mr. speaker. >> mr. speaker, canadians are concerned about crime and the reaction i have heard from my constituents regarding yesterday's ved in the so-called honor killings confirms this very facts. we know that the sisters alone were killed because they were women that he wanted to live their lives according to canadian values free from opregnancy and violence. as the juts sdz yesterday, it is difficult to conceive of a money heinous and despicable crime than killing your own children for no reason than some perverted sense of honor. can you provide this house with our government's view of the so-called -- >> the honorable minister of justice. >> mr. speaker, we have be very clear. they're barbaric and unacceptable and have no place in kanld. canada. >> we are committing to protecting women and other vulnerable persons from all forms of violence and to hold offenders accountable for their acts. in canada mr. speaker murder is murder regardless of the motive our government has focused primarily on the ri

mr. speaker. >> mr. speaker, they can't escape the reality that they're take it is in direct opposition to the principles of the health care. canadians worry it leads to greater privatization undermining the foundation of medicare. canadians don't want to see one health care system for the wealthy and one for everybody else. i ask again, mr. speaker, why is this government abandoning the leadership role in health care and making canadians pay the price? what happened to their commitment to accountability? >> the honorable minister of health. >> thank you. mr. speaker, as indicated by the recent canadian institute of health information data, the federal transfers are projected to grow faster than average provincial spending on health care. i will continue to work with my colleagues to make sure that had canada's health system's mother sustainable and to improve accountability and to deliver better services to canadians. thank you, mr. speaker. p >> translator: mr. speaker, canadians are right to be squared

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i stated before, our government is commit today a universal, publicly-funded health care system. unlike the previous liberal government which gutted health care transfers, we have actually increased funding to record levels. we have also announced a long-term l, stable funding arrangement with the provinces and the territories that will see transfers reach historic levels of $40 billion by the end of the decade. thank you, mr. speaker. [applause] >> [inaudible] >> mr. speaker, they can't escape the reality that their take it or leave it ultimatum is in direct opposition to the principles of the canada health act. canadians are rightly worried that it will lead to greater privatization undermining the foundation of medicare. canadians don't want to see one health care system for the wealthy and one for everybody else, so i ask again, mr. speaker, why is this government abandoning it leadership role in health care and making canadians pay the price? what happened to their commit

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today i really just want to say thank you to a young woman who for the last time in her legislative career as a member of congress will grace our presence this evening at this state of the union. i'm talking about my good friend, gabby giffords. i think the world will all know gabby as the courageous heroine who on january 8, 2011, was met but an unbelievable maryland person who changed her life and the life of so many. but i really want to tell all of us in this body what a great individual and humanitarian she was for all of us. she was sworn into office on january 4, 2007. she came out of the state legislature in arizona. so her background was in the state legislature, as mine is. she currently represents southern arizona, tucson area, which has the davis air force base and -- she is a leading champion onboarder security, energy independence, and the needs of military families and veterans which she knows so well because she is married to an active military veteran, mark ke

mr. speaker. no. no, mr. speaker, no mr. speaker. the prime minister is wrong. the last, the last labour government stopped them from doing that and there's prime minister, and this prime minister when he came to office reversed that policy. that we produced. that'swhy, that's what the companies we are able to ri the fares. that's why so much on from north hampton to london will see a rise of over 300 pounds. will he now stand up to the train companies, get a better deal for commuters and changes policy? >> i know the honorable gentleman has had a different start to the your. [laughter] he's made it worse by getting it wrong. labour allowed in 2009 fare increases of up to 11% because they introduce this idea reects 5% over and above the rpi plus 1% that was against, and was in 2009 is the case today. but i hink the key issue is this. there's own to places money for railways can come from. they can come from the taxpayer or it can come from the traveler. what really matters is are we going to put money into rail investment? this government is putting that money i

mr. speaker. no. no, mr. speaker, no mr. speaker. the prime minister is wrong. the last, the last labour government stopped them from doing that and there's prime minister, and this prime minister when he came to office reversed that policy. that we produced. that's why, that's what the companies we are able to rig the fares. that's why so much on from north hampton to london will see a rise of over 300 pounds. will he now stand up to the train companies, get a better deal for commuters and changes policy? >> i know the honorable gentleman has had a different start to the your. [laughter] he's made it worse by getting it wrong. labour allowed in 2009 fare increases of up to 11% because they introduce this idea reflects 5% over and above the rpi plus 1% that was against, and was in 2009 is the case today. but i think the key issue is this. there's own to places money for railways can come from. they can come from the taxpayer or it can come from the traveler. what really matters is are we going to put money into rail investment? this government is putting that mo

