mr. pitts: madam speaker, i just want to remind everyone that under the class act there is not one person in the united states who would receive long-term care benefits under that act because it doesn't work. i yield at this time two minutes to the gentleman from west virginia, mr. mckinley. the chair: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. mckinley: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today in favor of h.r. 1173. this bill would save hardworking taxpayer dollars and eliminate a costly and flawed obamacare provision known as the class act. this program is sold as a self-sustaining program, one that would reduce federal spending. however the program was problematic from the start. the president and the democrat leadership in congress knew this fact for over a year and a half a -- ago and still include the class program in the health care bill. during an investigation it was revealed that the obama administration officials and senate democrats were very much aware that thi

mr. pitts: mr. speaker, at this time i yield two minutes to a champion of human rights, the gentleman from alabama, mr. aderholt, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on homeland security and a member of the hell sink -- hell senky commission -- helsinki commission. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. aderholt: thank you. i want to thank the gentleman from pennsylvania for his work on this and authoring this resolution. i think, as mr. pitts mentioned, both sides of the aisle has worked together on this issue. i know many times the american people get frustrated with what goes on here in washington, but this is a time when democrats and republicans have come together, mr. speaker, and worked together and i think this is certainly a crucial thing that we're doing tonight. a few times, -- times, mr. speaker, do members of congress have the opportunity to work on life and death issues. and i will tell my colleagues tonight, mr. speaker, tonight is one of those issues. as ha

mr. pitts: madam speaker, i just want to remind everyone that under the class act there is not one person in the united states who would receive long-term care benefits under that act because it doesn't work. i yield at this time two minutes to the gentleman from west virginia, mr. mckinley. the chair: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. mckinley: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today in favor of h.r. 1173. this bill would save hardworking taxpayer dollars and eliminate a costly and flawed obamacare provision known as the class act. this program is sold as a self-sustaining program, one that would reduce federal spending. however the program was problematic from the start. the president and the democrat leadership in congress knew this fact for over a year and a half a -- ago and still include the class program in the health care bill. during an investigation it was revealed that the obama administration officials and senate democrats were very much aware that thi

mr. pitts is holding part of that up. now, it's important to know that because all of the work health insurance -- work's been done, what wasn't clear at the beginning of the process is that the environmental community would come out and draw the line in the sand and say you need to kill this project. they even said, one of the gentlemen in the environmental community said this is the way to get your mojo back, to the president, your environmental mojo back. what's different is this has become the war of the environmentalist now. >> the gentleman's time has expired. who seeks recognition? >> gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'm opposed to this amendment. i respectfully propose this amendment. i think the definition of sanity is doing the same thing over and over again and getting different results and we're not getting results from the state department. the president has had ample time to make a decision son this. he can do it through executive order, we know he's used th

the volumes of binders sitting by mr. pitts is the environmental study. the final environmental study. so saying that there isn't one is just outright wrong. the state department said they had enough information here that they were working diligently and would make a decision before december 31st. it is the president then after the nrdc, the sierra club that be mr. cassidy pointed out during his statement on the last amendment said that this was going to be the line, this pipeline was going to be the line in the sand that the environmental community drew for the president. the president replied to that by saying i'm going to delay this until after the election. it is the president that made this a political football. when he said he was going to put his election year politics ahead of what the best interests of this nation and this many pipeline. soap that is what put us in this predicament. and we're not going to go back to the politics that's being played within the white house right now. so this is the best mechanism, the means forward. >> the comments

mr. pitts is holding part of that up.t's important to note that because all of the work has been done. what was clear to the president at the beginning of this process is what the environmental community would come out and draw the line in the sand it's egg you need to kill this project. and they even said, one of the gentleman in the environmental community said, this is the way to get your mojo back, your environmental mojo back so what is different about this past is that this has become the war of the environmentalists now. >> the gentleman's time is expired. who seeks recognition? the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman and i'm opposed to this amendment. i respectfully oppose this amendment. you know i think the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. we are not getting any results from the state department. the president has had ample time to make a decision on this. he could do it through executive order. we kn

