lungren: mr. speaker, mr. king had to leave. i ask unanimous consent that i take over the time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. lungren: and we have no further speakers so if the gentleman would like to yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, we owe it to our nation's first responders to ensure that they have the resources needed to perform their jobs and to get it right. when we alter the uses of those funds, getting it right in this body requires deliberation and debate in the committee of jurisdiction. unfortunately, mr. speaker, the bill we are consideringed to failed to receive such deliberation or debate. therefore, it's hard to say whether it is responsive to the needs of first responders. what i can say for a fact is re-authorizing key homeland security grant programs would bolster prepadreness and be responsive to the needs of our first responders. and with that, mr. speaker,

has dan lungren done anything to get sacramentol california and america working again?wer is a resounding no if you elect the same phones over and over again, you get the same results. we have to rebuild the middle class and hold those in congress accountable. >> that's a message that's resonate resonating. >> my last question goes more to your profession as a doctor. what do you think the ramifications are if the supreme court does strike down the healthcare reform law? >> if the healthcare reform law gets struck down, let's go where we really need to go which is taking on the cost of healthcare, taking on the health insurance industry, taking on the pharmaceutical industry. we have got to make this about taking care of patients, not profits. we have got to make sure healthcare is about the american patient and address the costs. >> well, tommy berra a candidate of congress out of sacramento california. thank you for joining us. hopefully part of the contentions that will be occupying the majority in the next congressional session. coming up, smart politicians have bee

lungren. mr. watt is recognized. >> thank you, chairman. let me start by expressing my disappointment that some of my colleagues are spending so much time advancing the notion that we should be disqualifying people from exercising the most basic right that they have in our democracy. the right to vote. and that -- and this is the judiciary committee in which these arguments are being advanced is just disappointing to me. second, i want to applaud the justice department for some work that they're doing in my congressional district in particular. some very high-level cases, fighting drug trafficking. protecting against child predators. a bunch of money we spent on the c.o.p.s program and the most vigorous supporters of the c.o.p.s program are the most conservative sheriffs in my congressional district because they've been able to access funding to beef up their law enforcement capacities. so i won't go back to the voting rights part of this because i think i'll get too emotional about that. let me deal with the thing that's under my subcommit

thank you, congressman dan lungren and congressman peter welsh, we appreciate your time. >> thank you. >>> i mentioned at the top of the show that chris is out at mount rushmore, he is doing a promotional shoot for msnbc and we have got some pictures of him there beneath the heads of washington, jefferson, teddy roosevelt and lincoln. he will be back here hosting "hardball" tomorrow night. and we will be right back. >>> welcome back to "hardball." now for the sideshow. first off, doughnuts anyone? mitt romney doesn't have the best of luck when it comes to accepting treats on the campaign tray. you remember when he inadvertently insulted a small bakery owner and 7-11 during a small event in pennsylvania? >> not sure about these cookies. they don't look like you made them. did you make those cookies? you didn't, did you? they came from the local -- >> bakery. >> 7-11, bakery, wherever. >> the bakery owner behind those cookies was less-than-pleased. here is what happened when romney asked an aide to grab snacks for the road at an event in iowa on friday. >> derek, would you see that one

so, he is as outraged about it as anybody. >> so congressman lungren, what are the poll thoisks?he investigation that's about to take place cool this situation, politically speaking, or can you see it inflaming it? >> well, look, this is probably not the answer you want, but i frankly don't care about the politics, i care about the actual facts, the substance of what's happened. this has hurt the national security interests of the united states. now, either "the new york times" was like when they say the kinds of things they put in there were -- they received from people in government and had it confirmed by people in government or, in fact, they are telling the truth. if you look at the level of detail, if you look at the decision making that is articulated in here, described in here it has to come not just from midlevel officials but from higher up officials. that's what's so concerning to me. politically, you luke at it and say why would someone do this? it doesn't advance the interest of the united states. it does make a more personal political positive for the president. so