mr. speaker,. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this house i shall of further such meetings later today. >> the prime minister frequently says he is not complacent about the tragedy of youth unemployment. so can he tell the house why his youth contract teams still have not started? >> the youth contract to scheme is going to make a big difference to young people -- [shouting] because it will over the course of the coming years 160,000 voices for people on private sector firms. that will be far better than the failed future jobs fund which in some cases had over 97% of its jobs place in the public sector. it will be up and running this year and make a big difference to young people. >> mr. speaker, today is the anniversary of the birth of the greatest scottish voyager, robert byrd. can the prime minister agree -- the unity of our nation when he says -- [inaudible] among ourselves, united. [inaudible] [shouting] >> i'm grateful to the

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, the prime minister told us that unemployment would fall in each year of this parliament. today, unemployment rose for the sixth month in a row. does he think it has anything to do with his government? >> the government takes absolute responsibly for everything happens in our economy, and i take responsibility for that. [shouting] look, any increase in unemployment is disappointing and it's a tragedy for the person who becomes undeployed and can lead to real difficulty for that family and that is what we're taking so much action to try to help people to get back into work. if you look at the figures today, i think it is noteworthy that while the increase in unemployment is usually unwelcome there is still an increase in the number of people employed, another 18,000 people. what that shows is that we need more private sector employment. we need to move further and fast on that agenda. it's also noteworthy to note that there is a small decrease in long-term unemployment and i hop

mr. speaker,. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this house i shall of further such meetings later today. >> the prime minister frequently says he is not complacent about the tragedy of youth unemployment. so can he tell the house why his youth contract teams still have not started? >> the youth contract to scheme is going to make a big difference to young people -- [shouting] because it will over the course of the coming years 160,000 voices for people on private sector firms. that will be far better than the failed future jobs fund which in some cases had over 97% of its jobs place in the public sector. it will be up and running this year and make a big difference to young people. >> mr. speaker, today is the anniversary of the birth of the greatest scottish voyager, robert byrd. can the prime minister agree -- the unity of our nation when he says -- [inaudible] among ourselves, united. [inaudible] [shouting] >> i'm grateful to the

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, the prime minister told us that unemployment would fall in each year of this parliament. today, unemployment rose for the sixth month in a row. does he think it has anything to do with his government? >> the government takes absolute responsibly for everything happens in our economy, and i take responsibility for that. [shouting] look, any increase in unemployment is disappointing and it's a tragedy for the person who becomes undeployed and can lead to real difficulty for that family and that is what we're taking so much action to try to help people to get back into work. if you look at the figures today, i think it is noteworthy that while the increase in unemployment is usually unwelcome there is still an increase in the number of people employed, another 18,000 people. what that shows is that we need more private sector employment. we need to move further and fast on that agenda. it's also noteworthy to note that there is a small decrease in long-term unemployment and i hop

mr. speaker. we begin the new year on the same sour note with which we ended 2011. fabricated crises which should not have happened but produced real-life consequences. the debt ceiling debacle being number one. the republican presidential candidate is showing a new era of superpacs. even if you are not a republican, it's a sad indictment. we need two constructive, effective, responsible political parties, or at least as close as we can come. it's past time to respond to things that americans need and support. it really doesn't need to be this hard. i would suggest that one test going forward would be dealing with issues that could be supported by both the tea party and the wall street -- occupy wall street protestors. both movements responses to a shared concern that americans are being shortchanged, that america is on a path that is not sustainable and a political process that is unable to respond to their needs. both movements are understandable and have valid concerns. the political process is

