mr. speaker. i now yield three minutes to the gentleman from virginia, member of the appropriations committee, mr. moran. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for three minutes. mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, if this resolution passes and we weaken nato's mission, gaddafi mayvery well prevail. his forces will then kill, rape, and torture all those libyans who oppose him as he is already trying to do. gaddafi has reportedly kidnapped thousands of people, including young students to serve as human shields and marcat the vanguard of his forces. if any of his own soldiers refuse to gun down unarmed innocent civilians, they are shot immediately. once he's done with his own people, he'll turn his attention to those nato and middle eastern nation that is attacked him and seek revenge. remember, this is a man who is already responsible for the deaths of 189 innocent passengers on pan am 103. let's face it, this is not about whether the obama administration has

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the house has said -- the speaker has said he will not bring a bill to the floor that has not been made available for 72 hours. have these bills been available for 72 hours, mr. speaker? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman, once again, has not stated a proper parliamentary inquiry. mr. jackson: is the majority waiving the position of the speaker, waiving the rules as it relates to the legislation before us? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is engaging in debate and not stating a parliamentary inquiry. does the gentleman have a parliamentary inquiry? mr. jackson: further parliamentary inquiry, mr. speaker. the fact of the matter this bill has not been made available for 72 hours and even three calendar days. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is out of order. pursuant to house resolution 328, the joint resolution is considered as read. the joint resolution shall be debatable for one hour with 40 minutes equally and controlled by the chairman and recla

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, as a parent, i'mppalled that the party opposite burdening our children with ever more debts that the party opposite are putting forward with their reckless tax cuts and spending commitments of which the v.a.t. cut is the latest. >> order! order! the honorable gentleman will now resume his seat. valerie bags? >> thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. speaker. >> shhhh. >> there are 400 avoidableebts from epilepsy and relatable conditions. my rule bill asks for two things, an immediate referral to a tertiary specialist and an education support for children with an assessment and additionalupport so that they can fulfill their potential. could the prime minister meet with me the joint epilepsy counseling and professor helen crops how we can advance these provisions which will not only save costs but more importantly, ve lives. >> i'd be delighted to meet with her and also with helen cross who i know well who is an absolutely brilliant clinician and someone i know well. i am keenl

mr. speaker. i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from georgia, member of the foreign affairs committee and also a member of the nato parliamentary assembly, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: thank you very much. thank you very much, mr. smith. what we have here is two essential arguments. one is more of an intramural argument between congress and the white house. but it is a misplaced argument because there is no president that's come to this congress for a declaration of war since world war ii. and granted we have been in seven or eight major conflicts. so this is much greater than this conflict between the white house and this congress. unfortunately i believe that this measure is just an attempt to rather in a strong way get the attention of the president. maybe to chastise the president a bit. so surely. but i think if you look at the record there were communications here, but there is a larger profound message here. it's n

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, when the prime minister signed off his welfare bill, deny that it would make 7,000 cancer patients worse off by as much as 94 pounds a week? >> well, that is simply not the case because we are using exactly the same definition of people who are suffering and a terminally ill as the last government. we want to make sure those people are helped and protected. the point i would make to the honorable gentleman is that if you're in favor of welfare reform, you encourage others to do some. >> as usual mr. speaker he doesn't know what's in his own bill. listen to mcmillan cancer support. what do they assumed on the 13th of genuine, 2011, cancer patients to lose up to 94 pounds a week. and these are people who have worked hard all their lives. who have done the right thing. who have paid their taxes. and when they are in need, the prime minister is taking money away from them. i asked him again, how can it be right that people with cancer, 7,000 people with cancer are losing 94 pounds

mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to the following brave servicemen who died in afghanistan since we last met. kevin fortuna and martin lamb from first battalion the rifles. marine samuel alexander and lance corporal martin gill from 42 commander royal marines and corporal mike pike from the fourth battalion the royal regiment of the scotland. all of them were dedicated professionals serving our country. their deaths are a reminder of the very high price we are paying to stop afghanistan for being a haven for terrorists. we honor their memory. we will support their families. we will not forget their service and their sacrifice. >> here, here. >> mr. speaker, i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, i will shall have further such meetings this morning. >> can i associate myself with the prime minister's tribute to our fallen soldiers. we do indeed owe them a great debt. mr. speaker, we are reminded on a daily basis that not everyone in the wo

