mr. speaker. i'm sure the whole house would to give thought -- he was a selfless enthuse assic and committed marine who made the ultimate sacrificen the service of our country. our thoughts will be with his family, his friends and his coeagues. mr. speaker i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and in addition to my duties in the house i'll be travelling to dublin by the historic visit by the queen. >> may i say myself and my constituents with the president's words of condolence. under rules introduced in 2003, illegal migrants who managed to avoid the authorities for 14 years are able to apply for permanent stay, have full access to the welfare system and can even obtain a british passport. given that in the last eight years, nearly 10,000 such migrants have won such rights. and with an estimated half a million illegal immigrants in britain today, will the prime minister seek to change these rules and restore some sanity to wichita's border controls? >> well, my honorable friend makes an impo

mr. speaker. i'm sure that everyone across the house of commons will want to join me in paying paying tribute to david cannes who very sadly died on monday age just 44. i would always remember him as someone who was very quick witnessed and sharply intelligent and was and who was a very compassionate man. not many people can claim to come to the house only because legislation was passed to allow them to come but as a catholic priest, that had to happen and the house is better for that happening. i'm sure everyone. join me to sending condolences to his partner, his friends and many constituents will miss his tireless work indeed. i had meetings and should have further meetings. >> david cannes was a great parliamentarian and a great friend. this house voted overwhelmingly voted by a majority of 10 to 1 on continuing the ban on giving prisoners the dote since which time the european court of human rights has effectively ignored the will of this house, still insists the law be changed and has governm

mr. speaker. i rise to honor the legacy of an extraordinary marylander, marylander's governor, william donald schaefer. he died just a few weeks ago after a long time of public service. william donald schaefer was one of the great american mayors. few mayors can never say that they transformed a city as thoroughly as did william donald schaefer transforming baltimore. but over his 16 years' tenure as mayor of baltimore, he led a dramatic and historic turnaround. in 1971 when his tenure started, baltimore was a struggling city. a city plagued by population plight, crime and decaying urban infrastructure. when so many had given up on baltimore, mayor schaefer made it his mission to stand up to that decay. and we can still see his legacy today. it is the legacy that includes physical landmarks like camden yards, the national asquarian, baltimore's harbor place and an outstanding light rail system. projects that he saw through completion as both mayor and governor of our state. just as importantly, may

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, reserves. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, is recognized. mr. camp: at this time i yield a minute and a half to a distinguished member from the ways and means committee, the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. black. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized for a minute and a half. mrs. black: thank you, mr. speaker. i came to washington because i knew we had a debt problem. but you know what, once i got here and i started getting all the facts, i realized that we didn't have a debt problem. we have a debt crisis. we are $14.2 trillion in debt, and you know what, that number is even hard to comprehend it's so large. over and over we hear from economists, both conservative and liberal, that we have less than five years to turn things around or the united states will sink under all this debt. we've seen what happened in greece and ireland and i reject that fu

mr. speaker. thank you, mr. speaker, does the prime minister agree with the comments of lord glassman, the special advisor to the leader to the opposition that the previous government lied to the british people about the extent of immigration. >> well, i think the honorable lady makes an important point which the last government didn't tell it straight to people by what was happening in terms of imprison and it's fallen to this government to get it under control. something lord glassman is something i said many times there was very hard rhetoric combined with very loose policy and that was the worst approach of all. >> mr. jack straw? [laughter] >> thank you, mr. speaker, may i ask the prime minister if he shares my profound anxiety about the recommendation of the advocate general to the european court of justice for a european-wide ban on stem cell based on human embryos? does he agree with me that were such a ban to be confirmed by the european court of justice, it would have profoundly damaging effects on our

mr. speaker, mr. mcgovern. thank you. bye. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentlewoman from north carolina. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. i need to point out to my colleague from massachusetts, as i do almost every time we are on the floor together, and i do enjoy being on the floor with him, that he always brings up the fact that we have a surplus when -- we had a surplus when president clinton left office. the reason we had a surplus had nothing to do with president clinton. it had all to do with the fact that we had republicans in charge of the congress. and just before the democrats took over the congress in 2007, as my colleague from massachusetts so well knows, the c.b.o. projected that there would be a surplus in the united states. however, the democrats took over in january, 2007, and immediately rebegan running deficits because of their profligate spending. i'd also like to point out to my colleague from massachusetts, as he

