mr. skelton: mr. speaker, at this time i ask unanimous consent that during consideration of h.r. 2647, pursuant to house resolution 572, debate on amendments 3 and 9 each be extended to 20 minutes and that amendment number 2 be modified in the form that is now placed at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the modification. the clerk: the amendment is modified to read as follows. at the end of subtitle e of page 10, after line 2, insert the following new section. section 1055, sense of congress honoring the honorable john m. mchugh. a, findings. congress makes the following -- mr. skelton: i ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered as read. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. is there objection to the initial request? without objection, so ordered. mr. skelton: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the statement of the gentleman from tennessee be placed in the record at this moment, mr. cohen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's statement will be cove

mr. skelton: mr. chairman, we have no more speakers on this en banc america. the chair: the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: i yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment of the gentleman from missouri, those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? mr. skelton: pursuant to h.res. 572, i offer amendments enblank entitled number four. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendments enblank. the clerk: amendments enblock consisting of amendments number 55, 57, 67, 69, and 60. the chair: pursuant to the house resolution 572, the gentleman from missouri, mr. skeleton and the gentleman from california, mr. mckeei don't know, each will control five minutes. mr. skeleton: i urge members to support the amendments, all of which have been approved by the majority and the minority. i yield two minutes to my friend mr. griffith. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. griffit

mr. skelton: mr. chairman, the gentleman from georgia desires to have a colloquy at this point, mr. kingston. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for a colloquy. mr. kingston: i thank the gentleman for yielding. and i rise today in strong support of the community of hinzville, georgia and liberty county. i commend the area for their ardent support of their troops and the army at fort stewart. november, 2007, the army announced that for the stewart would receive another bri gad combat team using the -- that fort stewart would receive another brigade combat team. since that time, the community installation and congress have geared up and invested for that growth working with post leadership in the pentagon, congress funded military projects such as barracks, buildings and operation facilities at $154 million for f.y. 2008. and for $352 million for f.y. 2009. clearly the army has invested greatly to maintain fort stewart's tradition as an award winning installation of excellence. on behalf of the lead

mr. skelton: mr. chairman, pursuant to h.res. 572, i offer amendments en bloc entitled number two. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendments en bloc. the clerk: amendments en bloc consisting of amendments numbered 10, 11, 23, 28, 31, 32, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 56, and 58. offered by mr. skelton of missouri. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 572, the gentleman from missouri, mr. skeleton and the gentleman from missouri, mr. -- and the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon will each control five minutes. mr. skelton: i urge adoption of the amendments and i yield two minutes to mr. kratovil. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. kratovil: i rise in support of the en bloc amendment and i -- two specific amendments i offered are included and i urge my colleagues to support the measures. the first urges stability and security in afghanistan. it requires a comprehensive assessment othat improves our understanding of the role being played by our coalit

mr. skelton: mr. chairman, pursuant to h.res. 572, i offer amendments en bloc in title number 3. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment en bloc. the clerk: amendments en bloc consisting of amendments numbered 43, 44, 7, 25, 27, 33, 46, 52, 53, 54 offered by mr. skelton of missouri. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 572, the gentleman from missouri, mr. skelton, and the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon, each will control 10 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. skelton: mr. chairman, i urge the committee to adopt the amendments en bloc, all of which have been examined by both majority and the minority. the chair: without objection. mr. skelton: mr. chairman, i understand that mr. polis wishes to propose a colloquy. and i yield as such. the chair: how much time does the gentleman from missouri yield to the gentleman from colorado? mr. skelton: three minutes. the chair: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for three minutes. mr. polis: i thank the gentl

mr. skelton: mr. chairman, purr superintendent to section 4 on house resolution 572 and as chairman of the committee on armed services, i request that during further consideration of h.r. 2647 in the committee of the whole in following consideration of amendment number 1 which is printed in house report 111-182, the following amendments be considered. amendment number 3 printed in house report 111-182, amendment number 4 printed in house report 111-182 and block amendment number 1, amendment number 2 printed in house report 111-182, amendment number 9 printed in house report 111-182 as modified, amendment number 15 printed in house report 111-182 as modified, end block amendment number 2, amendment number 20 printed in house report 111-182 as modified. amendment number 24 printed in house report 111-182. amendment number 34 printed in house report 111-18 . amendment number 39 printed in house report 111-182. end block amendment number 3 and block amendment number 4. i make that request. the chair: the

mr. skelton the author of this bill. i disagree with the way he has funded it and want to point that out. i would also point out i have a letter addressed to mr. skelton that he's not had the time to receive it because this bill was introduced yesterday and it's on the floor today. that's a little hayes -- hasty but this is an important bill and a bill that needs to be passed. but i'm torn today as i rise to speak on h.r. 2990 on the one hand i support the visions in the bill, retired pay benefits for reserve members and compensation benefits for service members, but where i'm torn is how the chairman, my good friend, mr. skelton, chose to pay for the compensation and benefits provided under the bill. i think first point out that this is a bill for the veterans and this is a bill for those that probably without this bill would not have the assistance that they need and that they deserve, that they are entitled to. i'd also say as a veteran of world war ii and probably one of about four or five on this floor still here, f

mr. skelton: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on the previous bill and also to file extraneous material thereof. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 527 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee on the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 2647. the chair appoints the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. altmire, 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 which the consideration of h.r. 2647, which the clerk will read by title. the clerk: a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2010 for military activities of the department of defense to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2010 and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time.

