dissatisfaction with yanukovych, his rollback of democracy, that drives the protest movement. the long-suffering ukrainian people deserve a government that treats them with dignity and treats them with respect. i am confident they will prevail in their heroic struggle. i strongly support this resolution and, again, thank my friend from new york, for authoring it. reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserve is -- reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. engel: i request such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. engel: i rise in support of res. 447, a resolution i authored supporting the people of the ukraine. i would like to thank my original co-sponsors, chairman ed royce and representatives

keating, marcy kaptur, sandy levin and representative gerlbling, for their bipartisan help in crafting this legislation and i thank my friend from new jersey, mr. smith, for his remarks and agree with everything he said. the united states has been a staunch supporter of the democratic, prosperous and sovereign ukraine. at this moment, we must stand with the people of ukraine more than ever before. as the world has watched over the past several months, hundreds of thousands of ordinary ukrainian citizens have turned out to exercise their democratic rights and express their views. the initial impetus for the demonstration was the unexpect red jackson of an offer from the european union for closer political and economic ties. this rejection represented a reversal of government policy and in the view of a great many ukrainians, a lost opportunity for ukraine to strengthen

democratic institutions and values and increase economic opportunities. in addition, the demonstrators that turned out not only in support of closer relations with europe but also more fundamentally in support of democracy, good governance, human rights and basic human dignity. the fact that they have done so in an overwhelmingly peaceful manner is very, very impressive. it is also inspiring. but sadly, there have been exceptions to the peaceful nature of the protest. these include police violence on several occasions late last year, the disturbing pattern of beatings and abductions of journalists and civil society activists and the most recent and tragic violence in january. fol throwing dramatic increase in tensions last month, the most recent developments in ukraine give some cause for hope. i welcome the fact that meaningful talks appear to have begun between the government and opposition leaders.

i would also like to applaud the admirable efforts of the obama administration and our european partners to de-escalate tensions and support this dialogue. nevertheless, the situation in ukraine remains highly volatile and it is imperative that we actively support a peaceful negotiated end to this crisis. this resolution advances that goal by strongly condemning all acts of violence, irrespective of their perpetrators. let me also take this opportunity to condemn all acts of extremism in the ukraine, all acts of hatred and all acts of anti-semitism. moreover, the resolution calls on all individuals to behave responsibly, in particular it calls on the ukrainian authorities to respect and uphold the democratic rights of the citizens of ukraine. it also states that those who authorize or engage in violence should be held personally accountable for their actions,

including by targeted sanctions if appropriate. this is why i welcome the recent actions by the department of state to revoke the visas of several individuals linked to violence. the resolution further urges the ukraine -- ukrainian government to bring to justice those responsible for vibles against massachusettsful protestests, journalists and civil activists and take steps to de-escalate tensions. the resolution urges all parties to continue the substantive and sustained dialogue to peacefully resolve the crisis and address the legitimate desire of millions of ukrainian citizens for a democratic, european future looking west, not east. in sum, the passage of this resolution would send a strong message of support to the people of ukraine. at this critical moment, they should know that the united states and the united states congress stands with them as they seek to build a democratic,

prosperous, and secure ukraine, respecting human rights and dignity and anchored firmly in europe. i urge my colleagues to support h.res. 447 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is ecognized. mr. smith: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. gerlach. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. gerlach: i rise today because every now and then we're reminded that there are still people around the world fighting fiercely to secure the same individual liberties and foster the very same democratic traditions that americans have been blessed with for nearly 238 years. during the past three months, hundreds of thousands of ukrainian citizens have taken to the streets of kiev and other cities in protest of a government that's ignored the woifl the people and steered the country away from closer ties to democratic allies and

supporters. the initial response from the ukrainian president was brutal. government forces attacked protesters, resulting in five reported deaths. furthermore, they enacted harsh new laws aimed at snuffing out dissent by making ate crime to protest against the goth. thanks to the vigilance of my colleagues and the ukrainian caucus and the leadership of congressman engel, chairman royce and subcommittee chairman keating, the actions have not on gone unnoticed here in the united states congress. many of us have individually condemned the use of violence against the protesters. those of us in the congressional ukrainian caucus tried to convey those fighting for democracy in ukraine that their efforts are not in vain and that totalitarianism must not be allowed to rise again in any fashion. today all of us in the house have a chance to stand united with our friends in the ukraine who desire greater economic

opportunity and individual liberty. soy urge my colleagues to pass this resolution and let the world know the united states will not stand by and allow repression, violence, and political intimidation to prevail in ukraine. let's adopt this resolution for all those in ukraine who wish for a government that's transparent, honors the fundamental human rights of its citizens and respects the dignity of all ukrainians, regardless of political affiliation. i thank the gentleman from california for introducing this resolution, i thank the gentleman from new jersey for recognizing me and i yield back, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: i yield four minutes to the gentleman from michigan, the ranking member of the ways and means committee, mr. levin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. levin: thank you for yielding and thank to mr. smith also, and congratulations on your work. i rise in strong support of

