jim oberstar. he was a man of conviction. in a business known for rewarding the expedient over the noble, he lived a life of principle. he played the long game and he did it on behalf of the american people. that is a great american. and that is a legacy worth celebrating. we lost jim suddenly this week in the middle of the night, in his sleep. the day before, he had spent the day with his grandkids. he had gone to one of his grandchild's plays. he had been going on long bike rides. and even after he lost his election in 2010, he never let it get him down. he just took all that energy and zest for life and put it into his family and put it into the continuing work he did on transportation and put it into his friends and just everything he loved to do. so we mourn him today, but we also celebrated the incredible gift that jim gave to our country. it is awe inspiring to think about w much time he spent mastering federal transportation policy. 47 years, nearly five decades. 11 as a staff member on the

jim oberstar. after that, discussion about whether a criminal record hampers efforts to reenter society. about therogers talks appropriations process early this year. so congress will mop face a continuing resolution or government shutdown. you can watch newsmakers at 10:00 a.m. sunday and 6:00 emv c-span. >>eastern on c-span's newest book. a collection of interviews with top storytellers. in my case, i came in with no documentation and ability to get a job or education. when i first came in, and cross the border between x: united then came to the san joaquin valley to work as a margaret worker was no challenge there were not thousands of people trying to get the jobs. i was pulling the weeds. >> dr. alfredo, one of 41 unique voices from 41 years of our book notes and conversations. now available at your favorite bookseller. >> is the time of year for height listed take the advanced placement exam. today on washington journal, students had a chance to ask teachers about the test. this is 40 minutes.

jim oberstar. was a man of conviction. in a business known for rewarding the expedient over the noble, he lived a life of principle. he played the long game and he did it on behalf of the american people. that is a great american. and that is a legacy worth celebrating. we lost jim suddenly this week in the middle of the night, in his sleep. the day before, he had spent the day with his grandkids. he had gone to one of his grandchild's plays. he had been going on long bike rides. and even after he lost his election in 2010, he never let it get him down. he just took all that energy and zest for life and put it into his family and put it into the continuing work he did on transportation and put it into his friends and just everything he loved to do. so we mourn him today, but we also celebrated the incredible gift that jim gave to our country. it is awe inspiring to think about how much time he spent mastering federal transportation policy. 47 years, nearly five decades. 11 as a staff member on the

how fitting is it that congressman jim oberstar's family requests for the remembrance of our beloved a contribution to the national safe routes to school program. tens of thousands of children could get to school more safely and millions will be more safe in the future because of his tireless efforts over two decades on behalf of that program. jim oberstar, i must confess, was an uncle to me. together we spent hundreds and hundreds of hours in consultation, planning, touring, legislating. it was the most effective mentoring possible. there are those who have been known as a man of the house, and jim oberstar certainly was a man of this people's house. but even more he was a man of the public works committee. he rose through the staff ranks to become staff director. hen succeeding his congressman a nicknick, he became member of congress and ultimately became its chair. this is something no one else has done, serving as staff director of a committee and then ultimately presiding over it. but whether his staff, as a committee member, or chair, as a member of all the subcommittees, whethe

my predecessor, our dear friend, congressman jim oberstar. mr. nolan: jim passed away quite unexpectedly over the weekend. my wife and i and several other members of the house were with him just on wednesday night and jim was as fit as a fiddle, as he has ever been. i commented to another couple there that jim does a thousand pushups every day in addition to riding his bike and jim laughed and said, no i only do 100 pushups every day. so he was a remarkable person. i'm joined here today by our colleagues from minnesota, congressman ine, peterson, paulsen, walls and ellison to join me in this brief tribute. mr. speaker, jim's respect in this house was really quite unparalleled. i recall one day last year, jim came into the well of the house here and he was spotted by some of our colleagues and someone started to applaud him and the entire house burst into spontaneous applause, democrats, republicans, conservatives, liberals, the only time i'd ever seen anything like that happen before was when hubert humphrey walk into -- walked into the house of r

