pane loan, and madam chair. i rise -- mr. pallone and madam chair. i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 1173. this bill is another republican attempt to tear down and dismantle programs that provide health care in the united states . we have medicare, and the republican alternative to medicare is to shift more costs on to seniors, give them a voucher, let them pay more if they want more than that voucher will provide. and that voucher won't provide much over time. on medicaid they just want to shift the costs on to the states. so the states could tell a lot of very poor people i am he a sorry, we don't have enough -- i'm sorry, we don't have enough money to take care of you but we are not required to under federal law. they said they didn't want the affordable care act, they wanted to repeal it, but they haven't told us what they want to put in its place. they said that this was going to be repeal and replace. they proposed a repeal, we have no proposal to replace it. the republicans now want to take a part of the affordable care act, the class progra

thank you, madame secretary. i look forward to hearing your testimony. >> i thank the ranking member. it is the chair's intention to continue the hearing during votes. and now it is an honor to welcome the secretary to our committee today, the honorable hillary rodham clinton has served as the 67th secretary of state for the united states since january 21, 2009, the latest chapter in her four-decade career of public service. she has served previously as a united states senator from the state of new york, as first lady of the united states, and of the state of arkansas, as an attorney, and a law professor. madame secretary, without objection, your full written statement will be made part of the record if you would be so kind as to summarize your written remarks, we can then move quickly to the question and answer discussion under the five-minute rule and the hope to getting to all of our members before you have to depart. madame secretary, welcome again, and the floor is yours. >> thank you very much, madame chair

secretary. >> thank you, madam chairman and madam secretary. i have a couple of written questions that i want to submit for your consideration. madam secretary, this may be one of the last times together. and so i want to publicly thank you for re-estabilshing america's influence abroad. especially towards the asia pacific region. as you stated and i quote, "the future of politics will be decided in asia, not in afghanistan or iraq." and the united states will will be right at the center of the action.efforts, i believe the united states will be front and center. so i thank you for bucking tradition for your first trip overseas. on your first trip overseas, you visited asia to convey a strong message that america's relationship across the asia pacific region are indispensable. and in your many trips since then from vietnam to cambodia, to meyanmar and japan and beyon, you're about the business of making and keeping commitments that will pay dividends many times over. a plaud you for recognizing the importance of the pacific island nations in th

thank you, madam secretary. mr. carnahan is recognized. >> thank you, madam chair and madam secretary, great to have you back. i want to say thank you for following up with the caucus and those concerns we had raised earlier given the fact that they have new government in place we hope that continued u.s. international support can help move them forward. first of all, thank you for that. i also wanted to commend you on their recently announced international partnership, the climate and clean air coalition to reduce short-term pollutants. it underscores the global nature of the challenge as well as advantages to working with partners at the u.n. and around the world. i want to ask has that investment paid off in terms of stronger commitments by developing countries? and can we count on them to continue and fulfill those commitments if we are not honoring our pledges? >> thank you for raising that, congressman. because we continue to believe that climate change and the consequences of climate change pose national secu

sewell: thank you madam chair, madam speaker. today, i rise to recognize a critical role of community colleges and the role they play in economic recovery and the continued growth across their communities. in the seventh congressional district, the state of alabama and this country, the most important issue is job creation. in parts of the seventh congressional district that i am so privileged to represent, unemployment rates are as high as 16%. this persist sent high unemployment -- persistent high unemployment number -- there are important and critical parts of our nation's growth and i think that the junior colleges, our community college system can play a vital role in developing our nation's greatest resource, our people. a lasting partnership between the private sector and community colleges is key to creating an economy built to last. these partnerships ensure that future workers are being prepared to take advantage of every opportunity in the employment sector as we recover in this economy. in order to win the future, we

