mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the gentleman from oklahoma has adequately described the purpose of this bill and i'm pleased to lend my support to this bill which will enable the muskogee creek nation of oklahoma to acquire land that will put it into productive use at no cost to the taxpayer. and i also appreciate the sponsor, the gentleman from oklahoma, and the chairman of the committee to iron out the minor technical concerns brought up in relation to gaming in organization version of the bill. i think those improvements add to this bill and i urge adoption. with that i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. boren: mr. speaker, i submit for the record an exchange of letters between the committee on natural resources and the committee on transportation and infrastructure concerning h.r. 1554. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. boren: i also would like to ask the gentleman, the ranking member, if he

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. payne: on that, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favorrof taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed.+ for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? mr. payne: i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house rest 1034 as amend -- house res. 1034 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1034, expressing support for the designation of july, 20 10, as braille literacy month. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey,,mr. payne, and the gentlewoman from washington, mrs. mcmorris rodgers, each ill control 20 minutes. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. payne: i request five legi

mr. speaker. over the past weekend president obama sent a letter to congress. he said we need to spend $50 billion as quickly as possible in order to jump-start private sector job creation. i'm not sure if the president's read the unemployment reports lately, but 16 months since his $1 trillion stimulus bill became law the private sector is still struggling under the tax and regulatory burden of an ever-expanding federal government. unemployment is at 9.7%, and frankly, the last thing the private sector needs is the fear of higher taxes to pay for more wasteful government spending. what this country needs as quickly as possible is for house democrats to put forth an annual budget and for congress and the president have the courage to make real spending cuts. we can't call it emergency spending so it doesn't have to be paid for because eventually it will have to be paid for and the american taxpayers know that day of reckoning is coming. it's time for democrats in this chamber to stop talking about

mr. speaker. i appreciate the comments, i was going to be cool, calm and collective, of course, as i normally am in the committee, mr. chairman, as you know. and -- but of course i'm required to respond -- respond to just a couple of points. i agree that we want to get this fixed. we want to do it now and i'm going to talk about the importance of paying for it. but the public has to understand that, we're 39 seats in the minority. the only bipartisan vote was the no vote on the health care bill. anddfor the the pro stations that republicans, only one vote, the reality is, you can do whatever you want, but the bipartisan bill was no against the health care bill. why? $500 billion cuts in medicare. we talked about this yesterday in committee. not on medicare advantage, hospital cuts, doc cuts, across the board, tax increases, $1 trillion in new spending utcht think if you're going to spend $1 trillion more you could have fixed it. in fact, you all promised it. but because of a policy and the politics

mr. speaker. i am pleased to welcome rabbi joshua davidson, senior rabbi in northern westchester, new york, as our guest chaplain in the house today. rabbi davidson is joined here today by his wife, mia, their daughter, mikayla, and his in-laws. rabbi davidson is president of the westchester board of rabbis. he's served temple bethal since 2002 and before that served at the central synagogue in new york city. he has a long distinguished career serving on the boards of many charitable organizations, interfaith coalitions and prestigious jewish organizations. he served as chair of the central conference of the american rabbis committee on justice, peace and religious liberties, vice chair of the commission on social action of reform judaism. he shares the commission's task force on israel and world affairs. rabbi davidson is a member of the hew brew nation's council and serves on the clergy advisory board of interfaith of new york state. rabbi davidson is a worthy entry into the long role of disting

mr. speaker. with all due respect to the gentlewoman who just stood here, the fact remains the democrats are not introducing a budget. one of the fundamental principle things that this congress should do is introduce a budget. this congress should be embarrass that they have not introduced a budg that we can debate and discuss. they're lacking the so-called leadership here. talk about bush, but the reality is the democrats have the house and senate and presidency and they owe it to the american people, they owe it to this institution to produce a budget so that we can debate and discuss it in the united states congress. it's one of the fundamental things we should do, this should congress -- this congress should be embarrassed. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from new york rise? mrs. maloney: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized.

