be over, a draft of a key united states deal obtained by nbc news shows the united states is prepared to maintain military outposts in afghanistan for many years to come and pay to support hundreds of thousands of afghanistan security forces. mr. speaker, george washington was right, afghanistan is an impossible situation. history has proven that it is impossible. the bilateral security agreement would overwhelm serve to endanger american lives and squander taxpayers' money. i implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in standing up for the american people in opposition to the signing of this agreement. mr. speaker, the president has

the constitutional right to enter into the agreement, and we have no oversight on the agreement itself, but we can put a resolution on the floor and let the congress debate and let the american people know that we realize what we are doing in afghanistan. instead of continuing to pass budget bills to fund karzai. mr. speaker, i've got a little poster here of karzai. the man is a corrupt leader. and all he is doing is taking the taxpayers' money and becoming richer and richer. mr. speaker, the funny and sad thing about this in this poster, it's a cartoon, there's a poor american soldier standing behind karzai who is at a money machine and it says, the thoughts of the soldier is, i'd like to make a quick withdrawal from here. to the american soldier, i'm sorry to say, but if we don't do our job in congress, you will be there until 2024. the american people need to call their members of congress and

say that we do not accept this agreement to keep our troops there until 2024. if you can't stop it, at least floor of ate on the the house and pass a resolution to say this is what the american people want to see. no long-term agreement with afghanistan. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back my time. first i want to thank god for blessing our troops and blessing america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. delauro, for five minutes. mr. speaker, you want to share with you another letter i received from a constituent about the affordable care act. he writes, and i quote, about nine months ago my wife was forced to leave her job in part

because they wanted her to travel to boston twice a week, and the responsibilities to care for our daughter, who has cerebral palsy, made that impossible. our health insurance was from her employment. i continue to quote, we went on to cobra which cost about $1,400 per month. waiting to have permanent insurance, that did not have a termination date, we contacted and sent blue cross for a quote for private insurance. we were told that my wife was uninsurable for 10 years because she had been treated for depression a few years ago when our daughter was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. and we were told that she would require spinal cord surgery to possibly walk. then they said, because of her condition, his wife's condition, the cost for only my daughter and i was almost $4,000 per month. the burden for the last six months was overwhelming.

insurance brokers informed us that only the affordable health care could help us. yesterday my wife signed up for health insurance. for all of us. due to our income, we do not qualify for assistance, and we were never looking for any. all we wanted was affordable insurance for my family. the policy we selected will end up costing about what our cobra payment is, $1,400, depending on how much he deductible we end up using, which is all we ever wanted. i know the only reason our family is safe is because of the president who cares more about like us than the c.e.o. 's, anthem blue cross, ouret in a. i receive calls and letters like this -- and aetna.

i receive calls like and letters like this all the time. this is a transformative piece of legislation, a law that provides more security for the middle class and a better healthy quality of life for the entire community. it empowers patients and doctors again and puts them and not insurers back at the center of care, and makes important long overdue reforms that most people just take as common sense. but for three years now this house republican majority has been trying to roll the clock back, bring back the bad old days when insurance companies could discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions. even children with pre-existing conditions, once again. they want to see women pay more for the same coverage than men. be denied coverage because they survived breast cancer, or a victim of domestic violence, or

had a child by caesarean section. they want to see all businesses lose tax credits, seniors' health care and drug costs continue to rise at staggering rates, but we are not going to go back. the affordable care act is already making a profound difference for individuals and families in need, and it is time to stop with the partisan political games and let it work for families who desperately need to have health care coverage and insurance that they can afford. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back, the chair recognizes gentleman from illinois for five minutes. mr. shimkus: i ask unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to take this time to talk about some european issues, especially in eastern europe. first i want to talk about the country of belarus. three years after the brutal and

bloody crackdown on peaceful demonstrators after the december, 2010 presidential election, nine political prisoners remain behind bars under deplorable conditions in belarus. this plus nichlas who ran against luke can shengo -- lukeaning shenko -- lukashenko in 1920. and nick lay who sliced his stomach to protest the poor treatment by prison guards. while the regime recently it ased three activists continues to restrict their freedom of movement and activity. the general human rights situation in belarus also continues to deteriorate. recent laws passed to regulate demonstrations and political information have greatly curtailed freedom of assembly and independent journalists and political activists are under constant threat of intimidation

and arbitrary detention. in october, the regime made amendments to the electoral code designed to undermine the ability of opposition candidates to receive funding and compete in the 2014 local elections. they voted in october to expand angsts on the luke shengo -- lukashenko regime. and its disregard for human rights or democratic principles in their decisionmaking. the united states should continue to work with the european union to remain consolidated, impose economic sanctions, and have a single plan of action regarding the promotion of democratic processes in belarus. tension was russia increase when e lukashenko regime arrested baumgartner, a russian citizen, who is the head of a russian firm. the move was in retaliation for this firm dropping its joint belarusian local

firm resulting in a steve drop in the commodity price and harming the belarusian economy. this began an ongoing potash war with russia. meanwhile to put a russia air base in belarus has proved controversial and allowed an opening to criticize the regime and focus attention on national independence and sovereignty issues. the united states should continue to support belarusian citizens as they fight to maintain their sovereignty. also, mr. speaker, i want to talk about the eastern partnership. on november 28 through 29, just coming up soon, the european union will host the eastern partnership summit in lithuania. the goal is to promote closer ties between the e.u. and eastern neighbors and in particular to further the progress on association agreements with georgia, moldavia, and the ukraine. the governments of these countries have worked for years to meet conditions for signing the agreements and the summit is viewed as a historic step in

european integration for these countries. russia has responded to the eastern partnership initiative by applying intense pressure on these countries to abandon the engagement and join a russian-led invasion union instead. russia has started erecting barbed wires. in moldavia russia has resorted to its usual tactics and threatens to cut off gas during the winter months. they threaten the countries with price hikes on gas supplies. warned russia to stop these actions. with that, mr. speaker, i want to appreciate this time for talking about these emerging democracies in eastern europe. the threat that still continues

and the importance of the united states government being involved in promoting democracy, freedom, and rule of law. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield babbling. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota, mr. ellison, for five minutes. mr. ellison: thank you, mr. speaker. u know, mr. speaker, we have been in this huge debate around the affordable care act for quite a while now, and one of the things that i cannot ever forget is the health care nightmare stories that i listened to before we passed the affordable care act. and so as i see so many of my republican colleagues gleefully celebrate the difficulties with i website or cancellations, think that's going to somehow help them in an election, i can't think about any election. all i can think about are people like the people who i want to

share with you right now. let me tell you about marty olson. marty built a small business creating marble sinks and counter tops. he poured everything he had in his business and it flourished. he became a job creator in the language of some people. call his customers job creators. just a few years ago he employed more than a half a dozen employees. recently things changed drastically for him. over the course of the last year his 9-year-old daughter, abby, was diagnosed with leukemia. she beat the odds and was in remission for six months until her cancerous symptoms returned. she's now awaiting a bone marrow transplant and mr. olson spent time with his ailing daughter and his business began to decrease. he's now the sole employee of the marble business. he three months ago he suffered a detached artery and had heart surgery. he's still recuperate interesting his surgery and losing his insurance on january

