mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules pass h.r. 6401. the clerk: h.r. 6401 a bill to amend public law with respect to the northern mariana islands. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from utah, mr. bishop and the gentleman from from northern mariana islands each will control 20 minutes. mr. bishop: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. bishop: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bishop: i support this excellent piece of legislation, the commonwealth of the northern marianas is experiencing an economic resurgence. however there is a challenge on maintaining a capable work force to sustain that growth on the island especially as they are facing out the use of foreign workers. so to do that, the phasing out which is occurring at a rate that is detrimental to the sustained economic growth,

mr. bill, mr. jackson, mr. washington -- >> delivering this sermon. >> when you hear people say the men in black, they don't give a care, they don't have no love, i tell you yes, they do. understand, mr. bill, mr. jackson, mr. washington, this is your opportunity at this time to make a choice. >> it was almost like a warning, and then as i was listening to him and it just got loud somewhere more impassioned as he went, i realized he was making sure that everybody, all of the inmates, knew what was going on, these three guys were getting a second chance. >> now, i want you to show them, i want you to show this department that you can stand and make a difference. i know you might say, big sam, i don't think he's talking to me right. i just want you to know, that's just the way it is. nothing personal. this is a jail. you got a life ahead of you. what you do with it is on you. >> at one point in the speech, big sam was warning these inmates that because they were being let out of the situation, they may be viewed

mr. speaker is a bill to include from mr. poliquin that requires the s.e.c. to respond to recommendations made at its annual government small business forum, ensure that the s.e.c. no longer simply ignores the ideas generated by small businesses at this event. this bill again passed our committee by a vote of 55-1, passed by the house vote here, 390-1 earlier this year. it also includes two bills from mr. mchenry who i believe is on the floor and will be speaking later. one of which would fix some of the more unworkable divisions of the crowd funding title of the jobs act and a second bill that would modernize the threshold for when venture capital funds would then have to register with the s.e.c. huge bipartisan support, both passing out of committees 57-2, an gaining near unanimous support here on the house floor. o more, another bill, from dave schweikert that would reform the definition of an accredited investor for certain security offerings so it is not just the wealthy or well connected who are able to invest in these companies. this bill passed the hou

bills be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: i know of no further debate on the bills en bloc. is there any further debate? the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the measure is passed en bloc. mr. portman: i ask consent that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 6302 which was received from the house. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 6302, an act to provide an increase in premium pay for united states secret service agents performing protective services during 2016, and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. portman: i ask unanimous consent that the johnson substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be conside

bills. simply put, mr. speaker, this is good public policy, so i strongly urge my colleagues to support this jobs and infrastructure bill, and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from oregon. mr. defazio: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. defazio: unfortunately, today, i rise in opposition to s. 612. at one point i wholeheartedly supported this bill. there should be nothing partisan about infrastructure. building and rebuilding infrastructure for transportation of goods and people, for shipping, for rail, for other aspects, water, clean water, all that should be nonpartisan. it's in the best interest of the united states of america to make us more competitive and more efficient. and this bill reflected the best of that tradition when it came out of the committee. unfortunately, a number of things have happened since. first, when we came to the floor, the

bill. i actually urge -- miss water: yield 30 additional seconds. mr. heck: i urge my colleagues to support this idea but rejecting this bill which will not achieve the intended result, because it can't work. but the idea can. go back. put in a reasonable time frame. drop that crazy f.s.b. provision. let the regulators get to work looking for risk that devastated the economy a decade ago so we don't have to relive that. if we pass this bill, we very well may. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california reserves. without objection, the gentleman from missouri will control the remainder of the time of the gentleman from texas. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. with that we recognize the gentleman -- i know the gentleman from texas, mr. neugebauer, who is set to retire shortly whose expertise and hard work we're going to miss. but his guidance all these years has given us a lesson on how to get things done. we welcome him and hope he will ten to have a great retirement. at

