contracts. that is a step forward. i think we will certainly that l contract. i think we will certainly hear the president talk about the need for a minimum wage for all workers and i think the president will probably talk the seemed levelhe it of wealth inequality we see in america and the need to address that. thank you, senator sanders. we go to the house. before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., january 28, 2014. i hereby appoint the honorable daniel webster to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, speaker of the house of representatives, john a. boehner. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 7, 2014, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by

the majority and minority leaders for morning hour ebate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip , but in o five minutes no event shall debate continue past 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, as yogi berra once said, it's deja vu all over again. 41 years ago the supreme court affirmed a woman's constitutional right to choose. yet, four decades later this chamber will vote yet again to rob women of their right to control their own bodies. today, the hyde amendment prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortion services. while i oppose this restriction it's important to emphasize

that this statute is already the law. it was passed in 1976. legislation we are considering today would take that restriction even further. my friends on the other side of the aisle are no longer content simply banning federal funding for boogs. now, even private funding for this constitutional right is up for debate. a vote in favor of this bill will authorize for the first time penalties for private insurance companies that offer plans that cover abortion services. let me say that again. this bill will allow the federal government to use tax policy to punish private companies that even offer coverage of abortion as part of their insurance plans. and the penalties don't stop at insurance companies. this bill also goes after consumers, penalizing those who choose insurance plans in the federal exchange that include coverage for abortion services by removing their eligibility for income-based subsidies.

mr. speaker, the hypocrisy is staggering. every day on the floor my colleagues lecture by their mission to keep the government out of the daily lives of the american people, but apparently those principles don't extend to a doctor's office or the most private and intimate choices a woman can make about her own body. a woman that makes a choice to end her pregnancy, the unfortunate reality is many people have to make that decision. if my colleagues are looking to end abortion, let's take actions that will actually end the number of abortions instead of making policies that demonize women. here are a few suggestions. let's invest in family planning programs that help men and women have more control over when and how they start their families. let's support comprehensive sex education so that teenagers know how to be safe and prevent unintended pregnancies. let's make adoptions easier for children ilies so

don't spend their entire youth as a ward of the state. mr. speaker, instead of rehashing the same fights, let's focus on things we can agree on. let's reconsider the definition of pro-life to include efforts that improve the quality of life for people in america. being pro-life should mean supporting programs like head start and school lunches that help our young people succeed. being pro-lifed should mean supporting investments in job training programs to help people find well-paying jobs so they can provide for their families. being pro-life should mean supporting the raise in the minimum wage so a single move working 40 hours a week isn't living below the poverty line. and being pro-life should mean supporting snap benefits so working families don't have to choose between feeding their children and paying their rent. the list of things this congress can do to support the lives of americans that we

represent is endless. time shame we waste our on the same old arguments. i think we've lost sight on what our constituents have sent us to do. let's stop attacking women's health and let's focus on our future that will help americans realize their full potential and live the american dream. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from south carolina, mr. gowdy, for five minutes. mr. gowdy: thank you, mr. speaker. one of the most enjoyable parts of our job, mr. speaker, is speaking to children at schools and you get some tough and interesting questions. a couple months ago a precious child at a school in upstate south carolina asked me, who is the most famous person i'd ever met? that's a very good question, i told the child. i met president bush, i met president obama. i met john lewis. i met bono, the lead sing of u2. i met mcgruff, the crime dog.

i met tim scott. i said the most important person i met was his teacher. e are -- we work in a town named for washington. we pass monuments to jefferson and lynn cob and dr. king. the buildings we work in are named for famous people and within those buildings are statues and portraits of more famous people. we are surrounded by fame, mr. speaker, and it's easy to forget that while those people made contributions to our country, the country was built -- being built and will continue to be built by average, ordinary men and women that lead quiet lives of conviction and courage, average folks doing above-average things, ordinary folks doing extraordinary things. that is the essence of who we are as a people, and while there may not be a monument or

a portrait dedicated to those ordinary men and women, there's something even better and it's called a legacy. so in honor of those women and men, mr. speaker, who lead quiet lives and conviction, i want to honor a man who was just like them. in cash was a pharmacist my hometown of spartanburg. he was buried last week, way too soon, in my opinion, but such are the ways of the lord. he was a pharmacist, so we saw him when we were sick and more importantly, we saw him when our children were sick and he was compassionate and he was kind and he acted like you were the only person he was taking care of that day. he was active in his church, doing everything from driving a bus on choir tours, to taking his vacation time to chaperone other people's children while they went and sang to prisoners

