the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from california. the gentleman from california. .(3 is is mr. speaker, the ranking member needs 15 seconds to enter into a colloquy and i yield 15 seconds for a question. mr. dreier: i would like to engage in a colloquy with my committee chair. ms. slaughter: if we use your time. mr. dreier: the one thing we are guaranteed and tell me if i'm wrong, one thing we are guaranteed is that the senate bill is the only thing that if it passes today will become public law, is that correct? is that correct? ms. slaughter: i'm sorry, i couldn't hear. mr. dreier: the rule that was drafted and reported out last night, is it not true that the only thing we are guaranteed to have become public law at the end of this day if the votes are there, is in fact, the senate bill --. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman's time has expired. is is mr. speaker i yield -- ms. slaughter: mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlelady from new york is rec

the seniors have 63 of california's 75 points. armstead with the dribble. wildly at the hoop. and it's amoke with the rebound. >> don: i don't think we're going to see randle again today or christopher for that matter. robertson's still in there. >> steve: reaching around was armstead. picks up the personal foul. here's our pacific life pac-10 tournament bracket. as ucla won 75-69 in the first game of the quarterfinals today. reeves nelson went for 19 and 10. >> don: in our earlier telecast, i think that is the matchup that ucla would want. they beat cal earlier in the year. interesting when cal's the one seed and the oregon, the eight seed. >> steve: knezevic with the basket. ben howland wins a lot on thursday. he has to go one day with a shootaround tomorrow. >> don: that's all right. they never play on friday. >> steve: so, he's 0-0 on fridays. >> don: exactly. >> steve: getting knocked down was amoke. >> done a fantastic job of managing their emotions in this ball game. off the floor, they are taking just a moment to enjoy their success. i had a moment

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california -- does the gentleman from california ask unanimous consent? >> i'd be happy to yield four of our minutes which would give us two minutes remaining is that correct? the speaker pro tempore: that's correct. mr. miller: i ask unanimous consent to do that. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from new york is recognized. you have 11 1/2 minutes. mr. meeks: thank you. it's my pleasure to yield a minute and a half of that to the gentlelady from the great state of florida, the honorable corrine brown. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for one and a half minutes. ms. brown: thank you, mr. chairman. i stand in strong support of debt relief act for the earthquake recovery for haiti act, introduced by my dear friend and colleague, representative maxine waters like so many of my colleagues here in the congress and the c.b.c., we have been working to improve the lives of the people of haiti for many, many years. i was in haiti last october with chairman oberstar and congressman gre

the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: i yield one minute to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. markey, an important member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. minute. mr. markey: on are, the democratic party is the party of hope, the republicans are the party of nope. the democratic health care bill lowers prescription drug costs for seniors, expands doverpblg 32 million more americans, reducing the deficit by $143 billion over the next 10 year, gives middle class families tax credits to help pay for health coverage. what do the republican says to this plan? they say, nope. nope to lowering prescription drug prices. nope to expanding coverage. nope to health insurance tax breaks. g.o.p. used to stand for grand old party. now it stands for grandstand, oppose, and postpone. they grandstand with phony claims about nonexistent government takeovers. they oppose any real reform. then they want to postpone fixing our broken health care system. g.o.p., grandstand, oppos

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from california, mr. ilbray, is recognized. mr. bilbray: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman. mr. bilbray: madam speaker, the constitution of the united states mandates on the federal government the responsibility of holding a census every decade. it is an essential party/;iñeóñ constitutional obligation and actually a building block for our representative form of government. it's also -- has evolved into a process to be able to assess programs funds andu should be distributed. the integrity of the census is so important that over the decades, times have been proposed how to improve and to secure the census numbers. today we are actually talkingu about one aspect of the effort to improve the validity of these numbers and the integrity 7ziçó numbers and that iszç>v,, do an outreach to the communities of the native alaskans and americanqó%÷?2 s3Ñ. these are communities that tend to be more isolated than the general p

the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. waxman: i yield one minute to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. markey, an important member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. markey: on health care, the democratic party is the party of hope, the republicans are the party of nope. the democratic health care bill lowers prescription drug costs for seniors, expands doverpblg 32 million more americans, reducing the deficit by $143 billion over the next 10 year, gives middle class families tax credits to help pay for health coverage. what do the republican says to this plan? they say, nope. nope to lowering prescription drug prices. nope to expanding coverage. nope to health insurance tax breaks. g.o.p. used to stand for grand old party. now it stands for grandstand, oppose, and postpone. they grandstand with phony claims about nonexistent government takeovers. they oppose any real reform. then they want to postpone fixing our broken health care system. g.o.p., grandstand, oppos

