mr. johnson: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.res. 1061. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1061, resolution honoring the heroic actions of court security officers stanley cooper, deputy united states marshal richard j. "joe" gardner and los angeles metropolitan police department and the court security officers in responding to the armed assault at the lloyd d. george federal courthouse on january 4, 2010. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson, and the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. johnson: and i yield myself such time as

mr. johnson and myself would doing. >> thank you.sed on the department provided -- the information provided by department, it does not seem to have had any effect on the ability of military forces to recruit and forces and numbers that meet or exceed service requirements. moreover, section 64 is not inhibited to the army, marine corps from rapidly expanding manpower levels while fighting to separate wars. to you agree with the assessment that section 654 is no significant hindrance to successful retention during wartime? >> what i hope the assessment or the review that we do will be deleted and to that question. i cannot answer that question right now but i will say that i know that as we go forward, we will be able to answer more accurately in the future. i am sure that we will. again, thank you for your efforts and i wish you well as to pursue this issue. i yield the balance of my time. >> thank you. thank you, madame chair. thank you for being here. we appreciate your work at this important time in our history. i want to assure yo

mr. johnson, good luck. we know this was a volunteer activity of sorts, we know what that is like -- >> you are assuming it is voluntary. >> i certainly encourage members to come back. hohost:[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> thank you for waiting during that voting period. we will begin. >> thank you for being here. i want to revisit this issue that we have touched on already today. on how you get input from lesbians and gays that are already serving. mr. murphy mentioned the problem of gays and lesbians being able to share with battle buddies, some of the joys and sorrows and their life. she described a situation that she does as happened where somebody is serving in iraq on skype was able to watch the birth of his child. sitting next to him was a lesbian woman who had a partner back home that was pregnant, and she that she would not be able to do that same thing. she put herself at risk of losing her job in the ability to su

mr. johnson, mr. control the time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. we would reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. poe: i yield to the gentleman from california, mr. hunter, three minutes, the sponsor of this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. hunter, is recognized for three minutes. mr. hunter: i thank the gentleman from texas, great property your and judge in his own right. mr. speaker, we are all familiar with the dangerous duties undertaken by the men and women of the drug enforcement administration. off times their accomplishments go unnoticed but these agents continue making significant contributions to the seemingly unending effort to protect our communities from drug crime and addiction. this is a responsibility the d.e.a. agent enrique "kiki" camarena took seriously over the course of his long career in law enforcement. it was 25 years ago this march that agent cam

mr. johnson, with due respect, completely ignores a number of, for example, spectrum recommendations. what we're seeing in various places in the world is while wireless is not a complete, perfect competitor, it does, in fact -- as it has done with voice -- provide an alternative way that forces a market-based mechanism of putting some price constraints on certain fixed offerings. we also think that he ignores some other things that we're doing to be pro-competitive in the piece, and i would note it's interesting, while we've received that criticism from some, yesterday at the house hearing there wasn't a single member of the house who criticized us for not being aggressive enough as mr. johnson would be, but there were a number of members of the house who said, hey, you guys went too far. so i find that criticism, you know, not, not really a valid criticism in my view. >> host: well, republican remit john shimkus from arizona, this is what he had to say at a hearing this week in congress. >> 95% of our people have broadband. 5% do not. do you know where they're at? they're in my distr

mr. johnson: and thank you, mr. speaker, and i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. johnson: and i yield to myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. johnson: mr. speaker, today we seek to correct a technical and unintentional mistake in the trademark laws that could result in inadvertent abandonment for trademark owners who registered under our international agreement on trade marks which is called -- trademarks which is called the madrid protocol. at the exploration of their trademark term, they're required to submit affidavits to the united states patent and trademark office stayeding that -- stating that they have continuously met the statutory requirements of use in commerce or alternative -- alternatively excusable nonuse. such affidavits are essential to maintain current trademark regi