mr. speaker. it's been my privilege to work on issues of reduction of greenhouse gases for over 25 years. i have was part of the commissioner of public works. we became the first american city to have a comprehensive approach to deal with it. i was pleased to work on speaker pelosi's select committee on global change, global warming and energy independence where we had a chance to work with people around the world, looking at the impacts, dealing with hundreds of hearings, dozens of experts and working with the challenges for the future. yet, i would say in the years i've been working on it i don't think i've seen a better, more effective statement than what appeared in yesterday's "washington post," an essay by bill mckibon entitled "see no climate change." he said, you know, you should not wonder is this somehow related to the tornado outbreak three weeks ago in tuscaloosa or the enormous outbreak a couple weeks before with the most active tornado season in americans' history? you should not conn

mr. speaker. he said i've been involved in designing these back way back with andrew lanzly. committee, therefore, confirm that the failing nhs plans are not the health secretary's vote. they're his. >> the leadership of the opposition has said that no change is not an option so what we're seeing is the usual empty opposition. now, i'm glad -- i'm glad that he mentioned waiting times because it was two weeks ago at that at that time dispatch box and he said and i quote waiting times have risen month on month under this government. that's not true. the figures which he had at the time -- the figures showed that for inpatient waiting times they fell from 9.1 to 9 weeks and for out patient they went down from 4.3 weeks. that is the lowest per year. now, it is important when we come to this house and he and we make statements that are inaccurate we correct the record at the first available opportunity. hold on. [laughter] >> so we -- we like to take this opportunity to correct that specific mistake? >

mr. speaker. mr. speaker,'s my honor and privilege to address you here on the floor of the united states house of representatives. and to have an hour to invest in laying out some points here that i think are important for you to consider. as america listens on, hopefully it will simulate some of the thought process and help bring people some conclusions. the first thing that i think any one of us wants to speak of and to is the president's announcement which came -- took place very late on sunday night, that the team, special forces team, had been successful in taking out osama bin laden. it is our first response to that news, that happy news for all america, and i think that is to congratulate the team that fast roped down into that compound. those who put their lives on the line to put an end to the life of perhaps the most evil man on the planet, osama bin laden. and i congratulate the president of the united states for issuing the order and making the decision to go into that compound in the fashi

mr. speaker. i rise today to honor a valued constituent and a good friend, dr. walla shepherd. dr. shepherd came to the second baptist church of santa barbara as pastor in 2006 and since then pastor shepherd has re-established santa barbara's martin luther king day event as a capstone celebration on the central coast of california. he is an active board member of the endowment for youth programs which supports the education of underprivileged children through tutoring and scholarship. dr. shepherd also helped to found ecofaith, a nonprofit organization that promotes conservation of energy in churches and houses of worship. he has been appointed ea advantagalism, director of the central district of california and also the vice president of the third sup fellowship for santa barbara. he is at the core a powerful presence and a humble servant in the name of his faith and i am honored to welcome here to -- him here to congress and thank him for his invaluable service to our community and our country. i

mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. norton: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 1423, a bill to rename the fourth avenue post office in ardmore, oklahoma, after army specialist michael e. phillips who died at the young age of 19 while serving our country in iraq. specialist phillips was a member of the 101st airborne division based in fort campbell, kentucky, he kide on february 24, 2008, in baghdad from wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. specialist phillips loved history and was a true student athlete who ran cross country and played football while attending ardmore high school. he also compelled at drawing and had been offered admission to san sfrean art institute. -- san francisco art institute up. but he had other plans. he volunteered to serve his country before attending college and by with all accounts was an excellent soldier, always willing to go the extra mi

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm going to start something tonight in an attempt to engage more of our american people in the process and, mr. speaker, i know that you know that it's no secret that america is still emerging from the recent economic downturn. we're still -- we still grapple with high unemployment rates and our national debt. we're doing better than we were doing two years ago, but we have to do much better and we will do much better because we are americans. that's our history, that's what we do. we persevered through the great depression of the 1930's and the depression of the 198s to. and the are -- 1980's and the recession of yesterday. we persevered through hurricanes, through floods, through tornadoes. we mourn together and persevered through the assassinations of john f. kennedy, through robert kennedy and martin luther king. we persevered. in addition i personally remember the attempted assassination of president reagan. i remember writing president reagan get well note in the second