mr. speaker. i thank the leader. now pleased to yield to gabby's friend, distinguished minority whip of the house, congressman hoyer. mr. hoyer: i thank the leader for yielding. i thank the speaker for ensuring that we would have this opportunity to speak to our friend, gabby giffords. i thank the majority leader for his comments. none of us on this floor are talented enough to summon the rhetoric that all of us feel in our hearts. we have young men and women arrayed on the fields in iraq, afghanistan, and other troubled spots in the world. they are fighting for freedom and democracy. and too many of them are injured on those fields. our beloved colleague, gabrielle giffords, was injured on the field in the exercise of that democracy. and in being injured, she has become an example for us, for all americans, indeed all the world of courage, of clarity of purpose, of grace, of responsibility, of a sense of duty. which she exercises this day. i love gabby giffords. i was honored when she first ran fo

mr. chairman, we have one speaker. mr. petri: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. costello: i thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i recognize a valued member of the transportation and infrastructure committee, the gentlelady from the district of columbia, ms. norton. for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. norton: i thank the gentleman from illinois. this reminds me how much i regret that he has decided to retire. he was such a valuable chair of our subcommittee and member of transportation and infrastructure committee. i can only wish him all the good fortune his extraordinary productive years from the congress have earned him. but i thank both sides of the aisle for this short-term extension, short-term i am assured to wrap up some details . this is a bill that is really a great deal more bipartisan than it would appear. yes, there were some tough items as in any piece of major legislation. i do regret the major reason for the standoff. this

mr. speaker. nothing republicans have proposed this year would have forestalled an increase in the debt ceiling. not the ryan budget, not the republican study committee budget, not even the balanced budget amendment. avoiding default was the difficult but responsible action last august and it remains the responsible action today. i urbling my colleagues to leave their flip-floppers at the beach and do the responsible thing. put country ahead of politics today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. scott: i yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. graves. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. graves: i'll try not to follow up too much on the flip-flop comments, i do prefer crocs if anyone cares. i rise -- mr. opaw ma's spending spree in three short years accounts for almost 1/3 of our national debt, the most rapid increase in the debt of any u.s. president and more debt than the first 41 presidents co

mr. speaker and madam leader. mr.whip and majority leader, i couldn't prepare anything this morning because i knew that i would not be able to hold it together very long. i am so proud of my friend, and it will always be one of the great treasures of my life to have met gabby giffords and to have served with her in this body. we have all been through such a tumultuous year. the nation has been through a tumultuous year. no one more tumultuous than gabby and her family and her constituents in her beloved home city of tucson, arizona, and i know being able to be gabby's voice today that knowing her as well as i do that the one thing that has not been said is that gabby wants her constituents to know, her constituents who she loves so much in southern arizona, that it has been the greatest professional privilege of her life to represent them, that she loves them as a fifth generation tucsonian, that her public service has meant a great deal to her and that this is only a pause in that public service and that she will ret

mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker, the honorable lady raises an important issue about the working time directive and its effect on the nhs. look, nobody wants to go back to the time when union doctors were working 80 or 90 hours a week but i think we all see in her own constituencies that the working time dective have sometimes had a bad effect on the nhs, particularly on training programs, and that is why the government is discussing this issue with the royal colleges and others to make sure we he flexibility in this vitally important area. >> i think the premise of of force and to pick does he share widespread concern coming largest from the medical profession itself that while we wait for the process to reconsider -- it hasn't even been decided what it is that they're going to be discussing about the directive? we're seeing a critical undermining of duties? they are saying that. we're seeing an erosion of the future of the profession and dinner i say, patients care. what steps can you take to stop at quickly

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, it's not too often that a president of the uted states has the opportunity with one swipe of his pen to increase private sectorobs by thousands of employees while at the same time increasing our energy independence and energy security. mr. quayle: that's what will happen with the keystone x.l. pipeline. unfortunately the president pued it on that decision and past 2013 even though the state department said there would not be a significant impact op the environment. we gave him another chance. unfortunately there are reports that he will reject the permit for the keystone x.l. pipeline. and the thing is what's confusing, mr. speaker, is he's been saying that we can't wait for j creation. but with this decision he's saying that we can wait for thousands and thousands of private sector jobs here in the united states. and that we n wait for energy security. mr. speaker, this is the wrong decision at the wrong time. we need better decisions from t gentleman from colorado ek recogn