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i want to associate myself with the remarks of the senator from south dakota and follow up as, in that regard. yesterday i came to the senate floor and explained how the president's ideological outlook on the policies that have grown out of it will only continue to drive up the cost of gasoline at the pump. and after i spoke, the president's energy secretary seemed to confirm it when he told a congressional panel that the department of energy isn't working to drive down the price of gas. they're working to wean us off of it altogether. and that high gas prices add urgency to those efforts. in other words, high gas prices actually help the administration achieve what it is trying to achieve. what i suggested yesterday and what i'm suggesting again this morning is that we look at statements like this and many others from the president and some of his top advisors in the past along with the president's actual policies when it c

pane loan, and madam chair. i rise -- mr. pallone and madam chair. i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 1173. this bill is another republican attempt to tear down and dismantle programs that provide health care in the united states . we have medicare, and the republican alternative to medicare is to shift more costs on to seniors, give them a voucher, let them pay more if they want more than that voucher will provide. and that voucher won't provide much over time. on medicaid they just want to shift the costs on to the states. so the states could tell a lot of very poor people i am he a sorry, we don't have enough -- i'm sorry, we don't have enough money to take care of you but we are not required to under federal law. they said they didn't want the affordable care act, they wanted to repeal it, but they haven't told us what they want to put in its place. they said that this was going to be repeal and replace. they proposed a repeal, we have no proposal to replace it. the republicans now want to take a part of the affordable care act, the class progra

thank you, madam chair. i rise today to offer an amendment of h.r. 3581, the budget accounting and transparency act. my amendment restores a critical step that was skipped by my republican colleagues. you see, we never once had a hearing in the budget committee devoted specifically to exploring the main proposal contained in this bill, the use of fair value estimates to determine the cost of federal loans. if i could change that, i would, but my republican colleagues have pushed this bill to the floor. when many shake their heads at political gamesmanship that has dominated this institution, my amendment asks that we be objectably smart rather than just politically savvy about a policy decision with major repercussions. if this legislation took effect this year, c.b.o. estimated we would see the federal deficit jump by $55 billion. this is a bill that would impact things like housing loans, student loans, small business loans and even our mortgage guaranteed programs for vets. it would create the appearance

miss fobs: thank you, madam -- ms. foxx: thank you, madam chairman. i want to state my opposition to this amendment and i yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not -- the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i have a desk. amendment number 5. the chair: does gentleman request a recorded vote on amendment number three? mr. polis: no. the chair: the amendment is not agreed to. it's now in order to considered amendment number 4. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise -- force mr. polis: i have an amendment at the desk number five. the chair: would the gentleman be speaking on amendment number four which is the amendment that is in order at this moment? mr. polis: i ask -- the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. bishop: madam speaker, i have a desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 4, printed i

castor: thank you, madam speaker. i ask my colleagues to support the stock act when it comes up later today. the stock act is the stop trading on congressional knowledge act. it essentially bans members of congress from using their position and information that is not available to the general public for their own personal gain, such as purchasing stocks based upon information we learn from a briefing here on capitol hill. public office is a public trust , and rules that apply to our neighbors and americans all across the understand should equally apply to members of congress. i'd like to congratulate my colleague, congresswoman louise slaughter from new york, and congressman tim walz from minnesota, who have worked on this legislation year in and year out. colleagues, we should all vote in favor of the stock act. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> thank you, mr.

madam speaker, i'll read it. "the president shall have the power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session." this is the recess appointment authority, madam speaker. you heard it said. the president has the power to make recess appointments. the president shall have the power to fill all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the senate undisputed. undisputed, madam speaker. article 2, section 2, clause 3. article 2, section 2, clause 2. "the president shall have power by and with the advice and consent of the senate to make treaties, and he shall nominate and by and with the advice and consent of the senate shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers, consuls, judges of the supreme court and all other officers of the united states whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for." the president shall have the power to make appointments if the senate is in recess but if the senate is n

ross: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to recognize my colleague from the great state of north carolina, ms. foxx, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized for three minutes. ms. foxx: thank you, madam speaker. and i thank my friend from florida for yielding and thank mr. duffy for introducing this bill. as a consistent opponent of automatic pay increases for members of congress, i am pleased to support the bill before us today which would extend the pay freeze for federal employees and members of congress for another year through december 31, 2013. with the record shattering budget deficits racked up under the obama administration, immediate action is needed to restrain runaway government increases and do no more harm to hardworking american taxpayers. president obama's liberal democrat enablers in congress attempt to ignore the true solution by suggesting endless tax increases which never have and never will represent the long-term solution to our budget proble

