mr. speaker. >> mr. speaker, i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to corporal lee bronson, and rifleman luke farmer from third battalion, the rifles that they died in afghanistan this week in our thoughts are with their families and friends at this very sad time. last night i went to the moving tribute of their fellow soldiers to their selflessness and camaraderie which they displayed serving their colleagues, the british people, and the people of afghanistan. and they will not be forgotten. mr. speaker, all of us have also been deeply moved to action ivies to unfold tragic of the people of haiti. some of the poorest people in world facing some of the most extreme hardships and imaginable. our thoughts and condolences go to those families also in the united kingdom being directly affected by the tragedy. we must first provide also for improved international cooperation and we must help the government of haiti. mr. speaker, this point i met with colleagues about this. i shall hav

mr. speaker. we had one of the lowest debt, the second lowest debt of the g7. our debt was lower than america. lower than france and germany. lower than the euro area. lower than japan and italy. it is because we had a low debt that we've been able to take the measures that are necessary to help companies deal with the recession, to help the unemployed get work, and to help young people who need school and to help thousands of small businesses survive. we took the right action in the recession. the opposition advised the wrong action. >> and i pay myself with a tribute to my right old friend has taken those who have lost their lives in afghanistan. is the also aware that today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of tom handel, the british photographer who was shot by an israeli sniper while trying to rescue children from danger in gaza. will he join me in paying tribute to the handel family for their tireless efforts and cut into so many screens, military authorities to get to the truth about

mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from indiana is recognized for one minute. mr. pence: if you are concerned about run away federal spending and a rising national debt, you won't find a lot of comfort in today's headlines. after passing a government takeover of health care costing trillions, over a trillion dollars and bunt that will triple the national debt, democrat leaders are talking about bringing legislation that will raise our debt limit by $1.9 trillion. but we are told by the same democratic leadership they are going to get serious in 2010 about fiscal discipline. i guess along those lines president obama is expected to announce a bipartisan commission that will look for ways to reduce defendants in the future. sounds like an appealing idea, but the devil's always in the details in

mr. speaker. i rise today to pay tribute to a memphis shelby county citizen who gave his life in service in afghanistan. staff sergeant daniel meriweather. he was the first person to die from memphis in 2010 and the 12th since 2002. he died when his convoy ran over an improvised explosive device. he graduated from overton high school in memphis, tennessee. he studied broadcast journalism, played football, loved sports, cowboy hats, boots and country music and you can see from his picture and the reflections from his friends how much he loved life and how popular he was. he wanted to serve his country and did he so and he had two tours of duty, one in afghanistan and one in iraq. 25 years of age, he's survived by his wife, two children, one daniel merriweather jr. just 2 months old. he has a sister and brother as well. these are the 12 soldiers that have died from shelby county, and unfortunately staff sergeant merriweather joins that company. let us honor the life of staff sergeant merriweather. th

mr. speaker. can i join the prime minister in paying tribute to the seven british servicemen who lost their lives since the last prime minister's questions. private robert hays, david watson, rifleman aiden howe, tommy brown, and christopher rooney and michael richard and michael holmby and we must look after their families. i also join the prime minister in paying tribute to david taylor and his contribution to public service. we too send our condolences to his wife and children. he was diligent, decent, and determined. as one obituary put it, a thought brilliantly he was that rare thing amongst politicians someone who was liked and admired equally by his constituents, his parliamentary colleagues and his political opponents. and he will be sadly missed. this year the government will have to borrow 178 billion pounds. yesterday one of the largest holders of government debt warned the british debt is likely to be downgraded. the oecd, the cbi and the bank of england have all warned there is no pro

mr. speaker, i'd yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, mr. speaker, it's all about priorities. and, you know, i welcome the debate here that we're having today. we asked not to do this at the rules committee. we asked not to do this bill. isn't it better that we don't go spend $50 million right now? it is an island. by the way, every piece of land on the island is not beach-front property. the bottom line is is that we are choosing because it's a priority to do this. it's a priority, and those priorities the republican party disagrees with. the second bill that comes under this bill that failed to get 2/3 vote last week is the one we are talking about, h.r. 3726, the castle nugent national historic site establishment act. and what this bill really does is go about, as we've heard about it, is that it authorizes but not propets $50 million -- appropriates $50 million. if there's anybody in thi

