we had to have 2/3 of the members of the house of representatives vote in favor of this bill. and i actively worked with democrats to get this done. as a matter of fact, i even reached out to former speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, and she voted for this bill as well. so i want you and all of the c-span viewers to be encouraged because it can be done. when you can have michele bachmann and nancy pelosi agree together to get a bill done and when you can have michele bachmann and our united states senator, al franken, agree to get something done, you know you've had a good day of compromise. so of course it can happen and i just want to give you and c-span viewers an opportunity to know that we did get it done, and i am just on the cusp of introducing a brand new bipartisan bill. i'm reaching out to democrat co-sponsors first on my bill because this is very important. one thing that we see is that a lot of poor people need to have health care services. they're suffering. but what we discovered in minnesota, there's a stunning amount of fraud going on in medicaid. not medicare.

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 vote the yeas are -- the chair: on this vote the yeas are 136. the nays are 281 and the amendment is not adoipted. the unfinished business is a question for a recorded vote on amendment number 9 printed in the congressional record offered by the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 9 pribted in the congressional record offered by mr. -- printed in the congressional record offered by mr. burgess of texas. the chair: a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with t

we expect that to pass given the lopsided republican majority in the house of representatives. there will be some democrats who will vote for this as well. we'll continue to monitor what's going on on the floor of the house of representatives. never before in the history of the united states has an attorney general of the united states been held in contempt of congress. we'll let you know what's going on on this historic vote. let's go to jack cafferty right now. he's got the cafferty file. jack. >> biggest day they've had in washington in quite some time, isn't it? >> yes, it is. >> all right. the supreme court reminded all of us in an instant this morning what a tremendous impact these nine people can have on the lives of hundreds of millions of americans. and what came as a surprise to many, as you've heard, is that chief justice john roberts, a george w. bush appointee, broke with the conservatives, sided with the court's liberal justice in favor of obama care and the individual mandate. in a way it was curiously refreshing whether you agree with the court's decision or not.

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.]

a live look on the house of representatives floor, with house republicans and a handful of democrats indicating they will support holding the attorney general eric holder in contempt for not turning over documents which center around the gunrunning separation known as "fast and furious." many other democrats have accused the g.o.p. of overstepping its bounds. here are the political arguments from each side. >> attorney general eric holder testified before the house judiciary committee and told me that "tation fast and furious," was flawed and reckless. and that it was probably true more people are going to die. now, isn't that lovely? >> why is the attorney general being so obstinate after months of delay, delay, delay, today is the day of reckoning. all this is an election year witch hunt. the republicans have a dogged determination to discredit and defeat this president at all costs. lane and simple. >>shepard: several democrats have already vowed to walk off the floor and out of the building to protest the vote. last week, the white house asserted executive privilege to keep some

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 speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: eternal god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. as this house adjourns in anticipation of independence day, we ask your special blessing upon our nation. we have many things to be thankful for and ask that you send your spirit that we might continue to live our freedoms with responsibility and integrity. help us to be truly grateful for what we have and generous as well. bless the members of this assembly and their families in the time they have together at home so that when they return they are rested and energized to take on the important work that faces them concerning our economy and national security in today's world. these have been historic days. issues of great importance have been decided in much commentary and argument has ensued. bless our nation and its citizens, especially those whose energy and emotions are stired. with good will, in an abidin

speaker, this is a sad day for the house of representatives. it is an irresponsible day for the house of representatives. it is a day in which the majority party asked us to take an action that has never been taken in the history of america. never once holding a cabinet officer in contempt. of the -- in contempt of the congress. now there have been previous contempt citations. some promoted by democratic committees and some promoted by republican committees. the average time between committee action and consideration on the floor of the house is 87 days. time to reflect on an extraordinarily important action. with consequences beyond the knowledge of anybody sitting here today. now i want to tell the chairman with all due respect, i think this investigation has been extraordinarily superficial. i think the chairman has failed to call witnesses that could in fact give relevant, cogent testimony. -- testimony on the issues to bear. that ought to be done. that is why i will strongly support the motion of the gentleman from michigan, mr. dingell, wh

