price: thank you, madam speaker. and thanks to the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee for his work on h.res. 675, which i'm proud to rise in support of. it's a message of solidarity to the people of indonesia. i want to first thank the leadership of the committee on foreign affairs and the asia pacific subcommittee in particular for their leadership on this issue. in putting this resolution forward on behalf of the house democracy assistance commission, mr. dreier and i have worked closely with the committee leadership and staff as well as the leadership of the indonesia caucus, mr. wexler and mr. burton of indiana. a week ago last friday, july 17, two terrorists detonated suicide bombs inside two hotels in the central business district of djakarta. killing themselves and seven others and wounding over 50. it was the first successful attack in indonesia since 2005 and it comes at a time when the country has made substantial progress in the fight against terrorism. the attackers appear to have been targeting a

madam speaker, ms. norton earlier suggest that had prohibiting funding for abortion over which we have constitutional jurisdiction is none of our affair. to which i would respectfully submit, sending innocent and inconvenient children, protecting them from violence is always our affair. human rights and the defense of human rights, protecting the weak and the most vulnerable is always our affair. so i would respectfully ask members to reject this rule. last week president obama told of all people the pope that he wanted to reduce abortion. oh, really? this week pursuant to mr. obama's 2010 budget policy request, the house is getting ready to reverse a longstanding pro-life policy that prohibited taxpayer funding for abortions except in the rare cases of rape, incest or life of the mother. today's vote isn't just about whether pro-life americans will be forced to subsidize dismembering unborn children to death or paying to poison unborn children to death or including delivering premature children to eeff

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: under the previous order, leadership time be reserved. under the previous order, there will be a period of morning business for 95 minutes with the senator from illinois, mr. durbin, controlling the first five minutes, republicans controlling the next 60 minutes and the majority controlling the final 30 minutes with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. mr. durbin: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: let me associate myself with the remarks of the republican minority leader, senator mcconnell relative to our colleague norm coleman. i enjoyed serving with norm, and we worked together on a number of issues during our service in the united states senate. i was actively supporting his opponent, al franken, in the minnesota race. and i thought, as senator mcconnell noted, that senator coleman showed extraordinary grace in conceding after the latest minnesota supreme court decision. i think it was a ehref to --

young: thank you, madam speaker. today it was my great privilege to welcome reverend mark campbell to the house of representatives. reverend campbell and his wife, shelly, are active duty in the united states air force, ministering our brave men and women in uniform. reverend campbell is currently the chaplain for the office of the secretary defense, office of family community and policy. he works as a consultant on religious affairs. supports families. prior to serving as a chaplain in the air force, he pastored the baptist church in anchorage, alaska. he served in bases around the world. he's a shining example of those of us who preach the good news to all creations. i thank reverend campbell for his prayer today and being here today for leading the invocation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 10 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the house. for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland rise? >> request permission to address the house for one minute. th

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. lieberman: madam president? the presiding officer: the accept from cut can you. mr. lieberman: i want to speak briefly because i note the presence on the floor of the senator from ohio and i want to speak simply to thank senator mccain for his various strong and thoughtful statement. i'm honored he is the cosponsor of this amendment. senator mccain has enormous credibility in two areas that come together in this amendment much the first, obviously, is his support of the men and women of our military; the second is his opposition to wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars of the two come together, here, of course, as he has argued, so compellingly, there are a lot of times when the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars for military action question sessions is not only -- military action question signatures is not only harmful but it takes money away if things we need more. that's the case here. the money that will be spent five, six, $8 billion over the next six years by various estimates, will result in 50 to 80 f

lynch: thank you, madam speaker. at this point i would take great pleasure to yield for five minutes to the gentlelady from maryland, the lead sponsor of this resolution, ms. donna edwards, again for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from maryland is recognized for five minutes. ms. edwards: thank you, madam speaker. thank you, mr. lynch and mr. chaffetz. i'm really excited to be here today to rise in support of my resolution, house resolution 534, supporting the goals and ideals of national children and families day. on a note i would just say to mr. chaffetz, part of what moved me in introducing this resolution with my colleague from michigan, candice miller, was the relationship i've had with my own family and parents and grandparents and extended family recognizing the very special role that families play in the lives of children in growing them and nurturing them. and especially in sometimes a very troublesome world. i'd like to thank chairman towns for the leadership and the government overs

