salute to the support of .rance i salute to you and all of our french compatriots. as far as nsa is concerned, i can't get into details, but i did work in some capacity during the vietnam war. against thethat effect of the lobbyists and the united states, i would venture to say that the greater issue is the impact of the lobbyists upon our legislation from the effect upon the average citizens. mr. bruno, coming out of this meeting are there going to be any

treaties signed in the last second we have here? guest: no. there will be agreements. the european space program. no treaties. jointyou will be at the press conference yesterday afternoon? with asp, thank you so much for joining us this morning. guest: it is a pleasure. host: that will do it for us. some news reported by politico this morning. during the course of the show, we talked about the possible debt ceiling deal. talkedan on politico about house republicans examining the plan we're talking about earlier today. we will try to pass a clean debt limit deal. john boehner mate announcement in meeting. a tweet he sent out. i am sure we will find out news about that. throughout the course of the day. that will do it for today. make sure you join us back here tomorrow morning. and 4:00 a.m.ern

pacific. i hope you have a great tuesday. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [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: the ouse will be in order.

the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., february 11, 2014. i hereby appoint the honorable doug lamalfa to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. 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 leader for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip , but in o five minutes no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. last week during a hearing with the deputy director of the office of drug policy, there was a moment of clarity for me.

i was struck by the realization that our own office, charged with drug policy, discouraging or eliminating their use, might well be part of the problem. the poor witness was unable to answer my simple question, what is more dangerous, marijuana or methamphetamines? i asked, how many marijuana overdose deaths were there last year? no answer. the united states does have a drug problem, make no mistake, and it appears to be getting worse. 100 people per day die of drug overdoses, but only nine of them are from heroin. 60% of the deathses are were prescription drugs. pharmaceuticals, over 22,000 in 2010, the most recent year we have available. almost three times higher than in 1999. why is the $25 billion we spend fighting drugs each year so

ineffective in stopping, much less reversing, the trend? are our policies and programs misguided? could it be that too many of the wrong people are spending far too long in jail, wasting lives and money? the states seem to think so. they're reducing sentences and releasing prisoners. now, even the federal government is starting to do that. i think part of the problem is that we aren't honest about the impacts and danger. nothing better illustrates that than the continued misclassification of marijuana under federal law as worse than ocaine, according to federal law. is it possible the fail that this federal dishonesty means that people don't take drug warnings seriously? no one knows anybody who ever died from a marijuana overdose.

the failed marijuana prohibition could actually make the real drug problem worse. since all marijuana sales are by definition illegal, in the shadows the money, the income, the profits help finance drug trade that destroys life, like heroin, cocaine, illegal prescription drugs and methamphetamines. how easy is it for the distributor who has no license to lose, never checks i.d., to offer his marijuana customer something else, something worse, something more dangerous? i fear spreading misinformation and wasting resources, arresting 2/3 of a million people for something most americans now think should be legal, undermines what could be an effective approach. think for a moment. unlike marijuana, tobacco is a

highly addictive killer. hundreds of thousands of people a year die. yet, tobacco use has declined almost 2/3. how did that happen? we don't arrest people who smoke. we didn't try tobacco prohibition. what we did was research, refound out the facts, we told the truth, we controlled the product, we taxed it heavily, raising the cost, especially to young people. all the steps exactly the opposite of our failed marijuana approach. and i'll be clear. for me this goes beyond issues of marijuana policy. it is a symbol of a political process that is not thoughtful, not rational on dealing with things from the national debt to our failing infrastructure to climate change. isn't it time for us to face some facts, adjust some

policies and move ahead? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, for five minutes. ms. ros-lehtinen: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. thank you. thank you, mr. speaker. on saturday, we had beautiful skies in miami. it was a perfect day for flying, and i was given the opportunity to visit the wings over miami air museum to revel in the history of aviation with veterans, fliers and the families of world war ii, women air force service pilots, celebrating the life of one special wasp, fran sergeant. we came to honor these american heroins, the first women in history to fly america's military aircraft. they flew over 60 million miles in every type of aircraft on every type of mission except combat missions. the wasp served our country without hesitation and with no

