mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, if this resolution passes and we weaken nato's mission, gaddafi mayvery well prevail. his forces will then kill, rape, and torture all those libyans who oppose him as he is already trying to do. gaddafi has reportedly kidnapped thousands of people, including young students to serve as human shields and marcat the vanguard of his forces. if any of his own soldiers refuse to gun down unarmed innocent civilians, they are shot immediately. once he's done with his own people, he'll turn his attention to those nato and middle eastern nation that is attacked him and seek revenge. remember, this is a man who is already responsible for the deaths of 189 innocent passengers on pan am 103. let's face it, this is not about whether the obama administration has been fellow enough in explaining the libyan rationale to congress. members understand why the president intervened. we can read. we can think. we can decide. the real question is, will we politicize this effort in the same way that

mrs. capps: mr. chairman, i yield myself 30 seconds to respond to my colleague from colorado, the author of the bill. section 328 of the clean air act is what is at issue today in this amendment. it was created more than 20 years ago largely at the insinsens of california officials. in fact, my republican predecessor, he introduced this legislation because residents were unhappy about uncontrolled air pollution from offshore drilling as well as local industry and business groups who were upset that offshore sources were basically free to pollute while onshore producers tried to make up for the degraded air quality. only two states now have this permission to -- mr. gardner: will the gentleman yield? the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired. i will yield 1 1/2 minutes to my colleague from delaware, mr. carney. the chair: the gentlelady has 1 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman is recognized. mr. carney: i rise in support of this amendment and i ask unanimous consent that this letter from the dela

mr. camp: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i will just reserve and close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. levin: thank you, mr. camp. you are going to close. i now yield a final minute to our leader who will close on our behalf, ms. pelosi from the great state of california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. pelosi: thank you for your compliment to our great state of california. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, when i first heard that this legislation was coming to the floor i anticipated with some positive thought of, yes, this is the right thing to do. america must pay its bills. we know how to do that. we want to go forward assuring the american people that when we decide not to default on our debt that we are showing our strength even though it may be difficult for people to support that. then, i heard that it was going to come up like this on sunday. they said it would be up on tuesday. the bill is predated on a false premise. it says

mrs. lowey: mr. speaker? the chair: the gentleman will suspend. the gentlelady's amendment falls within the previous paragraph. is the gentlelady seeking unanimous consent to return to the previous paragraph? mrs. lowey: i ask unanimous consent to return to -- the chair: is there objection? >> object. the chair: the gentleman from alabama objects. mrs. lowey: i rise to strike the last word, then. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. mrs. lowey: mr. speaker, my amendment would address two critical shortfalls in the fiscal year 2012 homeland security appropriations bill. inadequate funding for communities devastated by recent disasters and for first responder and anti-terror programs, we have a responsibility to help rebuild homes and businesses following disasters throughout the south and midwest where communities are reeling and families are mourning and rebuilding. chairman aderholt whose alabama district was devastated by tornados took the first step in committee by increasing

mrs. kara mill. mr. duffy and his wife, mrs. heidi duffy. mrs. naomi aferly and her husband, mr.honorable mr. davis and his wife, ms. olivia morgan. mrs. sarah blomenfield mrs. winnie agel and her guest. mr. greg kennedy and his wife, mrs. karen guverman. mr. robert sparks and a guest. mr. a.j.baeon and his wife ms. kate field and her husband. the honorable norman mineta and his wife, mrs. veni mineta. and mr. jeremy alters and guest, mrs. liana geriol. mr. richard faunte and his wife, mrs. jenine faunte. mr. robert bucini and his wife, mrs. elizabeth bucini. mr. haywood yan and his wife, mrs. yan. >> it's great. no better place. i was here years before at an architecture group. >> nuremberg? >> yes. >> the honorable john roberts, chief justice of the united states, and his wife, mrs. jane roberts. ms. darlene miller and her guest, ms. terry lee strauss. the honorable senator jeanne shaheen and her husband, mr. william shaheen. the honorable austin goolsby and his wife, mrs. robin goolsby. ms. lisa budmoon and her husband, mr. mark kastoler. mr. doug hickey and his wife, ms. dawn

