ms. woolsey. ms. woolsey: madam speaker, i read a news article in which defense secretary robert gates during a visit to afghanistan just recently cautioned against overoptimism about how the military campaign is going over there. well, no worries there, mr. secretary. i can't muster optimism for a war that's been going on for 8 1/2 years and still hasn't achievedity objective, nor has it defeated the enemy. in fact, it's hard to be optimistic now that we've lost more than 1,000 brave americans in afghanistan, nearly 1/3 of them, 1/3 of them since this last summer. and frankly, mr. speaker, i'm downright pessimistic about the government we're propping up in afghanistan which seems to reach a new low for corruption and incompetence every single day. that's why i enthusiastically support the resolution offered by my friend, the gentleman from ohio, to bring our troops home from afghanistan by the end of the year at the latest. the fact is that our military presence is what's fueling the very insurgency w

ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend and insert ex train indianaous material into the record. the speaker pro tempore: no objection. ms. woolsey: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. woolsey: i rise today in support of h. res. 1117 offered by congresswoman lofgren, a bill that celebrates california state university, c.s.u., for 50 years of service and leadership. in 1960, california developed its massive plan for higher education. since that time, this plan has provided access to higher education to the state's diverse students. in that same year, mr. speaker, with the passage of the donahue act, state colleges were brought toying to form the c.s.u. system. since its inception, the california state university has grown into an exemplary higher state education institutions. the c.s.u. boasts 23 campuses, seven off-campus centers and 433,000 students. in addition, the system

ms. woolsey, five minutes, mr. defazio, five minutes, ms. kaptur, five minutes, mr. ortiz, five minutes, mr. gene green, five minutes, mr. chet edwards, five minutes, mr. charlie gonzalez, five minutes, mr. hendrix five minutes, and ms. eddie bernice johnson for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previoused orer of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. bright of alabama. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. ortiz: i ask unanimous consent that the time be yielded to us, i don't think the gentleman is here at this time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for five minutes. mr. ortiz: today we are here to honor the life and work of my good friend, representative charlie wilson, who i had the pleasure of serving with in the house of representatives for 13 years. charlie was a unique person. one of a kind. and he will be missed dearly by his family, friends, and colleagues in the

ms. woolsey: mr.aker, there is no greater security threat in the world than the continued development and proliferation of nuclear weapons. a single nuclear strike has the pour power to destroy the planet and obliterate the human race. the headline in "new york times" read, white house is rethinking nuclear policy, and boy did it need some rethinking. after years of a grossly irresponsible strategy, we should all be grateful that the obama administration seems poised on this issue to put us on a course for global security. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman will suspend. the house will be in order. the gentlewoman may resume. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, it appears that the president is prepared to dramatically reduce the size of the u.s. nuclear stockpile. all accounts are that there will be no development of new nuclear weapons on his watch. and that includes the unnecessarily dangerous expensive and wasteful bunker buster, the pet nuke of the previous administration. and while his predecessor

ms. woolsey, a member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, the whole nation desperately needs health care reform. but no group of americans needs it more than women who face discrimination and at the hands of the broken stats kyo every single day. we all know that the current system allows insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. but i wonder how many of my colleagues realize that essentially being a woman is a pre-existing condition. pregnancy, for example, or c-sections can be deemed pre-existing conditions. and most unbelievable of all, insurance companies can legally turn their backs on women who have suffered injuries due to domestic violence. because that, too, can be defined as a pre-existing condition. we should all be ashamed of a system that puts healthy insurance company profits ahead of healthy american women. this weekend we will -- today, tonight we will make history by passing a health care bill that wi

ms. woolsey of california, mr. engel of new york, ms. jackson lee of texas. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previoused orer of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. mr. poe: i request permission to address the house for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: the new health care bill is an invasion of people's privacy. it's another reason why we should vote it down. the government shouldn't be sticking its nose into people's medical records, it's none of the government's business. there's a health care integrity data bank in the bill that gives the feds access to everyone's medical records. what's the government -- once the government has everybody's medical records, none of that information is secure. health care information should be between the patient and the doctor and that's all. not the patient and some yet unnamed anonymous, unaccountable, federal bureaucrat. ask joe