house resolution 447, supporting the democratic aspirations of the ukrainian people and their right to choose their country's future and to choose its direction, free from fear or intimidation, whether internal or external. for three months now, countless scores of ukrainians across the country have braved not only the bitter cold but also the constant threat of government authorized violence to peacefully stand up for the universal principles of democracy and respect for human rights. with this resolution, we in the u.s. house stand with them now. a few weeks ago, i joined a large number of members of the ukrainian community i proudly represent in the ninth congressional district to express support for those demonstrating in the still colder winter in ukraine. as a founding co-chair of the congressional ukrainian caucus

and original co-sponsor of this resolution, i believe it's important that the house pass this expression of support for the ukrainian people. those in kiev and throughout the country need to know that the world is watching, that the u.s. is watching, that we here are watching and we support them. i say to them, we are and we do. with colleagues i recently had the privilege of meeting with opposition members of the ukrainian parliament. i was struck by what they indicated is their biggest fear in that of the demonstrators. there's a fear of riot police and government-backed thugs beating peaceful protesters. abhorrent behavior that's happened resulting in numerous deaths. there's a fear of being among the disappeared, according to reports, 20 opposition activists are still missing. with those brave -- what those brave democratic activists told

us they are most afraid of is being forgotten. of the international community turning its attention elsewhere. of our global commitment to human rights the rule of law being mere words. idealism overtaken by other foreign policy priorities. the house today will take an important step to ensure that does not happen, that that fear is not realized. together with the obama administration's can't continue -- continued forceful efforts and the earlier passage of a similar resolution in the senate, we present a unified american front. we show the people of ukraine that we will steadfastly support their democratic and european aspirations. we show ukrainian president that america will not sit on the sidelines in the face of their government repression and gross human rights violations. and as the oboo ma

administration has -- as the obama administration has shown, america will not only condemn, we'll take action. i welcome the state department's revocation of visas held by ukrainian government officials found to be responsible for violence against peaceful protesters. i encourage the administration to take additional action, including targeted financial sanctions, should violence and human rights violations continue, which is what this resolution calls for. it is time for the government of ukraine to immediately cease the use of violence, recognize the human rights of peaceful protesters, and independent media, and participate in a true national dialogue with the opposition. i urge all of my colleagues to stand and stand up with the courage, resilience and indomitable spirit of the ukrainian people and pass this

resolution. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: madam speaker, we reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: thank you, madam speaker. i now yield four minutes to a very distinguished member of the foreign affairs committee, mr. cicilline. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island is recognized. mr. cicilline: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise in strong support of h.r. 447. as the tensions continue to rise in ukraine about the future direction of this country, we understand that the people of ukraine are hoping to secure basic democratic freedoms of association and speech for all citizens. i join my colleagues in stressing the importance of the adoption of democratic social norms in the ukraine and the

region. over the past several years, we have seen impressive improvements in the areas of human rights. however the situation for lesbian, gay, transsexual and -- has not. ndividuals some individuals sought to introduce legislation to ban so-called homosexual propaganda which does nothing more than limit the fundamental freedoms of association and assembly for all ukrainians regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. the citizens of ukraine, including her lgbt citizens, deserve much, much better. they should know we stand with them as they pursue a free, inclusive and democratic society. i thank the gentleman and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york. mr. engel: how much time do i

have? the speaker pro tempore: you have 10 1/2 minutes. mr. engel: thank you. i yield four minutes to the gentlewoman from ohio, she is co-chair of the ukrainian caucus and original co-sponsor of this resolution and she and i had the opportunity many years ago to travel together to ukraine, ms. kaptur, four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for four minutes. ms. kaptur: i want to thank ranking member engel of new york for his great leadership and chairman smith of new jersey for bringing this vitally important resolution up tonight and i rise to express my support for house resolution 447. supporting the courageous democratic aspirations of the people of ukraine. i want to thank on a bipartisan basis congressman gerlach of pennsylvania for his co-chairmanship of our ukrainian caucus and we all stand in solidarity with the people of ukraine.

the people of ukraine have the human right to choose their own future, free of intimidation and fear. what courage it took for these interfaith religious leaders to stand with their religious symbols, icons, and crosses and other religious garb along with their leaders, with their backs to the barricades, protecting the students as they faced the police. over the past few months, the world has stood witness as ukrainians have risen up united in their desire for a more free, transparent and democratic ukraine. . if one knows anything about the history of ukraine, one knows what it took to do that in that place. the passage of house resolution 447 here this evening means that our congress stands in

olidarity with those and lends our support to the hundreds of thousands of ukrainians peacefully demonstrating in the freezing, bitter, subzero temperatures for over two months, for a more democratic and better future for all their people. if there is a god, and i believe there is, surely he or she will look down on this place and bless these people. the ukrainian national anthem opens with the words, ukraine's glory has not yet died, nor her freedom. upon us, fellow compatriots, fate shall smile once more. indeed, fate shall smile once more upon ukraine. long live ukraine. long live her young people who ld in their hearts the

that atic future of nation. mr. speaker, i urge the passage of h.r. 447. i say to my colleagues here, this is a most important crossroads in history. truly this country can be the borderland nation that links west and east and south and north in that important part of the world. the world needs ukraine. she is already the third largest grain exporter to the world's people. her talent, her artistry, her vision has been quashed for so many, many, many decade and generations. now is her moment and we stand with her people, aspiring to that better day for all. i yield back my remaining time to the ranking member and i thank again chairman smith for bringing up this really importants remainslusion tonight. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves.

