>> yes, madame chair. i move that we make an order and provide the appropriate waivers by amendment 55 which has been offered by a colleague from illinois which would require a certification that the bill would lower national health cost. : [roll call] ha >> the motion is not agreed to. further motions? >> i'm of the dominican order to provide amendment 48 offered by, mr. barton of texas and mr. john sam johnson of texas which would remove the provision which provides the extra funds for louisiana medicaid program which has been known as the louisiana purchase, and we will have an opportunity to strike that if we make this amendment and donner and i encourage is a colleagues to support it. >> any discussion? if not the vote occurs on the motion by mr. brown. all in favor say aye. opposed, no. in the opinion the noes have it. recorded vote, please. [roll call] the clerk reports the total. the motion is not agreed to. some kind of the committee make order to provide appropriate measures for amendment 49 offe

>> yes, madame chair. let me say that the right to -- or the opportunity to simply put a card in and -- >> it's not american. >> is unmore than? >> is that what you're getting at? >> um. let me see. it's the idea of putting a card -- no i have to think about your question. you've now asked me if i believe it's un-american -- you've asked me if i believe it's un-american -- >> i think it's the tread of the conversation. >> you asked me -- >> you think only roll call vote is valid. >> no, i don't. what i believe -- no, i don't want both. let me reoffer the amendment. what i have said madame chair is if we are to make this amendment in order it would simply say that when we get to the vote on passage that each members of the house of representatives when they name it called by the clerk simply stand as we do at the opening of each congress. when we have the vote for speaker and state whether they are voting yes or no when the clerk would call the roll. >> you've heard the gentleman's motion. is there any disc

madam chair, the no's have it. >> a recorded vote please madam chair. [roll call] >> the clerk will report the total. the motion is not agreed to. >> madam chair i have one more amendment that before he do that i would like to put into the record and article dated december 23, 2009 by the chairwoman called the democrats view from the house, senate bill is in reform. i would like to enter this into the record. >> without objection. do you have another amendment? d. i do. madam chair ivan amendment to the row. i'm of the committee make in order provide the appropriate waivers for amendment number 9 and number 10 offered by representative moore of wisconsin which would change the date when insurers would need to comply with the new medical loss ratio requirements from 2011 to 2014 to conform to win the american health benefits exchanges will be established. >> you have for the gentlelady's motion. any discussion? is not the vote occurs on the motion. all in favor, say aye. opposed, no. >> can we have a recorded vote madam chair? [roll call] >> the clerk wi

>> yes, madame chair. let me say that the right to -- or the opportunity to simply put a card in and -- >> it's not american. >> is unmore than? >> is that what you're getting at? >> um. let me see. it's the idea of putting a card -- no i have to think about your question. you've now asked me if i believe it's un-american -- you've asked me if i believe it's un-american -- >> i think it's the tread of the conversation. >> you asked me -- >> you think only roll call vote is valid. >> no, i don't. what i believe -- no, i don't want both.

berman: yes, madam chair. i'm pleased to a yield to many of our committee and -- to yield to a member of our committee, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. tanner. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for two minutes. mr. tanner: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: so ordered. mr. tanner: thank you, madam chair. thank you, mr. chairman. the fact is i am presently serving as the president of nato parliamentary assembly. the afghan effort is a nato-led effort. nato arguably, one, if not the most successful military alliances in the modern era. not only is involved with us as allies in afghanistan but we know that our military might is no longer a deterrent like it was most of our my life, most of our lives during the cold war. even though you had the war of the east versus the west, the ussr, the allies, there was this not only feeling but we were protected by our military might. 9/11 shattered that. these people who are trying to kill us don't care

. >> madam chair and mr. chairman if that were the case then certainly there should be no hesitancy to support this amendment or the stupak language that would remove all doubt in everyone's mind and remove some of the obstacles. let me just close here mr. chairman. i know that it is a difficult issue but for those of us that are aware of the reality of 4000 unborn children dying every day in the home of the free in the land of the brave, it is an issue that moves us so deeply that sometimes it strains the stability of even the most stable among us. >> mr. chairman, i would just like to say that the hyde amendment applies only to hhs funding. mrs. matsui does not apply. >> thank you very much. we are now going to hear from mr. dent and mr. paulson on the same amendment. >> i have a separate amendment as well. >> alright, you are next. >> mr. chairman, thank you. i have two amendments and also the amendment mr. paulson and mr. lance and mr. gerlach. my first amendment deals with medical liability reform. i com

