mr. jeffries? >> aye. >> ms. blackburn? >> no. >> mr. chairman? >> no. >> mr. mcdermott? >> aye. >> any other members wishing to vote? >> mr. chairman, on that vote, the nose or 22. "no's" are 22. >> i haven't amendment on the desk. >> an amendment offered by mr. van hollen. >> thank you. --hink we have you read reached an agreement. this deals with the overseas contingency. each year, the president and the military commanders asked congress for a certain amount in the overseas contingency account to deal with the war in afghanistan and other overseas contingencies. dot a budget before us will is provide that amount for fiscal year 2015. what this amendment says is that that account should not be used as a slush fund for base defense funding. funding that is not related to overseas issues. we have seen some creeping of funds starting to be moved into the overseas contingency account. those are for regular defense operations. in an effort to circumvent the caps -- we would all want to make sure that that is not happen. we have a bipartisan amendment. with mr. along waterto

mr. jeffries: i mr. jeffries: i thank my friend from new jersey for his eloquent remarks and observations and for pointing out that while we can have disagreements here in this chamber on matters of policy, we should all share the same objective as it relates to making sure that every american has a robust, full, complete access to the opportunity to robustly pursue the american dream. and as this report and the color of wealth summit will illustrate later on this week, that is not necessarily the case right now in america. disparate ave such a wealth in certain communities where the dividing line is race. and it's a wonderful thing that this country is becoming increasingly diverse. but the reality of the situation communities, the ain -- african-american communities and others of color are locked out, unable to advance economically in the nulls they should because of barriers, institutional and historical that have been erected that we have yet to tear down, that is something that should alarm all of us

mr. jeffries: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's aannounced policy january 3, 201, the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from minnesota, mrs. baum, for half of the time remaining until 10:00. mrs. bachmann: i thank the chair for that and i'm grateful to be here tonight. today is a significant day. it is a holocaust remembrance day. and the greatest ally that the united states has, israel, had a remarkable experience as they hold every day because of the unique situation that the jewish people have endured. and that is, the entire nation and all the people in israel came to a pleeth stop. cars literally stopped. buses literally stopped in the mid of hey ways. metro stopped. wherever they are. maybe kids playing in a park, they stopped. a siren goes off for two minutes time. and during that time, every person in the nation comes to a standstill. why? s this extraordinary action? not simply like the history of the israel has happened anywhere like the anals. six million lost their lives. they

mr. jeffries, for five minutes. mr. jeffries: thank you, mr. speaker. rise today in opposition to the ryan republican budget and in support of the alternative budget plan that has been submitted by the congressional black caucus. the c.b.c. budget is an effort to take a balanced approach to deficit reduction. the g.o.p. budget balances itself on the backs of children , college students, working families, middle-class folks, senior citizens, the poor, the sick and the afflicted. the c.b.c. budget would move america forward. the g.o.p. budget would take us backward. the c.b.c. budget is designed to create progress for the greatest number of americans possible. the g.o.p. budget is designed to promote prosperity for the few. now, we should be here on the floor of the house of representatives this week as we engage in this budget debate trying to find ways to promote the american dream for the middle class and for those who aspire to be part of it. instead, the ryan republican budget is a nightmare for far too many americans. now, my good friends on the oth

mr. jeffries. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. jeffries: i thank my distinguished friend for yielding. the g.o.p. budget is a product of the same type of extreme philosophy that gave rise to the reckless republican shutdown last year. . it is like a heat seeking missile aimed directly at the american people. it is a parade of horribles too numerous to catalog, but in the time i have allotted i will simply try to highlight the most egregious aspects. it will cut $125 billion from the snap program, making it difficult for millions of food insecure americans to get access to the nutrition needed to lead a healthy life. it will cut $260 billion from higher education spending, depriving young americans of the opportunity to get a college education and robustly pursue the american dream. it will cut $732 billion from the medicaid program, making it hard for older americans to get access to this vital safety net program. it will turn medicare into a voucher program, that's a trojan horse, effectively ending medicare as we know it. it will

mr. jeffries, who's been a great member. the chair: how much time? ms. moore: two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. jeffries: i thank the distinguished gentlelady, my good friend from the badger state, for her leadership. mr. speaker, 50 years ago president lindsen baines johnson came to this very chamber and declared a war on poverty. and as a result of the legislative efforts that were brought about in connection with the great society vision, tens of millions of americans were lifted out of an impoverished condition and set on a trajectory toward the middle class. but the c.b.c. is here today because we recognize that there's still a lot of work that needs to be done. particularly in the aftermath of the collapse of the economy, the great recession, the worst economic condition since the great depression. that is why the c.b.c. budget invests in the american economy, invests in job training and education, invests in transportation and infrastructure, invests in research and development, invests in affordable housing, invests in creating

mr. jeffries? mr. hoffman? aye. mr. schrader? mr. campbell? mr. calvert? no. mr. cole, no. mr. ryan? mr. ryan, no. mr. chairman? 19.s 14, no, the amendment is not agreed to. student can is the annual competition that encourages middle and high school students to think critically about issues. students were asked to create their documentary answering the question, what is the most important issue the u.s. congress should consider in 2014? one of our second prize winners are seniors at thomas jefferson high school in alexandria, virginia. they would like congress to look at the defense budget control a of 2011. article one, section eight of the constitution says that congress shall have the power to raise and support armies to provide and maintain a navy, and to make rules for the government and regulation. a constitutional studies fellow at the cato institute explains. >> the government is instituted at the very beginning to provide for the general welfare. 101.ical theory congress has a pretty wide berth to spend money on defense. is the responsibility of leaders and department of de

mr. jeffries is recognized. >> thank you for your appearance here today. earlier today, during the hearing, in an exchange with one of my colleagues related to concern over the affordable care act, you were characterized as the president's legal advisor. do you remember that? >> yes. >> i think it is erroneous. have you heard of the white house council? >> yes. >> would you agree that the white house counsel is the constitutional advisor? >> yes. you have to understand that these questions are fired at you. you are right, i'm not the legal advisor to the president. i am the attorney general of the united states. >> thank you. the characterization was brought up earlier today that suggested the, under your leadership, department of justice has engaged in prosecutorial decisions based on race or party affiliation. do recall this? -- do you recall this? >> yes. >> my colleague raise the question of the matter and related to a.c. candidate who lost the election after being linked to justice department activity. was that current mayor a democrat, mr. general? >