mr. speaker. can i respectfully ask how much time remains on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york has 13 minutes. the gentleman from massachusetts has 12 1/2 minutes. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. reed: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, my good friend. mr. denham. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. denhamon i rise -- mr. denham: i rise in support of the rule. the rule before us allows an open process and provides this opportunity to debate an issue of increasing importance to our constituents. the future of our energy policy in this country is at stake. here today which is why i'm proud to co-sponsor this bill reversing the president's offshore drilling moratorium. this past weekend i visited with a number of constituents at gas stations throughout my district. some are asking, will we get to $5 gas prices? if you come to my district we are already there. everybod

mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. miller, for five minutes. mr. miller: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. mr. speaker, members of the house, let me begin by joining my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in praising president obama and our military and our intelligence teams for their extraordinary work in the culmination of the killing of osama bin laden. his death is a very positive step for u.s. counterterrorism efforts. bin laden's death will not erase the pain he caused in his evil acts nor does he mean that americans are still not the targets on those bent on doing us harm. but hopefully his elimination will offer comfort to the grieving families all over the world who suffered at his hands and will diminish the capacity of his network to do us harm. mr. speaker, while americans are expressing the appreciation heads in disbelief over the choices being made here in the house of representatives. while americans remain focused on jobs i

do you have any more speakers? mr. conyers: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. conyers: i want to urge all of the members of the house to please consider th issue from an unemotional point of view as possible, to please determine in your hearts and in your mind about the fact that this bill goes over the top. and i reserve the balance of my time. and i would now like to recognize the distinguished minority leader, nancy pelosi, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the distinguished leader is recognized for one minute. pelosi -- ms. pelosi: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to thank him for his leadersh on the health of america's women. this is approximately the 120th day of the republican majority in the congress of the united states. and not -- in all those 120 days we have yet to see a jobs bill brought to the floor. we haven't even seen a jobs proposal or a jobs agenda. instead, once again, we see a

do you have any more speakers? mr. conyers: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. conyers: i want to urge all of the members of the house to please consider this issue from an unemotional point of view as possible, to please determine in your hearts and in your mind about the fact that this bill goes over the top. and i reserve the balance of my time. and i would now like to recognize the distinguished minority leader, nancy pelosi, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the distinguished leader is recognized for one minute. pelosi -- ms. pelosi: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to thank him for his leadership on the health of america's women. this is approximately the 120th day of the republican majority in the congress of the united states. and not -- in all those 120 days we have yet to see a jobs bill brought to the floor. we haven't even seen a jobs proposal or a jobs agenda. instead, once again, we s

mr. speaker. i thank my colleague from utah for yielding. couldn't disagree more with the comments that were made by the minority leader from california. what we're talking about here is high gas prices that people are paying at the pump today and why we are in this situation. we're in this situation because of this administration's policies that have shut off american energy supply. this is supply and demand. why do prices go up? well, gee whiz, if the president says by policy we are going to close off billions of barrels of known reserves in america, what do you think that does to prices? do you think that lower prices? of course, as you're seeing prices skyrocket at the pump, it's because of these policies. that's why we've seen the price of gasoline more than double since barack obama's been in office. and so, mr. speaker, what we're bringing today and what this rule addresses is the ability to start opening up some of those known areas. here in america. because, again, our demand continues to

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today we have had a distinguished group of speakers, including the gentleman, mr. hastings, who spent years of his service not only on behalf of the people of florida but on behalf of all of us as he served on the intelligence committee. we have -- had members walk in and out of here. the gentlewoman from north carolina, virginia foxx, who brings thoughtful articulation about her ideas about the protection of this country not just for the people of north carolina but for the people of the united states. we have had the gentleman, former sheriff, mr. nugent, member of congress from florida also, come and talk about their ideas about how you protect this country by protecting the men and women who are engaged in the active and day-to-day business. the gentleman, mr. hastings, referred to al qaeda is not defeated. we still have a threat that is out there. the gentleman, mr. farenthold, talked most forthrightly and honestly about the need of the american people to have confidence

mr. speaker -- i urge, mr. speaker, a yes vote on theament. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: mr. chairman, we continue to reserve. we are expecting another speaker. the chair: the gentleman from indiana has yielded back his time. is the gentleman from california prepared to yield back in mr. mckeon: i want to commend the gentleman for bringing his thoughtful amendment to the floor. i encourage also that our colleagues support his amendment. with that, i yield back the balance of our time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question son the amendment offered by the gentleman from indiana. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it, the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. mckee kwon: pursuant to -- mr. mckeon: pursuant to h.res. 276, i offer amendments en bloc. the chair: the clerk will designate. the clerk: amendments en bloc consisting

mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves her time. the gentlelady from florida. ms. wilson: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida is recognized. ms. wilson: i rise in support of this bill, the assessing progress in haiti act. a year and a half ago on january 12, 2010, the world for the caribbean island of haiti and my constituents changed forever. an earthquake measuring an incredible 7.0 on the richter scale, shook the earth in haiti . it killed elected officials, top of the president's palace, the senate and all of the cabinet buildings. people are still missing. the affect of this earthquake is still being felt today. -- the effect of this earthquake is still being felt today. basic items such as food, clothing, shelter and health services are lacking. thanks to our military, the u.s. coast guard, who performed thousands of hours of rescue in the first 24 hours of the earthquake, the u.s. marine corps who

mr. speaker, let me be clear of the target's chosen for set by the u.n. resolutions 1917 and 1973. the resolutions permit all necessary measures to protect civilian life including attacks on command control and mrs.. mr. speaker this week and missile attacks on the british and italian embassies. we utterly deplore this. the regime is in clear breach of the vienna convention to protect the missions and we will hold them to account and we have already expelled libyan ambassador. there were looted as well as destroyed and the world war ii memorialist a secretive. the u.n. felt obliged to pull her carpenter people out. much of the call for the cease-fire. they wanted to talk and the kid and lead mines in the harbor to stop humanitarian aid from getting in. if he was said to have hated each other. but there was a common thread running between them. they both feared the the media that democracy and civil rights could take hold in the arab world. when we should continue to degrade this, dismantled and defeat the terrorist network, a big part of the long-term answer is the success of democr

mr. speaker. as you know this monday is memorial day, and memorial day reminds us that the most fundamental rights of americans, the one we cherish most, is to be free. but that freedom is purchased at a dear price. i rise in gratitude to the millions of americans who have made the sacrifice, the ultimate sacrifice, and to their family members. and i remember in particular sergeant david -- private david r. fahey of yorktown heights, new york, who made the ultimate sacrifice this year. ms. hayworth: thanks to all our veterans and families who do so much to assure that we enjoy the freedoms we cherish every day. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. sires: permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. sires: mr. speaker, my colleagues across the aisle have recently cla

mr. speaker. i'm proud to be an american. will you please join me in the pledge of allegiance? i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to five one-minute requests on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker: without objection. mr. poe: mr. speaker, wildfires have raged in texas because of a long drought this year. the town of possum kingdom, texas, population 5,500, has burned up. this is one of the many photographs showing the raging fires throughout the state. statewide, two firefighters have been killed, 400 homes have been destroyed. the 9,000 fires have covered over 2,200,000 acres. this is the size of rhode island and connecticut put together. and the cost of this devastating destruction are enormous. the govern

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> first, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks under the legislation that we're about to undertake and to insert extraneous material on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> and mr. speaker, i ask that the house be in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. members take their conversations off the floor. pursuant to house resolution 236 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 1213. the chair appoints the 1kwre89 from -- the gentleman from ohio, mr. latourette, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h r. 1213, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to repeal mandatory funding provi

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, we just got off two weeks of working in our districts around this country and at least i held about 10 town hall meetings, i'm sure many of my colleagues held more. we talked about the debt an the deficit. one of the things that almost every one of these town halls insisted upon talking about was the high price of gasoline. this first exhibit we have here, this just gives you a comparison of what the gas prices were somewhere in the united states, i can't tell where, january of 2009. $1.32, mid range $1.42, super, $1.52. here's a picture taken in april of 2011, regular, $3.99, mid range $4.09, the high powered stuff $4.19 a gallon. mr. speaker, the only party that can be blamed for this, unfortunately, is the democratic party under the leadership of barack obama, president of the united states. because of the vicious combination of the moratorium on offshore drilling and the devaluation of the american dollar through the administration's quantitative easing has resulted in the

