mr. speaker. will the minister first of all acknowledge as a member of the second largest party of opposition, one is not the labour party? and will he indicate what of the reports are standing by its et on other atrocities in northern ireland? and will be demonstrated that if et must do more to reassure the majority community that republicans murdered protestants in northern ireland in cold blood? and if et report should demonstrate that in the publications findings. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this is been raced in on more than one occasion. i continue looking into evidence evidence. if the honorable gentleman, come and see me about her because he knows he will get a very welcome response. >> order. questions to the prime minister. mr. derek twigg. >> number one, mr. speaker,. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this morning i had meetings with ministerial of colleagues and others, and in addition to duties in the house i shall of further such meetings today. >> [inaudible] >> i quote the bedroom tax has h

mr. speaker. i rise today in support of chairman poe's resolution, condemning the february 9 rocket and mortar attacks in camp liberty in iraq and urge the united states to work with the united nations and refugees to relocate the members of the mujaheddin back to camp ashraf. they can be only be safe and secure at camp ashraf. the iraqi government placed them at camp liberty. mr. cotton: now they must return them to ashraf or return them abroad. i look forward when these refugees can return to iran, once the tyrannical regime has fallen. if president obama stood with brave iranian people in 2009 instead of the mullahs there, let us not make the mistake again. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida rise? >> thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. frankel: sunday, march 3, two days after

mr. speaker. mr. cohen: people sometimes ask why we can't find common ground, there's an area we should be able to find demon ground -- common ground on and we don't which is funding for the national institutes of health, which is going to be cut in sequestration by close to $1 billion. there was an amendment in the senate that tries to put funding back for the n.i.h. in the continuing resolution and it failed on a party line vote. republican says the reason they want to cut spending and voted the sequestration in is because we're putting a debt on the next yen ration. let me submit that the research done at the national institutes of health to find for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, alzheimer's, aids, post polio, cures, treatments will affect the jackson generation more than this -- the next generation more than this generation. the enemy is disease and we need to conquer it and keep our loved ones alive and keep ourselves alive and have better cures. we talk about infrastructure, the most important

mr. speaker, mr. speaker -- >> order. i know there are people that don't like it when the recession runs on. personally, it does not matter to me at all. a the longer it takes, the longer we'll be here. it is very simple. i do know the prime minister ha new tactic which is to ask meas questions in our exchange.s all i can say it is good the toa be in opposition, mr. speaker. >> they are looking forward tom facing them when they are inhe opposition. >> now, now, let me ask him -- he did not answer the question about the bedroom tax.an no isw talked earlier about the hardship fund.a let's go to the facts on theabou hardship fund. there is 25 million pounds, our cases, to help disabled people hit by the bedroom tax and thei hardship fund.dr 25 million people, specifically the disabled people, but how much did the own figures show he is taking from disabled people?' 306 million pounds. we admit that the vast majority of disaged people, who are hit6. by the bedroom tax, will get noh help from the hardship fund. >> the whole co

mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. first, i thank my friend from oklahoma for his improved pronounciation. i really appreciate that. i also appreciate the spirit of bipartisanship that he's displayed on a number of issues. most recently on the violence against women's act. i kind of wish that same spirit was brought to this bill today, the tanf bill, because it would pass overwhelmingly. just so there's no confusion what h.h.s. is trying to do, i'd like to ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a letter that the kathleen sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, sent to the honorable dave camp, chairman of the ways and means, explained how the administration views this flexibility, that they might at some point utilize, but basically it is not to weaken the work requirement. it is to support states that have better

mr. speaker. -- mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. the ryan budget, words of the great republican president, the republicans like to remember, there they go again. the same budget. it's catering to the wealthy. it's cutting the middle class. it's reducing the top tax breaks to 25% which will give the wealthiest $200,000 a piece in tax breaks. it continues the sequestration, a stupid meat ax approach to our budget that cuts $1.6 billion from the national institute of health. anybody there, out there, mr. speaker, have cancer? heart disease? thinking about some relatives that might have alzheimer's? aids? diabetes? cures and treatments come from the national institute of health and you're not going to get them if they cut $1.8 billion out of it. and that savings, those cures, and that treatment, the cures and treatment will benefit the next generation more than this generation, and that's what we should be doing is investing there, and this foolish meat ax approach is to be continued with the ryan budget and cost us lives, stop us from

mr. speaker. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. gabbard: i am pleased to welcome a guest from hawaii. i was contacted by a constituent who wanted to set up a capitol tour of her 80-year-old mother. she wants to see the work of her great, great grandfather. he was best known for the murals painted in the capitol including the "apotheosis of washington" and others. this friday, mary lou and her mother will receive a unique tour with the architect of the capitol to highlight the paintings and to bring mary lou closer to her very talented great, great grandfather. happy 0th birthday mary lou. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> to address he house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> the bill before us is a jo

