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. 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. 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. 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

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. 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. 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. lewis: mr. speaker, if it were not for the remarks of my colleague from california as well as his colleague from the rules committee, i wouldn't be making these remarks. i'll begin with a quote. the factshat 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. instead washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of 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 ineased 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 ob

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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

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. 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. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we are here today right now for this reason: it's spelled f-i-l-b-u-s-t-e-r. it's a filibuster. they won't allow us to have an updarn voton our amendment. that is filibuster. by the any other term, it is a filibuster. that's why we're here. i hope that the negotiations go on. we're willing to be as fair as we can, but there has to be something that the president and vice president biden and the rest of us think is a step in the right direction. i guess talking is a step in the right direction, but that's about it. so, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the matter that we have before us which is amendment number 589, that we have an up-or-down vot on that, no -- as we have all the time, of course. there would beo points of order and like we do here all the time. have a vote on it right now. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, reserving the right to object, these are direct quotes from my friend, the majority leader. he

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. 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

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. 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. 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 would like to introduce mr. ford. >> welcome to the 47th annual cable car bell ringing competition. this is one of a kind. this is a comptation -- competition for the world championship and thank you for coming. i also have to thank our cable car grip men and conductors. every day they help move people around our city, they're great ambassadors and do a great job entertaining visitors to our fine city. we have two members from the mta board, bruce oka and malcolm hideke here today. i'd like to thank our judges. we have judges representing a lot of president businesses here in the union square area. with that, to all the mta employees and fine citizens of san francisco, thank you for joining us today and thank you for your support. >> matt ford, ladies and gentlemen. the bell ringing competition is a two-part event today. we have professionals competing for a number of prizes in the coveted title of world champion bell ringer. for the amateur portion we have executives from some of our local media outlets competi

mr. ryan: mr. speaker, may i ask how much time is remaining between the two sides? the speaker pro tempore: you have 17. he has 15. mr. ryan: i would like to yield two minutes to a gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lankford, member of the budget committee. mr. lankford:. i speak in support of this bill. i came on as a freshman and in january of this year, we were already talking about this moment. and for months the conversation has been, how do we reach a point of agreement. there have been lots of ideas that have been floated around and very few put down in writing. but the ideas seem to circle around a central theme, how can we find a middle ground to be able to resolve this issue. i propose this bill is that middle ground. the debt reduction that's in it was the framework that was formed in the biden talks. the select committee that's in it is something very important to the senate that harry reid raised that idea. the proposal to have a balanced budget amendment is very important to republicans who

mr. ryan: mr. speaker, may i ask how much time is remaining between the two sides? the speaker pro tempore: you have 17. he has 15. mr. ryan: i would like to yield two minutes to a gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lankford, member of the budget committee. mr. lankford:. i speak in support of this bill. i came on as a freshman and in january of this year, we were already talking about th moment. and for months the conversation has been, how do we reach a point of agreement. there have been lots of ideas that have been floated around and very few put down in writing. but the ideas seem to circle around a central theme, how can we find a middle ground to be able to resolve this issue. i propose this bill is that middle ground. the debt reduction that's in it was the framework that was formed in the biden talks. the select committee that's in it is something veryimportant to the senate that harry reid raised that idea. the proposal to have a balanced budget amendment is very important to republicans who sa

mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i rise to express deep concern over the allocations in h.r. 2584, the interior and environmental appropriations bill for 2012. to begin, the bill cuts $1.7 million for technical assistance and maintenance assistance in the united states territories. this small amount of money paid big dividends in the islands. the northern mariana islands were awarded $1.2 million in technical assistance to develop geothermal resources to generate electricity. we pay up to 40 cents per kilowatt hour now because we have to buy expensive foreign oil to power our generators. these funds are helping to develop our own domestic energy resources and cutting these funds sends us in the wrong direction, back into the the arms of foreign oil -- back into the arms of foreign oil interests. i do appreciate the small fund increases. i am disappointed however that the bill targets the environmental protection agency for cuts. the ranking member of fisheries, wildlife, oceans and other committees which hav