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, like many americans, i was profoundly disappointed in president obama's announcement last night . i had hoped that he would offer an afghanistan troop drawdown that was significant, swift and sizeable. sadly, the proposal failed on all three counts. now is the time for bold action and decisionmaking to bring our nation and afghanistan policy in line with what the american people want while recognizing the deep and grave toll this war has taken on our global credibility and our national security. instead, the administration's office was largely stay the course. instead, president obama chose to perpetuate a war that is not only bankrupting us morally but fiscally as well. the loss in blood and treasure cannot be underestimated. the american people have endured great sacrifice, but after nearly a decade of war, they're weary of losing their bravest men and women and their hard-earned tax dollars to a policy that simple has not achieved its goal. we are not more secure. the afgha

mr. speaker. i would refer the member to the commitments made by the prime minister of malaysia in a joint statement with the prime minister of australia which indicated that the asylum seekers would be treated with dignity and respect, mr. speaker. i also refer the member to my statements that the negotiations on the operational details are continuing with malaysia and the government will be providing further information as those negotiations are completed. of course, mr. speaker would bring the attention to the statements by the u.n. but in geneva and australia that this arrangement presents a significant step forward and the opportunity to improve asylum seekers throughout the region. i understand the frustration of the opposition and i understand mr. speaker that the opposition as devastated the the government raised an international agreement but at the same time i understand the sensitivity as we continue to implement this arrangement. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my question is to the treasur

mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. farenthold: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. farenthold: thank you very much, mr. speaker. h.r. 1632, introduced by the gentleman from texas, mr. neugebauer, was to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 5014 gary avenue in lubbock, texas, as the sergeant chris davis post office. the bill is co-sponsored by the entire texas delegation, and, mr. speaker, i'm proud to be an original co-sponsor myself. mr. speaker, it's altogether fitting and proper that we name this post office in lubbock for army sergeant davis to honor a true american hero and his service to our country. sergeant davis was born on october 25, 1971, in lubbock, and according to his sister, ma

mr. speaker. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, on tuesday night the people's house spoke loud and clear. no debt limit increase without real spending cuts to promote job growth. liberals wanted to increase the debt limit by $2.4 trillion with no meaningful reforms. at a time when the federal government is borrowing 42 cents of every dollar it spends the last thing americans want to do is raise the government's borrowing limit recklessly killing jobs. liberals in congress need to attach real cuts to any increases they are seeking. that means for every dollar proposed to incroot the debt limit there should be one dollar in cut. it makes sense. tuesday night's vote of 318-97-7 shows that the house is overwhelmingly in agreement with this debt limit increase being denied. over 80 democrats joined with the 237 republicans to vote against the president's debt ceiling request. adding more debt to our economy handicaps small business job creation and aggravates our country's debt crisis even further. this is a direct risk to senio

mr. speaker. given the number of interviews the prime minister has made it is a wonder that he knows which way he is basing -- facing. >> mr. prime minister. >> i did not get all of that. the reminder of the government back benches so a prime minister can hear. how helpful that would be. the prime minister. >> it would probably be good if you did not but the first part of a question. the second part i think was about the very important point about women and pensions. what i want to say is this. i do think it is right that the equalization of men's and women's pension age at 65, that is going ahead, and i also think it is important to raise the pension age to 66, but the truth is that people are living longer in our country, and that is a good thing, but we have to make sure that we can pay good and decent pensions. the other opportunity is to sit with your head in the sand, where we either cut the pensions or build of death for children which would be, frankly, irresponsibly. we are making decisio

