mr. nadler: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, many of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle would not be here today if president jefferson had not borrowed to finance the louisiana purchase purchase. -- purchase. mr. speaker, this bill promises all the fun of a constitutional amendment without actually amending the constitution. it simply says that the united states should default on our debts and destroy our economy if we don't amend the constitution. if we default on our debts we will do more damage to our economy than large deficits, tax increases and da conian cuts combine -- draconian cuts combined. right now we enjoy low interest rase rates because we're the most stable, reliable country in the world. even though we are certainly wealthy enough to pay our debts, nothing else will matter. interest rates will climb, homeowners and businesses will be pushed out of the credit markets, the stock market will crash. never before in the history of this country has anyone been irresponsible enough to play chicken with o

mr. cantor: mr. speaker, i'd say to the gentleman, as he has heard me say before in those meetings and on this floor, i don't want to pass august 2 without increasing the debt ceiling. mr. hoyer: i understand that. i thank the gentleman. mr. cantor: i understand there's a lot of uncertainty if that were to happen, a lot of risk associated with that, risks i am not willing to take. but to the gentleman's discussion that it is imperative that we do that, above all else, i'd also add to that it is imperative that we demonstrate that we can arrive at meaningful solutions to the current fiscal crisis the country is facing. that is what the cut, cap and balance act tries to achieve. it offers a way for us to cut spending in a meaningful way this year and throughout the budget window. it also suggests ways to enforce discretionary levels so that congress can actually begin to do what all of us would like to see us do which is to stop spending the money we don't have. the cut, cap and balance act also provid

>> i think mr. yates asking mr.wallis that on one occasion was enough times. >> thank you. >> your head of public affairs. you see your response those include marketing. and you knew mr. wallis as another pr consultant. i mean, i may be naÏve in this but wouldn't it be better if the met concentrate on catching criminals? >> they are concentrate on catching criminals spent watching of the 50 odd or whatever it is people npr? why not just concentrate on the basic? >> i don't believe so. like it or not they me have a strong interest in policing. they put significant demands on the metropolitan police and officers are doing their investigation, wanting information. the police officers would be spending their time trying to deal with that approach. and i feel a having press officers in place, that we are able to take the pressure off the investigative officers to get on with their jobs, and if the main press officers -- [inaudible] >> could some savings be made in your department? >> there's always savings to be made. my

mr. dicks: mr. chairman, i believe this is an important debate in the house today as we appropriately authorize congressional oversight in the use of force an the cost associated with our presence in libya. the president's initial commitment to support the international effort was appropriate and certainly within his power as commander in chief. in march, the president clearly outlined the rationale for involvement in the military action. now, if i were advising the president, i would have said, send up a resolution and get approval from the house and the senate. there's no question that would have been the pevered course of action. the u.s. effort was undertaken in concert with the broad coalition of nations and it followed a resolution adopted in the united nations security council authorizing all necessary measures to protect libyan civilians attempting to overthough the -- overthrow the oppressive -- oppressive regime of gaddafi. the gaddafi administration's response was to use force and the bru

mr. van holn: mr. speaker, i would urge my colleagues to look at the congressional budget office analysis of the impact of the republican budget on senior citizens on medicare. essentially what they do is give seniors a raw deal compared to what members of congress get themselves. anda raw deal in a big way. -- a raw deal in a big way. with that i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio. mr. jordan: yield one minute to dr. fleming. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana. mr. fleming: thank you. mr. speaker, but for the president of the united states who serves today a a democrat-controlled congress over the last two years we wouldn't be here today debating this. $3.8 trillion added to our debt and continuing on that same glide path. mr. speaker, we're here today because people across america, businesses, cities, states, all have to balance their budgets. the only game in this country, the only entity that doesn't have to b

mr. graves: mr. speaker, mr. chairman, i want to bring up the fact that in the house, over the last five appropriations bills, there have been 250 amendments offered. only 11 cutting amendments have been passed and eight of these were by voice vote. here on the floor of the house, and i guess i'm speaking to my colleagues in the republican party, we are not cutting any more than what comes out of the committee. so far out of these five appropriations bills, there's been $691 billion spent and yet we've only cut $304 million in addition to that. so mr. speaker, mr. chairman, as i think about where we are, i brought the analogy and trying to put this in context of where we are as a nation, that's two cents, just two pennies, out of a gallon of gas , just two pennies. mr. chairman, i'll leave you that. my two cents' worth on this amendment. the chair: the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman. i would like to yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock. the chair: t

