the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. hall: i'm concerned -- the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. hall: thank you, madam speaker. the chair: the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. crenshaw: thank you marks dam chair. i continue to reserve my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes that the gentleman from florida has 20 minutes remaining and the gentleman from texas has six minutes remaining. mr. edwards: madam chair, i'd like to recognize mr. kennedy of rhode island for five minutes and as he approaches the well let me just thank him. this will be his last year to be in the house, a member of this committee, and he has been an inspiration to veterans throughout america and to every member of our subcommittee on both sides of the aisle and his championing the cause of mental health care services and other services for our veterans, care for our homeless veterans and i thank the gentleman. it will be a legacy that will live on for many decades to come. . mr. kennedy: i thank th

mr. putnam of florida. the chair: the gentleman from florida, mr. putnam and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. putnam: i rise to outline a minor issue but an important issue. hurricane season began june 1 and in florida, the seventh largest state in terms of flood insurance claims and the third high nest foreclosure rates, we can't afford any more uncertainty in our housing market. legislation recently failed to move on two separate occasions that would have provided for a temporary extension of flood insurance. i heard from my constituents that were beyond the point of frustration that they could not close on a home or renew an expiring policy and they had every right to be frustrated. florida and texas combined represent half of the properties covered by the national flood insurance program. it prohibits the issuance of new flood insurance policies and renewable of expired ones. our communities along the gull -- our community is located along the gulf coast. if they are damad by a

mr. chair, perhaps we could go to public comment? supervisor mar: is there anyone in the public that would like to speak? please come forward i will also call a couple of names. >> good morning. i really appreciate the time and attention that you are putting into this issue because it is important for myself and for the community. in my experience, i came here 14 years ago. we have been asking transportation for some basic things. many times there is a problem, but they do not do anything. i am able to see a little bit better than before, but oftentimes, drivers are driving fast and it is hard to hear. oftentimes, they do not honk. i wanted to make a comment about this. i believe it was last tuesday. i was trying to go to the bathroom on 16th street to. somebody told me when my stuff was coming. they said it was the next one. the person pulled me the bus number, and right away, i could hear the bus driver making the announcement. i know they have to do it, but in my opinion, i do not know who had to force them to do it. they have the

>> no, mr. chair. supervisor campos: thank you very much. i think that this was the shortest rules committee meeting in quite some time. thank you for your attention.

mr. edwards: madam chair, i'd now like to recognize mr. murphy who has worked very hard on behalf of our veterans and troops. for one minute. the chair: the gentleman from connecticut is recognized for one minute. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you to you and the committee for bringing this bill before us. there's $13 billion in this legislation for construction. that's more in the last four years combined than any four-year period since the 1940's. that will mean transformal things for our veterans. i want to briefly highlight this afternoon what it will mean for the people that will do that work. we've lost two million construction jobs in this recession and the associated general contractors of america estimate that almost 400,000 construction jobs could be created just by this bill alone. that's good news for jobs in this country. but we can have even better news if we make sure that the materials used to build those buildings are bought here in america as well. many of us have been working very hard on reinforcing our b

i have no other primary speakers, so mr. chair, i would be more than having to turn over the public comment. supervisor chiu: public comment. mr. paulson. >> i want to say -- ♪ climb every work force mountain ford every stream until you find your academy dream , in every work force mountain ford every stream soar in the sky fly and ford every stream until you find your dream ♪ supervisor chiu: thank you for always giving us the sound of music. any other public speakers on this topic? seeing none, public comment on this item is closed. supervisor mirkarimi: colleagues, i would love it if you certainly move this forward with recommendations. i see this ordinance just again institutionalizing what are some ongoing practices, but it focuses on the missing links of vocational training, and that is where i hope we endeavor to unify city and county with unified school district, city college, and ultimately speaking with hiring and recruiting practices in the public safety sector of our city to give our young people a chance to have a job

>> no, mr. chair. supervisor campos: thank you very much. i think that this was the shortest rules committee meeting in quite some time. thank you for your attention. >> good afternoon, welcome to the border supervisors' meeting of july 20, 2010. will you please call the roll? >> supervisor alioto-pier, present. supervisor avalos, absetn. -- absent. daly present. dufty present. elsbernd present. mar present. mirkarimi present. avalos, present. mr. president, all members are present. president chiu: can you please join me in the pledge of allegiance? [pledge of allegiance] president chiu: colleagues, you should have copies of the minutes. a motion by supervisor mirkarimi, second by supervisor maxwell. without objection? >> i have no communications, mr. president. president chiu: we have a special order in case the president wishes to appear in front of the board. i see mr. waggoner. are we expecting the mayor today? >> [inaudible] president chiu, do not believe the mayor will be here today. president chiu: that is unfortunate. >> items 1-12 c