in prisons. he was a devoted father and husband, he and his wife had six children. scores of grandchildren. when you walk into his pharmacy, mr. speaker, you didn't see his business license and you didn't see his pharmacy license. you saw a picture of his children. he wanted to quietly signal to you that that was the most important thing in his life. i would tell you, mr. speaker, to look up bruce cash on the internet but you're not going to find much. in fact, he never even bothered to change the name of his pharmacy. he left on his pharmacy the name of the man who owned it before him. mr. speaker, he had the quality that best defined the lord jesus that he believed in which is humility. he didn't want to talk about himself. he wanted to talk about you. he didn't want to tell you his opinion. he wanted to ask you your opinion. he didn't want to talk about his illness. he wanted to talk about your illness. he didn't want to talk about how life had dealt him an

unplayable hand of cards. he wanted to talk about grace and hope and things that last beyond our lifetime. so mr. speaker, in conclusion, bruce was humble, he believed it was more important to live a sermon than to preach one. so i want to thank you, bruce, for setting an example of average, ordinary people building this country. and the next time a child asks e the most famous person i have met is, i will tell them it's you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. schiff, for five minutes. mr. speaker, this evening from the dais behind me president obama will deliver his annual state of the union message. and while this are hopeful

signs and a brightening of economic outlook for the country as a whole, the president will most certainly concentrate on the battles ahead. even as america struggles to shake off the effects of the worst downturn since the great depression, our economy and society are being challenged by a yawning inequality gap that affects tens of millions of american families and threatens to erode the underpings of our social contract. last year, two economists released an analysis of 2012 tax returns and found that the top 10% of american earners took more than half of the country's total income in 2012, the highest level ever recorded. the top 1% received more than 20% of the income earned by americans, a level not seen since 1928, the year before the stock market crashed and the beginning of the great depression. top earners have also recovered more quickly over the last three years as their wages,

investments have recouped value at a much brisker cliff than that of most americans. inequality have been a persistent political theme here and around the launch and helped launch the occupy wall street movement. pop francis spoke out what he termed an economy of exclusion while new york city's new mayor, bill deblasio, won an election by highlighting inequality there. president obama himself made expanding opportunity a major theme in his speech in december and he's discussed the issue at length in his past two state of the union addresses. i exact him to return to the theme tonight in the coming months, in the 113th congress as we prepare to go to the polls in november. there's a broadly held national consensus that an overly high concentration of wealth spawns social and political ills, but that agreement has not fostered a concerted strategy on expanding opportunity and closing the wealth gap.

america's always rewarded hard work and the possibility of a better life has been the attraction for the generations of immigrants and others struggling to climb the economic ladder. but economic mobility, as a recent study from harvard and cal demonstrates, varies greatly within the united states. and while economic mobility has not changed significantly over time, it is less prevalent in the united states than in most developed countries. we should never seek to punish success or as some describe it, soak the rich, but we must take steps to address the problems of growing iny quality, both in the -- inequality, both in the short term and the long term. i believe there are things the congress and the president can do. first, we need to expand emergency unemployment assistance for those who are still looking for work and cannot find a job on their own. the litany of those who are losing benefits is disheartening. we must not turn our back on

our fellow americans. second, we need to raise the minimum wage nationwide, and it's shameful it's been five years since the last increase. in fact, according to one study, the minimum wage today is actually worth $2 less than in 1968. raising the minimum wage just over $10, as i'd support, would push millions of hardworking americans out of poverty and stimulate economic activity throughout the country. these two steps could be part of a short-term solution that stops the bleeding. but real change requires getting american workers the education and training to compete domestically and internationally for the high-skill, high-wage jobs that are the ticket to the middle class and beyond. investing education and building schools and curricula for the 21st century is a long-term project, but it is the one that has the greatest potential in terms of economic growth and increased opportunity while preserving the spirit of free enterprise and entrepreneurship that built this country.