the gentlewoman from california. ms. woolsey: i'm delighted to recognize the gentlewoman from california, congresswoman lofgren, the sponsor of h. res. 1117 for as much time as she may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. lofgren: i thank ms. woolsey, a great supporter of this resolution and of education in california. mr. speaker, i rise today as the proud sponsor of the resolution congratulating the california state university system on 50 years of providing high quality accessible rg and affordable education and i want to thank my colleague, representative herger, for introducing this resolution with you. the c.s.u. system is the nation's largest and most diverse university system. it includes 23 campuses and seven off-campus centers with 44,000 faculty and staff and 430,000 students. it was created in 1961 under the master plan, but san jose state university preceded it. san jose state university is the oldest university in the system. it's in my district and it's in my neighborhoodment

the gentleman from california. the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i recognize the gentlewoman from nevada, ms. titus, a member of the committee, for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. titus: for over a year i've listened to the voices of district three and heard heartbreaking stories of children denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition, small business owners that can't afford to insure their employees and single moms who've lost their jobs and their insurance. they're the reasons i'm voting for reform. in district three alone, reform will improve coverage for more than 600,000 people. it will strengthen medicare for 120,000 seniors and close the prescription drug doughnut hole. it will create health care tax breaks for over 200,000 families and 17,000 small businesses and let 72,000 young adults stay on their parents' policy. insurance companies and others oppose to reform have spent over $1.3 million in southern nevada, but i won't be intimidated. today, as i've always done, i'm s

madam speaker, i'd now like to yield two minutes to the gentlewoman from california -- the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. chu: madam speaker, first i want to thank chairman levin and chairman mcdermott from including in the manager's amendment the extension of the jobs now program. i'd like to thank chairman larson and betty sutton and alcee hastings for their support of this bill and program. i rise today to support the manager's amendment to h.r. 4846, the jobs tax act which adds an extremely important jobs program called jobs now. it has created over 156,000 jobs in 29 states across the country. it is extraordinary for the fact that it has been able to create jobs so quickly. the model in el monte county created over 1,000 subsidized jobs in one year, jobs like park rangers, teacher's assistance. they got paid up to 40 hours per week. the employer provided 20% of the wage cost and the federal government provided the rest. the reason it succeeded is that it was a win-win for both small business and wor

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> request one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute to address the house. >> mr. speaker, members, i want to bring to your attention an extraordinary unit in our military in the air force located in travis air force base in fairfield, california. the 60th air mobility wing does an extraordinary job, providing services to the military as well as for humanitarian efforts. when the earthquake in haiti occurred, it was that wing that brought immediate assistance using the rapid deployment. they also have hospital services available that are immediately deployed. when it comes time to open a new military base or field anywhere in the air, it's the 6 0th air mobility wing that provides those immediate services. so i ask all the members to recognize the good service, good work this unit does, the extraordinary service provided by the men and women of the 60th air mobility wing located travis air force base, fairfield, c

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. dreier: what he's talking about is people not receiving these benefits. this was done -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california on this side, in the well, controls the time. mr. dreier: let me just say that everyone acknowledges that we want to make sure people who are struggling to find a job today and aren't able to find a job is able to receive those benefits. no one wants to deny that. our colleague in the in the other body who was raising concerns with spending issues and offsets and pay-as-you-go, which i know my friend is ready to champion, led to this issue. the question is, what do we do to get the economy back on track? we have seen a massive increase in spending in a wide range of area and guess what? we still have an unemployment rate around 20% in my friend's district, 14% plus in part of the area i represent. that's why i believe we should be utilizing this bipartisan john f. kennedy-ronald reagan model. that's what we should do to address the shared conce

the sheriff in california tell cnn john patrick bedell had a history of mental illness. the sheriff said his family tried for years to get help for bedell and he had been committed to mental institutions three times. according to records from the 2006 arrest, he suffered from bipolar disorder. bedell seemed to be obsessed with on-line anti-government conspiracy theorys. >> it's a mistake to try to shoe horn him in to one ideology or fit in a narrative, a partisan narrative. it's clear that this is a disturbed individual who drew a lot of hate and paranoia drawn off of the internet. it's a cheap recruiting tool, especially when the folks drinking it are unstable to begin with. >> bedell died from wounds he received with a shootout. his family said this, we may never know why he made this decision. one thing is clear, though, his actions were caused by an illness, and not a defective character. >>> a wisconsin zoo shut down yesterday when a bear bit at least two fingers off of a hand. the woman walked right past barriers and parking signs and was trying to feed the bear. th

