tax rates than their diesel counterparts, creating an inequality that hinders the attractiveness of l.n.g. as a el system of a truck using clean natural gas pays 70% more than its counterpart across the street. at a part owered tug will pay instead of the 29 cents per gallon tax, pay nearly 50 cents per gallon. there has been constructive movement by representative thornberry, and i applaud that i hope we can address this next year in the debate on the highway trust fund. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. . ms. gabbard: thank you, mr. speaker. our troops, our country and our

communities deserve far better than the defense bill that passed today. the hidden provision in the amended h.r. 3979 to authorize training and arming the so-called moderate syrian rebels for the next two years with no limit on how much money can be spent has seriously polluted this critical piece of legislation. i could not in good conscience vote to support the so-called moderate forces who often work hand in hand with al qaeda or isis and whose personnel and weapons often end up in the hands of those terrorists. this bill continues the same failed practices of undeclared war, regime change and nation building that have held us mired in the middle east for over a decade. mr. you very much, speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

>> mr. speaker, a columnist wrote the following in one of the capitol hill newspapers several weeks ago. mr. duncan: if you spent 13 years pounding money down a rat hole with little to show for it, you might wake up one morning and say, hey, i'm going to stop pounding money down this rat hole. unfortunately the u.s. government does not think that way. the u.s. government wakes up every morning and says the rat hole is looking a little bit empty today, let's pound a few more billion dollars down there. when that rat hole is afghanistan, the billions are essentially without end. he added that we've spent several billion trying to stop openum production there, but during u.s. occupation drug production in afghanistan has actually increased. by one very conservative estimate, we have spent $753 billion on the war in afghanistan since 2001. the defense bill today contains $63.7 billion for the overseas contingency account, meaning many billion morse for the rat hole in afghanistan -- more for the rat hole in afghanistan.

when will we come to our senses, mr. speaker? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of senate bill 2673, the united states israeli -- united states-israeli strategic partnership act it. includes language from the enhancement act. mr. collins: the enhancement act is a bill i sponsored and was supported by unanimous this body. my bill provided for the review of israel's q.m.e. at shorter intervals from four years to two years, and i'm honored the review language made it into the strategic partnership act. both pieces of legislation recognize israel's residents in -- residence in a neighborhood of bad actors. since the establishment of israel it has endured several extended armed conflicts with its neighbors from 1948 through the latest conflict with hamas.

israel has endured constant threats. another constant is israel is able to depend upon the u.s. for military assistance. during the war of 1973, the u.s. conducted one of the largest airlifts in u.s. history to assist israel. today we stand on the floor of the house in support of a bill to increase this military assistance and to increase the help to our friend, israel. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, today i want to recognize a good friend and a very important member of my hometown community of taylorville, illinois. mr. davis: the president and c.e.o. of taylor memorial hospital is retiring after 34 years in the health care industry. dan started with taylorville memorial hospital in 1995 when it was known as st. vincent memorial. and it was also where my wife worked. and has served the community as c.e.o. for 19 years.

with dan's leadership and a dedication, t.m.h. has remained a staple in the taylorville community. it is taylorville's largest employer and t.m.h. has given so much back to the community. as a matter of fact, it's been 4 -- $4.9 million in community benefits just in the year 2013 alone. t.m.h. is one of nine critical access hospitals located in the 13th district of illinois and they play a vital role in ensuring that rural communities are served so that our citizens get the health care they deserve. as taylorville and central illinois continues to thrive, i know that t.m.h. will be part of that success and that is a direct result of dan rabb's leadership. i want to thank dan for his 34 years of service, congratulate him on his retirement and my wife shannon and i wish him and his wife mary and their two ly, the , joe and em

best of luck in the future -- emily, the best of luck in the future and with his retirement. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, as the co-sponsor of the achieving a better life experience act, also known as the able act, i rise today to commend the house for yesterday passing this important piece of legislation that will help millions of americans reach their full potential. as the brother of a physically disabled sister who has lived with the challenges associated with being physically hands capped, over a dozen surgery, hip and knee replacements, walking with crutches or walkers, and sometimes reliant on a wheelchair, i know how difficult it can be for millions of americans with disabilities and their families. mr. barrow: but i also know -- mr. barr: but i also know from my sister who graduated from college, went on to seminary, married her college sweetheart, adopted a beautiful little girl and now serves others as a priest that the challenges associated with being handicapped can be overcome.

the able act will help ease financial strains faced by millions of americans with disabilities and their families and help them save for the future by creating tax-free savings accounts available to cover disability-related expenses. this provides families with a severely disabled child some peace of mind by allowing them to save for their child's long-term disability expenses. we are better off as a nation when disabled americans are given the tools like the able act to not only achieve self-sufficiency but contribute and give back to our society. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: ask unanimous consent to address the house and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: briefly on the floor of the house today i mentioned how many times i voted for the defense authorization bill and appreciated the underlying principles in that legislation. which is the -- to wholly support the united states military and their families. today unfortunately layered

down with poisonous pills on the floor of the house the majority did not give this congress the opportunity to debate the questions of war and peace. and so i ask my colleagues and the leadership to let us debate this issue next week or come back or, as we begin 2015, whenever we put our sons and daughters in harm's way, it is extremely important to do so. let me change to another topic very quickly and acknowledge and give my sympathy to the garner family and indicate that i'm going to begin an assessment of the criminal justice system that includes a review of training for our law enforcement across america, will include the utilization of stop and frisk citations so that racial profiling can stop and will be an overview of the grand jury system which is obviously broken. my sympathy again to the brown family, to the garner family, sean bell, trayvon martin, robbie tullen who lives and

many, many others. mr. speaker, let me finally say, this congress cannot turn its head away from a broken criminal justice system. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of be a a sense requested for mr. aderholt of alabama for today, mr. cab wanta -- mr. capuano for tuesday, december 2, wednesday december 3, and thursday, december 4, and mr. doyle of pennsylvania for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from michigan, mr. rogers, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. rogers: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm honored to be here. i don't often come to the well of the house for two or three minutes, let alone 60 minutes.

