mr. altmire. i get it. the devil's in the details of making sure that you don't give a little competitive advantage to that public option. but i think it's really a linchpin of health care reform going forward if we can get it right. mr. altmire: think about the competitive advantage that businesses have in this country. some are able to offer health insurance. some are not. less than half of small businesses in this country are able to afford to offer health care to their employees. and what we want to create is a system where everyone in america will be be covered and every business that chooses to do s will be able to afford to offer that benefit to their employees and to their potential employees to be able to recruit and retain the highest quality worker that might be a benefit that small businesses would like to offer. we want to give them the opportunity to afford that benefit if they so choose. but again we want to preserve what's working in our current system. we want those who have coverage and li

mr. altmire, and ms. baldwin has joined us as well. i'll be glad to yield the floor to you. mr. altmire: i cannot think of a bigger issue to be dealing with right now. we have so many issue this is congress is dealing with, energy, education, this enormous mountain of debt which we've accumulated over the years. all these issues are critically important and all of them are issues that this congress is going to deal. with the issue of health care is an issue that impacts our national debt. we cannot dig our way out of this hole. we cannot achieve structural surpluses like we had in the 1990's. we can't ever even approach that until we deal with the skyrocketing costs of health care. and this is an issue that affects every american in this country very directly. it affects every family and it affects every small business in the country in ways that other issues we deal with don't on a daily basis. so what we're talking about here tonight and what this congress is going over the course of this summer as we put together this health care reform bill is the three legs of the stool as t

mr. altmire of pennsylvania. mr. altmire: madam speaker, to bore a catch phrase from hall of fame hockee announcer mike lang, you can buy sam a drink and get his dog one, too, lord stanley's cup is making a return visit to the city of champions. in pittsburgh now becomes the first city to ever be home to both the defending super bowl and stanley cup champions at the same time. this past friday the pittsburgh penguins won their third stanley cup and they did it the hard way, by coming from behind on the road in game seven of the finals against last years '-- year's champion, detroit red wings. regular season scoring champion won m.v.p. honors by leading all playoff scores and the goalie once again proves he belongs among the game's elite with his dominating performance in that. head coach dan took over in midseason when the team was out of playoff contention and led them not only to the playoffs, but to a championship. and in winning the title, sydney crosby became the youngest captain to hoist the stanley cup in the 1

mr. altmire: i thank the gentlewoman. it's been a pleasure working with the gentlewoman as part of the new democratic coalition, we're co-chairs of that group. the gentlewoman hit it right on the head that we do have the best health care system anywhere in the world, if you can afford to get in. if you have access, and there are millions of americans that have insurance and they like it and they have access to the system. our medical innovation, our research, our technology far exceeds anything available anywhere else in the world. our quality at the high end exceeds anything available anywhere else. it's why people come from all other the world to the united states to get their transplants to get their heart taken care of, to get their high end, high tech care because we do it better than anybody else. there's no question about that. the problem is, the costs are skyrocketing with our health care system. every family, every business, every individual in this country is impacted by the cost of health care. and not just wi

mr. altmire, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. altmire: i rise in support of my resolution to support national physical education and sports week. this simply recognizes the role that physical activity and sports play in creating a healthy lifestyle for children and adults and encourages schools and communities to promote physical education and activities. today, there are more than nine million overweight children in the united states. as a result, children are now being diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type two diabetes, all afflictions once thought to be age-related. these children are at an increased risk also for chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. the benefits of physical activity have been well documented. research shows daily physical activity reduces the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes, and also increases self-esteem and performance in the classroom. it is for these reasons and many more, mr. speaker, that i introduce this resolution and i encourage my colleague

