mr. speaker. i now yield three minutes to the gentleman from virginia, member of the appropriations committee, mr. moran. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for three minutes. mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, if this resolution passes and we weaken nato's mission, gaddafi mayvery well prevail. his forces will then kill, rape, and torture all those libyans who oppose him as he is already trying to do. gaddafi has reportedly kidnapped thousands of people, including young students to serve as human shields and marcat the vanguard of his forces. if any of his own soldiers refuse to gun down unarmed innocent civilians, they are shot immediately. once he's done with his own people, he'll turn his attention to those nato and middle eastern nation that is attacked him and seek revenge. remember, this is a man who is already responsible for the deaths of 189 innocent passengers on pan am 103. let's face it, this is not about whether the obama administration has

mr. sessions: i would. mr. price: my recollection is this amendment was placed in the bill some years ago when there was an active dispute about contracting out some services at c.i.s. what is the -- could you tell us what is thsh what precipitates your trying to remove this language you? -- now? as i understand it, your amendment would not require the contracting out but remove the prohibition, is that right? mr. sessions: that is correct. today it's prohibited that this may be allowed in favor of the government hiring services through a federal government employee. . it drives me to come to the floor as i've been 15 years, i believe there are inherently governmental functions a government employee must perform. however, when there's something like changing oil for a fleet of trucks, mowing grass, coming in and cleaning a building, performing functions that can be done more efficiently, perhaps it's with computers, perhaps it's with data systems, perhaps it's professional services that can be done better rathe

mr. aderholt: i -- mr. chairman, this will breach outlays and i oppose the amendment and i reserve -- and i yield back. the chair: does the the gentleman yield back his time. mr. aderholt: yes, sir. mr. price: mr. chairman? the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? mr. price: i want to back the chairman in this instance and urge rejection of the amendment. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. mccaul: i yield back my time. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. page 16 after the dollar amount insert increase by $20 million. page 18, line 23, after the dollar amount, insert increased by $10 million. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? mr. aderholt: i reserve a point of order on t

mr. speaker, i reserve. -- mr. woodall: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i have no more requests for time and i want to ask my colleague if he's prepared to close. mr. woodall: we're prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. slaughter: thank you. i urge a no vote on the rule. remind us the last time we had such a weighty debate we devoted 26 hours to it and 263 members, more than half the house of representatives, spoke. i agree with what has just been said about ms. lee, it's much too late. it comes at a very strange time, and it says this is a political move which i regret, because, as she pointed out, and those others who have been here before, voting to go to war is the most solemn experience that we face here. so let me urge a no vote on the rule and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from georgia

mr. speaker. i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from georgia, member of the foreign affairs committee and also a member of the nato parliamentary assembly, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: thank you very much. thank you very much, mr. smith. what we have here is two essential arguments. one is more of an intramural argument between congress and the white house. but it is a misplaced argument because there is no president that's come to this congress for a declaration of war since world war ii. and granted we have been in seven or eight major conflicts. so this is much greater than this conflict between the white house and this congress. unfortunately i believe that this measure is just an attempt to rather in a strong way get the attention of the president. maybe to chastise the president a bit. so surely. but i think if you look at the record there were communications here, but there is a larger profound message here. it's no

i appreciate mr. kucinich for bringing forth this amendment and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it. the speaker pro tempore: i would remind members to address their comments to the chair. the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: i yield a minute to the gentleman from texas, mr. paul. the chair: the gentleman from -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. paul: i thank the gentleman for yielding and rise in strong support for h.con.res. 51. we need to pass this resolution to send this very strong message . we have been told by those who oppose this message that we should not have an abrupt withdrawal from the region. but i would strongly suggest that what we should be talking about is the abrupt and illegal entry into war. that's what we have to stop. since we went in abruptly and illegally we need to abruptly leave. it has also been said by those who oppose this resolution that they concede that the congress should assume their prerogatives over the war

and i yield to mr. gibson. gibgib i thank the -- mr. gibbs: i thank the the gentleman from arizona. there is significant need for expanding broadband. we have over 60 districts that have 10% of their population that aren't in the high-speed broadband and i want to remind my colleagues. this reduces by $2 million in 012. this program should not be zer oed out and we should have we should accept this amendment and urge my colleagues to accept this amendment to continue to make progress with broadband and i yield back. the chair: does the the gentleman from georgia yield back? king kings -- mr. kingston: yield back. mrs. lummis: move to strike the requisite number of words. respectfully, my chairman and i disagree on this issue. i raised this in the committee on appropriations and his superior abilities to convince the subcommittee prevailed. but i weigh in on the side of mr. gibson and mr. gosar and let me tell you why. the committee chairman has it correct insofar as it gives you numbers on broadband access that will allow you a speed of receiving service that is so slow that it is b

