mr. mchugh, to further discuss this project. the chair: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. mchugh: i thank the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee and also my dear friend, zrashede ranking member of the subcommittee and indeed, the appropriations committee in general for recognizing the value and the importance of this funding. as i have said to the gentleman from california friend and colleague, my colleague from arizona, mr. flake, in past years when he has brought amendments to the floor striking out at some of the programs that i have been proud to advance, i always appreciate the opportunity, madam chair, to rise and to talk a bit about the district that i have the honor of representing and the special people who live there. i agree, we have an economic challenge in this country. i'm not sure 1 -- $150,000 as much as i wish that all of us in america had that amount in our hip pocket. but taking with seriousness the gentleman from california's proposal, i would just make the following comment. most people in new york state is viewed through new york city. they thi

of representatives, a good friend of our armed forces, and the american people, congressman john mchugh. mr. chairman, representative mchugh has represented new york's 23rd congressional district in the house of representatives since 1993. we came here together. and he has done so with honor and integrity. representative mchugh's district includes fort drum, the home of the outstanding 10th mountain division, for which he has been a tireless advocate. he's honored and respected by all members of the 10th mountain division, past and present. prior to his service in the house of representatives, he served for many years in local, state, and federal government. since coming to the house of representatives, he's been a champion for the members of the armed forces. he's known by his colleagues as a leader on national defense and security issues. and a relentless advocate for america's military personnel and their families. while in the house, he has led the effort to increase army and marine corps end strength levels. increase military personnel pay. reduce the unfair tax on veterans disability

mr. mchugh for his service and thank you, mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from missouri. . mr. skelton: iryield one minute to ms. jackson lee. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: i rise to raise three points and i would like to refresh the memory of the chairman as he well knows over a period of congressional terms, i brought to his attention the inability of families to publicly acknowledge their loved ones who lost their life in battle coming back from a foreign land as they came into dover air force base. i want to recognize the fact that this new administration, even though we had a number of legislative initiatives in previous authorization bills have now allowed families to be able to have their families publicly acknowledged as they have come in from losing their life on a foreign field. that is an important note and i hope families will recognize that the fallen are respected the moment they hit the soil of the united states. i also wish to make note of the increased coverage of tricare,

mr. john mchugh for all of his help, confidence and advice. we wish him god speed. and i ask my colleagues to support this bill and yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from missouri. mr. skelton: i yield three minutes to my colleague, my friend, chairman of the subcommittee on terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities, the gentleman from washington, mr. smith. the chair: the gentleman from washington is recognized for three minutes. smith smith i rise in support of the national authorization act and discuss briefly the portions of the bill contained under the subcommittee that i chair on terrorism, unconventional threats and exabets and i thank ranking member miller from the great state of florida for his support for this bill. we work in true bipartisan fashion on the subcommittee, following the lead of our abled chairman who does the same with the full committee and in large part as a result of that, we produce a very good product. i want to thank the chairman for his overyou'll leadership. it places the priorities exactly where th

mr. mckeon and i, that is a tribute to the work of john mchugh on our committee. likewise, i must thank the subcommittee chairman, ranking members who contributed so much toward this bill. they did their homework and i'm pleased with the outcome of their efforts. they solved almost every problem set out for them and they accomplished a lot of good government at the same time. they were able to -- ably assisted by our committee staff, that amazing committee staff, professionals as well as the office of the legislative council and the office of parliamentarian. this bill authorizes $550.5 billion in budget authority for the department of defense and the national security programs of the department of energy. the bill also authorizes $130 billion to support ongoing military operations in iraq and afghanistan during the fiscal year 2010. these amounts are essentially equal to the president's budget request for items in the jurisdiction of our committee. . h.r. 2647 supports america's service members and providing the necessary resources to keep americans safe. the bil

mchugh. a, findings. congress makes the following -- mr. skelton: i ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered as read. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. is there objection to the initial request? without objection, so ordered. mr. skelton: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the statement of the gentleman from tennessee be placed in the record at this moment, mr. cohen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's statement will be covered under general leave. pursuant to house resolution 572 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of the bill h.r. 2647. will the gentleman from new york, mr. serrano, kindly resume the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the further consideration of the bill h.r. 2647, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bl to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2010 for military activities of the department of defense, to prescribe