mr. speaker. i want my colleagues to understand one thing. the amendment that we are talking about is germane. i spent a great deal of time working with the parliamentarian to make sure that the concerns that the republican majority had about the germaneness of this amendment were addressed. it is a germane amendment. there is absolutely no reason at all for this not to be on the floor. let me just say that it doesn't take any courage to praise the troops and then hide from a vote. it's an act of cowardess, quite frankly. the fact we are debating a defense department authorization bill, we're at war and we are not -- and we're not allowed to be able to consider an amendment about what our policies should be in afghanistan. i mean, what do you tell the troops? what do you tell their families? this war's on autopilot and we'll just let it go? i mean, we have a responsibility. this chamber voted to send young men and women into harm's way. we have a responsibility and we're not living up to it. and th

mr. speaker. mr. mitchum would like to be a policeman buddies only working part-time and can't afford the thousand pound bobby taxing each day to apply to join the met. his mom and dad are foster cares and they would like to give it to him if they had. is -- if my constituent is people of passing the fitness and test requirements of the police why should his bank balance stop him? went to become a metropolitan police officer become an aspiration for the few rather than the many? >> the honorable lady is as questions about what she calls a bobby taxing let me make three points. it is not a tax. secondly, it is not a barrier to recruitment and thirdly recruitment is taking place in the metropolitan police. that is what's happening. we are seeing people being recruited. as is happening members who want to join the metropolitan police are able to get assistance with this qualification that they now require. >> mr. speaker, last week -- [inaudible] here in your apartment last night young scholars painted t

mr. speaker, i rise -- mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this. i urge my members to vote against it. i don't know if they will but i urge them to do so. all of us in this body need to be for accountability. none of us in this body, however, ought to be returning a civil service system into a patronage system. none of us ought to be for turning a civil service system, one of the best in the world, if not the best, into a system hich allows for no reason that needs to be articulated to turn senior executives into at-will employees. i'm disappointed that this bill has been brought to the floor with little notice and no markup in committee. we talk about considered judgment. we talk about thoughtfulness. we talk about reading the bills. and then we bring them to the floor without hearings. we must ensure that those who serve our veterans in the v.a. systems do so with accountability and oversight, all of us, are outraged at the allegations that have been made. not one of us should step back and say we should not respond vigorously to the offenses tha

mr. speaker. i would think it's more objective for us to dial that number back down to somewhere in the neighborhood of about half of that. so half of 11,000, 5.5,000 a night. 5,500 a night is pretty close to the last reliable information i have found on how many are coming across our border illegally. well, so i ask this question, what was the size of santa ana's army? about that, about 5,500 or 6,000. so it gives you a sense the size of santa ana's army coming across our southern border every night on average. i don't say day and night. most is at night. i have sat down on the border at night multiple times. i have traveled on the border and done multiple trips to monitor what's going on. it's gotten a little better in arizona. it's gotten worse in texas. we don't have control of this border, but that doesn't trouble most democrats because they recognize that the millions of people that are coming into this country illegally are counted in the census. and -- if you would go to a district in calif

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, the eason why judicial watch received the information they did in an unredacted basis is because there are criminal penalties associated with that act. those criminal penalties do not exist in the congressional inquiry. the administration is simply taking advantage of that and they know that. and so do all members of congress. this administration was playing games. they're taking advantage of the structure which has been established in the relationship of trying to have the three co-exist.f government . that's where the speaker said enough is enough. when we recognize that the documents we're getting which are heavily redacted did not could he inside or agree -- coincide or agree with because they asked for it under foia, which has criminal penalties associated with it which meant that those lawyers knew exactly what they were doing and could be held to that criminal penalty point. but in providing them to co

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed h.r. 3627, an act cited as the child protection act of 2013. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from alabama, ms. sewell, for five minutes. ms. sewell: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to pay tribute to the life and legacy of veteran newscaster norman lumkin who passed away on tuesday, may 6. while we mourn the passing of this pioneer, i am comforting knowing that his legacy will live on through the barriers he broke for black journalists in the state of alabama. i join with his family, friends and former colleagues in emembering norman lumkin for his enormous contributions to the industry. he launched his long-standing media career by working for radio stations in montgomery, alabama, indianapolis, indiana. he was hired in 1969 by wsfa in montgomery, alabama. he was the station's first black reporter and also the firs

