into session, let's and where we began. the extension of certain unemployment benefits. to senate cleared a hurdle consider the bill. what happens next? guest: we will have a vote on whether to end debate and move to voting on the bill. you still need 60 votes to clear that. if that goes forward, you will vote on this ill. host: the house is gaveling in now. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] he house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of nuary 7, 2014, the chair recognizes members and each

party -- with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five event shall no debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. i thank the e: speaker. of e are so many acts success of our government that

many of us knows the greatest nation in the world. through the years we've had great leaders who have recognized that government can work on behalf of the american people. today we commemorate the 50th year of the war on poverty, and i thank my good friend, congresswoman barbara lee, who will be holding a commemoration in recognition of lyndon baines johnson, the president who declared the war on poverty, but also the many workers and many presidents since who in many aspects helped to build on the nation's safety net. oday, however, we find ourselves in a dilemma, not recognizing and accepting success where it is. poverty has fallen significantly over the last half century. since the mid 1960's, the average income among the oorest fifth of americans have

lowered, malnutrition has largely disappeared but it still exists. in parts of my 18th congressional district in texas, we have very high mortality rates. it means that our job is not over. nearly 50 million americans, however, were poor in 2012, including 13 million children, 60 million people live below half of the poverty line and large racial disparities in the african-american community were clear and documented. and african-americans have a lower college degree graduate level than white americans. and so the safety net has to be something for all of us, and as i borrow this from my good friend from california, just to show you a line of americans possibly looking for work. we cannot point out and we cannot know at this point which

one of these are near the edge of poverty or living in poverty simply because they cannot find work. and so it is important to note that there are elements that many discard, the earned income tax credit, supplemental nutrition program, the huge job training and educational investment that president johnson made on the war on poverty. medicare and medicaid. huge safety nets, not handouts, but safety nets. maybe the word welfare should be changed to something of a transitional living fund. for that is what it is, for people to be able to live. there's been much maligning of the affordable care act. well, i'm here to announce today that close to seven million -- nine million people have now be at that recipient and a victor in getting health care. three million young people have been able to stay on their parents' insurance, and we have seen the slowest growth in

health care in 50 years. safety net. and as well we have people who will no longer have lifetime caps or pre-existing condition preventing them from getting insurance or those who work as roofers or laborers who, because of their work, is difficult or dangerous they cannot get insurance. safety net. part of the overall picture of the war on poverty. and now we find ourselves in the midst of a debate about a transitional outreach to individuals who are chronically unemployed. and some would argue we should not do it. we should not do it when individuals who have looked for work actively, when there are three individuals per job, some would say we need an offset. i consider it an emergency. but you know, mr. speaker, i'm concerned about the people in my district and across america that are tired of partisan politics. and so why not a compromise? why not a three-month emergency

extension and then a deliberation on the offset? well, that probably will not be heard. so what is the offset? why are we not in the midst of a combined discussion about what would be of the most effective for all of the members to be able to vote on because it is documented that the unemployed are in everyone's district? 1.3 million that are chronically unemployed. who is on the brink of poverty? who is not able to secure a safety net? and let me just make mention of the earned income tax credit that's been a vital lifeline for many around the nation, but yet that is looked upon as a potential cut. it's too expensive. but these are lifelines, safety nets that president johnson started and quite frankly of all the wealthy nations, we have the lowest safety net and the highest poverty because we're not willing to accept the fact that sometimes an american needs help. even a veteran, even a soldier.

so today i honor the 50th anniversary of the war on poverty, mr. speaker, and i ask us to not give up the fight because the american people are looking to us to win the war. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair now recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, or five minutes. mr. poe: mr. speaker, it's a new year. as the clock struck midnight, americans throughout the fruited plains celebrated the and the start of a new year. january 1, out with the old and in with the new. light bulb, so saith uncle sam. that's right. turn out the lights, the party's over for the incandescent light bulb. i went to h.e.b. in texas and only curly florescent light bulbs were there. they banned the 150 and 40

incandescent light bulb. edson's light bulb has gone from the endangered species list to near extinction. some incandescent light bulbs will be allowed but only if they meet new government standards. what was once the symbol of the american innovation is now banned by the all-mighty government. isn't that ironic? and why? because it's not energy efficient, so sayeth the government. and they don't want americans to have a choice of what light bulbs to purchase because the government knows best. the new florescent curly light bulbs contain mercury and also more expensive. mr. speaker, i thought mercury was bad for us? anyway. nothing gets easier when you use these light bulbs. you need to dispose of one of those curley light bulbs, don't think about -- curly light bulbs, don't think about throwing them in the trash without reading the box.

don't throw them in the waste basket. you're supposed to take them to a local recycling center. yeah, right. if they throw the light bulb out at home, listen closely, because, of course, it's more complicated. the light bulb should be sealed in two plastic bags and then placed in the trash outdoors so as not to pollute landfills if it breaks. there are more regulations. if a c.f.l. is dropped, well, disaster strikes, in my opinion. you can't just pick up the pieces and throw them away. the e.p.a. has generously told us in more detailed instruction what is we do if one is broken. quote, have people and pets leave the room and don't let anyone walk through the area. so mr. speaker, if i accidentally drop this light bulb here on the house floor and it breaks, does that mean we have to evacuate the house floor? according to the e.p.a., at least we should do that. i give you more.

quote, open a window. don't have any in here. and leave the room for 15 minutes or more. shut off the central heating and air conditioning system. carefully scoop up the glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with a metal lid. mr. speaker, i hope you have some of those old mason jars around here. there is more. the e.p.a. police say, quote, use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipes and place them in a glass jar or plastic bag. do not use a broom or a vacuum. next thing you know we're going to have to have hazmat come in to someone's home if they accidentally drop a light bulb. there's a lot more. quote, these light bulbs may cause interference with radios, televisions, wireless

televisions and remote controls. ok. i'll be sure and turn off the lights tonight when i watch "duck dynasty" because i don't want to miss it because i have these curly light bulbs. guess where these spiraly light bulbs is made? china. now, isn't that lovely? the power of choice has been taken away by the american people. even the choice of a light bulb, because government is controlling our lives and it knows better. the federal government should not have the authority to force americans to buy anything. whether it's health care, a box of doughnuts or even c.f.l. light bulbs. as willie nelson has said, turn out the lights, the party's over. they say that all good things must end. turn out the lights. the party's over. for at least thomas edson's light bulb. so -- edison's light bulb. so mayeth rest in peace, mr. speaker. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. 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: so ordered. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, today we mark the 50th anniversary of the war on poverty, a dedicated legislative and policy effort by president lyndon johnson to reduce and eventually reduce poverty in america. yet, despite the many successes in poverty, and there have been many successes over the past 50 years, there are those in this country and in this house who would destroy the programs that would help people in need, those who have replaced the war on poverty with a new war on poor people. unfortunately, that's what's happening right now with the farm bill. i'm honored to serve on the agriculture committee and as a member of the farm bill conference committee. needs a america comprehensive, forward-thinking bill. i represent farmers and farms, conservationists and agriculture research institutions. and like every other member of congress, i represent people who rely on the nutrition programs in the farm bill to put food on their tables.

that has been my primary focus as a conferee, to support and fight for the hungry in america. i believe the nutrition title, where snap, formerly known as food stamps, is authorized is the most important part of the farm bill. this program provides food to 47 million food insecure americans, people who don't know where their next meal is coming from. food insecurity, mr. speaker, is another way to say hunger. these people are hungry and they get food because they're on snap. we have been told that the house may vote on a farm bill conference report as early as next week. according to some reports, the bill would cut $8 billion from snap. now, unlike the cut that took effect on november 1, where all 47 million snap beneficiaries saw their benefits cut by an average of $30 a month for a family of three, this $8 billion cut is more targeted. but that doesn't mean it's any less harmful. it would change the way snap benefits are affected when they get a liheap benefit. many describe the application

of the snap-liheap connection, sometimes called heat and eat, as a loophole. but calling this a loophole avoids the real issue at hand. the truth is that changing the way heat and eat works, closing the so-called loophole will reduce an already meager benefit for millions of americans. a benefit that didn't last a full month even before the november 1 across-the-board cuts took effect. even worse, closing the so-called loophole would disproportionately affect poor seniors and the disabled, precisely the kind of americans we should be looking out for during difficult economic times. there has to be beater way. snap has been cut twice to pay for other programs. first to offset programs to help teachers, firefighters and other social services and a second time to offset improvements in the child nutrition act. these are good programs that deserve to be funded, although not at the expense of the hungry. i'm all for compromise when all sides negotiate in good faith. but why does compromise in washington always mean helping