the gentleman from california reserves? mr. berman: yes, madam chair, because i have no further speakers and i understand that the sponsor of this resolution has both the right and the intention of closing, i will yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. kucinich: i want to thank mr. berman and my colleagues for this opportunity to engage in this important debate. the number of troops in afghanistan will increase from about 70,000 at the end of 2009 to the stated goal of 100,000 by july of this year. my resolution calls for the withdrawal of all u.s. armed forces from afghanistan no later than december 31 of this year. and it can be done. unlike iraq where we have significant infrastructure built in and around the country to support our presence there, prior to last year the united states invested very little in permanent infrastructure in afghanistan. president obama's call on the u.s. military to triple the amount of troops we'v

the gentleman from california. mr. mcclintock: i yield myself such time as i may consume the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the gentleman deserves to be heard. the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcclintock: the majority has adequately described the bill. based on the history of this legislative proposal, we are not opposing the measure. however, members should note that today's bill has been changed from a prior version. the 10-year sunset has been removed. we were also concerned that the federal government would have unfettered access to private property under this program and the data could be used against the land owner. however, after meeting with the affected parties, we have concluded that the u.s. geological survey regulations require prior written land owner permission for entry and release for any data collected on an individual's property. i ask unanimous consent to include in the record the appropriate permission form that is used for these purposes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

the back. nice play by randle. really got californiagood start here this afternoon. >> steve: made 8 of 8 shots in that first half. missed his two shots in the second half. let's go the rebecca. >> over the shoulder and over to the bench. he was checking in with the trainers in that last time-out. i went over to make sure he's healthy and he's doing okay. they're telling me he's fine. yes, he's sore. it's because he's playing a lot of basketball. there's no injury. they're not concerned about that. they just want to make sure he's doing ago. >> steve: steve lavin used to say, he's 21 years old, give him another peanut butter and jelly sandwich and let him play some more. >> don: if you can get some guys some rest, that's important. you got to win three or sometimes four games to win the conference championship. if you can spell some guys some minutes, a big advantage. >> steve: don, what hurt you, cted you t most when you were playing back to back nights? >> don: i think it depends on the circumstance. i used the term your will earlier.

wow. >>> sort of like the '60s. california studes protesting loudly about tuition hikes and budget cuts yesterday. in fact, protests occurred were or planned in 33 states. to give you an idea of the huge scope of student and teacher outrage, the average for in-state fees at california's four-year public colleges this year was about or almost $6,000, up 10% from last year and the new fees taking effect in the fall will top $10,000, another 60% increase. obviously, nobody wants to make cuts to public education, but in tough times should it be subject to the same kind of bet tightening we see everywhere or are we just not prioritizing education the way we should be? we've been asking for your thoughts onhat and noel writes in this. no, we don't prioritize public education, but, no, it should not be a fair target. it needs to become a priority, he writes, and take precedence. everything comes from education. education drives opportunity. elizabeth is on the line from michigan. she'd like to agree with that, i take it. hey, elizabe

>> jerry brown is asking for the license to be suspended in california. he's the one bringing this action against dr. conrad murray and some people are saying he's doing it because he's running for governor. this is an issue he's taken up for a while, going after doctors providing pills and potions to anyone who has some money who wants them. so that's dr. jerry brown doing it, but i don't know how much impact it will have on dr. murray. he's not practicing medicine in california anyway. >> they stripped him of his license. isn't that suggesting he's done something wrong? >> that's what the defense really is afraid of, that the court of public opinion will say, well, you know what? they took his license away. this guy did something wrong so when it's time for him to stand trial in his criminal matter that it may be held against him, but ey have ways of sifting through jurors and finding 12 that can be fair and impartial. they don't think that's one strike against him. >> what do you think about the seaworld videos? what do you expect will happen? >> the st

the gentleman from california. mr. berman: yes, madam chair, before i yield to the gentlelady from california, i just want to take 30 -- 15 seconds to make a point with respect to the gentleman from ohio that while the authorization for the use of force in 2001 certainly referenced the war powers act, our point is that while this debate makes sense and is appropriate, it is truly not pursuant to the war powers act because the war powers act says an authorization -- the direction to withdrawal comes when there has not been an authorization for the use of military force, and here there was an authorization for the use of military force. i'm for the debate. i'm against the basis on which the debate is being held. i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from california, the chair of the intelligence subcommittee of homeland security subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. ms. harman: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, our colleague, mr. kucinich, should be commende