expectations of recognition or praise. yet, as our 23rd president benjamin harrison, once noted, the manner by which women are treated is a good criteria to judge a society. they never received the full recognition they warranted for their wartime military service to america. it was my honor then as the most senior republican woman in the house of representatives to introduce the bipartisan legislation to honor and award the women air service pilots of world war ii with the congressional gold medal. the congressional gold medal is the highest honor that this body, the united states congress, can bestow. co-introducing the bill with me was congresswoman susan davis of california and senators kay bailey hutchison and barbara mikulski. senator hutchison of texas and senator mikulski of maryland. i was so honored to be part of this effort, to finally grant

these women the recognition they deserved. it was right there over the -- at the wings over miami museum in 2009 that i was able to present to our local wasps, framed, signed copies of the legislation for the women service -- for the women's air force service pilots congressional gold medal. and in march of 2010, the presentation ceremony of the congressional gold medal was held in emancipation hall in our nation's capitol with over 100 wasp in attendance. south florida is very fortunate to herald several women air force pilots in our midst. air force major ruth shaver is now retired. bea is active and says hello. shirley was with us say the and shared her vivid memories while -- was there to honor his mother who recently

passed. we gathered for a celebration of life and celebration for francis sergeant who was represented by her daughter and son with many great and great grandchildren honoring their wasp. my thanks to aviatorers la davidson and all the women pilots flying with the 99's to honor these women of aviation and to the civil air patrol and for the crew for wings over miami for making the day possible. we know you loved fran as your director emeritus and as a great teacher of flight. how special are they, these women pioneer of flight? well over 20,000 volunteered, only 1,830 qualified women pilots were accepted, and then only 1,102 women earned the wings of wasp. the wasp are all true pioneers whose examples paved the way for the armed services to finally lift the ban on women

attending military flight training in the 1970's while flying their p-14's and at-4's in training in sweetwater, texas, the wasp never sought to break the bare areas for women but through their -- barriers for women but through their success, more opportunities became available for women in all fields. fran became a professor at my lma mater, miami-dade college, where she took charge in the viation program. mr. speaker, today women in military fly every aircraft from f-15's to the space shuttle. my daughter-in-law, a marine corps pilot, is part of this lasting legacy of wasp. lindsey, a graduate of the united states naval academy, served combat tours in iraq and afghanistan where she flew f-18 fighter jets. i'm so proud of lindsey and all of our service women, past and present, who continue to

inspire young women to achieve what was heretofore unimaginable. so on behalf of lindsey, my congressional colleagues and a grateful nation, i offer my sincere thanks and utmost admiration to our wasp. climbing high into the sun, helen, ruth, bea, shirley and fran, thank you all, women pioneers. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, all things are subject to interpretation, but as one said, whatever interpretation prevails at a given time is often more a function of power and not truth. last week the congressional budget office came out with a report evaluating the economic impacts of the affordable care act, and since then, there are those who use the power they have to frame a false narrative. rather than talking about what

the report actually says, they spent the last week talking about what they'd like it to say. their false interpretation, obamacare act will cost the american economy 2.5 million jobs. but the truth is that the much misrepresented c.b.o. study didn't say that at all, because as "the wall street journal" accurately reported, reducing the total number of hours americans have to work is very different than eliminating jobs. one of the reasons we passed the affordable care act in the first place was to fix the pitfalls of this country's employer-based health care system. before the a.c.a., someone with a pre-existing condition was often forced to stay in a job to avoid losing their health care coverage. even if they wanted to leave their job to reduce their hours, to retire early, change careers or spend more time with their families, they couldn't because doing so would risk their ability to provide affordable health insurance for their families.

with the -- what the affordable care did is right this wrong. by broadinning access to health insurance, the a.c.a. has increased personal freedom and market choice. now, americans can choose jobs based on what they want to be doing instead of staying where they're unhappy just to keep their health insurance. the expansion of medicaid eligibility and the subsidies available in the exchanges will give americans the flexibility they need to raise their families, not encourage workers to seek less employment, which was one of the most misleading claims made after the report was released. the idea that hardworking americans would modify their employment just to be eligible for social safety net programs is both ludicrous and offensive. nobody wants to live in a situation that makes you eligible for medicaid or other social safety net programs. . all in all a family of four must