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to call for continued reforms to our health care system. the affordable care act was a huge step in the right direction, but we can do more, because the path we're on is unsustainable. the u.s. spends approximately 18% of its g.d.p. on health, close to twice as much as other developed nations and yet we don't have better health care outcomes. health care costs are rising faster than inflation and wages, meaning they are eating a larger portion of americans' paychecks and the government's budget. if we continue on our current path, the medicare trust fund will be insolvent by 2024. and medicare and medicaid will grow from 24% of the federal budget to almost 30%, crowding out other needed investments. we have to reduce health care costs in both the private sector and public sector in order to ensure america remains competitive in a global market, but there is a right way to reform our health care system and there is a wrong way. with all due respect, mr. ryan's path

mr. speaker. my democratic colleagues and i have spoken at length today about the dangerous shortcomings of the budget proposal of mr. ryan. fortunately representative chris van hollen, the ranking member of the budget committee, has an alternative proposal that significantly reduces the nation's deficit while creating jobs and protecting programs like medicaid and medicare. and unlike the majority's proposal, mr. ven's budget -- van hollen's budget repeals the sequester which is estimated to cost the nation 750,000 jobs this year. mr. van hollen has repeatedly tried to avert the sequester. he's come to the rules committee numerous times with proposals to replace the sequester with responsible budget cuts. and has been repeatedly denied the opportunity to have an up or down vote on the house floor. by voting for mr. van hollen's budget, every member of this chamber can vote to do away with the sequester. on behalf of the thousands of americans facing pay cuts, furloughs, and job losses, i urge my c

mr. speaker. my right honorable friend, mr. speaker, is quite right when he says that syria is being shielded by some countries in the united nations, not least, of course, we know that russia had the opportunity to bring about some sanctions early on in the united nations security council. could i ask my right honorable friend to start talking to his counterparts in the european union and, indeed, in the united states to actually try and say to the russians if you don't want to take part of this, you get on the ground, you do this. and if the russians refuse to take that course of action, are willing to stand by and let tens of thousands of people to be slaughtererred, then we should work with our european partners and the u.s. and say we're not going to come to your country to showcase your country in the world cup in 2016. 2020, sorry. >> right. my honorable friend, we must put every, use every art of persuasion we know in our talks with our colleagues in russia. and i can assure him that we do that. the shadow foreign secret

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, in closing, law enforcement all over the country every day go to work to protect us -- protect our neighborhoods, our communities always knowing they may not return home that night. i think this is very fitting that we honor the men and women who keep this country and our communities safe. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass and agree to house concurrent resolution 18. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. nolan: mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed.

mr. speaker. mr. fortenberry: mr. speaker, earlier this month i was back home in linchingon and wept to one of the local diners and saw my friend norman norm asked me a question. he said, jeff, what are they doing about that word, that word they keep using in washington? norm was referring to sequestration which took effect march 1, which is the term for automatic spending reductions to the federal budget. these will be $85 billion in the first half with half applied to military programs and half applied basically to everything else the government does with the exception of retirement, health care and other income-support programs. mr. speaker, i think it might help everyone if we had a little bit of history to clarify how we got to this moment. a year and a half ago, there were negotiations in washington over what we call the debt ceiling. the debt ceiling must be lifted by us in congress if the federal government cannot pay its bills and we must borrow more to give that authority to the administration. that negotiati

mr. speaker, that -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. stockman: thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from maryland seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. edwards: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in recognition of march as women's history month and to commemorate the legacy of gentleman net rankins, the first elected woman to serve in the house of representatives on this day, march 4, 1917. janette furthered women's right, ensuring women's suffer raj and protecting the poor. she bradge her career as a community organizing, working in low income neighborhoods in san francisco, new york and washington state and she witnessed the troubles of women and single mothers living in these communities. ji net became a strong -- janette became a strong national advocate for giving women a voice through the right to vote. she was elected to congress when women still did not have the right to vote. the 19th amendment only passed