those who are well-off at the expense of the poor? remember, mr. speaker, this cut will reduce snap -- the snap benefit by about $90 a month for heat and eat households. three million poor families would see their food assistance cut by an average of $90 a month. and with these billions of dollars in cut go back to helping needy people? no. in a farm bill that continues to subsidize big agribusiness and special interests and further subsidize a crop insurance program that's with fraud and abuse, it's one more cut to a program that helps our most vulnerable neighbors. mr. speaker, the november 1 cuts were devastating for 47 million hungry people. just ask any food bank director in the country. adding another $8 billion cut to another three million families will cause even more damage. now if my friends insist on changing the liheap provision, then they should at least have at decency to reinvest those savings into snap. both democrats and republicans are talking a lot these days

about the issue of income inequality. that's a good thing. so why on earth would we pass a farm bill that makes the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? we can and must do better. it's a scandal in the richest country in the history of the world we have a hunger problem. members of congress rush to the microphones to promote tax cuts and easing regulations on wall street all the while there are people in this country, men, women and kids who do not have enough to eat. i will oppose any farm bill that makes hunger worse in america and i urge my colleagues to do the same. in conclusion, let me say to my colleagues, there are some things worth fighting for. ending hunger, making sure our fellow citizens have enough to eat is absolutely worth fighting for. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. shimkus, for five minutes. mr. shimkus: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, for the last few years ukraine has been working

towards the signing of an association agreement with the european union to increase economic and political ties with the bloc and solidify democratic values and principles. the aotheration agreement was to have been signed on november 28 through 29 at an eastern partnership summit meeting in lithuania. on november 21, the cabinet of ministers in ukraine unilaterally suspended negotiations with the european union due to excessive pressure from russia. outraged by this, ukranians began to protest by creating european squares across the country, including in the capitol -- capital of kiev. the ukranian government sent special forces to clear the area using physical force and tear gas resulting in many protestors and journalists with dramatic injuries and several still unaccounted for. in response to the unprecedented use of force against peaceful protesters in ukraine's history,

several high-ranking deputies and officials in the governing party defected from the party. since then protests have continued with the reported one million ukranians taking to the streets on december 1. every sunday since has brought european 0,000 to the squares. special forces using chain sauce and metal batons broke through many makeshift barricades made of park benches and other available materials to encircle thousands of peaceful protesters in kiev. and the standoff with security forces, peaceful protesters stood their ground singing the national anthem and praying every hour with local churches ringing their bells in support of the protesters. in 2013, violence was used against more than 100 journalists in the ukraine. and almost half of the incidents occurring in december. on december 25, a well-known

respected ukranian journalist and civic activist was brutally beaten on the way home. protest eaters tie her beating to her anti-regime reporting. her severely bruised face is used as a symbol of government repression. the united states calls on the ukranian government to respect ukranians' freedom of speech and right to free assembly and refrain from using force against peaceful protesters. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. when i saw the legislative agenda for this week was going to deal with the beleaguered superfund program, i was encouraged. when i saw what my republican colleagues actually proposed, i was saddened and disappointed. across america we are plagued by a variety of severely provoked hot spots known as superfund

sites. many other legacies of business behaviors and government itself shares responsibility as well. local governments failed to properly zone and regulate business was toxic byproducts, sometimes government itself created problems the way it operated sewer systems, and military operations. the superfund law created in 1980 with a superfund tax on petrochemical industry that caused the problem would provide cleanup funding. it was reasonable at that time, but it's been frozen in place for almost 20 years. in 1995, the excise tax expired. neither the program nor the problems have gone away, and having fewer and fewer resources has not helped. sadly the proposals the house will be considering this week would actually reduce the overall amount of funding that's available, undercut standards, and slow cleanup. the federal government has created some of these problems, mostly military operations, which is the largest single source of superfund sites in the

country, but also situations like the t.v.a. and its coal ash disaster. instead of enhancing the federal commitment and capacity, this legislative exercise is an illustration of part of the problem. it's an attempt to look like we are doing something, but has no chance of being enacted into law, and if it did it would actually make the problem worse. it's time for us to renew and refine the federal commitment, not complicate and undercut it. we should take a performance based approach to zero in and will actually accelerate cleanup and be able to move away from what has too often been a pro forma response. the federal government should indeed clean up after itself and not leave the problem behind. the military should place superfund cleanup a higher priority in its budgeting. we have seen recent studies about pollution around military bases like camp lejeune has had a severe impact on military families and their neighbors.

linking contamination to a series of birth defects like spina bifida, childhood cancers, including leukemia. we should renew the superfund tax, which i'll be introducing in legislation this week. the federal budget allocations should commit to cleanup not passing the buck. a program of to study as the result of a failure to work together to clean up, to protect the public, and save money in the long run. i hope we will reject the presentation today and instead make a renewed commitment to find ways to make it work better. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, on december 26,

2013, president obama signed into law the 2014 national defense authorization act. with such policy and funding levels for the u.s. department of defense. in large part the bill went through regular committee order on the house side with consideration of amendments from both republicans and democrats. a somewhat similar series of actions were taken by the senate. despite a small amount of political theater, both chambers only found common ground and passed this important measure, but placing good policy before politics, members overcame differences and acted in the best interests of the country. in this case to the benefit of our men and women in uniform. mr. speaker, this is how the institution is supposed to work. the measure office our service member resources to safely fulfill their missions and support they deserve when they return from service. i offered an amendment to the bill which passed as part of the final agreement. this will help improve the support we offer those who serve

as they transition to civilian life. especially those coping with behavioral health injuries. under the previous policy, service members and their families could utilize 180 days of health care coverage during the transition for military to civilian life through what is known as tamp, transitional assistance management program. unfortunately, posttraumatic stress and other behavioral injuries oftentimes do not present symptoms in some cases until eight to 10 months until after leaving the military. this can be overwhelming if not debilitating for an individual seeking to re-enter civilian life and start the next path. this amendment extends tamp coverage for an additional 180 days for all services rendered through telemedicine. the amendment builds on a bill i introduced in 2011, the step act, now public law 112-81, section 713, which expanded federal exemptions for

telehealth consultations across state lines by removing the individual state requirement the alth professionals must hold licenses in the state where service member care is received. health care professionals who are credentialed by the department of defense are now able to offer these services regardless of the patient's physical location. in addition it allows military doctors to reach more patients and more patients access care without the stigma often associated with seeking treatment for the first time. if desired such support can be access from the comfort of one's own home through video teleconference, skype, our other practices. in part due to this commonsense change in 2012, the army was ble to perform nearly 36,000 teleconsultations, which includes over 31,200 telebehavioral health clinical encounters. the numbers are grown, continue to grow in 2013. for those burdened by physical and psychological injuries as a result of their service uniform, we must take every action to

help them rebuild and become whole. because of these policy changes, both of these policy changes are positive steps forward in modernizing how the department of defense delivers health care, making widespread telemedicine possible and accessible to those most in need. mr. speaker, washington remains divided as we begin the second session of the 113th congress. i remain hopeful in knowing that bipartisan accomplishments such as this can serve as a guiding light for this institution in the weeks and months to come. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to urge the house to consider and pass emergency unemployment beb fits -- benefits for the 1.3 million long-term unemployed american workers. on december 28, 82,000 illinois workers' unemployment insurance expired. 38,000 of those workers are in

cook county and 5,000 more in due page. the senate has agreed on a bipartisan basis to extend emergency unemployment insurance and the house should act today to do the same. opponents of extending emergency unemployment insurance may say, sn't the emergency over? while the economy on the whole has improved there is still an emergency, a jobs emergency. 2.9 are 2.9 million -- unemployed workers for every available job. long-term unemployment is still at the highest rate we have seen in this country since world war ii. opponents of extending emergency unemployment insurance criticize the long-term unemployed belittling their efforts to find work in this economy. for the worker out of a job for 27 weeks or longer, you have just a 12% chance of finding a new job within the month. these numbers continue to fall with each passing week.

these workers face challenges to their health, their mental well-being, and often struggle with family relationships. i left chicago yesterday where illinois has the fourth highest unemployment rate in the country. i come to washington to an action on unemployment insurance and jobs legislation. instead of blaming workers, let us as members of congress look in the mirror. what have we done to address the issue of long-term unemployment? last year we took dozens of votes to repeal the affordable health care act, but we have to create jobs. we have done nothing to advance immigration reform which will infuse over $1 trillion in our economy over the next 20 years and create jobs. we have done little to address the nation's long-term transportation needs by investing in infrastructure which will create jobs. we have done little to invest in research and education which will grow our economy and make us more globally competitive.