mr. speaker. prime minister, my constituent, a british national on the recent visit to india was kidnapped and then beheaded in the horrendous murder incident can i ask the british government to urge the indian authorities to carry out a full transparent, thoroughly roinvestigation and bring to account those responsible for this horrendous murder so my constituent and his family can get some justice for their mother. >> i quite understand why my right honorable friend wants to raise this family. i fully understand and their wish for justice to be brought to bear on the perpetrators. now, the foreign office has been providing the family with counselor support as he knows and they will arrange to meet with my right honorable friend and the family to see what further assistance that we can give. however, i have to say to him, responsibility for investigating crime committed overseas has to rest with the police and the judicial authorities in that country. we cannot interfere in the processes but i ta

mr. speaker. uch time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. the gentlelady will suspend. the house will be in order. the gentlelady may proceed. ms. ros-lehten: i thank the speaker. mr. speaker, i do not support a complete u.s. withdrawal from nato's operation unified protector. i believe that it is necessary for u.s. armed forces to remain engaged in a limited capacity. however, i cannot support an authorization which constitutes our current level of engagement for an entire year. this is what is proposed in h.j.res. 68 offered by my friend from florida, mr. hastings, d i therefore must rise in opposition to his resolution. this resolution not only authorizes u.s. military engagement in libya, far beyond even the 90-day nato extension, but it justifies u.s. military engagement in libya as undertaken to enforce a united nations security council resolution and at the request of the transitional national council the gulf -- national council, the gulf council and the

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, there are currently 163 statutory organizations within the national health services. can the prime minister tell us how many there will be after his reorganization? >> i can tell the honorable gentleman -- what i can tell the honorable gentleman is the health reform that now have the support of the health minister will see a reduction in bureaucracy because they're getting rid of strategic health authorities and we are getting rid of primary care trusts. >> ed miliband. >> let me get an answer to the question, mr. speaker. the number will go up from 163, the 521. [shouting] >> health and well being bored, shadow commissioning groups, authorize commission groups and national commissioning boards. sha clusters, clinical networks, and clinical centers. mr. speaker, is this what he meant by bonfire? [shouting] if you looks at the figures of savings, he will see where saving 5 million pounds through the reduction of bureaucracy. that is what's happening. what we inherited was a sit

mr. speaker. asserted, quote, these strikes will be limited in their nature, duration and scope, end quote. well, it is now day 97. 97 of our involvement of u.s. armed forces in hostilities regarding libya, yet, gaddafi still clings to power and the opposition appears to be no closer to a decisive victory. command for the military operation has been transferred to nato. yet, the constrained role the president has said is being played by u.s. forces in libya still includes nearly one quarter of the total planes flown in libya, suppression of enemy defense through strikes, strikes by unmanned predators on gaddafi targets, nearly 70% of the mission's intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and over 75% of all airline -- aerial refueling. yet, the president has yet to explain just what the interests are at staveg and what outcomes he's hoping to achieve. the resolution offered by our speaker, speaker boehner, and adopted by this chamber on june 3 posed specific questions that required straight a

mr. speaker. mr. robin walker. >> thank you. long-term underfunding from the previous government's blog formula. the money is needed to make ends meet and cannot be spent on deprived peoples. can the prime minister assure both rochester and whitney that the government will not just consult on that formula? -- in both rochester -- worchester and witney? >> at present, you can get a difference of 1,800 pounds per people between the best funded school and the worst funded school. we want to do it in a more fair and logical way, and i and determined we will make project with this. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i have come here from a meeting with the family of an 18-year- old constituent, who was fatally shot outside his block of flats on monday, and i am sure that the whole house will want to send condolences. i raised a similar case with the prime minister at this time last year. this senseless loss of life is completely and utterly unacceptable. yet, it continues, and rightly or wrongly, there is a perception that, on all sides of t

