mr. levin: i yield myself seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: mr. reed, mr. hoyer mentioned this, you know, on ways and means for years once the republicans came to the majority, we protested they weren't paying for anything. so this isn't a new issue. it isn't new issue. i now yield five minutes to the ranking member of the budget committee and a distinguished former member of the ways and means committee, the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for five minutes. mr. van hollen: thank you, madam speaker. and i thank my colleague, mr. levin. you know, day after day, month after month we hear members of congress, republicans and democrats alike, come to the floor of this house and say we've got to do more on jobs, we've got to make sure that we get this fragile economy moving again. unfortunately, while we say those thgs in this body, we haven't yet taken up the president's jobs initiati

mr. levin, the opponent. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. reed: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. the gentleman will suspend for one moment. while the house comes to order. the house will be in order. members are advised to please take their conversations from the floor. the gentleman from new york. mr. reed: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. reed: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today as a proud primary sponsor of the subject resolution that is before the desk. madam speaker, i'd like to start my conversation with a few numbers. 15.2 trillion dollars. that is the size of our national debt. we as a nation are borrowing at the rate of $58,000 per second. that is approximately

the gentleman from -- mr. levin now my privilege to yield three minutes to a gentleman who has been very much involved in issues relating to this bill, mr. reyes of texas, three minutes. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. reyes: like my friend and colleague from washington, i, too, rise in support of this legislation, h.r. 3801, as a former federal law enforcement officer, retired border patrol agent, border patrol chief who had the opportunity as a co-chair of the border caucus to work very closely with gabby giffords. and it's a real privilege to be able to support this piece of legislation which, as my colleague from washington mentioned, has previously passed the house and it's my understanding has already passed the senate. so i urge all my colleagues to support it. i, too, would like to pay tribute to gabby giffords because not only did i get a chance to work with her on border issues as members of the border caucus but also as members of the interparliamentary group and wanted to make

mr. levinyield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: you know, there's a very basic fact. i've listened to the rhetoric. if house republicans prevailed on this bill, what would be the result? chaos. chaos. the house republicans have become the party of chaos. six months ago they took us to the brink of default. no one in this country liked what they saw or maybe a very few. not the american public at large. surely not the markets. surely not the markets. but apparently house republicans did and you're at it again. here we are in the first full day in the house when we're in session this year debating a measure that will take us immediately back to the brink of default. house republicans have once again, relying on the votes of others to save them from themselves and to save this country from them. this is postering, posturing, not legislating. this is rhetoric, not real action, and we've seen this movie before. 174 house republicans

mr. levin: mr. reed, are you ready to close? mr. reed: i'm ready to close. mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: and it will take me just, i think, 30 seconds. maybe a minute. you know, in a few words what the republicans in the house are doing, they're playing with fire. and that's reckless. they know that others will put out the fire. and we'll vote, many of us, to do that today. and if we don't succeed, the senate will do so. this, i think, is worse than a charade because it really assumes that the agenda of this congress should essentially be a kind of a play thing. a number of people who came to speak for this resolution voted in august for the resolution that brings us here today, including, i think, mr. reed. so i think what's changed is not our responsibility but the ability of thinking to have it both ways, to vote yes on the resolution knowing that as it goes to the senate this potential dam

the gentleman from -- mr. levinow my privilege to yield three minutes to a gentleman who has been very much involved in issues relating to this bill, mr. reyes of texas, three minutes. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. reyes: like my friend and colleague from washington, i, too, rise in support of this legislation, h.r. 3801, as a former federal law enforcement officer, retired border patrol agent, border patrol chief who had the opportunity as a co-chair of the border caucus to work very closely with gabby giffords. and it's a real privilege to be able to support this piece of legislation which, as my colleague from washington mentioned, has previously passed the house and it's my understanding has already passed the senate. so i urge all my colleagues to support it. i, too, would like to pay tribute to gabby giffords because not only did i get a chance to work with her on border issues as members of the border caucus but also as members of the interparliamentary group and wanted to make s

