we were supposed to have a performance. becausetime factor c-span and other networks are going to close out, and we just want to say thank you for coming out. stacy francis of the x factor, thank you so much for being here. give her a round of applause. she is here, folks. that is the most important thing. hold on a second. bring the president of voters latino, maria teresa kumar. [applause] >> shot because he was holding a

toy gun. no questions asked. his community organized. they marched to city hall, asking for justice. with policeved snipers on their rooftop. this is my hometown of santa rosa, california. this is what it feels like. this is an epidemic in our country that knows no color, latino or brown or asian. it's an epidemic that they are too afraid to address. what gives me pleasure and what gives me excitement is to know

when you look around the room night -- right now in the halls we are out here, all colors and creed. [indiscernible] i asked today for our latino brothers and sisters who are afraid to come out and voice their pain. two out of three latinos are afraid of police harassment. two out of three. they are embarrassed to come out. theked them today to take strength of the mothers of trayvon martin, the strength of mother, the strength of eric garner's mother, the strength of michael brown's

mother, to come forth and unify with the african-american community so we can be strung together. -- strong together! [applause] not one more. come together. we are bigger together. we are unified together. no justice, no peace! >> no peace! new york congressional representative congresswoman carolyn maloney, united states congress of new york. >> thank you. thank you all for coming up, activists, union leaders, civil rights. not far from where we stand is the supreme court building, and engraved in stone above the entrance is one of the greatest promises ever made.

equal justice under the law. we make that promise of equal justice to everyone, not some, not most, but all. let's be clear. this march today is not against the police. it's against unfair police brutality. it is not against enforcing the law. it's for preserving that great promise, equal justice, impartial justice, for all. weare here today because have ample and heartbreaking reason to believe that some do not have equal justice. eric garner died because he was suspected of selling cigarettes on the street.

guilty,he was found there is no jail time. it is just a fine. yet eric garner was arrested. eric garner was restrained. eric garner was wrestled to the ground, and eric garner is dead. dead, and he was not even charged with a crime. wrong withmething so that. to red and blue, democrat and republican, libertarian and liberal alike, to tell us all that there has come to be a terrible disconnect between what is just and what has become just business as usual. the corrosive effect of

applied and justice denied. it's a problem that is too big, too widespread, and too dangerous to ignore. it has shaken many citizens' beliefs in our judicial system. a recent report by the new york attorney general looked at the result of the 2.4 million stops that were made during the stop and frisk year. only 16% of those stops resulted in arrests, and about half of those arrests did not result in convictions. peopleans over 2,300,000 , mostly black young men, were stopped for nothing. justiceise of equal engraved above the supreme court

is fulfilled as long as men like eric garner can die for selling cigarettes. as long as children like tamir rice can die in a playground, as long as innocents like a tiny ,irl he can die on a stairway and as long as men like michael brown can die on street. accountable.d this has got to change. >> if we could now come together , to give at -- i learned in

sunday school that a benediction .s not the end it is when you stand up and turn -- hold on a out second. one change. our councilman from new york city -- one more, and then we will get to the benediction. >> how are you doing? i've only got 60 seconds. everybody keeps asking me, what kind of protest is it going to be? that is the wrong question. it should be, why are they protesting? if you ask that first and you fix that, you no longer have to ask, why are they protesting? the last thing i want to say, we are spending a lot of time on police reform, which we

absolutely should, but i don't want it to get lost. they say the police are there because the community asks for them. that is true. but those very same communities ask for better housing. those same communities ask for better jobs. those very same communities ask for a better school system just for the building not to be crumbling. those same communities ask for clean streets. the very same communities ask for economic justice. why can we only hear one cry but not hear the cry of all of it? this is about generational, institutional oppression of communities in this country. we aren't going to talk about all of this. talk about all institutions. i'm happy to see everybody out there, black, white, brown, jews, muslims. keep marching for justice. keep marching for equality. they marched before us, and we

