it does not have to be what mr. bill is proposing, but ignoring the issue is not productive to either, so we are going to have that discussion, and all of you in one capacity or another will be involved, especially those of you who are on regional entities at this point. it is an overdue discussion, and we are committed to having it and being as constructive as we can so we can present a solution to the legislature. that is on that issue. the other thing i wanted to mention was there has been a flurry of activity at the federal level on the issue of the reauthorization of the six- year transportation act. and congressman mike, who is the chair of the house transportation infrastructure committee, is putting out full press court on the idea of a new bill, a new act, although we have not seen all the details. but let me tell you, i will reiterate my prediction that we are not going to have a surface transportation act approved by congress probably until after the presidential elections because the republican side of the ai

mr. speaker, the bill introduced by mr. hannah would designate the united states postal service located at 67 castle street in geneva, new york, as the corporal steven blaine riccione post office. it is co-sponsored by all the members of the new york delegation. with that i'd like to yield time to mr. hanna, the gentleman from new york, such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hanna: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise in strong support of h.r. 2244 which designates a post office in geneva, new york, as the general steven blaine riccione post office. i introduced this legislation to extend the long overdue recognition to a national hero from the 24th congressional district. corporal steven riccione was a native of geneva, new york. he was a geneva high school graduate who volunteered to join the army in 1967 during the vietnam war. while on search and destroy mission with his platoon in vietnam, corporal riccione came under intense enemy fire and became pinne

certainly it is impossible in the existing bill, mr. duffy's bill which brings the standard down more in line of protecting community banks and credit unions and other institutions on main street and the consumers that so rely on them, that i think really this amendment just further complicates places in jeopardy, i think -- makes it more cumbersome, more impossible to meet a standard where the fsoc would be able to oversee a certain rule and regulation so i would oppose. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserve? mrs. capito: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from north carolina. mr. miller: how much time do i have remaining? the chair: one minute. mr. miller: one of the changes that does president sound like it does much but it does when you change the word from may to shall. it not only can this fsoc overturn a rule when they think it might affect the safety and soundness of the system, they have to overturn it. they have to overturn it if they think it will put a specific bank out of business. that's not a small change or a h

ok mishi go ahead reply to that ok ok first of all there are some tenuous connections to go with mr bill with mr enlarge missed on a lot of each was in fact a general within of it jamie the yugoslav national army which when it broke up in the conflicts of the civil war in bosnia actually became commander awfully forces of the bosnian serbs into a conflict but i have to say this although i know that people always want to involve belgrade it is not going to negotiate on his i am sorry allow me i have my mission to continue doing my case i will not be interrupting you all the time the international court of justice has stated that serbia has not been involved in the in the case of srebrenica there is another issue in the trial of mr milosevic the prosecution which also claims that belgrade and handsomest going to last which were involved in the creation of greater serbia in boston or actually dropped officially the case of greater serbia they they dropped it i can give you that space at the precise date it was the twenty fifth of august two thousand and five when this was done so we have he

mr. broun, was pending. and the bill had been read through page 10 , line 8. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments which further proceedings were postponed in the following order. amendment by mrs. blackburn of tennessee. amendment by ms. richardson of california. first amendment by mr. lankford of oklahoma. amendment by mr. gosar of arizona. a second amendment by mr. lankford of oklahoma. amendment number 14, mr. broun of georgia. and amendment by mr. walberg of michigan. the chair will reduce to five minutes the time for any electronic vote after the first vote in this series. the unfinished business is the request for recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. blackburn, on which further proceedings were postponed and o on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mrs. blackburn of tennessee. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for recorded vote will rise and be count

i respectfully oppose the bill. mr. miller and i or recommended -- recommending that an amendment is not filed because the bill is fundamentally flawed. >> that you very much for that, mr. andrews. we had the benefit of the office of legislation, mr. scott. you are welcome to say anything. >> thank you very much. thank you for taking up this bill and giving it board. i look for to see the debate on the house floor tomorrow. i keep hearing these words used danite really need help defining as a common man without a law degree. perhaps you can help me with the definition. the word "restoration." >> if you would, one of the remedies if the violation is proven in court would be to enjoin -- stop the transfer of work from one place to another. whether the facts of this case support that or not -- boeing would say they have already moved the work so it cannot be restored. there is a legal process. >> i just want to know the definition of the word "transfer." not the overall complications of the case itself. >> the word "transfe