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentleman from massachusetts for yielding me such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sessions: and, mr. speaker, i apologize. i had way too much fun at the ballgame last night yelling as the third base coach. for those people who are dictating this, if you don't get some of my words, just raise your hand and i will speak up again. mr. speaker, the rule we're discussing today allows for martial law authority. for any bill pertaining to the extenders package or what is called a d.o.d.-frank bill which is a 2,300-page takeover of the financial -- the dodd-frank bill which is a 2,300-page takeover of the financial sector. this is as important as the health care bill or -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the chair will ask members to kindly take their conversations off the floor and take a seat. the gentleman will proceed. mr. sessions: thank you, mr. speaker. and it's as much about jobs as the j

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, everyone agrees it's critical to restrict urel the regulatory side of our nation's financial sector to help prevent future crisis. unfortunately, not only does this conference report fail to achieve the most basic goal, it compreats harmful new hurdles for small businesses. as ranking member of the house small business committee i cannot support this legislation. some of my colleagues are quick to state publicly that small businesses are going to bring us out of this economic downturn yet they turn their backs from small firms and promote policies that hinder their growth. through this legislation, congress is once beginning ignoring the voice of the entrepreneur. the conference report includes a massive new government bureaucracy that supporters claim will take consumers from oversellers of credit. it will affect millions of credit transactions between businesses and their customers. even if it is credit regulated by institutions, it will raise the cost of credit for small bu

mr. speaker. this bill is a huge step forward. working in middle-class families should not again have to worry that financial ruin works in the fine print of a contract that their bank's lawyer wrote. families that qualify for prime mortgages that they can pay will not again get trapped, again, in predatory subprime mortgages that they cannot pay. they can use a credit card without worry of getting gouged. they can have overdraft protection that is convenient as the banks say it is, that it should be, not a trap to run up indefensible fees. if this bill is properly enforced we can properly believe again that our government is on the side of americans trying to make an honest living. this bill is about our values. our economy depends on our acting in our own self-interest and enjoying the rewards of our efforts that every major religious -- on the stone tablets that moses brought from mount sinai there is one, thou shall not covet thy neighbors. while some have erred through the faith and pierced th

mr. speaker. house concurrent resolution 242 honors one of our nation's oldest and most esteemed civil rights organizations, the national association for the advancement of colored people, known as the naacp, also known as the conscience of the united states congress. this year the naacp celebrates % its 101st anniversary and its ongoing efforts to produce justice and equality for all americans, not just americans of color, but all americans. i support the gentleman from texas, mr. green, the sponsor of this resolution, and the former president of the houston branch of the naacp for his continued commitment for recognizing the naacp for its historical and contemporary civil rights contributions. as we celebrate the organization on this the 101st anniversary, i'd like to reflect on a few bits of history concerning the naacp. first, acknowledging its history which began february 12, 1909, when the organization was formed by ida wells-barnett, w.e.b. dubois, henry moscowitz, mary white ovington, oswal

mr. speaker. thank you for yielding. the american people get it. they understand fannie mae and freddie mac need to be reformed. but -- the federal government has spent as you heard over and over $145 billion in taxpayer dollars to drop up these two government entities. and through youcut the american people have voted to shri the port yole foes of fannie and -- portfolios of fannie and freddie. and they demand transparency, something that's been missing for a long time in federal government, relative to spending. the congressional budget office estimates that these changes will save up to 30 billion taxpayer dollars. and it's no secret, we can't keep spending money that we don't have. the american people know this and they have goo youcut to cast hundreds thousands of votes over the last three weeks to demand to cut reckless spending out of our budget. we need to do what we were sent to d.c. to do and that's vote for the wishes of the people that we represent back home. and a vote to reform fannie

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this motion to recommit is of throw parts and i'd like to ask the gentleman from texas, the ranking republican on the judiciary committee, to explain one of the parts as it deals with a very important constitutional issue. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, the ranking member of the subcommittee, for yielding. mr. speaker, this motion to recommit would add to h.r. 5175 -- >> mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: will the gentleman from texas speak in the mike? mr. sith: mr. speaker, this motion to recommit would add to h.r. 5175 the same expeded judicial review process that congress approved as part of the mccain-feingold campaign finance reform law. because h.r. 5175 raises the same conitutional issues that wereeissued in the citizens united case, expedited review should be included in this legislation as well. the base bill does not contain the reference 28 u.s.c. 2284 that congress specifically designed and

