mr. klein: i thank the gentleman from iowa. it's great to be here with our friends from the midwest and the south and we represent the whole country. it's such a great thing to be here as we all got elected a couple of years ago and we've learned and listened closely to what people are saying back home. i know the gentleman from wisconsin talked about jobs and where we've come from. i know the gentlelady from ohio did the same thing. the where we've come from part is -- it didn't start in the last 13 or 14 months. unfortunately, it's been going on for a long time. a lot of that was decisions made, in some cases by government, through incentivizing, to make decisions to send business

mr. klein: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. klein: mr. speaker, i rise to support h.con.res. 236, a resolution to allow the capitol rotunda to be used on april 15 for the purpose of the annual congressional ceremony to commemorate the holocaust. the congressional commemoration of the holocaust is a poignant reminder of the atrocities committed by the nazis and the harrowing experiences of the survivors. this year we will be celebrating the here -- heroism of those who liberated the nazi death camps. the theme for this year's ceremony, stories of freedom, what you do matters, hallows the experience of soldiers who risked their lives for the cause of freedom. the stories of these soldiers are inspiring. these soldiers confronted evil and physically saw despair in the eyes of every survivor they encountered. and these soldiers gave the survivors hope. the actions of these liberaters changed the lives of the survivors an

mr. klein will over to mr. waxman said mr. jazeera can get over here by mr. ryan and we can have everybody at the table. is that okay? we will go ahead and do that. we will now hear from mr. levin of the ways and means committee. >> it's a little close there is in it? that's a lot of brainpower. [inaudible conversations] mr. levin. >> thank you for this opportunity. let me say hello to some longtime colleagues and i am sorry my back history you to be we face a challenge not only -- >> is your microphone on? >> it isn't. is it on? it's all? >> that's better. >> today we face a challenge not only in this congress but in the country, and indeed i think it's a crisis. for those who like their insurance it's important that we be able to keep it. the problem is it is it too expensive to keep. the costs are going up. i look at my home state of michigan, blue cross blue shield has a majority of the consumers in the state that requested an increase of over 40%. people are subject to what are called a re

. >> well, it's fine with me if mr. klein will move closer to mr. waxman said that mr. bill sarah can get over here by mr. ryan and then we can have everybody at the table. is that okay? and we will go ahead and do that. >> i'm happy to move. >> thank-you and allow this year from mr. laugh-in for the ways and means committee. mr. levin is. >> i will let everybody be seated. >> you're very welcome. get a little close there. but that is a lot of brainpower. >> mr. laugh-in. >> thank you for this opportunity, let me say hello to some longtime colleagues and some of your colleagues. buyback is to you. we face a challenge not only in this country, -- >> is your microphone on? >> it isn't. is it on? >> that is better. >> better? so today we face a challenge not only in this congress but in the country and, indeed, i think it's a crisis. those who like their insurance, it's important that we be able to keep its. the problem is being too expensive to keep. the costs are going up. i looked at my home state of michigan, blue cross blue shield has a majority of the consumers in th

miller and then mr. klein as well. two items that i was somewhat disappointed not to see in this final version or included from a bipartisan vote passed our committee and passed the house where the early learning challenge funds which was a kind of race to the top approach for early childhood education coupling reform and resources. i know my home state hope to have the opportunity to highlight the system and exciting public-private partnerships around early child and they can a garden through 12 initiative which i know our chair and others on our committee have worked very hard on, can pass with bipartisan support. would like to inquire as to the process for future legislative vehicles to successfully complete those two items. >> i thank the gentleman. first of all the reason they were part of the proposals submitted by the president obama's administration to our committee, we reported those out of the house and at that time we had much greater savings allotted to the direct loan that as we moved doing a baseline this

mr. klein: i'll just conclude. there's so much more everyone wants to say, there's so much to add, and that's what's getting exciting about this work we're doing here. small businesses are the life blood of our economy. i mean, many parts of our country do not have a lot of fortune 500 companies, those are great companies and add a lot of value to our country, but small businesses are going to be the businesses that get us out of this down turn and we're beginning to see some good things, bank lends something better than it was, but we need to encourage and find ways to make sure that the banks are lending to our -- so our small businesses can buy up some inventory, buy up that capital equipment they need, a little deferred maintenance and hire more people. that's the bottom line. i just want to thank the gentleman for having the spur job creation, because i think this is a huge part how we're going to get our country back on track. mr. braley: in order to spur job creation you've got to be able to have revenues th

george miller, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. klein, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on h.r. 4247. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. miller: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: mr. speaker, members of the house, i rise today in strong support of this bipartisan legislation that will make our classrooms safer for our children and our teachers. but first i'd like to tell the story of cedric. this is a picture of cedric who was a young man from texas who died in his classroom when he was just 14 years of age. cedric was living with a foster family after an early childhood filled with abuse. among other things his by logical family had neglected him by denying him food. despite knowing this on the morning he died, cedric's teacher punished him by

mr. kleindam speaker, from the beginning of the debate on health care reform, my top priority has been clear. strengthen and protect medicare for our seniors like bunny steinman in my district. i believe the doctor-patient relationship is absolutely essential, especially for our seniors. no one, not the government nor private insurance should stand between the patient and the doctor of their choice. when i talk to seniors in my district many of them tell me that struggling to cover the cost of prescription drugs, especially if they have fallen into the part d drug doughnut hole, is a problem for them. i worked with aarp to make sure that this bill closes the doughnut hole for good. seniors will get immediate relief on prescription drugs, a $250 rebate next year and thousands more in savings in the years ahead. we have won this fight, this reform will close the doughnut hole and save seniors money. there will be other benefits for seniors such as preventive care, such as cancer screenings will b

mr. calvin klein. >> ooh. [ whistle ] >> i don't know how to respond.ing what i'm wearing. friday, we unveiled the five rising stars of fashion competing to make a dress for me. the responses over the weekend, tremendous. were you able to narrow it down to three. three finalists who will make the gown and i will wear it. >> wow. >> here's what's great. >> they've all got your body down. anything long and lean like that, it's going to be beautiful. >> they were very generous, let me just say that with the -- but they are talented and it's wonderful to be giving them this opportunity. we'll have an update in the next half hour. >> do you have a favorite yet? >> not really. i'm truly open-minded with this. i thought one way, now, seeing them come to life, who knows. >> you guys get to decide. juju chang sheer is here. >>> good morning, everyone. the death toll from saturday's 8.8 magnitude quake now tops 700. but hundreds more are still missing. as soldiers struggle to keep order, rescuers are combing through the 500,000 homes severely damaged. abc is in s

mr. secretary, for doing that. and i will recognize myself at the beginning and then recognize congressman klein. cretary duncan joins us to discuss president obama's newly released blueprint for rewriting the elementary and secondary education act. thank you, mr. secretary, for being with us. two weeks ago, you outlined president obama's vision for providing a world class education for every child in this country. you told us the status quo is failing our students, you told us a strong education system is key to long-term economic stability, and members of the committee on both sides of the aisle agree. right now even our best students are performing atd lower levels at math than students in 22 countries. a number of students are entering ninth grade unable to read at grade level. it's time to overall improve esea so they meet its promise, providing an equal education for every child in america. these improvements will require dramatic reforms. but if we are successful, i believe we can build a solid economic foundation for future generations. what our students need to succeed isn't a mystery. th