the gentleman from california. mr. filner: madam speaker, i have no further speakers and would ask if the gentleman is yielding back? -- ask if the gentleman is yielding back. mr. stearns: i would like to thank chairman filner and ranking member buyer, as well as chairman mica and member brown of the subcommittee on health for bringing this bill forward. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 4810 and do their part -- do their part to ensure that not a single one of the brave men and women who fight in uniform to defend our rights come home to a life without a job and a home. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: thank you, madam speaker. a famous president once said that we have nothing to fear but fear itself. the deputy ranking member, i didn't know we had such a title, is spreading fear. i'd just like to make it clear to every veteran, every family veteran and all-american -

the gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time.om new york. >> mr. speaker i yield two minutes. >> all right. there you just heard a little passion from chris smith the republican congressman from new jersey one of the most outspoken opponents of abortion making the case against abortion saying this senate language which the house is about to consider would increase abortion in the united states. jesse jackson jr. the congressman from illinois is trying to keep everything in order right now. he's got the gavel there. not an easy chore as passions are as intense as they are. we'll go back to the floor of the house of representatives. we're getting ready for the first of several key votes. setting the stage for health care reform or not right after this. [ female announcer ] pure cane sugar and the stevia plant. two of nature's sweetest wonders growing together under the same sun. and now for the first time in new sun crystals, the only 100% natural sweetener made with pure cane sugar and stevia. ♪ finally, all the sweetness of natur

-- house answered that the gentleman from california, mr. pete starbling, became acting chair of the committee on ways and means immediately by operation of house rule 10, clause 5. this morning, the acting chairman of the committee on ways and means, mr. stark, submitted a letter to the speaker of the house, nancy pelosi, that states, i hereby resign as acting chairman of the committee on ways and means. that letter to the speaker was read into today's proceedings. at that time, the speaker pro tem in accepting the letter, stated the resignation is accepted. i have a parliamentary inquiry regarding the nature of that resignation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will state his inquiry. mr. carter: this morning's procedure is mr. stark the current chairman of the committee on ways and means? the speaker pro tempore: the house this morning accepted the resignation of the gentleman from california, mr. stark, as acting chair of the committee on ways and means. pursuant to clause 5-c of rule 10, the member of that committee next in rank, t

friend, the gentlelady from california, ms. chu. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for six minutes. ms. chu: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of house resolution 1032, a resolution to honor augustine bobby sal seda, an exemplary american citizen, who was murdered in mexico, and ask the u.s. to help mexico fight the drug cartels. this past december, bobby salcedo traveled to gomez palacio in the state of durango to visit his wife's family. gunmen burst in and dragged bobby, along with five other men, out of a restaurant at gun point. they were then each shot to death execution style. the next day all six bodies were found dumped in a ditch. bobby was only 33 years old. i met bobby early in his career. having grown up in my district

the gentleman from california. mr. lewis: mr. speaker, i really appreciate my colleague from north carolina. he is a regular order kind of guy and chairs the homeland security committee. i have only been complaining about the way we are handling the process. my chairman has brought -- so far has not brought a single supplement to the floor under an open rule. and you can deal these things with an open rule reasonably on the floor. but you deal with them in committee, have a chance for amendments and otherwise, we don't bring supplements to the committee for discussion. so far, there have been -- my colleagues should know this. so far there have been $800 billion in spending numbers that members didn't get a chance to have any input upon. and with that, i yield three minutes to the the gentleman from kansas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kansas is recognized for three minutes. mr. tiahrt: thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank the gentleman from california. mr. speaker, there is no doubt that unemployment remains a probl

the california teen has written songs. >> don't cuss. n't cuss. >> reporter: he's printed posters, publish a book, now he's sending the vice president a t-shirt and a cuss jar where mr. biden can pay up for every bad word-- and not just a quarter. >> maybe a hundred bucks. >> reporter: hatch has some experience pressuring politicians. earlier this month, he delivered cuss jars to lawmakers in california, pushing for the adoption of a no-cuss week in the state. >> i know we're all not perfect, i've actually already put $5 in my jar. >> reporter: there wasn't a bad word said as the resolution sailed through the assembly. >> eyes have it. >> reporter: the measure has since stalled in the state senate. but in several other states, old laws still on the books do make cursing a crime. the fine for foul language in mississippi is $100. in virginia, it's up to $250. and in south carolina, swearing in public could cost $5,000 under a bill now before the state senate. the vice president isn't facing a steep fine, but on behalf of america's youth, m

the gentlelady from california. ms. watson: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back -- ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, if i could inform ambassador what the sovereign that i have some more re-- watson that i have some more remarks to make. i just don't want you to be blindsided. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlelady ask unanimous consent to reclaim her time? ms. watson: yes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. gentlelady from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i want to take a moment to highlight an unfortunate absurdity that we are confronted with today, mr. speaker. i am proud to support the resolution before us, but all of us recognize that the dedicated people of the american red cross will continue to do their good work regardless of whether they are congratulated by this body. yet, the democratic leadership has taken care to ensure that this symbolic res

