kingston: it absolutely does. what i'm saying on this federal reserve spending is that neither senator nor president obama has spoken out against that. he embraced the tarp bill, the wall street bailout, with both arms. that's $700 billion. then there was $410 billion for the omnibus spending bill and then as you pointed out, $800 billion for the stimulus bill, then -- now he's proposing $950 billion for this government health care plan and yet he still says that he wants to reduce spending. i'm on the agriculture committee, we had a hearing today with the secretary, the secretary's a very decent secretary, but the proposal of the administration is to freeze agriculture spending. agricultural spending has gone up 26% since 2007. so you have -- mr. akin: wait a minute. this is one of these ones just like we're talking about now. health care plan. this doesn't compute, does it? we say we're going to freeze something that we just raised by over 25% in a year or two. that's incredible. mr. kingston: there's no end to

> reporter: friday afternoon, four men dressed as females narrowly escaped a mobbing in downtown kingston. just last week, a man was beaten because he was dressed as a female. >> the issue against gay men, especially mob violence is definitely a rarity. >> reporter: stacy ann jarrett is the executive director of jamaica aid supports for life where she works closely with jamaica's embattled gay community. >> an individual, you he verbal attacks, now you have physical attacks, where it was one-on-one. it is a group most definitely nate tack. >> reporter: while photos like these showing a mob attack on a cross-dressing gay man are rare, individual reports of violce are common. >> two weeks ago, two guy nearly killed me. >> reporter: these gay men acry grilled to appear on camera as long as their identities are concealed. >> people are being shot. people are being burned down. >> i had to respond tos late at night, early mornings, all day when i am at my job. >> reporter: carlene who asked her last name and face not be revealed, runs the hotline at j flag, the main gay rights advocacy group i

steve kingston, bbc news, washington. >> australian police say an indian man made up the story that he burned himself as he tried to torches' card to make an insurance claim. the incident came at a time of heightened fear after the merger of a punjabi man. the indian government warned its students not to travel to australia. had issued a travel advisory. >> the indian singer performing on australian soil. the musical star in a pop concert intended as a peace overture. relations between australia and india have once against soured with fears of young students who come here to pursue their dreams. >> he arrived in melbourne from whom jpunjab. late one night, he was attacked by someone, accompanied by racial slurs. >> he abused me. he got out and hit my dog and then hit me again. they pushed me and i fell down on the road. he hit me in my stomach. he abused me again. >> so he was continually racially abusing you? >> three or four times. >> the new year started with the violent murder in mel bourne of the indian students. it prompted a travel advisory from the indian government singling ou

kingston from georgia. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. kingston: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise as a friend and mourn and share the loss not just to the murtha family and the state of pennsylvania but to the entire nation and certainly every man and woman wearing a uniform. i was proud to know jack murtha, proud to serve in the u.s. congress with jack murtha. he was a bipartisan guy, he was a knowledgeable guy, he was a hardworking guy. the military budget in appropriations is over $500 billion, it is a very thick bill. you have to know airplanes from submarines from tanks to battle ships. jack murtha knew that and he would study it very deeply. jack murtha, though, beyond being a professional congressman, taught this chamber many things. one thing i learned as a guy who came up through some partisan battles and some nonpartisan battles that the murtha-mcdade relationship almost cast a certain circle around the state of pennsylvania that made it a special place, that the pennsylvania delegation had something that the other states did not have and that was two gre

kingston: i thank the gentleman for yielding. say the concept of pay-go sounds great but it's an absolute fig leaf when you look at the practicality of it only applies to 2% of the budget. it's just not a genuine proposal. i want to say this. i think it's good to have this discussion, but both parties have been spending too much money and not just congress but the federal reserve. just think about 2008. bear stearns bailout, $29 billion. a bush stimulus bill in may of 2008, $168 billion. the f.h.a.ie mae bailout -- the fannie mae bailout and the freddie mac bailout. president bush signed it into law. so both parties have been in this mix. and then comes president obama. $787 billion stimulus bill that brought our unemployment from 8% to 10%. an omnibus spending bill, $410 billion. a health care proposal that costs over $1 trillion. cap and trade that will cost american households $1,500 per house. and another stimulus bill that the democrats under speaker pelosi just passed in december of about $60 billion. ladies and gentlemen,

kingston: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, when i first came to congress in 1993 we had computers but we did not have internet. in fact if it wasn't for al gore maybe we still wouldn't have it, but we all -- i don't need to bring that up. you know, the reality of it, most of us, and my friend, mr. gordon will remember, had cell phones. there was a discussion that i had with one member, you know, i don't think it's fair for the taxpayers to pay for your cell phone. i think it's unnecessary. and i remember when i got a cell phone i wanted to have a 912 area code because i didn't want folks back home that i went washington if i had the 202 area code. but now in essence everybody has a mobile phone as they do internet. i remember stacy hall, our receptionist, who is the i.t. person since she was the youngest in the office. she was probably 22, u.a.g. graduate, she got this thing called the internet and started planning weekends with her friends. there were about five other 21, 22-year-old kids on the hill who knew w