berman: thank you, madam chair. i would like to yield an additional two minutes of our time to the ranking member to be added on to herr time and subtracted from our time -- to her time and subtracted from our time and now i'd like to yield three minutes to the asia pacific and global environment subcommittee, the delegate from american samoa, mr. eni faleomavaega. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, and the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. faleomavaega: i thank the distinguished gentleman of our committee on foreign affairs to allow me to talk about the proposed legislation. despite our situation in afghanistan, i do say i have the utmost respect for the gentleman from ohio for bringing this resolution for purposes of public debate among our colleagues. i also want to say that i associate myself with the remarks made earlier by my colleague from georgia, mr. kingston, in saying why not, why not debate the issue? this should be something that we should not deprive ourselves of the idea of under

. >> madam chair, i'm pleased to yield to my friend from pennsylvania, mr. sestak, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: mr. sestak of pennsylvania is recognized for three minutes. mr. sestak: thank you, madam speaker. i was stationed at the pentagon when 9/11 happened. a few weeks, months later, i was on the ground in afghanistan, head of the navy's anti-terrorism unit for a short mission. i watched as the taliban and al qaeda flowed across the boarder to pakistan and then came that tragic misadventure in iraq. we took that oedipus -- edfass of security in special forces and others, and what we might better have done with the other elements of the power, such as fix the lit rah -- illiteracy rate of women in afghanistan which is 98%, never occurred. i support the president's policies because now in afghanistan we've spiral -- not because of afghanistan, but because of pakistan, the most dangerous place in the world. it should have sent chills down everyone's back when general haden, three years ago, said al qaeda has a safe haven in pakistan where we cannot go. several hundred o

. >> thank you madam chair. i would just like to say thank you to all of the people on the panel for their comments and their thoughts and i would just offer to my friend and colleague mr. weiner some time. i know you were trying to talk a while ago. did you have any questions? >> i don't want to belabor the point. mr. cordozo would put it more fy than i could have, the idea that sometimes citizens don't realize the exponentially higher cost of paying health care reflected in ways they don't see every day. every employee of mr. cardozo's business not only pays the insurance for their employees but pays the insurance for every city employee, every state employee, every federal employee, every retiree for those different levels of government and the ways that the high cost and inefficiency of health care manifests itself is not always appearance to citizens. they don't always wake up in the morning and see if that in my home city of new york we have an eight alien dollar amount that we pay to cover the uninsured t

. >> madam chair, you don't have order. >> we're here today to consider h.r. 4872 reconciliation act of 2010. and happy to welcome the distinguished committee mr. waxman and the committee's ranking member of mr. barton. gentleman, please come board. we are going to do it all it wants and the distinguished chairman of the ways and means committee. i want all of you up there. [inaudible conversations] >> is mr. levin hear? >> [inaudible conversations] >> good morning. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] good morning gentleman, we're pleased to have such a distinguished group of guests with us this morning and we're going to start with -- we will with the chairman of energy and commerce. according to mr. waxman if you will begin and mr. waxman has always we will accept your whole salmon into the record and you may summarize if you choose. >> thank you very much madam chairman pierre the and members of the rules committee barrett >> can we clear the room so we can get started? >> we are on the verge of taking a decisive step to provide access for all americans to affordab

the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. mix: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent -- mr. meeks: madam speaker, i ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and insert extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. meeks: i yield myself five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. meeks: -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend, please. if we could get some order. if -- will people please take their conversations off the floor. the gentleman will proceed. mr. meeks: today, madam speaker, we consider an issue close to all of our hearts. haiti suffered a devastating earthquake on january 12 of this year. the country, which was finally making strides to a more stable and economic political role after so many failed governments of the past was rocked by a natural disaster of historic proportions. the images of the disaster are pressure fresh in our minds and the desire of the global community

thank you, madam chair. and thank you for the tremendous job you do on this and other appropriation matters. secretary, it's good to see you. and i appreciate having you here to discuss the administration's budget request. so many of your programs in your department have served my state very well. you have one heck of a portfolio. and there are probably days you probably wish it wasn't quite as much. i welcome you up to vermont sometime to see the good things hud has done to provide affordable housing, especially in our rural communities. we always say housing in urban settings, but my whole state has only 660,000 people. and a lot of it is very rural. but it's something that works in rural vermont could work in rural california or texas or elsewhere. now, i know others have asked you about the president's proposal to cut the budget so the 101 and 202 programs and the home program. i worry about this, because as i look at the budget i'm afraid there's this shift of priorities from rural areas, rural america,

madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chairrecognizes the gentleman. mr. bilbray: madam speaker, the constitution of the united states mandates on the federal government the responsibility of holding a census every decade. it is an essential party/;iñeóñ constitutional obligation and actually a building block for our representative form of government. it's also -- has evolved into a process to be able to assess programs funds andu should be distributed. the integrity of the census is so important that over the decades, times have been proposed how to improve and to secure the census numbers. today we are actually talkingu about one aspect of the effort to improve the validity of these numbers and the integrity 7ziçó numbers and that iszç>v,, do an outreach to the communities of the native alaskans and americanqó%÷?2 s3Ñ. these are communities that tend to be more isolated than the general population and tend to be more suspicious of any80Ñii government action, especially the federal government. and frankly, with the way the fed

my time is up. >> thank you, madam chair.i wanted to explore a little about the offering that citi group did last fall, last december, i guess it was. i just wanted to get your explanation. there was obviously it looked like not as smooth as probably either you all or citibank wanted it to go. i wanted to ask your explanation for how that hiccup happened in the offering process? >> well, again, citi managed the offering. that was their decision. we did announce at the time that we intended to sell not our entire offering, but $5 billion perhaps alongside citi's offering. we decided that because of the behavior of the stock at that time it was not in the taxpayers' interest to make that sale on our part. as to their offering, i wouldn't comment on the offering. they did succeed in placing $20 billion of new shares and obviously, shareholders were willing to make that investment in the public market. and what is really important is they were setting the stage to replace government capital with public capital, which we think is

berman: madam chair, i'm very pleased to recognize the majority floor leader, the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. mr. hoyer: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i rise in opposition to this resolution which would urge the withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan in my opinion at greath cost to america's security and indeed the afghan people. but i want to rise as well to thank my friend from ohio, mr. kucinich, with whom i work closely. this issue needs to be debated. this issue needs to be raised. the american people have a right to have us debate this issue. there young men and young women are in harm's way. they are in harm's way at our instance or at least our sufferance. so it's great to have this debate. while i disagree with the gentleman from ohio, i appreciate the fact that he provides this opportunity to discuss this very, very important issue. madam speaker, after years in which afghanistan was a secondary concern, in my view, president obama has set our policy on a new

berman: yes, madam chair, i recognize for three minutes the chairman of the middle east and south asia subcommittee of our committee, my friend from new york, mr. ackerman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes, the gentleman from new york. mr. ackerman: i thank the chairman. madam speaker, i rise in opposition to the resolution. i'm astonished that the resolution has even come to the floor. i'm afraid some of our colleagues either misunderstand the plain text of the war powers act or would like to have to initiate a legislative version of the so-called memory hold described by george or well in his novel, "1984." the war powers act provides that in the event u.s. forces are engaged in hostilities without either a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization, a concurrent resolution can be considered to force the withdrawal of our troops. an important piece to be sure, but one that is wholly irrelevant to the actual circumstances under which our troops are currently fighting. like many of us in the house, i was present on september 14, 2001, w

. >> madam chair? when you finish i would like to ask one quick question if you before you close the hearing. >> alright. we are not going to close the hearing. >> close the panel. >> i'm going to let the panel go but thank you all very much. >> thank you madam chair. >> see you all tomorrow. >> without objection. [inaudible conversations] dr. fox, i believe you wted. >> i wanted to get a clarification. >> one of the panel is? >> no, from you if i can. i meant to bring this up when my time was here but it is, we keep talking about the thousands of hours that have been spent on talking about these bills, but is it not true that except for the budget committee, this is the only committee in congress that has dealt with the senate bill, and the reconciliation bill, all those thousands of hours of hearings were on the house bill. >> actually there were thousands appearing on the house bill as you pointed out, which was our main objective. the only-- after we have passed it out of the house and we are ready

