essential services, is very, very real and significant. it's also important to note what this bill does not do. and i am very concerned about the fact that we were not able to make unemployment insurance a part of this effort. mr. van hollen: i yield the gentleman another 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional 30 seconds. mr. clyburn: thank you. and i am hopeful that when we get back here after the first of the year, that we will move and do as we have done in the unemployment insurance, make it retroactive until january 1, so those people who find themselves unemployed for no fault of their own -- through no fault of their own can find some

relief going into the next holiday season. . so hopefully we'll do something on the minimum wage. these are things i think we need to do coming back after the first of the year and i thank the gentleman for yielding me time and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: first, i'd like to yield myself 30 seconds just to respond to my friend from south carolina, mr. cry burn. i want him to know -- mr. clyburn. i want him to know that the time spent, that was not time wasted. that was productive time, because the findings from those groups were used in this agreement. the work that they did on all of those policies were work that we borrowed from to put this together. i want him to know that was productive use of his time which helped in turn produce this result. mr. clyburn: thank you very much. you're vy kind. -- you're very kind.

mr. ryan: i yield three minutes to our distinguished whip, mr. mccarthy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. mccarthy: i want to thank the chairman of the budget committee for finding the leadership, finding the common ground, but actually moving this entire house. when i first came to congress, debate was always about more spending, always about, what will the future hold? ever since the republican took the majority within the first four months we produced a budget to put us on a path with a much different approach. it was a path led by our chairman and a path that would actually grow jobs and move us in a new direction. the challenge of what we had was in the senate there was no budget. the last time since i've been here the senate produced the budget the ipad wasn't produced. but this house moved to no budget no pay and the senate began to move, but they came up with a different number than we hadded, and we found a stale -- we had had.

and we found a stalemate that the country was frustrated with, we were frustrated with and we knew this was not congress designed. so with this agreement, it moves us in a much different place. every year that congress failed to pass a budget it ceded its power intended by our founders to be held by congress to the zeck of tiff branch. as house -- executive branch. as house republicans helped make smarter spending decisions, the standards set by this agreement will be critically important. the budget agreement takes steps to reform mandatory spending that starts out slow but compounds over the years and results in a growing spending reduction year over year. it also moves us closer to a more responsible entitlement reform that leads to a balanced budget, paying down our debt economic ustainable futh. today is a new day. today is a day in the right direction and shows the common ground that this body and the

senate can take as well and i thank all those involved and i ask for a vetio and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield 1 1/2 minutes to a terrific member of the ways and means committee, mr. neal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. neal: thank you, mr. van hollen. thank you, mr. speaker. i think that the previous speaker forgot to mention the bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 totaling $2.3 trillion. the war in iraq was conveniently left out. the process of sequestration was ill-considered and the result is all around us. listen, i was happy to have it until i heard that the republicans were responsible for all of the good things in it and the democrats were only responsible for the revenue side. revenue is about 16% of gross domestic product right now. those are the eisenhower years. we need to have this discussion. now, let me say this as well. mr. ryan deserves to be credited, as does mr. van hollen, for the measure that's in front of us today.

if we get past some of the acura moany, maybe we can -- acramony, maybe we can move forward. the automobile sector is doing much better. the private sector in general is. americans are shedding debt, but not to miss the point there is a very allusive term that needs to be addressed today and that's the term confidence. the government shutdown shaved one to two points off the gross domestic product. that's reality. that's not fiction. we need to get past again the harsh language that has now taken over this institution and provide investors and provide the american people with the idea of some confidence to unleash the forces of that $2 trillion that's sitting here domestically and another $1 trillion that's sitting offshore. this is the sort of conversation that we need to have. this is a confidence-building measure. and it does lighten up some of the spending caps, again, that would have caused grave damage to the economy. we should have found the time to help out on the issue of unemployment benefits.

mr. speaker, we did the doc fix this morning. i favored it. $8 billion over three months. we could have found money in this budget to extend unemployment benefits to the american families. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, i yield myself two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, there are a couple other factors that i think members should weigh as we look at this legislation. number one is, if we do not pass this legislation, we face a fiscal impasse on january 15 and therefore a potential government shutdown at that time and then we face a fiscal impact at the end of september and a possible government shutdown at that time. i don't know of anyone in this body that thinks these government shutdowns are productive or useful or helpful to our economy. and so by having this agreement in place, we prevent those two episodes from occurring, and we prevent those two government shutdowns. oint number two, for too long,

for three years this body, congress, the legislative branch, the one that the founders envisioned in the constitution would be exercising the power of the purse, the branch of government of s the representative the people that's supposed to decide how money is spent, well, we've been ceding that authority to the executive branch by pass whag we call -- passing what we call continuing resolutions. so the spending priorities that were set three years ago are still in place, and then we just keep writing these blank checks to the administration and they set the priorities. that's not partisan thing. that's an stoonl thing. that's a -- institutional thing. that's a separate of powers thing. democrats and republicans alike believe we should do our jobs, that we should exercise the power of the purse, that the legislative branch should bring back its authority to do this.