the republican u.s. senate nomination in california. >> ifill: and jeffrey brown reports on the rift between the u.s. and israel over plans for settlements in east jerusalem. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's newshour. major funding for the pbs newshour is provided by: >> lehrer: it was a day of triumph for the president and his party as the sweeping health reform bill was signed into law. ray suarez begins our coverage. >> suarez: democrats descended on the white house this morning to watch history made. ( cheers and applause ) jubilant cheers greeted president obama as he entered the east room, and after nearly every sentence he spoke. he said the bill signing marked "a new season for america." >> today, after almost a century of trying; today, after over a year of debate; today, after all the votes have been tallied, health insurance reform becomes law in the united states of america. ( applause ) today. >> suarez: the president also acknowledged the labors of decades, and especially this past year, to arrive at this day. >> it's been easy at times to succumb to the sense of cynicism about

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: i would like to thank the gentleman from new york, mr. gregory meeks for the time and i appreciate all of the work he has done on this bill. indeed, i would like to thank all of the members who support this bill including barney frank, the chairman of the financial services committee who made sure we got the bill up and going and we could expedite it in a way that we have never seen a bill expedited. spencer bachus, i appreciate that he understands thoroughly the history of haiti and what it means to the world. gregory meeks, the chairman of the international monetary policy, whose manager's amendment added so much in the way of improvement to this bill. and representative ros-lehtinen, ranking member of the foreign affairs committee, elliott engel, chairman of the western hemisphere committee and all of the other co-sponsors of the bill and the congressional black caucus. i like to thank my senior legislative assistant who worked very hard on this bill. kathleen is an expert o

i'm happy to report that today the gentleman from california, mr. miller, the chairman of the education and labor committee, has introduced a bill with significant new investments in infrastructure and transportation. these will be -- make sure that we have these workers on the job in a very short order. the miller jobs bill will create jobs quickly and efficiently, if states continue to lay people off we need to make sure that we're creating as many jobs as we possibly can on the federal level. we should give the miller jobs bill quick consideration so the jobs can be created when they are needed and that's right now. so i'd like to thank the gentleman from ohio for bringing us together, for talking about jobs and encouraging us to continue doing what we need to do to create jobs and end the unemployment problems that we're having today. thank you very much. mr. boccieri: i thank the senior gentleman from virginia. i just want to be clear about your chart. it looks as if that we stabilized the job losses in this country and started to grow them agai

the last thing they're think about is their w2. i feel like even if californiaere to legalize it, the black market would just be more accessible. >> why do you always have to bring it back to race. >> sorry. >> the biggest supporter behind the legalization, this guy. >> i have been saying, i guarantee it, for years and what mean is you're going to be satisfied with the quality, the price, the way the clothes fit and wear. >> dude, could constant highness be the reason his clothes are so bad? >> could be why he has no socks, or keeps his weed in his stock. >> george zimmer? >> when i had my first entry-level job, i went to men's warehouse and budget two sets. >> and you were the best-dressed guy at burger king. >> also explains the soothing voice as well. when i first heard it, thought he smoked a lot of cigars. now at it a lot of blunt. >> don't to you county the quality of marijuana has risen abuse of the natural ingenuity of dope smokers, would go down with the government. >> affrightening that people that might have smoked it in the past will not smoke it any

in the california gold fever sweeping the nation he saw his opportunity and joined the 49 years rushing west and the sanford sysco waterfront went into the real estate market and a quarter million dollars in just three months. he adopted a much more rugged the consumer princess go. this went up in smoke and fire destroyed all of his warehouse is. of creditors hounding once again he became a ferry operator in the wilderness and caught up in schemes of a ventures in mexico and sailed for france in costa rica on mysterious message and wound up in new york a wealthy man again. he plans right back into speculating and surprise his friends swindled was left of midora affection. this time on a diplomatic mission to pare away managed to convince the american delegation and the paraguay president he was responsible for the happy resolution of all issues. sam sales home and in his pocket a secret agreement sealed with 1,000 pounds sterling to lobby in washington on para graybar haq -- behalf 1959 sam headed to washington to begin a new career. when sam arrived 1859 the original capital had been r