the gentleman from new jersey. >> i just want to take 30 seconds to respond and thank the gentlelady from ohio for her very eloquent defense of the ukrainian people and for again reminding americans and the world the pivotal role that the patriarch and the highest, as well as people who are just among the faithful, are playing. mr. smith: the religious community is standing in solidarity with those who are aspiring for freedom and democracy and respect for human rights and they have literally put themselves between the police and the barricades in a way that puts their very lives at risk, holding up crosses, holding up other, as the gentlelady said, icons of faith to say that we serve a god of peace and reconciliation so i want to thank her for her words. i ask for another 30 seconds or yield myself and yield to the gentlelady. ms. kaptur: looking back at the history of ukraine and that region, the fact that you would have leaders of the jewish faith, leaders of the muslim faith, islam faith, leaders of

christian faith, be they all dox or roman, all, risking their substance, it is just incredible. they should be on the front page of every newspaper in the world. and world opinion should move progress forward and help those , help those people who have stood in that bitter cold weather for over two months. unless you've traveled to ukraine and experienced those temperatures yourself, you would not fully appreciate what they are enduring. i yield my remaining time to the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman ised. mr. smith: i'm glad you brought up -- the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i'm glad you brought up the interfaith aspect of this as well. the chief rabbi from the ukraine came and testified in a hearing and gave very powerful testimony as to how the faith community is working side by

side to mitigate and hopefully end the cruelty of anti-semitism while simultaneously working with christians and others on behalf of human rights, and again this demonstration of the faith community should go noted by everybody in this chamber and i hope for everyone in the world and i thank my friend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. >> thank you, madam speaker. now yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, a very distinguished member of both the budget and ways and means committee and a member of the ukrainian caucus, mr. pascrell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. pascrell: i thank the gentleman and i thank both mr. eliott, engel and -- mr. eliot engel and mr. chris smith for leading us through what are important things for us to contemplate. because what's applicable to

ukraine is applicable to a lot of places in this world. so i'm a proud co-sponsor and a strong supporter of h.r. 447. it expresses our solidarity with the ukrainian people and affirms their right to choose . eir own future in this room, not that many years ago, we brought in the prime minister. many of us had these flags, the colors of the ukraine country. mass protesters have broken out ukraine following the president's decision in november to back away from negotiations for closer integration with europe. so russia has their fingers here, their fingers in all of this, beware.

there was an agreement which had been supported by millions of ukrainians in the ukraine and around the world. we've known about the violence, we've known about the beattainment. folks just expressed their legitimate dissatisfaction with yanukovych's government. however, the current crisis in ukraine has deeper roots. almost a decade ago the orange revolution led to the annulment of a fraudulent election which would have brought viktor yanukovych to power. in the wake of protests and civil disobedience on a massive scale, the ukrainian people -- ad chose president chose a different president and prime minister. the prime minister's in jail.

she's in jail right now as we speak. so, now the democratic gains made vument of that orange revolution -- as a result of that orange revolution are at risk. viktor yanukovych has gained he presidency and the former prime minister, as i said, is still in jail. the use of force to suppress open expression by political opponents or popular protests can never be top rail the in -- toll -- be tolerated in a free and democratic society. those in the ukrainian government who authorize these brutal crackdowns should be held accountable for their egregious abuse of power. there has been a strong outpouring of support for the protesters from the large and active ukrainian american community, many of whom live in my district, the ninth congressional district of new jersey. ukrainian americans deeply

desire a solution to this crisis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. engel: i yield the gentleman an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is yielded an additional minute. you're recognized. mr. pascrell: thank you, madam speaker. ukrainian americans deeply desire a solution to the crisis which respects the fundamental rights of their sisters and brothers in ukraine to free speech, free press and peaceful assembly. it is my sincere hope that the united states can facilitate a peaceful resolution to the crisis in ukraine which respects the will of the ukrainian people and brings justice to those who have been harmed through wrongful arrest and violence. as we saw in syria, crackdowns on nonviolent protests can lead to an all-out civil war and we still do not do what we should be doing with those refugees from syria. that is a disgrace.

we need to act now to help the people of ukraine before the violence escalates further. i urge my colleagues to join this vital show of support for the american people, to the people of ukraine, and thank you and i thank mr. engel and i thank mr. smith. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. continues to reserve. the gentleman from new york. mr. engel: madam speaker, i have no further speakers. i just want to continue to urge my colleagues to support the resolution, as anyone can see this is a very bipartisan resolution, very important. and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognize -- new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: i thank my good friend and colleague, eliot engel, for his sponner -- sponsorship of this important resolution and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 447 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the -- the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on questions postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. motions to suspend the rules on