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. dorgan: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. mr. dorgan: madam president, i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending business and call up amendment 1855. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the senator from north dakota, mr. dorgan, proposes an amendment numbered 1855 to amendment number 1813. mr. dorgan: madam president, i ask unanimous consent to dispose with the reading of the amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. dorgan: madam president, this amendment has been cleared on both sides. i believe there is no further debate, and i ask for the immediate consideration of the amendment. the presiding officer: the question is on the amendment. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. mr. dorgan: madam president, i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum

poe: thank you, madam speaker. the tax owe kratts are at it again, -- the taxocrats are at it again. this time they want to raise taxes on small businesses. the so-called rich the taxocrats are targeting are america's entrepreneurs, the engine of the american economy. madam speaker, the taxes are the root of all federal mischief. businesses with less than 500 employees produce half of america's gross national product and account for the majority of our jobs. the taxocrats wants them to buy health insurance for all their employees whether they can aforward it or not and if not they have to pay stiff fines. and, of course, they will lose jobs. the taxocrats wants to take taxes out of small businesses to pay for their health care boondoggle. small businesses need a tax break, not a tax hike. madam speaker, it's been the american entrepreneurial spirit that has helped new ones opening up. today more are closing than opening. by the end of may, commercial bankruptcies were up 52% this year compared with the first five m

thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? without objection. ms. jackson lee: madam speaker, i rise to express grave concern for one of our soldiers being held in harm's way by the taliban in afghanistan. i join with secretary gates to call this disgusting and knowing the brave men and women of the united states military, i know they will not leave one soldier behind. the 18th congressional district has approximately the largest amount of returning active soldiers from iraq and afghanistan. the numbers are large throughout the state of texas. we are in grave concern and sympathy with his family. we want them to know that we do care. we want them to know that we will not, as the soldiers are on the battlefield in afghanistan, not stop until he is found. it is necessary to express our belief that our soldiers are precious. we thank them for the sacrifice they make on behalf of our freedom and no, we will not leave one hind. it is disgusting and the

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. mccain: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from a arizona. mr. mccain: i want to thank senator levin for his eloquent statements and his comments on this amendment and i thank him for his leadership on it. it has -- i've been many years in the senate consideration of the defense authorization bill. this is probably one of the most interest, -- most interesting, i think my colleague will agree. because we're beginning with a measure that, if not passed, will result in a veto by the president of the united states of america. and i want to say that i appreciate this letter that the president of the united states sent to senator levin and to me and to the entire senate. i want to -- i want to say that i appreciate the president's courage. because right now the votes are not there. right now i think my friend from michigan would agree the votes are not there to pass this amendment. so what the president has said, not only do we need to stop the production of the f-22, of which we have already inst

madam president, dr. groves' record of service and leadership and scientific research spans the academic, government, and private sectors, both within the united states and internationally. as the director of the university of michigan survey research center, a very well-known, prestigious research center, as the former director of the joint program in service methodology and the former associate director of statistical design, standards, and methodology at the census bureau, he is considered to be one of the half dozen most highly reguarded service research experts in the world, madam president. he's extraordinarily well qualified. he is not a political person. he is a scientist, a researcher, a statistician. madam president that's why it's not surprising that dr. groves' nomination has received strong support from a number of organizations, including the american statistical association. i will concede, madam president, i did not know that such an organization existed requir prio this nominee. but they

thank you, madam chairman. >> thank you, madam chair. on july 1st i hosted a forum in my district for small business owners to discuss access to capital. i've heard from many of my constituents and i can tell you that there's a great deal of demand for these arc loans. but last week the finance and tax hearing held a hearing for access to capital and there are few banks making arc loans. i know in the kansas city area and i'm on the kansas side but the whole kansas city metropolitan area, less than a dozen of these loans have been made. one witness last week made the important thing that there's no incentive for banks to make arc loans and secondary market and paperwork or reg for these loans which offer businesses far more than just $35,000. what, if anything, can sba do to make these loans more attractive to lenders to get the process moving. >> we're lending in 47 states. we are on track -- we're going to have a limited number of arc loans available. there will be approximately 10,000 before the funding runs out. and it is likely that

i thank you, madam president. again, it's the foreign adopted children equity act i am speaking about and introducing for consideration of the body, the family for orphans act which i would like to send to the desk and ask to be scheduled or directed to the appropriate committee. thank you, madam president. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. case cased ska that the quorum call be vitiated. -- mr. casey: i'd ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: i'd ask unanimous consent that i be recognized for 20 minutes and i be speaking as if in morning business. the presiding officer: is there an 0 objection? without objection. mr. casey: madam president, thank you very much. i rise today to speak of two top iraq, the first being health care. we had a significant development yesterday in the health, education, labor,