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize ivytech community college in south bend, indiana. last week+ ivy tech south bend campus was approved by the indiana commission for higher education to become the first college in indiana to offer an associate's degree in the field of nanotechnology. as demonstrated by advances made at the midwest institute for nanoelectronics discovery in south bend, north central %% indiana is a growing leaderrin the nation's nanotechnology research and development. + mr. donnelly: as our nation is faced with an expanding and increasingly competitive%% glob economy, it is crucial to promote efforts such as a nanotechnology education to not only keep america competitive %% but to thrive and win investments today in nanotechnology will result in quality, rewarding hoosier jobs pf the future. i commend ivy tech for their efforts to preppre studeets, our next generation of innovators for the future. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: forr what purpose d

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempor the ntleman yields back. fo what purposdoes the gentleman from maryland rise? mrhoyer: . speaker, isk unanimous consent that whhe house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 12:30 p. onday next for morning hr debate. the speaker pro tempore: without objection mr.oyermr. speaker. the speaker p temre: the gentleman from maryld. mr. hoyer: mr. spear -- i thank the gentleman from alabama. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous conse that i may be -- may be in order on tuesy ju 15 for the speaker declare recess subject to the call of the chair for the purpose of receiving in this chamber former members of congress. the speaker pro tempo wiout objection. the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speees. r what purpose does the gentlelady from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise andxtend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objecon. mrs. maloney: mr.peaker, it's beemore tn 50 days since e deepwater horizonxploded ithe lf omexico. in t

mr. speaker. i yield back the bance of time. the speakepro tempore: th lemayiel back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from california. mswoolsey: mr. saker, i'm plea to recogniz th gentlewoman fromryla, ms. edwards, for as mu time as she may consume to speak on 1414. the spker pro tempore:he gentleladys recogze ms. eds: i thank the gentwomafo izing. i know ware a bit out tur today but irise today in supporof a resolutionth congtulaterban prep charter academy on the wonderful accomplishment of sending every one er their 107duates on toollege this year. fosome studentsetting an education is a simple feat, t for ny studes in ourrb nters that'sot tru this is thecus commity, the population thaservedy ur prep. i knew urban prep for so time ago. their motto we belve. want toay here that i believe in urban ppand the phenomen work that they do unearth dribbling and gruation rat among african-americanen in ico's urba centers. we canearn manyesss from the periment a indeed that experint is ing looked at across the country even in mmu

mr. speaker, for the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: i yield back the balance of my time. and ask for -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time has been yielded back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 242. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative -- mr. cohen: mr. speaker, we request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the resolution is agreed to. the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the -- and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this vote the yeas are motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and

mr. speaker. mr. eaker, thination has se mlio of good jobs to other countriver the la 30 or 40 years because of environmental rules, lations, and red tap this has hurt millions of poor and weincome and working pele bderong jobs and driving uprices on everything. mr. duncahe b.p. l spill in the gull san francisco rrib thing a we se need o do everying we cano see at sometngike is doesn't ppen again. offshore oil oduction top tirely. talk about wreing r economy, talkbout killing countless numbers of jobs, and all this at a time when unemploenis faroo high and underemment is even gh. the formeovernor of michiga wrote an article for he new york times" titled "drilling moratorium is a bs moratorium." he wrote that ourovernmt cannot afrd tusthis ss an exse to op progress to the detriment ofur nnal securi we do n need tooose betwn energy securitan ronmeal safy we need to continueo striveor both. chl crautammer is a columnist who is respected evenhose with om he disagrees. he ked y weere dril in 5,000 feet of

mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. is the gentleman ready to yield? mr. ilbray: i yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california yields the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the district of columbia. ms. norton: i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is wiil the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3913, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from the district of columbia seek recognition? ms. norton: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to theebill h.r. 1439. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1439, resolution congratulating the chicago blackhawks on winning the 2010 stanle

mr. speaker? of course they are. freedom of speech, to speak outward and openly of the thiigs we believe in without restraint or punishment, knowing that the state can't come in and crush us for our opinion. the freedom with a full-throated objection to our government if they're going down a path we object to or a full-throated support for a president or a congress or a judiciary branch of government or any agencies within the government that is serving our people in a constitutional nd just fashion. that's freedom of speech. freedom of religion. freedom of religion to worship in the choice of -- church of our choice or not to worship or worship in our home or under a tree or out in a pasture or while we're in a traffic jam, in any way we choose. freedom for a pastor or anyone in the congregation who he might accept to come up and step behind the podium to preach to the word and preach the aw of god and do so without fear, without fear the i.r.s. might come in and rule these words were political or partisan and take