thank you, madam speaker. today's payroll tax conference agreement will provide $1,000 in the pockets of more than 160 million americans and ensure that approximately 3.5 million americans will continue to benefit from much-needed unemployment insurance. we've also protected seniors' ability to see their doctors with an s.g.r. fix through the end of the year. despite these critical provisions though, this is a difficult vote to take. i'm greatly disappointed how these extensions are offsets. first, the unemployment extension is paid for on the backs of the hardworking middle-class individuals. they are not the reason for our nation's deficit. meanwhile, my republican colleagues refuse to require the wealthiest few to pay their fair share. secondly, the s.g.r. fix is being paid for by critical health care dollars. it slashes one of the most important progresses we have made in long-term health. we will never address the real concerns of our health care system. sadly, the bill manages to cut from one provider ho

engel of new york. >> thank you, madam chair. welcome, madam secretary. the united states is proud of you, but in new york we're especially proud of you. i want to ask three questions. i'll try to do them one at a time. i've just come back from a trip to israel where i've met with people at the highest levels of government. there is a big fear in israel that the united states is adjusting to the containment of iranian nuclear weapons rather than stopping them at all costs. and as you, of course, know, we have said that sanctions work. many in israel believe if we wait too long we'll be at the point of no return and iran will not be stopped at all. can you please comment on that and assure us we are not for a position of containment? >> our policy, congressman, is prevention. our policy is to prevent iran from attaining nuclear weapons capability. we have a two-track policy, pressure and engagement. we are pursuing both simultaneously to that end. >> okay. thank you. i want to speak with you about the balkans. you and i had several discussions in the past

thank you, madam speaker. this past week i had the privilege of visiting fire machine systems in patterson, new york, in our beautiful hudson valley district 19. 30 years in hudson valley making the big machines that make components for manufacturers around the world. local employer, loads of potential, being held back by nearly every aspect of federal policy. ms. hayworth: trade, environment, education, financial services and health care all burdening this great local business. but the number one problem that mr. fire would like us to fix here in the federal government is the federal deficit. so as we approach our work this year, i will keep this vividly in mind. we must have sympathy, respect and a sense of awe for our hardworking, hard-pressed taxpayers and job creators. they are the true engine, not the federal government. they are the true engine of growth and the ultimate purchaser and securer of our liberties. and i yield back. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields ba

conyers: thank you, madam speaker.embers of the house, we come here this morning as the leaders of the judiciary committee and i have to assume that the chairman of the judiciary committee, mr. smith, like myself, are deeply disappointed that we are bringing a bill that we never had a hearing on before the committee for -- before the congress for a disposition. here is a bill referred to six committees -- financial services, agriculture, judiciary, house administration, ethics, and the rules committee. only one hearing was held in one of these committees on this measure. it's never been before judiciary or any other committee. and so i want to begin by complimenting the author of this measure, the ranking member, former chairman of rules committee, the gentlelady from new york, luis slaughter, for -- louise slaughter, for a serious and important amendment that has never been treated fairly. now, don't know what the explanation is. maybe we can get to it during this proceeding, but i think that this is not the way that

thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? mr. connolly: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. connolly: madam speaker, a silent movie won this year's oscar for the best picture. that award just as easy could have gone here to the house. because the house republicans continue to be silent on job creation and seem intent on dragging america back to 19289 -- 1929 when the last silent film won the oscar. when republicans recently held a hearing in contraception, they did their best to silence female voices. inviting five men and zero women to testify on the topic of female reproductive health. since they gained the majority, house republicans have been painfully silent about actually creating jobs. in 2011 they voted for a budget that would have cut 700,000 of them. this year they proposed a transportation bill that would cut another

