ms. jackson lee: i do. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: my good friend from georgia, some things bear repeating. i love february 2. it happens to be my daughter eric's birthday. some call it groundhog day. i call it a great celebration for a bit of joy that came into our lives. so it's a day for many that is happy. it's a day that many humor ousley look forward to great -- humorously look forward to great weather. some remember bill murray. and it's a day that symbolizes repetition. sometimes the pain of americans de-- not speaking for mr. pallone but in actuality we have the opportunity now to have bipartisan hearings. nothing is precluded. and mr. pallone's statement was accurate. he was not writing the structure of long-term care. he was indicating that for americans it was vital. what is disappointing is that my friends on the other side of the aisle are willing to give up so easily. i don't understand that. where's the american genius? of course they'll cite h.h.s. well, they know congress directs h.h.s. they know that the

. >> thank you ms. lee. >> i speak in chinese. [ spe >> translator: i feel the chinese government is a vast interest group. even though they may realize how huge the problems they are confronted with, it is a difficulty for them to overcome these problems and make amends. therefore in order to change china it calls for more and more people to be able to stand up and speak out. as was pointed out by my husband before he was in put jail, the minds have is to be explored and have to be treaded on for them to explode. if you don't test the field you will never know the border line and you'll never know how chinese democracy will emerge and whether or not china can have democracy. therefore it calls on common efforts made by all of us as was pointed out in my testimony today, the united states of america plays an extremely important role in all of this. i very much hope that united states of america will help china to make amends and to make a change. thanks. [ speaking chinese ] >> translator: the suffering of

ms. jackson lee: yes. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from texas will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: i have amendment number 1. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in the congressional record offered by ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank you so very much, madam chair and, again, i rise with great concern about h.r. 1173 and, again, i want to make it very clear that in all the course of traveling throughout my district when the affordable care act was passed in 2010 there was a great deal of emotion and celebration. i take, for example, those senior citizens who were falling through the holes of medicare part d. this particular legislation helped close the doughnut hole where seniors, prescription drugs did not skyrocket and therefore they cou

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. -- mr. speaker, for giving us an opportunity to share on some enormously crucial human catastrophes that are occurring around the world. i'm challenging all of my colleagues and those who would listen, that sometimes we are, in fact, through peaceful means, our brothers and sisters' keeper. first as we have seen the asending -- ascending violence occur in syria, a nation state that i have visited, blood shed that has included the loss of women and children, hearing news reports where citizens of syria are begging for someone to do something. it is almost as if you came out of your house and stood by as your neighbor's house burned. we know in america many try to get a garden hose, others call 9-1-1, but they do something because of the horror of what they are seeing. and constantly our media airwaves are being beat with the sounds of gunshot, smoke, and devastation in the steadfast refusal of

aiming to move forward with the resolutions of the different bodies to advance the proposal and, as ms. lee said, to do it in a way that is respectful of the communities that would be impacted. >> your anticipation is that if we pass this resolution, you will be signing this letter, which talks in more detail about the program on behalf of this agency? >> the letter actually already went out. that was issued, for some reason, as an unsigned version in your packet, but we issued the letter -- i think there was a deadline to issue that in order to get our comments into the draft business plan. we sent that letter from the department heads about two weeks ago. director heinicke: sorry for the length of this, but would it help the project if we were to endorse the fast start program in its entirety, or would it be better to just leave this as calling for electrification of the caltrain corridor? >> i think it would be no harm in amending it, and perhaps it would make the intent of the board clear. i think that would be a good thing. >> if i may suggest, may be endorsed the concept of the fast s

ms. jackson lee and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: i, too, want to express my appreciation to the rules committee for allowing my amendment to come in. i acknowledge the ranking member of our budget committee for his excellent service, mr. van hollen. i thank dr. price for his presence here today engay gim -- engaining in this discussion. in a few days, i will be meeting with a number of my clergy along with my small business community, coming from all walks of life. all of us have found in our hearts an minds to recognize that small business is in fact the back bone of this country. so i would ask that as we look at the issue of macroeconomic analysis of this legislation, that we include a well defined concept as to understand what the impact will be on hub zone areas as defined by the small business act. h.r. 3582 would require the congressional budget office to provide a macroeconomic impact analysis for bills estimated to have large budgetary effect. under this bill,

ms. lee: thank you. the report reads, and i quote, we find that the insurgency be considered fiction. a dangerous political fiction. i repeat, a dangerous political fiction. that is how this organization dedicated to ensure the safety of n.g.o. employees in afghanistan characterizes the rosy reports of steady progress in afghanistan. mr. speaker, if we are going to ask our brave men and women in uniform to continue to risk their life in afghanistan, the least we can do is be frank and honest about how we are doing in afghanistan. our southlandiers deserve to know the truth and the american people deserve to know the truth after spending the past decade fighting wars. the war in afghanistan has already taken the lives of almost 19,000 soldiers and drained our treasury of over $500 billion in direct costs. those costs will only go up as we spend trillions of dollars for long-term care on our veterans which we must do. we are set to spend an additional $88 billion in afghanistan over the next year while dom