mr. speaker, tonight, the president will challenge us to join him in an effort to reinvigorate the american dream for another generation. let us join him in that sacred task. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, for five minutes. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, mr. speaker. and i rise today to recognize the darrell begin foundation, a national -- guin foundation, a national organization that has made its mission to provide support for people with paralysis and prevent spinal cord injuries. this important foundation will be holding an event in my criminal district to assist in providing power wheelchairs to children and young adults with spinal cord injuries. darrell guin, son of world champion, jerry guinn, seemed to replicate his father's

achievement when his life took a tragic turn at the young age of 28. while participating at a demonstration race in england, darrell's car broke apart, then veered into a retaining wall at 240 miles an hour. . he threatened life threatening injuries. but faith and determination allowed him to survive. in response to his new circumstances darell was motivated to help others who faced similar challenges and he found the foundation, the cornerstone, the wheelchair donation program, provides the gift of mobility and independence to those living with paralysis. darell's spirit and relentless efforts to offer support to people living with paralysis has earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues. my good friend for many years, decades actually, angel pardono, is president of the spinal cord living assistance development

and he said the following. mr. guinn is passionate about his work and works hard to help others. despite being paraplegic and partial arm amputee, he often works seven days a week. thank you, angel. mr. speaker, the work of darell and angel do every day on behalf of individuals afflicted with this condition is very important. there are an estimated 12,000 new cases of spinal cord injury and paralysis each year, and over 36% are the result of car accidents. i know from the many personal stories from my constituents and friends just how devastating these injuries can be. the toll is often not exclusively physical but the emotional and financial tolls can be substantial. both on the victims and their families. the provision of a power wheelchair can return confidence, freedom, and independence to a victim.

this life changing piece of equipment, however, comes at a considerable cost of approximately $25,000 a chair, and that's where the darell guinn foundation comes in. they are committed to improving the victim's quality of life by providing each with a power wheelchair. i encourage all members of our south florida community to attend the darell guinn foundation event on friday, may 9, in miami. congratulations, darell. congratulations angel, and may you continue to help so many afflicted individuals. thank you, mr. speakerp. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise today to speak of the optimism of this nation and of her people. frankly, we do live in the greatest nation in the world and sometimes we are questioned when we say that, but i say it proudly and with the spirit of

humbleness. i know that because in far away shores and lands there are men and women who wear the uniform proudly. this morning in our own house of representatives we held a reception for the interns and fellows of the wounded warriors program, individuals who are in a number of members' offices and many of us look forward to that opportunity. they continue to serve. so i know as president obama rises tonight to speak to the nation, he will have a sense of optimism of which i will enjoy and support. he will note, however, that as we are optimistic, we must provide that optimism and economic opportunity for all of our brothers and sisters, citizens and persons in the united states of america. it is well-known that although we have made great strides we no

longer have the horrific mortgage collapse, though we are still working with homeowners. we don't have the debacle on wall street because we worked hard as democrats to fix that problem as wall street continues to thrive. and, of course, we have taken ourselves out of the doldrums of a deep depression, recession, 2008 and 2009, by a powerful stimulus package which today in houston, texas, is seeing the retrofix of the mickey leyland federal building, $90 million, putting people to work, and fixing a building where citizens come for services. that's the american way of investing, not handouts as has been described by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. when are we going to recognize that the investment in human resources is really the answer? thank you, mr. president, for understanding that. even as theodore roosevelt said,

the man of great wealth owes a peculiar obligation to the state because he derives special advantage from the mere existence of government. that is true. wealth inequality must be fixed and it must be fixed now. in the u.s. income and equality has been rising steadily over the past four decades, reaching levels not seen since the late 1920's. the president has signed an executive order which i congratulate him on, to understand that you cannot live on below $10 an hour, and it needs to be more. that is investing in the american way. that is generating the jobs of from-- jobs that they come the ability of these individuals to spend their dollars. more jobs are created. so tonight i don't want it to be retrenching. i don't want us to be overwhelmed with this myth of debt and deficit. so much so that we cannot invest in the education of our children. we can't fix the horrible

situation of individuals not having access to higher education. and who in their right mind would continue to allow those who are chronically unemployed, who need unemployment insurance, who would allow them to suffer as they have -- they are doing? who would allow four out of five beneficiaries who have at least one adult that they are taking care of, children that they are taking care of, or multiple adults. who would allow those who have 50% of those who have college, 36% with high school who are not able to get jobs and not extend the unemployment benefits on an emergency basis? and who would allow over nine in 10 live in households with total income under $75,000 who need this extension of unemployment benefits so they can pay their rent or mortgage, who would allow such a crisis? we are doing it right here. and we should be optimistic people. i have introduced legislation to extend the unemployment extension for the uninsured, or

