mr. butterfield. mr. butterfield: please join me in the pledge. 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 for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to rise and address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. barton: in just a little over a month's time, the nation's physicians will face a cut in medicare system. this affects access for medicare patients and it could be esolved. mr. burgess: two weeks ago, for the first time, a bill was introduced to have a growth formula. it was not perfect but it was a significant achievement and arked by an editorial piece in "the wall street journal." in the editorial they noted that the senate finance, house ways and means, energy and commerce don't agree on much but they're doing a service by

mr. butterfield of north carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the speaker's appointment and the order of the house on january 3, 2013 of the following member on the part of the house to the british-american interparallel men tear group. the clerk: mr. roe of tennessee. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. westmoreland of georgia for today after 2:30 p.m. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. he request is granted. under the speaker's apolicy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from texas, mr. green, is recognized for 60 minutes for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. green: i thank all those associated with leadership who have allowed us to have this time tonight to discuss black history month. as you are aware, black history month has not always been a month or this time has not always been a month. it started out as a week. and the father of black history week, which evolved into