mr. johnson, good luck. we know this was a volunteer activity of sorts, we know what that is like -- >> you are assum >> thank you for i wanted to visit this issue i touched on already today about how you get input from lesbians and gays that there are the bare. mr. murphy manson the problem. it was some of the joys and sorrows. i was talking with a lesbian colonel a week or two ago. she described a situation genus that as happened where somebody was serving in iraq and on skype was able to watch the birth of his child. sitting in right next jam was a lesbian woman who had a partner back home who was pregnant and she knew to not be able to do the same thing. she put herself at risk for losing her job and the ability to support her family. those are the kinds -- the risks that gays and lesbians feel. i do not see how you gather the information and exchanges you want. describe that for me. >> i expect to guard have people coming up to you, heterosexual, that have expressed views. my guess is you have not had f

mr. johnson and myself would doing. >> thank you. based on the department provided -- the information provided by department, it does not seem to have had any effect on the ability of military forces to recruit and forces and numbers that meet or exceed service requirements. moreover, section 64 is not inhibited to the army, marine corps from rapidly expanding manpower levels while fighting to separate wars. to you agree with the assessment that section 654 is no significant hindrance to successful retention during wartime? >> what i hope the assessment or the review that we do will be deleted and to that question. i cannot answer that question right now but i will say that i know that as we go forward, we will be able to answer more accurately in the future. i am sure that we will. again, thank you for your efforts and i wish you well as to pursue this issue. i yield the balance of my time. >> thank you. thank you, madame chair. thank you for being here. we appreciate your work at this important time in our history. i want to assure

mr. dryer. >> provide the appropriate waivers for amendment number 50 offered by barton and johnson which would remove the provision that would allow certain hospitals to benefit from section 508 if it means high your medicare payments. >> you heard the motion. is there any discussion? if not the vote occurs on the motion. all in favor, say aye opposed, no. recorded vote, please. [roll call] the clerk will report the total. the motion is not agreed to. further motions. some thank you. provide the appropriate measures for amendment number 54 offered by mrs. burton and john said which would remove the provision that provides for increased medicare payments to hospitals and doctors in the frontier states. >> you have heard the gentleman's motion. any discussion? if not the focus on the ocean by mr. dreier. all in favor, say aye. pos come no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. >> recorded vote. [roll call] the clerk will report the total. the motion is not agreed to. >> of the committee make movement to provide amendment number 70 offered by burton and john said which would repeal

mr. johnson: unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. johnson: today's vote defines what kind of america we want to live in. i know what that is, it's the america i fought and sacrificed for and all the freedoms we hold dear, freedom from a $2.6 trillion takeover of health care, freedom from skyrocketing taxes, freedom from bureaucrats coming between you and your doctor, freedom from medicare cuts to seniors, freedom from exploding debt, freedom from the government forcing you to buy health insurance. i ask my colleagues, what kind of legacy do you want to leave for your children and grandchildren? will you cave to the demands of speaker pelosi or listen to the pleas of the hard-working american people who elected you. join me in this fight for freedom. vote no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: it's now my privilege to yield one minute to the very distinguished the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. neal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from

mr. johnson: unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. johnson: today's vote defines what kind of america we want to live in. i know what that is, it's the america i fought and sacrificed for and all the freedoms we hold dear, freedom from a $2.6 trillion takeover of health care, freedom from skyrocketing taxes, freedom from bureaucrats coming between you and your doctor, freedom from medicare cuts to seniors, freedom from exploding debt, freedom from the government forcing you to buy health insurance. i ask my colleagues, what kind of legacy do you want to leave for your children and grandchildren? will you cave to the demands of speaker pelosi or listen to the pleas of the hard-working american people who elected you. join me in this fight for freedom. vote no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, is recognized. mr. levin: it's now my privilege to yield one minute to the very distinguished the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. neal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from

mr. johnson. >> aye. >> mr. reed. >> aye. >> mr. schumer. >> aye. >> mr.>> senator bayh votes by proxy votes aye. >> mr. menendez. >> aye. >> mr. icoca. >> aye. >> mr. brown? >> votes by proxy, votes aye. >> mr. tester? mr. kohl? >> aye. >> mr. warner? mr. merkley? mr. bennett? mr. shelby? >> no. >> mr. bennett? >> no by proxy. >> mr. bunning? >> no by proxy. >> mr. krapo? >> no. >> mr. corker? mr. demint? >> mr. demint votes no by proxy. >> mr. vitter? >> no. >> mr. johans? >> no. >> ms. hutchison? >> no by proxy. >> mr. gregg. >> no by proxy. >> the vote is 13 ayes, ten opposed. the measure is passed. >> let me thank all of my colleagues. i'm -- the votes haven't started so i'd like to stay and take some opening comments if members would like to make any opening comments. senator schumer? >> could we come back, those of us who can't be here can we come back and make opening statements? >> i'll be happy to do that tomorrow morning -- i'll leave it up to the will of the -- in the morning if you like. i'd be happy to do it then. anybody else who would like

