highlighted a bunch of projects here today, things that were specific with the panel. we did all throughout the week and i think we will keep doing this. this is what we will spend a lot of time as we travel around the country, as we talk to political leaders across the country, this is the stuff we have been looking for. they want to know who is doing what. tell me what the innovations are out there. what can we learn? give me specifics on how things got done, the cause no one is waiting anymore for the silver bullet for things to happen. you heard from folks here today. this is the time to get the stone, and we are seeing that -- from folks around the country. we will solicit more of these

examples. if you have ideas, send them to build we will start to this clearinghouse of ideas so those lessons can be shared so we can do this approach that we talked about so people can learn from one another. we believe america's infrastructure needs our daunting, but i do not think they are insurmountable. we believe our states are, metropolitan areas, and the institutions that lead them have the talent, and have the creativity to move this country forward in this area and in others. we believe now is the time to do so we can start building for the next 100 years. thank you all very much for coming here today. appreciate it. [applause] >> live to the u.s. house -- the speaker: the house will be

in order. the prayer will be offered by our guest chaplain, lieutenant commander davis long, chaplain, united states navy, office of the chaplain of the marine corps, from dover, ohio. the chaplain: let us pray. our gracious and merciful father, may we not be so arrogant as to think that we must invite you to join us in our undertaking for the day, but rather we humbly acknowledge that you are already here. as the sweet psalmist proffered in the day of old, whither shall i go from thy spirit, whither shall i flee from they present? so because you are the constant,ed or you are our steps to your pleasure. may this body be zealous in its pursuit of domestic tranquility but may they do so as individuals following hard after righteousness, being mindful

that in the last day we must all give an account. blessed be those who proclaim liberty throughout the land. i pray these things in the name of the one who can truly set us free, my savior, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the -- the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last dei proceeding and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1rk the journal stands approved. the pledge will be led by the gentlelady from north carolina, ms. foxx. ms. foxx: please join in the -- please join in the pledge to our witness standerful flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina rise? ms. foxx: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, mr. speaker. the speaker: without objection. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker.

the phrase war on women is often used to score political points in this town but human trafficking represents a tragically literal war on women and girls. human traffickers prey on poor, often desperate women. the stories are sadly too familiar. a young woman is enticed with promises of a legitimate job and better life. then once she's taken to a new location she's held captive and forced into prostitution this plague is not isolated to far off places on the other side of the globe. in fact, women and girls are daily being trafficked and used for sexual slavery right here in the united states. in winston-salem, in my a prostitution ring that preyed on young immigrant women was broken up last year. this week, the house will be considering five pieces of legislation that address this issue. we can and must take action to prevent more people from being victimized. yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. pelosi: thank you, mr. speaker. today at grace cathedral in san francisco, hundreds of friends will join the family members to pay tribute to the life of a great entrepreneur, philanthropist and gentleman, frank montgomery woods jr. i rise on the floor of the house to join them in spirit, to share in the grief of frank woods' beautiful family, to celebrate his life and legacy. with his passing, we have lost not just a good man but a remarkable innovator who leaves an indelible mark on california and san francisco. born in chattanooga, tennessee, spent his childhood in birmingham, alabama, and nashville, tennessee, before

heading to cornell university. after that he served as a second lieutenant in the army in korea and from korea on to cincinnati, our speaker's hometown, where he joined the advertising and marketing department of procter and gamble. after that he came to san francisco to start his own successful business. in 1961, he met kay harrigan of alabama in san francisco. they married a year later in mobil and -- in mobile and then had five beautiful children, doreen, montgomery, and alexis. during the 1960's and 1970's, frank was deeply involved in politics. he served as -- although a republican, he was tapped to serve as ronald reagan's democrats for reagan gubernatorial campaign. he was again tapped by reagan in charge of 11 states at the convention, helping to secure dell gas. reagan lost to nixon at that time but frank went on to work

for governor reagan, my statement for the record will describe how. he went on to co-found a winery in california which was consumer friendly and elegant a combination that was new hisms leadership in the wine industry was recognized across the country. over the year he chaired the wine institute and the -- and in the 1990's he represented the u.s. in negotiations on nafta on the subject of wine. he served on the board of the fine arts museum, served the young audiences of san francisco. frank's life will be sell britted today for his accomplished legacy as an energetic and generous leader. my husband paul and i and our entire family offer our deepest sympathies on the life of our dearest friend. we hope it's a comfort to all of frank's family that so many people across the country and across the world share in their

grief and are paying for -- praying for them at this sad time. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one hin and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i rise today to reng nice margaret d. tennis of center county, pennsylvania, for decades of service to our community. she embodied the word service and for the past 33 years, she's been dedicated, both her time and efforts, to so many causes and important events, including the memorial day celebration. the memorial day celebration in bowlsburg is a unique occasion, including a walk to the local cemetery this year they celebrate the 150th anniversary of this tradition. mr. speaker, the solemn memorial day services in communities throughout the nation allow all

of us to pay tribute to those who sacrifice fourd freedoms. it's also a time to give thanks to individuals like margaret who make these community gatherings possible. thank you for your decades of service and your tireless efforts to make our memorial day celebrations such a special day. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a special occasion in memphis, the month of may, the celebration known as memphis in may. the weather is great, the people have wonderful festivals. we have had a musicfest value the first weekend and this past weekend, the world championship barbecue contest. there's no place in the world, even if my colleagues from north carolina and texas think so, that has great barbecue like tennessee.

next week, the sunset sympathy, the crowning vule joule of the festival. they'll play on the river, they'll play "the 1812 overture" and have fireworks and a great aerial show. it's a great time to visit memphis a great time to experience memphis. we honor a foreign country each year, this year it's the republic of panama. i commend the city of memphis for this. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for -- for one minute. >> in recognition of armed forces day and memorial day, we offer our deepest gratitude to those who have sacrificed their lives protecting our freedom. i want to remember second and nant walter trumpfer

another. second lieutenant trumpfer was honored by naming a street after him. as navigator of a b-17 bomber he was ordered to abandon his plane following german gunfire that killed the co-pilot. as the pilot remained alive but immobile he refused to desert the plane. after three attempts to land the plane, it fatally crashed. lieutenant colonel holstein earned several awards for his 27 yearses of service to the army. he was a project manager for the army reserves he lost his battle with cancer this february. i'm privileged to be honoring m and his wife at kain county's memorial day ceremonies next week. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1rk the chair declares the house in

thehe rules committee of house will meet later today to consider the rules for floor debate on the defense programs bill. the committee will take up commerce, justice, and state programs bill that includes amendments on medical marijuana and gun dealers. 5:00 eastern today on c-span3. jill abramson david commencement address at wake forest university.

it was her first public appearance since he fired last week from the newspaper. abramson is the first woman appointed as executive editor of "the new york times." her speeches about 15 minutes. [applause] >> you brought a lot of friends with you, didn't you? there are few jobs more daunting than editing a newspaper. the verifiability of newspapers at stake these days call for an unusual amount of energy, innovation, courage, and judgment. meeting that challenge is the gold standard of american journalism, "the new york times." she shines brighter than ever. that is in large part due to

jill abramson. as we crack more of the last ceiling of gender discrimination, speaker of the house, corporate ceo's, television anchors, chair of the federal reserve board, a seminal step was taken three years ago times" namedyork its first woman executive editor. she took over a great institution and leaves it this past week better, stronger, more vibrant than ever. tough,aid she can be a in herense, even pushy passionate commitment to truth and accountability no matter rank or party. that is what makes a great editor. it is said she has a keen eye and a range of knowledge so broad it is humbling. that is what makes a great editor.

whether directing coverage of disasters, the, corrupting influence of special interests, or the abuse of governmental powers, jill always demands excellence, the best. that is why she is such a great editor. smart, supportive, relentless am , she is absolutely fearless. let me share an anecdote. jill wrote a book about the clearance thomas controversy. "60 minutes post quote schedule and interview. only when cbs showed up to the author realized it was to be a piece trickle of the book. shivers down the "60nes of near mortars, a minutes" inquisition.

she got her notebook, pulled out the fax, rebutted all the charges, and went to live with "60 minutes." it was on this campus that i decided to become a journalist, influenced by's ending several days with a legend scotty reston. little did i realize the decades later i would be close friends with another "new york times" editor. she is not a pipe-smoking columnist. she is a thoughtful editor with a new york accent so thick we may need a translator this morning. [laughter] of the most powerful women in the world who always has time for her many friends. it is one of the pleasures of my life to be her colleague.

and today it is with such pride that i present your commencement speaker, my dear friend jill abramson. [applause] >> i think the only real news >> i think the only real news here today is you're graduation from this great university. first of all, congratulations.

[applause] i'm impressed that your achievements have attracted so much media attention, as well they soon. i'm so happy to be eager to share this important day. my own college graduation is still a memory. in fact i actually had breakfast this morning with one of my college classmates. he's one of the very proud parents of the graduates.

.e looked silly, but radiant i hope all of you in the class lucky enough to have at least one parent or someone who helped raise you here today. parents,ut to all the grandparents, and others in the audience. are collegeren grads, so i know how your hearts are today because your kids have worked so hard for so much. the president has suggested that i speak to you today about resilience. i'm going to take his wise counsel. i'm not quite finished with the parents part. very early last thursday my sister called me. would he asknow dad proud of you today as the debut became executive editor of "the new york times."

i have been inspired the previous day, so -- i had been fired the previous day, so i knew what she had to say. it meant more to our father to see how was deal with our setbacks and try to bounce back than to watch how we handled our successes. show what you are made of, he would say. graduating from wake forest means all of you have experienced success already, and some of you -- and now i am talking to anyone who is been dumped -- [laughter] you bet -- not gotten the job you really want it or receive the harmful jection letters from grad school. you know about not getting something that you wanted. when that happens, show what you

are made up. i was in china, and as you know the new york times website has been blocked by censors their for more than a year. means in china citizens cannot read the most authoritative coverage of their country, and every time i reflectively tried to open the times website, i got the open thesafari cannot page, which made me become more and more furious. while i was in beijing, one of our chinese journalists patrick was detained for hours by authorities. the government meant to scare and intimidate him. why was he detained? simply because he worked as a truthful journalist. so what did he do? he came right that to work and quietly. on with things. i did what i believe, and that

makes me fearless, patrick told me after his lengthy ordeal. journalistsmes" risk their lives frequently to bring you the best news report in the world. that is why it is such an important and you're replaceable -- and irreplaceable institution, and it was the honor of my life to lead them. a couple of students i was talking to last night after i arrived, they know that i have some tattoos, and one of them asked me, are you going to get had times key that you tattooed on your back removed? not a chance. [laughter] [applause] i think the little challenge of my own not long ago. i got run over and almost killed by a truck in times square.

you may begin to call me collateral being -- calamity jill, but stay with me here. with this seventh anniversary of that accident up urgent, i wrote an article about the risk to colleagues whoh had also instructed her. we mentioned a nine-year-old boy in the top of our story who had been hit and killed by a cab early in the year. a few days after the story was published, i got an e-mail from dana lerner. it began, thank you for the article you wrote in last sunday's "times." the boy you mentioned was my son. i met with dana last thursday. he was just killed in january, husband are her working on a new law to make streets safer. she is taking and unimaginable

loss and already trying to do something constructive. we human beings are a lot more realize, than we often t, andent and perseveran there are so many examples of the street for me, refreshingly an hero is katharine graham. discrimination in a much tougher mail-dominated newspaper industry, and they went on to win pulitzer prizes. i colleague jim, who was standing up against an unfair washington leak investigation, is another hero. i co-authored a book about anita sexualho testified about

harassment before an all-white, all-male senate judiciary committee in the 1990's. the senators per trade her as being, as one of her the tractor so delicately put it, a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty. she turned that potential humiliation into a great career teaching at brandeis university and writing books that tell truth to power. anita was one of the many people who wrote me last week to say they are proud of me. those messages are so appreciated. some of you have faced danger or even -- , andost of you have not leaving the protective cocoon of school for the working world must seen scary. -- must seem scary. you will probably have a dozen

different jobs. sure, losing a job you love ,urts, but the work i revered journalism that holds institutions and people accountable, is what makes our democracy so resilient. this is what i will remain very much a part of. my only reluctance in showing up today was that the small media circus following me would detract attention away from you, the fabulous class of 2014. what total knockouts you are. [laughter] [applause] yes what is next for me? i do not know. in exactly the same boat

as many of you. [laughter] [applause] and like you, i am a little scared, but also excited. i do not really think coach manning could find much use for me. [laughter] but right after this speech, i hooked a private session with andy chan. [laughter] [applause] counselingr operation is a model for universities around the world. [laughter] when i was leaving my office for the last time, i grabbed a book frymy shelf, robert speaking on campus. in closing, i will leave you with some wisdom from the colby college commencement speech the

great poet gave in 1956. he described life after knittingg as pieces of to go on with. what he meant is life is always an unfinished business, like the bits of knitting women used to carry around witth them. for those of you who have never knit, think of it as a key to your tumbler. knitter, was a great and she made some magnificent things, but she also made a few itch, frankly hideous, sweaters. she let some things unfinished. so today, you gorgeous, brilliant people, get on with your knitting. [applause]

>> the houses in the break now until 4:00 eastern time when they will begin debate on eight suspension bills, including awarding congressional old andls to shimon peres professional golfer jack nicklaus. later this week, funding for projeinfrastructure ct. live coverage at 4:00 pm eastern.

the house rules committee meets later today to consider the rules for for debate on that defense programs bill. the committee will also take up a commerce much justice, and science programs bill that will include amendments on medical marijuana and gun dealers. she let coverage of the rules committee meeting at 5:00 eastern today on c-span3. republican governor mike pence wants to expand health care coverage for indiana's low income earners. the plan would be paid for with medicaid expansion funds approved as part of the health care law which ever pence wants to repeal. the obama administration would have to approve the expansion. the amerco enterprise institute hosted the governor and former u.s. representative on monday. >> we are looking to hear about his states new pozo for obama care and medicaid.

mike pence was elected as the 50th governor in 2012. ther to that he was representative in the sixth district 46 terms. -- for 6 terms. he has had a huge amount of experience. he has distinguished himself in his career. today's policy is no exception. it is my honor to welcome governor mike pence. [applause] >> thank you for that introduction and for the hospital tell of the. -- and the hospitality. i'm grateful to you, not just for your hospitality today, but for really keeping the twin

lights of freedom and enterprise earning brightly. aei's mission is about keeping the hope of opportunity of a better life, more vibrant society alive and well. and promoting empirically grounded fresh ideas to make that possible. it is an honor to be with you today, and please join me again with thinking the american enterprise institute and are through works for your great leadership. [applause] like many of other admirers of yours and of your work here, arthur, i have been influenced by your writings and your sense of the term earned success. and i come from a state that

works. it is a state or people value hard work. principleee the i've really earned success -- of really earned success lived out every day in the 92 counties of indiana. i seeded the schoolteacher who looks at risk kids after school doubt the graduate and go to college. i see it in the entrepreneurial business owner who started the business in their living room and now employs 50 people. or the police officer who takes pride in keeping the peace in our street, each and every day. i see in cities large and small across the state of indiana that principle that you have articulated, that people are motivated whene they build something other than, when they take greater ownership

in their lives and they are the success. whatever level of success that is. is much ofinciple what brings me here today. about today islk related to that point, and it concerns the future of health care in america. and particularly, how indiana has been leading the way for the kind of reform that i would submit respect the dignity of every person regardless of their income and honors the aspiration of every person for a better life. i agree with the thinking here at american enterprise and that it made the case that reform-minded conservatives need to ensure that the safety net is well designed and strong to basis. a firm i cited none other than

president ronald reagan's, who would say in new york city in 1979 these words " we have long since committed ourselves as a people to help those among us who cannot take care of themselves. but he added the federal government has proven to be the costliest and most inefficient provider i of help we could possibly have. i would submit reagan was right. the truth is the safety net is not the to be expanded as some in this town argue incessantly. abolishedt need to be , as some also argue. it needs to be reformed. it needs to be made better. i believe that can best happen in a laboratory of innovation and moxie at the state level -- and democracy at the state level. think of what president reagan

said so many years ago. committedng since ourselves to help people who cannot out themselves, but that the federal government itself was the least suited able to do that. and i come before you today to really say that when it comes to the issue of health care, i believe that people in my party need to be solutions conservatives, offering real arch under this to the big-government answers of the liberal establishment that are grounded in respect for the aspiration of every person, to earn their own way, to succeed, to achieve self-sufficiency, and to do that in the best way possible, with the kind of innovation that can happen all across the country on a state-i-state level. i say all this recognizing that

this is the very antithesis of the approach embodied in the affordable care act. ordering every american to buy health insurance, whether they wanted or needed or not, is not the answer to expanding access to affordable health care in america. i have said it before. i will say it again. obamacare must be repealed. replaced care must be with market-based reforms and, as i will elaborate more today, with a flexible medicaid bloc program that allows the states to create innovative solutions at the point of the knee. i have and will continue to advocate for congress and at president that has the political will to repeal obamacare, so we can improve health care access and outcomes. some of you who have known me know that i was a pretty vocal

vocalent of obamacare -- opponent of obamacare when i was in congress. i set this law will not stand, and i believe that more today than ever before. sven obamacare's architect are breeding easier, the program is still terribly flawed and should be repealed. it is bad for families, and for america. and despite the great progress we've been making in our economy in the state of indiana, there's not a day goes by that i do not travel across the hoosier state and your people tell me that the implementation of the affordable care act as a dampening effect hanging over indiana's economy and our nation posse coming. it is truly stifling growth in america. early in our administration, i made it clear that indiana would state---hat was a would not establish a state have a basic change. every winfiscal position

everyone cuts everyone knows the physical position of these exchanges is untenable. when the rates rise again, i predict you will see a drop in public support. it was the government takeover of health care. and the overly regulated top-down structure the law will never allow the exchanges to operate as freely as they should, and as a result access will stay the same or get worse as costs go up. i always thought that was the fundamental flaw of the argument on the other side. most people i talk to when i was in congress back home would say they were most concerned about the cost of health insurance. but the focus in the congress was not on lowering the cost of health insurance. it was about growing the size of government. that is how the affordable care act came to be. so obamacare needs to be repealed for all those good reasons, and i would submit to you for one more, because it is pushing a massive flawed medicaid program on the states.