1 due to a divorce. he began to search for the affordable health insurance but most premium quotes were much too much for him to afford. the implementation of the affordable care act means he'll be -- he'll not be denied insurance due to his pre-existing heart condition. the health care exchange in minnesota is allowing him to purchase a molcy he can afford. without the plans available on the minnesota health care exchange, he likely would have to choose between health insurance or paying his other monthly bills. . he sometimes lost that employee because he wasn't able to provide them with adequate health insurance plan. the small business exchange is there for him to use when his business grows in the future again. of course, marty is not by himself in this. tracy brock is another small business owner. she's provided over a small business for over 21 years. she's able to earn enough to support herself and hire

several part-time employees. however, her health insurance premium forces her to work six or seven days a week. she cannot get some well deserved rest. her health insurance premiums were taking up most of her marginal profits. the assets has qualified her from receiving any assistance for her premiums. he had needs knee replacement surgery. ms. brock's business has not been as profitable recently. so she continues to work every day despite her health conditions. she began researching minnsure.org, the health insurance available for those in our state, and she found plans only 50% of the cost of her current premium. the additional coverage will give her more options to treat her conditions and the savings will allow her to work less and

enjoy life more. i just want to say, mr. speaker, that, you know, we shouldn't look at difficulties in the implementation with the affordable care act as a political opportunity. we should never take our eye off the fact that we have people, we have citizens who desperately need something way better than we had before we had the affordable care act. i wish republicans would say, you know what, it's there, it's passed, the supreme court said it's constitutional and we are going to do everything we can to make it work even if we would do it differently. and we will offer constructive improvements, but we're not going to sit back and just try and wreck it with poison pill bills like the upton bill last week or with the 47 attempts to repeal it or with the myriad of other tricks, sabotages and devices they have employed. it's time to help americans

tracey ty olson, like brock and like millions of other people, including my own interns, abby, an awesome young woman. she's had numerous surgeries since 10-month-old. since the affordable care act, abby is able to stay on her parents' health insurance until she's 26 and sherp able to pay premiums and co-pays that have given her access to the health care she needs. so with that and for many other reasons, i urge support of the affordable care act. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. westmoreland, for five minutes. . westmoreland: thank you, mr. speaker. i come before you today to honor five soldiers, those attached to and those of the 75th ranger battalion, fort bening, georgia. fort benning is home to the entire ranger regimen.

they are an elite group of soldiers, performs specialized operations for the army. the 75th ranger region minute as well as rangers of the regimental headquarters and the special battalion are deployed. i have a deep commitment to fort bening and once the soldiers go through fort benning, georgia, they become part of the family. five were part of a mission gone wrong. sergeant patrick hawkins, private first class cody paterson, first lieutenant jennifer marino and special agent joseph peters were killed by an improvised explosive device while conducting combat operations in kandahar province, afghanistan. and corporal joshua harris was seriously injured. they came to fort benning from across the nation. they are sons and daughters and loved by many.

their loss is felt across our nation, and we thank them for paying the ultimate sacrifice. as we mourn the loss of these four soldiers, i also want to give thanks for the life of corporal joshua harris. corporal harris was injured in the same mission on october 6, and is pictured here beside me. this photo has been nicknamed the salute scene around the world because it shows the strong character of an american soldier. after hours of surgery, corporal hairs, commander, held a small ceremony in the hospital room to honor corporal harris and received the purple heart. they thought he was unconscious. doctors, nurses, fellow rangers crowded to the room to watch him receive the reward. despite his injuries, tubes, intense pain, corporal harris still saluted the commander when his purple heart was pinned on his hospital blanket. this act of determination,

despite pain, embodies all that is a ranger. this is the heart of a warrior. this is america. we need not apologize to anyone for our strength and our greatness. i want to thank these five brave rangers, sergeant patrick hawkins, p.f.c. cody paterson, first lieutenant jennifer marino, special agent joseph peters and corporal joshua harris for their service and their sacrifice. joan and i send our prayers to their families and to their friends. god bless america and god bless our troops. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, mrs. capps, for five minutes. mr. speaker, i rise to speak about the affordable care act. the affordable care act is rking for many of my

constituents on the coast of california. like diana who tells me she will be saving 40% on her family's premiums and it is work for the fasella who tell me they now have better coverage while saving $8,000 a year on their premiums. and it is working for the thousands of families whose young adult children can continue on their parents' plan has a everyone who pre-existing condition who now cannot be turned down for coverage. but i know that this is not the case for all central coast residents, especially those who may have received cancellation notices this year either because their insurer is only selling in the exchanges or because the insurance companies have stopped offering plans in our area altogether. cancellation of these plans has caused real pain and confusion for our constituents in

california who are faced with covered california marketplace options that have different provider networks or different premium costs. after hearing numerous stories from the families i represent, it is clear that we must address this problem with the implementation of the affordable care act so that we can protect all california families and businesses. the president has offered an administrative fix to this issue to allow insurance companies to offer plans to those already enrolled for the next year. but states will be the final decisionmakers, and that's why i sent a letter with my colleague, congresswoman zoe lofgren, and 22 of our democratic colleagues asking the leadership to implement this administrative fix without delay. cover california has led the way in bringing new and quality health care opportunities to millions of californians. the website is working and enrollment is steadily

increasing. with over one million received s who have cancellation notices of their current plan, we must and we will do more to ensure that no one is left without the opportunity for affordable coverage. these families were told that if they liked their plan they can keep it, and that is a promise we must make for them. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. garrett, for five minutes. mr. garrett: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, president obama purports to protect and defend the idea of open government, but his staff seems to have missed the memo. you see, just five months ago i asked treasury secretary jack lew about his personal nowledge of the i.r.s.'s