all of which creates jobs. instead of playing politics, let us take it upon ourselves to pass meaningful jobs legislation and let us extend benefits to these workers in their time of need. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. murphy, for five minutes. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. speaker. i wanted to share with you a story today from miza long. a year ago liza wrote about the difficulties she faces raising a son who suffers from serious mental illness. quote, i live with a son who is mentally ill. i love my son, but he terrifies me, she said. a few weeks ago mike pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after i asked him to return his overdue library books. his 7 and 9-year-old siblings knew the safety plan, they ran to the car and locked the doors before i asked them to. i managed to get the knife from michael and collected all the sharp objects in the house and

put them in a single container that travels with me. through it all he continued to scream insults at me and threatened to kill and hurt me. that conflict ended with three buehrle police officers wrestled my son into a gurney for an ambulance ride to a local emergency room. the mental hospital didn't have any beds and he calmed down in the e.r. so they sent us home with a prescription and a follow-up visit with a psychiatrist. this problem is too big to handle on my own, sometimes there are no good options so you pray for grace and trust in hindsight it will make sense. i'm sharing the sorry because i am his mother and eric harris' mother, i'm james holmes' more, jury red locker in's mother. she's boys and their mothers need help in the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it's easy to talk about guns but it's time to talk about meantal illness. she shared her story with my subcommittee of parents with children with mental ill necessary. as chairman of the energy and

commerce oversight subcommittee, we discovered those families who need help the most are least likely to get it and where there is no help, there is no hope. . the federal government sets up barriers that make it increasingly difficult for a mother to care for a son or daughter coming you have age. they block our -- funds are wasted on ineffective programs and scientific standards are not used to go for grants or treatments. they have replaced hospital beds with prison cells and homeless shelters as options for the seriously mentally ill. it's wrong and immoral. that's why i introduced h.r. 3717 to deliver care to those with severe mental illness who need treatment, real treatment, not excuses or delays. liza is doing better with the proper diagnosis and medical care. she wrote about 13 months after her initial letter and talked

about the mental health crisis act. she said, considering our limited resource it makes sense to help those in need. thaffers the rationale behind the act. for, tinued tns to call access to medical care for 11 million children who suffer from schizophrenia, depression, this empowers parents, increasing acute care beds and assisted outpatient treatment r as many as schizophrenia suffers who suffer from lack of awareness of their diagnosis. and child psychiatrist, there is one for every 1,000 children in the nation. and community-based care towards evidence-based programs. samsa, the government agencies charged with helping community help treatment has no -- of the

537 full-time employees, only two are physicians, end quote. over the past month i received an enormous outpouring of support from parents and caregivers, of loved ones who have serious mental illness. they know this bill takes mental illness out of the shadows of ignorance, despair, neglect and into the bright light of hope. each week i come before the house and share more stories like liza's. i ask my colleagues to join me in sponsors the mental health and crisis care act, because where there is real help there is real hope. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt, for five minutes. mr. holt: i thank the speaker. i rise today as a member of the safe climate caucus. now, after 12 months of the 113th congress, republicans continue to push their anti-clean energy,

anti-environment, climate denying agenda. although we've taken very few votes in this congress over the past year, we've taken more than 100 votes that are anti-environment. 20 votes that would weaken the clean air act, 20 votes that would prevent federal efforts to curb greenhouse gas carbon pollution, 51 votes to protect oil and gas special interests, 37 votes to weaken the clean water act and 27 votes to slash funding for clean energy and energy efficiency. now, i don't enjoy pointing out that protecting our air and our water has become a partisan issue, but i must point out that republicans are still sacrificing the climate and our environment for the benefit of a few wealthy special interests. now, it's cold outside today and much of the u.s., and some are saying that this is proof that global warming is a hoax.

how misinformed that is. the cold wave and mid latitudes of north america is the result of warm patches in the oceans and the atmosphere, diverting the jet stream and driving arctic air southward. climate change doesn't mean warmer air everywhere every day. it means more fluctuations or in other words, droughts, storms, temperature changes. they are and will be greater. it's going to be warm remember tomorrow and the next day and the next for the next 100 years on average. until we get serious that this is the most pressing environmental threat to our planet, global climate change. the way we produce and use energy is the greatest insult to our planet.

not only causing injury and death through pollution but adversely changing the world's climate with very dangerous, deadly results. we should support the president's climate action plan. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. williams, for five minutes. mr. williams: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, last week a news report revealed that a hospital in houston, texas, my home state, was unable to pay dozens of its employees during the holidays due to a new medicare payment contractors. nearly 150 employees ranging from doctors to nurses to administrators missed several scheduled paychecks because this hospital's medicare payment facilitator is taking too long to process medicare claims for reimbursement. unfortunately, this is a growing problem, plaguing the medical facilities and hardworking employees across the country. that is why my bill, the

medicare establish provider act, should come to the house floor for a vote quickly. h.r. 3168 will help alleviate the reimbursement backlog by creating a trusted provider system. like this hospital in texas, there are many established medicare providers with a proven history of timely valid claims and they should be rewarded with prompt reimbursements rather than put in limbo for months or years at a time. allowing this bill to pass would allow companies and small businesses to expand, would streamline the process for these trusted providers. as the backlog of claims continues to rise, the livelihood of employees and businesses should not be put at risk. i hope this bill will get serious attention and bring commonsense business principles to this industry. n god we always trust, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. kinzinger, for five minutes. mr. kinzinger: thank you, mr. speaker.

mr. speaker, it was a beautiful september day in 2001, i'm driving to work, and i hear the plane hits the world trade center and i was a newly minted private at the time, a private pilot. i said, how could a plane fly into a big building? and then i heard another plane hit the other tower. then eventually i heard one hit a field in pennsylvania and the pentagon, not too far from here. and i realize that america was a country under attack. t was under attack by an ideology of anyone that believes different than their theology, not only are they wrong but deserves death. it takes that belief and implement it is by killing innocent men, women and children, including folks of their own religious ideology. mr. speaker, as a result of that, america became a generation that went to war to defeat this ideology.

i, myself, am a veteran of the wars and spent quite a bit of time in iraq. and i've got to tell you, mr. speaker, i heard the other day that al qaeda, not -- let me stress this -- al qaeda, america's number one enemy, raised the black flag over fallujah, over an area that the united states marines who have fought harder than they have since any battle since vietnam fought to achieve and take over and bring peace to fallujah. mr. speaker, al qaeda raised the black flag over fallujah. this is an epic failure of american foreign policy and an epic resurgence of america's chief enemy. you know, in 2011, president obama had an opportunity to make a decision about whether america would continue to show its support for a free iraq, whether america would continue to be the intersess rather

tween difficult -- intersessory between difficulties and we're finding out more information may have been for political reasons. shocker. we're finding out, mr. speaker, that al qaeda now has a town very close to baghdad. this is a failure of american foreign policy. if you look into syria, mr. speaker, you see a brutal dictator that kills people and has no compunction about killing innocent women and children just to maintain power. you see in essence he's become a strong partner to the united states in order to dechemicalize his country and take chemical weapons out of his arsenal. but on the other part of syria you see not the moderate forces of opposition to mr. assad, you now see al qaeda-related forces overpowering moderate

opposition to assad and you see that because of america's foreign policy which said we supported the free syrian army but in reality has not supported the free syrian army. if you look in egypt, you see the egyptian people stand up and say we don't want to be -- have one dictator replaced by another. we don't want the muslim brotherhood to run our country and change our constitution. we have no idea where the president's at in this. we've taken a very important ally in the middle east and basically told them we're not interested in their political future. you look at the instability in lebanon. you look at the questions of the people of afghanistan about what's going to happen post-2014 as america is committed to defeating al qaeda and defeating the taliban. i could go on and on. you look at the deal we have with iran. basically given iran the option of continuing to enrich uranium. mr. speaker, five years ago i could not have written a sadder story about where american

foreign policy could be because what i see now in the united states is that our allies no longer trust us and our enemies no longer fear us. mr. speaker, the united states needs to use limited airpower in iraq to push the -- to push al qaeda back out of iraq. we need strong intelligence assets to work with the government of al-maliki to make sure that al qaeda has no foot hold in iraq again. it is not too late to verse the tragic foreign policy consequences what we've seen in the middle east. but, mr. speaker, this has to be done today. this has to be done now. the blood of americans have sacrificed for a free iraq and a free afghanistan, we cannot let that sacrifice be in vain. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, for five minutes. rich: -- ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to

call attention to -- to stand in unyielding opposition to the latest push by the administration and some in congress to subvert u.s. law that prohibits the united states from funding any agency at the united nations that admits a nonexistent state of palestinian to its membership. when unesco opted to grant pal membership to its ranks -- palestinian membership to its ranks in 2011 it did so knowing full well that u.s. law mandated, we were obligated to cut off its funding. and they did it anyway. however, now the obama administration is making a full-out push to not only restore funding to unesco, which will cost the u.s. taxpayer nearly $80 million a year -- if you're listening, think of $80 million of your hard-earned taxpayer dollars going to this u.n. institution.