this does that by restarting the appropriations process, by agreeing to these numbers, hich are bipartisan numbers, mutually agreed to numbers, by not doing continuing resolutions, we are reclaiming the power of the purse. i'll give myself another minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. ryan: there are those of us who are worried about regulations, who are worried about the exercise of power at the executive branch, who are worried about a sense of less accountability among the executive branch. we do lots of oversight hearings. we do dozens a week. but oversight pails in comparison when it doesn't -- pales in comparison when it doesn't have any fiscal force behind it. by reclaiming the power of the purse, by having congress write the budgets and approve and decide the budgets of the

executive agencies, that gives us a far stronger hand in affecting effective oversight, in conducting oversight. by using the power of the purse, along with effective oversight, we can do our jobs as the legislative branch in conducting oversight of the executive branch and setting priorities. my friends have their priorities and we have our priorities and sometimes we meet, sometimes we don't. at least congress gets to set the priorities on how the money sent to us from hardworking taxpayers is spent. that's one of the things that's accomplished in this agreement. that, along with all these other reasons is why i really encourage all of our members to support this agreement. with that i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield a minute and a half to my friend, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. ellison. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. ellison: mr. speaker, i want to thank my colleagues for arriving at a budget deal.

when we asked our democratic conferees to negotiate the best deal they could, we did it knowing they were negotiating with colleagues whose priority is debt reduction, not jobs. even though the federal government' deficit is the smallest since 2008. given the republican priorities, they had a heavy task of partially lifting the sequester, protecting social security, medicare, and medicaid and averting shutdown. and so i think that's good, but there are parts of the deal that leave me very uncomfortable. i can't possibly imagine leaving this place, leaving all those americans, over a million people without any means of substan nens other than their -- substance other than their local food shelf. it's not right and it's bad for the economy because the people who got those unemployment insurance checks would be able to spend them with local vendors which would actually help our economy. that's not going to happen

unless something happens. i heard estimates as high as 310,000 jobs could be lost if omething isn't done. also, the $6 billion for future federal employee's retirement, i'm very disturbed about that because we need good people working for the federal government. how can we attract the best people to work for this country if we're -- every time we got to solve a budget problem we're going into their piggy bank? if we eliminated accelerated depreciation, we would be 3/4 of the way there on these federal employee's retirement benefits -- federal employees' retirement benefits. i'm glad we didn't look to close any loopholes, and that's a shame so i remain disappointed. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from wisconsin. i think i'll reserve at this time. i'm waiting for the leader. he's on his way. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin

reserves his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. may i inquire as to how much time remains on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland has 12 minutes remaining, and the gentleman from wisconsin has 11 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. van hollen: mr. speaker, at this time i yield a minute and a half to the gentlelady from california, great member of the armed services committee, mrs. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mrs. davis: thank you. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, we have taken a first step to come together. well, it's a bigger step than we have seen in a while, but let's remember it is only a first step. and i think people have said a small step, but it is a step and i, as excited as some of you are saying that we have been able to do that. however, and more than that, unfortunately, we have not been able to come together to keep up the safety net for 1.3 million unemployed americans by

extending emergency unemployment insurance. and in fact, the problem of long-term unemployment is not even addressed. it wasn't -- even discussed at length. if you want to pull away the safety net and leave people with nothing, well, at least, at least have some creative solutions for getting them back to work. now, like many of you, i have to go back to my district, i have to go back to my constituents in san diego who have been struggling to find work for so long and tell them that we could not come together o preserve their only means of sustenance. so remember, as we take this step forward, let us keep working forward to extend unemployment benefits for those in desperate need and start, let us start coming up with

some bigger solutions to getting people back to work. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlelady has expired. the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. mr. ryan: at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from indiana, a member of the budget committee, mr. rokita. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. rokita: i thank the chairman. i thank him for his leadership, not only on this issue but on so many of the bills and issues that come before this congress, and i also thank the leadership on the other side of the budget committee and the other side of this congress for their leadership in coming together as well. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this bipartisan budget legislation. as you know, mr. speaker, i'm one of the folks around here who is considered by some affectionately, some by others not so affectionately as a budget hawk. i came to reduce our spending

and get as much value for every dollar we take from the taxpayer, and more increasingly, from the children of tomorrow, from those who don't exist who are taxed. i am actively, in my opinion, engaged in them. i will say on this house floor that this budget is a better deal than the current sequestration law because it makes spending reforms beyond sequestration that will continue on after sequestration expires. the reforms start immediately and compound over time. by the way, mr. speaker, i'm not talking about trading real sequester savings from magic beams. these are reforms that will and once this bill passes once the president signs it. and again, compound over time. finally, mr. speaker, we're starting to open the door and

address what is actually causing our deficits and debt and that is our entitlement programs and i applaud the chairman of the budget committee. i applaud the ranking member and others in the senate who are supporting this measure because we're timely able to get to discuss and solve what is the major problem that this country is facing at this time. like the others who have spoken, i look forward to having more of these discussions and getting to the business of solving

mr. cantor: ti thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise today in support of the bipartisan budget act of 2013 pfment mr. speaker, in a divided government, the american people expect members of both parties to find common ground to move america forward. while this budget agreement is not perfect, it is a step forward towards bridging our differences and bringing fiscal responsibility to washington. the legislation before the house today will reduce our deficit. it will make long-term pension reforms and it will do so without raising taxes on the hard-working middle-class families of our country. this budget deal protects our national security at home and around the world while making dramatic cuts to our national

defense as a result of the sequester. mr. speaker, i think we can all agree that arbitrary indiscriminate across-the-board spending cuts are not the smartest way to cut spending. last year, republicans passed two bills that would have replaced the sequester cuts. this bill before us is a reflection of our priority to replace the sequester with permanent savings that will responsibly reduce our deficit. this legislation will allow congress to concentrate on appropriating taxpayer funds to our country's highest priorities. let's stand together and show the american people that we are focused on reining washington's spending habits while growing our economy. i want to thank the chairman of the budget committee, mr. ryan, for his perseverance in his