thank you, congressman dan lungren and congressman peter welsh, we appreciate your time. >> thank you>>> i mentioned at the top of the show that chris is out at mount rushmore, he is doing a promotional shoot for msnbc and we have got some pictures of him there beneath the heads of washington, jefferson, teddy roosevelt and lincoln. he will be back here hosting "hardball" tomorrow night. and we will be right back. ♪ how are things on the west coast? ♪ ♪ i hear you... ♪ rocky mountain high ♪ rocky, rocky mountain high ♪ ♪ all my exes live in texas ♪ ♪ born on the bayou [ female announcer ] the perfect song for everywhere can be downloaded almost anywhere. ♪ i'm back, back in the new york groove ♪ [ male announcer ] the nation's largest 4g network. covering 2,000 more 4g cities and towns than verizon. rethink possible. who's she? downy unstopables. here to shake up your fresh. toss these little scent boosters in before you wash. and the fresh scent will last until you're ready to wash again. downy unstopables. the fresh too feisty to quit. until you're ready to wash again. loyalty disco

lungren: i thank the gentleman for yielding.ise in support of h.r. 5882, legislative branch appropriations act. as chairman of the committee on house administration which oversees many of the agencies affected by these appropriations, i am pleased we are continuing to uphold our pledge to reduce government spending while providing the necessary security and support for each member to fulfill their constitutional responsibility. since taking control of the house, we worked diligently to identify and eliminate wasteful spending, streamlining and improving operations by using technology, thereby saving taxpayers millions. we have also worked to reduce spending on the production and printing of unnecessary publications, including an amendment offered by my colleague, mr. harper, to reduce the number of the copies of the u.s. code printed for the house. with the support of the appropriations committee, it will further improve house technology through the advancement of programs utilized by the law revision counsel and office of legis

fair to say ron johnson's continued pain at jcpenney is terry lungren's gain at macy's?> i think that's been one area of disappointment, you haven't seen stronger top line at macy's as a result of this or at kohl's either. so i think the beneficiary today has been more t-j maxx and ross stores. i think it has helped macy's. i think it probably would help them more if they are more than aggressive on the advertising front, an additional opportunity for them. today i thought they might have benefited even more from that. >> i think i would have as well. great to talk to you as always. >> jcpenney, stay short. >> macy's, saks or nordstrom. >> i look to buy macy's, i've been in nordstrom a long time. i look to buy macy's, half the multiple of jcpenney. >> coming up copper, is it forecasting further economic weakness. find out if you can steer clear or stick with some of the highest stocks. ation... and without a line. now that's a fast car. it's just another way you'll be traveling at the speed of hertz. home protector plus, from liberty mutual insurance, where the costs to

lungren is recognized. >> thank you very much. i follow-up from what my friend from virginia, mr. goodlatte had to say with respect to the stevens case. i realize you reassigned people after that. i realize it was an investigation and indictment that came before you were attorney general. that's not the point. the point is if you have no real consequences now, you'll have no real choices in the future. that was conduct stated by the judge to be outrageous. he held a hearing as to whether a new trial ought to be called before he made a ruling. you did come forward with the motion to dismiss, recognizing the problems. internally, the investigations showed widespread misconduct among the whole team. and, yet, i am unaware of anybody that was fired. and senator stevens lost his election, but more importantly, lost his reputation. and i happen to think that in the absence of serious action taken against employees of either the department of justice, prosecutorial court, or the fbi, that frankly the message is not seriously received. so i would just like to state that for the record. an

exact same questions about fast and furious, whether you were john ashcroft, whether you were dan lungren, whether you were bob goodlatte. i don't care about the political ideology of the u.s. attorney or the attorney general. >> all i will say is this. the decisions i have been in connections with anything i've done in the justice department don't reflect my political ideology. they reflect my view of the facts, the law and what my responsibility is as attorney general of the united states. >> well, why did your department say that? why did your department in december say that you were a target because you consistently take progressive stands? do you think that's why i'm asking you about fast and furious? because of your political ideology? >> i have -- i will accept that your question to me is one that is based in good faith. i'm not going to say, i'm not going to ignore reality and say that all of the attacks that have been directed at me have been those that are nonpolitical in nature or that have come in good faith. >> can i be motivated by good faith? can i be motivated by good fait