mr. speaker. we have concerns with h.r. 3726. as of today, the national park service has yet to complete the connolly authorized study of this proposal. in fact, the -- the congressionally authorized study of this proposal. in fact, this takes several years to complete and drain as much as half a million dollars from the park service. what use are these feasibility studies if we choose to ignore them or in this case rush to pass legislation before the study can be finalized? typically, these stud ease contain information that can be useful in crafting better legislation. for example, it would be nice to know what process the national park service went through to consult with all private property owners who may be harmed or impacted by this designation? the national park service testified that the accounts to acquire the private property to establish this park could be as much as $50,000 in addition to nearly $1 million a year to operate the park. most of us are aware of the estimated $9 billion in

mr. speaker. >> i am sure that the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to corporal lee brownson and rifleman luke farmer from 3rd battalion the rifles. they died in afghanistan this week, and our thoughts are with their families and friends at this very sad time. last night, i read through the moving tributes of their fellow soldiers to the immense bravery, selflessness, and camaraderie which they displayed serving their colleagues, the british people, and the people of afghanistan, and they will not be forgotten. mr. speaker, all of us have also been deeply moved to action by the still unfolding tragedy of the people of haiti, some of the poorest people in the world facing some of the most extreme hardships imaginable. and our thoughts and condolences go also to those families in the united kingdom who have been directly affected by the tragedy. we must, first, provide all support. secondly, improve international co-ordination. and third, we must help put the government of haiti ba

mr. speaker, the same time mr. speaker, we agreed that naito -- nato and the warsaw pact continue to be the basis for defense. their boarders are not on the agenda and that we well continue to abide by the helsinki final act. indeed without nato and the european community, these great events would surely not have happened. hear hear. this is an excellent meeting and a very satisfy outcome. the next step is forinate nato heads of government to meet on the 4th of december when president bush will report on his meeting with gorbachev pf before that happens before that happens, i shall be meeting president bush at camp david later this week. so the action of the right honorable gentleman, the leader of the opposition is to see what is happening in eastern europe, as yet another excuse to weaken our defenses by getting rid of nuke here weapons. even though they're a fundamental part of nato strategy. and it is because we had nato, because we have kept defenses strong and but we deployed crews and perching against the sov

mr. speaker, stay tuned. e americans' innovation is on the way and individual resilience is ready to go. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise? mr. jones: i ask to speak at this time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. jones: mr. speaker, soon, the congress will be asked to raise the debt limit of this nation. this actually happened under the previous administration and now is happening under the new administration. i have not voted from the time i have been in congress to raise this debt ceiling because all this really does is permit our government to borrow more money from foreign governments. i think we all know that we are what's called a debtor nation. we don't pay our bills anymore. we have to go to the japanese, chinese and many other countries to buy our debt so we can spend more. that's the reason i wanted to come to the floor tonight. before we broke for christmas, frank walker sent out to each member of

mr. burton: sure. the speakeri really get a big kick out of listening to my democrat colleagues when they talk about spending all this money on infrastructure and how we're not spending enough and how we need to come up with another stimulus bill. the fact of the matter is, since they took control of congress, the national debt has gone up by almost $4 trillion. you can't spend your way out of debt. you can't create jobs by digging yourselves into a bigger and bigger hole. and that's exactly what they're talking about doing. now they say they've created jobs. they said that unemployment would not go above 8%. and they say they've created or saved two million jobs or there abouts. the fact of the matter is, seven million jobs have been lost, lost. seven million jobs have been lost. now, even if you said that -- and accepted their premise that that they saved or created two million jobs, you'd still be five million jobs in the hole and the unemployment rate isn't 8%, it's 10%, it was up above that. and i believe it

mr. burgess: i thank the speaker. and, mr. speaker, i'd like to continue, much as we've done over this past hour, talking about this same issue, the health care bill that is now before the house and senate even though none of us have seen the finished product. what has happened on the issue of transparency over these past several weeks since the house adjourned in the middle of december. i'm going to talk a little bit more about the resolution of inquiry because i believe that is an important tool that is available to the minority members of the house and i think it's a tool that we need to use, a tool that we need to exercise in order to get the american people the information that they are going to need to make up their minds about this bill. it's time for -- we'll talk about some of the structural issues, some of the procedural issues that still are yet to occur if this bill indeed passes and is signed into law. what are the ramifications thereof? when will things happen? what will occur at the level -- as federal agency at

