mr. holt: mr. chairman, this amendment that i'm offering on behalf of the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. markey, simply requires that the oil transported through the keystone x.l. pipeline, the refined products made from the oil as well, stay in the united states except under certain circumstances. now, the proponents of the keystone pipeline, as we've heard today, say it is important for u.s. energy security. now, that can't be true if the oil just passes through the united states on its way to other countries. yet -- and there is nothing in the underlying legislation that would require that the oil transported through the keystone pipeline or the refined fuels produced from that stay in the united states to benefit american consumers. as a matter of fact, the president from transcanada gets a sweetheart deal through this legislation was asked whether he would commit to keeping the keystone tar sands oil and the refined oil in the united states, he

mr. brady: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. brady: i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourns to meet at 2:00 p.m. on monday next. that the order of the house of january 3, 2013, regarding morning hour debate not apply on that day. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the entleman from new jersey rise? without objection, the gentleman s recognized for one minute. mr. lance: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor dr. shirley tillman for her distinguished service as the is the 9 president of princeton university. dr. tillman will step down this spring following 12 years of exceptional leadership. as the first woman to serve as novet princeton, she -- as president of princeton, she is a role model for many young women. she set in order a number of flishtives, presenceton increased its financial aid offering significantly, making princeton's program one of the most generous in the country

mr. baca: mr. speaker, i strong -- mrs. bachmann: mr. speaker, i strongly urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to listen to the clear, distinct voice of the american people. they have spoken loudly, they have spoken clearly. they heard the words of then speaker of the house nancy pelosi when she famously said, we must pass obamacare before we can know what's in it. and as my colleague steve scalise said, now we know what's in the bill and now we know why obamacare is less top lar today than even before -- popular today than even before it was passed the first time. you see, mr. speaker, the more we learn about obamacare, the more unpopular it becomes. even a democrat, max baucus, who helped write obamacare said, i just tell you, i see a huge train wreck coming down. well, i ask you, mr. speaker, seven months from now, when obamacare comes fully online, when people's health care premiums will soar through the roof, in some cases increasing 400%, what then, mr. speaker? we see this coming, just like the titanic, we see the

, mr. chairman. mr. harvey and mr. shea, thank you for being here and thank you for your very important and valuable knowledge and expertise. isn't it just a fact that these apple hasages that either taken advantage of or in some cases in my view invented, if you take a tax reduction in a country that you have no employees, doesn't this put domestic companies and corporations at a distinct disadvantage? >> yes. >> yes. the objective of our tax rules should be to try to achieve a balance, and in this particular case i referred to in my testimony, tried to create particularly in relation to cross-border activity, to neutrality, because what would happen when you are dealing with a third party and an affiliate? favor usingday affiliates. that does not mean you always use affiliates, and coming back to something senator johnson referred to, if i understand it correctly, most of apple's manufacturing is not done by apple, and that is true of many countries today. foxconn,e by third parties. -- a viewtoday use themselves, an

mr. reed mr. whitehouse: may i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. whitehouse: let me thank the distinguished senator from illinois for his statement. we serve together on the judiciary committee, and i hope that in that committee as well we can work on ways to improve the prosecution of particularly rape offenses within the military by the department of justice. and break through the agreement that now prevents the department of justice from prosecuting those crimes for the crimes that they are simply because they take place in the military. i'm here to speak today because washington, d.c. and the right-wing outrage machine are all abuzz about the scandal that the i.r.s. appears to have targeted organizations for inquiry based on tea party affiliation. obviously, that's wrong. but let's not forget, that's not the only i.r.s. scandal. that is not the only scandal in town. there are two i.r.

mr. collins: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 258, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. collins: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. this nation is blessed with many valiant men and women who have dedicated their lives to military service. my home state of georgia has no shortage of these heroes, including technical sergeant barry dufffield, who serves as a bomb disposal technician in the georgia guard's 116 air control wing. while patroled to afghanistan, his job was to oversee teams responsible for an incredibly dangerous job, neutralizing explosive devices or i.e.d.'s. he and his colleagues successfully completed 52 missions and helped destroy more than 1,200 pounds of enemy explosives. on january 7, 2013, the sergeant was awarded the purple heart for injuries he suffered during an i.e.d