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: quorum is present. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, today the speaker and republican leader -- the presiding officer: would the majority leader -- could we've a little -- mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. today the speaker and republican leader held a press conference to announce they're in talks with the president and that a bargain to raise the debt limit is in the works understan and i. mr. president, members. senate, that's not triewvment i just spent two hours with the president, the vic vice preside, and the agreement is not in a meaningful way. the republicans still refuse to negotiate in good faith. revenues off the calendar. no way we can talk about revenues. entitlements, oh, they're after entitlements -- medicare, social security. the speaker and republican leader should know that merely saying you have an agreement in front of television cameras doesn't make it so. the republic

mr. welch: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, as you know the american taxpayer is spending $2 billion a week in afghanistan. among the expenditures, our payment for projects that are rebuilding infrastructure in afghanistan, roads, bridges, schools, in some cases hospitals. "the washington post" recently reported that the afghan government is taxing american aid. we send money there to build a road. we have to hire contractors in order to do that. and the afghan government is trying to tax that money for their own coffers. so it's not enough that our taxpayers are spending billions of dollars on projects to rebuild their infrastructure. the afghan government is literally trying to reach in the pocket and double dip and tax our taxpayers for our taxpayers' generosity in giving them money. . how does that make any sense at all? after this was reported, they are stepping up their efforts to grab that cash. they are doing things like threatening to detain contractors. if they don't pay up, take money that's assigned to buil

mr. lee: mr. president, a number of us, myself included, have been arguing since january, ever since we arrived here and were sworn in in this very room, that the national debt is a permanent problem. the almost $15 trillion that we now owe as a nation is permanent. it's going to take a long time to pay off. there are people who are not yet old enough to vote, there are people who will be born in a few years who are not even here who will one day have to assist in paying off that debt. now, the fact that this is a long-term problem means that it requires a long-term solution. that's why we've been saying all along that we ought not to raise the debt limit again. extending our national debt by another $2.5 trillion more or less, without a permanent solution in place. herein lies the problem. it's difficult or impossible for one congress to come up with a setf budget numbers that will necessarily bind future congresses. we can come up with a plan to cut $2 trillion or $3 trillion over a 10 or 15-yea

mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2693, to cut spending, maintain existing commitnts and for other purposes, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2693, a bill to cut spending, maintain existing commitments and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusts rise? >> parliamentary inquiry, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the gentleman has the right to be heard. the gentleman from massachusetts will state his inquiry. mr. mcgovern: mr. spear, is it true that a bill considered under suspension of the rules denies the minority party the right to offer any amendments or even a motion to recommit? the speaker pro tempore: a motion to suspend is not liable to amendment on the floor. mr. mcgovern: further parliamentary inquiry, meerks. the sp

mr. nadler: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, many of our colleagues on both sides of the aisle would not be here today if president jefferson had not borrowed to finance the louisiana purchase purchase. -- purchase. mr. speaker, this bill promises all the fun of a constitutional amendment without actually amending the constitution. it simply says that the united states should default on our debts and destroy our economy if we don't amend the constitution. if we default on our debts we will do more damage to our economy than large deficits, tax increases and da conian cuts combine -- draconian cuts combined. right now we enjoy low interest rase rates because we're the most stable, reliable country in the world. even though we are certainly wealthy enough to pay our debts, nothing else will matter. interest rates will climb, homeowners and businesses will be pushed out of the credit markets, the stock market will crash. never before in the history of this country has anyone been irresponsible enough to play chicken with o

i'm not going to listen without my counsel. >> mr. mladic, mr. mladic, mr. mladic, mr. mladic, the court orders that you be removed from the courtroom. could security please escort mr. mladic out of the courtroom. could mr. mladic -- >> translator: who are you? you're not allowing me to breathe. >> we adjourn. we adjourn for the moment. we adjourn for the moment. curtains dourngs please. we resume -- we resume soon. >> you beerch watching live pictures fromming from the hague where the criminal court has been listening for the hearing of ratko mladic. he is present there for a second hearing on his plea where he wants to plead guilty or not guilty to charges including genocide and crimes against humanity. you can see that ratko mladic was removed from the courtroom by alphons orie. let's go to correspondent dan rivers for more insight as to what happened. dan, those are some pretty dramatic scenes there. >> yeah, i mean it seems completely true to form, the way he's behaving is in line with the way he's behaved all the way since he was arrested and indicted. he is just