mr. lungren. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. lungren: i thank the gentleman for the time. i thank him for bringing this bill to the floor. i thank the gentleman on the other side of the aisle for their support of this bill. madam speaker, i rise as one who was part of the bipartisan coalition who established in this chamber the martin luther king holiday some 2 1/2 decades ago. that was a glorious day here. and it was a day in which we acted for the right reasons. martin luther king jr. was born january 15, 1929. perhaps it is fitting that dr. king was born in that year for while the great crash of 1929 would shake the economic and financial fundamentals of our country and our society, dr. king's life and work would just as dramatically shake this nation into reconfirming our commitments to a moral and constitutional foundations. madam speaker, in honoring dr. king we do not have the time to recount the entire complex history of civi

mr. speaker. mr. aker, in the news, since christmas day, has been great concern about the security of our country related to individuals entering this country and attempting to perpetrate harm on our citizens. it hes back to september 11, 2001, -- it hearkens back to september 11, twune and what we have done to make our nation a safer place. one area where we could make it much safer and much fairer for all our citizens and those who come to the united states would be to eliminate the visa lottery program. this is a program that awards legal permanent resident status or green cards to foreign nationals based on pure luck. literally, the state department conducts a random lottery, millions of people submit their names on very short forms, about a half page long, and then they randomly select out of those millions of people 50,000 winners each year who get to enter the united states through the visa lottery program. they don't have to have any family ties to the united states, they don't have to have any

mr. speaker. the power company has just announced that they will be closing their call-center with a proposed loss of over 600 jobs. given that sad news, can the prime minister personally assured me that the business department, the job center network will do absolutely everything they can to assist my constituents and their families, and to help them find alternative employment if that closure goes through? >> mr. speaker, i can assure him that the rapid response unit of the department of work pension and a job center will be available to help his constituents if they are looking for jobs. i have to say to him that 300,000 people are leaving the unemployment register every month. pardo result of the action that job center plus is able to take, and we will be able to put to the assistance of his constituents not only advice but health and careers assistance and in some cases working for others who are young people looking for jobs in the future. we will do everything we can. i have to say to him,

mr. speaker. >> mr. speaker, i am sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to corporal league bronson and riflemen luke farmer for third battalion, the rival. they died in afghanistan this week and our thoughts are with their families and friends. at this very sad time. last night i read through the moving tribute of their fellow soldiers to emit bravery, selfishness and, roderick which they displayed serving their colleagues, the british people and the people of afghanistan. and they will not be forgotten. mr. speaker, all of us -- some of the poorest people in the world facing some of the most extreme hardships and manageable. and our thoughts and condolences go to those families also in the united kingdom have been directly affected by the tragedy. they must first define our support, and third we must help with the government of haiti to get back lazy to be able to deliver reconstruction. mr. speaker, this morning i have been meeting with others in addition to duties of my house. i s

mr. speaker and the truth is mr. speaker, i'll give way in a moment. the truth is that we do now have a trade deficit of record proportion. a full 6 billion pounds above what the government predicted it would be six months ago. that's the truth of the present situation in britain. >> i'm grateful. >> could you tell us what a mythical liberal government would do to control wage inflation? >> gentlemen has heard the statement that is we have made in the past about this, one of the things we would wish to do would be to see this government, would see this government enter into the european monetary system which means we would begin to control inflation and therefore control -- and therefore, control wage rates without using high interest rates. but i'm here to discuss the government's program. and the honorable gentlemen will -- i'm here to discuss the government's program. and in a relatively short speech i do not have time to put forward all of the alternatives which he sees. the government tells us that the success story is in rations. well the record

the speaker pro tempore: mr. grayson of florida. mrs. schmidt of ohio. mr. mcclintock of california. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentleman from ohio, mr. ryan, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. ryan: thank you, madam speaker. it's an honor, again, to be on the floor of the house of representatives to talk about the issues of the day that are here and talk about changes that have happened in our country over the course of the last year due to the leadership of president obama and the democratic congress. and i know in today's world and today's media-driven world where we like to talk about and have fights about different issues and let those fights kind of permeate society, sometimes it's very difficult for us to, as leaders in the country, to talk directly to our constituents and to the american people about some of the changes that have been in place. if we look at just a little over a year ago when, in the fall of last year, october of 2008, i guess it would be, the difficulties facing