mr. skelton. mr. skelton: i urge the committee to adopt the amendments en bloc all of which have been examined by both the majority and minority. at this time i yield three minutes to my friend, the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you. i appreciate the gentleman's courtesy as i appreciate his hiredship in an area that has been of concerner for me for a long time. the disappointing and widespread environmental legacy of the department of defense, because in every state communities must deal with former training grounds, contaminated with live bombs, leftover shells, leaking chemicals. i have a map here. every single state, every territory of the united states. and it is an ongoing problem. in june in florida, fishermen hauled aboard a life guided missile. on the 22nd of may a farmer plowing his field overturned a live rocket. i will enter in the record a chart just for the last two months of things around the country.

mr. skelton: i rise in opposition to the motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. skelton: mr. speaker, this is one of the most interesting motions to recommit i have ever seen. in truth and fact and looking it over, which is a multi-paged motion, it's an effort to rewrite the work of two subcommittees within the armed services committee, the strategic forces subcommittee and the air, land subcommittee. and we have already a few moments ago discussed at length on this floor a good part of this, which is the missile defense area, which we gave $9.3 billion toward. but what i really find interesting in this is that the budget will cut the cleanup for radioactive wastes and special nuclear materials. at this time, i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from california, ms. tauscher, subcommittee chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may not yield blocks of time, but the gentleman may yield. mrs. tauscher: thank you, mr. chairman. california, texas, colorado, new mexico, washington, so

mr. skelton: mr. chairman, i yield three minutes to my friend, my colleague from texas who is the distinguished chairman of the subcommittee on readiness, mr. ortiz. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. ortiz: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in support of h.r. 2647, the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2010. the bill before us today reflects our committee's continuing efforts to reverse the decline in the readiness posture for our armed forces. i would like to thank the ranking member from my subcommittee, my good friend mr. forbes of georgia, for his help in bringing together this excellent bill. the united states military without a doubt, the premier fighting force in the world, however, military leaders face significant challenges as they seek to fulfill today's equipment and training needs. h.r. 2647 is dedicated to providing the necessary resources and authorities to help reverse declining trends in train and equipment readiness. h.r. 2647 inc

mr. skelton: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. skelton: and also ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. skelton: madam speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 2990, the disabled military retiree relief act of 2009. the disand veterans tax has for decades prevented retirees from receiving the full benefits they earned in military pay and compensation. the one group of retirees that have endured great hardship but have been among the last to be embraced by reform is the disabled retiree with less than 20 years of service. this group of retirees has been ignored by even the most reformed-minded advocate until the democratic congress acted to include them -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the house is not in order. members and staff will take their seats or remove their

mr. skelton: i rise in opposition to this amendment. secretary gates announced changes in the missile defense program and so testified. i wish to compliment the gentlelady from california, mrs. tauscher, the chairman of the subcommittee that covered this subject for the excellent work that she and the subcommittee did regarding missile defense. they got it right. they increased funding for theater missile defense programs by $900 million. they capped the deployment for long-range missile defense intercepters in alaska at 30 as opposed to 44 previously planned. right now there are 26 currently employed. and canceled the multiple kill vehicle program ken netic intercept program and prototype aircraft because they were not working. consequently she did it right. they did it right. by allowing and authorizing $9.3 billion for missile defense programs overall. i oppose the amendment. we did it right. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from arizona. mr. franks: i now yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. b

mr. skelton, rise? mr. skelton: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on armed services be authorized to file a supplemental report on the bill h.r. 2647. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the house will stand in a private business initial titch. no government mandate, no government money. >> there's still time to get your copy of c-span's 2009 congressional directory. with information on house and senate members, the cabinet, supreme court justices and the nation's governors. plus, district maps and how to contact committees and caucuses. it's $16.95. online at c-span.org/products or call 1-877-on-c-span. >> several senate republicans spoke on the senate floor today about the nominee of judge sonia sotomayor to the supreme court. we'll hear mitch mcconnell and jeff sessions. this is a little over a half-hour. >> madam president, this morning i'd like to turn my nomination of judge sonia sotomayor to the supreme court and more specifically to the

