mr. merkley: mr. president, i ask further reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: mr. president, i introduced this amendment with several original cosponsors, senator mike lee, senator rand paul, tom udall and senator sherrod brown and by like to thank them for joining in this effort to address our military presence in afghanistan. and the fact that our military forces have done such an excellent job of completing the original missions of destroying al qaeda training camps and bringing to justice those responsible for 9/11. but over this past decade, our mission has changed to one of nation building, a mission that is obstructed by vast corruption, by extraordinary traditional cultural resistance to a strong central government, and by very high illiteracy rate. these factors should have us rethinking how to have the most effective use of our military forces, our intelligence assets, in taking on the war on terror. and that we should be engaging in cou

mr. lorges: mr. speaker, pursuant to -- mr. rogers: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 467 agreed to earlier today, i callp the conference report to accompany the bill h.r. 2112, a bill making appropriations for the department of agriculture, commerce, justice, transportation, and housing and urban development and related programs for the fiscal year ending september -- >> could we have order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house will be in order. the gentleman from kentucky may proceed. mr. rogers: related programs for the fiscal year ending september 0, 2012, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2112, an act making appropriations for agriculture, rural development, food and drug administration, and related agencies programs for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 467, the conference report is considered as read.

mr. ellison: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i come to the floor today to support and urge us to support kenyan military that has gone into somalia to set up a corridor of safety for the somali people and to help push back and fight against al shabaab. it is a terrorist organization in somalia. and because of the general chaos in somalia, mr. speaker, al shabaab has been able to do two very bad things. one is they, because of the instability they create, they have caused massive refugee problems into kenya which is why the kenyan military had to go into somalia to try to stop that. but they also created chaos in the red sea through piracy and also sponsored terrorism in other african nations like uganda. at the same time, mr. speaker, they are an -- attracting nuisance to every bad guy and they attract international terrorists to somalia which further destabilizes that nation. after 20 years of chaos, the somali people deserve, deserve some stability and the kenyan troops that are there are helping to bring that. the un

mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, today i'd like to extend my sincere appreciation to neal patelle, a committed staff member in the second congressional district of south carolina. after a little more than a year, neal is departing the office to join congressman boustany's staff and serve as his communications director to further the republican plan to create jobs. a native of south carolina, he's a graduate of charleston school of law. i have worked with his parents in the motel industry for over 30 years, and i know they are proud of their son's achievements. neal has been a tremendous asset for the people of the second congressional district. from his early days as an intern to now communications director, neal has represented our office with enthusiasm and professionalism. it is with sincere gratitude that i would like to thank neal for his dedicati

mr. conyers: mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the chair must remind all members that remarks in debate may note had not engage in personalities toward the president. the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i am directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from -- the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased now to recognize from virginia, the distinguished gentleman, jim moran, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. moran: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i have to rise in opposition to this balanced budget amendment. i did vote for a similar measure in 1995, but the events of the last 15 years ha

mr. levin: mr. president, senators are encouraged to come to the floor to offer their amendments this morning. we're going to be here doing business. senators that have remarks, speeches, proponents of amendments, opponents of amendments are given an opportunity here today, which may be one of the relatively few opportunities that are going to be available. we will be here the monday we return as well. before the vote at 5:30 montana dpai on a judicial nomination, but we will be here before that time also to hear from proponents and opponents of amendments, to have people offer amendments. we're not going to have the whole week, we've been told by the leader, when we come back for this bill. so we're going to have to make additional progress today. we made some progress last night. we cleared some amendments last night. we're going to try to clear some additional amendments this morning and adopt some amendments that can be cleared. we have 155 filed amendments. we have 31 pending amendments. and, a

mr. dold: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the american taxpayer is facing skyrocketing debt and political partisanship here in washington. while every american family must balance the budget, the federal government does not have to do the same. additionally, publicly traded companies are required to provide financial statements for their shareholders whereas the government is not held accountable to the american taxpayer. that is why representative mike quigley and i are introducing bipartisan legislation that would require the federal government prepare and publish online periodic financial statements that are independently audited and that are accurately reflecting the government's true financial condition. in the short time i have been in congress, i've focused my efforts on creating an environment that fosters job creation and gets our economy back on track. part of that effort involves america's fiscal house getting in order, and that is why i have worked to curb out-of-control government spending. moving forwar

mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i ask feak that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks -- i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. house resolution 453 provides for a structured rule for consideration of h.r. 2930 and h.r. 2940. this rule allows for all seven amendments submitted to the rules committee by democrats and republicans to be made in order. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this rule and the underlying bills, h.r. 2930, the entrepreneur access to capital act was introduced on september 14, 2011, by my friend and the gentleman from north carolina, mr. pat mchenry and was reported by the committee on financial services by a voice vote. last week the second bill, h.r. 2930, the access to capital for job creators act, way introduced by the republican majority whip, the gentleman from california, mr. mccarthy, and also passed the committee on financial services by a voice vote last week. bot

mr. kline: mr. chairman, at this time i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from alabama, mrs. roby. the chair: the gentleman from alabama is recognized for two minutes. mrs. roby: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i rise today in support of h.r. 3094, the work force democracy and fairness act, a bill i proudly sponsor. as a representative from alabama, a right to work state, the continued activist agenda of the national labor relations board is alarming. its proposed rules are a clear example that the white house and the nlrb are committed to a culture of union favoritism. the nlrb's proposals undermine the rights of employers and employees by empowering unions to manipulate the work force for their own gain. the work force democracy and fairness act is one of many bills put forward by my republican colleagues that will prevent the nlrb from imposing sweeping changes to our nation's workplaces. additionally and most importantly, this bill restores key labor protections that both w

mr. herger: mr. speaker, the american people understand the basic principle that you can't spend money you don't have. they live that reality on a daily basis. unfortunately congress has disregarded this idea, choosing instead to imagine that it could spend money endlessly without harming our economy or standard of living. the result is that we're now an unthinkable $15 trillion, $15 trillion in debt. some argue that we don't need to amend the constitution for washington to do its job. i'm proud to say that i served in the budget committee in the late 1990's when we produced four consecutive balanced budgets. but the sad truth is that this kind of fiscal responsibility has been all too rare in recent years. ultimately a balanced budget amendment will force congress to be serious about addressing the core driver of our debt which is the out-of-control growth of federal entitlement spending. as the president has acknowledged, no taxpayer will be willing to pay the amount required to sustain the exponen

mr. carter: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 298, a bill that would designate the united states post office located at 500 east whitestone boulevard in cedar park, texas, as the army specialist matthew troy morris post office building. mr. speaker, i have the high honor of representing the brave men and women of fort hood, texas, the largest military installation in the world. every day that i have the opportunity to serve in congress, i do so knowing that my number one responsibility is to give our men and women in uniform the support and resources they need to be successful. each time i visit fort hood i see america's finest, the soldiers who put it all on the line to allow us to live in the greatest country on earth. only three days ago we celebrated veterans day, a sober reminder that freedom is not free. and today we here on the house floor remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, another reminder to all of us that freedom is not free. representing fort hood, texas,

mr. levin: the senator from new hampshire -- mr. mccain: mr. president the senator from new hampshire had intended to talk about her amendment and withdraw it and she may be coming. i have had a chance to notify her. there may be a couple-minute delay. so i have to suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: request unanimous consent that further proceedings urn the quorum call dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: in a exchange hi on the floor about -- and i mentioned the wonderful long people -- wonderful long island, i made a joke. i'm sorry there's at least one of my colleagues that can't take a joke and so i apologize if i offended him and hope that someday he will have a sense of humor. i yield mr. sessions: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: mr. president, i've been working for some time to wrestle with this qu

