mr. courtney. >> mr. chairman, can i just very briefly -- >> very briefly. >> hard to pve a negative, but it is my belief that this action happening as quickly as it did did prevent a very significant humanitarian crisis. and that was a -- obviously, a big part of that. >> very well. >> thank you. mr. courtney. >> thank you, mr. chairman. to go back to a point that mr. cooper made, one thing that moved it up on the food chain was a unanimous resolution in the united states senate on march 1st, bipartisan sponsorship, calling for us to execute a no-fly zone. so in addition to all the other voices from the u.n. and the arab league, congress actually was joining in in terms of calling on the executive branch to act. you know, andyou can get whiplash. >> i would just add, mr. courtney, including both republicans and democrats in the house calling for a no-fly zone as well. >> thank you. i mean, when -- this hearing should be happening and there should be questions asked that, you know, something this big dese

mr. courtney. >> mr. chairman, can i just very briefly -- >> very briefly. >> hard to prove a negative, but it is my belief that this action happening as quickly as it did did prevent a very significant humanitarian crisis. and that was a -- obviously, a big part of that. >> very well. >> thank you. mr. courtney. >> thank you, mr. chairman. to go back to a point that mr. cooper made, one thing that moved it up on the food chain was a unanimous resolution in the united states senate on march 1st, bipartisan sponsorship, calling for us to execute a no-fly zone. so in addition to all the other voices from the u.n. and the arab league, congress actually was joining in in terms of calling on the executive branch to act. you know, and you can get whiplash. >> i would just add, mr. courtney, including both republicans and democrats in the house calling for a no-fly zone as well. >> thank you. i mean, when -- this hearing should be happening and there should be questions asked that, you know, something this big d

mr. courtney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from connecticut is recognized for one minute. mr. courtney: thank you, mr. speaker. among the many programs which others have talked about that would be blown up with this measure, the early retiree reinsurance program which is one of the most successful aspects of the health care law, will be blown up. over 5,000 employers all across america, over half the fortune 500 companies, like coca-cola, general electric, have all signed up with this program which uses the same principles as flood insurance is strengthening early retiree benefits which have been collapsing over the last 20 years. these are the companies that will go out and hire people, particularly young people because early retirement allows their work force to actually have its natural change so that young people can find jobs. the economy created 200,000 jobs last month. it's because of programs like the early retiree reinsurance program which the health care law created, we should not end that program by passing this resolution. these employers have signed up in good fait

mr. courtney: that was not an accident. it was because the high risk of people over age 65 made that market basically uninsurable. i'm from connecticut. we know a little bit about insurance in the state of connecticut, and looking at the ryan republican medicare plan which would give seniors vouchers to go out and buy insurance, all we're doing is repeating history which is where this country was in 1965. we must protect a guaranteed benefit for seniors. we learned that lesson throughout the early 1900's through 1965. the ryan plan takes us back to a time when seniors will be paying massive out-of-pocket costs. c.b.o. estimates it will triple out-of-pocket costs for seniors. it is the wrong way to go. president obama's plan that he laid out yesterday, which is a thoughtful, intelligent approach to lower health care costs but protects a guaranteed benefit for seniors, is what this country needs and what our senior citizens need. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expir

mr. courtney: i rise to congratulate coach tim calhoun and the basketball team for their win last night. that is the third national championship under coach cal hewn who hails from the second congressional district of eastern connecticut. this was a remarkable year when the season started they weren't on the top 68 by "sports illustrated." under the leadership of walker, three freshmen, and a sophomore they defied the odds, won 11 consecutive single elimination games over the last 20-odd days and prevailed last night against a great butler football team led by a great young coach. congratulations to coach cal hewn who is a great leader in the state -- calhoun who is a great leader in the state of connecticut. go huskies, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to give one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mr. lankford: i rise to discuss the debt we are dealing with as a nation. it is time to stop igno

mr. courtney: yesterday goldman sachs, the investment firm, came out with an amazing statement which is that $27 per barrel of oil today is the result of excessive speculation and has no connection to supply and demand. what that means is a motorist in the state of connecticut who is now paying $4 a gallon for gas should be paying only $3 a gallon. but all the speculation which oil delivery guys and gas station owners have been screaming about for the last three months is the factor that's driving up the price of gas. the commodities trading commission last year in the dodd-franks wall street reform bill was given the authority to limit the amount of outside speculators participation in the energy futures trading markets. they have not implemented those rules. it is time for them to act. i would ask, mr. speaker, to enter a letter from one of the commissioners saying that the blistering pace of speculation is the cost of the rising gas prices. it is time for the cftc to issue these new rules and protect america's consumers and small businesses. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gent

mr. courtney of connecticut. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to commend the baylor university women's basketball team on an outstand 20g11 season. i don't believe there are many members of the bo yid bush body have the honor to represent two great schools who went to the ncaa elite eight in the women's you were toment. this is part of the win trag decision that includes a national championship in 2005. coach kim mulkey and the lady bears deserve recognition for winning the big 12 championship. also sophomore post britney griner was named as first team all american. congratulations to the lady bears on a great season. sick 'em, bears, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from welve rise? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and

courtney dempsey at cal expo in sacramento. thank you. >>> mr.ant to rain on this parade. we have had some great weather over the past couple of days, record-breaking temperatures. we'll probably see cooling but not bad, looking nice, 70s and 80s in much of the bay area. at the coast, we may see a couple of patches of fog creep in. we have seen that this morning and more could happen this afternoon. the interior looking good. numbers outside now, already 60 degrees in oakland. 62 in san francisco. we have 55 in san jose. still cool, 49 degrees in livermore and also into fairfield. well, it looks like high pressure showing signs of finally weakening but not before leaving us another nice day. you can see off the coastline we have this system that could be bringing showers to the bay area as early as tomorrow but today, yup, the winds will switch directions becoming more of an onshore breeze so some slightly cooler temperatures on tap for the bay area. but not a bad day. these temperatures still running above average. numbers working out like this.