mr. harkin: mr. president, i'd ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. harkin: mr. president, i come to the floor today to express my deep disappointment that once again republican obstructionism and procedural tricks are preventing this body from carrying out its constitutional duty and responsibility. its obligation to consider important presidential nominations. this time, the target is mr. tom prez --, perez, the nominee to be secretary of labor. the help committee of which i chair was scheduled to vote on his nomination at 4:00 this afternoon. obviously, we're not doing that. an anonymous republican has invoked an obscure procedural rule to prevent our committee from meeting at that scheduled time. this pointless obstructionism is extremely disturbing. i would like to point out that we had previously been scheduled to vote on his nomination in my committee two weeks ago. but in an effort to bend over backwards and

mr. crowley is recented. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. george, you are the inspector general at the treasury, is that correct? >> actually, there are three inspects general within the department of the treasury. i'm the inspector general exclusively focused on the irs, on the system of tax administration. >> over the irs, very good. and you were appointed by then president bush, is that correct? >> yes, correct. >> and you state in your report that no one outside the irs was involved in this political targeting of not-for-profit organizations is that correct? >> that is the finding of this particular audit, sir. >> your audit, your findings are no outside groups were involved, correct. >> of this particular, yes, as of now that is our conclusion. >> mr. george, who was the last presidentially appointed irs commissioner. >> it was douglas shulman. >> douglas shulman, correct. >> yes, correct. >> appointed by then president george w. bush, is that correct? >> that's correct, sir. >> and mr. shulman was commissioner when these improper and o

mr. crawford? >> mr. chairman i have a substitute amendment number 100. >> what is your amendment number? >> 61. and the gentlelady wishes to offer. >> i withdraw smith that clerks will distribute amendment number 61 and mr. crawford with unanimous consent will dispense with the reading of the amendment and mr. crawford may explain it. >> the usda plans to make significant changes to the national poultry improvement plan it has been successful since the inception to prevent detect a and addressing avian diseases. but their joint federal industry and a collaboration to allow for a robust response like a bird flu but through the poultry industry it has contributed to the new elimination of avian borne diseases and it is the gold standard with the reputation in to have american poultry to the foreign export markets and the third-party status and industry led initiative for the international trade promotes close cooperation unfortunately usda's taking steps directed toward search centralize control by moving

mr. kline: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 232, i call up h.r. 1911 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the house. the clerk: h.r. 1911, a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965 to establish interest rates for new loans made on or after july 1, 2013. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 232, in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on education and the work force printed in the bill an amendment in the nature of a bill, as the amended, is considered as read. the gentleman from minnesota, mr. kline, and the gentleman from california, mr. george ller, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. and include extraneous material on h.r. 1911. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kline: m

mr. hoyer: mr.peaker, this week the house will be voting or the 37th time to repeal the affordable care act. this vote comes at a time when we are facing serious and pressing challenges, one of the most important of which is the operations of the sequester. 37 votes to repeal the affordable care act. let us set aside for a moment the important issue of how health reform is working and making quality care accessible and affordable for more americans. i'll be speaking more about that from this floor in coming days as i know some of my colleagues will. what i find and i believe most americans find incomprehensible is that how this house could waste its time on such a blatantly partisan vote when the effects of sequestration are having a growing negative effect on our economy and on the lives of so many american families. that ought to be our focus this week and every week until we find a solution, mr. speaker. speaker boehner said to this 37th repeal vote is justified because freshmen members have not

mr. barrois -- mr. bare oast: mr. speaker, i stand on behalf of the people in my district giving rise to an unprecedented ba l of distrust -- mr. mr. barrows: this is a totally unacceptable abuse of power and calls on any future decisions made by that agency. trust in the federal government is already at an all-time low. to help regain any of that trust, it's essential that all personnel in this misuse of power be held accountable. we have serious work to do in congress but this takes time and attention away from the work we need to do. i urge my colleagues to investigate this matter swiftly and get on with the work we have been seer back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady rise? >> 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. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor the service and sacrifice of our nation's police officers. th

mr. hurt: mr. chairman, i rise in support of the northern route approval act, another house initiative to pave the way for construction of the keystone pipeline. i support this measure because approval of the pipeline will lead to lower fuel prices and it will create jobs. as i have traveled my district, my rural virginia fifth district, i have spoken with our small business owners, small farmers, volunteers, our students, our parents, and there can be no question but that the energy policies coming out of washington under this president are hurting our local communities. that is why the immediate approval of the keystone pipeline is so important because it will reduce our dependence on foreign dictators, it will give us affordable energy and will create the jobs that we desperately need. after four long year, this bipartisan plan to create jobs and lower fuel prices should wait no longer. it is high time for the president to heed the wirns of the mrp people. stop the excuses and approve the keysto

