mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield four minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, a member of the impeachment task force and former district judge from texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for four minutes. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. and i also want to thank the leadership and the very responsible conduct of the chairman of the task force, adam schiff, doing an exemplary job and bringing it to head as quickly as humanly can be done. and to chairman conyers and to ranking member smith. we have worked together on this because it is a very serious matter when our federal courts are held in less than high esteem. we have a federal judge, as already been mentioned, pled guilty to obstruction of! he admitted to nonconsensual sexual acts. we have the transcript from the federal court hearings in which there are actual specificity of misrepresentations. we also could take judicial notice of his orders and opinions that he wrote himself. it's very clear t

diaz-balart, and more substantially to the issue raised by the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith. mr. diaz-balart cited a letter signed by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff and the secretary of defense that was sent a number of weeks ago long before a series of changes were made in this bill. at the time that letter was sent we had a very elaborate resolution of disapproval process for the presidential determinations. that has been struck. we had a very high waiver standard vital to national security interests. that has been struck. we had a great dispute that was existing over how the pakistan counterinsurgency cooperation fund should work. those issues have all been worked out with the house armed services committee. the house armed services committee has worked through all of these issues with us. they are reflected in the pakistan bill. this is the committee to whom the secretary's letter was addressed. a number of changes have been made. my friend's comments relate more to the pentagon's view of this bill before all those changes were made than they do now. but the i

mr. smith, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: before i yield to a colleague from california, i would first like to thank the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. obey, the chairman of the appropriations committee, the gentleman from washington, the subcommittee chairman, mr. dicks, and the ranking member of the subcommittee, the gentleman from idaho, mr. simpson, for their courtesies tonight. and i will yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. herger, both a colleague and a classmate and a member of the ways and means committee, one minute. the chair: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. herger: madam chair, i thank the gentleman, my good friend from texas, for yielding time. i rise in strong support of this amendment. the district i represent in northern california contains nine national forests currently being overrun by illegal marijuana cultivation. this week two men opened fire on

mr. smith: i yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. mr. sensenbrenner: the simple fact that judge kent police department get -- pled guilty shows it did occur. today he's sitting in a federal prison collecting a paycheck from taxpayers. he's not fit to sit on the judiciary and we must perform our constitutional duty to impeach him. support house resolution 520 and sent the judge to the senate for trial. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. conyers: i'm pleased now to recognize a former magistrate himself, hank johnson of georgia, who is chair of the courts subcommittee and an important member of the task force that was headed by chairman adam schiff. i recognize the gentleman for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for three minutes. mr. johnson: thank you, plmp. -- plmp. this is not -- mr. chairman. this is not a happy day, any time we have to take this type of solemn action. i first want to thank my chairman, the h

mr. smith: mr. speaker, at precisely the same time as president barack obama continues to assiduously assure americans, including graduates at notre dame university last month, that he wants to reduce abortion at home and abroad, his administration is aggressively seeking to topple pro-life laws in sovereign nations, a clear, deeply troubling contradiction. first mr. obama rescinded the mexico city policy, a pro-life reagan era executive order, that ensured that the half billion dollars in population control funds appropriated by congress each year only went to foreign nongovernmental organizations, family planning, organizations that did not promote, lobby, or perform abortions as a method of family planning. as a result of owe bam obama's new policy, they are flush with cash and will continue to get hundreds of millions of dollars annually to push abortion around the world. all of it decoupled from pro-life safeguards. i mention the mexico city policy which is not on the floor today for context. t

mr. smith: mr. speaker, we are here today to consider and vote on articles of impeachment following u.s. district judge's jam -- samuel kent's guilty plea and sentencing. judge kent pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and lying to a panel of judges that who were investigationing allegation he is sexually assaulted two women on his staff. following his guilty plea and sentencing herb house authorized an inquiry into whether the house should impeach judge kent. recently, the committee heard testimonfrom two women who judge kent assaulted. their testimony was troubling, especially since he used his position to get away with it. he has refused to appear before the committee. he sent a letter to president obama tendering his resignation , effective june 1, 2010. by resigning june 1, 2010, he's attempting to receive his judicial salary for another year. that's why we are here today, to take the next step to putting an end to judge kent's abusive authority and exploitation of the american taxpayers. t

