mr. sessions: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm here to tell you that the opportunity for the rules committee to put the bill on the floor as we did several weeks ago resulted in 172 democrats voting against the bill which meant that it did not make it out of the house and that's why we're here today. we are here today because -- the here today because bill did not pass. my party and our friends, the democrats, did not supply enough votes to make sure it would move forward. and my party -- my party is here trying to make sure that we get a second shot at passing the farm bill and that's what we intend to do. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, let me just say to the gentleman that the reason we do not support the farm bill was because the farm bill that the republicans put on the floor would throw two million of our fellow citizens off of the food stamp program. the price of the farm bill should not be t

mr. reed. mr. reed: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: mr. president, the reed-warren amendment would provide student students and fas with certainty by assuring that interest rates will go no higher than they would in the current fixed rates in law. the amendment is fully paid for by a very small, about .5% surcharge on income over $1 million. and we should do this for students all across the country, and we should do it not for the students that might be going to college next year but for those who are in high school today and will face, we know, predictablably higher rates. a young man wrote me a letter. "my brother, no, sir college, will be paying a lot of money for college and is a worried he will have a hard time paying the loan. i'm afraid that by the timegy to college, loans will be so expensive i will not be able to pay it off. my parents help with paying for college, but they may not be able to help with paying for a loan that big. i really want to be able to go to college." so for those young men and women who are in high school tod

mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i recognize the gentleman from iowa, mr. king, one of my prime subcommittee chairmen, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. king: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the chairman for recognizing me and for the work that he's done to pull together this bill over these last two years. there's much that i'm hearing on this floor so far in this debate that i do not disagree with. there's much that i do agree with. the numbers are this. 62 no votes on the republican side. 24 no votes -- and 24 yes votes on the democrat side. i said for weeks we should go to both sides and pull together 218. i appreciate the effort to do that. i appreciate the honor that's been brought to this process by the chairman, mr. lucas, and others that we work with. we're down to this now. we're down to this is our choice for this bill which can provide five years of predictability for agriculture and an uncertain bill that might come before us on nutrition, which i think ends up without what i want which is r

mr. franks: mr. chairman, i now yield 2 1/2 minutes to mr. rogers from alabama. the chair: the gentleman from alabama is recognized. roger federer i thank the gentleman. i, -- mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman. the estimates in 2012, the cost of 20 silo sites including missiles is approximately $3 billion and could be built over a five or six-year period of time. this cost is almost half the funding the administration has stripped from m.d.a. in the past two years. these funds are critical today. iran will not slow down its ballistic missile program just because the gentleman wants to cut the funds for our defense. they are testing rocket engines and missiles now. the department of defense tells us also that iran continues to advance its space launch and longer range ballistic missile capabilities. iran has used the sapphire 2 to place a satellite in orbit, demonstrating some of the key technologies required for an icbm to be successfully developed. this was reaffirmed recently by the latest biannual report from the leading experts on ballistic missile intelligenc

mr. cantor: mr. speaker, if the gentleman will yield. mr. hoyer: i'd be glad to yield. mr. cantor: there was no vehicle to go to conference, as the gentleman recalls. there was a blue slip on the senate bill, mr. speaker, and so we took up the bill in the house and went ahead and passed the bill. so i don't even know why that is even pertinent to this discussion, mr. speaker, and i'd also say the gentleman understands as well, there was a bipartisan farm bill that came to the floor. and if i recall, that bipartisanship faded away which is what now then caused the house to bring up another farm bill. and this time trying to be transparent in the process, brought up the agricultural policy piece which has passed the house without any bipartisan support, mr. speaker, and then we are also -- the gentleman knows -- engaged in discussions with the chairman of the agriculture committee as to forging a consensus on a nutrition piece so that we can, yes, act again on that. so i'd say, mr. speaker, to the gentleman, it is not accurate that we don't intend to eventually go to conferenc