irreprehensible practice of targeting innocent americans. i inquired of him three things. one of which was, what was the secretary's knowledge and what was his involvement with any of the meetings with the then-i.r.s. commissioner had at the white house. you see, back then, a year ago, jack lew served as chief of staff to the president while some of the most egregious reprehensible behavior by the i.r.s. took place while doug shulman was the i.r.s. commissioner and while doug shulman reportedly attended meetings at the white house at various times. unfortunately, rather than answer some of these basic and simple questions and putting to bed any and all appearance of impropriety by jack lew, secretary lew continues to ignore all of my questions. the american people have the

right to know, the american people have the right to know exactly what secretary lew knew and what he did. so i rise today to ask the american people, to join with me in demand -- and demand openness from this government, from this president and from lew. ary jack secretary lew, it is time to answer the questions of the american public. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, today i rise to speak of messages and missions yet undone. this congress, both house and senate, was sent here on behalf of the american people to ensure that their voices and their needs are adhered to. they're not interested in the clanging of voices.

they're interested in the rolling up of sleeves and making sure our government works, and so i stand here in reflection of a very successful enrollment day in houston, texas, last saturday where people came and stood in line to be able to seek information and, yes, enroll because they have faith in this nation. and as the affordable care act broken ng and fixes promises and broken technology, what we should be focused on is making it work for the america people, making sure that those with pre-existing disease can have insurance, young people with minimal income can have insurance, those between 50 and 65 can have insurance, those with catastrophic illness can have insurance. i have faith that as we work through it is the american people's choices they will have and they will keep what they have and be able to enroll for

a year is in response to the pain. but we know that the insurance companies did not need to send cancellation letters. they could have sent modification letters. but i want to go forward. and so deeds yet finished, one happens to be the enormity of gun violence among our young people that has reflected in the incidents of houston, texas, 19 shot, two dead, teenagers at a house party. last weekend, one shot at a house party who lost his life. my sympathy to his families, but i call out now for all of our forces, federal, local and state, p.t.o.'s in school districts, teachers, civic organizations and faith organizations that we work together to be able to stop the surge, the sea of gun violence and loss of our young people. statistics show in the african-american community, in hispanic communities, homicide, high percentage is by a gun. so i ask we look seriously at

legislation i introduced, h.r. 65, the gun storage and safety device bill and a bill that also indicates, september for exceptions that guns should not be in the hands of young people under the age of 21, that someone allows that to happen there should be higher penalties on that individual. i've been told by urban mayors there are stash houses, stash houses that people can go and rent guns. let's not be afraid of background checks. more importantly, let's not be afraid of weeding out this horrible surge on our community. the death that families have to contend with. and then i think it is important to note that we've got to contend to speak on the issue of mental health needs. tragedy occurred in virginia, and the story that's unfolding sadens me because that story is similar to the one in sandy hook, and the individual, the young perpetrator had issues they had to deal with in terms of their mental health. we have to be able to provide more resources, for beds for

young people. we have to intervene. we have to help families. we've got to not run away from mental health issues but run toward it. and then i'd like to make mention of those families who are suffering because their supplemental nutrition program has been cut. they're expecting in this budget coming forward that $40 billion will be on the table to cut again. i visited my food banks, i took the snap challenge and ate on that budget. no one should call those folks deadbeats, and every time there is a deaddeath, you can be assured that person will be found out, but i'm concerned about the seniors, the young children that go to bed hungry and one half of those who get snap benefits, supplemental nutrition benefits are in actuality children. as we go toward this budget process, deadline december 15, let us have a sense of compassion. let's have resources that will help us in the department of justice to be able to deal with this proliferation of guns, these saturday night specials, these stash houses that help

our children. let's expand counseling and pronouncement by the local community that we're standing up against this violence that's attacking our children. let's find dollars to help our local and state communities, resources for mental health. let me thank one of the leaders of my community, patrick, a vietnam veteran who has raised up the issue in houston on the need for mental health beds and intervention. stories that i have heard in my own community where a grandfather took his grandchild to a place, a county facility. they did not have a bed and ultimately that grandchild stabbed and killed his grandfather and his -- and the grandfather's daughter. so we know there are challenges. missions and messages yet undone. let's get to work on behalf of the american people. i yield back. . some the chair recognizes the entleman from wisconsin, mr.

rye duelfer five minutes. mr. rye dell: thank you -- mr. riddle: i rise today to fix our nation's process. the government shutdown was caused by the broken budget process. funding our government with continuing resolutions is caused by a broken budget process. if we fix this we could get away from this type of management of the taxpayer dollars. every year congress is required by law to pass a budget . solution every year they are required to pass 12 appropriation bills by october 1, the start of the fiscal year. yet since 2001 congress has managed to enact only 8.3% of our required appropriation bills on time. in the past eight election years, on election years, congress has failed to pass a budget resolution a full 75% of the time. "washington post" recently did an article about this process, and it showed that this broken

process allows federal departments and agencies to develop a use it or lose it mentality. a full 20% of all federal spending and contracting happens in the last month of the year, of the fiscal year. look how it spikes. it's not just one time. .t did it in 2010, 2011, 2012 the spending habits in the last month of the year and in particular the very last week of the year. this is true about contracting as well. 156,000 contracts. 154,000 contracts. 149,000 contracts. all done in the last few weeks of each budget year. this use it or lose it mentality costing the taxpayers millions of dollars. we must begin to fix this broken process and that's why i introduced the biennial budgeting and enhanced oversight act of 2013. it would cut this in half, overnight it would cut this in

half. a bienal budgeting system allows congress to set budget and spending priorities in the first year and do real oversight in the second year. this will allow congress to better understand how the federal government is spending taxpayer money and be better equipped to make spending decisions in the future. this biennial budgeting process has strong bipartisan support with 110 co-sponsors so far. and they range from the most progressive member of congress to the most conservative. painting a broad picture of support for members of congress and the americans that they represent. here's a list of groups within congress that have multiple members supporting the legislation. the house budget committee, the republican study committee, the tuesday group, the blog democrats, the new democrat coalition, the progressive caucus. a broad cross section of the congress and the people that they are here to represent. but not only that, every president since ronald reagan has supported biennial budgeting.