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 3366 would release the bureau of land management's reversionary interests in 2980 acres that were conveyed to the state of oregon in 1954 for the establishment of the herm ison agricultural research and extension center of oregon state university in harmson, oregon. it would reunite that land with orfphan parcel that the bureau of land management has no use for. the federal government conveyed the 290 acres affected by this legislation to the state of oregon. however, the federal government retained a reversionary interest in the property which now denies o.s.u. and the city of hermiston the control and flexibility needed to officially manage the property to advance new agriculture research programs. as hermiston continues to grow around this area, lifting the reversionary interest will advance the goals of oregon state university, benefit the local economy and create job opportunities to meet the demands of the expanding region. adjacent to the 290 acres is a six-acre pa

mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to captain thomas clarke of the army air corps, flight lieutenant rakesh chauhan of joint helicopter command, acting warned officer class do spencer faulkner, corporal james walters of the army air corps, and lance corporal oliver thomas of the intelligence corps, reservist who also worked as a research assistant. these tragic deaths remind us of the continued commitment and sacrifice of our armed forces, and i know that our deepest concerns are with the families that is very, very difficult time. i'm sure the whole house will also want to join me in paying tribute to and mcgwire who was stabbed to death in her classroom on monday. it is clear from the tributes paid she was a much loved teacher that work to school for over 40 years. she gets so much about her pupils, should come in on her day off to help prepare them for exams. our thoughts are with her family, her friends in the entire school community who have b

mr. speaker, i rise -- mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this. i urge my members to vote against it. i don't know if they will but i urge them to do so. all of us in this body need to be for accountability. none of us in this body, however, ought to be returning a civil service system into a patronage system. none of us ought to be for turning a civil service system, one of the best in the world, if not the best, into a system hich allows for no reason that needs to be articulated to turn senior executives into at-will employees. i'm disappointed that this bill has been brought to the floor with little notice and no markup in committee. we talk about considered judgment. we talk about thoughtfulness. we talk about reading the bills. and then we bring them to the floor without hearings. we must ensure that those who serve our veterans in the v.a. systems do so with accountability and oversight, all of us, are outraged at the allegations that have been made. not one of us should step back and say we should not respond vigorously to the offenses tha

mr. speaker. i want to thank ranking member miller for allowing me to speak in support of this bipartisan legislation. friend, thank my good mr. rokita for his great leadership on behalf of our students in the educational system. it's been a pleasure working with you shir. i rise today in strong support of h.r. 4366, the strengthening education through research act. now i firmly believe that in order to successfully prepare our students for the work forest, our nation's educators must be able to identify and have access to successful and proven techniques. in 202, i proudly supported the passage of the education science reform act which, among other thin things, ensured that education research be conducted free of political bias and focus on improving student achievement. last year, the government accountability office released a report highlighting the successes of the law but also detailed several areas that could be improved to better outcomes for our students. today, along with mr. rokita, we h

mr. speaker. put another way, phoenix h.c.s. met 16% of its wait time goal, and those folks still receive bonuses for that action. the folks that do the work got a bonus for meeting 16% of their goal. when people say to you as a representative, there are things wrong with the federal government, mr. speaker, this is what's wrong with the federal government. even after cooking the books, the stated goal of an average 14-day wait time was not met. even after that. now, i was proud to fote for chairman miller's v.a. accountability act last week, but it's a shame -- proud to vote for chairman miller's v.a. accountability act last week, but it's a shame. it's a shame. you're the secretary. you find somebody that's done something wrong and in these cases potentially criminal and you can't fire them? what's going on here? now, this is not a new circumstance. we've actually known about it for years. republicans -- i've been here for a year and a half. i imagine democrats and republicans have been complaini

