mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: let me start, mr. speaker, by saying that i take a back seat to no one on border security. i read the intelligence reports the briefings, i have been on this subcommittee since it started in 2003, chaired it for its first years. now rank on the committee, subcommittee. have led and supported the robust funding for the coast guard, c.p.b., i.c.e., d.o.j., all the other law enforcement agencies, even the local ones, i've implored, in fact practically begged the white house and the democrat majority to recognize the spillover violence from this heinous drug war raging on think border with mexico. i have even pushed for a new joint command along the southwest border for all of the american agencies. and finally, i've been first in line calling for a serious, sustained approach to breaking the backs of the cartels and enforcing our immigration laws. unfortunately, mr. speaker, this bill is not a serious, sustained response.

for her tireless efforts, mrs. rogers was named the most powerful person in livingston county in 1996 and fittingly the chamber of commerce building has been named the joyce a. rogers business center. aside from being executive director of the chamber of congress, mrs. rogers served in various local organizations, including the livingston county board of commissioners, the city of brighton downtown development authority and the livingston county economic development council. in 2001, mrs. rogers' health began to decline. in that year she underwent open heart surgery. she decided to step down from the chamber after three decades as executive director. sadly on november 4, 2009, mrs. rogers lost her long battle with a chronic illness and passed away at the age of 78. she is survived by her husband of 57 years and her five sons. the legacy left behind by mrs. rogers is not only marked by the economic development seen around brighton but also in the family that survives her. a family that like her mother is truly dedicated to

mr. rogers of kentucky. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: i thank the speaker for the time. i rise today to voice my opposition to the blatant exploittation of our brave troops and the brazen process being undertaken here tonight. with this ongoing char arch de, the democrat majority has chosen to drag out the consideration of this supplemental appropriations bill, now five months lagging. they have chosen to bypass the markup by the appropriations committee. they have chosen to dictate by the few, rather than legislate by the representative many. and worst of all, they're holding hostage vital funding for our troops as a vehicle for more spending, more bailouts, more encroachment by the federal government into our private lives. a clean supplemental, mr. speaker, could have easily been disposed of through regular order months ago. regrettably, the majority has waited until the very last minute, twisted the rules of the house and put the pentagon and our warfighters in dire straits. this abuse of congress national security responsibil

mr. rogers of kentucky. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: i thank the speaker for the time. i rise today to voice my opposition to the blatant exploittation of our brave troops and the brazen process being undertaken here tonight. with this ongoing char arch de, the democrat majory has chosen to drag out the consideration of this supplemental appropriations bill, now five months lagging. they have chosen to bypass the markup by the appropriations committee. they have chosen to dictate by the few, rather than legislate by the representative many. and worst of all, they're holding hostage vital funding for our troops as a vehicle for more spending, more bailouts, more encroachment by the federal government into our private lives. a clean supplemental, mr. speaker, could have easily been disposed of through regular order months ago. regrettably, the majority has waitedntil the very last minute, twisted the rules of the house and put the pentagon and our warfighters in dire straits. this abuse of congress national security responsibilitie

mr. rogers: thank you. i'd like to thank the gentlelady from the district of columbia for her help and support. i'd like to thank mr. dingell from michigan. it's great to know that the leadership and statesmanship is still alive in the people's house in washington, d.c. you know, it is fitting, i think, that this great body, this great deliberative body stop along the way of its important business of nation-changing business to recognize some of the greatest acts happen locally. they're just reflected here and the great things do happen in communities like brighton, michigan, and every other state in this great union. and today is really that day. very, very few times do you get to come to the floor and talk about some great community leader that you have such personal relationship, my mother. and this post office is being named in short for her great work in what is the great community in the great state of michigan. and i will tell you, nobody would be more, i think, shocked and embarrassed that we are do

mr. paul rogers is here tonight.you're an environmentalist, though, you are happy with a poll this week that said that proposition 23 was not doing well. first tell us what it is and why it's not. >> there are a lot of propositions on the ballot coming up. a number haven't quite sunk in with everybody just yet. but there's an easy way to remember proposition 23. it's actually an anagram. proposition 23 would overturn ab-32. 23, 32, mirror image. what is ab-32? some folks might remember in 2006 the legislature passed and governor schwarzenegger signed the nation's furthest-reaching state global warming law. and this law, which the state is now writing the regulations for and which takes effect in 2012, would require that california emit the same amount of greenhouse gases by 2020 that it emitted in 1990. and that's a drop of about 15% from current levels. it's basically going to really hit oil refineries, you know, people who burn a lot of fossil fuels. cement kilns, power plants. so those industries are fighting it.