mr. altmire, kindly take the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 2892 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the department of homeland security for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose earlier today a. request for recorded vote on amendment number 1 printed in part d of house report 111-183 offered by the gentleman from arizona, mr. flake, had been postponed and the bill had been read through page 93, line 12. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments on which further proceedings were postponed in the following order. amendment number 1 printed in part a by mr. price of north carolina. amendment number 5 printed in part b by mr. lewis of california. amendment number 8 printed in part b by mr. king of new york. amendment number 1 printed in part b by mr. bilirakis of florid

mr. altmire, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house will be in order. the house is in the committee of the whole house of the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 2847, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the departments of commerce and justice and science and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010 and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. the gentleman from west virginia, mr. mollohan and the gentleman from virginia, mr. wolf, will each control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from west virginia. the committee will be in order. the gentleman from west virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. mollohan: mr. chairman, i rise to -- in regard to h.r. 2847, legislation on appropriating funds for commerce, justice and science and related agencies for 2010. mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume in general debate. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. molloh

mr. altmire, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for which the consideration of h.r. 2647, which the clerk will read by title. the clerk: a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2010 for military activities of the department of defense to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2010 and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. the gentleman from missouri, mr. skelton, and the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon, will each control 30 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. skelton: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. skelton: mr. chairman, i rise in support of h.r. 2647, the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2010. the house armed services committee brings before the house a bill reported out of the committee by a vote of 61 to zero. this con

mr. altmire: i move the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question son the motion to question son the motion to adjourn. attorney general eric holder testified about a variety of issues facing the justice department including guantanamo bay detainees. the radio and television correspondents association holds its annual dinner friday with president obama scheduled to speak. live coverage at 9:45 p.m. eastern time. >> people do not want to think of roosevelts work dealing with conservation. from the grand canyon to devil's tower. he was on a mission to save the west. >> now people are talking about the grain movement, roosevelt is becoming the chief figure. he was the only politician of his day who understood biology and bird migratory patterns. the mating habits of deer and elk and antelope and actually did something. >> sunday on "q&a" we will be speaking with douglas brinkley. that is sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> president obama has announced a number of changes to the financial regulatory system. the system

mr. altmire: i want to highlight the one provision i worked hard to put into this manager's eafment i can think of few more deserving and in need of support under this homeland security bill than our nation's first responders. in particular, volunteer firefighters represent all walks of life and are part of the fabric of nearly every community in this country. the most important source of federal assistance for firefighters is the grants that have provided for so many firefighters. volunteer firefighters make every sacrifice for our community and are always on call. it's the least we can do to make sure they're as safe and well protected as possible. that's why i added language to the bill to shift $10 million over to the firefighter grants program. this funding will help hundreds of fire companies across the nation make the necessary equipment and vehicle upgrades that are so critically needed. i thank the chairman for included in the bill my language toin crease fund for our nation's volunteer firefighters and i ask my colleagues to support. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. r

mr. altmire: madam speaker, this week both houses of congress put forward the initial draft of a long overdue effort to cut health care costs in this country. while we still have to come to agreement on all the details, there can be no doubt the american people expect us to act to bring down health care costs. the cost of health care affects every business and every family in this country. it's one of the leading drivers of our long-term deficit. it makes our businesses less globally competitive. and it adds uncertainty to millions of american families who are one accident, illness, or job loss away from losing everything. while we debate how best to fix what doesn't work in our health care system, we must preserve what works and build upon the best aspects of of our uniquely american system. we'll spend the summer debating the details of the plan, but one thing is certain, the american people will not accept the status quo as health care costs continue to skyrocket. no is not an answer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gent

mr. altmire, kindly resume the chair? the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 2847 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the departments of commerce and justice and science and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2010, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole house rose on june 17, 2009, a request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona, mr. flake, had been postponed and the bill had been read through page 101, line 20. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments on which further proceedings were postponed in the following order. amendment number 25 by mr. roe of tennessee, amendment number 31 by mr. nadler of new york, amendment number 35 by ms. bernice johnson of texas, amendment number 6 by mr. hensarling of texas, amendment number 118 by mr. lewis of california, amendment number