[laughter] >> but last night mike doyle who is the manager of the team, bart stupak who is on this committee, played an amazing game. it wasn't their usual democratic bum blinker error game. [laughter] they actually played very well. and as a team. and as a result, they beat the stall wart republicans 15-10. john chimkus who is our starting pitcher played an excellent game. and we had a number of energy and commerce republicans, mr. gingrich, dr. gingrich who is here, walked at a key time and later scored. mr. skalise who is here played second base some. and also did some base running and scored. so mr. pitts who he came out and watched the game. [laughter] >> and luckily didn't try to play. although we could have used his bombing skills from the vietnam war. so any way, we raised quite a bit of money for charity and had a good time. and we now see mike doyle and you see that he's grinning from ear to ear, just congratulate him and tell him to take pity on the downtrodden republicans who didn't quite have the stuff last night. [laughter] >> on this hearing, mr. chairman, i do want to thank y

bart stupak of michigan chairs the commerce subcommittee on oversight. this is a little over four hours. >> this committee will come to order. there's a lot of interest in this hearing today, and i expect members who are not on the committee will be coming in and out. we will try to hold a tight rein on time, statements, and questions in this hearing. there is a lot of interest in this oversight hearing, as i said. this hearing today is entitled gm and chrysler dealership closures and restructuring. i will begin. for much of the past 100 years, general motors has been the largest automobile company in the world. the detroit free, gm, ford, and chrysler have filled the engines of michigan's economy and that of the u.s. for generations. through their vehicle manufacturer, the industry has created and supported millions of jobs. with the recent global financial collapse, much of the domestic auto industry has been brought to its knees. in 2008, gm and chrysler lost $30.9 billion and $70 billion respectively. in order to survive, the both filed for bankruptc

on tuesday, i was a part of a hearing in which chairman bart stupak as they as the three insurance companies what they would do to stop the terrible practice of precision, which has left thousands of americans and burdened with costly medical bills, despite paying their insurance premiums in the fashion and that they are supposed to. and they all said they had no intention of doing that. person-- rescission is simply where you wait until a guy is sick and then he canceled his policy on him. this is something that has got to stop, along with some of the other abuses. use of not community rating systems and what they call preexisting conditions. there will be no decisions and the public optioned, and there will be none of the other abuses which we are seeing in the insurance practices that are now offered to the american people. and consumer protections will be established in that option, that private companies have so far refused to do. so we are going to create competition and we are going to create choice and we are going to see to it that the public option included in this bill will not on

this time it's my honor to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from michigan, chairman bart stupak. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. mr. stupak: thank you, madam speaker. as one of the authors of h.r. 2751, i urge support for the cash for clunkers program that will provide cash vouchers of up to $4,500 at auto dealerships for consumers who trade in aging, less fuel efficient automobiles and replace them with modern fuel-efficient models. the cash for clunkers program accomplishes a dual task of stimulating sales in the auto industry. i applaud congresswoman sutton for her leadership on this important issue, and i appreciate the support of chairman waxman, chairman emeritus dingell, chairman markey, chairman inslee and majority leader hoyer in helping bring this agreement to the house floor. cash for clunkers program provides an incentive for americans to do their part to reduce emissions without imposing new regulations on industry or consumers. this bill results in cleaner cars on roads and increase in sales for a struggling auto i

introduced a piece generally in the same direction heading with the leadership of betty sutton and bart stupak. some argued that the efficiency provisions of this bill are not aggressive enough. the bill i introduced and mr. israel did had more aggressive targets. but i want to point out one of the most singular achievements of this bill. if we are going to stop global warming, we have to come together across the country. folks in the steel industry are going to have to work with people on oh the coast. people in the midwest in the rust belt states mood to work with folks in the san francisco bay region. congress means coming together. this bill i think represents a perfect example of how our nation needs to come together to tackle the many challenges we have in dealing with global warming. when we pass this bill today, it will be one step, one brick in the wall of that effort for a true clean energy revolution in america where we can all be proud of across the country. congratulations. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized to yield