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, pastor charlie martin has preached the gospel for 45 years. charlie martin attended trinh dity college of florida and continues to serve as vice president -- trinity college of florida and continues to serve as vice president of that institution. after college he began working with youth in his home church in arkansas. in 1971, he was called to pastor first baptist church of indian rocks in largow, florida. the lord blessed the 37 years he spent there with the church growing from fewer than 100 to over 6,000 members under his care. largow is also where pastor martin met stephanie, his wife of 38 years. together they raised five children, shannon, christian, summer, and colt. all five children are grown and happily married and the martins delight in their 16 grandchildren. for the past seven years, pastor martin has led the good people of bethel baptist church in north carolina. we are blessed to have this man of god living and working in our community in the mountains of north

mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this morning i had meetings with colleagues and others and in addition to my duties, i shall have further such meetings later today. >> u.k. has 104 billionaires. london has 72 billionaires, top city in the world. is the prime minister concerned? that most of our people are getting filthy rich? >> what is worth while is the massive fall in unemployment and increasing employment that we have seen across our country. in terms of wales today, unemployment has fallen by 5,000 and fallen by 25,000 since the last election. that means in wales, 59,000 more people in work. in terms of making sure that the richest in our country pay their taxes, actually we see the richest 1% paying a greater percentage of income tax than ever they did under labour. what we are seeing is a broad-based recovery and i want to make sure everyone in our country can benefit and we are cutting people's taxes and allowing people to keep the first 10,000 pounds that they earn before they pay income tax. >> mr. speaker

mr. speaker. this bill had and continues to have strong bipartisan support. one of the co-sponsors on the bill is our ranking member on the african subcommittee, ms. bass of california and i yield her such time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for such time as she may consume. ms. bass: i rise in strong support of h.r. 2548, the electrify africa act of 2014, a bill that directs the president to expand electrify case in subsahara after chasm i would like to thank my good -- sub-sahara africa. i would like to thank chairman royce and my colleagues for all the work they've done on this bill. h.r. 2548 directs the president to establish a multiyear trategy to assist countries in sub-saharan africa to develop power solutions to provide lectricity to -- electricity to people in rural areas. with greater access to electricity, africa has the capacity to grow its economies and grow trade. greater access to electricity also enables africa to expand human capacity and

mr. speaker. mr. chairman, i rise today to commend your efforts along with those of the judiciary committee in bringing this legislation to the floor of the house. as you and i have met and discussed on fume russ occasions along with my good friend from indiana, mr. stutzman, this issue is important to not only many of my constituents back in western new york but also to our country. provisions in this bill such as the reforms made to bulk data collection and enhanced declassification requirements are specific ideas that were shared with me by constituents in western new york and brought to here in washington, d.c. as you know i'm happy to report through our work with you these provisions were incorporated into this legislation. mr. chairman, as this bill moves forward, i hope i have your commitment to continue to work together to assure that a balance between national security and the protection of our personal freedoms is achieved. thank you again and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentl

mr. conway. the speaker pro tempore: the -- mr. connolly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. connolly: i thank my friend. i think if the founders were here today and had witnessed the proceed thonings government and oversight reform committee with respect to ms. lois lerner, they would have unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to this -- to the fifth amendment because rights were trampled on, frankly starting with the first amendment rights of the ranking member who was cut off and not allowed to speak even after the chairman allowed himself abopen -- an opening statement and no fewer than seven questions before cutting off entirely the ranking member. then we proceeded to trample on the fifth amendment. and case law is what governs here. the court has said the self-incrimination clause must be interpreted in favor of the right it was intended to secure. since the respect normally accorded to prive sledge normally buttressed by the defendant in a trial, in other words it's the same. it's the equivalent of the presump

mr. speaker, i -- mr. davis: mr. speaker, i raise a point of order because the resolution violates section al budget e congress act. the resolution contains a waiver of all points of order against consideration of the bill which includes a waiver of section 425 of the congressional budget act which causes a violation of section 426-a. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois makes a point of order that the resolution violates section 426-a of the congressional budget act of 1974. the gentleman has met the threshold burden under the rule and the gentleman from illinois and a member opposed each will control 10 minutes of debate on the question of consideration. following debate, the chair will put the question of consideration as the statutory means of disposing of the point of order. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. point of order not only out of concern for unfunded mandates, but to highlight the failure of republican house leadership to protect the long

mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, we all agree, i hink all americans agree and the attack on benghazi was a tragedy. but here we are once again, riling up the community and the country and causing again grief to the families of the four people who died in a pursuit of some kind of truth that they were unable to find in two years of hearings over four mmittees, 13 congressional hearings, 50 briefings, five reports, 25,000 pages of documentation and waste of millions of dollars and that's just in the house. the senate has held hearings, the state department did a thorough report and yet now, after all that, we want the truth. i mean, what does it say about the house of representatives and whatever that was going on where they did not get to the truth. this is some reminiscent of what we have done in the house of representatives by doing over and over and over again, like trying to repeal health care and keep doing it until we reach whatever it is you want. we know what it is you want with a special committee. we

