the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. tanner: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6200, the wipa and pabss extension act of 2010. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6200, a bill to amend part a of title 11 of the social security act to provide for a 1-year extension of the authorizations for the work incentives planning and assistance program and the protection and advocacy for beneficiaries of social security program. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. tanner, and the gentleman from texas, mr. johnson, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. tanner: thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to ask unanimous

consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. tanner: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. tanner: this bill is an extension of two very important provisions of the ticket to work act of 1999 which basically helps disabled americans return to work when and if they can. this has been a bipartisan team effort. i was pleased to work on with mr. johnson sometime ago. the bill has no direct spending and complies with pay-as-you-go rules. and with those few remarks, i'd ask unanimous consent that my statement be submitted to the record in its entirety. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. johnson: did you submit your remarks to the record? ok. madam speaker, i'd yield such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. johnson: i rise in support of the passage of this legislation and i think that supplemental -- accept lamental income provides help for disabled americans. i'd like to submit the rest of my remarks for the record. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. does the gentleman -- mr. johnson: i yield back. mr. tanner: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee yields. mr. tanner: we yield back, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6200. those in favor say aye. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4337, to modify certain rules aplickable to other investment companies and for other purposes as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4337, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to modify certain rules applicable to regulated investment companies, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. neal, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. neal: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. neal: thank you. madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. neal: madam speaker, more than 100 years ago the first u.s. mutual fund was started in

boston. mutual funds have been a way of life for every man to invest in the market. with the benefits of pooling and diversification. it invites the term mutualization. today more than 50 million households invest through mutual funds with a median household income of $80,000. more than 50% of 401-k assets were invested in mutual funds at the end of 2009. h.r. 4337 was introduced last year by mr. rangel and i to modernize the tax laws regarding to regulate investment companies, better known as mutual funds. a technical explanation and revenue table for this bill may be found on the joint tax website, www.jtc.gov. the tax rules that relate to mutual funds date back to more than half a century. although those rules have been updated from time to time, it's been over 20 years since they were last revisited. the bill before us today would

make several changes to the tax code to address outdated provisions such as rules that relates to preferential dividends and rules to mutual funds to send notices to shareholders and rules that prevent mutual funds from earning income from commodities. in june, my subcommittee, the select revenue measure subcommittee, reviewed this resolution with a panel of experts who expressed support for these changes. today, i am breezed to be joined by my -- pleased to be joined by my friend from michigan, mr. camp, in bringing this bill to the floor with a few technical changes and offsets from the industry. the ways and means has a responsibility to review our tax rules from time to time, remove the dead wood and update where necessary. this bill accomplishes that to the benefit of investors, taxpayers and mutual fund companies. i urge its adoption and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan is

recognized. mr. camp: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: madam speaker, regulated investment companies, better known in their most prevalent form as mutual funds, are intended to provide individual investors the ability to invest easily and with low costs in a diversified pool of professionally managed investment. according to the i.c.i., the main trade association for mutual funds, more than 50 million american families currently invest in mutual funds. most of the current law mutual funds rules were last updated more than two decades ago. h.r. 4337 would modify and update certain technical tax rules pertaining to mutual funds in order to make them better, conform to and interact with other aspects of the tax code and applicable security laws. on june 30, 2010, the ways and means on select revenue measures held a hearing on h.r.

4337, invited witnesses included representative of i.c.i. were supportive of the bill and we are not aware of any controversy or opposition to this legislation. i ask unanimous consent to insert in the record a copy of a letter from i.c.i. endorsing this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. camp: let me close by making a broader point. it certainly is appropriate for ways and means to periodically review the tax law to ensure that targeted provisions of importance to a particular segment of the economy, including the mutual fund industry and their investors are kept up to date. i appreciate the majority holding a hearing before bringing it to the floor because our committee works best when it works under regular order. i am deeply disappointed that our committee has lost sight to address the single most significant tax issue facing americans right now, preventing a massive $3.8 trillion increase at the end of this year. these looming tax hikes on

families, seniors, investors and small businesses not only hurt them with higher taxes but they're also contributing significantly to the uncertainty we see in the economy as a whole. so while we should continue to work together to modernize tax rules governing mutual funds, we should prevent harmful tax increases such as the tax hikes on capital gains and dividends that will dramatically affect the very same mutual fund investors we're focusing here on today. with that, madam speaker, i urge support of the bill before us and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. neal: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. neal: madam speaker, we held a hearing on this bill. it is well received by the investors. it is well received by the mutual fund companies, and it certainly received no negative commentary in the house. why cannot we come to this floor and speak to the issue at hand? i worked hard on this piece of legislation with mr. tiberi for a long period of time.