here's a quote from jack lew, former o.m.b. director and white house chief of staff. good o-year system is a idea. the one-year budget process gives both the administration and congress little time to focus on implementing the programs. it is time that we begin to address the serious nature of not managing the taxpayer dollars in requirement, in following the requirements of the law. we need to fix this broken process this year. it is time to do it. mr. speaker, if the past few months have taught us anything, it's that our current budget process isn't working. it's time to create a system that will help us budget responsibly, foster greater certainty in the u.s. economy, and save taxpayer dollars. and we can do it in bipartisan fashion. i urge all members of congress to co-sponsor h.r. 1869 today and help us govern again. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, for five minutes. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise to pay tribute to a woman who spent her life trying to help others. this is a tribute to commissioner beverly, a premier public housing advocate. in and around chicago and in public housing circles throughout the nation, ms. beverly was known as a staunch defender and key player in making decisions about public housing ises and plans. not only in the community where she lived but throughout chicago and with impact on national policy. she was what social yol gists and urban planners and politicians call, grassroots. she was from the people, of the

people, and with the people and a representative for the people. she was first of all a wife, mother, friend, confidant, a leader who emerged from the people and was trusted by the people. many people did not know it but ms. beverly worked for the city of chicago's department of human services for more than 30 years, and after her retirement in 1997, devoted the rest of her life to providing leadership on chicago public housing issues. she was resident of the local advisory council, vice president of the sentry advisory council, acting chair and treasurer of the central advisory council, close friend and supporter of commissioner randolph who set the bar for c.h.a. resident leadership. as a result of her local leadership, national public housing leaders and groups were attracted to her. and she became a founding chair

of the national public housing museum. she was appointed a chicago housing authority commissioner by mayor daly and retained by mayor emanuel. ms. beverly was a skilt negotiator and as a result of the many changes taking place in the community, she often sat at the table with alderman fioretti, jason irwin, university officials, people from the mayor's office, philanthropist, developers, myself and others. ms. beverly always expressed the position of the tenants, the people, and when you look at the community today, much of it is a reflection of the thinking and beverly. mmissioner contrary to popular opinion, working families to live in public and mixed income housing. as a result of the process known as urban renewal, beverly's

family moved into the obla homes in 1943. her father was a postal employee . her mother worked in the home. vera worked for the city of chicago for more than 30 years. she did not have to live there but she chose to live there because that's where her heart was. poet frost the when he wrote his poem when he said let me live by the house by the side of the road where the race of men go by. men who are good, bad, wise, and foolish, but then so am i. so why would i sit in the seat or hurl the cynic's ban, just let me live in my house by the side of the road like ms. beverly and be a friend to man. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. reed, for five minutes. mr. reed: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise this morning to recognize the month of november as national diabetes awareness month. it is observed every year in november to raise awareness of diabetes across america, but i am he' here to tell you, mr. speaker, diabetes is a 365-day, 4-hour-a-day seven days a week disease that kids, adults that deal with the disease have to attend to it. mr. speaker, how do i know that? this is personal to me. my son, will, was diagnosed at age 4 with type one diabetes. he is 13 thousand, mr. speaker, and he's growing up with this disease and i can tell that you we get up every night, my wife in particular, as i stay down here in washington, d.c., still

monitor his blood sugar by poking his fingers and taking his blood at 2:00 in the morning, every time he eats. just to see where his sugars are going to be. this is a disease that has not been cured, but i tell you i am confident, mr. speaker, that we will find a cure. we need to find a cure. we work in our household with the juvenile diabetes research foundation, jdrf. it is a great organization that dedicates a vast significant majority of its funds to research for a cure for type 1 diabetes. just last week, mr. speaker, at a town hall i held in fayette, new york, back in upstate new york, hi a young lady, five years old, come and speak before us and talk about diabetes and how it impacts her since she was diagnosed' tinge of 3. ---diagnosed at the age of 3. this is a disease, mr. speaker, that we have the ability, in my opinion, to find a cure and we need to work together in a

bipartisan basis. i am vice chair of the congressional diabetes caucus. it is the largest caucus here in washington, d.c. and the focus on education and awareness of diabetes cannot just occur in november, but it must occur every day. i urge everyone to be aware of the risk factors and discuss your individual risks with your doctor, your health care provider, and my heartfelt thanks to go out to all the providers and the parents and the caregivers of each and every person associated with somebody with this disease. working together my son, will, in his lifetime will have a cure and won't have to deal with this disease every day. so please take a moment, recognize this disease, and in november in particular be aware of what diabetes is all about. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north dakota, mr.

ramer, for five minutes. mr. cramer: thank you, mr. speaker. let me begin by thanking my colleague, mr. reed, for his leadership on the diabetes caucus. thank you. that was very inspiring. mr. speaker, i am of the firm conviction that america's national security and america's economic security are tied to america's energy security. we have a wonderful opportunity today to vote on a couple of very important bills that will enhance that energy security. and i urge my colleagues to vote yes on both of them. i get to represent the entire state of north dakota. north dakota was once described by one of our favorite sons, the famous cbs news man, as a rectangular blank spot in the nation's mind.

but today everybody's talking about north dakota. fastest growing economy in the world. the lowest unemployment rate in the country. fastest growing personal income. in fact, today, mr. speaker, tens of thousands of high-paying jobs in north dakota, waiting for more people to come to the state to fill them if you're willing to work hard and put in a full day's honest work. you can be very successful there. the we heard some speeches already this morning about the need to reduce hunger. we heard speeches this morning about the availability of affordable health care. i'm for both of those things. and the best way to enhance availability of health care, to reduce hunger is to provide jobs . so again i would urge my colleagues today to vote for the bills that will be in front of us. h.r. 1965 is the federal lands

jobs and energy security act. it's not a complicated bill. it acknowledges two things. it acknowledges the vast energy resources that our country owns under its federal lands, onshore. it also acknowledges contemporary technology that provides all of the security and safety that's required to do the job well. . what it does is diverse some of the resources that allows a streamlining of permitting while also empowering the local offices of our bureau of land management, our u.s. forest service in ways that allows them to do the jobs that they do very well even better. this is something i know a little bit about. prior to coming to congress, i was an energy regulator for 10 years in north dakota. i worked closely with our

federal partners. in fact, found them to be some of the best people that i had the opportunity to know. i just met with a number of them last week in western part of the state. they do a great job but they need more resources, especially in an economy that's so competitive for our work force and so competitive in areas like rent and housing and the cost of living. and so by allowing more local offices keep the fees, we can allow them to do the jobs faster, better, without -- protecting our natural resources above the ground. they do it better than anybody. we ought to empower them to do. h.r. 2728, protecting states' rights to promote american energy act, we are a nation of states and that states are in fact sovereign and that nobody is more protective of the land