madam president, i want to thank him. madam president, article 1, section 9, of the u.s. constitution simply states -- quote -- "no money shall be drawn from the treasury but in consequence of appropriations made by law." end quote. fairly simple statement, like a lot of things in the constitution, but is loaded with importance. we often talk about this clause as a power given to congress in the constitution. and i think that's true. but i'd also classify it as a responsibility. it is our responsibility as a congress to write annual appropriations laws to fund the government's commitments to its citizens. it's our responsibility to do that. the principle of appropriation is a basic rule of governing. and i think that a lot of people would agree that we've lost sight of many of the basics around here. but the basics, i believe, are important, and i'd like to get back to them. that includes the senate and hopefully the house passing the annual appropriations bills through what we call the regular order. and this is where i want to thank the two leaders: senator mcconnell an

chairman and madam secretary for your rv

thank you, madam secretary for being before us today. i have two questions for you. the first is that i recently was in the calexico/mexican border. and from the mexican side they have poured cement. they have built new roadways to come over to make another land port, if you will, that i think was, from my understanding, was agreed to by both sides and somehow or another the funding has not come or the cuts in the budget are not making this new land port happen from our side, which is just amazing to see it happening on the other end and nothing from our end. the first thing would be, the locals had asked me to come and take a look at it. obviously, the council people and the county supervisor. so what's going on with that and what can we do because they tell me that it's about three hours standing time if you're a pedestrian to go across that section right now. and i happen to know because i have family in mexicali, so i asked them. what to you think? they said it's taken way too long. two, three hours. sometimes in the summer it's hours out there with no cover. so

duncan. >> thank you, madame chairman. let me just pause to say thank you for arranging a tour of the port of baltimore recently where i had an opportunity to witness some of the things that the ranking members are talking about with scrutiny of manifest, looking at country of origin, stops of the ship that's carrying the containers, possible interdiction, multiple places along the then the active screening there at the port for radioactive material, chemical and biological issues. and so when you think about the number of ports in this country and the number of containers that come in, i'm amazed that we're able to do as well as a job as we do. i commend the gentlemen that are doing that, implementing the policies of this country every day to keep us safe. so thank you and thanks for educating me. i guess the question i have is that mcaleenan, i wasn't here for the introductions, madame chairman so i apologize. can cbp evetively screen high risk shipments in a way that expedites legitimate commerce? from what i saw, there

madam secretary, it's fwood seeing you again. i believe you're going down to my district next week and i hope that actually i'll be in there at the same area you'll be at, so i hope to see you there. again, thank you. i know dealing with a budget is always hard. i thank you for looking at the add mrlt i costs, retuxs, the programs that you had. thank you for doing that, for making your agency more efficient, more effective. the report that came out on march 2011 talked about a 639$64 million that came about because of the elimination of that north american trade agreement country exceptions. it's been going on, i believe, since 2008. there's authorization, there's no thorsization. bottom line is, that's a lot of money that's available if we can use that for -- for border because that came in from the trade issues. what is the status on trying to get that? why can't we get that money out especially in these tight municipal times. >> i don't know sitting here. i don't know whether there's some st

madam administrator, i'm concerned about the efforts being undertaken at u.s. epa to supplant state rec regulators on a number of environmental issues particularly where states have been the sole regulators for decades. quite frankly, i'm proud of my folks in nebraska and i think they have done a nine job. since this is a budget hearing it strikes me as if the federal government were going to push the states aside so it can occupy the regulatory field in a way it never has. that you are going to need lots of new bodies in your regional offices and d.c. headquarters as well as lots of new budget authority to pay for these people and programs. so i'd appreciate if you'd state the first part of the question, the additional budget authority epa needs to increase its in-house expertise and expand its problematic and enforcement reach to carry out the authorities, especially as it relates to permitting inspections, technical compliant assistance and regulatory enforcement. >> in fact, mr. terry, in general, the budget goes different direction. i used to run a state p

thank you. >> thank you very much. >> madam secretary, thank you for being here today. i think you earned a well-deserved respect on both sides of the aisle the way you worked with all of us on both sides of the aisle and i thank you for that. i really do. i thank you for coming before a committee that doesn't do authorizing. you are preventing the budget and much of this is to the appropriations committee. there may be a few meetings regarding this, but it's nice of to you come up anyway. we won't impact that in any way. one of the things we did impact was a star treaty. we worked with them to work through the star treaty. i supported the star treaty and we worked closely with the office to make sure all of the compliments of the ty