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 vote the yeas are -- the chair: on this vote the yeas are 154, the nays are 260. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. broun of georgia. 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 record their votes by electronic device. this is 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-captio

so the leadership in the house of representatives would then either have to hire a lawyer or persuadeeral prosecutor to seek the indictment of the attorney general for contempt of congress if he is indicted he would be tried before a judge and jury if federal courthouse where roger clemens was just tried. where his team prosecuted roger clemens he would be a defendant in this courthouse in this criminal prosecution for contempt. >>neil: they can battle over what type of documents they want. the house seems to want everything. and i guess the attorney general said, i will give you synopsis, or, a cursory report not the real dive in the detail stuff. what will satisfy speaker boehner republicans or does this get full-blown and they get every little detail and every e-mail and correspondence? >>judge napolitano: if he is held in con democratic and sentenced to jail, those are two big "if's," he would be incarcerated for this and it has not happened in modern times for the theory being he violate add subpoena from the congress. this is not the kind of incarceration our colleague judith mi

code for the united states house of representatives to 50 copies. hairman of the joint committee on printing, i have been working to cut wasteful printing and the u.s. code is a prime example of what needs to be cut. every six years the united states code is reprinted to incorporate new statutory changes. currently, the 2012 edition of the u.s. code is slated to be printed by g.p.o. in fiscal year 2013. however, the printing and production of the code takes anywhere from 14 to 16 months, guaranteeing that the code is outdated before it even is in print. mr. chairman, my amendment would reduce the house's allotment from 213 to 50 copies. this reduction will ensure the long-term preservation of hard copies in the house while freeing up over 369,000 dollars for f.y. 2013. money that would be better spent modernizing and improving access to legislative information, including the code. the printed copies of the u.s. code in the house are used less each day because of increasingly available, more up-to-date electronic alternatives. is amendment is a simple

the house of representatives has never in our long history held an attorney general in contempt, and i am horrified that you are going forward with this contempt charge when the president of the united states and the administration have invoked executive privilege for the documents sought by the chairman. and the attorney general is being attacked for protecting documents that he is and i just speak strongly in opposition to this action and in opposition to this report. i would like to point out that our committee, the committee on oversight and government reform is supposed to root out problems and find ways to reform how government works. it shouldn't be a political witch hunt against the attorney general of our country and our president in an election year. and what we should be doing is looking at ways we can stop problems from happening again, so my basic question, mr. chairman, is where is the reform? our committee is supposed to be working on government reform and any legitimate investigation must be rooted in finding solutions to problems once they're identified, not just char

heart and great enthusiasm and great patriotism, sent 87 new republican freshmen to the house of representatives new folks. and you know, 38 or 39 of those people had never run for anything before in their life. nothing. united states house of representatives was their very first race because they woke up one day like you and me and they said what the heck is going on, how can i help, and in their district, what that meant was running for the united states house of representatives. so thank you, thank you, thank you for sending folks our way. i want to challenge you to do some things. some of these are easy and some of them are pretty tough. first, i want to challenge you to look for opportunities at every single term. look for opportunities. remember you don't have to be the leader to lead. you don't have to be the leader to lead. second, cheerful persistence. smile. we've got the solutions. we've got right on our side. there's no reason why we need to be down and cynical. it's happiness that we're about because we're about people making certain they can realize their dreams. so embrace the pri

the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on june 3, -- june 7, 2012, at 6:08 p.m. that the senate passed senate 3261, that the senate passed without amendments h.r. 5883, h.r. 5890. with best wished, i am, signed, sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. broun: mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will -- the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report -- mr. broun: a motion at the desk. the clerk: motion to instruct conferees on h.r. 4348 offered by mr. broun of georgia. mr. broun of georgia moves that managers on the part of the house at the conference on the disagreeing votes on the two houses on the senate amendment to the bill h.r. 4348 be instructed to insist on provisions that limit funding out of the highway trust fund, including the mass transit account, for fed

q & a, author james grant with a biography of a man who established majority rule in the house of representatives. his name was thomas reed and he served three terms as speak eer of the house from 1891 to 1991 and again from 1895 to 1899. . >>> james grant, why did you think the public would be interested in reading the book about the life and times of thomas b. reed? >> i had no idea about the public, still don't. i knew i would be delighted to spend three or four years in the company of this wonderful man. when you write a biography it's as if someone comes to live in your home. this person never leaves, has no job, stays for the weekends and you have to learn to live with him or her and it's ever so helpful if you come to like him. instantly i knew that reed and i would be fast friends and i was delighted to welcome him into my house. >> why did you know instantly? >> i came across an essay that was included in barbara tuchman's book on the turn of the 20th century. and it was a -- "proud tower." and in this book reed figured for a chapter. it was a fabulous sketch of this most interesting and

