ms. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i wonder if anybody is listening. the message from the american people is loud and clear. to extend the middle class tax cuts now. republican leadership is holding hostage tax cuts for 98% of americans and 97% of small businesses to give more tax breaks to the wealthiest americans. democratic members of congress have commonsense solutions and we can't wait around any longer, as real proposals languish while the house g.o.p. gets their act together. i along with 181 of my colleagues have signed the discharge petition to automatically bring to the house floor the senate-passed middedle class tax cuts -- middle class tax cuts which the president has said he will sign immediately. this could be an opportunity for us to work together, resolve some of our differences and offer the american people the kind of congress they want. working together. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentlela

ms. johnson.ted by handing out gloves, toiletries and apples to homeless men gathered near her church. later the entire church stepped in to help fund the bigger project. >>> got a big truck fire on the inner loop of the beltway today. traffic came to a halt for a short time when a trailer being pulled by a pickup caught fire. it happened around 4:00 this afternoon at 495 near river road. no word on what caused that fire and nobody was hurt in this incident. >>> in orlando a young boy is hurt when a car crashes into a chinese restaurant. the delivery vehicle for this restaurant came crashing through the front window and landed right smack in the middle of the eatery. phillip campbell and his family were eating dinner at the time of this crash. >> it was a sudden jerk. the glass went and then the vehicle keeps coming through. the car, after it passed by my table, i saw the child that was on the ground, you know. i see the wheel go over one of his legs. >> the injured boy's family says he's going to

ms. johnson thanks so much. mr. brat thanks. what the heck just happened? a look back at the wild factor moments featuring me, greg gutfeld and bernie mcguirk. you remember him. tall guy, bald. also the "new york times" says the tea party is dying out. is that so? we'll debate it moments away. >> greg: in the second factor flashback segment tonight. earlier this year the factor unveiled a brand new feature called what the heck just happened starring this guy. and bernie mcguirk, acting like fools and bill just trying to keep us out of jail. here is a look back at the wildest moments. begin. >> bill: we begin with a very strange picture vice president biden getting up close and personal with a biker chic in ohio. that happened sunday and nobody can quite explain it. i thought at first gutfeld it was a promo for the tv show anarchy. is that what it is? >> sons of anarchy? i thought he was preparing for the white house christmas party. is he going to be santa. [ laughter ] i love the look on the faces of the biker. that is america looking down at him. i love b

ms. johnson thanks so much. mr. brat thanks. what the heck just happened?ook back at the wild factor moments featuring me, greg gutfeld and bernie mcguirk. you remember him. tall guy, bald. also the "new york times" says the tea party is dying out. is that so? we'll debate it moments away. okay, here's the plan. you have a plan? first we're gonna check our bags for free, thanks to our explorer card. then, the united club. my motr was so wrong about you. next, we get priory boarding on our flight i booked with miles. all because of the card. and me. okay, what's the plan? plan? mm-hmm. we're on vacation. there is no plan. really? [ male announcer ] the united mileageplus explorer card. the mileage card with speci perks on united. get it and you're in. >> greg: in the second factor flashback segment tonight. earlier this year the factor unveiled a brand new feature called what the heck just happened starring this guy. and bernie mcguirk, acting like fools and bill just trying to keep us out of jail. here is a look back at the wildest moments. begin. >> bill:

ms. johnson. >> thank you very much. mr. chairman and ranking member. my remarks are very brief. in october, 2005, g.a.o. issued a report to then chairman young for lack of a strategic plan and the report identified that without a comprehensive corporate mission, amtrak's business practices were lacking and could not ensure consistent and improved corporate performance. in august, 2010, the amtrak inspector general's office released an evaluation report of amtrak's strategic planning and set forth key elements necessary for an effective strategic planning process. the report formed the basis for amtrak's november, 2011, strategic plan for fiscal year 2011 through 2015. while the re-authorization is not yet fully complete, there appears to be significant in performance and accountability improvements, and i look forward to the testimony. it seems to me that they are doing exactly as we have desired. thank you. i yield back. >> i thank the gentlelady. others seek recognition? if not, what we'll do is turn now to our three witnesses and welcome them again. our first witness, and i'l

ms. johnson: madam speaker, i rise today to implore the house g.o.p. leadership to address the looming fiscal cliff. we have only a few hours left and we owe it to the american people to find a solution. pass legislation and send it to the president for his signature tonight. there's too much at stake to let this critical situation devolve into the same politics as usual. that we have seen throughout this congress. the consequences of failure inaction are dire. according to the congressional budget office, going over the cliff would raise unemployment rate from 7.9 to 9.1% in 2013. we would also see devastating cuts to programs that pay for education, food inspection, and air travel safety. nearly $55 billion. madam speaker, there is no more time and the american people are depending on us for a solution to avoid this fiscal cliff. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from la rise? -- from louisiana rise? without objection. >> here we are on new year's eve, working to avoid t

ms. schakowsky: that was a lot of jobs. mr. johnson: we spent $700 billion and it was the united auto workers union that sat down at the negotiating table with big business, worked out what some may call givebacks. it actually gave up some of the benefits that it had signed contracts for with the employer. these are things that actually created the middle class. things like working days, working hours, wages, benefits, retirement. those kinds of things that people would not have had unless they had been represented by a union. and we had strong unions. so those things -- workers were -- gave back in part to make sure that the corporations could maintain or regain stability. and so now just a short three, four, five years later g.m. is back to being the number one carmaker in the world. ms. schakowsky: and all the money has been paid back to the united states treasury. mr. johnson: i think they still owe us a little bit. we still have -- we still have some of g.m. stock, the federal government still owns some of g.m.'s stock, which they