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i did unanimous -- ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker: without objection. mr. reed: house resolution 287 provides for open rule of consideration of h.r. 2017. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of house resolution 278, to provide the rule for h.r. 2017, the homeland security appropriations act for fiscal year 2012. mr. speaker, i'm proud to be managing this rule, the first truly open rule since july 31, 2007. an agriculture appropriations bill in the 110th congress. the 112th congress has made it clear that it's an open process and this rule exemplifies this initiative. for 119 members of the 112th congress, this is their first experience with an open rule, including six members of the rules committee. i'm proud to be part of this body and this conference that has engaged in this transparency in government and this open process. throughout the entire 111th congress, only 810 amendments were co

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i serve as co-chairman of the congressional career and technical education caucus with my friend and colleague, jim langevin of rhode island. the career and technical education caucus is a group of members seeking to broaden awareness here on capitol hill on the importance of career and technical education. i take the floor today to offer yet another example of the critical role that career and technical education plays in helping individuals remain competitive in a constantly changing work force environment. on june 7, 2011, history was made at the central pennsylvania institute of science and technology. two young ladies, anna kreshak and trisha wright combrad waited from their automobile program at the highest possible level. these nontraditional students in the technology program earned their diploma along with state, national and world certifications in their field of study. the most amazing part about their accomplishments with a their path to success. anna had only one

mr. speaker. [applause] >> mr. speaker, in the speech last week we heard that the government is preparing to dismantle the committee on the status of women that has been working on legislative checks since 2004. they affect canadian women of all or licensed. can the minister responsible for the status of women a assure this house and tell us that this committee will remain active through the parliament? [applause] hon. minister on the status of women. >> it is my first time getting up an in-house and at our four- majority mandate. [applause] i would like to take the opportunity to congratulate my colleagues and all the women who had been elected to parliament in this last election. [applause] we are working collaborative lee with all women in the house to improve the lives of women all across this country. [applause] >> mr. speaker, when the government announced the beginning of the canada's but as a nation in the mission in libya, it said it was an effort to protect civilians. subsequently, dies been confusion abou

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today with a heavy heart. to pay a debt of gratitude to a life of service and sacrifice by one of indiana's bravest. scott davidson of muncie, indiana, was a devoted husband, father and a firefighter. former yorktown fire chief, he'd been with the muncie fire department since the 15th of june, 2005. tragically yesterday, firefighter scott davis was killed fighting a fire at the tabernacle church in muncie, indiana. he become the first muncie firefighter to give his life in duty since 1955. those who knew scott davis was not surprised that the bravery and boldness he showed during the church. he protected the community and in so doing scott davis will forever be remembered as a hero and as a servant leader. in the midst of this great tragedy, i honor firefighter scott davis, and we should also take a moment to remember each and every man and woman who serve and volunteer at full-time fire departments around this country. we should always remember and be grateful for thos

mr. speaker, mr. er, i want to thank the member for his question and congratulate him for his recent appointment. under the privacy act, i cannot discuss the specifics of this individual case, but i was given a mandate, and today the minister of veterans affairs, i commit myself to give better care to our veterans. this being starting today. it was an honest -- unacceptable mistake. i instructed my officials to check up on this veterans case. [applause] >> the justice department set up -- sent a threatening letters ordering members to cease tickets on the burlington with bridge. these workers are simply doing what the federal government is refusing to do, trying to stop u.s. steel from taking profits from the hamilton operation until the federal government court case is resolved. instead of getting tough on canadian workers, when will this government get tough on foreign companies that undermine canadian jobs and attack canadian pensions? [applause] >> i think there president's. as members of knows, th

mr. speaker. i rise today, mr. speaker, by the direction of committee on rules, i call up house resolution 287 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 42, house resolution 287. resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 2017, making appropriations for the department of homeland security for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under t

mr. coble: i thank the speaker. mr. speaker, jack mckeon resides in elon, north carolina, and in 2003 he became the oldest manager to win a world series championship. having defeated the new york yankees. yack was recently recalled by the florida marlins and find himself in the marl lynn house again, this time as the second oldest manager to manage a major league team. jack responded when people questioned his age he said, experience should not be penalized. and jack further said, i'll probably be managing when i'm 95. from one ok at that againairian to another on behalf of the citizens of the sixth district of north carolina, we extend hardy good wishes to jack mckeon for the remainder of this season and until he's 95 years of age. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island rise? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentle

mr. speaker, -- mr. mica: mr. i ask unanimous consent that the committee on transportation and ways and means be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 2279 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2279, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the airport and airway trust fund, to amend title 49, united states code, to extend the airport improvement program and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to consideration of the bill? without objection, the bill is engrossed, read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin rise? mr. petri: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill just passed, h.r. 2279. the speaker pro tempore: without object

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, let us not be bamboozled by this argument that my friends on the other side is trying to perpetuate on the american people. there is one problem with this bill, well, there's actually two problems with this bill. one problem is that it gives the e.p.a. and state permitting authorities just six months, six lousy months to finalize a permit for offshore exploratory drilling which is not enough time to perform an adequate technical review while allowing for adequate public participation. number two, it preempts the state's authority, it preempts the right of the state of california, the state of $and other states -- the state of $and other states to impose more -- the state of delaware and other states to impose more stringent controls on offshore drilling operations. mr. speaker, this amendment attempts to cure a very serious problem with this bill and with that i yield back the balance of my time and ask for -- i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman's tim

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i ask for the yeas and nays. the yeas and nays -- the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 257. the nays are 156. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. pursuant to house resolution 294, i call up -- >> mr. speaker, this is a very

mr. speaker. mr. eaker, i rise in opposition to the rushed, hyper partisan process we are watching today on a very serious issue of war resolution. it is absolutely a given that congress has a role to play in terms of the president's actions, that it should be scrutinized, and we should have the opportunity to weigh in on it. and our armed services committee has been meeting on a regular basis, holding administration officials' feet to the fire on those very questions. we had one yesterday. the fact of the matter is, though, just because congress has that right to weigh in doesn't mean that we should pass a resolution for resolution sake. batting average of congress in terms of rushed resolutions, frankly, folks, is not very good. the gulf of tongin resolution was rushed through -- tonkin resolution was rushed through congress and we know today that historians have uncovered the fact that misinformation was presented to congress. the iraq war resolution in 2002 was rushed through this congress with bad

mr. speaker. i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from georgia, member of the foreign affairs committee and also a member of the nato parliamentary assembly, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: thank you very much. thank you very much, mr. smith. what we have here is two essential arguments. one is more of an intramural argument between congress and the white house. but it is a misplaced argument because there is no president that's come to this congress for a declaration of war since world war ii. and granted we have been in seven or eight major conflicts. so this is much greater than this conflict between the white house and this congress. unfortunately i believe that this measure is just an attempt to rather in a strong way get the attention of the president. maybe to chastise the president a bit. so surely. but i think if you look at the record there were communications here, but there is a larger profound message here. it's n

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, members, america is undergoing a terribly subpar recovery, one of the worst we've seen, three times worse than the economic recovery under president reagan, a worse recovery than even what president obama promised us when he spent all those hundreds of billions of dollars of stimulus money. we have $13 -- 13 million americans ouof work, our unemployment rate sky high and it's only -- the only reason it's come down a little is we have fewer people working in the work force than we've had for a quart of a toer a of a century -- for a quarter of a century. one of the strongest signals we can send to consumers and families and businesses to restore their confidence is ma sure we understand america is going to get its financial house in order. republicans in congress are going to send a statement today that america will get its house in order. this vote today basically says we are not going to grant the president unconditional increase in how much america can borrow, here is a good