mr. speaker. i want to thank chairman luetkemeyer for all his work on this bill, h.r. 5143. i just -- as we enter into this debate, i think it's important o look at who supports what. you look at state insurers, insurers in states like wisconsin, they've look at mr. luetkemeyer's bill and they love it. they think it's a great bill. because it protects the american state-based model. if you're a large global insurer, you don't like this bill. because you want one global international standard that you have to comply with. so we're here fighting for the little guy, those little insurance companies that dot all of our states that serve our communities and our families and the opposition standing with the large insurers who have been more concerned about this bill than the little guy. which goes to my point. i'm concerned that the federal reserve and treasury could enter into an international framework that undermines the u.s. system in favor of, again, this europe-centric model that's inconsist went our american model. if you look at this great american model, it's worked for 15

bill happen. it was so badly needed for our astronauts. at this point in time, mr. speaker, ide like to, the association of space explorers, the united states of america chapter, the group that represents america's astronauts, strongly endorsing this bill. i ask unanimous consent to enter the letter from the american association of space explorers into the record. this is signed by their president of the american association of space explorers, astronaut michael he pez alegria. - michael lopez alegria. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. babin: i request a recorded vote as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has yielded back the balance of his time. all time having expired on this bill, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6076 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspened, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider -- mr. babin: mr. chairman, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro

bill. as you know, mr. speaker, making sure veterans get the care and benefits they have earned and deserve is the mission of this committee and this bill helps keep that promise. for the past two years, the health subcommittee has been focused on improving access to care, strengthening mental health care, recruiting and retaining quality providers and reducing veteran homelessness. these priorities reflected in -- are reflected in the bill before us today. v.a.'s construction program has been the target of several hearings and reports for many years now. they have exposed cost overruns, poor oversight and a host of management issues. this bill would address some of the issues brought up over this past congress. i want to thank congresswoman kathleen rice, for her leadership on these issues and for introducing a provision that would require a forensic audit when a project exceeds its authorization by more than 25%. . .r. 6416, ensures veterans can access health care. i would like to thank representative sine

mr. speaker. this bill, the underlying bill has nothing to do with wall street and everything to do with consumers. so i respectfully disagree with my colleague from new jersey. i know that it would be good for them to try to characterize this bill if something had to do with wall street but has to do with you and me and average people in this country. i listened to his remarks regarding his proposal regarding doing things trying to keep companies from going abroad and doing everything we can to attract other companies abroad whether they are u.s.-based or not and come back here. that sounds like what president-elect trump is saying and i think it's pretty clear that that is going to be a big priority for him when we come back in january. now, we had been talking about tax reform here in this house. and there is a proposal moving forward that's comprehensive that will not only provide the appropriate incentives for american companies to stay here, but also provide incentives for other companies that are in

mr. buffett: that would not do any good. david: you are on the board of the bill melinda gates foundation now. mr. buffett: true, but they run it. david: what would you say are some of the deals are highlights you are proud of? one of them was the gas parts, $37 billion. mr. buffett: yes. between $32 billion and $33 billion of cash, and then we assumed about $4 billion of debt. david: so how much -- you spend $37 billion, did you spend a year studying the company? mr. buffett: no. david: how much time did you spend with the coo? david: i met the ceo i think on july 1 of last year. and he happened to be calling on certain shareholders. and one of the fellows in our office had had a position of the stock for some time. it was an accident i met him. if i had been out playing golf it never would have happened. but i like him, i heard him talk for 30 minutes. and i then said to the fellow in office, i will call tomorrow and say, if you would like to receive a cash bid from berkshire hathaway, we would supply one. if you would like not, forget we ever called. david: do