>> madam chair, the rating agencies -- i heard you earlier. the rating agencies have put out reports where it's their opinion that there are different standards, not only for us but other banks out there. but it is their opinion, as we've seen over the last so many quarters. it is only their opinion -- >> only their opinion. is it valuable to have a higher credit rating? >> now, let me take you through where the markets are on this. the markets look at cap alization. the markets look at reserves, liquidity and core earnings power. in our own case, by the way, we've issued debt that is substantially longer in maturity than any presumption of necessarily government assistance or how long it might take to get -- >> mr. pandit, let me stop there. i think it would be hard to make the case that we can see some date in the immediate future when citi will not be too big to fail. let me ask it differently because i really want to keep this in small pieces. is it valuable to have a higher credit rating? >> where is market is today is that it is presumin

my time is up. >> thank you, madam chair. i wanted to explore a little about the offering that citi group did last fall, last december, i guess it was. i just wanted to get your explanation. there was obviously it looked like not as smooth as probably either you all or citibank wanted it to go. i wanted to ask your explanation for how that hiccup happened in the offering process? >> well, again, citi managed the offering. that was their decision. we did announce at the time that we intended to sell not our entire offering, but $5 billion perhaps alongside citi's offering. we decided that because of the behavior of the stock at that time it was not in the taxpayers' interest to make that sale on our part. sale on our part. t @ @ @ @ @ h@ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ü when we look at the situation, with respect to the stock there are 27 million shares outstanding. most shares of any that i know, the government owns about 27% of that. have you all considered, once it is over, how you will tackle such a large type of a disposition of shares? wi

thank you, madame chair. thank you for being here. appreciate your work at this important time in our history. i want to assure you that i think your work is not only important but it will be used. i know there are people who are opposed to changing this policy. the policy will be changed. even some of those people who are opposed to the change recognize that it will be changed and there is a generational thing going on here. america is changing. the world is changing. your work will be put to good use. whether it is this month, this year, next year, i did not know. if you do a good job, which will provide guidelines to your country and military and we appreciate your work. if i wanted to ask mr. johnson, you probably heard a question i have asked about 17 times. the split of authority between night circuit in the first circuit. -- ninth circuit and the first circuit. the current policy is working well has been said. i have to ask what the definition of working well is when you have different sections of the country under different le

. >> thank you, madame chair. >thank you. i am concerned the direction given to you by the secretary of defense will not result in your study group examining to fundamental questions, whether current law threatens or undermines readiness in any significant way and whether the repeal of current law would improve readiness in measurable ways. with the to review commit to us today that you will examine these two questions as part of your study and provide the secretary of defense with your data, findings, and recommendations regarding them? in your personal view, to you think this question should be examined? would you object to them being added either by the secretary of defense or by congress? >> let me start, if we to a comprehensive and thorough job, a necessary component of that would be to look at the two questions you raised. >> thank you. >> i would agree. it is clear to me in the terms of reference and with the discussion of the secretary of defense the military readiness and effectiveness must retain primacy. that is w

>> thank you, madame chair.preciate you holding this hearing. some of the senators here today have been very critical of the un climate program. i just want to remind them that the los alamos national laboratory in new mexico has done two of the four models used by the program. it used the same super computers used to secure our nuclear stockpile. when we say to secure that stockpile, every year it must be certified that it is safe and reliable. it is done with these same computers. there is very, very extensive scrutiny of these types of models. i believe we should have confidence in them. administered jackson, reducing pollution and protecting public health is one of the best protections governments make. clearly they are sorely needed. the budget is $3 billion in the clean water and safe drinking water funds -- only a small portion of the great need. we need to do more on that front. i am personally familiar with many of their rural and tribal communities in new mexico with aging or incomplete water structure

my time is up. >> thank you, madam chair. i wanted to explore a little about thef#e))gg@@@@ rrgrra" @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Å offering. that was their decision. we did announce at the time that we intended to sell not our entire offering, but $5 billion perhaps alongside citi's offering. we decided that because of the behavior of the stock at that time it was not in the taxpayers' interest to make that sale on our part. as to their offering, i wouldn't comment on the offering. they did succeed in placing $20 billion of new shares and obviously, shareholders were willing to make that investment in the public market. and what is really important is they were setting the stage to replace government capital with public capital, which we think is much stronger capital. we don't want to be a shareholder in that company. we think that companies are far stronger if they're financed out of the public rather than the government. >> when we look now then at the situation with respect to the stock, there's some 27 billion shares or s