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, a year and a half ago we were promised a new way forward in afghanistan, a way that would include a significant military drawdown. the date for the redeployment to begin was july 1, 2011. just two weeks away. then, last year the goal posts were moved and it was decided that in fact our troops would remain in afghanistan through 2014. but apparently that wasn't enough. negotiations are now under way with the karzai government. negotiations that are happening apparently in secret and without proper accountability and transparency for the construction of military bases in afghanistan. officials are being careful, very careful. not to say that these bases would be permanent. but it's clear that our government could be hammering out the details of an agreement that would call for u.s. military presence in afghanistan for as far as the eye can see. i can't understand the logic here, mr. speaker. why can't we grasp the very idea that the longer we are perceived to be in occupying pow

mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pence: mr. speaker, the economy, the national debt -- but today i rise to congratulate the marietta baseball team for winning their record fifth division iii college world series title yesterday. our people have something to cheer about. the pioneers won the deciding game in convincing fashion with a victory over chapman university.

the speaker pro tempore: mr. chairman? the chair: mr. speaker, the committee on the whole house on the state of the union having had under consideration h.r. 2017 asks me to report the same back to the house with sundry amendment with the recommendation the amendments be agreed to and the bill be amended and do pass. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports the committee has had under consideration the bill h.r. 2017 and reports the bill back to the house with sundry amendments adopted in the committee of the whole with a recommendation the amendments be adopted in the bill as amended do pass on the house resolution 287, the previous question is ordered. is a separate vote demanded on any amendment reported from the committee of the whole? if not, the chair will put them engross. the question is on the adoption of the amendments. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the amendments are adopted. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bil

mr. speaker. thank you, mr. mcgovern. i have some sympathy for my good friend from georgia, congressman kingston. he got dealt a tough hand by a really unpleasant, mean-spirited, unnecessary republican bill. there are real consequences for moving forward with the ryan budget. but in a sense, this is the first debate on the -- of the 2012 farm bill. we have a farm policy that spends too much on the wrong people to do the wrong thing. there are opportunities for us to rebalance the equity. you're hearing some debate about whether or not we should honor a w.t.o. commitment to brazilian farmers for $147 million a year. the only reason we're doing this is because congress in its wisdom would not cut back on the cotton subsidies that go to american farmers that are inappropriate and unnecessary. but instead of changing the system, we're paying brazilian farmers. that's goofy. and i think at a minimum, we ought to reshift that. put it into nutrition for poor women and children. now, i will tell you that all you have to do is ask

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, members, america is undergoing a terribly subpar recovery, one of the worst we've seen, three times worse than the economic recovery under president reagan, a worse recovery than even what president obama promised us when he spent all those hundreds of billions of dollars of stimulus money. we have $13 -- 13 million americans out of work, our unemployment rate sky high and it's only -- the only reason it's come down a little is we have fewer people working in the work force than we've had for a quart of a toer a of a century -- for a quarter of a century. one of the strongest signals we can send to consumers and families and businesses to restore their confidence is make sure we understand america is going to get its financial house in order. republicans in congress are going to send a statement today that america will get its house in order. this vote today basically says we are not going to grant the president unconditional increase in how much america can borrow, here is a

mr. dicks. three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized for three minutes. mr. dicks: the debate in the house today concerning the extent of u.s. involvement in the military action in libya now led by nato is a necessary and important debate. and i appreciate the role that dennis kucinich has played in this. both resolutions being considered today recognize the essential role of congress in authorizing and in funding the use of u.s. armed forces consistent with the war powers act and constitution. both resolutions require the members of the house to reflect on the appropriateness of the use ofilitary force in this operation as outlined by the president. and both resolutions initiate the entirely appropriate debate over the objectives of this operation as well as its duration. in my judgment the president's initial commitment of u.s. airpower and naval forces to support the international effort was appropriate and certainly within its power as commander in chief. the u.s. effort was u