foxx: thank you, madam speaker.g the worse recession in a generation, democrats propose a government takeover of health care that will lead to fewer jobs, higher taxes and less health coverage. since the recession began, six million jobs have been lost, yet the democrats' health care plan includes hundreds of billions of dollars in new tax hikes on small businesses, the engine of job creation in this country. democrats propose more than 800 billion in new tax hikes. according to economic modeling by the preside's own economic advisor, the business tax hikes alone would destroy up to 4.7 million jobs. despite their claims of reform, it will reduce -- it will reduce health care costs, c.b.o. director told congress that the democrats' proposed reform will only increase future federal spending on health care. house republicans will oppose any plan that puts washington bureaucrats between patients and the care they need. house republicans have a plan for reform that expands access to affordable health care and gives fami

>> madam chairman, yes. >> thank you, sir.we understood that the bureaucracy has declared some of your actions. that is not the case? >> madame chair, secretary napolitano, having served as a governor, obviously understands the role and responsibilities we have been supporting governors. there are many moving pieces with and homeland security but within a disaster itself we are able to move forward and take the actions we need to take. >> virtually as if he were an independent agency or not? i don't want to put words in your mouth. >> under my reporting relationship with the secretary we are able to perform or function. >> report is one thing permission is another. if we get into permission matters, the super sized disaster we are talking about will be supervised -- super sized repeated. what is the operations coordinations -- [inaudible] these names. [laughter] the average person really lose this comprehension once we get into the oc -- what is the office of coordination, when was it created, by whom and what is its function?

moore: thank you, madam speaker. my amendment would protect these soldier's homes established before 1868. these historic civil war-era buildings or their campuses on which they reside from diversion from veteran activities to commercial purposes. and it would retain these national treasures for future generations of veterans, their families and the interested public. the concept of a national asylum for disabled volunteer soldiers was first established by congressional legislation and approved by president abraham lincoln on march 3, 1865. the national asylum was established for officers and men of the volunteer forces of the united states who had been totally disabled by wounds received or sickness contracted while in the line of duty during the civil war. in all, 11 national soldier's homes were opened and integrated into the newly established veterans' administration in 1930. these old homes reflect how the forefathers chose to care for and honor the soldiers who fought to keep the country united as one nation. t

thank you, madam president.ield the floor and make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be dispensed. .the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mccain: and the pending business, i understand, is d.o.d. authorization. the presiding officer: the senate is still in morning business and the democrats control the remaining time. mr. mccain: when is the time expired? the presiding officer: seven minutes urging. mr. mccain: madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. levin: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be dispensed. .the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: madam president, are we still in morning business. the presiding officer: we are still in morning bu

>> thank you, madam chairman. thank you very much. >> thank you very much, madam chair. i'm indebted to my colleagues and i thank you for holding this hearing and i thank you very much for the commitment to hold additional hearings on the very important legislative matters that we will be marking up when we have an opportunity to learn about them. because i think the american people and certainly my missouri constituents deserve to know how the legislation we consider will impose new energy taxes on them, kill their jobs, punish the midwest and south, help china and india and construct a new bureaucratic nightmare to implement a carbon cap-and-trade program. some say we should just look to the bill the house passed this month and to that i would have to say which one. we have the 648-page discussion draft and the 932-introduced bill. we have the 946-page committee substitute. we have the 1201 bill, we have the 500-page red line version. we have 743-page committee report. we have the 309-page managers amendment fil

barrasso, madam president. madam president, i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to ten minutes in morning business and then recognize senator sessions when i finish. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, madam president. madam president, most everyone knows i'm an orthopedic surgeon. in wyoming, many people refer to me as wyoming's doctor. that's because for over two decades, folks have invited me into their homes with television health reports, radio health reports, where i give people information that they can use to stay healthy and to keep down the costs of their medical care. and i end each of these television and radio reports by saying, here in wyoming, i'm dr. john barrasso, helping you care for yourself." this is also my philosophy for government: helping people help themselves. as medical director of the wyoming health fairs, i worked to give people all around the cowboy state access to lifesaving preventive blood tests and low-cost medical screenings.my goal is always