david: so you called bill or melinda one day and said, guess what, i am going to give away the bulk of my fortune? mrett: it was not as elegant as that. at some point i did call them up. it was done over the phone. david: you did not ask them to call it the bill and melinda gates and warren buffett foundation? you did not want your name on it? mr. buffett: i did not think that would do any good. david: you were on the board? board of the bill and melinda gates foundation now? mr. buffett: true, but they run it. david: what are the highlights of some of the deals you are most proud of? the biggest deal you have ever done was precision castparts, $37 billion. mr. buffett: yes. it was between $32 billion and $33 billion of cash, and we assumed $4 billion of debt. billion, to spend $37 you spent a year studying the company? mr. buffett: no. david: how much time did you spend with the ceo? mr. buffett: i met the ceo on july 1 last year. he happened to be calling on certain shareholders. and one of the fellows in our office at a position in the stock for some time. so it was an accident i met him. if i had

mr. conyers and others. this is a bipartisan bill, senator grassley on the senate side, and chuck schumer, sponsored it on the senate side. maxine waters, it's the left, right, middle, herb in -- everybody in between. this is about helping people who are at grave risk when they wander. and i thank the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. gohmert: i'll continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, we have no other speakers other than myself and i believe i have the right to close. i'll reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my colleagues. who not bow to anyone may think they have greater love or care or commitment to people who suffer fromdy meaningsia -- from dementia or other de

bill. i actually urge -- miss water: yield 30 additional seconds. mr. heck: i urge my colleagues to support this idea but rejecting this bill which will not achieve the intended result, because it can't work. but the idea can. go back. put in a reasonable time frame. drop that crazy f.s.b. provision. let the regulators get to work looking for risk that devastated the economy a decade ago so we don't have to relive that. if we pass this bill, we very well may. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california reserves. without objection, the gentleman from missouri will control the remainder of the time of the gentleman from texas. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. with that we recognize the gentleman -- i know the gentleman from texas, mr. neugebauer, who is set to retire shortly whose expertise and hard work we're going to miss. but his guidance all these years has given us a lesson on how to get things done. we welcome him and hope he will ten to have a great retirement. at

. >> mr. bill, are you ready for your picture? >> yep. >> all right. >> when we met paul komyatti at indiana state prison in 2008, he had an inmate job as the visitor room photographer. >> it keeps me occupied. it keeps me from counting the 36 weeks and 8 months i have left. however you want to break it down. >> right from the start, he was good natured and full of optimism for the future. despite being incarcerated for the past 26 years. komyatti entered prison at age 17 for his role in a bizarre family plot that ended with the murder of his abusive father. >> my dad was just an alcoholic. i was like a little kid, 7, 8 years old. i'm crawled up under the kitchen table, and he's got a belt with a buckle, putting marks all over my face and everything, all over my body. my mom is like look, stop. you've got to stop. you're going to kill him. >> komyatti, his mother, sister and husband were all convicted for the murder of his father. komyatti's brother-in-law was sentenced to death and executed. his sister testified against paul and

mr. buffett: yes. we have a lot of fun talking. david: let me ask about the philanthropic things you have done with bill and melinda. w did the idea of giving your money to somebody else's foundation come to you? mr. buffett: i originally planned that my first wife would handle the disposition of, well, everything. we came to that conclusion in our 20's, we started the buffett foundation over 50 years ago. but i did not give away a lot of money during those intermediate years because i thought it was compounding at a rate i could give away billions instead of millions if i waited a while. she died in 2004, so that plan disappeared. then i was faced with the question of, how do i give away this money in a way that goes to the people i want without me doing all the work? david: so you called will or melinda one day, to say i will give you the bulk of my fortune? mr. buffett: not as elegant as that. i do not member that clearly. at some point i called them up. it was done over the phone. david: you did not ask them to call it the bill and melinda gates and warren buffett foundation? you did not want your name on it. mr.