for aeve a plan state-based medicaid reform is not only entirely consistent with a repeal of obamacare, but i believe it helps make the case for why repeal is needed. in congress have long argued for reforming medicaid into a block grant, so the states have flexibility to design better programs. i cannot think of a budget that i voted for during my years in congress that did not include medicaidlock-creating back to the states. i'd submit that in the debate state need to lead the way, like indiana is doing. last week i announced that the state of indiana will seek to do just that. to seek flexibility from the federal government to close what is known as the coverage gap by expanding our homegrown health care solution, the

healthy indiana plan. i have been talking about using the healthy indiana plan as a basis for expansion of health care coverage in indiana since before i took office in january 2013. today i'm pleased to have the opportunity to share with each one of you the details of our administration's proposal to expand the healthy indiana plan and offer consumer-driven health care coverage to low-income hoosiers. first, accra. some in indiana, we have 350,000 low-income working usurers, those below 100% of the federal poverty level, or for a family of four, that is about $24,000 a year. these are hoosiers who lack access to the insurance their neighbors enjoy. experts rightly call this the coverage cap. many hoosiers up to 138% of the

level, $33,000 a year in income for a family of four, also cannot access affordable coverage and they live with uncertainty in their families. last week i had the opportunity to introduce the people of our state to a number of hoosiers that fall into this coverage gap. working men and women who are outgrowing their sleeves up, oftentimes in the most difficult circumstances, but courageously moving forward, providing for their families. people like iquique kinkade -- like becky and kate, a proud hoosier who finds herself essentially for all intents and purposes caught in that gap, where her income does not give her the ability to purchase health insurance for themselves or their families. some of our neighbors across the midwest have chosen to dress the gap by expanding traditional medicaid. the decisions

others have made. i'm here to talk about indiana. from the beginning of my tenure with been saying no to obamacare in indiana. he declined a state taste exchange, and i have made it clear that we will not expand traditional medicaid on my watch. medicaid is not only broke. it is broken. medicaid is not a program we need to expand. medicaid is a program we need to reform. was nobly created some 50 years ago to help the poor and those with disabilities access quality health care. medicaid has morphed into a bureaucratic monstrosity that does less to help low-income people than advocates tying. and obamacare advocates continue to promote medicaid expansion despite the evidence that the program does not work as it is supposed to. as an anticipated study in organ showed -- in oregon showed, medicaid increased emergency

room use by enrollees and produce health outcomes that were no better than being uninsured. other studies have shown health outcomes are no better and sometimes even worse for people that are covered by medicaid compared to those with no coverage at all. the truth is last year oregon's study should have sent shockwaves to the rank of public health policy experts and advocates across the country. for some reason it did not do that. it should have caused people to ask themselves how expanding a program that does not improve health outcomes is the right approach for america or it is right to do that. if you care about low-income americans, why would you want to expand a program that provides such inadequate coverage? the only thing medicaid does well is make it on to the gao's

risk of high risk federal programs. we know doctors who see these individuals for free rather than dealing with medicaid. the program is prone to fraud and implicit in this gap access.age and obamacare needs to be repealed for many reasons, including it is pushing a massive medicaid program on to the states. expansion,ents of those who helped author that underlying legislation, the formal care act, are satisfied with covering a vulnerable population with a program that is so deeply flawed, but i am not. or generally hoosiers have that fortunately hoosiers have found a better way. in indiana we have found the way to base the program on away we know how to improve health and

lowers costs, consumer-driven health care. using health savings accounts. state brag on the hoosier for a second, and we think indiana is the birthplace of health savings accounts. some of you in the policy community remember the name j patrick rooney. he was an insurance executive and a visionary. in addition to his idea, which he called medical savings account, which he perhaps more than any other american popularized on capitol hill, and was able to achieve being added into the tax code as a pilot program, he also personally financed the first privately funded educational choice for graham in the united states of america. he was my friend, but he was a visionary hoosier, and we miss him. beginning with his vision, indiana became a centerpiece for

the discussion about consumer-driven health care. today indiana has more public our governmentin and rolled with state plans, more than any other state. and our private market is has a higher percentage of people enrolled in consumer-driven plans compared to many other states. the healthy indiana plan else as accountshealth savings it can' makes the most sense being launched and piloted and expanded in a state where consumer-driven health care was born. six years ago against that backdrop and that progress indiana became the very first day to successfully create a consumer-driven health plans to expand quality health insurance coverage to the population affected -- covered in medicaid. it has created on a pilot aces

and we call it the healthy indiana plan, and it provides health savings accounts today to some 40,000 hoosiers, and empowers them to take ownership of their health decisions. it works. the healthy indiana plan integrated the principles of consumerism within medicaid, encouraging and rowley's to take charge of their health care and empowering them to act as consumers in the health care market. here are some of the facts. healthy indiana plan has lowered inappropriate emergency room use by seven percent compared to traditional medicaid during the course of the program. enrollees use preventative care, which is similar to the rates we see in general commercial market places. hip enrollees choose generic drugs at a higher rate. broad sense,k in a

consumer-driven health plans have been shown to decrease health care spending by 20 five percent across the country, and those public employees i mentioned in the state of indiana who have a 96% enrollment rate in health savings plans, that saves me about $23 million a year for taxpayers in indiana, thanks to the adoptions of those programs. we are beginning to see this downward trend in health care costs within the healthy indiana plan as well. enrollees have a proven track record of managing their health care decisions. 92% make contributions of their savings account on time. 1/3 of them say they asked their providers about the cost of services. 98% say they would enrolled in hip again if they were given a choice. in a word, indiana has proven in the last six years that consumer-driven health care

works and it works for those that are starting out on the first rung of the ladder of the american dream. because of the success, last week my administration announced a waiver tosubmit replace traditional medicaid in indiana for all able-bodied adults with an expanded version of the healthy indiana plan. this will go for those up to 100 38% of the federal poverty level, and we call it hip 2.0. my kids like that. .0 would offer three options, and i would want to roll with them through with you quickly pick first would be a premium assistance plan that would help working hoosiers access employer coverage, and two health have savings account like plans with varying degrees of coverage.

it is a three-legged stool. ,e called it hip lengthj, hip plus, and hip basic. each of these would allow consumers to increase access to care. first off, in hip 2.0 we would offer hip link, ape program for people who have access to their players today but may not be able to afford it. a defined contribution premium assistance program, and it is the first of its kind in the united states's. rhose who qualify for receive aould

deposit into their account which they can use for premiums and deductibles. secondly is the first of the two health savings account like programs. hip plus is available to all of l qualified hip members. those contributions will range from three dollars a month to $25 a month based on income. -- the planfers offers enhanced coverage and a drug program that covers maternity services with no cost-sharing during pregnancy. lastly is hip basic, a default plan. it is exclusively for hoosiers federal poverty level who fail to make their contributions to their health savings account. members of this plan must make co-pays, they will receive fewer

benefits until they can begin to contribute to their health savings account again and move back into the hip plus program. again, by way of summary, the premium assistance program helps people employed but afford their plan. the enhanced health savings account plan, hip toss, provide usentives to save and preventative care, offers a more generous set of benefits. the second health seems account plan but serves as a default for those under 100% of poverty. it contains incentives for them to reenter the hip plus program. both plants penalize inappropriate emergency room use and encourage preventative care instead. contributions are required for onehip embers who choose of the plans. those above 100% of federal

poverty level risk losing their coverage entirely if they do not make contributions. 100%, should they stop making contributions, must make co-pays, and receive fewer benefits until they make contributions again. the amounts are reasonable and fair by income level and are designed to be that way. as we have seen in our pilot low-income working hoosiers and our state take pride in managing their accounts and making their contributions to their health savings account consistently. and we are proud of that fact. a couple other elements. the plan also includes what we call a gateway to work for for all program that will connect those who qualify for hip coverage with job training and search programs offered by the state program so they can move up and out of the program. is not an entitlement.

it is a safety net program that aligns incentives with human aspiration. the plan also includes high co-pays for inappropriate er use, to encourage enrollees to use primary care rather than emergency room care. say that hipsed to 2.0 will be fully funded at no additional cost to taxpayers. funded for abe combination of federal funds an agreement with indiana's hospitals who have partnered with us to improve access to to health care coverage within indiana. this means if approved by the federal government, are waiver will allow us to expand health care coverage to hundreds of thousands of hoosiers with no new state spending and no tax increases required. i have not a -- if thoroughly confused you, or if i

have, you can go to our website and read about hip 2.0. hip.in.gov. learn more about this program. 0 maintains 2. emphasis on the principles that animate my political career, and i think we are at the very heart of the people of our state and the people of this country. we put the emphasis on personal responsibility. represent an effort in indiana to find innovative and fiscally responsible ways to get people the care they need. performing traditional medicaid through this kind of market-based consumer-driven approach i believe is essential to creating better health outcomes for the people of our state and curbing dramatic growth in medicaid spending for the people of our country. i believe that once obamacare obamacare is -- repealed that the plan we are proposing will serve as a model for what walked-granted to the

gate programs could be institute across the country. close.is i will i will be pleased to take some questions. i believe there are only two futures for health care in america today. there is government-driven health care, or there is consumer-driven health care. ears ago when the healthy indiana plan was adopted, indiana chose the better portion by embracing consumer-driven health care, having eligible hoosiers the power to make their own health care decisions. now we are seeking permission from the government in the form of a waiver to build on that choice by expanding the healthy indiana and for more working hoosiers. 0 takes consumer-driven medicaid reform to the next level, are replacing traditional medicaid in indiana for all nondisabled adults and offering instead a culture that is but one healthy decision-making. is notsay hip 2.0

intended to be a long-term entitlement program. our hope is people will not be on it long at all. but will transition into the private insurance marketplace, that therir opportunities ofl allow them to move out the program and obtain insurance in the marketplace. hip 2.0 is a safety net that aligns incentives with earned success. hope and opportunity. is the soft paternalism of the modern welfare state has failed to honor the dignity of the working poor in many ways. by failing to give them the benefit of the doubt, and by failing to believe in them, in indiana we believe in our people. amongless of their income

regardless of where they find themselves on the path to 2.0 is, and hip designed and built with that faith and that confidence in the people of indiana and their ability to take hold of their futures if given the opportunity to prosper. lastly, let me close here at this policy group and surrounded by so many think-tank people, let me ground this more in the world in which i work every day. i think as we talk about policies and coverage and health care reform, the debates that take face on cable television and on the airwaves across the country, we must never forget we are talking about real people, working people, who deserve a better way. and our proposal to

reform traditional medicaid in reaching out to but simply don't have the ability, don't have the means in the health insurance economy have today to be able to provide coverage for themselves or for their families. but they are real hoosiers. and i've talked to many of them across our state. since i have begun to serve as governor. , i will close with, was named diana. to a diana at his visit community hospital in indianapolis. just a few weeks back. she was in with a heart condition that she said it was ok if i came around anyway.

she was self-conscious about how she looked, and i try to set her at ease. i told her, you look great. i sat down next to her bed, i .ook her by the hand she told me her story. diana had lost her insurance when she lost her job. shortly thereafter she started having chest pain. even though she knew she could go to the emergency room and get treatment, she waited. she actually told me sitting up in her bed, she said the doctors tell me i put off coming in a little too long. but she said i didn't want to come in because i was embarrassed. because i didn't have insurance. i thank god she is ok. her moreprayed for

than once since that day at her bedside. but she touched my heart. i mean, here was a hard-working who just wanted to find a and notay her own way rely on the free access of a public hospital. diana is like a lot of working hoosiers. people they don't want a handout, but they need a hand up. you know, in indiana we have long cherished the principle that you should love your neighbor as yourself. by that we should never walk on the opposite side of the road when someone is hurting and in need. i think it's what makes indiana special. , that ise just say

what hip 2.0 is all about. respecting the dignity of every hoosier, including our working poor, to find a way to cover ,hemselves and their families respecting their ability to make their own health care choices, and empowering them to lead healthier and better lives. i think the healthy indiana plan is a better way. health, better coverage, to a better health care system for peoplecoverage in the state of indiana and beyond. i hope it will help other states as well and serve as yet another reason why we should start over on health care reform in america , why we should repeal obama care and replace it with a plan that includes consumer driven

health care for low income americans and empowers them and their families to meet their needs and make their own way. thank you very much. i appreciate your time and attention today. [applause] >> i think we have little time for questions. go ahead. >> i am the head of the hsa coalition. i want to thank you for mentioning my mentor and his role in this. secondly, i want to endorse what you're doing here. i think it's incredibly innovative. i think it is incredibly courageous. you've got tremendous street credit for the 96% of state employees who are using hsc's now. in addition to that, your hip

one plan is the only one in the country like it and results are clear on their face. people save money, you save money, and you bring personal responsibility and choice within a government construct under an obama construct, and that is no small trick tom a so i just want to say thumbs up. >> thank you very much for that. i appreciate it. ofare proud of our heritage health savings accounts in indiana. we believe it is an idea that was born in the hoosier state. someone asked me last week after we now says, why are you expanding the healthy indiana plan? i said because it works. i have worked in this town for about 12 years and everybody has always got a new idea. this isn't a new idea. this has been in the field working for people eligible for

medicaid in indiana. it's also working for our state veryyees, and that's the practical core of why we want to expand this program. >> my name is barbara and i am a nurse and caretaker and i want to thank you for the work you are doing on this. does healthy indiana work through a combination of health savings accounts and sometimes a modified insurance? have to work within the mandatory benefits package that sometimes gives too much of one kind of care and not enough of another and drives up cost? >> the short answer is, and i recommend that you go -- i will plug it for our c-span

audience again. read all about it, but it's basically a three legged stool. ,he first piece of it, hip link basically allows individuals to use what would be the state's contribution to their health savings account for premium assistance. there is a lot of people in this category. again, if you walk out of here , thiso other realization is a program that we are designing to meet the needs of working hoosiers. these are people with jobs, maybe they have fallen on hard times, but these are people who are working for a living are aspiring to work for a living. be the premium assistance piece allows people to purchase health insurance they might not otherwise be able to afford through their employer. said, and this is for the technical people in the room, it's the first of its kind in the country.

fors in effect a voucher people to use these public resources and go purchase their piece of their health insurance through their employer. the other two pieces, hip plus is very much designed after our current healthy indiana plan today and it's a true health savings account. there are consequences for nonpayment. it's open to everybody that is eligible within the population of two 138% of the federal poverty level, but to your last point, for people under 100% of the federal poverty level, given current federal regulations, there's a certain minimum amount of coverage that within the waiver that we have today in the ,aiver that we are requiring cannot be denied, but the way we structured it is in effect by making the full health savings less, mored, the hip attractive, imminently affordable, with better benefits. we have every confidence that people are going to choose the

in increasing measure and believe we have created what we call a value proposition that will drive people to that outcome. waiver has been structured within existing federal law and regulations. yes, right here. go ahead. >> my name is jim gant off. chairman of the hsa council and -- theesent about 92% words you used here today really resonated. it is one i use would the democratic center for years ago. can tellre doing, i you him." , and we're happy to share this with anyone who is interested in hearing it, we can tag you that the outcomes that derived from ownership and dignity of

ownership will drive correct time, and will, over teach our fellow americans all the way across the country how to handle their health care expenses. so we endorse you. we thank you for what you are doing, and congratulations. >> thank you, i didn't know that when i called on you. appetite with other republican administrations in the state today, your fellow governors, to follow this type of example? >> i'm traveling from here on the train to go to the republican governors association. i expect there will be some conversation about this. that secondfer on one, but thank you for your very eloquent statement about health savings accounts and their value. the reason i'm so enthusiastic about indiana's leadership on

consumer driven health care is because it's better for people greatergive people a opportunity to take ownership in their health care decisions there's that old saying that when you've got your health, you have lots of problem. when you don't have your health, you have one problem. in my family and yours, we all aspire to good health. what is great about consumer , and yes,lth care there are the advantages of it. it tends the cost curve. it is slowing down the rate of inflation in the health care economy today. i get all of that. i get more excited when i talk to somebody working for a small business in indiana or in the healthy indiana plan today that says my life got better because i have incentive to take advantage of preventive medicine. i found out some things i could do in the area of smoking

cessation, or losing weight, or that ase different areas lot of people that had the opportunity to avail yourself of primary care on a regular basis, go see your own doctor, you take for granted. but for people to have greater access to and have the incentive to take greater ownership in their own health care choices, which is the very core of that original vision for consumer driven health care and health savings accounts, is what i get most excited about. >> i was wondering, obviously the obama administration is very motivated to close this coverage gap you talked about. do you think there was a moment when you have more leverage to -- what you're looking for in

this waiver. i wonder if you could talk about those negotiations in this particular moment when you're working for the same goal. >> we haven't shaken hands on this deal yet, but i'm hopeful what i can tell you is that right after i was elected governor, i said then that i did should set indiana up a state-based exchange, and i ruled out expansion of traditional medicaid in the state of indiana, for all the reasons i stated today, and i have stood by that decision. early in our administration, we reached out to officials to seek to renew our existing healthy indiana plan. our waiver was running out, and ati reached out to officials health and human services, and i spoke to the secretary and our team met with them, we said we

have a two step process here. first, because the healthy indiana plan had been such an unambiguous success for the some 40,000diana, hoosiers enrolled in this today, 40,000 that are all met up -- medicaid eligible. my first objective was, i wanted to preserve the healthy indiana plan. thefrankly in the wake of 2012 elections, there were some that speculated we wouldn't be able to do that with traditional medicaid expansion available, there was a lot of skepticism whether the administration would be willing to extend waiver, but we made very clear what our position was and that if we were able to see the healthy indiana plan waiver renewed, that we would then be willing to continue a dialogue about using the healthy indiana plan and consumer driven health care as a framework for further discussion.