this is the legislation that's in front of this congress at this period of time. it was fully vetted in the committee with sufficient opportunity for anyone to comment on it. this is a product we should be proud of. for the first time in two decades we are modernizing issues that relate to the industry that many if not millions of americans come to deupon for retirement. i don't understand -- depend upon for retirement. i don't know why there would be any argument on any other piece of legislation when this is the matter before us at this particular time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves? mr. neal: i reserve. mr. camp: i have no further speakers. i think i made my point. i am prepared to yield back if the gentleman is prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. neal: thank you, madam speaker. i have no further speakers. i urge adoption of the bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields.

the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4337 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i rise to suspend the rules and call up h.r. 4168 as amended and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4168, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend the definition of cellulosic biofuels to add algae cellulosic biofuels and for plant properties.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from maryland, mr. van hollen, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: thank you, madam speaker. additionally, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material in the congressional record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. van hollen: madam speaker, americans across the nation are increasingly interested in the contribution that clean, home-grown fuels can make to our environment, economic development and energy security. additionally, i hear from many of my constituents that they believe federal policy should move toward the development of biofuels that do not compete with food and otherwise operate on a feed stock and technology-neutral basis. today's legislation advances those goals by including algae as a qualified feed stock under the existing cellulosic biofuel credit. its forward looking legislation that recognizes the rapidly evolving nature of advanced

biofuels industry and the demonstrated potential of biofuels made from algae. with that i'd like to recognize my colleague, congressman harry teague of new mexico, and thank him for his extraordinary leadership on this bipartisan initiative. and i would yield him five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new mexico is recognized. mr. teague: madam speaker, i'm an oil man, i always have been and always will be. when i was 9 years old we moved from cato county, oklahoma, to hobbs, new mexico, so my daddy could get a job in the oil patch. a few years later at age 17 with my parents sick and the bills still needing to get paid, i went to work in the oil fields to earn a paycheck and support the family. eventually i built a small business from the ground up and we employed 250 people drilling oil and gas wells for other people and fixing them when they were broke. most every hamburger that i've ever had has come somehow from american oil and gas. the industry employs almost

20,000 people in new mexico. it's a critical source of wealth, jobs, energy and the education funding in my state. and i've been proud to fight for new mexico oil and gas in congress. while new mexico has been successful developing its oil and gas resource, we have failed to develop the diverse alternative energy resources that my state also possesses in great abundance. and unfortunately for thousands of new mexicans looking for work today, we have failed to create those alternative energy jobs. madam speaker, if we want to create our energy jobs here in america and stop sending billions of dollars to countries like saudi arabia and venezuela every day, we need a do it all, do it in america energy policy. we need to drill for more oil and natural gas. we need to build new nuclear facilities. we need to capture the wind, the sun and the earth's theermal heat for electricity. we need to produce billions of

gallons of liquid biofuels to burn in trucks, airplanes, and we need to do it right here in america. madam speaker, a pillar of a do it all, do it in america approach to energy is producing biofuels from algae. those biofuels have the near-term potential to produce more energy in a small footprint than earlier generation biofuels. they can be grown using brashish water not suitable for human consumption and on land not suitable for agriculture and all they need is ample sunlight and nutrition like cow manure to grow and get fat. the companies using this have intensely experimented with various techniques in algae breeds over many years. when it comes down to it, getting oil out of algae is pretty simple. you dig a pond, lime line it,