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. id: we're in a quorum call, is that true? the vice president: that's correct. mr. reid: i ask that it be virkted. the vice president: without objection, it is vitiated. mr. reid: mr. president, what is the business before the senate? the vice president: the swearing in of the senator from massachusetts. the chair laser before the senate a certificate of election to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of senator john f. kerry of massachusetts. the certificate the chair is advised is in the form suggested by the senate. if there's no objection, the reading of the certificate will be waived and will be printed in full in the record. if the senator-elect will now present himself -- mr. reid: mr. president, reserving the right to object, i know a lot of people want to say some real nice things about this good man. but they're going to have do it later. we have a lot of things to do here. and as he will learn, the senate is not always as punctual as the house. so all those who have t

mr. petri. mr. petri: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. petri: thank you. i would like to rise in support this bill, one of the concern is hear most is that federal money comes to local schools and districts in a variety of funding streams each with its own restrictions and reporting requirements. i'm constantly asked if there's a way to consolidate some of these funding pots so schools can better apply the funds to those areas where they will have the most effect f -- effect. these feelings are strongest in smaller or more rural schools where funding tends to be the most limited. h.r. 5 would give them that much-needed local flexibility. wisconsin schools are doing a lot of innovative things to prepare their students for success in the 21st century economy. they know that the nature of work is changing, jobs in manufacturing where wisconsin is the leader, require critical thinking and the ability to be innovative and work with people of varying skill levels an

mr. mcintyre. mr. mcintyre: thank you. mr. speaker, when you talk about helping with education, when you talk about helping food banks and when you talk about helping our military families, it really was worth raising a racket about. and that's what happened down at the cassel stadium. we want to thank them for their hospitality. tennis is a lifetime support but this offers a lifeline to those in need in our schools, those who are hungry and also to our military families. so we appreciate the great opportunity. it truly was a great time to have the ball in our court to do something in a positive way. with that i yield back the remainder of the time. mr. dent: many charities supported. i should let you know that the washington castles are playing down at the marina, waterfront. get down to watch them. it's not tennis anyone. it's tennis everyone. thank you for doing it. yield back my time. the chair: the gentleman from ennsylvania yields back. the chair will remind members that the rules do not allow references to members of the

mr. murphy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: mr. president, i rise today to speak in support of the nomination of gina mccarthy to be this nation's next e.p.a. administrator. mr. president, you and i know gina mccarthy's work firsthand because prior to joining the e.p.a. she was our commissioner in the state of connecticut of the department of environmental protection where she served under republican governor, worked with both parties to advance the environmental and business interests of the state. and so first i want to very briefly share with my colleagues why i support gina mccarthy. but then i frankly wasn't to talk about why i believe that my republican colleagues who may not be supportive every single day of the year of the mission of the e.p.a. should support her as well. i support gina mccarthy because for her entire career she has been a champion of public health. a lot of people who rise to lead federal agencies, they spend the majority of their career here in washington and there's nothing wrong with that but there is so

mr. cummings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i am very disappointed -- i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i'm very disappointed that the republican leadership is wasting the few days we have remaining before the august recess with political message bills like this one instead of dealing with the major challenges the american people want us to address. e american people care about jobs. let me say that again. the american people care mr. jobs -- care about jobs. the democrats introduced a make it in america agenda that would create good-paying jobs by rebuilding america's infrastructure, investing in innovation and education, and reducing the deficit through a balanced approach. but the republican leadership apparently has chosen a no jobs agenda. it has been seven months since the start of this congress and we have not passed a single jobs bill on the floor of this house. instead, the republican sequestration plan is expected to cost up to 1. million american jobs through next year. the american -- 1

mr. gallego of texas, amendment by mr. young of alaska, amendment by mr. grayson of florida, amendment number 4 by mr. mcclintock of california, amendment by mr. hastings of florida, amendment about mr. hastings of florida, amendment by mr. hastings of florida. the chair will reduce to two minutes any electronic vote after the first electronic vote in this series. the the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas on which further proceedings were postponed and the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. gallego of texas. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the

mr. amash: i yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. mr. poe: warrants need to be particular and specific about the maces to be serminged. no judge would sign a general search warrant like the british did, allowing police to search every house on the block much less seize everybody's phone records but this is what has happened under section 15 under the government. government's gone too far in the name of security that the fourth amendment has been bruised. rein in government invasion, no more dragnet operations, get a specific warrant based on proximate cause or stay out of our lives. and that's the way it is. he chair: the gentleman's time mr. amash: i yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: this amendment stops the government from misusing section 215 to engage in the llection of all of our personal records. congress did not grant the executives to collect everything it wants. this amendment restores the requirement that are relevant to an authorized intelligence investigation and ignored by successive administrations