mr. pitts: thanks, mr. chairman. to summarize briefly, first off, there is no class program. the lady was right, this is a woman's issue. women have been promised something they'll never get with the class act. zero people will be enrolled in the class act. the program doesn't work. they know it won't work, and it's a false sense of hope to say that it will. h.h.s. studied for 18 months eight different scenarios to fix the class act. from $391 a month premium to $3,000 a month premium. they concluded the same result. the class act is not fixible. short of a mandate, there's no way to fix the class act. now, our friends on the other side have had several opportunities, offer amendments to fix the class act. first of all, h.r. 1173 was marked up in the energy and commerce health subcommittee, and they didn't offer an amendment. at full committee, the democrats didn't offer comprehensive plan to fix the program. and now with nearly four hours of debate, still no amendments to fix the program. without a mandate, there's no way to fix it. . mr. chairman, we must get this program o

mr. brad pitt for money ball.eat, so it's a really strong category. >> matt, what do you think? are you impressed with the overall category? >> absolutely. i think we've got some really great performances that are nominated this year. any one of them are stand out in what they've done. it would be -- if i was voting, it would be hard to choose. >> do you feel the same way about the actress category? >> absolutely. i think that we've got a really strong category, too, although i think in this case it's probably down to two of help. it's down to maerl streeryl str viola davis. >> gray, what do you think about that? >> i think the actress category is missing a few people like tilda swinton. but i agree that the big race is between viola and meyrl. but we live in a world where glenn close has never gotten an osc oscar. that's crazy. >> let me ask, do oscars just tlat out come down to a pop layer day contest as opposed to who is just the most talented? i see both of you nodding. >> unfortunately, withis is basically ho

mr. pitts: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pitts: millions of americans will celebrate with a box of chocolates or candy. all told consumers are expected to spend more that $1.5 billion -- million on candy this holiday. what they don't know is government sugar controls are making that heart shaped box more expensive than it needs to be. what they don't know is that american companies are struggling to compete against foreign producers who pay half as much for sugar. because of government price supports, marketing allotments, and inport quoteos, u.s. consumers and businesses pay almost double the average world market price for sugar. by some estimates this could be costing us more than 20,000 jobs. many of us who have watched good jobs lost because of government guarantees the profits of a relatively small group of growers and producers. reforming our sugar program isn't a partisan issue which is why i have been proud to introduce h.r. 13

mr. pitts: mr. speaker, institutions across the country are facing an impossible choice. do they continue in their mission to provide for their employees or do they violate their conscience? when the affordable care act passed, there was no thought in the minds of many catholics that the law would eventually force them into such a terrible choice. in fact, my former colleague from pennsylvania, kathy call kemper, recently came out and said, quote, i would never have voted for the final version of the bill if i expected the obama administration to force catholic hospitals and catholic come ledges and universities to pay for contraception. end quote. i might add this rule that we are going will go into effect on august 12 includes not only contraceptives but drugs like plan b sells sterilization services. catholic and other religious organizations that have cared for the sake and -- sick and educate the americans of all religions since the founding of our republic and they have done this because their conscience compels them to show their love to all mankind. never before h

mr. pitts: permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pints: madam speaker, the first mon in february every year is supposed to be the day the president releases his budget, but this year the budget was delayed a week. last year the budget was delayed a week also. the release date for the budget has been the same for decades, yet this administration seems to be incapable of completing their work on time. back when i was a high school teacher, turning in your work a week or two late meant you failed. now is no time to fail on budgetary matters. not when we are $15 trillion in debt and have deficits every year of more than $1 trillion. the senate hasn't passed a budget in more than 1,000 days. we need a realistic plan to get our country back on track. when the house put forward a plan last year, it was met with an attack that the nonpartisan politifact called the lie of the year. the federal budget affects every american, especially those looking for jobs. right now uncertainty abounds and emp

mr. pitts: the minimum benefits package will dictate the level of coverage for every plan in the nation. the united states preventive services task force will determine which services have to be provided without co-payment. timely when the government can force you to purchase a service it controls, it's in control. the president's health care law is already failing which is why we need to end it before it's fully implemented. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute? >> i do. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, on march 1, medicare physician payments will be slashed by 27%, badly impacting seniors' access to health care. we must act now to make sure that doesn't happen. a few months ago i had the opportunity to speak to