ms. hirono: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on h.res. 696 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. hirono: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. hirono: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.res. 696 which celebrates western wyoming's community college 50th year of service to the students and state of weo ming. established in 1959 alogical citizens committee and general election led to western wyoming community college. beginning with only 40 community college students and occupying the local high school facilities, the wwcc has emerged as a vital part of the southwestern wyoming community that prepares graduates for advanced degrees and work force readiness. the wwcc is a comprehensive community college that provides a great foundation for students because of its small class sizes, hands on learning experiences, and highly

ms. hirono: as a member of the house education and labor committee and as an orange co--- original co-sponsor of this bill i rise in support of this bill. i thank chairman miller on his leadership on this as well as on so many other important measures. while this bill includes many significant provisions, the part of the bill that i'm excited about is the creation of the early learning challenge fund. like the pre-k act i introduced earlier this year, the fund would establish a competitive grant program to support, not supplant state efforts to improve the quality of their early education programs. evidence shows that quality early education is the best foundational investment we can make in our children. last night, i had the opportunity to meet with members of the fill and thropic community who -- fill and thropic community and to quote these people, this quality early education is the most powerful investment america can make. they not only understand the value of quality early learning but support successful programs all across the country including in hawaii and they are not alone. educa

ms. hirono: i ask permission to address the house for one minute.the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. hirono: health insurance is not something we can take for granted. every day, 14,000 americans lose their coverage. a recent treasury department report noted that approximately half of all americans under the age of 65 will lose their coverage at some point in the next 10 years. thousands are denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions, like asthma, pregnancy, arthritis or diabetes. millions more have no health insurance at all. in hawaii, public and private insurance covers an estimated 92% of our population. that means that most of us have health insurance, and because of our prepaid health care act, our coverage is among the best in the country. at the same time, hawaii's economy has been hard hit, and our unemployment reached a 31-year high this past may, nearly doubling just what it was last year. other states are similarly situated. h.r. 3200 will provide health care coverage for those who lose it or never had it. i ask my co

ms. hirono: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. hirono: the most damaging aspect of the misinformation circulating about health care insurance reform is the use of scare tactics targeted at our seniors. the cynical irony is that the misinformation targeting seniors are largely perpetuated by the very team people who fought the stashment of medicare and wanted to plifes social security. here are the facts about some common myths. number one, there will be rationing of health care. not true. the bill promotes effective treatment through research. myth two, medicare will be eliminated. not true. in fact, reform will lower prescription drug costs for people in the doughnut hole, allow them to keep the doctors of their choice, improve the quality of care, and eliminate billions in waste. closing the doughnut hole is especially important for hawaii's seniors with the highest percentage, 36% compared to 26% nationally, of our beneficiaries fall into this doughnut hole. our current health care system, the costliest in the world for what we

ms. hirono: as a member of the house education and labor committee and as an orange co--- original co-sponsor of this bill i rise in support of this bill. i thank chairman miller on his leadership on this as well as on so many other important measures. while this bill includes many significant provisions, the part of the bill that i'm excited about is the creation of the early learning challenge fund. like the pre-k act i introduced earlier this year, the fund would establish a competitive grant program to support, not supplant state efforts to improve the quality of their early education programs. evidence shows that quality early education is the best foundational investment we can make in our children. last night, i had the opportunity to meet with members of the fill and thropic community who -- fill and thropic community and to quote these people, this quality early education is the most powerful investment america can make. they not only understand the value of quality early learning but support successful programs all across the country including in hawaii and they are not alone. educa