quest to rein the wasteful spending to work towards balancing our budget. i want to thank him for his tenacity in the negotiations that he had with senator murray to arisk at this deal. i thank him and his entire committee for their hard work. this is a bipartisan budget agreement, one that has not been frequently seen in terms of bipartisan agreement on this floor. and i urge my colleagues in the house to support this agreement. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: i thank you, mr. speaker. i want to just emphasize a point that we both made which is that if we had our druggetters, we would have approached this issue differently. and i say with respect to some of the offsets, there are many of us who would have preferred to see the closures of many

special interest tax breaks as part of the offsets in this legislation. i hope as we go forward, we would agree that's also a kind of wasteful spending in the tax code. if you give a special interest in this country some tax preference not enjoyed by others, you're simply raising the burden on everybody else. it's simply a form of spending through the tax code. so, mr. speaker, as we address these issues going forward, whether it's replacing the sequester or reducing the deficit, as part of a balanced approach, we think we should take those into account as well. we also propose as part of this measure applying some of the excessive subsidies that we give to ag businesses as part of the offsets and our colleagues rejected those. this is a product of compromise. but i do want to let people know

that it had been our premps to close some of those special interest tax breaks and use some of those excessive agriculture subsidies as offsets rather than some of the provisions that are before us. with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: i would like to yield one minute to the distinguished speaker of the house. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio, the speaker of the house, is recognized for one minute. the speaker: let me thank chairman ryan and his senate counterparts and democrats and republicans on both sides of the capitol who worked hard to bring this agreement together. my colleagues, i think it's pretty simple. if you are for reducing the budget deficit, then you should be voting for this bill. if you are for cutting the size of government, you should be supporting this budget. if you are for preventing tax increases, you should be voting

for this budget. you are for entitlement reform, you ought to be voting for this budget. these are things that i came here to do and this budget does them. it's a -- is it perfect, does it go far enough? no, not at all. it will take a lot more work to get our arms around our debt and our deficit. but this budget is a positive step in that direction. it's progress. it's doing what the american people expect us to do. it's coming together and finding common ground. stick to our principles, but find common ground. so again, i commend chairman ryan and chairman murray for their work. and i urge all of my colleagues to vote for this budget. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. the chairman of the budget committee have any other

speakers? mr. ryan: i don't. mr. van hollen: we are waiting for mr. hoyer to arrive. so if i could reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from from arkansas, mr. womack. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. womack: i thank chairman ryan for his great leadership informinging this particular agreement and putting us in a position to end on a positive note here as we approach the christmas and the holiday season. mr. speaker, i'm going to bring a couple of different perspectives to the floor as i analyze this budget deal. the first perspective i have is being a former mayor. for 12 years in a city in northwest arkansas there was

enormous economic development. i sat at the table many times talking about issues and trying to balance the needs of our community against what the wants of our community were and i never ever ended any of those negotiations getting everything that i wanted, but i always looked for an opportunity to find a common ground and to advance the economic development issues of our city where we could find that type of consensus. mr. speaker, i also bring the perspective of an appropriator, someone who came to congress in 2011, was immediately assigned to the appropriations committee and i have been frustrated through this entire process living from c.r. to c.r. and never ever having the opportunity to do what appropriators are purposed in doing. and this agreement, while not perfect, as has already been mentioned by most every speaker, gives us an opportunity to take

government shutdowns off the table, to restore some much needed fubbed funding to something that is important to all of us and that is our national defense and as an appropriator, gives us the opportunity to do our jobs and quick c emp ding to the administration down the street. from that perspective, mr. speaker, i think this is the right deal at the right time. it gives us an opportunity to give some certainty to the american public who is looking to this congress to be able to work together to try to find the solutions that move america forward. with that, i urge support and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from maryland. the gentleman from maryland.

mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. i now yield four minutes to our distinguished whip and somebody who has been working very hard on these budget issues and working with us also to make sure that this is done in as fair and equitable manner as possible and worked with us very closely to make sure that federal employees do not take a disproportionate share of the burden and as a result of our efforts, current federal employees will not be asked to bear additional burdens after having already borne so much of the burden. with that, i yield four minutes to my friend, mr. hoyer. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. hoyer: the gentlemen from maryland are happy to be here, mr. speaker.

the speaker pro tempore: i'm ecstatic, too. mr. hoyer: america is advantaged work ong two people who the budget committee who have great intellect, great integrity and care about america. mr. ryan from wisconsin and mr. van hollen from maryland. the american public sometimes is not sure that it has the kind of quality that if they were here sitting in the budget committee or on the floor listening to these two gentlemen, who have disagreements, but who represent their positions well. mr. speaker, i voted for every budget compromise that has been over the past three years , without fail. the results, however, invariably have been an unremitting undermining of our efforts to reach a balanced fiscal policy and to invest in that which will secure our future.

the economy, education, infrastructure, national security and innovation. and while each of those bills was preferable to default on our debt or the shutting down of our government, they have been simply stopgap measures that have not been from congresses shale created and all too frequent fiscal crises. the headlines regarding this agreement put it in perspective. an op ed in the "new york times" said quote, congress avoids reality again, closed quote. the "wall street journal" calls it the least bad budget deal. and while "usa today" headline says minimalist budget deal beats another shutdown. the editorial concludes with this, however.