ms. harper lee hasn't given an interview since 1964, it not be the person who would change her mind. so when i started doing my own documentary, which is about -- i started it about six years ago, i read the novel again, i did a little more reporting, especially about, you know, the summer of 1960 when the novel was published. and i began to see the story i could tell was the story of the novel. not so much the novelist. and the credible impact that the novel had on the civil rights movement, on lives, on careers and on readers to this very day. so that to me seemed to be the story worth telling and that's when i started working on the documentary. >> and sort of tell us how did you arrive at your understanding of the impact that the book has had, particularly on race relations and, you know, the -- so many people cite the book as a reason why they went to law school. why do you think that's true, particularly in light of the fact that atticus lost the case? >> well, i mean, it is true that in the research i've done many people did say that atticus finch is the reason that they went

the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, for five minutes. ms. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. as the founder of the congressional out-of-poverty caucus, i rise today to continue talking about the tide of poverty sweeping across this country. americans who are struggling to find work cannot wait. americans whose homes are underwater cannot wait. and the nearly 50 million americans who are living in poverty cannot wait. we must act and we must act now to extend vital unemployment benefits and the temporary payroll tax reduction while our economy continues to recover. we should be coming together now to enact bold programs and policies that provide equal opportunity and equal access for every single american no matter their race, no matter their employment status and no matter their humble beginnings. instead, mr. speaker, unfortunately this tea party-led congress continues to do nothing but distract from the real issue and waste the american people's time. the republican caucus failed to pass a single jobs bill last year, and by the looks of this week

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent, madam speaker, to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i'm always in awe at the gentleman from the rules committee that has just spoken so eloquently about consensus and coming together. i've seen him in action in the rules committee and certainly thank the members of the rules committee for their service. we know that his history brings him here from being a staffer and so he knows this institution, he knows where all the bathrooms are, he knows where all of how much good we can do. and so i'm grateful of his acknowledging our friend, congresswoman slaughter, mr. walz who have been working and, of course, wanted to have their bill come forward in a way that would be transparent, would have the opportunity for all facets of this bill to be understood. and so it begs the question, i thank mr. polis for his leadership, how we have the cloak and dagger, midnight legislation trick that really is not befitting

ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 537, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas. jackson scrax jackson i thank the chair very much -- ms. jackson lee: i thank the chair very much. as i understand this legislation, it is to establish a commission that deals with the civilian property realignment for this nation. some 340,000-plus square feet, i understand, is within the jurisdiction of the general services amendment. i want to acknowledge the leadership of the ranking member on many issues dealing with property around the nation. thank her for that leadership. my amendment is a simple amendment that expresses that the commission or other appropriate federal agencies should conduct a public should conduct a public information campaign to

ms. sheila jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. i, too, want to rise today to acknowledge both the chairman and the ranking member. i know this has not been an easy task, and i certainly want to express my appreciation to mr. costello and the work that he has done and the friendship he's shown to members but the understanding that he's had for this industry for those of us who represent airports. i cannot deny that this is not an important bill and legislative initiative. so let me thank you and thank you as well for the late hours that all of you who are on the transportation committee engaged in. might i for a moment before i speak of this bill thank the ranking member and ms. brown, congresswoman brown, congresswoman johnson for saving houston, again, and its light rail. something i worked for almost 20 years, and the amendment last evening that would have defunded houston's rail, ligh

the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, for five minutes. 7 -- ms. lee: thank you, madam speaker. as founder and co-chair of the congressional out-of-poverty caucus, i rise again to sound the alarm about the crisis of poverty in america. while many of us are encouraged by recent improvements in the unemployment rate, which fell to 8.3%, the rate of unemployment continues to be unacceptably high, especially of color. for african-americans the unemployment rate is 13.6% and it's 10.5% for latinos. the rate of unemployment for our youth is even more alarming, you with over 23% of 16 to 19-year-olds looking for a job. without a job, madam speaker, how can we expect our youth, the future of this country, to develop the skills and experience they need to succeed and live out their american dreams? incouragingly, president obama understands we cannot speed up economic recovery without investments that create jobs. i was pleased to see in his 2013 budget proposal critical investments to create good jobs and his job training program for communities hardest hit