mr. johnson, is recognized for five minutes. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker.ay i'm saddened as i rise in support and on behalf of the american people who do not believe that the fate of the nation should be subject to the whims of just one single individual senator. the senate filibuster was first used in 1837 and for more than a century it's been used very sparingly and as a last resort. even as recently as the 1960's when the filibuster was used to obstruct historic civil rights legislation, it was used to block legislation less than in 10% of major bills. but a rule change in the 1970's opened up the flood gates for abuse. suddenly by simply threatening to filibuster a single senator could obstruct any bill that lacked 60 votes. today the filibuster is the last stand of special interests and a platform for grandstanding by obstructionist senators. a prerogative in 2009, the party of no, the senate republicans, paralyzed the country, filibustering political process, 80% of major legislation filibustered. mr. speaker, there is no doubt that the founders of ou

mr. johnson: thank you. will you all join us in the pledge, please? i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lent taint up to five requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? mr. kucinich: good morning, madam speaker. i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. kucinich: there's a new way to fight war in afghanistan. u.s. commanders are publicly telling the taliban when we are coming and where we are going to be to wage war. this while karzai tries to cut a deal with the taliban. meanwhile, a large offense is being mounted. an assault on kandahar. the u.s. is going to have 100,000 troops mounted for a big battle by autumn. we are using 1.1 million gallons of fuel a day. logistical problems abound. here's a

mr. johnson what he'd take to gather the critters. 10 bucks a head.e sadled up, loosed the dogs from the coral and only took the dogs 10 minutes to find the strays. they could hear the dogs baying and crying past the 50 holler. they started the heard down the corral and marched then like teenagers in line at a garth brooks concert. he looked out and said, i need to get dogs like that. he rode up and dismounted. how much will that be asked him sliding his bill fold out of his bib and slipping the rubber band off. eight heads, said hoot, that'll be $80. whoah, said their johnson, i can't pay that much. you only took 15 minutes. he looked at hoot, hoot looked back at him a second, and then spun on his heels, stepped to the coral gate and swung her open with a wave of his hand and shooshed the steerz outside. it took 10 days for old man johnson to call him again. i'd be glad to, of course, the price has gone up. this is baxter black from out there. >> next week, baxter tells us about a dentature stealing dog. until that moment check out his work online at

mr. johnson, you talked about the social purpose of financial regulation.there's a great 30,000-foot comment. in a world that should have both carrot and stick, i'm thinking of the social purpose of our economic system itself 'cause if the regulators are going to be socially motivated, how about the culture of what they are regulating being looked at? i mean, jim wallace just has a new book out. and he's calling for a national dialog literally on what kind of economics do we have? why do we have economics? you know, management people like dr. deming said the purpose of business is to serve people and make money as a result. not to make money whether you're hurting people or helping people. so can you talk about the idea of getting at the culture of not just the regulators but the culture of the organizations being regulated and get them to look at maybe it's literally anti-american to make money by hurting people? >> i guess i would go two places. the first of which is kind of humorous. joseph stiglitz was holding a panel last year and they were talking abo

mr. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman for two minutes. mr. ohnson: thank you. i thank the member for allowing me to speak. on behalf of the american taxpayer, i'm deeply disappointed that the democrat majority is not allowing me to offer a commonsense amendment to protect the american taxpayer. the amendment was simple. it would require businesses seeking to use a hiring tax incentive in the bill before us to check the legal status of potential new hires through the e-verify program. you seen that in the papers@@@@8 speaker. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for two minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, madam speaker. i appreciate the courtesy of my friend, the gentleman from north carolina, permitting me to speak on this. this piece of legislation is sadly a product of our time with a breakdown with our friends on the other side of the capitol. seemingly unable to proceed with regular order. we saw sadly this last week one person bring the transport