ms. woolsey of california, mr. defazio of oregon for five minutes, ms. kaptur of ohio for five minutes, mr. grayson of florida for five minutes, ms. jackson lee of texas for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, under a previoused orer of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each, starting with mr. poe of texas. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona rise? mr. flake: i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman may proceed. mr. flake: just minutes ago, i introduced a privileges resolution that would require the house committee on standards of official conduct to make public information gathered for its probe into the relation between earmarks and campaign contributions. in a report released earl -- earlier this month, the committee concluded it could find no evidence of quid pro quo between the donations and earmarks. they released its own summary of finding

ms. woolsey of california, mr. sablan of the northern mariana islands, ms. maloney of new york, mr.azio of oregon, ms. kaptur of ohio and mr. mcdermott of washington. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. al green of texas. for what purpose does the gentleman from from the northern mariana islands arise? mr. sablan: i ask unanimous consent that i claim the gentleman's time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sablan: thank you, very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. sablan: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, when we open our hearts to our young people, give generously and support and encouragement, these young people consistently exceed our expectations. let me tell you of the story of a dedicated group of students from a tiny island in the western pacific ocean and the teachers who supported and encouraged them. because on april 20, those students, the high

ms. woolsey's time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> a few moments ago we heard one of the most outrageous charges i've seen in many days and heard in many days around here concerning the health care bill. the notion that somehow the health care bill overrides the hipaa law that's more than a decade old is foolish nonsense. the privacy remains for every individual in america under the hipaa law and in no way does the health reform bill invade or change in any way the hipaa law which provides privacy on hall medical records, whether they are with your local doctor, the clinic, the hospital, the federal government, whether you're on medicare, medicaid or whatever program you are in, your privacy is assured by a decade-old law and what will be before us in the days ahead is a change not in the hipaa law but in other sections of the laws pertaining to health care in america. there is absolutely no truth whatsoever that the privacy of individuals are in any way changed by the laws -- by the bill

ms. woolsey: madam speaker, at least 46 million americans are now uninsured. 7.1 million in california areninsured and by the end of the day 14,000 more americans will lose their coverage, more than 2,000 of them in california. without health care reform, the average family premium in california will rise from 13,280 dollars to $22,670 by the year 2019. that's why we must pass a health care reform bill that brings down cost and increases competition. the senate bill with the corrections, including better subsidies and insurance market rample will be the beginning of this. we must pass health care reform so that our nation's families have access to affordable, quality health insurance. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? >> to address the house for one minute and ask permission to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. blunt: thank you, madam speaker. "the washington post" today, madam speaker, on the front page said pelosi may try to pass a

ms. woolsey from california five minutes. mr. defazio, oregon, five minutes. ms. kaptur, ohio, five minutes. and mr. bright, alabama, for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. poe from texas. for what purpose does the gentleman from utah rise? mr. bishop: i ask unanimous consent to use the time designated for representative poe. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. bishop: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, we as americans have the responsibility to protect our environment and to protect our homeland and unfortunately we are failing at both. our border patrol has done a wonderful job in the urban areas of this country. however, in rural areas where the united states owns about 40% -- the united states federal government owns about 40% of the land from california to texas, we seem to not be doing quite as well and that now becomes the prime area where evil groups like drug car

ms. woolsey of california. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. mcdermott: i ask unanimous consent to take her time. to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcdermott: mr. speaker, i rise today to tell the story of an 11-year-old boy from washington state who visited congress last week to lobby for health care reform. his name is macelis owens and he lost his uninsured mother to pulmonary hypertension which could have been treated. he shared his story with senator patty murray and then presented to an audience of 100 people at a hearing, telling them that he thought, quote, health care should be for everyone. he was an articulate and bright young man and his story exemplifies why we desperately need health care are he form. so, in one of the clearest signs of republican deck la -- desperation, others took to the airwaves to tear marcelis apart. mr. limb by a calm -- limbaugh said, i would say this to the boy, well, your mother would have died anyway because obamacare doesn't kick in until 2014. fox news cam