mr. speaker. which made the following preposterous assertion. i quote. the impression you make on television depends mainly on your image, 55%. and with your voice and body language. and that's accounting for 38%. [laughter] of your impact. only 7% depends on what you were actually saying. i thought i should enlist the sympathy of the opposition with the last proposition. the letter went on -- and you play think that this is an extravagant claim, sfoors myself is concerned, but the letter went on, we could guarantee to improve your appearance. through a personal and confidential image consult dation. you will learn if you need a new hairstyle. [laughter] and where to get it. and the type of classs to suit your fate. the house will understand. and -- why i consider i was beyond redemption. on all fronts. mr. speaker, east born has been a separate parliamentary constituency since 1895. and then they -- the election was 8,000 and today it is 80,000. i'm glad to be able to report that for 100 out of the 104 years, each one was represented in the conservative

mr. speaker. i yield back. .7 c16 c13 the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> mr. speaker, 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 revise and extend their remarks, and include therein extraneous material. mrs. miller today for five minutes. mr. reichert today for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> mr. speaker, 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, to revise and extend their remarks, and include therein extraneous material. the members would be ms. woolsey from california. mr. defazio from oregon. myself, from alabama. ms. kaptur from ohio. and the gentleman from american samoa. the speaker pro temp

mr. speaker. last month, i wrote speaker pelosi and insisted the stupak-pitts amendment be repemb -- preserved in any final version of health regulation. this would prevent any taxpayer dollars from paying for abortion this question is more crucial after passage of h.r. 3590, the senate health care bill which allows federal funds to subsidize elected abortions. unfortunately, the speaker has yet to respond to my inquiry. so this week, the same week as the annual march for life in washington, the gentleman from oregon, my friend, mr. walden, and i, are again sending a request to the speaker. madam speaker, please respond to our request for information regarding your intentions on the stupak-pitts amendment in health care reform negotiations. we continue to insist you keep the exact language of that amendment which passed this house by a wide bipartisan margin in the final version of health care legislation. please do not ignore the voice of the american people or their representatives on this very i

mr. speaker, the same time, mr. speaker, we agreed that nato and the warsaw pact continue to be the basis for defense. that borders are not on the agenda, and that we will continue to abide by the helsinki final act. indeed without nato and the european community, these great events would surely not have happened. mr. speaker, this was an excellent meeting and a very sack factory outcome. the next step is for nato heads of government to meet on the fourth of december when president bush will report on his meeting with president gorbachev. before that happens, before that happens, i shall be meeting president bush at camp david later this week. the reaction of the right honorable gentleman, the leader of the opposition, is to see what is happening in eastern europe as yet another excuse to weaken our defenses by getting rid of nuclear weapons. even though they are a fundamental part of nato's strategy. it is because we have nato, because we have kept defenses strong, because we deployed cruise and pershing against the

mr. speaker the -- mr. peaker, before listing my engagements, sure that the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to the soldiers who've lost their lives in afghanistan since the house last met. they are from three engineer regiment ordinance disposal been set for david watson. from second battalion duke of lancaster regiment. the anglican regiment robert hayes from the parachute regiment brown, from the third christopher rooney, the rifleman and forth regimen military police. lance corporal michael pritchard. our thoughts are with the family and friends who can be rightly proud of the courage, dedication, the bravery and the sacrifice that is being shown by these men and that sacrifice will never be forgotten. we have been reminded once again since the house last met there are those who seek to harm us with terrorist incidents. we must remain vigilant and ever grateful to all of those serving in afghanistan and around the world working for the safety of the british people. mr. speaker i know th