mr. farr: i thank the gentleman or his response. mr. young: will the gentleman from california yield? mr. farr: yes. mr. young: i appreciate his proposed solution. in finding ways to address this issue. like my good friend from indiana, i agree that we should work with our friend, mr. farr, to ensure that the department of defense and the director of national intelligence in leveraging the security learance research to improve the provision -- speed of investigations and that is exactly why we included it in ur report. mr. farr: thank you for your friendship, leadership and cooperation. mr. visclosky: i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from indiana reserves his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. young: madam chairman, i yield to mr. turner of ohio three minutes for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy. the chair: the gentleman from ohio three minutes. mr. turner: thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate you entering in a colloquy. i want to speak about the abrams tank. the appropriations committee has wisely included funding in the last two years for continuing to upgrade the abr

mr. president, i would yield the floor. mr. sanders: mr. president? he presiding officer: the senator from vermont. sand sand let me begin by con-- mr. sanders: let me begin by concurring with the remarks of senator cardin. tom perez will make an excellent secretary of labor, and i strongly support his nomination. mr. president, it is no great secret that the united states congress is currently held in very low esteem by the american people, and there are a lost reasons for that. but i think that the major reason perhaps in the midst of so many serious problems facing our country, the american people perceive that we are just not addressing those issues, and they are right. regardless of what yo your political point of view may be, we're looking at a middle class that is disappearing. are we addressing that issue? no. poverty is just extraordinarily high. are we moving aggressively to address that? no, we're not. we have the most expensive health care system in the world, enormously bureaucratic and wasteful. are we addressing in a? no, we're not. but

mr. rose. >> mr. chairman and members of the committee as you know you continued to item and amended the medication e legislation we recommend you approve it. >> any yes, sir. for mr. rose. we'll open this open for public comment seeing none, public comment is closed. we can move this forward >> item number 2 resolution approving the declaration for the policy for the north shore main not to exceed 75.3 million. >> colleagues any questions on number 2. mr. rose >> mr. chairman and members of the committee we recommend you approve this legislation as amended. >> colleagues any questions. at this time we'll open this up to public comment seeing none, public comment is closed. can we move this marred. so move forward >> item number 3 resolution approving an amendment between the contract of the public works and the substance abuse care services to expend e extend the term by 5 unlawful years to increase it to $19 million. >> we have the department of public health here to speak. >> department of public health we concur with the budget analyst recommendation and we've had our health care in the jail being provided for close to 4 years. >> okay colleagues any questions

mr. stutzman: nau, mr. speaker. i'd -- thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to thank my friend from georgia for yielding and for his hard work on this very important issue. mr. speaker, mr. harry reid might have said that obamacare is wonderful for america but hoosiers back home ancht buying the spin -- aren't buying the spin. obamacare was sold as a benefit to hardworking americans, but it is increasingly clear on both sides of the aisle that obamacare is hurting the very people it was sbeppeded to help. there is nothing -- intended to help. there is nothing wonderful about the situation hardworking americans face. fewer hours, more taxes, soaring premiums and smaller paychecks. just trust the bureaucrats, is what democrats said when they forced this mess on the american people. three years later they're asking for more time. by unilaterally delaying the employer mandate for a year, the white house admitted that -- what hoosiers already know. if they're willing to accept business, shouldn't every hardworking family get an exemption as well? let's del

mr. lee: plap? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, i rise today to voice my strong opposition to the nomination of thomas e. perez to be the secretary of the u.s. department of labor. sumly putsimply put, there's noe of reasons why mr. perez should not be confirmed ae as our next labor secretary. several of my colleagues have discussed a number of troubling fablghtfacts about mr. perez's troubling history, one one enough to disqualify him for this nomination. i'd like to discuss just a few that are of significant concern to me. without question, mr. perez has abused his position as assistant doarng oveattorney general overl rights division at the u.s. department of justice. rather than seek out social injustice, mr. perez has turned the office into his own personal tool of political activism, something that that office was never meant to accomplish. for example, a report you shalled by the department of justice's office of inspector general found that during perez's tenure at the civil rights division, employees harassed col

