mr. meeks, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. garrett: specifically, let's be clear on the record, with regard to h.r. 41 i seek unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. garrett: at which time, at this time i yield myself just a couple minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. garrett: thank you. i rise today to continue the process of this house of speaking to aid and help those american citizens who have been devastated by hurricane sandy. this storm has left literally millions without power. thousands without homes. and the total area destroyed. the legislation before us today is simple. it temporarily increases fema's borrowing authority for carrying out the national flood insurance program. this legislation is really vital to ensure that the homeowners in my state of new jersey as well as in

under the poverty line if this isn't going to teach them is a point of contention here struck by mr meek a constituent assembly that is not representative of egypt or behind me it's a fine scene we're not going to retreat seems he will say he will not leave until president obama no see makes the changes they want. so this is not the last we're hearing of this true a correspondent there live in cairo thanks very much for that. a cia veteran and a man who oversaw the capture of al qaeda is third in command is facing nearly three years in jail during sentencing later today for leaking classified intelligence john kiriakou who was the first to blow the whistle on washington's torture program later revealing the name of an alleged torture at guantanamo bay he was convicted on a law which hasn't been used for twenty seven years earlier this week kiriakou explained why he was driven to speak out. i've never gained anything for what i've said publicly fact i've lost everything and i believe i was prosecuted not for what i did but for who i am a cia officer who said torture was wrong and ineffect

. >> mr. meeks of new york. >> let me first thank you for an extraordinary daughter who came to the rockaways after sandy just helping people unannounced without fanfare and getting down and helping people because they needed help after that terrible storm. just extraordinary public service. i want to also say, madam secretary that you have been a secretary of state at an extraordinary time in the history of the united states of america and the world. you managed to challenge in an equally extraordinary manner. when you took the job, america had a tarnished image and you revived our brand and traveled over a million miles to the furthest reaches of the world to the most challenging areas and touched the lives of the most vulnerab vulnerable. you have deepened our confidence that foreign aid can be responsibly spent. on behalf of a grateful nation and the people, i want to thank you for a job well done. the attacks on our in addition benghazi were a painful reminder to all of us that our diplomats ar

mr. meeks has 1.75 minutes remaining and the gentleman from new jersey has 2.25 minutes remaining. >> i yield myself the remaining time. >> gentleman's recognized. >> it's 70 days, unprecedented that this region has not been treated like the other regions when they were in need of help. it's 70 days. we're going this bill today and what we're receiving is a promissory note, a promissory note that on january 15 we'll be able to say to the people from new jersey, new york and connecticut that were victimized by this storm that their house of representatives are going to be by their side so we have a promissory note. i'm concerned until the promissory note has been put into the bank and stamped that it has sufficient funds and in this case it's got to be put in the bank and stamped that we have the votes that are necessary for the people of this region. they've been suffering. they have suffered long enough. they need to hear from their government that their government is with them just as it has

. >> mr. meeks of new york. >> let me first thank you for an extraordinary daughter who came to the rockaways after sandy just helping people unannounced without fanfare, just getting down and helping people because she needed help after that tell storm so that was extraordinary public service and i want to also say, madam secretary, that you have been secretary of state, at an extraordinary time in the history of the united states of america and the world. you have managed to challenge in an extraordinary manner when you took the job america had a tarnished image abroads you have revived our brand and traveled over a million miles to the most challenging areas of the world and touched the lives of the most vulnerable. with your leadership of initiatives you have deepened our confidence that foreign aid can be responsibly spent. on behalf of a grateful nation and the people of the 5th congressional district i thank you for a job well done. the attacks on our mission at benghazi were a painful remind

you answer that question from mr. meeks earlier, you said you were unsure about the libyan government and their ability to provide that assistance. if you were clear-eyed were you clear-eyed about al qaeda's displeasure with whom we seem to be supporting during the summer elections, the moderate that was elected. if you were clear-eyed shouldn't you have known that al qaeda roams freely in and around benghazi. as my friend from pennsylvania pointed out there were al qaeda flags not just at the protest but flying all over benghazi. if you were clear-eyed were you clear-eyed when the brits left benghazi because they had the attack? why did four americans die? what was so important that ambassador stevens, if he knew there was a security threat in benghazi, he went there on september 10 and 11 and gave his life for our country. what was so important for him to go to eastern libya, knowing all these threats are clear, i think you misspoke earlier when you said you didn't know of any requests that were denied for more security.

mr. meeks has 1.75 minutes remaining and the gentleman from new jersey has 2.25 minutes remaining. >> i yield myself the remaining time. >> gentleman's recognized. >> it's 70 days, unprecedented that this region has not been treated like the other regions when they were in need of help. it's 70 days. we're going this bill today and what we're receiving is a promissory note, a promissory note that on january 15 we'll be able to say to the people from new jersey, new york and connecticut that were victimized by this storm that their house of representatives are going to be by their side so we have a promissory note. i'm concerned until the promissory note has been put into the bank and stamped that it has sufficient funds and in this case it's got to be put in the bank and stamped that we have the votes that are necessary for the people of this region. they've been suffering. they have suffered long enough. they need to hear from their government that their government is with them just as it has