mr. miller: mr. speaker, members of the house, last week the united mine workers of america released the results of their investigation into the deadliest coal mine tragedy in four decades. the report describes the conditions on april 5, 2010, in the massey energy upper big branch mine that led to a colossal explosion that led to the deaths of nibe nine miners. it converted an otherwise manageable methane fire into a catastrophic explosion. the force of this explosion traveled more than seven miles underground destroying everything in its path. miles of coal belt were decimated. railroad tracks were twisted like pretzels. the report noted that in 15 months before the explosion, the mine was cited 645 times for violation of mine safety laws. it states $1.2 million in potential fines. massey challenged 3/4 of the fines. in the month before the explosion, miners had asked that the accumulation of explosive coal dust be addressed 560 times. however, management only responded 55 times. the upper big branc

mr. cardin: mr. president, i rise in support of the amendment offered by our colleagues, senator menendez and senator kirk, and i want to thank them for their leadership on this issue. to me, this is an extremely important amendment that i hope will get the support of all of the members of the senate. it tightens the restrictions we already have against iran, and i want to compliment the obama administration for the work they've done internationally by expanding the sanctions against iran, against iran's petroleum and petrochemical industries. it's been effective because we've gotten other countries to follow the united states' leadership. i think everybody in this body understands the risk of iran to the security of not only its region but the entire world. iran's a very dangerous nation. it has ambitions to spread terrorism in the region and to affect u.s. interest. it's for that reason that we cannot allow iran to become a nuclear weapons state. our most effective way to deal with this is to isola

mr. moran: mr. speaker, the first reason this bill should be defeated is that it usurps state authority and replaces it with a lowest common denominator federal directive. this is a radical piece of legislation. in fact, today 43 states are not in compliance with this law. 38 states today prevent people from carrying concealed weapons if they have certain dangerous misdemeanor criminal convictions. 35 states require the completion of a gun -- short gun safety program. the commonwealth of virginia has weakened its gun laws over the past two years allowing concealed guns in bars and renewal of permits by mail. i disagree with these actions, but i would never question the general assembly's authority to make these decisions. but this bill makes our state legislature's judgment irrelevant. this is a federal power grab. coming from a majority that claims to be a defender of states' rights. the second reason that this bill should be defeated is that our law enforcement professionals oppose it. the interna

mr. herger: mr. speaker, the american people understand the basic principle that you can't spend money you don't have. they live that reality on a daily basis. unfortunately congress has disregarded this idea, choosing instead to imagine that it could spend money endlessly without harming our economy or standard of living. the result is that we're now an unthinkable $15 trillion, $15 trillion in debt. some argue that we don't need to amend the constitution for washington to do its job. i'm proud to say that i served in the budget committee in the late 1990's when we produced four consecutive balanced budgets. but the sad truth is that this kind of fiscal responsibility has been all too rare in recent years. ultimately a balanced budget amendment will force congress to be serious about addressing the core driver of our debt which is the out-of-control growth of federal entitlement spending. as the president has acknowledged, no taxpayer will be willing to pay the amount required to sustain the exponen

mr. bilbray? mr. gingrey? mr. gingrey votes aye. mr. scalise? mr. scalise votes aye. mr. gardner? mr. gardner votes aye. mr. griffith, mr. griffith votes aye. mr. barton? mr. barton votes aye. mr. up son mr. upton votes aye. miss degette. miss deget votes know. miss schakowsky. miss schakowsky votes no. mr. rose votes know. mr. castor, votes no. mr. markey votes no. mr. green? mr. green votes no. miss christensen. miss christensen then votes no. mr. dingell? mr. dingell votes no. mr. waxman. mr. waxman votes no. chairman sterns? >> chairman turns sternses vote aye. >> mr. sullivan votes eye. . . >> well -- first of all, it's the department of energy. who also is involved the department of management and budget because they review the decision so our committee asks d.o.e. for information and we got 65,000 pages from them including correspondence that they had with the white house about this loan. some people at omb had a different opinion about solyndra. so we asked omb for their information. before they had a chance to get it to the congress, this committee moved to subpoena them,

mr. udall: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor to comment on the bill in front of us today, and i want to just start my remarks by acknowledging the leadership of chairman levin, ranking member mccain. under their tooth los angeles -- tutelage and leadership, they have provided an act that provides our armed forces with the equipment, services, training and the overall support that they need to keep us safe while they themselves are being protected. and i want to thank the chairman, the ranking member, my staff, colleagues, and i think most importantly the wonderful staff that work for us for their diligence and dedication to this important work. mr. president, i also come to the floor to speak out against a proposed change that would, i think, alter what has been a very effective set of terrorist detention policies and procedures, and i believe t