quote, unless we come to grips with the fiscal issue, we will be inflicting a huge financial burden on our children. i agree. the deal before us today does not deal with the fundamental issue of long-term fiscal stability. my friend, mr. ryan, says he wants to do that. my friend, mr. van hollen, says he wants to do that. i think senator murray wants to do that. we have not done that. we have not dealt with the underlying issues that prevent us from going down a fiscally sustainable path. it does not replace the full sequester, which chairman hal rogers has correctly described as ill-advised and unrealistic. i sat on this floor when we considered the gentleman's budget that if there were no

democrats in the house of representatives, they could not implement that budget. i believe that. i believe it because the figures not related to priorities or vision or that which we needed to accomplish as a country, but on a number. 967. that's an opinion shared by all of the republican appropriation subcommittee chairmen and wrote a letter to that effect. nor does this agreement deal with the issue of the debt limit . . and which has historically been an infelix point to further reduce not only discretionary spending on both sides, mainly on the nondefense side, but also to reach once again into the pockets of federal employees.

now, i'm someone who represents 62,000 federal employees, and i recommended zero colas the first two years we did zero colas. why? the economy was in trouble and it was necessary for federal employees, like everybody else, to participate. mr. van hollen: i yield a minute. mr. hoyer: if we fail to resolve this issue now, it will simply plunge us into another manufactured crisis which will quickly undermine the stability and confidence that some believe this agreement is bringing. the fact that this agreement deals temporarily with preventing a cut in medicare's physician reimbursement is welcomed, but for our fiscal sustainability, it needs to be dealt with on a permanent basis. i'm pleased that the house ways and means committee and the house finance committee had legislation to do so. however, it's unconscionable that the budget deal before us today does not extend

unemployment insurance which helps those who are most at risk in our society, and if we don't not help them, 200,000 jobs are expected to be lost. on december 28, 1.3 million americans will lose unemployment insurance if we do an additional three million by 2014. the house should not leave toum without ensuring that individuals -- town without ensuring that individuals have unemployment insurance. finally, mr. speaker -- if you got an additional minute? mr. van hollen: 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. hoyer: this turns to middle class workers. i'll submit the balance of my statement. let me close with this. this agreement is better than the alternative, but it misses a huge opportunity to do what the american people expect us to do and that is put this

country on a fiscally sustainable path. i would urge my friend from wisconsin and i urge my friend om maryland, my colleague, summon up the courage, much of which you've already shown, to help us put this country on a fiscally sustainable path and, yes, make tough decisions, and i'll join with the gentleman from wisconsin and the gentleman from maryland in helping us get the votes for those tough decisions that are necessary, but it needs to be a balanced deal. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: no more speakers and reserve the right to close. mr. van hollen: mr. speaker, at this time i yield one minute to the gentlelady from texas, great member of the judiciary committee, ms. sheila jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is

recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: i want to thank the gentleman for his kindness in yielding. as i indicated earlier today that even the "time" magazine recognized that the better of all of us is when we extend ourselves to the most vulnerable, acknowledging pope francis. and so i want to ask the chairman of the budget committee, because he heard so many of us, indicate that there is value to this budget deal, chairman ryan. question, if se a i could, to you, if i could. you heard us say that we, too, appreciate the bipartisanship. i disagree with so much of it in terms of the sequester and what has been done as it relates for nutrition, for the unemployed, but would you not hold us back, would you not join us in putting on the floor n amendment that would provide for the extension of unemployment that will not run out december 28 for the hardworking americans, 68,000 in texas, 1.3 million, would

you not do that? mr. ryan: i'll defer to the speaker's comments. ms. jackson lee: well, we get no answer. all i can say is that this budget is a deal that i want to thank mr. value holen for the work that's -- van hollen for the work that's been done, mrs. lowey, mr. clyburn, but i believe we should not leave here today, leave here this week without having a free standing, and i wish the gentleman would own up to honesty and to answer the question, but put on the floor of the house the opportunity for those who have worked to be able to get unemployment insurance, not a handout, but unemployment insurance. i know, mr. ryan, we can carry out bipartisanship, at least to that point and be able to work on behalf of the american people, carrying forward the need to ensure that we have housing, education, childcare, all of that, a little bit is happening under this particular budget. that's why many of us are interested in moving forward getting rid of the sequester, keeping the doors opened, but i would think that there's enough

bipartisanship on both sides of the aisle to be able to extend the unemployment insurance and we should not leave here. i ask the president to convene us, to call us, to call the senate, call the house and make sure we vote on that. i thank the gentleman for the hard work that you have engaged in and also how far you have brought us. ith that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland has one minute remaining. mr. van hollen: is the gentleman prepared to close? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. hoyer's right. this agreement does not address the comprehensive issues that we need to address. we need to address those in a balanced way, and that means working on both additional smart, targeted spending cuts but also closing special interest tax breaks. but what this agreement does do is make sure that in the next several weeks we do not move to

a full sequester, very deep across-the-board cuts which will hurt the economy. instead, it provides more room to invest in vital areas like education and research. that is a positive note. that is a positive bipartisan note. i do want to say, mr. speaker, however, and this is not the result of anything the chairman of the budget committee does. there's also a sour note in leaving here without having to address the unemployment insurance. this agreement didn't include the doc fix and it didn't include unemployment insurance. we should be dealing with both those issues together. we're only dealing with one of them now. so i hope as we go forward we will address those issues and we should not leave town until we address the unemployment issue but let's at the same time take this small positive step forward. i thank the speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin.