>> well, bill, i went viral a while back and i think it caught the attention of mr.k and the blaze. and we had a great network here, we have a lot of diverse voices as you well know. he saw me and thought i had a little bit of potential and fire. so here i am. >> so you were at the university of nevada, los las vegas, right? >> yes, sir. >> and while you were there you were doing political committecommentary onthe intern. >> i was doing round table show called the scramble and hosted it and produced it as well. i started at a very young age. i got my first talk show when i was 21 years old out of san diego, another independent network called one american news. i wanted an internship. after the blaze denied my internship, actually, bill, and then here about a year and a half later i ended up right here at the blaze and now they have to pay me. >> it's all internet driven when i was coming up and at your age i was at boston university and went to scranton, pennsylvania and worked at a regular television station and moved up to dallas and denver and back to new york. yo

just ask president-elect donald trump he wrote a nice quote for the back cover as did mr. billhe left denying there is a war on cops? we will tell you about some troubling new statistics about officers killed in the line of duty. the factor will be right back. ♪ ♪ dollars >>> in the back of the book segment tonight, is the left denying there's a war on cops? 2016 was an extraordinarily difficult year to be a police officer. 138 officers have been killed many the line of duty this year, 62 officers were shot to death, a 59% increase from last year when 39 officers were shot and killed. joining us now, jonathan gilliam, a former fbi agent and a washington d.c. radio talk show host. that's a massive increase and a scary increase. what's happening? >> it is. and i think -- i was on here a couple of weeks ago talking about the same subject and this is a sign, it's stat that we can use to show that there is increased violence against cops. so there is a war on police officers. now we compare and contrast that with the war that the press, the media puts out there -- >> who is purt tra

just ask president-elect donald trump he wrote a nice quote for the back cover as did mr. billome, is the left denying there is a war on cops? we will tell you about some troubling new statistics about officers killed in the line of duty. the factor will be right back. ♪ ♪ hey there, starting your search for the right used car? i am! you got it. just say show me millions of used cars for sale at the all new carfax.com. but, i don' want one that's had a bunch of owners just say, show me cars with only one owner pretty cool it's perfect. that's the power of carfax® find the cars you want, avoid the ones you don't plus you get a free carfax® report with every listing start your used car search at carfax.com >>> in the back of the book segment tonight, is the left denying there's a war on cops? 2016 was an extraordinarily difficult year to be a police officer. 138 officers have been killed many the line of duty this year, 62 officers were shot to death, a 59% increase from last year when 39 officers were shot and killed. joining us now, jonathan gilliam, a former fbi agent and a wa

mr. president, i understand there's a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title and the bill for the first time. the clerk: s. 3516, a bill to authorize the secretary of veterans affairs to conduct a best practices peer review and so forth. mr. tillis: mr. president, i now ask for a second reading and in order to place the bill on the calendar under provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: the objection having been heard, the bill will receive its second reading on the next legislative day. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. thursday, december 8. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. further, that following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the conference report to accompany senate 2943 post

mr. brooks: bill? mr. flores: i have to agree. mark calls it effective conservative. it's all the same thing. it's the right policy, the right approach. i like the way mark calls it the right voice, which is very similar to what you tried to train us to do because you talk about the conservative heart and how we don't do well in conservative messaging. so we have to do it we have to have the right way to message the policies that the american people essentially put up for on november 8. so we've got to help articulate that and have the policy underpinnings behind that. the rsc has the ability to do that. again, the membership today has that cross section said,ss-section like you it's not a mini conference. if you look at the average conservative scores of the rsc, it is way more than conservative -- it is way more conservative than the conference as a whole, but we have enough diversity that we have good, thoughtful ideas coming out that drive the god -- drive the good, solid conservative solutions. mr. brooks: what i find really exciting from what you are telling me

mr. goodman: for one-to-one, i am bill goodman.ouncer 1: the first congress will begin and will include january several new members. we spoke with one of the incoming freshman new to capitol