are now. keep on. keep strong. peace. from adelaide to ohio, from ferguson to staten island, they are going to hear us. we are marching on righteousness and correctness. >> power to the people. man,e missing a young lynwood jones. you are missing. we are looking for you. please meet us at the corner left of the stage, my left, you're right. meet us right here at the corner to the right of the stage. we are looking for you. thank you. we are going to close out with stacy. do you mind? is everybody happy? ladies and gentlemen, please finalistthe x factor"

stacy francis. say, we allnt to have to go back to who we know, and that is christ. anytime we have a problem, we go back to god. i just want to sing a little something for you to be reminded of who lifts us up, who keeps a strong, and who can keep us going no matter what. lift ♪rd i will ♪ my eyes to the hills is comingmy help from you ♪ the peace you give me ♪ storm ♪mes of the

♪ hands ♪ my lift your hands out here, y'all. we have to lift our hands for the right reasons. you ♪ray to amen ♪ amen, thank you. peace. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, if we for thenow --

benediction, it is not the end. you turn and go out to do the work that needs to be done. headw turn us around and us out on the right direction, the outstanding reverend jamaal bryant. nobody's said the road was going to be easy. i don't believe he has brought us this far to leave us now. would you take your neighbor by the hand? everybody, make sure somebody's hand is in your hand. we come as a family. we are leaving as a family. how in the world are we going to get victory? you don't have the money or the koch brothers? we don't have the backing of the republican party? how are we going to find triumphant victory while it is we are working but congress is on vacation? how in the world are we going to get justice when families are

crying? it looks like the senate is just laughing. we believe we are going to prevail. god has never failed us. he has never forsaken us. you want to know whether god still works? on brock friday when we boycotted, and they saw a hit 11%1 been percent -- because we kept our black dollars in our black pocket. they want to know whether god still works. ferguson. we are in oakland. we are giving a major shot out to those in new york right now. would you shout to them? [cheering] this is not the end. it is the beginning. tomorrow is black solidarity sunday. every black denomination is church of godus, and christ, the progressive

baptist, global united fellowship, all of them, black you, black catholics. tomorrow, go to church wearing black. i don't want to to just go to church wearing black. when you leave church, still be black. jesus is black. i need you to please make sure that tomorrow we stand shoulder to shoulder and arm to arm. would you bow your head? god of our silent tears, the one who has brought us thus far, we thank you because you know what it's like. you remember when jesus was born. they tried to kill black boys. you had one so there would be a leader. theyemember in exit this tried to kill black boys, but you had one so a leader could come forth. we thank you because sons are being burped right now who are going to lead our generation to the next level.

dispatch angels right now of protection around our sons from psychopathic, sociopathic police officers. i pray right now you will convict prosecutors who have given up the law for popularity. we pray that you will disrobe judges who are elected but have not been appointed by your glory. we thank you right now for new registered voters who are going to march in 2016 until we have righteous congresspeople, righteous senators, and a righteous president. we don't want just black elected officials. we want a black agenda. we want to make sure that our lives matter is not a slogan but a lifestyle. let us march on. for every person who opposes justice, who opposes

righteousness, we came to remind them, we know when they are sleeping, we know when they are awake, we know when they've been good or bad, and because they've please send black jesus for goodness sake. amen, and god bless you. [applause] >> next house members pay tribute to representative ralph hall. after that, family members of eric gagne, michael brown -- brown lead michael

the march to washington, d.c. the in a senate has gaveled out to return on monday morning at 10 a.m. eastern. the senate approved a $1.1 trillion spending package. my exception is a homeland security department which is only funded through the end of february. when the senate returns on monday, they will have a number of votes on judicial and executive nominations. ,mong them are surgeon general and deputy secretary of state. other outstanding agenda items are extending certain tax breaks and authorizing federal terrorism insurance. watch coverage of the senate monday on c-span 2.

