richardson from california. ms. richardson: mr. speaker, i rise today to introduce h.r. 2744, the equal rights for health care act, title 42. the concept of equal rights is a pillar of our nation and the reason why so many immigrate here to the united states -- emigrate here to the united states. indeed the u.s. was founded on the principle that all americans should have inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. in order to enjoy this blessing of life and liberty, however, one must be healthy and that means they have the benefit of equal treatment and research. for example, men and women have different symptoms when it comes to heart disease. unlike men, most women do not experience chest pain. instead, 71% of the women who report having flu-like symptoms report and go to their doctors, they may see various other researchers, physicians and so on, and we need to make sure that emergency attendance, test and prescription drugs are informed about the differences that we might have. h.r. 2744, the equal rights

starters don't like doing things like this. >> rob: no, scott richardson will not be happy after thisallgame. comes in relief, gets the loss, left after two innings of work. debbi taylor is right there with wee willie harris who was aflly big tonight. >> debbi: thank you very much. you did it all tonight. talk about the homerun, take us through that at-bat. >> one of those at-bats where, initially, we had the bunt sign on and then we switched that and went to the hit-and-run. he went after me and i'm glad i was able to hit the ball up in the air and be able to hit it out of here. >> debbi: and your reaction from your teamates, i didn't think you were going to get out of that mile. >> i tell you what, we are having fun here. everybody is starting to do their part. everything is coming together. hopefully we can continue to do what we have been doing and see if we can do it again tomorrow. >> debbi: earlier in the at- bat, you crushed one foul. what were you thinking? >> i was trying to hit it in the gap, that was when the hit- and-run sign was on. and i just tried to drive it in the ga

richardson. thank you mr. chairman and congresswoman edwards.i'd like to attest that i've had an opportunity to go to three events particularly with aviation of these recovery dollars in that sense, i've seen great progress and want to commend you. further you say and is a lifeline for americans having been hard hit by the recession. then on page 4, you talk about every newwçp project we obligat is a signal for states i read automatic of your presentations and i would say it was a little light. do you have any information on what new contracts were established? what new people were hired. not just to the companies that already have major contracts and already working to put them on the overtime. it was to give new p.m. the opportunity to come in. jo all of the money is to be put to new projects. that's not what i zd you. are new contractors coming in? are new p.m. getting jobs? >> i don't have data on that. what i can tell you is that significant effort for us is to work with the state department's of transportation to ensure that companies of a

hillary rodham clinton, gen and appalling tunnel, bill richardson, bill ritter, can salazar, mark warner, and dlc leaders all make their mark on the national spotlight. the new dlc chairman harold ford, jr. continues to speak out as one of the nation's up and coming senators. rahm emanuel leads democrats back into the majority on capitol hill after penning with bruce reed a plan in 2006. in continuing with the tradition of helping young leaders emerge and the stars, the dlc founds a new program with an eye towards the future. a quarter-century later, barack obama and joe biden's historic victory in 2008 proves that the party is ready. the new administration and congress have the chance to build a long lasting change and reform, and the opportunity to carry out a new democratic agenda. education reform, national service, health reform, energy, fiscal responsibility, and long- term growth. on the democratic leadership council, the organization that al built from the ground up is taking on a new challenge. under bruce's leadership, house legacy lives on. the power of a good idea can still i

former un ambassador bill richardson as speaking on a national broadcast today and calling it the 12-year sentencing for the two journalists part of a high- stakes poker game in north korea. the mexico governor added that the time might be right to work with the country's leaders in pyongyang on their release. from the north korean -- there warning to stay with northeast coast, that is from the coast guard. the first wave of 21,000 troops ordered to afghanistan are now fanning out across the country's south. the 7000 marines are on a mission to defeat the two. a bipartisan report says that u.s. reliance on private sector employees has grown to unprecedented proportions, yet the government has no central database of who the contractors are, what they do, or how much they're paid. the study finds that the defense department has failed to provide adequate oversight over tens of billions of dollars for contracts in iraq and afghanistan. after being invited for a second time to speak to the annual joined fund-raiser for the national republican congressional committee in the national republ

miss richardson? >> i had an opportunity to go to 3 events with allocation of these recovery dollars being distributed and it is happening at los angeles international airport, recently with secretary napolita napolitano. i have seen great progress and i commend you. mr. paniati, i want to talk about what mr. chao was just asking you. you said through the efficient implementation of the recovery projects, fhwa has the key role in protecting families from foreclosure. it has energized working people of all sizes and is the lifeline for americans who worked in construction and been hard hit by the recession. on page 4, every new project, there is a signal for states to advertise contracts and for contractors to begin hiring workers and ordering asphalt and concrete. i have read all of your presentations and it was a little light on providing information in that area. do you have any information on new contracts, what new people were hired? that was part of the focus of the recovery, not just to the comp

she was chief counsel to the governor in new mexico, governor richardson and she has demonstrated her ability to lead a team of lawyers in that position and to provide sound legal counsel. it is unclear to me why anyone would be objecting to her being approved as our solicitor. now, i raised -- when i came to the floor on the 2nd of june about eight days ago, and talked about this subject, i asked unanimous consent we proceed to executive session and that her nomination be confirmed and that we advice the president of our action and that the senate go back to other business. senator mcconnell, on behalf of the republican members here in the senate, objected, and said -- i think his specific response was that they were still working on this. let me see, he said "we have not been able to get that nomination cleared yet on this side onl the will consult with republican colleagues and at some point let him know," that's me, "let him know whether did is possible to go forward." so he objected. that was disappointing. i am even more disappointed to announce or to call attention to the fact

richardson: this would have facial and iris recognition that would eye bentify individuals at security checkpoints. this study authorizes the ability that we can consider environmental and operational factors and any capabilities that would hinder future acquisitions. as a member of this committee i support mr. butterfield and our chairman in support of this bill. i ask my colleagues to do the same. i reserve 10 seconds to clear up this amendment. mr. butterfield: mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from north carolina yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from north carolina. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 14 printed in house report 111-127. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? mr. roskam: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 14 printed in house report 111-