the insurance, for a whole year, an emergency. and then i introduced h.r. 3888, which indicates that those who are on unemployment benefits that they can get training to redirect their career with a stipend and their unemployment benefits do not cease, so that they can come back to what they want, the very stories that i listened to as i went to career recovery and resources. mr. speaker, tonight i will be optimistic. i'll be optimistic for maggie, a 25-year-old army veteran who has to get on food stamps and make $10 an hour six days a week in order to save for paramedic training. she's the very example of someone we can provide that training for so she can invest in the community even though she tried nursing but did not have the money to finish. maybe i could speak to mrs. aguilar when my state of texas

refuses to expand the medicaid on the affordable care act, where is the optimism, mr. speaker? so tonight, mr. president, you do what is necessary for the optimism of this nation because it is the greatest nation in the world. we will stand with you as you invest in human resources, create jobs, provide unemployment extension, and as well traze the minimum wage. -- raise the minimum wage to cause or to cure wealth inequality. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fitzpatrick, for five minutes. mr. fitzpatrick: mr. speaker, i rise in recognition of an important week for my community, but also for our nation as a whole. this is the 40th annual catholic schools week, and it's a time to recognize the importance of parochial education on the fabric of our community and our country. this year's theme truly encap sue late the critical mission of catholic schools, communities of faith, knowledge, and service, important things to teach our

children. yesterday i was happy to be able to stop by saint mark school in historic bristol bucks county and meet with school children there. st. marks has been providing a top rate education for bucks county families for over 125 years, and like all catholic schools, their connection to their community is deep and it is vital. the parents are involved. they were there at the school when i arrived running a book fair for the students. the teachers sacrifice greatly for the children. after the families make sacrifices to send their children to st. mark's and to other catholic schools throughout our country. as a catholic school graduate, husband of a catholic school teach, and parent also i understand how important it is to draw attention to the academic, the faith development, and the community service excellence performed year-round in the catholic schools. mr. speaker, there are few

things more important to a parent than the success of our children. in and out of the classroom. and one of the most important decisions a parent makes is the school that will educate their children. national catholic schools week is a time to recognize the importance of school choice for families looking to increase access to opportunity, and the american dream for future generations. and to say thank you to the perishes and schools that serve our children this week and every week. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from ohio, ms. kaptur, for five minutes. ms. kaptur: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, tonight the president will deliver his state of the union address to the nation. our nation is great because of the patriotism, strength, and self-sacrifice of our people. in that spirit, mr. speaker, i rise today to give honor to two

fallen sthreed firefighters -- toledo firefighters, stephen and james, mr. machinsky is survived by his parents, sister and brother, mr. dickman is survived by his wife, 3-year-old daughter, month-old-son, and parents. our thoughts and prayers are with the families of these brave men. these heroes responded to a two story apartment building fire where people were reported inside. toledo mayor, michael collins, stayed it best, the average person would run in the opposite direction than they do, but that is their profession. as we all go about our busy lives every day, we often fail to recognize that we likely owe our way of life to someone else because of their sacrifice. firefighters, police officers, and other emergency and law enforcement personnel put their lives on the line for us every single day. we should all take a moment every now and then to say thank

you to these extraordinary citizens. our hearts go out to the families who lost such brave and generous loved ones. may they be comforted with the knowledge that stephen and james died in a noble profession, founded to protect and serve our people and our republic. they accomplished their mission for our city. we are forever indebted to them and our -- and are flying flags over this capitol today in their memory. mr. speaker, i want to reference as well this morning the universal declaration of human rights that reads, everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. 65 years after the ratification of this most important document, police in ukraine continue to brutally fend off protesters and

journalists demonstrating for over two months in the bitter cold for their human rights and democratic freedoms. we know there have been countless injuries and now sadly five deaths. kiev, a beautiful and historic city, now resembles a war zone covered with ash and burning fires. the situation in ukraine grows more dire every day and we in congress have the responsibility to stand with ukraine's freedom marchers. i call on our fellow members to support the passage of h.r. 447 which supports the democratic aspirations of the people of ukraine and calls for condemnation of the regime. we implore the president and opposition leaders to advance the cause of freedom for all the people of ukraine. last evening ukraine's parliament's rightly repealed its passage of the anti-free assembly laws and its prime