the gentleman from wisconsin has 5 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, there are many reasons why i encourage my colleagues to support this bipartisan budget agreement. number one, by doing this we reduce the deficit by $23 billion. if we don't do this we don't $23 e the deficit by billion. that means we're reducing it versus doing nothing. a step in the right direction. a move toward fiscal responsibility, not near as far as we want to go but at least going in the direction we want to go. the budget we passed here in the house, just like the prior two budgets that we passed here in the house, represents the full extent of our ambition, our vision and our goals. it balances the budget within 10 years. it reforms the tax code without raising taxes. it reforms our entitlement

programs that were vital and were made in the 20th century so they work for the 21st century. it pays off our debt so that we do not leave our children a nation of debt. that's our goal. that's our vision. that's our destiny. with the bipartisan budget agreement we couldn't accomplish that because we have different opinions, we have different objectives. hat's why we work for common ground. that's why we took our budget, all the different budgets that were offered, we laid them on top of each other and we looked for common ground. we went through the federal budget program by program, line by line. we discussed and debated these things and we saw where is it we agree needs reforming? where is it that we agree taxpayer money is being wasted? where is it we agree that cronyism and corporate welfare should go away? where is it that we agree that

some reform for autopilot mandatory spending ought to occur? and where we found that agreement we put it in this agreement. that's the way it's supposed to work. so we see this as a step in the right direction on the way our ultimate ling goal. second thing we accomplished that's very important to us, and mr. van hollen kind of mentioned it. this does not raise taxes. hardworking taxpayers have worked hard and long enough that we need to work on spending instead of taking more from them. third thing, we're taking permanent spending cuts to pay for temporary sequester relief. we think that's a good idea. the savings clearly take time to accrue in this agreement, and that's because we're changing permanent law and those permanent law changes that are made by this act start accruing and compounding that savings so that the savings keep growing and compounding on

and on and on. the funny thing about autopilot spending, we call mandatory spending, is it compounds away rom you and spends so much more but if you get reforms, if you get savings, those savings compound as well. this does that. permanent spending cuts to pay for some temporary sequester relief. now what is a sequester? it's across the board, it's accrued, it doesn't prioritize, it doesn't give congress a say so on how the money is spent. this is the third thing that i think is pretty good. in keeping 92% of the sequester intact, what this bill does is it says congress ought to decide how money is being spent, not the administration. so instead of deferring and delegating our power to the executive branch with continuing resolution after continuing resolution, we, republicans and democrats, the legislative branch are bringing that power back to congress so that the people's house, so that the legislature as the founders in the constitution

intended, we decide how that money is being spent. we decide how to prioritize spending. that's our job. i also like the precedence this sets. we know we are always going to have fiscal pressure, because the sequester, as they mentioned, have not been lifted. it's always going to be here so it's always going to produce pressure. i like the precedent that we're starting here. we're fought going back to the taxpayer. -- we're not going to go back to the taxpayer. we are going to ask the government to deal with less, and as we transfer permanent spending cuts for temporary relief, we're going to have more spending cuts than we give back in relief so we reduce the deficit further. $85 billion in mandatory savings to pay for $63 billion in sequester relief, that's a pretty good precedence. i'd like to add one or two more zeros at the end of these numbers, but i'll take the direction that we have right now. the other point is this. we've been at each other's

throats for a long time. look, i was part of the last presidential election. we tried defeating this president. i wish we would have. elections have consequences, mr. speaker, and i fundamentally believe, this is my personal opinion. i know it's a slightly partisan thing to say. to really do what we think needs to be done, we have to win some elections. and in the meantime, let's try to make this divided government work. i think our constituents are expecting a little more from us. they're expecting us to not keep shutting the government down. they're expecting us to pay the bills. they're expecting us to be accountable. they're expecting us to watch how the dollars are being spent, and they're expecting us to find common ground and that's what this does, and that's why i urge all of my colleagues to support this, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the time allotted to the committee on the budget has expired.

the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts, and the gentleman from california, mr. waxman, will each control ive minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts. mr. pitts: mr. chairman, i yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pitts: mr. chairman, every year for the last decade, doctors have faced an ever-increasing cut to their reimbursement under the sustainable growth rate, or s.g.r., and every year congress intervenes with a doc fix to stop the cut from going in effect. 15 times since 2003. the pathway for s.g.r. reform act will postpone the cut

providing a .5% update to physicians for the next three months. while this is a necessary and important bill, i'm disappointed that legislation to permanently repeal the flawed s.g.r. formula will not be considered before the end of the year. doctors deserve to know that they will be fairly compensated and this annual uncertainty about reimbursements could lead to access problems for medicare beneficiaries. the energy and commerce health subcommittee worked for two years and produced a bipartisan bill that successfully moved through the full committee with unanimous support. i regret that this bill is not on the floor today. however, i urge all of my colleagues to support h.j.res. 59, to prevent this devastating cut from going into effect on january 1. thank you and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: i yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. waxman: i want to express my disappointment that we are letting unemployed insurance be denied for so many long-term unemployed especially a few days right after christmas. we should not leave town until we have fixed this problem. i'm going to vote for this budget, because it will ease the irrational sequestration cuts that have already done so much harm to our country and our economy. that's the main reason that i'm going to be ana vote on it. but i'm here on speak on behalf of the energy and commerce committee democrats to express my strong support for the temporary reprieve from the what's called s.g.r. cuts, the cuts to physicians who see medicare patients. congress is making enormous strides toward repeal and