mr. speaker.e're having it because of al qaeda. would it not be instructed that the government to produce a document or hold a london conference and talk about the international strategy against al qaeda because for we have had other statements about other countries where al qaeda is operating? perhaps not necessarily in the news at the moment. >> the honorable gentleman makes a good point although he would be one of the first to recognize to not distinguish between senior leadership based in afghanistan and pakistan, the al qaeda of the arabian peninsula, there are distinctive issues related to the senior leadership and several franchises of al qaeda on the other hand. to debate and the more the better as far as i'm concerned. there was our recent meeting with parliamentarians on the situation in yemen before the christmas incident. there is a thrivingç all-party parliamentary group, chaired by my hon. friend that speaks to the close links that exist between britain and yemen. long a that contin

mr. speaker.nk that gives us an important role. secondly, we are in a group of donors with the united states, with the germans, with the dutch as well, and with the saudi arabia into our preeminent donors. in terms of the stretch, we have been careful to make sure that in our funding and yemen we only spend what we know the government has the ability to properly spent there. he is right that there are a range of other problems. somalia is addressed best through the amazon security work, but on the political level through the un security council. the meeting that has been called an the other forms of corporation being established the fits the situation in yemen. somalia is rather different. >> international aid funding which they have promised -- it pales against what the oil-rich countries should be providing shouldn't her majesty's government make clear -- shouldn't her majesty's government make clear how much they should spend, rather than spending millions of pounds? >> i am not sure that the g

mr. speaker.men, and i think that gives us an important role. secondly, we are in a group of donors with the united states, with the germans, with the dutch as well, and with the saudi arabia into our preeminent donors. in terms of the stretch, we have been careful to make sure that in our funding and yemen we only spend what we know the government has the ability to properly spent there. he is right that there are a range of other problems. somalia is addressed best through the amazon security work, but on the political level through the un security council. the meeting that has been called an the other forms of corporation being established the fits the situation in yemen. somalia is rather different. >> international aid funding which they have promised -- it pales against what the oil-rich countries should be providing shouldn't her majesty's government make clear -- shouldn't her majesty's government make clear how much they should spend, rather than spending millions of pounds? >> i am not s

mr. speaker. >> i have been asked to reply. my hon. friend the prime minister is in northern ireland where talks are ongoing to secure agreement on the evolution of police and justice hours. the prime minister will make a written statement later and place it in the library of those how those. i am sure the house will wish to join me in paying tribute to riflemen peter aldridge from fort battalion rifles serving as part of three rifles battle group and corporal daniel cooper who served battalion rifles who died in afghanistan. they were heroes who displayed extraordinary courage and absolute commitment to the task before them and their colleagues along with their families and friends who will remember them with great pride. >> can i join the leader of the house in paying tribute to those who lost their lives in service to their country. the compensation paid by the ministry of defense to the families of those killed in action does not take into account when calculating benefit assessments with the

mr. speaker, which made the falling preposterous assertion. i quote, "the impression you make on television depends mainly on your image, 55%, with your body language accounting for 38% of your impact. only 7% depends on what you are actually saying. [laughter] i thought i should mention that. [laughter] the letter went on and it may seem this is an extravagant claim. we can guarantee to improve your appearance. [laughter] it will be through a personal and confidential image consultation to learn if you need a new hairstyle. [laughter] and where to get it. and the type of glasses to suit your face. the house will understand. i was beyond redemption. [laughter] mr. speaker, this has been a separate parliamentary constituency than 1885. the electorate is 80,000. i am glad to be able to report that out of those 104 years, we've been represented in the conservative interests. >> hear hear. >> the solitary lapse took place in 1906. four years of liberal representation were more than enough. >> hear hear. >> they provoked of the highest turnout ever

mr. speaker, my colleagues and guests as you know, mr. speaker, mr.kolb and i have visited upon the governor and have informed that that the legislature is prepared to receive his annual state of the state message and i believe he has joined us in the chamber at this particular point in time. >> thank you. >> and, mr. speaker, my colleagues and guests, this is just an important announcement because this room is very much overcrowded, that as we prepare for the governor's annual address, just to outline for a moment in the event there is an emergency, which we do not expect, but in such case, people should first and foremost follow the directions of mr. jackson, the sergeant at arms, and his staff, those in the rear of the chamber behind me should move in an expedition and orderly manner to the exits behind me. those in the front of the chamber please utilize the exits immediately behind the rostrum. once again while we do not expect anything to develop, guests and colleagues should realize that in case of an emergency, please follow these procedures t