of the united states from 1970 to 1973. before becoming white house council, he was chief minority council to the judiciary committee of the u.s. house of the representatives, an associate deputy attorney general at the u.s. department of justice. his undergraduate studies were at colgate university with majors in english literature and political science followed by a graduate fleship at american university to study government and the presidency. he entered georgetown university law school where he received his gad with honors in 1965. mr. dean recounted his days at the nixon white house in two books "blind ambition" and "lost honor." after retiring, mr. dean retired to best-selling books and lecturing as well as a column pift. he currently writes for justia.com. his books include the rehnquist choice, warren g. harding, worse than watergate. the secret presidency of george w bush, broken government, how republican rule destroyed the legislati legislative, executive and executive branches and pure goldwater. while working on his next book, he continues as a visiting scholar and lecturer at annenberg school of communications and regular contributor on "coun

house is now in session. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on june 27, 2012, at 9:12 a.m. that the senate concurred in the house amendment to the bill senate 3187. with best wishes i am signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 17, 2012, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate . the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes each, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman fr

house of representatives during the period of reconstruction, we are in his study. he has his congressional desk in there. and -- the period of time of reconstruction, where was he on the issues regarding reconstruction? >> it is interesting. my sense is that he was largely a moderate which would have helped to make him provide some bond to the nation. and if they say he was quite successful in taking congress in one of the most difficult times of its history and smoothing a lot of feathers. but he was also an early advocate of black suffrage which i find quite interesting. that would not have been considered a moderate position. and i think that -- myself, my sense is that that was more opportunistic than anything else. he was among those who believe that black suffrage was important and not because it was important for blacks but because -- important to give blacks the votes so they rote republican and vote for him. >> he also -- talking about his enemies. he had a very well-known enemy with a very publicized fight in that period, roscoe. who is roscoe? >> he is a

house of representatives in the 20th century. with the consent of then minority leader gerald ford of michigan, congressman paul finley of illinois chose mitchell for this historic assignment in 1965. as a page in the republican cloak room, he witnessed many historic mome ancient of the civil rights movement, including the floor debates for the voting rights act of 1965. mitchell went on to a career as a reporter, ultimately as a broadcaster and weekend anchor in minneapolis. mitchell was later employed as a writer and editor for northwestern bell and is deputy director of communications for the illinois attorney general's office. mitchell also started his own public relations firm and served as the executive director for illinois fatherhood initiative, a nonprofit organization. so now, let me turn the program over to the panelists and we'll proceed. and since we're here in the capitol by seniority. therefore, frank, we'll let you begin by making a statement. anything you'd like to share with us? >> nothing like seniority to make

going to repeal and replace this thing the repeal part is apparently going to happen in the house of representatives on july ninth what what would america look like what would our health care landscape look like if obama romney was elected if republicans held control of the house and kept a veto in the senator even took control of the senate and followed through on that . you know if we we know that we have a health care crisis in this country if that were to happen we can we can see that yes we we know at least i know what i think most americans should know that many of the problems that we have are their health care system is being caused by the takeover of our healthcare system that big for profit corporations and i think that would accelerate certainly under a romney administration and despite the fact that he. implemented romney care was governor when massachusetts jeev a pretty decent health care reform law in massachusetts but from what he's saying on the campaign trail there's no doubt in my mind that he and the republicans if the industry is successful in electing more republicans to the se

in the waxman markeil the house of representatives built in 2009, we built in $60 billion between now and 2030 for them to be able to install

the reason why we had a change in the house of representatives is because the american people sent us people like diane black, and this will happen this fall in the senate, in the white house and also in the house of representatives. let's talk just a little bit about what this decision means today. not only is it a turning point for american history, but this also means a black cloud remains over any economic recovery for this country between now and november. that's a grim word for the american people because this means that millions of employers across the united states knowing now that obamacare will be there because they can't afford it. it's either provided jobs, provided coverage. millions of job providers drop their coverage. you'll see millions of employees lose their employer coverage and you'll see millions move their companies outside of the united states. that makes president obama achieve outsourcing jobs. he is responsible for moving jobs out of the country and an unprecedented decision unlike any one we have ever seen, and the greatest motivator we've ever had with one