mr. speaker. consequences for the security of our people at home and abroad and for our foreign policy and putting the partnership with pakistan, military action afghanistan and the fight against terrorism across the world. i chaired a meeting to begin to address some of these issues the national security council has met this morning and i wanted to come to the house this afternoon to take the first opportunity to address these consequences directly and to answer honorable member's questions. mr. speaker, at 3 a.m. yesterday i received a call from president obama. he informed me u.s. special forces had successfully mounted a targeted operation against the compound in pakistan. osama bin laden had been killed along with four others, bin

do you have any more speakers? mr. nyers: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. conyers: i want to urge all of the members of the house to please consider this issue from an unemotional point of view as possible, to please determine in your hearts and in your mind about the fact that this bill goes over the top. and i reserve the balance of my time. and i would now like to recognize the distinguished minority leader, nancy pelosi, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the distinguished leader is recognized for one minute. pelosi -- ms. pelosi: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to thank him for his leadership on the health of america's women. this is approximately the 120th day of the republican majority in the congress of the united states. and not -- in all those 120 days we have yet to see a jobs bill brought to the floor. we haven't even seen a jobs proposal or a jobs agenda. instead, once again, we see

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, in the great debate over oil and gas prices, there are actually many things we can all agree on. we agree our dependence on foreign oil endangers our environment, hurts our economy and weakens our national security. our disagreement lies in potential solutions. i believe that in order to lower gas prices we can and must crack down on oil speculators, end big oil handouts, invest in pb transit and increase corporate average fuel economy standards. the other side of the argument would have you believe that all we need to do is increase our domestic oil resources and remove reclamations. regulations that reportedly forced us to look outside our nation's borders for oil. our answers do not lie in more oil. our answers lie in conservation and smart investments. talk about smart investment. every increase of one mile per gallon and auto fuel efficiency yields more oil that can be found in two arctic national wildlife refuges. an improvement right now of 2.7 miles per gallon will eli

mr. speaker, -- the speaker pro tempore: your time has expired. mr. garamendi: i think we're out of time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from arkansas, mr. griffin, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. griffin: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you to the american people for watching today. i wanted to talk with my colleagues here today about jobs, how we create jobs in america, and what we're going to do about our national debt. we have a spending problem in america and we've heard a lot from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, they've been talking about jobs bills. i heard someone say that we haven't passed any legislation or taken up any legislation in this house that addresses jobs. that puzzles me. maybe they've been absent. but it seems to me, since i arrived here in january, we have been focused on jobs. and i just want to -- i want to give a few examples. number one, this week, we have been working on energy legislation that wi

mr. speaker, the acting dean of the diplomatic corps. >> mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. >> mr. he speaker: members of congress, i have the high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you his excellency, binyamin netanyahu, prime minister of israel. >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. vice president biden, speaker boehner, distinguished senators, members of the house, honored guests i'm deeply moved by this warm welcome. an i'm deeply honored that you have given me the opportunity to address congress a second time. mr. vice president, do you remember the time that we were the new kids in town? and i do see a lot of old friends here. and i see a lot of new friends here as well. democrats and republicans alike. israel has no better friend than america and america has no better friend than israel. we stand together to defend democracy. we stand together to advance peace. we stand together to fight terrorism. congratulations, america. congratulations, mr. president, you got bin laden. good riddance. in an unstable middle east, israel is the one anchor of stabilit

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, on september 11, 2001, osama bin laden murdered almost 3,000 americans in cold blood. as the house member representing ground zero, men of these innocent men, women and children were my constituents and my friends. words cannot do justice for the toll taken by this mass murderer. it was part of the war of osama bin laden and his terrorist organization, al qaeda, had declared long ago and waged against the united states for years. after september 11, we vowed as a nation to wage war against al qaeda and in particular to bring osama bin laden to justice. when president obama made his dramatic announcement almost two weeks ago that american troops killed osama bin laden we knew our country finally fulfilled that part of the promise. while i supported and we passed an amendment today to commend our intelligence community for their role in eliminating bin laden, i stand by my earlier statement that it was inadequate. this motion to recommit, which i'm offering with ms. jackson lee

mr. speaker. doesn't he realize what people are thinking of him on crime. before the election he made a whole series of promises and now he's breaking them one by one. he's out of touch -- he was out of touch on anonymity for rape victims and now he's out of touch on sentencing for rape victims. he's cutting the number of police, cutting 12,000 police officers. why doesn't he go back to the drawing board on crime and get rid of his justice secretary? >> well, in terms of broken promises, i remember the leader of the opposition saying at those party conference about ken clark, i'm not going to say he's soft on crime. well, that pledge didn't last very long. one of these days, the party opposite is going to realize opposition is more than just jumping on a bandwagon, picking up an issue. it's about putting forward a serious alternative and making some serious points. >> order! sir allen hazelhurst. >> by contrast, mr. speaker, in harmony with the priority being given by the government to strengthen