exist on less than $32,500 a year to qualify for these programs. in the chicago area the cost of living is high, and families struggle to make ends meet. measures like medicaid and snap are meant to help people lift them selves above poverty. claiming that poor people want to be poor to rely more on the government is misguided and just flatout wrong. i have said from the beginning that the a.c.a. is far from perfect and that we should work together to improve it. but arguing that at-risk americans and low-income americans will actively choose to work less, reducing their own incomes and jeopardizing their family's economic future just to game the system is not a legitimate issue and speaks volumes about the extreme views that are dividing our government and preventing real reform from occurring. by focusing on false interpretations, we are forgetting the economic benefits contained in the law. to quote the c.b.o. report, if

some people seek to work less, other applicants will be readily available to fill those positions. and the overall effect on employment will be muted. at a time when long-term unemployment is at its highest since world war ii, there are more than enough american workers willing and able to take these jobs. that's why the director of the c.b.o. recently testified about the likelihood of the a.c.a. creating jobs not eliminating them. the report also acknowledged that insurance premiums under the law are 15% lower than originally forecast. that the slowdown in medicare cost growth is broad and persistent. and that enrollments will increase over time to where they would have been if not for the website's issues. mr. speaker, thanks to the affordable care act, millions of americans can now access affordable health insurance with a focus on personal responsibility, preventive care, consumer protections, and

increased choices. the affordable care act has helped empower americans to lead healthier lives. let's put aside the punditry and focus on the facts. thank you, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina, mr. holding, for five minutes. mr. holding: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to share a story about patrick johnson, patrick is a firefighter from north carolina who is using new technologies and his programming skills in his mission to save lives. he's using google glass, along with the android and i it is phone apps 450es developed. the apps he's created encourage and increase communication between firefighters and emergency responders to accelerate the process of saving victims and putting out fires as quickly as possible. now, although google glass is not yet on the market except for google's explorer program, it's generated a lot of buzz in the

tech community. with glass, people can send and view messages and emails and videos and pictures and surf the net without using their hands. they can also ask the device for information or get directions without using their hands. patrick's glass app would help firefighters locate hydrants and give them hands free ability of building layouts and record video from the first responders on the scene. some departments that have expressed from in this technology want to take it further such as linking the app to a termal imaging camera and oxygen mask to help firefighters see in smoke. although still in the preliminary stages of development, technologies like patrick's could potentially help firefighters and other emergency response teams do their jobs and save lives. mr. speaker, patrick's idea is a perfect example of how technology betters our lives and

can ultimately save lives. innovation leads to job creation, and we need to encourage more innovators like patrick to keep america on top as the world's leader in innovation. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. gutierrez, for five minutes. mr. speaker, on sunday morning i tweeted out a message to 30,000 people who follow me on twitter, the tweet said the g.o.p. doesn't determine when the fight for immigration reform ends. we will continue to fight for a bill in 2014 because it is what is right, what is fair, and what is best for the u.s.a. i sent this because many in the pro-immigration reform movement thought they heard speaker john boehner giving up on immigration reform for 2014. in a is not what i heard, but many in the community and press heard it that way. i wanted to make it clear that

the immigrant community and the huge movements behind immigration reform, business and clergy and everyone else we are just not going away. we are not taking wait, maybe, and no for an answer. by now every time speaker boehner says anything about immigration reform the press and pundits go crazy, even if it isn't clear, a good percentage of the press writes out and -- goes out and writes an obituary. what i heard was getting immigration reform passed in the house would be hard. tell me about it. i just heard the speaker say at his news conference that the house needs to get immigration reform done this year. he's right. and then i heard the speaker say that the g.o.p. doesn't trust the president of the united states. really? despite two million deportations and the lowest rate of illegal immigration in recent decades, the house g.o.p. doesn't believe president barack obama will enforce immigration laws?

well, mr. speaker, i have been working on this issue for a while and first of all, you're right. it is hard. for more than a decade i had to work on my own party to get them behind substantial immigration reform. but the democrats are ready now and ready to help you, mr. speaker, to pass a bill. we'll help supporters of the immigration reform and house g.o.p. caucus will convince members that it's not only the right thing to do from a justice perspective, law and order perspective, economic perspective, but the right thing to do from a political perspective. mr. speaker, when you said the house needs to pass a bill, boy, you're right. nobody believes the republican party can elect anyone president unless you find some way to neutralize the damage you have done to yourself with your deportation only approach to immigration. and the immigration issue doesn't just hurt you with latino voters, it hurts you with asian and younger voters, too. there's no math that adds up to