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, the eason why judicial watch received the information they did in an unredacted basis is because there are criminal penalties associated with that act. those criminal penalties do not exist in the congressional inquiry. the administration is simply taking advantage of that and they know that. and so do all members of congress. this administration was playing games. they're taking advantage of the structure which has been established in the relationship of trying to have the three branches of government

mr. speaker. mr. perry: we simply can't allow that to happen. this administration must be clear-eyed in dealing with iran and it must do whatever is necessary to protect our vital interests in the region. including israel. and with that i offer my sincere congratulations to our israeli friends on the 66th anniversary of their country's independence and wish them a very happy and prosperous independence day. and with that i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. who seeks recognition? for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i also rise today to recognize the great democratic jewish state of israel. one of our strongest partners for peace and stability for its 66 years of inde

mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches. on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. williams: mr. speaker, the president recently announced that the u.s. commerce department would enter its internet agreement with a nonprofit organization who has overseen our databases since 1998. president obama's plans could lead to international control and come at a time when nations all over the world are looking for any technological advantage they can gain over the united states. both republicans and democrats alike agree that the obama administration decision to cut ties with icam can lead to an uncertain future that hinders free speech and threatens national security. the united states has always been the most protective country of free speech in the entire world. as other countries, inter

mr. speaker. t's probably nothing more sacred to americans, nothing important to protect than the democrat electoral process has made this by the far the greatest country in the everyone an to participate. hold lois today to been r in contempt it's stated she didn't have her rights recognized. take the e right to fifth. she's done that under the constitution. we brought her in twice, may 2013, march 2014. -- you can see the tapes, declaring her innocence, she was pointed out she was at the heart of the matter. in fact her when she tried to employees under the bus they said she threw them convoy of mack trucks. every road leads to lois learner. held the congress of the united states in contempt. held them in contempt. lois learner has held the people and and the process they cherish and the agency, the irs who all have to account to as a manipulate a national election. targeted directed attempt and every road leads to lois learner. opportunity ce the to come before congress and to tell the whole tr

mr. speaker. mr. peres has also been a powerful and dedicated friend of the united states of america, and he's been instrumental in forming this unbreakable bond that we've spoken of that's been said between our two nations. mr. speaker, not only does this medal acknowledge the the president, it is the continued commitment to the nation of israel and its place as a beacon of democracy in the middle east. this award reaffirms the importance of israel as the holy land, close to the hearts of millions of committed jews and christians in america and around the world. moreover, it is an expression of america's unwaivering resolve to our greatest -- unwavering resolve to our greatest ally in the world. i want to thank my colleagues n both sides and i want to recognize the shimon peres commemoration committee that gave rise to this heart felt award to the israeli president shimon peres. god bless him and god bless the friendship between israel and the united states forever and thank you, mr. speaker and i yi

mr. conway. the speaker pro tempore: the -- mr. connolly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. connolly: i thank my friend. i think if the founders were here today and had witnessed the proceed thonings government and oversight reform committee with respect to ms. lois lerner, they would have unanimously reaffirmed their commitment to this -- to the fifth amendment because rights were trampled on, frankly starting with the first amendment rights of the ranking member who was cut off and not allowed to speak even after the chairman allowed himself abopen -- an opening statement and no fewer than seven questions before cutting off entirely the ranking member. then we proceeded to trample on the fifth amendment. and case law is what governs here. the court has said the self-incrimination clause must be interpreted in favor of the right it was intended to secure. since the respect normally accorded to prive sledge normally buttressed by the defendant in a trial, in other words it's the same. it's the equivalent of the presump

mr. speaker. >> prime minister. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this house, i shall have further such meetings later today. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as the proud father of three daughters, i am -- i'm sure the entire house will show my deep concern for the more than 270 nigerian schoolgirls held captive in that country. the only so-called crime which they face is that they inspired to receive an education. with my right honorable friend set out for the house the steps this government is taking to ensure that we helped to usher the release as soon as possible? >> here, here. >> i know my right honorable friend speaks for the whole house and, indeed, the whole country. i am the father of two young daughter and my reaction is exactly the same as his and every father or mother in this land or in the world. this is an act of pure evil. if united people across the planet to stand with nigeria to help find these children and return them to their