fill it water, you fill it with algae. you keep them good and fed. you squeeze the oil out of the organisms. and depending on your technology, you put it right to use or refine it into gasoline, diesel or jet fuel. additionally, many algal biofuels are designed to function on a drop-in basis so you can pure green crude right into the pipeline or tanker truck coming out of the oil patch. this means we can replace imported oil with homegrown fuel without costly investments in new refining and transportation infrastructure. my district of southern new mexico is among the many areas across the country prime to become a center for algal biofuel production and job creations. our wide open spaces, ample sunlight and brackish water make us the perfect place to produce our next generation of biofuels.áq%=9s next generation biofuels. we have had facilities in two counties. one will become home to another

facility which will create 700 jobs. the potential is so much greater. the biofuels are poised to power america with home grown energy on a large squail. however, biofuels face an unevening playing field, most notably in our tax code. under current law, the biofuels did not qualify for tax incentives that benefit other biofuels like cellulosic biofuels. when these laws were written, they were the only renewable fuels on the lawmakers' radars and considered capable of reducing america's dependence on foreign oil. since these laws were written, however, significant advances in the algae-based fuel industry has readied algae for prime time. because it has many advantages over cellulosic feed stock and

operating on a near term commercialization time line similar to cellulosic fuels, they should receive tax incentives with those received by cellulosic biofuel producers. this act simply gives these biofuels the same. they contain limitations on the products. they must be derived solely from qualifying feedstocks and they include in addition to cellulosic materials, cultivated algae. beyond that, the bill does not distinguish between these feedstocks with regard to the manner of culttiveation including other inputs used to develop the feed stock and biofuel. it is the intent of this provision to encompass these technologies to use qualified feed stock. the gentleman's time has

expired. mr. van hollen: i yield the gentleman another two minutes. mr. teague: bottom line, taxpayers, you will help the producers attract needed capital to produce energy right here at home and create hundreds of thousands of jobs for new energy in new mexico and across this great country. madam speaker, when americans go to the pump to fill up their tanks today, they are sending 70 cents of every dollar to other countries. many of which don't like us very much. and creating jobs in places like saudi arabia and venezuela. i don't want americans to be creating jobs for the supporters of hugo chavez. we should be creating energy jobs right here at home and employing workers to produce the energy our economy and defense needs. we can create american jobs and make our country more secure by producing more energy right here at home.

this is a common sense bipartisan bill that will create jobs and move america towards energy independence. i would like to chairman, ranking member and members of the ways and means committee for their support. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: this bill expands the eligibility for certain tax law benefits for algae-based fuels. it would make it eligible for the producer credit and for 50% bonus depreciation. regardless of whether members believe these enhanced tax benefits for algae are appropriate, i think it's important to make a few observations about this bill, about the process under which we are considering it and about the majority's decision to make this, the centerpiece of its tax agenda during this, the final

week of session. with respect to the bill itself, woy note that these same benefits along with many other energy-related tax provisions were included as a part of chairman levin's discussion draft which had been expected to be accepted by the ways and means committee. why only the algae provisions merit special consideration as stand-alone consideration which is unusual, while the other provisions in that broader bill languish without so much as a committee markup. if ways and means had held a markup on these algae-related provisions, members could have explored whether it is advisable to expand the cellulosic producer credit, a credit that has proved controversial over the past several years. members of both parties supported efforts to close a loophole in that credit that could have permitted black

liquor and alternative fuel as a by-product to qualify. given recent high profile alarm of abuse, one would think that efforts to further expand the credit would be pursued only after consideration in a formal ways and means committee markup under regular order. we do the best work when we proceed under regular order. these provisions have been rushed directly to the floor. what's most disturbing about the tax debate we are having here today is what we're not debating. rather than using this last week of session prior to the election to prevent a massive $3.8 trillion tax increase from taking effect at the end of the year, the majority tax agenda for this final week centers on a bill that provides tax benefits for algae. and let me repeat. instead of protecting american families, seniors, investors and small businesses from a job-killing $3.8 trillion tax hike, we are here debating tax

benefits for algae. governing is about setting priorities and the majority's tax agenda for the week shows how out of line the majority's priorities are with those of the american people. and with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. van hollen: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield to the the gentleman from california as much time as he consumes. hearing mr. bilbray: madam speaker, i know there is little being brought forward but at least we have something to discuss today. and i have to agree with my colleague that we wish the general tax cut could be something we here all around the american people want us to talk about, but this is an item that hasn't been talked enough. and i thank my colleague from new mexico for co-sponsoring