bill. man from california rise seek recognition? mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2693, to cut spending, maintain existing commitnts and for other purposes, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2693, a bill to cut spending, maintain existing commitments and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusts rise? >> parliamentary inquiry, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the gentleman has the right to be heard. the gentleman from massachusetts will state his inquiry. mr. mcgovern: mr. spear, is it true that a bill considered under suspension of the rules denies the minority party the right to offer any amendments or even a motion to recommit? the speaker pro tempore: a motion to suspend is not liable to amendment on the floor. mr. mcgovern: further parliamentary inquiry, meerks. the spe

bill: no, they don't like it. what do you mean they don't like it? all right mr. wolchek i am a member of a union. >> so am i. >> bill: a lot of our union members are stoned pretty much all the time but we never see them get that way. all right. >> i will catch them. if you know where they are at i will catch them, bill? >> bill: give you the home address. you hang right in. >> all right. >> marco rubio's cbs appearance yesterday was smashing in more ways than one. you go next if you had a hoveround power chair? the statue of liberty? the grand canyon? it's all possible with a hoveround. tom: hi i'm tom kruse, inventor and founder of hoveround. when we say you're free to see the world, we mean it. call today and get a free hoveround information kit that includes a video and full color brochure. dennis celorie: "it's by far the best chair i've ever owned." terri: "last year, 9 out of 10 people got their hoveround for little or no money." jim plunkitt: "no cost. absolutely no cost to me." breaking news...when you call today, we'll include a free hoveround collapsible

if your bill were brought up under this procedure, yourill would have lost last night. mr. speaker, the only bill we should consider on the house floor is one that has been agreed to by the house and senate leaders and the president of the united states. so why are we doing this today? let's be honest, you're doing it to score some cheap political points. i would like to remind the speaker of the househat he's the speaker of not just the republican party but that he's the speaker of the whole house. now is a time to bring us together, nottary us apart -- not tear us apart. maybe the reid bill is the one that can unite us because it achieves tremendous savings without decimating medicare, dicaid and social security. ut, mr. speaker, to bring it up under this process is cynical and it demeans the house of representatis. i would say to the republican leaderip, enough political stunts. our country is facing a terrible economic crisis. a crisis that you created and one that you can avoid. but we've run out of time. now is the time for leadership, not bad political theater. now is

prosecution initially did not respond baez. >> bill: give you the fact on june 27th that's eight days -- the discrepancy in the chloroform was discussed with mrbaez. and both he and the prosecution agreed to use the one search. that was eight days. >> bill: bill, if you allow the prosecution to escape scrutiny. >> of the 84 chloroform searches, i was in court for the closing arguments. they relied heavily on the chloroform evidence. >> bill: are you going to say i'm wrong on that. >> i will say the prosecution never corrected the record. i will say contactually that. exactly that. they never corrected the record. their defense is that bradley, reaching out to the prosecution, that his emails and telephone calls to them were quote, unquote. misdirected. >> bill: unintended consequence that's geraldo rivera are sympathetic to casey anthony. >> as i said on this program i'm sympathetic to the justifiable. >> bill: do you believe the jury is sympathetic to her. >> i have said that her behavior was reprehensible. i have said that it is probable that she had something to do with the death of that child, whether by accident or by other own. i'm symp