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to captain thomas clarke of the army air corps, flight lieutenant rakesh chauhan of joint helicopter command, acting warned officer class do spencer faulkner, corporal james walters of the army air corps, and lance corporal oliver thomas of the intelligence corps, reservist who also worked as a research assistant. these tragic deaths remind us of the continued commitment and sacrifice of our armed forces, and i know that our deepest concerns are with the families that is very, very difficult time. i'm sure the whole house will also want to join me in paying tribute to and mcgwire who was stabbed to death in her classroom on monday. it is clear from the tributes paid she was a much loved teacher that work to school for over 40 years. she gets so much about her pupils, should come in on her day off to help prepare them for exams. our thoughts are with her family, her friends in the entire school community who have

mr. speaker and i yield back. mr. horsford: i thank the gentlelady for her personal remarks and reminding us that e decision of brown has very real impact on the lives of individuals and for some in this body who lived during the time of segregation to be reminded of how important the brown decision was to changing that and to also remind us that we have a commitment to the current and future generations to ensure that we never go back to those dause. i thank the gentlelady very much for giving us that personal reflection on what the brown decision means to her. now as a member of the house of representatives, just think how far you've come and how far so many children in america deserve to go and that's what the brown situation is really all about. i would like to invite the co-anchor to this hour. each time the congressional black caucus takes time to the floor for this special order our, it's intended to bring in issues, discuss important policies that deserve time and also to challenge this august body to focus ab

mr. speaker. at is taking place today in america's veterans administration may be the most egregious case of friendly fire in the history of the united states of america. and this harm to our veterans from our team is coming not from firearms but from an enormous bureaucracy that is incapable of dealing with providing health care to our nation's warriors. it is unacceptable. words alone, mr. president, i have to say are not enough. we need action, not anger. we need results. we need delivery of health care to our warriors now. whether that health care comes from inside the veterans administration or from outside, we need to get folks off our waiting list, out of lines and in to see doctors and folks who are prepared to take care of them. the sacrifices these men and women made are enormous. as a veteran i certainly understand that. as a member of congress i understand it is my responsibility to make sure we fix this challenge, this bureaucratic mess that our nation has put these veterans in now for

mr. speaker. se in support of the u.s.a. freedom act. the version of the bill pending before us today is not a perfect vehicle. there is more that we can do and must do to ensure as the fourth amendment requires the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. but let me be clear the compromise bill before us today is a significant improvement over the status quo. it is a good bill. now, with this legislation we stand poised to end domestic bulk collection across the board. in section 215 of the patriot act and the pen register authority and in the national security letter statutes by requiring the use of a specific selection term. before the government may obtain information or tangible things. this legislation will create a panel of experts from which the foreign intelligence surveillance court can draw expertise and questions involving privacy, civil liberties, and technology. it will also require the court to disclose

mr. speaker, at this time it's my pleasure to yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, a member of the judiciary committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. poe: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, this is about real people, and one of those is my friend and constituent down in houston, texas, as a name of kathryn, founder of truth of vote and king street patriots in houston, texas, and once she became intimidated and harassed by our very own government, all because she dared to speak her mind and engage in politics, a right she is guaranteed under the constitution. it all began when kathryn, a business woman, applied for a nprofit status in 2010 for true the vote and king street patriots and so began the tidal wave of government inquiries and harassment. she said it best in testimony before congress, quote, we applied for nonprofit status in 2010. since then the i.r.s. has run us through a gaunt let of analysis and -- gauntlet of analysis and hundreds of questions over and over and over again. they