>> texas congressman ralph hall is 91 and is the oldest person to ever serve in the house of representatives. last world war ii veterans to serve, he was elected in 1980. his retirement was marked by sears attributes from fellow legislators. this is about 40 minutes. thank the speaker for granting us this special order to honor congressman ralph hall of the fourth congressional district and granting us this time today. although congressman hall has been sidelined by recent accident, he's blessed to be on the mend and he hopes to express his thanks in person sometime next year. hopefully he's watching on c-span television right now from rockwall, texas, and i cannot tell him how many members wish him the speediest of recovery and wish that he were with us now.

ralph has asked me to put in the record the following statement from himself. i want to express -- and this is -- i quote from congressman ralph hall. i want to express my heart felt appreciation to those in the fourth congressional district who gave me their vote of confidence time and again, who gave me the benefit of their wisdom and good ideas and who inspired me to do my best to represent their views and their vision -- and their vision in washington. you will always be dear to my heart. mr. speaker, i also want to put into the record a full statement by congressman hall at this time by unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. barton: thank you. with that i want to yield five minutes to the distinguished congressman from colin county, congressman sam johnson.

-- collin county, congressman sam johnson. mr. johnson: thank you. i rise to appreciate ralph hall. it's been said, quote, a hero is someone who has given his or her life to someone bigger than ones self-. ralph embodies these -- one's self. ralph embodies these word. he's a fierce protector of freedom and a great conservative. he is a shining example of all that is great about america and the great state of texas. ralph and i have known each other for a very long time. i won't say how long. we are blessed to represent neighboring districts, and there's no greater friend and ally in congress than ralph. we have worked together on a number of issues.

recently, i was pleased to help ralph with a zebra mussel water bill. that is a bill that provided clean water to north texas. now, ralph is known both around the hill and back at home for his sense of humor. you might say that's why he's never met a stranger. every person he meets is not just a friend but a close friend. on a more serious note, ralph is also known for his faithful love of his late wife, mary ellen. if you ever visit with ralph, he'll tell you she was the person who encouraged him to enter public service, and since then she was with him every step of the way. when ralph had his chairman portrait painted two years ago, he made sure mary ellen was part of that portrait.

that love and commitment speaks so highly of ralph's character. ralph, as your colleague, i thank you for your service to your constituents, our great state of texas and our great nation. as your friend, i thank you for your sense of humor but more importantly i thank you for your loyal friendship. you know, d.c. won't be the same without you. god bless you. i salute you, ralph. mr. barton: thank you, congressman johnson. before i recognize congresswoman greaninger, i want to -- granger, i want to say most of ralph's washington, d.c., staff is watching this. janet, christopher, leslie, mitzy and ralph wanted

me to thank y'all for your ervice for himself and for the fourth district of texas. i want to yield to the lady from the 12th district of texas, the honorable kay granger. ms. granger: thank you. it's such an honor to speak about our good friend, ralph hall. you know, his background and what he's done is really amazing. he joined the navy when he was -- in 1942. went to war. came back and got l.l.b. from southern methodist university. he was admitted to the texas bar and became a county judge, the president of the state judge and commissions association, elected to the state senate and was president pro tempore. then in 1980 came to the house

of representatives where he still serves. the most important thing is something that joe barton talked about in his life and he said, if you're going to talk about how important my life is, you'll talk about his wife, mary ellen. the love of his life. they were married in 1944 and were maried until she passed -- married until she passed. we talk about who ralph hall is. the first thing you think about is that great smile. he was always smiling. always had a twinkle in his eye and a joke on his lips. there was no one that told jokes better, there's no one that tells jokes better than ralph hall. he's always got a story and he's always got a joke. i had to go to the "dallas morning news" for endorsement at the editorial board one time and unfortunately ralph was interviewed right before i was. i walked in and they were still laughing at his jokes and no one could even think of a question for me for a while. he was just that kind of