mr. speaker, the hon. meter of the liberal party should understand that consulting with average -- aboriginal groups is a constitutional requirements. that is part of the process. at the same time i have to reiterate what i say to canadians before. is a tightly important national interest of this country that we're able export our energy products to asia, and that isn't it the government hopes will happen in the future. -- and that is what the government hopes will happen in the future. >> is the government must position, consult with aboriginal groups. how is this position the same thing or is it the same thing of what we are seeing against the attacks, or are the attacks on those who are against the minister put and the prime minister himself? i am seeing two different approaches. >> to speaker, once again, this is a constitutional obligation to consult with aboriginal groups, and the government is going to comply with that. at the same time i have said several times it is essential for canada to sell ou

mr. speaker. and, mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that members may revise and extend their remarks on the subject matter of this special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. christensen: thank you, mr. speaker. tonight we're here on the floor of the house of representatives on the eve of the state of the union by president barack obama, the first african-american president of the united states, and some 46 years after the passage of the voting rights act, which made his election and ours possible and i'm pleased to be joined by members of the congressional black caucus this evening for this special order and i'd like to yield such time as he might consume to the gentleman from new york, i believe the most senior member of the ways and means committee, a former chair of the congressional black caucus and founding member of the congressional black caucus, mr. charlie rangel. mr. rangel: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection

speaker. would yield to mr. levin to continue with further speakers on his side. mr.: thank you, the gentleman from washington. it's my pleasure now to yield to another distinguished gentleman from the state of washington, a member of our committee, distinguished member of our committee, mr. mcdermott. the speaker pro tempore: for how much time will the gentleman be recognized? mr. levin: three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i urge members to support h.r. 3801, which is the ultralight aircraft smuggling prevention act of 2012. this bill as you have heard will help prevent drug smuggling across our borders and it does it really in three ways. it amends the current law to give our prosecutors the authority to charge smugglers who fly ultralight aircraft in the same way as they charge smugglers who fly conventional aircraft. second, the bill adds both an attempt and a,

mr. speaker. for the purpose of debate only i yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, for such time as he may choose, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sessions: during consideration of this resolution all time yielded is for purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks . the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sessions: house resolution 522 provides a modified open rule for consideration of h.r. 1173. this rule allows for any amendment prefiled in the congressional record which complies with the rules of the house to be made in order. that's pretty simple. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of this rule and the underlying bill, h.r. 1173, fiscal responsibility and retirement security act of 2011, which was introduced on march 17, 2011, by the gentleman, my dear friend

mr. speaker. >> i'm newt gingrich.of south carolina for being so hospitable as a georgian. it feels good to be back at home in the south. and i look forward to this evening. >> congressman paul. >> thank you very much. it's great to be here tonight. i'm a congressman from texas. i've been elected for 12 times. and also i practiced ob/gyn for a 30-year period. i've also served five years in the military. and i'm the only u.s. veteran on this stage tonight. >> you've met the candidates. it's time to begin the debate. an event that has quite a dramatically different feel. just this morning, as senator santorum noted, we learned he, not governor romney, won the iowa caucuses. there were five podiums on the stage when the sun came up. four now because of governor rick perry's decision to drop out. a direct fresh character attack on the speaker. mr. speaker, i want to start with that this evening. your ex-wife gave an interview to abc news, another interview with "the washington post," and this story has now gone viral on th

mr. speaker, and i yield back. >> gentle lady from california. >> thank you, mr. speaker. ank the leader and am now pleased to yield to gabby's friend, distinguished minority whip of the house, congressman hoyer. >> i thank the leader for yielding. i thank the speaker for ensuring that we would have this opportunity to speak to our friend, gabby giffords. i thank the majority leader for his comments. none of us on this floor are talented enough to summon the rhetoric that all of us feel in our hearts. we have young men and women, arrayed on the fields in iraq, afghanistan, and other troubled spots in the world. they are fighting for freedom and democracy. and too many of them are injured on those fields. our beloved colleague, gabrielle giffords, was injured on the field in the exercise of that democracy. and in being injured, she has become an example for us, for all americans, indeed all the world of courage, of clarity of purpose, of grace, of responsibility, of a sense of duty which she exercises this day. i love gabby giffords. i was honored when she first ran for offi

