but if d.c. became a state as are seeking to do like 37 other states have done, have been admitted since the founder of the republic, , then it would be completely responsible for the crime situation, the prisons, prosecutions, so on, except for those things, that minority of crimes that are prosecuted by the u.s. attorney. but if this was a hearing about crime, then what i've heard from multiple people is that it should just focus on one city. it should focus on all the cities and towns and all of the state of america. and that means we have to confront gun violence, which is, in fact, a crime. yes, if you want to be tough on crime then you've got to be tough on gun violence. if you want to be soft on gun violence, and your soft on crime. because we are losing thousands of our people every year to the nightmare of gun violence, which is now causing foreign governments to issue travel advisory warnings for people to come to the united states saying that we have a gun violence problem that is dang

crimes in d.c. fall under feller under federal jurisdiction and prosecution that is unlike most cities in america. this hearing of the house oversight and accountability is about three hours and 40 minutes. >> the committee on oversight accountability will come to order i want to welcome everyone here today. without objection the chair may declare a recess at any time, the committee welcomes the public to the very important meeting. while you're here i want to point out to the members in the audience today that house rule 11 provides the chairman of the committee may punish breaches of order in the quorum including exclusion from the hearing. all participants will be required to avoid unruly behavior and inappropriate anguish, expression of support or opposition are not in order and that includes holding up signs, i expect all parties to the proceedings to connect themselves in a manner that reflects property on the u.s. house of representatives. i recognize myself or the purpose of making an openin

d.c.'s homicide rate reached nearly a 20-year high. in just the first four months of 2023 there have been over 250 carjackings and an increase in robberies throughout the city. d.c.'s chief of police recently reported that the average homicide suspect is arrested 11 times before committing murder. now it's striking that d.c. is making it harder to arrest these criminals before they commit such heinous acts. and at the same time the district's police union has reported that the department, quote, has lost over 1,200 police officers while only replacing 700. and the force is poised to be at its lowest number of officers since the 1970's. congress has the authority and the responsibility to ensure public safety in the district, and furthermore, the symbol of our nation's capital under siege from crime is one that our country cannot and should not tolerate. as politicians in this city push antipolice laws, it's incumbent upon our country's national leaders to stand up to these legislative attac

>> i think i was blessed in the sense i live in d.c. back in the mid 90s. i would say it's a very different washington d.c. today than it was when i was back here in school. just many surprises across every aisle. i will say the one that i'm really happy about compared to when i first came to washington d.c. in the mid 90s is i look around and i see more people that look like me. my very first trip to d.c. was not in college, it was with the closest program. where you toured the halls of congress and you toward the supreme court. he got to stand on the floor. i distinctly remember when i got to tour the floor, kind of pausing for a second to take it in where i was. placing my hand on a desk in whispering to myself, very boldly, i must say, i'll be back. making a commitment to myself, a goal for myself that i would be back here and not just as a spectator but as a member. to now be back here is very humbling to have that opportunity. i do remember even back then, putting my hand on the desk, looking around d.c., looking at who some congress. i did not see my

i love d.c. latin-tinged music] - diane, this place is so cool 'cause it used to be a cash and carry. - well, now, what's a cash and carry? what does that mean? - that's a great question. i think it's like a marketplace where latin families around here could come and get their fresh produce. - and now they're all latin businesses. - yeah, you've got a peruvian brothers, the salvadorian pupusas, a venezuelan homemade chocolate, artisanal. what's grabbing your fancy? - all right. well, i heard pupusa. did we not mention pupusa? - pupusas are cornmeal tortillas with different fillings like pork or beans and cheese and are a popular dish in el salvador. which was your favorite pupusa then? - i like bean and cheese. - bean and cheese. - yeah. - let's stop talking about it. let's go get it. - yeah, let's, please. ♪ [both speaking spanish] - this is her jam. she loves pupusas. - oh, my gosh. i haven't had it in a while. - how did you get here? how did you come up with this incredible idea? - oh, my gosh

