mrs. capps: mr. chairman, this is a straightforward amendment and it is overwhelmingly supported by my constituents. so i hope we can all agree to it. the amendment strikes a harmful and unnecessary provision in the underlying bill that mandates new drilling, mandates new drilling in the sensitive waters off santa barbara county in california. the majority says this new drilling is necessary to help fund the transportation bill. but according to c.b.o., the new drilling, any new drilling off southern california would at best generate tens of millions of dollars in revenue while the gap in transportation fund something measured in the tens of billions of dollars. mr. chairman leaving aside the funding arguments that the authors of the bill have made, the people most affected my constituents they don't want new drilling. my colleagues have heard me enadvocate santa barbara's devastated 1969 oil spill before. and that's because it galvanized central coast residents and vertly -- virtually the whole stat

mrs. capps: mr. speaker, i have a motion to recommit at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: is the gentlewoman opposed to the bill? mrs. capps: yes, i'm opposed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman qualifies. the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mrs. capps of california moves to recommit the bill h.r. 2117 to the committee on education and labor with instructions to report the same back to the house forthwith with the following amendment. at the end of the bill add the foth following, c, -- add the following, c, protecting students from higher loan cost and a devalued educational degree. nothing in subsection b shall limit the authority of the secretary of education to promulgate or enforce any regulation or rule under title 4 of the higher education act of 1965. one, for the purpose of reducing the cost of higher education for students or, two, during any year in which the interest rate for subsidized direct federal staff loans used to purchase credit hours under such time. is higher tha

the gentlewoman from california, mrs. capps, is recognized. mrs. capps: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, there's an old saying that goes, when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. these days it seems the republican toolbox is down to just one tool because for all the energy choices available to america, every republican energy plan centers on one thing, drilling for more oil. first it was simply drill here, drill now. well, we are. there is more drilling taking place in the u.s. lands and waters now than during the bush administration. indeed, last year we relied less on foreign oil than any of the past 16 years. and clean, renewable energy usage is at an all-time high as well. but then it was drill for energy independence. sounds great, but unfortunately we can't simply drill our way to energy independence. even with all the expanded drilling we are doing, the plain fact is that we use too much oil and have too many -- too few domestic reserves. next it was drilling will create jobs and put everyone back to work. that plan was based onboarderline fictional

mrs. capps: i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. capps: madam speaker, i rise today to urge the republican leadership of the house to bring the stock act to the floor. this commonsense legislation would ensure that members of congress and their staff are not able to profit from nonpublic information obtained through their official duties. president obama has called on congress to pass this bill and it has even advanced in the senate this week with 93 yes votes. meanwhile, the house has not acted on the bill and a markup in december was squashed by the republican leadership. mr. speaker, members of congress needs to play by the same rules as everyone else, and our constituents need to have confidence that is the case. right now they don't have a lot of confidence in congress on anything. congressional approval ratings are at record lows, and reports that members could possibly profit from nonpubl

amendment number 7 by mrs. capps of california. amendment number 9 by mr. bishop of new york. amendment number 11 by mr. landry of louisiana. amendment number 12 by mr. deutch of florida. the chair will reduce to two minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote after the first vote in the series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 1 printed in part a of house report 112-398 by the gentlewoman from california, ms. eshoo, on which further proceedings were postponed and which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in part a of house report 112-398 offered by ms. eshoo of california. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in sport of the request for a recorded vote will rise -- those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national capti

mrs. capps: mr. speaker, i rise today in opposition to the extensive attacks made on women's health in recent weeks. we have seen an almost unprecedented number of attacks on women's access to health care, reproductive options, and even prenatal care. from a hearing on women's health that included a panel with no women witnesses, to public statements diminishing the importance of women's access to a full range of preventive health services, to accusations that prenatal testing is in some way a pathway to abortion. it has been open season on women's health. this is not acceptable. we need to trust women to know what is best for their families and themselves. and those of us in congress should always have their best interests in mind. women do not deserve to have their health used as a political football. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address

mrs. capps: i thank my colleague from new jersey for yielding. madam speaker, i rise today in opposition to this bill. we all know that we have a long-term care crisis in this country. what we have now is an unsustainable patchwork approach with wealthy people having access to private plans while almost everyone else finds the costs incredibly prohibitive. these are the folks who fall through the cracks every day. spending down all their assets until there is nothing left and then relying on our strained medicare program for care. this is what the class program tries to avoid. it would provide a benefit for individuals to stay out of costly nursing homes, benefits they already paid into. we can all agree that the class program currently written in the statute is not perfect but few things are. we can use it as a framework upon which to fix and implement this program, one that would be amended, improved and made sustainable rather than destroyed. repealing the class act does not remove the nation's need for long-term care. rather, it makes the pat

