mr. rangel: mr. speaker, i reserve myself such time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rangel: it is awkward and embarrassing to stand on this floor to discuss something described as a jobs for america bill. fortunately we democrats don't have to expend too much energy because of the lack of credibility that the majority party has with any type of legislation designed to help those people who are without employment. the irony of this whole thing is that our distinguished chairman spent hours, days, weeks and months putting together a tax reform bill that even though it could be challenged in parts, all tax riders and people who respect the necessity of reforming the tax code lauded him with the work, fairness and most of all the lack of partisanship that went into that bill. indeed, many of the provisions that is in this bill that could be better be described as an opportunity for corporates to avoid paying taxes, many of the provisions in this bill were rep

mr. rangel. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for three minutes. mr. rangel: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel: let me thank you so much for giving me this opportunity to address this. i think today and tomorrow may be recorded in history as one of the most serious decisions that this congress has had to make. personally, i don't know enough to see where the president needs authority to do what we e about to allow him to do because of the threat to these united states of america. i have talked with everyone that's willing to listen to me in my congressional district, and they have given me a whole lot of things that they're concerned about. but i haven't come close, as much as they love this president of the united states, in convincing them that training people overseas that we don't know to fight isis is in their best national interest. the point that i ask to come to the floor is that it's so easy to try to bring justice to a doesn't cause you anything or any nconvenience -- cost you

mr. charlie rangel. mr. rangel: we were talking about war and peace and to me we are still talking about a moral issue here in this great nation, the richest in the world, we're asking people to work 40 hours, many without sick leave, many without vacations or vacation pay and at the end of the day end up in poverty. there's something terribly wrong with that picture. it seems to me that it goes beyond just doing the right and the moral thing. even churches and sin gogs and -- synagogues and mosques should understand their membership is going down because you can't buy your food, rent and still give to the religious institutions. beyond that, what are they going to do with the money? i tell you. they're going to be able to get nutritional diets for their kids. they'll be able to buy clothes for their kids. they can aspire that their kids get a better education and be able to get higher jobs and higher ambitions. they can make america more productive because they have more self-esteem because being poor is not

mr. rangel: i thank the gentleman from nevada. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. rangel: i thank the speaker for this opportunity to support h.r. 443, naming a post office in my district after a fallen hero. who as was reported by the chairman came to this country as a kid in august, 24, 1984 were his family from the dominican republic. he didn't come to this country to become a hero. he came in search of the american dream as so many thousands of people have. and ultimately after living and playing in the vicinity of this post office that we will name after him, he finished school and saw an opportunity in serving in the united states armed forces. s a matter of fact joining the second infantry which i was honored to serve from 1948 to 1952. juan lost his life and he gained his citizenship after that through provisions that we have made in the immigration law. but there are so many thousands of young people that won't post offices named after them. and some will be forgotten by many people wh

mr. rangel from new york, for the very rigorous and bipartisan speech he gave here today. this is what this issue warrants. chairman mckeon has shown it and i think all of us have to come together to the extent we can to help the president. i have been critical against the president. we can have these debates. that's all in the past. the fact is that isis is a real threat to the united states. as someone who comes from a district that lost over 150 people on 9/11, i never ever want to go through that again. i can say right now that isis is more powerful than al qaeda was on 9/11. they have more financing, they have more weapons, they have more members, they have more of their fighters who have passports that will enable them to come into the united states. and we know that they are committed to destroying western civilization. so it's essential we take action against isis and take it quickly and take it emphatically. i believe the president has the constitutional and statutoryial power to act but i think it's important that the congress work together with the president. th

mr. rangel: september 17, 2014, and for me this is an historic event because i will be able to tell my grandkids and those who would listen that on the eve of the house of representatives taking a vote that would expand the war powers of the president of the united states that i stood in the well of the house talking to a house that was void of any member of the house of representatives. i make this point not so much to indicate the importance of anything i might say this morning, but because i really think that the whole country should be concerned about the gravity and importance of the vote that we take today. which in my 44 years i cannot ink of any vote that is more important and certainly more historic. it goes unchallenged that the more day would expose members of the military to bodily harm. it is clear that the ministration has called this a war on isis or isil. it's abundantly clear that the threat to our national security is subject to a whole lot of debate, and while i may not have the answer to whether or not there is a threat, to me i cannot think of anything more important than th