my very first trip to d.c. was not in college, it was at a program where you toward the halls of congress. and you got to stand on the floor, and artistically remember when i got to tour the floor, kinda pausing for a second to ticketed where it was -- where i wasn't placing my hand on a desk and whispered to myself very boldly, i must say, i will be back. baking a commitment to myself, a goal for myself that i would be back here, not just as a spectator, but as a member. now be back here is very humbling to have that opportunity. but i do remember even back then putting my head on the desk, looking around at d.c. and who was in congress, i did not see myself. i do not see myself and -- and the members of the staff, and that worried me. that concerned me. we still have so much work to do to make sure that the halls of congress reflect the diversity and the uniqueness and the perspectives of our country. but it has come such a long way. i am so proud to be part of a class that is very diverse, and a background,

the d.c. city council so-called police reform bill, the comprehensive policing and justice reform n emergency amendment act creates serious undue burdens on the police department amidst the raging crime crisis terrorizing the streets in our nation's capital, this law which for two years has been in effect under emergency legislative powers, this law puts criminals first and m.p.d. officer last. the officer overwhelmingly oppose the council's anti-police law and making it known with their feet. since this legislation has been in place, the m.p.d. has lost more than 1100 officers and currently operates at a 500 officer deficit. and as officers are leaving the force in droves, faster than they can be replaced, the melt troa police department has drastically sha runge to historic half century low. due to my commitment to our constitution and passion for restoring law and order in our nation's capital, i introduced a resolution, h.j.res. 42, to repeal the d.c. council's harmful law. last month this

critics call the new d.c.res blatantly anti-cop, and say crime will just get worse in the nation's capital. the supreme court deals another blow to biden's green agenda. the white house, not happy. sam was 8 when we got him. giving him fresh food where you know the ingredients and you know what's in it has absolutely helped him. taking care of him is really important... because even if sam lives to 20, it won't be long enough. how can you sleep on such a firm setting? gab, mine is almost the same as yours. almost... just another word for not as good as mine. save 50% on the sleep number limited edition smart bed. plus, special financing and free home delivery when you add any base. only at sleep number. >> the supreme court dealing another big blow to president biden's green energy agenda. the high court striking down a rule that would allow the epa to police water pollution. last fall the justices decided to limit the epa's options for regulating greenhouse gas emissions. fox business grady trimbel with more.

now i wish the elites in washington, d.c.e a page out of the iowa playbook but instead they have ignored what works and it continued to plunge this nation into the abyss. our country is going in the wrong direction. we can see at and we can feel it. our southern border has collapsed. the mexican drug cartels have more control over what goes on at the border than her own united states government. millions of illegal aliens have poured into this country including criminal aliens and even individuals on the terrorist watch list. massive amounts of fentanyl that the cartels are bringing in has killed tens of thousands of our fellow americans. look at the economy. the biden administration is doing all they can to make it harder for the average family to make ends meet and to attain and maintain a middle-class lifestyle. the bill for the massive borrowing spending and debt and record printing of money by the fed that's falling on the american people. our dollar has lost almost 20% of its value in the last four years. look at energy

from near washington, d.c. -- >> hi. welcome. >> i was wondering if you can talk sources for letters if anyone a were in private collections or had unusual discovery. >> yeah most of the letters so there's 125 in the book and the tragic thing ab book like this is you publish it and you find more so i found three more already that are really good that i wish i could have included. most of them are at national archives out of the 125 about 100 are national archives 21 are at the library of congress, and five were public letters that appear in the newspapers or as pamphlets. the way i -- i don't know how i started the project i think i encountsered a couple of letters that the national archives and that got mes started but then the way i was able to do the research was through our friends in springfelt there's a project known as theoj papers of abraham lincoln and they are working to digitize every letter or document that was sent to or from lincoln or any piece of paper he might have touched at some point. and they have fo

so, it's my great pleasure to present jeremy corbyn today in washington, d.c.plause] jeremy: thank you. thank you, srecko, and thank you, amy, for presiding over today's event in this amazing setting of the national press club, where julian assange revealed uncomfortable truths to the world about the murder -- the murder -- of innocent civilians in iraq, by specific military orders to do so, knowing full well they were breaking the law. what's julian charged with? telling the truth. telling the truth all over the world about what governments do and what governments want to hide from. i, as an elected politician, am very well aware that elected politicians don't like being questioned on the decisions that they make. but it's fundamental to a democratic society that they are constantly under surveillance and under question. they're very keen on putting everybody else under surveillance. their decisions should be under surveillance at the same time. [applause] and so, julian published, through wikileaks, huge volumes of information. he went to extraordinary length