hall: madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lance. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey for two minutes. mr. lance: thank you very much, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman from texas and the gentleman from washington. i rise today to recognize willard s. boyle and george e. smith from bell laboratories in mary hill, new jersey, in my congressional district. doctors boyle and smith along with charles gao of stanford telecommunications laboratories and the chinese university of hong kong were awarded the nobel prize for physics for the invention of the charge coupled device and imaging semiconductor circuit. the work of doctors boil and smith represents a breakthrough in telecommunications that may bring about revolutionary changes in the near future. their significant achievements have helped advance the united states as the world leader in scientific research and development. it should come as no surprise that their work was completed at bell laboratories. founded in 1925 by the american telephone and telegraph company, bell lab

. >> thank you, madam chair. ms. secretary, in south carolina it was one of those states that did get a 10 billion-dollar grant to continue the funding firm ice 73. and i noticed in part of the criteria, you could use it either as a grant or you could use it as a subsidy of ministry assistance. tell me how that works. and i guess the statesould make the choice or as part of the funding mechanism -- >> is a very good question, sir. first, as you know, there were far more products than we had funding. i 73 is a good example of a barely badly needed but also very expensive highway project that would be the direct connection to myrtle beach. what this does is gives the states the option of either using that, what we call a challenge grant, to either cover the tv a subsidy for it alone or to use it for an element of the project financing that they'd like to do. the idea would be -- it can be a catalyst to the financing package for a project of that scope and we will be flexible with the state and how they want to proceed.

and as i close, madam chair, -- madam speaker, i'd ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material both on the previous bill, h.r. 4667, and the current bill, h.r. 4592, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. filner: i'd urge my colleagues to support this bill. i have no further requests for time and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4592, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection -- mr. filner: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. filner: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, furth

norton. >> thank you very much, madame chair. thank the ranking member for raising an important issue. the federal building fund is going broke precisely because we do too much leasing now of course the ranking member has specific buildings he would like us to buy. but i'm right with him when it comes to what the gsa all to be giving this is their economy. they can buy and they can lease at amounts they will never be able to do again and that is why we have been having repeated hearings on the gsa and have had for tracking hearings that may account for what the gsa in fact i pleased to say has sped up in at least its obligations. mr. peck says he can't tell you what building it is that it's under contract but of course it's a matter of public record because the administration for the first time in the 20 years i've been on the subcommittee put money in its appropriation to purchase a building. that has never happened since i've been a member of the committee and it did so last year. i would like to see more of that done but of co

as you know, madam chair -- madam president, the -- this year, for the first time in many decades, our senior citizens are not going to be seeing a cost-of-living increase, and i think in this very severe recession, that is unfortunate. and seniors in vermont and around the country have told me that, because of rising health care costs, because of rising energy and heat costs, because of rising prescription drug costs, all issues which seniors and disabled veterans are particularly prone to, that it is really unfair that they not get a cola this year. i am very happy to inform you and our colleagues that president obama, in his budget, has made it very clear that he understands the need for a $250 emergency payment to go out to over 55 million seniors, veterans, and the disabled. and i very much appreciate his support for this concept, and he is actual right, in these very difficult times. we cannot forget about some of the most vulnerable people in our society, a lot of lower-income seniors out there just struggling -- disabled veteranses, disabled people in general. this amendment, w

thank you, madame chair. thank you for being here. we appreciate your work at this important time in our history. i want to assure you that i think your work is not only important but it will be used. i know there are people who are opposed to changing this policy. the policy will be changed. even some of those people who are opposed to the change recognize that it will be changed and there is a generational thing going on here. america is changing. the world is changing. your work will be put to good use. whether it is this month, this year, next year, i did not know. if you do a good job, which will provide guidelines to your country and military and we appreciate your work. if i wanted to ask mr. johnson, you probably heard a question i have asked about 17 times. the split of authority between night circuit in the first circuit. -- ninth circuit and the first circuit. the current policy is working well has been said. i have to ask what the definition of working well is when you have different sections of the country under different

the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. costello: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 4915. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. costello: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. madam speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 4915, the federal aviation administration extension act of 2010. last week the house passed h.r. 4853, also entitled the federal aviation administration extension act of 2010, to extend aviation programs, taxes and the airport and airways trust fund expenditure authority through july 30, 2010. earlier this week, the federal aviation administration requested a technical correction to h.r. 4853, as passed by the house. the f.a.a. needs this technical correction to ensure sufficient airport improvement program funds are allocated to a.i.p. formula grants rather than a.i.p. discretionary grants. madam speaker, the house has previously passed tw