thank you madam president. i yield the floor. >> madame president, how much time remains on our website? >> the proponents of 35 and a half minutes. the opponents have 18 and a half minutes. >> i would yield to the senate of arizona so much time as he requires. >> the senator from arizona. >> thank you. i again want to thank my friend, the distinguished german for proposing this amendment -- inaudible >> thank you, chairman, for being the sponsor of this amendment and it is a privilege to work with him on this as well as many other issues. this amendment is probably the most impact full amendment that i have seen in this body on almost any issue you much less the issue of defense. and it really boils down to whether we are going to continue the business as usual of once a weapon system gets into full production it never dies or whether we are going to take the necessary steps to really reform the acquisition process in this country. the f-22 in itself is $1.75 billion. that is an impressive number anyplace outs

thank you, madam chair. >> thank you. senator specter, welcome. >> thank you, madame chairwoman. i join my colleagues in welcoming this distinguished panel, and also mayor john federman, hear from pennsylvania. i compliment you, madame chairwoman, on your vigor in pursuing this issue, in determinations that are yet to have a consensus. there is no doubt of the greater importance of this issue, in many directions -- cleaning up the in norman, stopping the spread of carmen, cleaning up the environment, stopping the spread of carbon, iran been strengthened by its oil revenues, venezuela being strengthened. we have a matter of bill -- we have a mammoth bill from the house of representatives which has been cobbled together in a most extraordinary way, but that is part of the legislative process, and we know the difficulties. in order to reconcile a lot of very difficult interests in cleaning up the atmosphere, we have the important consideration of jobs and the ramifications from coal. many of us have been trying for a long time to get clean coal technology duties that issue, but as a

thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. mr.levin: madam president, how much time remains on our side? the presiding officer: the proponents have 35 1/2 minutes. the opponents have 18 1/2 minutes. mr. levin: i would yield the senator from arizona so much time as he requires. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i thank you. and i again want to thank my friend, the distinguished chairman, for proposing this amendment and ... excuse me, i want to thank the distinguished chairman for being the sponsor of this amendment and it is a privilege to work with him on this, as well as many other issues. this amendment is probably the most impactful amendment that i have seen in this body on almost any issue, much less the issue of defense. and it really boils down to whether we're going to continue business as usual of once a weapons system gets into full production, it never dies, or whether we're going to take the necessary steps to really reform the acquisition process in this country. the f-22 in itself is $1.75

madam secretary, welcome. would it be appropriate to say the tri-committee discussion draft alliance with the health reform principles outlined earlier this year? yes or no? >> yes. >> and madame secretary, there's been quite a bit of discussion about the inclusion of a public auction in the conversation -- public option in the conversation. does president obama support this? >> yes, he does. >> madam secretary, hospitals or doctors are not required to participate in the public option? >> yes. >> premiums and co-payments under the public auction will cover the cost? >> that is my understanding. >> the public option must in here to the same rules and regulations as other plants? " that is correct. -- >> that is correct. >> it will be administered by a separate agency than the one that runs the exchange? >> that is the way the draft is written. >> the public option will offer the same minimum benefit design is all other plans. >> yes. a level playing field. >> individuals will be permitted to apply subsidies tow

a senator: madam president? are we in a quorum? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee, we are in a quorum call. mr. alexander: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to ten minutes in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: will the chair let me know when we have a minute remaining? the presiding officer: i will. mr. alexander: i thank the chair. madam president, some friendly person is exercising his or her constitutional first amendment rights in memphis these days running television ads urging me to vote for the health care proposal that's currently pending before congress. that person may be wasting their money because we're getting a fair number of calls in my memphis office congratulating me for suggesting that we ought to slow it down and come up with a better plan. madam president, we should start over in terms of what we're doing to try to find the

with that, madam president, i yield the floor. mr. brown: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: before senator harkin leaves the floor, i wanted to add there is no one in this chamber, there is no one down the aisle in the house of representatives, no one in the city who worked harder on issues advocating for those with disabilities than tom harkin has. i heard him make that moving and beautiful tribute to his brother. senator harkin's brother, there is a building on gallon debt's -- gallaudet's campus named after senator harkin's brother. i am fortunate to sit on the board at that university. that institutition has lifted up so many people, and his brother was a big part of that, and senator harkin is a big part of the success of that institution in advocating for the rights of the disabled. so, thank you. madam president, i ask unanimous consent to insert that at a different place in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you. i rise to speak, madam president, about the united states-china

