as well as false information. and as our experts tried to pore through a lot of data and information, that job is made more challenging as you get more false information. thank you. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> carl levin released new information today that he says is evidence the bush administration misled the u.s.. his remarks coming up in a few minutes. ask for consent to place into the record a statement of mine relevant to a cable sent to cia headquarters. letter to me from c.i.a. director brennan relative to that cable. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: madam president, very briefly, what i am asking and doing in this statement, which is now in the record, i'm asking c.i.a. director brennan

to fully declassify a march 13, 2003, cable from c.i.a. field officers to headquarters. this cable provides information about the bush administration's campaign to build public support for the iraq invasion. one part of that campaign was the repeated misleading suggestions that mohamed atta, leader of the 9/11 hijackers, had met with an iraqi intelligence official in prague. i received a letter from director brennan making public for the first time some of the cable's contents. he quotes the cable as saying, "there's not one u.s. government counterterrorism or f.b.i. expert that has said they have evidence or know that atta was indeed in prague. in fact," the cable say, "the analysis has been quite the opposite." close quote. now, my statement just entered in the record, i also discuss recent revelations by the former

head of a czech counterintelligence agency about u.s. pressure to confirm the report of that meeting. the american people deserve to know the full truth about this episode and particularly in light of the new revelations from a top czech official, i have renewed my request to director brennan to declassify the entire cable. i thank >> he received a letter from john brennan where he wrote not one expert has said they have evidence or know that mohammed in prague. senator levin has asked john brennan to declassify the entire march 13, 2013 letter.

>> coming up next, debate on the 2015 federal spending bill which passed last night. first, alyssa beth worn, then, house makers. on "washington journal," more about the government. on the next "washington friedman talks about how pensions can affect retirees. alberto gonzales speaks on his approach about immigration reform in government spending. plus, your calls, facebook comments, and tweets. &a, stories about

being on the campaign trail with mitch mcconnell. >> he had planned this campaign for four years. it started in 2010 after he saw what happened in the republican primary for rand paul. 'snd paul beat mcconnell handpicked guy in the primary. mcconnell realized he has to recalibrate everything he knows primary politics in his home state and he started to make changes. staff and started to build a sophisticated infrastructure, knowing it would be the most difficult race in his campaign. were going tohey spend a lot of money on technology. they were watching the obama campaign in 2008 and 2012. they knew they needed to go from the 2008 race, it was a tough race. he was going to have the latest technology.

he was going to build the most thorough campaign ever. >> to mark 10 years of q&a we are hearing one program a day on c-span. members of house objected to provisions in the one point $1 trillion bill, including campaign finance and a portion that would roll back some of the dodd frank financial regulation laws. elizabeth moran urged her colleagues to join her in opposing the rollback of the financial rules. officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: mr. president, yesterday came to the floor to call on house democrats to

withhold their support from the omnibus spending bill until one provision is removed. the provision was slipped in at the last minute to benefit wall street. in fact, it was written by lobbyists for citicorp. that provision means big money for a few big banks. it would let derivatives traders on wall street gamble with taxpayer money and when it all blows up require the government to bail them out. just to be clear, i want to read the title of the part of the law that will be repealed if this provision is not stripped out of the omnibus. the title: "prohibition against federal government bailouts of swaps entities." that's what own on the table toe taken out of the law. now, i'm here today to ask my republican colleagues, who don't want to see another wall street

bailout, to join in our efforts to strip this wall street giveaway from the bill. this is not about partisanship. this is about fairness. this is about accountability and responsibility. this is about preventing another financial collapse that could again wipe out millions of jobs and take down our whole economy. if big wall street banks want to gamble with their own money, so be it. let them take their risks with their own money and let them live with the consequences of those risks. that's how markets are supposed to work. but they shouldn't get to gamble with government-insured money, and they shouldn't get to run to the government when the deal goes sour. opposition to government bailouts on wall street is not a liberal or conservative issue. the current law, the one about to be repealed, was put in place

years ago because, after the 2008 financial collapse, people of all political persuasions were disgusted by the prospect of of havinof ever having to ust funds to rescue big banks from their own bad decisions. sherrod brown, a democrat from ohio, and david vitter, a republican from louisiana, called for this provision to be taken out of the spending bill. and here is what they said: "if wall street banks want to gagamble, congress should force them to pay for their losses. congress should not gamble on a possible government shutdown by attempting to tuck this controversial provision into a spending bill without having been considered by the committees of jurisdiction where it can be subject to a transparent and rigorous

debate." senators brown and vitter are exactly right. this provision has no place in a must-pass spending bill. conservative activists have jumped in as well. they are raising their voices today to say that this provision has no place in a must-pass spending bill. here's what one front-page contributor on the conservative backlog redstate said this morning: "i have to way to refute the basic point that democrats are making about the cromnibus fight right now. in fact, i might even go so far as to say, they are right. what possible good-faith reason can republicans have for threatening to gum up the whole works over doing a favor to wall street? generally speaking if nancy pelosi is opposed to something that instincstinctively, i knowi should be for it.

beyond that, i haven't the slightest clue why the proposed tweak to dodd-frank ought to be anything resembling a hill the republicans should die for." she is conservative activists are right. if you believe in smaller government, how can you support a provision that could expand a government insurance program and put taxpayers on the hook for the riskiest private activities? you know, if you thought the ex-im bank exposed taxpayers to risk, even though it has never cost the taxpayers a dime, how can you support a provision to prevent another calamity like the one that cost taxpayers billions of dollars just six years ago? house republican leaders are moving quickly to try to jam this bill through today before their own members have had a chance to digest this wall street bailout provision. the fact sheet that republican

appropriators sent around to their members explaining the provision doesn't even describe it accurately. according to the fact sheet, the provision in question would -- quote -- "protect farmers and other commodity producers from having to put down excessive collateral to get a loan, expand their business, and hedge their production." whatever you think about the bill, that description is flatly wrong. in fact, that description applies to yet another wall street reform rollback that the republicans are pushing right now, which is attached to a completely different bill. now, i don't know if republican leaders in the house are deliberately trying to confuse their members into voting for a government bailout program or whether they just can't keep straight all of their efforts to gut financial reform. republican leaders are about to bring this bill up for a vote, so here's the bottom line:

a vote for this bill is a vote for future taxpayer bailouts of wall street. when the next bailout comes, a lot of people will look back to this vote to see who was responsible for putting the government back on the hook to bail out wall street. to republican leaders in the house, i would ask this: you say you're against bailouts on wall street. i've heard you say it again and again for five years. so why in the world are you spending your time and your energy fighting for a provision written by citigroup lobbyists that would increase the chance of future bailouts? why, in the last minute, as you head out the door and a spending bill must be passed, are you making it a priority to do wall street's bidding? who do you work for?

wall street or the american people? this fight isn't about conservatives or liberals. it's not about democrats or republicans. it's about money, and it's about power right here in washington. this legal change could trigger more taxpayer bailouts and could ultimately threaten our entire economy, but it will also make a lot of money for wall street. -- for wall street banks. according to americans for financial reform, this change will be a huge boon to just a handful of our biggest banks -- citigroup, j.p. morgan, bank of america. people are frustrated with congress. part of the reason, of course, is gridlock. but mostly it's because they see a congress that works just fine for the big guys and won't lift a finger to help them. if big companies can deploy their armies of lobbyists and lawyers to get congress to vote for special deals that benefit

themselves, then we will simply confirm the view of the american people, that the system is rigged. this is a democracy. the american people sent us here. republicans, democrats, and independents -- they sent us here to stand up for them, to stand up for taxpayers, to protect the economy. nobody sent us here to stand up for citigroup. i urge my republican colleagues in the house to withhold their support from this package until this risky giveaway is removed from the legislation. it is time for all of us to stand up and fight. than >> today, a discussion about government and private surveillance, including base .ecognition software it is hosted by the cato institute.

we will join the forum that tang: 40 a.m. eastern, on c-span. >> here are some of the programs you will find. ing, political reporters share stories about being on the campaign trail with mitch mcconnell. two, political fundraiser lindsay mark lewis on money and politics. sunday at 10:00 p.m. eastern, a correspondent for "the daily beast," on the use of cyberspace to wage war. c-span 3, saturday at 2 reagan's career hisn actor helped hone communications skills.

sunday at 8:00, on the presidency, the former aide to president nixon shows clips of his interview with the former president about vietnam, watergate, and his resignation. let us know what you think about the programs you are watching. us, or send us a tweet at c-span. a $1.1house passed trillion funding bill to keep the government open until next year. it came after behind the scenes negotiations. to 206.t was 219 harry reid says the bill may not pass the senate monday.