mr. cox, who mr. stern just mentioned, is a very, very experienced civil engineer, and his designs and calculations and construction drawings are, again, they are included in the same package from last week. they are designed to strengthen the roof and the support structure by adding 2"x2" joists, spaced 16 inches apart under the entire area where the neudecker will rest, and i emphasize again, the new debt will have exactly the same footprint as the existing debt, which we are in the process now of dismantling. mr. cox' weight bearing calculations, which also included in here under item number four shows that what is being recommended will safely support the new debt in accordance with building code. finally, in all other respects, mr. weisberg's designs for the neudecker are not change, as already approved by the building department, so his concerns -- they will assure the work is done, and i would therefore like to respectfully request that the board of appeals upholds a permit. commissioner fung:

mr. mccain: mr. president, i want to thank senator levin and staff for the thorough job of investigation that was undertaken to identify the counterfeit electronic parts that are penetrating the department of defense supply chain. i'd like to thank senator whitehouse for his provisions, which have been added to the bill, a bill that he had introduced in the judiciary committee. at the hearing that we had on november 8, the committee received additional evidence to supplement an already robust investigative record and some very serious issues were raised, including the threat counterfeit electronic parts pose to the safety of our men and women in uniform, to our national security, and to our economy, how counterfeits increase the short- and long-term costs of defense systems, the lack of transparency in the defense supply chain and the united states' relationship with the people's republic of china. i see the senator from kentucky is on the floor, but i would just like to point out again and emphasize

mr. leckar: in that particular case, what you have done is you have -- the installation of the gps, it is a seizure. what makes it meaningful is the use of that gps. justice scalia: well, this is ridiculous. look at -- you give the state permission to put the license plate -- to carry -- to have your car carry the state's license plate. you do not give anybody permission to have your car carry a tracking device. mr. leckar: that's correct. justice scalia: and whether it's put directly on the car or directly on something that thecar is carrying doesn't seem to me to make any difference. chief justice roberts: i thought it made a difference under your theory, which focused on the question of trespass, because it was attached to an effect owned by somebody else. this is an effect not owned by the individual. mr. leckar: that's correct. chief justice roberts: so the trespass theory anyway doesn't seem ridiculous to me. mr. leckar: but it's an effect, your honor. the fourth amendment protects

mr. reid: mr. president, senate democrats' number-one priority of this congress is to pass commonsense legislation. for example, tax cuts, infrastructure investments. all of these ideas that we have will put americans back to work and revive our economy. republicans in the house, on the other hand, are focused on gutting the safeguards that keep our air clean, make our workplaces safe and check the greed of big wall street firms. never mind this whole package has no chance of passing in the senate. never mind experts say the so-called jobs agenda will create not a single job. house republicans complain we've not taken up and passed these policies which would risk american lives while doing nothing to improve our economy. they insist we should waste weeks or month to pass legislation that is dangerous and proven to fail. but the senate has too much work to do on legislation that will create jobs without risking american lives, to waste time on these ineffectual, purely partisan measures. unlike repu

mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, at this time it's my pleasure to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. schilling, a member of the agriculture committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mr. schilling: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd also like to thank mr. goodlatte for giving me the time today. you know, we continue to hear a common thread, let's raise taxes on our job creators with no solution to our spending problem . i rise today as the people's house prepares to vote for an amendment to our constitution that would require congress and the president to balance the budget. i look forward to voting in favor of this amendment today. 15 years ago an amendment nearly identical to this one passed the house with strongbipartisan support. but failed by one single vote in the senate. since that time our debt has tripled. did you know that on wednesday our national debt surpassed $15 trillion? and it has been nearly 950 days since the senate has passed