thank you, madam chair. >> thank you. senator specter, welcome. >> thank you, madame chairwoman.join my colleagues in welcoming this distinguished panel, and also mayor john federman, hear from pennsylvania. i compliment you, madame chairwoman, on your vigor in pursuing this issue, in determinations that are yet to have a consensus. there is no doubt of the greater importance of this issue, in many directions -- cleaning up the in norman, stopping the spread of carmen, cleaning up the environment, stopping the spread of carbon, iran been strengthened by its oil revenues, venezuela being strengthened. we have a matter of bill -- we have a mammoth bill from the house of representatives which has been cobbled together in a most extraordinary way, but that is part of the legislative process, and we know the difficulties. in order to reconcile a lot of very difficult interests in cleaning up the atmosphere, we have the important consideration of jobs and the ramifications from coal. many of us have been trying for a long time to get clean coal technology duties that issue, but as a se

>> madam chair, i'll take a stab at it.i think part of this, the national level exercise series developed out of the top-off series that was done. >> the what? >> the top official exercises that was done that involved cabinet-level officials as do the national level exercises. for a long time, the states and regions have practiced natural disasters, and i think -- >> at the direction of the federal government or on their own. >> both on their own and to some degree with the federal government as well. >> so perhaps, you know, a terrorist attack is likely to be if someone bombs the united states yet we have national exercises there -- >> i think to some degree we were playing catch up on not having practiced that terrorist event so we went through several scenarios on that and now we're getting back to the need to do those high-level officials exercises with natural disasters as well. >> my question on whether -- so you agree there wasn't a lack of authority? >> no, ma'am. >> and i think it is you, mr. did he recollect, that

so, madam president, i think this amendment is overdue.k it will be a significant -- a very significant amendment, as i said before, whether we will get our priorities straight and listen to our esteemed secretary of defense, our president and our chairman of the joint chiefs of staffs and other military leaders in whose hands we entrust to make the tough decision. i understand the final decision is here in congress. but i also don't think we should dismiss the arrangements that have been made by, i think, one of the finest men to have ever served this country and that's secretary of defense, mr. gates. madam president, i yield the floor. >> the senator from utah. >> who yields time to the senator? [inaudible] >> the senator from georgia. >> how much time do you need? >> 7 minutes. >> i'll be happy to yield 7 minutes from the senator from utah >> the senator from utah. >> madam president, i think a great deal of secretary gates myself. during his july 16th address the secretary of defense robert gates said the military needed maximum versa

ros-lehtinen: thank you, madam speaker. my remarks are entitled, "madoff victims are victimized again." this time by our own government. americans are he lie on the security and exchange commission, -- rely on the security and exchange commission to safeguard their stock transaction through registered broker dealers. the s.e.c., however, did not do that in the case of bernard madoff. irrespective of his receiving 150 years in prison for life-damaging financial crimes, many americans who lost their life savings, who were first victimized as a result of the s.e.c. failures, are being today victimized a second time by our own judicial system and its quart-appoint -- court-appointed trustee. the victim's plight is compelling. think about this, madam speaker, irrespective of numerous warnings the s.e.c. received dating back 17 years, all of our federal agencies stood by and did nothing while thousands of investors deposited their money, usually their life savings, with bernard l. madoff, investment securities. in fact, after sup

madam president, i yield the floor. >> madam president -- >> the senator from michigan. >> i have ninemous consents to meet in the today's senate and i ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and that they be printed in the record. >> without objection. >> madam president, i have 2 minutes; is that correct? >> correct. senator from connecticut. >> madam president, first of all, let me begin where i did a few moments ago and that is my great respect for carl levin and john mccain and their work in this area and let me begin with a point that my friend from arizona made. there's nothing more important than the national security of our nation and it's that argument that brings those to the side of the table in support of this program in opposition to this amendment. this program is a critically important program to maintain superiority, not parity but superiority which has always been our goal in protecting our national security interests. it was the very pentagon itself which advocated that we move forward with this program only 36 months ago. now, obviously, people can ch

foxx: thank you, madam speaker. i yield one minute to the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized for one minute. mr. hastings: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. i want to respond to my friend from massachusetts. he talks about deficits and where were we. let me point out this this gentleman, the highest deficit under george w. bush's administration was in 2004 and that was right after we built up our forces to go into afghanistan and iraq. and it was slightly over $400 billion. under your first watch, your first watch as majority in this congress, the deficit was $460 billion, and this year's projected to be $1.8 trillion. and here we are today on the floor talking about a bill to expand that deficit another $700 million. boy, talk about -- i can't say the word -- but talk about less than truthfulness. it certainly comes from the other side of the aisle on this issue and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the bala