but also not only $80 million this year but to pay nearly $250 million that we owe, owe in arears because the administration decided to remain in unesco. we could have opted to pull out of that disgraceful body and not have any late fees but now it's $80 million to get in and $250 million for the late fees. remember, this is the same u.n. that allows to sit on its human rights committee regimes such as cuba, china, vens -- venezuela and syria, yes, syria, where the assad regime has been responsible for the deaths of over 130,000 people during its tenure on the human rights committee. these nations are human rights violators. they do a disservice to unesco whose stated mission of peace through solidarity and the protection of basic freedoms is not being upheld.

but what they really do well is push the strong anti-u.s. and anti-israel agenda at unesco. and let's be honest. that is why they remain in their positions. mr. speaker, we must not equivocate, we must not minutes words. we must not sit by while some try to circumvent or undermine these laws to once again fund unesco. no. giving the administration the authority it seeks to fund unesco would not only set a dangerous precedent by showing those with an anti-israel agenda at the u.n. that the u.s. does not have the courage of its convictions nor the fortitude to enforce our own laws but it would also give the green light to the rest of the bodies at the u.n. to follow unesco's lead, to admit palestinian, thereby granting it de facto recognition to a nonexistent state.

this is a way for the p.l.o. and collaborators at the u.n. to use that body to gain statehood without having to first come with an agreement with israel over the conflict. a vote to fund unesco in this body is a vote to undermine the peace process and any hope of resolving this issue. to my colleagues i would say that you must not, you must not fall for the latest bamboozle trick that unesco is pushing by playing on your soft spots. what are they going to do? unesco will come to some of us and promise to highlight the great buildings in our districts, monuments in our districts, cultural sites in our district, they'll designate them world heritage sites, we'll bestow upon them official unesco designation of the heritage site. just how gullible does unesco think members of congress are? i think we'll soon see.

they want us to ignore u.s. law so we can restore funding to unesco so unesco can give us ome of our own u.s. taxpayer dollars back. i implore my colleagues, please don't do this. stand up for american principles. stand up for u.s. law. don't wait for hard-earned dollars of your constituents on an anti-american institution. unesco knew what fate awaited it when it admitted palestine. now it must reap what it soed -- sewed. the choice is as it's always been unesco's to make. this is not just about principles, this is about convenience. unesco is betting we only spend with israel when it is convenient. unesco turned its back on israel and the peace process. all unesco wants is our cash. our constituents' cash. and then it will continue to pursue its anti-u.s., anti-israel agenda.

do you serious think that your constituents wants millions of their money to go to an agency at the corrupt u.n. that works against everything we try to do, to hurt our closest friend and ally, the democratic jewish state of israel? i don't think so. we are better than that, mr. speaker. so i urge my colleagues to stand firm and do the right thing. no waiver, no flexibility, no change to u.s. law, no funding for unesco, thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlewoman has expired. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. .efazio, for five minutes mr. defazio: i thank the chair. well, the arctic vortex blast coincided with the return of congress to washington, d.c. wind chills well below zero. now, no surprise a number of my

republican colleagues who are died in the hool climate change deniers -- wool climate change deniers, look at this arctic vortex proves there is no climate change. there is no global warming. it's all a hoax. well, i'd like to begin this new year with a little optimism and hope congress will take on big challenges, some of the biggest challenges of our time, including climate change. but the bizarre theories of the climate change deniers and the excuses they'll use are probably -- preclude that. given the overwhelming scientific consensus that climate change will spur more extreme weather events, yes, including record cold and arctic vortexes with shifts in the jetstream, and droughts and the

whole host of other things. we had about the driest issue on record in the western u.s. this and california. this is a serious challenge. but unfortunately as i said earlier this congress, because of denial, is pretty much this le of dealing with challenge. luckily we do have an alternative. and that's the president's climate action plan. the fact that the e.p.a. has been found to have the authority by the supreme court of the united states to regulate carbon emissions as pollution. following through on the president's climate action plan is critical to show the rest of the world that the united states can again lead on this issue and we are serious about it and use that leverage to bring other

countries into line. now, the e.u. and others are dealing with it, but there is total denial in china. back in 2005 the u.s. and china admitted about the same amount of carbon dioxide -- emitted about the same amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, about seven million metric tons. five years later the u.s. is down a little bit. china is up to 10 million and growing every day. china must be part of this. how are we going to get countries like china and others lined up on this? i think we've got a strong tool. we can demand reductions. we can demand the trade agreements with these nations will level the playing field in many ways. we have ignored labor and the environment in many of these trade agreements. we can't put u.s. manufacturers

at a disadvantage when they are dealing with climate change issues and carbon dioxide emissions and the chinese aren't because we live, unfortunately, on the same planet as the chinese, and they are destroying the world's climate very, very quickly. so even if we take strong measures here, we've got to force those measures on other countries. now, i think that the trade agreements are an ideal place to do this, unfortunately the obama administration is of two minds on this issue. one is, and i have been acting very forcefully to protect the president's authority to regulate carbon emissions and encouraging the e.p.a. to go ahead with strong measures, the republicans are attempting to verturn and preempt that authority, but it does exist. but unfortunately in the office of the special trade representative appointed by the res. of the united states, they are busily undermining the

president's climate change agenda. yes, they are acting at complete odds with the environmental protection agency. e european union has adopted measures to deal -- to reduce the global greenhouse gas emissions from all fuels and transportation fuels included by 10% within a relatively short period of time. one of those provisions would score the dirtiest sources of fuels as the way they should be, for emitting more carbon. that would mean there would be a penalty against oil, gasoline, diesel extracted from tar sands. the dirtiest, most polluting way o obtain oil that anyone knows of. now, the european union is moving ahead, but now the president's special trade representative appointed by the president somehow is saying that

the e.u. shouldn't do this, the u.s. objects to that, and they are in league with canada at attempting to overturn these steps by the european union. the president needs to rein in his special trade representative and we need to protect and enpower the president to deal with this serious issue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fitzpatrick, for five minutes. mr. fitzpatrick: mr. speaker, the crime of human trafficking is complex and it's destructive. it shatters the lives of its victims and their loved ones. in an effort to bring attention to this modern day form of slavery, we recognize january 11, 2014, as national human trafficking awareness day. this multibillion dollar criminal industry exists in every state. the statistics are stunning and it is essential this national awareness day shed light on a human rights tragedy which occurs in every region across our nation.

though the impact of this crime affects men, women, and children, approximately 80% of all human trafficking victims are women, and nearly half are minors. overall, there are 21 million individuals who are victims of forced labor and a $$32 billion industry that is only second to drug trafficking as the most profitable form of international crime. combating human trafficking requires commitment and cooperation at all levels of government and among agencies and among nonprofits. i see this collaboration taking root in my district in pennsylvania. i was pleased to attend a meeting at cavalier church teaming up with local nonprofit worthwhile ware, poised to address the issues of shelter and homelessness as they relate to human trafficking prevention and recovery. the county wide bucks coalition against trafficking created a local resource to raise public awareness and help end this

horrendous crime through community education, victim identification, and legislative change. the coalition has commemorated their one-year anniversary and their outstanding achievements have been recognized by the county of bucks. as the federal representative for pennsylvania's 8th congressional district and a member of the victims rights coucks, i'm -- caucus, i'm working to support and pass federal laws to end this heinous crime through the introduction of bipartisan legislation that reflects the interests, rights, and needs of victims. january 11, 2014 is national human trafficking awareness day, but every day we must work together forming a united front against human traffickers and together we can raise public consciousness, prevent violence, protect the vulnerable, support survivors, and punish the offenders who perpetrate these crimes. i appreciate the time on the floor this morning, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back the balance of his time. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house