lungren: mr. speaker, we've just had a very important vote and some would ask what this second vote is about. this second vote is a simple authorization for the committee involved to be able to essentially hire council that would allow us to go into court to seek a decollartory judgment by the federal court to enforce the subpoenas that have been presented by this committee to the attorney general of the united states. it's a simple, straightforward resolution. why is it important? one of our obligations under the constitution is to provide oversight of the executive branch. there are those on this -- in this body who have been here and engaged in debate with respect to important items such as the patriot act and fisa. and one of the things we have attempted to assure our constituents was that we would ensure that the constitutional rights of americans would not be trampled upon as we carry out the appropriate -- appropriate responsibility of protecting this country and our constituents against te

lungren used. >> if you want to give me an additional two minutes, i am fine with it. >> we will apply a rule on one side of this aisle, we should apply the rule to the other side. >> the gentleman from california has the time and the attorney general will have time to answer the question. >> you have not produce all of the materials requested. >> i am not sure about that. >> i am sure that you did not, so let's move on. >> forbrian t-- before -- before brian terry was gunned down. july 2, the real date of our independence, 2010. obviously, earlier. these wiretap applications, which we did not subpoena, but which were given to us by a group of whistleblowers who are tired of your stonewalling, indicate a number of key individuals in your administration were responsible for information contained in here that clearly shows the tactics of fast and furious were known and they are contained in these wiretaps. i understand you have read these wiretaps since we brought them to your attention. >> i have read them and i disagree with the conclusion you have reached. >> that to me go through a s

lungren that visiting a federal building, even your building, is maybe not impossible but difficult without a picture id. and if it's difficult or impossible to visit a government building without a photo id, then how can we allow someone to choose our government without a photo id? >> see, i think the question is if you look at for instance, south carolina, they had in place measures that protected the integrity of the ballot before they went to the photo id. and i don't say photo ids are necessary that the question is how the structures are put in place, how they are distribute, whether or not it has an impact on people of certain race, certain ethnicity, certain age. >> why would a? >> the gentleman's time has expired. thank you, mr. king. the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters. >> i would like to welcome you, mr. attorney general. i had a number of questions i want to ask you but might attention has been diverted to the line of questioning from congressman goodman. it is well-known that you dismiss the charges that were placed against senator stevens following your investigation th

lungren fat visiting a federal building, even your building, is maybe not impossible but difficult without a picture i.d. and if it's difficult or impossible to visit a government building without a photo idea then how can we allow someone to help choose our government without a photo i.d.. >> i think the question is if you look at south carolina, they have had in place measures that protect the integrity of the ballot before they went to the photo i.d. and i don't say photo ids are necessarily bad. the question is how the structure is put in place, how they are distributed and whether you have disproportionate impact the people of a certain race or ethnicity. >> why would it. >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> the gentleman -- gentlelady from california ms. waters. >> i would like to welcome you attorney general. i have a number of questions i want to ask you but my tent attention has been diverted from the line of questioning from mr. goodlatte. it is well-known that you dismissed the charges that were placed against senator stevens following your investigation that indicated that c

lungren is recognized. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman and mr. attorney general. i followed with what mr. goodlatte had to stay with respect to the stephen's case. i realize that you reassign people after that. i realize it was an investigation and indictment that came before you. that is not the point. the point is, if you have no real consequences now, you're going to have no real changes in the future. that was conduct that was stated by the judge to be outrageous. he held a hearing as to whether a new trial ought to be called before he made a ruling. you didn't come forward with a motion recognizing to dismiss, recognizing the investigations showed widespread misconduct among the whole team. and yet i am unaware of anybody that was fired. his election, more importantly, he lost his reputation. i happen to think that in the absence of serious action taken against employees, of either the department of justice prussic -- prosecutorial court, the message is not clear. i would like to state that for the record. >> if i were lucky enough to be invited down to meet

lungren and jane harman who was in congress at that time. it was a very good bill. this adds to it and improves on it. i urge its adoption. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mississippi. mr. thompson: thank you, plips. our -- mississippi. our nation's ports are as diverse as the people they serve. the importance of this infrastructure to the global supply chain cannot be overstate. enactment of h.r. 4005 will help ensure that our limited security resources can be targeted to those threats that put our ports at greatest risk. with that, mr. speaker, i urge the passage of h.r. 40 05 -- 4005 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4005 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the -- the gentleman from new york. mr. king: i object to the votes on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of ord