augusta was invited washington d.c. to be examined and when the examining board saw him they contacted the war department and asked for his invitation be rescinded because they he appears to be a person of african descent. to his credit, edwin's stanton said no, you will examine him. the doctors then examined him with the hardest questions they could come up with of them called it a squeezing process. and augusta passed with flying after the examination, the surgeon general went to the examining doctor and said, i say, cronin, how is it that you came to let the n-word pass? and dr. cronin replied, the truth is, sir, the n-word knew more than i did. i couldn't help myself. so augusta gets commissioned a major in the u.s. army. he is the highest ranking black officer, the civil war era. he his epaulets proudly as a symbol of his rank. but just because he is now an officer in the army does not mean will no longer face hurdles. at point, while traveling to philadelphia, he stops in baltimore and a crowd bloodied him up, pun

. >> what have you learned or what has surprised you about washington,, d.c. and being a member of congress? >> i think i was blessed in the sense that i did live in dc back in the mid-'90s it was different than washington, d.c. today than when i was back here in school. but just many surprises across the aisle. i would say the one that i am really happy about compared to when i first came to washington, d.c. in the mid-'90s i look around and see more people that look like me. my very first trip was actually a program where you tour the hallst of congress, the supreme court. you got to standan on the floor and i distinctly remember when i got to the floor kind of pausing for a second to just take it in and placing my hand on the desk and whispering to myself very boldly i must say i will be back. making it a commitment to myself, a goal for myself that i would be b back here not just aa spectator but ask a member and o now be back here is very humbling to have that opportunity but i do remember even back then putting my hand on the desk looking around at who w

three or four times safer than washington, d.c. or if you look most dangerous city to the united states, none of them the border. none of them at the border. i will not mention any other cities. but, again, none of them at the border. security is one thing. just too many people coming in. we are not using the right policies. 1159, title 42 when away on may 11 and a new world came in. i support that role. implemented and from some lawsuit that some folks have filed. i actually think that it would have an impact to make sure that we manage the border better. you have to look at the border. it is a very dynamic area. if you look at security, it is safer than most other places across the united states. no if's and no butts about it. look at the immigration. there are too many people coming in. we have to make sure that we -- they have to be returned as soon as possible. if you put 100 people in front of an immigration judge and defense of who those folks are, 88-90% will be rejected under a silo because the asylum law is very specific.

they passed a measure to washington d.c. police reform law. the measure and chokehold and improves access to body worn camera. it has to president biden plans to veto it. the senate returns 5:30 p.m. eastern time, watch live coverage here on c-span2. >> texas democrat and appropriations committee member is back with us on capitol hill but i want to start with your district

and he didn't think be able to transact business here and stay in touch with d.c.. well, 1927, as i mentioned he vetoed the mcnary housing bill and all of a sudden he had more of a reason to come west for his vacation. but also, south dakota had sort of legendary former governor, then a u.s. senator named peter norbac, and he was instrumental. in attracting coolidge to the black hills. peter norbac was a big fan of the mcnary halligan farm relief bill, and he really wanted to bring coolidge out here, lobby him about that bill all summer. but also we had this mountain called rushmore that was there was an attempt carve mount rushmore. it was only a few years old. no carving had taken place, but fundraising was happening and norbac was part of that local committee of people who are trying raise money and attention to carve mount rushmore. and he knew that if they could get the president here, it would really boost the for that as well and hopefully make it easier to raise money by getting attention to this project and then the third reason was really norbac knew it wo

he went on to say in washington, d.c. you cannot get a fair trial.o they take the former president's words when he expresses support like that for them in public? >> certainly it boosts their profile. the former president, those comments are not alone. he went to a campaign event in new hampshire recently with a former member of the oath keepers, who has already been sentenced, and is unrepentant, he has addressed rallies outside of the jail where some people are still awaiting trial or serving sentences there. so he has served as sort of like -- he's used his bull horn, essentially, to help these groups and listen to what the fbi said they were doing. for weeks before january 6th they went and did training in north carolina preparing for that day. so there was a lot of things that the former president was doing when he was in office to encourage them to show up that day, and he continues to encourage them. he continues to find ways to propel them because he believes that, you know, obviously what they did was not wrong at all. >> and we have to reme