i must tell you that i continue to be very grateful for the good faith negotiations that took place between our administration and the administration in washington over the renewal of existing healthy indiana plan, and we secured a one-year extension the middle of last year. since that time, i would say we have been in continuous discussion with federal and the proposal we aveiled last week has been result of that dialogue. again, there is not agreement on thatut we remain hopeful the administration will allow the state of indiana to continue to build on the healthy indiana effect build on our commitment to medicaid reform in the state of indiana. so that's how we characterize the discussions, but they have

been ongoing. right in a comment period now where we have unveiled a proposal. the law requires us to collect comments from across the state of indiana, and then we will be submitting the waiver formally sometime next month it then i expect the discussions will continue their, but we believe the proposals we unveiled last week is the right proposal for the people of indiana and we also believe it is a good-faith that i think will serve the people of our state well for many years to come. we will seek the maximum allowable time under the law for that waiver. , and then as i close i will finish the formal program but i can catch up with some of you afterwards if you want. served 12 years in the congress and i served the better

part of a year and a half -- i have become more convinced every day that the cure for what ails our country is going to come more from the nations state capitals than it ever will from the nation's capital. at the very core of this waiver that many my belief of the most intractable issues facing our country, including health care, can best be solved by giving the states the freedom and flexibility to design programs that can solve the challenges the people of their state are facing in those areas. we will continue those discussions with federal officials. i'm hopeful that we will be able healthy indiana plan in a way that will serve the people of our state, will close the coverage gap but will do it in a way that continues to advance principles of empowerment, personal dignity,

consumer driven health care in our state and maybe be an example to other people around the country. thank you all very much. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> the house is in recess until 4 p.m. eastern when they will live in the debate on eight suspension bills including awarding congressional gold medals to israel he president and former prime minister shimon peres and professional golfer jack nicholas. funding foreek it's water infrastructure projects and national defense operations in the house. live coverage when members return at 4:00 eastern here on c-span. the house rules committee meets later today to consider the rules before the debate on that

program's bill. the committee will take up a commerce and science bill that will include amendments on medical marijuana and gun dealers. see live coverage of the rules committee meeting at 5 p.m. eastern today on c-span3. now until the house returns at four clock eastern, a look at this week in congress and the white house from today's washington journal. >> we are back with two veteran reporters here in washington. and the white house reporter with the associated press, here to give us the week ahead in washington. that may begin with you, what is on the presidential agenda this week? energy savings and climate change, last week he did infrastructure. ,his week, if there is a theme it is foreign investments in the u.s.. he is bringing some business leaders to the white house on tuesday and then later in the week he's going to cooperstown

to the baseball hall of fame to discuss tourism. so that seems to be the theme of the week this week. at the white house they call it his pen and foam thing where he tries to do things on his own when congress is in with him. >> is this an interaction with congress? >> this is basically highlighting things that he thinks he can do or has been able to do. he has this program called thatt usa which is a way he has coordinated a lot of federal agencies to help cities and states attract businesses to the u.s. and he has a couple of examples, lufthansa set up a big plant in puerto rico. they just cut a deal with a belgian aerospace company for oklahoma. these are the kind of showcase

moments he's got. at the same time, it underscores how limited his power and ability is to deal with the economy. that, this week the senate was in. with the house, what is on the agenda question mark >> the defense authorization bill is coming to the house for hundreds of amendments have been filed, the house rules committee will decide on voting some of them. with the defense bill you had nsa issues come up, military sexual assault. there has been talk of using people who have served in the military green cards and this is something that's very controversial. it's basically what half of what the dream act is. some democrats and republicans want this attached to the defense bill. on the senate side you will see the tax extenders bill. we talked about that last week. that got bogged down in a dispute over amendments and they could not come to an agreement.

finance committee leaders are trying to get some type of agreement. this kind of bill is similar to the medicare physician payment formula. they cannot get a big tax reform bill through congress so these tax breaks that are popular in both parties, every year they are extended. senator wyden, the new chairman of the finance committee, said we're going to do this one more time and then we are going to attack the tax code. one other thing that could come up in the senate is sylvia mathews burwell, kathleen sebelius' replacement at hhs. she could get a vote. her confirmation has gone as smoothly as it can go and she will probably get a big bipartisan vote. not unanimous because it is such a contentious department. the other thing is tomorrow, tea party tests. big primaries in kentucky, georgia, idaho, and organ. -- and oregon. incumbent republicans are being challenged from the right,

including mitch mcconnell. you have mike simpson, an ally of speaker boehner. the club for growth has supported the challenger to simpson. some legislation is moving, not huge pieces of bills. the election season is up and running. host: beyond what is going to be talked about on the floor, there are the debates happening off the floor. one of them is immigration. the lead story for the hill.com, boehner's big reform decision. what is he going to do? guest: that is a really good story. everything is watching boehner. there was a controversy last week where white house senior adviser valerie jarrett said she had a commitment from boehner to move immigration this year. boehner has mocked his republican colleagues back home a week ago. he had to walk that back when he got back to washington.

the question is what is boehner going to do? is he going to be the speaker next year? is this a legacy? the boehner -- boehner, throughout his career, has been a dealmaker. he wants to move immigration reform but it is so hard to move the house republicans. they are saying why would we do this, why bring up something that divides us? boehner does feel that when the senate moves on something and it set in -- it sits in the house, he feels like the ball is in his court. conservative radio, there has been a lot of talk about what boehner could do. and what would eric cantor do, the possible successor to boehner. eric cantor has indicated he is not ready to move forward unless it has support of house republicans. boehner has said we are not going to conference with the senate bill and we are not going to move any bill without a

majority of a majority. anything with immigration is not going to have a majority of a majority. it is very intriguing. the deadline is the august recess. if it does not happen by then, watch democrats and the white house sharply criticized republicans. they have held off until august. host: jim kuhnhenn -- guest: one of the comments valerie jarrett said is we have until august to make a determination as to whether it the house will move. there have been discussions between the speaker's office and the white house. they believe the speaker wants to go but they understand what his political limitations are. in the meantime, there is a parallel track going on with the department of homeland security. jeh johnson, the secretary, is looking at how he can soft and the bite on deportations. the president has gotten

criticism from the immigrant advocacy community over the number of deportations. they are trying to figure out how far to go. whether to make this a wholesale executive action that is vastly diminishes the number of deportations. it is not where they want to go because they think that would destroy any deal they could get with republicans. the fixes might be more on the margins. even if congress does not act, even if boehner does not act by august, i think what you will see from the administration is some tweaks but nothing that is a wholesale change in immigration law. host: i want to show viewers what the president had to say. last tuesday he was at a law enforcement briefing on immigration. here is what he said about the issue and the prospects of it moving in congress. [video clip] >> public opinion is on our side on this.

unfortunately, we have got a handful of house republicans right now who are blocking going ahead and leading legislation get to the floor. to their credit, speaker boehner and some of the other leaders there do believe immigration reform is the right thing but they have got to have a political allows them to get it through their caucus and get it done. i have said to them if they have ideas, i'm happy to talk to them. we are not hellbent on making sure every letter of what is in the senate bill is exactly what lands on my desk for signature. but, there are some corporate suppose we have got to get done. stronger border security. we have got to make sure that we are dealing with companies that are not doing the right thing by workers. we have got to make sure that we have got an improved legal immigration system, a lot of folks are getting pushed into the legal system because the waits are so long through the

legal process. and we have got to make sure there is a way for people to earn some pathway to citizenship. host: jim kuhnhenn, the president last tuesday. was that a nudge? guest: there were some interesting clues in where the wiggle room exists. the senate bill has a path to citizenship for the 11 million immigrants that are here illegally. there is some interest in the house and certainly some of the republican opponents of immigration reform have talked about a legal status for immigrants who are here illegally. not necessarily a path to citizenship. not something that puts them ahead of others who have been waiting in line to gain citizenship. when the president says he is not hellbent on getting everything in the senate bill, that is an important bill. he did not mention a path to

citizenship in those remarks. leaving an area that could allow the house to come up with a compromise. host: bob cusack do those comments help or hurt? guest: i was thinking about that when the president was praising speaker boehner. boehner privately has told democrats not to publicly praise him, especially on immigration. this is a tough task for speaker boehner. earlier this year, boehner put out some principles with the house republican conference. it looks like all signals were go. and then house republicans had a meeting and said they are not ready to move on this. it's a real tough spot for , theyr and the president really don't have the best relationship. the debt ceiling fight of 2011,

there are still scars from that. boehner has since said the president needs to step up and have house republicans build some trust. how does he do that? that's what we're asking, could he give a speech where he said he's going to follow the law? i don't know if it's enough. one interesting proposal that schumer had said, let's pass the bill now and it will be effective for the next president. if there is a deal, and i doubt it, but if there is a deal, that could be some type of compromise. host: the story continued through the weekend. what do you think is going to happen at the white house this week with the pressure building for general shin seki to go? >> with this administration, and you've seen it with previous issues like this that have

created serious problems for the white house, they don't chop the heads off of people in positions of authority until much later in the process. house duringhite the healthcare.gov debacle send in one of the trusted fixers to go into hhs and essentially bail kathleen sebelius out of that problem. has sent rob he neighbors, who is his deputy chief of staff and has long ties with the hill because he used to be the legislative director for the white house, they have sent him to help with the review of what the problems are. there's a bit of a difference between the healthcare.gov problem, that was centralized and it was in one place. the ba and ba hospitals are diffused. these are scattered across the

country. anyone of them can be a problem. once you start seeing two or three or four starts looking systemic. that is the problem white house needs to get hold of. is morning is that the administration was warned back in 2008 during the transition that there were problems with the v.a. system, that there were inaccurate waiting times and experiencing schedule failures, threatened to do but -- deny veterans timely health care. what do you make of the story and the impact it has this week for the administration? >> the white house likes to say was bob gatesk it former secretary of defense who warned the president at the very beginning that he should realize that every day, some place, someone in the federal , andnment is screwing up eventually, some of those in-depth on his desk.

yes, you might have warnings you're the white house would tell you they have tried to tackle one of the persistent problems, these long with of disability claims and an incredible backlog there. they said they are able to shorten that. the assertion perhaps comes into question once you start seeing that at the very hospitals they were gaining the system and numbers on other types of treatment. in any event, the white house says they have -- we have tried to deal with some of the problems, but here is the one where you have 40 people die while waiting for treatment in arizona. it is a big problem for the white house. it probably right now is overshadowing benghazi as an issue. yesterday, the chief of staff has gone on tv and said, the president is mad as hell and we have not seen the president mad as hell yet but certainly his

chief of staff is saying they're taking it seriously. on the hill, there efforts -- a legislative efforts, i believe, to give sin jackie more authority to fire people, which does not have at this point -- that is to give him more authority. guest: the house considers that bill that would give him that much more power. in his testimony last week, he did fairly well. he said he was mad as hell. he took a lot of blame. a trio of republican senators had him step aside. we do not know how many of these ongoing investigations will be lawsuits but overall, he has been able to keep his job and said he has served at the pleasure of the president. his first impulse is not to fire people.

he has not called for his resignation. but this will go on for a while. one of the most damning things is you have these not only cooking the books, but the cover-up. host: you have a former senator of nebraska. why does it matter? guest: if you are in trouble, whether republican or democrat, if the other party is calling you to step aside, -- if members of your own team, we have seen that over the years, where different politicians have gone into trouble, but when your own team turns on you, that is when you are in trouble. maybe this could be the beginning of it here and we are in election season. democrats do not want to be

defending him when he is in a moment of fire. maybe this could be the first of several democrats, we will see. guest: bob kerrey is a veteran navy seal who lost his leg in action. he brings more weight to the argument. host: served in vietnam were, was awarded the medal for heroism and combat. he was a patient of the v.a. for eight or nine years. let's go onto our first phone call, bob from virginia, democratic caller. caller: hello. thank you for taking my call. what really bothers me is those saying hillary has brain damage. i would like to know what bob thinks about that. she is a terrible secretary of

state, responsible for benghazi, everything. it is horrible what they are doing to hillary clinton. it is outrageous. please respond to that. host: your thoughts on this debate. guest: big controversy and it will go on for a while because it is likely she will run for president. she will be 69 if she were elected, which will be roughly the age john mccain would have been, but younger than ronald reagan. republicans obviously did not like the way rove did it and how they did it, and when you run for president, there is so much pressure for you to release your health records, and she has has -- she has had health issues before, tech and karl rove's life.

whether it is health or rain at the state department, she will have to make the case or benghazi. every candidate has strengths and weaknesses. she will have to make a compelling case. benghazi maybe could have been handled differently. host: the committee created in the house to investigate what happened on september 11, 2012, did they call the former secretary of state before that? guest: that is a huge question. a huge risk, but a lot of republicans feel they have to call her. she testified before congress, in the senate, and i think they probably will. it will be quite a theater if they call on her to testify. in a civil investigation, -- the

initial investigation, she was not questioned on it era public and will need to say, these are the three questions we do not know about benghazi and they started to come up with their message on that. another question is whether democrats will participate in this special committee. they have been divided on it. there have been talks of what cutting it completely. they want to have seven democrats on it. john boehner said that would not happen. you will get five. senate republicans have told us they want a house-senate special committee. democrats are not going for that. what will house democrats do? it is up to nancy pelosi. when push comes to shove, i think they will put in five democrats, as many as they can get on the committee. when hillary clinton is in the room, democrats will want to defend her if -- at a subpoena or after the testimony.

guest: the idea they could delegitimize the committee by not appointing members has probably lost some power. at the white house, they spoke about this idea of naming one. they were seating that decision to pull oc, realizing she had a political issue, a political problem with her members area this idea of naming one, just so they can keep track of what was going on, so they could have half, add depositions they took, was something that -- that had caught the attention at the white house. if they realized the delegitimizing is not the path to take, they might as well just point -- host: at the same time, the select committee is about to

watch and get underway this week, you have got the government reform committee continuing with this investigation, working to get secretary john kerry with them area he has had traveling conflicts. what is going on between the leadership there and who is really doing the investigation? guest: john boehner did not want this. he got a lot of report -- support and cosponsors and john boehner initially were resisted. he wants to defer to the committee chairman, most notably the chairman of the oversight committee. then, the pressure -- there was an e-mail from a white house advisor that came out, not because of an investigation, but because of a lawsuit brought by a conservative group through the freedom of information act. that is when john boehner said, ok, we need more power and we have got to step it up. not crazy about this idea, but he is saying they could continue doing

their investigations. of committee chairmen who have investigated benghazi on this special committee. john kerry will testify. it is just a matter of when. he was not there when benghazi happen, but as far as the documents republicans claim the state department has not been as forthcoming as it should be. host: this is a headline from fox news's website. republicans want new clinton testimony on benghazi area where talking with to zach, manager of edit -- of the hill. taking your questions and comments about the week ahead in washington here. we will go to a republican caller out of texas. good morning. caller: yes. i just wanted to ask the assessment on unemployment. i note the labor secretary

recently raised the issue again. is the issue finally dead? guest: certainly, the white house is still pushing for it, but congress has not acted. the numbers are not there. there might be better access into what the politics are, but this has not moved, i think some of the steam goes away from the issue as some unemployment numbers have come down. at the that scene, hiring increases. that is a fluctuating number. you go month a month and then suddenly, you are back to a low hiring by the private sector. i do not know -- guest: i agree. the momentum for the bill, earlier this year, he looked like it was going to happen and it stalled in the senate, and then through a lot of

negotiation, they got it through the senate. this is another bill -- a lot of bills, the house passed and there sitting in the senate. this is an immigration bill that is stuck in the republican led. conservatives do not feel pressure to act on this. as you mentioned, dropping the unemployment rate hurts the effort to move this bill and really, we have not seen the push from the white house -- it has been intense at times. but i think the chances of this bill are very slim. host: these next in massachusetts, independent caller. hi. caller: a couple of observations. one of your guests said john boehner and the president do not have a good relationship. it probably do not, but i think john boehner would i to have one. you mentioned the great debt crisis, where they could have had a grand bargain and were

only a handshake away. the president did everything he could. kept raising the bar. first, they wanted a dollar and a half for every cut of revenue. the president from two men went to three dollars beer john boehner said, you have got everything you want 30's shake his hand and we will destroy the party. john boehner row probably go down in history. i think the problem is not so much the relationship. it is not even policies. a matter what the president seems to want to do, there will be the tea party fashion that just says, we are against it. guest: there is no doubt, john boehner has to watch the tea party guys in his conference and as the caller mentioned, they were very close to a grand bargain, extremely close.