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, when i first heard that this legislation was coming to the floor i anticipated with some positive thought of, yes, this is the right thing to do. america must pay its bills. we know how to do that. we want to go forward assuring the american people that when we decide not to default on our debt that we are showing our strength even though it may be difficult for peop to support that. then, i heard that it was going to come up like this on sunday. they saiit would be up on tuesday. the bill is predicated on a false premise. it says the congress signs that the president's budget proposed, budget of the united states government, fiscal year 2012, necessitates an increase in the staffary debt of $2.4 trillion. -- staff wear debt of $.4 trillion. that's not the case. the bill never passed the house and never passed the united states senate. what passed was a republican budget which gives tax breaks to big oip, sending jobs overseas, weakens the middle class and does not create jobs

mr. speaker. yield myself three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. smith: thank you. the bottom line with this resolution, and i think the gentleman made a lot of very fair points, i certainly think that the white house could have handled it better in terms of communicating with congress, but what this resolution would do that he has presented would be to end our mission in libya. so all of the debates and arguments that you heard from the previous discussion apply to this just as well. it has some limited options in terms of what the president could continue to do in support of nato, but it very specifically disallows any effort at air support, any effort at suppressing opposition fire. it does allow for aerial refueling, it allows for rescue missions, but what the military has made clear is they will not do that without all ofhe other assets that are necessary to suppress ene fire, enemy fire. we are not going to send off our aerial refueling appa

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, some have argued that the first to file provision in this bill violates the constitutional provision giving congress the power to promote the science and useful arts by securing for a limited time to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their prospective writings and discoveries. the text is not defined inventor. under h.r. 1249 one still has to be an inventor to be awarded the patent as the constitution requires. indeed former bush administration attorney general noted in a may, 2011, letter to patent office director that, quote, the second inventor is no less the inventor for having invented second and the attorney general points out that the constitution grants congress the power to, quote, promote the privacy of the arts and sciences but does not say how it can do so or how it should do so. congress deciding to award patents to inventors who are first to file is consist went that constitutional power. the patent act of 1793 make noes mention of needing to be the f

mr. cicilline for today and 3:00 p.m. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. culberson: to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. bull better -- mr. culberson: i want to address the bill passed on homeland security. in addition to funding our military, the military construction bill we've done for veterans' affairs, we also have a fundamental obligation to secure our borders and the homeland security bill we just passed does that in a number of important ways. most importantly for the people of texas, i want to reassure everyone listening tonight the texas delegation of this congress, the majority will not rest until the southern border is secure, until we with the full support of the people that live along the border secure the border with zero tolerance using existing law which means six months in jail for crossing the border illegally as we are d

mr. speaker. the consideration of this bill has been bipartisan to this point and that certainly does not need to change now. this motion to recommit doesn't send it to the committee or kill it, but consistent with the spirit of the bill and this is simply the last amendment and should be considered in the same bipartisan way all the other amendments have been considered. mr. speaker, our future prosperity does depend upon our being the most innovative country in the world, the most innovative economy in the world, american scientists -- >> the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house is not in order. will members please take their conversations off the floor. members and staff. the gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: american scientists and engineers are doing great work. we are doing some of the most advanced sophisticated research in the world for instance, we lead the world in solar cell research and making some of the greatest breakthruse and that t

mr. speaker, mr. chairman, america has been very for a long, long time a just and generous nation in regards to immigration policy. opening her arms to persons, particularly those facing social, economic or even political persecution who wish to come here and make a new contribution and a new community to the well-being of their own lives. this should remain the hallmark and spirit of sound immigration policy, but uncontrolled borders are a serious threat to united states' national security and with laxed interior enforcement security, we are not a just and generous nation in regards to immigration policy. 287-g should be funded at the administration's request. mr. aderholt: will the gentleman yield? mr. fortenberry: i yield. mr. aderholt: the gentleman from nebraska makes some good points. i support immigration laws which includes partnerships with the states and law enforcement through the 287-g program. as the gentleman from nebraska noted, 287-g is an important tool among many and gives i.c.e. a f