mr. brooks: mr. speaker, i rise to proudly vote to repeal obamacare, the most dysfunctional law to pass the united states congress. why is obamacare dysfunctional? for the vast majority of americans, obamacare guarantees worst health care at higher costs. why is it dysfunctional? obamacare imposes 21 new taxes on america, there bep by according to the congressional budget office costing 800,000 americans to lose their jobs. in my home state of alabama, just one of those tax increases imposes $200 million a year in higher tax burdens on blue cross slush blue shield, costs that will translate into higher premiums. why is obamacare dysfunctional? those 21 tax increases come no where close to paying for the increases in obamacare costs, thereby denying health care and forcing higher taxes on already stressed family income. why is obamacare dysfunctional? it gives americans worst health care. doctors and patients will laf costly life saving health decisions. instead, independent payment advisory bureaucra

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. reid: i ask consent it be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, senators boxer and vitter have worked hard for days to come up with a finite list of amendments to complete work on this very important bill, the water resources development act. so i'm going to in just a minute ask consent that we postpone the vote scheduled for 12:00 today until 2:30. we'll come back in session, i hope, at 2:15 today, and when we come back in session i want senator boxer, chairman boxer to trort senate -- to report to the senate if they have been able to work out an agreement between the two of them. if they do, i want her to ask the consent. when she asks that consent, if there's agreement, we will work through a number of amendments they have been able to come up with to complete work on this bill. if there is no agreement at 2:15 whe

mr. miller tried to pave the way to this hearing with excuses and "usa today" he wrote in an op-ed, mistakes were made, but in no way due to any political motivation. i am thinking committee members won't stand for that. >> well, definitely on the republican side, no, i did an interview in that very room with the chair of the committee, dave camp, and he's extremely speckty call that the reason they made these criteria were for a shortcut. because they were being inundated for tax exempt status. he thinks it was political. but we'll have to hear what he has to say. what miller has to say. if he has the answers about exactly why they did it, and why if it wasn't political, it was just these conservative groups and not the more progressive groups. that's what it appears to be right now. >> may be no federal agency that invites the scorn of every american quite like the irs. even the president's fellow democrats aren't likely to tamp down the outrage of scandal. let's check in with gloria. c

mr. sessions: mr. speaker, thank you very much. i yield myself two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i want to acknowledge in fact what mr. cooper's presence here today, his idea was valid and in fact was utilized in what we have done. the difference, slight difference of how i'd like to describe this to the gentleman is we did not say that members cannot be paid. what we said is that no new debt can be used to pay members. so we would have to be paid out of if we're spending 40% too much money today and 60% was coming in, we could be paid out of that amount. but we could not be paid out of the debt side amount which is what this legislation is germane and what this legislation is about. so i do thank the gentleman. thankate for his ideas -- i thank the gentleman for his ideas, that members of congress should equally suffer or equally gain as the american people have. in this circumstance, it's the loss for all of us, an

mr. crowley is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. george, you are the inspector general of the treasury is that correct? >> actually there are three inspectors general within the depth of the treasury. i am the inspector general exclusively focused on the irs on the system of tax administration. >> over the irs. very good. you were appointed by then president bush is that correct? >> yes, correct. >> and you state in your report that no one outside the irs was involved in this political targeting of not for profit organizations, is that correct? >> that is the finding of this particular audit, sir. >> your audit, your findings are that no outside groups were involved, correct? >> of this particular -- yes. as of now. that's our -- >> mr. george, who was the last presidentially appointed irs commissioner? >> it was douglas schulmann. >> appointed by then president george w. bush is that correct? >> that is correct, sir. >> and mr. schulmann was commissioner when these improper and outrageous activities that both sides of the aisle rec