mr. bill young, from florida. bill, tell us what the program will do to our military. >> you have done that very well. i apologize for being late. my comments will be very, very brief. the general and i worked together since before we became chairman in this congress. we are determined to provide on the national defense. but we will make savings where we can. this year, in cooperation with the chairman, the defense appropriations subcommittee reduced hr1, last year's defense appropriations bill, by $18 billion. the bill that we just passed in the house for fiscal 12 was reduced by $18 billion. we are working to save what we can, and we made very sure not to make reductions that would affect the readiness or anyone serving in our military. a commitment that we have and a commitment that we will keep. part of it will be voting against the proposal. one final comment. our investment in our nation's defense and the men and women that wear the uniform and provide the nation's defense, it should not be some magic politic

if you vote for this bill, mr. speaker, please tell me that you are willing to make the hard choices about the budget for the good of the nation's. we have made the easy choices. this bill cuts members' day to day ability to effectively represent constituents while leaving all of the perks of office unch touched -- untouched. i strongly urge a no vote on both the rule and the bill. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis, yields back his time. the gentlewoman from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. i don't think members of congress should be extravagant in their spending in any way whatsoever, but i think it's up to the voters to hold those members responsible for what they do. if there is a member that's leasing a car, that's paying an exorbitant amount of money, the voters should turn that person out if they think they are wasting their money. i would certainly think that person's wasting his or her money. that's up to th

bill: no, they don't like it. what do you mean they don't like it? all right mr. union. >> so am i. >> bill: a lot of our union members are stoned pretty much all the time but we never see them get that way. all right. >> i will catch them. if you know where they are at i will catch them, bill? >> bill: give you the home address. you hang right in. >> all right. >> marco rubio's cbs appearance yesterday was smashing in more ways than one. bernie is next. you could save a bundle with geico's multi-policy discount. geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. ♪ geico, saving people money on more than just car insurance. >> thanks for staying with us. i'm bill o'reilly in the weekdays with bernie segment tonight, as we told you in the talking points memo marco rubio did very well yesterday on the cbs program face the nation. >> aren't you going to have to concede though senator, that maybe the previous administration might have had a little something to do with bad economy that the president inherited when he came into office? >> where is the president

bill. i do appreciate his efforts, mr. simpson's efforts particularly, and mr. cole's to protect funding for american indian programs. i only wish that that protection could have extended to other important portions of this bill. but as bad as the funding in this bill is, what is most disappointing is the scope and extent to which the majority has filled this bill with extremist legislative riders and funding limitations. the bill is short on needed funds and long on anti-environmental riders. h.r. 2584 is not so much a spending bill as a wish list for special interests. oil companies, cattle grazers, industrial agribusiness, miners, and those who wish to pollute our air and water for greater profit all have their special provisions tucked away into this bill. it is a dump truck of provisions for special interests. in addition, this bill picks up where h.r. 1 left off. and includes dozens of deep cuts in conservation and environmental protection programs, while the extractive or consumptive uses of our public lands are shielded from cuts and given a pass from com

mr. dreier: well, i'll yield additional time if i need it. where in this bill can he point to where cuts in medicare are going to take place? and i thank my friend for yielding. i've gone through it. mr. scott: you know perfectly well, mr. dreier, that the announced cuts in this bill and the setting up with this commission and also your party has already set a record on a roll -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia controls the time. mr. scott: let me go back and i want to answer your question, but it's very important, mr. speaker, that we also understand that the other dangerous part about this bill is that in six months we will be right back here again which will add greater instability to the markets and further undermine our credibility rating. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i yield myself 15 seconds simply to say to my friend there are exemptions in this bill to ensure that social security and medicare are not touched, and we need to remember that. when it comes to this sequestration process that it's not touched. and for those who are saying tha

bill. the chair: without objection. >> mr. chairman, i object. the chair: the clerk will continue to read. the clerk: at the end of the bill, before the short title, insert the following, section, the amount otherwise made available by this act will -- for operation and maintenance, environmental restoration, formally used defensewise is hereby reduced and increased by $1 million. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. ms. norton: mr. speaker, more than 25 years ago the congress charged the defense department to identify and then clean up and remediate properties which the department had owned or at least in order to test -- or leased in order to test chemical munitions. congress did so because these munitions had left hazardous substances related to the work of the department, there are more than 2,000 such sites in nearly every state, all the territories and in the district of columbia. my concern is with the areas of those sites in congested residential parts of our country where there may be dense populations. and there are