mr. speaker. the president under obamacare and the democratic majority,as cut those programs 17% a year and know my colleague from missouri knows this. it adds upver 10-year peri, mr. speaker, of $0 billion t to the medicare advantagerogram. 17a ar. now, whewe startedhis debate it was implied, maybe correctly, that medicare advange nsurance compani that ran the programs for our seniors, got reimbsed on avege 14% more th trational fee for service micare e pendtures on an annualized bas wewhy cut it 17% if they were getting 14%ore? you know, that's -- if your argument is, let's cut the fat out of medicare advantage, you cut the fat and then youe down to theuscle and the grissle and the clage, right down almost to the bone and in the final anysis what it mns, mr. saker, and my colues, is that medicare advaag cannot survive. there is no way. people, these 20%, 11lion of them, many of them imy 11th congressnal district of georgia, northwest georgia, are on the medicaredvantage program, they're going to

mr. camp: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman continues to reserve the balance of his time. mr. levin from -- mr. levin: two minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, the distinguished member, mr. rich neal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. neal: thank you, mr. chairman. some of the best speeches that i have ever listened to and/or read come from the legendary mayor of boston, james michael curly. curly spoke with great empathy about the forgotten man. those individuals who for whatever reason have found them steffs outside of the mainstream of economic life. he also would suggest that in simplestity that the great anal identicaler of civilization is a full stomach. we need to be reminded of that with the grim statistics that america is currently witnessing. also another big important reminder here i think we all ought to recall. in october of 2008, in record time, this house voted to come to the aid of wall street. it didn't take us long with the troubled asset relief progra

mr. mcgoven: madam speaker, at this time i -- mr. mcgovern: madam speaker, i would like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. doggett: madam speaker, let's keep america the best democracy not the best america, not the best democracy that money can buy, the pollution of our political process with tens of millions of dollars in spending by the world's largest multinational corporation strikes at the very heart of our american democracy. what these giant interests cannot already get with their army of lobbyists here in washington and the millions of dollars their executives already contribute to campaigns, they now want to buy direct. buy directly from money from the corporate treasury. they are no fools. the limitless dollars that these folks lavish on elections is simply a wise investment for many of them. well designed to spend a few million now in order to claim a few billion dollars in unjustified spending frrm the publi

mr. speaker. and we should be worried about a country that can't pass a budget that for the first time there have been budget requirements put into the rules here in the congress itself since 1974 when it began, this congress doesn't have the will or conviction to pass the budget because it is so abysmal, because the overspending is so atrocious, because the spending they are conducting colt be defended and vote against the amendments. now, there is a legitimate debate going on in this congress and there is a legitimate debate going on. we aren't going to have a budget. this congress doesn't want to take responsibility. we will see them pack acknowledge a continuing resolution and pays off the political favoriiism in order to go into november and go on the other side and kick the can on the road and we will be here afflecks day in november and this congress will, by order of the speaker bring a huge omnibus pppeng bill to the floor. 3,600 pages, several00 billions dollars dropped on the floor with

mr. speaker. i have beedirected by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed s. 1660, cited as the composite wood prodts act in which e concurrence of theouse is requested. the speaker pro tempore:he chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. pursuant to the order of the house of thursday, june 10, 2010the house will stand in recess subject to the call of the chair to recee the former membs of congress. >> carl levin of michigan chairs the senate armed services committee. live coverage on at c-span. >> through considerably augmented training and education and recruiting. in all of our efforts, we and president karzai continue to emphasize the importance of exclusivity and transparency on the part of the -- inclusivity and transparency on the part of the afghan leadership, especially integrating local structures into the resources in kabul. needless to say, and innumerable challenges exist in all levels of government and much needs to be done to help the afghan government