ms. woolsey from california for five minutes, mr. defazio from oregon for five minutes, ms. kaptur from ohio for five minutes, ms. jackson lee from texas for five mints, mr. garamendi from california for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house the following members are recognized for five minutes. mr. cummings of maryland. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> request unanimous consent to speak out of order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for five minutes. >> i thank you, madam chair. if i might, we heard just a moment ago from one of our esteemed colleagues from the republican side that there were no savings in the health care bill. in fact, there are substantial savings, at least according to the congressional budget office, and over time the american deficit would be substantialally reduced. let me just tell i -- substantially reduced. let me tell you some of the reasons why. first of all, by extend

ms. woolsey, member of the committee. >> gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> mr.lth care reform. no group of americans needs it more than women, who faces discrimination and insult at the hand of the broken status quo every single day. we all know that the current system allows insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. i wonder how many of my colleagues realize that essentially being a woman is a pre-existing condition. pregnancy, for example, or c-sections can be deemed pre-existing conditions. and almost unbelievable of all, insurance companies can legally turn their backs on women who suffered injuries due to domestic violence. because that, too, can be defined as a pre-existing condition. we should all be ashamed of a system that puts healthy insurance company profits ahead of healthy american women. this weekend we will -- today, tonight, we will make history by passing a health care bill that will correct these injustices. and no longer will female be considered a pre-existing condition. >> time is expired. time is expired. >> ge

ms. woolsey, mr. al green, ms. titus, mr. defazio and ms. kaptur each for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house, thele following members are recognized -- the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. poe from texas. the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. at first al gore claimed to invent the internet. now looks like he really did invent something. global warming. the nation had one of the coldest winters in years including record snowfalls in the south. but the warmers like al gore ignore the obvious and still claim we're all going to perish, saying man is the threat to the planet. the groundhog is a better predictor of the weather than al gore. his long-winded article in the "the new york times" over the weekend was long on claims and short on facts. he didn't cite hard source -- sources for his information. like the rest of the global warming scientists who are using fraudulent infor

ms. woolsey of california, mr. defazio of oregon, mr. polis of colorado. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: i was unavoidably detained at a state department meeting, i would like to register my vote for the democratic motion to table the appeal of the ruling of the chair. if i'd been present, i would have voted yes, aye, and for passage of h.r. 4899, the disaster relief and summer jobs act of 2010, i would have enthusiastically voted aye. i ask unanimous consent that that be placed at the appropriate place in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman's remarks will appear in the record. ms. jackson lee: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. and the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house is not in order. the house will come to order. please take your conversations off t

ms. woolsey from california, five minutes. mr. defazio from oregon, five minutes. ms. kaptur from ohio for five minutes. and ms. jackson lee from texas for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009 and under a previous order of the house, the following members are recognized for five minutes each. mr. poe from texas. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. gohmert: ask to address the house for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gohmert: thank you, madam speaker. i continue to sound about a cry on this because since 1913, the states have had no way to prevent usurpation of states' rights or do anything about unfunded mandates that were crammed down their throats. the constitution provided for that, in that it said, the state legislatures would select the u.s. senators. and as long as that was the case, every u.s. senator knew if they created an unfunded mandate and took away states' rights or did anything to harm the states' powers that were granted to the

ms. woolsey from california. ms. woolsey: madam speaker, as the drama was building towards this body's passage of health care reform this week many of us may have forgotten that friday was the seventh anniversary of the invasion of iraq. it's been seven years since we were assured that americans would be greeted as liberators from the moment they touched down in baghdad. seven years since we were told democracy in iraq would blossom naturally like spring flowers and seven years later with more than 4,300 americans having been killed and hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars wasted. the truth remains, the simple act of self-governance is still a life-threatening proposition in iraq. to be sure, in the recent parliamentary elections many iraqis once again showed enormous courage by going to the polls amid violence and unrest. the problem is that it's hard to call a democratic election a success when citizens are taking their lives into their hands just to exercise their most basic democratic right. despite the resolv

ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, the whole nation desperately needs health care reform, but no group of americans needs it more than women. women who face discrimination and insult at the hands of the broken status quo. we all know that the current system allows insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions, but i wonder how many of my colleagues realize that essentially being a woman is a pre-existing condition. pregnancy, for example, or c-sections, can be deemed pre-existing conditions. and most unbelievable of all, insurance companies can legally turn back -- their backs on women who suffered injuries due to domestic violence because that, too, can be defined as a pre-existing condition. we should all be ashamed of a system that puts insurance company profits ahead of healthy american women. it's time for women to no longer be

ms. woolsey and mr. taylor if they have their track shoes on. i'm sorry, i'll go to woolsey, ms. and will be back after those votes. >> any mac, very. thank you, mr. secretary, it's wonderful to see you. no child left behind sounds very similar. different words, absolutely different group presenting it to us and no child left behind turned out to be punitive and set of helpful. i hate mr. hoekstra. >> is looking at a way to bring us together and away we never imagined. >> i really worry that we've got a new team in town, we've got a new white house, a new secretary, so now we've got to do a new something, but it won't be that different. so i will know it's different if we actually invest in the kids that need the help the most. so what i want to know is, is there an amount in the budget that will be targeted to ensure the students are ready to learn when they enter the classroom because to bring those failing kids, the sick kids, the hungry kids, the worry child is going to be costly. are we going to make an investment or are we going to expect the teacher to bridge that gap? pul

ms. woolsey: madam speaker, at least 46 million americans are now uninsured. 7.1 million in california are uninsured and by the end of the day 14,000 more americans will lose their coverage, more than 2,000 of them in california. without health care reform, the average family premium in california will rise from 13,280 dollars to $22,670 by the year 2019. that's why we must pass a health care reform bill that brings down cost and increases competition. the senate bill with the corrections, including better subsidies and insurance market rample will be the beginning of this. we must pass health care reform so that our nation's families have access to affordable, quality health insurance. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? >> to address the house for one minute and ask permission to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. blunt: thank you, madam speaker. "the washington post" today, madam speaker, on the front page said pelosi may try to pass

ms. woolsey: madam speaker, at least 46 million americans are now uninsured. 7.1 million in california are the end of the day 14,000 more americans will lose their coverage, more than 2,000 of them in california. without health care reform, the average family premium in california will rise from 13,280 dollars to $22,670 by the year 2019. that's why we must pass a health care reform bill that brings down cost and increases competition. the senate bill with the corrections, including better subsidies and insurance market rample will be the beginning of this. we must pass health care reform so that our nation's families have access to affordable, quality health insurance. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? >> to address the house for one minute and ask permission to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. blunt: thank you, madam speaker. "the washington post" today, madam speaker, on the front page said pelosi may try to pass a health bill wi

ms. woolsey: first of all, i'd like to thank two women who are here bringing this resolution to the house floor. so very important. i rise today in support of h.res. 605, a resolution recognizing the continuing persecution of falun gong practitioners in china. in 2002, mr. speaker, i authored a resolution expressing the sense of the congress regarding the chinese government's oppression of falun gong in the united states and in the people's republic of china. sadly, eight years later the persecution continued. people are being sent to jail, to work camps and are assaulted for their practice of falun gong. china has claimed that falun gong practitioners are, quote, disturbing social order, unquote, and have labeled the practice an evil cult. international media reports have found that over 100 falun gong followers have died in custody of the chinese government. all people, even those in china, have internationally recognized freedom of association and religion. the chinese government must put a stop to this inhumane persecution. i urge my colleagues to stand up for human rights and vote ye