he said, jim oberstar and i are joined at the hip. we have different viewpoints, but we reached common ground. when we did, we stuck with it. we forged something better for the country. not everyone has the best ideas. if you find common ground, you reach good ideas and good policy that is workable for the country. throughout 2007, 2000 eight, we passed very significant legislation reauthorizing amtrak. came from one perspective and i came from another. he had an idea of engaging the private sector. i do not think that would be workable. as we talked, as we looked each other in the eye and laid out the specific proposals, there was a trust between us. he's not setting a trap for me, i'm not setting a trap for him. seeing what we can do for the greater public good. we achieved an authorization for amtrak that eventually following here, 2008, president bush signed into law. i can say that for the state revolving loan fund. the faa authorization bill that we passed in 2007, and again in 2009. never got through the senate. and a host of o

minnesota senator paul franken speaking about the late congressman jim oberstar. after that, senator marco rubio speaking to new hampshire republicans. >> on newsmakers, kentucky congressman hal rogers. he talks about his efforts to start the appropriations process early so congress will not face a continuing resolution or government shutdown. at can watch "newsmakers" 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. book, sundayswest at eight. a collection of interviews with the nation's top storytellers. >> this nation is built upon people who immigrated to the country, some of them legally, some illegally. in my case, i came with no documentation and no ability to get a job or an education. when i first came into the united states in the light -- late 1980's and crossed the border between mexico and united states, i ended up coming into the san joaquin valley to work as a migrant farm worker. there was no challenge to find a job. there were not thousands of people trying to get the job of .ulling wheat with the same hands that are now doing brain surgery, i was pull

newslighted in the "duluth tribune," they write -- that is jim oberstar who passed away in his sleep yesterday. from pennsylvania, democrats line. good morning. caller: good morning. i am a veteran who served in the air force for 10 years. i actually have a claim to .isability i'm looking at 13 years right now. i filed 13 years ago and i haven't gotten it completed yet or anything. yet.'t get any help i just think these peaceful -- these people are wasting so much money on these lavish dinner parties. veterans like myself cannot get a simple claim finished. how would you describe beltway culture? caller: what exactly is beltway culture? host: inside the beltway, how people perceive washington. caller: i don't think it is too good to say the least. more and more of our taxes are being taken. -- moreamily members and more money being taken away for education for our children to go to college. it is just ridiculous. i think people in washington are more disconnected than ever. host: how would you describe the beltway culture is the topic of our first 45 minutes. on the phone mines -- yo

democrat jim oberstar was elected in 1974. in 2006 he became chairman of the house transportation committee. in 2010 he retired from congress after losing to his gop competitor. oberstar's family said he died in his sleep in maryland. he was 79 years old. >>> later today former president h.w. bush will be honored with the 2014 john f. kennedy profile encourage award. the award is given in recognition to political courage he demonstrated during the 1990 budget compromise. the event is being held later this morning in boston. president bush's granddaughter lauren bush will be accepting the award on his behalf. and those are your news headlines. >>> all right. we talked about the horse race yesterday, it was quite a horse race. i don't want to boast much, but yesterday my dad said, who are you going to pick? and i said, california chrome. >> you did? no way. >> did you put any money on your prediction? >> i didn't put any money down. >> then prove it, clayton. >> but this is an unlikely horse. $8,000 horse they spent on this foal

oberstar, died suddenly overnight. i thought jim would rather than having me go up to his memorial service today, he would rather have me come to the floor and advocate for something he believed in and knew was essential for the future of this country which is adequate investment in our system, a coordinated national system, transportation and infrastructure, an energy efficient, 21st century system, repair to our 20th century system. that's what we need. no more of these political shenanigans. let's get serious about real investments and put america back to work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. woodall, for five minutes. mr. woodall: thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate the time. so often folks will use this time in the morning to draw attention to failures or to divisions, but i want to use this time to draw attention to successes. this is national charter school week among other things, mr. speaker. and i happen to have two charter schools in my district. i