after my intercession and that of mr. smith and with the help of the state department, brazilian authorities moved to have the case once again sent to brazil's federal courts to secure visitation rights for mr. goldman. that effort was successful. david goldman was able to see his son for the first time in nearly five years earlier this year. now, just this month the brazilian federal court in rio ordered seine -- sean returned to mr. goldman. but amazingly a brazilian political party filed a motion with the brazilian supreme court asserting that brazil's exsession to the hague convention was unconstitutional. i'm pleased that the obama administration has filed a motion with the brazilian supreme court seeking to have this frivolous motion dismissed. but we should do more. this outrageous delaying tactic brought by an entity with no genuine standing in the case has only underscored the need for the united states and other nations to examine potential changes to the convention. necessary in order to prevent these kinds of cases

i was glad to hear mr. smith say that the pro-life movement is nonviolent, and i'm sure that most of it is. but unfortunately it's clear that there are some people, a small minority, who believe themselves part of the pro-life movement who are not nonviolent. and i trust that everyone in this house today, and these people have engaged in conduct that have killed, murdered several providers of abortion simply for doing what they believe to be the right thing, what i believe to be the right thing, and more importantly what the law allows them to do. and to intimidate other people from doing this. this resolution which i trust every member of this house will vote for, says that we do not believe in trying to change the law by violence, we do not believe in domestic terrorism, defining terrorism as an attempt to change the law through murder and violence and mayhem. we believe in constitutional processes, and if we do not -- if every single one of us does not believe in that then we don't have any moral superiority o

host: mr. smith? guest: school boards are typically elected.ning schools and overseeing schools, managing schools, versus overseeing schools, that is two different tasks. in the charter environment, we have a group that manages the schools but then you have an authorizer that will hold them accountable. when a school board is managing their own schools they're deal wealth superintendent. they have to disentangle themselves with what is going on. host: richard on the line for democrats. go ahead. caller: hello? host: go ahead. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: i'm an african-american male here in south carolina. i have predominantly had good associations with different caucasian males and females in charleston, south carolina. and about the schooling system, the way that i feel about it is that there is seems to be a confusion in the details. we need to work together bipartisan across the board, with each other, republicans and democrats, quit bickering. president obama cannot fix the whole world by himself. he can't do everythi

mr. smith, two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. smith: i thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding and his help and the chairman's help in making this amendment, my amendment, part of the en bloc amendment. this amendment requires the department of defense, mr. speaker, to report to congress on the plight of our service men and women who along with their children suffer from intrafamilal international child abduction. the movement of our service members make them especially vulnerable to the risks of international child abduction. attorneys familiar with this phenomenon estimate that there are approximately 25 to 30 new cases of international child abductions affecting our service members every year. one man, commander paul tollman, came in my office partly because of the publicity about david goldman and his son, sean goldman, the brazilian case i had been working on and he came in and said, you have to hear my story. it's a heartbreaking story of a man

waxman, mr. smith and mr. engel and i thank the speaker for promptly bringing it to the floor today. with the input and guidance from many members of this chamber as well as the bipartisan congressional task force against amendment semitism. i rise today in great sorrow as this nation mourns the loss of officer johns who was killed yesterday at the united states holocaust memorial museum at the hands of a hateful white supremacist. i offer condolences of officer jaunches and condemn the vicious attack on the holocaust memorial. the museum is a place of reflection and expression of the addage, never again. the museum seeks a world without racism, anti-sifmentism, holocaust denial and intolerance. this vicious attack hurt all americans. a hate crime in every sense, this attack violates all of us. acts of hatred and violence cannot and will not be tolerated in our country. today, the lessons of the holocaust are more relevant than ever before. officer johns died protecting those values and he is a hero to all of

mr. smith: mr. speaker, as this replica of a check demonstrates, the national media are giving the obama administration a free pass worth who knows how much on any number of major national issues such as the economy, energy, and health care. the national media seldom mention that the president's budget would double the national debt in five years and triple it in 10. the national media don't tell the american people that the president's cap and trade energy plan will cost every family $1,600. the national media don't report that the 46 million uninsured that is used to justify the president's health care plan is really only 10 million people after you deduct those who are eligible for medicare and medicaid who can afford health insurance and without health insurance for just a couple months between jobs. americans don't want the media to give the obama administration a free pass. they want the facts. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: to addr