mr. speaker. speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman -- >> pursuant to clause one of rule one, i demand a -- rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. the gentleman from texas. mr. olson: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from arkansas, mr. womack. mr. womack: join me in the pledge. 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 pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a commu

mr. speaker -- mr. chairman. i'm going to urge our colleagues to vote against this republican budget for a variety of reasons. first of all, this is an uncompromising ideological approach to our budget issues. we've just been through a major national campaign. where both presidential candidates, president obama, governor romney, agreed on one thing and that was that the people of this country faced a fundamental choice in the direction we were going to take. and the american people voted and they resoundedly rejected the approach that is now taken once again for the third year in a row in this republican budget. this budget, as we've heard over the last couple days, fails on a number of counts. number one, it adopts the european style austerity approach that we've seen slow down economies in many parts of europe. we should instead be focusing on job growth and putting people back to work rather than a budget like this budget which will result in 750,000 fewer americans working by the end of this year. that's acco

mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. and i would say, mr. speaker, as the gentleman knows, the house has acted twice to offer alternatives to what we agree with is a very wrong way to go about cuts. which is the sequestration measure. but unfortunately both times the senate rejected or refused to take up the alternatives. i'm aware the other body is anticipating at least -- anticipating to at least attempt to vote on an alternative, both of which are protected to fail in the state in -- predicted to fail in the senate. so i'd say to the gentleman, mr. speaker, that he's right in saying that our intent is to try and provide the flexibility for the defense department in terms of its appropriations, as well as the milcon bill. and we do so because there's bipartisan agreement around those two bills. and i would say to the gentleman, if bipartisan agreement somehow is reached in other bills, i would say to the gentleman, we certainly would like to be able to take a look at that. but i beli

mr. speaker. this morning i had meetings with other others i i will have further such meetings later today. >> will the prime minister agree that it is unacceptable for members or respective members of this house to say anything to support terrorism? >> i agree with what my honorable friend has said. frankly, it is staggering someone is standing for public office that says in october 1984 when the brighten bomb went off i felt a surge of excitement at margaret thatcher's demise and a disappointment that chose chance were missed. those are a complete disgrace. mr. speaker, three years at the prime minister had this to say. first priority of any government has to keep the credit rating. that has to come first. it's the only responsible thing to do. how is that going? \[laughter] isn't it amazing that the opposition won't condemn someone that speaks up for troasts? it is disgraceful. he will have a second chance when he gets up again. the decision of the agency is a reminder of the debt problem that

mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to address their comments to the chair and not to other members of the house. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: witho objection. mr. hoyer: i agree with the gentlelady who has just spoken. i want to say to my friend, mr. mckeon, this is neither regular order nor rational policy. it ought to be rejected. this c.r. does nothing to address the irrational cuts to dense and nondefense that the sequester will require. it could be very harmful to our economy and to our national security and place the most vulnerable in america at great risk. we should not allow, my colleagues, our government to shut down. but we cannot do business this way. lurching from one manufactured crisis to the next. when we make agreements, we ought to stick to them. and the agreement was, as the chairman has tried to put forward, and i want to congratulate him for that, that we woul

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this morning i had meetings with minister colleagues and others and in addition to my duties in this house i shall o have further suh meetings later today. >> does the transfer every with me that today we need a blue-collar conservative project which has taxes are people who work hard, do the right thing and want to get on? stop spending billions of pounds we don't have on overseas aid where we saw -- helping with their cost of living -- [inaudible] >> first of all, can i thank the honorable frien thing for givine the opportunity to remind people that even before this budget in two weeks time there will be a tax cut for 24 million people in our country? [shouting] as we raise the amount of money you can earn before you pay tax come we will take an over too many people out the tax altogether. we have frozen the council tax. we have canceled fuel duty increase after fuel duty increase, and we are legislating -- and i can also tell him where not going to carry on with a proposal

mr. speaker, mr. ryan's budget would cost millions of people to lose access to health care and tens of millions more to lose their jobs. my question is simple, why? i have been here 802 days and we have not considered a serious jobs bill yet. there are approximately 12 million people unemployed. it's unemployment not debt that's at emergency levels when people lose their jobs they lose their dignity, they lose their health care, and eventually lose their home. shame, shame, shame. there is only one responsible way to reduce the deficit, get everyone trained, get everyone working, and get everyone contributing to the tax base. people are hurting. people are suffering. they want an opportunity. mr. speaker, our mantra should be jobs, jobs, jobs. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the rise?man from wowed, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in opposition to the republican budget proposal t