mr. johnson, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mr. johnson: thank you. this issue of war and peace and separation of powers transcends poll -- partisan politics. two years ago i began what's known as the center aisle caucus which has large membership now. our goal is bipartisan solutions to america's challenges and this bill reflects that approach. h.c.r. 51 on paper addresses our illegal war in libya. but in spirit it calls into question american presence in the middle east and it should command the attention of the national media, if you're listening, and every american citizen. today i issue a challenge to an often divided congress. to my democratic colleagues, i ask you to candidly acknowledge that war is war, even when a democratic president initiates or perpetuates that war. to my republican colleagues, ask to you acknowledge that a sincere and effective attack on our crippling national debt while laying out defense spending on the table is disingeneral

mr. speaker.'m sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to the brave servicemen who died in afghanistan since we last met. [reading names] all of them were dedicated professionals serving our country. their deaths are a reminder of the very high price we are paying to stop afghanistan from being a haven for terrorists. we honor their memory. we will support their families. we will not forget their service and their sacrifice. in addition to my duties in this house, i shall have further meetings later today. >> can i associate myself with the prime minister's trivia to our fallen soldiers? we do indeed 0 them a great debt. mr. speaker, we are reminded on a daily basis that not everyone enjoys the freedoms we enjoy in this country. i would like to highlight the absolute horror of a boy torture by forces of the syrian government in recent weeks. will the prime minister give me his assurance that he will use every influence he has to ensure the international community condemns the a

mr. speaker. mr. chairman. i thank mr. bartlett from maryland for making the case. i tell my friends that when they say women and children first, it means to save them, not to throw them overboard. women and children first means that they are the most vulnerable and need to be lifted up, need to be protected, need to be given the handup, not the handout. ladies and gentlemen of this house, i rise in opposition to this bill, and i thank my friend from maryland, for whom i have great respect. i think in fact he did put this in context. we will not balance the budget on the backs of children. we will not balance this budget on the backs of women who need nutrition and health care. that's not how we're going to balance the budget, and the gentleman from maryland made that point i think very effectively. if we cut out all defense and discretionary spending, we wouldn't balance our budget. that's the magnitude of the problem that faces us, but a great country, america, should not ask our children who need n

mr. speaker. first of all, let me thank my colleague from the state of washington for this very special, very special, important special order. when the obama administration took office, many americans were so concerned that the administration was too inexperienced to know how to even govern this country. but we soon understood that they were too mistaken to learn and too arrogant to care. ms. buerkle: americans continue to see the unveiling of various provisions of the president's health care bill, such as the creation of the independent payment advisory board to ration health care, a disastrous half trillion dollars in medicare cuts for new benefits, the betrayal of our friendship with israel and the willful pursuit of little bitian action in -- libyan action in defines of the war powers act. we have been betrayed by the choices of the leaders we depended on to steer this ship safely through troubled waters. but i have hope, just like the other republican women here tonight, that while we have t

mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu, for five minutes. ms. chu: i rise today to announce the introdux of legislation that will finally provide protection to immigrant workers from exploitation. the protect our workers from exploitation and retaliation act, the power act. too often unscrupulous employers threaten or retaliate against workers who complain about illegal working conditions. today, employers can use workers' immigration status and threaten them so they will fear reporting them to the authorities. the abuse of these vulnerable workers undermines working conditions and wages for all u.s. workers. the power act protects these workers. under current law the temporary status for immigrants who are victims of crime, including domestic violence and rape. the power act ensures that this visa protection is also provided to these workers who risk everything by reporting to authorities the employers who break the law by committing ser

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, like many americans, i was profoundly disappointed in president obama's announcement last night . i had hoped that he would offer an afghanistan troop drawdown that was significant, swift and sizeable. sadly, the proposal failed on all three counts. now is the time for bold action and decisionmaking to bring our nation and ghanistan policy in line with what the american people want while recognizing the deep and grave toll this war has takenn our global credibility and our national security. instead, the administration's office was largely stay the course. instead, president obama chose o perpetuate a war that is not only bankrupting us morally but fiscally as well. the loss in blood and treasure cannot be underestimated. the american people have endured great sacrifice, but after nearly a decade of war, they're weary of losing their bravest men and women and their hard-earned tax dollars to a policy that simple has not achieved its goal. we are not more secure. the afghanista