mrs. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. johnson: national public works week is celebrated the first week of may and have been designated by a number of organizations to recognize professionals and the work they do to keep our infrastructure and transportation systems working efficiently and economically. house resolution 1125 pays tribute to these professionals, recognizing their work the week of may 16, through may 22, 2010. projects are carried out for the public good. aptly named because they enable the public to complete its work. hazardous materials, pipelines, municipal infrastructure such as water supply, infrastructure in sewage and refuse disposal systems and transportation systems such as rail, highway s, airports and public transit, all fall under the public works umbrella. public works are vital to our nation. our commerce depends on the shipment of goods on our roads and through air and rails. it reduces harmful effects on our environment. our public health depends on our water supply infrastructure as well as

mr. johnson? mr. schumer? mr. menendez? >> aye. >> mr. brown? >> he votes by proxy. >> mr. chester? mr. warner? mr. murphy? -- merkley? mr. bennett? mr. shobi? -- shelby? mr. crapo? >> no. >> mr. vedder? mr. joe hand? mrs. hutchison? >> no by proxy. >> the vote is 13 ayes. 10 opposed. the measure is passed. >> let me thank my colleagues. if any members would like to make opening comments. senator schumer? i would be happy to do that. in the morning if you would like, i would be happy to do it then. if anyone else would like to be heard, we have got a few minutes. any members want to be heard bowman -- to be heard? senator corker bowma? anyone else? heard tonight. >> anything else? if not, i thank all the members. the committee will stand ad [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> secretary of state hillary clinton urged israel to make concessions in the peace process. her remarks are next. then we will hear from the israeli prime minister, and later, vice president joe biden on the economic stimulus package. tom

mr. johnson, and by the time they leave they're like what up, marques. >> steve: we have a chance to watchy're staying in school and getting better. landry has made himself into an nba prospect. boateng, nice rebound. >> marques: took a gamble on that fourth foul. stay in the game. pick up that fourth, get him out of there, sitting down. give stanford a lot of time. trying to establish position down low. >> steve: senior jerren shipp back in the game. boateng bowls over his man and is that a blocking foul? that would have been the fourth. that will be called against eric. >> marques: that is a blocking foul. zimmermann underneath but nice job, boateng. faceup moved. put the pressure on the defense to have to stop. he's got to be careful. >> steve: kuksiks trying to chase it down. green has it and lays it up and in! >> marques: another turnover. another miscommunication by arizona state. herb sendek express's -- as expressive as he'll get in this situation but i get the sense he does not like the way his team is performing out here. that's the understatement of the year. >> steve: down low,

mr. johnson: mr. speaker, -- madam speaker, it's time to unite behind president obama's plan. we must deliver affordable health care for the american people. insurance companies have taken advantage of hardworking americans for far too long. it's morally wrong to put profits over people. and it must come to an end. i urge my colleagues to put aside their differences and deliver a victory for the american people. this congress was elected to accomplish this goal. how can we accomplish this goal of health insurance reform without holding the insurance companies accountable? i'm for the people of the american -- i'm for the people of america. and i stand with you. now is the time for us to in unity come together and solve this dilemma for the american people. i urge you to vote yes. people over profit. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? the gentleman is recognized without objection. >> madam speaker, this time the process is substance. as the democrat majority prepares to jam president obama's health bill through congress despite it

mrs. edy bernice johnson. -- eddie bernice johnson. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentleman from ohio, mr. boccieri, is recognized for the remainder of the hour. mr. boccieri: thank you, mr. speaker. sorry for the confusion this evening. but tonight i'm joined by several of my colleagues from around the country who want to talk to you about the economy and how we're working hard here in congress to set the record straight but also, more importantly, to put our people back to work. if you remember, when we took office, mr. speaker, we were suffering from one of the worst recessions since the great depression. in fact, many have called in the great recession. and there's a contemporary insurance ironically of all commercials, there's a temporary insurance commercial out on the airways today that says, how will we reme