ms. wu. cordnic lee, patrick valentino, brad paul, abby trent, and gail gilman. and please let up after these speakers that you would like to speak on item number three. you have two minutes. >> good afternoon. i currently work at the employees' support specialist with urban strategies and non- profit that supports a disadvantaged population to increase their capacity to earn money and contribute to their communities. i first met cindy last year through leadership san francisco, where we quickly became colleagues and friends. i wanted to say that in the 13 years i have committed myself and my own career in doing transformational change work, particularly with disadvantaged communities and communities that it disconnected from governance processes and being able to help support them in having a voice, i thing this opportunity for cindy wu is a great one for her because of her commitment to reaching out to those same populations and understanding that a lot of what the disconnected populations in san francisco have to deal with in terms of their income and capacity

ms. jackson lee for five minutes. >> that me thank the ranking member and secretary for visiting lone star college in houston. they expressed their appreciation. i am also very happy of the disaster aid increase in the president's budget and i would ask on the record for someone in the department for some issues that are still going on in houston, texas that are still going on. if i could get that, i would greatly appreciate it. you said something earlier that i would very much appreciate hearing again as you open. you said the issue of radicalization terrorism, and i am paraphrasing your words is not attended to the label by it any religion our particular group. would you want to just clarify that for us? i think it is very important to the many diverse groups and our nation how we address the issue of terrorism and terrorist threats domestically in our nation. >> what i said is terrorism is not narrowed to any ideology or nation. it is islam as, the hottest, it can be based on other ideologies. it can be internationally based or homegrown. it requires those of us in the terrorism prevent

ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is correct. the house is not in order. please take your conversations off, please. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise today to speak of the loss that so many have spoken about over the last week and that is the loss of whitney houston, who i would imagine that everyone would acknowledge the beauty of her music and certainly the beauty that she was as a person and a human being. what a very sad loss for her daughter bobby and her mother cissy and her aunt dionne warwick. but we cannot help be reminded of whitney's voice singing "the star-spangled bancher," or the words when she sang "yes, jesus loves me," when she did it in "the bodyguard" and can't help bery minded of "i'll always love you." and my quints are deeply saddened and our good friend, congressman don payne who has been in touch with the family and helping he has been a comfort as well. so i simply wanted to say, whitney,

and at this time i'd yield such time as she might consume to congresswoman sheila jackson lee of texas. ms. jackson lee: let me thank congresswoman christensen for her leadership and as well our chairman, emanuel cleaver. we had the opportunity to host him in houston this past weekend and he raised the issue of the challenges of the issue of voting protection. isn't it interesting in this month, to my colleagues and i see that we're joined by our colleague from ohio, marcy capture, who has been a champion on these -- kaptur, who has been a champion on these issues as well and has seen her state being in the crosshairs of protecting all citizens' right to vote. the voting rights act is an act that dignyifies all voters. because its premises that one person, one vote. and if the tenants and the premises of the voting rights act is passed, no matter what your background in this nation, you have an opportunity to vote. if we keep with the integrity of the voting rights act, the gist of its message, don't block individuals from voting. that's simply what its message is. and this is more than ap

ms. jackson lee: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: i do want to acknowledge today the honoring or recognition of national black hiv-aids day and acknowledging the work that many organizations have done to stop the devastation of hiv-aids in certain populations and i will submit a statement into the record extensively acknowledging the work that's been accomplished. but i rise today to address very important international issue that appears to be politicized by those running for president. -- in the republican primary. first of all, we should all be concerned by americans who are being held by ally egypt and we should be concerned for the safe passage of those americans as quickly as possible. but it is ridiculous to associate this incident, the taking of hostages in iran, some decades ago, but of course where there is a foolery, there is opportunity, i call upon egyptian americans to work with this administration to stop the holdin

ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: it makes no sense to export our gas when it's coming back this is not a comprehensive bill and as well there's no oversight and regulation and that means no environmental oversight. minority contracting needs to be in place and if you want to do something look at h.r. 3710 my deficit reduction job creation bill. this bill needs to go back to the drawing board and do as the president said an infrastructure bill to help all americans be paid for and not take pensions off the backs of federal employees. with that, madam chair, i yield back and ask for a no vote on the rule. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from -- yields back. the gentleman from florida. mr. webster: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. shuster. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. shuster: i wasn't going to speak on the rule but i heard my colleague from oregon stand up and criticize the bill, criticize the process and i needed

ms. lee: thank you very much. i want to thank the gentlelady for yielding and also standing up for women's health, not only today and during these very difficult times, but each and every day of your life. as a former devout practicing catholic, i fully understand and respect the church's doctrine on contraception. and even though i disagree with it, i fully respect it, and i understand it. but also, i know that the separation of church and state is a fundamental principle that we must maintain. mr. speaker, the administration's decision to provide choices to access to quality, affordable health care, family planning services, including contraceptives are vital to women's health and well-being. this isn't really about a mandate. the rule would not force anyone with a religious objection to use a prescribed f.d.a.-approved contraception. the fact is the catholic bishops know that the 335,000 religious institutions and organizations and places of worship, they are exempt, and in fact, no woman will be required to us