it would have been very controversial and tough to move to the house. it raises the issue, what is john boehner's legacy as speaker? that could have been one, the grand bargain. it did not happen. could it be immigration? it could be. other than that, curbing spending here and there, but that crosses his mind. host: tomorrow is primary day in several states and this is a test for tea party candidates. what does it mean if tomorrow comes and some tea party candidates have one and some of lost? guest: so far, we have a fight on the right. there is a fight on the left as well. hillary clinton, some people want to have a primary with her. there is some concern with her on the left. the biggest party is on the right. establishment versus tea party. we saw this play out in

different primaries over the last couple of elections. publicans feel they elected on electable people. they won the primary and lost in the general election, including the challenger to harry reid a few years ago. this is another test. there is a tea party challenge to mitch mcconnell. it was like he will win and win big. if he does when they, that is a big deal. a contested primary in georgia, where some republicans do not want congressman paul broun to win. they think he could struggle in general. we have this fight and the establishment right now is fighting back and winning. we shall see, it congressman mike simpson loses his seat, because of a tea party challenge, that is a win for the tea party. tomorrow is a big day. we will see it throughout the next several months. host: the white house, they will change the strategy for the rest of the year depending on what happens in the primaries.

guest: what the white house easier if the republican party as a whole having moved to a more conservative stance. that affects how they view and create their strategy for dealing with congress. there is really not that much more other than immigration as a slim possibility that is out there for these sides to negotiate over. but i think, and my colleague chuck wrote this over the weekend, the idea that even as -- even if the tea party suffers the loss is, you have seen the party in general move to the right. rs the loss is, you have seen the party in general move to the right. at the same time, you have seen the chamber of commerce come in as kind of a representative of the establishment of the republican party way in. you mentioned in the georgia

race, they put money for jack kingston in that race. affect are trying to these races as well. but again, fundamentally, there has been -- the needle has moved a little bit to the right because of the tea party, whether they win the races or not. on twitter, -- is it not hurting the republicans? guest: it is not. the map supports the public -- the republicans this year. history shows the six-year seven year itch, when you have the president's party second terminate term, not a good

situation. this is been frustrating for congressional democrats here on individual only issues they do well. is one that is not a top issue as far as one or two jobs in the economy always trumps it there it white house democrats have made the argument it would help -- host: even with the hispanic population, it polls below jobs and the economy. two things we looked at, one, how do they deal with the affordable care act, did they mention obamacare, and also immigration. we found a lot of democrats were not talking about obamacare. not just maybe health care in general, but not the law, which is not popular. immigration, unless there were certain district -- host: republican caller, go ahead. caller: i have a couple of comments. i am a republican and i feel very discouraged about the two

representatives there representing the media. i watch c-span thoroughly and pretty much across other media outlets. i watch the hearings in congress and on the floor and i do my research. to see these two representatives here continuously misinform the public -- host: what did you hear -- misrepresentjust the information that is out there -- host: give me an example. caller: one example is the fact when --st this morning, was on talking about hillary

clinton about her health records and her age and so forth, age does not have too much of anything to do with anything about the records -- her medical records, just as much as the republicans on the republican side of any person running, whether it be rand paul -- look at his record and his history of what he has done as a politician -- host: what did you hear -- caller: he has not given any information to the public -- chris christie. i will move on. we will go to steve, republican caller. are a lot of good topics here. immigration, all the scanners -- all the scandals. are ai am an 80 year vet, 19 p. about thishing

hillary clinton and the bush's, why is everything focused on -- that could save the country. benghazi is a big thing with hillary. her congressman's, i do not see any. -- her accomplishments, i do not see any. months ofremaining this legislative session, is it about 2014 or 2016? guest: both. democrats are saying the investigation about benghazi is all 2016, and about weakening hillary clinton. republicans are hungry to get back in the white house. other democratic challengers other than hillary clinton? yes. a substantial challenger?

i do not think so. some people think elizabeth warren will run. she says she will not. i do not think she will. agenda, 2000 14, the big question is, can republicans win back the senate? bills where it moves through the senate. you cannot blame senate republicans. when the house. house republicans are in a position where they expect to pick up seats. democrats think they will pick up seats, but the chances of democrats winning back the house , unless something dramatic happens in the next several months, that will just not happen. think they do not have that much interest. he does not have a dog invested in the 2016 fight. he has been careful not to give a nod to either hillary clinton or joe biden. to 2014, the one

thing they are relying on the president to do is raise money. a lot of candidates really do not want him campaigning with them. the way hethey like makes a pitch for donors, because he is still very effective at doing that. every week has been sprinkled with fundraising events. he is doing one here and another one in chicago. the one kind of example that does not prove my point, last week, when he went to little rock. senator pryor invited him to come. senator pryor has been trying to distance himself from obama policies. disaster you have a like the tornado over the state of arkansas, having the president there is more a symbol that you have the clout to bring the most powerful person in the country into your state. that was an effective way for

prior to use the president without having to embrace his policies. you senate the top you could see the senate voting this head of hhs taking over for kathleen sebelius. there is a shakeup at the white house, moving positions around. julian castro. host: what is the president doing here? guest: he is bringing in shaun donovan, the current secretary of housing, into the white house. as what he wants. castro, whojulian is popular and well-liked at the white house, one of two brothers who have made a name for themselves in politics. his brother is a member of congress. so, if donovan goes to the budget office, he will be are placing sylvia, who will not

have a vote this week on the services, anduman then castro would come in as isretary of housing, if he confirmed by the senate. it is an interesting move because castro is really kind of a known figure, a rising star within the democratic party. his base is at -- as mayor of antictonio in the his community. this is an attempt to raise his village -- his visibility. to give a hispanic more prominence. certainly, the life set -- the white house has come under criticism. tom perez is the one who stands out in the labor department. this is an attempt to raise his village -- his visibility. to give a hispanic more prominence. i have got two comments i want to make.

[indiscernible] why do you want to add a billion dollars to something already being wasted [indiscernible] a billion dollars [indiscernible] at more money onto it. another thing i want to say is i watched c-span quite a bit and i watch [indiscernible] republicans do not mind wasting money like that. when it comes like food stamps or social security -- [indiscernible]

when is the military ever going to go broke? never hear about that. we know how much waste is going on. we got your point. two different points. the spending one. the defense operations bill is on the floor at the house. yes.: we have got the sequestration deal that was struck. both parties did not like it but they were handcuffed. we have the sequestration through the deal struck by patty murray and paul ryan. there is a big deal about defense spending and food calling -- that was a big issue and the farm bill finally pass. not asde some cuts but many as the house bill wanted.

if you look at medicare, reforms have to be made. these programs are headed for bankruptcy. the caller was talking about cleaning up the v.a. system rather than dum money >> hey can dump recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on armed services be authorized to file a supplemental report on the bill h.r. 4435. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote of the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later.

for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4268. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4268 a bill to amend title 23, united states code, with respect to united states route 78 in mississippi and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. pe try: i ask unanimous consent that -- mr. petri: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the bill before us. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. petri: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. petri: i rise in support of h.r. 4268 a bill to amend title 23 united states code with respect to united states route 78 in mississippi and for other

purposes. h.r. 4268 allows commercial vehicles currently operating on united states route 78 in mississippi between mile marker 0 and mile marker 113 to continue to operate after that segment is designated as part of the interstate highway system. this bill is similar to h.r. 2353, a bill which i sponsored, that provides similar allowance for commercial vehicles operating currently on highway 41 in the state of wisconsin. that bill passed the house by voice vote on july 22 of 2013. i urge all my colleagues to support h.r. 4268. it allows for congress to continue in mississippi in an orderly way, it would not involve any new use of the roads, the only thing that would change is the designation of the

highway from u.s. to interstate and otherwise people that have special permits to operate or were operating under state law on the previous highway would continue operating, no new use would be permitted. i urge my colleagues to support this limited, basically technical piece of legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair rebling nices the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: i too rise in support of h.r. 4268. simply put, this is a state highway that has an exemption to the wailingt limits. pursuant to state law, they're changing the state highway into an interstate highway, therefore requiring us to provide a waiver for this very simple item as the gentleman before me said, it's a noncontroversial item but it's a necessary step we take. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair -- the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin.

mr. petri: i yield such time as he may consume to my colleague, mr. nun. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. nun: thank you, mr. speaker. i -- mr. nunnelee: thank you, mr. speaker. in mississippi, highway 78 cuts diagonally through the foothills of the appalachians to memphis. this is the highway our most famous native son, elvis presley, took as he made his way from the -- his hometown and my hometown of tupelo, mississippi, and found his way to sun studios in memphis. while there were others whose careers may not nearly have been so visible, they made the same road. people came home from world war ii and they felt that -- that their only option in mississippi was to leave, to find a better way of life for their families. so they made their way to

memphis and then north. for the three decades following the end of world war ii, they settled in and around the great lakes, there were small towns in illinois and wisconsin that had neighborhoods, literally dotted with families from mississippi, neighborhoods in waukegon and zion. aurora and kenosha. you go on the street and finds folks from ball and marietta. but in recent years, we have had a renaissance of advanced manufacturing in mississippi. this growth has been driven by regional cooperation among our local leaders. tough decisions that were made at the state level. but it's been primarily driven by the strong work ethic of those same people from appalachia. 5 few months ago, i was visiting in one of the advanced manufacturing facilities involved in automobile manufacturing parts, talk to a

man who smiled and said, great news about this job is i got to come home. but in order to accommodate all this new growth, we found it important to upgrade u.s. highway 78 and make it interstate 22. a lot of work has been done by federal, state, and local stake holders. we're about ready to make that transition. there's one more change that needs to be completed. a small tweak in the law is necessary. while advanced manufacturing is a very important part of our economy, agriculture is an important part of our economy as well. under the existing law, ag products on their way to market have to obtain a permit to carry an additional 5% weight on u.s. highway 78. in the absence of this bill that wouldn't be available. to make it clear, this bill is no loss, no gain. the roadway in use today is the exact same roadway that will be used as interstate 22. the mile markers as you've heard, are specified in the legislation. there's no one additional vehicle that can legally travel

this road you should this law that would be -- under this law that would be able to do so under the new law. i urge passage of this bill. i thank the ranking member and the chairman, and i want to thank the senior member of the mississippi delegation for his cooperation in making this possible. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from wisconsin reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr capuano: we have no further speakers, we yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the chair recognizes the gentleman from mississippi. mr. petri: i urge my colleagues to vote for this bill and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4268? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules house rules and -- suspend house rules and pass h.r. 1726. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. , to award h.r. 1726,

a congressional gold medal to the 65th infantry regiment, known as the borningneers. >> i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. huizenga: and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. huizenga: i rise in support a h.r. 1726, a bill to award congressional gold medal to the 65th infantry regiment known as the borinqueneers. the medal would be given to the smithsonian institution where it would be available for display or loan as appropriate. mr. speaker, in 1898, the united states acquired puerto rico in the treaty of paris that ended the spanish-american war. the following year, congress had

authorized raising a unit of volunteer soldiers in the newly acquired territory. on may -- in may, 1917, two months after president woodrow wilson signed into law legislation granting united states citizenship to all individuals born in puerto rico, and one month after the united states entered world war i, the unite was transferred to the panama -- the unit was transfered to the panama canal zone. policy subjected most segregated units to noncombat roles though this unit was combat ready and could have contributed to the fighting effort. ey were renamed the 65th infantry regiment and would compose -- would be the last seg gated unit composed of hispanic soldiers. attack on fter the parole harbor that sparked the -- on pearl harbor that snearked entry of the united states, the regiment was again deplayed to

the panama canal zone before being deployed overseas in 1934. despite their real livity -- relatively limited combat service in world war ii, they suffered casualties when defending the atlantic and pacific sides of the ismause -- is m muss -- isthmus from the attack. the unite received campaign participation credit for its all e in the ryanland, rhineland, alsace and other theaters. their stories has been described heartbreak urage, and redemption. arriving in 1950, they were assigned the job of destroying or capturing small groups of north korean soldiers. their success led general douglas macarthur to observe the

regiment was showing frisk ability in the field of operations, is his quote. fighting as a segregated unit from 1950 until 1952, the regiment participated in the some of the fiercest battles of the war, its toughness, courage, and loyalty earned the admiration of many, even those who had previously harbored reservations. the service of these men is emblematic of the contributions to the armed forces maded by hundreds of thousands of brave and patriotic united states citizens from puerto rico over generations. from world war i to the most recent conflicts in afghanistan and iraq. and in many other overseas operations. this honor is richly deserved. the bill has 301 co-sponsors in the house and a companion bill introduced by senator blumen that will in the senate has 6 -- blumen thaul in the senate has 63 co-sponsors. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield such time to the gentleman from puerto rico as he may consume. mr. wapqua -- capuano: puerto rico has a resident commissioner here, he has a four-year term that we all envy but it's an important position and one we should listen. to the speaker pro tempore: the entleman is is recognized. >> i rise in support of h.r. -- mr. pierluisi: i rise in support of h.r. 1726 to recognize the 65th infantry regiment in its devotion to duty and acts of valor in the face of adversity. the regiment was composed largely of soldiers from the u.s. territory of puerto rico and members of the unit are called the borinqueneers which is derived from the word for puerto rico, meaning the land of the brave lord.

since the term was first used over 60 years ago, coined by members of the regiment on their way to korea, it has become synonymous with honor, courage, redemption and pride. i want to begin my expressing my gratitude to mr. posey of florida, working with him on a bipartisan basis to move this bill forward has been a pleasure. i know that congressman posey, like me, feels a profound sense of responsibility to these veterans and their families. the surviving members of the regiment are in the twilight of their lives and so we hope our colleagues in the house and in the senate, acting on behalf of a grateful nation, will see fit to honor the borinqueneers while these humble heroes still walk among us. mr. speaker, we are honored that the oldest living borinqueneer, donley far doe martinez who is 9

-- don leonardo martinez who is is here with us today. congressman posey and i are not on this mission alone. we're working shoulder to should we are an army of individuals from puerto rico and the states. these advocates have been inspired by the record of the regiment and are mindful of its special contribution to the tappestry of american life. their campaign on behalf of the borinqueneers has been exceptional. i want to publicly thank each and every one of them because they're the heart and soul of this movement. i must highlight in particular the tireless efforts of the borinqueneer congressional gold medal alliance, led by national chairman frank medina. to place the achievements of the regiment in context, it is important to understand that for generations, from world war i almost a century ago to afghanistan today, american citizens from puerto rico have built and maintained a rich

record of military service. if you visit any u.s. military installation, you will see men and women from puerto rico fighting to keep this nation safe, strong, and free. they may speak english with an accent, like i do, but they're just as devoted to this country as their fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines from the states. if you need proof, there is a frame on my office wall containing photographs of service members from puerto rico that have fallen since 9/11. row after row of young faces, sometimes smiling, sometimes stern, usually posing in their dress uniforms against a backdrop of the american flag. . dick thornberg said that puerto rico ranked among the top five states in terms of per capita military service. in the forward to that book,

former president george h.w. bush noted, quote, this patriotic service and sacrifice of americans from puerto rico touched me all the more deeply for the very fact that they have served with such devotion, even while denied a vote for the president and members of congress who determine when, where and how they're asked to defend our freedoms. no unit better epitomizes erto rico's service than the 65th regimen which participated in honorable, albeit limited fashion during world war ii and came to its own during the korean war, earning an outstanding combat performance. like society more generally, the u.s. military in the 1950's was different than it is today and attitudes towards ethnic

minorities could be harsh. the men of the regimen not only had to fight the enemy on the battlefield which they did with bravery and skill, but they also had to overcome negative stereotypes held by some of their commanders and comrades. for example, then colonel william harris, who commanded the regimen during the early stages of the korean war, later recalled that he had been reluctant to assume command of the unit because of prejudice within the military, but that his experience eventually led him to regard the borinqueneers, quote, the best damn soldiers that i had ever seen, end quote. such sentiments would be expressed by many others who witnessed the regimen in action, during general douglas mckart you are who wrote the following in 1951, quote, the puerto ricans of the 65th infantry on the battlefield give daily testament to their

invincible loyalty to the united states. they're writing a brilliant record of achievement in battle and i'm proud to have them in this command. i wish we might have many more like them. end quote. the experience of the borinqueneers during the korean war was perhaps best incaps lated in september -- incapsulated in september in honor of the regimen by secretary of the army, luis calderas, who observed that the borinqueneers fought with rare courage even as they endured misfortune and injustice. the borinqueneers earned many unit level awards for their service in korea, including two presidential unit citations. soldiers in the region meant earned many individual awards, including nine distinguished service crosses, about 250 silver stars, over 600 bronze stars and more than 2,700

purple hearts. in march of this year, president obama awarded the medal of honor, the military's highest individual award for bravery, to four deceased american soldiers from puerto rico, including master sergeant juan negron, who became the first borinqueneer to be first accorded this honor. moreover, they have been recognized in many years. a multitude of state legislatures have approved resolutions in their honor ile numerous parks, streets, bear their name. i hope congress will tribute them by giving them the congressional gold medal. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from puerto rico yields. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman -- the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i now yield as much time as he

may consume to the gentleman from florida, mr. posey, sponsor of this great legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. posey: i thank the gentleman from michigan for yielding and thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to be joined here today by my colleague, resident commissioner pierluisi, who you just heard from, in support of our bill, h.r. 1726, to award the congressional gold medal to puerto rico's 65th infantry regiment known as the borinqueneers. during the darkest days of the korean war, the borinqueneers, an ethnically segregated unit, served with significant distinction during a multitude of may jordan minor combat engagements. uring the now-famous battle of chosin reservoir, they covered them through what is recognized one of the greatest strategic withdraws in military history.