mr. moran: mr. speaker, the first reason this bill should be defeated is that it usurps state authority and replaces it with a lowest common denominator federal directive. this is a radical piece of legislation. in fact, today 43 states are not in compliance with this law. 38 states today prevent people from carrying concealed weapons if they have certain dangerous misdemeanor criminal convictions. 35 states require the completion of a gun -- short gun safety program. the commonwealth of virginia has weakened its gun laws over the past two years allowing concealed guns in bars and renewal of permits by mail. i disagree with these actions, but i would never question the general assembly's authority to make these decisions. but this bill makes our state legislature's judgment irrelevant. this is a federal power grab. coming from a majority that claims to be a defender of states' rights. the second reason that this bill should be defeated is that our law enforcement professionals oppose it. the interna

mr. sessions, no. ms. fox, no. mr. bishop, no. mr. woodall, no. mr. nugent, no. mr. scott, no. mr. webster, no. ms. slaughter. mr. mcgovern, aye. mr. hastings aye. mr. polis, aye. mr. chairman no. >> and the clerk will report the total. >> three >> the house rules committee worked on this bill last night that would allow gun owners with the proper permits to carry firearms across state lines. the bill is scheduled to come up on the floor later today. [no audio] >> a couple of live event to tell you about this morning -- republican senator marco rubio will be interviewed by political at 8:15 eastern on c- span 2. a little after that on c-span 3, defense secretary leon panetta testifies about the iraqi security at 9:30 eastern a.m. coming up in a few moments, today's headlines and your calls, live on "washington journal." the house is in session at 10:00 for general speeches with legislative business at noon. today's agenda is scheduled to include file work on the coast guard or reauthorization bill. in about 45 minutes, we will talk about politics and republican candidates for presi

mr. rush: mr. speaker, earlier this month some of our darkest fears came to light. as parents and mentors of young children, we were horrified to hear and read about news allegations of a sexual abuse scandal involving the penn state university football program. in piecing the news together, there were clues and red flags along the way suggesting that the allegations are regrettably and probably true. based on what is known now, it is also not inconceivable that the horrible actions alleged to have occurred at penn state could have just as easily occurred at any other major collegiate sports program in the country. the abuse of children is real and alive in the sports world today. and it is just as alive and real in collegiate sports as it could be in any institutional system that has commonalities with college sports. a little more than a week ago, even before the news of this -- of the scandal broke, i hosted two collegiate sports roundtables here in our nation's capital. i invited sports journal

mr. chairman? >> the ranking member. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate your constructive spirit of this and i thank you for it. let's be clear, i share some of the concerns of my very responsible colleague from north carolina and i would just say, maybe i'm putting thoughts in your head, i don't think so, i do know that this is part of a package of bills that passed the subcommittee on april 5. and i would kill people in for what you will, but the chairman had a subcommittee seven have for months ago and he didn't act in the interim. to me, that suggests that the unwisdom of the fhfa is doing what they did announcing it and they tried to explain it differently, but i think it is fairly, it is at least my inference that we wouldn't have this bill up for his today if it weren't for that. i hope the people there will take that into account. i would note by the way, mr. chairman, this is part of a package of bills that passed on april 5. i cannot forbear when every procedural argument

mr. chairman, and secretary salazar, thanks for being here. it's good to talk to a fellow coloradan it as i'm sure you know, increased regulation on an industry leader regulatory uncertainty which hinders that business able to extend passionate expand into great jobs because it's harder to plan the future. with oil shale in particular, a recent study indicates over 350 american jobs could be created by the development of the oil shale. however, your department plans to issue hydrofracking regulations which would undoubtedly hinder this development, but also in the past, right after coming into office, the administration changed the terms of oil shale lisa's making them so limited that industry has little interest in these tracts of land. can you explain to this committee what economic analysis was used, if any, in making these decisions cracks and do you take job creation into effect when you issue regulations that had the effect of creating uncertainty and limiting business opportunities