. r. 2431 and house res. 447 in each case by the yeas and nays. and the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal if ordered. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conducted as a five-minute ote. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from texas, mr. hall, to spend the -- suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2431, as amended, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 258, h.r. 2431, a bill to re-authorize the national integrated drought information system. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 365, the nays are 21. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 447, as amended, on by the -- on

which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 447, resolution supporting the democratic and european aspirations of the people of ukraine and their right to choose their own future, free of intimidation and fear. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas were 381, the nays were 2. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, ungin fished business is on the question of agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal, which the chair will put de novo. the question is on approving the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the journal stands approved. > mr. speaker, i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote

will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas were 241, the nays are 123 with one voting present. the journal stands approved.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will now entertain one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the

gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i ise to recognize garree -- garreth. he has hopes of connecting what he refers to and rightfully so as the divide between the physically disabled and the rest of the population. he took a giant step toward this goal last month when he entered the martin luther king commemorative student showcase essay contest. the contest sponsored by the pennsylvania state university is entitled reflect on yesterday, experience today, transform tomorrow. gareth, who has veebralpalsy, wrote about his life experience. his essay invokes dr. king's powerful message for all people in this country to be treated with respect and dignity. mr. speaker, garreth went on to

win this competition and i terrorize congratulate him for his work and for having the -- and i rise to congratulate him for his work and for having the courage to share his story. he's a role model for each and every one of us. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona rise? >> to address the house, unanimous consent to draws the -- to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. barber: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to absolute the tucson gem and mineral society which next week will host the 60th annual tucson gem and mineral show. this began as a small club, gathering over the past six years or six decades, has grown to set a standard for other such events throughout the world. this year's show will be held from february 13 through february 16 with the theme, 60 years of diamonds, gems, silver and gold. and as a result of the interest

generated by this long-winning -- long-running event, dozens of satellite events very much like it have proliferated throughout the tucson area. these featured gems, minerals, fossils, meetritis and other items from around the world and are nope as the tucson gem and mineral fossil showcase. these events bring an estimated $100 million to southern arizona and none of this would have been possible without the work of the volunteers of the gem and mineral society. i am proud to recognize this long-time tucson tradition and this great organization and the economic benefits it brings to my district. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: mr. speaker, ask unanimous con sent to address the house for -- consent to address the house for one minute, to tone revise and extend -- to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: america's best athletes carry the banner of old glory into the olympic games. they have a dedicated their

lives. this year is no different as they hit the snowy winter games in russia. and they are already doing quite well. as the star spangled banner plays, they stand on the podium to receive gelled, silver and bronze medals. but lurking in the creepy shadows of the medal ceremony is the u.s. tax man. the i.r.s. wants a piece of the gold even though these medals were won overseas. it is absurd that the i.r.s. can levy a tax on these medals. these athletes are ambassadors to america. their medals should not be taxed by the i.r.s. are some winners going to have to sell their medals to pay the taxman? who knows? congress should pass congressman farne that will's legislation this week that would keep -- farenthold's legislation that week that would keep the greedy hands of the i.r.s. off the olympians. the taxman should not be able to steal the gold, silver and bronze and that's just the way it is.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> mr. speaker, i rise to ask for unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise to recognize a miami native, cuban american, short track speed skater, eddie alvarez. when i first heard about this south florida ice speed skater, i was even more astounded than when i found out about the jamaican bob sled team. disney may have to make a movie about this. in all seriousness, eddie has his first -- had his first competition in sochi this morning. and will continue competing in events this week. eddie learned to roller skate in south miami and then took on to the ice, eventually competing internationally with great success. i'm proud to note that eddie attended christopher columbus high school and practiced in the kendall ice arena, both great institutions in my

district. eddie is a remarkable example of american determination and dedication. i wish him and his fellow olympians all the success in sochi. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? mr. paulsen: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. paulsen: thank you, mr. speaker. as millions of americans turn their attention to sochi for the winter olympics, we cannot overlook russia's continued ban on intercountry adoption. every day families across america eagerly await news that russia's ban on allowing american families to adopt russian children is finally ended. some families have decided to look at other places to adopt. but many are still committed to completing their adoption. families like the thomases from minnesota have not given up hope, mr. speaker, in adopting their second child from russia. in 2008 they completed an adoption for their son jack. after successful transition, they've now begun the process

of adopting jack's younger brother, nick lie. unfortunately russia's adoption ban has squashed any hopes of completing that adoption. mr. speaker, every child, no matter where they are born, should have the opportunity to grow up in a loving family. i urge my colleagues to continue to fight tonald the russian adoption ban and let our families bring home their children and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio rise? ms. kaptur: mr. speaker, i rise to pay tribute to the life of a great american. patrigsa mcnamara beasley. a magnificent woman and citizen that we laid to rest today in toledo, ohio, after a mass at church, a place that she called home. pat beasley was an extraordinary human being. the minute you met her, you felt a member of her family. she was an artist of family, a

dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and an artist in her own right. her paintings abound not just in her home but throughout our country and certainly in her home community. her son, michael, a personal friend, her daughters, her children, her grandchildren, her great-grandchildren, and her wonderful husband ben. just know that our entire community stands with you. we know what a builder of family and community pat was. we celebrate her life, her life of love, her life of contributions to others, her very quiet way of building friendships and in so doing building a community that was strong. her church family, her community of artists, and obviously her own family. we say thank you to the beasley family for sharing pat with us these many, many decades. we have been so blessed by her