this with me. and i want to congratulate the gentleman's state of new mexico, because i will tell you something as a californiaian, i'm so envious. california spent localities of money on our universities and research with some of the best scientists in the world. as the gentleman from new mexico knows, we developed the ability to create this algae fuel, but sadly because of california's regulations and lack of reform in its government oversight, the scientists in san diego had to pack up and go to new mexico to be able to produce this product. and the jobs will be created in new mexico in the production, because california hasn't reformed its government regulatory oversight and it's a challenge for all of us to look at that that hopefully as the federal government will set an example that jobs aren't being taken overseas because we are quick to write checks and do research, but we aren't quick to

make the private sector viable to create jobs that the american people are desperate for. this is one of the most promising fuels when we talk about the next generation, second or third generation biofuels. we know that the mandates of adding renewable fuels in our fuel stream, the mandate that you cannot sell legally, gasoline in the united states unless it has a 10% or 8% by volume of renewable fuels, that mandate never ever meant to leave us with first generation renewable fuels. we all knew that first generation was a necessity, something to get through, something that was expensive, maybe not as environmentally friendly, but a transition we would hope would come eventually. algae fuel has the ability to lead the first generation renewables behind.

the fact that algae fuel is not only highly effective. it equals the fossil fuel of one-to-one in energy capabilities. algae fuel as it gets developed is capable of not just driving our cars, but flage our airplanes, replacing diesel. algae fuel has the capability with the existing infrastructure. unlike other fuels, you do not have to ship algae fuel by truck from one location to another. that is creating a whole new of environmental and air pollution problems. you can transport it within the pipe systems that exist today. you can refine it in the refineries that exist today. algae fuel has the capability of being 1%, 2% or 90% of the fuel stream within the existing infrastructure. it's total compatible to be phased in, a huge benefit.

algae fuel has the ability to consume massive amounts of co-2, something that other fuels do not have the capability to do along the line as they have here and the drop-in capability and compatibility is something we do not talk enough about. algae fuels have been tested. we have had one aircraft that flew with the algae fuel and not only compatible but 4% more efficient than fossil fuels of exarle weight and volume. the fact is, madam speaker, we have the ability now to even the playing field when it comes to taxes. why should washington continue to have alternatives that shouldn't be allowed to win, hamstringed and punished because they weren't here with their lobbyists years ago when the laws were passed. this bill helps to correct the mistakes that were made in the past where washington was choosing winners and cutting other people from participating

in the system. we should allow winners to earn the right to be called winners and not be annointed by washington or the legislators here in washington. we should allow the technology and the products to compete on an open market, equal tax benefits for everyone to be able to prove that america allows people to be innovative, to be creative and will not punish them just because they went down one technology road rather than the other. our tax code should be equal. it should be neutral and should be outcome-based, not profit-based and not washington -lobbying based. this bill is appropriate. it may not be doing everything we would like to do this week and not going to accomplish what we know the american people want us to get accomplished but it helps correct the mistake and yes, congressman, i will go back

to talk to governor schwarzenegger and say we have to change our regulations so we can produce the algae in california so you don't get all the jobs. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from maryland. mr. van hollen: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. van hollen: i want to thank the gentleman from new mexico, mr. teague, for this initiative. and just respond to a couple of the points raised by mr. camp, the ranking member of the ways and means committee. first, this piece of the energy bill was brought to the floor for two reasons. number one, it has strong bipartisan support. as you heard, in addition to mr. bilbray, ms. bono mack is a co-sponsor. and this has no cost associated with it. so those two aspects of the bill made it a good candidate for coming forward.