but today is special. certainly for me. i think for my family, for my extended family and staff who are here today. this is my chance to really say thank you and had a heck of a good ride serving the people of the eighth district back home. i have some thank yous up front to my wife, christie, who is here, who is both my best friend and the love of my life. thank you for being here. this is going to be harder than maybe i imagined. to my family, erin and john, thanks for weathering the storm , for a member of congress who is more often gone at times they should be home. as a matter of fact, i remember i nye i was getting in trouble when my daughter who was going into the fifth grade and because i would fly out to washington from michigan every week, i had scheduled mondays as lunch day at her local school for years. and so i got the lecture going

into her fifth grade year that i would have to stay within a zone of her when i came to lunch. i was no longer able to sit next to her at the lunching tables because that after all would be god awful, to have your father at lunch with you in the fifth grade. so i did get to sit across from her for about one who are year and going into the sixth grade by the way, that was pretty much done. to everybody who had the great privilege to walk these halls, putting the visitors and -- including the visitors and folks at home, i hope you still have that rev rabs for this building -- reverence for this building, for this institution. for what it means not just to america but to the world. i know i did every single day that i walked these halls. this morning when i came in, still got that little tingle about what it meant to be a member of congress, in this great institution. and i know i felt that with the members of my staff throughout

the years. every chief of staff, every legislative director, every staff director and every other staff member that i've ever had. fellows and interns stepped up to the plate and certainly i know helped me become a better representative to the people of the eighth district. all the things that we were able to accomplish, all of them happened because we had people who cared a little bit more about something bigger than themselves. they cared enough to sacrifice probably better careers with higher pay and shorter hours in the private sector. they chose to come to washington, d.c., or work in the district offices to plow through and represent really average americans to a big federal bureaucracy that sometimes seems so intimidating, they had nowhere else to go. they were the friends on the other side of those phone calls. many of these folks have graciously showed up today. ris cox and matt andy, andrew,

ilen phillip, diane, kyle. thanks, kyle, for not killing me on the highway, on the way to meet the turkish -- newly elected prime minister. i appreciate that a lot. michael, darren. i think of my first crew that was right in the district office fighting it out, tony and penny and katie and stewart, all of those folks who were so committed again to getting it right on behalf of the people that they represented. to my campaign team. by the way, there were so many more people. i could take the whole 60 minutes and thank them all. my campaign team who fought it all and beat every odd and beat every pundit's prediction that i would never stand and walk these halls as a member of congress. terry and val, r.j., john, catherine, joe, mike. i want to thank someone who was special in all of that to me, somebody who's been with me 22

years. from the very high points, to .he very low points anne, couldn't have done it without you. thanks for being here today. wow. aid i wasn't going to do this. i think of all the things that as a staff that you are able to accomplish. from cancer care legislation to protect rural patients, he medical devices for children, biodefenses, we even figured out a way to make serving farms more efficient. without mandates. that was clever. to all the constituents that picked up the phone and found a friend at the other end, i think of the time we all

gathered up to help keep a soup kitchen operating through the holidays by getting private donors to step up to people they'd never met or organizations they had never heard of, to help those folks get fed through the church kitchen. all the time we huddled all the staff in because we had one of those great successful, horribly painful i.r.s. issues, where after years of trying to get this thing straightened out and certainly the anxiety and problems that are faced when dealing with a bureaucracy like the i.r.s., we got to make that phone call and not only were they not going to have to owe money, the i.r.s. had made a significant mistake and they were going to get a pretty good sizeble check back and i'll tell you, there wasn't a dry eye in the room when we made that call as a staff together. from all the folks we helped with social security, the folks that got the medals they earned by serving this country. to see the room filled with

individuals who teared up because it's the first time they heard their loved one tell the story of how they earned those medals fighting for the defense of the united states of america. you know, it's pretty fantastic thing that i got to be here system of the work that i did on the intelligence committee, i have to tell you, was some of the biggest and best privilege i have had the opportunity to participate in. somebody asked me at the time, why did you go from being an f.b.i. agent to wanting to serb and go through that political process that we all do? and i recall the story, as a fairly young agent, we were working a case, trying to locate a young girl who had gone missing from a western state, had come to chicago, i was on the organized crime squad. we had a tip that would

hopefully lead to this girl's return to her parents and they were very concerned. she was young at the time, 15. when she left home. the long city -- story, the fast forward of that story, we were able to find this young lady, operating in a house of ill repute that was run and really protected by the local police, run by chicago organized crime. and the proprietors of this particular establishment kept all of the ladies completely hooked on heroin. gather them up at the end of the night, take home to a building that they owned and they would really lock them up, feed them heroin, get them back the next day for their night's work. when we took this young lady out, she was probably 17 by the time we found, located, started to disrupt these type of activities.

i'll never forget we got her into the car, we had arranged counseling, there was a great agent, a senior tonight me, richard davis, always very valuable to me. she was coming out, she didn't have a coat. so he expropriated the money i had in my wallet to find an opportunity to get her a coat, which we did. and in the back of the car she was immensely quiet. she didn't say a word. again, our goal was to get her to some counseling and try to get her life back on track any way we could. and out of the blue, it was very quiet in the car so it was very cutting when she talked. she turned her head and the only words she spoke she dade, do you know why i didn't kill myself? because i knew somebody cared enough to come find me. that certainly mode a profound impact on me, both as a young f.b.i. agent and the work i was doing there, but what i had tried to accomplish here as a member of congress.