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this morning i had meetings with minister colleagues and others and in addition to my duties in this house i shall o have further suh meetings later today. >> does the transfer every with me that today we need a blue-collar conservative project which has taxes are people who work hard, do the right thing and want to get on? stop spending billions of pounds we don't have on overseas aid where we saw -- helping with their cost of living -- [inaudible] >> first of all, can i thank the honorable frien thing for givine the opportunity to remind people that even before this budget in two weeks time there will be a tax cut for 24 million people in our country? [shouting] as we raise the amount of money you can earn before you pay tax come we will take an over too many people out the tax altogether. we have frozen the council tax. we have canceled fuel duty increase after fuel duty increase, and we are legislating -- and i can also tell him where not going to carry on with a proposal

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, -- [shouting] may be he's even got a support from a large part of its cabinet. and just a week from the budget, the home secretary goes out making speeches about the economy. i think the part-time chancellor should talk to him about the budget. and then she gets told off by the children secretary who is hiding down there for jockeying for position. isn't the truth it's not just the country that has lost confidence in the chancellor and his economic plan, it's the whole cabinet? >> the weakness in his argument is that my party has yet in the support for his leadership. as long as he keeps, as long as he keeps the shadow chancellor. but i have to say -- >> order. it is courteous for members to -- let's hear his answer. >> we are again is the argo welfare? he's got no argument on welfare. where is he argued at the deficit? he has nothing to say about the deficit. we are his plans for getting the economy moving? he's got nothing to say. that is what is happening under his leadersh

mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 890, preserving the welfare work requirement and tanif extension act of 2013. in july of last year the obama administration's department of health and human services issued an information memorandum saying they would accept and approve applications from states seeking to waive the requirement that 50% of their welfare case load be engaged in preparing for work. this work requirement was a critical part of the 1996 welfare reforms that created the current temporary assistance for needy families or tanif cash welfare program. those reforms also led to more more earnings, less welfare dependence and less poverty among families headed by low-income single mothers. yet without any thought of consulting congress as is required by the law, the administration sought fit to unilaterally waive the work requirements and risk the progress that has been made in the last 16 years. and that's why we're considering this legislation on the floor today. simply put, this b

mr. speaker. i yield back to the gentlelady. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: thank you. i'd like to inquire of the gentlelady of the -- of north carolina if she has further speakers. ms. foxx: yes, we do. mr. polis: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman are serves. the gentlewoman from north carolina. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. imy colleagues across the aisle have continued to malign what they call a political process. regular order, mr. speaker is not political process. the skill act has been -- the skills act has been posted online for near lay month, the higher education work force training subcommittee held a legislative hearing on this bill on february 26, and a full committee markup last thursday. unfortunately, the democrats opposed the open, transparent process of markup and instead requested that members of the committee hold closed door negotiations. during the markup, the democrats ultimately walked out and refused even that offer amendments. this is not what the american people asked for in the 2012 e

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: i rise today in strong support of h.r. 749, the eliminate privacy notice confusion act. businesses in missouri are drowning in a sea of red tape and the never-ending regulatory onslaught that threatens financial institution's ability to lend to consumers. one banker testified before the financial services committee last year said that as a senior executive, he currently spends 80% of his time working on compliance-related issues compared to 20% as little as three years ago. as he said in that hearing, every dollar spent on compliance is a dollar less that we have to lend and invest in the community we serve. every hour i spend on compliance is an hour i could be spending with customers and potential customers acquiring new deposits and making new loans. in the financial services committee we have heard from countless bankers and credit unions that the costs associa

mr. speaker.prime minister will i am should be aware of the strong contributions the british ecomy be made by the inbound tourism industry in this country. does he therefore share my concern as expressed by the torrents alliance changes to the does are likely to this press the number of visitors coming particularly from brazil? what we did to ensure the border agency does not become a gross suppressant to the uk? >> i'm happy to say to my friend of the national security council met recently to consider some of these border issues. and has decided not to put the pieces onto brazilian national. we wt to wecome the brazilians to make sure we enhance border security. but actually in defense of the home office, the time spent in terms of processing visas has been great improvement there, and we're looking at a number of steps to make sure we attract tourists from the fastest-growing markets, including china and elsewhere. >> thank you, mr. speaker. does the pre minister except that families face a trip