mr. camp: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i will just reserve and close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. levin: thank you, mr. camp. you are going to close. i now yield a final minute to our leader who will close on our behalf, ms. pelosi from the great state of california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. pelosi: thank you for your compliment to our great state of california. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, when i first heard that this legislation was coming to the floor i anticipated with some positive thought of, yes, this is the right thing to do. america must pay its bills. we know how to do that. we want to go forward assuring the american people that when we decide not to default on our debt that we are showing our strength even though it may be difficult for people to support that. then, i heard that it was going to come up like this on sunday. they said it would be up on tuesday. the bill is predicated on a false premise. it say

the gentleman from florida, mr. nugent, is recognized. mr. nugent: mr. speaker, i support the rule and the underlying legislation and i encourage my colleagues to support it as well. i know that since i've come to the house i've gotten up here and talked time and time again about our government's core mission. there's no doubt there's nothing more central to the purpose of government than to provide for our nation's defenses. it's in the preamble of the constitution, provide for the common defense. it's in the oath we took when we swore -- when we're sworn into office to defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic. h.r. 2219 fulfills our constitutional duty to provide for our nation's defense. additionally h. house res. 320 ensures it will review the legislation completely in an open and transparent manner that all american people deserve to see. with that i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his

mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i reserve. -- mr. woodall: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i have no more requests for time and i want to ask my colleague if he's prepared to close. mr. woodall: we're prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. slaughter: thank you. i urge a no vote on the rule. remind us the last time we had such a weighty debate we devoted 26 hours to it and 263 members, more than half the house of representatives, spoke. i agree with what has just been said about ms. lee, it's much too late. it comes at a very strange time, and it says this is a political move which i regret, because, as she pointed out, and those others who have been here before, voting to go to war is the most solemn experience that we face here. so let me urge a no vote on the rule and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from georgia

mr. miller: mr. speaker, members of the house, little more than a year ago 29 coal miners lost their lives in the upper big branch mine in west virginia. our nation watched in sadness as a small community felt the lash of the worst coal mine tragedy in decades. our nation promised these families to get to the bottom of what happened and we promised to make sure that nothing like this would ever happen again. the good news is we learned what caused this tragedy. last month an independent panel released a 13-month long investigation report. they said the explosion could have been preventable. the warning signs about dangerous conditions in the mine were ignored leading up to the tragedy. they found that the massey energy company ignored basic safety precautions that the mining industry had recognized for more than a century. repeated violations had become business as usual, something which the investigation called the normalization of deviance where unsafe behavior and conditions become normal at upper

mr. carter: mr. speaker, i rise today to urge the democrat leadership in the senate to merely take up the fiscal year 2012 department of homeland security appropriation bill which was passed by this house on june 2. with the 10th anniversary of the tragic attacks of september 11 rapidly approaching, the proliferation of violence along the southern border and natural disasters, it is irresponsible for senate democrats to hold up this bill any longer. the house passed bill included $1 billion in supplemental funding in fema disaster relief program that is available immediately upon passage. these funds are desperately needed to respond to natural disaster that have swept the country, including the wildfires which have devastated my home state of texas. the house-passed bill uses taxpayer dollars wisely, cutting $1.1 billion from tweer 2011 levels while -- from fiscal year 2011 levels while making sure that the border security and others are fully funded. it putting the security of american citizens at

mr. dicks: mr. chairman, i make a point of order against the amendment because it violates clause 5-a-2 of rule 21. the amendment prohibits the use of funds for implementing the patient protection and affordable care act and thus is proposing a limitation on funds in a general appropriation bill for the administration of attacks or tariff -- a tax or tariff in violation of the rule. the chair: any member wish to be heard on this point of order? mr. wing: chairman. the chair: the gentleman from iowa. mr. king: the rule referenced by the gentleman, we have many limitations on funds in our appropriations bills, and if the decision comes down to whether there is a parliamentary objection or not, i think i can go back through many of these appropriations bills and find limitation after limitation. the practice of the congress has been to do so and there will be other amendment which is have not been objected to that limit the utilization of this fund and many others. i simply make that argument to the ch