and the water and the air than the people who live on it and drink it and breathe it. it simply states that if you have fracturing rules in your state, that's good enough. it's your state. the federal government's minimum standards ought not impose, be an imposition on the states and their rights to develop their resources the way they want to. it freeze up resources at the federal government while unleashing the ingenuity and innovation of our energy economy, providing wealth, providing jobs. and by the way, reducing the cost of energy for the rest of us which makes us even more competitive in the global marketplace. we have a grand opportunity today, mr. speaker, to pass these two bills and to put america on a path to full economic recovery and perhaps to bring more troops home from the middle east, to reduce our

dependency on foreign oil and let's do this not only as a country but as a continent, acknowledging that our friends in canada are better trading partners than venezuela. let's build the plibes and infrastructure necessary. let's -- pipelines and infrastructure necessary. let's put america back to work by becoming more energy secure. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. lamalfa, for five minutes. mr. lamalfa: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to share some of the stories that fellow californians in my district are having with the impact under the a.c.a., the obamacare plan. a funny thing happened on the way to government-run health care nirvana, 1.1 million californians have lost their health care coverage. in fact, for every one person

who has selected a new a.c.a. obamacare plan, 40 people have received cancellation notices. they find that their costs are going to increase, especially in rural california where choices are more limited of plans of places to seek health care. their access to health care is being jeopardized. the law is creating a huge burden for rural health care where, again, you have to travel maybe several hours, many miles to seek the kind of health care you need. despite the president's promise to the public on this issue. if you like your plan you can keep it, period, we heard. if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor, period, we heard. this is clearly not the case. less access for your choices, skyrocketing premiums is the wrong direction from the president's health care plan, as promised. i'd like to share again some

stories of the people in my california. i received a letter from anthem blue cross due to the affordable care act my policy has been canceled. it used to be $492 a month. a 190% increase which bill finds absurd. they have two daughters in college and one more at home. how are they supposed to come up with that kind of money. trisha writes, she and her husband, they're business owners, self-employed, they always purchased their own health insurance. their monthly premium has been around $800 a month for both of them. it will jump up to $1,000 for one of them. they have to determine what the other will do. they will be forced into california's insurance coverage, known as covered california, where there are no plans with coverage for their doctor that they use now since they live near the state line

of oregon, they get their health care on the other side in oregon at facilities there, doctors there. they will have to drive maybe two, three hours to reding or somewhere else to find new physicians. so they live with the constant fear that their new policy will not provide coverage when they need it. janice from reding writes, i received a letter from aetna saying my medical coverage will be canceled at the end of the year. she is 62 and has to wait 2 1/2 years when she will be eligible for medicare. her premium will jump to over $500 from $300. the promise by mr. boim, the -- mr. obama, if you like your health care you can keep it, she feels is a lie. lastly, i have time -- this one is really disturbing. a lady named ramonea from redding, california. she was diagnosed with stage

three ovarian cancer in july. her current plan, she was able to get the surgery and treatment she needed. a very large hospital bill of $128,000 was covered. her insurance paid all but $700 of that because she had good coverage. now, because she's going to be canceled, she still needs a lot more treatment in this very crisis moment of her life. and yet for her christmas present she's going to get uncertainty, she's going to get the worry at a time where she's being treated with stage three cancer of what is the health care plan that for political purposes, it appears, since we've done everything else to try and point out to the american people and to the politicians in this building that it needs to be fixed or changed, that we're not getting to right here. so what are we going to do? again, these californians are not alone. these americans are not alone. millions are paying the price for the president's broken promises. it should not be a political

issue. it should be us serving the public. we cannot continue to stand by and watch millions lose their coverage that they want, that they shopped for, that they were diligent about with professionals who know what they were doing, unlike the people running the website which is a small part of the issues of this system. we need to set the egos aside, go back to the drawing board and at least set this aside for a year. i believe we should repeal it and go back to targeting the people that really do need the help and let the folks in this country that are already reasonably happy with their plan, have done the diligence, have made the effort to get the coverage and be responsible americans. they don't need to be bothered in this scenario. let's help the people that need the help. the american health care reform act has been over by the republican study committee is one way to do that. so let's look for alternatives. we have had them all along as republicans, as conservatives,

as people who understand business. let's make these choices available for the american public, not force them into something they never asked for other than for political purposes. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until noon today. >> today florida republican henry treyradel pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of cocaine possession and sentenced to a year's probation.

the associated press quoted him as saying quote i hit bottom and realized i need help. he told the judge acknowledging he purchased 3.5 grams of cocaine from an undercover agent. that from the associated press reporting this morning. next up we are going to take you live to the east room of the white house. president obama will be paying tribute to john f. kennedy in a couple of ways today, two days before the 50th anniversary of his assassination. president obama will honor the medal of freedom started by president kennedy in 1963 by today bestowing medals on more than a dozen americans, including former president bill clinton and oprah winfrey, stephen spielberg on the center of your screen, to his left, your right, the nasa administrator. this should get under way shortly. later today president obama will be visiting the kennedy gravesite at arlington national cemetery. and he will be laying a wreath there. we'll have live coverage of that about 1:00 eastern on c-span3

and also on c-span.org.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the united states and dr. jill biden. ladies and gentlemen, the recipient of the presidential medal of freedom. mr. ernie banks. mr. ben bradley. he honorable bill clinton.

ms. irene inouye accepting on behalf of her husband the honorable daniel inouye. r. daniel conovan. the honorable richard lugar. s. loretta lynn. r. mario molina.

ms. tan owe seancy accepting on , sally k. er partner ride. mr. walter neagle accepting on ehalf of his partner, byer russian. mr. sandoval. ms. linea smith accepting on behalf of her husband, dean smith. ms. gloria steinem. everend c.c. vivian. the honorable patricia wald. ms. oprah winfrey.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states and mrs. michelle obama. >> good morning. good morning, everybody. everybody, please have a seat. have a seat. on behalf of michelle and

myself, welcome to the white house. this is one of my favorite events every year. especially it's special this year as i look at this extraordinary group of individuals and our opportunity to honor them with our nation's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. and this year it's just a little more special because this marks the 50th anniversary of president kennedy establishing this award. we are honored, by the way, today to have with us one of my favorite people, ethel kennedy and a pretty good basketball player, president kennedy's randson, jack.