thank you very much mr. martin. mr. rose i believe you had an opinion on this matter >> i don't know why you would say that. mr. chairman you continue this resolution at our meeting of march 16th and i did direct the analysts about the airports whether they required the advertising for limited. you required the budget analysts to provide more information on the percent of the rent and the minimal guarantee and we've included that information. in the professional jgment of the budget and legislative analysts to pay rent to the airport if the percent rent exceeds the guarantee it's not in the best interest of the city. i'd like to make two more comments. you just harder mr. martin say that concession sales are off the chart quote/unquote. that's precisely supervisors why it's important why every other airport in the country requires a percent of gross if it exceeds the guarantee of the concession off the chart. that's why the general fund has benefited to the tune of a million dollars over the past few years because the r

mr. reid: mr. president, last night the senate judiciary committee, after some 24 hearings, several weeks of markup, advance add commonsense, bipartisan proposal to fix our broken immigration system. no one can dispute that it's broken. no one can dispute that it needs to be fixed. i commend the committee and i'm grateful to everyone who worked those long hours. i will bring a strong, bipartisan bill to -- i will bring this bill, which is a strong, bipartisan bill, to the floor in june, sometimes soon after we've returned from the memorial day work period. although neither republicans nor democrats will support each and every aspect of this legislation, it's gratifying to see the momentum behind these reforms that will make our country safer and help 11 million undocumented immigrants get right with the law. i applaud significantly, mr. president, the efforts of the gang of eight, four democrats, four republicans, who showed bravery as they set aside bipartisanship to address this legislation for o

mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker -- mr. langevin: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today in honor of foster care month and on behalf of the foster youth across this country. i'd like to commend representative karen bass, tom marino, jim mcdermott and michele bachmann for their leadership on the bipartisan foster youth caucus and for their work on this important issue. foster youth are some of the most at-risk children in our society. they often are the victims of abuse or neglect and too many face trials and tribulations beyond their years. so much of what we take for granted, a stable home, living with our siblings, or returning to the same school year after year are constant obstacles for these children. however, the month of may and day should serve as a reminder of the opportunities that we all have to make a positive difference in their lives. growing up my parents welcomed many foster children into our family and provided them with a loving, stable and nurturing environment. mr. speaker, these children belong to all of us. and we are all respon

mr. young and as well as the members of stgtv covering this meeting. >> mr. clerk, do we have any announcements? >> yes, please silence all cell phones and electronic devices complete your speaker cards and any documents to be included as part of the file should be submitted to the clerk, items will be on the june 13th, agenda unless otherwise stated. >> could you call number one. >> resolution authoritying the office of the district attorney to contract for accept and expend up to $256,974, allocated from the california victim compensation and government claims board for the project entitled the criminal restitution compact. >> all right, we have jackie ortiz from the district attorney office. >> thank you for having me here today. i am here to explain to you a little bit about the restitution specialists. i wanted to let you know that she is a liaison between the victims, the state, and the district attorney's office in assisting prosecutors with imposing fines, fees, and orders for cou

mr. lee: mr. president? mr. mccain: so, again, i'm -- it's really disappointing that we are spending this time when we should be on the farm bill, the senator from california and i have important amendments to remove a lot of the corruption that's in that bill. and so i would go ahead and yield the floor. mr. lee: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: as to the suggestion that this produces a budget resolution that at the end of the day does not go to the president and isn't law, technically on its own face that's accurate. what we're concerned about here are the instructions that would accompany the conference report, instructions that would allow the normal rules of the senate to be circumvented. specifically for something like this, for a piece of legislation that would itself raise the debt limit to be considered -- mr. durbin: will the senator yield for a question? mr. lee: just let me finish what i'm saying. to be voted on a 50-vote margin rather than on a 60-vote margin. an

mr. burgess: mr. speaker, by direction of committee of the rules, i call up house resolution 215 and for its immediate consideration. the clerk: house calendar number 24, house resolution 215, resolved that upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill h.r. 45, to repeal the patient protection and affordable care act and health care-related provisions in the health care and education reconciliation act of 2010. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. the amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules, accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. the bill as amended shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill as amended are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervenings motion except one, two hours of debate equally divided and controlled by the respective chairs and

mr. lee: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 133 submitted earlier today. i further ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: reserving mr. president -- the presiding officer: the senior senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. blumenthal: thank you mr. president. reserving the right to object, i'll have a request with another resolution momentarily but i understand my friend from utah's resolution and i believe that this problem is broader than the one cited in his resolution. in fact, looking to the conduct of the philadelphia instance, i would prosecute that case to the fullest extent of the law. i think the conduct or more correctly, misconduct in that incident was absolutely despicable and be a hoarntd but i'm -- abhorrent but i'm concerned about