>> our focus will continue to be on jobs. >> welcome back. now that january, 2014 is here, obamacare has become a reality

for all americans and their families. the house this week is going to be approaching that issue. i think in a very clib brat and ppropriate manner. we knee to know, the american people need to know how this is working. is this going to work or are these higher deductible, higher premiums only a sign of what is to come in terms of diminished quality of care and increased costs. we'll also be bringing up a bill that has to do with the security of the website. i know that there have been reports this morning of several attorneys general in america, bringing up the issue to secretary sebelius unsuccessfully the security of the healthcare.gov website. unfortunately their pleas have

gone unanswered by the secretary and i know they have appealed directly to the president asking for a meeting to understand what consumersare to their in their states to talk to these navigators. we are going to pass these bills. i'm hoping that the senate will take up these bills. of course harry reid does not have the greatest track record in terms of bringing upp house-passed bills, but i would certainly think those of you in the media would think it is a fair question to ask about the accuracy and the thoroughness of the information that the dministration provides us on healthcare.gov website. as the speaker said, we'll continue to focus our efforts on creating a growing economy. there are over 200 bills sitting in the senate. harry reid can pick up some of those bills. there are some bipartisan bills sitting over there that can help job creation. so we don't have to accept the

new normal that the democrats seem to want to accept as far as unemployment and job prospect. .

that you have to make sure that this, your children have the opportunity to reach their full potential and you want that for every person in this country. and so as i start the new year, certainly continue to focus on those policies that are going to put people back to work, are going to make sure that we can restore health care decisions for people all across this country. and that instead of reduction in the number of people that are in the work force, that we're actually increasing that. those are my goals as i look forward to the new year focusing on policies that will help people in every area of their life.

>> over the course of the last couple of weeks at home in kansas, i had the opportunity to visit a whole lot of small businesses. some mom and pop and some with hundreds of employees. and whether it was talking to the employees or the employers, the message was always the same. folks want to just do their job and have government get out of their way. one employee i visited with said this. all we want is to do our job without the government adding regulations every second. an employer said this. all i want to do is grow our company, but because of obamacare and all the unknown consequences that lie behind the curtains, we can't hire new people. this obama economy is holding people back. the work force participation rate is the lowest that it's been in 40 years. obamacare is holding people back. higher taxes, more regulation,

government picking winners and losers. so we look forward to this new year. we've got dozens of bills that have passed through the house that are sitting in the senate that could get us back on track and this is not a republican issue or a democrat issue. it's about getting this country back on the right track and etting americans back to work. >> good morning. i'm chris stewart, freshman member from utah. i know you are excited to hear from me today. i know the president and other democratic leaders would like to create the impression that we are cold-hearted and unfeeling towards the plight of american workers. but i was a small business owner, and i cared for my employees like they were my own family and i know that many of them are suffering through what has become the slowest economic recovery since the great depression. because the reality is that

this president is failing american workers. here we are six years into this current administration, this presidency and we're still talking about emergency unemployment benefits. if you want to restore hope for the american worker, give them a job. if you want to help american families who are suffering through this long period, create an environment where jobs are being created and the economy is growing. that's the answer here. we -- asselin just said, we passed -- as lynn just said, we passed dozens of pieces of legs that sit unattended on harry reid's desk. if the democratic leaders would give us a bill that's fiscally responsible, that addresses not only the current unemployment situation and job creation, we'd work with them. i hope that the marn people know that and we look forward to working with them if they

will. thank you. >> couple questions. >> [inaudible] >> with a what? >> budget? budget has already passed. >> the omnibus. >> oh, the omnibus. i'm hopeful that the house and senate appropriators can continue to do their work. we need to get the government funded for the balance of the fiscal year. and i'm looking forward to seeing the outcome. >> mr. speaker -- >> mr. speaker, as you know today is the 50th anniversary of l.b.j.'s war on poverty. the republicans -- one led the fight of passing the farm bill, is that appropriate? is that the message -- >> what mr. southerland dealing with the issue of poverty and when you look at the issue of poverty, obviously lots of facets to it. but the one solution that we all know that works is a job. and the fact that he has job

requirements in his proposal for single, able bodied recipients frankly is a step in the right direction. >> former defense secretary bob gates said some harsh words for congress, including -- [inaudible] etc. what do you think of the appropriateness of his comments? >> listen, he's entitled to his comments under the first amendment just like anyone else. >> unemployment extension, do you have any plans to do that? >> soss we're all concerned of those who had a difficult time trying to find a job. that's why we passed dozens of bills to try to help improve the economy so that those jobs will be created. we're going to continue to do our work, but the senate ought to be looking at ways to really solve this problem and that's to help the american people get the jobs that they want. >> so the answer is no, yes? >> let me -- if i could just

finish. listen, when the white house chief of staff called me one week before the recess and first brought this issue of extended unemployment benefits, i made clear that we would consider extending emergency unemployment benefits. if it was paid for and if there were provisions that we could agree to that would get our economy moving again and put the american people back to ork. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> house republican leaders after their conference meeting at the capitol this morning. the democratic caucus also met today at the capitol. and afterwards caucus leaders, including javier becerra on your screen spoke with reporters on a number of issues, including unemployment insurance and benefits. about a half-hour.

>> yeah, those are pretty nice. they look newer than mine. christmas gift. there you go. start the new year in the right way. we ready? well, first, happy new year to everyone and we want to say to all of america that we hope that 2014 brings not just hope and much joy and love but an opportunity to build on a job, to keep that home, to get your kids to college and aspire to do everything that we always believe america gives us here and has for quite sometime. and so this is going to be a good 2014. we believe it and as democrats and as members of congress we are going to work really hard to make that the case and we hope to join with our colleagues on the republican side to make that the case, that we can prove that washington is get it and get it done. i want to mention first, of course, the fact that we're

celebrating president johnson's declaration of unconditional war on poverty 50 years ago. when l.b.j. said that and used the words unconditional war, i think he made it very clear. no longer would we allow americans to sleep on the streets, have to go to food pantries or not be able to get health care that they deserved simply because they didn't have income. and while we still have a fight ahead of us, l.b.j.'s words continue to ring true. that we must fight, continue fighting until we win the battle against poverty in america. l.b.j. believed in americans. he gave americans an opportunity and he let them know, if i can give you this opportunity, i know you'll do the rest. i want to recognize someone who was a former colleague today as

well because she's a fighter and she believes in america and that's gabby giffords, former colleague from arizona. this is the anniversary of the day she was gunned down and nearly died in arizona. she was doing her work as a member of congress. talking to her constituents. she continues to fight. she believes in america. and so for all those different reasons, whether it's l.b.j. or gabby giffords, we have a reason to believe that we will win this fight against poverty, to give every american a chance. we want to thank all those americans who are working very hard to do that. i have good news for so many americans who are trying to have not just job security but also hate security -- health security. some nine million americans we can say today don't have to worry about health security and that's because of the affordable care act and the work that was done by the president and members of congress back in 2010 to pass the affordable care act. health security for nine million americans who probably didn't have any kind of health

security before. six million of those have now secured health benefits, whether through the exchanges, the marketplaces that are available throughout the country or through the medicaid program. another three million americans get to continue to stay on their parents' health insurance policy and so therefore continue their coverage even though they hit the age of 19, 20, 21, up until they reach the age of 26. nine million americans today who a year ago could probably could not say they have health security. but as important it is to talk about the accomplishments of the affordable care act, i want to mention today that we have a number of americans, over a million americans who right now may not be as secure as they'd like to be, for whom 2014 may not be starting out the way they wanted to and those are americans who were working until somewhat recently and now find themselves without a job through no fault of their own.

and in fact not only without a job after searching, without unemployment insurance benefits as well. when congress left in december before the holidays, here in the house our republican colleagues refused to let us have a vote that we could put on the floor to extend those unemployment insurance benefits , that americans who worked but are now unemployed paid for when they were working. and so we're here to say that we believe that 2014 should start off by giving those americans the opportunity that l.b.j. wanted to give, gabby giffords wanted to give to our fellow americans and that is give them a chance to fight, fight for themselves. it's hard to do that, instead of getting out there and work they're told we're cutting them off at the point they need the most and that is the lowest. l.b.j. helped us with medicare. he put out job corps. i happen to be one of the

beneficiaries of the youth employment programs that were out there as a teenager. that was the first paying job that i had other than mowing lawns. and it was because of people like l.b.j. that many of us could say we had a chance to fight. we had that opportunity. we should give all those americans who want to work a chance to fight. to get back to where they were. i want to mention one person, vincent, 57-year-old from northridge, california, not far from where i live. used to work for bbva, used to do loan modifications for bank of america, has not worked for over a year, lost his benefits, unemployment benefits on december 28. he'd like to go back to work. he'd like to continue to look for work but do it knowing he wouldn't have to go to a food pantry or go homeless. we have to fight for americans the way l.b.j. did.