this medal has been bestowed on more than 500 deserving people. tonight i'm looking forward to joining some of these honorees, as well as members of the kennedy family, as we pay tribute to these 50 years of excellence. this morning we are honored to add 16 new names to this distinguished list. today we salute fierce competitors who became true champions. in the sweltering heat of a chicago summer, ernie banks walked into the cubs locker room and didn't like what he saw. everybody was sitting around, heads down, depressed, he recalled. so ernie piped up and said, boy, what a great day. let's play, too. a man who came up through the negro leagues making $7 a day and became the first black

player to sut up for the cubs and one of the greatest hitters of all time. in the process, ernie became known as much for his 512 home runs as for his cheer and his optimism and his eternal faith that someday the cubs would go all the way. and that's serious belief. that's something even a lifetime fan like me can respect. but he is just a wonderful man and a great iraqon of my hometown. -- a great ikon of mytown. speaking of sports dean smith is one of the winningest coaches in history. his successes go far beyond x's and o's, he graduated 96% of his players. the first coach to use multiple defenses in a game. he was a pioneer who popularized

the idea of pointing to the passer after a basket player should point to the teammate who passed them the ball. with his first national title on the line, he did have the good sense to give the ball to a 19-year-old kid named michael jordan, they used to joke that the only person who ever held michael under 20 was dean smith. while coach smith couldn't join us today due to an illness that he's facing with extraordinary courage, we also honor his courage in helping to change our country. he recruited the first black scholarship athlete to north carolina and helped integrate a restaurant and neighborhood in chapel hill. that's the kind of character that he represented on and off the court. we salute innovators who pushed the limits of science, changing how we see the world and ourselves. growing up, sally ride read about the space program in the

newspaper almost every day and thought this was the coolest thing around. when she was a ph.d. candidate at stanford she saw an ad for astronauts in the student newspaper and she seized the opportunity as the first american woman in space. sally didn't just break the stratospheric glass ceiling, she blasted through it. when she came back to earth, she devoted her life in helping girls excel in fields like math, science, and engineering. young girls need to see role models she said. you can't be what you can't see. today our daughters, including melia and sasha, can set their sights a little higher because sally ride showed them the way. all of us have moments when we look back and wonder, what the heck was i thinking? i have that quite a bit. psychologist, daniel conaman has

made that simple question his life's work. in a storied career in israel and america, he basically invented the study of human decisionmaking. he's helped us to understand everything from behavioral economics to does living in california make people happy. and there's some questions. he's also been called an expert on irrational behavior so i'm sure he could shed some light on washington, but what truly sets daniel apart is his curiousity. guided by his belief that people are endlessly complicated and interesting. at 79 he's still discovering new insights into how we think and learn, not just so we understand each other but so we can work and live together more effectively. dr. mario molineas, love of science started as a young boy in mexico city in a homemade laboratory in bathroom at home. that passion for discover which

led him to become one of the most respected chemists of his era. he was awarded the nobel prize not only for his path breaking research but also for his insistence that when we ignore dangerous carbon emissions we risk destroying the ozone layer and endangering our planet. thanks to mario's work, the world came together to address a common threat and today inspired by his example we are working to leave our planet safer and cleaner for future generations. we also have to salute musicians who bring such joy to our lives. loretta lynn was 19 the first time she won the big -- she won big at the local fair. her canned vegetables brought home 17 blue ribbons and made her conditioner of the year. that's impressive.

for a girl from butcher holler, kentucky, that was fame. fortunately for all of us she decided to try her hand in things other than canning. her first guitar cost $17. and with it this coal miner's daughter gave voice to a generation, singing what no one wanted to talk about and saying what no one wanted to think about. now over 50 years after she cut her first record and canned her first vegetables, lore relta -- loretta lynn still raines as the rule breaking record setting queen of country music. an doughg man in cuba, balance loved jazz so much it landed him in jail. it was the cold war and the only radio station where he could hear jazz was the voice of america, which was dangerous to listen to. but artero listened anyway. later he defected to the united states knowing he might not see

his parents or beloved homeland again. without freedom there is no life. today he's an american citizen and one of the most celebrated trumpet players in the world. there isn't any place on earth where the people don't know about jazz, he says. and that's true in part because musicians like him have sacrificed so much to play. we salute pioneers who pushed our nation towards greater justice and equality. a baptist minister, c.c. vivian was one of dr. martin luther king jr.'s closest advisors. martin taught us, he says, that it's in the action that we find out who we really are. and time and again, reverend vivian was among the first to be in the action. in 1947, joining a sit-in to integrate an illinois restaurant. one of the first freedom riders. in selma on the court side steps to register blacks to vote for which he was beaten, bloodied, and jailed.

rosa parks said of him, even after things that supposedly had been taken care of and we had our rights, he was still out there inspiring the next generation, including me, helping kids go to college with a program that would become upward bound. at 89 years old, reverend vivian is still out there, still in the action pushing us closer to our founding ideals. early in the morning the day of the march on washington, the national mall was far from full and some in the press were beginning to wonder if the event would be a failure. but the march's chief organizer, byron russian didn't panic. he looked down at a piece of paper, looked back up, and reassured reporters everything was right on schedule. the only thing those reporters didn't know was that the paper he was holding was blank. he didn't know how it was going work out, but he had an

unshakable optimism, nerves of steel, and most importantly a faith that if the cause is just and people are organized, nothing can stand in our way. for decades this great leader often at dr. king's side was denied his rightful place in history because he was openly gay. no medal can change that, but today we honor his memory by taking our place in his march towards two equality no matter who we are or who we love. [applause] speaking of game changers, disrupters, there's a young girl named gloria steinem who arrived in new york to make her mark as a journalist and magazines only wanted to write articles like, how to cook without really cooking for men. gloria noticed things like that.