mrs. capps: i thank my colleague, barbara lee, for yielding time and i want to thank our colleague from new york, nita lowey, for her work in organizing this opportunity for us to speak, to speak with one voice, we who are members of congress, women members of congress and speaking for myself, some of us are mothers, are grandmothers, and my career in public health greatly informs what i'm about to say. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the obama administration's decision to include contraception in their list, their very important list of preventive services which will make women's health care more affordable. let us be clear. this was not a political decision on the part of the administration, on the part of our president. no one intended to attack any religious institution. it was a decision based on extensive science. and the expert recommendation made by these scientists with the goal in mind of keeping women and their children healthy. however, a great deal of misinformation has been

mrs. capps: february is not just about valentine's day but it's also a month designated to raise awareness of heart disease, especially its impact and effect ops women. heart disease is the number one cause of death for women and most americans including over 90% of primary care physicians, are not even aware that heart disease kills more women each year than men. we have lost far too many of our loved ones to heart disease. i dare say each of us knows someone, a dear friend or family member, affected by it. and that's why i reintroduced h.r. 3526, the heart for women act. to increase awareness of and access to care for those impacted by heart disease. i encourage my co-sponsors to co-sponsor this legislation and join me in the battle against heart disease. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objectio

mrs. capps: i thank my colleague from new jersey for yielding. madam speaker, i rise today in opposition to this bill. we all know that we have a long-term care crisis in this country. what we have now is an unsustainable patchwork approach with wealthy people having access to private plans while almost everyone else finds the costs incredibly prohibitive. these are the folks who fall through the cracks every day. spending down all their assets until there is nothing left and then relying on our strained medicare program for care. this is what the class program tries to avoid. it would provide a benefit for individuals to stay out of costly nursing homes, benefits they already paid into. we can all agree that the class program currently written in the statute is not perfect but few things are. we can use it as a framework upon which to fix and implement this program, one that would be amended, improved and made sustainable rather than destroyed. repealing the class act does not remove the nation's need for long-term care. rather, it makes the pat

mr. dingell. we do have votes on the floor, but we do have about six minutes left. so ms. capps, i believe you were here. recognize you for a period of five minutes. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman, because i know mr. markey also was here and wants to speak. i'm asking mr. markey, do you want some of my time? would you like some of my time? maybe it's not -- okay. i'll do it. i'm -- i come from an area that is energy producing as well, and i am very impressed with, i have one image in my mind, because it was you, mr. pool, when you were in charge of the blm for the city of california and i was newly elected who escorted me for the first time to see what we call the shangri la of the west. the credo plain eastern portion of san los business pispo county the land was 300 years ago in which all of the vested interest, the mineral rights, the cattle ranchers and all of the stakeholders have found a way to preserve the natural history, under the leadership of the blm and also make that an economically viable area. oil and gas industry have all had their role there, and i picture thi

from lois capps, and jan sha now ski as they weighed in on the issue of contraceptives and health care and the religion exemption debate which is likely to continue in the weeks ahead. >>> mr. speaker, i will be brief, because my message is clear and concise. mr. speaker, i rise today out of grave concern on the recent assault on the religious freedom, and the first amendment and our freedom of conscience. the u.s. department of health and human services ordering and requiring every catholic institution larger than a single church and even in some cases a single church to pay for contraceptives, sterilization, and morning after or efficients for the employees is directly contrary to the principles of the catholic faith. let us ensure that we do not confuse the issue here. this is a direct attack against religious liberty for all religions. but forcing catholic schools and hospitals and catholic charities to comply with the federal mandate that allows the core moral commitment of the unborn is unconscionable. this act threatens to sabotage the foundation of the first amendment rights and liberties, and continually chipping away at the constitutional freedoms that set the fo

mr. dingell. we do have votes on the floor, but we do have about six minutes left. so, ms. capps, i believe you were here, so i recognize you for a period of five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. because i know mr. markey also was here and wants to speak, i'm asking mr. markey, do you want some of my time? would you like some of my time? maybe it's not -- okay. i'll do it. i'm, i come from an area that is energy producing as well, and i am very impressed with -- i have one image in my mind because it was you, many pool, when you were in charge of the blm for the state of california, and i was newly elected who escorted me for the first time to see what we call the shangri la of the west, the chor rizzo plain, eastern portion of san luis obispo county, a remnant of the way the land was 300 years ago in which all of the vested interests, the mineral rights, the cattle ranchers and all of the stakeholders have found a way to preserve the natural history under the leadership of the blm. and also make that an economically-viable area. um, oil and gas industry have all, have their