bill: no, they don't like it. what do you mean they don't like it? all right mr. member of a union. >> so am i. >> bill: a lot of our union members are stoned pretty much all the time but we never see them get that way. all right. >> i will catch them. if you know where they are at i will catch them, bill? >> bill: give you the home address. you hang right in. >> all right. >> marco rubio's cbs appearance yesterday was smashing in more ways than one. bernie is next. [ male announcer ] every day, thousands of people are switching from tylenol to advil. here's one story. i'm sean. i switched to advil 10 months ago. cyclists are a crazy bunch. when you're out there trying to push to your limits, you have some pain and it can be really vicious. i really like advil because it takes care of it all. neck, shoulder pain and definitely with cycling, lower back pain. i switched to advil and i've stuck with it. it works when i need it to. [ male announcer ] make the switch. take action. take advil. the two trains and a bus rider. the "i'll sleep when it's done" academic. for

mr. chairman, to support this amendment and make it a part of the underlying bill. and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut rise? the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i join my friend from new hampshire as one of the co-sponsors of this amendment and i urge house passage. mr. murphy: mr. chairman, let me say at the outset that this is a terrible bill. this is the first time that i've come to the house floor to speak on it. and it goes without saying that the devastation that this underlying legislation would do to our frankly century-long history of environmental protection is almost inscribeble. the league of conservation voters said simply this, that this bill is the biggest assault on the air we breathe, the water we drink and the wildlife and wild places we hold dear to ever come before congress. it rolls back new vehicle emission standards, it guts the clean water act, it defunds the endangered species act. and in the middle of it all it adds an 80% cut to the land and water c

mr. speaker, two months ago we had a bill on the floor where we did away with all of these loopholes and reformed the tax codes. mr. duffy: and they did nothing to support that reform. and now they demagogue our plan again. we hear about sending jobs overseas, well, jobs are going overseas because we're taxing our businesses too much. when you tax them too much, they go other places and when they go other places like china, india, mexico, vietnam, they take our jobs with them. i've heard a lot about medicare. the only party in this house who has cut medicare is the democrat party. $500 billion out of medicare in an ipab bill that is going to ration care for our seniors. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair would remind members to heed the gavel. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: mr. speaker, i would urge my colleagues to look at the congressional budget office analysis of the impact of the republican budget on senior citizens on medicare. essentially what they do is give seniors a raw deal compared to what members of congress get themselves. anda raw deal in a big w

bill? i yield. mr. cantor: i thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, i'd say back to the gentleman that the bill is currently being drafted and will be posted online later this evening. consistent with our three-deleover requirement. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for his comment. given the fact that this is, as the gentleman pointed out, this crisis has been known for us for over five, six months now that we were going to confront this. i understand that in the cut, cap and balance pledge that has been future forward -- i don't know whether it's going to be put forward in the legislation -- but the pledge says that your side or the people -- excuse me -- people who signed the pledge, whatever side they're on, are going to oppose any debt limit increase unless all three of the following conditions had been met. one, cut substantial cuts in spending that would reduce the deficit next year and thereafter. seems to me that we passed a budget through this house that does that. it doesn't reach balance, of course, until some 30 years

mr. thompson: i ask that we do it in the authorizing bill. mr. hastings: i agree with you, i said that in my opening remark the gentleman from washington said that as well and i agree. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> i rise to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> i'm here to rise in support of the dicks-fitzpatrick amendment. i voted for this same language a few weeks ago and i heard, we all heard compelling arguments here tonight about some challenges with the endangered species act and as has been previously stated by mr. thompson and a few others here tonight, i agree with those who said the proper venue for this is in the authorizing committee and i have great confidence in chairman hastings that he would take a thoughtful and sincere look at the act to make reforms and i think many people would agree they're needed but i don't think this is the right place to do it. mr. dent: and again, i support the underlying bill. i thi