the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. rogers: i rise today as we face the expiration of the current continuing resolution to present the house amendment to the senate amendment on h.r. 83, legislation to fund the federal government for the rest of the current fiscal year. this amendment prevents a costly and damaging government shutdown while making good government funding and policy decisions and reining in regulatory overreach. it's good for the continuity of vital federal programs and services, it's good for our economy, and it's good for the american people. in total this legislation provides $1.013 trillion for the operations of the federal government. this total is in line with the terms of the ryan-murray budget agreement. it includes full year appropriations legislation for 11 of the 12 annual

appropriations bills. reflecting the most up to date budgetary needs of each agency and department. the appropriations committees in both the house and senate went line by line through these -- all of these bills, prioritizing funding for effective and vital programs, making the tough decisions to cut funding for lower priority programs. in addition, the measure includes short-term funding for the department of homeland security, holding the funding levels for those programs at current levels. this will ensure that efforts to secure our home front are maintained until february 27 of next year. this legislation is a compromise. the product of hard-fought negotiations between the house and senate, with give and take from both sides. but at the end of the day, mr. speaker, it reflects

conservative priorities. keeps our spending in line. and reins in the regulatory overreach that has been hampering our economy. as such, national security is a top priority in this bill. we provides -- we provide a total of $554 billion for the department of defense, including $64 billion in overseas contingency operations to support our troops in the field, to combat isil, to train and equip our iraqi allies and to counter russian aggression. to further assist our economy, we include provisions that put the brakes on regulatory programs that are too intrusive and too burdensome on american businesses. for instance, the legislation prohibits funds for the army corps of engineers to act on two

potentially harmful regulations, changing the definition of, quote, fill material, quote, and regulating water in certain agricultural areas under the clean water act. the bill measure prevents the listing of the sage grouse on the endangered species list a premature action that would have severe economic consequences on western states, especially. and the bill protects job creators from onerous regulatory burdens by amending dodd-frank swaps pushout rules. this bill also demonstrates, mr. speaker, fiscal restraint. it cuts $60 million from the e.p.a. it provides no funding for high speed rail, the president's race to the top initiative, or unesco, or i.n.f. no new funding is included for obamacare. and the bill holds the line on

funding for the agency most responsible for implementing that law at health and human services. for the i.r.s., the bill cuts the agency $345 billion below last year and includes language to put a stop to improper behavior by prohibiting the targeting of groups based on political beliefs, prohibiting the white house from ordering the i.r.s. to determine the tax exempt status of an organization, and from funding inappropriate videos or conferences. this legislation is the product of the bipartisan and bicameral cooperation that the american people called for at the voting booths last month. passage of this bill will show our people that we can and will govern responsible --

responsibly, rise above inaction, and work together on their behalf. now, i would have preferred, as i'm sure all of us would have, that we would be considering each of the 12 appropriations bills under regular order, the old-fashioned way. this is the way it should operate. in the house, as you know, our committee passed out 11 of the 12 bill the floor passed seven of the bills and would have passed more, but we realize the senate uh was not going to act on any of them and did not. -- the senate was not going to act on any of them and did not. so five of the bills were left in the lurch because the senate would not consider any of the bills. we face a very tight deadline now and we have no choice but to try to put together an omnibus spending billing a gating all 12 bills into one. i would have preferred separately but the senate

blocked the way. if we do nothing, we'll be turning our backs on our constitutional duty and on the american people. mr. speaker, before i close, i want to take a moment to recognize some people who made today possible. first of all, the staff. we've had about a month to put together this enormous bill with thousands of items in all 12 subcommittees. we've had great negotiations then with the senate. but it was the work of the staff, of course, that enabled us to be here today and i want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle who work sod hard to make this happen. -- who soed -- who work sod hard to make this happen. i would like to call names but i'm afraid i would leave out

somebody important, so i want to thank the staff for all their wonderful, la boirs you work -- baylors you work. and i will sing -- laborious work. and i will single out will smith who guided the staff through this process and i think did a wonderful, marvelous job. i want to thank will smith especially and all the staff for their great work leading up to today. now, i want to thank the members of the committee. they've all had a part in making this bill up. each subcommittee, each chairman of the subcommittee, each of the members of the subcommittees that fought long and hard to ensure that we have the best bill before us today that we could have, and notably, the ranking member of the committee, mrs. nita lowey, with whom we share this responsibly -- responsibility, she's been a

tremendous asset to us in the procedure. leading up to today. i want to thank her personally for the great work she did. i also want to acknowledge, mr. speaker, six members of the committee who are moving on to greener pastures, making new chapters in their life. they have been enormous helpers in the committee. they've chaired subcommittees, they've worked long and hard on every bill that we produced, and we certainly hate to see them go. but they are writing a new chapter. so i want to recognize jack kingston for his service, frank wolf, tom latham, jim moran, ed pastor, and bill owens. all of those six are moving on, we want to thank them for their service. and it's appropriate that their

final vote on the house floor will be on an appropriate appropriations committee bill, funding the entire government. this nation is a better place because of their service. i want to thank all of them for their contributions to the committee and to the house and the people of this country over their combined 120 years of service. i now call on the members of the house, republicans and democrats alike, to support this legislation, keep the government open. it's a good bill. it's bipartisan. it's bicameral. it was negotiated in good faith on both sides of the capitol and both sides of the aisle, and most importantly, mr. speaker, this bill is necessary. so i urge members to vote yes and i yield -- i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. he gentlelady from new york.

mrs. lowey: thank you, mr. speaker. at the outset, i want to thank chairman rogers for the cooperative way you have guided this committee, it has truly been a pleasure to me to work with you and your staff. as we all know, mr. speaker, funding to keep the government operating expires at midnight tonight. it is my sincere hope that we can avoid the antics of last year when a vocal minority in this body was able to hold the entire government hostage for reasons they could not -- they couldn't articulate. it wasn't fair to the american people and i hope we never have to go through it again. throughout this process, my has been to avoid another costly -- my goal has been to avoid another costly shutdown, enhance our security and protect the most vulnerable

among us. i remain disappointed, mr. speaker, that the house majority decided to leave out the agreement reached on the department of homeland security , the decision reflects their political calculation on immigration policy. i believe my chairman was right when he rebuffed efforts to restrict the president's executive orders on immigration on a must-pass appropriations bill. but forcing these important agencies, customs and border protection, the u.s. secret service, the federal emergency management administration, the transportation security administration into a two-month continuing resolution was unnecessary and unfortunate. the short-term c.r. creates uncertainty and will limit the department's ability to make

important decisions on procurements, hiring and a new initial -- and any initiatives we all support. i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a letter from secretary johnson outlining the problems with funding the department through a c.r. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, it will be part of the record. mrs. lowey: my colleague, david price, the ranking member of the homeland security appropriations subcommittee, was unsuccessful in his attempt at the rules committee to restore full-year funding through this bill. i offered an amendment to strike two very controversial provisions. e, to strike a rider for swaps under the dodd-frank law. the other to strike a provision raising contribution limits to political parties. these provisions are divisive and unnecessary. they should be removed.

the 11 other spending bills included in this package are a mix of wins and losses. i was very pleased that most of the worst riders were dropped, including those on the affordable care act, the clean air act and those preventing full implementation and new reforms to the federal school lunch program. statutory budget caps essentially kept all discretionary programs at a hard freeze, but i'm pleased we were able to prioritize a few key items such as the national institute of health, food safety at the food and drug administration. another very modest but very important increase is provided for after-school programs, many of which suffered steep cuts under sequestration and have still not made up those

shortfalls. i'm also pleased the final agreement provides $500 million to the department of transportation's tiger program to fund major surface transportation projects, including bridges, transit and passenger rail. to keep firearms out of the hands of those who shouldn't possess them, the national instant background check system will receive an increase of $14.5 million. this important investment was achieved because members on both sides of the aisle recognized how crucial this money is with states to improve their submission of records into the background check system. the appropriations package includes much of the administration's request to respond to the deadly ebola crisis.