mr. poe: mr. speaker, as we near veterans day i want to pay special tribute to my friend, first sergeant david mcamericany. here's a photograph of him here to my left. after high school in ohio houston, david volunteered and enlisted in the united states navy. he spent two tures of duty in korea. and after leaving the navy in 1953 he joined the united states army. in 1962 mcnerney was one of the first 500 soldiers stoned vietnam. during thinks third tour of duty in vietnam he was stationed near the cambodian border and in march of 1967 he and his company were sent to recover a missing reconnaissance team. coming under heavy vietnamese attack, mcnerney was wounded by a grenade and its commander was killed. nonetheless mcnerney continued to fight, calling in close artillery fire. he destroyed an enemy mg, pulled wounded to safety and he secured a landing zone for medical hospitals. and he refused to be evacuated himself. his actions stopped the enemy advance and saved his own men's lives. his valor

mr. levin: mr. president, on behalf of the senate armed services committee, i'm pleased to bring s. 1867, the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2012, to the senate floor. the armed services committee approved the bill by a unanimous 26-0 vote. this is the 50th consecutive year that our committee has reported a defense authorization act. every previous bill has been enacted into law. i want to thank all the members and the staff of the senate armed services committee for the commitment that they've shown to the best interests of our men and women in uniform as we have developed this legislation. every year we take on tough issues and we work through them on a bipartisan basis, consistent with the traditions of our committee. i want to particularly thank senator mccain, our ranking minority member, for his strong support throughout the process. the unanimous committee vote in favor of this legislation would not have been possible without his cooperation and support. we were delayed in

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. i say to the two managers of the bill -- the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: pardon me? the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: i'm sorry, mr. president. i say to the marines of the defense -- to the managers of the defense bill, the republican leader is going to be here to give a speech. i'm going to give one but it shouldn't take long. we'll move immediately to the bill. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of 1867, the defense authorization bill. at 5:00 p.m. the senate will be in executive session to consider the nomination of christopher droney to be united states circuit judge for the second circuit. at 5:30 there will

mr. flake: mr.er, i doubt that i can match the volume that's been displayed today, usually partisan accusations as to who's responsible for budget mess that we're in. but i think that all of us, we republicans, for example, in our candid moments would admit that we were headed toward this fiscal crisis long before the current president took the wheel. but we're in this together. it's been decisions made by republicans and democrats, to expand entitlement programs and to expand discretionary spending, that have put us in the situation we're in today. i think we would also concede that any bout of fiscal discipline we've had over the past couple of decades has been caused by or at least accompanied by statutory spending caps that have been put in place. the problem is, those only last for a few years and then this body waives them. so we need a backstop. we need a constitutional backstop that will force us to make decisions that we know have to be made. it is sad commentary on this body that we have t

mr. crone and mr. myler as i have testified would be a be between 5000 a million with damages plus costs. they made a strong recommendation that should be pursued speak to but julian dyke said when i asked him about, were they prepared to sell this case at any price, or was there a cap which they're prepared to go up to which there's a that's it generous enough, see you in court. and he said to me the 425,000 was getting close to the cap. when i pressed him he said the cap was 500,000 pounds. now, that was beyond tom crone's authorization. so presumably it must have been you who authorize so they could go to 5000 pounds because julia pike was very clear that was the amount he was authorized to go up to to settle the case. >> mr. crone, certified the thousand pounds was be on mr. crone's. i believe mr. crone's authorization was much, much lower with respect to legal settlement which was some 10,000 pounds. i think it's important to try to be fair. mr. crone and mr. lahood had attempted to sell this case

mr. jones: mr. speaker, thank you very much. jones: mr. speaker, it's a sad day when a general cannot give his honest opinion about the war in afghanistan without losing his job. last week major general fuller gave an interview which he stated the afghan government and the president of afghanistan, mr. karzai, and i want to quote the general, mr. speaker, and these are his words, erratic and isolated from reality. that is the leader from afghanistan. he continued by saying, and i quote the general further, why don't you just poke me in the eye with a needle. you got to be kidding me. i'm sorry. we just gave you $11.6 billion and now you're telling me i don't really care? that's what our young men and women doing, losing the legs for this erratic leader of afghanistan. let me further state, in a december 8, 2010, "washington post" article while meeting with general petraeus, president karzai said, i have three main enemies. the taliban, the united states and the international community. if i had to c