secondly, given the other comments made by the gentleman with respect to the importance of moving forward on tax relief for small businesses and others around the country, woy just remind the gentleman -- i would just remind the gentleman last thursday we had a vote on a bill for small business lending to make sure we increase credit to struggling small businesses around the country to make sure they could make payroll, to make sure they could take on the costs that they needed to expand. and part of that bill also contained significant tax relief for small businesses and it was ironic, many of our republican colleagues were off at a small business venture and came back to the bill to vote against that bill, a bill that the republican senator, retiring republican senator from ohio, senator voinovich, said was important to small businesses and said it is important to put aside politics

and get this done. i'm pleased of the action that was taken in this house and the bill signed that president yesterday so small businesses can have access to credit and they will get the tax relief they need. and we look forward to move on to make sure that middle-class taxpayers, 98% of the american people can get tax relief without being held hostage to the demand of the senate republican leader that we also provide budget-busting tax breaks to the people at the top, adding $700 billion to the deficit, which is fiscally reckless and will krimp economic and job growth. with that, madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4168 as amended. those in favor say aye. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 3980. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3980, an act to provide for identifying and eliminating redundant reporting requirements and developing meaningful performance metrics for homeland security preparedness grants, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. cuellar, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. cuellar: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mr. cuellar: i rise in support of the motion to concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 3980, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cuellar: madam speaker, i introduced h.r. 3980, the redundancy elimination and enhanced performance for preparedness grants act because i believe we need accountability for the $4 billion in grant funding provided by federal emergency management agency. i want to thank chairman thompson and ranking member king of the committee as well as congresswoman richardson and congressman rogers, the chairman and ranking member of emergency preparedness communications response. as well as my good friend, senator joe lieberman, for moving swiftly on this bill. this bill passed unanimously, madam speaker, and i ask that we concur with the senate amendment to h.r. 3980 that builds upon this legislation by directing fema to work with the national academy of public

administration for the grant program. this bill, plus the amendment, simply calls for greater accountability that we're able to measure, that we're able to see results. so i ask my colleagues to support this senate amendment to h.r. 3980 and pass this piece of legislation. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. broun: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 3980. it's amended by the senate. this bill was passed by the house on december 2, 2009, by a vote of 414-0. on september 22, 2010, the bill passed the senate with an amendment by unanimous consent. h.r. 3980 requires that the federal emergency management agency, fema, to identify and

eliminate any redundant requirements that places undue burden on state and local governments that receive grant funds under the state homeland security grant program, the urban area security initiative and other programs as determined by the fema administer. -- administrator. this bill will help issue -- deal with sending similar information under different grant programs. h.r. 3980 builds on the requirements of the post-katrina management reform act of 2006, and the 9/11 act of 2007 by requiring fema to develop and implement performance measures for these vital programs and to report to congress every two years on the status of these efforts. the post-katrina reform act and the 9/11 act both require fema to develop metrics to identify

and close gaps in preparedness. unfortunately, several years later fema continues to struggle with integrating these requirements to produce meaningful results. this bill also calls on fema to conduct an overall assessment of the state homeland security grant program, the urban area security initiatives, and other grants specified by the administrator. together, these requirements will help ensure that congress' kept informed of fema's progress in effectively administering these grants and addressing any deficiencies that may exist. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i congratulate my good friend and colleague from texas for the bill, and i reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. cuellar: mr. speaker, i have no more speakers. if the gentleman from georgia has no more speakers, then i'm prepared to close after the gentleman closes. the speaker pro tempore: does

the gentleman yield? mr. broun: mr. speaker, i have no more speakers and i do yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. cuellar: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume so i can close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. cuellar: mr. speaker, this amendment is an amendment that just adds accountability to the grant dollars and i think it's important just as the gentleman from georgia as i certainly want to thank my friend from georgia because we understand, just as mr. rogers, that we got to make sure that we provide accountability. we're talking about $4 billion a year. we just got to have accountability. so i urge all my colleagues to support this measure. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question then is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 3980. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the senate amendment is agreed to and without

objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. it is now -- for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? the gentlelady from california, for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognize snigs -- recognition? ms. harman: i ask that the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 553. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 553, an act to require the secretary of homeland security to develop a strategy to prevent the overclassification of homeland security and other information and to promote the sharing of unclassified homeland security and other information, and for other purposes. senate amendment. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. harman, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from california. ms. harman: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert

extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. harman: mr. speaker, i rise in support of the motion to concur with the senate amendment to h.r. 553 and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for such time as she may choose to consume. ms. harman: mr. speaker, for those who think nothing can happen in this very polarized year and toxic political environment, listen up. congress is about to pass and send to the president h.r. 553, the reducing overclassification act. it has taken three long years to get to this point. after scores of hearings, the bill passed the house twice. the bill was amended by the senate and finally passed that body yesterday. h.r. 553 curves overclassification, the process of stamping intelligence secret for the wrong reasons often to protect turf orem baresment. it prevents the sharing of accurate, actionable and timely

information horizontally across the government and vertically with state and local law enforcement. this is a problem now rampant throughout the intelligence community and when identified one -- one identified by the 9/11 commission in preventing future terrorist attacks. to change the culture from need to know to need to share, h.r. 553 creates a classified information advisory officer to help state and local law enforcement and the private sector access intelligence and information about terror threats to their own community. it requires training and incentives to assure materials are classified for the right reasons to protect sources and methods. mr. speaker, it's no joke that people die and our ability to monitor certain targets can be compromised if sources and methods are revealed. third, the bill requires portion marking so it is easy to have more standardized

procedures so information can be easily be shared. it requires inspectors generals of departments which classify information to issue report and share them with any congressional committees which seek them. finally, it builds on the president's executive order released last month and is widely supported by open government and law enforcement groups. in conclusion, this bill will help first responders know what to look for and know what to do. they, not any of us in congress or an analyst sitting at a desk, will likely be the ones to uncover and foil the next terror plot. my thanks to chairman thompson and ranking member king and to senators lieberman and collins who cleared the way for this bill in the house and the senate. also thanks to the hard working staffs of the senate and house homeland security committees. krisan beckner, brandon millhorn, roselyn cohen. and finally to my own staffer, meg king. i urge prompt passage of this

legislation and hope our president will sign it into law as soon as possible. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. broun: mr. speaker, i rise in support of the bill. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. broun: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong support of h.r. 553 as amended by the senate. this bill was agreed to by voice vote in the house on february 3, 2009. on september 27, 2010, the bill passed the senate with an amendment by unanimous consent. the 9/11 commission concluded that security requirements nurtured overclassification and excessive compartmentalization among government agencies. this stovepiping, so to speak,

interferes with accurate, accountable and timely information sharing not only among federal agencies but also with state and local law enforcement. h.r. 553 focuses on reducing the overclassification of information that the department of homeland security and enhances understanding of the classification system by state, local, tribal and private sector partners. the bill directs the secretary of homeland security, d.h.s., operating through the undersecretary of intelligence and analysis, to identify and designate a classified information advisory officer. the advisory officer will assist state, local, tribal and private sector partners who have responsibility for the security of critical infrastructure in matters related to classified materials. additionally, the office is charged with developing educational materials and training programs to assist these authorities in developing policies to respond to requests

related to classified information. the bill also requires the head of each federal department agency with classification authority to share intelligence products with interagency threat assessment and coordination group and allows them in turn to recommend to the d.h.s. undersecretary for intelligence and analysis to disseminate their product through the appropriate state, local or tribal entities. this will be critical in directing actionable intelligence into the hands of those who need it the most. h.r. 553 also aims at strengthening the responsibilities of the director of national intelligence with respect to information sharing governmentwide and reinforces the authority of d.n.i. to have access of all information within the intelligence community. i urge my colleagues to support the bill.

i congratulate ms. harman on this great bill that i wholeheartedly support and i look forward to seeing it signed into law by the president. i hope very soon, just like ms. harman does. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from california. ms. harman: i thank the gentleman for his remarks and am pleased that we've had had very pie light time on the -- polite time on the floor. if the gentleman from georgia has no more speakers, then i'm prepared to close after he closes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: well, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. broun: thank you, mr. speaker. i just want to congratulate ms. harman. she and i worked together. we both have a strong interest in having a strong intelligence community. and i think both of us will agree that our intelligence