to know that somebody is empowered to ask the hard questions, to go to the tough laces. i believed and the people around me believed it was porn for the security of the country, or keeping cancer patients from driving hours and hours, or maybe we came up with that bill, and did if the protection of biodefense in the united states. one of my greatest privileges is having that ability to stand with the men and women as chairman of the house intelligence committee, with these folks who served all over the world in the intelligence community, the defense community. i never forgot that story of that young lady and what it meant. and i always pledged to myself that if i was ever in position to be in authority, to make that little bit of a difference, maybe ask that other question, push or probe a little bit more or push a bill, that i would do

that. and i think together, the staff, family, and friends, we have accomplished that. so congratulations to you and all the work that you've done as well. as i had that opportunity to stand around the world with some really brave and courageous individuals, both in our military and intelligence communities, i just have two people that i need to point out. i want them to know of what the profound impact they had on me, as a member of the house select and tee on intelligence, certainly their country, and the work that i hope i took in to the role of chairman. the the rock star of c.i.a., thank you. for standing up for your country

in the shadows. for your leadership. for doing, i think, the country's hardest work. you've never complained, you sought no recognition, but in those shadows you stood up at the right time to push the right policy that i believe has fundamentally made america safe. they never get to know your name but i'll know it. to karzai's favorite, thanks for having the courage to take me where you weren't supposed to. thanks for showing me up close and personal the very real challenges that the men and women of the c.i.a. faced in very dangerous places around the world. those particular early on visits and counseling sessions, i think

set the pace for my understanding of what my role could be, not only be tough on the agency when it needed it, but to be supportive when the men and women of the agency needed it as well. for that, i want to just say thank you and thank you again for having the courage to stand p at the right time. for any success i've had as chairman, i have to thank a good friend of mine, dutch ruppersberger. i know in this town that saying you have a friend that's a democrat as a republican could get you thrown out -- oh, that's right, i'm leaving. thanks, dutch, for really sitting down, putting our differences aside, working through pretty tough and difficult issues to make that intelligence community work and work for the united states. really a -- it should happen more around here. should happen every day around

here. sometimes it does and get get noticed. i want to thank you for that. we've had our donnybrooks, we have fought, there may have been some finger pointing in the chest moments, but at the end of the day we always came to the conclusion that we mutually agreed it was in the best interest of the united states of america and not only the citizens here at home but the well being of those who serve. so dutch, thank you for that. in all the travels i have had the benefit to do and all the things i just reminisce about, that was hopefully the hardest part of my remarks today, something always struck me. that america is the light of the world, still today. people still hold in reverence something special that happens here. it was reinforced to me when i was asked to go to the 60th anniversary of the battle of the

bulk. it was a few years ago, i thought, i'm not sure. do i want to go to belgium and go through all this? wasn't quite sure. but they hustled me out and say, let's do this. we'll represent america. this is going to be a great event. so i went to the battle of the bulge, got thoifers battlefield, that was wonderful. but the day of the parade, the mayor of a town of about 10,000, maybe more now but 10,000 in the war. the 101st occupied that town surrounded by the germans a pretty difficult -- it was pretty difficult, tough fighting. the mayor of gaston brought back all the soldiers with who could still walk make the parade and en those who wanted to but couldn't, there were vehicles for them.

you think wonder how would they remember -- you wonder how would they remember this 60 years later? these men who had never been out of their towns and communities, who traveled all that way to fight for something bigger than themselves. the town was packed. must have been 100,000 people there. as the gentlemen many marched up that proud, the -- marched up that parade. they tried to stand straight, for those that could. even carried the american flag. people were screaming and hollering and clapping, held signs up that said thank you for saving my grandparents from a concentration camp. and that evening, that was a powerful moment, but that vening, there were children of that town during the surrounding of that town by the germans who came up to offer some words at the microphone to these folks who were getting a medal from the mayor.

think about it. these would have been very young gals, they had grown up now. and they were telling stories about these big, giant men who would come down into the basement and offer them their coats and their scarves and what little bit of food they had left, some candy, blankets. they would take off their boots and give them their socks because they had known. these were the civilians trapped in this town in the ravages of war. and they talked about the reverence of a country that would come that far away to stand with them at a time that they thought their lives mattered very little in the gears of war. you think about the fact that about $15 billion in the united states has been spent to save a million lives in africa. through our aids program.

started a few years ago actually, under george bush. one million lives saved. 60% of food aid that goes out, that goes to people who need food security they can't eat, let alone have a program to take care of them, comes from the united states of america. the farms of the united states of america. the next highest contributor is less than half of that, and that's the e.u. combined. for world hunger. the marshall plan right after world war ii, many maligned, but we invested a certain amount of money so that we could provide stability across europe. back then, i think it was $12 billion, which was a tremendous amount of money, money we probably didn't have. and because of that, and we made the investment to keep soldiers there, not to occupy. we wanted nothing. we took nothing. took no soil. we were invited to stay.

brought peace and stability across europe in a way that we have never seen before. think of the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of small and large conflicts across europe from the 12th century on. including the 19th century. we brought them peace and prosperity in a way that europe never believed it could do on its own. we did it through commerce, stability, and commitment to stay. at the end of this day -- of the day, no other nation in this world could have done that. and we pushed back at the ravages of a cold war. and if you think about today you see those events and you come back to the united states and you turn on the tv and listen to political dialogue today, you wouldn't think too awful much of the united states of america. you would think we have become a country who didn't think that we provided much value in the world, were going the wrong way,

don't have much to offer. a nation in decline. in fact, i had the occasion to have a meeting with a russian general officer some time back about missile defense and other things who, when the meeting was done this very large general, maybe the largest human being i've ever had a personal meeting with, his hat looked funny on his head, didn't quite hit right. he put his arm around me, his hand hit my chest, about the size of a dinner plate, asked me togo into the library, wanted to say something to me. as we were walking into the library, i thought, i've seen this movie. i don't think it works out all that well for me. we got in the room and he said something that startled me, and it shouldn't have, i suppose. but he said, it's great to finally see that america is admitting she's a nation in decline. we've been through it, we'll give you all the advice and council -- and counsel you can take.

he didn't come to that conclusion on his own. america, maybe our political rhetoric, maybe our own actions, maybe our own sense of isolationism is the answer for us, helped him come to that conclusion. a few years after that, seing the world the way it was, putin owns 20% of the country of georgia, no intention of leaving, annexed crimea, certainly playing games in eastern ukraine. the world notices when we stop believing in ourselves. i can't think of a better example of that to me in recent times. for all the debate about afghanistan, should we or shouldn't we, should we stay, should we not? i have certainly my own efinite positions on that. in 2001 the average age, the average life span of an afghan citizen was 43 years.

