mr. pitts: mr. chairman, i would much rather hear from some of our doctor friends who are speaking so eloquently. i have another doctor member of the health subcommittee from pennsylvania, distinguished gentleman, dr. tim murphy. i yield for two minutes. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for two minutes. mr. murphy: i thank the gentleman. when i was a state senator of pennsylvania i took on h.m.o.'s and plans that made decisions by accountants and m.b.a.'s and not m.d.'s. it was important to do that because we found that doctors could not make decisions even though they were supposedly empowered to do that. instead, there was boards that would make decisions for them. and now here we are with deja vu all over again. we're about to have 15 presidential appointments, even under the advice of both chambers of commerce -- excuse me, both chambers of congress, none of them are involved with medicine, making decisions with regards to who makes decisions for you. in terms of what get

mr. pitts: mr. chairman, we are prepared to close. have you -- mr. waxman: we will yield back the balance of our time. the chair: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: thank you, mr. chairman. before i yield to the gentleman from georgia, dr. gingrey, for our close, i just want to remind him of a statement by the chairman, representative stark of the ways and means subcommittee on health during the debate of ppaca. he called the establishment of the board, quote, a dangerous provision that sets medicare up for unsustainable cuts. we should be reminded of that. at this time i yield to one of the authors of the legislation, the distinguished member from the health subcommittee and a doctor, dr. gingrey from georgia. the chair: the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. gingrey: madam chairman, as a physician member and co-author of the bill, i am truly honored that chairman pitts is allowing me to close the debate on h.r. 5, the path act. appropriately named for meaningful medi

mr. pitts: mr. speaker, as pastor youcef sits in prison awaiting a manningman's noose, i want him -- hang mans noose i want him to know that we stand with him. our thoughts and our prayers are with him. and i would say to those international guests who might watch this telecast, you will never understand america until you understand that in our constitution, the very first amendment contains the freedom of religion, not freedom from religion, freedom of religion. it's not our second, our sixth, 16th or 26th amendment, it's our first amendment. it's the first thing mentioned in the first amendment, freedom of religion. congress shall not act to establish a religion and shall not prohibit the free exercise delf and that comes before the freedom of the press or speech or assembly or petition of grievances and so if you want to understand america, you must understand this basic belief that the americans have in the right of the freedom of religion. and so we ask, we implore the authorities in the iran f

it would be hard to imagine mr. pitt playing.e believes in, including the drive against california's prop 8 ban against same-sex marriage which would put him squarely at odds with his former colleague kurt cameron. brad so far hasn't commented on cameron's anti-gay remarks on this show last friday. everybody else now has including tracey gold who played his sister carol. she responded by tweeting, i'm a strong supporter of the lgbt community and i believe in equal rights for all. only in america would a long-defunct '80s sitcom be the vanguard at a national debate of religion and morality. if there's one thing america learn from "growing pains" it was surely understanding and compassion are better to air

i think, you know, your asking myself and mr. pittsight was about a viewpoint you wanted to hear you thought might be interesting. whether we are white or hispanic or african-american, you know, what have you, i think really is largely irrelevant and should be irrelevant. >> thank you, great conversation. that's all we want here is to, number one, facts, but to get people talking and open their mind and that's what we did in there particular segment. leonard, thank you. goldie, really appreciate you joining us as well. >> you're very welcome, thank you for having me. >>> here's a preview of what we have ahead tomorrow on "cnn newsroom" with fredricka whitfield. >> a new study showing that 1 in the 88 children have a form of autism. tomorrow, we're going to examine the enormous financial strain on families. join me sunday, 2:30 eastern, right here in the "cnn newsroom." >>> next, i'm going to ask dr. sanjay gupta while autism callses in children are so much higher than previously thought. [ grandfather ] that a boy! this is my grandson.

mr. pitts: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pitts: madam speaker, today the house of representatives lost a distinguished member who served with honor for more than two decades. i had the pleasure of working with donald payne many times over the years. he had an incredible heart for africa and suffering peoples in every corner of the continent. from morocco to south africa, he was a tireless advocate for freedom and self-determination. we worked together speaking on behalf of the people in western sahara. representative payne watched western sahara closely, working toward a peaceful resolution that would allow for a free referendum that could establish self-government. we also worked together in twetch to recognize the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the british slave trade and honor the legacy of william wilburforce. in one amazing episode he risked his life seeking peace in sudan and nearly had his plane sh