mr. speaker, mr. chairman, excuse me, i'd like to yield one minute to the distinguished senior member of the budget committee, mr. mcclintock from california. the chair: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. mcclintock: thank you and i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. chairman, mr. van hollen recently pointed out the democrats and republicans both want to get rid of a range of tax loopholes but democrats want to spend that money and republicans want to lower the overall burden. that difference is very important. we have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world. that's the principle reason why we're losing american jobs to nations with much lower taxes. economist arthur lasters warned there's nothing more portable in this world than money. this policy might fit the left's eat-the-rich crusade but the jobs it destroys are eating our middle class alive. we are sacrificing permanent upwardly mobile, productive private sector jobs for makeshift subsidized on

mr. speaker. businessorning, i had with ministerial colleagues and others and i shall have further such meetings later today. time minister the believes there is an alternative to his double debt and his loss of a aaa credit rating. is he aware that some in his cabinet believe there is an alternative for him? >> what this government is delivering is a million private sector jobs, the fastest rate of job creation in this country's history and banged on the debt by 25%. we have cut immigration by a third. we have a long road to travel, but we are going in the right direction. i'm sure that the prime minister will wish to add his condolences to the family and friends of christina at ken's who was murdered on a path to school in my constituency last thursday morning. the government is right to introduce minimum custodial substances for people convicted of threatening someone with a knife. but with the premise or agree with me that it is time to introduce a legal assumption that people carrying a knife

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 338, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: cigarette trafficking is a very lucrative crime, both here in the united states and abroad. it is estimated that illicit cigarettes account for over 10% of the more than 5.7 trillion cigarettes sold globally each year. here in the united states approximately four billion of the cigarettes sold each year are illicit. cigarette smuggling is generally carried out by large criminal organizations that take advantage of the significant disparity between the taxes levied on cigarettes across the states. these differences create a highly lucrative job by purchasing cigarettes in one locality and transporting themming to ano

mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to suspend the rules and address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. today the federal government spends $18 billion a year to operate more than 50 often duplicative work force education programs. even with that significant investment, roughly 20 million americans remain unor underemployed. businesses, too, are also struggling. struggling to find workers with the right technical skill set to fill vacant jobs on payroll. why the mismatch? why aren't work force education programs efficiently preparing capable job seekers for these careers? job seekers and ployers alike would be better served by more responsive, individualized, and modern work force development strategy. with my colleagues on the education and work force committee, i have introduced h

mr. speaker, mr. speaker, -- [shouting] may be he's even got a support from a large part of its cabinet. and just a week from the budget, the home secretary goes out making speeches about the economy. i think the part-time chancellor should talk to him about the budget. and then she gets told off by the children secretary who is hiding down there for jockeying for position. isn't the truth it's not just the country that has lost confidence in the chancellor and his economic plan, it's the whole cabinet? >> the weakness in his argument is that my party has yet in the support for his leadership. as long as he keeps, as long as he keeps the shadow chancellor. but i have to say -- >> order. it is courteous for members to -- let's hear his answer. >> we are again is the argo welfare? he's got no argument on welfare. where is he argued at the deficit? he has nothing to say about the deficit. we are his plans for getting the economy moving? he's got nothing to say. that is what is happening under his leadersh

mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the -- mr. lujan: lew mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this plan. this plan abandons the economic recovery, it is a path to greater disparity and it protects the affluent while further squeezing the middle class. grishgrish this will cost us -- grich grich this will cost us $2 million jobs in 2014. this is on top of the 750,000 jobs we will lose this year due to sequestration. the republican budget attacks the various industries where the largest job growth should be occurring. ms. lujan grisham: we need to invest in critical infrastructure like the health care system as a key way to create jobs here at home and protect our most vulnerable. according to a 2012 bureau of labor statistics study, the health sector is going to be the leader in job growth throughout the rest of this decade. unfortunately the path once again chosen by republicans in this congress will put job growth in jeopardy. the center on budget and policy priorities estimates that the budget plan under consideration cuts $2.5 trillion from h

mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to address their comments to the chair and not to other members of the house. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: i agree with the gentlelady who has jt spoken. i want to say to my friend, mr. mckeon, this is neither regula order nor rational policy. it ought to be rejected. this c.r. does nothing address the irrational cuts to defense and nondefense that the sequester will require. it could be very harmful to our economy and to our national serity and place the most vulnerable in america at great risk. we should not allow, my colleagues, our government to shut down. but we cannot do business this way. lurching from one manufactured crisis to the next. when we make agreements, we ought to stick to them. and the agreement was, as the chairman has tried to put forward,nd i want to congratulate him for that, that we would spen

mr. quigley, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. mr. quigley: thank you, madam speaker. well, if this is for all, and this is for everybody, why attempt to strip out essential protections for immigrants, tribal and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims? do they not feel the same pain? once again, we have to stand up and vote for equal protections for all victims. the senate seems to get what this had body does not. we are all in this together. these victims are not nameless, faceless members of some group of others. they are our friends, our neighbors, our family members. we are a nation built on justice, fairness and equal protection. we are all stronger when we uphold these ideals and protect the most vulnerable among us. the senate-passed vawa embodies these principles and protects all victims. we should pass it today. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from california reserves, and the gent

mr. speaker. my right honorable friend, mr. speaker, is quite right to say so you can count on being shielded by some countries at the united nations. not least and we know that russia had the opportunity to bring about some sanctions early on the united nations security council. could ask my right honorable friend to start talking to his counterparts in the european union, and, indeed, in the united states as we try to say to the russians, if you don't want to take part in this, if you get on the ground, and if they refer the russians refuse to take the cause of action i would want to stand by and let tens of thousands of people be slaughtered, and we should work with our european partners and south american countries and say we're not going to come to your country to showcase your country in the world cup in 2016. >> 2020. >> right. i'll say to my honorable friend, we must put, use every art of persuasion we know in our talks with our colleagues in russia and i assured him we do that. the shadow foreign secretary argued earlie

as to deputy speaker -- mr. today is also -- the 10th anniversary of the start of the iraq war, and the awarding of a posture mr. tory across to lance corporal james ashworth this week or minds of the curry agenda sacrifice that all who serve in our armed forces are still making to defend our country. fromll exempt our military changes to progression pay. we are also accepting in full from first may this year the armed forces pay review body's recommended increase to the so- called ex-factor payment made to military personnel to recognize the particular sacrifices they make. i can also announced that further awards from the libor banking finds have gone to good military causes, with money for combat stress to help veterans with mental health issues and funds for christmas box was for all our troops on operation this year and next. those who have paid fines and our financial sector because they demonstrated the very worst values are paying to support of those in our armed forces who demonstrate very best of briti

mr. speaker. that's who we are. at our core we are not big orpgses, we are individual mom and pop operations who go out and risk it all because they have a good idea that they think through the sweat of their brow, their hard work, they'll be able to succeed. the department of labor keeps statistics on that. sure, we are a entrepreneurial country. department of labor's tracking entrepreneurs. as the president was implementing his spending agenda, that agenda that took us from record high deficits of the bush administration, to record deficits three times higher in the obama administration. the number of new establishments, entrepreneurial activity, for the year-ending march 2010 --march, 2010, was lower than any other year since the series began. since they began keeping record, mr. speaker. in 2010 under this administration's stimulus policies, entrepreneurial activity was at the lowest level in america since we began keeping records. i don't mean at the lowest level of people succeeding. i mean

mr. speaker. stoip does the gentleman have unanimous consent request? mr. hoyer: i have unanimous consent that i might now ask for a vote on the journal. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. her: thank you, mr. speaker. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 i demand a vote on the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. journal stands approved. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, on that i ask the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will please rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , further proceedings on uestion are postponed. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina rise? ms. fo

>> mr speaker- >> order.i know that there are people who do not like it if question time runs over. personally, it does not matter to me at all. the more noise and disruption there is, the longer it will take and the longer we will be here. it is very simple. >> i notice that the prime minister has a new tactic, which is to ask me questions during our exchanges. all i can say is that it is good to see him preparing for opposition. the home secretary shakes her head. i am looking forward to facing her when they are in opposition. let me ask the prime minister another question, because he did not answer the one about the bedroom tax. he talked earlier about the hardship fund. let us look at the facts about the fund. some £25 million of it has been allocated specifically to help disabled people hit by the bedroom tax, but how much do his own figures show he is taking from disabled people? the answer is £306 million. will he admit that the vast majority of disabled people hit by his bedroom tax will get no help f