mr. crone and mr. myler. it was to discuss the case, but for them to receive authority to increase the supplement orders they had already made. >> after that meeting, crone met pike. do you accept that mr. pike states that jm said he wanted to think through the options? >> i have seen that note. i do not recall -- i recall leaving the meeting with a clear understanding that they would increase their offer. whether or not there was some time for a minute, i do not recall that conversation. >> you have said that crone and myler have not have access to their files since leaving employment. do you except that crone sent a statement that he believed that you had knowledge of the widespread criminality, identified in the memorandum of may 24, 2008, and substantively -- subsequently confirmed mr. haverlake's opinion, and been from may 27, 2008, when you met mr. myler? >> i do not accept that at all. i was given at the june 10 meeting sufficient information to increase the supplement offers they had already ma

mr. ed miliband. >> now mr. speaker, mr. speaker, what did the home secretary say in the past when she was in opposition when things went wrong with immigration? she said i'm sick and tired of government ministers who simply blame other people when things go wrong. [laughter] the prime minister, the prime minister said yesterday about the relaxation of border control in the last few months, and i quote, clearly it's not acceptable and it's not acceptable it went on for so long. mr. speaker, why did the home secretary -- spent on the one hand you can't blame you for not take response the and and quote very clearly my word taking responsibility and saying what isn't acceptable. [shouting] [laughter] i have to say, having a lecture in responsibility from a party that troubled immigration, that led to 2.2 many people into our country -- [shouting] that allowed everyone of the eastern europe to come in with no transitional control, that built up a backlog of half a million asylum claims and made no apology about it. and even toda

mr. lobiondo: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that during further consideration of h.r. 2838 in the committee of the whole pursuant to the house resolution 455 the amendment by mr. young of alaska now at the desk be considered as though printed as the last amendment printed in the house report 112-267, and be debatable for 10 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. young of alaska. page 56, after line 3, insert the following, and conform the table of contents accordingly. section 612, conveyance of demissioned coast guard cutter storis. a, in general, the commandment of the coast guard shall convey without consideration all right, title, and interest of the united states in and to the decommissioned coast guard cutter storis in the section referred to as the vessel, to the museum, a nonprofit entity of juneau, alaska, if the museum agrees, one, to use the vessel as a historic memorial, make the vessel available to the public as a m

mr. ed miliband. >> mr. speaker, mr. speaker, what did the home secretary say in the pub when she was in opposition when things went wrong on immigration? she said this, i'm sick and tired of government ministers who simply blame other people when things go wrong. now -- now, the prime minister said yesterday in his evidence to the liaison committee about the relaxation of border patrols in the last few months, and i quote, clearly not acceptable and is not acceptable it went on for so long. mr. speaker, why did the home secretary allow that to happen? >> you can't on the one hand blame me for not taking responsibility and then quote very clearly my words taking responsibility and saying what isn't acceptable! i have to say, having a lecture from an administration that let 2.2 million people in our country, that allowed everyone from eastern europe to come here with no transitional control, that built up a back log of half a million asylum claims and made no apology about it, and even today when the leader of the opposit

mr. bennett within way or the other to let us know if we're going to get some kind of a statement from his client, who is one of the accusers of herman cain. he says his client wants to set the record straight. we believed we could get a statement fairly soon from mr. bennett distributed by him on behalf of his client. what we're not going to get is her identity. she has apparently said to him she wishes to remain private but she does want to rebut herman cain's claims that the charges -- the accusations against him are groundless, which he's been saying all week. so we should be hearing from joel bennett fairly soon we believe that is coming up, wolf. in the meantime we do have some information. we talked to a former national restaurant association employee who knows one of herman cain's accuser. this loyy met with the accuser on the day the employee left the nra. he said the accuser said she was not getting along with her bosses. the accuser said she was getting a severance payment, whi