mr. poe: mr. speaker, we have a group of people in the united states who are all volunteers that i call the american angels abroad. they are el-- those thousands of peace corps volunteers throughout the world that are helping third world countries in many different ways. they go to remote areas of the world, far from home, far from their families, they work in very primitive conditions, but yet they are those angels trying to help other people throughout the world. and they are called the peace corps volunteers. the peace corps started as an idea of president kennedy back in 1960 when he spoke to the university of michigan and encouraged those students to volunteer to help america abroad. and finally, in 1961, he started the peace corps. since then over 200,000 americans, mainly young people, mainly females, have volunteered to go around the world representing the united states. it is very hard work being a peace corps volunteer. they deal with issues that most americans never deal with. just simp

mr. marcus jones? >> mr. speaker, mr. speaker, as a parent, i'mppalled that the party opposite burdening our children with ever more debts that the party opposite are putting forward with their reckless tax cuts and spending commitments of which the v.a.t. cut is the latest. >> order! order! the honorable gentleman will now resume his seat. valerie bags? >> thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. speaker. >> shhhh. >> there are 400 avoidableebts from epilepsy and relatable conditions. my rule bill asks for two things, an immediate referral to a tertiary specialist and an education support for children with an assessment and additionalupport so that they can fulfill their potential. could the prime minister meet with me the joint epilepsy counseling and professor helen crops how we can advance these provisions which will not only save costs but more importantly, ve lives. >> i'd be delighted to meet with her and also with helen cross who i know well who is an absolutely brilliant clinician and someone i know well. i am keen

mr. polis: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for two minutes. ms. kaptur: i thank the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis, for yielding and rise against this rule and the underlying bill. the bill is unconstitutional, it will stifle american job creation, cripple american innovation, throws out 220 years of patent protections for individual inventors and violates the cut-go rules, increasing our deficit by over $1 billion. this bill should never have been brought to the floor. not only is it chalk full of special interest legislation for large banks and a handful of corporate interests, what we are voting on today makes mockery of the openness that the republican leadership promised in legislative procedures. the bill has gone through a lot of its rations without sunlight since it was first reported out of committee. and the congressional budget office is scoring this latest version of the bill th

mr. reed: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker: without objection, the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. the speaker: the gentleman may resume. mr. reed: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i did unanimous -- ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker: without objection. mr. reed: house resolution 287 provides for open rule of consideration of h.r. 2017. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of house resolution 278, to provide the rule for h.r. 2017, the homeland security appropriations act for fiscal year 2012. mr. speaker, i'm proud to be managing this rule, the first truly open rule since july 31, 2007. an agriculture appropriations bill in the 110th congress. the 112th congress has made it clear that it's an open process and this rule exemplifies this initiative. for 119 members of the 112th congress, this is their f

mr. carter: mr. chairman, i reserve a point of order on the gentlewoman's amendment. the chair: a point of order is reserved. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from california for five minutes in support of her amendment. ms. richardson: mr. chairman, as former chair and current ranking member on the homeland security emergency preparedness subcommittee and member of the transportation and infrastructure committee, i offered this amendment in good faith to save lives and to protect american citizens. like my republican colleague, chairman king, i have a strong concern with the current appropriations bill in its current form which in and of it self could potentially cause dangerous threats to our national security by drastically cutting vital response and prevention programs, leaving americans and their visitors vulnerable when we are most in time of need. my amendment will make great strides to remedy this danger by ensuring that the department of homeland security secretary allocates $50 million f

mr. paul: mr. is a resolution that endorses the policies that have been going on for four months. not only is the congress basically been pretty strong in opposition of what's been going on, the american people are even more so. so what this resolution does, it endorses exactly what has been going on, another unconstitutional war, involvement and justification under nato, the united nations, doing it secretly. there's an attempt to restrain the funding of this effort over here over in libya, but why and how can we restrain it because we never authorized it? restrain unauthorized funds? the president just goes and does it. . the challenge on the congress looking at the unitary president. the unitary president has been around for quite a few years and that means presidents do what he they want. the congress just acknowledges it. so that is what we are doing. this is what this resolution does. it acknowledges and gives the authority to the president to pursue what he has been doing. so obviously h.j.r