270 electoral votes unless the republican party stops getting slaughtered by 30, 40, 50 points among the largest, fastest growing groups of voters in this country. it gets only worse with each passing day. with another 2,000 latino citizens turning 18 every day and becoming eligible to vote. speaker boehner knows this is the best chance his bipartisan has of getting immigration issue off the table before 2016. and i believe he plans to come back to immigration reform. the cost of the g.o.p. politically is too high if the g.o.p.-controlled house blocks legislation this year. you thought the super bowl was a blowout last month? wait until november 2016 if immigration reform is still out there undone. you can tell the babysitter you'll be home by 10:30 on election night, the contest will be over early. it's democrats in the white house by a landslide. but this notion, mr. speaker, that the president -- that president obama cannot be trusted to enforce immigration law, that doesn't make any sense

to anyone who follows the issue. every day, every day, day after day, week after week, and year after year people are being disappeared by our immigration enforcement machine. another 1,100 today and tomorrow. where's the generosity and spirit in that? this lax, liberal soft heartedness you seem to imagine. i wish you could tell that to the estimated 5,000 children currently in foster care because their parents are in detention or already been deported. tell them how soft obama is. i'm going out to suburban washington this evening to talk with immigrants and advocates at casa de maryland. i don't expect i'll hear much praise for president obama's enlightened approach to deportations and detentions tonight. they are not waiting patiently for speaker boehner or anyone else in the republican caucus to make up their minds on whether or when to start legislating on this matter, either. i know they are not taking maybe

or not now or no for an answer. mr. speaker, you're not going to be spared. kids will keep showing up to i.n.s. runt your breakfast as long as their parents are facing deportation and the communities are being ripped apart. mr. speaker, you can't deport your way out of this and you can't ignore your way out of this and you can't blame owe bam why -- obama your way out of this. you must act for the good of the country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jones, for five minutes. mr. jones: mr. speaker, thank you very much. i'm on the house floor today to share my -- with my colleagues several recent headlines from our national papers. from "the washington post" on january 30, and i quote, headlines, after billions in united states investment, afghanistan is falling apart. this article goes on to describe

the road network built with u.s. tax dollars as a $4 billion project that was once a symbol of promise in post-taliban afghanistan, but is now falling apart. another headline from january 30, this one out of the "new york times," and i quote, u.s. aid to afghanistan flows on despite warning of misuse. despite warnings of misuse. this report informs us that two global firms hired by the united states three years ago have found that none of the 16 afghan ministries can be counted on to keep american aid from being stolen or wasted. stolen or wasted. and most recently, this week reuters published an article titled, and i quote, "usaid plan seeks to shield afghanistan from end to war economy."

which details a new neshive from the united states agency for international development that would spend almost $300 million to prop up the afghan economy. mr. speaker, the common factor in these articles is that each describes in alarming details the absolute waste of american tax dollars overseas. the absolute waste of american tax dollars overseas. how can we in good conscience tell the american people we are going to continue to send their money to afghanistan for 10 more years under the bilateral strategic agreement that the united states is currently negotiating with president karzai? i hope president karzai will not sign the agreement. it would be the best thing to happen to the american taxpayer. ironically today or tomorrow we are going to raise the debt ceiling. this is after already raising it

y $230 billion in october of 2013 with $30 billion reserved for afghanistan. this is not right or fair to the american people. we need to stop the insanity in afghanistan which could be done if the leaders of the house and senate would allow members of both parties to bring billions related to this issue to the floor for a vote. in addition to the money we are spending, how many more american lives must be lost overseas before congress decides to act? we cannot continue to waste american money, precious lives in this manner. it is time to end the abuse of the american resources in afghanistan. and with that, mr. speaker, i'll ask god to continue to bless our men and women in uniform, ask god to please continue to bless america and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andrews, for five minutes. mr. andrews: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. andrews: i rise in appreciation this morning. next week i am leaving the congress to pursue the chance to build a career in the private sector, and i wanted to take a few minutes of appreciation and thanksgiving this morning for a lot of people who helped make this wonderful experience possible. i start as all things with my wife, my daughters who without whom nothing good possible and through whom all good things are. i look forward to many, many more happy years, god willing with them, and thank them for their support and sacrifice. i thank my staff over all these years, these men and women are overworked, underpaid, and under appreciated. sometimes by their employer. these are true public servants. they are inspirations and i assure you that i have learned much more from them than i have taught to them.