mr. smith: madam speaker, i have beside me an actual copy of a letter sent to a marine family. s the -- mr. jones: madam speaker, i have bd my an actual copy of a let every sent to a marine family. on behalf of the department of the navy we extend our deepest simply. if h.r. 24 and senate 504 become the law of the land, it would be the way it ould be for the family of a marine who gave his life for this country, it will say the secretary of the navy and marine corps with the navy flag and marine flag. it will say dear marine corps family on behalf of the department of the navy and marine corps, please accept my sincere condolences on the loss of your loved one. this is all it's about, bringing the team together. it's time the marine corps be recognized as part of the fighting team. i will ask god to please bless our men and women in afghanistan and iraq and ask god plees with his loving arms to hold the families of those who gave their life in afghanistan and iraq, and i ask three times, god please, god please, god please continue to bless america and i yield back the balance of

hensarling today for five minutes, mr. smith of new jersey today for five minutes, mr. burton for june 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19 for five minutes, myself, mr. poe, for june 19, mr. jones for june 19 for five minutes, mr. flake for today for five minutes and mr. fleming june 18 for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. woolsey: i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes, revise and extend their remarks and include therein extraneous materials. ms. woolsey of california, mr. schiff of california, ms. richardson, california. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. paul of texas. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i wish to claim mr. paul's time. the speaker pr

under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentlewoman from ohio, mrs. smith is we can reck niced for 60 minutes as designee of the majority leader. mrs. schmidt: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise tonight to shine a light on a subject where i do not believe this administration's actions are living up to its rhetoric. whether it was said on the campaign trail or in speeches during his time in office, the president is certainly -- has certainly tried to sound reasonable on the issue of life. but the administration's actions belie its words. during a campaign appearance with pastor rick war on august 167, 2009, then-candidate barack obama made clear that his goal was to, quote, reduce the number of abortions. in fact, he said that he had, quote, inserted this into the democratic party platform. how do we reduce the number of abortions, end quote. now given the administration's expressed support for roe v. wade i never expected nor do not expect it to suddenly reverse its course. however, one way to reduce the number of abortions and a way that works and one that is

mr. smith: madam speaker, yesterday as ranking member of the africa subcommittee, i joined several colleagues at an important foreign affairs committee meeting with prime minister morgueian of zimbabwe. it was an extraordinary opportunity to discuss zimbabwe's progress towards democracy and a way from dictatorship. its problems with hyper inflation and multiple health crises, including cholera, and to obtain a fuller understanding what additional steps the united states can take right now to help. that meeting, however, occurred at precisely the same time that the house considered h.res. 529, a resolution condemning the june 10 violent attack on the holocaust memorial museum, a despicable anti-is he met eck act that killed officer stephen tyrone johns, and so eloquently articulated by so many of my colleagues yesterday during that debate, we a lule officer johns for his bravery and his courage and extend our deepest condolences to his family. i rise today not only to express my support for h.re

mr. smith: madam speaker, the national media have given president obama a free pass on the economy. . earlier this year they said we needed to pass the president stimulus package to keep the unemployment rate below 8%. since they passed the president's nonstimulus stimulus the econo has lost more than 1.5 million jobs and unemployment has jumped to 9.4%. despite the massive layoffs, the president claimed this week that the stimulus has saved jobs. the national media have allowed the obama administration to get away with spending jobs lost as jobs saved. and -- spinning jobs lost as jobs saved. and they've ignored the congressional budget office conclusion that the stimulus bill actually would reduce output, reduce output. the media should scrutinize the president's words and actions, not give him a free pass. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the

subcommittee on terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities, the gentleman from washington, mr. smith. the chair: the gentleman from washington is recognized for three minutes. smith smith i rise in support of the national authorization act and discuss briefly the portions of the bill contained under the subcommittee that i chair on terrorism, unconventional threats and exabets and i thank ranking member miller from the great state of florida for his support for this bill. we work in true bipartisan fashion on the subcommittee, following the lead of our abled chairman who does the same with the full committee and in large part as a result of that, we produce a very good product. i want to thank the chairman for his overyou'll leadership. it places the priorities exactly where they belong, first and foremost on our troops and families, giving them the support they need to continue to fight and defend our country. you can see the priority that that is put in this bill. i really appreciate the chairman's work on that and the 3.4% pay raise across the board for our military. the bill prio