replacement of the flawed medicare physician payment system. more time is going to be needed to finish the job. three day, all congressional committees of jurisdiction have marked up historic, bipartisan legislation that moves the system to one that rewards value of care rather than the volume of care. this short-term extension that is part of this bill will allow for three months for congress to complete floor and conference action on this legislation. we need to keep this process moving full steam ahead to get a permanent solution on both the s.g.r. as well as the other medicare and med said extenders as quickly as possible. this temporary patch will allow us the time to continue that work. i do have serious concerns with

both the medicare and medicaid policies in the budget act. the medicaid provisions will result in delayed payments to providers for three months while states seek out payment from other potential sources. this is simply bad policy. congress would not dream of allowing medicare to avoid paying for services for three months, yet this is a policy that we are going to adopt for medicaid. the other medicaid provision overturns a supreme court case, which would allow a state to take a beneficiary's liability settlement that is intended to compensate for lost wages or future medical costs to pay for medicaid services. indeed, the language as drafted, suggests that the state could collect amounts even in excess of the amount the party was

liable for. this provision is unconscionable and i hope we can fix it. of the the extension sequester on medicare, the relieving the sequester on the defense side and the domestic spending side on appropriations, but we're leaving in place a sequestration of medicare, which means continuing cuts into the future without any policy rationale. we are talking about cuts to doctors and hospitals and other providers. there's no justification for it. and in addition, there are cuts that are going to be applied by continuing this part of the sequestration through the center for medicare and medicaid services of much needed resources to carry out their many responsibilities. this is not a good way to make

law and will result in some unfortunate consequences. we need to fix that again when we get back next year. but i express my support for this short-term extension of not just s.g.r. but the other expiring medicare and medicaid provisions, including the t.m.a. q i. and i look forward to addressing the s.g.r. and extenders with my colleagues over the next few months to develop a permanent solution. and with that, i will withhold the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has some time. i advise the gentleman he has 30 seconds when his time comes again. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: i yield one minute to the distinguished the gentleman from michigan, the chairman, mr. upton. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized for one minute. up up i thank the -- mr. upton:, i thank the chairman. this fully offset package represents access to health care for 40 million seniors and going to give seniors the peace of mind knowing that their trusted physician will be there when they need them most by securing payments to physicians. since its passage back in 1997, s.g.r. has bred uncertainty. seniors are wondering if their doctors will remain available for consultation and this is no way, no way to keep americans healthy or run a health care system. so members on both sides of the aisle believe that the s.g.r. is broken. our energy and commerce committee, myself with mr. waxman, we voted 51 to nothing which would permanently repeal

s.g.r. and replace it with a system that promotes the highest quality of care. while i'm disappointed that we didn't repeal s.g.r. this year, this tonight is a step forward where we will continue to work at a more complete solution. to fix the offsets. i look forward to working with my colleagues on all the committees to get it done in a bipartisan way. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, as a supporter of the affordable care act, i look forward to next year where we will see all americans have a chance to buy health insurance for those who are on medicare, that is their health insurance coverage, and we will only keep the promise of coverage to them if we pay the providers who give them care, especially the physicians and votes why i ask for an aye on this bill.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: i yield one minute to the distinguished the gentleman from texas, subcommittee chairman, kevin brady. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. brady: let me thank chairman pitts for his leadership of the health subcommittee on energy and commerce. i rise today in support of the pathway for s.g.r. reform act. this important bill is to make sure our local physicians who treat our seniors don't face a drastic cut in their reimbursements on new year's day. the ways and means committee voted to advance a bill that begins the process of a permanent, reliable solution to our seniors can continue to see a local doctor when they need them. it is not easy to bridge the gap and pay for this legislation, but until we can complete the right solution, we had to make some difficult --

>> the gentleman deserves to be heard. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend, the ouse will be in order. the house will be in order. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: bridge the gap until we complete the process of a permanent solution, we had to make some difficult choices. i thank long-term care hospitals for their strong leadership and able to work with this industry to design new criteria to generate savings in the important medicare program. without the strong support of leaders, this would not have been possible and would make a good bill even better. it deserves our support. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: i now yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, a member of the health ubcommittee, mr. griffith.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. ask members to take their conversations off the floor. the gentleman is recognized. mr. griffith: i rise in support of this three-month s.g.r. patch as it is important to see -- seniors will be able to see a doctor. i'm committed to replacing the s.g.r. and support the bipartisan bill we advance unanimously out of the energy and commerce committee for this purpose. our next step is to find a common house position to finally say good-bye to the s.g.r. i'm glad to see this deal extends the medicare dependent hospital and low-volume programs which are critical tore my rural hospitals in southwest virginia. if these programs were not extended, virginia hospitals in total would lose more than $10 million in medicare reimbursements next year at a

time when they are being hit hard by new costs and deep cuts from obamacare. eight hospitals in my district benefit from these two programs that keep the doors open in some economically distressed areas and provide health care access to rural constituents. for that reason, i'm proud to support this legislation and stand up for rural health care and our seniors. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania. the gentleman from pennsylvania has one minute and the gentleman from california's time has expired. mr. pitts: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, this is very important bipartisan legislation. it includes the three-month bridge for the s.g.r., where we can continue to work in a bipartisan manner to come up

with the final version of repeal for the sustainable growth rate. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back his time. all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 438, the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the motion offered by the gentleman from wisconsin. as many as are in favor will signify by saying aye. those opposed, no. mr. pitts: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those in support of a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on the motion offered by the gentleman from wisconsin will be followed by a five hiff minute vote on a

motion to suspend the rules and adopt house resolution 441. 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 332, the noes are 94. the motion is adopted. and without objection, objection is laid on the table. the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. he house will be in order. the speaker: the house will be in order. members will please take their seats. the house will be in order.