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 speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 226, the nays are 168. the previous question is ordered. the question is on the adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. . those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-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 comme

what it doesn't, and, also, how if republicans win control of the senate and the white house and main control of the house of representatives he think they can do house reform and the pledge helps them do tax reform because it keeps people from going off in a side room and you get a tax increase as a byproduct. >>neil: so it seems to me the battle is what is a tax hike? what is a revenue enhancement. there are a lot of purist in the republican party saying closing a loophole, figure like that ripping away a tax credit is a tax hike and others likeup job saying, well, that would technically raise taxes on some folks but it is not a stacks hike to him and it would just be closing off a break that would get someone to not pay taxes they otherwise would. but this is the religion, right? >> that is what there has been some debate. not all republicans in the house of representatives have signed on to this, 238 out of 242. 41 of the 42 senators have and democrats are trying to say there could be wiggle room. the difference is, what is net revenue neutral, whether if you say lower taxes in some other areas, but increase revenue tha

and across the street a few minutes ago, in the well of the house of representatives, by a vote of 255, they have held attorney general eric holder in contempt of congress for refusing to hand over needed documents and information regarding, of course, "fast and furious," the selling of weapons and guns to mexican drug lords that resulted in the death, of course, of two united states d.e.a. agents and what built this drama beyond the normal course of drama is 65 democrats opted to bolt the chamber and not vote at all, and that is not the entire black caucus but many others added to that, and 17 democratic congress map did vote, as well, to say there should be a contempt vote against the attorney general. obviously this is a day of mixed messages and this is a day that could escalate for the president, as to what he knew and when he knew it, and many debates back-and-forth whether this remotely approaches the greaterty of watergate, but it is going to be another summer bummer as far as requesting and demanding documents back-and-forth between the branches of government. herman cain i th

of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 683, resolution expressing the regret of the house of representatives for passage of laws that adversely affected the chinese in the united states including the chinese exclusion act. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. smith, and the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu, each will control 20 minutes and the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on house resolution 683, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i first want to thank the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu, for introducing h.res. 683, expressing the regret of the house of representatives for the passage of laws that adversely affected the chinese in the united states incl

the radar well it kind of has slipped under the radar because it's already passed in the house of representatives and we're at the point now where the u.s. senate will be formulating its own version of the bill this may. fortunately the white house has already indicated that it doesn't like the bill and his first interview to it and the good part of that is it means that if anything happens in the senate it's more likely to take into account some of the substantive objections that civil liberties advocates sort of made to the original bill i mean one thing that happened with sr is that even though it had the longest station process republicans in the house brought forward the vote by a day at the last moment to ensure that it would pass and that's when she was like that happen which i think really tipped the hat and show people what you know what the negative consequences are of letting bills like this pass now rob what kind of steps has your company taken are are you willing to take to speak out against this attack on the internet how far are you willing to go. well all we can do is inform the p

oil on a good thirty six thousand to the average person who said no the average number the house of representatives this is no way to run a democracy is it se well i mean we can pretend like the oil companies are giving money to democrats and republicans on both sides of the aisle and i mean you're allowed to use your money as a form of the political speech i mean i don't think you should be alright i think i don't think it is bribery you know because bribery all that is why you are allowed why you have all the members that were going to teddy roosevelt pushed through in one thousand and seven the tillman act which made this kind of thing a felony because you had for one hundred years right it's too for our politicians to actually work for the american public and not for special interest groups i mean the ratio of the money given to republicans versus democrats is like seven to one and this is the highest ratio it's been since ever i mean even in back in one thousand nine hundred four at think the way she was like to read a one or something along those lines we do this to try to prevent special int