conyers: thank you, madam speaker.embers of the house, we come here this morning as the leaders of the judiciary committee and i have to assume that the chairman of the judiciary committee, mr. smith, like myself, are deeply disappointed that we are bringing a bill that we never had a hearing on before the committee for -- before the congre for a disposition. here is a bill referred to six committees -- financial services, agriculture, judiciary, house administration, ethics, and the rules committee. only one hearing was held in one of these committees on this measure. it's never been before judiciary or any other committ. and so i want to begin by complimenting the author of this measure, the ranking member, former chairman of rules committee, the gentlelady from new york, luis slaughter, for -- louise slaughter, for a serious and important amendment that has never been treated fairly. now, i don't know what the explanation is. maybe we can get to it during th proceeding, but i think that this is not the way that we w

thank you, madam secretary. >> thank you, congressman. with respect to gas prices, i think there is room for considering ways to rein in speculation and gouging. yes, are there events that are happening in the world that raise questions? yes. but to the extent that it justifies or can explain the increase in the gas prices, i don't believe so. so therefore i -- i have long thought that there has to be some market mechanism that can be explored to try to break speculation that is unrelated. now if, you know, the iranians close the strait of hormuz, that would be a real event and we'd have to deal with it, but that would cause the market to obviously react. but right now there's talk in the air about all kinds of things, but there is no event. so i do think it's worth exploring the legislation that you referenced. with respect to manufacturing, this administration has brought more trade action against china, against unfair trade practices, against the theft of intellectual property. and we will continue to do so. because we don't fear a lev

>> thank you, madame secretary. we're having a little bit of a shuffling here, but we'll get through this. i note that the rate of uninsured in the country was at 17.1% in eleven, which is up about 7% over 2010, and even more than that from 2008. and one of the reasons given for the increased number of uninsured is the number of individuals losing employer-provided coverage. the congressional budget office originally estimated that only some 7% of employees would lose their employer-provided coverage, as the health insurance exchanges were implemented in 2010. mckenzie, the business consulting group, has estimated that at minimum, somewhere on the order of 30% of employees would lose their employer-provided coverage, and it could well be as high as 50 to 60%. and indeed, i think it's easy to see why that's true, because the financial incentives for an employer would create a reason for them to drop their employee coverage and to then require those individual employees to seek their coverage in the health insurance e

chairman, and thank you madam secretary, for being here and for your testimony. and for the tremendous service that you provide to our country. i understand from the budget that for the first time a major focus of homeland security will be grant funding, will be sustainment of capabilities, and just to clarify, and help me understand, does this mean that you intend to focus more on sustainment of capabilities and will this maybe over support new developments? >> it depends. representative, it depends on you know what a particular community needs. it may need to buy something new, but what we have found in the past is that there was -- there used to be prohibition on being able to pay for maintenance, you know, over time. so there was a cost emphasis on buying new "stuff" for lack of a better term. we think now with $39 billion out the door that's time to look at how we maintain those resources as well as on purchasing new ones. >> what you see, the sustainments, as being transitional, or would it be perennial? >> again, you know, with respect to 20 -- the past ye

madam secretary, earlier in the hearings you talked about the increased threats from iran against soft targets, some synagogues and such in new york. a city where we have a large concentration of them. these organizations had been eligible and are eligible for the national preparedness grant program. can you tell me the status of that? >> yes. we have set aside some money in the 2012 grant awards for the national preparedness -- for ngos, excuse me -- under the national preparedness program. our idea or our vision is to consolidate everything under one major grant program and that would be one of the grants consolidated. so to be -- to summarize, there will be a separate car vouts now merged into one umbrella program. >> and this year versus last year, increases? >> i'm not at liberty to say because of the rules of the body require us to provided a quit -- or a certain number of days notice. >> all right. we'll wait for that. all right. thank you. and just another moment. i like your comment, again, earlier the 287-gs were talked about and the cooperation between local departments. as