i had a chance to come to d.c. in college as an intern and i think a lot of people kind of get their first opportunities, experiences, working at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration, noaa. i was always interested in climate change and issues and more generally, it was an eye-opener especially from a kid who grew up in a small town. we didn't have all sorts of fancy things at my high school or other kind of programs like that. and the thing i was impressed with was the caliber of the people that i was working with. but truly the passion and the commitment so i was working for the national sanctuaies program, people who-- incredibly interesting people and incredibly passionate making sure we're protecting in that instance, our marine resources, and assets in the communities that depended on that. and it was just really cool and interesting. and it goes to our opening speaker, and thank you, very, very helpful. one thing you said there, we've got problems, we've got challenges in society and katherine,

the congressman is in washington, d.c.nd i am in germany at an innovation seminar on pipeline infrastructure and innovation. you're also the vice chair of the energy and commerce committee in the house. you are on several subcommittees , including those relating to the regulation of telcom, innovation, food, safety -- food safety and drug safety. that must make you a very popular and busy man. rep. armstrong: i don't know about popular, busy. >> one of the initiatives at hudson is to come up with a strategy that looks at domestic energy policy and how that policy is important to our national and economic security as well. from your perspective, framing the issue of american energy security, how would you define and what do you think are the important aspects of an energy security policy? rep. armstrong: first of all, i think you start with him and we are one of the only countries in the world that our food and energy security at as we move into the 21st century, that is a tremendous advantage on the global stage and only i

d.c. it's out of control, and here's the thing -- i told him. you got to worry about what happens when republicans are in power, because then as it happened under george w. bush, the spending is out of control. the democrats love spending, too. if the republicans want to spend, democrats are going to stop them. it's important for them to do what we did when we were there. we stopped our own republican brothers and sisters from spending too much. balanced the budget four years in a row. do you think he listened? he did not listen. not only did he not listen, they were led by a guy -- i don't know if you've heard this quote before, but this is donald trump, and he said, the debt ceiling is a sacred element of our country. dog, cat, horse, person, mule. that's a very, very sacred thing in our country, debt ceiling. first of all, i just want to -- if we could, let's break up that sentence. that's a very sacred thing in our country, debt ceiling. we can never play with it. so i would have to as

secret service didn't reach out to the d.c.ro police with a description or looking for a male on foot in the area. they didn't notify the secret service uniform division, which is often on patrol in that area looking after various embassies. so no one went looking for this individual. they did a video canvas. they have some grainy video of a male that they're looking at, but they're behind the curve here. so what we're seeing is u.s. secret service has ordered what they call a mission assurance review, meaning what happened here and where did procedure go? there seem to be some serious gaps here, and that investigation will determine what will happen or not happen to those agents. but based on my experience, not notifying the police, not searching for the intruder, not sounding the alarm that night, even if your principal, your protectee jake sullivan said let's not make a big deal of it could result in very serious consequences for those agents. so that's just starting. >> yeah, sounds like -- as it's been described, sound lik

d.c., may 17, 2023. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable peter welch, a senator from the state of vermont, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patty murray, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary, jeremy c. daniel of illinois to be united states district judge for the northern district of illinois. test: mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer:le majority leader. mr. schumer: yesterday, i joined congressional leaders to meet with president biden for a good meeting about this year's spending priorities. while also affirming the need to protect the full faith and credit of the united states. the meeting was

and so let's start with title i schools, and let's do what we're doing right here in washington d.c.. d.c. has something called the opportunity scholarship program, supported by cory booker, dianne feinstein, ron john, and myself. about nine out of 10 of those kids that graduate go on to four year college, through an opportunity scholarship program. if we did that all across america, if we just basically replicated the success academy in new york city or the meeting street academy in charleston, south carolina, we would have the vast majority of kids living in poverty, single parent households, 95% getting free lunch, they would be performing in the top 20% of kids, no matter the color of their skin, no matter their economics, in this country. we're proving that it can be done. let's replicate that throughout every single title i school in america, and our oecd competitors would say, oh my gosh, life has changed permanently for the world because we will be educating our poorest, underserved communities in a world class way. - so republican glenn youngkin. - [senator scott] yes. - just