mr. conyers: i thank you, mr. polis. i just wanted my dear friend, and i recognize he's only been here five months, to realize that this is not a technical cut-go violation, this is a $1.1 billion violation. and that's real money that we are going to have to get from somewhere else. and we are waiving cut-go for the first time in the 112th congress. i am appealing to republicans and democrats, mr. speaker, to join with us at this outrageous and costly and blatant violation of the house rules that they wrote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. nugent: i yield as much time as the gentleman from california, mr. dreier, consumes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support for this rule and i realize that we are dealing with a somewhat unprecedented situation here, but i've got to say that as i listened to the characterization being put forward by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, on

i will yield. mr. smith: i want to say to the gentlewoman from wisconsin, i appreciate her offering the amendment and i urge my colleagues to support it. ms. moore: thank you. i certainly again want to commend efforts from director capas and the patent and trade office, despite their not having to do it they do reach out to women and minority communities to try to get them to utele ice the patent office. -- utilize the patent office. the ability to innovate and create is just one part of the equation. the key to success for minorities in our community as a whole also depends upon the ability to get protection for their intellectual property and i yield back the balance of my time. urge the body to vote for this amendment. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from wisconsin. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment nu

mr. dicks: i yield. mr. king: the government oversight committee put the majority of this list together. i want to emphasize, some also come from media reports and so i don't challenge the legitimacy of the government oversight conclusion and i don't have reason to believe that the analysis of this -- mr. dicks: reclaiming my time, did you check the media reports to see if they were accurate? we've all heard of media reports that are inaccurate. you're casting aspersions on groups here from all over the country and none of us here have any indication of the basis and you're saying some of these came from media attacks. did you check that these media attacks were accurate in mr. king: let me take your argument down to the conclusion which will be, if i don't respond to your question, you'll ask me another and another and it will get down to, have they been convicted in this a court of law, is it under appeal, has it gone to the supreme court, we can never reach a conclusion on this the gentleman knows that. we

mr. chair and i -- mr. chair, and i yield my time. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> mr. speaker, i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> mr. speaker, i rise in support of the latourette-pascrell amendment to the homeland security appropriations bill, to restore funding for the assistance for firefighters and staffing for adequate fire and emergency response grant programs. mr. altmire: the programs are essential to our public safety and security. these programs improve the readiness of our nation's firefighters, ensuring that the brave men and women who put their lives on the line every day for the safety of our communities are prepared with the equipment they need to continue protecting and serving our communities safely and effectively. these grants provided by the a.f.g. and safer programs are the single most important source of federal assistance to volunteer fire departments. they help fire departments equip, train and maintain their perso

mr. speaker. i minutes to the distinguished minority whip, the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro mpore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for three minutes. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. the previous speaker deludes himself and he's my friend, if he thinks thmessage we send today goes only to the president. the message will go to all over the world. the message will go to muammar gaddafi. the message will go to our nato allies. the message will go to every nation of the world that america does not keep faith with his allies. america must lead. we must not equivocate. such a course would encourage the enemies of peace, the bullies of the world, people around the world look to our country's strength in their struggle for democracy and basic human rights. as it happens, i said that in 1999 when clinton se troops to stop the genocide in bosnia and he did so, and the authorization lost on this floor shamefully 213-213. one of the darkest days i have served in th

mr. speaker, i wish to yield -- mr. chairman, i wish to yield time to the -- to mr. kildee of michigan. there you are. i wish to yield time to mr. kildee. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kildee: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i would like to take this opportunity to express my personal gratitude -- the chair: the gentleman will suspend. the committee will be in order. the gentleman from michigan deserves to be heard just as the gentleman from utah deserves to be heard. maybe even more so. [laughter] the chair: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. kildee: i'd like a record roll call on that. mr. speaker, i'd like to take this opportunity to express my personal gratitude to all the pages for what they have done to serve this house of representatives. i have a list of pages and their names, and i would ask that it be made part of the congressional record. the chair: the gentleman will have to make that request in the full house. mr. kildee: i will do that. these groups of young people who come from all across the nation represent what is good about ou