i want to single out in particular the present staff, our chief of staff, fran, our general counsel, amanda, and our legislative director, jaycee for many others and many years. i thank my colleagues, i thank speaker boehner for his friendship and leadership. i especially thank the first woman speaker of the house of representatives, in my view the best speaker of the house of representatives, nancy pelosi. who has taught me strength and principle and doingedness and focus and whose inspiration will guide me, my daughters, and other sons and daughters for many years to come. i thank her profoundly for her influence and service. . i most especially thank the people of the first congressional district of the state of new jersey who have been the best employer one could possibly have for the last 24 years. yes, i would include the people

who stop us in the supermarket and complain about a vote that we've castor wonder why we haven't solved a problem. there are a few of them. there are many, many more whose words of encouragement lifted us through these years and i assure you that we appreciate you and we're staying in our community and looking forward to new ways we can serve our friends and our neighbors. i especially, though, want to come back to the men and women with whom i had the privilege of serving for all these years. we've done a lot of things that are good together. some of us have always not agreed what's good together but we passed the affordable care act, which i believe will withstand the test of time and will stand together with medicare and social security as pillars of middle-class prosperity in america and opportunity. we voted for the student loan program that's helped many, many students get education. we improved our environment.

in our district at home there are construction workers building transportation projects today because of our work. there are police and firefighters and teachers on the job because of our cooperation. there are two veterans' health clinics. we can simply not say thank you with our words to our veterans but by our deeds, and i must say this morning that i especially remember young men and women on duty around the world serving our country, and i express my deepest appreciation to them. but to my colleagues, i would say this. i've had 150,000 constituents over the years come to our office with various issues and problems and they are certainly an inspiration but so, too, ladies and gentlemen, are you, my colleagues. the house is a rambunctious and energetic place. i expect we'll see a little rambunctious later this morning. people should not confuse debate with division. healthy, passionate debate is

the elicks irof american democracy. -- elicksor of american democracy. it is the fuel that makes our country better. when people say all they do is argue with each other, i certainly hope so. i hope we bring to the chamber deeply held beliefs, deeply held convictions and express them during the course of debate. of course, there is time for compromise and there's always a season to get the job done, but may this place never lose the strong convictions of people right and left, republican and democrat, north, south, east and west because it's what makes democracy go. i'd also say this. that way in this chamber should never confuse a difference of opinion with a difference of intention. i've served here for nearly 24 years and i can safely say i've never met a fellow member who does not love this country, who was not here for the purpose of improving this country as he or

she sees that improvement. i've certainly disagreed with the definition of improvement, but i have never questioned the motivation or motive any of the men and women with whom i had the privilege of serving. so my admonition would be, keep the energy flowing. those who misunderstand debate, let them misunderstand it. keep the passionate beliefs that occupy this place going. and when we do, i leave with great confidence that the institution will continue to lead the way to a country that's more prosperous, more safe, more free and more generous than any nation in the history of the face of the earth. it's been an honor and privilege to serve. i thank each of you who has given me this privilege, and i ield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andrews, yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. shimkus, for five minutes. mr. shimkus: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my

remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. and as rob departs the chamber, let me thank him for his service and for his family's service as obviously the first republican member to be able to respond to your comments, let me say what most of us always know, that although many of us isagree on public policy, no one's ever questioned your commitment, your sacrifice, your focus and your tenacity. i think i value that more than almost anything we do. your words are very important for us and for the american people to understand that spirited debate is not bad. it is a part of this process. a former high school teacher and government -- in government history, we would relish this in our classrooms, to have this type of exchange between our students. so thank you for that, and i'm just fortunate to be here when you made your comments.

now, mr. speaker, i'd like to ocus and turn my comments to sochi, russia, as the world focuses on that area of the world, let me talk about what's going on on the southern side of the caucus' mountain range. of georgia.ry small country but people have to understand the russian federation occupies two provinces of the country of georgia. actually with military troops. time, one long relatively recently. and that kind of changes the understanding of this great show that the russian federation is putting on with the treatment of their neighbors in occupying

provinces. that would be like, you know, a country occupying one or two of ur states. and occupying georgia. mr. speaker, it's important to just remind the public of this, especially when the world's focus is in there. i want to specifically talk about what's happened because f the -- with the olympics and abkhazia region. they've used a buffer zone between abkhazia and georgia and pushing the cease-fire line established in 2008 seven miles further into georgia. so here we have an international peace agreement that kind of sets a line where

the allowing the occupation in georgian territory of russian forces and then the russian federation decides, based upon the olympics, to push that line further into the country of georgia seven more miles. it is very troubling and troubling extension of russia's rlier efforts to close south ossetia and this new enclave is a -- it stands in stark contrast to russia's commitment under international law. according to the cease-fire signed on august 12, 2008, russian military forces were to return to their prewar positions, yet, they now established militaryized security perimeters on the georgian signed of the administrative border with both south ossetia and abkhazia.