ms. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. as the founding co-chair of the h.i.v. caucus -- caucus, i rise to honor h.i.v. awareness day. february 7 is the important day to recognize the effect this epidemic has on african-americans. although a 14% of the u.s. population, fringe fingerprints account for almost half of those living and dying with h.i.v. and aids in this country. this year's theme, i am my brother's keeper, i am my sister's keeper, people of faith know it's unacceptable that a woman of color in the united states is 15 times more likely to be living with h.i.v. than a white woman her age. people of faith know that it's unacceptable that our young men, particularly gay and bisexual men, are most affected in this country. we cannot allow this crisis to continue. mr. speaker, we have the tools we need to end the aids epidemic. i urge everyone to get tested and take steps to protect themselves from the virus. i call on members of the faith community, the private sector, health organizations, community leaders, teachers, parents, and the media to come toge

ms. jackson lee for any questions she may have to read >> mr. chairman, thank you so much and thank you all the members. mr. pistole, went to be speaking quite quickly so i can get some answers from you. thank you first of all for your testimony and your service. administrator pistole, you state in your prepared testimony that tsa is a u.s. counterterrorism agency. but other domestic counterterrorism agency outsource the work of their front-line employees at an extra extant to the taxpayers; you know of any? >> none that i'm aware of. >> as i addressed my opening statement -- thank you very much -- as i addressed the position fundamentally altering your discretion to approve or deny an application to participate in the spp double soon become law if fielder faa authorization act. since this committee never debated the changes and was shut out of the conference by the republican leadership i would like to take the time to use the teaching made and get your response and i also want to join my colleague mr. thompson and indicate the emphasis of the

lee, the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized. for 2 1/2 minutes. ms. ckson lee: let me thank the members of the judiciary committee on both the chairman and the ranking member, and as all have applauded congresswom slaughter, mr. walz for their continued leadership, and i'm very pleased to have been one of the long, as they say, suffering co-sponsors since i believe the 110th congress. it's important for our colleagues to understand that i think we a come here with the intent to serve this country and to serve it well. and i believe that when we self-regulate we only enhance this institutional body that has such enormous history because of the changing times. i don't believe that members of congress are spending their time dwelling on information that they have and using it for self-purpose. but we now stand here united saying that members of congress, employees of congress, and all federal employees, are prevented from using any nonpublic information derived from the individual's position as a member of congress or employee of congress or gained from p

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: i would like to thank the gentleman from maine for providing an opportunity for civility and dialogue on the true grit of the american constituency. i'm amazed and shocked that we would be here on the floor of the house denigrating an institution that has been set up as a rainy day umbrellas for individuals who have toiled the hot sun and skyscrapers on building infrastructure, on driving buses and trains or however they may have provided for their families and now lost their jobs. they paid into the insurance pool called unemployment insurance and followed the laws of their state. some of them may be veterans who are in the civilian work force and they now find themselves unemployed. now we have frr those who one would say idle hands are the devil's workshop, want to insist they are drug addicts, uneducated, need a g.e.d. and all kinds of baggage that would not allow them to be gainfully employed. mr. speaker, i'm sorry to say that is not true. in my own community we are

lee, the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized. for 2 1/2 minutes. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the members of the judiciary committee on both the chairman and the ranking member, and as all have applauded congresswoman slaughter, mr. walz for their continued leadership, and i'm very pleased to have been one of the long, as they say, suffering co-sponsors since i believe the 110th congress. it's important for our colleagues to understand that i think we all come here with the intent to serve this country and to serve it well. and i believe that when we self-regulate we only enhance this institutional body that has such enormous history because of the changing times. i don't believe that members of congress are spending their time dwelling on information that they have and using it for self-purpose. but we now stand here united saying that members of congress, employees of congress, and all federal employees, are prevented federal employees, are prevented from using any

lee, the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: t gentlelady from texas is recognized. for 2 1/2 minutes. ms. ckson lee: let me thank the members of the judiciary committee on both the chairman and the ranking member, and as all have applauded congresswoman slaughter, mr. walz for their continued leadership, and i'm very pleased to have been one of the long, as they say, suffering co-sponsors since i believe the 110th congress. it's important for our colleagues to understand that i think we all come here with the intent to serve this country and to serve it well. and i believe that when we self-regulate we only enhance this institutional body that has such enormous history because of the changing times. i don't believe that members of congress are spending their time dwelling on information that they have and using it for self-purpose. but we now stand here united saying that members of congress, employees of congress, and all federal employees, are prevented from using any nonpublic information derived from the individual's position as a member of congress or employee of congress or gained fr