dingell: thank you, madam speaker. i send to the desk a resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 635. whereas m. pope barrow jr. was apointed to the office of legislative counsel in the house of representatives in 1968, whereas m. pope barrow jr. has provided 40 years of service to the house as a member of the office of legislative counsel under eight successive speakers, whereas m. pope barrow jr. has served as the legislative counsel for 12 years following his service as the deputy legislative counsel for four years. whereas m. pope barrow jr. has been the principal drafter over the past 30 years of federal laws that protect the environment, preserve public lands and waterways and promote the production and efficient use of energy resources. whereas m. pope barrow jr. has provided exemplary leadership in undertaking significant programs to modernize the operations of the office of legis

and with that, madam president, i yield the floor. mr. feingold: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. mr. feingold: madam president, thank you, and i'm glad we're getting some debate on this amendment which we're going to vote on, as i understand shortly. it's an important discussion and i'm glad we've had a little exchange about it. and i want to first respond to what the senator from negligent had to say about this -- the senator from new jersey had to say about this, senator lautenberg. he expressed a concern there would be, because of my amendment, no funding for emergency operation centers if this amendment passes. now, that's just absolutely incorrect. it's really just the opposite. to the contrary, madam president there, will be $20 million for emergency operation centers that will be awarded competitively to those most in need. senator lautenberg cited the 9/11 commission's endorsement of these centers. yes, they did. and, of course, i strongly agree. what he failed to note, though, is that the commission recommended that the

thank you, madam chair. >> thank you. senator specter, welcome. >> thank you, madame chairwoman. i join my colleagues in welcoming this distinguished panel, and also mayor john federman, hear from pennsylvania. i compliment you, madame chairwoman, on your vigor in pursuing this@@@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ z of the great importance of this issue in many directions. cleaning up the environment, stopping the spread of carbon, reducing our dependence on opec oil, which has tremendous ramifications politically with iran, strengthened by its oil revenues, and venezuela being strengthened. we have a mammoth bill from the house of representatives that has been hobbled together in the most extraordinary way. that is part of the legislative process. process, and we know the difficulties. in order to reconcile a lot of very difficult interests in cleaning up the atmosphere, we have the important consideration of jobs and the ramifications from coal. many of us have been trying for a long time to get clean coal technology duties that issue, but as a senator from a coal- producing state, that is a facto

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. brownback: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. brownback: i certainly concur with the states of my colleague from south dakota and what he is saying about the need to do it right rather than fast. that is critically important. i would like to bring the body's attention to something on the front page of "the washington post" today. it is an article about who will succeed kim chong-il? and the point being that here's a country that's recently tested missiles that can reach hawaii, recently tested a nuclear device, is gravely ill, some report pancreas cancer but we don't know for sure what he has. but the question is, who will succeed kim chong-il? and what does that mean to the united states? and, what are we doing about it? we're working on a piece in our office and some legislation to try to start some planning on our part as to what we should be doing if the leader in north korea falls. and if the state fails in north korea. which is a very real possibility that the overhaul sta

. >> good morning, madam secretary. i'm shirley miles from the overseas building operation and i'm director of internal review and operation research. i asked you a question during women history month celebration concerning workplace bullying and since then you have mandated a policy be developed for addressing the systemic issue with bullying and i want to thank you very much for being the first secretary of state to take a stand against workplace bullying. and because of this, a committee is being formed by the human resource department to develop this policy. i have a couple of requests. our request is that this committee also include some of the folks who have been bullied to look out of the best interests of those who have been abused, otherwise, it's like letting the fox into the hen house. you've heard that. secondly, i request that this committee address the retaliation against those that have filed complaints because that has been done as well. because when they are standing up for themselves, they are prevente

now, madam president, i can't change geography. the map is that two of our major air stations, one at oceana, the other at cherry point, is where our pilots and our air wings are stationened. stationened. they have to have the ability to train and they have to train someplace within reasonable range so i really believe that after spirited discussion in the committee that the senator from virginia came up with a very excellent amendment that basically requires a lot more participation in the local communities, a lot more consideration and consult takes- consult dispaition even some economic assistance to the local communities if necessary. no one likes to be awak awakenet 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning by jet engines. i understand that. but i hope all of our colleagues understand, on the entire east coast because of population and because of the location of the two major bases, cherrypoint and oceana, we don't have much choice but than to look in the states of virginia and north carolina and we cannot let, over time, that requirement b