this is a necessary bill, mr. chairman that will prevent a government shutdown, including national defense. this cr runs through april 28th of next year and hits the budget control act discretionary act of 1.07 trillion. this legislation continues current policy and funding from fiscal 2016 and makes certain changes to prevent harm to programs and ensure government. we take care of our military. increasing resources through oko and include provisions for procurement items that need to be addressed in the near term, such as the apache helicopters, blackhawks, ohio replacement submarine, and the kc tanker, among others. we also funding for the department of homeland security to protect our borders and skies and extend the freeze on members pay. in addition this legislation includes $10.1 billion in verseas contingency running -- contingency funding to continue the fight against isis and terrorism around the globe, as well as $4.1 billion in emergency disaster relief to help communities across the country recover fro

mr. gates: pretty close to it. within a year of going public, i think. there is some fortune cover that says, the deal that made bill gates $360 million or something like that. david: how did it change your life? or it did not change your life at all? mr. gates: that whole time was amazing because i was hiring people as fast as i could. i brought in steve ballmer who was very good at that and helping us out. we had a sense of urgency that we wanted to lead the way. the graphic center with windows that we wanted to do. so i was super busy, and the idea that i could hire so quickly and invest and build this worldwide company was fascinating to me, but i was really busy. if some friend had tried to call me, you know, i would not have too much time for that. i was really into building this company. i was going out and telling people about the magical software which was good for my company but also helped me understand the opportunities, and a huge change agent of software, plus the software that internet would become. i was havi fun, it was amazing, but i always thought, hey, we are one step away from not leading. we ha

i know there are disappointments with this bill, mr. speaker. there are things that people would like to see in here. a lot of them not really core defense issues, but those matters had to be dropped to get this bill to this point. i am confident that the new administration will review the executive orders that the ranking member was talking about and that those unconstitutional restrictions for the first amendment will be reviewed, modified, or repealed. all of that facilitated getting this bill before us today. i'm also hopeful that the new administration will send us a supplemental request because there are desperately needed modernization items from ships and airplanes and munitions and other things that are not authorized in this bill. but are needed desperately by our troops. so i hope and i expect that we will do better in the coming year to, again, fulfill our responsibilities under the constitution. mr. speaker, i would just end with this. i believe the first job of the federal government is to defend the country. the constitution puts s

tradition and choose mrs clinton, who received nearly three million more votes nationwide than mr trump. bill states is actually elected. after months of primaries, campaigning and voting day itself, this is how the us constitution says it must be done. at small meetings across the country, one in each of the 50 states, plus another in washington, dc, trusted citizens cast their votes for the next occupant of the white house. you're here to represent a constitution and you're here to represent the voice of the people of this state, even if it may not agree with your own views. 0n election day, citizens don't vote directly for the president. they vote for electors, one for each congressperson the state sends to washington. those 538 electors then elect the president. in almost all states it's a winner takes all system, so in pennsylvania where donald trump's victory margin was less than 1% he still gets all 20 electoral college votes. attempts to persuade electors to become faithless and not vote for him came to nothing. the people voted and they placed their vote as they should and had a righ

mr. goodman: for one-to-one, i am bill goodman.ouncer 1: the first congress will begin and will include january several new members. we spoke with one of the incoming freshman new to capitol hill. >> representative-elect jason lewis, representing the second district in minnesota. a republican. what did you do before you were elected to congress? jason lewis: well, i had a real job. i was in broadcasting for 24 years. then i retired in 2014. august i thought i would spend more time watching my girls swim, which is a 24/7 job, then the seat came open, and i thought i could make a difference. >> what we were you doing in broadcasting? jason lewis: i was in talk radio believe it or not. , it was good. it was good to be a pioneer. we talked about the issues and interviewed a number of members over the years. it feels nice to come here and now serve with them. >> what do you think of that background of being a conservative talkshow radio host? how will that help you, do you think? andn lewis: there is pluses minuses to every candidate. e

bill: mr.ying to figure out can he be comfortable with a former sworn enemy of nine months ago. how does that process evolve when you're sitting down, and trying to figure out whether or not you can pull it off? >> first of all victory is a means to having most wound healed. so, when you win, you heal wounds of the past, you move forward. the president-elect to choose people in cabinet and white house staff and he respects and comfortable with even though he may have had challenges with them in the past and that relationship is critically important. i don't really want to second-guess the president-elect as he chooses his team. i want him to have a team he is comfortable with. they serve at the pleasure of the president for the time-being. if they lose pleasure with the president they're gone. if the time being arrived they're out the door. president should put people around them and should give the president the benefit of the doubt. i'm confident that president-elect trump does view his situa

this is a necessary bill, mr. chairman that will prevent a government shutdown, including national defense. this cr runs through april 28th of next year and hits the budget control act discretionary act of 1.07 trillion. this legislation continues current policy and funding from fiscal 2016 and makes certain changes to prevent harm to programs and ensure government. we take care of our military. increasing resources through oko and include provisions for procurement items that need to be addressed in the near term , such as the apache helicopters, blackhawks, ohio replacement submarine, and the kc tanker, among others. we also funding for the department of homeland security to protect our borders and skies and extend the freeze on members pay. in addition this legislation billion in0.1 --rseas contingency running contingency funding to continue the fight against isis and terrorism around the globe, as well as $4.1 billion in emergency disaster relief to help communities across the country recover from recent natur

mr. mullin's bill would be detrimental to the sport or the athlete? >> i have a concern about the open ranking system that involves other promotions as it relates to health and safety in that if a ufc fighter who is under the most stringent comprehensive robust anti-doping program in professional sports in the world is forced to fight a fighter from another promotion that may not have any out-of-competition anti-doping program, that's clearly a health and safety risk to our fighter. >> and a competitive disadvantage. >> correct. >> so recognized. which you alluded to in one of your statements. people who do use performance-enhancing drugs do so because they see it as a defensive posture because, doggone it, everybody else is doing it and if i don't i will get hurt. >> absolutely. >> i want to thank everybody. seeing there are no other members wishing to ask questions, i want to thank our panel. it has been an illuminating discussion this morning. before we conclude i would like to include the following documents to be submitted for the record by unani

and a companion bill passed the house on a voice vote. now, mr. president, nationally as many as five million seniors may be victims of financial abuse annually. this tsunami of fraud has been one of the top priorities of the senate aging committee. in the many hearings that we've held on this issue, what we found is that scammers seek to gain the trust and active cooperation of their victims who are usually older americans. without that trust and cooperation, their schemes would fail. unfortunately seniors often do not see the red flags that signal that likely fraud is involved in these sophisticated schemes. sometimes they're simply too nice, too trusting. in other sad cases, they may suffer from diminished capacity. but just as often they miss these flags because the swindlers who prey upon them are extremely crafty and they know how to sound convincing. any of us who have received these calls at home know how persuasive and persistent these con artists can be. whatever the reason, a warning sign that can slip by a victim might trigger a second

mr. president as you know to naming this section of the bill after our son, and joe who is here with me today, our son beau. [applause] we used to say in the senate appointed personal privilege mr. president. we know we have love you and you are wonderful to bow. he spent a year in iraq and came back a decorated veteran and attorney general of the state in the never, ever, ever gave up nor did we. we had access to some of the best doctors in the world including the head of the department of narrow college a great friend of ours dr. young. thank you for being here. as i said we never gave up but jill and i realize we are not the only family touched by cancer. so many are touched you don't have nearly the support system we have. mr. president you lost her mother in so many other families here have lost so much a cancer. as i said this organization would give hope. every day millions of people are praying, praying for hope, praying for time and praying that somehow something will happen. they're not even praying for cures most of the time. how many times have you heard of patients they just give

bill. it's the best path forward given our deadline. and mr. chairman, this should be my last time appearing before the rules committee as chairman of this committee. i wish it were under better circumstances. i wish we had 11 complete full year appropriations bills to present to you. but that is not, unfortunately, the case. as i've said it before and i'll say it again, governing by cr is no way to conduct our business. the cr, we're wasting money and preventing good policies from going into place. we're creating uncertainty both in our federal budgets and in the economy. and we're ceding our power of the purse, throwing away the voice of the people that we represent. but as i said, this is our best. it's actually our only path forward. so i urge my colleagues in the house and the senate to pat it in short order, given that our current funding mechanism expires on friday. thank you for your great work. i've always started to say enjoyed chance to be with you, and i have enjoyed them, but i appreciate the great work that you do, mr. chairman and

