mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize and honor the young talent of elaine kang, a 16-year-old violinist from pennsylvania. this coming september she will make her radio debut on n.p.r.'s "from the top," a critically acclaimed radio show which reaches 600,000 listeners each week. it serves the tenacity of young musicians by showing who they are and what they can accomplish. she must be commended with only 16 years behind her and well ahead, she's on her way to a fruitful career. she is a role model to many young musicians as well as her peers. elaine certainly promotes them. she has exhibited wonderful skill and her example shows the benefit of pursuing one's passion. i wish elaine the best of luck in her upcoming taping in at the majestic theater in gettysburg and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro te

mr. thompson, who will be talking further about this issue. and i want to remind people, please do go to americaspeakingout.com. also go to the whip's website, mr. cantor, who has youcut on it, or you can go to the republican conference website, youcut is the icon you want to click, so you, too, can vote on ways to cut the federal budget. we've identified half a trillion dollars worth of cuts and we want to know whether you think they're the right ones. so please go to youcut in addition to americaspeakingout.com. and again i yield to the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. thompson: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. you know, there's a very important number here that the american people need to identify with and it's a number that brings it home, it's a number that's very personal in terms of personal responsibility and that is over $40,000 per person. that is the current -- that doesn't -- that's the amount of debt that each man, woman and child in this country is responsible for. and that doesn't include entitlements. if we got into medicare

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, majority leader says it is impossible to pass a long-term budget unless we consider the bipartisan commission deficit reduction plan, which is expected in deceeber. that means the democrats do not plan to have a budget for this cycle. any wonder that the white house budget director plans to resign next month. if the hard work of budgeting can be ignored by the majority in congress while we are facing trrllions in debt, why worry about a budget. so the budget director must ot feel needed at the moment. the power of the purse resides in congress. we all look forward to the ideas that may come from the commission that may be inspired and the answer to our prayers. but the commission is not the reason for and difficult indicating our responsibility to start work now on reducing our % debt. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio rise? >> address the house for one minute revise and extend. mr. boccieri: today, i rise to acknowledge

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, the dubois business college started 125 years ago. they proud themselves on a small student to teacher ratio. from legal assistance to clinical medical assistance, the college has helped people move students into a good future. they moved to huntington to oil city. in 2001, a core group of working administrators purchased the college and committed themselves of continuing the college tradition of excellence. the college will be celebrating its anniversary throughout the year but this weekend they'll hold an open house and new student annex as a commemorative celebration. in an area where there are no community colleges, dubois business community has fulfilled a need throughout its history and continues to provide quality and affordable education in graphic arts, computer applications and even movie making. it's my pleasure to congratulate this institution on its anniversary and wish them continued success and growth, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the

mr. thompson: madam speaker, i rise today to commend the gray mare society. they are over age 50 and still heading out on the trail together. when one of their number developed breast cancer they decided to do something to fight the disease. across the country, there are races and fundraisers, walks and other proposals, but the gray mare decided to do what is natural to them and ride and they came the ride to trail to the cure. they raised money for cumberland valley. the first ride was held on october 14, 2006. 77 riders from three states brought their horses to pennsylvania for an eight-mile ride and raised $10,000. this year's ride will be held in the forest on saturday, september 25. the group has the support of the pennsylvania eqine council and look forward to another successful ride. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: wi

mr. thompson. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. levin: i can close very briefly. this bill is meritorious. it deserves bipartisan support and i hope very much it will receive it. we owe this to the people who have essentially followed the rules, who are caught by a closing date. this is a credit that's often questioned about, is the effort of the recovery program and like programs working? this is an example of it working and in fact working so actively that now it's necessary and i think correct that we make sure that people who have advantaged themselves of it correctly are able to follow through. so i urge a strong vote and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. the question is now, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5623 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- mr. levin: mr. speaker. on th

mr. thompson: tomp mr. speaker, ryes i today to congratulate charles cole memorial hospital for winning a 2010 achievement award from the hospital and health system association of pennsylvania. charles cole memorial was among 17 winners chosen from a poll of 134 entries. through their incredibly successful efforts to solidify their connection to the community, their leaders and staff showed the importance of transparency and accessibility in the health care field. the hospital achieved five community benefit advisory committees as outlets for the community to become involved in the planning, operation and governance. committees met several times both regionally and part of the organization and coue to serve as integral team members and community correspondents for the hospital staff. they were compared to the baseline data taken before the establishment of these advisory committees showed improvement in every major field, including the image of the hospital, visibility in community and quality of care. the

mr. thompson: as we ntinue nd o wt's t health care billdisappoime pile oncle sa, coul rip me oneli ofpeoplefuran viatg a keyoaof the esident'reforms, end quot theslimited prossvide suro paime workers and il and resurant empls. th are ed mi medns, ey are pr low and rtrict e mb of cove do vri aorinto e article. e enalth carrerm ld prohibit thwsau ther a in e law on al caps. employer and trade associatis leven, the staunt ssoc andhave skedhat the plansbe aod to continue, because if the coveris ended, th g will be ithouterage until 2014 notaowed to keeople ir present iuran. thspr prte for whaturposes gentleman from florida seek reck cognition? >>o address the housene minute. the speaker pro tempore: witho objon >mr. spinstea attemp to pay do national dt is congr onnu to spend taayer olrs intoblivi. wheth'repayi credit card bols paying uraxes reeld accountable fo yourpending bits and the money you havtoay back, the moey y owe. what discovered in mfit ar in cgress, tse in biions thed each day and aren't ined in loping w to y back rrowed ney. dfteraye ic peop llor us totop the out ontrolpending. co

mr. speaker, the house of representatives passed buet every year since the congressional bt act took effe in the fiscal yr 76. thompson: to be letly accurate, tre wertimets when a nied budget was not passed by both houses but this is the fist time the hoe of reprentatives has sily decided tre's too much power for t amecan people to see the numbers at they are pursug they're going to st the game before the coin is even tossed. weave more than $13 trillion in debt in a presidential budget that puts e deficit of $1.6 trli and s$3.8 trilon. even fed chairman ben bernanke says this budget is, quote, unsustainable. facewithimilar challens in your rsonal budget, thee is talk aund the kitchen table, the children's allowances would be cut, alongith many oer uxuries. its that discussn the undethe theory that if they ignore it, it mighto away. ortunately the debt will n go away. thpain will traferred for our children and grandchildren in the hopes thathey will ve the guts to face realit i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: at purseoes the gentlelady from ohio rise? without jectn. ms. fudge:hank y, mr. eaker. mr. spea congress

thompson, tennessee. terry on the republican line. guest: a quick comment and a question. my comment is, i fully support what mr. obama is doing. i think he is going out of his way and doing what he can. now to my question. due to the fact that bp has lost $93 billion in stock value , wouldn't it be smart for the government to insist that bp may be put up $15 billion to $20 billion in a fund to be held by the u.s. government to cut all of these expenses, and if they refuse to do so, wouldn't it be sparked -- smart for the u.s. government to make pcs and hold the assets of bp in this country until all of the claims are filled, paid for. because if their stock keeps plummet -- plummeting, what is to stop them from bankrupting itself and we being stocked with everything? guest: yes, sir. excellent question an excellent observation. number one, there is and oil spill trust fund of about $1.5 billion collected from about 8 cents per barrel tax of imported oil since the act in 1990. we are probably going to exhaust that. your observation that bp is liable, i am in total agreement. i do think at some point a judge would rule they were