$5.4 billion. we must ensure that all of those tasks with being on the front lines fighting this disease from local hospitals to federal agencieses have what they need -- agencies have what they need. we all recognize how the ease of international travel has changed the way we must respond to contagious diseases. i have confidence in our health care system. the center for disease control and the fantastic hospitals that stepped up to take and treat the patients with ebola, but we should do whatever we can to stop the disease where it is the most deadly. the funding provided will allow research to ramp up to treat and hopefully develop a vaccine for ebola. before i close, i would like to thank the committee's staff for their tireless work, particularly david pomerance

and leslie turner, who worked closely with will and the entire appropriations staff. i am very pleased the appropriations committee was able to come together on a package to fund 11 of the 12 spending bills, but, again, i wish it had been on all 12 bills and only dealt with issues related to appropriations. i will reiterate that the funding contains many things. i wish it had a different outcome. i fought throughout the conference, for example, to get rid of the swaps language. it does not belong on the appropriations bill. the reid-boehner provision to increase by 10-fold the limit on contributions to political

parties does not belong in this bill. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york reserves her time. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the very distinguished and hardworking chairman of the appropriations defense subcommittee, mr. frelinghuysen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. frelinghuysen: i thank the chairman for yielding and i thank him for his leadership and i thank ranking member lowey as well. they both deserve credit for moving this bill. as we begin consideration of this important legislation this afternoon, i want to pay tribute to the men and women of our armed forces, all volunteers. they deserve our heart felt thanks to their dedicated service and sacrifice. that is also extended to the professionals in our intelligence community. these men and women, whether in uniform or not, deserve greater certainty, stability and predictability in their lives. it's nothing -- it's something

they've often lacked because of a flawed congressional budget process over the past several years which we seek to re-establish today as regular order. and frankly, so do the american people. they deserve better. the centerpiece of this comprehensive package, the engine that drives this bill is our house defense bill. passed in june with overwhelmingly bipartisan support. like that bill, this measure assures the strong national defense posture gets terrorist groups like isil and al qaeda and challenges from nation states like russia and china, iran and addresses the ebola epidemic. this bill provides $550 billion in new spending authority for the department of defense and our intelligence community and cludes $64 billion for the overseas contingency operations. the base funding in this measure is $500 million below the president obama's 2015

budget and just $3.3 billion above the fiscal year 2014 enacted level. overall, the defense title of the omnibus appropriations package assures our commitment to the u.s. military's dominance over air, land and sea. our commitment to our allies and partners, our commitment to our service members and their families. at the same time our committee clearly recognizes our nation's debt crisis, and we found areas and programs where reductions were possible without adversely impacting our armed forces or our defense industrial base, which is so vital to maintaining our military edge. we make every dollar count in our portion of this bill without increasing risk for our war fighters. national security is the priority job of the federal government, our constitution grants congress the full range of authority for the defense of our nation.

with our armed forces facing formidable enemies around the world and standing watch everywhere to protect our freedom, this bill cannot wait, and i urge its passage today. in closing, i'd like to thank my ranking member, pete visclosky, he's been a valuable partner and friend. and thanks to the incredible committee that makes up the defense appropriations committee, members of the committee and our professional staff, led by tim prince. they did an incredible job. we should be enormously proud of them. mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield four minutes to the distinguished gentleman from north carolina, mr. price, the ranking member of the homeland security appropriations committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for four minutes. mr. price: i thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in opposition to this misguided legislation.

first, however, i want to commend the bipartisan, bicameral leadership of our appropriations committees and subcommittees for their efforts this year to restore the normal appropriations process with careful scrutiny of executive budget requests and the cooperative crafting of bills that fund our agencies and chart their course for the coming year. their work is reflected in the 11 bills out of 12 before us today, a significant achievement despite the overall inadequacy of the underlying budget numbers we're working with. budget allocations, unfortunately, still reflect the ill advised republican strategy of -- ill-advised republican strategy of nondefense discretionary spending on our critical national investments. as ranking member of the homeland security subcommittee, i'd like to thank chairman carter for the collaborative

process he's led throughout this year. our full-year homeland security appropriations bill has been finished for over a week now, making the exclusion from this omnibus all the more troubling. so mr. speaker, stitching together 11 of our appropriations bills is indeed a positive achievement. but it is greatly diminished by the subjex of homeland security funding to a short-term continuing resolution and by the inclusion of controversial legislative riders which too are particularly egregious. the first amendment would blow a major hole in the dodd-frank bill, putting taxpayers on the hook for some of the riskiest behavior of wall street institutions. the second amendment would blow another hole in our efforts to prevent big money from swamping our political system. the bill's campaign finance provisions are completely nonjermaine to appropriations -- nongermane to appropriations and would have influence to

wealthiest americans by allowing a couple to donate a million and a half dollars annually to the parties. to my knowledge these provisions have never had had a single hearing in either the house or the senate and they have no place in an appropriations bill. on top of these troubling provisions is the short-sighted abusive treatment of homeland security. the bill before us would force the department of homeland security to operate under a short-term continuing resolution until late february, creating a cloud of uncertainty, putting critical programs and acquisitions at risk and raising the threat of a full agency shutdown early next year. a short-term continuing resolution limits the department's ability to make strategic decisions about carrying out its security missions, improving coordination among its components. it also limits the ability to move ahead with the secretary's southern border and approaches campaign. it creates uncertainty regarding isis capability to detain and deport dangerous

criminals and to transfer unaccompanied children to h.h.s. for humane treatment. it could also delay needed procurements and necessary security upgrades at the white house complex to prevent fence jumper intrusions. most confoundingly, the bill provides immigration enforcement agency with hundreds of millions of dollars less than their known needs and what our bipartisan bill would have provided. if the republican majority is concerned about the effectiveness of our immigration policy, this is really a strange way to show it. to hold enforcement funding hostage, that's not the way we bring about positive change, but we know this is all about political peek directed at the president. this is an unfortunate end, mr. speaker, to what has been a cooperative, bipartisan homeland security appropriations cycle, but it leaves me unable in good faith to recommend a iowa vote.

we should re-- recommend a yea vote. we should proceed with an appropriations bill that truly represents the consensus of this body. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i now want to yield two minutes to the gentleman from iowa, mr. tom latham, who is retiring. he chairs the transportation-h.u.d. appropriations subcommittee and has been a stalwart help over he years on this committee and to congress in service to the country. time, ess for the last he will be giving us a great speech. mr. latham. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from iowa is recognized for the last two minutes. mr. latham: thank you, mr. speaker, and thank you, mr. chairman, for the kind words. i rise in strong support of

this omnibus appropriation bill. i am in particularly proud of the transportation-housing and urban development division, which makes critical developments in our nation's infrastructure, our air traffic control system and housing for our neediest citizens. the bill requires some tough choices but it advances our priorities and responsible government and fiscal restraint. we worked hard to ensure this final bill includes funding and policy provision that is are a priority for this body. we provide funds for the f.a.a. to support the full operations of the air traffic control system and the f.a.a.'s investment in next gen. we meet theman 21 extension, authorize funding levels for highways and transit. we provide housing funds to assist families served by h.u.d.'s housing programs plus 10,000 new veterans housing vouchers. we provide $3 billion for the

community development block grant program which is a priority for members of both sides of the aisle. mr. speaker, i have been honored to serve as chairman of the thud committee for the last four years and on the committee for the last 18 years. it's been an amazing experience each and every year how the work of this committee works for the people of america. i'd like to thank my ranking member, mr. ed pastor, which is -- with whom it's been a real honor to serve. i wish him well in his retirement. and i know that this body will miss him as much as i will. i'd also like to thank the staff of the committee who put in countless hours to draft this compromise. i'd also like to recognize and thank doug from my staff who for the past 12 years and who has served this institution for nearly three decades. our chairman, hal rogers, has demonstrated you can stick to your principles and still come to a compromise that puts the

american people first. mr. chairman, it's been an honor to serve on this committee and under your leadership. i appreciate it very, very much all the kindness and personal things that you have done for you and cynthia for kathy and i. very much appreciate t i urge members to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. search the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from new york, mr. serrano, the ranking member of the financial services subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. serrano: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. serrano: i thank our ranking member for the time. first let me mention a few of the good things in the financial services bill. we were able to substantially increase funding for the securities and exchange commission by $150 million above

last year's level. we were also able to increase funding for the community development financial institutions fund and to authorize a cvfi loan guarantee program for another year. we were also increased robust funding for the s.b.a. to help our nation's small businesses. and we added additional dollars to the consumer product safety commission and the commodity futures trading commission. we removed numerous troubling riders that affected the affordable care act, traveled to cuba, and the ability of the s.e.c. to police our markets. unfortunately several problems remain in the bill. the bill would essentially repeal an important provision of dodd-frank to prevent banks from engaging in risky swaps activities backed by their depositors and ultimately by the federal government. the protections of dodd-frank were put in place to prevent a return to the risky transactions that led to the 2008 meltdown.