the regiment was known for its fierceness in the face of the enemy and demonstrated their exceptional courage by launching the last recorded battalion-sized bayonet charge in military history. for its service, the regiment was singled out by special regular anything by general douglas mcarthur who declared, i'm proud indeed to have them in this command. i wish that we might have many more like them. last month, borinqueneer master sergeant juan negron was awarded the medal of our honor, our nation's highest military honor, for heroic actions above and beyond the call of duty. master sergeant's actions reflected the fighting spirit, sense of duty and dedication of the entire regiment. the borinqueneers are part of a

proud tradition of distinguished american soldiers hat include the tuss key gee airmen, the month further air marines, navajo code talkers and the japanese american regiments, all of whom have already received the congressional gold medal. i'd also like to recognize a grassroots efforts of the borinqueneer congressional gold medal alliance and their national chair, frank medina. for many of their members, this bill was the first time ever contacting a member of congress. congratulations. we would not be here today if it were not for the tireless efforts of literally hundreds of people in the borinqueneer community. d also like to thank rob medina of my florida office who first brought this to my

attention, and robert carter, who advanced this legislation as a member of my staff. i rise in full support of the borinqueneers and urge all of my colleagues to join us to ensure that these american soldiers are recognized for their exceptional, their courageous and their selfless service to our nation. and i call upon the senate to take prompt action to pass this bill and allow us to declare mission, accomplished. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. -- to ld to a person the gentleman from new york, mr. serrano. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. serrano: i thank the

gentleman for his -- for the time and the kind comments about my favorite team. i thank the majority party for this opportunity of bringing this bill to the floor. this is a very, very special and emotional day on the island of puerto rico and throughout the puerto rican community in the united states. this is a tribute long, long overdue. if you -- if you know the history of our country, and we all do, you know that many groups have been treated unfairly. many have been treated unfairly during wartime, which is so unfair. let me read to you something that i found that's very interesting. the regiment faced unique challenges due to discrimination and prestigious, including the humiliation of being ordered to shave their mustaches, quote, until such a time as they gave proof of their manhood, being forced to use separate showering facilities from their non-hispanic officers, being ordered not to speak spanish

nder penalty of court marshal, ethnic prejudices. yet, most of them were volunteers, if not all. yet, they fought with great valor. yet, they knew that they were very much a part of this nation. and so today in awarding this congressional gold medal, we're not just repairing a mistake of the past, but we're also paying tribute to ourselves as a nation because a nation is great in many ways and one of the things that makes this nation great is that we have made mistakes in the past but ever so often we look back and try to correct them. under house rules we're not allowed to point people out in the gallery, but it's important to note that to my right there are members of the borinqueneers, as mr. pierluisi, said, including one that's 96 years old and is

still with us. god bless him. and these folks bring so much glory to our community. i remember growing up in new york where i came here at the age of 6, my parents, my uncles, my father who had all served in the military, which 65th infantry regiment as something so special. it was a moment of glory on saturday afternoons during a few drinks and a good roast pork or something, rice and beans, to discuss a lot of the achievements and music and sports but the achievements of the 65th infantry was always part of that conversation. because they had endured so much. not to mention the fact -- and this may sound funny, but remember they came from a tropical island and went on to suffer some of the most severe cold weather you could on the battlefields with less equipment, i am told. and history books will show

than other soldiers. so you see today we honor them. but today we honor ourselves. we here on a bipartisan fashion agree on one thing all the time and that is that whether you agree on military action or not, when they come home they should be taken care of properly. and when they're on the battlefield, they be treated equally. those days have passed. the borinqueneers were the last segregated unit in this country. with no longer have that, thank god. we now fight as one nation, indoes visible, undivided, under god. so i thank -- indivisible, undivided, under god. so i thank mr. pierluisi, mr. medina. i tell you how good this is, the national puerto rican parade, the largest ethnic parade in the u.s., has made this one of the top three priorities, the awarding of

this medal. little do they know we beat them to the punch. while they'll be asking for the med aled to be passed hopefully by 6:30, 7:00 tonight we will have passed it in the house and it will be working in the senate, which i will be i don't think that difficult to do so. thank you so much. thank you, as one who had a very simple military career in the army, they sent me to alaska. luckily i grew up in new york so i was able to adapt so that cold. this is a wonderful day, a glorious day. and without pointing to them in the gallery, we thank their service and for their patriotism for this country and for honoring puerto rico the way they have. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. >> mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: thank you, mr. speaker.

i yield to the gentlelady from new york who i had the honor of serving with her on the financial services committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. velazquez: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 1726, which will pay tribute to the many patriotic puerto ricans who served in the 65th regiment throughout our nation's conflicts and i'm very proud today to serve in this body and the fact that we are having this vote in a bipartisan manner. it's not every day that we have the pleasure of bringing bipartisan legislation to the floor. and i want to recognize pierluisi, the commissioner from puerto rico, as well as frank medina and the countless individuals and organizations throughout our nation and puerto rico in trying to get this recognition to the floor

and to the senate. . puerto ricans have a rich history in the military. they volunteered to fight the british and down to the current conflict in afghanistan and iraq, puerto ricans have fought and bled to defend the united states. the 65th regment in particular has time and again exemplified the courage of puerto rican soldiers. during world war ii, the soldiers were initially deployed to protect the panama canal before later shipping to europe. there, members of the unit would earn scores of medals, purple hearts, distinguished service crosses, two silver stars and bronze stars. in the korean war, the 65th made an even greater mark on history, participating in some of the most significant and largest

battles of that conflict in 1950, the situation in korea deteriorated, prompting the 65th to be sent to korea as reinforcements. while sailing for asia, members of the unit adopted their informal name, the borinqueneers, derived from the word for puerto rico meaning land of the great lord this title exemplifies these soldiers' fighting spirit. general mcarthur wrote of the unit's achievements in korea, they are writing a brilliant record of achievement in battle and i am proud, indeed, to have them in this command. i wish that we might have many more like them. i'm proud to note, mr. speaker, that one of those brave puerto rican troops who served in korea as my late uncle, manuel

serrano. since their participation in the korean war, the 65th has continued to be an integral part of our armed forces, serving in the global war against terrorism and operation iraqi freedom. in new york city and san juan, the legacy of these brave warors have been honored. fitting that congress now recognize these soldiers' contribution with one of the highest civilian awards. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this legislation and i ask the senate to do the same. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york yields. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. >> i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr capuano: i'd like to thank ms. pierluisi and mr. posey for

proposing this bill. i'd like to add one thing, you listen to these things, particularly in world war ii, there was never a question by almost anyone about people from german american heritage or italian american heritage fighting on behalf of america, even in the european theater. yet people had questions about other ethnicities which i think is a blot on this great country nd i'm proud to play a small part today to make amends for those past sins and say thank you to the americans who served this great currentry and helped me live a better life. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to -- mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to also say, as a son

of a disabled veteran, we know what the greatest generation has done, they fought for that flag behind you, mr. speaker. we appreciate the work done by them and any colleagues that are here, my colleague from new york, especially, her uncle and the service he had to this fine nation. i want to say thank you for that with that, mr. speaker, i urge rapid passage of this and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass bill h.r. 1726 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. huizenga: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2203 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2203, a bill to provide for the award of the gold medal on behalf of congress to the -- to jack nicklaus in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence, good sportsmanship and philanthropy. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on h.r. 2203. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. huizenga: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. huizenga: i rise in support of h.r. 2203, a bill to provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of congress to jack nicklaus in recognition of his service to the nation in supporting -- in promoting

excellence, good sportsmanship and philanthropy. as introduced by representative tiberi, this bill thosheses the minting of a single gold coin in honor of jack nicklaus. he's a world famous golfer, a businessman a passionate and dedicated philanthropist, a devoted husband, father and grandfather and a man with a common touch that's made him one of the most popular and accessible public figures in american history. he's widely regarded as one of the most accomplished professional golfers of all time and on a personal note, his design up at the grand traverse in my golfhumbled me game. he was born in 1940 in the columbus suburb of arlington, ohio he took up golf at the age

10, scoring a 50 at a country club for the first nine hole he is ever played. i suspect that there are more than a few members here who wouldn't mind carding a 51 right now. but had 51 victories in national or international competition, 73 on the professional golf association tour. his record 18 professional major the first of which he won 50 years ago, was his win at the 1962 u.s. open as a 22-year-old rookie, which remains the standard by which all golfers are measured. he's the only golf player to have won each major championship at least three times and the only player to complete a career grand slam on both the regular and seniors tours he also owns the record for the most major championships as a senior with eight. jack nicklaus has been rezip yent of countless athletic honors including being nailed individual male athlete of the

century by "sports illustrated," one of the great at lees of the century by espn, golf ore they golfer of the millennium by every major tional and international association. he became the first golfer and third athlete to receive the vince lombardi apardon -- award for excellence. he was inducted into the world golf hall of fame at the ripe old age of 34. jack nicklaus is much more than a golf champion. his magnetic personality and unfailing sense of kindness and thoughtfulness have endured him to millions throughout the world. he has also received numerous honors outside the world of sports, including several golf industry awards for his work and contributions as a golf course designer, as i noted earlier, such as the old toms morris award, the highest honor given by the golf course superintendents association of

america, and both the donald ross award given by the american society of golf course architects and the don a. rossi award given by the golf course builders association of america. golf inc. magazine named him one of the most powerful -- named him the most powerful person in golf for a record six years through his influence through course design work, marketing business, ambassadorial role in growing and promoting the game of golf worldwide and his involvement with various charitable causes. everyone knows jack nicklaus and most of us at least wish we had half the golf ability that he has but it's important to remember his charitable and leadership works as well. the bill has 304 co-sponsors in the house and a companion bill introduced in the other body is being championed by senator portman. i ask for unanimous approval of this important legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr capuano: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from ohio, ms. beity. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. beatty: thank you, mr. speaker. rise in support of h.r. 2203, sponsored by congressman tiberi, awarding the congressional gold medal to columbus, ohio, native jack nicklaus. jack nicklaus, alumni of the ohio state university is a world famous professional golfer who victories in professional tournaments worldwide. while known for his athletic achievement on the golf course, jack nicklaus also has a long history in involvement and contribution to numerous charitable activities. one example -- last month, i had the opportunity to attend the legends luncheon. while only a few years in

existence, it has raised more than half a million dollars in proceeds from his annual memorial tournament held in his home state of ohio in support of nationwide children's hospital located in my district. ensuring that central ohio will continue to have one of the best children's hospitals in the united states. in honor of jack nicklaus, sportsmanship -- of jack nicklaus' sportsmanship and philanthropy, i urge my colleagues to join the 304 of us who signed h.r. 223 to pass h.r. 2203. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: i yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from ohio, mr. tiberi, the sponsor of the legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized. mr. tiberi: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman from michigan for his kind words about the honoree today and i rise in support of the bill to award the congressional gold medal to a buckeye native, jack nick laust. as mr. huizenga said, often called the golden bear, named after the mascot at his high school, he's widely known as the greatest golfer of all time. mr. huizenga mentioned the incredible athletic accomplishment os then golf course, i won't repeat those that mr. knick laust achieved but as mr. beatty mentioned, it's his philanthropic work that continues today to directly impact tens of thousands of children and adults. through the nicklaus children's health care foundation, he's raised $54 million to support

assistance for more than 4,000 children and their families. he continues to host a memorial tournament in dublin, ohio, on e golf course he built and architect, the muirfield golf club, in the congressional district i am so honored to represent. on that tournament, he has raised over $5.5 million for nationwide children's hospital in columbus that ms. beatty recognized. giving children access to world class health care. he serves as spokesperson and trustee for the first tee program, an organization dedicated to bringing golf to children in areas who aren't normally exposed to it across our country. he serves as the honorary chairman for the american lake veterans golf course in tacoma, washington, a course designed to help rehabilitation of wounded and disabled veterans.

he's donated his time, design services for the improvement of the course and raised contributions for the addition of nine new holes, the construction of the course's rehabilitation and learning center for these veterans. his accolades are many, as mr. huizenga said, including the presidential medal of freedom. jack's devotion to helping others and giving back to his community is only matched by his devotion to his wife barbara, their children, and their grandchildren. i'd like to thank, in addition to congresswoman beatty and congressman stivers from ohio, congressman yarmuth for his work in building support for this measure on the floor today and i'd like to thank senator rob portman for spearheading this effort in the u.s. senate and i'd like to give a special thank you to my senior legislative assistance, reback ka cast i don't know for her work in -- rebecca caston for her work on

this bill. i ask that we pass this bill to award the congressional golded me tool jack nicklaus not just for his work on the golf course but for his incredible work off the course in helping tens of thousands of children and veterans across our country. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: my father would never forgive me if i didn't speak for a minute on this particular bill. i played my first round of golf in the year 1960, and at that time the rising star on the golf was the golden bear. my father was a crazy, crazy golfer. i, myself, am a recovering golfer since i was never that good, i decided to give it up. but i will tell you for me, you've heard about the particularly specific and

incredible statistics accumulated by this man. and that's well and good and i respect that and i honor that and certainly he's one if not the best golfer in history, but that's not really i want to speak about. i want to speak about his character, i don't know him personally, but the way he projects it and the work he's done since he stepped off the competitive field. as you've heard already, he's -- credible if i thrant philanthropist. he's stood for many of the right things in this country at a difficult time. for those reasons, to me, having been a great athlete, it would have been easy for him to retire, go count his money, make more money and just fade away. that's the easy thing to do. the hard thing to do is to then transition yourself into another great leader, a person who leads society.

that's what jack nickulas' done. that's why i am very, very glad to be here today to be a small rt of this, to thank mr. tiberi. i'd like to know who the 130-odd members you didn't get. i will tell you this is a well-deserved honor and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts yields. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2203, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? > i request 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 motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the les and pass h.r. 2939, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2939, a bill to award the congressional gold medal to shimon peres. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and xtend their remarks and submit

extraneous materials for the record on h.r. 2939, as amended, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 2939, a bill to award a congressional medal to shimon peres, introduced by the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. kennedy. this bill authorizes the minting and award of a single gold medal in honor of this brave man. shimon peres was born on august 2, 1923, in poland. the peres family emigrated to tel aviv nf 1934. all of the family's relative who remained in poland were murdered during the holocaust during world war ii. before israel gained independence, shimon peres earned the respect of senior leaders in the independence movement in israel, most notably, david ben-gurion. in 1952 he was appointed deputy director general of the ministry of defense, and the

llowing year he became director general. at age 29, he was the youngest person to hold this position. he was involved in arms purchases and established strategic alliances that were important for the state of israel. he has served in numerous high-level cabinet positions and minute steerial posts in steril posts in israel. mr. peres has honorably served israel for more than 70 years during which he harmonized the foreign policy interest of israel and the united states. he played a pivotal role in forging the strong and unbreakable bond between our two countries. mr. speaker, the founding generation of israel was central to the development of that country and shimon peres was the only surviving member of that founding generation. by presenting the congressional gold medal to shimon peres, the first to be awarded to a sitting president of israel,

congress proclaims its unbreakable bond and with continual support for israel as we commemorate the 65th anniversary of its independence and the 90th birthday of mr. peres. maintaining the strong mutual relations between the united states and israel has been a priority of shimon peres since he began working with the -- within the united states during the days of john f. kennedy. mr. speaker, this honor is richly deserved. the bill has 294 co-sponsors in the house and a version introduced by senator ayotte and has 81 co-sponsors when it 13. d the chamber on march i ask for immediate approval of this important legislation, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, is recognized. mr. capuano: mr. speaker, i yield as much time as he may consume to my colleague from massachusetts, mr. kennedy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. kennedy, is recognized. mr. kennedy: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to thank my colleague from massachusetts for yielding me the time. i'd also like to thank my colleague from arizona, mr.

franks, who's here as well for his diligent and important work on this bill. it's been a pleasure to work with him and to see him gather his fellow colleagues to support an extremely important piece of legislation. mr. speaker, this bipartisan bill would award the congressional gold medal to israel's president, shimon peres in honor his of pivotal role in forging the strong and unbreakable bond between the united states and israel. the congressional gold medal is one of the highest civilian honors. conferred or ly frequently granted. and shimon peres is deserving of this extraordinary recognition. during my last trip to israel, i had the distinct honor of spending time with president peres. what impressed me most about the president is even at 90 years of age he is as committed to peace and his beloved israel as never before. during the time that i and my colleagues spent with president peres, particularly as someone who was at that point not even

a year into his first term in congress, the opportunity to listen, to mr. peres' words of wisdom and counsel over his decades of service was a true gift. over his tenure in public life, it is israel's future that has always lit his way. throughout our travels in the country, we met with politicians, young and old, we visited sites from jerusalem to ramallah to the golan and the dead sea. at each historic site, every meeting, every church or shrine was a poignant reminder without the courage and strength of leaders like president peres, israel's story would be very different than it is today. a few days ago, we celebrated israel's 66th independence day. we're also in the midst of jewish american heritage month. awarding the congressional gold medal to shimon peres is a timely and fitting acknowledgment of a man whose

influences has touched so many lives in israel, across the middle east and around the world. mr. speaker, i urge that my colleagues support this bill. i yield back the balance of my time and i have a list of names that i'd like to submit for the record for those that have been instrumental in the approval of this passage. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. kennedy, yields, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i now yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from arizona, mr. franks, the lead republican co-sponsor of this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. franks: well, thank you, mr. speaker. i thank congressman huizenga for yielding, and i also gratefully express my appreciation to mr. kennedy for his work on this. it's always wonderful when republicans and democrats can actually get together. mr. speaker, i am privileged to rise today in favor of h.r.