the chair are recognizes the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. mr. scott: i yield such time as she may consume, the gentlelady from wisconsin, ms. baldwin. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes ms. baldwin for such time as she may consume. ms. baldwin: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman scott for yielding the time. i rise today in strong support of h.r. 30 40rk the senior financial empowerment act of 2009. my own experience as the primary caregiver for my grandmother opened my eyes to some troubling exploit tative tactics targeted to american seniors. growing up in wisconsin, i was raised by my maternal grandparents. though i went east for college, i returned to my hometown of madison after graduation to be there for my grandmother, who by then was widowed who had sacrificed so much of her own time and energy raising me. eventually i became my grandmother's primary caregiver. around the time that my grandmother turned 90 years old she asked me to help her sort through her mail and balance her checkbook. now, first i was struck by the

. >> thank you, mr. chair. i know that all the staff and all of us have been in many communications with the public and transit advocates on how to make this reform measure better. i would like to offer them data related to the funding provisions proposed in the charter amendment. these are ideas i discussed of the last time this measure came before the committee. in general the goal of what we are trying to do is connect additional funding to our beleaguered transit agency. particularly muni writers who have seen service/. -- slashed. i am going to propose that we reduced the amount for $100 per assessed property value to one penny, generating about $50 million. i would propose the condition of this revenue on the passage of revenue measures in november that are worth at least $40 million in the general fund revenue. in other words, this charter amendment will not lead to additional funding unless voters in november decided we needed. -- need it. matt ford stated that we continue to face a structural deficit t

share, after hearing from the departments, if i could make a motion -- mr. chair, we are responding to items one, two, four, five, and 6. i would make a motion that we adopt the city attorney response to finding number 1 and to recommendation on the one -- recommendation number 1. i also recommend we adopt the mayor's department of responsibility's response to finding two, four, and six, as well as their response to the recommendations for items two, four, and six, and also make a motion to adopt the department of public works' response to recommendation 5 and finding five. supervisor mar: thank you. any objections? then we have adopted those responses to the findings and recommendations. supervisor chu: i will make a motion to send this out, to send item two out, as amended, to the full board with recommendation, and to file item one. supervisor mar: without objection, so moved. is there anything else on this item, supervisor chu? thank you. thank you, everyone, for coming up, and the activism around complying with the 88. could you call the next item? >> item 3,

>> no, mr. chair. supervisor campos: thank you all for being here. thank you to the members of the public, mayor's office. have a good day. there are so many ways that the internet provides real access to real people and resources and that's what we're try to go accomplish. >> i was interested in technology like video production. it's interesting, you get to create your own work and it reflects what you feel about saying things so it gives perspective on issues. >> we work really hard to develop very in depth content, but if they don't have a venue, they do not have a way to show us, then this work is only staying here inside and nobody knows the brilliance and the amazing work that the students are doing. >> the term has changed over time from a very basic who has a computer and who doesn't have a computer to now who has access to the internet, especially high speed internet, as well as the skills and the knowledge to use those tools effectively. . >> the city is charged with coming up with digital inclusion. the department of telecommunications put

good morning, mr. chair, supervisor campos, supervisor alioto-pier, nice to see you, supervisor mar, supervisor mirkarimi. it is my pleasure to be here to talk about a topic that i enjoy so much, having nearly two decades now in the san francisco police department, having been a captain for a couple of years now. i enjoy this topic. and i want to reiterate what the assistant chief said, that we're not here today for a fight. we're not here for even a spiritted debate. we agree with the concepts of community policing. the accident embraces it. the foot patrols. you talk to the captains that you've worked with. i'm representing my colleagues today, my captains, and the members of this department. we believe in it. and we do believe that we need to talk more before things get legislated. and you mentioned department general order that was created in 1994. well, there was a department manual that i'm going to send to you today, department manual number two, which was created a couple of years ago on community po

>> no, mr. chair. supervisor campos: thank you all for being here. thank you to the members of the public, mayor's office. have a good day.