mr. payne: mr. speaker, i rise today in strong opposition to the so-called working families flexibility act. mr. speaker, this is a bill, a sheep in wolf's clothing, a guide to press employees to work more and get paid less. h.r. 1406, which i like to call paying working families less act, cuts overtime pay and eliminates all flexibility. rather than pay overtime when the work is performed, this bill provides the employers have up to a year to pay an employee their overtime. essentially providing employers unauthorized interest-free loans. this bill will hurt working-class families and wage workers that depend on their overtime to pay their rent, their grocery bill, their heating and water bills. they can't afford to wait a year for pay that they have rightfully earned. mr. speaker, this is not worker or family-friendly bill. as some of my colleagues are leading this body to believe. rather, it is a blatant attempt to dismantle the fair labor act and roll back workers' rights 100 years. i urge my co

mr. jeffries: mr. speaker, it's an honor and privilege to once again have this opportunity to anchor the c.b.c. special order along with my very disting westerned colleague, my good friend from the silver state, epresentative steven horsford, where for the next 60 minutes, during this hour of power, members of the congressional black caucus will have an opportunity to speak directly to the american people about the sues facing higher education here in america. we are at a crisis moment. as it relates to our capacity to make sure that we can provide an affordable college education to as many americans as possible. the problem that we in this country confront is two-fold. first, the cost of a college education keeps going up but the amount of financial aid available to younger americans keeps coming down. as a result, higher education is increasingly out of reach, particularly for low-income americans or working families or the sons and daughters of the middle class. and a college education is a pathway

mr. duffy can work with mr. badiner to make sure that this for -- >> mr. san che. >> excuse me, mr. sanchez. and i'd be okay with that if mr. williams was okay with that. and mr. sanchez? >> thank you. >> mr. williams here? >> yes, the neighbors never had objections to an upgrade to make the bathroom a-d-a compliant. >> answer my question of mr. glad stone just stated. is that yes? >> yes. >> okay. >> those permits are condition to allow work just to the bathrooms. >> that's what i understand. okay. >> so, it's a proposal to continue the items to allow the parties to revise them or to have the board make those revisions now? >> thank you, scott sanchez, planning. the board grant the appeals on all the items, limit the scope of work to only a-d-a renovations to the bathroom. no other work. and that there be no chase of use, and that the existing and proposed use be clarified to be retail. >> okay, everybody is nodding. >> if that's the proposal i would like to get clarity on the individual permits so that we know exactly what we're saying with respect to the notices of decision for e

mr. miller: thank you. mr. chairman, i want to thank all my colleagues who entered into debate here this morning on this legislation. i think it is clear this is' a very big -- there's a very big different between our positions on this legislation. there's a big difference between the presidents bill who is system, and this billan before us that uses a market system. fact is the presidents bill repus dollars. the republicans would not make president obama's bill in order for consideration.n. why not? they say it's like this. they're doing the same thing as the president. not.they're no they are adding $4 billion wort of debt onto the backsde of back of students over their programs.anw th you've heard my colleagues on this side of the i'll speak to the issues that we hear all of the time when we go home. stu the struggle of students, the struggle of families, be theync, get access a income, to get access and to be able to complete the college education to get access to aolle to g college, to get a certificate, t

nd i yield, mr. pocan. mr. pocan: thank you for your leadership, how to give a good direct vision, the reality of costs and higher education. i can say one thing from being a state leages lator for 14 years, i served when the federal economy collapsed and states had less and less money to invest in public universities. you hear about the rising costs of private universities, but in a system like university of wisconsin which is one of the world class university system is, the costs have gone up enough that it is harder and harder for the average person to afford. they rely on the loans and if the interest rates double or worse yet we pass 1911 and make them increase even more, you are taking that affordability out of more people's hands. i want to share a short story from someone who posted it on my facebook page and i would like to introduce another person on this issue. i asked for a comment on our facebook page and i got a comment from a woman named amber, short but poignant. i haven't yet started paying bac