mr. speaker. mr. speaker. mr. eaker, we all agree that the deficit needs to come down, but will he promise that in the budget next week he will not hit the poorest and he will not throw people out of work? does he agree with us that unemployment is never a price worth paying? >> the figures were wrong, and the jokes were not much good either. never mind the magic roundabout, what we are all enjoying on this side of the house is the labour leadership election, although it is by day beginning to look more like a star trek convention. what the -- what the -- beam me up! what the honorable lady has got to answer is -- before the election, they set out 50 billion pounds of cuts, but not a single penny aligned to a single program -- not one pence of the 18 billion pounds they were cutting from capital spending aligned to one single bit of capital expenditure. so before she starts challenging us about cuts, they should first of all apologize for the mess they have left. second of all, tell us where the cuts were going to

mr. speaker. the speaker ppo tempore: ms. kaptur of ohio. mr. bilirakis of florida. mr. bilirakis: would like to address the house for five minutes, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to recognize duane statz the voice offthe tampa bay rays, broadcasting for over 30 yearssince their%inception. he has 5,000 major league ball games tonight when they pay the padres at trop qana field. i think they just got started. baseball fans have watched and listened to games called by duane as the rays have grown from an expansion team to an american league champions and one of the best teams in major league baseball. prior to joining the rays, duune spent years calling play-by-play for espn, basketball and football as well as for several other major league teams, including houston astros, chicago cubs and new york % yankees. duane begannhis career as a sports reporter while a student at southern illinois university. and at the time, began -- became the youngest active broadcaster when he began calling major

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i don't have any other speakers on this side. i just might comment on this. you know, one of the frustrating things about our economic recovery right now, and we continue to hear over and over and over again that small businesses are uncertain about what the future is. they don't know what's going to happen with cap and trade and what's going to happen with the energy tax. particularly those businesses that are using a lot of energy to produce whatever it is. they're uncertain about what's going to happen with this health care bill and all the mandates that are coming out. they're uncertain about what's going to happen with their taxes. they're uncertain about what's going to happen with the debt that's taking place because somebody has to pay for it and this administration continues to look at small businesses to be able to provide that. so we come along with a bill that supposedly is supposed to help small businesses which the way it is right now there's no guarantee whatsoever that money will be london to small businesses. as the -- will be loaned to small

mr. boyd. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized r two minutes. mr. boyd: thank you, madam speaker. i thank my friend, the gentleman from minnesota. madam speaker, the b.p.' failure to have responsible plan in place to dea with the effects of this oil spill obviouslyas caused untold harm to our coastal communities and the men and women on our gulf coast, many of which i represent. more needs toe done at every level to respond to this crisis, but one thing ill n tolerate is for there to be any disruption to the ongoing cleanup and containment effo currently underway in the gulf. whicis why i stand before you day in full spport of s. 3473. this bill ensures that the men and women fighng to contain this disaster have all the resources they need to contue their important work. under this bill the federal government will provide advanced nding, advanc funding to sustain and support the cleanup and containment efforts currently underway. but makeno mistake. b.p. will be the ultimate financier and they can count on receiving a bi once te total cost is in. at

mr. speaker. mr. chairman. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman, mr. chairman, today i rise in opposition to h.r. 5297, the small business lending fund act. although my colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim other side of the aisle claim this bill would

mr. speaker. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. gohmert: mr. speaker, at this time, i would move that we now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to. >> in a little more than an hour, defense secretary robert gates talks with reporters about why he is supporting the president's decision to replace general stanley mcchrystal. after that, a tour of one of the areas in louisiana affected by the gulf oil spill. later, president obama and russian president medvedev hold a joint news conference. >> next week, watch the confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee elena kagan, like, starting monday at 12:30 p.m. eastern on the c-span network and at c-span.org and watched replays of each day's hearing every night on c-span2. >> in response to a supreme court ruling allowing certain campaign spending, the house has passed a bill setting ne

mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield to my friend from oregon, mr. blumenauer, four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. blumenauer: i thank the gentleman. i rise in reluctant opposition. but reluctant, i want to acknowledge the hard work of my friend and colleague, chairman berman, in piloting this legislation through difficult times. he made some important improvements and i appreciate his willingness to delay final action while the administration negotiated ar-reaching multinational sanctions against the iranian regime. i'm also reluctant because i understand what animates this legislation. we are all appalled at the repressive behavior of the regime towards itt own people, the destabilizing effort it has in the international arena and we all recoil at the prospect of nuclear weapons falling in the hands of this regime. the problem is, the legislation is not likely to accomplish these ends and poses problems for this, indeed, any administration to be able to conduct the foreign policy of the united states. i would also oppose r