i yield to the gentleman. mr. dicks: cut this program by 38% below the president's budget request and 31% below last year. i mean, that is a major cut in this program. to go any further i think would be a big mistake. i yield. mr. mcgovern: i thank the gentleman. and i would just say, yes, we need to get serious about the deficit and we need to find ways to, you know, to bring this deficit down, but taking the food out of the mouths of children is not the way to do it. it's not the way we need to -- not the way we do this. i mean, i can go through a litany of things that deserve to be cut from some of the subsidies that we provide to some of the big agricultural businesses to the subis i diization -- subsidization of the big oil companies to the donald trumps of the world. to denigrate this program i think is wrong. this is something we should be proud of. republican and democratic presidents have supported this program, and this is vital to the survival of so many people around the world. and, again, i would reite

mr. speaker. iee minutes to the distinguished minority whip, the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for three minutes. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. the previous speaker deludes himself and he's my friend, if he thinks the message we send today goes only to the president. the message will go to all over the world. the message will go to muammar gaddafi. the message will go to our nato allies. the message will go to every nation of the world that america does not keep faith with his allies. america must lead. we must not equivocate. such a course would encourage the enemies of peace, the bullies of the world, people around the world look to our country's strength in their struggle for democracy and basic human rights. as it happens, i said that in 1999 when clinton sent troops to stop the genocide in bosnia and he did so, and the authorization lost on this floor shamefully 213-213. one of the darkest days i have serv

mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: thank you, mr. mcgovern, for your leadership on this important issue. to my colleague, the distinguished congresswoman who is managing for my friends on the other side of the aisle, there are probably many of us who lived the american story and began life on the rocky side of the mountain. i rise because i happen to come from a district where my predecessor died on the side of an ethiopian mountain. it's a far, far place away from houston but my predecessor was congressman mickey leland. he was so driven by the vastness of hunger, he was so much a soldier of robert kennedy's message that he didn't allow danger to thwart him from trying to help people who were literally dying. so he was carrying grain and he obviously had as his colleagues who were not on that flight, tomei hall and congressman emerson and i would say to you -- tony hall and congressman emerson and i would say it ge

mr. garrett: i thank the speaker. mr. speaker, as founder and chairman of the constitution caucus, i applaud the opportunity to debate the constitutionality of this bill. this is a first of what i hope will be many more instances to discuss the constitutionality of legislation considered on this floor. what this bill does is change the u.s. patent system from one which allows a moment of invention to determine who is entitled to a patent to one which confers this power to a government agency. such a change would violate the intellectual property clause of the constitution. why is that? because the founders rejected the idea that rights are bestowed to the people by the government. in favor of the revolutionary principle that men are born with natural rights. our constitution instituted government that secures only these natural and pre-existing rights. so inventions created by the fruits of intellectual labor are the property of the inventor. these and only these first and true inventors then are entitled to public protect

mr. gonzalez: i yield 15 more seconds to mr. holt. mr. holt: the desire that seems to exist to cut recklessly valuable services rather than engage in the hard work of making government work at its beth. i urge my colleagues to vote no on this misguided bill. i yield back my time. mr. harper: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from colorado. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. >> in listening to the -- mr. gardner: in listening to the opposition for this statement, it makes it sound the elections assistance commission is a branch of the justice department that is there to enforce the right to vote. it doesn't do any of that at all. the primary goal for the election assistance commission was after the florida recount, the problems there in the 2000 election, that according to the help america vote act, the state such as colorado, that i was secretary of state in, we're going to have to have a voter registration system that would be interactive, interactive database to make sure there wasn't fraud or it

i can tell you, mr. chairman, that i live in communities that have the inability to access good food. this initiative will increase the availability of healthy food alternatives to the 23.5 million people living in food deserts nationwide. we must be reducing the deficit, i agree. but cutting programs that provide healthy food and create jobs, because it would certainly create jobs by adding access to healthy food and sites for healthy food, meaning grocery stores, farmers markets, all of those will be part of this initiative and it would assist the many, many census tracks in houston alone that are now suffering from the lack of access to good food. just the picture of green vegetables inspires us to support this amendment, i'd ask my colleagues to support this amendment and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? mr. kingston: mr. chairman, i move to strike the last word and i wan

