page 161, line 12 -- ms. lee: now may i ask for unanimous consent that the amendment be considered as read? the chair: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much, mr. chairman. i also once again thank chairman rogers and ranking member dicks and my colleagues on the appropriations committee for their hard work on this bill. let me also thank my colleagues who are joining representative jones and me on this bipartisan amendment, representatives woolsey, olver, honda, grijalva and paul. i rise to offer the lee-jones amendment to redirect the $5 billion of the overseas contingency operations transfer fund into a deficit reduction account. this amendment does nothing to undermine the efforts that our service men and women have performed with incredible courage. also with extreme commitment they performed in afghanistan and iraq and around the world. they've done everything asked of them and as the daughter of a military veteran, i take any matter that affects our t

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise to oppose the epidemic across america dealing with voter suppression and requiring voter i.d. do you realize that almost every election in my own state of texas there has been discrimination, intimidation to voters? whereas we used to be able to use a birth certificate, utility bill, government check, paycheck, and other documents, now we cannot because someone suggests that someone will steal someone's birth certificate to impersonate a voter. i don't think that's right. what we need now is to eliminate the poll tax of the 21st century. barbara jordan recognized that voting is a right not a privilege. and she stood in the gap to ensure texas was covered by the voting rights act. she would not be here today if we had the voter intimidation that we are seeing going across america. eliminate the voter i.d. requirement. put in the standard requirement of identification that people have had and stop seniors and others from voting. with that, mr. speaker, i would like to yield to mr

ms. sheila jackson lee of texas for today after 6:00 prime minister and friday, july 8. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. ms. foxx: mr. speaker. i make the motion that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is now on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. accordingly the house stands adjourned until 9:00 a.m. the president said it was a very constructive meeting but suggested the two sides were still far apart on how to reduce the debt. we will hear from the president next, followed by nancy pelosi. the british tabloid newspaper announced today it would shut down operations this weekend. following allegations that the publication hacked into the cell phone of crime victims. after that, at a hearing on pending treat -- free trade agreements. >> think how privileged we are to serve here and to have the most interesting legal issues of our times come to this court. >> today mark the 30th anniversary of president reagan's nomination of sandra day

ms. jackson lee, is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i thank the good intentions of the gentleman, and i am concerned of the interpretation. let me just share with you very briefly my own state. in my own state i am aware of how tributaries can impact the body of water they flow into it. currently there is a dead zone where marine life cannot survive in the gulf of mexico. this dead zone estimated to reach 9,421 square miles is due to increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus that wash into the gulf and other tributaries. this prevents the e.p.a. from regulating criteria for pollutants that cause dead zones. we are the protectors of america's assets. it's waterways, the drinking water, it's the ability to have the ability to have clean water for our fish and for fishing. i ask you to let's go back to the drawing boards. if we have starts that are already participating, let's demand in an administrative process for e.p.a. to restrain itself, but let's not take away the underlying power that is going to allow us to have clea

ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 358, the gentlewoman from texas, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: my friends are back again and i'm reminded of my colleague, congresswoman couplings who mentioned the -- cummings who mentioned the amount of for example that our constituents experienced. the consumer financial protection bureau, let me make it clear, it makes prices clear, terms and conditions clear and ensures that mortgage disclosures are short and understandable by consumers, lenders and military families and helps consumers understand the true cause of a financial transaction. it acts like a cop on the beat for our consumers the financial stability oversight board has a role to review the action. let me tell you what this bill has just done. in the dodd-frank bill it has been a timed review to take place. if you are hanging with a bad foreclosure or some bad action, this oversight board can review

the clerk: amendment 2 offered by ms. lee of california. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device and this will be a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the chair: on this question, the ayes are 114 and the no's are 314. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for recorded vote on amendment number 41 printed in the congressional record offered by the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, on which further proceedings were postponed and prevails by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 41 printed in t

ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. the gentlelady may proceed. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i just heard celebration just a few minutes ago regarding the passage of the cap, cut and balance that really should be named the tap dance, establishing the loser' club for americans and busting of benefits for americans bill, because what we are doing is tap dancing around the responsibility of this congress to, in fact, raise the debt limit as we have done hundreds -- not hundreds, but 60 times but of course we are establishing losers by the very fact that interest rates will go up, medicare will be gone and chamber of commerce and hundreds of businesses will, in fact, be begging for us to lift the debt ceiling. but more importantly, we will cause america's lack of paying her bills to hurt businesses and let me introduce you to the losers now that this bill has passed, welcome to the losers, soldiers, grandparents, mothers and fathers who are back here in this country whi

ms. sheila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much. the chair: the gentlelady from texas is recognized -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: thank you. as a member of the homeland security committee, i want to join my colleagues on the judiciary committee, on which i also serve, to note the uniqueness of our time. there's a point that i think is very important about the continuity of the existing f.b.i. director mueller. and that is that we live not only in dangerous times, but we also live in times where resources are being strained. questions are being raised about the resources necessary for law enforcement and certainly a leader who understands the broad needs of the american public and the collaborative needs, collaborating with other law ep forcement, because of past experiences, is very important. mr. mueller in his 110 years has had collaborative efforts with all of the law enforcement, federal law enforcement agencies and has opened up a dialogue between local and state law enforcement agenc

ms. jackson lee. the chair: the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: i thank the chairman and i thank mr. frank and the ranking member and the managers of this legislation as well. and i have become friends with my two poster pictures here, because i do think they symbolize the composite of america. and my amendment, i think, focuses on making sure that the consumer financial protection bureau, something that consumers ask for -- you know sometimes under the christmas tree or during the gift-giving season, you get a gift you may not have asked for but you know you want something and all of a sudden that gift shows up. that's what the dodd-frank bill did with the consumer protection bureau and now they want to derail and delay this very important legislation. the bureau was created and one of the strongest provisions of the dodd-frank bill and was to consolidate the authorities for consumer protection. it is an important bil

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. and i thank the distinguished member of the budget committee as well for the great work that he has been doing. as i listen to my friends discuss this question of being responsible, i want to at least announce breaking news that our friends in the other body have come up with a semi-solution on revenue and on the question of how we would cut. they are seeking to be responsible. and today in this body, we are not. i heard a tutorial about the green light and red light, which as you are a member, green is yes, and no comes up red. what the red will mean is to stop the insanity, to stop the loss of our moral compass, the responsibility to pay our bills. what the red light will mean is that we, in fact, would be not paying the bills of our family. we wouldn't be paying social security. interest rates will spike. the u.s. dollars would decline and our credit would literally go out the door. that's what being without responsibility is what we ar

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i'd like to particularly thank the out of poverty caucus, congresswoman lee, towns, and conyers, honda, and a number of other members who have joined that caucus and all of us who are here on the floor who are members of that caucus. and who believe that this could not be a more important time. a few days ago i got on the floor to rename the cut, cap, and balance legislation that was passed that would cut $6 trillion out of the hearts and needs of the american people. and i called it the tap dance, looser's club, and -- loser's club, and bust the benefits bill because this is not a question of members who are standing here today wanting to recklessly spend your money. in fact, we are excited about opportunities that help boost the middle class. but we want to remind our colleagues that there are americans who are impoverished. do you know that there are americans who are on the frontlines? young soldiers, the ages of 18, 19, 20, and 21 who have come out of places like the

ms. jackson lee: i do not yield back. how much time do i have, please? the chair: 2 1/2 minutes. ms. jackson lee: i will continue and i will not at this time yield back my time. let me explain to you about the old acres council. this is an african american community. they conducted a study to ack assess the community's health risk. a local landfill could be the cause of the problems. enormous cancer in that area. it was awarded a $20,000 grant from the e.p.a. and it is commonly known as the superfund which obviously it was in some years past to conduct tests to conduct assess and aquality the risks to human health. the goal of this program was to investigate whether there were hazardous runoff. this community needed those resources. the council used the grant funds to hire a consultant to take air and water samples. the analysis revealed high concentrations of high toxin substances. they observed substances seep pping. this will collected into pools of water. they became engeorged and increased -- increasing exposures of residents to hazardous substances. it educated a poor community