we should not backtrack on those important reforms. i'm also very concerned about the cuts made to the i.r.s. which will force the agency to operate at levels below that of sequestration. this would cause a serious strain on the agency. there are several riders attached to the district of columbia section of the bill. something that happens every year. republicans have again limited the district's ability to use their own dollars to provide abortion services. this bill also seeks to stop the district from implementing a recent ballot initiative that legalizes the recreational use of marijuana. thankfully on this last provision republicans have simply missed the mark. the language of the rider only prevents the district from enacting laws, rules, or regulations regarding marijuana legalization. but it does not to prevent already enacted efforts like the recent ballot initiative. the president recently took

executive action to end everyday tragedies to occur when families are separated and people glorted. rather than using this as a chance to finally engage in reform, we are now doing something to the d.h.s. by putting them on a c.r. i would like to yield momentarily to the ranking member. mrs. lowey: i thank the distinguished ranking member and i want to make it deleer that -- clear that -- the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. mrs. lowey: i give you an additional 30 seconds. i agree with the gentleman from new york, the ranking member of the financial services subcommittee, and our colleague, the delegate from d.c., that the language in the bill does not block either decriminalization of marijuana or the referendum on legalization. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the distinguished chairman of the energy and water subcommittee on appropriations, mr. simpson of

idaho. the speaker pro tempore: gentleman from idaho is recognized for three minutes. mr. idaho: i thank the chairman. it should be noted also, mr. speaker, that this is the last time we expect to see you presiding before you retire also. you have done a marvelous job and thank you for your service to this institution. i hope this vote doesn't go on for $3:45. if there's anybody that can handle, that i'm certain you can handle that experience. i'm pleased after months of work the committee has been able to bring this package together before the full house. i'd like to thank my ranking member, ms. kaptur, for her close collaboration throughout the entire process of putting together the energy and water sections of the omnibus. i'd also like to thank the hard work of our senate counterparts, senator feinstein and senator alexander for their hard work in bringing this package together. now, i want to be clear. i didn't get everything i wanted in this bill. none of us did. but we have worked hard to ensure that the bill clearly reflects the will of the american people. it makes critical investments and makes important policy changes that will continue to

build on in coming years. for instance, i'm pleased with how strongly it invests in our national defense and water infrastructure. weapons activities receives the largest increase in this bill, $387 million over last year, within this level is full funding for the critical warheads such as the b-61 and long range standoff. investment in naval reactor programs increases by $144 million, including the full request for the ohio class replacement reactor. funding for the army corps of engineers is modestly increased from last year, including not less than $1.1 billion for the harbor maintenance trust fund activities. last year we directed no less than $1 billion. we also include some policy changes critical to supporting our country's economic development in a responsible manner. new this year we included provisions prohibiting the regulation of certain agricultural activities such as the construction and maintenance of farm ponds or irrigation ditches under the clean water act. this is a major victory for our

country's farmers and ranchers who are concerned about the potential of the e.p.a. and army corps of engineers' over reach into their operations. we continue prohibitions from last year against changes to the definition of fill material under the clean water act and the implementation of the new light bulb efficiency standards. these are commonsense provisions that protect consumers choice and responsible commercial operations. i think every one of us in this body, including myself, can think of other things that they wanted to see in this pack and and things they would have liked taken out. but overall this bill moves the country forward in a balanced way and allows the new congress to proceed with its most important obligation, that of governing this country. i want to echo the words of my chairman, mr. rogers, how important the staff is in putting these bills together. most people that don't serve on the committee don't know the time that they put in. they are here on thanksgiving day trying to put together this package so that it will be ready

for the floor. they do incredible work not only of the subcommittee that i'm lucky enough to be the chairman of, the members of the staff of all the subcommittees, and they do a tremendous job. we owe them a great deal of gratitude. mr. speaker, this deserves our support. and i thank the chairman for yielding. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the distinguished zpwreal ohio, ms. kaptur, the ranking member of the energy and water appropriations subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for two minutes. ms. kaptur: i thank the ranking member many of the full committee, nita lowey of new york, and the chairman, hal rogers, for the perseverance they have shown throughout this process. i rise to address the bill before us to fund the department of the government of the united states for fiscal year 2015, which incidentally began over two months ago. though two months late and a

christmas tree bill at that, what is very troubling in this measure are dangerous and unwelcomed nongermane riders like opening the door to more wall street abuse and reckless behavior with swaps and derivatives. haven't those megabanks hurt america enough? and what is this doing in this bill? i recognize that not passing a bill can severely hamper the economic recovery and job creation many of us view as the top priority our constituents have sent us here to achieve. job growth this past month increased again by 321,000. the unemployment rate dropped to 5.8% nationwide. we have gained 10 million private sector jobs since president obama took office amid the deepest recession in modern history. still 9.1 million americans remain unemployed. this bill will promote future economic growth which is in america's interest. there should never be a question whether the government of the

united states will remain open for disand honor its commitments and contracts. this appropriations bill is within budget limits. indeed, our deficit has been going down year after year as employment increases and revenues with it. the annual deficit has dropped from $1.3 trillion in 2010 to an estimated $469 billion for 2015, and enormous improvement made possible by steady economic growth. the energy and water portion of this bill assures america will continue its decathlon for energy independence and diversification. a major strategy objective -- strategic objective for our nation, some would argue the highest. and all of the above energy strategy is strengthening our nation here at home financially and militarily, as fewer imports are required and new energy jobs are created within the borders of the united states. the energy trade deficit by the way for our nation has been on a downward path. may i ask for an additional 15 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for an additional 15 seconds.

ms. kaptur: i thank the gentlelady. the energy frayed deficit for our nation has been on a downward path, from 4.7 billion barrels to 3.6 billion barrels in 2013. that is real progress. you can even see it in falling gasoline prices across this country. our bill will support thousands of jobs through the army corps of engineers in developing infrastructure and the bill provides $922 million above the request to meet an unmet enormous backlog. this bill as a whole is far from perfect and the congress must work toward keeping our economy and jobs growing and give certainty to the public that congress can operate -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i rise once again to address the matters related to the clean -- the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlelady yield herself time? mrs. lowey: i yield myself 30 seconds. i'm pleased that this package explicitly rejects attempts to prohibit clarifying the definition of navigable waters

of the u.s. however the cromnibus does have certain ranching, farming, and silver culture prack it'ses. to be clear this provision does not change current law and preserves the current scope of agricultural exemptions. if you needed a permit before, you will need to get a permit under this provision. if you didn't need one before, you won't under this provision. i'm pleased again that as with most riders this provision maintains status quo. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: may i inquire of the time remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky has 12 minutes remaining. the gentlelady from new york has 13 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i now yield two minutes to the distinguished chairman of the labor-h.h.s. subcommittee on appropriations. the gentleman from georgia, mr. kingston, who is retiring leaving this body, he has done remarkable work on this

subcommittee. chaired a very difficult subcommittee with great distinction. mr. kingston. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes. mr. king don: thank you very much, mr. -- mr. kingston: thank you very much, mr. chairman. and i thank you for your leadership and friendship over the years and capable staff as well. mr. speaker, i congratulate you on your retirement as well and wish you the best. . i came to washington to cut the spending and that's why i'm supporting this bill today. this spending level is below last year's when you combine the emergency spending with outlays, this is lower than last year. and it's a lot lower than the year before. and so if you want to hold the line on spending, this is a good vote for you. but the second part of it is the calvary is coming and next year there will be more cuts and should be more cuts. this bill holds the line on obamacare, which is something that we all have fought for.

virtually all republicans fought to repeal obamacare and to end the president's amnesty program. no one is backing away from those objectives. there may be a debate on the strategy, but this bill makes sure that those debates will happen and that those votes will happen. again, mr. speaker, when the calvary arrives. this bill moves that debate forward. the a good thing. it stops risks which keeps the obama administration from raiding private insurance companies to subsidize obamacare. it really hits obamacare where it counts. if you do not like obamacare, this is a good bill for you to vote for. this bill puts dodd-frank in check. if you're concerned about the overregulation of the financial services industry, this bill challenges dodd-frank. this bill supports our troops. we still have troops in harm's way all over the world.

