mr. tonko. mr. tonko: thank you for bringing us together, there's so much to talk about with this bill. as has been mentioned by representative ryan, a family on an annual income of $50,000 gets a $5,800 tax credit. it goes up to the threshold of $88,000 for annual household incomes whereby families are going to receive some sort of benefit. this is an extraordinary opportunity to provide for middle income america to provide tax credits for them so that they can promote wellness within their individual families. absolutely tremendously strong idea. it empowers the middle class, the working families of this country, it empowers the small businesses. representative watson talked about the benefits in our district to small business. in my district, 14 or 15 small businesses will be given the opportunity for tax credits to help purchase employer-based plans for their given employees and don't they prosper from a sound and well work force. i think that's important. they also will have the benefits of shop

miller: i yield to mr. tonko. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. tonko: we need to fix our nation's broken health care system. we deliver on that promise with a vote as historic. i will cast my vote in favor of putting the controls back into the hands of american families and small businesses and their doctors. no longer will insurance companies be able to hold people hostage by dropping and denying coverage. small bitses will no longer see their premiums skyrocket and will not have to make the decision to stop offering health insurance to their employees because the costs have climbed too high. indeed, this bill is about freedom. every american will now have the freedom from control of insurance companies and their record profits and will have the freedom to access the care they need when they need it. our seniors will have the freedom to enjoy medicare for years to come and have the freedom from worrying about the costs of their prescription zrugs drugs. the bottom line is whether the people in the capital region of new york will be better off and

mr. tonko: absolutely. mrs. dahlkemper: in the beginning we were just trying to help those who were hurting most, those who needed an extension of their unemployment or needed help with cobra, etc. but now we see many of our small businesses are actually involved in the reinvestment side. as we're actually reinvesting in our economy, one of the exciting things i recently got to see was a new biomass heating unit full of three different businesses, one was a school district-owned business, one was a recreation center and one was a career center in one of my communities and i asked them about the project, $3.2 million project, 500 -- $500,000 of that coming from the reinvestment act. and i asked them how important that money was to them. they said it's what they needed to get over the hump. this is going to create 25 new jobs in our region for the construction site and then jobs beyond that. but our small businesses will be involved in putting this whole new system in and it's going to actually save a lot of money

miller: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. tonko. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for two minutes. mr. tonko: thank you. thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you for your leadership on this measure. i rise today in support of h.r. 4247, the keeping all students safe act. this bill is aimed at restricting some of the most abusive practices still employed in certain schools around the country. neglect restraint and abusive seclusion. last spring the education and labor committee heard testimony from the government accountability office, which investigated use of these practices in schools. what the g.a.o. found was stunning. there were many instances of serious injury and abuse and even some accounts of death. even more troubling to me as a strong supporter of disability rights and special education was that many of the victims were students with intellectual disabilities. this bill is meant to protect our most vulnerable students against the worst kinds of abuse. the committee heard about a 4-year-old

mr. tonko: thank you, madam speaker. i think it is so important for us to move forward and not be derailed in our efforts to reform what is important policy in this country. health care obviously is something that needs to be provided in terms of insurance to our working families out there. we know the impact of delay and the impact of no reforms. status quo simply does not cut it. we cannot afford to allow our families to continue with such gross injustice. obviously the increase projected, $1,800 per year for family p desk a privileged resolution. 1 resolution providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 3644, to direct the national oceanic and atmospheric administration to establish education which advance environmental literacy, including preparedness and adapt built for likely impacts on climate change and coastal watershed regions and providing for consideration of the bill 1612 to amend the public lands core act of 1993, to expand the authorization of the secretaries of agriculture, commerce and the interior, to p

mr. tonko: thank you, madam speaker. i think it is so important for us to move forward and not be derailed in our efforts to reform what is important policy in this country. health care obviously is something that needs to be provided in terms of insurance to our working families out there. we know the impact of delay and the impact of no reforms. status quo simply does not cut it. we cannot afford to allow our families to continue with such gross injustice. obviously the increase projected, $1,800 per year for family plans, is a train wreck waiting to happen. today the average of some $13,000 for family plans would then grow in the next decade to some 31,000. which small business out there could afford to pay that or even a fraction of that for its employees? we know that what we are trying to maintain here is an employee-based health care insurance system. while the employer based system needs some sort of relief. we need to know there are assurances for containing those costs, for making certain that into the future w

five-minute rule but i would remind you that we are expected to have vote sometime around three tonko 15. mrcan. >> thank you mr. chairman. first of all, general oates my understanding is there were some people that were critical about resources and what we were doing with your organization. you have had a chance as i understand it to read over that. you have been a user of the services and now you are charged with providing the same services you are using in the past. are there some structural things you have wanted to change about how you approach the problem or is it just kind of an ongoing management situation or what has been your perspective, moving from user to first in charge? >> thank yous there. i have been a customer of jieddo for six years. over three tours in iraq i didn't always know where the capability and benefits were coming from. i have a clear vision about now. and i would like to take this opportunity to tank of the congress for what it has done for my soldiers both in the 100 hurston tenth mountain division. from my perspective, the director of jieddo munn of my key con

five-minute rule but i would remind you that we are expected to have vote sometime around three tonko 15. mrank you mr. chairman. first of all, general oates my understanding is there were some people that were critical about resources and what we were doing with your organization. you have had a chance as i understand it to read over that. you have been a user of the services and now you are charged with providing the same services you are using in the past. are there some structural things you have wanted to change about how you approach the problem or is it just kind of an ongoing management situation or what has been your perspective, moving from user to first in charge? >> thank yous there. i have been a customer of jieddo for six years. over three tours in iraq i didn't always know where the capability and benefits were coming from. i have a clear vision about now. and i would like to take this opportunity to tank of the congress for what it has done for my soldiers both in the 100 hurston tenth mountain division. from my perspective, the director of jieddo munn of my key concerns is e

paul tonko of new york, steve cohen of tennessee, mr.ilroy of ohio, carol porter of new hampshire, peter welch of vermont, franz kline of florida, and all of these young people that here who helped. all that we want to do to maneuver and win votes in the congress is not possible without the outside mobilization of people who understand the impact of the legislation and make their voices known to the members of congress. remember, nothing is more eloquent to a member of congress than the voice of his or her own constituents. many of our colleagues have already gone home to talk to their editorial boards, to see their families, and to meet with their constituents on this legislation. i think our class of 2006 and 2008 who are here in their own right and as representatives. [applause] i signed the big bill. this is a much smaller bill we are signing now. but none of these bills matches the number of pages that led to this -- letters from constituents asking for this legislation. [applause] [applause] >> the bill is embroiled. it will now go