mr. chairman. the chair: mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on the state of the union has had under consideration h.r. 5114, and pursuant to house resolution 1517 i report the bill back to the house with an amendment adopted in the committee of the whole. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration the bill h.r. 5114, and pursuant to house resolution 1517 reports the bill back to the house with an amendment adopted in the committee of the whole. under the rule the previous question is ordered. the question is on the adoption of the amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the amendment is adopted. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill to extend the authorization for the national flood insurance program, to ide

mr. gonzalez chairs the department of journalism at the city college of san francisco where he taught the first college course on hispanic journalism and where he currently serves as an advisor to the campus newspaper. mr. gonzalez is also a founding member of the national association of hispanic journalists, the national association of hispanic publications, the association of media alternatives, the national association of third-world journalists, bay area chapter, and also he is part of new america media. mr. gonzalez is also the director of the voices for justice project that will document the history of the latino presence in the u.s. by producing a film, a book, and a website. what's very interesting is that you still see mr. gonzalez in the mission talking to young people, speaking in english and in spanish, or sometimes he doesn't talk that much. he listens. and so he is absolutely a hero for the latino community. thank you very much. juan gonzalez. [applause] >> the next award goes to march sella medina. she is a former vice president and manager of some businesses. she has acqui

mr. camp: i appeal the ruling of the chair. mr. levin: mr. speaker, i move to table -- the speaker pro tempore: the question is shall the decision of the chair stand as the judgment of the house. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. levin: i very much move to table the appeal of the ruling of the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to table. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, -- mr. camp: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the ayes have it. the gentleman from michigan. a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the recorded vote is orred. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on the motion to table will be followed by a five-minute vote on passage of the bill, if arising without further proceedings a recommittal. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning madeossible by t national ca

mr. pascrell: thank you, madam speaker, thank you madam chair. the gentlelady from california is not here yet. the primary sponsor of the legislation. but i rise in support of resolution 275 and i want to commend both mr. polis and mr. petri for their very succinct words. i know firsthand the benefits that our children receive from a robust arts education program whether it's music, theater, visual arts, photography, poetry, dance. this is not simply an outlet. this is part and parcel of the essential features of what a good education is all about. unfortunately, the current state of the economy has now put these classes and further enrichment of oustudents at risk and i would ask us to address this issue. what's the first to be cut, right across the nation? arts. libraries. and sports. the things our kids love best. these are not just times that they seek to get away from things, but these are part of their lives. it enriches them. it contributes to the total being. you have appreciation of arts, i taught an arts course, history through the arts.

mr. merrill of georgia is recognized for one minute. thank you. the chair now recognizes mr. scalise of the great state of louisiana for one minute. >> thank you, mr. chairman and ranking member whitfield for having this important hearing on the oil spill's effect on tourism in the gulf coast. i want to start by welcoming a dear friend and a respected business leader from new orleans ralph brennan, not only respected in louisiana but as former head of the national restaurant association an authority on restaurants, tourism and business and i appreciate him coming and look forward to hearing his comments and as my colleagues have pointed out the tourism industry including restaunts like mr. brennan's is suffering from the effects of the oil spill an industry that employs over a million people along the gulf coast and brings in approximately $39 billion in annual tax receipts is now facing double-digit declines due to this disaster. a national survey done in may by the louisiana office of tourism found that 26% of those who had plans to visit louisiana had postponed or canceled

mr. sarbanes: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland. mr. sarbanes p.c. -- mr. sarbanes: i rise today in support of the carbon monoxide poisoning prevention act. carbon monoxide poisoning kills more than 400 people each year and sends more than 20,000 people to hospital emergency rooms for treatment. carbon monoxide can build up in your home when a furnace or other fuel burning appliance isn't functioning properly. what make this is gas particularly dangerous is that you can't see it or smell it. at least with a fire, you can see the flames, smell the smoke, or feel the heat. with carbon monoxide, in many cases, all you start to feel is flu-like symptoms. you have no idea you're facing something even more dangerous. but there is a simple and effective way to come pat carbon monoxide poisoning. installing a carbon monoooks side alarm in your home. h.r. 1796 takes two important steps to promote the use of carbon monoxide alarms in homes and other places. first this legislation makes the voluntary ind

mr. dreier: may i inquire of the chair how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california has 15 minutes left and the gentleman from massachusetts has 17 minutes left. mr. dreier: with that, i'm happy to yield 3 1/2 minutes to my friend from illinois, mr. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 3 1/2 minutes. . mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker, and members of the house. i stand in opposition to this rule and in sincere but deep opposition to this $63 billion massive spending bill and particularly the war spending component of the bill. i speak, i believe, on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of brave men and women who serve america in the middle east with neither a defined objective or the ability to success victory or defeat. on behalf of the families of our military personnel around the world who have lost their fathers or their mothers or their sons or their daughters in a valiant but short-sighted effort, a battle that can never be won, and on behalf of the american taxpayers who have