43 years. last year it was 64 years. 9% when we got there. 9% had ac a sess to any form of health care -- had access to any form of health care. today, 60%. we asked women to come out of the back of their homes and participate in society. because we knew as a country you cannot isolate half of your population and be great at anything. you can't even be good at anything. we asked them and said, we would -- we'll be here, because we knew that was a long-term investment for the stability and security of afghanistan. we got there, there were no girls in school. or almost no girls in school. today nine million afghan girls go to school five days a week. 37% of the labor force today are women in afghanistan. about 0% when we got there.

1/4 of their parliament is women. we have these discussions about how hard it is and how difficult it is and maybe we should change directions, maybe we're not the america we used to be. and now we talk about just pulling up stakes and going home. because it's easier. what a stain on our national character if we walk away from the women we asked to come out and engage oppression and brutality and ignorance, because we just didn't think that we believed enough in freedom, democracy and stability the way we used to. i had a woman doctor i met there on the very first occasion i went who was trained in america. she had been sentenced to the back of her house in pakistan. she was an orthopedic surgeon. hadn't been out of her house in six years. when the u.s. forces first got there and she heard the sounds of the guns she said she took

off her burkea, she walked about nine, 10 miles to the children's hospital and volunteered. i happened to meet her at the children's hospital. pretty tough place. they didn't have clean sheets, they didn't have ant septic the way they needed, remember, this is really early in the process. and i asked her if it bothered her to hear the sounds of the guns in the distance. i'll never forget it, she grabbed my jacket that i was waring and said, last night in this particular bed, and by the way there were two and three children per bed, they didn't have enough beds, because they had chased all their nurses away mothers would come in with their children and would have to stay in the hospital rooms. so think of small room, two and three children per bed, plus the mothers who provided some minimal care, without the greatest of cleanliness conditions, you can imagine how tough this is. she grabbed the phone and said, last night in that bed i had to amputate the arm and a leg of a

9-year-old boy. i didn't have the right medical devices, i didn't have the right medicine but if it weren't for the united states, he would have no chance at all. and none of the children here would have a chance at all. so we have to ask ourselves, are we going to let our politics become so small, we've let our politics become the thing that if i can make you believe you hate someone else, i can get that someone else's vote. is that the mesh we're going to give to the next generations of americans? we're going to find the one thing that divides us or even if it doesn't we'll make it up and let you believe it does. we're going to decide that if you're of this race or of this color you can't be for that party or this idea. i can't think of anything more small and more petty than that. i think of the challenges of the world that lie before us. not only just here at home, but we have some big problems here

at home. $18 trillion in debt. 70% of our budget now goes to entitlement programs and it's growing. we have a tax code that is so convoluted, so ugly, so brutal american companies are leaving or worse yet they're not even starting. social security is in financial trouble. medicare, financial trouble. china is now pushing out, very aggressive in the south china sea. it's invested 13% per year since 1989. 13% into the defense and modernization of its military. russia, you saw what they're doing. isis, you've seen what they're doing. they're now holding land the size of indiana. and so many americans just don't want to be bothered with the world the way they see it. they think if we just leave it alone and deal with some of the small and petty things that not

only get debated here but get debated in state capitols and county conventions, that the world will be all right. we'll be fine. we'll make our politics so entertaining it doesn't matter if we accomplish anything noteworthy. and i worry about that. are we going to be that generation that walks away from the notion of individual freedom and personal responsibility? are we going to be that first generation that says, you know, we rejected they the of a big government because a big government, big enough to give you everything that you need, is a government big enough to take everything that you have? this is really the only place in the world where you can start sweeping the floor, maybe not even speaking english, become the supervisor, go to school, learn a trade, become a manager, maybe own the place through your own hard work and you don't have to have a title, you don't have to know someone. you just have to be willing to

try. are we really going to be the first generation that says, that all was just too hard? our engagement in the world was just too hard, the marshall plan, seconding our young men and women to fight for something bigger than themselves, to push back nazi germany, fascism or imperialism in the east, just too hard. there's a great story about a little town called north flat, nebraska, that when they had the opportunity, and remember they were under government rationing so they were rationing eggs and rusher and tires, by the way we've been in conflict for 10 years and nobody's been rationed one thing. you still get your tires and yourings and your cheese. you get everything you want. no show's been interrupted. but there during world war ii, trains would go back and forth taking soldiers to the eastern conflict and to europe. and that little town came together, of farmers from that

whole region, donated all the materials that they had, eggs and cheese and flower and their time, they met every single troop train that came through north flat, nebraska. they on their own sent six million meals to young soldiers and marines and airmen, sailors who they'd never met. but they believed that was their contribution and something bigger than themselves to keep america who we were. by the way, there was no government program, nobody told them to do it. government made it a little harder than it should have been or them to do it on their own. this is a funny place, america. you can start out without title, without privilege, you can be the house intelligence chairman if you care enough to get involved, work hard enough. you can start out as a traveler all over the world and do

different things, become president of the united states without the title privilege. you can start an idea in a garage, work your heart out, be smarter than the guy next to you, become one of the richest men in the country. maybe not the world -- maybe the world. you can still start a chain. you can work two jobs. you can get an education if you want to get an education. if you turn on the tv today, would you know we are still the last best hope in america -- in the world? i'm not sure i would. i certainly see all the things that separate us, all the things that divide us, all the problems that we want to make. sometimes even though they're intimately personal and real, bigger than they are. and when we do that, the world watches. and the world is starting to believe that we don't believe.

i had an occasion to meet an intelligence official from a foreign country who i'd befriended and again after one of those long kind of meetings that we had overseas, we were walking out to the car and he said, congressman, do me a favor, tell your countrymen, don't give up on themselves. who will help such a small country like us and take nothing for it? the russians, the chinese? it can only be you. he united states of america. we have so much to be thankful for in this country. but you wouldn't know it by listening to the quality of the ideas, by the size of by the confidence in our future. there's a study recently that japanese -- excuse me, chinese citizens believe that corporations and business lead to success and are a part of

the answer at an 84% rate. in the united states it was 39% . we have a whole generation of americans just turn their back on the one driver that has led the one nation to take care of more people and do so much good and ask for nothing in return, because we spend far too much time talking about how bad we are and not how good we are. or how good we can become. you think the debate's not only in this chamber -- debates not only in this chamber but the chamber aft, when they were talking about a country that was ripping it self apart in a civil war. 500,000 americans gave their lives for something bigger than themselves. and you know at the end of the day we were better for it. we became a better country. and every time we reach one of those points in our history where we struggle, we get through it because we believe in something bigger than ourselves and we believe that tomorrow is going to be better than today.

