mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kucinich: the gentleman makes a point. if you are under a gag order, how are we supposed to know if there's any abuses. hello? what mr. gohmert said a moment ago, i want to associate myself with much his remarks. and i have hereor the record correspondentence i committeed on november 3, 2009, asking for -- correspondent, i submitted on november 3, 2009, asking for review of the patriot act. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kucinich: we create government to securityur rights. not to give them away. the patriot act represents giving away rights. not securing them. it's said while it hasn't been adjucated. the laws that we make derive from our constitutional authority, and that's not just a matter of political will, but it's about moral reasoning. and when we look at section 215 which lets the government obtain orders from private records or items from people not connected to any investigation, when we look at section 206 which lets -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman

mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kucinich: the gentleman makes a point. if you are under a gag order, how are we supposed to know if there's any abuses. hello? what mr. gohmert said a moment ago, i want to associate myself with much his remarks. and i have here for the record correspondentence i committeed on november 3, 2009, asking for -- correspondent, i submitted on november 3, 2009, asking for review of the patriot act. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kucinich: we create government to security our rights. not to give them away. the patriot act represents giving away rights. not securing them. it's said while it hasn't been adjudicated. the laws that we make derive from our constitutional authority, and that's not just a matter of political will, but it's about moral reasoning. and when we look at section 215 which lets the government obtain orders from private records or items from people not connected to any investigation, when we look at section 206 which lets -- the speaker pro tempore: the gen

mr. kucinich: it's fair to debate this. we have to be cautious about how far we draw conclusions about motivations of each other and taking the positions that we do. i yield back. mr. conyers: i yield to the gentleman from north carolina walter jones, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for two minutes mr. jones: i have come down and listened and have a few minutes to share my thoughts on this because i think the majority of people in my district are god-fearing, constitutional-loving americans like anybody else's district and people across this nation. i regret that i was too weak to vote my conscience we had the patriot act. i did not feel good but as an american who loves the constitution and believes in the civil liberties that are guaranteed that this country for tooms has sold itself to the federal government to take care of it. and i make reference to a book that was written by judge andrew napolitano. well known constitutional lawyer who is on fox news from time to ti

mr. kucinich: thank you. on this day when around the world we celebrate the transformative power of love, it's also appropriate for us to think about a world as one. that the world in fact is interdependent, interconnected, and if we can't have this realization of the power of love, then we can also have a realization of the power of peace. peace is not simply the absence of war. it is an active presence of an understanding of the capacity that we have to relate to each other in a way which is not only nonhaven't but which is loving. so on this day when we think about love, let us also think about peace, let us think about peaceful relations at home and peaceful relations with people around the world. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. pursuant could clause 12-a of coming up, we plan to bring in the house budget committee chair, paul ryan, with the response to the president's budget. we can have that live for you. in the meantime, president obama talking about the proposal this

mr. kucinich: thank you, mr. chairman. my amendment would prohibit funds authorized in h. 16r789 to be used for the missile program and doesn't cut spending but places a limitation on spending of the hapless and hopeless missile defense system. according to congressional research service, the u.s. has spent over $150 billion on ballistic missile defense since 1985 and there's no working reliable missile defense system to show for all the investment. h.r. 1 dedicates approximate $10 billion more for space ballistic missile defense and some argued such systems are necessary for national security. in fact, no missile defense under development has ever passed an unrigged test. according to experts the c.r.s. the performance at wartime of capabilities is unknown. in december of last year our ground based interceptors known as g.m.d.'s failed test again, a test that cost $100 million. according to the union of concerned scientists, the suns, quote is no closer today to be able to effectively defend against long-range ballistic m

mr. kucinich. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. over the past few days members of this house have voted on amendments to the c.r. which will severely cut or entirely eliminate government entities or programs that will cut assistance to the most vulnerable assistance. it will eliminate funding for research and some of the pressing and social and economic issues. to my knowledge, none of these existing programs appeared on the gao's list of government programs at high risk of waste, fraud and abuse. in the meantime, numerous department of defense initiatives and specifically dod contracting ranked prominently as programs that remain very susceptible to fraud and abuse. the report states that there are, quote, significant ongoing programs unquote and quote, persistently programs in the defense's inability of performing audits of acquisition programs. it notes for fiscal year 2009, for example, the dod obligated $372 billion in contracts for goods and services and yet that the contracting is hampered by, quote, the lack of well defined

