mrs. schmidt: mr. speaker, i rise in support of this bill and ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. schmidt: mr. speaker, it's imperative that we act in a timely manner on h.r. 872, to ensure that our small businesses, farmers, communities, counties and state and federal agencies will not be burdened with a costly duplicative permit requirement that offers no environmental or health benefits. it is important to note that pesticides play an important role in protecting our nation's food supply, public health, natural resources, infrastructure and green spaces. they use not only to help crops from destructive pests but also to manage mosquitos and other pests, invasive weeds and animals that can choke our waterways, damage our forests and recreational areas. the reducing regulatory burdens act of 2011 amends the cleanwater act to eliminate the requirement for a permit for applications of pesticides approved for use. this act is being passe

mrs. schmidt: thank you to the gentlelady from north carolina for so eloquently pointing out some of the dangers of abortion, both physical and emotional. and i don't think the chapter, mr. speaker, has been written on the dangers of abortion. but i do wonder the lives that we've missed and the fabric and how it has been compromised the fabric of america, the fabric of the world because an innocent life didn't get to be woven into it. you know, when we're born our parents don't know what we're going to become. they just hope that we're happy and they hope that we're healthy. i mean, you look at our president. you think when he was born his mom thought he was going to be the president of the united states? i seriously doubt it. he didn't come from a dynasty of presidents. he's just an ordinary person born from an ordinary mom, but he, you knee, had the opportunity and the privilege to live in america and become the president. our very own speaker from cincinnati, ohio, i dare say his parents never thought he'd be speaker of the house. these were ordinary people. they owned a bar. they had 12 kids

mrs. schmidt, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority lowered. mrs. schmidt: thank you, mr. speaker, and thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk about a subject i really love and that's history. especially women's history. i think all too often, as we grew up as children, our history books failed to mention the courageous activities of women throughout the nation and throughout the world. somehow we learned about men but all too often not about women. but when we did learn about women we didn't learn what they really were all about. you know, growing up as a little girl, i grew up in an era that we couldn't do what is allowed today. we couldn't run marathons, being at the pits at the indianapolis 500 as a press person, we weren't allowed to be in rotaries. why, shoot, women weren't allowed to vote until 1920. in fact, the first woman that served in this house served there two full years before women had a right to vote. and when you think about all the things that have happened in this last century, we have to look to a century before to see,

, wrote a letter to former president jimmy carter where he expressed, and i will be schmidting that for the record, mr. speaker, where he expressed what jimmy carter, what former president jimmy carter should be talking about. he expressed how it was rather incredible that the former president would not demand the freedom of the cuban people and would criticize the policies of the united states and as senator menendez says in that letter, he says, the issue is not what the policy of the united states is with the cuban regime. the issue is the policies of the regime and the oppression of the regime with its own people. and once again, senator menendez, democrat from new jersey, is right on. so, with that, mr. speaker, just want to again say that we do not forget the heroes in the island, we do not forget those who are struggling and working and speaking out and suffering the consequences for their actions in the island. we do not forget them, we admire them, we support them, we are humbled by their courage, we are humbled by their love for freedom and what they are willing to sacrifice for their freedo

schmidt once again in washington this morning. >>> we'll get answers from the president today, when he sits down with our diane sawyer. you can see diane's one-on-one interview with mr. obama this evening on "world news." >>> and now, turning to the affects of political unrest in two other middle eastern countries. major changes could be coming to syria, where at least 61 people have been killed in anti-government protests there. the president is expected to announce that a state of emergency in effect for the past 50 years is being lifted. he is expected to undo other restrictions of political and civil liberties. >>> it is another day of demonstrations in yemen. anti-government protesters were in the streets of the capital yesterday after the president changed his mind about stepping down by the end of the year. ali abdullah saleh is seen, though, as a key ally in the u.s. war on terror. >>> more residents in the san francisco area are being forced to find another place to live as their homes continue to slide downhill. four houses in the rain-saturated hercules, california, have been deemed unsafe. several other homes were tagged there last week. the city is now

mr. secretary. this concludes the day's hearing. the record will remain open for members to schmidt questions for the record. the hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [no audio] >> we're having some technical trouble with the program you're watching. we apologize for the interruption. we're working to correct the problem. we hope to return to the program shortly. [no audio] >> the wisconsin state assembly has passed a bill previously approved by the state senate that eliminates nearly all collective bargaining rights for public workers. this part of yesterday's debate is a little more than a half hour. >> what's going to happen here today we're going to vote on this bill in the light of day. it is going to pass, and i know you feel passionate that this will ruin wisconsin and will make everybody take to the streets and wisconsin, as we know it will never be. that is simply not true. it is simply not true. we here, on this side of the aisle, feel that if we don't get off the crash course that we're on right now, with the state of wisconsin, and with bankrupting our future