person. never said a mean thing about anyone but told a lot of jokes to a lot of people. so i wish ralph were here sitting in this chamber with us tonight, but because of his accident, he's not but i know he's watching it. and to his family and to ralph, we miss you and we wish you the very best. it's been wonderful. we're all better from having known you. thank you. mr. barton: i thank the gentlelady. before i introduce congressman neugebauer, i already put one statement in the record ralph wanted me to read, but by electronic device, he's sent a second statement. so this is another direct quote from congressman hall. although sidelined by recent accident, i am blessed to be on the mend and hope to express my thanks in person sometime next year. it's been a great honor and privilege to represent the good people of the fourth congressional district for the past 33 years. i thank them for their vote of confidence over the years for

their wisdom and good ideas and for inspiring me to represent their views and their vision to the best of my ability. and with that i want to recognize for five minutes the congressman representing lubbock, texas, where the ennis lions will play a high school football game friday night, the honorable randy neugebauer. mr. neugebauer: i thank the gentleman. i rise to honor the service of my colleague, ralph hall. when you look at ralph's life, it's a record of serve to his country. it began in 1942 as a young lieutenant flying an aircraft off of an aircraft carrier, and after the war, ralph came back to this country and started work in the private sector in creating jobs and expanding the economy in texas. . later ralph would be the county judge for rock wall, texas, and

would late behr elected as a texas state senator. in 1980, he was elected to the united states congress to represent the fourth district of texas, where he has represented that district with distinction. one of the things, you ever traveled in ralph's district and stop at the 7-eleven or place to get a little gas and mention the name ralph hall, people's faces light up. i bet everybody in rock wall county has met ralph hall in fact, probably everybody in ralph's district has met ralph. because one of the things he was diligent about doing was making sure people in his district felt represented. since his election, he's worked tirelessly here in congress on a number of issues and i had the honor and privilege to serve on the house science, space, and technology committee with ralph, and one of the things i appreciated most about ralph, and i think most of us appreciated is ralph's sense of humor. that didn't stop him from asking

very direct and grilling questions of witnesses that would come before our committee. sometimes there would be a tense moment. but ralph always had something funny or a story to tell that broke the ice. you've seen a number of members of the texas delegation here today, particularly the republican delegation and every thursday, we have lunch together. talk about what's good for texas. but what was always a thing that we always looked forward to, we couldn't wait until ralph got there so that we could -- ralph could share a funny story. and you know, one of the things that i'll miss most about ralph is those times when he'd be on the floor or he would be at lunch, sharing those stories. now one of the things about ralph is that as he got older, he got wiser. and in fact he, got so wise, in 2004, he realized he needed to be a part of the republican party and so he switched from the democratic party to the republican party. we were so glad to welcome him to that.

so as i said, it's been an honor and a privilege, ralph, to be part of your team on the science, space and technology committee. it's been a great honor to be one of your colleagues, but more importantly, ralph, we want to thank you for your friendship and kinship and most importantly your service to this great nation and to the state of texas. so with that, we say, ralph, job well done, god bless you and we ook forward to seing you soon. mr. barton: i thank the gentleman from lubbock. i now recognize the congressman from the 25th district of texas, mr. roger williams. under the newest configuration, he's the only congressman represent that district. they must love him. mr. williams: i'm honored to stand here today and say a few words about our most treasured

friend, mentor, and leader, ralph hall. his service to country and his fellow man are full of victories as we have heard and hailts -- highlight taos numerous to count. he flew planes in world war ii. once the next congress convenes, we'll misthe only two remaining world war ii veterans in congress, also including congressman dingell. ralph hall has an appreciation for america that few of us can understand. he understands sacrifice. he understands service. he understands putting one's self aside for the greater good. he's always been an accomplished businessman, having served in a number of executive roles in the private sector. he brought his business savvy to congress, which contributed to him being one of the most respected and well-liked members we've had. his ability to bring humor was not just to get a laugh but

bringing different viewpoints together ralph has served north texas well and deserves recognition for his accomplishments. i am grateful to have served with my friend and patriot whose leadership, spirit, and statesmanship will be greatly missed. i wish him the best as he continues to serve texas, america, and his community back home. i will always pray for ralph and his family. i yield back. mr. barton: thank you, congressman. we would now like to recognize the congressman from the firth congressional district, deep east texas, soft spoken congressman louie gohmert. mr. gohmert spst it is an honor to be here honoring ralph hall. he has been my congressman for many years and in fact after being on the bench for -- mr. gome effort:. -- mr. gohmert: it is an honor to be here honoring ralph hall.