polis: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself the remainder of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 3 1/2 minutes. mr. polis: thank you, madam speaker. the expedited line-item veto and recisions act is a fiscally sound way for the congress and the president to reduce wasteful government spending and ensure that american taxpayer dollars are spent wisely. this legislation will help in a small way to address our budget crisis. again, i want to be clear that the expedited line-item veto and recisions act does not solve our deficit, does not restore fiscal discipline and fiscal integrity to our country but is the step in the right direction that will produce savings that will all be applied to deficit reduction under this bill. the bill is a balanced measure and i know there is some support and opposition from both sides of the aisle. i encourage my colleagues to seriously consider supporting this small but important step forward. the country's budget situation is dire. the supercommittee'

thank you, madame chairman for your courtesy, as well. >> thank you. we do have some very specific ideas and plans about what we could do to assist afghanistan being more integrated into the regional economy, developing their own economic assets. i would like to take it for the record to give you a broader set of responses. because we see this as you just said as a critical part to really support the transition of our military troops out into 2014. they do go hand-in-hand, which is one of the reasons the transition period for military withdrawal was established. we will follow up with you. and congressman conley, we are doing everything we can think of to influence the russians and the chinese. particularly the russians. they're the ones with the very deep, long standing relationship with the assad family, with syria. they continue to sell arms to the syrian regime. so we know that if we can persuade them to work with us at least on the humanitarian issue, they will have access to assad that hardly anybody else does have. certainly nobody in the west.

ross: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to recognize my colleague from the great state of north carolina, ms. foxx, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized for three minutes. ms. foxx: thank you, madam speaker. and i thank my friend from florida for yielding and thank mr. duffy for introducing this bill. as a consistent opponent of automatic pay increases for members of congress, i am pleased to support the bill before us today which would extend the pay freeze for federal employees and members of congress for another year through december 31, 2013. with the record shattering budget deficits racked up under the obama administration, immediate action is needed to restrain runaway government increases and do no more harm to hardworking american taxpayers. president obama's liberal democrat enablers in congress attempt to ignore the true solution by suggesting endless tax increases which never have and never will represent the long-term solution to our budget proble

madam secretary, welcome back to the committee. as always i think you know this it is a great pleasure for us to welcome you here, to have you here, and it is enormously helpful for us to hear your thoughts, especially at a time when we are facing so many different challenges and at the same time i think presented with so many opportunities. the demand for u.s. leadership, i think, has never been higher. whether because of the issues raised by the arab spring, by nuclear proliferation, climate change, particularly the challenge of iran and the middle east. budget realities, however, have placed a premium on projecting u.s. power. not only effectively, but efficiently. i think that more than at recent moments we need a smart, coordinated and strong budget in order to safeguard the american people. particularly to fund the administration's pursuit of opportunities and to face the challenges that we are all too well aware of. obviously for anybody running for office, i know you know this, madam secretary, cutting foreign aid and talki

. >> thank you, madam secretary, for being here today. the president's budget cut the flight deck program from $20 million down to $12.5 million. this is an approximate 50% decrease. this program comprised of volunteers who ultimately pay more out of their pockets than it actually costs for them to be an ffdo, to protect our nation. in fact, to provide the protection for each flight deck officer, for each ffdo flight, costs the nation $15. that's how effective -- efficient the federal flight deck program is. i have to believe that is probably one of the most cost effective programs in the united states government. these guys basically volunteer their time and money to be a vital deterrent to our country. quite frankly, they're the last line of defense when it comes to air piracy for flying. my question for you would be, what would you -- what prompt -- did you make this cut? did it come from the president? where did it come from? >> the reduction for the federal flight deck officer program is predicated on the fact the program the not ris

barrasso: thank you, madam president. madam president, i come to the floor as i do week after week as a physician who practiced medicine in caspar, wyoming, taking care of families in the community and across the state for about a quarter of a century. and i come as a doctor providing a second opinion about the health care law. since this health care law was signed by the president almost two years ago, the public has been overwhelmingly opposed to it. democrats in congress drafted this health care law. they did so quickly and behind closed doors. in spite of the president's promise that discussions would be held on c-span, no one saw what was happening. well, now the bill is law. and as nancy pelosi said, first you have to pass it before you get to find out what's in it, we have as americans witnessed week after week the unintended consequences of the rush of the democrats to score what they thought would be a political victory. so i continue to come to the floor with a second opinion, because week after week there is an