this is a violation of the european convention on human rights, to which russia is a signatory and a violation of customary international law. russian president putin claims he must close borders within the internationally recognized territory or -- of georgia to prevent security threats in sochi. this move is nothing more than a power grab. i will continue to support georgia's sovereignty and urge my colleagues to do the same. thank you, mr. speaker. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from alabama, ms. sewell, for five minutes. ms. sewell: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to continue my commitment to honoring influential african-americans from alabama during this black history month. this week we honor the heroins of the movement for civil rights and voting rights. these courageous women had tremendous roles in our nation's fight for justice and equality and i'm honored to

share their stories. today i honor the tremendous life and legacy of ms. amelia robinson. amelia was a key figure in the voting rights movement in selma, alabama, and she's often remembered for her historic role on bloody sunday on the he had money pet us bridge. at 102sh edmon pettus bridge. at 102 years old, she serves as a conduit of change. amelia robinson was born august 18, 1911, in savannah, georgia. her mother was an activist during the women's suffrage movement. after the passage of the 19th amendment, she and her mother would distribute voting information to women from the family's horse and buggy in the 19250es. her mother's tireless efforts to secure the right -- the right to vote for women would have a lasting impact on amelia. it also paved the way for the young activist to claim her own place in history.

fueled by the same passion, amelia began her own service to mankind when she and her husband, samuel, fought for voting rights and property ownership for blacks in the poorest rural counties of alabama. she was later named the only female lieutenant to dr. martin luther king jr. during the civil rights movement. in this role, amelia would travel alongside dr. king and often appear in his stead for various gatherings and event for the movement. amelia is best known for being on the front lines during bloody sunday in selma, alabama. during the protest, she was gassed, beaten and left for dead at the foot of the bridge. despite the violent attacks, this heroin was committed to staying the course. her direct involvement in the movement to lead the passage -- led to the voting rights passage of 1965. amelia was such a valued part of this process that some of the contents of the bill was

drafted at her kitchen table in selma. on may 5,1964, amelia broke yet another barrier when she became the first woman in the state of alabama to run for ongress. she garnered -- her historic run further solidified her impact on the movement for human rights, civil rights and voting rights in alabama. when this extraordinary woman wasn't distributing her time to the causes of her -- contributing her time to the an s of her area, she was income tax preparor as well as a real estate agent. she attended georgia state industrial school which is now known as savannah state university and tuss key gee normal which is also known as tuskegee university. i'm certain that i would not stand before you today as alabama's first black congresswoman without the

tremendous contributions of this amazing woman. it is indeed humbling to experience this -- and pay honor and tribute to the first african-american woman to pursue this office in my great state. her compelling story is one that reminds us of the undeniable power of courage. she refused to be silent and even risked her life to blaze trails for future generations. and at 102 years old, amelia is still alive and still with us today and she is still dispensing her wisdom. as we celebrate black history month and the notable contributions of african-americans to this country, i ask my colleagues to join me in saluting mrs. abielia robinson, an alabama gem and an american treasure. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. ompson: thank you,

speaker. mr. speaker, penn state university's lunar lion team will make history as the first-ever university-led space mission to the moon. this group of talented young minds is competing in the google lunar x prize competition to land a robotic spacecraft on the moon in december of 2015. the mission, which the team began preparing in january of 2013, includes a launch onboard a commercial space vehicle, it will cruise space for five days, landing for a relaunch for a second landing on the moon. the mission will then be sending information back to penn state's mission control center to put this in perspective, only the u.s., russia, india and japan have landed a craft on the moon and penn state looks to join this elite club next year. the lunar lion team includes science and engineering