we have to fight to get this done. it is an emergency. we should not have politicians hold this up. it's time for us to get this done, and with that let me now yield to our ranking member from the ways and means committee, who has led in fight to extend unemployment insurance benefits, sandy levin, and he will be followed by our colleague from illinois, robin kelly. >> thank you to the chairman of our caucus and, robin, glad to be here with you. i just want to say a few words d bring home this crisis for 1.4 million americans. it was 1.3 million as of december 28. now every week 72,000 more long-term unemployed are losing their unemployment insurance. so this crisis has begun. this is an anniversary of the war on poverty. the unemployment insurance ogram kept 11 million people

off of poverty since 2008. 11 million. and in 2012, over two million. so we have an obligation in this institution not only to look at their and listen to their stories but i think to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, are we simply going to let that crisis spread throughout this country? we interviewed, talk with a lot of people in michigan during the recess and want to briefly mention what a few of them said. one from clinton township was asked, what do you plan to do? and she said when her benefits were cut off, pray a lot. we need to answer those prayers. another person said, i just want to stay alive.

i just want to keep a roof over my head. and a third person said, he's now begun to make plans cutting down household costs so there will just be one meal per day. and i want to close by just urging action in this institution. harry reid, and i quote him exactly, said this about our obligation. certainly for this three months, this definitely should not be paid for. if they can come up with some, they, meaning the republicans, something that's reasonable for a year-long extension, we'll take a look at it. we need to act now. here is this crisis in the households of 1.4 million people. >> robin kelly. >> thank you and happy new year.

i'm honored to be standing here with my colleagues on this very bornt issue. i'm really going to bring it home. while national unemployment is improving, illinois unemployment rate of 8.9% is stilwell above the national average. unemployment insurance is a critical lifeline for thousands of illinois families who are working hard to get back on their feet. almost 82,000 people in illinois have already lost their unemployment insurance this year. in my district alone, nearly 1,000 people are no longer eligible to receive unemployment insurance. our economy is still in a state of emergency. when a mom or dad in the chicagoland area lose their job, the whole family feels it. and again, as was said, unemployment benefits aren't a handout. americans earned this insurance from their years of work and are losing jobs through a time of recession. they need this extension to navigate a lagging economic recovery. the congressional budget office

estimates that not extending unemployment insurance will cost 200,000 jobs this year. on the other hand, extending unemployment insurance can create up to 300,000 jobs. in 2014 we must do better. we need to work together. it's not about democrats or republicans. it's not about red or blue states, but it's about americans and about us all working together. as we head into the 50-year of our war on poverty, it's time to say enough is enough. no child should go to bed hungry. no family should struggle to keep a roof over their heads because of medical expenses. so i urge my colleagues to stand with me to extend unemployment insurance as we fight to win this war. thank you. >> robin, sandy thank you. we'll take some questions. >> mr. chairman, what -- i understand that the -- not paying for unemployment insurance. that's been decided bihari reid yesterday. if that's what it takes in these circumstances to get a deal to affect policy and get

what you're aiming for, some sort of compromise, why not, you know, go for that? i mean, we might pass it. >> so i understand, republicans are saying in order for them to agree to vote to give americans who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and right after christmas lost their last unemployment insurance benefits that we have to now cut services for children or for seniors or maybe to our soldiers in order to pay for in , when katrina hit louisiana and we found people desperate to escape the waters and their flooded homes, republicans and democrats didn't ask, can those folks pay for that emergency helicopter coming to pick them up? when superstorm sandy hit in new york and new jersey, i don't think republicans and democrats who got their homes

flooded and watched many of eir neighbors die were being asked, can you pay for that emergency service we're about to provide you? can you pay for that shelter? or how are we going to pay for it at the federal level before we give those emergency services to those folks in new york and new jersey and beyond as a result of superstorm sandy? and ultimately we passed the bill that provided all the support that they needed. at the same time, if you watch a pedestrian get hit by a car and you call 911 and they rush an ambulance over to pick that person up and take him to the hospital so you won't see a fellow american die, i don't think we're expecting the ambulance driver say, can you show us your form of payment before we take you to the hospital? these are emergencies. well, it's not superstorm sandy. but we were hit by an economic superstorm in 2008, and we're still seeing the effects of

that economic superstorm where wall street caused millions of americans to lose their homes and their jobs. so what we're simply saying is we're facing an economic superstorm and we have an obligation as americans to help our fellow americans as we have in the past, as former president george bush did five times in extending benefits without providing for cuts to children and seniors and our soldiers in order to pay for helping an american who as a result of no fault of his or her own has lost his job. so if republicans insist on cutting other people's services that they paid for in order to give americans an emergency need, to make sure they can go out there and find a job, let them show us what they're willing to use to pay for this. i don't think we want to start the new year by saying this is a spirit of america.

>> could i just briefly add to this? xavier mentioned this, five times this program was extended unpresident bush without an offset. five times. is is an emergency for 1.4 million people and their families. this is an emergency. this is an economic hurricane r 1.4 million people and 72,000 more every week. and i don't think that in this institution during this three-month period we essentially should be caught up in disagreements on this issue of funding while there's this emergency for 1.4 million and growing. we can talk about the longer run, and we need to do it and

how we structure it beyond these three months, but this is something that is right present. it's a clear and present danger for these families economically. and this institution on a bipartisan basis has to be able to respond and not get caught up in disagreements that essentially penalize 1.4 million people and it's growing. >> robin, did you have any comment? >> i was just struck by the story we heard by the woman yesterday who talked about she really wants to work. she's been trying to find a job and cannot find a job and saying how she has to turn her temperature down to 58 and still wear a coat and hat in her home because that's all -- that's what she has to do to be able to afford to pay the bills. i live in the chicagoland area where it's freezing. as i just said, we have 1,000 families in illinois and so

many in my district, is this what want people to go through? also if they don't have money coming in, they will have no money to spend out which will affect economic development as well. it's like throwing a pebble in the water, it's going to reverberate. we need to care about those 1.4 million people. >> we can probably take one more question. >> i'll trying to do two together. >> that won't be the first time. >> the first question, the war on poverty, we hear senior republicans saying they, too, are having a different approach. and republicans say they want poverty to end. and secondly, we've seen a report, senate republicans are saying, let's decrease benefits for illegal immigrants. >> the children? >> yes, exactly. so respond on that.

and then the republicans. >> well, we're holding you up for a press conference on the war on poverty. so -- and we promised barbara and others that we would be brief. so if you don't mind, hold the question. we have some deep feelings about poverty, and by the way, i want to reiterate, unemployment insurance has kept 11 million-plus people out of poverty since 2008. that should be enough reason for us to act. and senator ayotte's proposal would essentially mean that a lot of kids would not be covered in reality. and i don't think we want that kind of a tradeoff. and i just want to -- maybe we close with this -- in terms of the long run, we can sit down and discuss how we handle it.

i want to emphasize in 2012, we made some reforms in unemployment insurance. we cut down the number of benefits from 99. the top now is 73, and the average is 54. we also gave the states more ability to undertake training programs and retraining pranlsd also in terms of -- programs and also in terms of compensation. if there was a sharing of work, there's 100% funding to the states when they do that kind of a program. so we can have further discussions about changes in reforms, but not during this immense immediate emergency for these families. and we surely don't want essentially to trade off benefits for kids for unemployment insurance. that is -- that is not a deal

that this institution should be discussing. i guess with this, if you don't mind, mr. chairman, one more. >> i'm just going to go ahead and close it, but i want to thank robin and sandy, congresswoman kelly and ranking member levin for joining me. i just want to respond quickly to say we welcome any member of congress who is interested in tackling the war on poverty. generally tackling the war on poverty. not giving tax breaks to wealthy corporations and hope that it trickles down to those who are fighting to be able to live another day, but really if they are genuinely interested, we're ready to lock arms with them and work together. and finally, i want to emphasize what the ranking member said. we need to help millions of americans who are trying to hold onto their job, and if the best that some people can do is tell us that we have to make uts to services to kids and to

assistance to kids, regardless how you categorize them, i have three daughters. i don't care what you call them so long as you call them my daughters, i don't think that's the way america wants us to start 2014. it used to work a lot. maybe 10 years ago, 20 years ago this buga boo about immigrants. i don't think americans buy that anymore. i don't think americans will say a child that's an immigrant should be treated less as a human being simply because she's an immigrant and therefore we can take away the things that their parents have worked hard for them. because these are working parents. otherwise they wouldn't qualify to get the -- these credits. and so i think it's a shame that we see that children are being used as pawns here in this political game when we got over one million americans who are saying, hey, i just want to get back to work and do what we've always done in the past.

if the republicans who voted to give george bush the unemployment insurance extensions that he requested five times, those republican members who are still in this chamber, when they voted with george bush to extend those benefits without paying for them are willing to do what they did for george busch we wouldn't have anything to talk -- george bush, we wouldn't have anything to talk about. i would conclude this, for those who understand the saying in spanish, because it goes right to the heart of the issue of immigrant children and mmigrants. [speaking spanish] in washington, those who understood spanish, understand closely. for those politicians that say who want to work closely with you, watch their actions. i ask you this, [speaking spanish] with that will' close and i want to thank you and have a good 2014.