mr. poe: mr. speaker, cara was in the third grade when the school notified hire parents about her difficulty in processing words. her speech pattern was different. it affected every aspect of her life, including her self-esteem. so kara's third grade teacher, mrs. morgan, was determined to help the little girl speak better so the teacher and the pupil worked very hard together on talking. the success of both of them occurred this way. later that little girl who couldn't speak very well woke off the stage in high school as valedictorian. she also obtained her bachelor's degree, her master's degree and today she's an associate professor at baylor university in the department, yes, english. the little girl with word problems is teaching about word patterns. i come from a family of teachers. my mother, my mother-in-law, my wife and my three daughters are teachers by profession. and kara is one of those daughters. so today being teacher's appreciation day we thank mrs. morgan and all of america's teach

when you listen to the testimony of mr. miller. mr. miller can't even remember his -- the names of the people who are in his chain of command. he can't even remember who he talked to last, what was the conversation about. did he talk to anybody in the secretary of treasury's office? he can't even remember dates, times and places. and finally, he couldn't remember when i asked him, who did you talk to about this? who came up with the criteria? if mr. levin is correct and the i.g. is correct, because he did stipulate this as well, he found this, that there was no evidence of white house influence or obama campaign influence, if that's correct, is this still appropriate of your chairman to keep saying culture of corruption throughout the government and this is an example of it if it had nothing to do with the presidential influence at all? >> i don't think that's proven yet. >> sure you do. okay. here's the question. if you have no evidence right now this friday of any white house involvement and don't have any evidence next week and the

mr. petri: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous -- mr. peters: mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues to bring attention to this issue by working with service providers, counselors and military groups in their communities as we continue to honor the sacrifices these service members made for us. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. thompson: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, today the house agriculture committee is marking up a five-year farm bill re-authorization. the federal agriculture reform and risk management act of 2013 or farm act. the farm act is a commonsense package of agricultural reforms that will save taxpayers nearly $40 billion while strengthening the economic health of our family farms and small businesses. the bill is a product of a multiyear policy assessme

mr. miller, while you were appointed acting commissioner at the irs, you are a career civil servant. is that not the case? >> yes. >> you are not a political appointee. >> i am not. >> what i'm trying to basically the blanc is the notion or idea -- tryin gto debunk are the nonfactual statements by chair camp to link these candles to the white house or solely targeting of conservative groups -- link these scandals to white house. i asked the questions of ms. lerner last week as to whether or not the irs was investigating political not for profit organizations. she got involved after she was asked a question at a press event and that is simply understandable. important, think is at least at this point in time, i would hope is in a bipartisan context because we want to find the facts. we want to find out who knew what and when and what steps were or were not taken. i was just as outraged when i was learned when she was asked the question why she did not tell congress. i asked her and she did

mr. miller: mr. chairman, we have no other speakers at this time so we are prepared to close if the ranking member is as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentleman from maine. mr. michaud: thank you, mr. speaker. in closing, mr. speaker, h.r. 570, as amended, is a solid piece of legislation. one that the veteran service organizations supports. that the committee supports. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. with that, mr. speaker, i have no further speakers so i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maine yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. miller: mr. speaker, i once again urge all my colleagues to support h.r. 570, as amended. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 570, as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those

mr. wilson: mr.aker, 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 from south carolina is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, for over 1,700 days, the administration has delayed the keystone x.l. pipeline application. according to a pew research poll, 2/3 of the american people from both political parties support the project. last night there was a bipartisan vote to promote the pipeline from canada, america's best energy partner. the completion of the keystone x.l. pipeline will create 120,000 jobs and produce 830,000 barrels of oil a day, helping to grow our economy. two years ago i had the opportunity to visit alberta, canada, and i witnessed firsthand the canadian oil sands and positive impact that exploration has for american families. in south carolina's second congressional district, companies like michelin tire corporation of lexington and m.t.u. detroit diesel of akin

mr. shulman no longer in government agreed to testify voluntarily, no word yet on whether the head of the irs tax exempt division will testify at the hearing. this hearing before ways and means should get underway shortly. one more note, president obama yesterday tapped a new head, acting head of the irs. it would be danny werfel who is with the office of management and budget, the "washington post" writing this morning that mr. werfel rose through the rank at omb and the justice department as a budget analyst and a lawyer before president obama tapped into serve as omb comptroller in 2009. live coverage here on c-span2. [inaudible conversations] >> the committee will come to order. on may 10, lois lerner, director of exempt or positions for the internal revenue service division that oversees tax-exempt groups finally acknowledged at a decent been targeting conservative leaning political organizations. four days later, the treasury inspector general for tax administration confirmed that a