presence and the beauty of her life and the beauty of her works will remain with us always. may she rest in peace and may god give comfort to those who remain behind to carry forward her legacy. mr. speaker, i yield back my remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, sometime in the very near future we're going to have to vote on an increase in the national debt. the national debt ceiling is currently at $17 trillion and all expectations are that the inclose put it up over $18 trillion or at least $17.5 trillion. mr. speaker, it's unconscionable to me that one of the largest items already in our budget is interest on the national debt. mr. barton: and it's also one of the fastest growing items in the budget. i will not vote, mr. speaker,

for a so-called clean debt ceiling because i think that is a dirty deal for the american people. it is time to begin structural changes to our entitle am programs -- entitlement programs that make them subject to some sort of caps so we can get back to balance and keep our budget in balance. so, mr. speaker, this is one of those inflexion points in american history and i hope that the house of representatives will insist on real reform in our budget before we vote to increase the public debt one penny. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the entlelady from florida rise? ms. ros-lehtinen: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from florida is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, mr. speaker. i'm so glad to rise to congratulate a miami teacher who is going above and beyond for our south florida students.

mirna betancourt at culinary arts teacher at the south dade education center is miami-dade county's 2015 teacher of the year. working out of her kitchen in the chapman partnership homeless center in homestead, mirna is giving hundreds, thousands of often disadvantaged, special needs or homeless miami students a second chance at life. a form social worker and public school teacher, she has always wanted to help those in need. thanks to her hard work, mirna's chefs are learning to cook gourmet foods, are finding jobs in good restaurants, and are receiving scholarships at the finest culinary schools in our country. more importantly, mr. speaker, mirna is giving them hope and an opportunity to follow their dreams. congratulations, mirna. south florida is also very proud of you. thank you, mr. speaker, for the time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the

gentlelady from washington rise? without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: morse thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to take time to -- mrs. mcmorris rodgers: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to take time to recognize the walla walla valley and. over the past 30 years, the walla walla valley has earned national and international recognition for being one of the best wine regions in the world. just ask gary and nancy figurens who opened lianeti sellers in 1984, when there were just four wineries in the valley. today, within 1,800 acres of green, rolling hills, you will find 130 different wineries. this growth has allowed businesses to expand and the wine tourism to become one of the top industries in our state. our community has rallied around the business owners and now wine-related jobs account for nearly 15% of the total jobs in the area.

all of this leads to a $500 million economic impact. but it's not just the numbers. it's about a community that makes it -- us all proud in washington state, to call it our home. i'm honored to represent the walla walla valley and congratulations on 30 exceptional years, best wishes for many, many more to come. . the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of absence requested for mr. aderholt for today and balance of the week. mr. braley of iowa for today. mr. danny davis of illinois for today. mr. defazio of oregon for today. ms. jackson lee of texas for today. ms. matsui of california for today. mrs. noem of south dakota. and mr. pastor of arizona for today and the balance of the week. the speaker pro tempore: works.

for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. well, today once again, the president has unilaterally, almost like a monarch just said, you know what? obamacare is the law, and yes, he didn't say this, but the fact is, harry reid, the senators were willing to shut down the government instead of just passing a bill that would have suspended obamacare for a year or at least suspend the mandates. and he did it again today. so it makes it very clear, the shutdown of our government that hurt so many people was clearly a political game by harry reid and the senate democrats because they wanted america to hurt, blame the republicans, when all along, they were willing to agree to what we offered to avoid the shutdown.

shame on you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from iowa, mr. king, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. king: it's a privilege to be recognized here to be recognized here on the floor of the house of representatives. there are a number of things that i would like to to your attention that are on my mind and the minds of the american people. number one in this capitol building and the question of the debt ceiling that has been brought forward. and a lot of us have some memories of how difficult that was the last time that that came through. there are a good number of members in this congress that have pledged they will never vote to increase the debt ceiling. and we have a president who used extraordinary methods the last time and stretched the debt ceiling out, the crunch time

that was supposed to come for months. and it's curious that even though the congress did backfill that debt ceiling for him, now he doesn't have any extraordinary means and we are up against the wall of perhaps a february 15 date and causes this congress to have to scramble, not because this government is preparing -- this government is in risk of default, mr. speaker. that's the language that erged two or three years ago on the debt ceiling and republicans and democrats alike talked about this country's credit is good and we can't allow our government to default. well, the definition of default really isn't what has been used in this dialogue over the debt ceiling. default would be if the united states could not and failed to service its debt. if we didn't have the revenue stream to pay the interest and to roll the bonds over, then we would be in default. we are a long, long ways from

that, mr. speaker. we have eight, nine or 10 times the revenue necessary to pay the interest and roll the bonds over. so america is not in danger of default. but we are in danger of getting confused about the debate and losing track of the essence of it, because we allow language to be conflated in the minds of the american people in the house and the senate and in the press and the press allows it to happen as well. when language gets conflated, we use the center of the argument. to drive that point home, mr. speaker, i would say this. six, seven years ago, i noticed that the language was being conflated between health care and health insurance. and i recall our then governor to the state of iowa came here in this very building and we had a meeting with the iowa congressional delegation and the governor and he pressed us

around the table, seven us at the time, five house members and two senators and he said there are 40,000 kids in iowa that dornt have health care. now no one said anything and i said governor, there can't be 40,000 kids in iowa that don't have health care. we are taking care of those kids. why have i not heard about kids who don't have health care. he said there are 40,000 kids without health care. i said they have access to health care, if nothing else in the emergency room. they are going to have access. we wouldn't turn a child away from a hospital, clinic or e.r. and we went around before five or five times with the governor saying 40,000 kids don't have health care and i am saying that can't be true hoping i could get him to say he meant health insurance, not health care. i had to explain it to him.