this bill supports them and actually increases their pay along the way. this bill puts the e.p.a. in check. the e.p.a. has tried a back door power grab on putting lead -- a ban on lead in ammunition and fishing tackle. that is spg that would increase the -- that is something that would increase the tough and make it much, much tougher for the person to enjoy the great outdoors. this bill puts that in check. this is a good yes vote and i urge my colleagues to support it. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fattah, ranking member of the commerce, justice and science appropriations subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for two minutes. mr. fattah: in each and every one of our district throughout our country and every one of the families situated, there's a concern around neurological base diseases and disorders

from alzheimer's to autism, schizophrenia, we could go through the list of 600, but the point is this work in our committee on a completely bipartisan basis, we are moving aggressively on neuroscience initiative. i want to thank chairman rogers for his support and the ranking member from new york and i want to thank my partner and the chairman, frank wolf, for his support in this effort. we launched an initiative to map the brain and to do so much more. and i want to talk about what's in this bill today. we have the framework for a global fund on alzheimer's. we have the effort now on the brink for the first time, the national labs, into an effort the national brain observatory which is -- it's a complete scientific art national of our country to bear on this war on disease, and a better understanding of the human brain. we have in this bill language that would have the united states create a premiere

conference in a national -- international conference to bring together the global initiatives in the european union and israel and china and other countries have come together to work on these issues. and we have a new initiative on imaging. so i want to just say there's a lot i could talk about in our bill, in the c.j.s. portion, but i want to just say that this effort on the human brain with some 50 million americans suffering from brain-related diseases and illnesses, a billion people worldwide, this is something this congress can feel as a major achievement for us to move in a major direction to move forward in addiction and everything in between. i thank the gentleman and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i recognize -- i yield time, two minutes, to the gentleman from florida, mr. crenshaw, the chairman of the financial services subcommittee on appropriations. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is

recognized for two minutes. mr. crenshaw: well, i thank chairman rogers for yielding the time, and i thank him for his leadership in this appropriations process. as chairman of the financial services and general government subcommittee, let me highlight a few areas in our part of the bill. overall we reduce spending by $246 million in an effort to rein in the out-of-control spending. some areas are increased. some are decreased. for instance, law enforcement receives an increase. drug abuse prevention receives an increase. small business receives an increase, and women's business centers, they help grow our economy and create jobs. on the other hand, there's some agencies that don't do so well. they waste taxpayers' dollars and become ineffective. i think all would agree that the internal revenue service has betrayed the trust of the american people. they have wasted taxpayers' dollars. they've singled out individuals and groups of individuals based on nair political philosophy

and they have -- on their political philosophy and they have not cooperated with congressional investigation and therefore their funding is reduced by $346 million. all in all, it's a balanced approach. we spend less money than we spent last year. it's a good portion of the bill. and let me take a moment to say thank you to rodney frelinghuysen, the chairman of the defense subcommittee, upon which i sit. i want to thank him for his tireless work in this area for allowing members like me to help draft legislation that clearly puts our men and women in uniform first, clearly helps saves lives by making sure that we have the best qualified, the best trained, the best equipped military and makes all americans more safe than they are today. all in all it's a great bill. i urge my colleagues to support it, and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished

gentleman from arizona, mr. pastor, the ranking member of the transportation-h.u.d. subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized for two minutes. mr. pastor: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pastor: first off, mr. speaker, congratulations on your career and the best luck for you and your friendship while i served here in this congress. i stand in support of this bill, and i want to congratulate both my dear friends, the ranking member, nita lowey, and the chairman, harold rogers, for working the many hours on this bill and i'm very happy that as we're about to close this session that we're working on a bill that will keep our government funded and bring some tranquility to the economy of our country for the remainder of fiscal year 2014. so i thank them for doing the fine work.

out of the past 23 years that i've had the honor of being in congress, 21 of those years i served on appropriations, and i have to tell you that it was a great opportunity for me and an honor for me to serve with various members on appropriation to do the best we could, to serve our country and many of us could not have been able to produce the bills and provide for the services without the staff. on both sides of the aisle that worked on these appropriations bills. so today i want to congratulate current chairman, the ranking member and thank chairman tom latham for the work he did on the transportation-h.u.d. bill and also it's time for me to thank all my colleagues for all the help and service they've given this country and the kindness they've shown to me. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the distinguished chairman of the interior subcommittee on appropriations. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. calvert, is recognized for two minutes. mr. calvert: thank you. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong support of the fiscal year 2015 omnibus appropriation. interior division of the omnibus is well-balanced, reflects what can be achieved when all sides work together to find common ground. this bill provides for fiscal year 2015 funding for fire operations at the 10-year average and provides additional resources to conduct critical hazardous fuels reduction work on the ground. the bill takes positive steps in promoting domestic energy and minerals development both onshore and offshore. the bill provides essential funding for the national parks service which will enhance

day-to-day service, responsible stewardship of over 400 national park units. the bill also provides investments to our national park system as it begins its sen tanial celebration and prepares for centennial celebration and prepares for the future years. we meet our moral obligations in indian country and honors long-standing commitment to alaskan ricans and natives. it partners with states tribes and provides grant funding for states to promote jobs and economic growth. i want to take a moment to pay tribute to former chairman jim moran. this is mr. moran's last appropriations bill. i'm happy to know my friend will be leaving this body that he loves on a high note. enthusiastically supporting the subcommittee. jim, we're grateful for you and your service and we salute you.

also want to thank chairman rogers for his incredible support and leadership and his role for bringing this omnibus bill forward. lastly, i want to thank the scorers of appropriation committee staff who has been working day and night and weekends on this package for many weeks and even worked through their thanksgiving holiday to produce this legislation. the staff of the appropriations committee deserves our appreciation and gratitude. this is a good bill, mr. speaker. i urge members on both sides of the aisle to support it. with that, merry christmas, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i am very pleased to yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, our minority leader of the house, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california, the minority leader, is recognized for one minute. ms. pelosi: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentlelady for yielding. i commend her with hire leadership and with great pride we point to her as our ranking

member on the appropriations committee, thank you for yielding and for your leadership. thank you, mr. rogers, for your leadership. as an appropriator for many years, i know the hard work that goes into putting an appropriations bill together. there was a day when we did them individually. it seems lately we just keep putting them on a bus and on omnibus. that's too bad. in any event, i appreciate the work you've done to bring this bill to the floor, and that's why i was so really heart broken. i don't think i've ever said that word on the floor of the house. heart broken to see the taint that was placed on this valuable appropriations bill from on high. i'm sorry that we cannot have a full homeland security bill. that's for sure. we knew that was possible. as the speaker said in january, we'll vote on a full homeland security bill. i hope that that is the case. but the taint i refer to is

what the president described in his letter today as a rider that would amend the dodd-frank wall street reform and consumer protection act, weaken a critical component of financial system reform aimed at reducing taxpayer risk. so when people are talking to you about what's in the bill and this or that, i want to say to you what you're putting your name next to if you choose to vote for this bill. d why i'm so appalled, well, i'll tell you why. it was september, 2008, things were happening in the financial services industry. lehman brothers down, merrill lynch down, a.i.g., whatever. it all happened within a matter of days. i called the secretary of the treasury and i say, how can we be helpful?

what is going on? and he said, it's terrible. i said, one of the major financial institutions going down? no, it's bigger than that. we're in a serious meltdown. why am i calling you, mr. secretary paulsen? well, the white house wasn't ready for congress to know about this. but you're the speaker -- at the time i was. you're the secretary. i'm telling you. we're in a terrible situation. so they came to my office that night, the speaker's house, house and senate, democrats and republicans. we came together and we heard an appalling meltdown of our financial institution and i said to the chairman of the fed, mr. ben bernanke, who was there. mr. bernanke, what do you think about what the secretary said? and he said, if we do not act immediately, we will not have an economy by monday. we will not have an economy by monday. by the policies that were in

place at that time, we were taken to a place where we wouldn't have an economy. no commercial paper. no economy by monday. going down are 2014 the same path. earlier today, the republicans put a bill on the floor that would make certain tax incentives permanent and unpaid for. we should be doing revenue reform but not that way because the revenue policy of the bush administration contributed to the great recession, taking us close to a depression. so their tax policy jeopardized our economy. and then their lays yea fair attitudes of no regular -- laisez faire attitudes of no regulation took us to a meltdown

of our financial institutions to the point where we, the taxpayers, had to rescue the financial institutions to the tune of $700 billion. that's twice as much as in the necessaryic discretion -- domestic discretionary spending bills that will come before us. two year's worth of nondefense -- domestic spending. we put provisions in the bill that the american taxpayer would be paid back. but that wasn't enough for the republicans to vote for it. they voted against it by and large. it was the democrats who voted harmful rp, the most -- difficult vote for members to vote for and the most politically harmful to them. so here we are in the house. being blackmailed, being blackmailed to vote for an appropriations bill. i'm not asking anybody to vote one way or another.

