mr. dreier: mr. speaker, let me say that we obviously are dealing with an irregular development that took place in the judiciary committee, that being the notion of believing somehow that they could appropriate dollars. we know full well that the judiciary committee cannot engage in the appropriations process itself. and so all that this provision that we are pursuing does is allows us to take from mandatory back to discretionary spending without any cost whatsoever, the power will fall with this institution, with the first branch of government which is exactly where it should be and everyone, everyone, mr. speaker, talks about the concerns that we have over mandatory spending, both democrats and republicans alike have made it clear that if we don't deal with the issue of mandatory spending we're not going to successfully address the economic and budget challenges that we face. and so all this provision does is it allows us to deal with what was an irregular development that took place in the judicia

mr. dreier. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. dreier, is recognized for three minutes. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. dreier: it's a tall order that my friend from grandfather community imposed on me, mr. speaker, but i will say it's great to be standing here as we proceed with consideration of the appropriations process. last year we, for all intense and -- intents and purposes, had no appropriations process. it was shut down. we're here today considering the third appropriation bill under an open amendment process. now, my friend from connecticut has just characterized this as a misguided rule. since 1837, mr. speaker, 1837 -- it's been a few years -- we've had within the rules of the house a structure whereby the authorizers have a responsibility and the appropriators have a responsibility. she said that we somehow are unraveling, we're unrafbling this very, very great and -- unraveling this very, very great compromise

mr. dreier: will the gentleman yield? mr. mcgovern: i'll yield to the gentleman 15 seconds. mr. eier: let me say that the characterization that my friend just said of mr. boehner's resolution would also have to apply to the resolution offered by our friend from ohio. we're talking about resolutions here. we're not talking about measures that have the power of law. this is not an act. these are resolutions. mr. mcgovern: i reclaim my time. mr. speaker, regular order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman claims his time. i'm sorry that the gentleman has such a low opinion of the war powers resolution. but i think it carries more weight than he does. but, again, i'd say to my colleagues, what mr. boehner has -- has proposed here has all this tough language in it, requiring the president to do this, directing the president to do that when in fact if we pass this the president is under the obligation to do nothing. at this point i yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for throw minutes.

mr. dreier: thank you for yielding. i said as we look at this, mr., i think we need to recognize there are very other troubled spots in the world. we just today had gotten word of thousands of syrians who were fleeing to turkey because of the barbaric acts that have taken place there. and so i think as we look at the great positive steps that have been taken in the arab world, we need to make sure that the united states congress and the president of the united states are in this together. there should be consultation and authorization to deal with this. and, mr. speaker, i got to say that as we look at this rule itself, i really am absolutely stunned, absolutely stunned at the kinds of things that i heard from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. . as my good friend from new york knows, as we began debate on this, we had complete compliance with the three-day layover requirement. we have these measures before us. i say to my friend from rochester, mr. speaker, there was not a single amendment offered in the committee on rules to deal with th

mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, in august of 2008, russia and the republic of georgia engaged in what one called a little war that shook the world. and, mr. speaker, it did shake the world. for all of post-soviet russia's anti-democratic crackdowns, its aggressive and bell coast actions toward former soviet state, it was still a shock to see russian tanks roll across the border of a sovereign democratic country. the military conflict lasted five days and a shaken world moved on soon forgetting the shock and outrage of what happened. for the people of the republic of georgia this conflict goes on nearly three years later. they live with the tragic consequences that follow any armed conflict, including thousands of displaced persons and significant economic hartships. beyond the human cost, they faced the long-term strategic challenge of an occupying force in the regions where russia c

mr. dreier: reclaiming my time. let me just say i asked my staff about this and they were unaware of exactly where this $1.1 billion figure came from. and so in light of that it seems to me that we are in a position where we need to proceed with this very important work and we are trying our doggonest to make it happen. we are going to allow proposals from messrs. rohrabacher, conyers, and polis, and others to be considered and that's why it's important that we pass this rule. if we don't pass this rule, we won't have the opportunity for the rohrabacher, conyers, and polis ideas to be considered here on the house floor. so let me thank my friend for yielding. i know he has other speakers. with that i'm going to urge support of the rule and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i think some of the frustration here, mr. speaker, is the work product of the committee is being disregarded in favor of a rule th