he has been my congressman for many years. and in fact after being on the bench, i thought i should legislate, wouldn't do it from the bench. i talked to him and told him as long as he was my congressman i had no need to run because he would represent me well. then we had redistricting in 2003 and it opened up a different district. but i felt that way then. if he had stayed my congressman, i'd never had a need to run, so some may wish we didn't have redistricting. as i hear people talk about his age, i think about ralph saying that when he turned 90, somebody on his staff said, congressman hall, would you rather we didn't mention to people that you're 90? and he said, no, i'm fine with that. i'd a lot rather you say, he's 90, than doesn't he look natural? and having been with ralph yesterday, there in rockwall, as

he's going through rehab, actually he, doesn't look natural at all he looks great. and just look forward to the days when he's fully out of the wheelchair and that rod in his leg is not bothering him as much as it is now. we miss him very much. and he did provide me a quote too, that struck him, having been chairman of the science committee. he said, and this is a quote ralph sent, we are reminded of the responsibility given to us by the scripture engraved on the hearing room wall of the science committee from proverbs 29:18, where there is no vision, the people perish. ralph's eyesight was 20/20. he could see where we've been. he could see where we were going. and it was an honor and pleasure and real privilege to serve with my friend ralph hall.

i yield back. mr. barton: i thank congressman gohmert. i'd now like to recognize the gentlelady who represents part of dallas county, the honorable eddie bernice johnson who comes from the same hometown i do, waco, texas. ms. johnson: thank you very much. i'm delighted to join you in saying some words about ralph hall, my friend. it has been my honor and privilege to serve with my colleague and friend and we had some laughs just recently when i visited him about our history nd working together in elected office. our relationship goes back to when i was in the texas house and i left the texas house in the 1970's. talking about things that we remember. i really regret that he's not here today, but he wanted to be and he planned to be, but he's not going to make it today. but as all of you who have had

the pleasure of serving with ralph, we are missing out -- as all of you have had the pleasure of serving with ralph, we are missing out on stories and jokes, some of them really funny and some can't be said in some places. so i won't try to match him in story telling but i'm going to tell you a little story that happened when ralph switched parties. called him and called him and called him and called him, and i couldn't get through, nor did he return my calls, until i finally said, well just tell him i still love him, i don't care what party he's in. so 30 seconds later, he returned my call. and he said, i just couldn't take another bawling out from a woman. he said, i've gotten it from my sister, i've gotten it from my wife. i said, but you know what, probably no one understands more

than i do, because i've been watching your numbers. it never interfered with our relationship. when he was chair of the science, space, and technology committee, two of the years he was chair, i was ranking member. he never hesitated to reach across the aisle to try to reach consensus. and really, the kind of spirit we need now, and i will miss him for that. i will miss him because of the history we both shared. our districts used to come right next to each other, now there are a couple that come between us, but it won't divide our friendship and i look forward to our continued friendship for many years to come. i have learned so much from him. i remember when i first came, he was the person who taught me how to make arrangements to go home every week with the airline that we use and also taught me how to find rooms -- how to find routes

and shortcuts how to get where you're going on this hill, which is complicated when you first get here. he will be missed. the space exploration program will be forever grateful to him. the science committee research and all of its -- and all it stands for will always have a part of his history -- a part of its history, ralph hall. i appreciate the opportunity to have had a chance to work with him, to know him and his family, and to wish him well. thank you. mr. barton: we now want to recognize the congressman from fort bend county, sugarland, texas, a navy pilot himself, as ralph hall was in world war ii, he honorable pete olson.