shimkus: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend and yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. shimkus: thank you, madam speaker. i'm pleased and honored to be joining my colleague, congresswoman halvorson -- holveson, from the great state of illinois, in speaking -- halvorson, from the get a state of illinois, for managing this debate. on house resolution 543, expressing support for the designation of june as home safety month. there's been a recent stories and because of the economic downturn, many people are being driven to home repairs. i just put up two shades in the townhouse last night and i probably can guarantee you that i didn't do it in the safest manner possible. so this is a simple resolution to, again, call upon the public to understand the dangers inherent around the home and to provide information on a tool available to help them identify areas which you can do around the home to make your home

thank you, madam president. mr. durbina senator: madam pres?he presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. burr: one of the privileges of being a united states senate is that we have an opportunity to meet extraordinary people every day, whether you're the senator from illinois or the senator from nebraska, extraordinary people walk through our door every day of the week. but sometimes, madam president, we get to meet amazing individuals that we can honestly call heroes, heroes that lay their life on the line and sacrifice themselves for our freedom. master sergeant brendon o'connor, a medic in the special forces group is one of those very special people. in june of 2006, he he he was deployed to afghanistan in support of operation enduring freedom, his group was stationed in kandahar. mr. president, we've all heard news reports an heard of suicide bombers driving cars loaded with explosives into markets, and crowded areas killing -- killing innocent men, women, and children. we've all heard accounts of suicide bombers strapping exp

>> they didn't have madame tussaud. >> do you want a wax figure?e tussaud's across the street and i have never gone there and you know why? it's full of wax figures. >> i'm excited because it like the queen of england -- >> i think it's cool for you to be in it. >> it will be a fun episode. >> it's on the show. oh. >> i don't take a crap without it being on the show. let's stop the charade. >> the show is very, very funny. if you haven't seen it, you should check it out. "kathy griffin, my life on the d-list" airs mondays at 10:00 p.m. on bravo. she'll be in las vegas july 3. we'll be right back with ramon rodriguez. do you want to go to my apartment? what?! what... need a moment? i thought ou were a believer. someone e o wantnt to blog about their ideals. i love bgggging! chew it over with twix kind of consideryself a robinhood of the directing world. buick enclave e finest luxury crossover ever. i need some zen time with this model thank you. ♪ >>> well, just got a bulletin from my uncle frank who informed me that our next guest has the same last

>> thank you, madam chairman. it was testified before our committee that a low carbon fuel standard was a more effective and efficient way to reduce carbon from fuel than a cap-and-trade system, would you agree with that? >> i wouldn't say -- i won't make a judgment as to whether it's more or less. i think it is an important tool that -- >> so you don't agree with it? i only got 3 minutes? >> i think it's important. i won't say whether it's more effective -- >> would you please look into it -- i mean, he testified that it was very inefficient and the low carbon fuel standard would be more efficient. dr. chu, do you believe the hundred or so nuclear power plants that we have operating in america today and the -- i guess it's classified number of nuclear submarines of reactors that we have operating today are being operated safely? >> yes. >> do you agree roughly with the figures that carbon is the principal greenhouse gas that is contributing to global warming? >> yes, i do. >> and would you agree that coal plants

just a moment, madam speaker. now, if i get to these posters, i go through some of the things that are constantly in the news and this summary comes out to be this, this is the draining the swamp leadership hour of the republican leadership and we have a pattern of ignoring the corruption, there's a pattern of practice for speaker pelosi, we have eight appropriators who it's report ready now under investigations for potential conflict of interest violations with the nation spend -- nation's spending out of control and trillions going to special interests, we have questions and challenges that are coming up, flowing throughout the media. let me say that new allegations of these defense millions that are funneled to aides and relatives, contractors, are now charged with kickbacks. we've seen thousands in defense contractor dollars going to -- go through p.m.a. and out of there came donations to the appropriations chair of the armed services committee. then we've seen $250 million in earmarks go back through that lob

madam president, we have to face up to this. this amendment would let more brutal people carry concealed weapons legally and not just in their own town or in their own states, but in other states and across state lines. this amendment would open the floodgate -- floodgates for gun trafficking. a gun dealer who sells firearms to criminals would be free to travel across the country with a car full of loaded weapons as long as the driver had a concealed weapons permit from some other state. the fact is if the police were to discover the pile of guns in the trafficker's trunk, the police could do nothing about it. the prospect of this scenario is no exaggeration. last year a report showed that one-third of firearms sold on the black market come from states with weak gun safety laws. the thune amendment would simply exacerbate this problem and make it easier for gun traffickers to supply known criminals, including terrorists, with weapons. madam president, the scourge of gun violence, gun deaths is a menace that this chamber must tak