mr. thompson what they were intended and secure our personnel. i see i am out of time. theo to the chairman of resources committee, mr. hastings. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me add my voice to my colleagues. thank you for your service. it should go without saying, but nonetheless we do appreciate it. you have answered this, so i just wanted clarification. there was a lawyer who came in who is not allowed to go to the because he was not qualified. the state department sent in this lawyer. were you told why the lawyer was sent? >> it to participate in all the meetings and all events associated with the congressman's visit. never have occurred before in my career. did the state department say the lawyer was going to come and participate in all of the meetings? you were told that? yes. >> you mentioned the town of the state department changed probably after the rice interview. >> it began to change. >> give us examples of how things changed. have my management style counseled by assistant

mr. pacheco, if you could please go over the board's meeting guidelines and conduct the swearing in process. >> professor: the board requests that you turnoff all cell phones and pagers so they will not disturb the proceeding. please carry on conversations in the hallway. and the board rules of presentation are as follows. appellants, public holders and department representatives each have 7 minutes to present their cases and 3 minutes for rebuttals. people affiliated with these parties must include their comments within the 7 or 3-minute periods. members of the public not affiliated with the parties have up to three minutes each to address the board but no rebuttals. to assist the board in the accurate preparation of minutes, members of the public who wish to speak on an item are asked, but not required, to submit a speaker card or business card to board staff when you come up to the podium. speaker cards and pens are available on the left side of the podium. the board also welcomes your

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 10:30. the republicans will control the first half and the majority the feignal half. following morning business, the senate will resume consideration of the water resources development act. there will be up to seven roll call votes to complete action on the bill and we're going to start the voting at about 10:30 this morning. mr. president, there's a lot going on here, committees meeting, but i want to alert all senators, my democrats and the republicans, we have a lot of votes to do, and we're not going to wait around while someone strolls in. we're going to first vote -- i direct this question to the chair: are the final six votes ten-minute votes? so the first vote will be the regular 15-minute vote. after that it is 10 minutes. i am alerting everyone that we're going 0 close the votes as quickly as we can, so we can finish this. the r

mr. young: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 588. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 16, h.r. 588, a bill to provide for donor contribution acknowledgments to be displayed at the vietnam veterans memorial visitors center and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from alaska, mr. young, and the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alaska. mr. young: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. young: i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, last year jan scrubs, president of the vietnam veterans memorial fund, came to my office and told me about a fundraising problem he had. he told me that in order to bu

mr. chairman, since we're doing the oversight here, the rule, i understand the king's english, and it says the promotion of social welfare does not include direct or indirect participation or invention in political intervention in political campaign. now, how you interpret that to say that that does allow some intervention in local campaigns is beyond it, and if that had been cut off at the pass we wouldn't even be dating to these -- yes, sir. >> the oversight of the level of campaign intervention by 501(c) fours, subsequent shortly. shortly. >> who will be doing that? >> my organization, the treasury inspector general for tax administration. >> well, in conclusion, i would say if we could get the irs to follow the law and the regulation that implemented it, we wouldn't have this problem in the future. >> sender, i agree with you but i also think it's very complicated. and it's unfortunaunfortuna te this issue has not been addressed the last couple of years with any precision, any focus,

mr. thune: mr. president, i rise today to discuss some of the amendments that i have offered to the 2013 farm bill. first of all, let me start by thanking the chairwoman and the ranking member for their leadership in listening to the voices of the members of the agriculture committee when it comes to reauthorizing the farm bill which is set to expire at the end of september. we vice president been able to agree on all aspects of the farm bill. our chairwoman and ranking member, however, should be recognized for their tireless work in getting a farm bill done this year. one way or the other, we do need to move this process forward. we came close last year when the senate passed a farm bill, but we were unable to get the house to move it, and i'm hoping this year we can complete that process and get a bill that's actually able to put on the president's desk and be able to give the producers around this country the certainty that they need when it comes to planting and to make decisions about the futur

mr. levin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: i want to start by thanking senator whitehouse who has shown such strong leadership on the issues that we're going to be discussing this afternoon, which is how do we get out of the sequestration box that we are now in. i also want to thank him for joining with me in sponsoring the cut unjustified tax loopholes act, which could do so much to address the problems which we're going to be discussiodiscussing here today,g the need to move forward on the solutions to our budget deficit and end ting sequestration. and i would -- and to ending sequestration. and i would ask unanimous consent, mr. president, following my remarks, that the senator from rhode island, be recognized for his remarks on the subject. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: mr. president, at the beginning of march, when congrescongress's failure to rea compromise to reach a compromise -- sequestration will take place, and i'm excited