mr. speaker. >> i'm newt gingrich. carolina for being so hospitable. as a georgian, it feels good to being home in the south and look forward to this evening. >> congressman paul. >> thank you very much. it's great to be here tonight. i'm a congressman from texas. i've been elected for 12 times and also i practiced ob/gyn for a 30-year period. i served five years in the military and i'm the only u.s. veteran on this stage tonight. >> you met the candidates. it's time to begin the debate, an event that has a dramatically different feel than just a few hours ago. this morning as senator santorum noted, we learned he, not governor romney won the iowa cauc caucuses. four podiums now because of governor perry's decision to start out. and there was a direct character attack on the speaker. your ex-wife gave an interview with abc news and this story has gone viral on the internet. she says you came to her in 1999, at a time when you were having an affair. she says you askedler, sir to enter into an open marriage. would you lo

mr. speaker, canadians are bracing themselves for the deepest round of cuts since paul martin. cuts to services canadians need like oes. this will hurt seniors for jobs and hurt our communities. when will the prime minister tell canadians the bad news? on his next trip to switzerland or somewhere else in the world? >> well, mr. speaker, of course this government received a mandate to gradually reduce our deficit to zero. well will do that while

mr. speaker? >> hi, mr. lly and my question is, i voted for president obama for the first time as a lifetime republican, voted for a democratic president. my question is, when the entire, well, appears the entire population of this country is sick of partisan gridlock, why would you use bipartisan cooperation as a weapon against your opponents when it seems counterproductive to making a real progress come across the aisle? [applause] >> well, actually what you just said. when i worked with president reagan, we had to get one third of the democrats in the house to vote for his program because tip o'neill was still speaker, so we developed a bipartisan approach to develop jobs and taxes and succeeded and got a third of the democrats. when i was speaker, we were faced with the fact that bill clinton was president. so, if i was going to get welfare reform signed into law, i had to find out a way to get bill clinton to sign if. i with as going to get the first tax cut in 16 years signed into law i had to find a wa

speaker. would yield to mr. levin to continue with further speakers on his side. mr. levin: thank you, the gentleman from washington. it's my pleasure now to yield to another distinguished gentleman from the state of washington, a member of our committee, distinguished member of our committee, mr. mcdermott. the speaker pro tempore: for how much time will the gentleman be recognized? mr. levin: three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i urge members to support h.r. 3801, which is the ultralight aircraft smuggling prevention act of 2012. this bill as you have heard will help prevent drug smuggling across our borders and it does it really in three ways. it amends the current law to give our prosecutors the authority to charge smugglers who fly ultralight aircraft in the same way as they charge smugglers who fly conventional aircraft. second, the bill adds both an attempt

mr. speaker. however important recycling is to our planet and making a difference, we are getting better at it, but the environmental agency told us at the end of 2010 that we only have eight years left. so this is awful. something needs to change, but this change can't happen as a thing over the uk, like lots of you have said, because it's not working, because there can't be one project that fits all. we have different size local authorities and different size people, so we need to go back to our local authorities and try to make the change there. but when you think about things with people dying and poverty campaign and people not having futures. thank you. [ applause ] >> this is far and away the most difficult thing, i'm afraid. we have reached the point at which we must conclude the debate, and i must call -- i know it's disappointing for people who have stood and tried. we've worked as hard as we can to accommodate as wide a variety of people as possible, but i now hope that you'll warmly wel

speaker. would yield to mr. levin to continue with further speakers on his side. mr.thank you, the gentleman from washington. it's my pleasure now to yield to another distinguished gentleman from the state of washington, a member of our committee, distinguished member of our committee, mr. mcdermott. the speaker pro tempore: for how much te will t gentleman be recognized? mr. levin: three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i urge members to support h.r. 3801, which is the ultralight aircraft smuggling prevention act of 2012. this bill as you have heard will help prevent drug smuggling across our borders and it does it really in three ways. it amends the current law to give our prosecutors the authority to charge smugglers who fly ultralight aircraft in the same way as they charge smugglers who fly conventional aircraft. second, the bill adds both an attet and a, quote,

mr. speaker posted his online an hour ago.hed out to your campaign and they said you would not release your returns. why? >> i haven't thought it through, but i would be embarrassed to put my financial statements against their income. i don't have a greatal income. now, i mean, it may come to that, but right now, i have no intention of doing that. with our financial state, i think you know more about me than i know about myself. that's how my wife found out two nights ago about what we were doing. we don't need -- i don't think people need that because nobody is challenging me because i have no conflicts of interesting, and i haven't even talked to obama yet, and i don't take thmake th of money. >> governor rumny, when will we see yours? >> when my taxes are complete for this year and i know if i'm a nominee, the president is going to want to insist that i show what my income is this last year. i'll release my returns in april and probably for the other years as well. every time the democrats are out there trying their best to