i'm just telling you why i would not put the name of my constituents in my district next to a bill that does as the president says, weaken a critical component of financial system reform named at reducing taxpayer risk. at that time accused us of bailing out wall street at the expense of main street. the public still doesn't understand fully why everybody would benefit from what we had to do. but we shouldn't have had to do that. $700 billion, because of laisez faire attitudes and trickle-down tax policies of the bush administration which got us to that place. and because of the initiatives taken by president obama when he became president, working with the democratic congress, with our initial recovery act, we

were able to reverse some of that, pull ourselves out of the ditch republicans took us in. here we are today. this should be a day where we say, isn't it too bad we can't do more for the american people, but in the interest of bipartisanship, we have put together a bill on the appropriations committee that helps meet the needs of the american people. it wouldn't that have been just fine. except popping out of the wilderness come two things. one, one, this provision. this provision that, as i described it, the president described, and then another one to make matters worse. to make matters worse, a bill that lifts political contributions to such a height that it's really unimaginable as to why those who put this in their thought that that was a

good idea. they told me it was $90,000 for the convention. it turns out to be millions of dollars from a donor or from a family in that regard. we aren't even on the level of how it was portrayed. but be that as it may, what's important is what's in the bill. and as congressman sarbanes said, it's quid proquo. -- quid pro quo. you have quid, give wall street what they want. relax the responsibility. this is a moral hazard, we are being asked to vote for a moral hazard. why is this in an appropriations bill? because it was the price to pay to get an appropriations bill. i was told we couldn't get all these other things that have been described here so beautifully. unless we gave wall street this

gift. and on top of that, that we gave their donors high end donors all the opportunity in the world to pour money into the process. maybe the public is right about washington, d.c. heard this funny line about lily tomlin when she was the operator when she said am i communicating with the people that i am speaking to? are we communicating with the people we are speaking to when we say to them it's an important priority and we have to put it in our budget bill that we give donors the opportunity to spend endless money, undermining the confidence the american people have in our political system, at the same time, at the same time as we say to wall street, you can engage in risky activity th your derivatives, and the

fdic will insure your action. that's just plain wrong. under this bill, under the act, if the bank wanted to engage in those risky activities, they had to be pushed out to another entity. and that entity could engage in those activities. but they were not insured by the american taxpayer. with this bill now we are saying the exposure, the recourse is with the u.s. taxpayer. just plain wrong. what is it doing on an appropriations bill except to be -- have this bill be taken hostage. this is a ransom. this is blackmail. you won't get a bill unless wall street gets its taxpayer coverage. so it's really so sad that something as -- which i respect

enormously the appropriation process, because it's hard. there's so many competing calls on resources, so much that we have to try to invest in the american people, their health, their education, the economic stability, their family, the air they breathe, the water they drink, and how we fund all of that. and i have some questions about some of that in this bill. but the fact is it's all a compromise. and it could have been a good compromise. so whatever members choose to do, and i'm enormously disappointed that the white house feels that the only way they can get a bill is to go along with this and that would be the only reason they would sign such a bill that would weaken a critical component of financial system reform aimed at reducing taxpayer risk. those are the words in the administration's statement. i feel sad for the american people today we are saying in order for us to invest in the education of our children and all of the responsibilities we

have to the american people, we have to pay off wall street and in addition to that -- i don't paint everybody there with the same brush. what i am saying is the taxpayer should not assume the risk. back to the same old republican le formula. privatize the gain, nationalize the risk. you succeed, it's in your pocket. you fail, the taxpayer pays the bill. it's just not right. so i think we have a missed opportunity today to have some strong bipartisanship, and there will be bipartisanship for this bill, but the fact is my colleagues, you are being asked put your name next to privatizing the gain and nationalizing the risk. you are asked to put your name next to a practicely -- practically unlimited

contributions. just at the at the same time when we are trying to reduce the role of politics in money and increase the voice of the american people. so again a missed opportunity. i respect decisions that members will make because there are equities to be weighed here. but the biggest equity we have is our responsibility to the american people to do the right thing. and what was added to this bill which may be a good bill, but was added to this bill is not the right thing. d that is why it has bipartisanship. it has good things in it, but it will not have my support. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: time of the gentlelady has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from nebraska, a member of our committee, mr. for then berry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for two minutes. mr. fortenberry: thank you, mr. speaker, i thank the chairman,

mr. rogers, for his commitment and hard work on this bill. as president kennedy once said, to govern is to choose. and the key here is to try and choose wisely. this bill is a result of a long and arduous and democratic process. it is the result of extenive effort of the appropriations committee -- extensive effort of the appropriations committee with input from members to effectively prioritize government services. i don't agree with everything in the bill. i don't think anyone here does. but the question is, are we going to move forward and govern a bit forward towards something a bit better. what is good in this bill? first of all it continues to prioritize the right type of budgeting and reduce spending. the spending levels in the bill are $176 billion below fiscal year 2010 funding levels. although our deficit has come down significantly through a smarter budgeting process and

some tax reform, nonetheless our deficit is still way too high. we have work to do in this regard, and this bill does make significant progress on that front. there are also important reforms, some big ones involve the i.r.s. there are problems they impose on the american people have begun to be curtailed here. the bill also addresses the sat and difficult issue of the emerging needs to fight ebola and its spread. it positions the u.s. congress as well to curtail the president's executive action on immigration moving forward, which represents a very serious overreach on the part of the administration and a threat to the separation of powers. the bill provides a pay raise for our troops and important funding for our veterans' programs. another fact, mr. speaker, i'm on the agricultural subcommittee. we work very hard to continue our strong tradition of production agriculture while funding new emerging food systems that link the farmer to the family and help beginning

and young farmers. mr. speaker, i think we can do better in certain areas such as providing the right type of development assistance which truly protects women and children and doesn't entangle us with organizations such as the u.n. population fund. it is important to remember that in the volatile med immediate the peace treaty between israel and egypt continues to hold with significant commitment from us. that's an important part of this bill. on balance, i'll be supportive and i want to thank mr. rogers, our chairman, for his leadership. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: i'm very pleased, mr. speaker, to yield 2 1/2 minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from connecticut, ms. delauro, the ranking minority member of the labor, health, human services appropriations subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from connecticut is ecognized for 2 1/2 minutes. ms. delauro: as ranking member of the labor, health, human

services and education subcommittee i worked hard on this portion of the legislation. there are some real bright spots. our problem is simple. the resources provided in this bill are not adequate to tackle the challenges middle class families face every day. the bill does not keep pace with inflation. it continues to underfund some of our nation's highest priorities. education, health care, medical research, job training. however, there are many more troubling aspects of this bill. the department of homeland security's only funded for nine weeks. why? because the majority disagrees with the president on immigration. holding up full-year funding for national security over an immigration disagreement is a game that poses a serious risk to our border, our secret service, and our ability to respond to natural disasters.

the bill gambles with our financial system. it would reverse dodd-frank safeguards. allow banks to engage in some of wall street's riskiest transactions. the same transactions that caused a crisis in which millions of hardworking americans lost their jobs, their homes, and their savings. why? why would we want to put families at risk once again? public funds should be used to protect our families not to prop up casino banking. this bill threatens injustice to millions of seniors. it allows mention funds to reduce benefits to current retirees. they worked hard for their retirement. they earned their. why would we want to put our economic security in jeopardy? finally, the bill seeks to overturn some of the last remaining campaign finance laws as if they were not generous

enough. the american public is angry about a government that responds to the highest bidder. the majority's dangerous games benefit big corporations and the wealthy at the expense of working families and seniors, and i urge my colleagues to vote against this bill. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlelady has expired. the gentleman from new york. mr. rogers: i verve. >> pursuant to the rule, i'm claiming my time for the next 20 minutes of debate. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong support of h.r. 83, the omnibus appropriations bill for 2015, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i want to commend the members of the house appropriations committee, all of them, especially the committee's distinguished chairman, hahl rogers, for their hard -- hal rogers, for their hard work that will fund our national priorities and stop a government shutdown. i'm glad the bill will include critical reforms that will avert our nation from having a looming financial crisis. mr. speaker, roughly 10 million americans are involved in a multipension plan. men and women who continue to move our country forward, builders, truck drivers, carpenters, store clerks, to name a few. those people worked hard and earned a promise that a pension would provide financial security in retirement. yet, for many that promise is now in jeopardy. pension plans are on the brink

of bankruptcy. employers, workers and retirees are stretched thin and the federal insurance agency is on the path to insolvency. the multiemployer pension system is a ticking time bomb. when the bomb goes off, business also close their doors, workers will be laid off, taxpayers will be on the hook for a multibillion dollar bailout and retirees will have their benefits cut or wiped out entirely. a crisis is staring us in the face and the question we have to answer is, will we act? will we do what's right and necessary to help fix this problem or will we simply kick the can down the road? i believe we have a public duty and a moral responsibility to act. my democratic colleague, george miller, and i have worked hard to craft a bipartisan legislative response to this looming disaster. with the help of our friend, dr. phil roe, and the work of many employers and union

leaders, we've offered reform that will offer the best chance we have to protect taxpayers, working families and retirees. our bipartisan proposal includes tough medicine for a pension system in critical system. it -- condition. it requires higher premiums so the federal backstop will meet its obligations without taxpayer assistance. it also provides new tools to trustees to help plans avoid insolvency, including the ability to adjust benefits. let me be clear. if we reject this bill and continue the status quo, benefits will be cut. it's only a matter of time. as plans go under, the federal government inflicts maximum pain on the maximum number of people. but if we offer trustees more flexibility, they can avoid inolvensy and provide re-- insolvency and provide greater stability. we have a choice of an ax in the hand of a first-year