mr. broun: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, my amendment would eliminate one of 20 different programs that usda operates, the water rehabilitation program. the chairman of the subcommittee, my good friend from georgia, has stated during debate on funding for agriculture programs that he hopes to see a reduction in the number of federal programs included in this bill. i understand that some of my colleagues have a vested interest in this program. but when we have a program, its funding projects in only a handful of states, we must take a long, hard look at our priorities. mr. chairman, even the president did not request funding for this program. it cannot be understated that we are facing unprecedented fiscal challenges in our nation. we just simply have to stop spending money that we don't have and we have to start creating jobs out in the private sector. and my amendment will, by cutting this program, will help to stop the bleeding economically that we're having. the consequences of failure to reduce spending jeopard

mr. frank: mr. speaker, i want to send a message to our allies, and i don't think we are pulling the rug out from under them. look at these wealthy populous nations of western europe. i believe it's a good thing to get rid of gaddafi. does america have to do everything? people say we are the indispensable nation. that's a terrible burden to impose on ourself. we cannot afford it and it cannot be done effectively. let's get people who can dispense with it. my friend, the ranking member of the appropriations committee said, we have to do this because nato can bomb but they can't suppress. what a great bunch of allies, they can bomb on armed people but if they shoot back they got to come running to as you. yes, i want to send a message to nato. gaddafi's a bad guy. if england and france and italy and germany and spain and the netherlands and scandinavia can't together muster the military force for this weakened poor nation, then let's re-examine the value of this ally. there was in the "king and i" whe

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. reid following any leader remarks the senate will be in a period of morning business for one hour, with the republican controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half. following morning business, the senate will resume consideration of the economic development act. there are currently five amendments pending to the bill. mr. president, this is an important bill. this is the most important bill we've ever done? the answer is, of course not. but it is an important piece of legislation. the economic revitalization act is central. what are the central points of this legislation? the e.d.a. has helped create jobs and growth in economically hard-hit communities across this nation. the reauthorization of this important legislation will help ensure that agencies are able to continue creating jobs and investing in distressed communities. since 2005, the e.d.a. has invested about $1.2 billion, and these

mr. thune: mr. president, point of clarification here. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: my understanding is the senator from california cannot yield time to another senator. the presiding officer: the senator can yield time but not the floor. the senator from california. mrs. boxer: thank you. so is there objection to my unanimous consent request that senator thune go right after senator brown for as long as he wishes. ms. snowe: mr. president, reserving the right to object. you've been addressing the senate. so wouldn't it be appropriate for the senator from south dakota now to speak? mrs. boxer: the unanimous consent sthaeuft right to -- is that i have the right to call on senator brown. i can yield to senator brown is my understanding. the presiding officer: you can yield time but not control the floor. mrs. boxer: i was going to yield time to senator brown. the presiding officer: not give senator brown the floor. mrs. boxer: then i will yield to him for some quest

>> question number 1, mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this morning i had 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. thousands of people in my constituency work hard for less than 26,000 pounds a year. does my right honorable friend that everybody who believes that capping benefits must vote for the welfare reform bill tonight? >> i think my honorable friend is entirely right. i think we are right to reform welfare. welfare costs have got out of control in our country. we want to make sure that work always pays. we want to make sure that if people do the right thing we'll be on their side. and it cannot be right for some families to get over 26,000 pounds a year in benefits, that is paid for by people who are working hard and paying their taxes. and i would say that everyone in the house should support the welfare bill tonight. it is just a disappointment that labour talk about welfare but won't vote for welfare reform. >>

mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, a vote for this rule is a vote to cut w.i.c. even further and give it to brazilian cotton farmers. at this point i yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett, is recognized for a minute and a half. mr. doggett: our republican colleagues have chatted endlessly about making hard choices, but most of the hard choices they make today are hard only on the hungry. hard on hungry children, hard on hungry seniors. they've got tremendous cuts to the women, infant and chirp nutritional assistance. it -- children nutritional assistance. it means that 350,000 women and infants will be denied assistance, including tens of thousands in my home state of texas. they made a hard choice. instead of putting food on the table for those women and infants, they chose to send $147 million to brazilian cotton farmers. i think that's not just a hard choice, it's a very bad choice. those young children will never achieve

mr. bishop: mr. chairman, once again, we thank the pages who will be having their graduation ceremonies tomorrow and leaving us. we wish them very well on their further endeavors. thank you very much. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. -- without objection, the time of the the gentleman is expired. the unfinished business is the request for a vote offered on the amendment from the gentleman from high because, mr. king, on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. king of iowa. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in favor say aye will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen a sufficient number having arisen. a vote will be taken. members will record their votes by electronic vote. this is a series of two-minute votes. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage

mr. harper: mr. speaker, i yield as much time as he shall consume to the gentleman from california, mr. lungren. mr. lungren is the chairman of the committee on house administration. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise in support of this legislation. you know, mr. speaker, my mom was born and raised in chicago, illinois, and listening to her stories about what transpired in the political process when she was growing up there, i used to think that the only place you could find immortality in this world was on the voting rolls of cook county. but i find here today that ronald reagan was right. immortality is in the name of a federal government program. this is supposed to be a temporary program. it was supposed to give temporary assistance to the states to make sure they could comply and it's done that. it has done that. it has let out all the money, billions of dollars that go to the states to assist i

mr. garrett: mr. speaker, i applaud speaker boehner for raising this important issue today before the house. i cannot agree more with the speaker that the president has failed to explain to the nation the purpose and goals of our military operation in libya. the speaker's resolution rightly demands answers from the president with regard to the security interest and military objectives in our engagement with libya. i would go even further than that that the president has been in violation of the law and set out specific responses from congress. but let's be clear, congress must engage in a full and open and honest he d bait about sending our brave men -- debate about sending our brave men and women into combat. we owe that to the people. the founders intended such debate when they granted congress the power to declare war. the president's complete failure to receive specific authority as required by the war powers act and by the constitution leads to only one conclusion, that president obama is in viol

mr. hoyer: i thank you, mr. speaker. mr. chairman. i thank mr. bartlett from maryland for making the case. i tell my friends that when they say women and children first, it means to save them, not to throw them overboard. women and children first means that they are the most vulnerable and need to be lifted up, need to be protected, need to be given the handup, not the handout. ladies and gentlemen of this house, i rise in opposition to this bill, and i thank my friend from maryland, for whom i have great respect. i think in fact he did put this in context. we will not balance the budget on the backs of children. we will not balance this budget on the backs of women who need nutrition and health care. that's not how we're going to balance the budget, and the gentleman from maryland made that point i think very effectively. if we cut out all defense and discretionary spending, we wouldn't balance our budget. that's the magnitude of the problem that faces us, but a great country, america, should not ask our children who need nutritional programs, w

mr. carper: mr. president? mr. president, i'd like to begin my remarks this afternoon, really, to congratulate several our colleagues who've worked long and hard on this legislation and their staffs who've worked equally long and hard. senator schumer and senator alexander -- i see senator collins is on the floor -- senator lieberman, our leaders, democrat and republican leaders, senator pried and senator mcconnell. anyone watching this debate from across america on c-span might be wondering why is this important? why are we spending several days in the united states senate to focus on a mom nations bill? why? for those folks who might be wondering why, let me just offer these thoughts. this administration has been in office for roughly two and a half years now. if you look throughout the federal government, the executive branch of the government, most of the positions that require presidential nomination and senate confirmation have now been filled. but a number, including a number that are in highly important, hi