mr. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman for two minutes. mr. nson: thank you. i thank the member for allowing me to speak. on behalf of the american taxpayer, i'm deeply disappointed that the democrat majority is not allowing me to offer a commonsense amendment to protect the american taxpayer. the amendment was simple. it would require businesses seeking to use a hiring tax incentive in the bill before us to check the legal status of potential new hires through the e-verify program. you seen that in the papers lately? it hasn't been used properly. a voluntarily employment verification system. while not perfect it is certainly far better than the current paper-based verification method. if the majority insists on moving forward with this flawed bill, that in the end i believe will do little to create new jobs, we must ensure that this hiring tax break isn't used to hire those heree@,&mwrr side of the capitol. seemingly unable to proceed with regular order. we saw sadly this last week one person bring the transportation funding in this country to

mr. johnson. >> aye. >> mr. schumer. >> aye. >> mr. bayh. >> he votes aye by proxy. >> mr.ka. >> aye. >> mr. tester. >> aye. >> mr. cole. >> aye. >> mr. warner. >> aye. >> mr. merkley. >> aye. >> mr. bennet. >> aye. >> mr. shelby. >> no. >> the boat is 13 eyes, 10 opposed. the measure is -- the vote is 13 ayes, 10 opposed. the measure is passed. >> i will be happy to stay anyone would like to make any additional comments. is there anybody else who would like to be heard? we have a few minutes. many members want to be heard? senator corker, no? the corker rule? if not, thank all members. the committee will stand adjourned. >> coming up later tonight here on c-span, arizona senator john mccain, who is running for his fifth term, holds a campaign rally with former alaskan governor sarah palin. that is at 8:00 p.m. here on c- span. today, antonin scalia and steven briar speak on the constitution. is it a living document? >> do not pretend this is a flexible system. on the contrary, it is producing what the constitution will produce, and that is rigidity. we have to deal with an

mr. johnson, the last question comes from oregon from mike on the democrats' line. caller: good morning. sir, you perked my interest with your statement about your mom. i am in total agreement with your mother. my condolences, sir. in the war, when i was in the military and did one year in vietnam -- this is when i began to hear about what the industrial military complex, the corporate fascism -- eisenhower's statement to watch out for the military industrial complex -- please excuse me, i'm a little nervous -- and i would have to agree. it does seem the country has gone farther down the road of basically being controlled by the corporate interests. the american people really do not have much of a voice anymore. i agree her. guest: well, i think all 303 million people share concern about the role of money and lobbying in politics and campaign incentives. many politicians do not enjoy spending 7% raising money and less than 30% working on policy. we appear in many regards to have a broken system right now. i think the only remedy is widespread participation in vigors

mr. johnson, has $1,000 for digital to prevent for your school. so that's pretty great news girls. did your minds changed about nuclear energy perhaps you did a great job of showing multiple size of this issue. whoever wants to answer the question -- what did you learn? what surprised you? >> it was surprising the amount of security that it took to get into the power plant especially and then all the precautions they tucked and drilling -- and we also didn't surveys. i think that we want -- it showed how people really perceive did and then how what was so different from nuclear energy is so different in how people perceive it. >> well, you just did an incredible job in presenting this complicated topic. i know i learned and i think all of our viewers will hear your videos available to be seen at studentcam.org. and we think our time warner cable affiliates in milwaukee forgetting this on camera for you girls. we want to see you in just a huge congratulations from is to ensure big way in beating out all the other middle school winners and all the high school winners to be c-span 201

mrs. johnson the plan that will make her plan twice as expensive because you are required to do a randomlys expensive because they are reassigned below a certain level but that person might be reassigned to a plan that does not best we their drug needs. >> but they could be reassigned to a plan that would cost the united states government more than it should because that plan has not negotiated a good deal with a given drug company that recipient might need more of. >> exactly. yes. >> there are provisions in some of the health reform bills that would address this issue is. >> thing to mr. chairman. >> i am glad you're here. welcome a. >> thank you very much and allowing me to be here. i am focused on this issue on this judiciary committee and i continue to be astounded we lose so much money when budgets are tight and losing $16 billion every year on medicare and medicaid fraud. of this thinking and senator mccaskill was saying lobbying net of banc one of my favorite story is one guy did ride -- rob a bank and passed the note and the note to was his own check with his address and his name.