members will please take their seats. for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio rise? >> i ask to address the house for one moment, please. the speaker: without objection. ms. fudge: i ask my colleagues to honor a new member, the life of former south african nelson mandela who made his vision a reality. mr. mann della stood for peace, justice and for a society that recognized the equality of every human being. after serving 27 years in prison for challenge the apart thide -sanctioned government, he emerged with a powerful message of forgiveness and reconciliation. in 1986, the members of the congressional black caucus and majority of the u.s. congress stood with mandela for peace and

justice. today, i leave you with nelson mandela's words, and i quote, what counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived but what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead. south africa and the world will forever be changed because of nelson mandela. i now ask that you pause for a moment in silence in honor of a great man, a man who is referred to as madiba. the speaker: the members will rise and observe a moment of silence. the speaker: without objection, five-minute voting will continue.

the unfinished business is a vote on the motion of the the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 441 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 441, resolution providing for the concurrence of the house to the h.r. 3304 ment the speaker: will members agree to vote. 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 349, the nays are 69. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection -- the speaker pro tempore: on

this vote the yeas are 350, the nays are 69. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> mr. speaker, i second to the desk a concurrent resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 71, concurrent resolution providing for directions to the enrollment of the bill, h.r. 3304. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the concurrent resolution? without objection, the concurrent resolution is agreed to. the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the

gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on foreign affairs be discharged from further consideration of house resolution 434 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 434, resolution honoring the life accomplish, it life, accomplishments and legacy of nelson mandela, and expressing condolences on his passing. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the resolution? without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid pon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? mr. ryan: mr. speaker, i send to the desk a concurrent resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 72, concurrent resolution providing for corrections to the enrollment of house joint resolution 59. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the concurrent resolution?

without objection, the concurrent resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider s laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on ways and means be discharged from the further consideration of h.r. 3458 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3458, a bill to free payments with charitable organizations with respect to certain firefighters as exempt payments. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to consideration of the bill? without objection, the bill is engrossed, read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 11:00 a.m. on monday, december 16, 2013. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, so ordered.

for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida seek recognition? ms. brown: thank you, mr. chairman. i ask unanimous consent that on roll call 640, if i have been present, i would have voted yes, i wanted it included in the record. and i want to state for the record that i am very disappointed that in the bill, that we did not include unemployment insurance -- unemployment insurance. i think it's criminal that the people -- the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady's statement will be ncluded in the record.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i ask permission to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm going to ask our north carolina colleagues to join me here, along with the dean of our delegation, mr. coble. mr. speaker, our colleague of many years, mel watt, has just cast his last vote in this body. mel watt, the representative of the 12th congressional district, from charlotte, north carolina, has just been confirmed by the senate to be

the director of the federal housing finance agency. so he's going to leave us after today to take over that osition. howard coble and i are the deans of our respective parties in the house delegation from north carolina and we both wanted the house to pause to pay tribute to mel for his service and his dedication to this institution and i'm happy at this point to yield to my colleague from north carolina, mr. coble. mr. coble: i thank my distinguished friend from north carolina, mr. price, and appreciate that. you indicated where mel is going to be leaving. i hope he won't ignore us when he meets his on the streets or in these halls but mel watt and i have shared several counties in north carolina for nearly two decades. we've both sat as members of the house judiciary committee fo two decades.

mel, we wish you and your family the best wishes and i yield back to mr. price. mr. price: i thank the gentleman and i want to make note of the fact that mel's wife is in the gallery tonight on behalf of my wife, lisa, and myself, we have considered the watts good friends, colleagues, shared many experiences together and we're going to miss them both a great deal. although we take some solace in the thought that they're not going too far. and that we will have chances assumes ether as mel this new -- this new rule. mel watt is a legislator's legislator. we sometimes say that about colleagues. if there was any doubt about that, it would have been dispeled by what we just heard

in the committee room this afternoon, as colleague after colleague from the judiciary and financial services committee, from both sides of the aisle, paid tribute to this fine friend and colleague. and there were many stories of llaboration, of disputes and fights that were nonetheless civil and respectful of mentorship from younger members. there's just no question that mel has made his imprint on this institution, as a man of great intelligence and great expertise, admirably qualified for the job he's about to assume, but also a mainstay of legislative work in the committees that he's served under his entire time here, financial services and judiciary.

we are going to miss him. i probably speak for others in the delegation, but i'll speak for myself, i know when the roll call votes occur, that's a name i check, like i used to check john spratt's name. one of the few colleagues you respect so much. mel, we will miss you. we will not take you much time. as the votes come to a close and mel closes -- casts his last vote and honor him for his service. thank you, mr. speaker. ith that, i yield my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i have been watching the live feed of the online protests in kiev and would like to encourage ukranians to stand firm and continue to voice their opinions and i call upon the ukranian government to refrain from using force against peaceful protests. i urge ukraine to look toward

the west as the success of their nation depends on democratic policies and freedom. the door is still open. strengthening ties with russia will only bring more of the same december lation, disunity, distrust and anger that has been so prevalent in the pass. ukraine, the whole world is watching. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? mr. watt: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and stepped my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. watt: this is definitely the will be i that i addressing this house as my colleague, david price. i have been confirmed to a new position as regulator and director of the federal housing