she's been called a champion noticer. she's alert to all the ways large and small that women had been and in some cases continue to be treated unfairly just because they are women. as a writer, speaker, an activist she awakened a vast and often skeptical public to problems like domestic violence, a lack of affordable childcare, unfair hiring practices. because of her work across america and around the world, more women are afforded the respect and opportunities that they deserve. but she also changed how women thought about themselves. and gloria continues to pour her heart into teaching and mentoring. her one piece of advice to young girls is, i love this, do not listen to my advice. listen to the voice inside you and follow that. when patricia walls after she

had come become after having her first child, she said she would like time off to focus on her family. devoted almost 10 years to raising five children. but patricia never lost to practice law. while her husband watched the kids at home she hit the library on weekends. at the age of 40 she went back to the courtroom to show the young kids a thing or two. the first female judge on the d.c. circuit, patricia was a top candidate for attorney general after leaving the bench her idea of retirement was to go to the hague to preside over the trials of war criminals. patricia says she hopes enough women will become judges that it's not worth celebrating anymore. but today we celebrate her. along with gloria she shows there were all kinds of paths listening to your own voice. we salute communicators who shine the light on stories no

one else was telling. a veteran of world war ii and more than a dozen pacific battles, ben bradley brought the same intensity and dedication to journalism. since joining "the washington post" 65 years ago, he transformed that newspaper into one of the finest in the world and with ben in charge, the post published the pentagon papers, revealing the true history of america's involvement in vietnam. exposed watergate. unleashed a new era of investigative journalism. holding america's leaders accountable. and rereminding us our freedom as a nation rests on our freedom of the press . when ben retired, senator daniel patrick moynihan put the admiration of many into a poem, owe rare ben bradley, whose reign has has ceased, whose nation stands, its strength increased. he also indicated to ben -- pull off hose

those shirts and i can't. you always look so cool in them. early in oprah winfrey's career, her bosses told her she should change her name to susi. i have to pause here to say i got the same advice. they didn't say i should be named suzy, but they suggested i should change my name. people can relate to susi, that's what they said. it turned out, surprisingly, that people could relate to oprah just fine. in more than 4,500 episodes of her show, her message was always, you can. you can do and you can be, and you can grow, and it can be

better. and she was living proof. rising from childhood poverty and abuse to the pinnacle of the entertainment universe. but even with 40 emmys, the digs continuation of being the first black female billionaire, oprah's greatest strength has always been her ability to help us discover the best in ourselves. michelle and i count ourselves among her many devoted fans and friends. as one of those fans wrote, didn't know i had a light in me until oprah told me it was there. what a great gift. finally, we would salute public servants who strengthened our nation. daniel inouye was a humble man and didn't wear his medal of honor very often. instead, he liked to wear a pin representing the good conduct medal he earned as a teenage private. to behave yourself takes special effort, he said, and i did not want to dishonor my family. danny always honored his family

and his country, even when his country didn't always honor him. after being classified as an inme alien, danny joined a japanese-american unit that became one of the most decorated in world war ii. as the second longest serving senator in american history, he showed a generation of young people, including one kid with a funny name growing up in hawaii who noticed that there was somebody during some of those hearings in washington that didn't look like everybody else, which meant maybe i had a chance to do something important, too. he taught all of us that no matter what you look like or where you come from, this country has a place for everybody who is willing to serve and work hard. a prows hoosier, dick luger has served more than a half century from a young navy lieutenant to a respected leader in the united states senate. i'll always be thankful to dick for taking me a new junior senator under his wing,

including travels together to review some of his visionary work, the destruction of cold war arsenals in the former soviet union. something that doesn't get a lot of public notice, but was absolutely critical to making us safer in the wake of the cold war. i should say traveling with dick you get close to unexploded land mines, mortar shells, test tubes filled with anthrax and the plague. his legacy, though, is the thousands of missiles and bombers and submarines and warheads that no longer threaten us because of his extraordinary work. and our nation and our world are safer because of this statesman. and in the time of unrelenting partisanship, dick lugar's decentcy, commitment to bipartisan problem solving stand as a model to what public certificate vase ought -- public service ought to be.

last but never least we honor a leader who we still remember with such extraordinary fondness , he still remembers as a child waving goodbye to his tomorrow, tears in her eyes, as she went to nursing school so she could provide for her family. i think lifting up families like his own became the story of bill clinton's life. he remembered what his mom had to do on behalf of him. and he wanted to make sure that he made life better and easier for so many people all across the country that were struggling in those same ways and had those same hopes and dreams. as a governor he transformed education so more kids could pursue those dreams. as president he proved with right choices you could grow the

economy, lift people out of poverty. we could shrink our deficits and still invest in our families, our health, our schools, science, technology. in other words, we can go farther when we look out for each other. and as we have all seen as president he was just getting started. he doesn't stop. he's helped lead relieve efforts after the haiti earth yake, hurricane katrina. his initiative has helped to save or improve the lives of literally hundreds of millions of people. of course i am most grateful for his patience during the endless travels of my secretary of state. so i'm grateful bill as well for the advice and council you offered me on and off the golf course, and most importantly for

your lifesaving work around the world which represents the very best in america. thank you so much, president clinton. those are the recipients of the 2013 -- these are the recients of the 2013 presidential medal of freedom. these are the men and women who in their extraordinary lives remind us all of the beauty of the human spirit, the values that define us as americans, the potential that lives inside all of us. i could not be more happy and more honored to participate in this ceremony here today. with that what i would like to our honorees to just sit there and let all of us stand and give you a big round of applause.

[cheers and applause] >> i guess we should actually give them the medal. here we go.

>> presidential medal of freedom recipients. ernie banks. with an unmatched enthusiasm for america's pastime, ernie banks slugged, sprinted, and smiled his way into the record books. known to fans as mr. cub, he played an extraordinary 19 seasons with the chicago cubs during which he was named to 11 all star teams, hit over 500 home runs, and won back-to-back most valuable play irhonors. ernie banks was elected to the baseball hall of fame in 1977. and he will forever be known as one of the finest power hitters and most dynamic players of all time.

>> benjamin bradley. a titan of journalism, benjamin bradley is one of the most respected newsmen of his ghen generation. after serving our nation in world war ii, ben bradley went on to defend liberty here at home. testing the limits of a free press during his tenure as

executive editor of the "washington post," he oversaw coverage of the watergate scandal and successfully challenged the federal government over the right to publish the pentagon papers. his passion for accuracy and unyielding pursuit of truth continue to set the standard for journalism. >> the honorable william j. clinton.

among the finest public servants of our time, president william j. clinton argued cases for the people of arkansas, served his state in the governor's mansion, and guided our nation into a new century. as the 42nd president of the united states, bill clinton oversaw an era of challenge and change, prosperity and progress. his work after leaving public office continues to reflect his passionate, unending commitment to improving the lives and livelihoods of people around the world in responding to needs both at home and abroad, and as founder of the clinton foundation, he has shown that through creative cooperation among women and men of good will, we can solve even the most intractable problems.