mr. scott: mr. speaker, as i stand here, georgia, since 2008 financial difficulty started in this country, we've now lost to bank failure 67 banks that have failed, which makes us the leader in the nation in this area in our state. we have some very capable business people in georgia and in atlanta. very sterling leaders of the financial services industry worldwide. based out of atlanta. we're grappling with the recovery. but mr. speaker, there is nothing, there's no more important sector of our economy than our banking system. it is indeed the heart of our economic system that pumps out the credit, that pumps out the capital that makes our economy go around. so it is very important that we really deal with an area and with information and with an effective study so that we can grasp the full meaning of what caused this to happen, what were the characteristics in atlanta or in georgia that caused this disproportionate number of bank failures and indeed we can learn so much so that we can prevent thi

mr. polis: mr. speaker, this smoke and mirror bill before us today stands to increase, yes, increase the deficit of the united states of america by over $100 billion. let me walk the speaker through the math here. this is why credit ratings matter. countries that have a.a. credit ratings, this is a group of them, pay an average interest on their sovereign debt of 3.75%. countries with a a.a.a. rating, this is a 10-year, pay 2.89%. that's 1.75%, almost 2% difference between a.a.a. and a.a. in passing the bill today which only has a six-month extension we are jeopardizing our a.a.a. rating that will be incredibly hard to ever earn back. the addition on paying an extra two percentage points on your mortgage, two points more on your credit card debt, two points more on your car debt, in addition to that, mr. speaker, the government, the biggest borrower in the country, will pay more on the debt. in 10 years that 1.75% difference, which is just taking the average, between a.a.a. and a.a., costs over $100

garrett, mr. hensarling, mr. price, mrs. biggert, mr. manzullo, mr. bachus, many others, they made it clear they didn't want the whole agency. so this notion that they're just trying to improve it is belied by the fact that they tried to kill it. even then mr. bachus sometimes has trouble sticking to his own line. here's what he said this morning on cnbc. we're not trying to kill it, that's been totally misrepresented. republicans stand strongly behind consumer protection. we however think that safety and soundness has to be considered so that we don't worry about a federal reserve or an fdic but we do worry about a consumer protection agency whose sole goal is to benefit consumers without considering how that benefit affects the stability of our financial institutions. well, it doesn't go the other way, they don't worry about what the financial institutions do to consumers, but let me read again what he says. we do worry about a consumer protection agency whose sole goal is to benefit consumers without worrying about the poor banks and what the bill

mr. ryan: mr. speaker, let me -- i yield myself two minutes. the gentleman, my friend from maryland, keeps talking about the reid plan, that the senate majority leader, i've got the c.b.o. score, it says $2.2 trillion. $2.2 trillion increase that means it doesn't raise the debt limit less than we cut spending, so it cuts less, but more importantly, $1.3 trillion of that money is accounting tricks and budget gimmicks. mr. speaker, the american people are tired of all the accounting tricks and the budget gimmicks that go on in washington. let me explain what $1.3 trillion of this does. it says that, imagine that we're at war for 10 years, in afghanistan and iraq at surge levels. we assume we're going to be fighting this war for 10 more years, with over 100,000 troops in afghanistan and oh, gosh, wait, we're going to withdraw our troops in 2014. $1 trillion in savings. i've got a better idea. let's pass a bill to cover the moon with yogurt that will cost $5 trillion today. and then let's pass a bill t

mr. holt: mr. chairman, this bill, h.r. 235 , reduces the -- 2354, reduces the department of science from about $43 million below this year's level and my amendment would restore that funding so that the office of science can sustain its current operations. i know the subcommittee chair my friend if new jersey and the ranking democrat, my friend from indiana, understand very well the importance of this office of the department of energy and i know they worked hard to fit their bill into the budget constraints but i must ask them to join me in taking another look at this office. scientific reserming lies at the very heart of the national innovation system that keeps us competitive, that enhances our quality of life that fuels our economy. and improves our national security. the office of science is the nation's primary research into science. it helps maintain america's first rate work force of scientists and engineers who are working daily to address some of the greatest challenges and to push the b