mr. guinta: i rise to support the bill before us, the budget control act of 2011. mr. speaker, this is about leadership and ability and willingness of this body to do something right, not for partisan purposes but for spending reductions and for the country. i hear from the other side that they are concerned about this component and that component, but what i don't see is a plan and a solution. we have not put one, but two different proposals, the one i co-sponsored cut, cap and balance is the most appropriate way to move forward, but the senate has decided they don't want to take up th piece of leglation, so we are here to compromise and work with the other side of the aisle to get something accomplished on behalf of real structural change in h we spend taxpayer dollars, other people's money. i to an oath to make sure i uphold the constitution. i also will make sure that i represent new hampshire in the manner in which they would like me to represent them. and i contend that they would like us to reduce expenditures, reduce our debt, reduce our deficit and this bill d

. >> we have brought in none other than mr. bill hennessey, an expert. he has brought us images from some of the high profile cases in recent history. >> thank you for having me. i appreciate the question. >> we want to get to the bottom of it. what happens to the courtroom trawgz. >> i own the courtroom drawings. i have them going back about 30 years. i have abeen doing this for just about 30 years. and the television buys the right to air them. the ownership of the drawing remains with me. i have them. it is about 5,000 drawings i've estimated if you can believe it stored in my studio. some have been purchase-worthy. lawyer or someone who appreciates the subject matter has collected them so they've purchased the drawing outright. but otherwise, i have them. >> you answered the question. the other question is do you get paid for your work. do you get paid from the people who air them or the attorney who purchase them. have you ever had any individuals who has wanted to buy your artwork. >> i have had several people purchase. it used to be a daily situat

bill. i yield back. mr. richmond: mr. chairman, in closing, i would say this is another one of my small attempts to make an awful bill just a little bit better. i urge my colleagues to support the amendment and i yield back. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> to strike the last word in opposition to the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. latourette: i rise in opposition to this amendment. we indicated the account is already cut below the fiscal year 2011 level and $15.5 billion below the president's request. in addition, this time the president attempts to reach the secretary's account and wants to reduce it by $6.8 million. that account, nobody likes to stand up for bureaucrats or secretaries around here that account has been cut by $33.5 million. any further reductions could impede the new office of natural resource revenue which collects the revenues for on and offshore oil and gas production which i know is so important to our friends in america. for those reason, not

>> the bill has not been amended. excuse me, mr. speaker, the bill has been amended as filed. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. boustany, and the gentleman from washington, mr. mcdermott, will each control 20 minutes. the house will be in order. the chair recognizes the gentleman from louisiana. mr. boustany: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield such time as i might consume. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. mr. boustany: mr. speaker, as an original co-sponsor of this bill, i rise in strong support of h.j.res. 66 which would continue the imposition of sanctions against the repressive regime in burma for another year. the purpose of imposing sanctions against burma is to promote democracy and respect for human rights and improve living conditions for the burmese people. unfortunately the ruling giunta is zill dedicating to working against

mr. speaker. this bill, againing while we appreciate the open amendment process, will need an open amendment process to correct because it's so highly flawed in its current form. it serves as a series of anti-public interest riders, overriding the clean water act and putting burdens on local communities. it requires the corps of engineers to avoid working on levees. a large percentage of people receive water from bodies of water that would be affected by this bill. unconventional shale gas has been expanding into new areas at a breakneck pace and accompanied by growing health and pollution problems experienced by residents and communities when the drilling is taking place in close proximity. its growth is outpacing current safeguards and gives too much isolation. i have great concerns that the committee felt the immediate to interfear in a mansed advisory panel with the aim of silencing public voices with the priority of protecting the industry above all else. this legislation shes us whose side they are on