mr. deputy speaker -- mr. speaker, show that growth will only be 0.75%.t's record of accuracy, it is he's so confident that a tiny plus mark will not end up as a substantial negative mark? the prime minister said a dinner speech that this is all in the price of success. this is all the price of success. well, mr. speaker, again the house needs to remember that when we came into the 1980's we were told we had had heart years and a recession, because of the price. that was the price that we had to pay for past failures. now we were told that we have to have a recession and a hard year because that is the price for success. it would be a sick joke, mr. speaker, and that truth is that overall production in britain has only now just blitzed above its level in 1979. our market share has dropped and continues to drop in the world market. the truth is that inflation is now running at the highest level of any of our major industrial competitors. the truth is that interest rates in britain are now higher than they are in any of our major competitor countries. the t

mr. speaker. mr. aiken: good afternoon. we once again find ourselves here in the -- on the floor of the u.s. congress and the subject before us, in spite of considerable various events that have been of great interest to people yesterday, i'm thinking of the election of in massachusetts, there still remains the question of health care. there's discussion with the new political rearraignments that it may be the house will take up and just pass the bill passed by the senate. that is one possibility, which of course would require the bill not to have to go back to the senate. so we come back to the question of health care in america, something that has a lot of people's attention. it's not the top priority. i think for many people, they're worried about unemployment, the economy, they're worried about excessive government spending, they're worried about terrorism and national security, but underneath those perhaps there's still concern about health care but particularly a fear that in an attempt to try to solve a problem we ma

mr. speaker. can i ask the prime minister to look into the excessive delays within the home office for resolving the outstanding issues of funding for unaccompanied children's silence seekers in the london road with all the financial consequences and possible implications for social cohesion? >> i will undertake to look at this very matter. he's talking about an issue that is obviously very serious for those people who are affected by that and i will look at it very carefully. >> number seven, mr. speaker, on the alternative vote. >> i've given a commitment to referenda will be held early in the next part for the people to decide whether they want to move to the alternative vote system. >> while there is no such thing as a perfect electoral system, the alternative vote would mean that every member of parliament returned would have at least 50 percent of the electorate local supporting the. it would also maintain and indeed strengthen the constituency link that is so vital for all members of parlia

mr. speaker. thank you, mr. speaker. today to ask how we can break the national 10% unemployment barrier which has now hit my home state of florida hard with a totally unacceptable 11.8 unemployment rate. the congressional leadership has created a cloud of uncertainty over the economy with support of more oppressive regulations, skyrocketing deficits, tax increases and trade barriers. the administration's spending policies, including the nearly $1 trillion stimulus bill, has drastically increased the national debt by 23% while unemployment has increased by more than three million. and today, the c.b.o. announced that the u.s. deficit for the current fiscal year will come at $1.3 trillion which means that in the one year in which the party controlling the white house and congress has been entrenched, the annual deficit has increased by over 300%. we need to do everything we can to encourage entrepreneurs and small businesses to once again create jobs through sensible regulation, through reduced government spending, lower

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. ell: madam speaker, it is not long since a bunch of be a rigsists grasping new york bakers caused a replay of 1929 and a major collapse of the american economy. they were too big to fail, and as a result this nation has spent hundreds of billions of dollars bailing them out for their wrongdoing. this is intolerable. if we cannot regulate these people, the least we can do is see that they are properly sized. i urge my colleagues to join me in sponsoring the financial services industry stability act of 2010, which i am introducing today. as paul voker, former chairman of the federal reserve said, the institutions too big to fail would be that they would be shouldered by access to federal safety net in time of crisis. another former fed chair, my dear friend, alan greenspan, said, if they're too big to fail they're too big. similarly, marvin king, governor of the bank of england, in some banks are thought to be too big to fail, then in the words of a distinguished economist, they're too b

mr. speaker, it's kind of interesting the -- mr. secretary, it's interesting the way you framed your testimony and involvement in some of these decisions before the committee today. i think you've tried to give the impression that you had to do what you had to do because of the financial situation, that's pretty much what you've said, right? >> absolutely. >> and then, you -- you used the term you kept using the term, made decisions together. then you said a dividing line of november 24, that was -- that's when you received word you would be nominated for treasury secretary? >> that's when the announcement was made. >> so you've tried to distance yourself from decisions made before that, but in fact, -- >> no i have not tried to distance -- i take pride and full responsibility for all those decisions. >> and you also were aware when the new york federal reserve board ultimately selected on november 3, 2008 to purchase the underlying assets? >> absolutely. >> you were. >> again, as i said, i take pride -- >> also, you had no knowledg