speaker, i ask unanimous consent to remove the name of mr. pitts of pennsylvania as a co-sponsor of h.r. 3596. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. bishop: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, today i was unavoidably detained on the following votes and i ask unanimous consent that i can place my appropriate votes for roll call number 134, for the crowley amendment, to vote aye. roll call vote 135 for the eshoo amendment to vote aye. and roll call vote number 136 for the owens of new york amendment to vote aye. i ask unanimous consent they may be placed appropriately in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the statements will appear in the record. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, additionally i was unavoidably detained yesterday evening on business and that was h.r. 2779, that was roll call vote number 1 27. i would have voted aye. roll call vote number 128, h.r. 2682, i would have voted aye. and then rol

mr. pitts: mr. speaker, today the supreme court began its deliberations on the patient protection affordable care act. clearly with three days of deliberations, this is the most important case the court has considered in decades. i had the pleasure of being able to attend this morning's deliberations considering whether the court should rule immediately or wait until the penalties are assessed a few years from now. tomorrow they will consider the heart of the matter, whether the constitution allows the government to compel individuals to purchase health insurance, so-called individual mandate. at this time it is critical to remember that the supreme court is not the only body charged with protecting and defending the united states constitution. this congress, we have been working to restore rights to the american people. we passed legislation to fully repeal this law, to eliminate many of its harmful provisions, and to defund irresponsible spending. no matter how the court rules, we must continue th

mr. pitts: mr.e journal of medical ethics published an article entitled "after-birth abortion: why should the baby live?" they argue that an infant child can be killed since they don't have the same moral status as a "person." they go even further to say that adoption is not always in the best interest of an unwanted child. the fury over this article has been immense. they defend this article on the basis there should be reasoned engagement on this subject. the article may have the form of scholarly argument but its substance is madness. the authors maintain that a baby can be granted personhood through the recognition of other human beings. they reject something we all hold dear, that all men are endowed by their creator with the right to life. the amount of debate over this article is not only natural but right. it is shocking and sad to see such arguments given credence in a premiere medical journal. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >>

mr. pitts: madam speaker, on sunday, al qaeda terrorists viciously gunned down american joel. joel grew up in lancaster county, pennsylvania, and was a football star. and he leaves behind a wife and two young sons who lived with him in yemen. joel worked as a teacher at the international training development center which focused on getting vocational training to the poor. joel's a christian, but he was not in the country to prophetalize. the organization he worked for is staffed by both christians and muslims and has worked in the country for over 40 years. the people of yemen are appalled by this violence. hundreds of activists took to the streets yesterday to demand justice for the killers. they carried photos of joel and chanted, yemen is not a place for terrorism, and we love you, joel. joel selflessly served the poor in a country far from home. he'll be dearly missed by his family and by the people he came to serve. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> madam speaker, can i ask for order? the speaker pro tempore:

the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts, to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 556 as amended on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 556, resolution condemning the government of iran for its continued persecution and imprisonment and sentencing of youcef nadarkhani on the charge of apostasy. the speaker pro tempore: this is a five-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 house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 417, the nays are one. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose d

mr. pitts: we have a g.p.s. for medicare provided to us by government, and they say, medicare will be broke by -- in a few years. we want to have a program that gives seniors an option to stay in traditional medicare or choose a new plan. the republican plan provides greater benefits for low income ancic seniors and requires more from wealthy seniors. the medicare trustees have put up a bright orange sign saying, bridge out ahead. we can either heed their warnings and turn down a new path or plow right through and end up in the river. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. or new jersey. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to urge my colleagues here in the house to take action and create jobs by bringing moving ahead for progress in the 21st century to the floor. yesterday, for the second time, the majority pulled a short-term extension bill. mr. sires feat

mr. hottie. >> reporter: he's a former model nicknamed the latin brad pitt.amous for mexican soap operas and playing jennifer lopez's lover in a music video. ♪ i'm into you >> reporter: despite rumors, he always insisted this was a professional relationship. yet today, he dances around questions about his current status. >> datingwise, what kind of woman do you typically like? should the women of america concern themselves? >> the woman, i think, always needs to be herself and need to be very outgoing. she has to be beautiful, but every woman is beautiful. >> reporter: william told me he hates rules, loves basketball and fast food. he dropped ten pounds rehearsing and then gained two back. >> i like to eat a lot of rice and beans and meat and chicken. >> when you said it, you were like -- i like to eat a little rice and beans, meat and chicken. >> the thing is like that's like my favorite thing. >> i could tell. near havana is where he was born 31 years ago. he emigrated to miami. a quiet, skinny standout on the high school baseball team. but not so memorable