mr. dreier: mr. speaker, let me say at the outset that i'm particularly glad that you're in the chair because it was a speech that you delivered last september in which you said that we were going to in fact, if we won the majority, put into place an entire new structure that we have seen underneather political party over the proceeding years, that is the kind of openness, transparency and accountability that the american people have said overwhelmingly that they want. and so, mr. speaker, let me just say to you personally how much i appreciate the stellar leadership that you provided us on this very important issue. it is extraordinarily ironic that we last night saw the minority members of the rules committee actually vote no on the first open rule, the first open rule to be considered here in the house of representatives. and yet over the past several months they've been offering amendment after amendment in the rules committee calling for open rules and so we report one out and they vote no. now,

mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the bill and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mckeon: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this bill and yield myself such time as i may consume. the president's initial justification for our military intervention in libya was that it was necessary to prevent the massacre of libyan civilians by government forces in ben gazzy and that this would be strictly a humanitarian mission. as i noted back in march, deploying american warriors to protect civilians from a brutal dictater is a noble cause. yet i also express my reservations at the time because i feared that the mission could result in a protracted stalemate. although the president promised the american people that our involvement would be limited, a matter of weeks, not months, we find ourselves past the three-month mark with no end in sight. this bill would authorize operations for up to a year. we're currently engaged in a war that is vital to our national security. in afghanistan we're fighting extremists who shelte

mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the bill and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentman is recognized. mr. mckeon: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this bill and yield myself such time as i may consume. the president's initial justification for our military intervention in libya was that it was necessary to prevent the massacre of libyan civilians by government forces in ben gazzy and that this would be strictly a humanitarian mission. as i noted back in march, deploying american warriors to protect civilians from a brutal dictater is a noble cause. yet i also express my reservations at the time because i feared that the mission could result in a protracted stalemate. although the president promised the american people that our involvement would be limited, a matter of weeks, not months, we find ourselves past the three-month mark with no end in sight. this bill would authorize operations for up to a year. we're currently engaged in a war that is vital to our national security. in afghanistan we're fighting extremists who sheltere

mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the bill and yield myself such time as i may consume. tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mrmckeon: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this bill and yield myself such time as i may consume. the president's initial justification for our military intervention in libya was that it was necessary to prevent the massacre of libyan civilians by government forces in ben gazzy and that this would be strictly a humanitarian mission. as i noted back in march, deploying erican warriors to protect civilians from a brutal dictater is a noble cae. yet i also express my reservations at the time because i feared that the mission could result in a protracted stalate. although the president promised the american people that our involvement would be limited, a matter of weeks, not months, we find ourselves past the three-month rk with no end in sight. this bill would authorize operations for up to a year. we're currently engaged in a war that is vital to our national security. in afghanistan we're fighting extremists who sheltered the terrorist organiza

mr. dreier, kindly resume the chair? the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 2017 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the sheet of homeland security for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose earlier today, a request for a recorded vote on an amendment offered by the gentleman from florida, mr. mica, had been postponed. and the bill had been read through page 92, line 7. are there any members who seek recognition? the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman needs to request unanimous consent as he already struck the last word. mr. aderholt: i ask unanimous consent. the chair: is there objection? hearing none, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. aderholt: this is about supporting the most essential functions of the department of

mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the bill and yield myself such time as i may consume.ro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mckeon: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this bill and yield myself such time as i may consume. the president's initial justification for our military intervention in libya was that it was necessary to prevent the massacre of libyan civilians by government forces in ben gazzy and that this would be strictly a humanitarian mission. as i noted back in march, deploying american warriors to protect civilians from a brutal dictater is a noble cause. yet i also express my reservations at the time because i feared that the mission could result in a protracted stalemate. although the president promised the american people that our involvement would be limited, a matter of weeks, not months, we find ourselves past the three-month mark with no end in sight. this bill would authorize operations for up to a year. we're currently engaged in a war that is vital to our national security. in afghanistan we're fighting extremists who sheltered the terror