mr. ed miliband. >> now mr. speaker, mr. speaker, what did the home secretary say in the past when she was in opposition when things went wrong with immigration? [laughter] the prime minister, the prime minister said yesterday about the relaxation of border control in the last few months, and i quote, clearly it's not acceptable and it's not acceptable it went on for so long. mr. speaker, why did the home secretary -- spent on the one hand you can't blame you for not take response the and and quote very clearly my word taking responsibility and saying what isn't acceptable. [shouting] [laughter] i have to say, having a lecture in responsibility from a party that troubled immigration, that led to 2.2 many people into our country -- [shouting] that allowed everyone of the eastern europe to come in with no transitional control, that built up a backlog of half a million asylum claims and made no apology about it. and even today when the leader of the opposition is asked whether too many people were let into our country, his answ

mr. williams, mr. haldeman, are you both aware that federal igs have the right to request information and assistance from their regulated entities? >> yes, i am. >> i'm aware as well. >> yes. now, it was brought to the committee's attention that employees at the enterprises have resisted document requests made by the fhfa office of inspector general arguing instead these requests must go through the fhfa. were you aware of this, mr. williams? >> congressman, we are fully cooperating with the ig on all matters in coordinating with fhfa. >> it was my understanding that we were cooperating with any request from the ig and coordinating it with, um, our counterparts at fhfa. >> okay. well, you both met full compliance of all requests of information from the office of inspector general? mr. williams? >> congressman, we work with the ig cooperatively -- >> will you commit, it's a question. and i understand you want to give a different answer, but will you commit to providing the documents and information the

mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: mr. president, i'd like to thank all of my colleagues who have engaged in i think a very important debate. i would also like to say to my friend from michigan, the chairman, i have observed him for many years debate various issues on the floor of the senate and in the armed services committee. i have never seen him more eloquent than i have observed in his statements today and throughout this debate. i also appreciate the fact that there are many in his conference who do not agree with the position taken by the chairman and i especially am admiring of that. i think that where we are, i would ask the chairman -- anyway, i yield. mr. levin: how much time is remaining, mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan has 45 seconds. the senator from colorado has one minute. mr. mccain: i ask the senator from colorado be allowed two minutes, at least. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain

mr. peters: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. peters: mr. speaker, the american people need to see our congress taking meaningful action to help grow our economy. america is tired of too much partisanship out of washington and they want to see a republican -- see republicans and democrats working together on bipartisan solutions to create jobs and grow american businesses. as chairman bachus said earlier today, this is exactly what we are doing. but before i go any further, i'd like to thank the gentleman from arizona for introducing h.r. 1070, the small company capital formation act, and i'd also like to thank the gentleman from arizona for working across the aisle to ensure that the concerns of both republicans and democrats were met in this very commonsense bill. mr. speaker, this bill would permit a small company to raise up to $50 million through a security offering process that balances both streamlined registrat

mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today i rise with a heavy heart to honor and recognize marine lance corporal nicholas daniels. lance corporal daniels of illinois was tragically killed november 5 at the age of 25 while on patrol in the helmund province of afghanistan. i want to pass on my deepest condolences to his family and those who knew him and share with them the thanks of a grateful nation. nick attended elmwood elementary school and graduated from saint patrick high school in tour where he was an all conference linebacker in football. mr. daniels after going back to saint pats to coach football joined the marines in 2010 to help achieve his gole of becoming a police officer. nick was well-known and respected throughout the saint pats community. he was a very funny, lighthearted person who would do anything to those around him. not only was nick a dedicated coach, but most importantly to him he was a loving son and grand son, an incredible mentor to his younger sister and brothers, and loving and devot

mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, yesterday we concluded our work here in the senate on our version of the agricultural appropriations bill. i am a member of the appropriations committee, a member of the agriculture appropriations subcommittee and i supported the legislation that we passed but there is an outstanding issue at the department of agriculture that i was only recently made aware of. it's, to me, a very serious issue, which given more time, i would have taken action here on the senate floor. it is an issue that i'll continue to pursue is as a member of the conference committee as we work toward our final fy 2012 agriculture appropriations bill. the issue involves a memo issued by the department of agriculture last month, october 6, authorizing the department of agriculture animal plant inspection service, aphis, to conduct an animal wellness forum. this was appr