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, suffice it to say there is no shortage of challenges across the globe. all of which cast our nation's foreign policy and resolve and pose a threat to our national security. lately, the world's attention has been focused on a myriad of issues that rightly deserve our attention -- russia's blightant violation of ukraine's sovereignty, their continued meddling in our eastern european allies, chinese's continued rhetoric aggression in the east and south china seas, the struggle for democracy in venezuela and the events that continue to unfold in nigeria and syria, among other things. establishing a coherent foreign policy and ensuring our national security require the united states to maintain a fixed leadership role in all of these challenges that we face. but, mr. speaker, while these and a host of other pressing issues test the united states and our friends around the globe, i'm concerned that we have let what i consider to be the greatest threat to our national security fall o

mr. speaker. aloha. i rise in strong support of house concurrent resolution 83 and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. gabbard: thank you very much. first i'd like to thank the gentlelady from michigan who i had the pleasure and honor of serving with on the house homeland service committee for her strong support of this resolution and her recognition history gacy and the of king kamehameha in hawaii and the lessons that we have all learned and that continue to remain relevant to the people's work that we do here every day and your support and recognition of this means a lot to me personally but also to the people of my great home state of hawaii. and i also have to mention my mother is from your state of michigan. so i appreciate your home as well. rise today in support of h.r. authorize the use of the emancipation hall in the capitol visitors center to celebrate an event for the birthday of king kamehameha. he was a skilled military leader,

mr. speaker, and i yield back. >> mr. speaker, the fundamental problem is not my way or the highway, it's no way. the republican judiciary committee has passed out a number of immigration reform bills. the homeland security committee headed by a republican chairman has a passed out an immigration reform bill dealing with border security. none of those bills have been brought to the floor. it's not a question about liking the senate bill or trusting the president of the united states. everybody agrees, mr. speaker, the immigration system is broken. but there's no way, no bill, no option that has been brought to this floor to fix that system, to respond to what everybody agrees is a broken system of immigration. matter of fact, mr. speaker, the prime minister of ireland celebrated st. patrick's day here with us at a luncheon, and part of his speech was about passing comprehensive immigration reform. now, they don't have to take our bill. they don't have to take the senate bill. but, mr. speaker, the american people deserve t

mr. speaker. mr. chairman, i rise today to commend your efforts along with those of the judiciary committee in bringing this legislation to the floor of the house. as you and i have met and discussed on fume russ occasions along with my good friend from indiana, mr. stutzman, this issue is important to not only many of my constituents back in western new york but also to our country. provisions in this bill such as the reforms made to bulk data collection and enhanced declassification requirements are specific ideas that were shared with me by constituents in western new york and brought to here in washington, d.c. as you know i'm happy to report through our work with you these provisions were incorporated into this legislation. mr. chairman, as this bill moves forward, i hope i have your commitment to continue to work together to assure that a balance between national security and the protection of our personal freedoms is achieved. thank you again and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentl

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, the eason why judicial watch received the information they did in an unredacted basis is because there are criminal penalties associated with that act. those criminal penalties do not exist in the congressional inquiry. the administration is simply taking advantage of that and they know that. and so do all members of congress. this administration was playing games. they're taking advantage of the structure which has been established in the relationship of trying to have the three co-exist.f government . that's where the speaker said enough is enough. when we recognize that the documents we're getting which are heavily redacted did not could he inside or agree -- incide or agree with because they asked for it under foia, which has criminal penalties associated with it which meant that those lawyers knew exactly what they were doing and could be held to that criminal penalty point. but in providing them to congress, they would just redact it and then claim might security and we

mr. speaker. i'm going to ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. royce: i thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. royce: thank you. members, members of the house, the world is now fully aware of the absolute terror of boko haram. over the last few months there have been over 500 schools burned to the ground by boko haram. struck by the brazen abduction of nearly 300 innocent school girls, people are now asking, what is boke harm? sadly -- boko haram? sadly for the communities in nigeria, they know the answer to that. they know what boko haram means to them. they know that the definition of boko haram is western education is a sin and they know that for this particular organization of particularly great importance is that young women not be educated. sadly for the communities in

mr. speaker. had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. thisdition to my duties in house, i will have further such meetings later today. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as the proud father of three sure that them entire house will share my deep concern for the more than 270 nigerian schoolgirls held captive in that country. the only so-called crime, which had, is they aspire to receive an education. what my honorable friend set out for the house the steps this government is taking to ensure that we help to ensure their release as soon as possible? that my right honorable friend speaks for the whole house and indeed the whole country. i am a father of two young daughters, and my reaction is exec with the same as his and every father or mother in this land or in the world. this is an act of pure evil. it has united people across the planet to stand with nigeria to help find these children and return them to their parents. the foreign secretary in the british government has made repeated offers