hoyer: thank you madam speaker. i've taken the unusual process of claiming time in opposition to this bill. i have done so so i could place in context the bill we are considering. i do not rise to necessarily defeat this bill. i'm going to vote against this bill. i am for almost all of this bill. what we are funding this bill with was unnecessary unfair and ought to be rejected. i want to say at the outset that my friend mr. camp, and i had a very positive discussion. i believe that mr. camp and i could have reached an agreement which would have put me in support of this legislation. we didn't get there. we tried late in the game and we didn't get there. i regret that. i think mr. camp tried. i know that everybody on my side would have supported the agreement that mr. van hollen and i put forward. that agreement would, as the current agreement would say that the only individuals paying for this bill out of 315 million americans are the two million civilian workers who work for us, who work for all of us, who day aft

madam clerk, please read item 24. >> item number 24. motion appointing supervisor eric mar, term ending november 28, 2012, to the california state association of counties. supervisor chiu: without objection, he shall be reduced. can we take a roll call vote? >> [roll-call vote] there are 10 ayes. supervisor chiu: the motion is approved. item number 25? >> item number 25. motion approving the mayor's appointment of richard hillis to the board of appeals, for the term ending july 1, 2012. supervisor chiu: roll-call vote, please. >> [roll-call vote] there are 11 ayes. supervisor chiu: the motion is approved. item number 26? >> item number 26. motion appointing supervisor carmen chu, term ending june 30, 2013, to the association of bay area governments executive board. supervisor chiu: without objection, she shall be excused. roll-call vote? >> [roll-call vote] there are ten ayes. supervisor chiu: the motion is approved. let's skip over the 3:00 p.m. special order in go to item 29. >> it was considered at the regular meeting, monday, januar

brown: thank you, madam president. one more point i want to make, we must remain vigilant in enforcement of our trade laws. our progress in autos is at risk of being undercut if we allow china to continue to cheat trade rules, flaunt its predatory auto trade practices in our faces. only ten years ago china, our trade deficit in auto parts with china was only about $1 billion. that has grown 800% to about $9 billion to $10 billion. that means more than 1.6 million american jobs are at risk. our trade deficit with china is continuing to cause difficulty for middle-class americans. china has begun placing tariffs on american-made automobiles. these massive illegal subsidies are worsened by indirect predatory subsidies like currency is i manipulation. that's why, madam president, i'm encouraged by the president's announcement of a new trade enforcement panel. it's born of the realizeization that the stakes are too high for our workers and our companies and our economy if we don't fight back. we need all hands on deck appro

madam clerk, please call item number four. >> item four, lafco calendar for 2012. supervisor campos: this is the proposed lafco calendar from the 2012 year. let's hear from mr. jason fried. >> what you have in front of you is a calendar for meetings to help us make sure we're able to get the schedule far enough in advance. we take the traditional fourth friday from the previous year and continue to that, with some exceptions in may. we went to the third friday because the fourth friday, and that leads into memorial day weekend. i wanted to make sure we have a quorum. in august, we take a break. in november and december, we can find those two meetings for the holidays. it will be at the beginning of december. that is the schedule that is proposed of the board wishes to accept it or not. supervisor campos: colleagues, we had a schedule that is proposed. i do not know if any of you have any comments to the schedule or any proposed changes on the schedule. of course, you know, whatever action is taken here is taken with the understanding that there could be amendments

thank you madam secretary for being here today. the flight deck officer program was cut down by 50%. this program was made up of volunteers that pay more out of their pockets than it costs to protect our nation. in fact, to provide the protection for each flight deck officer, for each ffdo flight costs the nation 15 dl$15. that is how efficient the federal flight deck program is. i have to believe that is probably one of the most cost effective program in the u.s. government. they volunteer their time and money to be a deterrent and aid our country. they are the last line of defense when it comes to piracy. what prompted -- did you make this cut or did it come from the president? or where did it come from? >> i think the reduction for the federal flight deck officer program is predicated on the fakd that fact -- on the fact that it's not risk based. you'll have an ffdo whether somebody is on a flight or not and we are moving in the tsa to pri risk-based systems. >> i agree with risk based systems but i believe a $15 federal flight