ms. jackson lee: i have an amendment at the desk noted as 175. ms. jackson lee: amendment number 69, please. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the chair: amendment offered by ms. jackson lee of texas, page nine, line six, after the dollar amount insert, redeuce by $650,000. page nine, line 13, after the dollar amount, insert, increasedly intrs 30,000. after the dollar amount, insert by -- increase by $500,000. the chair: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the chairman and want to express my appreciation to mr. young, who is the chairman of the subcommittee and to mr. dicks, the ranking member, for their long years of service. to my colleagues, good news today. when the announcement came that the president of the united states would send the same sympathy letter to families of those soldiers who committed suicide in battle as those who had fallen in different ways in battle. the reason why that is good news is because the sentence i'm reminded of is that the president and his office indicat

ms. jackson lee of texas. amendment number 3 by mrs. capito of west virginia. amendment number 5 by mr. polis of colorado. amendment number 6 by mr. connolly of virginia. amendment number 9 by mr. blumenauer of oregon. amendment number 10 by mr. carnahan of missouri. amendment number 1 by ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair will reduce to two minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote after the first vote in this series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 2 printed in house report 112-144 by the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 2 printed in house report 112-144 offered by ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will r

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman very much and i'm just overwhelmed with the words breathtakingly ignorant policies. i'm literally shocked and let me tell you why. when you want to understand my republican friends, why we're in the position we're in, what about the 37.5% of the debt being the bush-era tax cuts? tax cuts on which this bill and any of your negotiations don't in any way suggest revenue. which the american people understand. arrogant policies by the president? the recovery and reinvestment was only 5.2%, creating three million jobs. let me say that again. three million jobs. the economic downturn came about with the iraq war and others. so today, my friends come on the floor of the house with the cut, cap and balance. as member of the judiciary committee, let me suggest to you that the amendments that were put in the bill have destroyed any sense of balance to the balanced budget amendment. but -- can i -- mr. mcgovern: i yield an additional one minute. the speaker pro t

ms. anthony's way and benefit from it. check four sheila jackson lee why president obama is having trouble getting a debt deal done. >> i am particularly sensitive to it's fact that only this president, only this one, only this one has received the kind of attacks greementd and inability to work, only this one read between the lines. what is different about this president that should put him in a position that he should not receive the same kind of respectful treatment of when it is necessary to raise the debt limit in order to pay our bills. something required by both statute and the 14th amendment. >> bill: so apparently ms. lee believes it's president's skin color that is holding up a debt agreement. check five our pal gary sinise dedicated his rendition of take me out to the ballgame -- ♪ for it's root, root, root for the -- if they don't win it's a shame for it's 1, 2, 3 strikes you are out at the old ballgame. let's get some runs. >> bill: mr. sinise from the area is a patriot. finally check six the final harry potter movie is a smash. [screams]

ms. jackson lee: to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i do want to thank our appropriators. this is a tough, tough business. i certainly want to thank the ranking member who i have had the privilege of working with and thank the chairman as well because this is a tough dilemma we are facing. i think i come with a very unique perspective. i live in hurricane and flood country. houston is the site and was the recipient of hundreds of thousands of katrina survivors coming in from new orleans. we have faced our own ups and downs, most recently with hurricane ike. i walked the beach with both former president clinton and former president bush when we went down to galveston and looked at the amazing devastation. so many of us who are concerned about the tragedy in diop pin, missouri, and other places -- joplin, missouri, and other places, and i talked to members of congress who there is flooding going on in their district as we speak. here's the dilemma we have and the reason i rise to raise the question of the recapturing of alrea

christensen: i yield my time to sheila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i thank her for her leadership but i wanted to, when i said the bust, i want to equate it to the balanced budget amendment. that is what this cap -- excuse me, cut, cap and balance, it is a balanced budget amendment but let me be very clear because you said something very important. the balanced budget amendment, it was passed, would virtually guarantee that future budgets would cut and end medicare as well as drastically cut medicaid, just like the republican budget. the balanced budget amendment takes 2/3 of the house and senate to pass, it is almost impossible for it to pass and we are not like states where states do balance but they only have to take care of their state. . mrs. christensen: we would never be able to raise revenue, 2/3 of both bodies. ms. jackson lee: in joplin, missouri, the floods, the tornadoes and let me finish on this, we served on homeland security. we have seen the death of mr. karzai's brother, his very close aide. we have seen pakistani police

ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 370, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i'm glad i'm able to rise and speak about legislation that involves one of our closest allies canada. and because this is a relationship with canada and because it is an international issue, i'm assured that in the process, we will have significant oversight that includes the environmental protection agency, the secretaries of defense, commerce, transportation, energy, homeland security and the attorney general will have to comment on this application before the conclusion and the final decision. that is good news. but i also think it's important as we discuss what the potential of this relationship with and the opportunity for oil coming from a friendly neighbor is to be reminded that many of us have said over and over again that we must cease to rely upon foreign oil. in fact, in a senate hearing, when egypt was beginning to in essence e

ms. harper lee hasn't given an interview since 1964, it not be the person who would change her mind. so when i started doing my own documentary, which is about -- i started it about six years ago, i read the novel again, i did a little more reporting, especially about, you know, the summer of 1960 when the novel was published. and i began to see the story i could tell was the story of the novel. not so much the novelist. and the credible impact that the novel had on the civil rights movement, on lives, on careers and on readers to this very day. so that to me seemed to be the story worth telling and that's when i started working on the documentary. >> and sort of tell us how did you arrive at your understanding of the impact that the book has had, particularly on race relations and, you know, the -- so many people cite the book as a reason why they went to law school. why do you think that's true, particularly in light of the fact that atticus lost the case? >> well, i mean, it is true that in the research i've done many people did say that atticus finch is the reason that they went

ms. jackson lee: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: yesterday our republican friends jumped for joy when they passed the draconian bill that would cut $6 trillion and of course jeopardize a lifeline for millions of americans, and that is social security. we have all been referring to a president that is endeared by this whole country, president reagan, in his letter to senator baker said, the nation can ill afford to allow such a result. the risk, cause, the disruptions, and the damage lead me to but one conclusion, the senate must vote to raise the debt ceiling in 1983, when the country was much smaller. but what do we face here? frivolous activity like republican freshmen who are in their manner of efforts show the disrespect for the office of the presidency. one member said, i have a challenge for the president. i dare him. i double dare him to even think about cutting social security. well, you just cut social security as a republican freshman, and i would ask you to respect the office of the presidency. why don't we en

ms. lee: thank you very much for yielding. i rise in opposition to this rule and in opposition to the bill that we will vote on later today. and, yes, the bush economic policies have really now come home to haunt us. it's shameful that the republican party continues to drive -- their drive to plunge our nation into default and our economy over the brink. and the bill that speaker boehner has unveiled today does exactly that. his plan fails to end the threat of default and his plan targets, mind you, targets the programs aimed at america's most vulnerable, our seniors, our children and our low income families for more draconian cuts. and this plan would sign these cuts into the constitution. it would sign these cuts in stone into the constitution. trying to balance the budget on the backs of the poor is morally wrong and it's economically bankrupt. this rule and this bill begins to erode and to dismantle medicare, medicaid and social security and it creates more unemployment, there will be more job loss as a result of this rule

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, madam speaker. and i wish to this morning raise concerns that are international and domestic. i rise today to ask the question when will dr. assad, the president of syria, begin to act in a manner that respects the human dignity of the people of syria? it is a tragedy to watch as the -- to see one country that, one, had hoped would realize that a civilized government respects the dignity of its people. syrian americans are crying out and reaching out to members of congress and leaders across the nation to attack this horrific violence that is occurring in syria. the mutilation of a 13-year-old boy, the slaughter of individuals in the street, and seemingly the absolute arrogance of the president of this nation. many of us have thought that dr. assad, the son of the former president, would recognize that the 21st century does not in any way tolerate the kind of abusive and oppressive leadership that has occurred in the past. and that it is high time for the leadership to be vested in the people. now,