mr. rush: mr. speaker, i stand in support of mr. murphy's amendment and this amendment would say a misleading finding about the tar sands in canada with information. the only problem with the minority's argument is that canada has no way to send oil to china now. and no realistic prospect of ever sending oil to china, they won't do this any time soon. so i think this is a commonsense amendment and i certainly stand in support of this amendment. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska rise? mr. terry: i rise in opposition of this amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. terry: thank you, mr. chairman. and first of all, the purpose of this pipeline is so that american citizens will have a reliable source of fuel made in america. that's the whole point of this. and there are companies that are expanding their refineries right now to be able to accept this crude. now, it's been stated that if we don't use it, then this is not going to be used because i

mr. wilson: mr. speaker, sadly with the unemployment rate riding -- rising on friday, today's investors business daily lead editorial is correct. with unemployment now at 9.2% and job growth at a standstill, is there anyone not blinded by ideology or rank partisanship who can't see that obama's spend and regulate plan has been an utter failure? citing the unemployment rate has dipped below 9% in only five of the president's months in office, the verdict is clear. no president since the great depression can match that record of failure. on friday the hill proclaimed the president's campaign responds that people won't vote based on the unemployment rate. i believe that the american people know better. even worse, now liberals are pushing harder for tax increases that will kill jobs, liberals do not understand peoples' incomes belongs to -- belong to them, it does not belong to the government. tax increases hurt small businesses an kill jobs. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget

mr. lewis: mr. speaker, if it were not for the remarks of my colleague from california as well as his colleague from the rules committee, iouldn't be making these remarks. i'll begin with a quote. the facts that we are here today to debate raising america's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. increasing america's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. leadership means that the buck stops here. inead washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backsf our children and grandchildren. america has a debt problem and a failure of leadership, americans deserve better, unquote. senator barack obama, march of 2006. by 2009 senator obama had become president obama. in two years since he became president, federal spending has increased by over 5ds00 billion a year -- $500 billion a year. in the past two years he has added nearly $4 trillion to our national debt. now president obama is in favor of increasing the national debt limit. when, oh, when will the real barack obam

mr. durbin: amen. mr. mccain: number two is that to insist, to insist that any agreement is based on the passage through the united states senate of a balanced budget amendment to the constitution of the united states, as i said before, is not fair to the american people because, because the terrible obstructionists on this side of the aisle, the terrible people, their flawed philosophical views about the future of america is not going to allow to us get 20 additional votes from your side, assuming that you get all 47 since it requires 67 votes to pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution. so i think it was not only wrong assessment, continuing's not fair to the american people to -- i think it's not fair to the american people to say we can pass a balanced budget amendment to the constitution through the senate at this time. now maybe after the senator is defeated in the next election and we get rid of a lot of -- maybe that will happen. but certainly let's not tell the american people that tha

mr. peters: mr. speaker, i'm pleased today to rise in support of h.r. 440, a bill to establish a special envoy to promote religious freedom -- freedom of religious minorities in the near east and south central asia. as a co-sponsor of this bipartisan legislation and as a member of the religious minorities of the middle east caucus, i strongly support its passage. while many parts of the near east and south east asia are predominantly muslim, historically these areas have been home to a diverse group of ethnic and religious minorities. whether it is syrians in iraq, bahi in iran or the hindus in pakistan, religious minorities have for centuries lived and worshiped alongside their muslim countrymen and women. unfortunately instability in the middle east has had a disproportionately negative impact on religious minorities, the most striking example of this has been in iraq where more than half of the iraqi christian population has been forced to flee the country since the invasion of iraq in 2003. those

mr. wilson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, it was an honor to be here earlier with congressman ted poe from texas explaining about the federal lands and how they could be developed to create jobs and opportunity. it's particularly fitting that the speaker protemperature at this moment is daniel webster, congressman from florida, because over his head is inscribed a statement, a very wise statement from the previous daniel webster, the statesman of our country, and in the inscription over the head of our speaker pro tempore at this moment it says, let us develop the resources of our land. and so we know that the original daniel webster was correct and we know that judge ted poe is correct and our speaker pro tempore is correct. mr. speaker, last night the house passed the cut, cap and balance act of 2011. as the co-sponsor of this legislation, i am grateful to have my colleagues support this measure with bipartisan votes by republicans and five democrats. it cuts spending by $111 billion in twelve. it enacts statutes t