minister resigned. these are hopeful signs to calm the unrest. as we gather this evening to learn about the state of our own union, let us not forget about the state of our trusted allies around the world. i ask president obama to please draw attention to the economic and political crisis in ukraine here tonight. no more blood should be shed in ukraine. the world's community looks to ukraine to live up to the magnificent nation she can be, linking east and west, north and south. her potential is unlimited. ukraine's people who suffered so much, not just currently, but over the last century are owed their most deserved day in the sun. history's clock is ticking. may god be with them. i yield back my remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been

directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has agreed with h.con.res. 75, a concurrent resolution providing for a joint session of congress to receive a message from the president. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, for five minutes. mr. mcgotsche: thank you, mr. speaker. -- mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, tomorrow we will be voting on a 950-page plus bill that no one has read. . this is a bill, the farm bill, which was first made available to us late last evening. and to make matters even worse, mr. speaker, we're told that we will only have one hour of debate on this bill, and we're not going to have a rule on the bill. it incorporates the farm bill with an abortion bill. what they have to do with one

another is not clear. what's going on here is that the leadership of this house doesn't want anyone to know what's in that bill. and one of the things that's in that bill, which i find reprehensible, is $8.6 billion cut in the snap program. the snap program exists to make sure people in this country do not go hungry. on november 1, last november 1, a cut of $11 billion went into effect. the recovery moneys ran out, congress did not renew them, so everybody on snap, all 47 million people received a cut. food prices didn't go down. know, they y -- you -- the economy hasn't gone down. their average money is $1.40 per meal per day. for those that think this is a generous benefit don't know what they're talking about. so we cut their benefit. you know, and they are now

ending up spending more time at food banks and food pantries looking for ways to put food on their table so their kids don't go hungry. and we bring a farm bill to the floor that cuts that program by another $8.6 billion. now, supporters of the farm bill say, well, really, could have been a lot worse. you should just be happy it's $8.6 billion. you should declare victory. well, those people who are going to be adversely impacted by an $8.6 billion cut don't feel a lot of victory. yes, it is targeted. it is targeted to those individuals who are on the so-called heat and eat program. these are poor people that get a little bump up in their benefit to put food on the table. mostly elderly people, mostly disabled people. so we're going to tell them they are going to get significantly less a month at a food benefit but, you know, the good news for them, there will be some that won't be adversely

impacted. they'll take some satisfaction in that. let me -- we talk about numbers all the time. we talk about statistics. let me read to you a couple real-life examples. william, an elderly man from salem, massachusetts, currently receives $181 a month in snap. he lives in senior housing where heat and utilities are included but the rent exceeds 35% of his $802 a month supplemental social security income. his snap benefit of $181 a month is based on the heat and eat option. he incurs other health-related expenses not covered by medicaid but which he has significant difficulty producing the detailed verification needed for by the state. his snap would be reduced by more than $80 a month if he lost this heat and eat option. pamela, a severely disabled woman in massachusetts currently receives $115 a month in snap benefits. she gets $700 a month in

monthly disabled social security benefits. she's a diabetic and requires a special diet to meet her daily nutritional needs. while she lives in public housing she must pay for her own appliances and maintenance needs, including an air conditioning unit, essential to her health. she does not have a car but limits her transportation to medical trips, grocery trips. with the los of the heat and eat snap option, her benefits will be reduced from $1158 to the minimum of $15 -- $115 to the minimum of $15 a month. let me say to my colleagues here, the cut that went into effect last november will cost the average family of three about $30 a month in benefits. those who will be impacted by the cuts in this heat and eat program will lose an additional $80 to $90 a month. so their reduction in their

monthly benefits for food could be between $120 and $130 a month. where are they going to find the food? who's going to make up the difference? you know, my colleagues say -- the republicans say, well, -- they can go beg from the states. the states can do more. the states go to the churches, synagogues, mosques, maybe they'll do more. the bottom line, any of my colleagues took the time to go back to their districts and visit their food banks, they would realize they are at capacity. food banks can't give out anymore. so i would urge my colleagues, vote against this farm bill, do not make hunger worse in america. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. miller, for five minutes. mr. speaker, for the past 40 years, my work in this house has been guided by my firm belief that every

child, regardless of his or her zip code, deserves a quality education that will prepare them for the future success. and every parent deserves to know that their child's school is helping their son or daughter achieve his or her full potential. that's why under no child left behind we demanded the accountability include transparency on school performance. we share the collective responsibility at all levels of government to make good on the promise of high-quality education for all students. unfortunately, we all know that not every school is living up to that promise. when any school fails its students, it's our responsibility not only to give those students a high-quality public school option but to also improve the low-performing schools. it's simple. no child should be stuck in a failing school. this week is national school choice week. many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and their strategists have embraced the so-called school choice as part of their rebranding effort to appear more caring.