mr. meeks: i thank the ranking member from the rules committee. i stand here today as we deal with an american issue. it's an issue that is unique to america. it's an issue that -- where american people are saying we need help. an issue where the american people say we want hope. i had the opportunity to look at webster's dictionary to see what hope meant. and it said hope means to cherish a desire with anticipation. hope means to trust, hope means to except with confidence. our people in new york, connecticut and new jersey have hope today. hope that their members of congress and members of congress from all across this great land will come together and help them. hope that the members of congress will do like their people and their various states, because the hope that came to many of the individuals that were victimized by this storm came from people from all over this country. whether you come from the east or the west, the north or the south. american people came to help. some here today for john cory, a man in our community who works hard, a

the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york mr. meeks for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. meeks: thank you, mr. speaker. i last night when i came to the floor for the first time since i have been in this body my heart was hurting. i understand politics. but this should not be about politics. this should be about leadership. the first thing i want to do is say to the speaker, come walk with he me, mr. speaker. come walk with me. let's walk the beaches of the rockaway peninsula. you'll see a place where every soul, no matter whether you was rich or whether you were poor, no matter whether you were black or whether you were white , every individual, no matter what your religious belief was, every individual was affected by this storm. everyone, come walk with me, mr. speaker. and talk to the people, look into their eyes, understand their needs. come walk with me, mr. speaker. maybe then you can have the leadership that is necessary to get this bill passed today. come walk with me, mr. speaker. if you can't walk with me, mr. speaker, for any reason, then go walk with michael gr

you answer that question from mr. meeks earlier, you said you were unsure about the libyan government and their ability to provide that assistance. if you were clear-eyed were you clear-eyed about al qaeda's displeasure with whom we seem to be supporting during the summer elections, the moderate that was elected. if you were clear-eyed shouldn't you have known that al qaeda roams freely in and around benghazi. as my friend from pennsylvania pointed out there were al qaeda flags not just at the protest but flying all over benghazi. if you were clear-eyed were you clear-eyed when the brits left benghazi because they had the attack? why did four americans die? what was so important that ambassador stevens, if he knew there was a security threat in benghazi, he went there on september 10 and 11 and gave his life for our country. what was so important for him to go to eastern libya, knowing all these threats are clear, i think you misspoke earlier when you said you didn't know of any requests that were denied for more security.

. >> mr. meeksf new york. >> [inaudible] >> let me first thank you -- first i want to thank you for an extraordinary daughter who came to the rockaways after sandy, just helping people, unannounced without fanfare, just getting down and helping people because they needed help after that terrible storm. and so just extraordinary public service. and then i want to also say, madam secretary, that you have been secretary of state, at an extraordinary time in the history of the united states of america and the world. and you have managed the challenge and an equally extraordinary manner, when you took the job america had a tarnished image abroad. you have revived our brand, traveled over a million miles to the furthest reaches of the world to the most challenging areas, and touched the lives of the most vulnerable. with your leadership, you have deepened our confidence that foreign aid can be responsibly spent. our behalf of a grateful nation and a the fifth congressional district i want to thank you for

mr. meeks: in any kind of crisis, especially when it goes to natural disasters, we've always come together. how can we at this critical point turn our backs on americans? this is not supposed to happen here. it happens other places. mr. speaker, we cannot turn our backs on our citizens who need us. some who will not have a place to stay for a long period of time. people who have suffered, people who need food. we are americans. this is what's supposed to separate us from everyone else. i am absolutely shocked. mr. speaker, you have to reconsider. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i have been a member of this body for 24 years. and i don't think i've ever been as angry as i am tonight. this is unconscionable. you know, in the last debate i got up and i said that when president truma

mr. speaker, i expected to happen from my discussions with the majority leader. as i said last night, i went with congressman gregg meeks to breezy point and the rockaway in new york. and what i saw there, mr. speaker, in sandy's aftermath defied description and demanded action. to those who say that fema has not yet disbursed all the funds it has to assist families and businesses, i would tell them that they deeply underestimate the damage in these areas and the wide range of assistance required to alleviate the pain and suffering. at a park i saw the mountains of debris that the corps of engineers had begun to remove from neighborhoods. that debris represents people's lives, homes and businesses. with this legislation we would have provided up to 1.-- $1.6 billion to the corps to continue removing debris so families could begin rebuilding. would we have had to borrow that money? yes, just as if the furnace went out and the temperature was at zero, you would immediately replace the furnace to capital the family safe -- to keep the family safe and borrow the money to do so. and yes we would have had to repay it and we w

mr. messer: it is an honor to stand here today to talk about the threat to our children and grandchildren's economic future. i'm proud to represent an area that was formerly represented by now-govepbor meek pence my constituents work hard, play by the rules and deserve what they earn. they should be able to keep a little more of their paychecks for things like college tuition, family vacations, or retire just a little bit earlier. but washington is standing in their way. the fundamental question that this congress needs to answer is whether washington should take more than it already does from these hardworking, tax-paying americans. the answer, of course, is no. washington doesn't tax too little, it spends too much. one would hope that since the last congress raised tacks to avoid falling off the fiscal cliff, everyone's attention now would turn to our biggest fiscal problem, the out of control spending, now 24% of our gross domestic product and the explosive growth of entitlements and interest on the debt adding to our more than $16 trillion national debt and pushing us up against the debt ceiling. but remarkably, president obama is now calling for even more taxes, more spending, and m