>> the u.s. house will gavel in about about half an hour, the second session of the 113th congress. on their agenda today, three bills, including one eliminating auto dealer emissions certification on light trucks. also, continuing the national poison control center. and later in the week, dealing with the security of the health care website. we'll have more when the house gavels in at noon eastern here on c-span. >> the deadline's approaching for c-span student cam video competition. open to middle and high school students. answering the question -- what's the most important issue congress should address this year? with a five to seven-minute documentary that includes c-span programming. there's 100,000 dollars in total prizes with a grand prize of $5,000. and these are due by january

20. get more info at studentcam.org. >> former presidential candidate, howard dean, spoke this morning at the washington center about politics and compromise. he was asked if he's going to run for president in 2016 and what some of the top issues are on his agenda. here's what he had to say. >> good morning, governor dean. my name is ryan navarra. you had mentioned the election in 2016, and i was wondering in the event you were to run for president again, what would the top three issues on your agenda if you were elected? >> well, i'm supporting hillary so i'm not planning on running for president in 2016 but thank you. i think number one is in fact income inequality. number two is the financial situation. we have too much debt. we cannot continue to accumulate this kind of debt. it is a serious problem and has

to be dealt with. i think my views on how to deal with it would be different than others who are worried about these issues. i think we have to deal with it. and the third is i've always believed that we ought to have the universal health care center. i think we made some progress towards that but we got a lot of work to do. >> former presidential candidate howard dean spoke this morning at the washington center about politics and compromise and you can see all of that event on our website and our video library at c-span.org. and a look at some of our live coverage coming up later today on the c-span networks. a discussion this afternoon on states and the controlling the health care costs in the u.s. states. that's at the national press club this afternoon at noon. it will be on c-span3. also today, 2:00 p.m. eastern, the majority leader eric cantor will be speaking about school choice. we'll have that live here on -span. around we'll take you live now back to the capitol. we're expecting to hear from

democratic leader nancy pelosi talking about the extension of unemployment insurance benefits. yesterday, the senate agreed to move forward on their legislation that would extend for three months benefits for some 1.4 million americans. those benefits expired at the end of 2013. this is expected to get under way shortly. looks like we're having a little bit of technical issue. we'll work on that and aim to bring it live for you here on c-span. while we fry to clear that up, wait -- try to clear that up, wait for the house to gavel in, part of the conversation here on "washington journal." host: and back at our table, congressman luke messer. he's freshman president and also a member of the budget committee. i want to begin where we began with congresswoman barbara lee on marking the 50th anniversary of the war on poverty. is it working?

guest: well, i think 50 years later it's hard to say it's working. i mean, clearly there are admirable goals there, but if we declared a war on poverty and the idea was to end the war and end poverty completely, obviously that's not happened. i think as the congresswoman mentioned, the real solutions here are about more than just -- >> well, you can see all of that conversation in our video library at c-span.org. we've cleared up the technical difficulties. the democratic leader of the house has arrived. we'll take you live to the news conference on capitol hill. >> good morning, everyone. >> good morning. >> this is going to be a very good year for the american people. here we are starting a new session of congress at the beginning of a new year and on the very first day under the leadership of senator reid of rhode island and senator reed

of nevada as well, the senate was able to vote to proceed on extending unemployment benefits. thank you. it's a pleasure. [applause] it's an honor to be here with senator reid, with senator casey. i understand there are some pennsylvanians in the house. [applause] you should know what a champion he has been on this issue. i know you know that. and mr. trunka has some pennsylvania connections as well. an honor to be here with sandy levin, our champion in the house, on this suggest. congressman steve horsford of nevada. and referenced michael livingston from the interfaith workers justice coalition. it's an honor to be with them. we are all honored to be here with you, with our workers, because this story of each individual family is the most eloquent, eloquent message that

we can give. we all know what economists tell us. that unless we pass these benefits, about a quarter of a million more people will lose their jobs. that passing unemployment, extending unemployment insurance benefits brings money back to the treasury, to the economy. it's spent immediately, it injects demand in the economy, it creates jobs. we know that. we know that that is important in terms of the economy, the numbers speak for themselves. the statistics are overwhelming. 1. million families. but each individual family's story would be enough reason for us to go forward with this. how we could ever left washington, d.c., with this expiring is hard to explain to anyone. that was then. this is now. we have a new fresh start. and today, i just left a

celebration in observance of the 50th anniversary of president johnson, lyndon johnson declaring unconditional war on poverty. unconditional war on poverty. [applause] it's also the first week in which the affordable care act is fully implemented, where millions of people have access to it. we have an agenda about raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits, paid sick leave, childcare, you name it. to end a disparity of income in our country. but right now we have an immediate urgency to pass unemployment insurance benefits. anyone who cares about that or the individual families affected by that owes a deep debt of gratitude to our leader in the united states senate on

this issue, senator reid of rhode island has been a relentless, persistent, dissatisfied -- what other word could i use? great leader in this fight. we wouldn't be where we are right now without him. that is to say on the verge of passing unemployment insurance. welcome, senator. >> well, thank you very much, leader pelosi. i am delight and honored to be with my colleagues in the house and senate who have done so much to help working americans for so long. i'm also pleased, obviously, to be here with reverend livingston and all of you. we have many challenges before us. congress has to create jobs today and we have to help americans compete for the jobs of tomorrow. that means taking multifaceted approach, restoring our manufacturing, ensuring local business have access to capital and need to grow, improving our

schools and our education and our training and investing in our infrastructure. and democrats, leader pelosi in the house, leader reid in the senate, president obama has proposed measures to do that. but as we look forward we have an immediate crisis. 1.3 million americans have lost their jobless benefits on december 28. that number will grow throughout the year. these are our neighbors. these are our friends. these are in some cases family. the only reason they qualify for the benefit is because they worked. and they lost their job through no fault of their own and to keep the benefit they had to keep looking for jobs. but i tell you, if you're looking for a job where there are three, four, five people looking for the same job, it's tough. we know that. it's not just about economics too. it's about giving people the dignity of work. and that dignity doesn't extend just to the corporate

executive. it's to the person who works with the floors every day in the hospital and takes satisfaction in helping people. and coming home with the notion that he can help his family or she can help her family and that's what this is it about. and just when they're most vulnerable, we cut off their support. we have to restore it immediately. we need to finish the job. we took a step yesterday. it was an important step. it was a bipartisan step in the senate and i thank my colleagues, senator heller, and all of my colleagues who helped out. but it's still a long way to the finish line. a lot of tough lifting, but we're going to keep working as we did. two, three weeks ago, i don't think we thought we'd be standing here today, at least set brighting a procedural floor step, but there's no real celebration until we get the job done completely. now, we know what we've got to do. these are our neighbors, these are good people that want to work, that are looking for work. and we've got to give them at

least the support until they find their jobs and grow an economy so there's jobs out there. so it's not three and 4-1, it's 1-1 or even two jobs for every applicant. something better than it is today. now, i have the great privilege of introducing the reverend michael livingston. reverend livingston was former president of the national council of churches and is the leading voice for the interfaith worker justice. it has worker rights at the local, state and national level. reverend livingston, thank you. please. [applause] >> thank you very much, senator reed. i'm here to stand with unemployed workers. they're here and they're among us. [applause] and they're advocates. when we hear about 1.3 million people affected by ending

benefits, we're talking about these folks, real folks who are among us this very moment. the political realists applauds the passage yesterday of a procedural hurdle in the senate that could allow debate on the extension of unemployment insurance. while benefits to these workers and many others were cut off, and the bright lights of christmas were still shining in the dark. yet, more votes are needed. we just heard that. there are more legislative hurdles that we have to jump through to make this happen. the person of faith is appalled that all of these convoluted actions are required at all. how dare we toy with the ability of a woman to keep a roof over her head, to pay her bills and keep her children fed

hile trying to find a good job? in an economy that's improving but still struggling. i met brianna perez here. brianna. graduated from college last may. has been working for the department of agriculture until she was let go. she's getting benefits now, but they'll end in february. i met mason alexander who works for cancer support center in philadelphia. unemployed now and needing the extension of these benefits. wilson, i think behind us here. and i met shareef, a nurse for over 10 years, now without a job, her benefits have already beneneded and she needs the kind of support that these legislators we hope will make possible. all religions believe in justice.