mr. sal smith russell. there was just one problem. sal smith russell wasn't received by anyone at the grand theater on the night in question. no one was. in fact, none of the three plays was performed that night at any of the three theaters. there was -- there was some kind of problem on the railroad lines, running into st. louis, an none of the trains carrying the actors or the sets could get through. great god, drieser said, when he learned what had happened. and shortly after that, he quit his job with the paper in st. louis and went on to become perhaps the worst of america's great novelists. i will conclude my prepared remarks by coming full circle. here is that paragraph again, or at least part of it. most journalists bailiff like people in most other occupations. they do their jobs well, or better than well, they realize that others depend on them and are stimulated by the need to meet their responsibilities. you have just heard in brief about some notable exceptions to the concept of meeting journalistic responsibilities. i wo

mr. lamar smith, for his leadership in making this a truly bipartisan effort. and i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california, mr. issa, is recognized. mr. issa: thank you, mr. spker. it's now my pleasure to yield for our response to the gentleman from south carolina for such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate the gentleman from california yielding. h.r. 2344, the webcasting settlement act of 2009, grants limited statutory authority to sound exchange. the government designated entity that is responsible for disbursing webcast royalties to

mr. michaud: i thank the gentleman for yielding one minute. the debbie smith act provides state and local agencies funding to combat serious crime such as rape, sexual assaults and murder. i would like to thank congressman nadler and congresswoman maloney for their leadership on this very important issue. our amendment will fully fund this valuable program. each untested d.n.a. sample represents a missed chance to keep these violent offenders off our streets. in one case in california, a repeat sex offender raped a woman before the test could be processed by state crime labs and then attacked two additional women and a child as well. in maine, we have a backlog of over 4,000 samples that need to be analyzed. with no additional funding, many of our cold cases will go unsolved and this backlog will continue. i urge my colleagues to support this very important amendment. and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia. mr. wolf: i reserve the balance. the chair: the gentleman reser

smith? >> thank you, sir. mr.speaker, pensioners who rely on their savings are suffering greatly from the low interest rates needed to tackle the recession. will the prime minister explain to them why the savings limit for cancel tax benefit has stuck at 16,000 pounds if it had begun up with the retail price index it would now be 27,000 pounds. >> mr. speaker, in all areas we've got to look at what we can afford at different times. and, obviously, we have done a great deal for those who are on pension credit to raise the amount of money that they receive. we've done a great deal for people who are on working tax credit and child tax credit to raise the amount of money they receive. obviously, reform and housing benefit is something that we are looking at but i think he's got to accept that 1 1/2 children have -- 1 1/2 million children have come out of poverty. if we haven't had the pension credit, the winter allowance, and we had the free tv license then pensioners would not have been well off as they are and many

relationshe birmingham news" insisted that judge smith disqualified himself based on the fact that his second cousin was a republican governor, bob riley, who had defeated mr. siegelman who two-years earlier. mr. siegelman, the one who would have been expected to make the outcry, had no problem with the judge sitting, but in view of the supprepress reports and the conference with the united states attorney, judge smith found in reason to disqualify himself, but he did so in his words, to promote confidence in the institutional integrity of the judicial branch. the shopping spree continued, with the case next being assigned to a junior bush appointed judge from tuscaloosa. the government was rather satisfied with that bargain, and it declined mr. siegelman's invitation to join in the disqualification motion. apparently dr. bobo was comfortable with the assignment, and for good reason. he was a doctor for the children. he had heavily contributed to the judge's campaign for circuit judge. several of the anticipated witnesses in the case were known by the judge and had made political contributions to him. and so when the judge did not voluntarily disqualify hi

mr. schama has one literary and journalism prizes including the award for history, w.h. smith prize for literature, the national academy of arts and letters award and the national book critics circle award. he also loves to cook and we've seen a number of his recipes. his newest work, the american future, a history explores the 2008 presidential election from the historical perspective debating for topics, war, religion, race and immigration and the relationship between natural resources and prosperity mr. schama and examine these in the context of america's identity. before we bring mr. schama we will show a short clip from his documentary that shares the same name of his new book. ♪ >> it was a hard american winter a tough time for americans. but out there beneath the ice something big was stirring. and a weakening of, american democracy. this presidential election isn't like other elections. those who lived here decades felt the tremors of the political earthquake. it is not only a war gone bad and economy on the skits but a nationwide loss of faith and a government that is