i yield back. mr. roe: will the gentleman yield? what i believe will happen in that situation is that the federal government will have overpromised and what we as physicians will do is provide that care and shift that cost somewhere else. until there's nowhere else to shift it. because i know how -- if i see a patient that needs care and they are 75 years old, let's say, and they have needed surgery and i can improve the quality of their life with that, we're going to do it some kind of way. you know you've done it. we figure out later how to pay for it. that's not the way to do this. i thank the gentleman. i'd now like to yield to the gentleman, my colleague, and good friend from tennessee, dr. scott, also a new member of congress and welcome to the house floor tonight. mr. desjarlais: thank you, doctor, i appreciate you leading this discussion. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise tonight in support of my many physician and other health care colleagues that are in the chamber tonight to discuss what i agree

mr. ellison: i will yield. mr. dicks: i hope other members watching tonight will look at this amendment offered by mr. king last evening. there are over 300 organizations. what the gentleman has said here is why mr. price and i so vehemently opposed this amendment. this is guilt by association. there's no question about it. and these various groups, some of which were just mentioned in the media, and they offer this amendment -- the author of this amendment said repeatedly when asked about these groups by mr. price, he said i have no facts, i have no information, just the government oversight committee put together this list and we added some more names we found in the media. he couldn't describe one of these groups that had had a problem. so i hope that the members will look at this list. the chair: the time from the gentleman is expired. mr. dicks: i ask that the gentleman be yielded one additional minute. the chair: the gentleman is yielded one additional minute. does the gentleman yield? mr. ellison: i do. mr. d

mr. chairman, i would ask to continue to reserve. mr. aderholt: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. dent. the chair: the gentleman from alabama yields two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. dent. mr. dent: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 2017, the homeland security appropriations bill for fiscal year 2012. as we all know we're closing in on the 10th anniversary of the september 11 attacks and this week marks the one-month -- marks one month since the death of osama bin laden. in communities across the country and particularly in alabama, as ably represented by the chairman of the subcommittee, and missouri, are realing from some of the most devastating storms and -- reeling from some of the most devastating storms and tornados in their history. i'm pleased that the bill is the first of the f.y. 2012 appropriations bills to be considered on the floor this afternoon. h.r. 2017, this legislation tackles both fiscal discipline and national security. both of critical importance to th

i appreciate mr. kucinich for bringing forth this amendment and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it. the speaker pro tempore: i would remind members to address their comments to the chair. the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: i yield a minute to theentleman from texas, mr. paul. the chair: the gentleman from -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. paul: i thank the gentleman for yielding and rise in strong support for h.con.res. 51. we need to pass this resolution to send this very strong message . we have been told by those who oppose this message that we should not have an abrupt withdrawal from the region. but i would strongly suggest that what we should be talking about is the abrupt and illegal entry into war. that's what we have to stop. since we went in abruptly and illegally we need to abruptly leave. it has also been said by those who oppose this resolution that they concede that the congress should assume their prerogatives over the war p

mr. corker: i thank you for that. mr. resident, noticing that there is nothing happening on the floor, i want to come down and talk a little bit about the vote that just occurred on the tester-corker amendment. obviously, i was on the loosing side of this debate. but as we went back to our office, i did want to say that one of the folks that i have worked with for a long time noted that this may be the first time in a long, long time in the united states senate you had a real bipartisan debate where you had people on both sides of the aisle, on both sides of the issue in large numbers, and while -- while, mr. president, we came up short from my standpoint on the vote, the other side obviously didn't come up short, i want to say that i see a glimmer of hope in that regardless of how the outcome may have been on this particular vote -- and again i worked hard to try to pass an amendment that i thought was good policy, the fact is if you really look at the vote count, i cannot remember in a long time a vote on a contentious p

i control the time, mr. van hollen. and so i would say that by supporting an unconditional increase in the debt limit, as more than 100 wrote in to their leaders, again, it does nothing to preserve for the future. at this time i yield to the gentleman from new mexico one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new mexico, mr. pearce, is recognized for one minute. mr. pearce: i thank the gentleman for yielding. in my district people ask, what is this vote about, this debt ceiling vote? so i've created a simple chart that says it as plainly as we can. we're spending $3.5 trillion in the country each year and we're bringing in $.2 trillion. it doesn't work for your pamly. it doesn't work for your business, and the not working for the country. in order to make up the difference we have to borrow that money, except that our bankers are saying no more, just as your bankers are saying no more. so we're printing the money to make this system work. it's a scheme that's not working. this chart in the upper right-hand c