mr. murphy: i ask that i be allowed to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, madam president. it has now been almost six months since the horrible shooting in my state of connecticut in sandy hook, connecticut, where 20 6- and 7 olds lost their lives and another six adults protecting them perished as well. we all believed that we were going to do something about it on the floor of the senate. we thought we were going to come to our senses and finally realize the laws of this nation that allow for this kind of senseless killing whether it be in mass numbers in places like sandy hook or aurora or tucson, or in your state, madam president,, the sikh temple or in the everyday average gun violence that has become background noise to this nation. it is not just about bad people doing bad things. it is also about the laws of this nation that have allowed for this to happen because we don't have background checks on every gun purchase so

mr. sablan: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sablan: and i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sablan: mr. speaker, h.r. 356 clarifies existing law regarding the federal government's authority to permit land exchanges within the boundaries of the indian reservations in northeastern utah and resolves the real estate problem caused by federal error over 50 years ago. the legislation returns the state to the yute tribe and a portion of its reservation that the tribe considers culturally and environmentally significant and thus preserves the area's pristine wilderness from development. last congress the house passed a virtually identical bill under suspension of the rule by voice vote and again i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 356 and i reserve the balance of my time. mr. bishop: i'm ready to conclude whenever the gentleman is. mr. sablan: mr. speaker,

mr. kelly. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. george you have been on the job since november of 2004, is that correct. >> 2004. >> anything rise to this level before? >> no, nothing. >> can i ask you why did it take so long from the first time we knew this was happening to the report? the president said just the other day, i think it was yesterday he just got a look at the report. that is the first time he knew anything about it. >> well -- >> other than reading in the papers i guess. >> are you asking how? >> have you ever seen that magnitude before, anything of this magnitude before? >> no. >> it has never come up before? >> no, it has not. >> all right. thank you. mr. miller, you've been on the job for quite some years but the current job you're in is from november 9th, 2012. is that right? you just took over as acting commissioner? >> in november of 12, yes. >> okay. >> i had both jobs. >> but before that, one of your jobs you were the commissioner of tax-exempt and government entities division. so you actually were in the jo

mr. nunez is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr.do you know the director's organization's lois learner. >> yes. >> do you know she testified before this committee last wednesda wednesday? >> i believe i was. >> did you acknowledge that she did not acknowledge this investigation at this time? >> i was engaged in other testimony at that time. >> were you aware that the irs was preparing a statement to be put out in this week? >> yeah. i don't know whether we knew at that time or not. >> wouldn't have ms. learner have known that last week when she testified before this committee? >> i don't know that. >> did you know that ms. learner was going to appear on a panel called news and the american treasury at a bar organization. >> i knew she was appearing, but i did not know the topic. >> did you or your representatives prepare the statements she would make? >> it was a prepared q&a. >> do you know cecilia roady? >> yes. >> do you know she was with remarks that were planned in advance. >> yes sh, i believe so. >> did you have contact by ei

hirono. >> no. >> mr. grassley. >> aye. >> mr. hatch. >> no. >> mr. sessions. >> aye. >> mr. graham. >> no by proxy. >> mr. cornyn. >> no. >> mr. lee. >> no by proxy. >> mr. cruz. >> no by proxy. >> mr. flake. >> no. >> mr. chairman. >> no. >> mr. chairman, the votes are 15 ays, 15 -- two yeas, nays. >> senator klobuchar voted in person. >> this is my last second-degree amendment to the hatch amendment, and we don't have a number on this one. number 4. >> amendment number 4. >> this amendment would apply the same wage requirements written in the bill to all ployers, not just some employers. the bill currently states that h-1-b dependent employers would be required to offer level two ages to an h-1-b nonimmigrant. let me explain h-1-b dependent employers and level two wages. h-1-b dependent employers are defined under current law and, again, in this bill has employers that have certain number of h-1-b visaholders. for example, a company is an h-1-b dependent if that employer has more than 51 total employees and of those at least 15% are h-1-b nonimmigrants. the wage levels are