mr. visclosky: i will reserve and understand i have the right to close. the chair: the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. watt: thank you, mr. chairman -- mr. wittman: thank you, mr. chairman. again, i want to emphasize this time in our nation's defense budgeting, we ought to be looking at where we can save dollars, where we can apply dollars that that -- to those areas of greatest need and i argue those areas of greatest need are for this nation's readiness. the training of our troops, the operation and maintenance of our equipment, making sure that we get those dollars there. and that before we pursue a brac, we ought to know what the other areas are, where we're going to go with this nation's strategy, with what our base structure should be in other areas of the world, and after being at war for nearly 12 years, now we have a well-trained, battle-hardened, combat-tested force and they are an all-volunteer force that's more joint than ever. we want to understand where we need to be going forward, to make sure that we provide for them. closing these bases now or even pursuing a base realignment and closure commission is not the time to do t

mr. cantor: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman from georgia for his leadership. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the fairness for american families act. mr. speaker, it's interesting to hear on the floor the minority to continue their cries of objection based on claims of politics and process. now, we're talking about substance here, and instead what we hear are objections about our position somehow insinuating that we don't care about people's health care. well, mr. speaker, i will say it is exactly the opposite. we're talking about substance and we're talking about ways that we can improve the prospects for quality health care for americans and for several years republicans have been warning the american people about the devastating impact obamacare will have on both jobs and health care. and it now appears that democrats and even the president himself are beginning to agree the decision by the administration earlier this month to delay the employer mandate until 2015 is a clear signal that even the administration doesn't believe the country is ready to susta

mr. scalise. mr. scalise: thank you, mr. chairman. and the amendment i bring forth deals specifically with reforms that many states have made. i'll talk specifically about reforms that have been made in great state of louisiana, especially as it relates to teacher evaluation and specifically what my amendment would do would be to remove the mandate that is in the legislation that requires states to adopt the federal rule on teacher evaluation. and the reason i say that is not just because louisiana has a highly successful evaluation program that's working very well for the people of louisiana but in general when you look at the successes that we've seen across the country as it relates to education reform, it's been state and local governments that have driven those great successes. that's because the states are the incubators and our state and local governments are the most accountable to the parents who have the most at stake and concern for their children's education. and so the amendment specifically makes sure that there can be no

mr. nolan, mr. lipinski, mr. graves and mr. rokita and all the folks at the transportation transportation infrastructure committee. i urge support of all of my colleagues this evening and hope we'll have a unanimous vote on behalf of this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from nevada is recognized. ms. titus: mr. speaker, i would yield three minutes now to the entleman from minnesota. >> mr. speaker, i ask to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. knollenberg: first i'd like to thank our -- mr. nolan: first i'd like it thank representative pompeo for sponsoring this legislation and thanks to our chairman shuster and rahall and to both my democratic and republican colleagues. on the committee, for bringing this small aircraft revitalization act to the floor of the congress in such an expedition and -- expeditious and bipartisan manner. mr. speaker, by streamlining and modernizing the rules and regulations that gover

mr. wolf, for 30 minutes. mr. wolf: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today i ask my fourth question in a series of unresolved issues surrounding the benghazi terrorist attacks. with only eight more legislative days before the congress departs for august recess, i'm increasingly concerned that these questions will remain unanswered by the time we mark the one-year anniversary of the benghazi attacks the week we return from recess in september. that is why i continue to raise these questions to provide the american people of a better understanding of how little we really know about this incident, despite nearly a year of investigations and multiple committees. unless these questions are answered by the committees, or rather by a select committee focused on benghazi as i have advocated for more than eight months, the american people will never learn the complete truth. today i am pleased to share one piece of good news before i raise the fourth critical unanswered question. at my request today, the house state and foreign operations appropriations