community need some help. we've seen the overclassification of documents that's gotten to be a tremendous problem. ms. harman has brought forth this piece of legislation that's going to help simplify this process and help our federal government to share information with the state and local and tribal entities as well as the private sector so that they can have this information that they desperately need to be able to ensure security. as an original intent of the constitution. i believe the major function of the federal government should be national security. . uld be national security and national defense and we in congress have overlooked that duty in many regards and i applaud ms. harm, mr. speaker, for her diligence in the area of intelligence and national security and greatly applaud her for this much needed bill. and mr. speaker, i have no more speakers so i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the

balance of his time. the gentlelady from california. ms. harman: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. harman: police, firefighters and other first responders bravely put their lives on the line to protect us. they have proven their ability to unravel plots in the u.s. like the california police department which discovered a plot to attack military installations and religious sites in my district. we need to give first responders access to the threat information they need to find those among us who would seek to harm us. h. 553 ensures that. i urge its prompt passage and i do hope that the president will sign it into law. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to house resolution 553. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of

the chair, 2/3 were in the affirmative. the rules are suspended, the senate amendment is agreed to. and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5458 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5458, a bill to amend the truth and lending act of 1965 to require additional disclosures and protections for students and co-signers with respect to student loans and for other purposes. pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. adler, and the gentleman from alabama, mr. bachus, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. aderholt: i ask unanimous consent that all members have

five legislative daze to. mr. adler: i rise to support the passage of h.r. 5458. i received thousands of pieces of mail each week when a letter came across my desk, i knew i had to act. his brother was a young man attending rutgers university when he suffered a traumatic brain injury after a fall. christopher was in a vegetative state for two years before his passing in 2006. for the bryski family, the suffering was far more than the loss of a young son. christopher had to borrow money to finance an education and received loans from the federal government and a private lender.

like most kids, christopher did not have enough credit to receive a private loan on his own, so his father co-signed his loan. federal loan discharge upon the death of a student, however private loans do not. since joseph co-signed christopher's loan he was responsible to pay it back in full. this troubled the bryski family because no where in the contract was a clause specifying what would happen to the loan upon the death or disability. the lender told them according to the bank, christopher's state and subsequent death was an inability to pay so the financial burden was placed on joseph. this was not the only problem they encountered, due to the fact that christopher was over 18, he was, according to the law, an adult and able to make his own financial, legal and health care decisions. with christopher in a vegetative state, his parents needed to maintain his financial standing

with the school as well as pay his bills and fulfill his contracts. they spent countless time and money regining custody of his son so he would be prevent frd defaulting. they were not only being responsible parents but responsible americans. they endured a personal interview of christopher so the court could ensure that he was unable to make decisions on his behalf. someone from the court came to chris's hospital room and yelled in his face to make sure he would not respond and indeed was in a vegetative state. i cannot imagine going through what they went through. this is why i introduced h.r. 5458 the christopher bryski student loan protection act or christopher's law. this bill would prevent other families going through what the bryskis did by ensuring private lenders describe the obligations of borrowers and co-signers upon their death or disability.

what the banks call an inability to pay. the rest of us will call it a family tragedy. it would urge the federal reserve board to adopt and interpret the same definitions of death and disability as the department of education, which has used these definition for many years. this bill does not require the private loans be discharged in case of death or disability but requires private educational lenders to define death and disability so the borrowers and co-signers can refer to the definitions should a troof -- catastrophe happen. the federal government must provide information in creating a durable power of attorney should the borrower not make the decision on his own, the borrower and the lender must be on the same page. since i introduced this legislation, i have been approached by many families in my district with similar problems as the bryskis

encountered. it is common sense, bipartisan legislation, that deserves the support of the entire body. i thank chairman miller and ranking member kline, chairman frank and ranking member bachus for bringing this important legislation to the floor and minority staff for improving this legislation with amendments just in the last few days. it's the way we are supposed to be doing business for the great people of our country. i urge its passage and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? mr. bachus: mr. speaker, i rise to address this legislation and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bachus: h.r. 5458 requires private education loan lenders to provide disclosures to students about the benefits of creating a durable power of attorney. for most traditional students, a student loan is the first large financial decision he or she will be making.