the gentleman's time is expired. mr. olson: mr. speaker, i thank my friend for that kind introduction. may 3, 1923.

ralph hall is born in fate, texas. there could not be in the whole world a better name to describe a man's life than being born in fate, texas. fate touched ralph in many ways. ralph as a young man in rockwall, texas, pumping gas as a teenager, guess who drove up and bought gas from my friend, ralph hall? bonnie and clyde. the gangsters. yes, sir, i yield my friend.

mr. barton: i have repeatedly asked him to prove that and he has absolutely failed system of that is an urban myth of the fourth congressional district. mr. olson: reclaiming time, my didn't aid, we saw him, know who they were, he got a quarter, a huge tip. the paper was there right beside the door he, saw this man and this woman, he pumped gas for hose two felons. he told his boss and they called the sheriff, the sheriff said, thank you so much for calling, i've got a call about two stray dogs, once i catch those dogs, i'll go after bonnie and clyde. fate and ralph hall. ut fate didn't stop there.

as was mentioned, ralph was a naval aviator, a pilot, in world war ii. he did flight training in pensacola, florida. he was there with the marines. a guy named ted williams. batted .403 in 1941. mr. barton: would the gentleman yield on that point? while the bonnie and clyde story is more fiction than fact, ralph would have had -- ralph would have been pumping gas at the ripe old age of 8 or 9 years old for that to be true, the ted williams story is fact and it is true. mr. olson: i thank my friend. the point is, ralph nose ted is

there. baseball game against army. i'll take all their paychecks. i got ted williams. then david comes, knocks on ted's door. he had some fishing gear. let's go fishing. ralph tried to stop him. ted, ted, i've told my wife i'm coming home with a big paycheck. i bet my whole paycheck on this game. ralph held the fence up so ted williams could go awol. maybe he lost the game and ralph had a rough night at home with mary ellen. fate touched ralph hall one more time. as a chairman of the nasa committee here in congress, ralph hall and his friends were

great americans. this picture shows the greatest. a man right there named neil armstrong. the first american to walk on the moon. colonel tom stafford, another apollo restaurant. right by the microphone there, captain gene. went to the moon twice on apollo -- apollo 10 and apollo 17. fate touched ralph hall's life. fate touched our lives by giving ralph hall to us. he is america's best. he's texas' best. ralph, we love you. god bless you. fair winds and following seas.

mr. barton: i thank the gentleman from sugar land. , mr. ecognize mr. green green. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm not so sure about a noted texas landmark but i want to thank you for asking and scheduling this special order for our good friend, ralph hall. i rise to pay tribute to a great american who dedicated his life to protecting and serving our nation in the great state of texas, representative ralph hall, a true gentleman. ralph began his commitment to service second decades ago when he joined the united states navy. served as an aircraft carrier pilot in world war ii, returning to texas after the war, ralph became -- began private law practice in rockwall, texas, are we served as county judge in the 1950's and represented that area in the texas state senator --

texas state senate from 1962 to 1972. that's when i first met ralph hall, because in 1970 he ran for lieutenant governor in texas, in the democratic primary. and there were few other folks in that race. ralph didn't make it out of the -- into the runoff. but ralph was elected to congress in 1980 as a conservative democrat, where he served our state honorably on energy and commerce committee and the science committee where he was chairman from 2011 to 2013. in 2003, ralph became a republican. his votes were always conservative, though. my job in the 1990's as a deputy whip on the democratic side was the whip texas members. so i'd go to ralph and he was a distinguished gentleman and that's just not a title, he really was. he would tell me, he said, what do you want me to do? i said, well, i want to you vote this way. he said, you know, i can't really do that. i said, well, can you vote

