mr. cicilline, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. mr. cicilline: my home state of rhode island continues to be plagued with the highest unemployment rate in the nation, currently 9%. while most members would agree that the best way we can address this jobs crisis is to pass legislation that gets our economy growing more quickly, we clearly have different ideas on how best to achieve such growth. but we will have that important conversation in great detail next week as the house is scheduled to consider the republican budget authored by chairman ryan and the substantive alternatives on the floor. today, however, we have a bill that modifies the budget process. specifically, this bill changes the rules that our independent umpire, the congressional budget office, uses to determine the costs of implementing major pieces of legislation defined as those impacts gross domestic product by more than approximately $40 billion. and while your new rules would supplement, not replace, scoring rules, let's make clear. the dynamic scoring that is calle

mr. cicilline. the chair: the gentleman from rhode island is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. cicilline: i thank the ranking member for his extraordinary leadership and for developing a budget proposal that actually reflects our nation's values and priorities. mr. speaker, this republican budget, offered by my colleague from wisconsin, is another attempt to impose a failed economic theory on the american people. this budget would damage economic growth in the short term and disinvests in our future in the long term. it's absolutely the wrong course. millions of americans continue to struggle to find work. congress should be investing in priorities that will create jobs, priorities like education, rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and investing in advanced manufacturing and innovation that will help set the platform for a 21st century economy. the ryan republican budget does exactly the opposite. according to the nonpartisan congressional budget office, compared to current law, the ryan republican budget would stifle our economic growth, reducing gross domestic product per

mr. david cicilline of rhode island. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, dr. shah, for joining us today. i want to begin by complimenting on your powerful and very moving words at the national prayer breakfast. you obviously were not instructed not to upstage your boss but you did. i thank you for that. and thank you to you and your excellent team at usaid for the work that you're doing in particularly challenging times and often in the face of diminishing resources. we are also very proud to welcome you to rhode island. i want to thank you for your the last year to production of nutritional products. and i want to thank you for seeing how they treat and prevent malnutrition for the most vulnerable children and creating jobs in my state to do it. they are creating a larger facility in rhode island they hope can reach over two million children each year worldwide. i know they'll want you to help cut the ribbon in that facility next year. i want to recognize usaid's efforts to ensure development, especially for the rights of lgbt individuals. and i know the coor

mr. cicillinely, for five minutes. -- cicilline, for five minutes. mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to show you and my colleagues the faces of the americans that are hurting by refusing to renew unemployment benefits. just three days after christmas, this house leadership left these people out in the cold and made it more difficult for them to provide for their family, to buy food, to pay their mortgages or pay their rent. it's been four months since the house republican leaders turned their back on millions of unemployed americans. and the situation grows more dire for these individuals and their families with each passing day. for far too long, this congress has described the long-term employed in numbers, figures and statistics only. well, today i hope that we'll begin to change and that the speaker and other republican leaders will understand what's happening to real people because of their refusal to extend unemployment benefits. i'm launching called the faces of the unemployed, to show my colleagues on the other side of the aisle just who they are hurting

mr. david cicilline of rhode island. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thankthank you, dr. shah for jog us today. i want to begin by complimenting you powerful and moving words at national prayer breakfast. you were not strucked not to up stage your boss but thank you for that. and thank you for usaid work doing in challenging times in the face of diminishing resources. we were also very proud to welcome you to rhode island last year. thank you for coming to producer of the nutritional products and you would see first-hand how they are using innovation to prevent and treat malnutrition for the world's most vulnerable children and creating jobs in my home state to do it and they're drawing plans for a larger facility in rhode island that they hope can reach two million children worldwide and they would welcome you to cut the ribbon earlier next year. i want to acknowledge usaid's efforts to include exclusive development of especially human rights for lgbt individuals and recently coordinator started a few weeks ago and i look forward to hearing about the things he will be do