i yield. mr. cantor: i thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, i also thank the gentleman for his remarks in couching his observation or characterization of the agenda having been brought forth by our side over the last several months because we believe strongly that the focus should be on jobs. we differ, i believe, with the gentleman and his side of the aisle that a growth agenda is not necessarily a government program. so our agenda, our jobs agenda is focused on trying to eliminate the environment which is full of burdensome regulations, unfair taxes, and new mandates on the real job engines of this country which are, mr. speaker, the small businesses and entrepreneurs of this country. and if the gentleman would look to see what we have been doing over the last several months, he would see that our agenda is very focused on accomplishing that end. we passed h.res. 72. it was a resolution directing our committees to take inventory and review existing, pending, and proposed regulations and orders of agencies from the government with res

mr. speaker. i, too, rise today to urge the senate to take up the fiscal year -- this year's homeland security appropriations bills. mr. dent: the senate has a bad habit of waiting to do just about anything. it's bad enough the senate has refused to even take up a budget. it's been hundreds of days before they considered to do one. now they are derelict in their duties by failing to deal with the homeland security appropriation bill. we need to fund i.c.e., the coast guard, and many other critical functions of this department. of course fema has great needs right now with the floods in missouri and elsewhere. and all the tragedies we have seen with the tornadoes across the country. it's important now that we get this funding that was appropriated out of the house. get it through the senate. mr. speaker, the 10th anniversary of 9/11, those horrific attacks just weeks away, and disasters occurring all over the country. i certainly today urge that the senate move forward. there can be no further delay.

i couldn't agree with mr. farr more. the one thing i think we need to understand that this program enhances is our trade deficit. mr. bishop: we have been suffering with the global economy over the years but the one aspect of the american economy in terms of our trade deficit that's kept us afloat has been agricultural exports and it's programs like the market access program that has allowed us to maintain a trade balance with our global competitors. so i would think that this is a program that we ought to carefully protect. it's a program that works. and it's what has kept american -- kept our trade deficit at the level that it is. and if we should take this away, we can look to have more products from china, fewer of our exports going overseas and fewer of the smaller companies that benefit from this carveout being able to do -- utilize the internet marketing and to sell their products overseas. i would think that this is, again, penny wise, pound foolish. it should be defeated. the chair: the gentleman from california

mr. kingston: i thank mr. womack for yielding and i wanted to make a couple of points that i think are very important, mr. chairman. number one, the only budget that has passed is the ryan budget. the democrats, have -- the democrats have not passed the budget. the democrats are the majority party in the senate. the majority party in the senate, the democrat party, rejected president obama, another democrat, they rejected his budget by a vote of 97-0. now, what did harry reid and president obama do after that? nothing. that was it. went to the house, no problem. where's the leadership? i guess it's the same place the jobs are. we're still looking for it. if the democrats were concerned about balancing fiscal responsibility and so many of these vital programs which we're all trying to work through, then why are they working on a budget? point number one. point number two, this bill increases food stamps $5.6 billion in the school lunch program $1.5 billion. it also increases from the committee mark w.i.c. $147 m

mr. woodall: i thank you, mr. speaker, and i am pleased to rise today after the former chairman of the ways and means committee. i want to talk about taxes today, but i want to associate myself with the previous speaker's comments about how we make different decisions when we have skin in the game. because that is absolutely something that we are losing in this country. we are losing what used to be that common value that we rise and we fall together. i see my colleague from the rules committee, mr. mcgovern, sitting in the chamber today and he tells the committee on a regular basis, we need to pay for those things that we do. we are involved in wars and we need to pay, we need to have a people that believes in what we are doing in such a way they are willing to sacrifice not just their time but their treasure to support those measures. and when we don't have folks who have skin in the game, we make different decisions. when a minority of the folks get the benefit, or minority of the folks are bearing the burden, w

mccain: i thank you, mr. president. i -- i speak today on a day that appears to be positioned between two very consequential decisions. yesterday, the president announced his plan to draw down u.s. forces in afghanistan, planning to pull out 10,000 troops this year and the remaining 23,000 surge forces by september, 2012. tomorrow, the house of representatives will likely vote on a measure to limit the use of u.s. funding for u.s. military operations in libya to only -- quote -- "nonkinetic activities." in other words, noncombat activities. so that no limited strike mission toss suppress air defenses or predator strikes against qadhafi's forces, which we're doing very little of already. the only military actions for which the commander in chief could commit our armed forces would be supporting missions from search and rescue to aerial refueling to intelligence. that is the provisions in what is very likely to be voted on and passed by the house of representatives tomorrow. now, some may not see a connection between these