irene her rono inouye, accepting on behalf of her husband, the onorable daniel k. inouye. a true patriot and dedicated public servant, daniel k. inouye understood the power of leaders when united in common purpose to protect and promote the tenets we cherish as americans. as a member of the revered 442nd regimental combat team, daniel inouye helped free europe from the grasp of tyranny during world war ii for which he received the medal of honor. representing the people of hawaii from the moment the

islands joined the union, he never lost sight of the ideals that bind us across the 50 states. senator inouye's reason and resolve helped make our country what it is today, and for that we honor him. r. daniel conaman. daniel conaman's groundbreaking work earned him a nobel prize in from ics after escaping occupied france as a young boy and later joining the israel forces he grew interested in

understanding the origin of people's beliefs, combining psychology and economic analysis and working alongside dr. amos versky. he used simple experiments to demonstrate how people make decisions under uncertain circumstances and he forever changed the way we view human udgment. he honorable richard g. lugar. representing the state of indiana for over three decades in the united states senate, richard g. lugar put country above party and self to forge bipartisan consensus. throughout his time in the

senate, he offered effective solutions to our national and international problems, advocating for the control of nuclear arms and other weapons of w.m.d.. work -- weapons of mass destruction. working with senator snapple nunn, richard lugar established the nunn-lugar cooperative threat reduction program. one of our country's most successful national security initiatives, helping to sustain american leadership and engage nations in collaboration after decades of confrontation. he remains a strong voice on foreign policy issues and his informed perspective will have broad influence for years to come. oretta lynn.

born a coal miner's daughter, loretta lynn has followed a bold path to become a legend in country music. a singer, songwriter, and author. she has written dozens of chart topping songs, released scores of albums, and won numerous accolades. breaking barriers in country music and entertainment, she opened doors for women not only by winning tremendous achievements, but also by raising issues few dared to discuss. fearlessly telling her own stories with candor and humor, loretta lynn has brought a strong female voice to mainstream music, captured the emotions of women and men alike, and revealed the common truths about life as it is lived.

r. mario molina. the curiosity and creativity that inspired mario molina to convert his family's bathroom into a laboratory as a child has driven him through decades of scientific research. born in mexico, dr. molina's passion for chemistry brought him to the united states where his investigations of cloro fluorocarbons led to breakthroughs and our understanding how they deplete the ozone layer. the impact of his discoveries extend far beyond his field. affecting environmental policy and fostering international awareness, as well as earning him the 1995 nobel prize in

chemistry. today dr. molina remains a global leader, continuing to study air quality, climate change, and the environment that connects us all. >> tan owe seancy accepting on behalf of her life partner, dr. sally k. ride. 30 years ago dr. sally k. ride soared into space as the youngest american and first woman to wear the stars and stripes above earth's atmosphere. as a astronaut, she sought to

keep america at the forefront of space exploration. as a role model, she fought tirelessly to inspire young people, especially girls, to become scientifically literate and pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and math. at the end of her life, she became an inspiration for those battling pancreatic cancer and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. the stale of a quiet hero, sally ride's story demonstrates the sky is no limit for those who dream of reaching for the stars. walter neagle, accepting on behalf of his partner, baird uston.

baird ruston was a giant in the merican civil rights movement. opening-e openly gay, his unwavering belief we are all equaling members of a single family took him from his first freedom ride to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights movement. thanks to his unparalleled skills as an organizer, progress that once seemed impossible appears in retrospect to have been inevitable. 50 years after the march on washington he organized, america honors ba y. ard russin, as one of the greatest architects for social change and fearless advocate for ts most vulnerable citizens.

ar tureo an dough balance. -- san dough balance -- sandobal. arturo is one of the world's finest jazz musicians. born into poverty in cuba and held back by his government, he risked everything to share his gifts with the world, eventually defecting with help from dizzy gillespie his mentor and friend. in the decades since, this astonishing trumpeter, pianist, and composer has inspired audiences in every corner of the world and awaken add new generation of great performers. he remains one of the best ever to play.

linea smith accepting on behalf of her husband, dean e. smith. dean e. smith spent 36 seasons taking college basketball to new heights. as head coach at the university of north carolina at chapel hill, he led his team to 11 final fours, two national titles, and 879 victories, retiring as the win yeggest men's basketball coach in history. dean smith brought the same commitment to supporting his players off the court. he helped more than 96% of his lettermen graduate and in an era of deep division, he taught

players to overcome bigotry with courage and compassion. he will forever stand as one of the greatest coaches in college asketball history. loria steinem. a trail blazering rider and feminist organizer, gloria steinem has been at the forefront of the fight for equality and social justice for more than four decades. instrumental to a broad range of initiatives and issues from establishing ms. magazine and take our daughters to workday, to pushing for women's

self-empowerment and end to sex trafficking. she has promoted lasting political and social change in america and abroad. through her reporting and speaking, she has shaped debates on the intersection of sex and race. brought critical problems to national attention, and forged new opportunities for women in media. gloria steinem continues to move us all to take up the cause of reaching for a more just omorrow. everend c.t. vivian.

equipped only with courage and an overwhelming commitment to social justice, the reverend c.t. vivian was a stalwart activist on the march toward racial equality. whether at a lunch counter, on a freedom ride, or behind the bars after prison cell, he was unafraid to take bold action in the face of fierce resistence. by pushing change through nonhaven't demonstration and advocacy, c.t. vivian established and led numerous organizations to support underserved individuals and communities. his legacy of combating injustice will shine as an example for generations to come.

patricia wald. patricia wald made history as the first woman appointed to the united states court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit. rising to chief judge of the court, she always strove to better understand the law and fairly apply it. after leaving federal service, judge wald helped institute standards for justice and the rule of law at the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia in the hague. hailed as a model judge, she laid a foundation for countless women within the legal profession and helped unveil the humanity within the law.

prah g. winfrey. oprah g. winfrey is a global media icon. when she launched the oprah winfrey show in 1986, there were few women and even fewer women of color with a national platform to discuss the issues and events shaping our times. but over the 25 years that followed, oprah winfrey's innate gift for tapping into our most fervent hopes and deepest fears

drew millions of viewers across every background. making her show the highest rated talk show in television history. offscreen oprah winfrey has used her influence to support underserved communities and lift up the lives of young people, especially young women, around the world. in her story we are reminded that no dream can be deferred when we refuse to let life's obstacles keep us down. >> you can watch the remainder of the ceremony online at c-span.org as it wraps up. we'll leave here and take you lives to capitol hill, the u.s. house gaveling in for

legislative work, continuing work on energy legislation. they plan to finish debate this afternoon on a bill increasing oil and gas drilling on federal lands and begin work on hydraulic fracturing. also today a debate on the rule for a bill that would limit the federal permitting process for natural gas pipelines. votes later this afternoon. now live to the house floor here on c-span. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013]