. >> thank y madam president. members, the searing crisis has three independent factors going together. first of all there's a cold war underway between saudi arabia and iran. then an effect from what has been known as the arab spring sent thursday the desire in china and russia's part as well as other things took a stronger profile in the middle east conflict, trying to move left by the u.n. and the united states. we've been following the steps taken by the higher representative humanitarian aid which is sanctions at the forthcoming 27th and support for the arab league presidents. but we felt that she missed opportunities, but the coordinated approach amongst the members states. unfortunately none of these decisions have helped cut the appalling level of violence in the short term, which is effect in the syrian population. there is a concern we all share here. we heard the french foreign minister yesterday. we all lament the failure of the relation to go to the u.n. security council because of the russian 20 zito

hoyer: thank you madam speaker. i've taken the unusual process of claiming time in opposition to this bill. i have done so so i could place in context the bill we are considering. i do not rise to necessarily defeat this bill. i'm going to vote against this bill. i am for almost all of this bill. what we are funding this bill with was unnecessary unfair and ought to be rejected. i want to say at the outset that my friend mr. camp, and i had a very positive discussion. i believe that mr. camp and i could have reached an agreement which would have put me in support of this legislation. we didn't get there. we tried late in the game and we didn't get there. i regret that. i think mr. camp tried. i know that everybody on my side would have supported the agreement that mr. van hollen and i put forward. that agreement would, as the current agreement would say that the only individuals paying for ts bill out of 315 million americans are the two million civilian workers who work for us, who work for all of us, who day after

chairman, and thank you madam secretary and thank you for the tremendous service you provide for the country. i understand that for the budget the first time, a major focus of homeland security will be grant funded, and will be sustainment of capabilities and just to clarify and just so i can understand, does this mean that you are going to focus more on the sustainment of the capabilities, and will this maybe oversupport new developments? >> it depends, representative. it depends on what a particular community needs. it may need to buy something new, but what we have found in the past is that there was, and there used to be a prohibition of used to being able to pay for the maintenance over time, and so there was a constant emphasis on buying new stuff for lack of a better term. we think now with $35 billion out of the door, there is time to looking at how we maintain those resources as well as purchasing new ones. >> and what you are seeing the sustainments of support being transitional, or would it be perennial? >> again, our with respect to 20 -- the past years allocated and not

i thank you, madam president. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. durbin: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: too many americans are out of work. we know that. without a steady income, it is hard for families to stay current on their monthly expenses. we've all talked about the consequences of losing a job and when i meet with the unemployed in illinois, one of the first things we talk about is health insurance because that's one of the first casualties. it is very difficult, if not impossible, for someone unemployed to maintain cobra payments once they're out of work. they will a deplete their savings and find themselves in a vulnerable position. some fall behind on mortgage payments. more than 4 million families lost their homes during the housing crisis which began in 2008. another 10.7 million americans own mortgages under water. it was interesting, one of the major mortga

madam? >> madam secretary, in the budget he presented, the leading candidates for the recipient of the foreign assistance are israel and afghanistan, pakistan, iraq and egypt, in that order. what is a very sizable portion of money, 3 billion, the 2.5 for afghanistan, 2.2 for pakistan and so forth. my question comes down the fact long ago before you have any response of the the the united states decided to build the very largest in the see that we have ever had in the world in baghdad. during many years those of us that visit that building or the general compound note that have important security was around all of it. only for the united states personnel, but for the iraqi who were working with us to try to build democracy and stability in that country. and now as we have drawn our armed forces and as you have pointed out, the diplomatic mission still remains remarkably vital and important, i ask this question along with a sidebar of afghanistan what's in this budget he presented contemplates