there is a difference what you really mean is, there were 40,000 kids in iowa that didn't have their own health insurance policy, which is far different than not having health care. the language was already conflated in his mind and he couldn't separate them apart even with a meeting with the iowa delegation when he was pitching for more resources to go into the program. that happens in the mind of the governor of the state of iowa and that happens in the minds of other people and i wondered if the language got conflated by accident or were there people who decided to conflate this language because it helps our liberal agenda. it is the latter to help them conflate the language. and that's just a model. the next piece of this would be the example that happens with immigration. now we know there is a difference between illegal immigrants and legal immigrants.

there is a tremendously different moral underpinning of this that i don't know any in in this congress that aren't supportive of legal immigrants and we should be enforcing the rule of law even as they set about trying to change it. but the term immigrant, which suggests a legal immigrant and the adjective illegal immigrant are entirely different, but they have been conflated because when you use the term immigrant, it suits the argument of the people who are for the open borders argument and for amnesty. they have intentionally conflated the terms because it makes it harder to debate if you have to define the differences and they argue we shouldn't use that terminology, even legal immigrant, we should use documented or -- you get the

point. conflate the terms and give the moral standing of the immigrant to the illegal immigrant and make the argument that you should grant them amnesty because somehow they should have access to american citizenship and similar argument with health care and health insurance. by conflating the two terms, they convinced the american people, at least a significant number of them that everybody has not only a right to health care, but everybody has a right to their own health insurance policy. these are a far cry from what our founding fathers laid out as rights. and they are a far cry from what franklin roosevelt laid out as the four new freedoms. when i go down and look at the roosevelt monument it gives me a creepy feeling that he manufactured freedoms that didn't come from god. we have the terminology of health care, health insurance and immigrant and illegal

immigrant conflated and now we are in the debt ceiling debate and people on both sides of the able are arguing we can't allow the united states to default. their definition of default is, the moment that the united states runs out of borrowing capacity, which isn't the same, because the cash flow still comes flowing in. hundreds of billions of dollars a month. plenty of money to service the interest and pay the debt. we aren't up against a hard break or a deadline that says if we can't get credit at the bank, we are going to have the house foreclosed on. it's a matter of where we take the money from and what bills we pay. i think the inertia of the spending and the structure of the budget we have pushes this congress towards a debt ceiling increase at some point. but the house of representatives has a majority of republicans for a reason, because the

american people rose up in 2010 and said you are shoving too much government on us and we want to keep our god-given liberty and reject obamacare and a smaller government with less spending, less intrusion, less nanny state, more freedom, more god-given liberty. that's what the american people said in 2010. and reiterated in 2012 with regard to the house of representatives. and with the president, mr. speaker, they evidently decided they wanted a president that rent erhaps pick up the check, heat bill, food bill, without that much responsibility. i don't know the american people were looking down the line to see if they pushed this debt off to the next generation, it's their children and grandchildren that will be paying the debt. when i go to a high school and talk to the high school students, they will say to me, what are you going to do about

the cost of tuition and the cost of my student loans. they are planning to go to college and i'm glad they are. and this is the answer i give them, the best thing that can be done for the cost of the increased cost of tuition is for you, the consumer, to make an astute choice of where you will go to school and the best education you can get for the tuition dollar. calculate that. go visit the schools. don't think you are going to pay a premium because you want a sheepskin hanging on a wall someday and put your feet on the desk and live happily ever after. the world doesn't operate that way. instead, evaluate the tuition costs and the costs of housing and the associated costs with a college education and bargain for the best buy you can get and go there and get that education and if you are determined that you want a degree from a

prestigious institution, you can start a four-year degree there and maybe you will spend five years getting that degree or go to a smaller institution that is maybe closer to home and little cheaper and transfer to that four-year school, you can achieve that degree and put it in the frame with less dollars and maybe get more back in return for the tuition dollar. be good consumers is the piece of advice that i would give to the students looking at going to college. and now that's one of the educational components of where we're going with this country. but the debt that's there for an individual is the debt of the country in its aggregate. and when i tell the students that this is the best buy for your dollar and they say what are you going to do to buy down the interest on my student loan. i said if we do that, we have to

borrow the money from maybe the chinese, maybe the saudis or the american people, maybe half of this u.s. debt. this $17 trillion is held in the form of treasury bonds, et cetera. and we have to borrow the money to buy down your interest rate. you are going to be the one paying it back. you get your college education and go out into the work force and start paying down the interest and principal on your student loan, you are paying it back. if we borrow the interest rate down now, you still have to pay back your student loan maybe at a lower interest rate but will be paying back the national debt as part of that bargain. and a number of grandchildren, all of them tremendous gifts and miracles in their own right, the most two recent i have kept the math on. little granddaughter is reagan is three years old and her share was $48,000.