mr. chairman. well, this bill has just been accused of being somewhere another combination between goldberg and karl marx. however, our current system is a combination of adam smith, darth vader and the invasion of the body snatchers. [laughter] i like our plan better. [laughter] >> do i look like a body snatcher? [laughter] >> don't ask that question. >> but mr. president, this isn't the place -- this is really a historic meeting and when i got up this morning to come here i was really excited to join with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle where would i consider a rendezvous with destiny. this country, our great country has struggled for decades on how we could ensure a health safety net for all americans. this bill isn't the first time that we have looked at this matter. it has been a struggle over many years and i come to this table as someone who through her graduate training and social work has been both a student and a teacher and college teacher when the history of social welfare in the country. so i know how we got to where we are today and i know where we stand and let me just kind of share with you just a few quick minutes how we got to where we

mr. chairman. madam secretary, i introduced legislation with then congressman rahm emanuel, and congressman chris smith from new jersey, called the independence at home act, and the bill created a medicare pilot project focused on improving the coordination of care and reducing costs for the vulnerable medicare beneficiaries, those with multiple severe chronic conditions, such as alzheimer's, als, parkinson's and other complex debilitating diseases who also need help with two or more activities of daily living, such as dressing, feeding, et cetera. cbo has reported that 5% of medicare beneficiaries account for 43% of overall medicare spending, and cms has noted that approximately 20% of medicare beneficiaries are with five or more chronic conditions account for 66% of program spending. could you talk a little bit about how we can focus on those medicare beneficiaries with multiple chronic diseases, and how perhaps a program like that focusing on home and better coordination can help reduce the costs? >> well, we have not only the demonstration that you are responsible for, but i think a number of proje

mr. chairman. well, this bill has just been accud of being somewhere between a combination between goldberg and carl marx. however our current system is a combination of adam smith, darth vader and the invasion of the body snatchers. so i like our plan better. >> do i look like a body snatcher? >> don't ask that question. >> mr. president, this is not the place -- this is really a historic meeting, and when i got up this morning to come here, i was really excited to join here with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle for really what i consider a rain day view with destiny. our great country h

mr. issa. last year our bill passed the house overwhelmingly and i ask my colleagued to support it again this year. i'd like to thank our judiciary committee chairman, john conyers, and ranking member lamar smith, and all the co-sponsor of this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. i recognize myself for such time as i may consume. thank you, mr. speaker. thomas jefferson observed that, quote, the only security of all is in a free press. the agitation it produces must be submitted to, it is necessary to keep the waters pure, unquote. were he alive today, jefferson would not take too kindly to liable tourists. the subject of h.r. 276 5 -- 2765. oh, it seems true that some u.s. media more recently have become fan clubs rather than objective pursuers of truth, there's still some very dedicated journalists in the united states who should be free from harassment from inappropriate liable suits in overseas courts. in the wake of 9/11, the american media have been -- become increasingly alarmed over a phenomenal called liable tourism. the term refers

mr. dupri is a graduate of williams college as well as the university of chicago law school, who once clerked for jerry smith at the fifth circuit court of appeals. in his private practice he played a key role in bush v. gore, more recently in his stint in the federal government he oversaw the civil division of the department of justice, including the civil appellate practice of justice. he's appeared in front of the supreme court and all 13 appeals courts. he's appeared before jouge sotomayor in the second circuit court. i'm interested in what he has to say, i hope you all are as well. let's give him a warm welcome to the dallas chapter, tom dupri. [applause] >> good afternoon. thank you very much for inviting me here today and thank you, dan, for the kind introduction. it's always a pleasure for me to return to texas. as he mentioned, i clerked a little bit down the road in houston. it's wonderful to come back and have a chance to catch up with old friends and escape the summertime heat in washington, d.c. thank you very much for having me here today. what i thought i'd do is talk a little bit about presid

smith for their cooperation and commend this bill to my colleagues. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. issa: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. inds lee -- mr. issa: i -- [newline] mr. issa: this is a pice of bipartisan legislation with chairman conyers, another piece tries to deal with a greater inequity than even this one. internet broadcasters or podcasters or webcasters pay as much as half of their revenues, half of their gross revenues if they pay performances of music and n.a.b. was cited as being a participant. let me make something very clear, mr. speaker. the national association of broadcasters has chosen to have an absolute burn the bridge attitude toward terrestrial broadcasters paying even a cent. i join with chairman conyers, mr. berman, myself and many others in urging that this pattern of lowering to what we believe is a more fair rate or helping lower to what we believe is a more fair rate in fact flies in the face of terrestrial broadcasters continuing to say that the only fair amount to pay in the way of royalti