sheila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: thank you for allowing us to really talk about how great america is. i agree with you. and we are not broke. chairman bernanke said, fast, undefined cuts will hamp were the cht economy and -- hamper the economy and he is nonpartisan, as chairman of the federal reserve, so what do we need to do? we need to look at our history. 20 million jobs were created under the democratic presidency of william jefferson clinton and then this president, with the american reinvestment act that we supported, three million jobs. we know how to do this. and what i would say to my friends is that we have the responsibility to be not any party but democrats are here to be for the american people and this weekend democrats will be the ones standing in the gap for the american people. i am proud of that and my last point is, there's no shame in taking care of the vulnerable. the last thing we want to do as we leave this place in these next couple of days with the debt ceiling in place as it shou

ms. lee: thank you very much. let me thank congresswoman christensen for leading this special order tonight. but also thank you for your leadership on behalf of really my constituents and on behalf of the entire country because it's so important that yourself as first vice chair of the congressional black caucus and chairman cleve who are chairs the congressional black caucus continues to be the conscience of the congress and to speak out and sound the alarm about the consequences of possible bad political and policy decisions. so thank you very much for what you are doing. it's so important that these issues be swept from under the rug. and discussed in an open forum. and the debate and the discussion with congressman bobby scott and congresswoman sheila jackson lee was very important to have because i think that the public who are listening to this discussion will understand the history and the background and the technical aspects about this budget that really -- and this deficit reduction plan that the speaker'

the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, for five minutes. ms. lee: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today first of all to pay tribute to a true champion for peace and justice, congresswoman lynn woolsey. her leadership is reflected in the fact that today marks the 400th occasion on which she has spoken on the house floor against the ongoing war in iraq and the war in afghanistan. today is really a landmark, not only because of congresswoman woolsey's outstanding commitment to ending the wars we are engaged in, but also because she's my good friend and she will be retiring at the end of this term. i was truly honored to be by her side when she announced her retirement after 20 years of bold and visionary service in this house and serving her district. it was a bittersweet occasion, but i know she will do wonderful things in the next chapter of her life. congresswoman woolsey should really be commended for being an unparalleled leader and a guiding light, a truly guiding light in congress for peace, for smart security and for justice. madam speaker

ms. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lee: i rise today as a founding co-chair of the 39-member out-of-poverty caucus to talk about the millions of people living in poverty in america. nearly 45 million americans live in poverty and one in five children are growing up in poverty. the recession may be over for big corporations and the superrich, but for far too many americans, the recession is actually a depression. yesterday the out-of-poverty caucus held a press conference with organizations working on the frontlines with low-income and poor people. we heard stories of more homelessness, long lines at food pantries, and the dessprations felt by so many. our nation's unemployment rate remains at an unaccept pli high 9.2%. -- unacceptably high 9.2%. millions of americans who have lost their jobs are finding it harder and harder to find a new one. these new ranks of the long-term unemployed and t

representative jackson lee, we'll go to you and then to representative edwards and we'll be done with our hour. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much for leading us in this discussion. the message should be, albeit we have some concerns we are not broke, we need to fix jobs and investment and we need to save medicare, medicaid and social security. they have not contributed to our debt and we cannot allow seniors to run like bulls to seek medical care in this great and wonderful country. i for one will not stand for it. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. mr. tonko: thank you. representative edwards, and then we'll be through. ms. edwards: i thank the gentleman for bringing us together. i hope what the american people understand is that the democrats in this house are prepared to protect medicare benefits and social security benefits for our seniors and for future generations, that our young people should know that as they enter the work force, because we are going to make sure that they have jobs for the future, that they will be contributing to medicare and social security for futur

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: thank you, very much, mr. speaker. my good friends have come to the floor of the house, good friend just came and offered some solutions and i would say that it's important for members to have ideas and to be able to engage on behalf of the american people. every time we stand in this well, we should be rising to make the lives of the american people, those who have entrusted us to be the holders of the values of this great country, we should be moving on on their behalf. so this morning i'm asking that we get on with it. it's important to be discussing tax reform, but as many of us know, that is a long, protracted process of give and take. and many americans will understand what the payroll tax is all about when they look at the faces of their seniors and themselves, and they know that part of that is social security. and we know for a fact that social security has been a life line for millions of americans and it is solvent, and it's important to know that america is not broke. but the good work of the ways and means