mr. kucinich: thank you, mr. conyers, i appreciate that i certainly never seek to impugn the feelings of those who say we have to have the patriot act in order to protect our country. we're all tai pais tots here and we want america to be protected. we have to remember our constitutional experience here. the reason why we have a fourth amendment that protects people from unreasonable search and seizure but from unwarranted intrusion by the government into their lives. when we look at our constitutional experience, and all of the efforts that made and build up to it, we didn't hear give me liberty or give me a wiretap. we department hear, don't tread on me but it's ok to spy. what we heard was a ringing declaration about freedom an it was enshrined in the constitution. i stood on the floor of the house way back when the patriot act came forward, voted against it because i read it, understood that it opened up the door for broad -- for a broad reach, the possibilities of broad reach by the government into our daily

mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. kucinich: i want my friend from wisconsin to know that i don't denigrate his service on this. we have a different way of looking at this. i believe the patriot act represents the cracked domestic crown jewel of a disastrous global war on terror which led us to attack iraq based on lies, invade afghanistan based on misreading of history, indulge in occupations which have fueled insurgencies, extend war to pakistan and other countries. demonstrating a total lack of common sense. so the patriot act issues from a different soil laced with lies and distortions. we created a national security state which threatens our constitution and weakens our basic liberties. this is not about whether you are a democrat or republican. liberal or conservative. whether we can actually realize that we have been sold a bill of goods, lies about wmd's, questions about the nature of an anthrax attack, which caused us all too willingly to limit our civil liberties. i joined other members of congress in approvin

mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for three minutes. mr. kucinich: thank you very much. any review of our regulatory structures or the orders that are issued therefrom must weigh the cost of regulations against their benefits. everyone who makes or installs air bags in cars, smoke detectors in office buildings, units in businesses and homes and tamper-proof packaging for food and pharmaceuticals, just to name a few, has a job thanks to regulation. and when we don't have adequate regulations bad things happen. we don't have to look that far. look at our financial crisis. look at the recession. a financial disaster was created by a lack of regulation and by erroneously relying on the narrow self-interest of corporation management to protect their own businesses. let alone the common good. and this is according to alan greenspan, because mr. greenspan told our oversight committee a few years ago, this is a quote, i made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such that they were capabl

mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kucinich: you need to look more care pli at the you it is cut program. the u.s. cannot withdraw from the world nor can we be the policemen of the world. but we can protect the people at the u.n. in new york. will you withdraw from china trade? no. reduce the pows of the fed? no. will you cut frunds from the pentagon or the war in iraq or the war in afghanistan? no. will you cut money for u.s. states around the world? no. but you'll cut funds for new york city police to protect american citizens. when you do that, you cut off your nose to spite your face. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will remind members to direct their comments to the chair. the gentlelady from florida continues to reserve her time. the gentleman from california mr. berman: may i inquire through the chair, we have two more speakers. shall we go with ours? i'm pleased to yield a minute and a half to mr. andrews. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. mr. andrews: i ask unanimo

mr. kucinich. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. over the past few days demers of his house at voted on the amendments to this year which will cut or entirely eliminate government entities are programs which provide critical assistance to the most vulnerable americans. some amendments which a party pass eliminate funding for research and some of our nation's most consistently pressing social and economic issues. to my knowledge none of these existing programs appear on the gao's with that government programs at high risk of waste fraud and abuse. in the meantime numerous department of defense initiatives and specifically dod contracting ran prominently in the gao hybrids report is programs that remain susceptible to fraud and abuse. the report states that there are "significant ongoing problems" " persistently poor program outcomes" into the department of defense and ability to perform detailed audits for major defense acquisition programs. it notes that for fiscal year 2009 for example the dod obligated $372 billion in contracts fo

kucinich. independent line. caller: good morning. as i am sure you already know, mr. bernanke stated yesterday "energy prices have only risen 1%." yet, georgia power notified me last month that my monthly bill would increase 13%, effective immediately. how does congress reconcile mr. bernanke's inaccurate or false statement? guest: maybe he meant to say it has risen only 1% for him. look, you're a gentle lady from rahm, georgia points out something that all americans are aware of. the cost of utility rates are going up dramatically, whether you heat with oil, gas, or electric, you're paying more. the costs of gas, fuel, is going out and keeps going up. people are experiencing shock increases in the cost of living. mr. bernanke, and i thank him for his service to the fed, but the fact of the matter is, he does not have to live with the reality that most americans have to live with. if he had any understanding of the fact that people are desperate to hold on to their jobs, have a decent wage, to have health care, make sure they have retirement security, make sure they c