2939, to award the congressional gold medal to israel's president, shimon peres. this award to shimon peres is our highest expression of national appreciation. indeed, president peres' lifetime of dedicated service to the state of israel is unparalleled. no countryman has ever served rael for so many years in so many different capacities, as both a key figure in its foundation and its continued survival and rise in the world. in his 70 years of state service, mr. peres has served in high level cabinet positions, including head of the navy, minister of defense, foreign minister, prime minister and most recently as president of israel. throughout his political tenure, he's worked diligently to promote diplomacy, democracy and freedom in israel. across the middle east and across the world in so very many different ways, mr. speaker. mr. peres has also been a

powerful and dedicated friend of the united states of america, and he's been instrumental in forming this unbreakable bond that we've spoken of that's been said between our two nations. mr. speaker, not only does this medal acknowledge the the president, it is the continued commitment to the nation of israel and its place as a beacon of democracy in the middle east. this award reaffirms the importance of israel as the holy land, close to the hearts of millions of committed jews and christians in america and around the world. moreover, it is an expression of america's unwaivering resolve to our greatest -- unwavering resolve to our greatest ally in the world. i want to thank my colleagues n both sides and i want to recognize the shimon peres commemoration committee that

gave rise to this heart felt award to the israeli president shimon peres. god bless him and god bless the friendship between israel and the united states forever and thank you, mr. speaker and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona yields. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano. mr. capuano: having met him i'll tell you a totally respectable gentleman who's been through more difficult times during his life than hopefully anyone else i know will ever have to go through and yet he survived them all with class, with dignity, with the ability to bring people together and, again, i hope this bill passes unanimously. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts yields. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the amended. 2939 as

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3658. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 36589, a bill to grant the congressional gold medal, collectively, to the monuments men, in recognition of their heroic role in the preservation, protection, and restitution of monuments, works of art, and artifacts of cultural importance during and war ii. world the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and submit heir remarks and extraneous materials for the record on h.r. 3658, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 3658, the monuments men recognition act of 2013. . introduced by the gentlelady from texas, ms. granger. this this bill authorizes the minting and reward of a gold medal honoring the he had otheric role in ensuring the preservation, protection and restitution of monuments, works of art and artifacts of importance during and following world war ii. the medal would be given to the smithsonian constitution where it would be -- institution where it would be available for display or loan where appropriate. even before the stain of world war ii began to spread across europe, priceless cultural objects were being damaged or appropriated from their rightful owners by corrupt governments.

when the horrific carnage of war descended over the continent, many other works, paintings, but also monuments, cathedrals and other buildings, were threatened, damaged or destroyed, marred or obliterating centuries of incredibly beautiful handiwork. recognizing this disaster, president roosevelt formed the american commission for the protection and salvage of artistic and historic monuments in war areas in 1943. and the commission facilitated the formation of the monument, fine arts and archive section under the allied armies. it's men and women who worked tirelessly at the commission at home, but mostly abroad, were empowered by general dwight d. eisenhower to carry out their work throughout europe. even on the front lines. and became known as the monuments men. as i had noted earlier as we were talking about one of the other medals, my father ppened to serve in italy during world war ii, i know

that was one of his concerns as he was going around, seeing the damage and the carnage that had happened there, of what had been lost to that war. and of course some of those artworks were irreparably damaged or some never even recovered. and as we have seen in headlines and even as recently as the last couple of weeks, some are still even being recovered. but without the heroic work of the monuments men, much of europe's cultural heritage would have been lost or forever remain hidden after it was stolen. many of the war, monuments men stayed in the business of preserving and displaying art. many became renowned directors and curaters of preeminent international cultural institutions, professors at institutions of higher education and founders of artistic associations. if we did not know the story before, most of us now know the outlines thanks to a pair of books by -- detailing the monuments men work and the george clooney film of the same name released earlier this

year. some of us may have seen the documentary on the work produced about a decade ago called "the rape of europa" and i do want to thank the gentlelady from texas for hosting a screening that have movie that i think sort of brought that to the attention of many here in washington a few months ago. mr. speaker, of the 350 monuments men, two of whom died in actual combat, only a few of the men and women we know today as the monuments men are still alive. we and the world owe them an incalculable debt. one way we can acknowledge their contributions is to award them the congressional gold medal in recognition of their work. the bill has 297 co-sponsors in the house and a companion bill introduced by senator blunt has 77 co-sponsor. i ask for immediate passage of this important legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: mr. speaker, thank you. though i intend to speak, i want to reserve the balance of

my time and allow the gentlelady from texas, who is the lead sponsor on this bill, to speak before i do. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, at this time i'd like to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from texas, ms. granger. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized. ms. granger: mr. speaker, i've been looking forward to this day ever since i first learned about the greatest untold story of world war ii and that was eight years ago. for me, my journey with the monuments men began at the kim bell art museum in fort worth, texas, in 2006. when i met robert etsel, who had just pub published his first book -- published his irst book. it was that evening when i realized how critical these men and women were in preserving european cultural history and how remarkable their task was during the second world war.

while death and destruction surrounded them, their mission was to complete -- was the complete opposite, to protect cultural treasures so far as war allowed. this special military unit was passed with helping to locate works of art confiscated by the nazis and return them to their rightful owners. the monuments men and women were able to locate, preserve and return almost five million cultural items including many of the world's greatest works . art today there are only six surviving members, five men and one woman, of the monuments men. and as memorial day approaches, i believe the veterans who participated in these daring missions are certainly worthy and deserving of the recognition of congress' highest expression of appreciation. mr. speaker, the medal authorized in this bill would be given to the smithsonian for safe keeping and available for

display as well as available for loan as appropriate. in my view and that of many other members, one very appropriate place would be the national world war ii museum in new orleans, which is building a permanent exhibit on the monuments men and expected to open in 2016. before i close, there are several people i want to thank who helped make this possible. of course robert etsel for uncovering this story and sharing it with the world. congressman michael capuano for sponsoring this legislation with me, congressman steve cohen for his tireless efforts to help build the support needed to bring this bill to the floor for a vote, and i also want to thank senators roy blunt and robert men endezz for taking the -- menendez for taking the lead on this bill in the senate. while we can never say thank you enough, i believe the congressional gold medal is a worthy token of appreciation from a grateful nation to these

members of the great estrogen ration. i urge my colleagues -- greatest generation. i urge my colleagues to pass this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you, sir, i want to thank the gentleman from massachusetts for the time. i rise in strong support of the monuments men recognition act. and i want to thank the gentlelady from texas for her work on this bill, ms. granger, and for her kind thoughts and expressions of appreciation. it was a great honor to work with her and the gentleman from massachusetts on this particular bill. i also had the opportunity to have some exchange with robert etsel and not a finer gentleman and american is there. he wrote the original book that kind of talked about the monuments men and he also i guess had something tooed with the movie, with george -- something to do with the movie,

with george clooney. that helped bring a measure of fame to these brave men and women but the united states congress should go further and bring this official honor to them for their work in preserving our cultural heritage. over the last few years since i've been in congress, my first term was in 2007, the monuments men seemed to be a continual presence in a service. in 2007, my first year, i was proud to support a resolution honoring them. and in a ceremony on the senate side that i went, to i had the fortune to meet mr. etsel but also meet a few of the surviving monuments men. then i saw the movie this past year and my admiration and interest in what they had done, their courage and their contribution to the world's culture was deepened. and so i went back and looked at my book and saw mr., tsel's card and the letter he had -- mr. etsel's card and the letter he sent me and i contacted him and said i want to help.

the mass genocide carried out by hitler and the nazis is incomparable and their crimes unimaginable. we think of concentration camples and mass killings but their efforts to destroy cultural artifacts was an extension of that tragedy and that horror. it's important to remember that hitler didn't just want to annihilate the jews and other disfavored populations, he wanted to erase all traces of these people from the planet. that included their so-called, quote, degenerate, unquote, art. art which i saw in the book included some of the great artists of all time and i think aybe had a coloring of how a man did his colors and hitler thought he was degenerate because the sky was green and he grass was blue and he thought for some reason that was degenerate. well, it was art.

fortunately the monuments men had the foresight and heroism to help them from being successful. as we recognize the monuments men, it's a good time to reflect on what art means to us in our lives. art shines a spotlight on who we are and who we wish to be and how we want to be remembered. when we destroy it, we destroy an essential part of ourselves, our culture and our society and we destroy that for future generations to learn of us. the monuments men did more than just preserve these paintings that could hang in a museum, they preserved our her tanl and for that we're forever -- heritage and with that -- and for that we're forever grateful. we should act quickly to give them the honor and recognition they richly deve. i urge my colleagues to -- deserve. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation. i thank ms. granger and mr. capuano for their leadership and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from michigan reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to thank ms. granger in particular for bringing this bill forward. i was proud to be a small part in supporting this and trying to help push it forward and i'm glad we're here today. i want to be real clear. a lot of people think of war as nothing more than destruction. which, that's the main function. is to destroy your enemy. they don't think sometimes about what it's all about. particularly in a case of world war ii. in the case of world war ii, it was about a way of life. it was about a whole set of societal values. one set valued art and culture. even the art and culture we may not understand. i'm not understanding of many of the fine works of art but i appreciate how difficult they are and i appreciate others appreciating them. in a war it would be the easiest thing in the world to simply destroy everything, steal everything and just move

forward. in this particular case, the united states of america took the lead but we weren't alone. the monuments men was made of people from 13 different countries simply trying to preserve a piece of our culture, our shared culture. the monuments men were not made up of warriors, yet they became warriors. they were made up of artists, they were made up of museum directors, they were made up of curaters. people who had been -- curators. people who had been taught the value and understand the -- understood the value of fine art. and they went to war to protect and preserve it. because without that continuing link of culture, you'd have to ask, wouldn't we be a little less than who we are today? their memory today is very important, particularly those who still survive. and i do want to -- the mention has already been made about how many pieces of art. five million pieces of art. and not just -- they weren't just pictures on a wall, they were also figure recents, they

were religious artifacts across the board, five million pieces protected, kept for future generations, recovered from people who would otherwise steal them for their own personal use, probably would have destroyed them when they saw the end of their own culture. i want to speak today of the one american who served in this, who i think is a pretty typical story of who these people were. the one american who was killed in action in this particular unit. his name was walter. he was born in perry, oklahoma, educated at the university of minnesota and harvard university where he earned a master's degree in architecture in 1930. he was in rotc, he wasn't militarily trained. he was an instructor at r.p.i. in troy, new york, and then director of the department of design at the boston museum of school of fine arts in my own district. then he went to the faculty of

the university of minnesota until he enlisted in 1942. not got drafted, enlisted. yes, to protect america, but also to take his special expertise to do something special in a difficult situation. he was killed in action when he was caught in a fire fight that, as usual in many military actions, wasn't suppose ts to -- supposed to happen then and there. that tells you something about who these people were. they were there to help the is next generation and generations to come maintain that line of connection. and they did it. and for that they deserve this honor, they deserve our undying gratitude and with that again i want to add my thanks to theirs -- for their actions, my thanks to representative granger for allowing us to do this and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts yields. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate my friend sharing that story and personalizing it. i had a chance to tour much of europe and eastern europe back when i was in school and seeing the devastation that hit cities like st. petersburg, warsaw, which was completely leveled, prague, budapest, beer lynn, it's amazing that -- berlin, it's amazing that there was anything that was preserved and i think we're better for it as a world and as a culture to have that and so with that i urge passage of the bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 3658. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. . in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. huizenga: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1209. top the clerk will report the title of the bill. -- the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. to award a bill congressional gold medal to the world war ii members of the doolittle tokyo raiders for outstanding heroism, valor, skill and service to the united states in conducting the bombings of tokyo. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the record on h.r. 1209, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 1209, a bill to award the congressional gold medal to the

brave airmen known as the doolittle tokyo raiders for outstanding heroism, valor and skill to the united states in conducting the bonellings of tokyo, introduced by -- bombings of tokyo, introduced by the gentleman from texas, mr. olson. it will have a single gold medal in honor of the mission that was one of the catalyst of allied powers victory in the pacific in world war ii. it would be given to the national museum of the united states air force where it will be displayed by our doolittle raid memorabilia and will be able for loan as appropriate. mr. speaker, the valor of the 80 men we now call the doolittle raiders is beyond most people's imagination. they all volunteered for an extremely hazardous mission, some would say impossible mission. as if flying huge bombers during the war wasn't always hazardous and when a major element of their mission was

jeopardized, they went on with the mission anyway even though it they could be killed or captured. under james doolittle, the bombardment group ended up flying the first-ever mission in which medium bombers took off from a carrier in combat conditions. because the u.s.s. hornet had been discovered by the enemy, the raiders ended up taking off for a mission that at 670 miles was at least 100 miles longer than they had been predicted and planned for. enough further to virtually guarantee they would crash land or be forced down into the sea or in japanese-controlled china rather than on allied airstrips deeper into china. mr. speaker, that's what happened. two died in crashes and of the eight captured, three were executed and a fourth died of disease. but considering the daring nature of their mission and the morale booster it was for the u.s. soldiers and civilians that 70 returned to the united

states is a miracle. importantly, the raids on april 18 of 1942 proved to the japanese that their homeland was vulnerable to air attack which led to the recall of several top fighter squadrons for homeland defense and prompted other repositioning of japanese assets that many believe led to the crushing american victory at the battle of midway in early june of that year, just six months after the attack on pearl harbor. mr. speaker, the men who risked and lost their lives in the doolittle raid are legendary heroes and the raid itself is one of the premiere military exploits of our still-young nation. this medal is a well-earned and long overdue. the bill has 309 co-sponsors in the house and a companion bill, introduced by senator brown of ohio, has 78 -- had 78 co-sponsors when it passed the other bofe bode in november. i ask for unanimous approval of this bill and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: thank you, mr. speaker. to be perfectly honest, i'm shocked that congress hasn't already done this. absolutely shocked. this should have been done in 1943. the doolittle raid was the most important military event of its time. for those of you who don't understand it, right after pearl harbor being attacked at the time the strongest military in the world at the top of their game, they did catch us by surprise and destroyed our pacific fleet. we were sitting back trying to regroup, trying to get it going, trying to get troops going. how do we hit back? how do we prove we can do this? the doolittle raid was all about that. as you heard previous speakers, volunteers. now, they were professional military, but they volunteered for this mission. why were they asked to

volunteer? because everyone saw this as a death sentence. nobody really thought they would ever come back. why? because the planes they flew were bombers, heavy bombers for that day. small compared to what we have today, flying off of aircraft carriers again in today's navy wouldn't be anything. small aircraft carriers. no one had ever taken a bomber off of an aircraft carrier prior to this raid. no one had ever done it. no one thought it could be done. they got within certain mileage of japan beyond where they were supposed to go. land ere told bomb japan, in china. not enough fuel to get back. any mission like anything else especially in days before good navigational tools, a lot of

fuel was burned that wasn't planned on. none of them made it to their fields. they all -- most of them crash landed. as you heard several of them died. that raid took all of america and lifted our spirits. well documented. that's why i'm shocked we're here today. well documented. took the entire country and made us feel like we can do this. we can do it now. even when we're unprepared. and if we can do this now, imagine what we can do when we get prepared. doolittle raid gave us the courage and the commitment to win that war. those men were true heroes in every sense of the word and the fact that we're here today is an honor for me but honestly i think it's something that's well long overdue.

for those who are still living, i want to add my thanks to their bravery. without them i think it would have been a much longer war and a much more disheartening year or so before we really engaged in a military action that we could win. with that i want to yield back the balance of my time and thank the sponsor of this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i now yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from texas, mr. olson, the sponsor of this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. i thank the speaker. i thank my friend from michigan and my colleague from massachusetts for your kind words and, sir, this is overdue. i agree completely. that's why i rise today with great pride.