mr. woodall's bill. if somebody comes in and is able to get an expenditure that we decide that's unnecessary, eliminate it for the purpose of deficit reduction. if you have some special interest that comes to congress and says, ok, give me a special interest tax break, our view is you should be able to eliminate that and reduce the deficit. the view that you have put forth in the republican budget is if someone comes in here and gets that special tax break, the only way you will get rid of it, the only way, is not for the purpose of deficit reduction but by reducing the rate. and that's where the inconsistency is. because if there's a tax expenditure that is not justifiable on the merits, and some have policy justification, then why not just get rid of it for the purpose of deficit reduction and what we all see as our common goal to try and reduce the burden on our children and grandchildren? >> and to follow up, i will yield to the gentleman from georgia. i will pose the question to him which is -- also

first, mr. bill. >> ♪ >> laura: hi, everyone, i'm laura ingraham in tonight for bill o'reilly.hanks for watching us. on this very dramatic night in washington, d.c., we'll be on all the details. bill is in los angeles, but he is going to be with us in just a moment. here in the nation's capital today, all this back door wheeling and dealing as the house leadership tries to corral 216 votes to support speaker john boehner's debt ceiling plan. the vote has been delayed and if anybody's guess if there will be a vote tonight. though house majority leader eric cantor's office says it's going to happen. joining me now is fox news chief white house correspondent of course ed henry and washington correspondent james rosen. great to see both of you. let's start with you, ed, you are right at the white house. i imagine they are following every detail here. tell us what the latest is from your vantage point. >> well, they are watching the drama like the rest of us, you are right. to some extent the white house believes that what's playing out on capitol hill is moot because they believe e

like kevin mccarthy who you had here and i think that the challenge has been for the old bulls, mr. bill kristol being one of them, who says i'm going to change everything right now and put the economy at risk. it is because they sense republicans are being blame and could be given responsibility for the economic troubles of the country. the economic troubles that republicans want to foist on president obama in the course of the 2012 election. >> well, they should voice those on president obama as they pursued the policy with a democratic congress for two years and they haven't worked. the economy is slowing. weren't the policies supposed to lead to healthy rebound, not slowing rebound? >> bret: speaking of that, gdp friday was 1.3% for the quarter. but more telling was perhaps the revision of previous quarters there you see, .4% for q-1. and that is a telling graph. you heard gene sperling trying to talk about that. >> what struck me about what mr. sperling said also is he seems confident that once you got the debt ceiling cloud removed, the economy would really pick up. i hope it does

if your bill were brought up under this procedure, your bill would have lost last night. mr. speaker, the only bill we should consider on the house floor is one that has been agreed to by the house and senate leaders and the president of the united states. so why are we doing this today? let's be honest, you're doing it to score some cheap political points. i would like to remind the speaker of the house that he's the speaker of not just the republican party but that he's the speaker of the whole house. now is a time to bring us together, nottary us apart -- not tear us apart. maybe the reid bill is the one that can unite us because it achieves tremendous savings without decimating medicare, medicaid and social security. but, mr. speaker, to bring it up under this process is cynical and it demeans the house of representatives. i would say to the republican leadership, enough political stunts. our country is facing a terrible economic crisis. a crisis that you created and one that you can avoid. but we've run out of time. now is the time for leadership, not bad political theate

so this bill, mr. chairman, is not about whether any member in this institution supports the ends that the e.p.a. is trying to reach. it is about whether or not we believe that we should be allowed to use any means to reach those ends and i do not believe they should. there are plenty of members on this floor today who believe that the intentions of the e.p.a. with respect to its mission to ensure clean water are noble. i put myself in that category. but we all have to worry when an agency goes to such lention to circumvent the congress -- lengths to circumvent the congress and the rule making process so as to impose its own agenda. because after the next election or the election after that or the election after that some future e.p.a. may not have such noble intentions. and if we fail to stand up today we will suffer the consequences of our inaction later. this bill is about transparency, it does not tell the e.p.a. they cannot affect improvements in water quality. it says that they cannot do it witho

mr. president, the american people are waiting and watching. i hope we pass this bill. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: mr. president, thank you very much. i rise to address this issue of the debt limit and how we are going to go forward, and i think it's important, given the conversation that i have been hearing this morning, to understand some of the key features that are under discussion. the first is that the -- the plan that came from the house last night, the boehner plan, it requires the second half of the debt ceiling to be lifted only if a balanced budget amendment is passed and sent out to the states. in other words, it puts a two-thirds vote of each chamber basically on the process six months from now. what that does is it says to our nation that we are going to be in continuous debate over this issue the next six months, facing a two-thirds vote that's very unlikely to happen, so this crisis is going to not end, not on august 2, not on august 3, not on august 4, not for six m