mr. smith: i yield 30 seconds. mr. goodlatte: over 140 tax strategy patents have been issued and more applications are pending. tax strategy patents have the potential to affect tens of millions of everyday taxpayers, many who don't realize that these patents exist. the tax code is already complicated enough without also expecting taxpayers and their advisors to become ongoing experts in patent law. hundreds of orlingsings in -- organizations in fact support these reforms. it is important th this house support the manager's amendment and by the way the united states chamber of commerce supports the maner's amendment and the bill. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. lofgren: may i inquire how much time remains? the chair: the gentlewoman from california has 20 minutes remaining. ms. lofgren: thank you. the chair: and the gentleman from texas has 17 1/2 minutes. ms. lofgren: at this point i would be honored to recognize the gentlelady from texas, a member of the

i think, mr. president, as i listened when i was in the -- when i was presiding before the senator from alaska was presiding and i was in the chair, listened to some of the debate and i was a bit amazed by it. let's remember a little bit of history in this country, that when i hear my -- when i hear the talking points apparently distributed to all 47 of the republican senators all coming to the floor and blaming government regulation for every problem known to humankind, forgetting government regulation is seat belts, air bags, safe drinking water, prohibition on child labor, food and drug administration so that our food is -- our food is pure and our pharmaceuticals are safe. but they just lump it all together and say get rid of all this government regulation. i think the history they need to think about is the last time they preached and preached and preached on the senate and house floor about deregulation, they were successful in deregulating wall street and look what happened to that. when i h

i have no doubt, mr. speaker, that the university of maryland is well equipped to fulfill that role and do its part for our state and our nation. and i have no doubt that wallace lowe was exactly the right person to choose to lead the university at this time. i want to wish dr. lowe and the university the very best as it works with so many other extraordinary universities and colleges and educational institutions in the united states of america to make sure that we make it in america. that is to say that we outeducate, we out build, we out innovate our competitors so that we can provide the kind of quality of life, the jobs that our people need, a growing economy for the future, for our children. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jones, for five minutes. mr. jones: mr. speaker, thank you very much. like most of my colleagues in the house, on memorial weekend, memori

mr. lieberman: i thank the chair. mr. president, it's my honor now to rise as chairman of the homeland security and governmental affairs committee to speak on behalf of s. 679, the presidential appointment efficiency and streamlining act of 2011, and i do so with great gratitude toward senator alexander, who is here now on the floor; senator schumer, and others who worked together to clear away procedural obstacles to focusing on this piece of legislation. this is a noble effort that's been tried before and failed, but i'm confident that this time, with the support of our leaders, really our bipartisan leadership -- senator reid, senator mcconnell, senator alexander, senator schumer, not to mention senator collins and me, in our committee role -- we're going to get this passed. this is a bipartisan effort to solve a problem, or at least help solve part of a problem that's been growing for a long time in washington in our government, certainly since the kennedy administration, which is that it takes too long for an incoming

mr. reid: i guess, what's new? mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be terminated. the presiding officer: it there any objection? hearing none, without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of -- and the senate proceed to s. res. 165. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 165, designating july 23, 2011, as national day of the american cowboy. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to immediate action. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the commerce committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate proceed to s. res. 170. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 170, honoring admiral thad allen of the united states coast guard, retired, for his lifetime of selfless commitment and exemplary service to the unit

mr. dicks: i reserve. mr. young: i have no further speakers, i do have a brief closing statement after mr. dicks -- when he's prepared to close. the chair: the gentleman yields back? mr. dicks: i'd like to again thank the chairman for the work of -- for his work and the staff. i rarely disagree with my good friend from new jersey but i must say that the president did lay out the rationale for why we did libya. he said we were there to help protect the libyan people. there were two resolutions adopted by the united nations, 1973 said -- and it wasn't just the united nations, you had the arab league, you had nato involved in this, and yes, i think the president would -- would have been better advised to have asked for authorization, but this was a situation where the libyan people were going to be slaughtered. and the president felt that he had to act. and some of us just got back from a trip, we saw that -- the men and women who handled the equipment who fly in there, do the jamming, all the different things tha