mr. rogers of kentucky. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: i thank the speaker for the time. i rise today to voice my opposition to the blatant exploittation of our brave troops and the brazen process being undertaken here tonight. with this ongoing char arch de, the democrat majority has chosen to drag out the consideration of this supplemental appropriations bill, now five months lagging. they have chosen to bypass the markup by the appropriations committee. they have chosen to dictate by the few, rather than legislate by the representative many. and worst of all, they're holding hostage vital funding for our troops as a vehicle for more spending, more bailouts, more encroachment by the federal government into our private lives. a clean supplemental, mr. speaker, could have easily been disposed of through regular order months ago. regrettably, the majority has waited until the very last minute, twisted the rules of the house and put the pentagon and our warfighters in dire straits. this abuse of congress national security responsibil

mr. rogers: yesterday, the pentagon announced that it's putting together an emergency plan in case congress fails to do its job and does not pass the upcoming supplemental. if the democrats continue to play political games with this bill, the pentagon will not be able to make payroll for active duty troops at war. this is a disgrace. funding our troops is a national priority. our brave men and women in uniform do not deserve to suffer because the majority party cannot agree on the precise amount of pork they want to put into this wartime supplemental bill. we need to pass a clean supplemental and we need to do it today. i'm tired of excuses, tired of the bickering. let's put aside election day politics by doing the right thing for the troops. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new mexico rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. heinrich: the people of new mexico's first congressional district are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting that took place at the manufacturing pla

mr. rogers: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. while there should be no higher priority for congress than to provide for our common defense, the democrats have chosen to delay, abuse, and exploit this wartime funding bill. no committee markup, kir couple vention -- circumvention of regular order, exploitation of our national security needs in order to bail out the special interests. and perhaps most disturbing is the inexplicable six-month delay that has kept our brave troops waiting far too long. madam speaker, the shear criticality of this war and disaster supplemental should transcend the inconvenience of election year politics. sadly that's not the case this year. this episode in political few tillity has brought us right back to where we should have been all along, funding our critical needs with a clean bill. because of this calamitous process, we leave a glaring omission, failing to address the president's recently requested enhancements to border security and to fight the murderous drug war. while i intend to support this

he's on my far left, sitting next to him is mr. roger dow, who is the president and ceo of the u.s. travel association. seated next to mr. dow is mr. rip daniels, he's the senior manager of wjzd-fm and he's also the vice president of the mississippi gulf coast tourism commission. next to mr. daniels is mr. herb malone. he's the president and ceo of the alabama gulf coast convention and visitors bureau and sitting next to mr. malone is mr. keith overton, and mr. overton is the senior vice president and chief erating officer of tradewinds -- of the tradewinds resort. he's also the chairman of the florida restaurant and lodging association. and then we have mr. brennan. mr. ralph brennan who is the president of the ralph brennan restaurant group llc. again, i want to thank the witnesses for appearing in response to our request and our invitation. it is the practice of this subcommittee to swear in witnesses so i would ask if you would stand and raise your rig hand. do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? please be seated. please let the record

mr. rogers, as well as our two united states senators from alabama, senator shelby and senator sessions, i'm extremely proud to rise today in support of house resolution 1525, honoring the 50th anniversary of the publication of the a truly great american novel, "to kill a mockingbird," and madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman. mr. bonner: it was 50 years ago this month when nell harper lee of monroeville penned what is today considered one of the most beloved american stories of all time. before i speak further about ms. lee and her masterpiece, however, i'd like to take a minute to thank chairman towns and ranking member issa of the oversight and government reform committee and their staffs for working with my staff and me to get this resolution brought to the house floor before congress breakers in august district work period. if approved, i hope to present a copy of this resolution to the people of monroe county when i return home later this week. i would also like to thank the speaker of the house, the m

mr. speaker, back to the words of roger williams, when he said that forced worship stinks in god's nostrils, it denies christ jesus yet to come that in these flames about religion there is no other prudent christian way of preserving peace in the world than by permission of different consciences. these are the words of our founders that set this nation in motion. that pointed us in the direction of religious tolerance. 1701, william penn, drafted the charter of privileges and said, first because no people can truly be happy, though under the greatest enjoyment of civil liberties, if a bridge to the -- if abridged of the freedom of their consciences as to their religious profession and worship and almight by god being the only lord of conscience, father of lights and spirits and the author as well as object of all divine knowledge, faith and worship, who only can enlighten the mind and persuade and convince the understandings of people, i do hereby grant and declare that no person or persons inhabiting this province or territories shall confess and acknowledge one almighty god, the creator,