the speaker pro tempore: madam chair. the chair: the committee of the whole house on the state of the union has had under consideration h.r. 3082 and pursuant to house resolution 622 reports the bill back to the house with sundry amendments adopted in the committee of the whole. the speaker pro tempore: the chairman of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the chair has had under consideration h.r. 3082 and reports the bill back to the house swundry amendments adopted in the committee of the whole. under the rule the previous question is ordered. pursuant to house resolution 622, the question of adoption of the amendments will be put en gros. the question is on adoption of the amendments. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the amendments are adopted. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for military construction and the depa

president -- madam first lady!" he goes, "congratulations on your show." then i was escorted out. and i was like, "i can't believe i got made fun of for 30 seconds. [ laughter ] by the president of the united states of america." it was -- >> steve: and then did you go to high school in your underwear the next day? >> jimmy: exactly. it was totally embarrassing. but then -- you know what i did, i went to the uso, who put the show on, thanked them -- it was amazing. they gave me a gift bag. in the gift bag was a t-shirt. said event staff and american flag headband. so, show a clip, that's what i wore. [ laughter ] that's me performing on stage. i think we have a clip of me on stage. there you go right there. can you zoom in? that's me right there. that's it. it was awesome. [ light laughter ] i want to thank the troops and the uso, all those guys. [ cheers and applause ] and the president and madam first lady. thank you for guys for having me. it was an honor. it was an honor. it was amazing. great show tonight. dylan mermott is here, everybody. he's a great

foxx: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, president obama recently held a televised press conference to discuss health care reform. as republican leader john boehner noted last week, several of president obama's points may not accurately reflect the health care legislation before the house. the president said that the government will stay out of health care decisions, but that isn't how the legislation is shaping up. a simple amendment to the legislation that would have guaranteed that no bureaucrat will make any decisions or interfere with any decision between a doctor and a patient was rejected by the democrats in control of the energy and commerce committee. that doesn't bode well for government staying out of health care decisions. president obama also said that the plan will not add to the government's deficit. of course, we all know that the congressional budget office has been throwing water on that idea for weeks. they've already estimated that the current plan will add $239 billion to our deficit over

with that, madam president, thank you and i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. a senator: madam president, with respect to the nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to be an associate justice on the united states supreme court, i find that i share many of the concerns just expressed by the distinguished senator from arizona, mr. president kyl. mr. cochran: first i want to thank senators leahy and sessions for their handling of the hearings, the meetings in the judiciary committee on the subject of the supreme court confirmation of judge sotomayor. their meetings were both informative and respectful. and i think reflect the traditions of the united states senate. both judge sotomayor and the judicial confirmation process were treated with the respect they deserve. the senate's constitutional role to advise and consent on federal judicial nominations is one that all senators take seriously. and i, like most senators, have traditionally shown deference to the president's role in submitting to the senate nominees fo

i would ask the a madam chairman to work with mr. cardoza was on and your committee and our agriculture committee to continue to put effort into go back to our commodity groups and keep pushing but at least monitoring to make sure that they are doing what they set out to do to start with their network and keeper of food safety. >> farmers are making money, just to put that out there. >> i mentioned earlier that in my congressional district corporate headquarters as well as organic theory which is private label organic terry and it has been unclear by the success and amazing growth rates of these companies. they have a brown -- digit growth in the last decade that consumers really get this and are willing, i count myself as one of them. and consumers are willing to pay a premium for milk in this case with that is free of antibiotics so i think in this case again as i think ernest panel also demonstrate consumers are already a little ahead of where our regulators are on this issue. >> thank you both so much for coming, we appreciate an

>> thank you, madam speaker.feel privileged to be a part of a great orchestra called the house of representatives with a great orchestra leader who has brought us together, sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes in the evening, and now in the beginning of the morning. but we were able to come together to get this great ship that the president wanted to get out, which is national health insurance. we feel so proud that we will be able to join the family of nations where we can show that we care about the health of people, we care about the quality of people, that we will be able to say that whether young or old, black or white, that in this great nation of ours, you are secured with health insurance. it is not just keeping down the insurance, but also making sure that america can continue to be competitive. so, on this ship where we have been working with our friends on the other side of the capital is to make certain iwe have a system to be proud of, hospitals with quality care, nurses and people going into the he