scalpel for a seniored doctor. it ensures retirees are better off than if we did nothing. this isn't a perfect solution. i'm disappointed we couldn't do more to modernize the system, to provide workers more options to plan for their retirement. make no mistake, this is the first step in addressing a tough problem, but it won't be the last. despite its shortcomings, this is a strong proposal that deserves our for. we cannot let this opportunity pass by. this problem will be harder to solve after the bomb goes off. i urge my colleagues to do what's in the best interest of workers and employers and retirees by supporting this bipartisan agreement. before i close, mr. speaker, i want to thank some members of the staff who work day and night to make this happen, starting with my staff director, julie ann sullivan, and work force policy director, ed gilroy. i want to thank brian, megan and julia of mr. miller's

staff, for all their hard work. and last but certainly not least, i'd like to offer my deep appreciation to a trusted member of my team, andy banducci. he's poured more time and effort than anyone else, and he's earned the right to a good night's sleep. finally, i'd like to extend my sincere thanks to my colleague, george miller, who will leave this chamber after 40 years of public service. without his courage and determination to do what is right, this effort would not have been possible. through it all, he's been a trusted friend and ally. george has long been a tireless advocate for working families, from the start of his distinguished career down to these final moments in congress. he will leave behind a lasting mark on the house and on the education and work force committee. we haven't agreed on every issue, but in the fine tradition of our committee, we have always found a way to disagree without being disagreeable. i have no doubt he will remain

a powerful voice for students, teachers and working families. george, thank you for your service and your friendship. i wish you and your wife, cynthia, and your family all the best and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota reserves his time. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. miller: thank you, mr. chairman. to chairman kline, thank you so much for your very kind words and for your friendship and for your willingness to work together. and you're right, we haven't always agreed but we tried to honor that by not becoming disagreeable with one another. and my service on the education and work force committee has been the joy of my life in the congress of the united states and thank you for steering this committee for the last several years and i want to join you in thanking all of the hardworking staff, not just on this piece of legislation, but year in and year out, hearing in and

hearing out, amendments, changes and all the things that this staff goes through, they've really been -- acted in a very, very professional manner. they, too, have been able to work back and forth across the aisle and all the rest of it and served as a buffer every now and then when the members got out of control. so thank you so very, very much. this pension agreement that was added to the bill before us today is based upon a proposal developed nearly two years ago by labor unions and employers who wanted to find a path forward for severely distressed and failing pension plans. this provision will give plan trustees, labor and management, the tools they need to avoid impending collapse of many and multiemployer plans. it will also provide new funds with the premium increase for the insurer charged with backing up these plans which is also facing bankruptcy. the kline-miller provision is the only available option to

save these failing plans, and it is the last chance that labor unions and their members and employers have to gain some control over the future of their pensions. throughout my 40 years in congress, i've worked to strengthen pension protections and expand retirement security for all americans. i have fought for workers and i have fought for their benefits. i've fought for the right to collectively bargain over their retirement and i fought to prothem from the hidden fees in the 401-k plans. i fought -- it is my commitment to workers and their retirement security that brings me here today. we have an obligation to reform the multiemployer system so we can protect the retirement security of workers nationwide. the approach we have put forward, which is backed by business and labor leaders will secure the multiemployer pension systems for millions of current and future retirees. it includes important consumer safeguards that give participants in these plans a voice to protect their most

vulnerable retirees. most importantly, it gives employers and the employees the option, the option, the choice, not a mandate. they get to choose. they get to decide that they want to design a plan that they think can rescue their currently failing pension system. that's an important right to grant them. many local unions have already made this decision with their members, but they can't do it. they can't cut their own benefits because they're prohibited from doing it by law. who are we to tell these -- these workers that they can't take the opportunity to stretch their pool of pension money, their savings so that it may cover more people for a longer period of time, if they make these adjustments? they want to make these adjustments, the law says they can't. if we trust labor unions, if we trust the workers, if we believe in the dignity of the worker, we should give them the opportunity and the responsibility of trying to

save their own pensions. this is all this bill does. it gives them the option. it gives them the opportunity. it lets them take on the responsibility for trying to design a rescue plan that may increase the longevity of their plan. it may allow retirees a better pension than they would get if they just fell into the government rescue system. that's what they're asking us to let them do. it's not a new idea. it's been here for two years of hearings. it's been under chairman kline. we've had exhaustive hearings on this provision. we heard from the employers. we've heard from a cross-section of unions. some who agree with this plan and some who disagree. that's why it's an option. those who don't want to do it. those who have written you letters that said, don't do this, what about the guy that wants to do it? so this is an option. they will have to talk to their members. they will have to talk to their employers. they'll have to talk to their trustees and they'll have to make a decision and if they can

come up with that rescue plan, do ought to be allowed to it. these plans are losing altitude every day that they can't make these adjustments. hopefully a pickup in the economy, an increase in employment, an increase in enrollment all will help them. but they still need the option to be able to make these judgments. i would hope that my colleagues here in the congress would trust these workers enough to give them this opportunity and this responsibility to make these decisions about their retirement, not our wish list of how we would like it to be, t their retirement today that's at threat of collapse. i urge my colleagues to support this provision and to support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves his time. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. now i'm very, very pleased to yield three minutes to the chairman of the subcommittee on health, employment, labor and pensions, the gentleman from tennessee, dr. roe.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for three minutes. mr. roe: i thank the chairman. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of the multiemployer pension reform act, contained in the underlying bill. this bipartisan legislation will strengthen and in some cases save retirement benefits for more than 10 million americans who are enrolled in a multiemployer pension plan. let's say that again. this legislation will save retirement benefits. while many multiemployer plans are in strong financial shape, the number of financially distressed plans is a cause for great concern. among these troubled plans is essential states plan covering 410,000 participants, which the pbgc projects will become incol vent in the next 10 years. the pbgc's own finances are in dire straits. the report released just last month shows that its multiemployer program has a deficit of more than $42

billion, an all-time high. the agency also believes that there's a 90% chance it becomes insolvent by 2025 without change. taken together, these financial challenges pose a clear and present danger to the retirement of those who receive those benefits from the pbgc and those who expect the pbgc to serve as a backstop if their pension plan fails. it's not a question of if the worse will happen for some of these questions, it's only a question of when. the proposal before us today is a product of six subcommittee hearings over four years, countless hours of discussion and debate between management and labor and thoughtful negotiations between republicans and democrats. this legislation will give pension plans the tools to save themselves without a taxpayer bailout. and for those plans who are beyond retare, this proposal will strengthen the pbgc's finance to help ensure retirees

will continue to receive a benefit. what we're asking of these plans is hard. if there was some other way to resolve this problem without a taxpayer bailout we would have pursued it. but there's not another way. and we have to do what's necessary to protect the retirement benefits for those americans who earned them. businesses and unions alike understand this. that's why the kline-miller proposal is supported by companies including kroger, nestle, u.s.a., as well as labor unions, including the ufcw, the north america's building and trade unions. i commend chairman kline and ranking member miller for their tireless efforts on that issue. they've shown all of us that bipartisan compromise for the greater good is possible. also, i want to thank ed gilroy and andy and both staffs on each side of the aisle for the long hard hours they've logged on this effort. this desperately needed pension reform is good for workers,

it's good for retirees, it's good for business and it's good for america. and i encourage my colleagues to strongly support this. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from .ew jersey, the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. >> it's irony that we are having this discussion today. first i want to thank ranking member for yielding the time. mr. nor cross: i was sworn in just a few weeks ago. -- mr. norcross: i was sworn in just a few weeks ago. prior to that my entire career has been working in system a multiemployer plane. i wept home last night and opened my mail. i received my first pension check which happens to be from a multiemployer plan. i understand how it works.

