mckeon: mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from maryland. mr. cummings: may i inquire how much time we have? the chair: the gentleman from maryland has 15 seconds remaining, the gentleman from california has three minutes remaining. mr. couple k -- mr. cummings: i urge the adoption of this amendment. this is an appropriate way to address this, it is a reasonable way. with that, yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: i yield back. the chair: the question son the amendment offered by the gentleman from maryland. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the amendment is agreed. to it is now in order to consider amendment number 34 printed in house report 111-182. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. th

mckeon: mr. chairman, i'm happy to yield at this time to mr. turner, the gentleman from ohio, subcommittee ranking member, two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. turner: thank you, ranking member mckeon. i want to thank the gentleman for the amendment that's in the en bloc. jim marshall and i introduced nato first bill. with the chairman supporting it, six out of eight of the bills is in the national defense authorization act. as the u.s. and russia begin or start negotiations, this treaty expiring at the end of 2009, it's important for us to set some framework. this amendment would limit the use of f.y. 2010 defense funds to implement reductions for u.s. strategic nuclear forces pursuant to a treaty with russia. for example, start, unless the president certifies that the treaty, one, provides sufficient verification mechanisms. two, does not limit u.s. ballistic missile defense systems, space capabilities, advanced defense capabilities. the amendment also requir

mckeon: mr. chairman, i'm happy to yield to the gentleman from georgia, mr. gingrey, such time as he may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gingrey: mr. chairman, thank you, i thank the gentleman for yielding. rise -- i rise in support of representative connolly's amendment. but this amendment does not go nearly far enough. let me try to explain in the limited time i have, the energy security and independence act of 2007 has in it a section 526. which does not allow any agency of the federal government to use a fuel source that has one scintilla increased amount of carbon dioxide footprint other than bubble up petroleum. the department of defense uses about 350,000 barrels of refined petroleum products every day. most of that by the air force and the use of jet fuel. and in this country, we have so much domestic source of nonconventional bubble up petroleum, i'm talking about things like shale in particular and the liquefy case of coal liquefication of coal. we probably have a 150 year supply of coal and can't touch that even though the depa

mckeon. he hit the ground running, a veteran of our committee and his first baptism of fire was in the markup of the some 17 hours of this bill in committee. and we thank him for his leadership and for his diligence in making this a success. tomorrow under the rule, mr. chairman, we will consider the various amendments, four groups of en bloc amendments and several by themselves, according to the rule that's been set forth and the time limits set thereon. this is an important piece of legislation. it deals with the security of our country, the security of our citizens. it deals with those young men, young women in uniform wherever they may be. it's our job to do our best to support them and this bill does just that. i thank the members of the committee on both sides of the aisle. they have been magnificent to work with. and with that, i express appreciation to our wonderful staff. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. all time for general debate has expired. for what purp

mckeon: mr. cummings' amendment would require the secretary of defense to place military personnel on u.s. flag vessels operating in high-risk piracy areas of the world's oceans. the gentleman's intention is

mckeon: mr. chairman, i yield now to the chairman of the armed services committee, the gentleman from missouri, chairman skelton, two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. skelton: mr. chairman, i respectfully disagree with this amendment, and i respectfully oppose it. this amendment sends exactly the wrong message, focusing on an exit strategy which may well reinforce a perception among the afghans that we are not committed to protecting them from the taliban and al qaeda. mr. chairman, we have a new commander on the ground. we've added tens of thousands of jobs. we're adding hundreds of civilian experts. we should not undermine those efforts. commanders make a difference. as you know, we have general mcchrystal, who has replaced general mckernan in afghanistan. history shows that new commanders make a big difference. let's give general mcchrystal the opportunity to show what american troops and american civilians, state department and others can do. history shows

mckeon: mr. chairman, i yield now to the gentleman from new jersey one minute, mr. garrett. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. garrett: i thank the ranking member. i thank the chair. thank you for the inclusion of this amendment with regard to israel and the underlying bill. i'd like to speak for that minute then with regard to one of our strongest allies in the middle east and that is the state of israel. i'm thankful for the strong relationship that we have, that our two countries share a lot in common, that we fought for peace and freedom. we both continue to pursue liberty despite ongoing opposition. we both face many common enemies. now, throughout my time in congress i've been a strong supporter of israel's right to exist. and when you think about it, it's even disturbing that we have to come here and talk about it in terms of such as that. but the truth of the matter is there are few peoples on earth where more of the crosshairs than israel. not even