and little wallace, the youngest who has been here since back mid-november his share of the national debt was $54,000. three years apart. if we are gifted with another grandchild, you know their share of the national debt is going to be greater and greater. this congress needs to understand and think about our duty to the succeeding generation. maybe it's easy enough thing to pass a debt ceiling to pacify a president who refuses to take on entitlement reform. we all know that this debt is out of control, the spending is out of control and the spending is on auto pilot and spending going into programs like medicaid and medicare and social security. the latter of the three is the one that's the easiest to fix and if we can get our employment up, we can get social security back on track better than any

other way. . . what would you attach to me and others, mr. speaker, what would you attach to a debt ceiling increase, the debt ceiling increase that would satisfy the president, which apparently would be an entire year of credit card for an entire year, at whatever limit that might be, what would you attach to that, to send the message to hang on to something that ung point to and say, -- that you can point to and say, i focused on fiscal restraint, what would be that list of items? one would be, and the number one item, that this would get me to vote for a limited debt ceiling increase would be this, a balanced budget amendment to the united states constitution. passed out of the house of representatives, passed out of the united states senate, messaged to the states. i'd step up and take a real good look, pending on the terms of it, of course, in voting for a debt ceiling increase under

those conditions. now, the balanced budget amendment to our constitution uld have to include, in my view, it would need to include a cap on the g.d.p. spending, i'd cap it at 18%. another would be that there would have to be able to waive that balanced budget requirement in case of a declared war. we've got some language doctor orb a very serious national emergency. no tax increases without a supermajority, another provision. but a balanced budget amendment to the united states constitution that enforces fiscal responsibility from this point forward, provided that the states would would ratify that constitutional amendment. now, if congress passed a balance budget amendment out of here with a 2/3 majority, out of the house and the senate, a message to the states, that's all that we can ask out of here. let the states then pick the ball up from there. meanwhile, a debt ceiling increase would pass, i believe, out of this congress and the 38 states required to ratify a

balanced budget amendment, i believe they'd step forward and do that. because, after all, they do have balanced budget requirements within their constitutions, almost all of them, a balanced budget requirement, and we see how they live within their means. and i worked in the state senate in iowa for six years. we made our way to balance the budget, sometimes when it was painful. but we knew we had no choice. and therefore you carve that budget to match, you live within your means. tax increases come hard. in fact, we've reduced taxes, not increased taxes, now we have a surplus. but i mentioned the balanced budget amendment to the constitution as a requirement before we could vote for a debt ceiling increase. i don't know if that appetite exist here's in this congress. i make the point to you, mr. speaker, because i think more need to think about the merits of a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. another component that we could attach to a debt ceiling

increase would be a requirement to audit the fed. that's something that has had a lot of signatures on it here in the house of representatives. when ron paul served here in the house, he pushed that constantly. and, yes, we passed it out of the house of representatives in the past, and they don't have an interest in taking it up in the senate. we don't know what's going on in the fed. there are trillions of dollars that are maneuvered around over the course of years and we aren't able to take a look at those dollars. and our job is to oversight. so when you give the fed essentially an open checkbook and they can inject funds into the economy, they can run the throttle in our economy up and down, without congressional oversight, without even having access to that information, to see what they are doing, the closest we get to auditing the fed is to read the "wall street journal" that picks up little tidbits and writes it into the newspaper, gives us a better feeling of what's going on. thanks to "the wall street journal," mr. speaker, but that's not enough. we do need to audit the fed. it is a no-brainer from where i

sat. congress has an oversight responsibility. we should do so and we should not be inhibited or held back. it's too bad that something that's as simple and as clear, with the kind of support that auditing the fed has, you'd even have to think about attaching it to a debt ceiling increase in order to try to get that done and get a presidential signature. the president doesn't want congress to know what's going on in the fed. and he will resist this. there's been a consistent pattern, mr. speaker, of the majority leader in the united states senate being a shield for the president of the united states. and each time we move an idea that's a good idea from the voice of the american people, by definition, when it comes out of this congress it's the voice of the american people, by virtue of the republican form of government, which is guaranteed to us in the constitution, i might add, mr. speaker, but the majority leader in the senate puts up the shield if the president doesn't want to see on his desk and it stops because the president of the united states has a blocking agent as the

majority leader in the united states senate. and so here we sit in the house, making argument after argument, as i'm doing tonight, mr. speaker, arguing for bald budget amendment to the constitution -- for a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, arguing that we should audit the fed, arguing that raising the debt ceiling without restraints is a feed suspending and it accelerates the accumulation of debt. and by the way, you just heard a few minutes ago mr. gohmert talk about the president again altering or amending his own bill. obamacare. think of this. i came here an innocent neophite who studied and read this constitution for a good number of years and carried one in my pocket longer than i've been in this congress, each day that i have a jacket, i kept it in my jacket pocket, in the times i was in the iowa senate, and that's beginning to be a few years ago now, mr. speaker. when i took an oath to uphold this constitution and i actually remember where i was sitting right over there when that took place the first time

here, and i never imagined that article one responsibilities that give the authority for legislation to the congress would be so usurped by the president of the united states. article one, section one, all legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in a congress of the united states which shall consist of a senate and a house of representatives. mr. speaker, there's no mention in this constitution about the president being involved in legislation. t says, all legislative powers , they come from god, granted to the people, and we the people of the united tates to form a more perfect union, established this constitution of the united states of america, and all legislative powers are vested in the congress. article one, not article two or

article three. this federal government, this contractual guarantee called the constitution of the united states, was put together with the first respect for the people of the united states of america and the laws that they would ask to be passed through their republican form of government, their representatives here in the house and in the senate. and yet the president who gave a lecture a couple of years ago , on march 28, i remember the date, it might have been 2011, at a school just here in washington, d.c., at a high school. and he was talking to them about the constitution. now, remember, mr. speaker, that the president is a former adjunct law professor who taught constitutional law at the university of chicago. a very highly respected and revered school. especially their law school. their school of economics as well. and i have great respect for the people who have gone through law school at the university of chicago.