so ordered. >> thank you, madam chair. i yield myself such time as i may consume.aker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker, the house resolution 1126 provides for consideration of h.r. 4247 the preventing harmful restraint and seclusion in schools act, under a structured rule. 4 the rule provides for one hour of general debate, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the committee on education and labor. the rule makes in order two amendments that -- makes in order the two amendments that were submitted for consideration and are printed in the rules committee report, a manager's amendment by chairman miller and an amendment by representative flake. the rule lays all points of order against considering of the bill except for clause 9 and 10 of rule 21 and provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions. the rule authorizes the speaker to entertain motions that the house suspend the rules through the legislative day of thursday, march 4, 2010. the speaker shall consult with the minority lead thorne desig

. >> i thank you, madam chair. if i might, we heard just a moment ago from one of our esteemed colleagues from the republican side that there were no savings in the health care bill. in fact, there are substantial savings, at least according to the congressional budget office, and over time the american deficit would be substantialally reduced. let me just tell i -- substantially reduced. let me tell you some of the reasons why. first of all, by extending coverage to most americans you eliminate one of the most difficult cost increases in the system. and that is that the uninsured wind up in the emergency room, usually very, very sick and that gets to be a very, very expensive matter and that cost is in the system and it's passed on to both the federal government as well as to those people that are buying private insurance. also there's a major effort in the legislation to extend the medical technology information systems, we know that that will reduce errors and omissions and create not only better care but reduce

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive massachusettsage. the messenger: madam speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: the senate has passed with amendments h.r. 1586, cited as the f.a.a., air transportation modernization and safety improvement act in which the concurrence of the house is asked. -- is requested. the speaker pro tempore: mr. burton from indiana. mr. burton: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. burton: well, you know, madam speaker, i was watching television today and i saw that the president was down at the white house signing the new health bill and he was getting all kinds of applause and everybody was, you know, just having a big time. and something like 61% or 62% of the american people were wondering why. because what they passed was something that the vast majority of americans don't want. so tonight i thought i'd come down here -- i don't want to rain on the president's parade, but i w

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: madam speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: ms. secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate shall convene as a court of impeachment at 2:00 p.m., march 17, 2010, for the purpose of receiving the manager's on the part of the house in the manner of the impeachment against a judge of the united states district court for the eastern district of louisiana. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas may proceed. mr. carter: thank you, madam speaker. so we've got a whistle blower act that basically says that service members can report unusual bizarre behavior by other members whether they be equal rank or other rank without fear of retribution. and especially as it relates to radical islamic threats as we saw in this case. and, you know, mr. mccaul mentioned, one of the things that we need -- somebody in the department of defense is saying that this involved a radical islamic terrorist ev

. >> thank you, madame chair. >thank you. i am concerned the direction given to you by the secretary of defense will not result in your study group examining to fundamental questions, whether current law threatens or undermines readiness in any significant way and whether the repeal of current law would improve readiness in measurable ways. with the to review commit to us today that you will examine these two questions as part of your study and provide the secretary of defense with your data, findings, and recommendations regarding them? in your personal view, to you think this question should be examined? would you object to them being added either by the secretary of defense or by congress? >> let me start, if we to a comprehensive and thorough job, a necessary component of that would be to look at the two questions you raised. >> thank you. >> i would agree. it is clear to me in the terms of reference and with the discussion of the secretary of defense the military readiness and effectiveness must retain primacy. that is w

wu: madam speaker, i now yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from illinois, mr. lipinski, the chair of the research subcommittee of the science and technology committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. lipinski: i thank the chairman for yielding. madam speaker, i rise today in support of h.res. 1097, supporting the goals and ideals of national engineers week. as one of only a handful of engineers in congress, as chairman wu mentioned, i am proud to again sponsor this resolution honoring national engineers week. i'd like to thank the gentleman from michigan, dr. ehlers, for working with me on this resolution and on many other issues. unfortunately for this institution, and for america's science and technology policy, dr. ehlers announced a couple weeks ago he was retiring at the end of the year. we are going to miss his leadership and knowledge, especially in the area of science technology, engineering, and math education. i'll particularly miss working with him as a co-chair of the stem ed caucus. promoting stem ed and education engineering ed

madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. olson, for five minutes. mr. olson: madam speaker, i ask to address the house for five minutes and unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. olson: madam speaker, i don't know have a lot to say what happened last night. i'll let the numbers speak for themselves. for over $500 billion in medicare cuts for seniors. over $500 billion in new taxes for small businesses. in my home state of texas over $24 billion in unfunded medicaid mandates. this is not the health care reform that the american people want. they want us to work together and come together in a bipartisan manner to have real solutions for their problems. we want every american to have access to quality, affordable health care. and unfortunately the majority didn't want to deal with us. but this isn't over. they got to get passed through the senate, there are going to be multiple lawsuits across the country, and they are going to have to answer to the american people in november of

. >> madam chair, the capital markets looked at every financial insitution and for a period of time went after the stock prices of every financial institution. that happened to us, too. our stock price started dropping. on that friday when it hit $3.37, the issue was not the fundamentals as much as would that create an issue of confidence not only in citi but all the other financial markets. >> but why citi? citi was the target and the only one that took the money? >> and we weren't the last one necessarily either. so the -- we weren't the fast. we weren't the last. different banks, different institutions got their own some. some broker dealers became bank holding companies overnight. >> but none of the original nine needed money within weeks of the original t.a.r.p. infusion. you got $25 billion. someone said -- the treasury -- secretary of the treasury said you were financially healthy, and within weeks you needed another $20 billion. i just want to understand why citi is special. >> again, what i would say to you is that you're right, this was not a fundamental situation. it was not a

madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the chair now recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. inutes. mr. boren: madam speaker, i rise today to remind members of this body that the month of march is colorectal cancer awareness month. during the month of march colon cancer advocates across the country will organize and participate in a wide range of activities to raise awareness about this horrible disease. this year alone almost 150,000 americans will be diagnosed with colon cancer. and approximately 50,000 of them will die from it. madam speaker, it doesn't have to be that way. if detected early, the survival rate for colon cancer is almost 90%. yet less than half of all americans get the recommended preventive test by the suggested age of 50. colon cancer is an issue that's very personal to me. 12 years ago i lost my mother to this dreadful disease. and since arriving in congress, i have made it one of my missions to bring attention to the serious yet preventable cancer. so for the next three weeks i want members of this body to ask themselves and their constituents two impor

the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from hawaii. ms. hirono: madamve days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on house resolution 1145 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. hirono: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. hirono: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of h.res. 1145 which recognizes the 125th anniversary of the university of arizona. the university of arizona attained its charter on march 12, 1891, with the authorization of arizona's 13th territorial assembly. the mission of this new university focused on building a better arizona through access, quality and self-discovery. the university's first day of classes commenced on october 1, 1891, with a small group of 32 students from the surrounding region. the school instantly became a symbol of pride for tucson, arizona. from these humble beginnings, the university of arizona has grown into one of the most prominent universiti

madam president? i ask consent that republican senators be permitted to engage in a croix. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: i thank the chairdam president, the senator from arizona and i and senator barrasso who will be here in a few minutes had the privilege of being invited by the president to a lengthy health care summit not a couple of weeks ago. it was at the blair house, an historic location right across from the white house. over the seven 1/2-hour discussion, there were some discuss differences of opinion. in fact, my friend, the majority leader, said lamar, you're not entitled to your facts, and i think he's right about that. we want to use real facts. but the american people once again seem to have understood the real facts. in the "wall street journal" yesterday, march 10, there was an article by scott rasmussen and doug schoen. mr. rasmussen is an independent pollster. mr. schoen was president clinton's pollster. we were saying mr. president, your plan will increase the deficit. this is a time when many people in america believe the deficit is growing at an alarming rate and will bring the country to its knees i

thank you, madam chair. this marks a historic time for our country. the current system is broken and there's still a lot of work to be done and i am committed to continuing this work. but no is not an option. just say no, just vote no. that you hear from the other side, the status quo is not an option. today we can improve our health care system by extending coverage to people with pre-existing conditions like my daughter and 16,800 of my constituents in the 7th congressional district in colorado. i have talked with my constituents in the 7th congressional district meetings and the government at the grocery meetings i have, telephone town halls, and they know the system is broken and something has to be done. for me this is personal. i have a daughter with epilepsy. she didn't ask to get it. just part of her chemistry. i dare say everybody in this room has somebody in their family, a close friend, a neighbor with a pre-existing condition. and our system, our health care system discriminates against those people. the 14th amendment to the constitution