soon the house will join the senate in passing a bill to give the congressional gold medal to the doolittle raiders of world war ii. these heroes planned to win world war ii. with their attack on japan, -- without their attack on japan, america might have lost the war . the war started on december , 1941 -- 7, 1941 when japanese aircraft attacked pearl harbor without warning. all eight of our battleships ere damaged, four were sunk. americans were scared. japan controlled the whole pacific. sometime in 1942, americans expected japanese bombs to hit

san diego, los angeles, san francisco, portland, seattle. president roosevelt knew we must strike japan to show all americans that we could and would win this war. he had one problem. no american airplane had the range or payloads to bomb japan from american-controlled soil. it would be a suicide mission. that decision came up from navy captain francis lowe who thought maybe, maybe we could have army bombers take off of an aircraft carrier. on february 3, they tried that out with two b-25's loaded on the hornet outside of norfolk. they took off and proved it was possible.

the army again chose the b opinion 25 as the bomber -- b-25 as the bomber of choice. they chose to take the hornet to take the b-25's do bomb japan. but the most important decision was the leader, colonel jimmy doolittle. colonel doolittle assembled egglandfield, florida, and they were chosen because they could fly a new plane, the b-25. colonel doolittle told these men that a secret special mission, they were going to omb japan with b-25's. they had one month, one month to take a b-25 off the deck of an aircraft carrier.

but they would never train on the hornet. no carrier. they would train on ground, a runway painted to model the flight deck of the hornet. on march 25, 1942, they were ready. they flew to naval air station near san francisco and saw the hornet for the first time. on april 2, they sailed for japan with 16 b-25's locked down on the flight deck. on april 18, their mission almost ended. they were spotted by a japanese patrol boat. america could not lose the hornet. she was too precious. so colonel doolittle and the captain decided to launch the b-25's 10 hours before it was

planned. they would not have the fuel to omb japan and fly to safety in unoccupied china as part of the plan. they would go down in japanese territory. despite rough seas, all 16 b-25's launched off the hornet. they bombed tokyo and other cities. the property damage was small, but the damage to japanese morale could not be measured. for the first time in over 1,000 years japan had been bombed by a foreign nation, and because of that one single raid, japan pushed to provoke a confrontation with our navy. it got sloppy. we ambushed them on june 4 of 1942, sinking four of their

aircraft carriers that destroyed our fleet at pearl harbor. 80 heros took off from the hornet. three died when their aircraft crashed. eight were captured by the japanese. three of those were killed by firing squad. one died of malnourishment. four spent the war in captivity s prisoners of our alis, the russians. -- allies, the russians. of the 80 heros who were on that deck, 73 came home. only four are with us today. lieutenant colonel robert heict, co-pilot b-17, last one off the deck. lieutenant colonel edward

sailor, engineer, b-1525, 15, right before lieutenant colonel height. the gunner of b-17 -- b-25 number seven. and my friend from comfort, texas, lieutenant colonel dick cole. dick sat next to colonel doolittle on b-25 number one as she went down the flight deck and took off into history. and that's why this medal is so important. by passing this bill today and having president obama sign it into law, we tell my friend, dick cole, his three living colleagues, and the 76 heroes who have gone to heaven that we will never forget that they kept the torch of freedom burning brighter with the raid on japan. . i ask my colleagues' strong

309. t for h.r. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts yields back. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate my colleague from texas sharing that history and i too share i think the surprise that my colleague from massachusetts expressed that this hasn't been done already. it certainly should have been and whether it was jimmy stewart starring in a famous movie back in the day, but the whole notion of launching these b-25 mitchells off the deck was so new and what would be simply -- ple commute today is has maxed out the capabilities of these airplanes and was very important. with that, mr. speaker, i do ask that we pass this bill and -- with unanimous consent. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from michigan yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1209. 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, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass senate bill 309. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: an act to award a congressional gold medal to the world war ii members of the civil air patrol. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the

record on senate bill 309 currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of senate bill 309, a bill to award a congressional gold medal to the world war ii members of the civil air patrol, introduced by the gentleman from iowa, mr. harkin. this bill authorizes the minting and award of a single gold medal in honor of their outstanding and largely unrecognized work. the medal would be given to the smithsonian institution where it would be available for display or loan as appropriate. the unpaid volunteer members of the civil air patrol during world war ii provided extraordinary humanitarian and combat services during a critical time of need for the nation. the cap, as it was known, was established initially as part of the office of civil defense by american citizens on december 1 of 1941. one week short of the surprise attack on pearl harbor. out of the desire of civil airmen of the country to be mobilized with their personal equipment in the defense of the country. during the war, c.a.p. members used their own aircraft to

perform a myriad of special tasks for the military and the country as a whole including attacks on enemy submarines. from the beginning, c.a.p. leaders urged the military to use its services to patrol coastal waters but met with great resistance. finally in response to the ever increasing submarine attacks, the tanker committee of the petroleum industry war council urge the navy department and war department to consider the use of c.a.p. to help patrol the sea lanes off the coast of the united states. while the navy initially rejected this suggestion, the army decided it had merit and the civil air patrol coastal patrol began on march of 1942. eventually 21 bases ranging from bar harbor, maine, to brownsville, texas, were set up for c.a.p. to patrol the atlantic and gulf coasts with 40,000 volunteers eventually

participating. their initial purpose was to spot submarines, report their position to the military and force them to dive below the surface which limited their speed and maneuverability and reduced their ability to detect and attack shipping. immediately it became apparent that there were opportunities for these c.a.p. pilots to attack the submarines and -- such as in florida what had happened when they came across a submarine which had stranded itself on a sand bar. finally after several instances when the military could not respond in a timely manner, the decision was made by the military to arm the c.a.p. aircraft with 50 and 100-pound bombs and to arm some larger twin engine aircraft with 325-pound depth charges. the arming of c.a.p. aircraft dramatically changed the mission of these civilian air crews and resulted in more than 57 attacks on enemy submarines. at the conclusion of the 18-month coastal patrol, the

heroic c.a.p. air crews would be accredited with the following. two u.n. is marines damaged or destroyed -- two submarines damaged or destroyed, 82 bombs ropped against submarines, radio reports of submarine positions with a number of accredited kills, assisted kills made by military units, 6,685 total missions flown and over 244,000 total flight hours and 24 million miles were flown. the extraordinary national service set the stage for the postwar c.a.p. to become a valuable nonprofit public service organization chartered by congress and designated the auxiliary of the united states air force that provides essential emergency, operational and public services to communities, states and federal government and the military. mr. speaker, this honor is richly deserved and senator harkin has pursued this affect for several congresses. the bill passed the other body

exactly a year ago with 81 co-sponsors and the house version introduced by the gentleman from texas, mr. mccaul, has 353 co-sponsors. i ask for immediate approval of this bill and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the chair recognizes the washington.om >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield to mr. cuellar. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas voiced. mr. cuellar: thank you, mr. speaker. and thank you for yielding to me and i certainly want to thank my friend, mike mccaul, both of us have been working with senator harkin on this and it's a very important bill and today i rise to honor the contributions of the world war ii members of the civil air patrol, c.a.p. today we're considering three s. 309, a bill to award c.a.p. members a congressional gold medal in honor of their service to our nation during world war ii. the civil air patrol was

comprised of more than 150,000 volunteers who banded together on december 1, 1941, to create a volunteer air patrol to defend our country. after the attack on pearl harbor, it became clear that the establishment of the air patrol was invaluable to the united states and they were assigned to the war department under the jurisdiction of the army air corps. during world war ii, the c.a.p. logged more than 750,000 flying hours, the c.a.p. air crews flew in their own personal planes and i emphasize in their own personal aircraft in coastal patrol, performing recon and search and rescue missions. during this time the c.a.p. reported on 173 submarines sighted, some in assistance for 91 ships and 361 survivors of submarine attacks in distress and sank two enemy submarines. these c.a.p. volunteer air

crews risked their lives to protect our freedoms and 64 members of the civil air about a petroleum died while in service -- patrol died while in service. july 1, in recognition of their service, president harry truman signed public law 476, incorporating the civil air patrol as a benevolent nonprofit organization. two years later, on may 26, congress passed public law 557, permanently establishing the civil air patrol as the exillry of the united states air force -- auxiliary of the united states air force. today their missions include air space, education, and emergency services. c.a.p. volunteers continue to serve our nation through disaster relief, search and rescue, humanitarian assistance, air force support and counterdrug missions. mr. speaker, i'm honored to have had this time to recognize the civil air patrol for their contributions and their service

to our country during world war ii. and again, congressman michael mccaul and myself urge our colleagues to support s. 309. this congressional medal recognition is long overdue and well deserved. i thank you for your consideration and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields. the gentleman from washington reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, we have no further speakers and am prepared to close and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington yields. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my and thank chairman mccaul for his work on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 309. 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, the

bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 685 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 685, a bill to award a congressional gold medal to the american fighter aces collectively, in recognition of their heroic military service and defends of -- defense of our country's freedom throughout the history of aviation warfare. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga, and the gentleman from washington, mr. heck, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five elective days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the record on h.r. 685 as amended, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker,

today's a lot of recognition about those who have served our country and i rise today in support of h.r. 685, the american fighter aces congressional gold medal act, introduced by the gentleman from texas, mr. johnson. this bill authorizes the minting and award of a single gold medal in recognition of american fighter aces heroic military service and the defense of our country's freedom which has spanned the history of aviation warfare. once awarded, the medal will be given to the smithsonian institution where it will be available for display or loan as appropriate. mr. speaker, this country has had many military heroes in its hiftrit. men and women who have fought valiantly and often died in the process to defend freedom around the world. all are heroes but none has captured the imagination more than the american fighter ace, flying usually alone, directly at the enemy. each of us knows the story of one or more aces but probably few know the stories of more than a couple of them.

i think most people would be surprised to know that there are more than 1,500 of the more than 60,000 u.s. combat pilots that have achieved ace status by destroying five or more enemy aircraft in combat. what even fewer know is that not all of these pilots flew for the u.s. even as they flew in defense of the u.s. ideals. some flew in the british royal air force and canadian royal air force and the french lafayette in world war i before the u.s. entered the war. american aces flew in the spanish civil war, the japanese war, the arab-israeli war and echoing the recent tensions in ukraine, one american fighter collected his victories flying for the white russian air force against the red air force just after world war i. mr. speaker, the stories of america's fighter aces are full of the kind of courage and sacrifice we all think of as emblematic of our country. it would be easy for me to tell a few of those tales but i

think the story of the fighter aces and fighter pilots in general can best be told by the man who will be on my side's next speaker, the author of this bill, mr. johnson of texas. as i'm sure all of the members of this chamber know, mr. johnson is a decorated fighter pilot from both the korean and vietnam wars who spent several years in a north vietnamese prison after being shot down on his 25th mission. so after noting that this bill now is sponsored by 312 members of the house, and that a state -- senate version passed march 26 with 1 co-sponsors, i'll urge -- 81 co-sponsors, i'll urge the bill's immediate pass and reserve the balance of my time so i may yield it later to my friend from texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. heck: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. heck: thank you, mr. speaker. many congressional gold medal bills passing today and all

special. but with all due respect, this is particularly special. i rise in support of h.r. 685, the american fighter ace congressional gold medal act. as suggested, this bill establishes a congressional gold medal honoring american fighter aces for their heroic military service in defense of our country's freedom. most americans are familiar with most know tom cruise's maverick in the award winning and popular show-movie "top gun" but not enough people really understand what it was that the real fighter aces went through. to become an american fighter ace, a fighter pilot must destroy five or more enemy aircraft in aerial combat during a war or conflict in which the u.s. armed forces participated. i am unbelievably proud today and humbled to represent one of the remaining fighter aces in

washington's 10th congressional district, retired commander clarence alvin borley, or as he's known by his friends, spike. like many aces, his story is simply incredible. the commander is a navy f fix f hell cat ace. he had a total of five aerial victories, flying off the u.s. in er, the u.s.s. effex 1945. he was shot down after his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire. he flew out two miles off the coast of what was then known as formosa and crash landed in the ocean. he exited his plane in full gear and inflated his life preserver and floated after his hell cat sank. shortly a japanese boat approached him with japanese soldiers on it and he reached

down to pull out his handgun, fired, killed two enemy combatants and boat fled. thereafter he swam farther away from formosa. and later that day, because it was a tremendous aerial combat day, several rafts were dropped into the ocean for the pilots and commander borley dragged himself into one. he spent four nights in that raft. mind you, no water, no food, no shade. and kept going farther and farther out from formosa. it took 100 hours for them to rescue him. in fact, the u.s.s. sawfish was the ship that finally pulled him out of the water. again, mind you, no water, no food, no shade. and there were rough seas. in fact i believe he had a canteen when he went down, but he capsized several times and lost it. commander borley of olympia, washington, is a true american hero. and i know i speak for many

when i say we are deeply appreciative of all he's done for us. american fighter aces like commander borley are the best of the best in air combat. they engage the enemy time and time again. in southeast asia, south pacific and europe and they won. and yet their accomplishments have never been collectively recognized. their aerial supremacy has never been honored by congress until today. the museum of flight in seattle, which is a spectacular institution, and their chairman, bill aire, deserve special recognition and our thanks for their constant support and dedication to this effort. it is the home of the greatest world war i and world war ii fighters in america. it has committed countless time and hour and energy to honoring the american fighter ace.

i am honored beyond words to be the co-sponsor of this bill with the gentleman from texas. i cannot exaggerate this. i suspect this is the first time in my 17 months in congress we'll vote on the same side of an issue, but i cannot tell you the depth of my gratitude for his 29 years of military service and all that he sacrificed and endured on behalf of us. what a fitting, fitting acknowledgment, sir, of your service here and to all of america and i am humbled to join you in this effort. i encourage all of our colleagues, everybody, to support h.r. 685, in recognition of the american fighter aces. you know, 1,500 have been out f 60,000 aerial aviators aces. about 95 are left. there hasn't been a fighter ace created since the vietnam war, and those who are, it is difficult for them to talk

about this because frankly they're very, very modest. i know this from personal conversations with -- i went to the national convention of fighter aces last year and spoke with so many of them. they are very modest about this. that's -- that's frankly all the more reason why it's incumbent upon us to lift up their contribution and their sacrifice. mr. johnson, i am humbled to join you in this. please support h.r. 685. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: mr. speaker, i now yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from texas, the house's ace, and the author of this legislation, mr. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. chairman. you know, listening to the previous speaker's -- speakers,

i knew general doolittle. he wasn't an ace, but he should have been. you know, i thank the gentleman for yielding. i'd like to start by thanking my friend and colleague from washington state, mr. heck, for his leadership on this bill. i want to thank chairman hensarling of the financial services committee, the house leadership for bringing h.r. 685, the american fighter aces congressional gold medal act, to the floor. this bill, which already has the support of 312 members of this body, honors an elite group of american fighter pilots, known as fighter aces, with congress' highest recognition, the congressional gold medal. additionally, i want to thank the american fighter aces association, specifically mr. greg wagner, for his advocacy and for the association's effort in recognizing this influential group of american

fighter pilots. aces are u.s. fighter pilots credited with destroying five or more confirmed enemy aircraft in aerial combat. more than 60,000 u.s. military fighter pilots have taken to the air. however, less than 1,500 have been honored with the coveted status of fighter ace. during my 29 years of service in the u.s. air force, i was credited with one confirmed m.i.g. kill, one probable and one damaged. and i am not an ace, mr. speaker. however, having personally met and flown with some of those guys, i can speak to the sacrifice, risk and contribution these fighter pilots make in protecting our freedom. allow me to share a little about the lives of two aces who i personally knew. one, an american hero, dear friend and fellow p.o.w., we lost last year, brigadier

general robby risner. robby flew more than 100 combat missions over north korea and became the 20th fighter ace of the korean war. he shot down eight russian belt m.i.g.'s and received the silver star for a life-threatening midair maneuver to steer a fellow pilot to safety. during the vietnam war, he led the first flight of operation rolling thunder, a high intensity aerial bombing of north vietnam for which he received the air force cross and was featured on the cover of the magazine, "time" magazine for his bravery, valor and accomplishments. the other is an american patriot and good friend who went home to meet our lord and savior in 2009. fisher.ho hal he served -- colonel hal

fisher. he had 10 confirmed aerial victories. i was in that same wing. while rising through the ranks to colonel, he flew 200 missions in vietnam and 175 missions in korea. on april 7, 1953, he entered into a fierce dogfight with north korean m.i.g. 15's where his 86 saber jet was shot down. forced to eject, fisher parachuted into enemy territory and was quickly taken by chinese soldiers as a prisoner of war. after being tortured and kept in dark, damp cells with no bed for two years, he was released and returned to active duty two months later. this is just a glimpse into the lives and heroic acts fighter aces performed during every mission. americans' fighter aces have

led distinguished careers in the military, education, private enterprise and politics. this elite group has carried out their duties with honor, integrity, dignity and respect. they are the best of the best, the cream of the crop in air-to-air combat. they have engaged the enemy time and time again over the south pacific, europe and east asia and won. they have contributed to the aerial supremacy of the united states. they've shortened wars and saved lives. yet, they've never been rightfully honored, at least not until now. i'm honored to say that today we have an opportunity to change that. today is the day these american patriots will receive a special homage, the highest honor congressional guys can bestow,

the congressional gold medal. sadly of the 1,500 u.s. fighter aces this bill recognizes, only a few hundred remain with us today. while we have lost many american fighter aces, this gold medal is an important step in honoring and remembering their exemplary service to our country. as we ponder the blessings of service and sacrifice of those who wear the uniform, especially with memorial day just around the corner, we can only humbly acknowledge that we are the land of the free because of the brave. these men are shining examples of everything great that america stands for. mr. speaker, i cannot think of a more appropriate way to honor the heroism, duty, service, courage and sacrifice of american fighter aces than on the week before memorial day.