mr. koza's proposed bill. california and new york and some of the eastern and western states. it is not that middle part of the country which the electoral college is now to protect and give a voice to. mr. koza: it is the middle of the country in fact because all of the state that pass the bill so far have been spectator states that are utterly irrelevant in the presidential process. the ignored part of the country is three at four americans in three out of four states that are irrelevant in selecting the president. host: 11 states have signed on. what other states are considering? mr. koza: it passed the arizona house this year with two thirds of the republicans sponsoring the bill and two thirds of the democrats. it passed the oklahoma senate. a few months ago it was repassed in the republican controlled new votes.nate by 57-four let's get back to this thing about new york and california. we know how presidential candidates campaign when every vote is equal and the candidate with the most votes wins. they don't go to the big cities in ohio. ask cities represent 52% of the p

bill: strong commentary from spicer this morning. army-navy is saturday. will mr. >> he will. he will. bill: has that been announced? >> he will, be there spend half of the game on army side and other side with the navy side. as navy goes for its 15th in a row. bill: sean spicer, thank you. appreciate your time. martha: that will be great. markets are set to open in just a few minutes. they have been a cheery place lately. wall street riding a postelection wave with record numbers. will the dow pass 20,000? i was on the floor when it passed 10,000. doesn't feel like all that long ago. maria bartiromo will be here live to talk about that. arrest in deadly tennessee wildfires, stunning news who police think is behind all of that. bill: we have a lot of thoughts this morning and concerns for american hero. john glenn hospitalized with unknown stated condition. at ohio state university james cancer hospital. in 1962 glenn became the first american to orbit the earth. sitting behind the controls of the mercury 7 space capsule as it circled planet three times in under fiv

mr. chairman. i want to associate myself with your words of appreciation for the breadth that this bill took. tle woman from new york. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you, gentlemen. good work. i'm particularly happy with the work you've done on the great lakes, the restoration, it's terribly important. it's important to many of us with small harbors that you have a 10% of money for dredging which we hope means we won't have to beg on our hands and knees to get a little dredging money every year and harbor maintenance i think which is terribly important in the inventory you're getting ready to do on what it needs. and before i get any further with this i really want to say that i hope we do make an order, the buy american bill. i think it is critically important and i'd like to do that. we're not really sure why you have it for such a short duration, in this bill there may be some reason we ought to hear about, but i'd like to see it be made permanent and we can put that in order. also we are concerned a little bit about california, mostly because we're hearing from so many of our consti

mr. womack: i thank the gentleman from kentucky for giving me a couple of minutes here to speak on behalf of this bill. i'm not real sure, mr. speaker, how much more constructive i could be on this discussion on this underlying bill. the truth has already been spoken by both sides. it's not the bill we wanted to bring to the floor. it's not the bills that we have marked up after some very serious oversight meetings and discussions within the appropriations committee and has already been mentioned, we moved each of the 12 bills through committee. only half of them made it through the floor of the house. so it's not the final product that any of us on the appropriations committee and i would guess most of the people in our congress would have wanted to bring. but it is the bill that is on the floor today and it's quite essential that we pass it and leave for the holidays without turning washington upside down or our economy upside down. so i support the underlying bill and i would recommend that it get a thunderous amount of approval here within the conference. i can't helpclose, but remember back six y

mr. sullivan: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on commerce be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 1561, and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 1561, an act to improve the national oceanic and atmospheric administration's weather research, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. mr. sullivan: i ask unanimous consent that the thune substitute amendment at the desk be considered, the cantwell amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the thune substitute amendment as amended be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding offic