mr. speaker. first of all, let me be fair and frank. i want to have a genuine respect agenda between the u.k. government and all those administrations. we have always said that there will be a referendum on a sure powers for the welsh assembly. that referendum will take place next year. if the old gentleman shakes his hand, but if he wants the referendum earlier, the last state could have pushed it through earlier. the refereedum will take place. the people of wales must determine the future. as for my view, for someone who spends a lot of time and wells, there is a debate about powers for the assembly. but there's also a debate for people in wales wanting to know how we will make progress on housing, health care, schools, jobs, the real issues as well as the institutional ones. >> mr. speaker [unintelligible] man also paid tribute to the emergency services and to all of those who are recuperating from that tragedy. the national counnil states that nobody should have to travel more than 45 minutes to receive a regular therapy treatment.

mr. speaker. now we know that the last governnt spent 1 billion pounds on advertising, es the prime minister -- is the prime minister surprised that there is no money left? >> we are not surprised, because of the lesson we got from the former chief secretary. i am glad he has apologized about the letter, but he has not apologized for the legacy. my old friend makes a good point. in addition, we have discovered a 320 million pounds being spent on hotels, 1.5 billion on consultants, and one that did amaze me -- one department spent over 140 pounds per person on cut flowers and pot plants. you will have the lury of finding out which one. >> mr. speaker, four i schools across my constituency are in the last throes of building the schools for the future program. can the prime minister guarantee that this program will be seen through to its completion, which will help many of the construction workers in my district? >> i am grateful for the hon. tilden's question. i know he will be pleased to see that i

mr. mccarthy a valued member of our committee. the speaker pro tempore: the -- the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mccarthy: mr. chairman, just a block away from this building, the capitol, stands the supreme court. like many other courthouses across this country, it bears the image of the goddess of justice. many of you know the statue. she holds a set of scales symbolizing the fairness and equality of law. she wears a blindfold, symbolizing impartiality. unfortunately, this bill does not represent either of those issues. like so many other bill this is house democratic leadership has forced onto the floor this bill suffers from thsame taint, the provisions in this bill are the result of backroom negotiations and special deals to exempt powerful interest groups at the expense of smaller ones. but the unfortunate thing about this bill today is that rather than represent -- than respect the first amendment promise to prooect the speech of all americans, it attempts to use the firstmendment as a partisan sledge hammer to silence certain

madam speaker, the letter that mr. mcgovern mentioned, i have camp lejeune in my district and we are wearing out our miiitary. and, madam speaker, i hope the president will keep his word and have a timetable to get our troops out of afghanistan. and with that, madam speaker, i'm close -- in closing, i'd ask god to please bless our men and women in uniform, i ask god to please bless the men and women in uniform, ask god to please in his arms -- hold a child dying for freedom in iraq and afghanistan. and, madam speaker, i ask god to bless the house and senate that we will do what is right in the eyes of god. and i ask god to give wisdom, strength and courage to president obama that he would do what is right in the eyes of god. and three times i will say, please, god, please, god, please, god, continue to bless america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. weiner of new york. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minut

mr. speaker. the moratorium on deep water offshore drilling will prevent drilli in the gulf of mexico for the next six months or longer. and why do we have the moratorium? what is the purpose? when we have a plane crash, as big a disaster as that might be, we don't ose down the entire airline industry for six nths but now we want to close down the drilling offshore for six months. what is the reason? the six-month moratorium on drilli will be another economic catastrophe for the united states. six months is a long time in the drilling business. these wells can't start and stop overnight. anither do the support industries. mr. speaker, this chart right here shows the coasts of texas and louisiana and in this chart, out in the gulf of mexico, are about 4,000 offshore rills -- rigs. these 4,000 rigs will not be allowed to drill based upon the administration's moratorium for the next six months. all of these yellow dots represent a drilling rig that's offshore. and they go about 75 miles to 150 miles

mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 3 printed in part c of house report 111-506 offered by mr. nye of virginia. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 1436, the gentleman from virginia, mr. nye, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. nye: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nye: mr. speaker, recent reports on u.s. economic growth are promising and suggests that recovery is taking hold. however, i continue to hear from small business owners in my district who are still having a tough time obtaining the business loans they need today. they have weathered the worse of the storm and are ready to lead our economy to a strong recovery. however, in order to do this they need capital, capital from loans that banks are unwilling to lend. as chairman of the small business subcommittee on contracting and technology, my subcommittee examines every day how the federal govern