>> 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. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: could we've order in the senate, please. the presiding officer: order in the senate. please. mr. majority leader. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. mr. president -- the presiding officer: clerk will report the pending motion. the clerk: calendar number 93, s. 1323, a bill to is reserve the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice in resolving the budget deficit. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: the senate has just adopted the motion to proceed to our bill to express the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. reid: mr. president, the senate has just adopt add motion to proceed to our bill to express the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice in resolving this budget deficit that we've been so concerned about. it is my understanding that the minority has amendments that they would like to have considered. i'm happy t

if only i'll make you an mr. mr. met man and other people continue to come before this committee and say we don't let guns walk, are they lying or are you lying? >> sir, this investigation is that we have not let guns walk. >> you are entitled to your opinion, not your facts. at that we go to the gentleman, mr. tierney. >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. wall before you were transferred to the atf field office in tijuana mexico you are in the phoenix office, is that correct? >> yes, sir. i was. you said in your testimony personally saw some of the trafficking cases languish in the u.s. attorney's office. is that an accurate statement? >> yes, sir. >> we have also had other atf agents tell us the same thing that there was a liking am perceiving of these cases in the u.s. attorney's office. when was that. macrotime you were assigned to the phoenix office? >> well, i was working primarily grim trafficking to mexico from 2007 until i left for tijuana in 2009, following 2009. >> mr. newell a number of atf witnesses that the c

mr. udall: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: mr. president, i come to the floor today as i think many of my colleagues have to speak to the topic at hand, which is the debt ceiling debate that we're having here in the congress of the united states, and i've got to tell you, i think americans across the country are looking at us today with disbelief, anxiety and i think rightly anger. they awoke this morning hoping to find that cooler heads had prevailed and that all of us here were working together on a plan that keeps our country from default and our economy from a looming collapse, and instead the headlines read that the speaker of the house was again refusing to negotiate and that he is in fact delaying action in the house because of republican upheaval against his own plan. i have to say even if the house of representatives passed a bill preventing default this evening, within hours, we would still be pushi

mr. thune: mr.ak to the issue that the senate is going to be considering now for the next couple of days and ultimately voting on, it sounds like possibly some time on saturday, and that is the cut, cap, and balance proposal that has been put forward by the house of representatives. the house passed this particular proposal the night before last. it is now pending under consideration in the senate. and what i would suggest to my colleagues in the senate is this: it is the only proposal out there. it is the only plan that we have to vote on. we've had now over 800 days, 813 i think is the correct number of days now, 813 days since a budget was passed in the united states senate. the democrat majority has not submitted one for consideration here. we've not had votes on a budget. so we've been operating without a budget. the house of representatives, on the other hand, passed a budget earlier this year. it was criticized by many people here, democrats, as being something they didn't want to support, bu

mrs. kennedy had just lost her son patrick who had been born prematurely a week before and had died of a lung ailment. .. 20% of american households had televisions. by 1960 when president kennedy is elected 80 percent of american households had televisions. mind you, there were all black and white. remember those days? we only had two channels. my students could not comprehend such a thing. we only had two channels. that is true, but the kennedys or on television a lot. mrs. kennedy and president kennedy where beautiful on television. they were even more beautiful in the glossy life magazine cover. think about those. practically every week one or more of the kennedys, and this is is president and mrs. kennedy. the brothers and sisters and sisters and laws and brothers and law and nieces and nephews, always being portrayed in one way or the other. so as is typical of icons of pop culture icons they both reflect the time in which they live and become a lens by which we view that time in whi

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. 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, and the american automobile association and the $250 cash prize, deluxe sightseeing. let's bring up gilberto gad oy with the hand-crafted bell. and the winner is -- >> mr. leonard oates. congratulations. >> leonard oates. he retains the crown. [applause] that concludes the 47th annual cable car bell ringing contest. thank you, everybody, for coming. don't forget next year the 48th annual cable car ringing contest. stay tuned for details.