host: kingston, and illinois, sue on our republican line. caller: hi, i'm sue.to tell my six-year-old son that we cannot be proud of the founding fathers because they are slave owners and land steelers but he said, but mom, isn't that wrong, can we be proud of the founding fathers? i said, nope. i have been indoctrinated -- i have to tell them it is wrong to be proud american. i'm sorry. host: freeport, illinois honored democrats landed it is it fair to perceive the obama administration as anti business? caller: i appreciate the opportunity to call in its morning. what essentially has happened is over the years the big business has created a big ghetto in america. whether it is greed or whatever it is, businesses have recently taken the money out of the country from the people and left us with such a huge bad neighborhood that barack obama wants to fix, but i don't think it is possible. like the old adage -- one dumb person can get us into more trouble than 10 smart guys think it as out of. host: the president on the white house lawn -- the white house blog. the

host: kingston, and illinois, sue on our republican line. caller: hi, i'm sue. i am a republican and i'm very upset with other republicans because i think the president is perceived -- it is because the culture. i have to tell my six-year-old son that we cannot be proud of the founding fathers because they are slave owners and land steelers but he said, but mom, isn't that wrong, can we be proud of the founding fathers? i said, nope. i have been indoctrinated -- i have to tell them it is wrong to be proud american. i'm sorry. host: freeport, illinois honored democrats landed it is it fair to perceive the obama administration as anti business? caller: i appreciate the opportunity to call in its morning. what essentially has happened is over the years the big business has created a big ghetto in america. whether it is greed or whatever it is, businesses have recently taken the money out of the country from the people and left us with such a huge bad neighborhood that barack obama wants to fix, but i don't think it is possible. like the old adage -- one dumb person

host: kingston, new york. maggie -- just another reminder, you have to turn down your television.d think that we would be trumpeting this. shouldn't we be beefing them up more? guest: i think the problem with the united states crowing about the success of the thai want democracy is we are trying -- taiwan democracy is we are trying to avoid upsetting china. we have always had -- this has always been an awkward subject, and will continue to do so. host: how much time do you spend in china? guest: i was there for four years. i was just there for about seven months. host: what is the biggest change you have seen? guest: well, it is richer. people dress better. more buildings, more cars. traffic is horrendous. people seem perhaps even more confident that china is going to proceed in this path and take its rightful place in the world. host: our people -- how are people doing, economically, better off? guest: much better. people are twice as well off as they were before. host: does the post still have a bureau there? guest: yes, we do. host: new york city. george. caller: i have a quest

lance sergeant david walker, lieutenant douglas, miller's, kingston dawson, rifleman mark marshall, lance sergeant david greene hall and lance corporal darren hicks. we are paying a high price for the operations we are undertaking and helmand province but it is an essential issue and our forces and their families need to know they have the support of the whole house and the whole country in the work that they are doing. while the report into the stafford hospital has only just been published i want to ask a couple of question to for turning to other subjects. hundreds of people went into that hospital, some with straightforward ailments and ended up dying because of the way they were mistreated. talking to the relatives as many of us have done, is absolutely heartbreaking. does the prime minister understand that these victims will never be content with an inquiry that was conducted in private behind closed doors without any public hearings? does he understand? >> let me say first of all, that we understand both the sadness and the sorrow of all the relatives who lost their loved ones in t

particular case that is currently before the courts but in response to the honorable gentleman for kingston can he addressed the question of what representations the government made to our american allies marginally when it became known that waterboarding for example -- mr. speaker injury happy to see clearly the government has detailed in the success of intelligence and security committee reports did follow up both in terms of our own system the way in which the practices were taken forward. also in ways i think i should set out in a letter and i would be happy to do that what happened. it is also documented what didn't happen and what should have happened not with respect to the individual case but example of training and guidance for officials. that means we are in a stronger position today than we were in 2001, 2002. we always keep it under review and the publication of the current guidance which is currently in front will be an important occasion for not just the whole house that the country to see the way that is taken. >> can i join with him and others in congratulating the security

kingston, today. mr. thompson, today. mr. shuster today, mr. moran for today and mr.leeling frelinghuysen for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house to revise and stepped their remarks and include extraneous materials, mr. cummings, maryland, ms. woolsey of california, ms. delauro. mr. defazz yeoh -- defazio. and ms. kaptur from ohio. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> to address the house for five minutes. . the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 8, 2009, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. cummings of maryland. ms. woolsey of california. ms. woolsey: thank you, mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. woolsey: thank you. the united states