. >> the -- one of the things that's been fascinating in new mexico, governor richardson stepped up andid commuter rail and there were a lot of doubts, an earlier governor talked about doing it, was

richardson. mr. moran. ms. kaptur. mr. jones. mr. flake. the chair lays before the house a message. the clerk: to the congress of the united states. section 202-d of the national emergencies act 50 u.s.c. 1622-d provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless prior to the anniversary date of its declaration the president publishes in the federal register and transmits to the congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. in accordance with this provision, i have sent to the federal register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency and related measures blocking the property of certain persons undermining democratic processes or institutions in belarus are to continue in effect beyond june 16, 2009. despite some positive developments during the past year, including the release of internationally recognized political prisoners, the actions and policies of certain members of the government of belarus and other persons that have undermined democratic processes or institutions committe

congresswoman richardson. thank you. >> thank you so much. thank you and all of our other great chairs for your outstanding leadership and my tri-caucus help colleagues for your untiring effort on the behalf of health equity. thank you all for joining us today. clearly we are at a very pivotal and a very exciting time. one of the tri-caucus tends to take full of vantage of. for those of us who have been calling for health disparity elimination legislation, that will diversify the health workforce, focus on prevention, apply a community centric approach to address health disparities, and the tens of thousands of premature preventable deaths every year, and improve the health and wellness of all americans, for us it's a more, even more exciting time. because the reform that's about to take place in our health care system, we are about to take it to another level of transformation with the legislation that we are about to introduce. and this will truly make a difference in the health and well being of millions of people in this country. in this

. >> the -- one of the things that's been fascinating in new mexico, governor richardson stepped up and did commuter rail and there were a lot of doubts, an earlier governor talked about doing it, was ridiculed by the press but he stepped up and did it, on time, on schedule, ended up, it's been going about nine months now, it's past the 2 millionth passenger and in a very short period of time. one of you, i think it was mr. skancke mentioned reliable -- you used the term reliable ridership and predictions. i don't think anybody would have predicted in new mexico, now granted this is the same period where we hit $4 gasoline and we're a terribly rural state and people are known to travel 120, 150 miles a day to work. just to commute. but that -- it sounds a little bit like governor rendell you build it and the people are going to come. i think, looking at our energy future, i don't know if any of you have comments on that, it may be very hard to predict what reliable ridership is right now. please, governor rendell. >> if o.m.b., c.b.o. and the g.a.o. were predicted the success of columbu

richardson and that is two this acing contractors' ability to me to db goals and this is a particular concern especially in places where there are significant pockets of unemployment or underemployment and i wonder if you can also speak to whether you believe there are any barriers to reaching out to small minority women owned businesses perhaps even as subcontractors on some of these projects? any idea? >> madam chairman, of my to take the opportunity to reply to that. is interesting, i was making noses you were speaking earlier. obviously we are using the same data goals and our problem of work in the stimulus and expanded role using stimulus funds. but one of the things that we have done is we have discovered that the stimulus part a great deal of interest on the part of dbe and traditionally the system of universal across the country you have a large dbe pool but a very large small portion of those dbe active in the day today bidding and participation in the dbe process so when we have embarked on in mississippi is to expand the pool obviously been more over to expand the those an

richardson, california. 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. paul of texas. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i wish to claim mr. paul's time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: thank you, madam speaker. the out of control violence along our border is made up of more complex elements than most people realize. the criminal cartels controling our southern border are a lot more powerful than we are led to believe. they are international organized crime cartels that make money off the weaknesses of others. they traffic drugs, money, weapons, and human beings across our southern border. they leave death, doom, and destruction in their wake. make no mistake about it, there is corruption on both sides of the border that facilitates the lawlessness taking place there. just last month, former sheriff of starr county -- stark county, texas, ray guera

like this, the other little mistakes, little stories, they just exnt -- can't, you know, so bill richardson doesn't become secretary of commerce, it's a personal tragedy for them. it might hurt the cause, but it doesn't become a metaphor for the administration the way similar things that happened in the early days of lin clinton did. >> speaking of such things, you and i lived through the wildly successful clinton health care reform effort. [laughter] and i want to get back to the question of, i guess, aside from the main characters what's different this time around? what do you see is really -- >> there's a lot of big differences. number one, we're 15 years farther along, and even though you had this period in the late '90s where health care costs actually did start to go down or didn't grow at the same rate that they had been growing, that went away and for this entire decade you've had costs continuing. so people feel the problem. number two, and i think it's a huge difference, when we came in, we were dealing with democratic majorities in both the house and senate, but entrenched democr

richardson: america cannot afford to wait for health care reform. right now more than three out of four americans are dissatisfied with the total cost of health care. that is why congress is working hard to craft legislation to fix the health care system for american families, american businesses, future generations, and of course our own fiscal survival. since 2000 wages have only increased 3% while health insurance has increased more than 50%. this has caused many families to delay visits to the doctor, skip treatments, and to allow their health coverage to lapse. despite having the most expensive health care system in the world, americans are no healthier than many of our global partners. president obama and this congress are working together to provide adequate, accessible, and affordable health care now. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without