"politico" reported this last week that the republican strategists have been counseling the republicans that talking about helping poor minority children softens the republican image, talking about it, not doing something about it. conservative advocacy groups have declared that in planning documents that it's an excellent media opportunity to focus on kids and the future. it's a media opportunity to focus on children, not to do something about it. this is -- this new effort is even warm and fuzzy -- has a warm and fuzzy name. the growth and opportunity project. this is political posturing at its worse and it does nothing to provide actual choice for our nation's students. the cornerstone of true school choice is the principle that every child has a right to attend a great school. not only should the students have high-quality options but we need to demand that low-performing schools improve and support that improvement. without quality schools to pick from, schools face -- families

face an empty choice. yet, that is all the republican majority has offered americans so far. neither school choice nor quality of schools was on their agenda when they voted for the republican rewrite of the elementary and secondary education act. that bill would abandon our responsibility to ensure that every child has access to a high-quality education. it undercuts schools. the republicans remain vigilant in protecting and promoting school chose, yet, their -- choice, yet, their bill removed those choices already in current law. and it fails that schools in districts improve when they're failing to effectively educate students. with the republicans' elementary and secondary bill, along with sequestration, the majority turned their backs on poorest schools and took money away from america's poorest students. the very -- the very people

that the majority schools choice media opportunity tends to support are the ones hurt by the majority's vote in this chamber. not a media conversation, not a posturing to appear to soften the image but the actual votes taken in this chamber harm the ry children they say support this media opportunity to soften their image. it was the elementary and secondary education bill that held schools accountable for improvement and demanded that children face opportunities when stuck in a failing school. school choice should not be an empty promise. it should not be a political tag line that frees my colleagues from taking responsibility for our nation's education system. mr. speaker, if you want meaningful school choice, you must demand schools be held accountable for equitablely serving all students and you must provide the support that the schools need to provide that quality education. without that accountability for schools -- for school quality,

what choices would parents really have when their schools are failing? an option between two low-performing schools, not a good option. an option between low-performing neighborhood schools and figuring out how to get your child across town to a different school, providing them transportation and still hold down a job, that's not a fair option. what we know, mr. speaker, that is if you ask parents all across america, they will tell you that their first choice in school choice is to have a neighborhood school that's high performing, have a neighborhood school that meets the demands of that family and those children to get a first-class education, not to drive across town, not to spen time putting their kids in -- spend time putting their kids in transit trying to walk to the school. fix the neighborhood schools. and if you don't, then provide that child the alternative to go to another school, as we do in current law. not as we do in the media release. i challenge my colleagues on

the other side of the aisle to goon the rhetoric and posturing -- to go beyond the rhetoric and posturing and make real sustainible improvements in public education. these are real children who deserve an equal shot and a bright future. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from texas, ms. johnson, for five minutes. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor the life of mrs. adel calepho, a well-respected civil rights leader and attorney in texas. she was 90 years old when she passed last week. she developed into her role as an advocate for justice at an early age. as the oldest daughter of a father who did not speak glish, mrs. calejo served as

an intermediary in her family from federal immigration agents or unfair treatment in schools targeted at mexican american immigrants. as the first hispanic woman to graduate from law school at southern methodist university, her background in education have not gone unnoticed. mrs. calejo rised as a prominent civil rights attorney n texas, battling city redistricting and staunching opposing immigrant policy in farmers branch. among other prominent legal battles that helped shape our state. mrs. calejo was known best for her advocacy and fiery personality. she overcame tremendous adversity as a female and as a hispanic. although nothing would deter her from becoming a powerful financial and social force in texas. she once said, only through

education will we make the world a better place than we found it. she lived true to these words and worked with the dallas independent school district to ensure a better education was offered to a more diverse range of students and for that she was honored by a school being named for her in the dallas independent school district. mr. speaker, mrs. calejo was an inspirational character who offered her talents and her resources to those who were less fortunate. while she had an incredible presence in dallas, her reputation as a godmother extended father beyond the city limits. while sher passing comes as a great los to many, we will continue to look to her life for an inspiration. i'm proud to call her my friend and supporter. mr. speaker, we have lost a warrior. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady

from illinois, ms. kelly, for five minutes. ms. kelly: thank you, mr. speaker. on saturday, a gunman walked into a mall in columbia, maryland, and opened fire killing two people before taking his own life. prior to the mall shooting, we saw six school shootings take place nationwide in just 10 days. countless other americans are terrorized each day on streets where kids are unsafe to walk to school or go to the corner store or sit on their front porches, and yet we do nothing. time and time again, despite the headlines and the bloodshed and the pleas from the parents of the victims to act, congress has failed to pass commonsense gun reforms that would save thousands of american lives, including background checks, hich are supported by 90% of americans. somehow in the years between columbine and newtown we have developed a collective

indifference to the killings. after each shooting, we are in disbelief but then we shrug and move on, dismissing the mass shootings as isolated incidents and ignoring the everyday shootings altogether. sadly, a calous has formed where our passion -- callus has formed where our passion should be. i'm at a los, because i truly do not -- i'm at a loss because i truly do not understand how we can continue the ep dimic that is gun vy -- epidemic that is gun violence in america. how many more must die? how many parents must weep before we do the right thing? make no mistake, gun violence is robbing us of a generation. it's a slow-motion plague that's killing our kids one day at a time. in the chicagoland area, gun violence has claimed some of our best and our brightest, like 15-year-old hadia

pennleton, who was shoot a year ago. she was killed a week after performing for president obama's inauguration. she was certainly one of my district's shining stars, but she was by far not the only one. there were many hideas, young people with promise and potential. they had family and friends who loved them, communities who mourned them and they are eva, 17, tyrone lawson, 17, maurice knowles, 16, darnell williams, , abdulla, 16, leonard anderson, 17, jalelle pierson, fee lcolm whitney, 16, arrow, 16, tie shawn henderson, 18, tyrone hart, 18, ashaia equel, 16.

ray denatas, 14, victor agueas, 14, tyrone larson, 17, 18, io, 16, francis colon, orge valdez benitez, 15, months, janalia 6 ictor damion, 15, clifton, 17, 17, lle, 17, latema, patrick sykes, 15, deonte valegues, , miguel 15. ndo mondragon,

ricardo herrera 17 and alexander lagunas, 15. mr. speaker, i stand here in honor of their families, asking my -- memories, asking my colleagues to get serious about gun he reform and help pass legislation that would stem the tide of shootings in this country. i hope one day never to have to add another name to that list. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. swalwell, is recognized for five minutes. mr. swalwell: there is no person more worthy of respect and tribute than he or she who lays

down their own life while working to protect others. today it is with great sadness that i wish to honor bay area rapid transit sergeant thomas smith, whose end of watch came too early when he was tragically killed on january 21 of this year. sergeant smith, known as tommy to his family and friends, is from a law enforcement family that knows all too well the daily risks of wearing a badge and serving the community as a police officer. sergeant smith's wife, kelly, also works as a police officer, as do his two brothers, ed and pat. also his brother-in-law, todd. so aware were sergeant smith and his family of the personal dangers they faced in their jobs that they had a rule about what

they would say to each other whenever they would leave each other's company. you never say goodbye. you only tell each other, be safe. but sergeant smith is not a hero because of how he died, he's a hero because of how he lived. on the job sergeant smith worked honorably every day, not just the day that we lost him, to protect our community. but sergeant smith cared most about his family and nothing else was even a close second as his own lieutenant described earlier last week. sergeant smith took every opportunity to spend time with who he called his girls, his wife, kelly, and their 6-year-old daughter, summer. may we always remember sergeant smith and how he lived so honorably for us, and may sergeant smith now watch over us from above as he always did on earth to make sure that all of

us can be safe. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to sclause 12-a of rule one, the chair declares the house in recess >> the house will return at noon eastern to cover -- discuss a bill that would cover abortion . they are expected to vote on passage of the bill later today. the house will then recess no later than 5;30 so the chamber can be prepared for the president's state of the union address tonight. they will gather with the center connor parts. live coverage of the house when members return here this afternoon at noon eastern on c- span. our live coverage of the state of the union address begins at 8:00 with the preview program. he will be joined by the former