mr. ken mcdonald.ons officer, please come forward to help me present the second place trophy. second place, ladies and gentlemen. mr. frank ware. and before we announce the winner i'm going to drag this out even longer. i'm going to take a moment to thank the kind people who made the 47th annual cable car bell ringing contest possible the the vice chair of the sfmt board of directors. and friends of the cable car music, union square association, trophy masters shanghai restaurant, ghirardelli chocolatesing,

mr. woodall: mr. speaker, at this time i'm pleased to yield three minutes to a gentleman who held a very persuasive special orders on this topic last night, the gentleman from arizona, mr. franks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arizona is recognized for three minutes. mr. franks: i certainly thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, all financial budgets will eventually balance. no individual, no family, no business and no government can indefinitely continue to spend more money than they take in without someone having to make up the difference. mr. speaker, that includes the federal budget of the united states. neath plr obama nor congressional democrats can repeal the laws of mathematics. the federal budget of the united states government will eventually balance. the question is whether the white house and those of us in this body will balance this budget ourselves by wise policy or national bankruptcy and financial ruin will do it for us. on the day barack obama walked into the white house his

mr. broun: mr. speaker, in the midst of all the talk about raising the debt ceiling, i don't hear anyone talking about the most important factor in this equation. our unsustainable national debt. everyone is focused on raising the debt ceiling. but if we truly want to get our economy back on its feet, we need to begin paying off the debt that president obama and his predecessors have created. it's obvious that our democratic leaders in the white house and the senate care more about making campaign speeches than about the livelihood of the american people. liberals want to raise taxes, but of course not until after the elections. and they want to sham us with talks about future cuts that we will never see materialize. it's like one big ponzi scheme and they're trying to get the american people to buy into it. we need spending cuts we need spending cuts now and pay down the outrageous debt. i urge both my colleagues and the american people not to fall for the accounting tricks. i yield back. the speak

mr. baca: mr. speaker, republicans claim that they want to lower the government's spending, but they sure have a funny way of showing it. first, they refuse to compromise with the president on a proposal that would lower the deficit by $4 trillion. now, they refuse to compromise on a long-term plan that will result in meaningful deficit reduction, meaningful deficit reduction. even after the stock market plunged yesterday, republicans still refuse to compromise. they refuse to compromise. why? because they're more interested in scoring political ponets and protecting the tax breaks for the ultrarich, corporations that send jobs overseas. we must not, i must state, we must not balance the budget on the backs of our seniors, the poor by cutting social security and medicare. we need a balanced approach. we need to work together. no taxes, no jobs. let's stop this dangerous game of chicken before we have an economic disaster. we must compromise and it shouldn't be my way or the highway. i yield back th

mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 4 printed in house report 112-172 offered by mr. paulsen of minnesota. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 358, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. paulsen, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota for five minutes. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, i rise to offer this amendment really to help ensure that we maintain prudent regulation of the financial services industry. mr. speaker, under current law there are five nonvoting members of the financial stability oversight council, including a state insurance regulator and a state bank regulator. this seeks to ensure and only clarify that these regulators on the financial stability oversight council who do not have voting rights still have the authority to challenge any regulations that are brought forward or put forth by the consumer financial protection bureau.

mr. levin: yes. mr. dreier: i say the action we are about to do here today is see the process that senator mcconnell and senator reid work together. why? mr. levin: i take back my time. mr. dreier, that is pernicious nonsense. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to address their comments to the chair, not otherwise. the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: i didn't hear you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: i said members are reminded to address their comments to the chair and not to others. mr. dreier: i will not only address you, madam chair, i won't point my finger at you as i address you. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. mr. dreier: let me say, madam speaker, that senator mcconnell has just minutes ago asked senator reid to bring the reid proposal to the floor of the united states senate and a decision has been made by senator reid not to bring the measure up. on at least three occasions senator mcconnell has asked since senator reid has said that his proposal is the only one th