mr. lewis: mr. speaker, voter rights act made it possible for all of our citizens to become participants in the democratic process. mr. speaker, voting rights are under attack in america. there's a deliberate and systematic attempt to prevent millions of elderly voters, young voters, students, minority and low-income voters for exercising their constitutional right to engage in a democratic process. voter i.d. laws are becoming all too common. but make no mistake, voter i.d. laws are a poll tax. people will struggle to pay for basic necessities cannot afford a voter i.d. the right to vote is precious and almost sacred and one of the most important blessings of our democracy. today we must be strong in protecting that blessing. we should be making it easy, simple and convenient for people to vote. before the voting rights act of 1965, people stood in the line. sometimes people were asked to count the number of jellybeans in a jar. people were asked to pass a so-called literacy test. lawyers, doctors,

mr. jordan: mr. speaker, can i inquire, i don't know -- are we pretty close in time so it's fine for us to keep going? the speaker pro tempore: it's fine for to you keep going -- to keep going. the gentleman from ohio has 28 3/4 minutes and after that we have mr. ryan with 30 minutes and the minority has 43 1/4. mr. jordan: ok. i yield to the gentleman from illinois, mr. hultgren. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois. how much time. one minute. mr. hultgren: mr. speaker, the american people know that washington has a massive spending a debt problem that threatens not only our nation's credit rating but our fiscal future. as a father of four, i understand the threat our nation's fiscal crisis poses to them and to others in their generation. a child born today inherits more than $45,000 of debt, an astounding and terrifying statistic. it's clear congress needs to cut spending to ensure that america remains strong and prosperous for future generations. we must fight both the threat of do

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. frelinghuysen: mr. chairman, i rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment and move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. frelinghuysen: his amendment would increase funding for the energy efficiency and renewable energy accounts and reduce funding for fossil energy research and nuclear energy research. this would increase money for a program that already receives sufficient funds and hamper further efforts to further technologies that produce most of our electricity. mr. chairman, the gentleman has asserted that fossil and nuclear energy are yesterday's sources of energy and that we're shortchanging tomorrow's energy sources. well, in fact, nuclear energy produces 0% of our nation's electricity, and on even the state of massachusetts depends on nuclear energy for about 10% of its energy. fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas generate 70% of our nation's electricity and we'll use these valuable energy sources for many generations. in fact, the comm

mr. cole: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, in april, the draft executive order was circulated that would force companies as a condition of applying for federal contract to dispose -- to disclose all federal campaign contributions. in my opinion, if implemented, this executive order would lead to a significant politicization of federal procurement process. instead of judging companies on the basis of their past work performance, their demonstrated ability to do the job or the price, we would actually introduce potentially the element of their political participation and contributions and activities into the consideration process. this executive order would not in fact lead to more object tift in the evaluation -- objectivity in the evaluation process. it would protect the constitutional right for people that contribute to whatever political candidate or party they choose to. the draft order claims that these burdensome and intrusive disclosure requirements are necessary to ensure that contracting decisions are, quote,

mr. towns: mr. speaker, i received a call yesterday from a senior citizen in my district that disturbed me greatly. it tore at my heart to hear that fear in her voice as she begged me to do all that i can to protect senior citizens. and i shurd her i would. she -- aassured her i would. she talked how hard she worked during her life and she kept her part of the bargain, and now she expects her government to do the same. it really bothers me to hear some people suggest that poor americans and senior citizens who get checks from the government are freeloaders. everybody in congress that gets a check from the congress can count themselves as being different. we need to stop, regroup and think about what we are doing. we need to think about all those people who have played by the rules and now we want to change the rules in the middle of the game. mr. speaker, that is wrong, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares

mr. altmire: mr. speaker, in the midst of one of the most contentious congressional debates in recent times, i knew just who to bring to washington to help bring people together. and it's my great honor to welcome the reverend miroslaus ste will lmaszczyk. known simply as father miro he has led the holy family parish in pennsylvania for 26 of his 36 years in the priesthood. he has received numerous awards in recognition of his public service since he first came to the united states from poland in 1986. and as testament to his poll later among his gong gation conscious congregation, mr. speaker, i'd also like to welcome the three dozen holy family parishioners who made the trip to washington along with father miro and are now seated in the gallery to witness his opening prayer today. welcome to you all. on behalf of my colleagues in the house, welcome, father miro, and congratulations on being chosen as today's guest chaplain for the u.s. house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman