mr. blumenauer: yesterday he was on the trail and this was one of his top five targets. mr. garamendi: is this mr. romney? mr. blumenauer: mr. romy wants to eliminate funding for amtrak. this is one of his targets. you know, the united states, in the past, i have been brought up short when i talk about the united states having a third world rail passenger system, because, you know, i've ridden railroads in places like malaysia or thailand. and we do an injustice to their rail systems. the united states is the only major country in the world that does not have higher-speed rail passenger service. it is the only major country that has no plan to move forward. the president, to his credit, put forth $14 billion to be able to strengthen our rail passenger system, some of which, several billion would have helped with a california vision. the california voters have approved the opportunity to go forward. you know, it is frustrating for me, because there i know doubt that -- there is no doubt that americans will have higher-speed rail. but the question is coming back to the point t

mr. blumenauer. >> thank you, mr. chairman. appreciate your being here. >> thank you. >> it's interesting for me, just as i have two points of reference as i listen to my colleagues go back and forth. one is to look at what is proposed on this by the presidential candidates running for the republican nomination in terms of more defense spending, no revenue adjustments, and even people like george will pointing out that it's just an absolute fantasy land and it will be fun to watch in the unfortunate circumstance if you have a romney budget here, and some of you are sentenced to the budget committee again, reconciling what he was talking about with this impassioned rhetoric. when the republicans were in charge with the bush administration, republicans, what we were presented every year looked better because it wasn't anywhere near an honest budget. i really commend you and president for not being in a fantasyland that somehow these overseas adventures are unforeseen, supplemental funding. it's free money, congress. that somehow

mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. it's interesting listening to the fantasy republican talking points. the fact is we are now drilling more oil in the united states than ever before. the inconvenient facts get in the way of political talking points. but what is not a fantasy is what is happening on the political scene. the final months of 2011 the campaign to re-elect president obama and the democratic national committee raised $68 million. an impressive sum. all the more impressive because it was donated by 583,000 americans who gave an average of $55 each. but earlier this month at a retreat exclusive ren nance resort in california, the conservativele withaire coke brothers said they would donate a combined $60 billion to superp.a.c. to defeat president obama. two billionaire brothers with opinions radically at variance with most of america are poised to cancel out the efforts of half a million american citizens. to understand this gross provision of the political process, we don't have to wait until the general ele

mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. oregon lost an amazing pioneer with the death of gail ackerman last weekend. at the moment gail was drawing her last breath, her husband was telling me the story of how she had won his heart as he listened to her give a lecture on the taylor grazing act that tells you all you need to know, actually, about both of them. her lecture on an obscure federal law could spark an -- a whirlwind romance and a marriage of 30 years. that's what made her a remarkable woman. she was a three-letter woman at stanford university in basketball, track and softball. each of the many roles she plaed in her too short life but stellar four-decade career were characterized by her insight, drive, comprehensive view of the world, and commitment to excellence. she was a pioneer in every sense of the word. from big-time women's athletics to being the first woman to chair oregon's transportation commission. but she was not just breaking ground for women but being a leader and role model for anyone who wanted to b

mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. americans know that congress is broken, paralyzed by hyperbipartisanship, fierceology and not responding to problems. why does congress not represent that change? well, part of the answer is that's not how we're elected. increasingly we come from districts that are not just red or blue but the colors are brighter, the divisions deeper. how can this be? well, the answer is to be found in hallways and back rooms in state compols all across -- capitols all across america right now. because after the census every 10 years, the great rebalancing occurs to adjust legislative districts to changes in populations. some states will win or lose congressional seats. every district in the 43 states that have multimember districts will see some adjustment to balance out changes in growth. but not all voters are equal. some are more, some are less inclined to support the party in power or support a particular incumbent. now, one thing that politicians can all agree upon is that their district should

mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. yesterday senator olympia snowe announced she wouldn't run for re-election. not that she couldn't win but that she didn't want to. not in this environment. this storied representative will be a loss to the institution here, but it doesn't have to be that way, mr. speaker. this week on capitol hill we have friends who've joined us from the public broadcasting community representing television stations across -- public television stations across the country. today, the women's garden club of america are here in force. now, these are people that have an approach that can help us unwind the problems that we have here in congress. public broadcasting is america's voice, and for most of america it's the only locally owned and managed source of news and local interests. it's commercial-free. it's focused on our kids, our culture, our environment. last year amidst the tea party effort to defund public broadcasting, we had a poll that showed 78% of americans wanted the funding to remain the sa