the gentleman from -- mr. levin: it's now my privilege to yield three minutes to a gentleman who has been very much involved in issues relating to this bill, mr. reyes of texas, three minutes. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. reyes: like my friend and colleague from washington, i, too, rise in support of this legislation, h.r. 3801, as a former federal law enforcement officer, retired border patrol agent, border patrol chief who had the opportunity as a co-chair of the border caucus to work very closely with gabby giffords. and it's a real privilege to be able to support this piece of legislation which, as my colleague from washington mentioned, has previously passed the house and it's my understanding has already passed the senate. so i urge all my colleagues to support it. i, too, would like to pay tribute to gabby giffords because not only did i get a chance to work with her on border issues as members of the border caucus but also as members of the interparliamentary group and wanted t

mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: you know, there's a very basic fact. i've listened to the rhetoric. if house republicans prevailed on this bill, what would be the result? chaos. chaos. the house republicans have become the party of chaos. six months ago they took us to the brink of default. no one in this country liked what they saw or maybe a very few. not the american public at large. surely not the markets. surely not the markets. but apparently house republicans did and you're at it again. here we are in the first full day in the house when we're in session this year debating a measure that will take us immediately back to the brink of default. house republicans have once again, relying on the votes of others to save them from themselves and to save this country from them. this is postering, posturing, not legislating. this is rhetoric, not real action, and we've seen this movie before. 174 house republic

the gentleman from -- mr. levin: it's now my privilege to yield three minutes to a gentleman who has been very much involved in issues relating to this bill, mr. reyes of texas, three minutes. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. reyes: like my friend and colleague from washington, i, too, rise in support of this legislation, h.r. 3801, as a former federal law enforcement officer, retired border patrol agent, border patrol chief who had the opportunity as a co-chair of the border caucus to work very closely with gabby giffords. and it's a real privilege to be able to support this piece of legislation which, as my colleague from washington mentioned, has previously passed the house and it's my understanding has already passed the senate. so i urge all my colleagues to support it. i, too, would like to pay tribute to gabby giffords because not only did i get a chance to work with her on border issues as members of the border caucus but also as members of the interparliamentary group and wanted t

what was noted to earlier by mr. levin was the sludge contract came up last year, the before. frankly, that is a good example -- not the only example, but an example of the problems that exist in this field, where you have a situation where employees will be paid what appears to a layperson as a large amount of money per hour, but the bulk of that money goes to the maidens of their own trucks, insurance, all the other provisions would be required. the department of labor relations simply said, look, we cannot apply a prevailing wage ordinance to that type of arrangement. not only have we taken that position, but the state of california's department of industrial nations has taken the same positions. you cannot apply in these circumstances to a non-employee. there is also a change in the definition of contract, which had been noted, and that applies only to janitors -- if i could continue for a moment. only two janitors and to the waste haulage provisions. the janitors provisions, as have been noted, exception for small businesses and nonprofits has been removed. the reason for

mr. levin: mr., i'd ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: mr. president, the lifeblood of our democratic government is the contract between the people and their elected representatives, a contract that must be based on trust that elected officials will act for the good of our nation and in the interests of their constituents and not for personal gain. to ensure that we maintain that trust, our nation has laws and our congress has rules. they establish clearly the responsibilities of government officials, members of congress and their staffs and provide for the enforcement of violations. the legislation before us is, in a way, preventive maintenance to protect that trust. it is a tightening up of our legal and ethical guidelines as part of what must be a constant effort to assure that the interests of our nation and our constituents come first. our constituents confidence that members of congress and our staffs will

the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, for five minutes. mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. levin letch i want to join my colleagues -- mr. levin: i want to join my colleagues in remembering ed jenkins and mr. rangel, who served with him, all of ed's service and as chairman, i will yield time to him after i say a few words on behalf of ed jenkins. you know, the ways and means committee is indeed a key committee, and ed jenkins was a key person. i was reading some of the tributes and one of them noted what was said in the almanac of american politics about ed jenkins. i will quote. he was a man who must be consulted on many key legislative issues. how true that is. ed jenkins showed he could be both gentle and strong. he also did not seek the lime light, but he shed light on so many issues. one example is the textile industry. he comes from an area that once reigned close to supremely in terms of textile. you know, ed never gave up. he introduced legisl

