mr. rangel, it comes down to, there's a lot of support, maybe overwhelming support, for the feelings of inequalityyork. my question to you, sir, you've been on ways and means for a long time, is there any way that something good will come out of this? >> of course there is. right now, like with throughout america, they are merely indicating their frustration. i really hope that as a result of this happening throughout these united states that we find some of our spiritual leaders joining with them and giving them some direction, because in addition to the unemployment, we also have a real attack on the vulnerable, the sick, the aged, and this is happening in the congress. and we haven't heard at all from the ministers. and the only way for them to be active is to get active, register, vote. do something. right now, that leadership is missing. and i only wish that our community leaders could go down there and see these kids, they're good people, many of them are gone through college, they don't have a job, they know they'll never be able to even aspire to what their parents have done. and it's frus

mr. rangel: thank you. it appeared some time yesterday that the congressional budget office looked at statistically where the wealth of this country was being held and came to the conclusion that 1% of americans high earners have 42% of the nation's wealth. it also pointed out that one out of every five kids, american kids, are born into poverty. well, certainly one might look at the income tax system to see whether or not this disparate is being dealt with, but if you do, you'll find out that we have aggressively protected income from people who are wealthy enough to invest it at lower rates than lower income people who work hard every day and yet have a higher rate of their income that they have paid taxes on. what does this unfairness mean? well, one thing i can tell you is that you're not going to have too much noise from the spiritual community because somehow their silence as we deal with the question of budget deficits and budget cuts, they haven't responded to the fact that many of these cuts has to

mr. rangel, for five minutes. mr. rangel: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel: this morning i was pleased to see that the council of catholic bishops have organized in order to influence washington as it relates to the question of same-sex marriage and abortion. i think that we all agree that these are moral issues and under our country's freedom of speech the churches, the synagogues, temples have a right and indeed in their case an obligation to speak out of the actions of congress that they disapprove of morally. i hope that this is a signal to other religious institutions that what this country is going through is not only a financial crisis but a moral crisis. and that perhaps the other religions might broaden their agenda to talk about what i truly believe is a priority and concern of every religion and that is a deep-seated moral obligations to take care of the vulnerable until our society. whether it's the lesser of our brothers and sisters, w

mr. rangel: thank you, mr. speaker and my colleagues. i stand up once again to make a plea to our spiritual leaders throughout the united states to be heard and to speak out for the gridlock that exists here in the united states congress. i do this feeling very comfortable since we open up the session with a prayer. as anyone can see and many have taken for granted, it says in god we trust. clearly the protestors have caused quite a bit of inconvenience for my colleagues and the constituents in new york. but the fact remains that they speak out for a frustration that most all americans have, uncertain as to what the future holds for them. many have lost their jobs, their savings, pulled their kids out of school, and they are frustrated that we in the congress how we talk to each other because of the depth of polarization. and yet beyond the politics of it all, whether it's democrats or republicans, when you think about it, this recession can only be stopped and unemployment lowered by a combination of two things -- the reduction of our s

mr. rangel brushed by and we didn't stop to think about it or i didn't hear further discussion. that is the question of why do we want to have the language linking of a free-trade agreement to the action plan? what difference does it make in reality? mr. rangel suggested it means once we sign off on this it is in the hands of diplomats and the executive if we don't have it written into the lawn. we have no way to reach back in and have control. seems like that is the essence and i say that because sitting on this committee long enough you see a lot of stuff happen. i have a memory still and i remember sitting over there when we passed nafta. we had these side agreements. everyone was going to clean up and make sure the workers were taken care of and it was all written in a nice letter and put in an envelope next to the agreement and we were also going to clean up the rio grande. they going to take care of that. i assume all the mexicans living along the border working in our plants are living a nice lifestyle before a beautiful river filled with fish and they have a wonderful ti

mr. rangel, it comes down to, there's a lot of support, maybe overwhelming support, for the feelings of inequalitye being expressed on the streets of new york. my question to you, sir, you've been on ways and means for a long time, is there any way that something good will come out of this? >> of course there is. right now, throughout america, they are merely indicating their frustration. i really hope that as a result of this happening throughout these united states that we find some of our spiritual leaders joining with them and giving them some direction, because in addition to the unemployment, we also have a real attack on the vulnerable, the sick, the aged, and this is happening in the congress. and we haven't heard at all from the ministers. and the only way for them to be active is to get active, register, vote. do something. right now, that leadership is missing. and i only wish that our community leaders could go down there and see these kids, they're good people, many of them are gone through college, they don't have a job, they know they'll never be able to even aspire to what their pa

mr. rangel and myself often and the trade minister and they id, we aren't going to talk about it. we said, well, if you don't talk there'll be no agreement. then what happened was that the new administration came into being, the oba maw administration, and it began to work on this issue. and what happened was -- the obama administration and it began to work on this issue. there were major changes. instead of the tariff on most vehicles immediately, it was delayed until the fifth year. on trucks, it was delayed for eight years, to gi time to make sure that the one-way street game became a two-way street. that has been accomplished. to mak entirely sure of this, there were provisions to make sure they could no longer use their tax provisions and their environmental standards to kee out our products. and to make it even safer, we made sure that there was a safeguard, so if there's a surge of automotive products into the united states, we could defend ourselves. that was unique. and that's why the big three are saying t following, i quote -- as representatives of the largest eblings p