mrs. ms. baiten, in tarrant county there's a county hospital. did anyone ever try to help you through that tangle to try to get any care through john peter smith? >> i couldn't qualify for that. but what i did do was moved in with my sister so i could declare residency and i went to the dallas county hospital and tried to get tlep. you get on a waiting list for a mastectomy and three or four times i went there and they lost my medical records and said, why are you here. i'm here, i have cancer. i need a mastectomy. and they said we'll put you on the waiting list. i believe my name still wouldn't be on the waiting list. they never even contacted me back. i'm thankful to say in trying to get help windy going to county hospitals and applying to county hospitals, mr. barton got my insurance reinstated and i got the original doctor. >> and i appreciate that. i believe in continuity of care and believe that that's important. again, the other aspect does not really be a part of the discussion today but it's part of the broader discussion as we talk about strategies for the future. i want to thank every one of you for being here today. ms. horton, i di

mr. yektafar thank you for being on the program. guest: thank you. host: what is coming up later on "washington journal" today. next up rick rosendall with the national gay alliance. and nelson smith with the charter schools. and the state department will be here to talk to us about human trafficking. ..

mr. inglis: i thank the gentleman for yielding. my colleagues, here is an exchange in the foreign affairs committee that was very instructive when it comes to abortion and this bill. our colleague, chris smith, the tireless advocate for the unborn, was asking questions of secretary clinton. secretary clinton said these words to our friend, chris smith. so we have a very fundamental disagreement, she said, and it is my strongly held view that you, chris smith, are entitled to advocate and everyone who agrees with you should be free to do so anywhere in the world and so are we. so who is the we? if that we means the federal government, the united states of america through its state department, the secretary of state speaking we, then there's a real concern about whether this would then become the policy of the united states to advocate abortion overseas. so our friend, chris smith, proposed an amendment that was rejected by the rules committee that would have clarified this issue by saying that the u.s. will not lobby countries to, quote, legalize, fund, or promote abortion except in the cases of forcible rape, incest, or save the life of a mother. that language was rejected by the rules comm

mr. smith: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from iowa, mr. king, also a member of the judiciary committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. king: i thank the gentleman from texas for yielding. first i want to thank all of those who volunteered on this task force for impeachment and i want to thank chairman conyers and ranking member smith for pulling this together in their professional fashion and people on our side of the aisle and mr. schiff of california who has conducted himself, i think, with a solid degree of professionalism throughout the proceedings. i'm very well aware, mr. speaker, that this is a rare and extraordinary step this congress is taking. and that this is a serious moment. when i read through this report that's been produced by the task force, pulled together the data in a compressed fashion, it's appalling to me this went on as long as it did i will say, when the conviction came down and the sentence was made, the 33 months in th

mr. smith: madam speaker, the nonpartisan congressional budget office has determined that cap and trade legislation will cost american families at least $1,600 a year. other studies have found that the cost of energy could be up to $3,600 per family. it would be more accurate to call cap and trade cap and tax. but you are unlikely to hear about cap and tax and its cost by watching the news. the three network evening news programs mention cap and tax and only four stories from january to may according to the media research center. none of the four stories explained cap and tax and its high cost to consumers. the price of gas and electricity will go up as will the price of food. the media need to report the facts about cap and tax and tell the american people what it will cost them. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: madam speaker, somewh

and so i'm going to urge my colleagues to join with us in opposition to this rule because mr. smith, the distinguished ranking member of the full committee, ms. ros-lehtinen, and others said we should have an open amendment process that will allow a free-flowing debate on all of these issues. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida's time has expired. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, this is a good rule that paves the way toward improving our relations around the world. as i listen to the ranking member, my good friend on the rules committee, i thought he was going to support the rule because he's so impressed with the work that was put forward in this bill that covers developing democracies which has been such a tremendous champion of over a period of time. i'll yield for five seconds. mr. dreier: i thank my friend for yielding. i say i think it can be even better if we could have an open amendment process. i thank my frie