as well as d.c. have enacted bans on semiautomatic rifle, gun rights advocates call them ineffective as well azn infringement on the constitutional right to bear arms despite the recent spate of mass shootings in the u.s., public opinion on weapons bans remains evenly split in february support for such bans slightly dropped. > e southern border, where crossings have plummeted since the end of title 42. the end of homeland security says the number has fallen by about 50% since the covid era restrictions were lifted some migrants in el paso told nbc news that rumors spread quickly that the best time to arrive was before title 42 expired. now asylum seekers must make appointments on an app before entering and those who cross illegally could face criminal charges and be banned for five years president biden on sunday called for more help from congress. >> how you think things are going at the border, sir >> much better than you all expected >> are you confident that the numbers have peaked, that they'll

hear why. >>> and a d.c.r arrested accused of being an informant for the very group that attacked his fellow officers on january 6. what was revealed, ahead. no, it's literally never crossed my mind. what if we live to like 100? that's 35 years of being retired. i don't want to outlive our money. and i have been eating all these stupid chia seeds! i could totally live to be 100! why do i keep taking such good care of my- since we started working with empower, we're able to get all our financial questions answered, so we don't have to worry. so you never- no. never. join 17 million people and take control of your financial future to empower what's next. start today at empower.com >>> now to some of the headlines we're following. a red alert issued for northern italy as another round of severe weather is expected to hit the region this weekend. there were days of flooding and land slides. officials say at least 14 people were killed. >>> and auto makes kia and hyundai have agreed to pay a $200 million settlemen

capitol president visited biden here in washington d.c.mate change and improving bilateral cooperation of trade and innovation. while the biden administration has committed to strengthening the u.s. relationshipra t resul, especially in light of the bicentennial of the relationship between the countries, all of this is happening in a rapidly changing relations in the u.s. during support ukrainians russia's aggression and pursue has come. the economic rise of china and issues of global carbon especially in the economic financial agreement diversion relationship and the timely honored to be joined by, he is ambassador he served in this capacity under president obama 21022013 and appointed as counselor of the state department in 2015 under secretary of state for political affairs in 2015 to 2018. more than three decades having served six presidents and 11 secretaries of state green ambassador, highest ranking position in foreign service. currently policy advisory in the headquarter. following his keynote address to discussis issues allowing f

we aren't seeing that right now. >> it's not just d.c.oss the country the marshal project reporting a nationwide loss of 18,000 law enforcement officers since 2020. i can tell you, when i'm down here, dana and we're talking with some of the people that come along the wall, family members and friends to honor their officers, they all say the same thing. they really hope that the local political leaders whether capitol hill and in the communities will begin to really back the blue. that's what they want most. dana. >> dana: indead. thank you, griff jenkins. >> bill: former president donald trump says he will appeal yesterday's verdict after a manhattan jury finds him liable for battery and defamation in a civil matter. what impact does it have on the upcoming race? martha maccallum is with us here today. how are you doing? "wall street journal" editorial board. trump loses a sexual abuse suit. a jury finds for carroll, will gop voters care? weigh in on that. >> that's a question, isn't it? there is an interesting piece this morning by alan

convicted by a d.c.and sentenced yesterday to 18 years, the longest sentence so far in january 6, but the first in a wave of 10 seditious conspiracy defendants convicted of trial and to be sentenced. host: focusing on seditious conspiracy, how may people have been convicted and how many of those have been convicted of seditious conspiracy? guest: a real small subset. about 1000 subset. roughly half of them a been convicted or pleaded guilty. 10 have been convicted of seditious conspiracy. you're talking about 1% of the defendants. steward rhodes the first one to be sentenced. that sentence of 18 years lays down a marker for everybody else. this is something without comparison in modern times. conspiracy to try to block the peaceful transfer of power in america. 18 years is a real foundation. host: prosecutors wanted 25 years and he got 18. why? guest: the sentencing guideline range was 21 to 27 years. one of the things the federal judge was wrestling with was that there is no real comparison. there is no