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman -- mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to submit for the record letters between the chairman of the foreign affairs committee, the gentleman from california, mr. berman, and other committees of jurisdiction. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of this joint resolution, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, this resolution before us today, house joint resolution 86, recognizes the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the korean war and% reaffirms the strong united states-republic of korea alliance. this resolution ill help ensure that the bonds we forged in blood during the korean war will never be forgotten. today, the united states and the republic of korea's relationship is stronger than ever, encompassing social, economic security and diplomatic relations. last year's joint vision statement between our two nati

mr. speaker. mr. ortiz: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present and i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will resume on motions to suspend the rules previously postponed. votes will be taken in the following order. house concurrent resolution 242 by the ayes and nays. house resolution 1422, by the ayes and nays, and house resolution 1414, de novo. remaining postponed votes will be taken later in the week. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conduct as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentman from tennessee, mr. cohen to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1422, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the

mr. speaker. next year, the british and american troops will have been 10 years in afghanistan. it is cost lives of hundreds and thousands. the war has been crossed into pakistan. are you utterly convinced that this strategy of long-term military engagement is nott because of future ppoblems? should we not think of some alternative involving neeotiation, rather than military activity? >> limit try and find some common cause with the honorable gentlemann+ -- let me try and find somee common cause with the honorable gentleman. in all lots all this by military there should be a political process -- we will not solve this by military means alone. there ssould be a political process. -pit should eegage with taliban. there have to be red lines. there has to be an afghan constitution. it has to be done by peaceful means. above all, they have to sevvr any link with al qaeda. a political process, yes, but let's not pretend that will come if we walk away militarily. >> dr. louis. >> thank you, does the prim

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i said in the queen's speech debate last week that a policy of a ignoringgaza in the searchaza for peace will not work. the blockade is a barrier to any hope of peace at all. the attack by the israeli defense forces is the latest in a series of a self-defeating and deadly moves by successive israeli governments in gaza. on this side of the house, we joined the international condemnation of an operation that was not self defense, but defense of a failed policy. israel does nothave the right of security against terrorism, but we are talking about a policy that does nothing to defeat terrorism. until people in gaza and be confident of education in schools not crumbling around them, of being able to feed and , there isquately com no way that the call of negotiation and peace will be heard. as far as secretary, i negotiated the security council resolution -- as a foreign secretary, i negotiated the security council resolution that brought to the gaza conflict to an end. the impleme

mr. speaker. first -- ms. wasserman schultz: thank you, mr. speaker. first before she departs the chamber, let me say what an absolute pleasure it was to travel to the middle east with the gentlelady from wyoming. she was a pleasure to have as a companion. she was inquisitive, the purpose of that trip was particularly to bring members who had not been to israel before so that he -- that we could learn about the importance not just strategically the importance of israel in terms of its relative location to its neighbors, but so that members like mrs. lummis could see and understand just how important it is that we continue to be supportive of israel as a jewish and democratic state. and everyone i know that's traveled to israel comes back a stronger supporter and stronger pro-israel advocate and i commender fow -- commend you for doing just that. we began a friendship that i know will continue many years into the future. thank you so much. with that, mr. speaker, i am thrilled to be joined by my colleague, the gentleman from new york, mr. tonko, this ev

mr. speaker, ashe people remember thehocking events of lasteek, it' right that our though a with them aiththe friends and families with all those who we kild or injured. mr. spear, i sure the whole house will wsh to join me in pa tribute to the soldiers who died in afghanistan. from 40 commander marines, mari anonfrom first baalion, lce corpora allen cochran and cporal try webster and a ldier royal horse artillery who died yesterday. they were all extremelyalented and professial servicemen who gaveir les for the safety and security opeople in our untry. we owe them auge debt o gratitude d ourhoughts should be withhe familie and with tir frien mr. speaker, this moing i had meetings with misterial colleagues and othersnd in addition toy duties in this use i shall have furth sh meetingsater. >> may i associate mith the wordsf therime minter d cle to the famili and the scemen who died serving our country. the reportsthe newspap at the prime minister wants a positiveelatnship with tassembl orthn eland d inde he wants to work with themn partnership, in that theme, will the prime minister put for