mr. levine tonight. >> i'm wearing tom ford, too, the scent, not clothing. thank you very much.te it. we're going to return live to the red carpet in the next hour. who is expected to go home with the golden globe statuette. a.j. hammer will join us live. >>> could humans cause earthquakes? some in ohio say in a quest to find oil and gas deposits we already have. and that report is straight ahead. mance anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day so you can be ready anytime the moment's right, even if it's not every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term i

continuation of ui benefits have in the past been as my colleague mr. levin pointed out -- some in congress have not semantically -- ui. if congress decides ultimately to offset ui as the payroll tax credit should read them by asking the wealthiest in our nation to contribute their fair share either through a millionaire surtax or by giving up lucrative tax loopholes and at least paying the same rate as the middle-class. this make sense in terms of policy and plain fairness. millions of americans are relying upon us to get to work and provide relief to them and to their families. i hope congress can and will reach these goals. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you and now dr. prices recognized for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman and good afternoon to my committee members. it is refreshing that we are here today give lasting a conference committee as is done under regular order. to work out differences between house and senate legislation and there's absolutely no denying that we have differences on how does to fill our responsibility however there shou

we are to achieve a particular goal as the ranking member, mr. levinsaid, deal with the extension of the payroll tax cut so we can give people money so they can go up there and stimulate the economy so we can create jobs. we can make sure people on medicare continue to visit their ears without concern. doctors say we can no longer afford to be in the program. and making sure that americans out of work through no fault of their own don't find themselves caught up in a system that's willing to bail out banks, but not american workers. and so those are the three tasks before us. anyone who wishes to metal beyond that is risky and the clock expiring at february february 29th. so most of us believe in the democratic side we have a discrete task in front of us we can achieve because the american public very much wants us to succeed by partisanly on this particular issue. they're ready to work away hope our republican colleagues will join us. >> dejected questions? >> with the congress in recess yesterday? and are you at all worried that president obama has s

our chairman, ranking member of the ways and means committee, mr. leviner becerra, congressman chris van hollen, congresswoman and henry waxman of california. they're here, ready to work. we wish the conference would get to work, and not take us to a point of brakeman chip pushing it to the last minute again, narrowing the choices adding to the uncertainty for the american people. we have important work to do, to do just that, extend those benefits, and that tax cut because they create jobs. they injecting it into the economy, create jobs that's what the american people need and want. they want jobs. they want us to work together. they want to know why we are not on the job now when they are so in need of jobs. in addition to that, we are here to talk about reigniting american dreams to bring, build ladders of opportunity for all who want to work hard, play by the rules, and to take responsibility. and reigniting the american dream, we want to rebuild the great middle class of our country. we think that's best done by rebuilding the infrastructure of amer

mr. gosh, please address more of what our department issues, but not in a personal attack. >> i did not see that is personal, but i will do my best. the next appointee would be ms. levinand her failed [unintelligible] project. i believe the vendor has already been paid off, but they have not delivered a viable product. this sounds like malfeasance to me. i see that this is cementing her alibi in the future failure of the multimillion dollar permit tracking system. when confronted with the disappearance of millions, you can say that i showed you what i was not capable of with the schematic -- [unintelligible] ;é my advice to you is to hire a team of computer science graduate students to oversee the computer project to make sure it u as badly as i suspect that it will. now we come to the real problem. due to my mistreatment at the hands of your political appointees, i have been forced to look hard at my years of employment. the result is that i have identified the one person most responsible for the problems and confusion in the department of building inspection. that would be mr. hansen tom. three minutes up? 27 seconds. he is the one person is placed and has caused th

mr. levin: mr. president, the lifeblood of our democratic government is the contract between the people and their elected representatives, a contract that must be based on trust that elected officials will act for the good of our nation and in the interests of their constituents and not for personal gain. to ensure that we maintain that trust, our nation has laws and our congress has rules. they establish clearly the responsibilities of government officials, members of congress and their staffs and provide for the enforcement of violations. the legislation before us is, in a way, preventive maintenance to protect that trust. it is a tightening up of our legal and ethical guidelines as part of what must be a constant effort to assure that the interests of our nation and our constituents come first. our constituents confidence that members of congress and our staffs will not use our positi positions for our personal financial benefit. now, there should be no doubt that regardless of our action on this