and, yes, we believe that our best days are still ahead of us. i hope we don't decide that these problems are just too big to handle anymore. and i don't care if it is our domestic problem at home or our call to stand up for that last beacon of human dignity. and invest in our military not because we fight but because we want to avoid a fight. and sometimes by showing up, you can help your neighbor and your friend by just standing there. i've never met a diplomat yet that really likes the military engagement and i've never met a diplomat yet that doesn't want the 101st airborne over one shoulder and the seventh fleet over the other. it's always the quicker way to yes. we have been given a gift. and as we debate and this chamber will debate in the months and years ahead, they

will talk about what role we should play, about what big problems that we should solve, about what encouragement we should provide to average americans to stand up for both their right and their responsibility as citizens of the united states. will we take it? will we be the ones that clicked the light and let it go dark for that last shining city on the hill? i don't believe we will. i believe, as winston churchill noted, that america will always o the right thing. after trying everything else. we are in that process of trying everything else. but when you've had the great privilege like i have to meet these people all over the world, the people that work here. it may be peggy who keeps this place running or doris and pat who keep the cloakroom functioning or our capitol police or our clerks or the

people who process things or our staff who answer the phone calls. they still believe. and you can go home and see people struggling to keep their businesses open, they still believe. and you can look at the eyes of any fourth grader, fifth grader or sixth grader, not necessarily seventh grader, because they think they have all the answers by that point, and know that they believe there's something special waiting for them. and that something special they may not be able to quantify. but we all know it, it's the united states of america. the last greatest force for good. and i know it by visiting those men and women in the intelligence business who are working their hearts out and by the way deserve our full devotion of support for the very difficult work that they do. or the young men and women in our military or those young folks when i had the great privilege to travel down range and when i was going to show up someone asked me if i would mind promoting one of the

soldiers who happened to be there, a sergeant. in a very remote place in the world. they had to culturally dress in the garb of the locals, weren't waring their uniforms -- wearing their uniforms. so when i got there, one of the sergeants was going through this, decided he wanted to be promoted in uniform. so he had to go to a small room, tucked away, put his uniform on, windows were darkened out, a lot of folks small gear, some of the folks pretty big, we had one little 3 1/2 by five flag. two of the gentlemen were fighting to see who got to hold it behind him as i posted the order for promotion. these were pretty big dudes. wasn't going to get in the middle of that. they finally worked it out and decided that one would hold one corner and the other would hold the other corner, stand behind him.

so i cracked the kem light to read the orders. when i finished, there were probably eight of us jammed in this room. it was darkened, doing everything in hushed tones, somebody began to whisper the "star spangled banner." i'm pretty sure we were off key. pretty sure we missed a verse. i can tell you it was the most beautiful thing i have ever heard in my life. that these fine americans, who had been away from their families, for about 15 months, still believed in something bigger than themselves. they knew their mission was as important as being home with their child at a baseball game, not because that's not where they wanted to be, but this is where their country needed them to be. they're still there. we ought to be there with them. we ought to find that opportunity to stand and in hushed tones show the courage, commitment to the united states.

we ought to snap this trend of small and petty politics and stand up for one of the greatest nations on the face of the earth. we ought to have big ideas to solve big problems and not let the small ideas check out. let us find the better part of our angels in us to do something pretty amazing and incredible as we move forward. i believe in this chamber and this institution, i know it will happen. i know the people i have had the privilege to serve with know it will happen. and i know that there are many ways for all of us to contribute. i plan to certainly be one of those. i hope you all decide that you'll be one of those too. because i walk out that door in a few months, no longer a member of congress, i will have an even more revered title in the world. citizen of the greatest nation on the face of the earth, the united states of america. god bless you. thanks. appreciate it.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house an enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 1391, an act to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 25 south oak street in london, ohio, as the london fallen veterans memorial post ffice. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from illinois, mr. rush, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.

mr. rush: i want to thank you, . speaker, and i want to congratulate the previous speaker, my friend from michigan , mike rogers, for his distinguished service to this nation and to this congress.

i had the privilege of meeting mike when he first became a member of this house and i to ber his exuberance nything he displayed the hopeful look in his eye, and i atched him as he has matured into a great legislative leader and a leader for the nation. paradox of our in on is probably existed i was kind of

inerested, to say the least, finding that mike rogers was a former c.i.a. agent. and just -- i had to process that in a rather unique way. i had not known many f.b.i. agents prior to shaking hands those that i did know, i had questions about their character and their

qualities. o i was somewhat quizzical and interested in this. ands alistened to his final speech -- and as i listened to his final speech before the house, the thought occurred to certainlye part of me a eed with his notion of nation that represents so much .ope to the rest of the world , t i also, to be quite honest the america that has not even greater

yet found the greatness that it's called to be. these times are tumultuous times within our nation. creating pain and suffering for far too many of our citizens. these times.

it distinguishes the hope of the young african-american child. these times call into question should ideals that inspire us. these times are times of ifficulty, times, indeed, of desperation. imes of despair. in the lives and hopes and aspirations of far too many of ur citizens. a seminal is wrote

classic back at the turn of the century titled "the souls of black folk." in there was one sentence this book that really kind of, just rises up to question and to the nation that the previous speaker portrayed and the nation that is a reality for me and to so many of my onstituents. dubois made the statement, he

said that the problem of a 20th -- of the the problem 20th century is the problem of the color line. 1903, he stated that the problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line. i don't think that w.e.b. dubois, who was an eminent --olar a graduate of harvard an eminent scholar, a graduate harvard with a doctoral degree, i don't see that dr. dubois, in his wildest imagination, could believe that

this one sentence, written in a sentence still be to would define a nation many of its citizens. the problem of the 20th century is also the problem of the 21st century. the color line. the problem of race. .he problem of discrimination racial inequities. these are current problems. even in today's america.