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. mr. franken: thank you, mr. president. i would suggest that the whole -- that this be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. franken: thank you. mr. president, i rise today to discuss a problem i have spoken about many times over the past three years, beginning with debate on the dodd-frank wall street reform bill, that bill which congress passed in july 2010 contained a provision i authored with my republican colleague, senator row 0 skwrer wicker of -- roger wicker of mississippi. it gave the securities and exchange commission authority to address the conflict of interests inherent in the industry, conflict of str tr* which contribute -- conflict of interest which contributed fightly -- mightily to our financial collapse and has continued to plague that industry through today. i'm speaking about that again today because even though the conflicts continue to put the industry at risk the s.e.c. still has not proposed meaningful reforms. the s.e.c. has studied the issue, the financial crisis inquiry commissi

mr. burgess: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. peaker, may i inquire to whether or not you have additional speakers on the other identify? mr. polis: we're not aware of any at this time. there might be one more coming but if they're not here i'm prepared to close. mr. burgess: i have the right to close, is that correct? the speaker pro tempore: that's correct. mr. burgess: i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: again, we wonder why this body has an approval rating of 12%. instead of tackling issues that americans want us to tackle, like finally fixing our broken immigration system, which by the way a bill received more than 2/3 support in the senate, democrats and republicans, it's hard to get 2/3 of anybody to agree on anything, and yet 70% of americans support comprehensive immigration refo

mr. lynch: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, good afternoon, i have an amendment at the desk, amendment number 36, i think they have relabeled them from yesterday, before i get to that --ust want to say that >> mr. chairman. the chair: are we currently on amendment number 36? the chair: yes, we are. mr. lynch: thank you. reclaiming my time. the chair: are you wishing to address the amendment that the gentleman from louisiana has introduced? mr. lynch: no, sir. this is a new amendment. entirely new amendment. the chair: we are not funnished with this amendment. the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment . does the gentleman wish to seek recognition? >> i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for five minutes. >> mr. chairman, i rise to support my colleague from louisiana's amendment. mr. richmond: not to belabor the point, just in the last 11 months, mitigation costs in the new orleans district for the corps of engineers in projects related to this have incre

mr. murphy, propose an amendment numbered 1783. mr. murphy: mr. president, i ask we dispense with the reading of the amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, there's a broad consensus amongst the people of this country that when we spend dollars through the federal treasury, when we spend taxpayer dollars, that they should be used to fund american jobs. in fact, that's been a law on the books since the early part of this century, the buy-america act for a long time has required that when we buy things, whether it be through the military or through the department of transportation, that we buy things from american contractors. makes more sense toda -- today than ever before because as we struggle to try to get our economy back up and running, one of the sectors that is hurting more than others is the construction sector, and so every time that we violate the buy america provisions of our law, we lose the opportunity to try to alleviate great stress that is currently upon our construct

mr. barrasso: mr. president? the presiding officer: the junior senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i strong senator enzi in strongly supporting the nomination of greg phillips to the seat on the tenth circuit court of appeals. he graduated with honors from the university of wyoming college of law. he has worked in private practice. he's worked in the office of the u.s. attorney for wyoming and currently serves as attorney general to the state of wyoming. the breadth of his experience, his understanding of the law and the role of a judge as well as the thoroughness with which he approaches his responsibilities, well, mr. president, they will serve him well. the people who know him best, his peers, uniformly praise his intellect, and diligence. his former boss, u.s. district judge alan johnson said in a letter to senator enzi, again and again local defense attorneys stkpresed their appreciate -- expressed their appreciation for the fair handed and temperament treatment they received from greg phillips. we are fortunate in wyoming to have greg phillips nominated for the bench. i have n

mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, for civilian defense employees at packs river naval air station, webster field, all of which i represent, and mr. jones, who's on the floor, represents a substantial number as well in his district. sequestration hit home last week as furloughs began. he same is true of 650,000 civilian defense workers throughout our country. the furloughs brought on by the irrational policy of sequestration are harming our national security and putting our military readiness at risk. at the same time, they also present a severe 20% pay cut in the form of days when they are forced to stay home without pay forbidding even to volunteer to continue their important task. federal employees, including those in civilian defense positions, have already contributed $114 billion over the st three years for next seven year from pay freezes and changes in retirement benefits. these are hardworking, dedicated men and women who only want to serve their country and make a difference. as i said on this floor l

mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley:thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker -- mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, we can do better. when it comes to establishing a national energy policy to address climate change, we can and must do better, but we are not. as members of this body, we are not doing anything. why? we are hamstrung by our inability to work together, to do great, important, vital things here in this chamber. things like addressing our national debt, tackling comprehensive immigration reform, and to ever, ever in the history of this nation, establish a national energy plan. the only way forward is to establish an national energy plan to address climate change, something this great nation has always lacked, and to work with public and private entities alike to get this done. and for the climate doubters out there who still question climate change, i remind them that over 200 peer review stein tisk studies say that climate change is real and man contributes significantly to it and zero scientific peer review studies have said the opposite. we

mr. chair, i would like unanimous consent to submit a question for the record concerning our relationship with taiwan to the ambassador. >> without objection. >> you back. >> all right. mr. david. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. let me add my congratulations, mr. ambassador. you know, as we experience globalization, there seems to be more and more small, moderate minority owned, women-owned businesses who are trying to get into the pipeline and make use of opportunities to do business abroad. how helpful does your office expect to be to help these individuals make inactions, contacts and get movement? >> well, thank you very much for asking that question, because getting small and medium-size businesses into the export business has been a major focus of the administration and we want to do more on that. a couple of years ago ambassador kirk launched an estimate initiative had ustr. and more broadly the administration, through the national export initiative, through the work of the export promotion cabinet, we made increasing the number of small and medium-size businesses to export a major objective. we went at that by one come increasing the availability of trade finance and working with community

mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i yield to the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, for a unanimous consent request. mr. hastings: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks in very strong opposition to the farm bill rule and underlying bill because it takes the safety net away from america's poor families. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman's time will be charged. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield to the gentleman from new york, mr. rangel, for a unanimous consent request. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rangel: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks in strong opposition to the farm bill rule and the underlying bill because it hurts america's children. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman's time will be charged. the gentleman from massachusetts. the gentleman will state his inquiry. mr. hastings: why that that is beyond the boundaries the clarity you say one must also when he or she is in opposition to the rule?

mr. royce: yes, mr. speaker. i yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, chairman of the subcommittee on africa, global health and global human rights. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: i thank the chair. mr. speaker, first of all, let thank chairman royce and to elliot engel for his good cooperation on this important bill. the iranian government is estimated to be a little more than a year away from developing nuclear weapons, an unprecedented and unacceptable threat. iran's repeated threats to annihilate israel is unconscionable and institute a direct and public incitement to commit genocide. in violation of article 3 of the 1948 genocide convention. iran's supreme leader khomeini, speaks of israel as a cancerous tumor, calls for annihilation and destruction of the israel state and tel aviv and haifa. rouhmani to ct move iran's nuclear program forward is proved to be a moderate yet last year referred to israel as the great zionist satan. this bill dramatically ramps up sanctions pushed b

mr. upton: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i rise today in strong support of h.r. 2218, the coal residual reuse and management act, an important and bipartisan jobs bill. today's vote is the culmination of an over two-year pusuret of a thoughtful, transparent solution to a serious regulatory challenge. while the coal ash bill has continued to improve when we first debated it back in 2011, we stayed true to our original principles. first, the bill sets out strict standards for coal ash management, but leaves the permitting program to the states. this approach is important because it ensures consistent environmental protection, but gives the day-to-day implementation to the states who have the combination of expertise and dedication to get the job done right for their state. second, it takes e.p.a.'s three-year proposal to regulate coal ash as hazardous waste off the table. when e.p.a. first published this proposal, they knew that if it overreached, the e.p.a. would face a very tough dilemma. they wanted a permit progra

mr. menendez: mr. president, i -- mr. mccain: how much time is going to be allocated? mr. menendez: it is my intention to consume about eight minutes, approximately, to yield to senator campaign six minutes, senator graham six minutes, and senator corker five minutes. that should take the balance of our time. mr. president, this amendment may be good politics but it's bad policy. i appreciate the gentleman from kentucky's concern for detroit. he and others in this chamber have had plenty of times to vote for america's cities, but i haven't seen those votes be there. and nothing in this amendment, nothing what we heard, suggests that cutting all aid to egypt ultimately means putting that money into the cities of america, such as detroit, so let's not be mistaken about that. i shir many of the concerns that have been raised by my colleagues today about the situation in egypt. i believe, however, halting all military assistance to egypt at this time is misguided and it is shortsighted. it would drastically reduce u.s. influence with both the interim government of egypt and the