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration the motion to proceed to the bill h.r. 2560. the time until 10:00 a.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at 10:00 a.m. i will be recognized to make a motion to table the motion to proceed. therefore, senators should expect a roll call vote at approximately 10:00 a.m. to accommodate senators on both sides on what will take a little longer than usual. this, i say to you, mr. president, and to everyone at the sound of my voice, this is an effort to move this piece of legislation off the floor. it's interfering with the negotiations between the white house and the house of representatives, and it is without merit, this legislation. this is a motion to table. it is a vote on this bill. and we on this side of the aisle are going to look at every vote cast. we feel comfortable where we are on this issue, and i would s

mr. petri: mr. speaker, i ask fleak that -- unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on h.r. 2018 and include extraneous material in the congressional record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from -- >> excuse me, mr. speaker. mr. petri: it was 2553. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2553, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the airport and airway trust fund, to amend title 49, united states code, to extend the airport improvement program, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. members, please remove your conversations from the floor. the gentleman from wisconsin seeks to call up h.r. 2553? mr. petri: yes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 357, the bill is considered as read. the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. petri, and th

we have mr. paul, ms. woolsey, mr. jones, mr. conyers. mr. burton, ms. barbara lee, mr. poe. mr. stark. mr. mcclintock. mr. nadler, mr. nugent, mr. johnson, mr. honda. the support is growing. and members can call either mr. amash's office or my office right now if they want to co-sponsor. this is our moment, in congress. this is our moment to reclaim the constitution of the united states which the founders envisioned that under article 1, section 8, we have the power to determine whether or not this neigh gos to war. not some rebel group in benghazi because when you reduce it to its ultimate, a group of bengaw zero rebels made the decision to go to war against its own government and before you know it, nato joins in, we're pulled into it, the administration went to everyone except getting the approval of the united states congress. this is our moment to reclaim the constitution. will we rise to the occasion? this isn't only about this congress right now. history will judge us. whether or not we understood. the imperative of article 1 section 8. this is about the constitution. cer

mr. watson, we have given all our files and all our knowledge and everything to the police. they have not given us the diaries, so we do not know what was in that. there was a page which appeared, appeared to be addressed to him. again, that's my son's -- >> mr. watson, perhaps if it would be helpful to the committee if you would like to go through any of the particular detail around why decisions were made by the management team at news international and the precise chronology, it would be more helpful perhaps if i could answer those questions as the chief executive of the regional businesses across europe. i have somewhat more proximity to it. >> i understand the detail points. >> i'm simply offering to help to clarify these matters. >> your father is responsible for corporate governance and it's revealing in itself what he doesn't know and what executives chose not to tell him. so with respect to you i will come back to you later. mr. murdoch, why was no one fired in april when news in

mr. young: mr. chairman, thank you very much. this amendment is very, very similar to one that the house rejected earlier today. the project that would be funded by this amendment, by the shifting of this money, is not an authorized program to begin with. but even if it were, the army's o&m account in the portion of the bill is funded at over $39.1 billion. and should this project remain in the final authorization bill, the department concurs that if the department -- if the department concurs it is a high enough priority then there are ample funds to cover it with the $39.1 billion and so i see no reason for this amendment and i oppose the amendment an yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from new york. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. mr. nadler: mr. speaker. the chair: pursuant to clause -- mr. nadler: i ask for a recorded vote on that. the chair: yes, the gentleman

mr. polis: mr. speaker, our country is facing an incredibly important moment as critical decisions need to be made regarding the national debt and our long-term deficit and how to constrain spending. members on both sides of this aisle recognize the reality that we need to restore fiscal responsibility in our budget. however, mr. speaker, in times of national importance we need to stay focus on what our country needs and what's best for the american people and avoid the temptation to play politics as this bill does. far too much has been carried out by the majority party under the guise of cost cutting and the deficit when it's actually policymaking to implement a hard right radical environmental agenda which can actually cost more money in both the short, medium and long term. mr. speaker, the cuts proposed by the majority in bill has everything to do with implementing radical anti-environmental ideology. the bill makes sweeping cuts to critical programs to protect the public's health, reduce our e