mr. speaker, once again i stand in strong opposition to this closed rule and to the underlying bill. it's time for a grownup moment, mr. speaker. it's time for the members of the house, republican and democrat, to come together to address the looming crisis over the debt limit. we are exactly two weeks, two weeks away from the possibility of the united states defaulting on its obligations of not paying its bills. this is not an acceptable outcome. i know that there are some on the other side of the aisle, in fact i talked to one just this morning who will not vote nor figure that raises the debt ceiling. that's unfortunate. default would result in collapsing markets and skyrocketing interest rates. it would deal a devastating blow to the full faith and credit of the united states, it would throw even more americans out of work. the bill before us does nothing, nothing to prevent that outcome. slashing medicare and social security while protecting tax cuts for the wealthy is not a responsible shution. i think the american people have made it clear in poll after poll after poll. they ha

mr. guinta: i rise to support the bill before us, the budget control act of 2011. mr. speaker, this is about leadership and ability and willingness of this body to do something right, not for partisan purposes but for spending reductions and for the country. i hear from the other side that they are concerned about this component and that component, but what i don't see is a plan and a solution. we have not put one, but two different proposals, the one i co-sponsored cut, cap and balance is the most appropriate way to move forward, but the senate has decided they don't want to take up that piece of legislation, so we are here to compromise and work with the other side of the aisle to get something accomplished on behalf of real structural change in how we spend taxpayer dollars, other people's money. i took an oath to make sure i uphold the constitution. i also will make sure that i represent new hampshire in the manner in which they would like me to represent them. and i contend that they would like us to reduce expenditures, reduce our debt, reduce our deficit and thi

both delegations to postpone the debate so we can focus on timely passage of this appropriations bill. mr. president, i also thank the subcommittee staff who do the heavy lifting and the drafting and managing of the bill on the floor. as i have said many times, this is a good bill. it is bipartisan, and it is responsible. i urge all of my colleagues to support it. mr. kirk: i want to thank dave schiapo on the floor for guiding this, vice chairman cochran and his staff director bruce evans. i want to thank tina reference evans, dennis balkam and patrick magnuson who brought this first appropriations bill of this congress through. with that i thank the chair. mr. johnson: i ask for the yeas and nays on this bill. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: does any senator still wish to vote? if not, on this vote, the yeas are 97, the nays are 2 and the bill, as amended, is passed. the senate insists on its amendment and requests a conference with the house on the disagre

mr. chairman, i oppose the bill and urge others to do it and yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from minnesota. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. ms. mccollum: i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6, rule 18, further proceedings offered by the women from the the gentlewoman from minnesota will be postponed. the chair: does the the gentlewoman from seek recognition? ms. mccollum: just to be clear, the parliamentary said we have two amendments left and this deals with nascar. the clerk: the clerk: amendment offered by mismccollum. before the short title add the following new section, section not more than $20 million of the funds made available by this act may be used to pay motor sports drivers, racing teams or racing cars in the national association for stock car auto race car, the national hot rod association, the indie racing league, indie car series or the motor cycle association or otherwise conduct recruiting outreach under the authority of 561-b of

bill. especially, ms. waters, mrs. capito, mr. garrett, mr. dold, mr. stivers who are original co-sponsors of this bipartisan bill. i urge my colleagues to support the rule for h.r. 1309 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'd like to yield four minutes to the gentlewoman from california, ms. matsui. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for four minutes. ms. matsui: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1309, the national flood insurance reform act of 2011. a full five-year re-authorization of the program is critically important for our nation. i want to thank and commend chairwoman biggert and ranking member waters for their leadership on this issue. ushering in a five-year re-authorization will provide welcomed relief for those who live in our country's floodplains. i thank chairwoman biggert for including language from my own, h.r. 902, legislati

