mr. ellison: will the gentlelady yield for a question? ms. fudge: i will. mr. ellison: do you think the congressional black caucus has a vision for america to put america back to work, and do you think constituents of all colors, faiths, cultures, can be trained to do the work that needs to be done to rebuild america? ms. fudge: will the gentleman yield? mr. ellison: yes, ma'am. ms. fudge: there's no doubt in my mind, it's a plan we've presented not only to the president but to other members of this body to other institutions and agencies we have worked with and collaborated with. we have come up with something that i think is a can't-miss. i do believe it is time for our plan to be reviewed and to be moved forward. we have a good plan. we can put people back to work. i hope that other colleagues will join with us in making sure we do that. mr. ellison: will the gentlelady yield? so the plan the congressional black caucus is offering is not just for the african-americans, it's for the whole country, is that right? ms. fudge: absolutely right thefplg only thing i

mr. ellison: mr. speaker, i'm keith ellison and here to offer the progressive message, to deliver the progressive message. looking forward to having some other progressive caucus members join me, but in any event we'll be here tonight for a few minutes to talk to america about the progressive vision of america. america is a great country because people stood forward and had a higher vision of what it could be, yet we came here as a nation and the united states said, you know what? we can have a country where all men and women are created equal, we have to make that happen understand so americans set out on a path to, what, end slavery. and then exalt the rights of workers and then eliminate gender discrimination and have the women's right to vote and then move on forward to spread the economic prosperity to all people, to make sure that working class men and women during the great depression were able to have the kind of economic where with all that could see them through a difficult time. america is a

mr. ellison said. the real solution is to make them transparent." end of quote. instead of banning earmarks, mr. ellison said congress should focus on creating a centralized place for the public to see who is requesting earmarks and an easily navigatable process for following an earmark from start to finish. madam president, let me say for the record we already do that. and finally, from laura peterson of taxpayers for common sense, an organization that has been outspoken in its criticism of the appropriations committee, in a march "congressional quarterly" article, she said -- "any ban on spending defined on earmarks could end up increasing the practice of securing funding without formally -- without formally securing funding, without formally requesting an earmark. i would be concerned that some earmarks might just migrate to the appropriations bill as the committee adds." madam president, if it weren't so serious, it would be almost laughable. under this amendment, we will not eliminate earmarks. we will only eliminate our role, the role of the constitution as

mr. ellison: but they are not -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend.the house will come to order. the gentleman deserves to be heard. the gentleman may continue. mr. ellison: if they were for the american people they would have done something in those six years of our people being affected by rescission. by pre-existing condition, by carrying young people on their health care policy of their parents until they are 26, about doing something about this doughnut hole. they would have done something about it but they didn't do anything other than make the problem worse. if you listen to them, today, you would think they cared. but the evidence is before the american people they did nothing at all and now we are going to do something about it within a little more than one year of coming into office. who is on your side, america? you'll find out this week. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: madam speaker, i ask permission to address the house for one minute. rev

mr. ellison: i ask unanimous consent that my remarks in favor of health care be inserted in the record. len levin the gentlelady from california. ms. richardson: i rise in support of this health care legislation and ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. levin: i now yield the balance of my time to the very distinguished the gentlelady from florida -- very disting wished gentlelady from florida, ms. wasserman schultz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for 45 seconds. ms. wasserman schultz: i rise to support health care and put doctors and patients in control of their health care. when i do i'll cast it for the small business owner in my district whose insurance shot up 100% last year because one employee got sick. i'll cast it for the 135,000 people in my district who don't have health insurance. on a personal note, i'll cast it for the 2 1/2 million breast cancer survivors like me who have a pre-existing condition that makes it next to impossible to obtain health insurance. finally, i'll cas

mr. ellison: but they are not -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the house will come to order. the gentleman deserves to be heard. the gentleman may continue. mr. ellison: if they were for the american people they would have done something in those six years of our people being affected by rescission. by pre-existing condition, by carrying young people on their health care policy of their parents until they are 26, about doing something about this doughnut hole. they would have done something about it but they didn't do anything other than make the problem worse. if you listen to them, today, you would think they cared. but the evidence is before the american people they did nothing at all and now we are going to do something about it within a little more than one year of coming into office. who is on your side, america? you'll find out this week. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: madam speaker, i ask permission to address the house for one minute. re