ms. norton. the delinquency rate of federal employees is far below for what it is for other employees on a general level throughout this country. i adopt the gentlelady's remarks and say yes, this is april 15. and my staff said i had to pay this. the implication is that we brought a bill dealing with federal employees this day. why? because federal employees are very easy to target. for people who don't like government, well the federal employees, look at what they are doing. boy those deadbeat federal employees. that's the message here. now if this were a problem you really wanted to deal with, it didn't have to be april 15, it could have been february 15 or june 15. but no, that's not the message here. the message is that somehow federal employees need to be targeted. i understand they work for us and easy to get at and we are getting at them almost every week. we are furloughing them and suggesting they pay more and not paying enough for retirement and suggesting that somehow they are less tha

ms. norton, for 30 minutes. ms. norton: thank you, mr. speaker. i rush to get to the floor before the gavel went down this afternoon because this is the marks when which women had to work as long as a man works in order to get the pay that is equivalent to the pay of a man. during 12 months. notice what month we are in. this is april. so we are talking about four plus months beyond the 2 months that a man gets to work, has to work, -- beyond the 12 months that a man gets to work, has to work, to have the salary it takes a woman 16 months plus. but it was not that alone, mr. speaker, it's some figures i discovered in doing some research. and of course there is the pressure i think all of us should feel if congress has any -- has anything to add to this discussion that would move what no forward a position for women and women's pay in the work force and -- in at least the last 10 years. there is pending before the congress at least two bills, there is a petition, a discharge petition, that is already out to compel the house to vote on the paychecks

ms. holmes norton. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from washington, d.c. is recognized. ms. norton: i thank the gentleman for yielding. congress did not foresee the controllers crisis. they will not foresee the next one. we have not solved the controller's crisis with money. it was not about money. it was not about cuts. it was solved the old-fashioned way. they simply moved money around. this is exactly what was done with appropriations that are not having this crisis. can solve this if we have a meeting of both sides of the aisle on the budget. what would happen at that meeting would probably be not to cut a thing but simply to allow agencies the flexibility to move money around precisely as has been done with the controllers crisis. not one cent was changed, just the flexibility, the common sense that we now need to do with every single appropriation. i yield back and thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from iowa is recognized. mr. latham: might i inquire of the gentleman from arizona, you have 30 seconds left, if you'd

norton for the heaviest of delays. no problems crossing the 14th street bridge. problems this morning, let's go live overhead with ms.ng-standing trash -- crash. back to scott and greta. >> thank you. 6:43 now. coming up, the marathon bombings lead to changes in sports venues around the world. >> a tough night for some on "dancing with the stars." >> this is "good morning washington." on your side. >> welcome back. a big good morning to arlington virginia where we are taking a look at the high school. they have a time lapse here for you this morning as we watched the sun come up. what a beautiful morning. a big ball of fire in the sky. that is the sun shower. we have not seen in a while. more clouds than sun today, but plenty of sun and the afternoon hours. he wants a t-shirt for this afternoon. maybe a light sweater this morning. 68 and partly sunny by recess. when the bus drops you off, 72 degrees and partly cloudy skies. it will be a beautiful day, even warmer weather. your seven-day forecast before a big cooldown, we will tell you that in just a moment. >> 6:45 no. news around the region a fairfax county teenager

norton smith and meet amanda matthews. she is at the massachusetts historical society where she is a research associate for the adams papers. ms. matthews, we learned there was not much documentary evidence about elizabeth monroe. how about louisa catherine adams, what exists? >> quite a wealth. she kept diaries intermittently. she wrote autobiographies and memoirs. there are hundreds and hundreds of letters of hers. we have her thoughts and feelings from her point of view, both reflective and contemporary as the events were taking place. >> another suggested that in her research she saw louisa adams as the first modern first lady. do you agree with that contention that she developed a sense of self? >> in some ways she has her own cause. she works with the washington female orphan asylum, so in that way it's somewhat modern having this cause that she was involved in and she does work politics in her parlor in such a way as to help win the presidency for her husband in her own way. >> well, richard norton smith, explain to people how the presidency was won in 1820's, it was a very different system than we have today? >> it was