mr. duffy: the harry reid bill is full of -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. duffy: budget gimmicks which doesn't get the job done. the speaker pro tempore: who claims time? the house will be in order. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: thank you very much, madam speaker. at this time i'm happy to yield 30 second to the gentleman from mississippi mr. pa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. palazzo: the american people expect us to lead during times of crisis. house republicans have led. house republicans have provided plans and solutions to america's debt crisis. house republicans have used their voice as representatives of their district to end the deficit crisis and to balance a budget. we've done our job. it's time a the senate does theirs. leader reid and president obama is what stands in the way of helping this debt crisis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. palazzo: vote no on the reid plan. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to

mr. chairman. i'd like to recognize the author of the bill, mr. duffy of wisconsin, for five minutes and thank him for his hard work on this issue. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. duffy: thank you, mr. chairman. and i want to take a moment and thank chairman bachus and chairwoman capito for their hard work on this legislation and for their job to make sure thathis bill came to the floor today. you know, all of us in this house agree that we want consumer protections where any one of our friends or family members, our neighbors and our constituents, when they deal with the financial institution, they're dealt with in a fair way and in a transparent way. our reform here to the cfpb does exactly that. i want to talk about a couple of components of this bill. one is, we are moving this from a director to a bipartisan commission. i think it's important to note that my friends on the other side of the aisle, when they first crafted this bill, they included a bipartisan commission and the president when he talked about this b

mr. duffy: the harry reid bill is full of -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. duffy: budget gimmicks which doesn't get the job done. the speaker pro tempore: who claims time? the house will be in order. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: thank you very much, madam speaker. at this time i'm happy to yield 30 second to the gentleman from mississippi mr. pa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. palazzo: the american people expect us to lead during times of crisi house republicans have led. house republicans have provided plans and solutions to america's debt crisis. house republicans have used their voice as representatives of their district to end the deficit crisis and to balance a budget. we've done our job. it's time a the senate does theirs. leader reid and president obama is what stands in the way of helping this debt crisis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. palazzo: vote no on the reid plan. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to i

mr. duffy: the harry reid bill is full of -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. duff: budget gimmicks which doesn't get the job done. the speaker pro tempore: who claims time? the house will be in order. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: thank you very much, madam speaker. at this time i'm happy to yield 30 second to the gentleman from mississippi mr. pa. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. palazzo: the american people expect us to lead during times of cris. house republicans have led. house republicans have provided plans and solutions to america's debt crisis. house republicans have used their voice as representatives of their district to end the deficit crisis and to balance a budget. we've done our job. it's time a the senate does theirs. leader reid and president obama is what stands in the way of helping this debt crisis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. palazzo: vote no on the reid plan. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to in

mr. whitfield: madam chair, at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to the author of the bill, mr. terry. the chair: the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for two minutes. mr. terry: thank you, madam chair. this bill is simple but the ramifications may be significant. let me set the record straight. i want to get off opec oil. receiving as much as 700,000 barrels of oil from our northern neighbor, canada, makes us more energy secure, more energy independent. the application for this pipeline, an efficient way to move oil from one to the part, we are shy of three-year anniversary which normally it's 18 months, 24 months to have something like this approved. now, this bill sets a hard date of november 1, 2011, for the president to make a determination of national interest on this pipeline. let me repeat. all we're asking is that the president make his decision by november 2. enough time has passed. now, what do we see if this project moves forward? it will be a $13 billion construction project privately funded. it will create at least 20,000 direct high-paying labor construction

mr. chairman, i have a bill at the desk. the chair: the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 417, a bill to amend the energy conservation act and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. barton, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. markey, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. barton: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks in this legislation and insert extraneous material on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, ordered. mr. barton: i yield myself -- first -- i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. barton: i want to recognize my special assistant this week, junge jack kevin barton, my grandson, he's going to help with the congressional softball game this evening. we're glad to have him on the floor with us. we're here today because of some