mr. scott: mr. chairman, i offer this amendment today to propose what i believe would be a proactive solution for homeowners when they face unforeseen disasters. my amendment would ask the g.a.o. to report to congress the means and effects of facilitating a market for all peril insurance policies. this amendment comes directly from an issue faced by many of my constituents and nearly 4,000 households a around the country. problems associated with the unforeseen disaster caused by toxic chinese drywall. over the last five years nearly 4,000 homes in over 40 states have been discovered to contain toxic chinese dry wall. this dry wall has been tested by the consumer safety commission and found to be responsible for hazardous chemicals oozing into homes, americans living in these homes have experienced everything from cold and flu-like systems to migraine headache, chronic nose bleeds, gastrointestinal problems and other debilitating systems. zsh symptoms. home owners have had the expectation that the c

mr. lee: mr. president, a number of us, myself included, have been arguing since january, ever since we arrived here and were sworn in in this very room, that the national debt is a permant problem. the almost $15 trillion that we now owe as a nation is permanent. it's going to take a long time to pay off. there are people who are not yet old enough to vote, there are people who will be born in a few years who are not even here who will one day have to assist in paying off that debt. now, the fact that this is a long-term problem means that it requires a long-term solution. that's why we've been saying all along that we ought not to raise the debt limit again. extending our national debt by another $2.5 trillion more or less, without a permanent solution in place. herein lies the problem. it's difficult or impossible for one congress to come up with a setf budget numbers that will necessarily bind future congresses. we can come up with a plan to cut $2 trillion or $3 trillion over a 10 or 1ye peri

mr. poe: mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on -- the speaker: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the ayes have it. the gentleman from texas. mr. poe: i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of lule 20, further -- rule 0, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay. mr. clay: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain requests fo

mr. webster: mr. speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 337 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 50, house resolution 337. resolved,that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 2354, making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. after general debate the bill shall be considered for

. >> to the prime minister, mr. hames. number one, mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i had meeting this morning, in addition to the duties in the house, i shall have further such meetings today. >> mr. speaker, secretly deleting voicemails left for a teenager. buying the silence of the public figures that could incriminate your business, and publishing the details of a disabilitied child who happens to have a famous father. i ask the prime minister are any of these the acts of a fit and proper person? >> here. >> my honorable friends makes an extremely powerful point in a powerful way. i think we have to be clear about what is happening here. there is a fire storm, if you like that, that is engulfing parts of the media, parts of the police, and indeed our political system's ability to respond. what we must do in the coming days and weeks think above all of the victims like the downing family watching this today and make doubly sure we dependent to what happens and prosecutor those who are guilty. [cheering] >> mr. speaker, yesterday, i met the family of milli

mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. to say to my very good friend from massachusetts that as i listen to those remarks, i am really struck with the fact that our view is that we are in this together. i will say for the record we care about absolutely everything that my friend said we don't care about. we as a nation have a challenge that needs to be addressed in a bipartisan way. the measure that is before us today is one that was, and i underscore the word, was agreed to by the senate majority leader, harry reid, and the speaker of the house, john boehner. now, i know that senator reid is not at this juncture supportive of this measure, but it's important to note that we need to bring about greater spending cuts, and i know i speak for most all of my republican colleagues when i say that this is really the beginning of a process towards reducing the size and scope and reach of government. we feel passionately about the need to expand individual initiative and opportun

mr. rahall: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. rahall: i rise in support of h.r. 2018. for far too many years now my state and others throughout the appalachian region that produce coal to power our nation have been struggling under the weight of an uncertain federal permitting process. that uncertainty has left coal miners and mining communities living in an untenable limbo. the result has been the creation of a atmosphere of worry, distrust, and of bitterness. i had hoped that under this administration we would finally find our way to some fair -- clarity and common ground, unfortunately that has not been the case. rather than bringing sides together and fostering balance, the e.p.a.'s actions in recent months have widened the division. they have spurred the tension of divided opinion over service coal mining to fracture what should be a cooperative relationship among the federal and state agencies with permitting

mr. young: mr. chairman, i rise in opposition to the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. young: mr. chairman, this would -- this amendment would offer $10 million to a cut that the kp had already made. in the defensewide accounts. actually, the defense department offered up this -- when we were looking for savings to achieve the $10 billion $the -- the $9 billion, this is one area where the defense department indicated the cut. you will hear me throughout the day and throughout the evening as long as we're dealing with this bill. we had to come up with $9 billion in reductions from the president's request. this is part of where we got the $9 billion, and since the department did not have any objection to this, in fact, offered this up as a possible way of helping with the savings, i must oppose this amendment and ask that the members do so. i yield back my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from vi