mr. skelton: i certainly thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, as a farm state representative, i've said for quite sometime that energy legislation must look after rural america. since first being introduced, the climb change w change measure has -- climate change measure has made a difference. i first approached this legislation with great deal of skepticism. i've since been pleased that some, not all, concerns of utilities, electric cooperate tiffs and farmers have been address -- cooperatives and farmers have been addressed in the bill that is being considered today. as this bill is being drafted, i've heard fourth district residents and raised them with the house leaders to be sure the measure before us is not perfect. but it's a step in the right direction. i think it's important that we move this bill forward. after we pass it in the house the bill will receive additional refinement in the other body. i think that congressional leadership and the administration understand the concerns of rural america and i will keep working

mr. skelton. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. skeleton: i stand in support of the connolly amendment, which provides an exception for certain generally available fuels while retaining the greenhouse gas emissions standard that 526 sets for new alternative fuels. let me, mr. chairman, say a word. of thanks. we have thanked the saff and the leadership, they've done so very, very well. and we've thanked the members, bud mckee -- buck mckeon and the ranking members, all made their excellent statements. one group we need to give a special thanks to, that's the young men and young women in uniform as well as the civilian employees of the department of defense. they are very special and we are appreciative and grateful for their efforts. thank you. the chair: the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: how much time do i have remaining? the chair: one and a half minutes. mr. mckeon: i yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. the chair: he doesn't want -- mr. mckeon: i would like to second what the gentleman was saying and thank all

mr. skelton: mr. chairman, i respectfully disagree with this amendment, and i respectfully oppose it. this amendment sends exactly the wrong message, focusing on an exit strategy which may well reinforce a perception among the afghans that we are not committed to protecting them from the taliban and al qaeda. mr. chairman, we have a new commander on the ground. we've added tens of thousands of jobs. we're adding hundreds of civilian experts. we should not undermine those efforts. commanders make a difference. as you know, we have general mcchrystal, who has replaced general mckernan in afghanistan. history shows that new commanders make a big difference. let's give general mcchrystal the opportunity to show what american troops and american civilians, state department and others can do. history shows that. president lincoln replaced a general, general immediate and finally ended up -- general meade and finally ended up with a name by the name of grant. one was replaced by bernard montgomery in the great battle came to pass. let's give general mcchrystal the opportunity. further, let m

mr. skelton: i thank the gentleman for yielding. this measure before the house today is very well one of the most important pieces of legislation we will consider regarding national security. i first must compliment the chairman, compliment his staff as well as the staff of the armed services committee who worked diligently to craft this piece of legislation. it's very important because pakistan is very important. pakistan is important to the middle east and our intentions there, their cooperation, of course, is so very, very important. this legislation gives economic and democratic development assistance to that country. what is, of course, of great interest to me is the security assistance that we have given pakistan. some $400 million. i will leave it to the chairman, the very able chairman to go into the details, but i must say it not only provides for a lot of training and financing. one part that seems to be overlooked so often is the part that deals with the international military education, which has for a period of time mis

mr. speaker, i thank the the gentlewoman from maine for yielding. i would also like to thank in particular chairman skelton and ranking member mckeon for their leadership in crafting this legislation before us. this year's national defense authorization act takes significant steps forward in supporting our national guard and reserve. earlier this month iowa observed the one-year anniversary of the floods that devastated large parts of my district. the iowa national guard played a critical role in the response to those floods and their heroic work is a testament to the vital function the national guard plays in domestic disaster response, even as their role and operations abroad increases. nationwide more than $700,000 national guard and reserve soldiers have been cold to duty since september 11 2001 much. as the national guard continues to transform into an operational reserve, it is essential that they are properly resourced for both their overseas and homeland missions this. bill provides $6.9 billion. $600 million more than the president's request. to address equipment shortfalls in the reserve componen

mr. skelton: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? mr. skelton: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and in which to insert extraneous materials in the bill that was just passed. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> i ask for a unanimous consent request. mr. speaker, because of attending a conference at the white house on immigration reform i was detained and would like to state for the record that had i been present i would have voted yes on the mcgovern amendment, would have voted no on the frank amendment, would have voted know on the akin amendment. voted yes on the connolly month no. and ask that be inserted at the proper points in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> to ask unanimous consent to be recognized to note that i also was at a meeting for the last two

mr. skelton: madam speaker, i have no more requests for time on our side. i wish to thank the gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson, for his excellent cooperation and hard work to make this bill a reality. we were most appreciative. again, i think -- i thank all of those who worked on this very complicated piece of legislation and kudos to the armed services staff on both sides of the aisle. it's very important, very important for our veterans, particularly those disabled veterans that have had less than 20 years of service. treats them as they should be. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2990? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. mr. will spon: i demand the -- mr. wilson: i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: all those in favo

mr. skelton, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2990 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2990, a bill to provide special pays and allowances to certain members of the armed forces, expand concurrent receipt of military retirement and v.a. disability benefits to disabled military retirees and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their vote by electronic device. this will be 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 404 and the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what