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. carnahan: today i rise to give thanks to all who stepped up to help when st. louis was struck by the good friday tornado. now it's time to help our fellow missourians in jopliin, who suffered last night the deadliest tornado in 50 years. it devastated homes, businesses, schools, and local hospital. i reached out to our colleague, billy long, who represents southwest missouri. we offer our heartfelt prayers and condolences to the families of at least 89 dead, more injured, and all whose way of life has literally been demolished. as a member of the congressional subcommittee with oversight responsibility for fema, i commend the prompt action of our first responders as they conduct urgent search and rescue operations. the american red cross has set up an emergency shelter, for those who would like to help visit www.redcross.org. it's time to provide a helping hand to our neighbors who urgenly -- urgently require our help. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back th

mr. speaker, would be this, -- gowdy, and to mr. speaker, would be this, why would there even be a strategy? what is this talk of strategy? that nlrb is charged with enforcing the law. there should be no strategy with that. it either violates the law or it does not. the nlrb has already said itself on more than one occasion that the statements that boeing made do not rise to the level that's required for this litigation to proceed. they've already admitted that this is an expansion of a new business, this is a new business line, it is not the moving of a business from one place to the other. and it is -- the nlrb has already admitted that that is protected activity. so you have to wonder, what is the strategy? it raise as really good point. why are we here? why is the nlrb doing this? what does it say, mr. gowdy, and perhaps this is a he willer to -- rhetorical question, what does it say about the lawsuit that mr. duncan mentioned before regarding the right to a secret wallet ballot? what does it say about an administration in this d

mr. speaker. mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent -- the speaker pro tempore: the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house for further consideration of h.r. 1216. would mr. womeack kindly take the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house for further consideration of h.r. 1216 by the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to amendment the public service act to convert medical education fl direct appropriations to an authorization of appropriations. the chair: when the committee of the whole house -- when the committee of the whole house rose earlier today, pending was amendment number 7 offered by the gentlewoman from north carolina, ms. foxx. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york wish to be recognized. >> i move to strike the last word, mr. chairman. the chair: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. weiner: i was standing here approximately two hours ago to speak with other members on the efforts to eliminate medicare and for reasons

mr. speaker, mr. chairman, i rise in support of house resolution 1540, the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2012. in review of the portions of the president's budget request relevant to sea power and projected forces, the subcommittee held hear option the navy shipbuilding plan and on the amphibious warfare along with briefings for the ohio class ballistic missile submarine, the expeditionary fighting vehicle and the new long range strike bomber. being a maritime nation, we must support our troops with supplies delivered by sea and by air while maintaining the global reach to do so. protection of the sea lanes of communication, projection of credible combat power, forward presence and humanitarian assistance all are capabilities supplied by forces for which the subcommittee has oversight and where it must focus. this bill prorides for a multiyear procurement of destroyers, it funds 10 ships in the president's budget request. it also has provisions which would inject discipline in pro

mr. speaker. our president, jan hopkins will read any questions that have been received. >> thank you so much for being with us tonight especially because i know how hectic your schedule is. we are really thrilled to have you with us. i personally want to thank you for your many years of public service. my question is -- the negotiations over the fiscal 2011 budget were settled at the 11th-hour. are you concerned a similar scenario could occur in the negotiations involving the debt ceiling? if that's the area appears to be developing, would you be willing to consider a temporary increase in the debt ceiling while negotiations on a longer-term budget package continue? >> as i said earlier, not increasing the debt ceiling would be irresponsible. having said that, i do not want to allow this moment that we have in our history to pass without real action to solve our long-term economic problems. while there was a hard date on the fiscal 2011 budget that we just finished several weeks ago, there really

mr. speaker, i was able to go to all six congressional districts in south carolina at one point or another. mr. gowdy: south carolina is full of natural beauty from the mountains to the beaches of our coastal region. it is home to hard-working, loyal, kind-hearted and resilient people. we have wonderful schools, research universities, highly regarded hospitals, medical centers. we have a depth and breadth throughout the state of south carolina as well as the small businesses that are the backbone