mr. israel. guest: hello there. caller: we can't pay the social security tax, we can't pay the medicare tax. we can't pay no tax, because the illegals are working unthe table . host: let's get a response. guest: hugh, i don't know what guest: hugh, i don't know what about those past few minutes leads you to believe that. you didn't hear those words because they weren't said. we need to as with the debt ceiling, we theed a balanced approach. we need a compromise. i have for the longest period of time advocated a balanced approach that will do two things. i believe it will be greater and stronger enforcement at our borders. i supported those steps. we also need a path to deal with the people who have come here and stayed here. so we have offered a compromise which john mccain supported early on. it says, if you are willing to pay a fine, pay penalty, meet other pen much marks, we will consider making you eligible for zip. if you are -- eligible for citizenship. if you are not willing to pla

mr. mcgovern: mr. chairman, i rise in support of amendments to this title that cut funds, reduce our military footprint and move to bring our troops home from afghanistan and i rise in opposition to the underlying bill. i want to commend the ranking member of the committee, congressman dicks from washington, for his leadership in calling for a fresh look at how we carry out military operations in afghanistan and the need for a strategy that brings our troops home sooner rather than later. i just returned from a trip to afghanistan. i cannot describe how impressed i am with the commitment, the dedication and the work carried out every single day by our men and women in uniform and those in the civilian services. i met and spoke with them in kabul, bases and air force bases and small villages. quite simply, they are incredible. but over and over and over again, i heard the same message, this is not sustainable. the strategy that we are pursuing in afghanistan is not sustainable and it is costing us too m

mr. polis: mr. speaker, this smoke and mirror bill before us today stands to increase, yes, increase the deficit of the united states of america by over $100 billion. let me walk the speaker through the math here. this is why credit ratings matter. countries that have a.a. credit ratings, this is a group of them, pay an average interest on their sovereign debt of 3.75%. countries with a a.a.a. rating, this is a 10-year, pay 2.89%. that's 1.75%, almost 2% difference between a.a.a. and a.a. in passing the bill today which only has a six-month extension we are jeopardizing our a.a.a. rating thawill be incredibly hard to ever earn back. the addition on paying an extra two percentage points on your mortgage, two points more on your credit card debt, two points more on your car debt, in addition to that, mr. speaker, the government, the biggest borrower in the country, will pay more on the debt. in 10 yes that 1.75% difference, which is just taking the average, between a.a.a. and a.a., costs over $100 bil

mr. whitmore used by 98 journalists. is it not obviously the case of logging, hacking, dsa private investigators for illicit purposes wasn't actually a culture in the news of the world participated with the sense of entitlement -- the same entitlement in this book because everybody else is doing it. is that not the case? >> we thought a lot over the last -- well, 10 years. i particularly the committee held an inquiry to which is incredibly extensive with this committee and as far as i was concerned, that failing up on newspapers and not understanding the extent of the use of private investigators which was held to account then. they're in many changes because of operations most meant to be to the data protection act. and then i said the authority of the observer is far better than mine, but they had a very good editorial in this about three months ago with addressing -- again, readdress the impact climate then and how different it is now. >> in 2003, there were despicable practices across

mr. watt: mr. chairman, my amendment to the legislative branch bill would decrease funding for the office of congressional ethics, the o.c.e., by 619,200 and transfer these funds to the spending reduction account. i have offered this amendment because i believe there is a substantial bipartisan consensus, one that the responsibilities of the o.c.e. are redundant and duplicative of the house ethics committee. two, that the o.c.e.'s operations are substantially staff driven. and the staff has taken the o.c.e.'s mission well beyond what was intended in the statute that created the entity. three, that the procedures of the o.c.e. are unfair and sometimes abusive of the rights of members of the house. four, that a substantial part of the funds we spend on the c.o.e. waste taxpayers' money. and five, that using those funds to reduce our debt and deficit would be a far better use. in these difficult budget times, i believe we have an obligation to judge the o.c.e. on the same criteria on which we measure