the house of representatives has never, in our long history, held an attorney general and content. -- in contempt. i am horrified that you're going forward with this content charge when the president of united states and the administration have invoked executive privilege for the documents sought by the chairman. the attorney general is being attacked for protecting documents that he is prohibited by law from producing. i speak strongly in opposition to this action and in opposition to this report. i would like to point out that our committee, the committee on oversight and government reform, is supposed to root out problems and find ways to reform how government works. it should not be a political witch hunt against the attorney general of our country and our president in an election year. what we should be doing is looking at ways we can stop problems from happening again. my basic question, mr. chairman, is where is the reform? our committee is supposed to be working on government reform. and the legitimate investigation must be rooted in finding solutions to problems once they are

house officials tells fox they are not directly relevant to the "fast and furious," and the president feels strongly this is a protected group of documents. but republicans in the house of representatives are pushing forward with contempt vote against holder and some are questioning the president's motives. >> who knew about "fast and furious," when and how high up did it go? now the president of the united states has changed executive privilege. that brings into question whether or whether or not holder knew. and did the president know? >>shepard: some democrats suggest the reason if this is politics. >> it should not be a political witch hunt against the attorney general of our country and our president if an election year. >>shepard: it stems from the investigation in "fast and furious," officials say it was supposed to track illegal weapons to drug cartels but agents failed to keep tabs on hundreds of the weapons and two of them turned up at scene of a shoot out that showed up at border agent. ed henry is at the white house and on capitol hill, it is fiery in the election year. we had arts on each side. mike, tell us about contempt arguments against the attorney general. >>reporter

he served the people as speaker of the kentucky house of representatives. speaker of the united states house of representatives. secretary of state under president john quincy adams. and, of course, as one of the greatest senators to ever walk through the capitol. and of course as one of the he was also honored to receive his party's nomination for president three times in 1824, 1832 and 1844. the essence of legislating in the senate as 100 viewpoints are brought together to create one law is compromised. henry clay became nobody as the great compromiser by forging the compromise that would keep this precious union together. clay did not compromise in the sense of forsaking his principle, rather, his skill was to bring together desperate ideas and forge consensus among his colleagues. that's a skill we could certainly use more of now. >> during the great debates we just went through this summer over the debt ceiling and the budget, there was so much talk about compromise in washington, whether or not it's a lost art. talk to us in that context about henry cl

house of representatives i albert, speaker of the house. she graduated with his degree from the university on oklahoma in 1973 and obtained a masters degrees from the george washington university. after living for 2 1/2 years in paris, france, felda made her home here in washington, d.c. where she still resides. felda has had a multifaceted career and presently is a business management process improvement and quality assurance consultant and perhaps she'll explain to us what that actually means. felda has a daughter, chelsea, in the d.c. area and immediate family in the tulsa area. she is working on a book about her page experience, life as it changes, feminism as the important of embracing and planning for change. frank mitchell was raised in springfield, illinois, and was selected to become the first avenue can american page to serve in the u.s. house of representatives in the 20th century. with the consent of then minority leader gerald ford of michigan, congressman paul finley of illinois chose mitchell for this historic assignment in 1

representative hastert recounted his years as a civics teacher, football coach and member of the u.s. house of representatives. he also discussed how he handled the daily responsibilities of the house immediately after the september 11 terrorist attacks. watch an encore presentation of this interview now on booktv. c-span: denny hastert, author of, "speaker," what's the granby roll? >> guest: the granby roll is a move in wrestling that you can score from the bottom. not many people do it. and it's good in wrestling, it's probably good in politics, too. if you can score when you're on the bottom and keep winning, that's what it's all about. c-span: where does the name granby come from? >> guest: granby high school in norfolk, virginia. they were the instigator -- coach by the name of bill martin was -- instigated it and taught it. and it kind of passed through the east coast. i picked it up in the midwest, and it was one of our trademarks. c-span: when was the last time you were in a high school classroom, teaching? >> guest: probably was about a year or two ago. i try to go back to my distr

the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, sir, this is to notify you formally pursuant to rule 8 of the rules of the house of representatives that i have been served with a subpoena for testimony issued by the superior court for the state of north carolina in connection with a criminal prosecution currently pending before that court. after consultation with the office of general counsel, i have determined that the subpoena is not material and relevant, compliance with the subpoena is inconsistent with the privileges and precedence of the house. signed sincerely, va foxx, member of congress. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days which to revise and extend their remarks and include ks train youse material and i may include material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 667 and rule 18, the chair declares the house and the committee of the whole house in considerati