mr. pompeo: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, the amendment i offer this evening clarifies and confirms the scope of two programs that mr. snowden illegally exposed while sitting in a hotel in communist china. first, the amendment clarifies that under section 702, no u.s. citizen or person in the u.s. can be targeted. period. i say again, no u.s. person under section 702 may be targeted in any way by the united states government. while there are other specific authorities, the u.s. person may be subject to an

mr. wolf, for five minutes. mr. wolf: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, with only six legislative days left before the congress departs for august recess, i'm increasingly concern we will not learn the answers to any of the questions i have raised over the past week before the one-year anniversary of the attack on benghazi, if ever. this is due in large part to the secretive nature of the investigations to date. most of the key hearings on what happened that night in benghazi have happened behind closed doors in classified settings, including a june hearing with general carter hamm. that is why i was surprised to hear comments made by general hamm at the aspen security forum where he spoke freely about the u.s. response about the attack. does it bother any of my colleagues that general hamm can publicly speak about the military's response at a forum in aspen, colorado, where the tickets, the tickets were $1,200? the american people should not have to pay $1,200. yet, his testimony was behind closed doors. according to a cnn report, by the time an

mr. mcconnell: il retain the floor, mr. president. mr. grassley: mr. resident, would the senator yield for a question? mr. mcconnell: i would. i would be happy to yield to my friend from iowa. mr. grassley: yes, one of the things that the public at large can get confused about is that we're going to eliminate the use of the filibuster entirely. i've sn some of the -- i guess you call them 527 commercials advising constituents to get ahold of their congressman because minority rights are going to be trampled. now, i obviously find that ludicrous. i know that this debate is not about changing anything dealing with legislation. it's just maintaining the system that we've had here in the united states senate on judges for 214 years, and i wonder if the senator would clear up tha we're talking just about judicial nominees and not even all judicial nominees, and nothing to change the filibuster on legislation. mr. mcconnell: i would say to my friend from iowa that if the majority leader does have to exercise the constitutional option and ask us to support it,

mr. alexander: no. i'll wait until the majority leader finishes. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: my friend, the republican leader, continues to ignore his words. that he would process nominations consistent with the senate. please. please. that's just ignored by him? if anyone thinks since the first of this year that the norms and traditions of the senate have been followed by the republican leader, they're living in gaga land. mr. president, he agreed that we should not have filibusters in except is in the case of extraordinary circumstances. he agreed with that. he ignores that. mr. president, i think it's also worth talking a little bit here about what the republican leader complains that people don't like the two top reasons outdistance all others. they don't like congress because of gridlock and not getting anything done. is that our fault? no. surveying the years that president obama has been in office, one can see time after time when democrats reach ou

mr. denham. mr. gardner. >> thank you, mr. chairman and members of the committee for the opportunity to testify. my statement has been submitted for the record. this hearing is an important step in addressing immigration reform in a systematic manner. clearly, our current system is broken. immigration is an important issue for my district and for everyone on this panel. ignoring immigration law for approximately two decades has resulted in approximately 11 million people in the united states without documentation. 42% were once here legally, but overstayed their visas. the 1986 bill has proven unworkable.and too easily avoidable. we must reform immigration laws. we must do so in a step-by-step

mr. brown: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to ten minutes in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. there is broad agreement that overleveraged financial institutions significantly contributeed, to put it mildly, to the 2008 financial crisis, and that they were bailed out because everyone knows that they are too big to fail. years later, it's five years later now, there is an implicit assumption that the largest megabanks, the five or six largest banks in the country, still are too big to fail. that means that markets give them funding advantages that experts estimate are as high as 50 or 60 or 70 or even 80 basis points. that means when they go in the capital markets, they can borrow money at close to 1%. 80 basis points is 4/5. 88 points is 4/5 of 1%. they with borrow money at lower costs than virtually anyone els