mr. kingston: mr. chairman, i move to strike the last word and i wanted to object to this and explain the point of order. the chair: the gentleman will suspend. does the gentleman continue to reserve his point of order? mr. kingston: i continue to reserve. and -- the chair: the gentleman is recognized. kingskidges the reason -- mr. kingston: the reason is that the amendment may not be considered en bloc under clause 2-f of rule 21 because the amendment proposes to increase the level of funding and outlays in the bill and under the house rule, the amendment has to be budget-neutral with budget authority and with outlays and this only does one of those and i know the gentlewoman has worked very hard on this and that was intent but because the budget authority and the outlays both have to be considered, that's what the problem is under rule 21. i know the gentlewoman is an expert in this, has put a lot of time and compassion in it and it's something that the committee is not turning our back on at all, bu

mr. webster: mr. speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 288 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 43. house resolution 288. resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 2055, making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. after general debate t

mr. paul: mr.s a resoluti that endorses the policies that have been going on for four months. not only is the congress basicallbeen pretty strong in opposition of what's been going on, the american people are even more so. so what this resolution does, it endorses exactly what has been going on, another unconstitutional war, involvement and justification under nato, the united nations, doing it secretly. there's an attempt to restrain the funding of this effort over here over in libya, but why and how can we restrain it becse we never authorized it? restrain unauthorized funds? the president just goes and does it. . the challenge on the congress looking at the unitary president. the unitary president has been around for quite a f years and that means presidents do what he they want. the congress just acknowledges it. so that is what we are doing. this is what this resolution does. it acknowledges and gives the authority to the president to pursue what he has been doing. so obviously h.j.res. 68 for

mr. pence: mr. speaker, i rise to 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. mr. pence: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today with a heavy heart. to pay a debt of gratitude to a life of service and sacrifice by one of indiana's bravest. scott davidson of muncie, indiana, was a devoted husband, father and a firefighter. former yorktown fire chief, he'd been with the muncie fire department since the 15th of june, 2005. tragically yesterday, firefighter scott davis was killed fighting a fire at the tabernacle church in muncie, indiana. he become the first muncie firefighter to give his life in duty since 1955. those who knew scott davis was not surprised that the bravery and boldness he showed during the church. he protected the community and in so doing scott davis will forever be remembered as a hero and as a servant leader. in the midst of this great

mr. poe: mr. speaker, the more we learn about pakistan the more they sound like the benedict arnold nation and the list of countries we call allies. first, it was osama bin laden, the world's number one outlaw, living comfortably in a mansion in pakistan for years. but pakistan claims no knowledge of that. now, a reporter in pakistan has been murdered. he has been critical of the pakistani government. he reported that the naval place in karachi that was attacked was done so by al qaeda members of the navy of pakistan. human right watch said he was assassinated by members of the pakistan intelligence agency who previously had threatened to kill him. meanwhile, pakistan is chumming up to the chinese. sounds like pakistan is playing both sides on the war on terror. 7-10 americans believe we need to stop or decrease foreign aid to pakistan. we should stop foreign aid to pakistan until we know whose side they're on. we don't need to pay them to be unfaithful. they will do it for free, and that's just t

mr. young: 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 material on the further consideration of h.r. 2219 and that i may include tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house res. louis 320 and rule 18, the chair declares in the committee of the whole house for the consideration of h.r. 2219. the chair apoints the gentleman from georgia, mr. westmoreland to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house in the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 2219, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2012 and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. the gentleman from florida, mr. young, and the gentleman from washington, mr. dick

mr. woodall: mr. speaker, -- mr. mica: mr., i ask unanimous consent that the committee on transportation and ways and means be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 2279 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2279, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend the funding and expenditure authority of the airport and airway trust fund, to amend title 49, united states code, to extend the airport improvement program and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to consideration of the bill? without objection, the bill is engrossed, read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin rise? mr. petri: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill just passed, h.r. 2279. the speaker pro tempore: without objec

mr. price: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i might utilize. i'm pleased that we're considering the fiscal year 2012 department of homeland security appropriations bill in a timely fashion and under an open rule. chairman alder --ed aer holet -- aderholt has been a true professional in the drafter of this bill and certainly want to share in his commendation of all of our staff on both sides of the aisle. for the second year in a row, overall funding for the department of homeland security will drop. it is below the president's request and returns the funding to the 2009 level which is concerning to many people, including myself. this allocation has required chairman aderholt to make some tough decisions. he's been able to retain adequate funding for the front line employees of the department of homeland security to continue to conduct critical operations along our borders, to protect our nation's airports and sea ports and to respond to the waves of natural disasters that our country has ex