mr. blumenauer. the chair: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for two minutes. mr. blumenauer: i appreciate the gentleman's courtesy and his leadership. what we're talking about here this afternoon is one of a package of four budget proposals from our republican friends on the budget committee that are in total going to obscure the budgeting process, make it more complex, more expensive, and actually more confusing for the american public. i agree with my good -- what my good friend said about the dynamic scoring. there are already vehicles available to be able to deal with some of these feedback effects but not elevating it to the level of some sort of official score that frankly we've seen that the c.b.o., the congressional budget office, which is established as the impartial score keeper, puts out information like we discussed here today in the budget committee on how much impact the recovery act had on employment, on g.d.p. enhancement, job growth. people just simply refuse to accept the range, the calculations, things that all the independent experts agree upon

mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. this week people from dozens of cities around america are gathering for the annual streetcar summit. for the last 20 years i've been working to reintroduce the modern streetcar to american communities. we started with a project in portland, oregon, over 25 years ago, and it was a great pleasure for me to see this open in 2001 and watched how this streetcar investment anchored revitalization in the downtown led to over $3 billion of private and public investment along the right-of-way, encouraged millions of people to ride the streetcar and developed into a signature project for our community. more recently, with the new administration -- when the new administration was sworn into office, i worked with the white house to implement legislation that i had in the last re-authorization, we called small starts, which somehow had stalled. within four months the new administration was able to help us figure out how to move it forward, and in october of 2009, we were able to sign an agreement

mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you mr. speaker. this week we watched the state attorney generals and the major banks. $26 billion sounds like a lot of money, but given that almost one in four homeowners own more on -- owe more on their mortgage than the value of their home, lost $700 billion in value, this is the step in the right direction that will help some people but not really a major correction. there's still too far few -- there's still too few real pressures to get the market right. there is a simple answer that won't cost the taxpayers a dime and which will stabilize the housing depression within a year. that would help re-establish home values and encourage banks to work with their customers who are underwater. the recent decision of american airlines to pursue bankruptcy is illust are a tif. this corporate giant could actually pay its bills. it had some $4 billion in cash, still taking in revenue but it made a strategic judgment to use the bankruptcy laws to win market rate loan terms, to modify its union contracts and t

mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, madam speaker. the fancy software at use in our congressional offices gives us the ability to see all of the constituent context, all of their questions, complaints, and concerns by category. i wonder if anyone in congress has received any complaints about the safe routes to school program. i bet not. so why is the republican transportation bill eliminating safe routes to school, creating an unsafe route to school? this is a wildly popular program costing a fraction of a percent of the transportation budget, and it's had a huge impact nationally on our children because it deals with real consequences for them. a generation ago 40% or 50% of most children were able to get to school on their own. now only 13% can. it's no wonder that childhood obesity has exploded over the same period of time with one in three of our children now overweight or obese or seriously at risk. asthma has gone up for children 74% over the last five years. there are real consequences for accidents. 23000 -- 23,000, 5 to 15-ye

mr. blumenauer: madam speaker, i take modest exception to my good friend from florida. there will be no up or down vote on this package. now, service in congress is often a roller coaster with highs and lows. well, i've had highs and lows in my service in congress but this is one of the worst moments of the last 15 years. at a time when our communities and our economy needs us to rebuild and renew america, we are faced with the worst transportation bill in history. ever. it is so bad that the majority did not even have a hearing on any of the three pieces that they've broken up. it reverses 20 years of bipartisan transportation reform. it eliminates a 30-year commitment for transit and road funding certainty that comes from the reagan administration. out the window. it is so bad that they aren't going to allow an up or down vote. the strategy they have is to have the pieces dealt with individually and then when they're done if they somehow pass and i hope they don't, then it's deemed passed. now, what's really sad is that this is not just a partisan bill it's a bad part

mr. blumenauer: as we recess, i'm hopeful members will go back to their districts and talk to them about the failed transportation bill that has mercifully been pulled back from the floor. my republicans colleagues decided for the first time in history to put forth a partisan transportation bill, never had a hearing, that would have gutted transit, it would have reversed 20 years of transportation reform, it would have even eliminated the wildly popular safe routes to school program. i would hope they go back and talk to contractors, their local government officials, parents in the p.t.a. to understand why those programs are important, why that bill is flawed, why america deserves a better bipartisan, visionary transportation bill to rebuild and renew america and put our people back to work. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for on