mr. rangel. these are heroes. these are people who answer their nation's call. and as the south koreans have characterized it, they went to rescue a people that they had never heard of before, that they answered that call and they did it sacrificially. when my dad left to south korea, there were very few buildings in seoul that even stood standing. and now, what do we have? with a nation with whom we are entering into this relationship that is now the 10th largest economy in the world that has transformed itself with what? with american help, with nato help, without light help all the way around. and they have been wise stewards of the. they are no longer a recipient nation but now they are a donor nation. and they are an incredibly important strategic partner of the united states picks i just want to acknowledge, mr. chairman, those members of our own committee who, years ago, answered our nation's call, answered the world's call and came to the rescue of this nation. i yield back. >> thank you. mr. crowley is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i can't hel

mr. rangel: i move, mr. speaker, to strike the last word. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. rangel: i rise in support of the waxman amendment. as long as mr. waxman has been in the congress, he should know that recently a new group have arrived here and there are three things that you shouldn't do and that is ask for anything that might be good for the president of the united states, ask for anything that could improve the environment of the people that breathe the air and for god sake, don't ask them to bring up any bills that could create jobs. having said that, it just seems to me that we're involved in a political fight that concerns democrats and republicans and others, and yet you would think if you listen to the debate that the air in which we breathe, this is democratic air and republican air or when you start talking about this and saving lives through providing an opportunity for our youngsters to be able to grow up in a healthy environment that we just talking about democratic babies. what we're talking

mr. rangel, the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers, the gentleman from new york, mr.man, the gentlewoman from california, ms. loretta sanchez, the gentleman from pennsylvania, ms. schwartz and the gentlewoman from california, ms. matsui. the vice president: the president of the senate appoints the following members on the part of the senate to escort his excellencecy, president lee of the republic of korea, the senator from alaska in beg itch, the senator from virginia, mr. webb, the senator from kentucky, mr. mcconnel, the senator from tennessee, mr. accident happeneder, the senator from wyoming, mr. boras smbing o the senator from south dakota, mr. une, the senator from texas, mr. cornyn, the senator from wrin, mr. lugar, and the senator from ohio, mr. port map. the speaker: members of the escort committee shall exit the chamber through the lobby doors. >> mr. speaker, the acting dean of the diplomatic corps. >> mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. >> mr. speaker, the president of the republic of korea. president lee myung-bak: thank you. thank you. the speaker: me

mr. rangel and others, we have enforceable workers rights in all three of these agreement. there have been justifiable criticisms, for instance, in colombia for workers to collectively bargain. but this agreement will give us the enforceability ability to do. if colombia and any one of these countries don't live up to the standards and requirements, this agreement now gives us the ability to use trade sanctions to make sure they do. that is an incredibly important step forward to protect the workers in this country. it needs to work together. access to overseas markets through trade agreements and adequate protections for our workers so they can compete in that environment, with t.s.a., i believe that all three trade agreements and this t.a.a. bill will do this. i thank the ways and means in making this happen. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan continues to reserve. mr. camp: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. mcdermott: madam speaker, i yield four minutes to the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin. the speaker

mr. rangel and mr. levin negotiated the may 10 agreement with the president of the united states and that recognized international labor standards and it was a crucial step. the regaucheuation of the u.s.-colombia free trade agreement has also produced a labor action plan, which was another part -- the renegotiation of the u.s.-colombia free trade agreement has also produced a labor action plan which sets out -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. mcdermott: i'll save the rest for tomorrow. we'll debate it more tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: i ask unanimous consent to yield the balance of the time to the chairman of the committee, mr. camp, that he may control time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized and will control the time. mr. camp: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: madam speaker, today is

mr. rangel and myself often and the trade minister and they said, we aren't going to talk about it. we said, well, if you don't talk there'll be no agreement. then what happened was that the new administration came into being, the oba maw administration, and it began to work on this issue. and what happened was -- the obama administration and it began to work on this issue. there were major changes. instead of the tariff on most vehicles immediately, it was delayed until the fifth year. on trucks, it was delayed for eight years, to give time to make sure that the one-way street game became a two-way street. that has been accomplished. to make entirely sure of this, there were provisions to make sure they could no longer use their tax provisions and their environmental standards to keep out our products. and to make it even safer, we made sure that there was a safeguard, so if there's a surge of automotive products into the united states, we could defend ourselves. that was unique. and that's why the big three are saying the following, i quote -- as representatives of the largest ebl

mr. speaker, i rise today in support of my legislation, h.r. 489, a bill that will permanently end the bureaucratic rangeling that has occurred between the departments of interior and agriculture, a jurisdictional dispute. that exro mices the routine maintenance of critical water structure in the state of arizona, the c.c. cragin dam and reservoir. the federal government employs over 2.1 million civilian employees, there are hundreds of agencies and within each agency there are divisions, departments and subgroups. sometimes, especially with respect to land management, more than one agency has jurisdiction and when that occurs, bureaucratic disputes arise and government no longer serves the people. this is the exact circumstance that has necessitated my legislation. the c.c. cragin project consists of a number of facilities including a dam and reservoir, diversion tunnel and pump shaft, pumping plant, priming reservoir, pipeline, electrical transmission line and a generating plant. majority of the project is located on federal lands in forests. this critical water infrastructure project is an important aspec