mr. boustany: mr. speaker, i--over 14 years in private practice in medicine, i had the great privilege to treat many, many medicare patients. thousands of medicare patients. i did open heart surgery, complex open heart surgery, one cancer surgery, in times of great need, great difficulty for these seniors who had paid many years of their payroll taxes into the medicare program , with the hope and recognition that this program would be there for them, for their health care needs in their later years. i'll tell you, in the 1990's when i was in the midst of the -- peak of my practice, it was not unusual, in fact quite often patients would come into the emergency room with a very difficult situation. without a primary care physician because they had not had previous health problems, and then what would happen is we would have to do emergency heart surgery on them. once they got through all this and the hospital stay, we could not find a primary care physician to take them on, to treat their everyday proble

mr. wilson: mr.peaker, i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, this morning's announcement of an increase in the unemployment rate indicates yet again the president's economic policies are failing american families. the out-of-control spending is killing small business job creation. sadly, more than 14 million people are still without jobs and the average price of gasoline is almost $4 a gallon. the president pledged to reduce unemployment to 8% and failed. he pledged to skyrocket energy costs and he succeeded. this is a failure of leadership on job creation and gas costs. american families are at risk. earlier this week the president asked congress to increase the debt limit by $2.4 trillion with no meaningful reforms. reforms are needed because american families need jobs. and the president's request was defeated in a bipartisan vote. house republicans presented the cut-and-combrow congression

mr. sherman: the author of this resolution is known for his opposition to the use of military force. those who agree with him on foreign policy may well vote for this resolution. in contrast i have voted for every authorization to use military force that's come before this congress in the last 15 years and i would support the authorization to use force with libya if it had the proper conditions and limits. this resolution does not force, would not actually result in the immediate withdrawal. instead it would force the president to come to this congress and seek authorization pursuant to law. and would get that authorization, i believe, with the appropriate limits and conditions. that would be an improvement to our foreign policy. more importantly, it would mean we are following the constitution. the war powers act is the law of the land and it requires congressional authorization for military actions that take more than 60 days. we long for democracy and the rule of law in libya, but not

mr. neugebauer: american farmers and ranchers are citizens, too. i represent the west texas district, 19 in texas, 29,000 square miles, 27 counties, made up of a lot of farmers and ranchers and farm families and ranch families. you know what? they are concerned about the deficit as well. they are concerned about the growing debt and the legacy that will leave for our children and our grandchildren. . they're willing to step up and take their fair share of the burden of being able to get our country headed back on the right track again. in fact, that process started in the 2008 farm bill where a lot of these farm programs were reduced. for the last few years, for example, countercyclical payments have been neither nil in a lot of those commodities because those programs were operating as they were designed. i appreciate my colleagues' efforts to be a budget hawk and many times i supported a lot of his amendments and ideas. but today i come to the floor saying that, you know what, this is n

mr. gibson: thanks, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, over 50 congressional districts across our country have at least 10% of their population without high speed -- without access to high speed broadband. my district is one of these over 50 districts. this is a significant impediment to job creation. we have farmers without access to the high speed broadband, we have many small businesses in our district, including bed and breakfasts which impact our tourism. without that access. this amendment helps address that situation. now, the underlying bill zeros out the loan program for rural broadband. this is down from $22.3 million that we just closed out a few months ago for f.y. 2011. and with the healthy respect for the leadership of the agricultural appropriations subcommittee, i think this is a mistake. i know that there have been issues with this program in the past. i have read the i.g. report. i will also say that my understanding is the administration has made progress. since the publishing of that report. one of the things

i believe mr. ford did an excellent job under all of these circumstances in which he had to labor, and i wanted you all to know, and i wanted to stick with you because i understand how difficult these decisions and transitions are. you hear all these people -- this ought not happen, this is unfair. i wanted you to know that you were in my prayers as you make the decisions for the agency, as i am praying for mr. ford as he goes through this time. thank you for being as fair and just as equitable as you can with one another. chairman nolan: we appreciate it. good to see you. i could not agree more with your comments. ok. >> item 12 -- discussion as to whether to conduct a closed session. >> is there a motion? >> ok, the commission will go into closed session. to discuss the troy and wheeler cases. on the 14 directors, we will not disclose the information discussed. >> we will not disclose. >> i am sorry. just for the record, both cases were not unanimous. uofd wheeler case was not your man -- unanimo