i understand how it doesn't work. that's what we are here to discuss today. he fact of the matter is multiemployer's a very different animal than what most people traditional people think of as a pension plan. multiemployer the employee groups, unions, working together with management to make these decisions and in a perfect world, which i have been blessed with with my plan, that check arrives on time and it will be there. but there are other plans that are certainly not in that condition. and had not been that way for a very long time. we continue to bury our heads in the sand and wait for that implosion because it is going to happen. or we can do the right thing and give people their voice back. let those plans have the ability to ask their memberships what

they want to do. they got their -- there through that cooperation, might not be their own fault that the plan is failing. there are many conditions that cause that. but the way the rules are now, they have no voice. they are silent and i am just here to make sure that we have an absolute clear understanding this is about giving the employers and the employees their voice back. i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. klein: thank you, mr. speaker. -- mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. now i'd like to yield a minute and a half to another member of the committee, the gentlelady from indiana, mrs. brooks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from indiana is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mrs. brooks: thank you, mr. speaker. first of all i want to thank chairman kline, ranking member miller, and dr. roe for working tirelessly on this incredibly difficult piece of legislation that i know impacts so many people. as you have heard on the health

subcommittee we had over six different hearings on this matter examining the difficulties facing troubled multiemployer plans and the looming insolsen have i of the guarantee benefit corporation that is taxed with back stopping pension plans. during those hearings i heard from the president of the north american building trades union that said ultimately, quote, in order for individual pensioners to receive benefits from our plan, the plans themselves must be preserved. end of quote. mr. speaker, without this kline-miller pension reform, the insolvency of these plans is exactly what will happen. ultimately hurting those most in need. just last month pbgc released its annual report which showed the deficit in this insurance program, it's increased from $8.3 billion to $42.4 billion in just one year. at this rate the pbgc anticipates the plans will become insolvent in the next decade. that meanings pensioners won't even be able to count on the

minimum to backstop programs that are terminal. we must act now to give the trustees of these plans the tools necessary to allow the unions and their members the opportunity to salvage these multiemployer pension model. the longer we wait, the more the problem grows and more painful it becomes for pensioners and employers alike. our constituents didn't send us here to take the easy path. but rather to do the hard work that must be done. and that is why so much is at stake and that's why this provision is so necessary. i urge its passage. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. miller: i would like, so my colleagues fully understand this, to read the list of some of the uneson supporting this legislation. north american building trades union, international council of employers, brick layers and outlie craft workers, international union of operating engineers, united association of

journeymen apprentices and pipefitting industries, united food and commercial workers, international union. united brotherhood of carpenters and joiners of america. actors equity association. the american federation of musicians. a very diverse group of american workers who are asking us to give them the option to make decisions about the future of their pensions. some of these pensions are in better shape than others. but they are all asking for this right. for those who may be opposed to this legislation, don't like this legislation, they don't have to exercise their right. but we cannot deny these workers this opportunity to make this decision about their very hard earned pensions. as mr. norcross says, they made these decisions together where they are today, and they ought to be able to make the decisions together to change direction and to head off for an opportunity at greater solvency and

longevity. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. i want to again thank congressman kline and all of the staff and all those who have cooperated and all these organizations that have spent many years trying to investigate the best way to answer this nagging question of how to save these plans. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. kline thank you, mr. speaker. in closing again i want to thank the staff and republicans and democrats working on this. we talked a lot about what this does for employees, for retirees. it also does an awful lot to strengthen the position of employers. you need strong employers. they need similar relief from the crushing liability on them. strong employers and a strong plan in order to guarantee the pensions for all of these workers. i have a long list here which i will not read of employers who

are supporting this because they understand that they like the employees and like the retirees need relief from the broken system we have today. i encourage all my colleagues t balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to mr. moran, a very distinguished ranking member of the appropriations committee who is planning to retire and we will miss him greatly and wish him good luck in his future endeavors. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for one minute. the gentleman will suspend. he house will be in order. the gentleman from virginia. mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, for 200 years, roughly, this government has functioned on behalf of the american people. it's functioned through the art of compromise.

conservatives, liberals, democratics, republicans, have gotten together and decided what was in the best interests of this nation. mr. speaker this appropriations bill is in the best interest of this nation. it does reflect a compromise. but i would say to my colleagues on the democratic side, this is a good bill. this reflect ours priorities. and this is our last chance to have those priorities reflected in an appropriations bill. one of our staff told me that for 2 1/2 weeks she hasn't seen her children before they had to go to bed and the reason is that she's been working night after night, fighting for our priorities to be included in this bill and she was successful, all of our staff -- all our staff was successful. could i have another 30 seconds? i'm just getting warmed up here. mrs. lowey: 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. moran: i i want to give a shout out to will and sholanda and all the people who made this a good bill on both sides of the aisle. this is why our government functions because they're willing to compromise. we're looking at it, we're willing to look at what's in the intest interests of our constituents, putting parking lot sanship aside. s that bill we should vote for this bill needs to pass. i thank the president for supporting this bill and i thank this body because i trust we will in the long run do the right thing after we've exhausted all the other alternatives. thank you mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, ms. waters. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is

recognized for one minute. ms. waters: mr. speaker and members, we're poised to vote on legislation to fund government. nobody wants to shut down government. everybody here wants to have an answer and we could have an answer. all the opposite side has to do is to stop supporting a bill that would allow the biggest banks in america to rip off the people one more time. we bailed out the richest banks in america with the people's money. the people do not want that anymore. and so this provision that's in the bill that would allow them to basically put us all at risk because they want to trade these derivatives and be protected with fdic cannot go on. and so there are a lot of other things in this bill that's unacceptable. i am the ranking member of the financial services committee and i worked on dodd-frank.

they're trying to undermine dodd-frank. they've been trying to get rid of dodd-frank piece by piece. we have to fight it every day. i am not going to let the people down. democrats are not going to let the people down. we're not going to vote for anything that's going to give the store to the biggest banks in america one more time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from kentucky -- the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished minority whip, mr. hoyer of maryland. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland, the minority whip, is recognized for one minute. mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. ever aker, and members, since the conference report was reported out, leader pelosi and i have told everyone how objectionable the two provisions that have been discussed are on our side of the aisle. we think they should not be in

an appropriation bill. we think that they should be considered on their merits or demerits. unfortunately they are on the bill. i rise in support of the bill. notwithstanding, i have vigorous objection to these provisions. i rise because i frankly think that pursuing c.r.'s, continuing resolutions, on a continuing basis is harmful to our economy, harmful to the growth in jobs, harmful to our national security and i regret, i regret that the homeland security bill has not been included for a year as well. we undermined national security by that limitation. but nevertheless in a world of alternatives i have concluded that it is better for us to cromnibus as it is referred to than it is to defeat it. so i urge my members to vote

for this cromnibus tonight. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, may i ask how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york has three minutes remaining. and the gentleman from kentucky as four minutes remaining. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i am very pleased to yield one minute to mr. farr, the gentleman from california, a distinguished ranking member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. farr: thank you very much and thank you for yielding. i want to thank mr. rogers, the chair of the committee, for bringing a bill to the floor. i wish it was the full bill. and not most of the bill. but i also want to -- the world to note that even though there's some poison pills in this issue, there are -- is a

very progressive appropriations bill. and it shows that when you do reach compromise, and i hope that the party that will be in the majority next year will understand that we wanted to do a full process, we wanted to be vetted, we don't want poison pills, but in the end get the bad language out, which you did, and you can have a bill that has bipartisan support. we don't want things to get worse in this country. we want it to get better. a c.r. would be the worst thing that could happen. but also as a body that believes in exposure and the public's right to know, we should never allow these poison pills to be in this bill. hold your nose and make this a better world. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield 30 seconds to the distinguished gentleman from texas, mr. doggett. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for 30 seconds.

mr. doggett: mr. speaker, this bill puts a big bow on a holiday gift for the wall street contributors who get special treatment in the provisions of this bill. once again here in the holiday season, it's all about stuffing the silk stockings. and these people want to gamble with our money. when these big banks win, they get to keep all the money. but when they lose, they look to the taxpayer to bail them out. it was wrong to do so before and this bill removes key reforms that are vital to preserving our financial system and our economic security. we ought not to yield to the big bank contributors who at the same time this same bill frees up additional money for individuals to pour into the campaign that pollute our democracy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york. mrs. lowey: thank you, mr. speaker. our most important responsible is to -- responsibility is to

fund government corporations. this bill does that but also contains a number of objectionable items that have no place in a spending bill. i'd like to thank jim moran, ed pastor, bill owens, frank wolf, tom latham, jack kingston, your friendship and expertise will be missed. i'm pleased that after weeks of negotiations we have a package that funds 11 of the 12 bills. i hope that in the next congress we avoid such a contentious process, pass bills we are proud to support under regular order. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the president's statement in support of this bill in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, it will be part of the record. mrs. lowey: thank you, mr. speaker. i am voting for this bill and i urge your support. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from kentucky. >> did the gentlelady yield back? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yielded back her ? me

mrs. lowey: i yield back the no time that i have left, my friend, mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. mr. speaker, i urge members to support -- >> mr. speaker, i urge members to support this bill and keep the government open. it' >> coming up next her calls and comments live in washington journal. then the cato institute on surveillance. the houses in today at 3:00 eastern with no rollcall scheduled. coming up and 45 minutes, karen friedman with the pension rights center will talk about the next steps for the federal government spending bill. former attorney general, alberto

gonzales on the cia response to the report on its interrogation techniques, his approach to immigration reform. plus your phone calls, facebook comments and tweets. the motion is adopted. passed theills house last night. that was signed by the president. the other to fund the government through next september. today, the senate takes up that legislation. what do you think of the build of the house passed last night and what do you think this and senateld do -- the should do?