mr. poe: mr. chairman, i will be brief. i have had my argument on the other $1 billion that i asked to be deducted from the reimbursement account, to be spent to the spending reduction account. this is a separate fund that also gives money to pakistan. over $1 billion. i'm asking that $1 billion of that fund that goes into counterinsurgency also be sent to the spending reduction account. there are several reasons for that but the main one is pakistan government is corrupt, we don't know where the money is going, we found out that after we took out osama bin laden that in that compound we found documents that revealed discussions of promises of no al qaeda attacks in pakistan in exchange for sheltering osama bin laden. that's the type of things that we wonder about, whether pakistan is on our side, on the side of our enemies, we don't know whose side they're on. so i'd ask the adoption of this amendment. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does t

amendment number 1 by mr. poe of texas. amendment number 2 by ms. lee of california. amendment number 41 by ms. -- mr. cohen of tennessee. amendment by mr. cicilline of rhode island. amendment by mr. cohen of tennessee. amendment number 2 by mr. poe of texas. amendment number 1 by ms. mccollum from minnesota. amendment number 2 by ms. mccollum of minnesota. amendment number 13 by mr. cole of oklahoma. amendment by mr. amash of michigan. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for the second through 11th vote. the final two votes will be five minute votes. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 1 offered by the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment 1, offered by ms. lee of california. 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 risen, a recorded vote is ordered. membe

mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. freedom of speech, the free exercise of religion, two of our most important fundamental principles that this nation was founded upon. it has recently become under attack by none other than this federal government. the authoritarian behavior and attack on the first amendment rights is an attack now on the veterans that have served our nation. last week in houston, texas, i met with the veterans of foreign wars. they shared with me very descriptive and disturbing stories about the aggressive and hostile censorship of religion and speech that is occurring none other than at the veterans cemetery in houston, the second largest cemetery for our veterans in the united states next to arlington, which is right down the street across from the potomac river. the director of the houston national cemetery, arlene ocasio, is accused of attacking the constitutional rights of our military who fought and died for our country, the very rights that they fought and died for are being under attack by non

mr. poe: mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker: those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the journal is approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: mr. speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from missouri, mr. clyburn. mr. clyburn: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair lays before the house a following communication. the cl

the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, delay, delay, delay, delay is the administration's energy plan. the keystone excell pipeline project would bring 700,000 barrels of oil today from alberta, canada, to refineries in southeast texas. this would provide more energy for america. the president has had over two years to approve the project, but the state department, the e.p.a. and out-of-towners have stone walled the project on alleged environmental grounds. pipelines are the most cost-effective and most environmentally sound way to transport oil and natural gas. oil must reach our refineries somehow. we can either import oil through a safe, reliable pipeline from our neighbors or on risky tankers coming from unstable middle eastern countries. even the e.p.a. should be able to figure this out after two years of delay, delay, delay. our neighbors in canada have developed a safe way to obtain crude oil from their oil sands. unlike many of the countries in the world, the canadians are concerned about envi

mr. poe: mr. speaker, over the weekend john wesley nero got into an arguement with his mother and his grandmother so being a scoundral he beat them both up and then fled in the darkness of the night. local bow month, texas, police officers confronted the outlaw to confront him but he fled away and a high speed chase occurred. meanwhile officer brian hubert, right here is a photograph of him, had positioned his vehicle ahead of the chase. he attempted to retrieve road spikes out of the trunk to stop nero's vehicle. according to witnesses, when nero spotted hubert's car, nero intentionally crashed into hubert's patrol ca car, shoving the vehicle over officer hubert and killing him. officer brian hubert, 36 warkses a 10-year veteran of the police department. john wesley nero is charged with capital murder. police officers like officer hubert protect from us killers like nero. they are the wall between the law and the lawless. the barrier between us and evil doers. so today the badges of peace officer

mr. poe: request permission to address the house, -- >> request permiss to address the house, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> the house leadership has walked away from the negotiating table three times and continues to push their plan to cut medicare, social security and medicare benefits, protect the top 2% of the americans at the expense of 98% of our families. pass a short-term deal that would lead to credit downgrade, higher interest rates and tax hike on every american and repeat this crisis next year. mr. green: let me read you some emails i've received. i'm disabled, 57-year-old gentleman who is restricted in a wheelchair. i thank god i live in a country where i'm able to receive disability income like millions of other disabled americans and social security recipients. i'm afraid if the republican leadership gets their way i'll soon be living on the street. i'm very concerned that the default would cause even more dire states are

mr. poe: thank you, madam speaker. so we are after the passage of this legislation years ago finding out that these aren't the greatest things in the world. we have found and shed a little light on the cfl light bulb. it is not a brighter idea, it is unhealthy for americans, doesn't allow for competition so if we don't pass this bill, we might as well turn off the lights, the party is over for the traditional incandescent light bulb. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the chair: the -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. >> i yield to the gentleman from pennsylvania for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. altmire: i keep hearing my colleagues repeat the fantasy that government has banned the incandescent light bulb. they think if they say it enough it'll be true but it's not. manufacturers are not told what technology to use to produce light bulbs and consumers will be able to provide incandescent light bulbs for y

will the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, kindly take 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 h.r. 2219 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriationers in department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole on thursday, june 23, 2011, all time for yen debate had expired. pursuant to the rule the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. during consideration of the bill for amendment, the chair may accord priority and recognition to a member offering an amendment who has caused it to be printed in the designated place in the congressional record. those amendments will be considered read. the clerk will read. the clerk: be it enacted the following sums are appropriated for fiscal year 2012. namely, title 1, military personnel, military personnel, army, $43,859,709,000. military personnel, navy, $27,141,334,000. military per