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: madam speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed without amendment h.r. 3433, to amend the north american wetlands conservation act, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will now entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. beginning with mr. hare. mr. hare: i ask to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hare: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to pay tribute to many of the women's air force service pilots, geraldine jordan of moing, illinois. i'd like to recognize her family sitting in the gallery this morning. at the young age of 21 geraldine was the first woman in history trained to fly. geraldine also prevailed in her second battle, the one to achieve full veteran status for her wasp sisters. today, i also honor geraldine as

in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. mrs. lummis: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from wyoming is recognized. mrs. lummis: i ask for a vorded vote. -- recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of passage. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote -- the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 387. the nays are 21. the motion is adopted. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona ris

madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. olson, for 60 minutes. mr. olson: madam speaker, tonight my colleagues and i would like to share with you, the american people, our deep concern with the effects of the president's budget on nasa. by overwhelming -- my overwhelming concern with the decision to cancel the constellation program, there are several reasons why this is bad for america which my colleagues and i will go into more detail over the next hour. madam speaker, constellation was and is the right path forward to maintain america's leadership in space. just this past week, the constellation program successfully completed its preliminary design review. this is a milestone toward future development. this is a major milestone that should be noted and applauded by all of us. in addition to the successful test launch of the aries 1x rocket back in september. mr. speaker, i'm going to talk about a couple of issues tonight. national priority. national security. and how important nasa and human

chair. mr. carter: but i believe -- further parliamentary inquiry, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will state his further parliamentary inquiry. mr. carter: i believe that 10-5-c says that the next one in order shall act as acting -- the acting chair if mr. rangel, by at least of the declaration of someone on this house floor is number one, wouldn't he be the chair again in this -- in these circumstances? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has just stated the and so on character of the rule. mr. carter: sorry. i didn't understand you. would you mind repeating it? the speaker pro tempore: the rule says and so on as you previously read, and you are just reached the conclusion that that rule is operating. mr. carter: so if i may further inquire, so the words and so on means that you don't go back to original order, you go to whoever is behind him at the first vacation took place? the speaker pro tempore: it operates in a cascading fashion. mr. carter: in cascading fashion? the speaker pro tempore: that is correct. mr. carter: i thank you for t

. >> thank you so much, madam vice chair, for yielding to me. i could tell you as a woman with three children, and as a victim of domestic violence, it is really a relief to see that we have a piece of legislation that prevents insurers from discriminating against youth at the casa preexisting conditions. when you're a woman you're caught in this conundrum that you are in actual actual, potential or former mother. and so, the health care costs for women have always been costlier because of this particular biological fact. and to think of how outrageous it is to have an insurer not qualify you for health care the if you've been the victim of domestic violence, to actually say, because you've been beat up by a partner, we will not injure you. this is absolutely outrageous that this is one of the worst, most despicable practices that the government takeover of health and insurance reform will and. thank god we are taking over this particular defect in insurance coverage. i yield back. >> thank you. and i just want to add that everyone of us us as w

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- ms. bordallo: madam speaker, i request questions the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from guam seek recognition? ms. bordallo: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1119 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: resolution expressing the sense of the house of representatives that all people in the united states should participate in a moment of silence to reflect upon the service and sacrifice of members of the united states armed forces both at home and abroad. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from guam, ms. bordallo and the gentle

alexander: i thank the chair. madam president, the senator from arizona and i and senator barrasso who will be here in a few minutes had the privilege of being invited by the president to a lengthy health care summit not a couple of weeks ago. it was at the blair house, an historic location right across from the white house. over the seven 1/2-hour discussion, there were some discuss differences of opinion. in fact, my friend, the majority leader, said lamar, you're not entitled to your facts, and i think he's right about that. we want to use real facts. but the american people once again seem to have understood the real facts. in the "wall street journal" yesterday, march 10, there was an article by scott rasmussen and doug schoen. mr. rasmussen is an independent pollster. mr. schoen was president clinton's pollster. we were saying mr. president, your plan will increase the deficit. this is a time when many people in america believe the deficit is growing at an alarming rate and will bring the country to its knees in a