obama administration speechwriter john lovett, followed by the president's speech at 9:00 and will bring you the response from cathy mcmorris rodgers live on c-span radio and c-span.org. you canrough the night join the conversation on facebook and twitter. with the house and a break until noon eastern, we are back live tocapitol hill where it consumer financial protection bureau richard cordray is testifying with his agency's semiannual report issued to the president and congress in november. congressman shares the hearing. the conference began at 10:00 this morning. a negative impact on their ability to access capital financing. frankon 1071 of the dodd- to requires eggs and lenders

collect and report credit application state owned small businesses, as well as minority and women owned businesses. can you collaborate on how collect and this information will help enforce fair lending laws and enable lenders to identify opportunities for improvement in underserved communities? >> we do understand that is the intent and perp as of the provision of the law. it is a difficult area frankly because we have nothing to do with business lending or commercial lending or small business lending other than the small provision. what we have determined is as we undertake the rulemaking to update the home mortgage disclosures act rule that we are underway with now, we will see small can try to fold the business lending element into that as we develop. we will overhaul the whole

database working with the fed on that, and that seems like the right approach. we very much want to work with the small business administration on this. >> when can we expect to see if they intend to publish rules? >> the overhaul is getting underway this year. it feels to me the right spot for this, and we have talked to a number of folks on this is to make this part of the later stages of that . so it is coming, but not immediate. as required by section 1461 of the dodd frank act, currently developing informational security to update home inspections. simple,spections are a the way for borrowers to identify problems with the property prior to purchase and reduce future risk of foreclosure. similarxpect

regulations to protect homeowners under your jurisdiction? >> i am not entirely sure what our authority would be, but i find it remarkable you are asking the question, because when i was in the legislature 23 years ago, my very first bill was called residential real estate disclosure act and the exact problem you were describing. knowingell my property and has termites but the buyer does not know that. in thehere is problems plumbing or electrical i have experienced that they would not know. it is about aching disclosure of acrossms so it is fair the table. i find it remarkable we are still winding -- still talking about this that was state legislature in ohio. that seems like a basic answerable of fairness to me. i do not know who should do what's on that.

>> the time of the gentlelady has expired. the chair recognizes mr. baucas from alabama for five minutes. >> i appreciate your are marks about manufactured housing, commonly referred to as mobile homes. replaceduth they tarpaper shacks. often without indoor plumbing or electricity. times the onlyy affordable option. continue to work with you as you refine your approach to lending. we have had many conversations, and i know you have with jenny moran in the senate about automobile lenders, indirect automobile lenders who go through auto dealers to make loans. you have issued a directive or

bulletin, and i think it is that you can compensate the dealers with a flat fee per transaction, and there is some move in the market to go to that . you have also indicated there are other non-discriminatory automobilepensate dealers other than the flat feet. know you have been asked before to be more specific about what some of those are. you said because of a legal action that was resolved in december that you did not want to go into more detail, but an example of me how they could use those in the flat fee system. >> i would say this is a good represent to say if

you think you're having to think about changes, ms means you are thinking about problems. it does not mean that. what it does mean is we do not know it all. if there is new information and turns out there is something that occurs to us and brought to our attention we did not understand or appreciate at the time, we are open to making changes. in our bulletin we made it clear that flat fees are a mechanism by which lenders could address this issue, but by no means necessarily the only mechanism. a real answer to your question is i do not know that we know all the mechanisms yet at would be satisfactory. andre open to auto lenders others bringing those to our attention. we did say flat fees are one percentage -- one possibility. the combination of that with different durations of the loan, and potentially other things we have not thought of but others

in the industry may think of and bring to our attention. so we are open-minded on that. those you make determinations public? >> we will as we know more and become convinced of more and frankly the other alternatives have come with further discussions of auto lenders who have said what about this, what about that? we're open to having those further discussions. we have been trying to be very careful in this space. in dodd-frank come it was very clearly defined we do not have jurisdiction over auto lenders. >> i understand that has limited someu -- limited you to extent. i think they want to know what our alternatives? >> we are open to discussions. enforcenk before we some of this, it needs to get to the point of what they can do and what they cannot.

like fair enough. card services, a fraudulent enterprise, i think. i know you advise and work with the ftc. are you aware of that problem? they are promoting a financial scheme which is absolutely fraudulent. >> we are. trade commission has more jurisdiction than we do. they advise us more than we advise them. workinga very good relationship with them. we are trying to make sure that we do not duplicate resources and that we work -- we think there are more problems out there that we can both handle.