. >> mr. speaker, given the sensitive timeline for change in sudan, what commitments can the secretary of state give to people there particularly -- >> mr. speaker, together with the other prime ministers from norway and the united states i visited south and north sudan recently. the situation is extremely tense at the moment and we want to approach these negotiations in a spirit of good will and compromise and that is the way to reach the birth of a new state on july the 9th and the full completion of the comprehensive peace agreement. >> order. questions to the prime minister. jackie doyle price. >> here, here. >> number 1, mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure the whole house will wish to join me in paying tribute to the following brave servicemen who died in afghanistan since we last met. kevin fortuna and martin lamb from first battalion the rifles. marine samuel alexander and lance corporal martin gill from 42 commander royal marines and corporal mike pike from the fourth batt

mr. corker: thank you. mr. president, i rise to talk about the tester-corker vote that will take place at 2:00 today. i know there has been a lot of discussions about the durbin amendment which occurred during dodd-frank and where we are today. i jus -- i just want to spend a moment clarifying the fact that the tester-corker amendment does not do away with the durbin amendment of. the durbin amendment will still be the law of the land. and a huge victory, i think, during the dodd-frank regulation, something i didn't support, but a huge victory for the retail industry in that for the first time in the history of our country, per the law that was passed, debit cards are going to be a regulated entity. and there's nothing about the tester-corker amendment that in any way changes the fact that it's going to be a regulated industry. that is going to occur. what tester-coxer does -- what tester-corker does is to try to bring back into balance how we look at this particular transaction. you know, mr. president, we're

i asked him again, mr. speaker, will he now admit that 7,000 cancer patients are losing up to 94 pounds a week? >> i've answered his question three times. >> with a full explanation. and the whole point about our benefit reforms is that there are proper medical tests so we support those who cannot work as a generous and tolerant and compassion country should, but we make sure that those who can work have to go out to work so that we don't reward bad behavior. that's what the bill is about. he's attempting to put up a smoke screen because he's been found out. he made a speech this week about the importance of welfare reform. but he can't take his divided party with him. that's what this is about. weak leadership of a divided party. >> dave miliband. >> mr. speaker, what an absolute disgrace to describe talking about cancer patients in this country as a smoke screen. this is about people out in the country, cancer charities who are concerned on their behalf and he doesn't know his own people. it's not about t

mr. leahy: mr.i ask unanimous consent that the cloture motion with respect to the verrilli nomination be withdrawn and at 5:30 p.m. the senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on calendar 118, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate, no further motions be in order to the nomination, the statements related to the nomination be printed in the record, that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative with the other provisions of the may 26 unanimous consent agreement remaining in effect. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: i thank the chair. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, department of justice, donald b. verrilli jr. of the district of columbia to be solicitor general of the united states. the presidi

mr. lieberman: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lieberman: i thank the chair. mr. president, it's my honor now to rise as chairman of the homeland security and governmental affairs committee to speak on behalf of s. 679, the presidential appointment efficiency and streamlining act of 2011, and i do so with great gratitude toward senator alexander, who is here now on the floor; senator schumer, and others who worked together to clear away procedural obstacles to focusing on this piece of legislation. this is a noble effort that's been tried before and failed, but i'm confident that this time, with the support of our leaders, really our bipartisan leadership -- senator reid, senator mcconnell, senator alexander, senator schumer, not to mention senator collins and me, in our committee role -- we're going to get this passed. this is a bipartisan effort to solve a problem, or at least help so