this very same day, december 4, way back in the , in the , 45 years ago 4:00 rs of the morning, a two bedroom apartment , the chicagomonroe

police department, in co-lution with the -- in collusion with , led a raid on an apartment which resulted in the deaths of two young african-american men, fred hampton and mark clark. and the wounding of seven thers. they came in the middle of the dark hours of the morning. n a van.

illinois van. some went to the rear of the wentment at 2377, and some o the front door. members of the organization that i was proud to be a member of and proud today to have served in, the illinois chapter . the black panther party hey were in the apartment. fred hampton and the mother of , were in the back room,

and other members of the panther party were sleeping in different parts of the apartment. .here was a knock on the door who is it? nswered, he heard a voice from the other . de of the door saying, tommy mark asked, tommy who? the other voice on the other ide of the door said tommy and started firing into the apartment. this is at the front of the

apartment. when those police officers at the rear heard the fire from the front, they came in, burst shooting ear door wildly and recklessly. after a few moments, the .hooting subsided there was a shout from the rear droom where fred hampton and

thelma johnson had been sleeping. and there was a voice that came from a closet saying, stop shooting, stop shooting, there's a pregnant woman in ere. so all the panthers pulled from e various rooms and then ichael wolf, a member of the chicago police department, went into the bedroom where fred .ampton had been shot said that, oh, he's not dead

yet and shot him point blank in the head, came out of that room and boasted, he's good and dead now. he's good and dead now. panthers were taken to hospitals and some were taken straight to -- well, they were monroe n to the jail, treet station. the information by the informant, william owe kneale,

that was given -- o-neal, that was given to the f.b.i., stated that i and other leaders of the illinois chapter of the black panther party were in that apartment. and we had been there less than five hours before. because we were having a leadership meeting, and because we did not have enough sleeping areas, it was decided that some of us would not sleep there that night. three members of the leadership group, along with two other to rs and myself, we went our homes thinking that tomorrow morning or the next reconvene t we would and continue our leadership meeting.

were ampton, mark clark killed. i got a call about 4:45 that from another panther party member, another member of the organization saying that ere had been a shootout at chairman fred's apartment. so i immediately got dressed basement the apartment of one who lived in the 2200 block of west monroe. other members of the leadership, when we gathered there and we turned on bbm radio to see what the latest .as

about 6:15, 6:30 that morning we got -- we heard the news on had adio that fred hampton been killed. 1969. s ago, december 4, our thoughts -- my thoughts 23 years g, i was old. just 23. thoughts were scattered and

confused because my friend had murdered. i immediately gathered myself and we called our attorneys and t our attorneys on the phone and around while 10:30 that morning we emerged from that basement apartment to to see f a block west what had really happened. came a cowardly police wraps cover, under the

of camouflage, they quickly, after doing -- murdering fred and murdering mark, they ran left he community and this apartment open. ey didn't secure the premises. left it wide open. doors opened. all the evidence right there, the bloody mattress that fred slept in. where , the front door in s later discovered grand jury testimony that

ossibly one bullet came from inside of the apartment. 99 there were 99 bullets, bullets from the outside to the inside and one possible from the inside to the outside. when we walked through that , artment, we saw the evidence from er testimony given various sources, including the special grand jury, they convened some -- a few years later, there was a machine gun state's he police, the

attorney police, and it showed on the walls the evidence of where the machine gun just fired in a diagonal form up and down and up and down throughout the length of that wall. a machine gun used by the olice. our attorneys, in gathering the evidence, secured the door that with en left behind and one hole in it, secured the mattress where fred hampton slept.

we had a toxicologist that our the eys hired, and toxicologist said that fred hampton had been drugged the ight before. that he had enough sent noll -- sentinol in his body, enough to render an elephant unable to move. by the as drugged police and their agents. murdered in his bed. i want to be very clear here in

45 years on this later. i was the first time that am aware of and i read history, love history, before or since where an american citizen had official sinated by federal -- official, federal -- federal, state and local law enforcement. the first and only time that an american citizen had been by law enforcement

and the political status quo. so you can understand somewhat how i felt and how i continue , and l about the f.b.i. i'm not here to talk about the f.b.i. this is not the purpose of this colloquy sore sill key. this is not my -- silloquy. this is not my purpose of being here on the floor. i'm talking about the history of the f.b.i. and the history of j. edgar hoover. this is the f.b.i. i grew up with. grew up under the j. edgar hoover f.b.i. where he considered me as being

and others like me others in my organization to be the greatest this to the security of ation. i had been honorably discharged as the military four years a veteran, serving four years in the u.s. army, volunteered a the army, and all of sudden some three years later i to the umber one threat security of the nation that i had pledged to give my life for . .

only three years earlier or six years earlier. him?id they kill hy did they kill fred? ell, the fred that i knew, the fred hamp ton that i spent time y in and day out with, the red hampton, the man full of mor and compassion, strong ill, but soft-hearted.

the fred hampton who could move crowds with his eloquence. the fred hampton that wanted me and others to learn the art of peaking. would force us to listen to speeches of african-american preachers and other orators. whose laughter great, strong-voiced, the fred hampton said what he mean and meant what he said. and the fred hampton you could

call on and count on. a spokesman for the voiceless. be an g his voice to instrument for those without a voice. makehampton who could take everything relevant to even those who were uneducated and unconcerned. fred hampton who would say i'm so revolutionary intoxicated that i cannot be astro no, ma'amically intimidated. intimidated. ally

the fred hampton who was an inspiration for the rainbow coalition. not just black people but poor people in general, the rainbow coalition that reached out to appalachian whites in the uptown area and reached out to the young lords in the west town area and said, we have the same kinds of interests, the same kinds of promise. so preacher man, i'm going to use my voice to speak to speak to the black lung disease and and overty in appalachia

said i'm going to use my voice of the to the problems , not just for blacks. e fred hampton who told some of my friends, i understand your willingness to worry. i understand your cries for justice and how you want to sacrifice for justice, but we don't need to organize only in the black community. you need to organize in the white community to tell your brother and sister that we are all in this together. and all a rainbow coalition for justice and equality in america.