coming up, living on the san andreas fault line. how prepared is california and the city of san francisco for the next big one. that's ahead this hour. >>> returning to breaking news at the top of the show. the man charged with kidnapping elizabeth smart is now set to stand trial. a short time ago the judge in the case ruled 56-year-old brian david mitchell does not suffer from a mental disease or defect that harms his ability to understand the proceedings against him. so those proceedings may continue. smart was 14 in 2002 when she was kidnapped from her home. we're joined now by ed smart, father of elizabeth. ed, thank you for being with us. what's your reaction to the judge's ruling today? >> it's a great day. it's been a long time coming. mitchell is finally having to face his own music. so it's great. i think that, you know, it's been far too long. you wouldn't think trying to determine whether somebody was competent or not would take as long as it has taken. >> when you hear the details of this case, that somebody would have to be crazy to do the sort o

the united states. to include drunk driving, you name it. i think this californiaave nothing to do with changing federal law or international treaty, what it will do, undoubtedly, is create an incredible situation where california truck drivers and eye surgeons and you know, teachers in theory, could be smoking pot, standing around a corner from students or their jobs. it doesn't make any sense. or airline pilots. so i don't think it's going to pass. i hope, i hope, you know, mothers against drunk driving is against it the law enforcement community. governor candidate jerry brown's against it. america's families shouldn't support this kind of thinking. >> how do you address the violence in mexico, which again, those who would argue for legalization as an unwelcome but preferable alternative to the current environment. is the only way they see to reduce the violence. you talk about the narco state, 60% of their trafficking is marijuana. if it was regulated and taxed, wouldn't that implicitly reduce the level of violence and increase the level of stability? and under

the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. filner: i'm prepared to close if the gentleman will yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arkansas is recognized. mr. boozman: thank you, madam speaker. in closing i'd like to express my deepest condolences and heart felt appreciation to major soltes' family for their sacrifice. it's my sincerest wish that through the facility -- the service and sacrifice of major soltes will not be forgotten and his dedication to country and man kinde will live on in the -- mankind will live on in the increased health and well-being of our nation's blind veterans. i do have one additional speaker, and i yield him as much time as he may consume, the gentleman from california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. >> thank you very much, madam speaker. today i rise in honor of an american patriot for his service and his sacrifice to our country. major robert soltes of irvine, california. the son of colonel soltes, who is now retir

cardoza: i yield the gentleman from california two additional minutes. ker pro tempore: the gentleman from california has two additional minutes. mr. miller: we met with the parents and the caregivers of those children. here's the final touch. that in many instances these children were treated this way over and over again and their parents, guardians were never notified. in many instances the first time they realized what was going on is when the child in a very traumatic way refused to go back to school. was frightened to go back to school. some of these children have never really been able to return to a regular school setting. they have lost the trust in people in those settings. or a teacher might venture out and quietly tell a parent that something is wrong in your child's classroom or the way your child's being behaviored. that is not the kind of notification that parents are entitled to. and it's not the kind of notification that people believe gives them the authority to engage in this abusive behavior. also we know that in the number of instances

but i also know the gentleman from california was the highest ranking legal officer in the state of california and very articulately has set out his -- well, my understanding -- but i'm curious as to the gentleman's opinion of whether or not this really meets constitutional muster. nobody knows what the supreme court would do. some project five or six years before it got there, since we were unsuccessful in get anything fast track in the house version or the senate version. mr. lungren: in other words, expedited matters up to the supreme court which we have done on other legislation in the past. mr. gohmert: i'm curious about the gentleman's opinion. mr. lungren: some say these bills are justified under the expansive reading of the commerce clause. it's true the supreme court has found an expansive view of the commerce clause but if one suggests one's own health and decision on how one provides for one's own health, is in fact a part of interstate commerce which then grants the authority to the federal government to act, then the question i would ask is, what is left that is not covered by fed

when the president talks about opening up new territory but he takes the california coast off the table, takes the bays in southern alaska off the table, these are the most productive immediately. and when you say that we're going to open it up for exploration, it doesn't mean it's going to be permitted. we have to drill on shore and off shore. we have to drill everywhere if we want to be less reliant on the middle east. >> you know, you have people on wall street that are skeptical that the sales of leasess will happen. the government has to vet this stuff, this environmental stuff, and we're worrying about endangering environmental species and glow worms and stuff like that. is anything of this going to happen? >> we have seen a nod in the right direction, but is there a wink to follow, meaning i never intended this to happen. the truth is we're beholding to the government agencies that issue permits. it doesn't matter if it's exploration offshore or the build off we need. if we would wave a magic wand today, we would have a bill that married nuclear and natural gas. let's incorporate