ms. fowler, as she leaves the white house for the pharmaceutical giant johnson and johnson. glenn greenwald writes, ms. fowler "will receive ample rewards from that same industry as she peddles her influence in government and exploits her experience with its inner workings to work on that industry's behalf, all of which," glenn greenwald says, "has been made perfectly legal by the same insular, versailles-like washington culture that so lavishly benefits from l of this. now, friends of liz fowler will say this is harsh. that she was the talented, intelligent protege of two liberal democrats, representative pete stark and senator daniel patrick moynihan, both of whom believed in public service as a calling. at she was serioly doted to craftina health care reform proposal that would pass. i don't doubt that. but it's not the point. she's emblematic of the revolving door culture that inevitably means, when push comes to shove, that corporate interests will have the upper hand in the close calls that determine public policy. it's how insiders fix the rules of the market, no matte

ms. landrieu: secondly, a tribute to bern it johnson who is the incoming supreme court justice, again achieving that after an extraordinary career, and just gaining that spot on our supreme court. i'd like to submit it without objection. the presiding officer: the resolution will be received and appropriately referred. ms. landrieu: and secondly -- i mean lastly, mr. president, recognizing ms. leah chase, who is going to be 90 years old an outstanding citizen of new orleans, a renowned citizen of our state, and city, and known as the queen of creole quizine. she -- cuisine. we wanted the senate to congratulate her on that milestone and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the resolution will be received and properly referred. the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. tonight as we -- today i should say as we confront a whole range of difficult issues at the end of this year and at the end of the congress, we should also be reminded that we have fighting men and women serving for us all around the world. we think especially tonight of those serving in afghanistan,

johnson: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlelady from kansas, ms. jenkins, a member of the committee on ways and means. the gentlelady from kansas is -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from kansas is recognized for one minute. ms. jenkins: i'd like to commend chairman johnson and representative doggett for their work on this legislation. there are nearly 50 million medicare beneficiaries who were told to carry their medicare cards with them at all times while simultaneously being told not to carry their social security card. they are told that carrying their social security card in their purse or wallet puts them at risk for identity theft which is a problem that affects one million seniors yearly. the irony is that the medicare cards all feature beneficiaries' social security numbers prominently. that means our seniors are in a tight spot. they are at risk of identity theft simply by carrying their medicare card with them. i support passage of this bill because it ensures that a person's social security number is no longer printed on their

ms. fenicker. he was convicted and sentenced to die. the indictment of the murder was prosecuted, but he did not receive the death sentence, no appeal, denied by the governor johnson who stated that, quote, the brutality of the crime negated any consideration of the youthfulness. after his conviction, he admitted to the murders, and then goes down, he made no comment after entering the death chamber with a bible-under-par his arms and the guards had difficulty strapping him in the chair which was designed for adults. at the time of the execution, he was only 14 years, five months old. he cites where he got that information from. the papers contain about 90 boxes of records, index cards on 16,000 people were executed in the united states. the first person executed in the united states was 1608 in jamestown, virginia. george kim been ball executed for espionage. his father managed a bank. i don't know if this ledger had any connection to that. he wrote down every single person once he discovered that they were executed. he started off with the ledger. it's much -- so you're seal here he lists the name, the occupation, what city their came from, the crime, the age, t

ms. nix. robin, can you believe what you're missing this morning? you see, we have a big crowd upstairs. tory johnsonash ones this morning. >> whoa. >> and apparently, we have my fourth grade son on the camera. >> not only that. we have a crazy camera. and now, they're going to cue the sirens, too. >> all right. >> that siren means it's time to go to tory johnson for another flash deal. you've heard of flash mobs. we have flash deals. hey, tory. >> hey. this comes to you from one of your favorite brands. yankee candle is offering "gma" viewers 20% off their entire website. to get that discount, you have to get the code at goodmorningamerica.com on yahoo! lara? >> tory, thank you. that sounds great. >>> if you think those savings are hot -- give me a ding. -- we're just getting started, everybody. up to 80% off off more of our flash deals. >> i bid one dollar. can i bid one dollar? >> different game show. >>> also this morning, ashton kutcher, justin bieber, targets in a hoax. s.w.a.t.'ing. an arrest has been made in these incidents. the person arrested, not even 13 years old. we'll have the latest. >

ms. johnson? >> thank you. the northeast corridor is the transportation through some of the most popular metropolitan areas. it is essential for commerce in that we are able to move goods and people up and down the eastern seaboard efficiently. with increased injection -- ingestion, it is releasing its capacity. it an additional 50 million residents will live in the already congested northeast corridor by 2015. a 30% increase. it is for this reason our continued investment is so essential. the recent thanksgiving holiday has set a record for outreach and for writers ship with 737,000, 500 passengers. the record riders shift brought an $56.1 million. 8.4% increase over 2011. the northeast corridor is profitable and serves as a model for what we can accomplish with small investments in infrastructure and other parts of the country. what is unclear to me is why there has been a constant drumbeat to privatize and to scarf them track of its much- needed funding. as everyone knows, funding for infrastructure, whether