finance agency. i just want to take a moment to express to my colleagues how much of an honor it has been to e a part of this body and to grow and learn and share with my colleagues from all across the nation. it's been a great honor and i thank all of them for the expressions in the last few days and i look forward to working with them in the new position that i will be assuming. thank you. and of course, we have already acknowledged my wife in the gallery. i thank her and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time once and for all. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? mr. chabot: permission to address the house for one minute.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. chabot: i rise today to mourn the passing of a legendary ohio political figure, a great father and tremendous role model, william mallory senior who i had the honor to know and call a friend. he rose from working-class roots to become the first african-american to serve as a majority floor leader in the ohio house of representatives, a position he held longer than any other lawmaker in ohio history. during his 28 years, bill mallory, a former teacher championed education issues and helped champion the first statewide drug program. his family's dedication to public service and community involvement. bill mallory's five sons, one is an election administrator, two are hamilton county municipal

court judges another is an ohio state representative and fifth is outgoing two-term mayor of cincinnati. william mallory senior will be long remembered to his devotion to his family, community and state of ohio. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. slaughter: during the early morning ours of december 20, 2012, a town in my district suffered a horrible tragedy where a troubled individual killed his sister and shot and killed two firemen and wounded two more. in the days and weeks, the town of west webster and city of rochester responded with

outpouring of support for the families whose lives were changed because of the attack. donations poured into the nonprofit volunteer fire department in hopes it would reach the families. unfortunately, the fire department was in no position to deal with the complex legalities involved with delivering these donations to the intended families and as a result, the majority of that money still has not been able to reach the families. for almost a year now, i have worked with the people of west webster and the fire chief ken smith to deliver the charitable donations and thanks to the generous efforts of chairman camp and our allies in the city will be able to realize to help these families sm the assistance of the chairman and his staff have been vital. resolving the issue once and for all and his commitment to help west webster is a testament to

his dedication of public service. today's vote is terribly vote to the recipients. there are no words that can heal the wounds that were suffered and nothing we can do would ever bring back the victims. but passing today's legislation can lessen their burden and ease their pain and to prove that even in our darkest hours, our country will be there to support our public servants, their families and communities in need. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, tonight southeast missouri will welcome back staff sergeant eric summers for the last time. sergeant summers was tragically

killed on november 13 while serving his country at camp pendleton in california. summers served 13 years with the united states marines and is a war hero. he served five tours of duty in the middle east and was highly decorated earning the navy commendation medal, the navy and marine corps achievement medal and the good conduct medal. without men like sergeant summers willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms, our country could not survive. i would ask my colleagues and those watching to keep sergeant summers, his family and all of our brave men and women in uniform in our thoughts and prayers. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: along with our good friend, congressman what

the, i say fair well to an able and important american, nicky may who served this house of representatives for 36 years. she began her career in the house of representatives and for the people of the united states on september 7, 1977 when she was hired on the recommendation of congressman august us hawkins california as an elevator operator. in 1980, she was hired as a staff member of then the office of the door keeper. she was the first african-american woman ever hired by that office. because of her leadership, other doors were opened. and in 1994, nicky joined the staff of the office of the sergeant i've-at-arms. her retirement this day, december 13, 2013.

it is important to note that her excellent performance and distinguished service paved the way for more african-americans to secure employment in other important house institutions and earned her the respect of our colleagues and members of congress. she has a wonderful family including her son who works for the federal bureau of investigation and son who works for department of homeland security. she has done well at home and well here in the house of representatives. her children have learned from her. her grandchildren will benefit from her. i'm delighted to indicate that we have introduced a resolution, h.res. 444 into the house record to honor nicky mays. i'm delighted to say we honor you and appreciate you for 36 years of service and being a pioneering woman of service and who led erican woman

so many. thank you so much. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. swalwell: this congress had a rocky trajectory that defined the past year of government shutdowns bypassing a two-year compromised budget deal. i worked in a bipartisan, united solutions caucus to support this bipartisan compromise, knowing it's not the deal that i would want. it doesn't do enough to restore head start but it is a compromise and it is a step forward. now i'm asking my colleagues in this chamber, let's build on this momentum. today, i am ending a 24-hour

fast for comprehensive immigration reform and will end it in one hour. let's come back in january and do the right thing for the people in our country who are living in the shadows the undocumented immigrants and pass comprehensive immigration reform and build on the momentum that we showed tonight. thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from from the virgin islands seek recognition? mrs. christensen: permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. christensen: i rise to pay tribute to a very special lady, nicky mays, the first african-american woman to serve as the door keeper of the house of representatives. she started her service in september of 1977 and after today will retire after 36 years of service. she has served every day with a warm smile, pleasant greeting,

encouraging and kind words and the highest level of professionalism. we just want to say tonight we thank you for your 36 years of excellent service to the house of representatives and to all of us and wish you a wonderful retirement. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new hampshire seek recognition. >> permission to address the ouse for one minute. ms. shea-porter: i'm going to read a letter. now that i'm laid off and older i'm having difficulty finding a job, i cannot get unemployment extension. i never collected anything in my life. so now what? i'm going to be homeless. i do not qualify for anything because i spent too much -- i made too much money. what am i go go to do? a homeless shelter? my credit is damage.

i do not qualify for retraining programs because i have excellent skill sets. all i hear is i'm in a perfect storm. sorry, you are not alone. i have been a productive member of society for many years and do not consider myself a taker. how many will lose their homes, dignity and hope. to my constituent, i do know and americans know and it was wrong to leave without fixing this problem. thank you. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. in addition to congratulating and saluting mel watt, i want to rise and absolute our friend , nicki mays tonight. nicki, i have to say to you, first of all, i was a staffer for ron delham when i first met