they say they have already saved customers including the state of california tens of millions of dollars. the cost for individuals starts at five dollars. >>> it's springtime in the rockies but doesn't look like it. folks along colorado's front range including denver are digging out from up to 20 inches of snow. the wet, heavy snow also caused problems with downed trees and power lines. >> now the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate and maryland's most powerful doppler radar. >> bit of a chill in the air. >> yeah. coming in especially by this time tomorrow evening. we will get a good high temperature but tomorrow evening cold front. rain and windy on friday. chilly stuff. almost done --. >> spring. >> let's take a look outside. pretty nice night. traffic getting along fine. i tell you nice dry roads. that will be the case for the morning. tomorrow evening we might get in a generally dry drive but tomorrow night rain, friday morning rain. 48 right now. winds calm. humidity low. 56% right now. take you out to mount eerie. blue skies, beautiful middle part of the day if you had

the d.e.a. was in california. in 1977 he was reassigned to the fresno district office in northern california. after working the fresno office, he was later assigned to guadalajara, mexico, for 4 1/2 years and worked undercover on the trail of the country's biggest marijuana and cocaine traffickers. before being kidnapped, kiki was extremely close to unlocking multibillion dollar drug pipeline. officer camarena gave his life in the fight against drug traffickers, after his death many people wanted to do something to remember him. soon after his death, people everywhere started wearing red ribbons to symbolize their commitment to help reduce demand for drugs in their community. the act took on national significance and grew into what is now known as red ribbon campaign. during red ribbon week kiki is remembered as a man who wanted to make a difference in the war on drugs and his legacy lives on. in his honor and recognition of the 25th anniversary of his death, i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting house resolution 1115 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the g

for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leave of absence requested for mr. young of florida for today. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address this house, revise and extend their remarks and to include therein extraneous materials. myself, mr. poe, for march 23. mr. jones for march 23. mr. souder for today, march 17, 18, and 19. mr. boustany for today. mr. smith of new jersey for today. mr. moran for march 23. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special order heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes to rev

the gentleman from california, mr. berman, is recognized. mr. berman: madam chair, i'm very pleased to recognize the majority floor leader, the gentleman from maryland, mr. hoyer, one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. mr. hoyer: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i rise in opposition to this resolution which would urge the withdrawal of american troops from afghanistan in my opinion at greath cost to america's security and indeed the afghan people. but i want to rise as well to thank my friend from ohio, mr. kucinich, with whom i work closely. this issue needs to be debated. this issue needs to be raised. the american people have a right to have us debate this issue. there young men and young women are in harm's way. they are in harm's way at our instance or at least our sufferance. so it's great to have this debate. while i disagree with the gentleman from ohio, i appreciate the fact that he provides this opportunity to discuss this very, very important issue. madam speaker, after ye

after the signing, house members and brought in a chocolate cake for the california congresswoman. today is her 70th birthday. policy called the health care bill a birthday privilege -- nancy pelosi called the health care bill a birthday privilege. >> there was vandalism today at the republican party headquarters. a brick was thrown through the window. police are investigating the incident. >> president obama claimed victory this week in the battle of health care, but in addition to his political opponents, a growing number of americans appear unhappy with washington. new numbers may surprise us. >> there are reports of threats and acts of violence. certainly, democrats are feeling the heat from health care reform. what could this growing opposition cost them in the future? >> the smiles, the backpacks, the celebratory its signing, they all appear that everything is just fine. obama has made good on one of his biggest campaign promises. >> health care is now the law of the land. >> but has the political tide turned it just a bit? >> he said he was going to end the wars and he didn't

we've got the prison complex here in california. consequently, that's why the system is broken.ants to throw people into the state prison there is probably 50,000 people that have no business being in state prison, that should be out. and they should concentrate on the people who need to be warehoused. >> larry: do you agree with that? >> i agree that we shouldn't be warehousing and dealing with all of the drug offenders and lightweight problems. but i think the problem with the system here is a systemic problem with the actual individuals within the system. this isn't a law problem. actually, the laws in california are actually quite good. if jessica's law were actually being used effectually right now, having people being screened instead of screened upon leaving svp through a paper check, which is a huge problem that is going on right now, we wouldn't have as many criminals out there. >> that's precisely the reason they do paper checks is there is not enough people to cover all the people who should. don't need to be supervised. >> larry: you have defended them? >> i have. >>

voters will vote whether to legalize the recreational use of marijuana for adults. california's of state certified the ballot measure wednesday to campaign for and against legalizing pot if you will for recreational use. it's now in full swing and joining us to debate it is steve fox of the marijuana policy project who advocates legalization and also the author of "marijuana is safer, so why are we driving people to drink?" and brian darling of the heritage foundation in washington, which opposes the legalization, thank you, both, for joining us. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> steve, i'll start with you. the survey says -- i sound like the game show "the survey says" but polling shows 56% of californians in this field poll support legalization of marijuana. why do you believe so many people at least in that state are on your side? >> well, i think it's quite clear that what we're confronting is reality, that people have realized marijuana isn't the dangerous drug the government has made it out to be for so long. they realize marijuana is a substance that's really less harmful th