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the house will be in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. members will take your conversations off the floor please. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. members will please take their conversations off the floor. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute peeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania ise? mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cartwright: i introduce the national fab lab network of 2013. i introduce this bill because america needs a well-trained work force for advanced manufacturing. when i go home, people ask me, where are the jobs? but when i talk to anufacturing groups -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the house will come to order

mr. [speaker not understood]. next speaker. >> correspond i lam followed by [speaker not understood] and mark gruberg. >> hello. >>> good afternoon, directors. i've spoken previously and other meetingsing, i was a ramp taxi driver. i do work at night, so, the majority of my rides are usually not folks in wheelchairs. they're people who are out drinking and whatnot. my concern with the ramp program has to do with people using the medallion just to go to the airport and take what doesn't fit in a prius or an escape. i've had that concern for sometime now. i've addressed that with sfo people on how to handle that. what's happening is now that we have the 8,000 series and these other vehicles that are being added and i believe you're probably going to see another spike in hybrid medallions, but you do need incentivized drivers who don't have a medallion down the road for them to still service that very important community. i've given a suggestion previously, and i'm going to bring it again to you. you need to work with

mr. speaker? and you can look up the fair and the definition in black's law and you'll find a whole series of definitions for fair. i say only time you should use the word fair when you're talking about law is when you're talking about the state fair or the county fair or the world fair because otherwise when you use the word fair to talk about justice and equity, you finally come to this point that everybodiess -- everybody's got a different view on what the word fair means. and everyone that raises more than two children know there is no thing as fair. if you apply the same rule to the other child, there will be a reason why the first one should be exempted. we can never agree on the word that's fair. we don't agree on what a fair wage is. that's why supply and demand needs to establish the wage, not somebody's idea of fairness. and the statement about a living wage. a living wage. well, a living wage for someone in new york city is different than a living wage for someone that lives, let's say,

mr. speaker. i rise today to discuss house budget committee chairman ryan's fiscal year 2014 budget and democratic alternatives that work. i first want to thank my colleague, mr. horsford and mr. jeffries, both members of my class, for leading the congressional black caucuses' discussion on this drit call matter. and i thank congressman bobby scott on the congressional black caucus budget. released last week, congressman ryan's proposal entitled "a path to prosperity" includes more of the same proposals that the american public rejected at the ballot last november. same proposal, different cover. i cannot possibly imagine how this regressive tax structure that it contains is a way to lead to shared american prosperity. i also cannot imagine how this budget will balance in 10 years and not hurt medicare beneficiaries over the age of 65. as it has been in the past, republican ryan's budget offers trickle-down agenda, the same agenda tried during george bush's presidency, which resulted in the widther

mr. speaker, members of the house and senate, distinguished guests. thank you, mr. making this day possible. [applause] one distinguished guest who is not with us or maybe has come late to john lewis. we are on the steps of the supreme court earlier this morning. mr. clybourn stated until this start of the program -- the start of the program. it is an honor to sit in the congress of the united states to -- john lewis. [applause] and it is a joy to be here to honor rosa parks. when rosa parks was a little baby, her mother sang her the hymn "o freedom, let it ring." she heard that song in church. it would become the anthem and mission of her life. rosa parks would say i would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free and wanted other people to be free. rosa parks is being remembered with this statue in the capital, but this is not the first time her greatness has been recognized here. she has many connections to congress. she is no stranger to these halls. she was recognized with a congressional gold mumble -- gold-medal and strapped with the title "moth

mr. choden. >>> [speaker not understood], i'm with san francisco tomorrow. this is a proposal of good intent. i raise the question, if i may have your attention, mr. wiener. i raise the question of imposing limited equity on established value, and it needs to be examined from the legal point of view as a public taking of equity. with that, i leave that with you. i think further steps need to be taken. do you have any questions? ~ as to my intent? >> is there any additional public comment by any member of the public? yes, sir. two minutes. >>> my name is jose morales and what is happening here is unbelievable because we are not going forward, we're going backwards. we have to protect the poor, the senior, disabled, low-income . [speaker not understood] who you protect? it would be the poor. and the rich have their own, but limited. now, there's no -- this goes straight to the point, no [speaker not understood]. we want real homes. no more conversion of apartments, especially the two to four rental unit buildings into condos. repeal the ellis act now. how many