mr. johnson: even while the president tours the country saying it's time for an up or down vote on health care, the speaker's attempting to bypass a vote altogether. as beginning gunning said, this congress has gone from voting on bills without reading them to passing bills without voting on them. that's un--- unkrbles and unconstitutional. it's time for an open an honest vote on health care. let's vote on how the bill cuts medicare. let's vote on how the bill actually hides health costs. let's vote on how the bill uses taxpayer dollars to fund abortion. but the speaker can't do that. she's faced with the unfortunate inconvenience that some of her members actually want to listen to their constituents and vote no. so now she intends to muscle through health reform without an actual vote. that's just wrong. i'll say it again. congress has gone from voting on bills without reading them to passing bills without voting on them. america deserves better. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from -- the gentlewoman from ohio rise? >> i ask permission to address the house f

mr. dryer. >> provide the appropriate waivers for amendment number 50 offered by barton and johnson which would remove the provision that would allow certain hospitals to benefit from section 508 if it means high your medicare payments. >> you heard the motion. is there any discussion? if not the vote occurs on the motion. all in favor, say aye opposed, no. recorded vote, please. [roll call] the clerk will report the total. the motion is not agreed to. further motions. some thank you. provide the appropriate measures for amendment number 54 offered by mrs. burton and john said which would remove the provision that provides for increased medicare payments to hospitals and doctors in the frontier states. >> you have heard the gentleman's motion. any discussion? if not the focus on the ocean by mr. dreier. all in favor, say aye. pos come no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. >> recorded vote. [roll call] the clerk will report the total. the motion is not agreed to. >> of the committee make movement to provide amendment number 70 offered by burton and john said which would repeal

mrs. johnson the plan that will make her plan twice as expensive because you are required to do a randomlypensive because they are reassigned below a certain level but that person might be reassigned to a plan that does not best we their drug needs. >> but they could be reassigned to a plan that would cost the united states government more than it should because that plan has not negotiated a good deal with a given drug company that recipient might need more of. >> exactly. yes. >> there are provisions in some of the health reform bills that would address this issue is. >> thing to mr. chairman. >> i am glad you're here. welcome a. >> thank you very much and allowing me to be here. i am focused on this issue on this judiciary committee and i continue to be astounded we lose so much money when budgets are tight and losing $16 billion every year on medicare and medicaid fraud. of this thinking and senator mccaskill was saying lobbying net of banc one of my favorite story is one guy did ride -- rob a bank and passed the note and the note to was his own check with his address and his name. a l

mr. chairman, i have one amendment of my own into that i offer on behalf of myself and dr. brown and congressman sam johnson. the first one mr. chairman would change the reconciliation bill cuts of another 66-point $1 billion for medicare advantage on top of the 136.2 billion already cut from this very successful program in the same path bill. this is a total of $202 billion for medicare advantage. of course in my district mr. chairman a loan, i have one of the higher numbers of senior citizens and 43% of all medicare beneficiaries in maricopa county which is 75% of my district have chosen to participate in medicare advantage plans and they do that for a couple of reasons. number one medicare advantage plans are privately administered and they have a lower percentage of claims that are denied. they have lower out-of-pocket expenses and they give the enrollees a great deal more choice in flexibility. the reason of course that i am afraid that the cuts have been made is because it is sort of going in the opposite direction than this entire reconciliation bill. one of the things that is important i think to ke

mr. hendrix five minutes, and ms. eddie bernice johnson for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previoused orer of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. bright of alabama. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. ortiz: i ask unanimous consent that the time be yielded to us, i don't think the gentleman is here at this time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for five minutes. mr. ortiz: today we are here to honor the life and work of my good friend, representative charlie wilson, who i had the pleasure of serving with in the house of representatives for 13 years. charlie was a unique person. one of a kind. and he will be missed dearly by his family, friends, and colleagues in the house. you know, charlie had a very special and unique side to him. he knew when to be tough, he knew when to laugh, he knew when to stick to his thoughts, but above all, he knew how to serve

well, donald johnson was one of the last votes for the massive, massive takeover of our health care system and also, mr. speaker, voted the clinton increase in taxes. people back home said, don't vote for that. don't vote for it and come back and expect us to re-elect you, don johnson. but yet, i think our former colleague don johnson may have been the 117th vote in 1992. he won by eight points. in 1994, the gentleman from georgia lost by 30, mr. speaker. lost by 30. a 38-point shift. he was replaced by our great and late, i sadly say, colleague, dr. charlie norwood. he served so honorably in this bold until his death about a year and a half ago. he died in office, god rest his soul. don johnson wasn't a bad man, mr. speaker. i didn't know him personally, but he made a bad vote. and he didn't listen to we, the people. let me mention one other, because i saw her on television earlier today, and she was realming to her democratic -- recommending to her democratic colleagues that they vote for this health care reform, massive takeover of 1/6 of our economy. she was recommending indeed that her democratic