mr. speaker, with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to be removed as co-sponsor from h.r. 1380. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the house will be in order. please remove conversations from the floor. the house will be in order. will members please clear the well. the chair is prepared to entertain one-minute requests. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman will suspend. the. >> the -- mr. wilson: the price of gasoline has more than doubled. the president promised to skyrocket energy costs and that's what happened. house republicans are leading the way in implementing a sound domestic energy plan aimed to reduce gas prices. this plan seeks to expand domestic energy production while creating jobs here in america. republicans and the house -- in the house have successfully passed the starting american offshore leasing now act. this bill provides immediate relief at the gas

mr. speaker, we sure appreciate your time. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> smith: "face the nation" will continue right after this. you could get arrested for that you know. it's not what you think. look. there was a time when a company like that would envy us. little outfit. it's almost quaint. all these years we had something they could never have. something only the biggest operations could ever afford. it was our strategic advantage. now they have it. what exactly is "it" that they have? logistics. a level playing field. it's not fair. and go everywhere. to help revitalize a neighborhood in massachusetts. restore a historic landmark in harlem. fund a local business in chicago. expand green energy initiatives in seattle. because when you're giving, lending, and investing in more communities across the country, more opportunities happen. sadly, no. oh. but i did pick up your dry cleaning and had your shoes shined. well, i made you a reservation at the sushi place around the corner. well, in that case, i better get back

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kohl. mr. polis: there has been a major development in the war on terror in the last few weeks with the successful defeat of osama bin laden striking a major blow to al qaeda. at a time like this, we should re-examine the restoration. mr. conyers, my colleague from michigan, put forward an excellent proposal of the many thoughtful proposals that would improve the patriot act and protect our constitutional rights. unfortunately, discussion of that proposal and debate an the vote on that proposal was not allowed under this rule and therefore i'm opposed to the rule and the underlying bill an reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. dreier: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kohl. mr. polis: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: section 215 allows the government to capture any tangible thing that might be relevant to a terrorist invest, including medical

mr. speaker. would like to recognize an amazing organization headquartered in my south florida district, alpha lit is a faith-based, nonprofit organization that provides education for the world's poorest people. they offer many programs from basic education, preschool, nutrition, microcredit, and community development, but its core mission is to eliminate the human suffering caused by illiteracy. alpha lit is active in 24 countries, in latin america, the caribbean, africa, and portugal. as you would see from these posters here, mr. speaker, these are the volunteers and the many participants in alpha litvinenko acy programs throughout the world. since its founding in 1961, seven million individuals have had their lives transformed by alpha lit. because it also provides comprehensive health programs that focus on hiv-aids, tuberculosis, malaria, and cholera prevention. this year marks its 50th year of service to the world's most vulnerable population. 50 years of empowering individuals through liter

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today we're talking -- taking up the putting the gulf back to work act, which will accomplish two very important goals. create jobs and help lower energy costs. it will end the obama administration's de facto drilling moratorium in the gulf and a way that is safe, transparent and responsible. a study from the louisiana state university predicted that keeping this per mitt -- permier toum in place could cause the loss of more than 36,000 jobs nationwide. we simply can't afford the obama administration's job-killing policies. rather than putting americans back to work, they're seriously impacting america's energy production. the march 2011 short-term energy outlook from the energy information administration noted that production from the gulf of mexico is expected to fall by 240,000 barrels per day this year. if we're going to become energy secure we need to increase our energy production, not limit it, and we need to commit ourselves to developing our own resources. the putting

mr. speaker. one of the joys of representing an area like northwest california is participating in the many unique and volunteered power community celebrations that happened throughout the year. last weekend i had the honor of attending the jonesville jubilee that marked the town's 200th anniversary. this event celebrated the distinct history and culture of the town of jonesville and brought out the local community to participate and recall the past. i was very impressed by the huge array of activities, the fantastic turnout and the volunteers who pulled it off. the weekend-long event featured the civil war and wagon train, campouts and actors, the opening of the history center, the civil war mill and historic displays from communities throughout the area. this could hardly have been a better event and the many volunteers who made it possible are to be praised by their dedication and hard work. it's what is so great about our country. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpo

mr. speaker, mr. a terribly subpar recovery, one of the worst we've seen, three times worse than the