mckeon: i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from missouri. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. . it is now in order to consider amendment number 3 printed in house report 111-182. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise? mr. mcgovern: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 3, printed in house report number 111-182, offered by mr. mcgovern of massachusetts. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 572, and the order of the house of today, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, and a member opposed each will control 10 minutes. the chair now recognize mr. mcgovern. mr. mcgovern: i yield myself two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: this amendment requires the secretary of defense to provide congress by the end of the year with an outline

mckeon and i, that is a tribute to the work of john mchugh on our committee. likewise, i must thank the subcommittee chairman, ranking members who contributed so much toward this bill. they did their homework and i'm pleased with the outcome of their efforts. they solved almost every problem set out for them and they accomplished a lot of good government at the same time. they were able to -- ably assisted by our committee staff, that amazing committee staff, professionals as well as the office of the legislative council and the office of parliamentarian. this bill authorizes $550.5 billion in budget authority for the department of defense and the national security programs of the department of energy. the bill also authorizes $130 billion to support ongoing military operations in iraq and afghanistan during the fiscal year 2010. these amounts are essentially equal to the president's budget request for items in the jurisdiction of our committee. . h.r. 2647 supports america's service members and providing the necessary resources to keep americans safe. the bil

mckeon: mr. chairman, i yield to the gentleman from maryland, mr. bartlett, the ranking member on the airland subcommittee such time as he may consume. the chair: the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. barton: thank you. i'd like to thank my -- mr. -- mr. bartlett: thank you. i'd like to thank all the hard work that has taken place behind the scenes to get this bill done. this is not an easy process. and the legislation before us reflects many difficult decisionings -- decisions. once again this bill places forced protection issues at the top of the priority list. it provides additional funds for the national guard equipment account and the service's unfunded priority list and the changes this bill makes in regards to body armor is long overdue and will provide better protection for our war fighters for years to come. as i said during our oversight hearings and subcommittee markup, there hst no doubt that this budget and the decisions that come along with it will fundamentally change the united states air force and army. i see two problems.

mckeon: i thank the gentleman for yielding. in the last two months north korea has followed through on its provocative threat to conduct a nuclear test and launch missiles. today we hear that pyongyang is vowing to enlarge its arsenal and has warned of a fire shower of nuclear retaliation. these are grave and serious threats. however at a time when iran and north korea have demonstrated the capability and intent to pursue long-range ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons programs, the defense bill endorsed reductions to capabilities that would provide a comprehensive missile defense system to protect the u.s. homeland or forward deployed troops and allies. this amendment is common sense. it's a sound measure that would reverse the administration's $1.2 billion cut to missile defense. it would restore the 35% reduction to the nation's ground based mid course defense system located in alaska and california. which is designed to protect the u.s. homeland. it would restore investments in vital research and development like the airb

mckeon: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my good friend from california, mr. dreier, for yielding the time. as ranking member on armed services, i rise in opposition to this rule and to the war supplemental conference report for one simple reason -- it will endanger our troops in harm's way. compared with a clean troop funding bill that passed the house with bipartisan support in may, this package cuts $4.7 billion from defense we passed at that time to create room for $105 billion global bailout loan program. what should be a clean military funding bill has become a means for the president's promise to provide more foreign aid to the international monetary fund. those funds will eventually make their way to countries that are less than friendly to the united states at the expense of programs to support our troops. and even more disturbing is the decision by conferees to reject a motion offered by republicans to prohibit release of detainee photos that could exacerbate tensions in the very regions our troops are fighting. mr. speaker, let me read to you a stat