researchers as well as 80 undergraduate and graduate students in science, technology, engineering and math programs, commonly known as stem, as well as communications, business, logistics, computer science and information technology, just to name a few majors. the team will have the opportunity for hands-on experience. not only that the team is learning skills necessary for public-private partnerships through collaboration with nasa and commercial space companies. and like so many of the university's education research initiatives, it will also be used to support new innovations and research in the private sector. real world outcomes that will benefit not just the students but america's competitiveness. penn state's mission sets the stage for resurgence of interest in space exploration among america's youth. the team is making great progress towards the mission,

prototype development is under way, and last month the team commenced rocket testing. as a penn state alom us in and lifelong resident of the county i take pride in the university and long list of scholastic and volunteer achievements. the lunar allyant team adds another achievement to that list. the work at the university has led to the formation development of this program is another example of innovation and creative leadership on the part of the penn state community. as one of the only nonprofit groups working towards the lunar x prize and the only university those working on this lunar alliant project are truly doing something special. mr. speaker, i want to offer my very best to the penn state team as they continue this important work, your community and nation are very proud. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. speier, for five minutes. ms. speier: thank you, mr. speaker. before presenting the topic on

which i plan to speak about this morning, i want to take a couple minutes to talk about the career of congressman rob andrews. who leaves this house on february 18 after a remarkable career. we will be losing amazing talent, a great intellect, and fine leader. and it's been a great privilege to serve with him and to watch him do his work so ably. we will miss you, rob. i now rise, mr. speaker, to speak for the 29th time on this house floor about rape in the military. i rise today to speak on a scathing report on military sexual assault by the associated press. sexual assault scandals exposed by the press are the new norm for the military, but this damning report offers us a window into the gross mishandling of sexual assault at

the hands of the chain of command on a massive scale. this weekend a deluge of sex crimes reports in japan have been revealed, thanks not to the military disclosing them but to the associated press through foia requests. the data revealed how broken the military scales of justice truly are and offer a rare glimpse into how reports of sexual assault are handled. many of these stories involve commanders that undermined investigations, refused to bring a case to court-martial, or overturned a case after a jury had found the perpetrator guilty and sentenced them to jail. of the 1,000 reports, punishments were wildly inconsistent, and of the suspects determined to be guilty , of the suspects determined to e guilty, 2/3 of them spent no

time in jail at all. in more than 30 cases a letter of reprimand was the only punishment. what is truly unacceptable is we had to rely on foia requests at all. these cases and their outcomes must face the light of day and the scrutiny of the taxpayers that pay for our military in the first place. and i intend to work to make sure that this happens. what is clear from these cases is that commanders are part of the problem not the solutions. commanders often decide to not move forward with court-martials but when they did, even with d.n.a. evidence and tape recorded confessions of rape, the predators were typically given mild punishments after pleading to lesser offenses. in the culture of the military, the rules simply don't apply. commanders also lessen numerous punishments unilaterally and two

cases threw out guilty verdicts and punishments completely. among the most disturbing stories in the a.p. analysis was about a doctor at a health clinic at the naval air facility near tokyo. airman tina wilson went to the clinic in 2008 to have a dressing change following surgery on her tailbone by the doctor, lieutenant commander anthony l. velazquez. decided it was perfectly ok to slip his hand down the front of her panties and then have the nerve to give her a smile and a wink as she walked to the door. wilson complained, an investigation was started, and three other women also reported the doctor had touched them inappropriately. but after 10 months, the investigation was closed with no action taken, according to any -- to an ncis document on the investigation obtained by the a.p. the story gets even more disgusting. two years later the navy finally filed charges against the doctor

after more than 25 women reported he touched them, too. guess what? most of the charges were dropped under a plea deal and the doctor served just a week in the bringing. he was dis-- brig. he was dismissed and stripped of his license, but velazquez could have been stopped years before. instead he was allowed to carry on his lewd behavior and scar so many more victims. airman tina wilson left the navy, distraught over how the case was handled, according to the a.p. analysis. this is another of the thousands of tragedies of how sexual assault victims are treated in the military justice system. they often lead or are forced out after making the reports and enduring a grueling unjust process. survivors often face retaliation and punishment while their predators get letters of reprimand. the retaliation is brutal.