mr. speaker, that you thought -- mr.ecretary, that you thought we need to look at ways to have carrying this information forward, and i think you're on to something there. i know that now many, many years ago when i was a second lieutenant in the marines, we were asked to keep a platoon commander's notebook. and in that notebook we had every marine's name and number and the wife's name and the dog's name and just kept track of things so that we knew who those marines were that were in our platoon. we'd keep track of it. and then because of foia or something the word came out, we can't do that because those little notebooks with your comments will be taken away and made public. and i think that from that time it seemed and the next 25 years that i served and, admiral, you served so many more -- and thank you for that, by the way -- that ability to keep track of our men and women has, has gone further and further away from the little platoon commander's notebook to the fact that you can't keep track of major events that oc

rangel: madam speaker, i recognize mr. blumenauer, a distinguished member of the ways and means committee, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. blumenauer: thank you, madam speaker. i appreciate the courtesy of the chair of the ways and means committee in permitting me to speak on this and the rapid action that the committee has taken. as we are overcome with grief and sympathy for the haitian tragedy, i am reminded of the devastation i saw in indonesia in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami. where over 160,000 people were killed. that disaster inspired cooperation that was truly incredible even in the troubled island of ache that had been torn by war for years. that rebuilding effort sparked a terrific renaissance there. this must signal a new day for the troubled but promising country of haiti. obviously our immediate priority must be saving lives with food and water and shelter and medical supplies. i am pleased that groups in my community like the acclaimed mercy corps, the northwest

mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, last week i said that the conservatives should give up the posters and concentrate on policy. now that i have seen their policy, i have to say that they are just as well with their posters. >> [laughter] >> john randall. >> can i ask the prime minister to look into the excessive delays within the home office in resolving the outstanding issues of funding for unaccompanied child asylum seekers in the london borough of hillingdon, with all the financial consequences and possible implications for social cohesion? >> i will undertake to look into this very matter. he is talking about an issue that is obviously very serious for those affected and their families, so i will look into it carefully. >> graham allen. >> number seven, mr. speaker, on the alternate vote. >> i have given a commitment that a referendum will be held early in the next parliament so that people can decide whether they want to move to the alternative vote system. >> although there is no such thing as a perfect

mr. speaker, this disaster -- long term. mr. speaker, this disaster has touched the lives of rich and poor, educated and not, haitians and others and as we fellow human beings care and stand ready to assist in this time of need, i join my colleagues tonight in the congressional black caucus and pledge our help in this disaster and in the long-term for their recovery. right now the need is for monetary donations to credible organizations like the international red cross and others operated by churches and not for profit organizations that work with the people of haiti on a regular basis. news reports last night told us that the people of haiti devastated by the disaster took to the streets last night and hugged and prayed while trying their best to dig their friends and neighbors out of the rubble. we want them to know that we join in their prayers for relief and mercy and will do what we can as neighbors, as friends, as feamed and as members of congress to assist them in their time of need and i yield back the balance of my time,

mr. speaker. >> before listing my engagements, i know that the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to captain daniel read, from 11 explosive ordnance disposal regiment, royal logistic corps. he died in afghanistan on monday, undertaking the dangerous work of protecting his fellow soldiers and civilians from explosive devices. the courage and selflessness of this work is truly breathtaking. his sacrifice will not be forgotten, and we send our sincere condolences to his family and friends. i know that the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute also to rupert hamer, who lost his life in afghanistan while reporting from the front line, and to his colleague who was injured. our thoughts are also with their families, friends and colleagues. we are grateful to all those who put themselves in danger to ensure that the world is aware of the bravery of those serving in afghanistan and the realities of life there. because of the devastating earthquake overnight, haiti has moved to the center of the world's thoughts and the world's compassion. the government will respond wi