>> i will defer to mr. dunleavy but i will say the answer is yes because we can identify members of prison gangs, the intelligence is there on these other groups so there's no reason again why the portfolio if you will can't be expanded to include radical jihadists. >> thank you. >> she has proven herself a true member of the committee by going over time on your first question. you fit right in with everybody else. [laughter] i recognize the gentleman from pennsylvania, also former united states attorney. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thanks to each of the distinguished panelists for your presence here today, and for your work and this important area. that's one of, i want to fall up on the question from ms. hochul. that's what i'm trying to comprehend here, is how we look at distinguishing where the association is being created among people who are finding each other to share some sort of growing prislam versus those who are affiliating in some way into a prison culture, the gang culture. and it's it dist

mr. culberson: i strike the last word. mr. ll behrson: if i could point out that the harris foundation estimates there will be 22% savings to taxpayers by eliminating the davis-bacon requirement, the beacon hill institute estimates a 0% savings, the -- a 10% savings this whole variety of savings if you line them up, we'll say for the sake of argument that there was about a 10% savings in construction costs. we as a nation, living on borrowed money should not voluntarily, willingly pay 10% more. so the amendment is extraordinarily important. it will save taxpayers significant amount of money on every construction project on average, saving ant 10%. 10% goes a long way on these massive construction projects. the gentleman's teament is vitally important, the adoption of the amendment will increets the number of jobs available, the gentleman's amendment will crees ajobs, save money for taxpayers in an era deficit and record burden we simply cannot pass on to our kids, it's vitally important that the house approve the gentleman's am

mr. boehner's resolution. i also oppose mr. kucinich's resolution because i don't think we should pull away from this mission, should pull out of what nato is doing and the very important work that's going on in libya. mr. boehner's resolution doesn't do any of that. it boldly states that the president has not made a case for the mission in libya. i very strongly disagree with that assessment. now, i will agree, and mr. mckeon and i share the frustration that prior to the launching of this mission there was inadequate of communication between this president and this congress and the president and the american people for reasons of getting into that mission. since that time the president has made it clear why we went into libya. we had a unique situation. i do not believe that the american mirblet should intervene in every conflict in every country. it shouldn't conflict in almost any of them. it takes a unique set of circumstances to call for that intervention. in libya we had, i believe, that unique set of circumstances. number

mr. speaker. i rise today, mr. speaker, by the direction of committee on rules, i call up house resolution 287 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 42, house resolution 287. resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 2017, making appropriations for the department of homeland security for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under t

mr. kemp, is recognize. >> i continue to reserve. >> mr. levin is recognized. >> i yield to the ranking member of the ways and means committee. >> the gentleman from oregon is recognized for a minute and a half. >> thank you, mr. speaker. there is no more important agenda item currently facing congress and injuring america pays its bills and honors its obligations. the cumulative choices of congresses and administration's past and present have created the debt and the need to honor the obligations. like an unfunded war in iraq that is going to cost trillions of dollars or and on funded medicare prescription drug program from our republican friends. we're not going to default on our debt. with over 100 of my colleagues, i called for a clean extension and offered to work with the republican leadership said they would not be held hostage to the most extreme members of their party in order to push through draconian proposals that have no chance of being passed, which would unsettle the markets and do damage to things that americans care about. l

mr. president, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: and i yield the floor. mr. johnson: -- mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota is recognized. mr. thune: last week i had the opportunity to travel my state of south dakota as i think most senators who were home over the break did. during the week i was able to be part of a couple of events in my state with former comptroller general david walker. i think most people here are acquainted with mr. walker. he had a ten-year run as the comptroller general of this country. he has since started an organization called come back america initiative and has been traveling the country trying to explain to the public the issues surrounding our national debt, high federal spending levels and their effect on our nation's future. i would add that he is someone who takes both parties to task. he is an equal opportunity critic. he is very bipartisan in his criticism of the out-of-control spending that exists here in washington, d.c. but he did point out,

mr. blumenthal: i ask also, mr. president, i have eight unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and that these requests be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. mr. blumenthal: on my way here, mr. president, i had the great pleasure of running into the redway family just a few minutes ago visiting from the state of connecticut. jack redway is a former public servant in the state and he's here with his family, his wife sue and other members of the family. and when i told him i was on my way here to talk on the floor of the united states senate, they asked me what was subject was. when i told them that the senate is debating the debt and the deficit and the budget, one of them said, same old, same old. we are here on the same o