a fred hampton that loved to dance and loved to play basketball and fred hampton who ever smoked nor drank. a fred hampton who loved his mother and father and his brothers and sisters. a fred hampton who was tried and robbing a good humor man of $310r worth of ice cream. ice cream bars on a summer's day in maywood, illinois.

and fred was saying to anyone o would hear, i'm a big man, but i can't 310 ice cream bars. if he took the ice cream bars from the good humor man, then he passed them ut, gave them out to the young people in the summer in the hot illinois. in maywood, so even to those who say that he was convicted, those who prosecuted him had to admit that robbed -- if he did rob, he gave it to the poor.

his is the fred hampton. that i knew. that i the fred hampton liked. his man who had such a commitment to the great ideals, that this nation should be a .ation where everybody is equal and everybody has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. he was one of the better spirits that this nation has produced.

he only lived to be 21 years old . his family's loss was great. his friends' loss was great. but this nation's loss was even , ater, because had he lived he would have beenal tremendous unconquered nd thosete for those ideals, all deals that inspire

sectors of this society. there was a grand jury convened and a report issued. bullets were fired into that apartment on and possibly 69 one fired out from that apartment. the political machine in chicago , the daily machine, the political establishment, those , they felt ower

that by killing fred and mark and wounding seven others, that they would be heralded as heroes . but little did they know when they left that apartment wide , unsecure, then step by , then rson by person women and children alike, marred through that apartment and observed for themselves what had gone on and what had happened on the morning of december 4, 1969.

they reached the conclusion that murdered.ark had been , the state's attorney, who had -- later that same morning on december 4, went before the television cameras and cried out how his police attacked d been viciously by the members of the residents in that apartment. lies. heralded asof being

community, very same the very same people denounced him as a murderer. and the election then came a few years later, this very same community defeated this state's attorney in his bid for re-election. he was being lifted up and he by the g paraded around richard j. daly, he was going to be richard j. daly's successor. but the african-american

community said no, you will not. and they elected a republican state's attorney, bernard j. kerry. the first time that the black en masse where the black community said we will not vote. we will vote against you. and that independent action, that independent and courageous definedt astounding act only in tics not , cago, but philadelphia pennsylvania and new york and many other places.

hampton anduse fred harold washington became the first african-american mayor of the city of chicago, which again astounded the world, the rising of the black community body the necessary ng conditions toll elect harold washington as mayor in the city f chicago. created the necessary conditions to elect carol mosley brown as the first african-american u.s. senator from the state of illinois and in the history of the u.s.

senate. created conditions to let barack obama as the u.s. senator from the state of illinois, the first african-american male to be u.s. senator from the state of illinois. created the conditions for, yes, for barack obama to be elected president of the united states, created conditions for campaigns 88, 1944 for the reverend jesse lewis jackson when he ran for president. -- 1988, 1994 campaigns for the reverend jesse lewis jackson when he ran for president. , 45 years ago,

assassinated, fred, while he was drugged. o way to defend himself. . en today your statement is troubling his nation even today. we travel beyond the 20th century.

we're the 14th year of the 21 -- we're in the 14th year of he 21st century and even today the problem of the color line s still the problem. f this nation. when we look at ferguson, missouri, in the case of michael brown and his murder conclusions dous and the the grand jury

trocious act of the governor the problem of the . lor line is preeminent justice for michael brown still has not occurred. is still the ty main issue that we have -- ding the establishment young black men are still being even today.police

, eric garner, a -- r of six, grand jury the grand jury could not even respond adequately to the has ce that everyone who yes to see can see that this man, eric garner, was choked to death. in new york ce

city. , trayvon martin in cries out for justice this nation, even today. and there have been so many from border to border, north, south, east and west, young black men are being murdered in by law enforcement shadow of a nd a kill young ey can the culture that

of the police across this ation will protect them. that they will not be called to answer for their atrocious tions for the killing of , be they men , be nts, be they fathers , such -year-old babies as what happened in clifled -- .leveland

? en will the lunacy end the lunacy that is in law enforcement must come to a .creeching halt and police departments all across this viewed as ot fficer friendly, are not those that serve and protect. they are viewed as occupying with young s at war

black men. that we're lunacy confronted with even today. mr. speaker, members of the 45 e, i have for the last carried in my heart, in , the agony e pain of losing my great friend and . great leader fred hampton

in my inspires me , but there's still in my at i carry with me .eart i won't forget and i won't allow this nation to ever forget as long as there's the legacy body and the life of this 21-year-old american , this simple yet , this man who had

insurmountable courage, the man with his ove clouds eloquence and his sincerity. the man who had not even the fruit of his promise and his potential, who , assassinated, the night drugged

before, the man who was wounded an animal, an armed animal walked in the room and fired two bullets into his bed and said he's good and dead now. we can't forget. .e have to remember we have to keep a fire lit, ly when we can deal with justice for everybody can we

that chieve any greatness .e have promised each other don't leave young black men, young hispanic men, don't leave them out of the equation. when you speak about justice and the greatness of your .ation, include them in , not with l ways but with everyday

ractices, include them in. mr. speaker, i have come this evening because we have to .mbrace the truth and scripture tells us the ruth shall set you free. , mike brown, eric garner, trayvon martin, young 12-year-old man from cleveland, they are crying from their graves. they want justice.