attorney in washington d.c.per interested in january 6, and hyper interested in documents. and prosecuting those folks. why isn't he hyper interested in this, you are telling he could do certain things without approval from gare land. garland. >> this is haunting for me, out going u.s. attorney said don't cedrede authority and power to washington, d.c. you are nominated by attorney general, he cannot fire you. it was a powerful statement. it i think one of most important things to facilitate my independence. that is not the case any more. my predecessor was present in that advice, it slowly happened over last couple decades, the u.s. attorneys are losing their independents, which is very important, because the founders of the constitution knew that centralizing that power in dc would be the most dprus dangerous thing. that is what happened, and u.s. attorney there and u.s. attorney on biden hunter biden case, they have ceded their authority and their ethics and moral compass to washington's dc gravity that to me

he would already been in d.c. because he had been charged with you facing a church, actually, in a previous visit to d.c. in december, right? so he definitively was not at the capitol, he's in a baltimore hotel room, and yet, a d.c. jury convicted him of this very serious crime, despite his lack of physical presence. barbara, as someone who has experience in this, knows how hard it is, what are your conclusions about the success the department of justice has had now in three different trials of obtaining this many convictions on this very difficult charge? >> it's very gratifying to see that they were able to get these convictions because as you say, chris, this is a difficult charge to prove. and there's not a lot of case law out there that can help prosecutors hang their hat on various aspects of it. and so, you know, as you mentioned, the hutaree case is one that my former office brought in 2010 and was unsuccessful. and i think one of the challenges that made it such an uphill battle is that when you argue tha

the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. may 15, 2023. i hereby appoint the hono honorablerin hawchin to act as speaker pro tempore on this day

i have been able to participate in surveys here in the washington, d.c.ea just to ensure i understood how they were conducted and how that went. in terms of identifying alarms, intrusion detection systems, a need for duress buttons, floodlights, deadbolts, clockwork, et cetera it's been very appreciated by the senators and senate spouses with whom we have worked so far. >> thank you very much. geez, i know you and your team at been very focused on addressing the recommendations the result off an offense of january 6, 2021, and are working to continue to enhance the capabilities to meet emerging mission requirements. those are all costly initiatives but i'm glad we've been working to provide you the resources that you need for that. but i also know your workforce spends time away fromm their families and makes a lot of personal sacrifice. you just mentioned that in your comments. i want to make sure we focus on all their needs as well while refund is mission criticalan items. over the last couple of years you have increased your sworn hiring and training t

i leave the border and, today see -- and come up here to d.c. if you look at all of the murders and assaults, it is safer, three or four times safer than washington, d.c. where i come to work over here. or if you look at the cities in the united states, none of them are at the border. i'm not going to mention any other cities. security is one thing. immigration issue, yes, there is a problem because i think there are too many people coming in and we are not using the right policies. when title 42 went away, i could tell you there were -- on may 11, it went away and a numeral new rule came in. i support it. i think it would have an impact, to make sure that we manage the border better. you have to look at the border, a dynamic area. you look at security, it is safer than most other places across the united states. you look at immigration. there are two money people coming in and we have to make sure that whoever is supposed to be here stays and whoever has to be returned has to be returned is for -- as soon as possible. if you put 100 people in f

we got a nice, very good decision from the d.c. court of appeals essentially affirming judge caplan that when trump said what he said about e. jean in 2019 he was not acting as president. we are quite confident that will be affirmed and then we'll be able to move forward with damages in that case. we don't even need a finding of liability because we already have it. we'll be able to find damages and there the definition of damages are much higher. that was the first statement he made and that's what really destroyed her reputation as an advice columnist to all of her readers who trusted her and looked up to her. >> in terms of the timing after those statements still at issue in the live case as you mentioned you were let go from "elle" in terms of your john. >> that's right. >> you think that was related to his defamation >> i know it was related. >> let me ask you, e. jean, in terms of what you went through, there weren't cameras in the courtroom but the whole country was following this word by word. we have the transcript and we

the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., may 29, 2023. i hereby appoint the honorable dusty johnson to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, kevin mccarthy, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by the guest chap land, reverend -- chaplain, reverend john kellogg from christchurch, washington parish, washington, d.c. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, on this day of remembrance, we give you thanks for those who laid down their lives in service to our country. we send down your representatives in congress your spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice that with steadfast purpose they may faithfully serve in their offices to promote the well-being of all people. amen. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 3-z of house resolution 5, the journal of the last day's proceedings is approved. the chair will now lead the house in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under