the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: mr. speaker, we've heard the song "this land is your land, this land is my land, from california to new york islands, this land was made for you and me." the greatest, largest landholders is uncle sam. uncle sam, the great landowner. he owns 27% of all the land in america. this poster here shows the holdings of uncle sam. all of the red in the united states, including alaska, is owned by uncle sam. 50 -- over 50% of the land in the west is owned by uncle sam. now, if we were to transfer all these acres to the east coast, that's about the size of all of the land east of the mississippi is owned by uncle sam. looking at it another way. let's go across the seas to europe. if you take all the land that uncle sam owns and superimpose it on europe, it would include the united kingdom, spain, france, switzerland, italy, austria, germany and poland. that would be how much land uncle sam would own if he owned that portion of europe. so the great landholder is none other than the federal government

would the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, kindly resume the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 2354 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose on thursday, july 14, 2011, the bill had been read through page 62, line 2. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. sherman: i have an amendment at the desk and printed in the record. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 79, printed in the congressional record, offered by mr. sherman of california. the chair: pursuant to the order of the house of thursday, july 14, 2011, the gentleman from california, mr. sherman, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. sherman. mr. sherma

the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for five minutes. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, time is up. it's time for the administration to quit stalling and make a decision on the keystone x.l. pipeline project. the pipeline that comes from our friends in canada from alberta all the way down to my congressional district in southeast texas to the refineries in port arthur, texas. the house has done its job this week by passing a bill to move this decision along. now it's the senate's turn to pass the bill so the administration can make a decision on the keystone x.l. project that will create thousands of american jobs and decrease our dependence on unfriendly nations for energy. i commend my friend from nebraska, mr. terry, for passing this legislation and being the spearhead of this legislation. all that has to happen is the state department has to make a decision and the administration has to support that decision one way or the other. it's been three years, three years for the administration to make a decision, yes or no on the x.l. pipeline. it's ti

mr. poe: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: mr. speaker, in this time of money crisis, we talk about the fact that we need revenue. congress seems to be addicted to taxation as a form of revenue, but there's another way to raise revenue. did you know, mr. speaker, that 27% of the land owned in the united states is owned by uncle sam? 52% of it in the west is owned by uncle sam. how much is that? that's the size of all of western europe. so maybe we ought to think about uncle sam selling some of that land to americans. not the national parks, not the wetlands, the sensitive areas, but that land by the bureau of land management that does not -- is not in use now. we'll sell some of that and it will be revenue producing because people who buy it will pay taxes. local taxes go to schools and help those schools. something to think about in this time of raising revenue, maybe uncle sam can do without 27% of all of the land in america. let americans own part of america, no

the chair appoints the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 2354 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read for the first time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. frelinghuysen, and the gentleman from indiana, mr. each control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes -- will each control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. frelinghuysen: thank you, mr. chairman. i'm glad to bring the bill before the house this afternoon. before i begin my remarks, let me thank the full chairman, mr. rogers, as well as the ranking member, mr. dicks, for their support of a very open process and their support of me as well as the ranking member. i particularly like to thank my ranking member, congressman pete vis

mr. poe: mr. speaker, the very notion of freedom of expression was recently on trial in the netherlands. the popular dutch lawmaker was charged with the discrimination and incitement of hatred after he made a movie of islamic clerics inciting violence. he was prosecuted not for his actions but for his words. that's a scary thought. there was only one proper resolution here and thankfully the court did the right thing. he was acquitted of all charges, the court ruled that his statements must be offensive to muslims but fell within the bounds of political free debate. freedom of speech is a god-given right to which every person and every nation is entitled. it is no coincidence that our country's founding fathers deemed it so important, they listed it first in the bill of rights. a country that refuses one's freedom of speech is doomed to grow stagnant. how can it develop a society when it stifles or tries to punish opinion? as he himself said, every public debate holds a prospect of enlightenment.

the chair appoints the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 1315 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to amend the dodd-frank wall street reform and consumer protection act, to strengthen the review authority of the financial stability oversight council of regulations issued by the bureau of consumer financial protection. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. the gentlewoman from west virginia, mrs. capito, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. frank, will each control 30 minutes. the house will come to order. the committee will come to order. the committee will come to order. members will take their conversations off the floor. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from west virginia. mrs. capito: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield myself four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection -- the chair: without objection. mrs. capito: thank you. a year ago the president

the chair appoints the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 2018 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to amend the federal water pollution control act to preserve the authority of each state to make determinations relating to the state's water quality standards, and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as read the first time. the gentleman from ohio, mr. gibbs, and the gentleman from west virginia, mr. rahall, will each control 30 minutes. the house will come to order. the committee will come to order. take your conversations off the floor. the committee will come to order. the chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. mr. gibbs: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gibbs: mr. chairman, i rise in strong support of h.r. 2018, the clean water cooperative federalism act of 2011. almost four decades ago when i went enacted the clea

poe -- opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. mr. chairman, last friday the department of energy made a surprise announcement that not only was the assistant secretary for environmental management or e.m. leaving but that they were restructuring the entire $6 billion program under the undersecretary for nuclear security. who also serves as a head of nnsa. the e.m. is responsible for cleaning up the nuclear waste created during our nation's defense program that helped end world war ii and the cold war. the federal government has assigned legal -- has signed legal agreements with the states to clean up this waste. major restructuring was simply declared with d.o.e. with zero contemplation with congress, the states, the communities or the stakeholders. i haven't been given sufficient answer to the simple question, how does e.m. benefit from this change? we have no idea how this decision was reached or why restructuring was considered. given that -- what little has been made public, i bel