late? ralph was always a conservative, no matter what democratic or republican label he had. i had the honor of serving with ralph in congress since 1993 and on the energy and commerce committee since 1997 and ralph has always been a true gentleman to me and to all i've ever saw him work with. i will best remember ralph as a true hero of texas who is a committed public servant, either in uniform or elected official, and always stayed true to his beliefs and did everything he could for his constituents. mr. speaker, congressman hall will be sorely missed by all of us and i want to thank him for both his hard work and dedication for years, but more importantly for his friendship to a lot of members, not just texans, but a lot of members in congress. and ralph will be very fondly remembered. i thank my colleague for yielding to me. mr. barton: now i want to recognize the distinguished congressman from i believe

flower mound, texas, in denton county, the honorable michael bureau jells. mr. burgess: thank you, chairman. thank you for calling this hour together. of course the ranks of those who are able to capably deliver a narrative in this house suddenly have gotten a little thinner. i had the opportunity to sit down and visit with mr. hall just a few days before thanksgiving. i know how intense was his desire to be here and be able to talk on the floor today on his own behalf. sadly that didn't come to pass. i hope you're able to watch today. i hope you're able to hear the accolades of all of your colleagues. we miss you, ralph. we wish you nothing but the best going forward. again, the ranks of the capable narrative deliverer here in the house of representatives has gotten a little thinner at the end of this term. chairman, thank you for the recognition. i'll yield back. mr. barton: thank you. now we want to recognize congressman from corpus hristi, texas, mr. farenthold.

mr. farenthold: thank you, chairman barton. it's great to be here to talk a moment or two about my good friend, ralph hall. when i was first elected to congress a few years back, ralph was one of the first people that i met being a texan and he has the kindest heart and always has a smile on his face and a good joke ready at hand. people ask me, what do you see your career as congress, who do you look up to, where do you see your career in congress going think? said, i might want to grow uper to ralph hall. then -- grow up to be ralph hall. then some of his adversaries said he was too old to be in congress and ralph jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. i had to rethink of growing up to be ralph hall after he jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. but it's a testament to the dedication and courage he has. ralph was committed to serving

texas and the folks that he represented and he would go to any length, including jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, to continue to serve. it was an honor and a privilege to have spent four years of my life as a colleague of ralph's. it's been the greatest four years of my life and it's an honor and privilege to have served with him and he truly will be missed. and i appreciate the opportunity, chairman barton, to be on the floor today to acknowledge my friend and quite frankly one of my strongest mentors here in congress, ralph hall. god bless you, ralph. we're going to miss you. mr. barton: thank you. now i recognize the gentleman from the 14th district of illinois, congressman hultgren. mr. hultgren: chairman, thank you so much. it is such a privilege to be able to say a few words for my good friend and my chairman,

chairman of the science committee when i first was elected to congress four years ago, had the privilege of serving under chairman hall on the science committee. a couple memories that i have. so many committees that i went to where the committee would stop because we were laughing so hard with a statement or comment or joke perfectly timed that chairman hall would put in and so enjoyed that time so much. my wife and i had an incredible privilege this summer. we have among ourselves here in congress some wonderful people we get to serve with. a few of them truly are heroes. and one of those heroes is ralph hall. had the privilege of going to the 70th anniversary of d-day to recognize those world war ii veterans and ralph hall was with us on that trip. we all loved being there, but everybody wanted to be with ralph hall. again, a true hero. and to be in that place with

ralph hall was a great, great honor for my wife and i. my greatest memory since i've been here, over the four years, was with chairman hall. and that was in the science committee and having the privilege of sitting about 10 feet away from armstrong and the first man to walk on the moon and the last man to walk on the moon. people who changed the trajectory of this nation and this world. and having the opportunity to talk with them and get to know them and to hear their amazing story, but also the humility that they had, that same humility that chairman hall has, just a privilege to serve. and, ralph, we love you. i wish so much that you could be here today to be able to express your own heart for the privilege i know that you felt serving in this incredible place, serving the wonderful constituents you have in texas. but i want you to know that we love you, we miss you, we're praying for you and we're excited to see, hopefully soon,

a full recovery for you and looking forward to having you back here and hearing those great jokes once again. so, ralph, want to let you know that we're pulling for you and excited again for all that you've done and all that you're going to do. with that i yield back to the chairman. mr. barton: thank you. wield now like to yield to the gentlelady from houston, texas, congresswoman sheila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much. i thank the chairman for yielding. and i thank him for holding this special order for a very dear friend to all of us, ralph hall. i guess my opening remarks would be that if you took the greater percentage of all of us members of the house of representatives, everyone would rise up and say, my good friend ralph hall and really mean it. for he was a good friend and is a good friend to all of us, on both sides of the aisle. i came to the united states congress, i went to the science committee and there was ralph hall.