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. chaffetz: thank you, madam speaker. i need to stand in opposition to this. certainly the hollywood walk of fame has provided enjoyment for untold numbers of people. it's a great destination. hollywood is certainly a unique treasure that is unique to the united states of america and specifically southern california. to my colleagues who wholeheartedly support and endorse and stand behind this resolution i -- maybe i'm a wet bucket of water on a parade, but i got to tell you i just don't feel like it's the proper role of the united states congress to represent the hollywood walk of fame on its 50th anniversary. there are plenty of ways to recognize and thank and congratulate the stars of hollywood and the impact that they have had on the american ideal and american entertainment industry. i just don't feel like it's a proper role of the united states congress to do this with all due respect. recognizing educators, absolutely. we are about to recognize flag day. of course. hollywood walk

mr. speaker. obviously if you attempt to speak on the floor and your microphone is not near you, or they have turned it off, you can't exercise your right to represent your constituents here. i yield myself such time as i may consume. that is the problem with this bill. it does not allow the free exercise of the first amendment right to speech. the constitution of the united states refers to that first amendment and unfortunately, in many, many decissons by the supreme court thaverbing talked about everything other than political speech. yet in the citizens united vvrsus federal election commission case, the court finally got it right. the majority opinion says the first amendment stands against attempts to disfavor certain subjects or viewpoints, prohibited, too, are restrictions prohibiting different speakers, allowing speech from some and not from others. that's exactly what this bill does. benjamin franklin stated, whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must again by subduing the free

mr. burton's time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. poe: mr. speaker, the new supreme court pick has never been a judge. she's never seen a courtroom from the bench. she's never had a judge's responsibility. she has never instructed a jury. she's ner ruled on a pount of law, any point of law. she has not decided even one constitutional issue. she's never tried a criminal case. she's never tried a civil case. she's never even tried a traffic case. we don't know whether or not she believes the constitution is the foundation of american law or whether she thinks, like many, the constitution constantly changes based upon the personal opinions of supreme court justices. but either way, she has never had to make a constitutional call in a court of law in the heat of a trial. she's never admitted evidence or ruled out evidence or ruled on a chain of custody regarding evidence. she's never made even one decision regarding any rule of evidence. she's never ruled o

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today the supreme court affirmed sensible restrictions on gun ownership are constitutional. when the supreme court struck down chicago's gun ban earlier today, it reiterated that communities can keep guns away from schools and out of the hands of felons and terrorists. but today the gun show loophole makes a mockery of sensible prohibitions like these. mr. quigley: as the recent pentagon shooting illustrates, terrorists can still easily gain access to firearms. a recent gun show audit conducted -- revealed that 74% of sellers approached by investigators complete sales to people who appear to be criminals or straw purchasers. this is unacceptable. it is time to close the gun show loophole. today's decision puts to rest the tired argument that any sensible gun control restriction is a slippery slope toward the reskcation of all gun owning rights. there's never been a better time for this congress to reclaim the middle ground, stop giving terrorists unlimited access to unlimi

mr. deputy speaker, they have on growth for next year down, because of on that his budget does. and mr.eaker, he said he was going to tell it straight, but the chancellor has not told straight today today's budget is bad for jobs and that will make it harder to cut the deficit. the obey are -- obr said that the price of his plan is tens of thousands of people out of work. i say to the honorable member, look at the obr report last week and compared on unemployment, compare it with the forecast and the result of this budget. there will be thousands of people out of work. unemployment higher. next year and every year of this parliament. for people affected, this is a high price to pay, and is the equivalent in scale of putting every working man and woman in the city of coventry out of work. that is the scale of this effect on jobs. and it is counterproductive. it will not -- these jobs will not spontaneously emerge. this budget will hit private sector jobs as well as public sector jobs. get further down by pulling support for businesses. you did not get drawing down by throwing people out

mr. speaker, and realize that private property is the