mr. moran: the only argument i hear is a jurisdictional one. the chair of the judiciary committee has not raised any objection to this. it should be passed and this congress should be proud that it did. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. could i advise my friend, the chairman, if he has more speakers? mr. rahall: we're prepared to close. mr. hastings: i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i want to point out because i have expressed my opposition to this because of the process that's been acknowledged by several members on both sides of the aisle. the last time this legislation -- legislation like this was taken up was in the 101st congress. the bill was introduced, i think, on the first day. there were hearings held on that legislation and then it went through committee markup. it was amended in committee, sent to the house floor and it was passed on suspension but that was after the commit

to provide more information if i may, i would like to through the chair call mr. phil lesser, who is the chair of the district, to say a few words. thank you for the work you have been doing. >> thank you very much for sponsoring this reauthorization of the business improvement district. it is the heart of the mission miracle mile. it is between 21st and 22nd. if i may show a couple of pictures -- the supervisor completely articulated what we are doing. it does not really show it completely, but before we formed the business improvement district that is what the block would look like. this is what it looks like today. that is the removal of debris twice a day. but on top of that, when people say, "where is that block," i do not have to say the block on 2500 anymore. i can just say the block with all the chloral baskets. everyone knows it now. people who stand on the street now realize they have surveillance cameras. they no longer stand on that street. it is a safe, clean, green some stretch of mission street. we hope to one day come back and as you for authorizati

mr. green of texas as chair while i have served as ranking member. as also has been noted, we have also been served in this bipartisan subcommittee by mr. scott of virginia and mr. hastings of washington state. madame chair, i can say with certainty that each of us has every intention of completing this investigation before the end of 2008. due in part to additional evidence that was submitted, multiple delays in receiving recipe as an extension on two separate occasions of the investigative subcommittee pus jurisdiction because of new facts that came before the subcommittee, this investigation has concluded within the past few days. not everyone in this room, much less everyone watching at home on television, made no that the house ethics committee is the only truly bipartisan committee with an equal number of democrats and republicans. it is only one in the entire house. five democrats and five republicans said on this committee in judgment of our peers. today there are four democrats and four republicans as has already been noted, none of whom volu

mr. chaffetz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the district of columbia. ms. norton: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. norton: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. norton: on behalf of the committee of oversight and government reform, i am pleased to present h.r. 5341 for consideration. this measure designates the facility of the united states postal service located at 100 orndorf drive in brighton, michigan, as the joyce rogers post office building. h.r. 5341 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from michigan, mr. john dingell, on may 19, 2010. it was referred to the committee on oversight and government reform which waived consideration of the measure to expedite consideration on the floor today. it enjoys the entire support of the ent

mr. chairman, and i yield back. >> thank you, sir. i now turn to a senior member of the committee and the former chair of the agriculture committee bob goodlatte of virginia. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman. mrinberg, we welcome you. you come with a track record and a reputation for addressing difficult issues like this and we know this is going to be a significant challenge for you. i share the concerns raised by my colleagues. i'm very interested in making sure justice is done expeditiously. i am also concerned as the ranking member is that it be donefficiently and that it be done in a way that we don't feel that ople are defrauding this process because while we hope that a private entity, british petroleum will be able to carry all of this burden, it's still nonetheless important that we do it in a fair and efficient manner and i also want to make sure that british petroleum is held fully accountable and you're going to be in a key position to make sure that anybody who has a valid claim against them does receive the compensation that they deserve anthat hopefully the american taxpayers won't be liable for any of this cost. so i l

mr. lewis, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. obey: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 4899. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. obey: madam speaker, i yield myself three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. obey: madam speaker, i have a double and conflicting obligation on this matter. as chairman of the committee, i have an obligation to this house to bring this war supplemental before the house to allow this institution to work its will, but i will have the obligation of my conscience to indicate my individual vote by profound skepticism that this actually will accomplish much more than to serve as a recruiting incentive to those who most want to do us ill. last year i expressed my concern that the best policy in the world cannot succeed if we did not have the tools on the ground, namely, the effective cooperation of the government

mr. smith wants to catch his breath. oh, he's ready? the ranking member of the full committee, mr.mith, is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair. mr. land, let me direct my first question to you. and i apologize for being gone during your testimony because of having to attend another committee's mark-up. but as i understand it, you do have some concerns about chain migration, and to the extent th you didn't elaborate on that, could you tell us what aspects of chain migration you would eliminate and which ones you would keep and to the extent that you agree with it, what would you substitu for chain migration? would you put a greater emphasis on those who have the education and skills we need in america, for example? >> well, in appendix five of my testimony, which is attached, i talk about chain migration, the process of bringing extended members of one's family to the united states once one family member is settled here is of significant concern to us and many people in the nation. if we are to allow millions of people to remain here, we must find a way to limit the influx of extended family members so that we leave room in o