fighting for the issues that were not only impacting the nation but were impacting our great state. no one could doubt that ralph hall was a champion for texas, a champion for the space exploration program. i used to love getting with him on the floor of the house and strategizing how we could continue to make sure that our space exploration continues and the great research that is done in nasa goes on. certainly as a member of the energy and commerce committee, he was astutely concerned about the issues of energy, but also health care and many others. he loved his family and he forever reminded me of a time when he came to houston and he had to see his grandson whoist now grown and -- who is now grown and i'm sure one of ralph's favorite grandsons, if you will. he loves his family. when he had to get a ride to the hospital where his grandson was. and of course we're so grateful that he recovered. but he always tells everyone

that i went 30 miles out of my way to take him to that hospital and i can say to you, i did it with joy. but he was always grateful and thankful for friendship and kindness and he was kind. and i must say that if he didn't have a career in the united states congress, he could be a stand-up comic. because his timing was everything, his jokes were unique. i don't think they were written anywhere. and of course he was always saying them. let me also say, since he's had such a long history, he reminded me of his friendship with the honorable barbara jordan and his friendship with mickey leland, two of the predecessors of my particular district. and then i would offer to say the same remarks that were mentioned just earlier about how excited -- exciting it was to be in normandy for the 70th commemoration and have our own special iconic hero, ralph hall, who was honored by the french and honored by many.

he was a regular hero and a dynamic hero, as we went about the town. so my hat is off to ralph. i know that he will be well. i know that he knows that we love him. but more importantly, let me salute him as a great american who has served his nation with dignity and honor and respect and integrity and who walks the pathway of a congressional person that respects the dignity and integrity of this house and as well the friendship of democrats and republicans, >> the u.s. senate has gaveled out to return later. the senate approved a $1.1 t rillion spending package. one exception is a homeland security department that is only funded through the end of

february two the bill goes to the president for his signature. on monday, a number of votes on nominations. surgeon general, head of the social security administration. other outstanding items is extending tax breaks and authorizing federal terrorism insurance. sunday on c-span 2. next a house hearing on the 2012 embassy attack in benghazi. after that, family members of eric garner, michael brown, and others lead the march in washington, d.c. your calls and comments on washington journal.

on "newsmakers" the author of several justice department memos on interrogation of suspected talks abouttainees this week senate intelligence committee report on cia interrogations. john yoo was a deputy assistant attorney general in the george isbush administration and now a law professor at the university of southern california. >> on wednesday, the house committee on benghazi held their second public committee on diplomatic security on the 2012 attack at the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya. greg starr said the department has implemented most of the recommendations made by the accountability review board. the state department in general steve linick also testified.

this is two hours and 40 minutes. >> welcome to everyone. i want to apologize to everyone who has been waiting. blame me for the delay it that would be the quickest and easiest thing to do. we apologize. i'll do my best to start our time henceforth. this is hearing number two. diplomaticorts for facilities and personnel. i will recognize myself. the gentleman from maryland.

four of our fellower americans were killed. shaun smith, tyrone woods, glenn dougherty and chris stevens dies under circumstances most of us cannot fathom. fire, violence, terror, the weaponry of war. i want to read something and i want to ask my colleagues to listen to what i read, not just top the words but i want you to imagine having to live through or die through the experience. 2012 at er the 11th, 9:4520 men bretched the mission gate. several a shallry yeah members have been identified throughout the group. ak-47