the congressional gold medal is the highest honor that congress can bestow and i can think of no group more deserving than this elite group of fighter pilots. i thank you for joining me in that effort. i urge all of my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. heck: i yield back the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington yields. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. i, too, want to join all my colleagues in thanking our colleague from texas from underscoring this important legislation, for his service. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 685, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the does the e -- gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? 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 otion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately

:30 eastern. rlier today "politico" was with timothy geithner to discuss his new book "stress test." here's more now. >> mr. secretary, in the book you talk about the 2008 meltdown as a 100-year flood. hat is the likelihood in our lifetime there will be a 100-year flood? >> the memory of this crisis will last for a while. i mean, you know, these things -- look what happened after the great depression. there's a long period of people saving just a huge fraction for a long period of time and it may not last that long but it's going to last for a while.

but, again, the risk isn't zero but it's a low risk because we did a dramatic restructuring of our financial system and cleaned out a lot of really bad things. and forced the system to raise and hold much more capital against the risk of another crisis and pass other reforms that are messy and disappointing to many but at their core had this hugely powerful important change which is to force people to hold more cushions against the risk of mistakes or things they don't understand, don't know. yes, true, over time these things are tough and very conservative and very good prospect of buying us a long period of relative calm. not indefinite, not forever, but at the core, very good, very powerful. >> a portion of remarks by former treasury secretary timothy geithner. see it later in our schedule

online or at c-span.org. >> communication policy had not been reformed since 1934. there was a compelling need in 1995 to begin a process of massive telecommunication reform and at that time, you basically had boxes, you had a box for broadcasters, a box for telephone companies, a box for long distance, you know, cable, satellite and our view was we had to come in and try to eliminate the lines of demarcation and promote competition, there would be more investment, more consumer choice, more innovation and fortunately, i think the result has proven us correct, that is exactly what has happened. >> when the act was written, we were focused on telephone service, whether it was local or long distance, to some extent we

focused on cable tv service and wanted to take the steps to make that market competitive, but the focus was plain old telephone service and the landscape is different. the f.c.c. has managed as well as it can without clear direction from congress about how the transition from theera of telephone service to the time when everything is delivered over the internet should take place. and in my mind the f.c.c. has done a good job. evaluating the 1996 telecommunications act tonight t 8:00 eastern on c-span2. tomorrow on "washington journal," ben fitzgerald on the announcement by the justice department that it was indicting five chinese military officers for hacking four american

companies. after that dr. michael bell talks about what middle east respiratory syndrome is and how serious a threat. plus your phone calls, facebook comments and tweets. "washington journal" is live tuesday at 7:00 a.m. eastern here on c-span. jay carney briefed reporters at the white house. topics included u.s. relations with china, russia's intervention in ukraine and serious delays inpatient care at a hospital in arizona which has several veterans groups which has some groups calling for secretary of veterans affairs ecretary shinseki to resign. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. happy monday to you all. before i take your questions, i have a couple of things to say at the top. first of all, as some of you may

have seen, today we announced the president will hold the fourth white house science fair. this year's fair will focus on girls and women who are exceling in stem fields and highlight this administration's commitment to have women enter the stem fields and expand opportunity for all. it will feature 100 students from more than 30 states representing 30 stem competitions that recognize the talents of scientists, engineers, inventors and innovators. secondly, i would like to let you know that on wednesday, president obama, will host an event at the department of interior where he will sign a south central new mexico. by establishing the monument, it

will protect 496,000 acres to preserve the prehistory, historic and scientific values of all. a recent independent study found that a new national monument could generate 7.4 million in economic activity from new visitors and business opportunities while preserving access for sportsmen, and recreational users. this is our week-long focus to further grow our economy and create jobs. the president will discuss this more at a meeting at the white house tomorrow with business leaders and at the national baseball hall of fame in cooperstown on thursday. now to your questions. >> could you say what the white house role was in signing off or a-- approving the charges? >> law enforcement actions taken

by the justice department, the filing of criminal charges are something that are appropriately handled as a law enforcement manner -- as a law enforcement matter. it is also the case that president obama has made cybersecurity a high priority for his administration and it is specifically the case that the president has expressed publicly and directly with his chinese unterpart, our concerns over government-sponsored cyber-enabled theft of trade secrets and other sensitive business issues. this is an issue that has been brought up by president obama with the president in theirings as in march as a general problem that we have seen and reflects the president's overall concern about cybersecurity. we have consistently and candidly raised these concerns

with the chinese government and this chinese behavior has continued. now we remain committed to developing a constructive and productive relationship with china and ready to work with china to prevent this activity from continuing. >> even though d.o.j. may be looking at charges. has there been any conversation with the chinese on more of the national security, foreign policy front about why these charges are being levied and any concerns you may have about chinese retall yation? >> we will coordinate with law enforcement authorities and that is true in this case as well. >> coordinated with the chinese to identify these? >> we coordinate with them and ask for their assistance in connection with this case. i don't have any more detail than that. but suffice it to say, as i

mentioned at the top, the president has conveyed his general concern about this issue to the president. we have made it a top-line topic of conversation in our interactions with our chinese counterparts. the overall challenge posed by cybersecurity matters is one that the president has made a top priority for his administration and we will continue to do that. as a broader matter, i think the president would like to see and made it clear to his chinese counterparts, cooperation and coordination on cybersecurity rather than disagreement on matters like this. >> would you say there is an example where he has received cooperation from the chinese? i didn't mean to say we had worked with them to identify these officials, but that we seek their cooperation and assistance on matters like this,

which would be routine in dealing with a foreign government and foreign nationals. what i mean is that there is and has been an opportunity for cooperation and coordination on cybersecurity issues with the chinese and that is certainly what we have sought and continue to seek, but let's also be clear that the president has identify this as a challenge. he has made clear all along when there are threats posed to our cybersecurity to our government, as well as our businesses, he expects action to be taken and for there to be accountability. and this action, while on a specific matter, reflects the president's commitment and focus on making sure that cybersecurity is a priority and people are held accountable when there are compromises to it. >> can i ask on russia, the kremlin says they will be pulling troops back from the

border. i wondered if you see any signs of this at this time? >> we have seen reports of president putin's orders for some russian troops who were deployed to return to return to their permanent basis. we have been clear about our call for the russian military to de-escalate tension there so such a withdrawal would be welcome. we see no indication of any movement which has been the case several times before. i think it's fair to say we would know and would be able to confirm for you if the russian military had, in fact, moved back, deployed away from the ukranian border but we haven't seen any indication that is the case. >> on china, this comes -- tensions have risen in the south

china sea. does this -- charges point to any deteriorating relations with china? > it reflects the clear-eyed nature or clear-eyed approach we take with china and other nations where we have matters where we disagree, but also areas where we can cooperate. and when it comes to making sure that we take action on cybersecurity, we aren't going to sugar-coat our disagreements with any other nation on these issues, nor are we going to forego opportunities where we can find ground for cooperation and coordination and will continue to do that. >> on the veterans affairs issue, does the white house see any risks that there is a need for criminal charges in these cases? >> as you know, mark, there is

an independent inspector general investigating this matter, and it is up to the i.g. in this case to include or refer to the department of justice for potential action on potential criminal action or potential criminal behavior. so i would refer you to the i.g. and department of justice for that. it is absolutely the case that the president strongly supports secretary shinseki's request to the i.d. -- i.g. to investigate the allegations that have emerged around initially the phoenix office and spread elsewhere because he insists that we do everything we can to ensure that our veterans are getting the care that they deserve and getting it in a timely fashion. as you know, the secretary is undertaking his own review.

the president signed off on transferring one of his top advisers from the white house in order to increase the capacity over at the v.a. for this review. rob is over there in place working with the secretary and his team on the review of these allegations. and he expects there to be an efficient and effective review of the situation and for remedial action to be taken, if necessary. >> one of the sunday talk shows, president's chief of staff seemed to stop short of a full throat of confidence in secretary shinseki. is the president's still believes in secretary shinseki. >> the president believes that secretary shinseki has overseen significant progress on a number of fronts and overseen the increase in appropriations for the v.a. over the previous

administration, significantly at the president's request, included in his budget request. has overseen an increase in the services provided to our veterans, even as we have increased the number of veterans that are provided service because of the two wars that have been fought, major wars, long wars, one that has come to an end, another coming to an end, has overseen substantial progress in reducing progress in reducing the backlog of disbuilt claims and policies that allow for those with illness essex possessed to agent orange to have a presumption of a claim when they ask for a disability claim through the v.a. and those who suffer from ptsd as a result of their experiences in iraq and afghanistan, to have the same

presumption. that has put significant stress on the system, but it is absolutely the right thing to do, and that is why secretary shinseki from the time he came in to office at veterans affairs has made these issues a priority. . >> let's try to clarify a question on china. we coordinated with them and asked for their assistance in connection with this case. >> as a general matter -- this is basically in response to the -- to the question about whether or not we would raise this issue with china before the announcement that you saw was made. and i would say as a routine matter, we coordinate with foreign countries on law enforcement issues to request their assistance and that is true in this case, but again in

this case it is routine to notify and request the assistance of a foreign country when this kind of situation arises and an announcement like this is going to be made. >> my question is, who is examining that? >> chinese government. relate it to justice and state. >> kind of assistance? >> in terms of the request to the government both here and in beijing and here through the embassy for their assistance in connection with this case. >> what kind of assistance is that? >> i cannot. you may direct your questions to the justice department. what you are seeing here are individuals identified and charged and the assistance you would seek from a foreign government in that matter may be self-evident.

>> what about this announcement on friday that the under secretary of health over at veterans affairs robert pets ell was leaving that department. he was already scheduled to leave the v.a. later in the year. how is that any kind of accountability over at the v.a. and might we see other officials in charge overseeing veterans care, might we see other firms leave? i on the issue of drr petzel, would hope that you had noted that the top official in charge, he was of the veterans health system, was requested to resign by the american legion and he did so the day -- one day after his senate testimony. the american legion said that the group looks at his resignation as a step of addressing the leadership problem at the v.a. i think that undercuts the assertion that that is not a

meaningful development. on the broader issue of accountability, we are of the view that the kinds of allegations that we have seen need to be investigated vigorously. and once we know all the facts, it is absolutely appropriate that accountable individuals ought to be held to account. not of the view as a general matter that the latter comes before the former. the investigation needs to continue and needs to be completed and we can assess what the facts are. i would point you to the testimony by the inspector general that included an update on the progress he made on some of the allegations, including those in reports by your network and there is still much to be learned about what happened in phoenix and we await the results of that investigation. >> just to follow up on that, when was the president first made aware of these problems, of

these fraudulent lists that were being kept to hide the wait times? and when did other white house, top white house officials become aware of these problems? >> when you say these problems -- >> the delays. >> these are allegations that were reported by your network out of phoenix and we learned about them through the reports. i will double-check if that's not the case. that's when we learned about them and that's when secretary shinseki learned about them and took the action that he has taken, including instigating his own review and also requesting that the inspector general investigate and i think again, i would point to his testimony and the inspector general's testimony last week. >> you think these allegations just died at the v.a., because it seems that there is a whole crop of whistleblowers surfacing at these different facilities around the country. it seems logical that these

logical that these allegations would have made their way to the v.a. and would have been taken so seriously that they would have been addressed at the white house or brought to the attention of people here. >> i was responding to the question about when folks found out about the phoenix allegations. for broader questions about reporting of potentially fraudulent waiting lists and other matters that have been raised in recent days and weeks, i would refer you to the veterans affairs department. >> let me follow up on that, putting the fraudulent lists and waiting times aside, issue of delays, inadequate care, this has been going on for a long time. the president talked about this when he was running for president in 2007. he said, quote, when we feel to keep faith with our veterans the bond between our nation and nation's heroes becomes frayed when a veteran is denied care we

are all dishonored. does the president feel that we have all been dishonored by these allegations? >> that is why when he was elected to this office, having said what he did about the care we need to provide to our veterans, he actively pursued significant increases in our budgets for veterans care, substantially increasing the amount that we spend in order to take care of our veterans, substantially increasing the availability of services to veterans and availability of disbuilt claims to veterans on his watch because of that trust he has talked about. there is no question that a lot more work needs to be done and secretary shinseki would be the first to tell you that, as he did last week when he testified. >> 21 century will be an equal

priority to building a 21st century to fight our wars. at 21st century veterans affairs has not -- >> jim, i don't want to quibble with your assessments. i'm not suggesting that the allegations we have seen are not serious, which is why you have seen the response. it is important to allow the investigation and review to come to a completion so we can see what the facts are and you can see the actions that secretary shinseki and others at the v.a. take in response to any allegations contained within the results of that investigation and that review. [unintell i believe]

-- r. holder said this case inaudible] >> the comments by the attorney general that spoke about this matter and head of the department of justice, which is pursuing the case. i think as a broader matter, the issue of cybersecurity and the threats posed by those who would compromise cybersecurity here in the united states are real and growing and a case like this only highlights that fact. i believe that's where the attorney general was referring to in those comments. we need to make sure that it is

clear to everyone that we won't tolerate the kind of government-sponsored cyber-enabled espionage or threats against our government cyber systems or our private sector cyber systems. and that's -- that is the view the president has taken from the beginning and he has been very blunt about it in his conversations with his chinese counterparts and that has been reflected in the conversations that others in this administration have had with their counterparts. as i noted earlier, we strongly believe that we should be able to cooperate and coordinate with china on these matters, but we are also going to continue to be very clear and blunt about the kinds of problems that we have seen that this case reflects.

>> can you confirm reports that donovan is going to be leaving hud and going to o.m.b.? >> as you might expect i don't have any personnel announcements to make. we make them in the usual fashion. >> first of all, given what we have heard from mr. snowden about the u.s. involvement in intelligence gathering, what is the difference of the u.s. spying on mercedes benz and the like and what these five chinese men are being accused of? >> first of all, without addressing any specific allege that may have been made through the so-called disclosures revelations. there is no comparison here. since well before these recent disclosures, we have made clear that our signals intelligence programs serve a specific

national security mission. and that does not include providing a competitive advantage to u.s. companies or u.s. economic interests. in other words, we do not do what those chinese nationals were indicted for earlier today, period. so there is a significant and important distinction between the gathering of intelligence for national security reasons, which the united states does and surely china does and virtually every other nation on earth does and the gathering of economic data for the purpose of providing a competitive advantage to companies in your own country. that is not something the united states does. >> any information gather from mercedes benz -- >> i'm not going to address any specific allege that you are citing. we do not gather intelligence for the benefit of u.s. companies. >> fallout because the chinese

have said it is out of the china-u.s. working group and if that becomes a trend some of the platforms that the u.s. government is engaged in with china will disappear. what is the preparation of the white house to continue to cooperation given this today? >> we believe open and frank dialogue with china and our allies and key international cyber actors is crucial in building trust in building rules of the road on this issue. we will continue to engage china on areas of cooperation such as network defense and law enforcement investigations as well as challenges such as military delin and cyber-enabled economic espionage. we hope to see efforts from beijing. as i was saying earlier, we believe there are ample and important areas where we should be able to cooperate with china on issues related to

cybersecurity but it is very important that the rules of the road are established and that they are followed and i think that's the general preliminary that the president attaches to these issues as it relates to china and other nations, april. where are what does this administration do when it comes to vetting a possible candidate for an open position that could be coming soon in this environment right now? >> i don't think our processes are any different than previous administrations. i don't have a detailed check list for you for how that check list works. , is it approach 2016 possible running for president could strike out a candidate for any position that could be open in the future? >> when the president seeks to appoint individuals to

significant positions in his administration, he looks for their qualifications, obviously, and seeks to appoint the very best people to the positions that are open, but i don't -- i'm not aware of any criteria related to the issue you just raised. >> what about castro? >> you probably remember that president obama asked mayor castro to deliver the key note address at the president's convention in 2012. i think that reflects the high regard that president obama holds in -- in which president obama holds mayor castro. he is mayor of a significantly-sized city. and has done an excellent job in that position. how's that? >> next question. people areeport that

calling for him to resign, what is this white house saying about that and does the president said anything? >> i don't have a comment. >> jay, in terms of general sin she can si -- votes will be taken in the follow g r. will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conduct d as a five-minute vote. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion by the gentleman from michigan to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2203 as amended on with the i yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2203, a bill to provide for the award of a gold medal on behalf of congress to jack nicklaus in recognition of his service to the nation in promoting excellence, good sportsmanship and philanthropy. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the h