mr. speaker? >> hi mr. speaker. i am rebecca dau connolconnolly.y question is i voted for president obama the first time as a lifetime republican voting for a democratic president. my question is, when the entire -- appeared the entire population of this country is sick of gridlock why would you use bipartisan cooperation as a weapon against your opponents when it seems counter productive to making real progress come across the aisle? (applause) >> well, when i worked with president reagan we had to get one-third of the democrats in the house to vote for his program. hill was still speaker. we had a bipartisan approach of creating jobs and taxes. when i was speaker we were faced with the fact that bill clinton was president. so if i was going to get well they're reform signed into the law i had to find a way for bill clinton do sign it. if we were going to get four straight balanced budgets. i agree with you, you look at the total mess in washington you are not going to fix the country's problem just with speeches you have to find a way to get the

mr. speaker? and i want to thank the people of charleston for a very, very interesting and very useful evening. we have a real challenge. it is imperative that we defeat barack obama. this is, i believe, the most dangerous president of our lifetime. and if he is reelected after the disaster he has been, the level of radicalism of his second term will be truly frightening. but in addition to beating obama, we have to have a team victory in the senate and the house. and we have to have a principle victory. so the american people will send a signal that, in january of 2013, they want very dramatic, very deep change in washington. i believe the only way to create the momentum is to be able to overcome his billion dollar campaign with a series of debates which decisively convince the american people that a radical who is incompetent cannot be reelected. and i hope you will vote for me on saturday as the person who can do that. [ cheers and applause ] >> governor romney? >> i agree with a lot of what th

mr. speaker.you know today, there have been some assertions made that ronald reagan was not fondled of you, that the two of you had a bit of a some kind of strained relationship. how do you respond to that? >> brian, you liberal media scum. that's how i respond to it. how dare you! what an audacious lie. we hugged on many occasions. we shared many views. >> my wife and i were at dinner a few days, a an old college friend, mitch, mitch's date was a bengal tiger. i don't think there's anything wrong with that, as long as they don't get married. >> senator let me follow that up. you may be aware that los angeles mayor has signed a law requiring all male porn actors in l.a. to wear condoms while they are working. how do you feel about that? should -- is that government going too far or do you support this effort to put all male porn actors in body r. bags? >> i don't of course putting them in body bags, because that would be brian, a waste of body bags. [ laughter ] >> let me follow this up, too. [ la

mr. speaker? >> hi mr. speaker. i am rebecca dau connolconnolly. my question is i voted for president obama the first time as a lifetime republican voting for a democratic president. my question is, when the entire -- appeared the entire population of this country is sick of gridlock why would you use bipartisan cooperation as a weapon against your opponents when it seems counter productive to making real progress come across the aisle? (applause) >> well, when i worked with president reagan we had to get one-third of the democrats in the house to vote for his program. hill was still speaker. we had a bipartisan approach of creating jobs and taxes. when i was speaker we were faced with the fact that bill clinton was president. so if i was going to get well they're reform signed into the law i had to find a way for bill clinton do sign it. if we were going to get four straight balanced budgets. i agree with you, you look at the total mess in washington you are not going to fix the country's problem just with speeches you have to find a way to get th

mr. speaker, mr. don ripple and i share a common background in the sense i that he is a small business owner and i was a small business owner before i came to congress. and there is nothing, nothing like looking at a man or a woman when you hire them and bring them into your business and you put them to work. when you have sat in that position, you know when you look at that person, you aren't just benefiting that person, that person becomes part of your family as a small business owner and you are taking care of him or her, but you are also taking care of his family, his children by putting food on their table, by providing extra dollars for their children and their education. that is the american ideal, a dream. to go to work and take care of your families. i will bring to the record tonight a story of a local dry cleaning company. i could not believe it, mr. speaker. i went over to pick up the family dry cleaning and talked to rick and he said, tom, come back here. i want to show you something. and