i want to thank mr. engel for introducing this important piece of legislation and chairman waxman and rush for their leadership in guiding the bill through the committee. i'm pleased the house is taking up this important bipartisan measure which will prevent fraud and abuse in thh prepaid calling card industry. the bill was voice voted out of the energy and commerce committee. american consumers spend billions of dollars on prepaid calling cards. these cards are generally marketed to a particular group of consumers, including immigrants, college students, seniors, and military personnel. unfortunately the prepaid calling card market is ripe with fraud and deexceptive practices. many prepay -- deceptive practices. many prepaid calling cards fail to deliver the full number of advertised minutes. cards often contain%hidden charges suchhas connection fees, maintenance fees, annd disconnet fees. as well as inconsistent rates per minute. in short, consumers often find that because of misleading information, inconsis

mr. engel: thank you. mr. akin: i'd now change gears here and get onto another subject. we're dealing with some weighty topics tonight. the previous was of course international relations. the other is closer to home and it's really the question of the economy. the democrats' management of the economy, what should be done with the economy, how does that affect jobs and how does that affect all of our lives? and, you ow, i guess that sounds like kind of a boring subject in some ways. but on the other hand, it so much influences and affects every single person in our country that i guess we have to put up with a little bit of talk about economics just to make sure that we're not destroying our country, destroying our jobs and putting our grandchildren into debt. and so, the whole topic of economics and jobs can be a little per flex flexing but it esn't have to be -- perplexing but it doesn't have to be. i do apologize ahead of time that i am by training an engineer and someone uns said that engineers shouldn't be allowed in political office. perhaps because they're too logi

that resolution was introduced by the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, and three other distinguished veterans of the korean war, the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers, the gentleman from texas, mr. johnson, and the gentleman from north carolina, mr. coble. we had hoped the senate would take up and pass the house version of the joint resolution and then send it over to the president for his signature before tomorrow's korean war commemoration in statuary hall. however, the other body made a number of technical corrections to their version of the joint resolution subsequent to last week's house action and as a result, the only viable means for us to get the joint resolution to the president in a timely fashion was for the house to take up and pass the joint -- the senate joint resolution, which is the legislation before us today. madam speaker, i urge all my colleagues to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. ms

. >> mr. engel, member of the full committee, mr. scalese. >> thank you. mr. tony hayward, this is a picture of our state bird in louisiana, and oiiled pelican. i will keep it on my desk as a constant reminder of what is at stake, but i want you to keep it in your mind as well to recognize that we're not just talking about the loss of life which is tragic, not just about the oil that is still spewing from the ell. we're talking about our way of life, not just in losing, but all along the gulf coast. i would hope that you keep this image in your light mind us because a reminder. our two priorities right now are number one, doing all we can to make sure you cap this well, but also to battle as strongly as we can to keep the oil out of our marsh and ecosystem. we do not want to sit back and wait until the oil comes in and thus possibly irreparable damage. we want to be proactive, but having problems on the ground being proactive because of the delays. i was on grand isle, louisiana friday and hear the biggest complaints from local officials that they're spending

engel. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. rangel: i thank chairman berman for letting me speak and i strongly support this act. i'm a proud co-sponsor of the bill. this is a bipartisan bill, as you can hear, and should be passed. last fall, the world learned of a secret iranian nuclear enrichment facility. if there was ever any doubt that iran was trying to build nuclear weapons, this revolution dispeled any shred of our doufment we need strong sanctions on iran to halt the development of nuclear weapons. iran must not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb. i commend president obama and secretary clinton for achieving the strong fourth round of u.n. sanctions against iran and for bringing russia and china onboard. the chairman of the western hem fear subcommittee, i'd like to call attention that venezuelan president hugo chavez at one time agreed to provide 20,000 barrels per day of refined gasoline to iran and to invest in the iranian natural gas sector. iran is an importer of refined gas and this bill will hit them where it hur

engel. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. rangel: i thank chairman berman for letting me speak and i strongly support this act. i'm a proud co-sponsor of the bill. this is a bipartisan bill, as you can hear, and should be passed. last fall, the world learned of a secret iranian nuclear enrichment facility. if there was ever any doubt that iran was trying to build nuclear weapons, this revolution dispeled any shred of our doufment we need strong sanctions on iran to halt the development of nuclear weapons. iran must not be allowed to have a nuclear bomb. i commend president obama and secretary clinton for achieving the strong fourth round of u.n. sanctions against iran and for bringing russia and china onboard. the chairman of the western hem fear subcommittee, i'd like to call attention that venezuelan president hugo chavez at one time agreed to provide 20,000 barrels per day of refined gasoline to iran and to invest in the iranian natural gas sector. iran is an importer of refined gas and this bill will hit them where it hur