some of them were in the classroom, circled by six or seven much them one evening, were in the classroom of barack obama's when he was teaching constitutional law. they told me that each time that they reverted back to the clear letter of the constitution, the clear meaning of the constitution, that adjunct professor obama would stretch it out and turn it over into an act visit interpretation. -- activist interpretation. pretty interesting to hear. that but this president knew what he was doing when he spoke to the high school here in this city, march 28, i believe, 2011, he said, you're good students, you know this. but the congress writes the laws, and i'm the executive branch so my job is to see to it that the laws are enforced and then the courts interpreter the laws. pretty clear -- interpret the laws. pretty clear. it's what he said. it was an accurate interpretation of the constitution of arls one, two and three of our constitution. he knows the constitution, he's taught it. but in spite of that, mr. speaker, he steps forward and violates his own oath of office

and seeks to legislate by executive edict. and i don't use that first word executive order, mr. speaker, because occasionally it's an executive order, but sometimes it's a press conference, sometimes it's the president's people on a third-tier u.s. treasury website announcing that there's been some change in federal policy that effectively amends federal law. now, we have -- presidents are required to take their oath of office that is in this constitution, by the way, and inclosive witness that oath is -- inclusive within that oath is the take-care clause, the president's obligation to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. that's a component of the oath that he gives when he swears in out here on the west port could he of the capitol on january 20 every leap year. we hear that oath. so when the president of the united states doesn't enforce the laws that have been passed by the congress, messaged to a

previous president, signed by a previous president, and go into the federal code, when the president doesn't enforce those laws, if he says he disagrees with the laws that have been passed before he arrived at the west por timbings, co and took the -- portico and took the oath of office, they're a violation of his oath of office, that's the reason that he takes it, so we can compel him to follow the constitution. but this president not only has refused to enforce the law tharps on the books when he became president -- that were on the books when he became president, and it's multiple cases. the president has refused to enforce the law when it comes to welfare to work, there's only one component of the 80 difference means-tested welfare programs that we have that requires work, that was the big deal that eerge -- that emerged during the mid 1990's when when we had welfare to work and there were vetoes by president clinton who finally took credit for signing welfare to work. only one of the 80 requires work. and that one, the president

willfully simply disregarded and so he ended welfare to work, after all of the bare-knuckle fights here in this congress and the vetoes and the presidential positioning and the politics that went into it. president obama just wiped out welfare to work, even though it was written, it was written carefully so that a president could not ignore the work component of welfare to work and the temporary assistance to needy families. that's one violation. then we had the president just simply set aside no child left behind. that was teddy denky -- kennedy's piece that he negotiated with george w. bush, president obama decided, i don't like no child left behind, kick that one off the table. i'm going to ignore that and you all can ignore it. then we get to the immigration component of this. and there are five pieces of the -- we call it the moreton memos where the president has -- morten memos where the president has decided, he's refusing to enforce existing

immigration law, and they argue that it's on an individual basis only. there were seven different references to an individual basis only by janet napolitano who testified before judiciary .ommittee that's in there, mr. speaker. so that they can argue that it's not creating a class of people that are now exempted from the law. well, they create classes of people and they exempt them from the law and now they just -- that's the immigration piece of the violations. now it brings me to obamacare. and on obamacare, i can't keep track of the times that he's decided he's not going to enforce obamacare and he's going to change it or amend it. and the list is so full at this point, i don't know if anyone has memorized how many violations, how many changes that have come to the obamacare law because of the president's executive edicts that come down. but i would lay the foundation of this, mr. speaker, in the passage of obamacare itself. and in the stupak amendment.

and i would like to take that discussion up in a moment. but i see that the chairman of the rules committee has arrived and i'd be happy to suspend for so long as might be required to do the business of ch chamber. -- this chamber. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 475, resolution providing for consideration of the bill, h.r. 3193, to amend the consumer financial protection act of 2010, to strengthen the review authority of the financial stability oversight council of regulations issued by the bureau of consumer financial protection, and for other purposes. providing for proceedings during the period from february 13, 2014, through february 24, 014, and for other purposes.

the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. all members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. the gentleman from iowa may resume. r. king: thank you, mr. king: i'm mystified by that, but i'll try to be aware of that comment and take us back to obamacare, mr. speaker. as i said, i would be happy to pick it up at this point. so we have a president who was involved in the course of negotiations with the passage of obamacare and the question became whether they could put the votes together to pass it here on the floor of the house of representatives because it was clear to us that obamacare was going to fund abortion. and so, what emerged from that was, a group of democrats known later as the stupak dozenow