survivors are debased, humiliated, and then discharged by the military they so proudly served because another service member raped them or sexually assaulted them. as we know there are an estimated 26,000 sexual assaults a year in the military. but reporting is low. court-martials are rare, and the conviction rate is less than 1%. this is the result of a legal system beholden to the chain of command that some are hellbent on protecting. it is time to pass the stop act and bring back justice for all service members, especially victims. when will we stop protecting the predators? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. swalwell, for five minutes. mr. swalwell: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. swalwell: mr. speaker, i rise today to join my colleagues and again calling attention to

our continued war on poverty. and i thank my colleague and neighbor, congresswoman barbara lee, for leading this effort. this war is, however, but the latest chapter in a larger struggle that goes all the way back to the founding of our country. when we declared our independence in 1776, thomas jefferson helped define the purpose and mission of this new country with his timeless words and that declaration of independence. we hold these truths to be self-evident, he wrote, that all men are created equal. that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. that among these are life, libertyy, and the pursuit of happiness. they endeavored on what was called at the time a freedom experiment. it was the perfect idea that no longer should this british noblity system prevail where your destiny was often chartered

for you before you were born based on where you were born or to whom you were born to. it was the idea that you should be able to decide your own independence, chart your own destiny. it was a perfect idea, carried out by imperfect men. wasn't extended to african-americans, wasn't extended to women, certain religious secretaries -- sects were left out. we went through the suffragist movement and women were given the right to vote. eventually entire classes of people, catholics, poor, and others who had been shut out were now brought in to american opportunity. today when i think about what are some of the final frontiers of freedom that have not yet en expanded, i think back to president johnson. we are very grateful for president johnson's declaration

of the war on poverty. 50 years ago he stated that we are in a war on poverty and we must fight for civil rights. he signed legislation that marked the beginning of the end of the jim crow era. he also recognized it was time to give the poor a real chance to pursue their happiness. he harkened back just as i did to our nation's beginning. president johnson said that our founders made a convenant with this new land and that it was conceived in justice, in his words, justice was the promise that all who made the journey should share in the fruits of the land. so began a he renewed effort in america -- so began a renewed effort in america to fight poverty. a renewed to give those who are poor the freedom to dream that he they could be anything that they want. we recognize that kids need to be better prepared before they go to school so we created the head start program.

we recognized the critical importance of health and wellness, so we created medicare and medicaid. but this freedom to dream has not yet been expanded across america. in fact, i see every day that there are still millions of children living in poverty. just like every politician when i see one of these young children, at a schoolhouse, i ask them what do you want to be when you grow up? after doing this a number of times i realized i should really ask them are you hungry? are you cold? are you safe? because the opportunities around them, the crumbling buildings they are trying to learn in, the parents who are working at a minimum wage that is not a living wage, this does not provide them with the tools that these children need to realize their opportunity. this leaves them no different than a child born in the 1700's under a british nobility system

-- noblity system. the freedom to dream is no different and they are no more able to dream beyond where they are born or whom they were born to. our goal must be to continue to fight this war on poverty. to give every child across every schoolhouse in this country the freedom to dream. this means we must raise the minimum wage. we must extend unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed so that they can find a job and make sure they can reinforce the skills at home that their children are learning in the classroom. we will not rest on this issue until i can ask and every member of this congress can ask a child, what do you want to be when you grow up? and that child will be able to say, my country has given me the tools to be anything i want. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields ack.

pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the hou tomorrow after failing to agree on plans on monday to tie a one- year extension. anddebt limit to a repeal cause retention for military veterans and created a new fund for changes in medical payments. the house ways and means committee committee chair confirmed the plans after a meeting with the house

republicans of congress this morning. a on the clean debt increase expected tomorrow and more live house coverage expected tomorrow at noon eastern on c-span. earlier this hour, house republican leaders wrapped up a briefing covering a number of topics but also addressing the latest plans to pass a clean debt bill. this is 10 minutes. >> introduce yourself. >> good morning, everyone. thank you for coming. i represent ohio's second district. as of december, my district still has three counties. double-digit unemployment. people who all want to work. none of the ohio once i talked to described the situation as liberating. lastly, a note from a constituent named bill. bill says, i want to earn my own way. he says he wants to work.

making it on your own is liberating and a source of pride for american families. to have the white house celebrate the reduction of 2.5 million full-time jobs due to obamacare, five years into this week economy, a disservice to every american out there looking for a job. in the state of the union, talked aboutma taking responsibility so you can get ahead in america. now the administration says pursue your dream by working last. the american dream is to work, just ask till. the house has solutions. getting employment education. we talk about energy and things we need to do. right now we need harry