as i said, mr. president, almost 100 amendments, i read 35 or 40 of them here yesterday, having nothing to do with this legislation, nothing. so i hope we don't have another bill that's blocked, the fourth this year if they do that. it would be clear they are more interested in this right-wing ideology than creating much-needed employment. none of the 90-plus amendments -- i repeat, only one of which my staff was able to find had any germaneness to the bill, and that's one that the chairman of the committee, senator boxer, would agree to anyway because it was offered by senator inhofe. this is an important piece of legislation. this legislation will put hundreds of thousands of people to work. so today's vote is again about priorities. americans have been very clear, job creation is their number one priority and number two priority, their number three priority. democrats chair that priority. republicans obviously don't. we'll never stop bringing jobs bills to the floor and we'll never stop fighting t

mr. president, and i yield back. mr. ohnson: thank you, senator demint, for your leadership on this issue. it is the most important issue facing this nation. i want to thank my colleagues for joining me here for the leadership they have shown as well. so with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. bennet: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president, and thank you for recognizing me. i'm pleased to be here today with my senior senator from colorado to talk about these important issues, and the first thing i wanted to talk about was the debt ceiling itself because people at home have -- have -- are asking me constantly, michael, what in the world is going on back there? we're dealing with our budget at the local level, we're dealing with our budget at the state level, we're making choices that aren't popular and that aren't easy to make, but we're moving ahead, we're making decisions in our businesses, we're making decisions at home, we're moving ahead. what's w

i don't know. mr. garrett: i would appreciate if the gentleman would not make the allegation that we make these application here because anyone is in cahoots with wall street. mr. peterson: you're the people that are against this. they were against it when they did it. and so i just -- i just don't buy that the pension funds are the ones that are concerned about this because the things that they're concerned about are covered in the law. and they're being taken into account by chairman againstler and the people at the cftc as they develop these rules. mr. garrett: if the gentleman would yield. i know i read through it quickly because i was asked to move things quickly at the end of the evening but one of the documents that i read was one of the comment letters, was not from the wall street banks but was from the american benefits council, those very same pension of benefits companies speaking about this. they are the ones who are raising it. so it is those end users. those are the participants, those pe

mr. chairman. i would like to welcome our new member from new york, who is on the right side of the committee. but i would like to enter into the record letters regarding our hearing. and i would like to enter an article, age of sacred terror. >> so ordered. >> today we hold the second in a series of hearings in radicalization in the muslim american community secondly on the threat of islamic radicalization in u.s. prisons. i welcome our witnesses. they have firsthand insights into this proper problem and appreciate their willingness to share their experiences with our committee. the issue of islamic radicalization in u.s. prisons is not new. in fact, this is the third congressional hearing in this problem in recent years. it is a hearing which is necessary because the danger remains real and present, especially because of al qaeda's announced intention to intensify attacks within the united states. a number of cases since september 11 have involved terrorists who converted to islam or radicalized is

mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. bennet: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado is recognized. mr. bennet: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to implore my colleagues and implore the negotiators that are working on this budget issue to come to a comprehensive solution that meaningfully addresses our deficit and our debt. mr. president, if you -- if all you knew about our politics was what you see on the television at night, you would think that we were committed to an endless stream of invective, of name calling, of division, that we had absolutely no interest or desire to solve the nation's problems or solve the nation's challenges, and you would be right sort of to give up all hope that we could actually honor the heritage of our parents and our grandparents and make sure that we are not the first generation of americans to leave less opportunity, not more to our kids and our grandkids. that's what you might think if all you knew about our country was what you saw o

so that's where i am, mr. chairman. i don't want to belabor this and take away time from people who want to speak, but i just -- it's not the bill itself that came out of committee that's the problem. it's if we pass the manager's amendment, we've got a problem here. i mean, we could tinker around the edges of the bill that came out of the committee and solve the minor concerns that we got there. but there is no way to tinker around the issue. either you support the diversion of money or you don't support the diversion of money and it's time for us to stop diverting -- stop this hidden tax that we have imposed on innovation in this country and only way to do that is defeat the manager's amendment. and i yield back. ms. lofgren: i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise. mr. smith: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from from north carolina, mr. coble. the chair: the dean of the north carolina delegation, mr. coble, is recognized for three minutes. mr. coble: i th