mr. olson: i'd like to thank my colleague from texas for her support of the johnson space center and i couldn't agree more that every american has benefited from the human space flight. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. does anyone have a motion? ms. jackson lee: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to reclaim my five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: earlier this evening, madam speaker, colleagues came to the floor of the house to salute our late colleague, the honorable congressman charles wilson who made the people of the world happy because of his enthusiasm and leadership. congressman wilson was born june 1, 1933, in the small town of trinity, texas. he attended public school there is and graduated from trinity high school in 1951. while attending sam houston state university in huntsville, texas, wilson was appointed to the united states naval academy and received his b.s. degree, graduating eighth from the bot

mr. olson: i couldn't amore with my colleague from utah. talking to my people back homing one thing i heard being at the johnson space center, numerous people came up to me and said, what's our plan? what's our mission? this is an organization that's been focused on a mission for 40 years. right now, they have no idea what they're working toward. and some stuff about global warming research, climate change research, developing the private sector, doesn't do anything to inspire them. these are the best, most qualified engineers, propulsion people, defense as well, in the world. we give them no mission and tell them, possibly letting them walk out the door. once they walking they're gone. mr. bishop: it is not wise to take our 30,000 best scientists and engineers and give them pink slips. but let me emphasize one thing you said as well. when john kennedy gave us the challenge to go to the moon, those people who started to study science and math and

johnson. we used finger prints on mr. hobbs to identify him, as well as tattoos.nd we used dental records for the young girl to make that determination today. as far as cause and manner of death, our pathologists are still working on making those determinations. they are both still pending, and i believe that we are waiting on toxicology screening, which will be a full tox run of different tests that they do. so that could be anywhere from three weeks to six weeks, depending on the findings. sometimes our pathologists will look and see what they found initially and order more tests. at this point, that's all we have on the case. again, the i.d.'s were made formally today. cause and matter of death will not be determined at this point. down the line, fate waiting on further testing. >> how much more difficult is it due to decomposition? >> it makes it more difficult when a body is decomposing. there's not much to work with for a pathologist. so they take into consideration the situation at the scene, the situation leading up to the scene, circumstances, things that

mr. barton, do you have an opinion? >> i did offer amendments on behalf of myself and congressman johnson of the ways and means committee to have a vote to strike those so we have specific amendments for each of those special deals pending before the committee. >> mr. sessions, the special treatment for nebraska is in the senate bill, it is removed by the reconciliation bill. the special treatment for florida under medicare advantages in the senate bill and is removed by the reconciliation bill. i would disagree with the characterization of the louisiana purchase in the following way. the louisiana provision says that any jurisdiction that suffers disasters as defined in that section qualifies for higher medicaid reimbursement rates, it's not limited solely to louisiana. now, i hope and pray that louisianans the only state that does it because we don't have that kind of calamity also ran the country but if god forbid we did the medicaid reimbursement wouldn't be eligible to other states as well. >> can i comment on what he said? they say they've eliminated the nebraska provision. they haven't, they kept it to given to e

mr. barton, do you have an opinion? >> i did offer amendments on behalf of myself and congressman johnson of the ways and means committeeo have a vote to strike those so we have specific amendments for each of those special deals pending before the committee. >> mr. sessions, the special treatment for nebraska is in the senate bill, it is removed by the reconciliation bill. the special treatment for florida under medicare advantages in the senate bill and is removed by the reconciliation bill. i would disagree with the characterization of the louisiana purchase in the following way. the louisiana provision says that any jurisdiction that suffers disasters as defined in that section qualifies for higher medicaid reimbursement rates, it's not limited solely to louisiana. now, i hope and pray that louisianans the only state that does it because we don't have that kind of calamity also ran the country but if god forbid we did the medicaid reimbursement wouldn't be eligible to other states as well. >> can i comment on what he said? they say they've eliminated the nebraska provision. they haven't, they kept it to given to eve

