ms. pingree: mr. speaker, house resolution 1559 provides for consideration of h.r. 5822, the military construction and veterans' affairs and related agencies appropriations act of 2011 under a structured rule. the rule provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. the rule waives all points of order against consideration of the bill except those arising under clause 9 or 10 of rule 21. the rule waives points of order against provision of the bill for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule 21. the rule makes in order only those amendments printed in the report. all poits against the amendment -- all points of order against those amendments except those aseroog under clause 9 or 10 of rule 21 are waived. the rule provides except those amendments reported from the committee of the whole the question of their adoption shall be put to the house engross and without division of the question. the rule provides o

ms. pingree: thank you, mr. speaker. speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 1574 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 229. house resolution 1574. resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 3534, to provide greater efficiencies, transparency, returns, and accountability in the administration of federal mineral and energy resources by consolidating administration of various federal energy minerals management and leasing programs into one entity to be known as the office of federal energy and minerals leasing of the department of the interior, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived exce

ms. pingree. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from maine is recognized for three minutes. ms. pingree: thank you very much. thank you to my colleague on the rules committee, thank you, mr. chair. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in opposition to the $37 billions in this war bill, for the wars in afghanistan and iraq. i oppose this war funding and i believe that our presence in afghanistan is not strengthening our national security. instead of spending this money on a war that doesn't make us any safer, i believe we should be reducing the deficit and investing here at home. after the events of 9/11 the united states went to afghanistan to capture or kill osama bin laden and dismantle al qaeda. not to occupy the country or to build the afghan government, a government that has proven time and time again to be one of the most corrupt in the world. june was the deadliest month for our u.s. military personnel since the war began in 2002. and while the loss of one american service member is tragic, the loss of over 1,000 brave americans for a cause that doesn't make america any safer is

ms. pingree: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today i want to commend chairman waxman and rush for introducing h.r. 5820, the toxic chemicals safety act, a bill that will for the first time require the chemical industry to prove that the chemicals in our products are safe. in america, we have too long failed to regulate chemicals in consumer products, even those we know have links to cancer, reproductive disorders and health problems. under the old toxic substance control act, 62,000 chemicals were grandfathered in. only six chemicals have been banned since its passage. even asbestos could be taken off the market. passing new laws, phasing out mercury, lead and flamed retartant from everyday products. in 2008, our legislature passed the groundbreaking kids safe products act that identifies and phased out the most taxic chemicals that endangers our children. it's time that the nation follows maine's lead. it's never been important for the nation to pass the strongest and most toxic bill as possible. i yield back. the spea

ms. pingree: thank you, mr. speaker. today i introduced a bill that will make it easier for schools to buy food. we have moved further and further away of feeding our children healthy meals at schools. thousands of family-run farms are literally disappeared. in maine we have gone out of the way to purchase food from farms. but my bill frees up money for school by giving them the option of spending 10% for government commodities of food from local farmers. this will not only bring healthy, high-quality foods into our schools. it will also pump more money into our local economies. an apple travels 1,500 miles from farm to school. this gives schools the freedom to buy apples from their farmers instead of traveling across the country and back again. i look forward on working -- to working on this bill with my colleagues. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i ask permission to address the

ms. pingree. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. pingree: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you to my colleague for yielding the time. mr. speaker, today, the house will consider h.r. 5114, the flod insurance reform priorities act. in maine, fema is remapping york and cumberland counties. the new maps will help homeowners and businesses assess the flood risk they face. in portland, initial models fema used showed much of the city's waterfront would be damaged by waves during a storm. fema's maps -- portland harbor is not a barrier island nor is it a community built on shifting sand. rather, portland harbor is a working, thriving waterfront that has endured for hundreds of years. after working with the city, fema recently improved the accuracy of their model taking into account the impact of the city's working waterfront on the wave action as well as new data provided by the city. in the next few weeks, fema will issue preliminary maps as a result of hard work by the city and the maine congressional delegation. together we were able to sa

ms. pingree: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, 75 years ago francis perkins, a wonderful woman from a long line of maine farmers and craftsmen, addressed the nation as the secretary of labor. in addition to being the first woman cabinet maker in our nation's history, she was also the person president roosevelt put in charge of creating this social security system. in her address he talked about creating a system to provide saved guards which cannot be wholly eliminated. nearly 300,000 people in my state now receiving benefits are living proof that for 75 years social security has been just what francis perkins hoped for, assuring a deep and standard of living in good times and bad for seniors and countless others. from disability insurance and survivors benefits to providing a cushion during retirement, social security has allowed americans to attain their independence and dignity. it must be preserved. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to address the house for