mr. mcdermott, our subcommittee chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for fo four minutes, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, when most of our republican colleagues vote no against extending unemployment benefits for americans today, these people have who have lost their job through no fault of their own, they're doing it and they'll say it's because of the deficit. but in reality they're simply trying to make the president fail at any cost. we have precedent here for that. back in the 1990 when newt gingrich ruled this place, they thought the american people were stupid, but it didn't work then and it won't work now. in december, 1995, newt gingrich thought he could win the presidency for the republican party by shutting down the government. and proving that bill clinton was infective. you all remember that -- in effective. you remember that instead the ameri

mr. rooney each controls 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: i ask unanimous consent that members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and add extraneous remarks as they seem relevant to the bill under consideration. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cohen: earlier this congress, i introduced together with congressman issa h.r. 2765 to protect americans' first amendment right against the threat posed by lible tourism. the house passed that bill by voice vote under suspension of the rules. the 110th congress had also passed that bill in this house as well. last week, the senate passed by you unanimous consent an amended version of h.r. 2765 named securing the protection of our enduring and established constitutional heritage act or speech. we consider the senate version today. it is the name given to the practice of doing an end run around the first amendment by suing authors and publishers in the courts of certain courts with defamation laws as we

mr. chairman, and i yield back. >> thank you, sir. i now turn to a senior member of the committee and the former chair of the agriculture committee bob goodlatte of virginia. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman. mr. feinberg, we welcome you. you come with a track record and a reputation for addressing difficult issues like this and we know this is going to be a significant challenge for you. i share the concerns raised by my colleagues. i'm very interested in making sure justice is done expeditiously. i am also concerned as the ranking member is that it be done efficiently and that it be done in a way that we don't feel that people are defrauding this process because while we hope that a private entity, british petroleum will be able to carry all of this burden, it's still nonetheless important that we do it in a fair and efficient manner and i also want to make sure that british petroleum is held fully accountable and you're going to be in a key position to make sure that anybody who has a valid claim against them does receive the compensation that they deserve and that hopefully the american taxpayers won't be liable for any of this co

mrs. lummis, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from guam. ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, 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. ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, h.r. 4514, introduced by congressman lacy clay of missouri, directs the national parks service to discover the suitability and feasibility on designating the colonel charles young home in xenia, ohio, as part of the national parks service. colonel charles young was a distinguished african-american officer during the late 1800's and early 1900's and the first african-american to hold the rank of colonel. young is also credited with being the first african-american national park soup intendent when as command -- superintendent when as commander of the 10th calvary, he was part of the grant park in california. this will review the cultural and historical resources established with the remarkable story of colonel you

mr. chairman. i yield back. >> chair. thanks. the gentleman now recognized the gentleman lady from california, ms. richardson. >> thank you. mr. bal den somewhere, i realize you are the representative, but i'd appreciate not being yelled at. i'm going to talk to you with respect, i'd like you to do the same with me. let meask this to mr. dillingham, when the plane is unloaded, is it done by a general employee or specific carrier? i seem to fly, and i fly two times a week, i don't always see it's a specific carrier. could you clarify that for me? >> when the plane is unloaded? >> like if they are unloaded in the florida. the florida iport, their employees or is it spirits employees? or does it vary from airport to airport. >> riht, i think the latter. it varies from airport to airport. >> that's an important point. i think it gets to the question of why are we charging more fees? my next question is of spirit, have you collected data on your imagines? and what do you know in terms of the number of packages. has it increased or decr

mr. chaffetz, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. davis: and now, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. davis: mr. speaker, the office of management and budget recently reported that the federal government made $98 billion in improper in overpayments last year. this is a staggering amount and completely unacceptable. no family or business in america would tolerate being charged twice or overbilled for anything and neither should our government. we need to do everything we can to ensure that the government spends every tax dollar in the most responsible way possible. in fact, we have an obligation to the taxpayers to fight waste, fraud and abuse and to ensure that if the government overpays for something it has the means to recover those precious tax dollars. the bill we're n

mr. mcdermott, our subcommittee chair. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for fo four minutes, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, when most of our republican colleagues vote no against extending unemployment benefits for americans today, these people have who have lost their job through no fault of their own, they're doing it and they'll say it's because of the deficit. but in reality they're simply trying to make the president fail at any cost. we have precedent here for that. back in the 1990 when newt gingrich ruled this place, they thought the american people were stupid, but it didn't work then and it won't work now. in december, 1995, newt gingrich thought he could win the presidency for the republican party by shutting down the government. and proving that bill clinton was infective. you all remember that -- in effective. you remember that instead the ameri