mr. obama took a lap with other presidents especially truman who asked congress for universal coverage in 1945. >> when came here three years ago i towed the story of when johnson stood with truman and signed medicare into law that wasn't perfect either. i'm sure there was somebody who was dissatisfied with it at the time. >> reporter: two giants said they are bracing for combined costs to comply with the new law. the by says it closes a loophole that allow big firms to deduct drug coverage twice in washington republicans vowed to fight on. >> tax hikes, medicare cuts, job killing mandates, accounting gimmicks, backroom deals, we're again into -- going to fight to repeal them. >> reporter: mr. obama appears ready president we they are going to run on a platform of repeal in november. you've been hearing that and my attitude is, go for it! >> reporter: hmm, sounds like bring it on. vice president biden talking at a fundraiser with democrats last night explained the potential cost of not getting health care across the finish line he told them we would have been done, absolutely done. >> bret: the next big thing for the white house financial regulation reform? >>

johnson city of tennessee. when the man that road reconciliation bid, mr.says he does not think it should be used in this way, i don't see how the democrats can do that. and also, i am 100% service connected vietnam marine corps veteran. i'm on social security disability. we did not get a cola or a raise at all, but is it not true that the senate and the congress, if you don't bring up your cola raise and vote on it, you automatically get it? i will take my answer off. thank you. a host of the first point on senator robert byrd, -- host: the first point on senator robert byrd. putting health reform legislation freight trains through congress is an outrage that ought to be resisted. guest: issing putting it on a freight train should be resisted -- i think putting it on a freight train should be resisted. senator byrd of voted as part of the 60 votes to pass the health care bill. no one is suggesting that that is not the appropriate course to have followed. the question is, are there changes that could be made that comply with the rules of reconciliation that

mr. president, that among the aerospace and space community, particularly in areas like houston, at the johnson space center, huntsville, at the marshall space flight senator, and florida, at the kennedy space center, i can tell you that the perception is that the president has killed the manned space program. well, in fact, mr. president, that's the farthest thing from president obama's mind. he is an enthusiastic fan of the space program. as a matter of fact, you've heard him talk many times about how his little boy, his grandfather, took him to see the return of some of the apollo astronauts coming back from the moon. and when he tells that story, his face just lights up and you can see the enthusiasm that he has. you can see as he interacts by radio with the astronauts on board the space station and on board the space shuttle, you can see the enthusiasm that he has. unfortunately, some of his advisers have not given him correct information about how to lay out his vision. and so, happily, over the course of the wreaked the president has -- over the course of the weekend, the president has s

johnson welcome, despite your new meckler. >> it will be off soon. >> that's good news. >> for thursday. it's been on since january 4th. i am truly tired of my partner. mrchairman and ranking member think you for holding this hearing and continuing stedfast cut into holding states accountable for the dispersal of stimulus funds. over the past year this committee again and again held hearings on the status of the recovery act funds and as appropriate criticized the effort of both federal and state agencies in getting funds out the door to the american people and this is different because today we have the opportunity to challenge those agencies in states that have been slow to turn this unprecedented federal investment into good paying jobs such as my state of texas that is unique and slow. through this committee's periodic reporting i was concerned to again find my whole state of texas near the bottom of the allocation charts. through the month of december, so naturally i contacted the state board of transportation and the texas to the texas water board of development why they appear to be slower in getting their stimulus dollars distributed. than most

mr. sonny perdue. [applause] york mayor john simmons in the house. [applause] [cheering] congressman, you are in his district. [applause] that's right. congressman jack kingston. congressman samford bishop. [applause] and congressman johnsonre all in the house. [applause] thank you for taking the time to be here today. i really appreciate the opportunity to visit here at savannah and i just took a brief tour of some of the classrooms where the students are learning about clean energy. they are learning about solar cells, learning about efficient heating and cooling systems and you've got young people who through the youth build program are gaining jobs skills that will help them the rest of their lives and by the way they are building a house right now while they are at it. [applause] from the instructors to the students use of an incredible enthusiasm for america's future and i was just talking to the president loved about the focus of savannah tech on clean energy. the idea that this can be a real model for green energy as a way of linking students to the enormous job opportunities and business opportunities that exist in the future. these are the skills that will help our country transform the way we produce and use en