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i come to the floor this afternoon because of interference in the local affairs with the district of columbia that is about to take place pursuant to a hearing that has been called by the government operations committee of the oversight and government reform committee. first, let me be clear. the oversight and government reform committee, led by chairman issa, has been respectful of self-government in the district of columbia. chairman issa has not only observed the same self-government for our district that he insists upon for his, he has gone beyond that to encourage greater home rule for the district of columbia and budget autonomy. this subcommittee hearing is not done at the aegis of the full committee but is under the leadership of the subcommittee hair, john mica. the respect for local control lies at the heart of the formation of the united states of america itself. it was the denial of that respect that led to the revolution that led to the united states. essentially

mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from new york reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. engel: i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york -- the gentlewoman from new york, mrs. maloney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. maloney: i thank the gentleman for yielding and for his extraordinary leadership on this issue and so many others. and a great appreciation to the sponsor of this, my good friend, frederica wilson, who spoke with great feeling on the floor. we appreciate so much her leadership in this area and other areas. these young girls in nigeria were kidnapped from their school in the middle of the night, terrorized and held captive. and may now be sold like so many objects into a lifetime of forcible rape. there is no kind of crime more appalling, no offense worse, no act of depravity more harmful to the community

mr. speaker. a sense of sadness yet gratitude that i rise to honor the life and memory of a great phenomenal warrior woman, dr. maya angelou. my deepest condolences to her friends and family, including her son, guy johnson, who is both a friend and constituent, as they celebrate and mourn her spirit-filled life. i will forever cherish the private moments i had the privilege to spend with maya, one i recall was years ago when she invited me to her beautiful home where we talked in her living room as sisters about our lives, our struggles, our passion for improving the human condition. i confided in her about the many challenges i faced after voting against the authorization to use military force. she encouraged me and the affirmation she gave to me during those trying times will always be with me. i tell you, dr. angelou lived life to its fullest and she shared with the world the essence of a purposeful life. i will hold her words, be certain that you do not die without having done something wonderf

mr. speaker, i yield back. he speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise to support small business owners in south florida and across the country. the economic recession devastated the economy, hitting older americans especially hard. in fact, older workers once unemployed are more likely than others to remain unemployed, which is why we need to revitalize our economy by supporting those who found themselves out of work before retirement. earlier this work i introduced the bipartisan empowering entrepreneurs act which will support older americans working hard to start and expand small businesses. there is currently over seven million self-employed workers in the u.s. 50 years and older and older workers contribute to our economy and create jobs when given the right resources. my bill, which is supported by the aarp will improve the capacity of

mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields ack. > would the gentleman yield? i think we all owe mr. wolf and mr. fattah gratitude for the work they've done. this will be a long, hard slog, there's been dozens of amendments and endless debate but they have stayed at the chore and guided us through this maze that we've been coming through and have done really well. i want to thank both of them for the hard work they've done on this bill yesterday, last night and today and tonight. mr. rogers: and then i want to say in addition to what the minority leader has said about frank wolf, he and i came here together, same class, there was only three of us left -- there's only three of us left out of 54, two after he leaves. but frank wolf, as the leader has said, never fails in compassion and honesty and transparency. he's above board. what you see is what you get. d they say that character is what you do when no one is watching. when you do the right thing when no one is watching. and certainly that is tr

mr. woodall: madam speaker, mr. nugent is the expert on this and so i yield him three additional minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. nugent: i don't know if i'm the expert but i have the heart, i have the heart to make sure that america is right. it's the constitutional responsibility that this body makes sure that we have a strong defense for our homeland . it is a huge responsibility and the not one that's taken lightly. as you see in the vote that was taken in house armed services committee 61-0, it's one that's shared by all members. we've seen the threats, and unfortunately not everybody knows what the threats are. but if you look at and read the news, whether it's russia today , resurging its influence within europe, whether whether it's china. , ether it's iran, north korea there are so many players out there that have ill intentions to this, our people, to this ation. we have africa, the continent that has seen a huge increase in violence that's associated with