mr. fincher: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. fincher: i want to thank chairman jeb hensarling, chairman lucas and congressman garrett for helping me bring h.r. 1341 to the floor today. i'm pleased we're considering h.r. 1341, the financial competitive act of 2013. mr. scott and i have worked in a bipartisan manner to move this measure forward to ensure america remains competitive in the global marketplace. we need folks around the world to know that america is open for opportunity, upward mobility. this country we promote jobs. i introduced the financial competitive act with my friend, mr. scott, for one reason, to ensure the law of unintended consequences does not place america at a disadvantage globally. our bill simply requires financial stability oversight committee to conduct the study of the impacts implementing the credit valuation adjustment capital requirement, or c.v.a., will have on end users and u.s. financial institutions. this study is in response to the recent bossle 3 accord which is a global regulatory standard

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. udall: thank you, mr. president. i ask to be recognized to speak --. the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. udall: i ask to vitiate the quorum call, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: thank you. last week, 40,000 students --. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senator from new mexico. mr. udall: last week, mr. president, 40,000 students in my state got some very bad news. the rates on new stafford student loans doubled and today these students got bad news again. today, our nation's students are once again, they wait in vain for relief. these students work hard, they're ambitious, they know how important a college education is, they know what it means to their future and to our nation's future. they expected more of us and i share their disappointment. we saw this coming. this bus has been approaching a cliff for a year. that ought to be time enough to turn it around. and turn it around without throwing students underneath it. i know that many o

mr. pastor: mr. chairman, i reserve my time. mr. latham: mr. chairman, i reserve at this time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. pastor: mr. chairman, i yield three minutes to my distinguished friend from chicago, mr. quigley. the chair: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for three minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i became a member of the appropriations committee this congress to make the tough funding choices that determine our national priorities. but this year's budget allocations have taken those choices away from us. this bill is being touted as a budgetary tradeoff, but there are no tradeoffs in this bill. there are only cuts. investments in our infrastructure are needed more than ever. yet, this bill makes some of the most significant cuts to vital transportation programs in decades. we all remember the recovery act. interesting fact about the recovery act, about 6% or 7% of that bill that was infrastructure. but that 6% or 7% of that bill created about 2/3 of the jobs that the act created. un

mr. smith, for five minutes. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to call on president obama to delay his health care mandate for all americans. obamacare is simply too overreaching, too intrusive, too unworkable, and too destructive for families across our nation. and in my home state of missouri. in the year since obamacare was forced through congress, the american people's opposition to he mandate has only grown. and rightfully so, americans are seeking skyrocketing premiums, they are losing their health insurance they have, and employers are cutting jobs, hours, and wages. last week president obama admitted that his health care mandate is flawed when he announced he would delay the employer mandate portion of the law for one year. mr. speaker, we don't need to only delay one section of the law, we need to delay the entire law permanently. since the beginning, the only aspect of president obama's health care law that has been bipartisan is the bipartisan opposition to the mandate. since 2009, the house of representatives has

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers, and i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i urge passage of h.r. 1542 today. enactment of this measure will strengthen the partnership between the department of homeland security and our nation's first preventers against one of the most vecksing homeland security threats, weapons of mass destruction. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. meehan: i thank the gentleman from mississippi and, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. but i want to thank my colleagues for their support of h.r. 1542. this is a vitally important piece of legislation, as has been identified in the earlier comments of the gentleman from mississippi, and i echo them myself, particularly his concern as we engage in a world in which the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, particularly those which are chemical weapons which we do not kno

mr. nunez. >> mr. ambassador, welcome. i want to echo mr. rangle's comments the ambassador works on bipartisan manner but we enjoy a long-term relationship with your staff and we hope that continues. i like you to quickly address sbs enforcement mechanisms specifically dispute resolution as it relates to the ttp. i know we have short time. i will leave it at that and i have one additional question. >> this is a critical part of our negotiations and as we propose sps plus disciplines in tpp we want to make sure we have mechanisms for insuring that those disciplines are fully implemented. the substantive disciplines of sps plus are really rooted in the wto and the wto commitments and they are of course binding dispute resolution is available. the other elements of sps plus are procedural elements and most of those are also subject to dispute resolution in, under tpp. so we think the bulk of the commitments we're likely to achieve in tpp in the sbs chapter will be subject to enforcement through the wto or consultative mechanism in tpp leading to