i also wish to commend and congratulate both armed services chairman skelton and ranking member mckeon for their commitment to put partisanship aside to get this important bill to the floor. the national defense authorization act, which passed unanimously out of the armed services committee authorizes $550 billion for the activities of the department of defense. it also provides $130 billion to support our combat operations in iraq, afghanistan and other fronts on the war on terror. our men and women in uniform and their families have sacrificed dearly to protect the united states. that is why i'm pleased that the bill will provide our troops with a $3.-- 3.4% pay raise. furthering our commitment to our troops, the bill extends tricare eligibility to reserve members so they can receive full tricare coverage 1880 days before they go on active duty and provides almost $2 billion for family housing programs to expand and improve the quality of military housing. the bill authorizes the expansion of the size of the military by 15,000 army troops, 8,000 marines, over 14,500 air force personn

i'd like to thank the chair, chairman skelton, ranking member mckeon, and all my colleagues on the house armed services committee for their tireless work on this bill. i urge a yes vote on the previous question and on the rule and i yield back the balance of my time. i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on ordering the previous question. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes seem to have it. the gentleman from florida. mr. diaz-balart: request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , further proceedings on this question will be postponed. pursuant to section 703-c of the public interest declassification act of 2000, and the order of the house of january 6, 2009, the chair announces the speaker's appointment of the following member on the part of the house to the public interest declassification board for a term of three years.

mckeon and jenny brown-waite and we will talk about elements of the plan.e will be working with the drafting folks on that and hopefully while we are almost always last in line with the resources available to congress these days, we are going to be working hard now to bring these concepts into legislative language as quickly as we can. >> thank you, roy. thank you for your leadership on the solutions group. i want to thank leader boehner and all of my colleagues here and those that are not here who helped really make it possible for us to come forward with an american solution to healthcare. the president said this should have a uniquely american solution. we have an american plan. one that we believe as has been said will really focus on affordability, accessibility and availability. the question is how do we do that? we think that it is very important that there be a robust waste fraud and abuse oversight of healthcare, not only in the government programs and medicare and medicaid but clearly the duplicity that away find in our healthcare system there sho

mckeon, talk about the priority of funding for our troops. and then we listened to speeches made by our colleagues, and there was barely a mention of the issue of troop funding. we issues heard our colleague talk about firefighters. hey, i'm from southern california where we have fires and we have horrible fires, loss of life and property is something that regularly takes place there. it's a very, very important issue. it's an issue that should be considered under the regular appropriations process under the leadership of my california colleague, mr. lewis and mr. obey, not in a troop funding bill. then we listened to our very good friend from detroit talk about the automobile industry. a serious challenge that we as a nation are trying to address. i personally believe that the notion of continuing to see the government more and more involved in this area is not the right thing to do, but it's a debate that will go on. and yet, our friend, mr. levin, was talking about the issue of the automobile industry in this troop funding bill. then i lis

i appreciate the support of chairman miller and ranking member mckeon, who are also original co-sponsors, and my colleague, jim costa, who has already been supportive of activities at mojave airance space port. congratulations to all the students who participated. with that, i'm proud to support and bring this to the floor. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. tonko: does the gentleman from pennsylvania have further speakers? mr. platts: i do have additional speakers. mr. tonko: i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. platts: i yield five minutes to the distinguished lady from tennessee, mrs. blackburn. the speaker pro tempore: the distinguished lacy is -- lady is recognized for five minutes. mrs. blackburn: i rise to to support the intermediate space challenge. unfortunately, mr. speaker, many of the young people that are growing up and participating in this are going to find they're going to grow up in a ve

i would also like to thank ranking member, conman mckeon, and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, for their bipartisan support of this very important legislation. i'd also like to recognize and express my gratitude for the endorsements of the national parent-teacher association, the national education association and the national school boards association for this important bill. phylicia's law bears the name of a young woman from my district who was taken from us much too soon. phylicia moore was an 18-year-old high school student from new jersey who died in april, 2007, while on a school-sponsored trip to ghana. today, however, is not about the past. we're here to talk about the future. and what we can do to help ensure that no more parents endure what douglas and lola moore have gone through. it is the culmination of the moore's hard work and dedication to their daughter and her memory and their desire that no other parent suffer as they have that brings us to this moment on the floor of the united states house of representatives.