the young people who are marching throughout the nation, , and i want tice to say to those young people, , ght on, march on, protest on on't stop. i believe in the power of the youth. the power of the youth won't stop. lives today in the hearts and minds and spirits of some of these young people. who are taking to the streets brutality s police

here in our nation, police murdered here in our nation. that chairman , chairman fred till lives, his spirit permeates the minds and hearts of all just-seeking people, particularly the young people. even today. mr. speaker, may i ask how much time i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman has six minutes remaining. mr. rush: i would love to ask my leeg from chicago, mr. danny davis, the final six minutes to him. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. davis: thank you, congressman rush, for calling this special order. i had thought that i wouldn't be able to be here, but i actually changed my schedule. i want to commend you for calling this special order, and especially for the subject, which you have addressed. as i listened to you, i thought about the fact that the day after the assassination, my friend and i went through the apartment, and we saw the blood on the sheets. we saw the bullet holes. we saw the tape. e were young school teachers

becoming activeist-oriented, caught up in what was taking place in our country. and i'm so grateful that you were not there, because had you been, in all probability, not only would we be talking about fred and mark, but we'd also be talking about bobby rush. but i do believe that the good lord spared you and somehow or another took you in another direction at that moment so that 45 years later, we could look at and appreciate the many public contributions that you have made in efforts to try and make this rld a better place, a more just place, a place where all

sacred.ld be considered you know, the location is in my congressional district, the district that i represent, and the district that i serve less than i mile away. and the building that i inhabit as a district office, has a mural on the wall, on the side of the building of chairman fred and his son, fred junior, and fred's mother and members of the organization come with regularity to pay whomage and tribute -- homage because fred's mother, father and brother live my district in maywood,

illinois and every year, they have some event, some activity, ome group-ins of progressive-thinking people who come and spend time at their home talking about progressive causes, progressive issues. and you know, it's kind of interesting that here we are 45 years later when law enforcement misconduct, police brutality are l at the forefront of issues plaguing our society today. and i think the one thing that fred's life and legacy has ught us is that freedom is a hard-won thing. each generation has to win it and win it again.

and so when we look at what is aking place in st. louis, in chicago, in ferguson, in cleveland, in new york, in florida, all across the country, frederick what douglass taught is that struggle, struggle, strife and pain are the prereck which sits sits and nt which fred taught us that struggle must continue even to the last breath of injustice. and so we commend you just as we commend your friends fred and mark for the leadership that you have provided in trying to help

make america the america that has never been but all of us know must and will be. so i yield back. and i thank you for calling this special order. mr. rush: i thank my friend and from mye danny k. davis ome state and my former city council colleague and all things that are justice and equality and standing for the goodness of not only this nation. , when want to say to you you mentioned me, i have to in a most humble way and doesn't have anything to do with me.

and devout christian ologian and pastor of a church. but i have to remind you and others that the very next on ng after december 4, , which is my mother's birthday -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. rush: i want to thank the speaker. the police came to my apartment to kill me, shot my door down, but i gone underground. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2013, the chair

recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert. mr. gohmert: i wanted to address the bills we took up late today. first we voted on h.r. 5759, this is the bill exactly as it appears. we always have copies of the bill that we vote on that are out here in the speaker's lobby, so you can grab them as you come in here and see what you are voting on. but what this did not reflect was the exception -- the provisions that were added last night that had to be added by hand here on the floor so as i tried to talk to my colleagues here on the floor and pointed out that our republican leadership had added an exception, they didn't know that. and i had to show them. so, mr. speaker, i felt it was

important to explain why a bill that i was listed as a co-sponsor on ended up with my voting no on it. it was a good bill. and my friend ted yoho is a good man and good friend and he had a good bill here. and the purpose as established -- it says to establish a rule of construction clarifying the limitations on executive authority to provide certain forms of immigration relief. and it was basically to make clear that the president had no authority to do what he did when amnesty-typeanting work permits to five million people who were unauthorized aliens as the law calls them. and my friend, congressman yoho's bill was entitled executive amnesty, prevention act of 2014. the title was changed by leadership.

and it became the preventing executive overreach on immigration act. and the exception that was added -- and i won't read the whole thing but in part the exception says, basically this law that was passed by the house this evening applies -- it shall apply except for humanitarian purposes where the aliens are at imminent risk of serious bodily harm or death. i don't personally think that exception applies right now, but this administration has been using similar exceptions like that to grant amnesty in a way of asylum and refugee status to people that should not have gotten it. but they are already claiming this exception. it's kind of like what happened at the end of july when our leadership -- we had some great principles, all republicans

agreed upon regarding dealing with the border issues, the immigration issues, all of us agreed on the principles, but nobody got to see the bill until late tuesday. i finished reading it about 2:00 a.m. and got up at 5:00 a.m. and reread it and it was a disaster, t was a defacto amnesty bill and had one day to get out and say this was a bad bill. people realized it was a defacto amnesty bill and we got it fixed on friday night, we passed a good border bill. and i know that's news to the president. he didn't know that the house had actually acted. but on this one, by adding that exception, i know the president issued a veto threat but he probably didn't know about the exception being added either. if you saw the official printout of the bill, it didn't include

that exception but as the senate came through with that same bill with the exception, the president could claim that this exception on here legalizes what he had done illegally as an executive amnesty provision to give these work permits. so the bill that i was willing to co-sponsor completely changed in the addition of that exception. it wasn't just the title that changed. on the national defense authorization act, buck mckeon worked very hard on that bill. the people on armed services worked very hard. i'm very proud of them. they got things in that bill that we have been fighting for -- for example, fort hood that was not workplace violence but an act against our military members and the law should have reflected it and the president should have reflected it, but instead those military members, those patriots of ours, had been mistreated, not been given the

purple heart they deserve or the benefits they deserve. that needed to be fixed. and that fix in this ndaa and i'm grateful for getting that in there. another problem, we had this administration going after chaplains saying in jesus' name because as a christian jesus said if you pray in my name, it will be answered. not always yes, but -- so chaplains were told, doesn't matter what your religious beliefsr you have to get rid of all the crosses. the place i reported to every morning for four years had a chapel across the street. apparently they would have to remove the crosses. well, the provision in the ndaa extended religious freedom to our chaplains. should have been a no-brianer.

but in this administration, it did. also something that many of us have had problems with is the authorization and use of military force going back to september, 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, gave the president way too much power. some thought it was ndaa that it gave too much power. it was amuf. a a gohmert amendment amended that. i feel better under this ndaa because it is not continued anymore. that was a good thing. but the problem is the ndaa, this massive national defense authorization act that is a big important bill got to the rules committee last night. we didn't have a chance to read it. and i'm anal enough, i try to read these important bills. and i didn't have time to read this bill. what hne