mr. speaker. the prime mnister will though the first rst act by al qaeda tk place using a cavity bomb. a bomb inserted inside a human body. there is no technology available to detect that threat. we used to go to the defense research budget to keep one step ahead of terrorism. under his watch it has been cut 22%. while i recognize the government has spent money on personnel and structures with the review? without it we would be able to solve the problem. >> that science expenditure has doubled over the last ten years. and the security has asked lord west to work with them on new measures to detect the things exactly he is talking about. therefore investments have gone in. i would ask him to the get the overall picture of science investment in this country in the invitation by northwest and companies to be developing new technology. in fact, it is smith industries, one of the british companies. it is a british company, and i wish he would keep talking britain bad. >> can i a welcome the prime minis

mr. speaker, thank you for playing after time. can i ask the prime minister what he is doing to prevent the population of this country reaching 70 million? >> mr. speaker, would have introduced the points system for immigration. the points system is working because where we need no unskilled workers and aid workers that had that special or skills but not other workers with skills, they will not now be invited into the country. of course when people come into the country they have got to have a contribution to make of this country. the points system is ensuring that net migration is allo not need workers to come into the country, they do not come in. >> order. >> from london you been watching prime minister's question time. from from the british house of commons. >> the future of mortgage finance companies, and he may and freddie mac was the focus of a discussion posted yesterday by consumer advocacy ralph nader and the center of responsible. both fannie mae and freddie mac were placed under federal conservative chip and 2008 in th

mr. speaker. mr. er, i've met many strong and courageous women in my lifetime both here and abroad. but i rise to recognize mariano stan stpwhrmbings a, a woman from 10's nia. she -- from tanzania. i rise to highlight an ongoing but little known crime against humanity in east africa where heebs with albanism where they're butchered and their bodies sold. rural villages harvest the lungs because a single limb can sell for as much as $10,000, a king's ransom in rural tanzania. she is one of the few survivors from these horrific attacks. she told me her story through an interpreter when we met recently. one night in october, 2008, when she was asleep with her toddler, a group of machete wielding men in her village broke into her home and attacked her. they cut off both of her arm where she screamed and shielded her young son from the blows. it was six long hours after the attack before she, five months pregnant, was able to receive medical treatment. in the end she also lost her unborn child. but she surv

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel: all of us have witnessed this horrendous event that has taken place in our continent and i know that whether republican or democrat that we all want to be able to do whatever we can to ease the pain on these poor people and that's why i'm glad that mr. herger's here representing the republicans on the ways and means committee that did not hesitate to meet and decide just what could we do as a committee to make it easier to encourage people to make contributions. i know all over the country people are getting -- collecting clothes and food and things of that nature. but the bottom line is that they need cash, they need checks and that this is what we have decided to do and so we have a nonpartisan bill here on this -- which deals with the technicality. it's available on the joint committee's website, www.jct.gov and it's listed -- www.jct.gov, and it's listed, and i ask that that be made a part of the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel: what this bill

mr. speaker, she's absolutely right. the scheme will help 125,000 households and is already showing that it is popular and will cut carbon emissions. the retrofitting measures such as insulation will play an increasingly important role and i would draw people's attention cold weather payments are being made to those people who are affected by the cold weather right across the country in many areas including london from january the fourth and 6.9 million payments have already been made of 25 pounds a week. we are doing our best to help people through the difficult winter weather and we will continue to do what we can to ensure that elderly people in particular will turn up their heating and not allow themselves to suffer from the cold. >> with the severe weather that's predicted to continue for the next five days which has hit my constituency so badly, what action is the government taking now to make sure that supplies of salt and grit are going to get to where they're needed most including the stockpiles that are held by

mr. speaker, for playing extra time. can i ask the prime minister what he is doing to prevent the population of this country from reaching 70 million? >> we have introduced the points system for immigration. the points system is working because where we need no unskilled workers and need workers who have specialist skills but not other workers with skills, they will not now be invited into the country. of course, when people come into the country, they must have a contribution to make to this country. the points system is ensuring that net migration is falling. it is also ensuring that where we do not need workers to come into the country, they do not come in. mr. speaker: order. >> each week the house of commons is in session, we air "prime minister's questions." live on c-span wednesday at 7:00 a.m. eastern and then again on sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. you can find video archive of past shows and links to the house of commons and prime ministers websites on our website. >> coming up, state of the st