playing politics with the lives of people created in the very image of god may have become a democracy defying political norm but for people of faith, it is a moral collapse that offends basic values shared across the broad spectrum of religious faiths. we believe we ought to treat others as we want to be treated ourselves. we believe that god has a special concern, a bias even for those who struggle the most and have the fewest opportunities. we believe the deepest value of our nation is reverence for our common good. we believe we the people, these people are our friends and our neighbors. the extension of these benefits without qualification, without pay-fors is required of us if

we are to be true to our democracy and to the god of all life. [applause] thank you. >> well, reverend, your words strike home. i don't know if you quite knew it, this isn't a press conference, reverend. i hope you don't mind. this saraley. and i see a sign, quite a few signs, the gentlemen who had that sign, 1.3 are now suffering, 1.3 million americans. it's now, if you have a red pen, unfortunately, you need to put 1.4 million. because every week 72,000 are added to the 1.3 million. and if you -- those of you here who are long-term unemployed,

1.4 are joined by the million americans, shoulder to shoulder you would stretch from here to lincoln, nebraska. to lincoln, nebraska. and that means we have to do something. i want to just quickly refer to the comments of three people that i met in michigan a couple weeks ago. one person who said, once her benefits were cut off, she was going to pray a lot. well, she prays, we here in washington need to act and act right now. [applause] the person who was a former library assistant said, i just want to stay alive. this strikes home, doesn't it? those of you long-term unemployed. i hope for all of us. i just want to keep a roof over

my head. and a third person said, i now have a plan. a household cost-cutting plan includes eating just one meal per day. this congress must do better than leaving people with one meal a day, the long-term unemployed. [applause] so i want to close. today's the 50th anniversary, the war on poverty. these are the facts. unemployment insurance since 2008 has kept 11 million people ut of poverty. and in 2012 left -- kept 2.5 million people out of poverty. that's our obligation today.

we must act and with your help, as people see beyond the numbers and talk to you as we have and the referenced has, i'm convinced this congress must and will step up to the plate and extend for three months the unemployment insurance for the people, the long-term people of this country. that has to happen, does it not? [applause] and now a gentleman in the senate who's been working so hard and he represents some of you here, bob casey. >> well, thanks very much. i want to thank the congressman, leaders of the house. reverend livingston, thanks for starting us off here today on a note about justice. we know from the scripttures that wonderful line, blessed

are they who hunger and thirst for justice for they shall be satisfied. reverend, you are blessed and you give us today a reminder about why we're all here. leader pelosi, we're honored by your presence. we're also honored by your leadership. thank you. every once in a while they let the senators come over on the house side. we got a special permission today. senator reed, i'm grateful for your leadership. very few people in washington, if any, have done more to bring us to where we are today, which is in the middle of the battle we still have a long way to go but the vote we had yesterday in the senate could not have happened without jack reed's leadership. so i'm honored to be working with him. [applause] the numbers tell part of the story. we know that in pennsylvania there are some, last count, and

of course this number will unfortunately grow the longer this issue is not addressed, some 73,300 people and that goes all the way from little more than 11,000, close to 12,000 folks in philadelphia. i know we have some philadelphiaians here. but all the way down -- just consider this, one of the smallest counties in our state, forest county, by way of population, 20 people are listed there as having been affected. i know in lackawanna county, parts of our state where the speaker has a lot of good friends and knows those areas well, we have high unemployment still in those counties. more than 4,000 people in lackawanna and lisern county. the number doesn't tell a story. the people that are here in the audience and the folks here on the stage behind me, their stories tell the real story. whether it's this sign here that this gentleman is holding. these checks feed my family.

this is real life. this isn't a washington debate about numbers and budgets and theory. this is about real life. getting literally through the day and then through the next day. the stories you've all heard. and could be repeated over and over again. about people turning down their thermostat to save money and freezing -- wearing coats and hats in their houses. their inability to feed their family. all of those stories aren't just stories about misery and pain and poverty and real challenges in people's lives. in so many ways, these -- these americans have been triumphant. they've dealt with the most adverse of circumstances and yet they've overcome them. all they're asking us to do is walk down the road with them just to a couple of -- couple yards. not even a couple miles. and one of the ways that their country and especially the elected leaders of their country could walk with them is to take this one step.

all we're asking for in the short term a three-month extension of a bram that works. a program that both parties agree works. we just got a report from the joint economic committee yesterday, vice chair klobuchar from minnesota handed out a copy of the report and there's a lot of data and a lot of numbers. just consider this. at the end of the report there's a chart, and others have referred to the impact, the positive impact that this can have on reducing poverty. just consider this. these are just pennsylvania numbers. these are the numbers i'll leave you with. there's a category called number of people lifted out of poverty by unemployment insurance annually. in pennsylvania alone, 196,262 people lifted out of poverty just because of unemployment insurance. the number of children in that -- in that total, 48,194

children lifted out of poverty because of this one program. so whether it's the folks behind us who leave quiet, triumphant lives or the folks that comprise some of those numbers, the children, the families, we must act on their behalf and acting is not that difficult here. and the senate, all you have to do is raise your hand and say aye. that's not a very difficult exercise, is it? and i think today with this event and with the real lives that are represented in this room, the real families, we're going to be successful but we have a ways to go. thank you and god bless you. i have -- [applause] i have the great honor to introduce rich trunkant. now, in washington he's head of the afl-cio. that deserves an applause.

but i think of him wearing other hats. he's a native of southwestern pennsylvania. he still owns property there. he was just there over the holidays. and now i want him to retire in southwestern pennsylvania. but before he retires, we want him to keep leading working men and women on a whole range of issues but especially on an issue that is so important, the great leader and someone who cares passionately about workers and their families and , ose who are without work rich. >> thank you, senator casey. bob, when i retire, you'll get your rich. i'll return to southwestern pennsylvania. i want to say, happy new year, brothers and sisters. the weather outside is like america's job market right now. it's pretty cold. in fact, it's freezing out there.

and my friends spoke before me have talked about jobless workers, but i really think it's worth repeating because we're talking about 1.4 million people. let me repeat that again. 1.4 million people jobless who are feeling the real pinch of lost benefits. now, many of us here are lucky enough to have jobs to pay our bills, but i'll bet almost all of us would be hard pressed if we lost that regular paycheck, especially if we had spent week after week, month after month looking for jobs that just aren't there. now, the evidence tells us that most hardworking americans, bus drivers, teachers, cashiers, news reporters, janitors, construction workers, police are rs, almost all of us

one layoff, one layoff or one downturn away from real economic disaster. and that's who we're here to talk about. the working men and the working women who wake america up every , make er run and put it to sleep at night. the wall street recession seems to go on and on and on with no end, and it's up to us to make their hard times just a little bit easier. it's up to us to help continue to search for work in a ruthless job market and to give them some resemblance of work and encouragement and help. now, many of us want to extend benefits to our jobless brothers and sisters, but too many house republicans say no.

instead, these hard right politicians, well, they want to put a warm edge on their cold politics by speaking nice about cutting benefits using phony talking points so they can actually sound compassionate. there's news stories it, and i'm not kidding. there's nothing, nothing compassionate about denying people unemployment benefits and there's no way to make it compassionate no matter what words you use. [applause] you see, they want to avoid another public relations disaster. well, i've got news for those right-ring leaders. you can't avoid a public relations disaster because cutting jobless benefits is a human disaster. it's an economic disaster, and

that is why it will be a public relations disaster. you see, tea party politicians say no, but the good news is that the american people are solid low and soundly on our side. a poll yesterday that said over 2/3 of mericans, over the american public is on our side and wants to extend jobless benefits. so pass the bill. pass it now. it's the right thing to do. pass the bill to extend unemployment benefits because it will help our families, it will help our friends, it will help our neighbors, it will help our communities, it will help our economy. do it now. not a day after tomorrow. do it now, pass the bill, extend those benefits with no strings attached. do the right thing for america and do it right now. that's what everybody says.

[applause] >> you can continue to watch this democratic rally online at c-span.org. the u.s. house is gaveling in momentarily. their first legislative session in the second session of the 113th congress. they'll consider three bills this afternoon including one dealer with eliminating auto dealer certification on light trucks. we expect debate on those three bills and votes -- any recorded votes requested mid afternoon today. live coverage of the house here on c-span. the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered toda