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from ohio. mr. kucinich: i'm going to recognize the gentleman from north carolina. mr. jones. for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. jones: mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentleman from ohio for presenting this resolution and secondly for fighting for so long to get us to have this debate. i want to say to mr. berman, thank you for agreeing to let this be debated. i want to start by saying that peggy noon has called for this debate, a necessary war. i want to read this. so far most invade over afghanistan has taken place among journalists and foreign policy professionals. all of them have been honest in their opinions about the war in afghanistan. but when you really look at the facts, nobody elected these people to debate the war. washington has to get serious and the american people have a right to know the facts and options. so thank you both for allowing this debate to take place today. but i join my friends in

i proudly yield five minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. mckeeon, the ranking member on the house armed services committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. mckeon: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise with my chairman, mr. skelton, the gentleman from missouri, chairman of the armed services committee. i join with my colleagues from the foreign affairs committee, my colleagues from the armed services committee in opposition to this resolution. i'm very disappointed that the house democratic leadership would allow this resolution to come to the floor at this time for a vote. one only has to look at the headlines to know that our military forces are making progress in their offensive against the taliban insurgents in hellman province even as they face snipers, mines, improvised explosive devices. the kucinich resolution does nothing to advance the efforts of our military commanders and troops as they work side by side with their afghan and coalition partners. representative kucinich's resolution, if enacted

and in california, the opposite effect, as the wave receded, it drowned the harbor with boats there. >>> other news, in southern california, the search for a missing teenager has taken an ominous turn. chelsea king disappeared. now, a registered sex offendered named john gardner has been arrested in connection with the case. >> we gathered numerous pieces of physical evidence, and some of that physical evidence tied to us identify mr. gardner and that's what led to his arrest. >> gardner could be linked to other sex assaults in southern california. the sheriff says the investigation is not over. the goal is still to bring chelsea back. a facebook page dedicated to finding her already has 24,000 fans. >>> now, to washington and the battle to health care reform. it seems more likely that democrats are now ready to move legislation forward, whether republicans want to come along or not. rachel martin has more from the white house. >> reporter: democrats the time for debate is over a republicans must either sign or step aside. >> time's up. yes. we really have to go forth because what's t

the surface. in del ray, california, fox news. >>> today is census sunday. day when census workers span out across the district to make sure you are counted. the last census about 30,000 respect accidents were under-- residents were undercounted causing the district to lose millions over the last ten years in federal funds. >>> the terps out of the ncaa tournament. dave feldman is coming back with the details in sports next. the miracle of high-speed internet is changing our lives in ways we never thought possible. helping us to connect, and learn, and innovate - driving our dreams and our economy forward. now the fcc chairman has released a report that creates a pathway for everyone in america to be connected to the power of high-speed internet. it depends on 350 billion dollars in private investment to make it happen. investment that will be important for job creation and economic recovery. at at&t, we're ready to do our part. in fact, at&t is investing billions to build out and enhance our wireless and wired networks. we applaud the fcc chairman and his vi

the gentleman from california. mr. miller: i yield for the purposes of unanimous consent request, the gentleman from texas. >> i ask unanimous consent to place a statement on the record in strong port of h.r. 3590 and h.r. 4872. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. miller: the gentleman from missouri. mr. carnahan: i ask unanimous consent to place remarks in the record in support of this important health care package. mr. miller: i yield to mr. tonko. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. tonko: we need to fix our nation's broken health care system. we deliver on that promise with a vote as historic. i will cast my vote in favor of putting the controls back into the hands of american families and small businesses and their doctors. no longer will insurance companies be able to hold people hostage by dropping and denying coverage. small bitses will no longer see their premiums skyrocket and will not have to make the decision to stop offering health insurance to their employees because the costs have

the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. es: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman is recognized. mr. nunes: madam speaker, if you first don't succeed try, try again. that seems to be the democrats' creed and motto. there wouldn't any need for today's bill if the failed $1 trillion stimulus package passed last year worked. they promised the so-called stimulus kept unemployment at 8% but today we are near 10%. put simply, you can't create jobs by dumping $1 trillion into federal agencies. the administration claims that $1.5 billion in stimulus moneys saved or created 1,664 jobs in california's san joaquin valley where i live. even if one assumes the accuracy of these numbers, the federal government has spent a whooping $900,000 to save or create one job in the san joaquin valley. despite spending $900,000 per job, there are still communities in the valley that suffer from