as such, a student and the co-signer of a loan, often a parent, should be aware of the repayment responsibilities, including those responsibilities if the student should become unable to make payments and so disclosures are always helpful. in addition to existing disclosures for loans, this bill requires private education loan lenders to provide additional information to students and co-signers about the benefits of durable powers of attorney for financial addition making. a college's financial aid administrator would also be required to provide information to students and their co-signers about creating a durable power of attorney. i do have some concerns not addressed to this bill itself, but that the federal government is narrowing the point of requiring so many disclosures that they may overwhelm the

consumer. i also fear that the requirement that the federal reserve board create 50 different forms based on various state laws surrounding durable powers of attorney will be especially burdensome to the board, but that's a minor concern. while a better solution long-term would be to provide two simple disclosures that ensure students and their co-signers -- ensure that the co-signers and the students understand the responsibilities of loan repayment and are provided a place to do their own research about durable powers of attorney, this may be the first time that an individual may have a need for this sort of legal document. and these additional disclosures could help better inform the borrowers and co-signers. so for that reason, i do not rise in opposition to this legislation.

and i want to extend my prayers and thoughts to the bryski family and other families who experience such a tragedy as this. and i resevere the balance of my time. i thank the gentleman from new jersey for his work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. adler: i have no further speakers. if the gentleman is prepared to close, i'm prepared to close after him. mr. bachus: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. adler: i thank the gentleman from alabama and i'm glad he mentioned the bryski family. the brother of christopher is in the gallery. i thank him and his family for sharing what we wept through so we can avoid going through what other families went through. we have their family in our prayers. i think it's a wonderful example of people trying to work

together to solve a people problem. maybe we have too many disclosures from time to time and i would be eager to work that out and streamline the process. but this is simple legislation and it's a need that comes up every so often with tragic circumstances beyond the disability and death of young people. i yield back by urging strong and immediate passage of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the chair feels it is appropriate to mention to the members that it is inappropriate to recognize people in the gallery. at this point, the gentleman from new jersey yields back and so the question, then, is will the house suspend the rules and pass house resolution 5458 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on

the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3421 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3421 a bill to exclude from consumer report medical debts that has been in collection or has been fully paid or settled and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kilroy and the gentleman from alabama, mr. bachus, each will control 20 minutes. ms. kilroy: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. kilroy: i yield myself such time as i may consume and i thank the speaker as well as the chair of financial services committee, chairman barney frank

and subcommittee chair as well as my co-sponsors, including my republican co-sponsors, mr. mann zuleo, mr. bilbray for their support. the medical debt relief act of 2009. this bill would protect hard-working americans who play by the rules, pay or settle their medical debts and their economic well-being and credit scores are adversely affected for years to come due to medical debt large or small, that has gone to collection. specifically this legislation would prohibit credit reporting agencies from including in an individual's credit report fully paid off or settled medical debt collection. so many of us have had issues with trying to figure out what insurance companies are paying and what they were responsible for or maybe had to fight with a health insurance company to get them to honor their obligation to pay a health care bill or

maybe they had a high deductible policy to save money and took extra time to pay off their bills, but pay they did. and yet they find that their credit is adversely affected for years to come. this is a serious problem that can affect millions of people. in fact, according to the commonwealth fund, medical bills affect roughly 72 million working age adults in america and 2007, 27 million were contacted by a collection agency for an unpaid medical bill. furthermore, a 2003 report found that medical debt collections are more likely to be in dispute, inconsistently reported in predicting future credit payments or credit performance because medical debt is atypical

and none predicttive. and in the same report, it was found 85% of medical collections were for less than $500. this issue is compounded by the fact that medical billing errors are common among third-party insurers. nearly 40% of americans do not understand their medical bills or are confused about the amount owed and if the amount was correct. finally, enactment of h.r. 3421 would result in more accurate credit scores and allowing businesses and this has support from the americans of financial reform, national credit reporting agency, the consumers union, the national consumer law center. on behalf of its income clients, national consumer advocates, families u.s.a., unite here, the national m.s. society,

corporation of enterprise development, naacp. consumer federation of america, and community catalyst. thank you, mr. speaker. i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama. mr. baucus: i rise to address h.r. 3421. credit scores and the robust -- mr. bachus: i rise to address h.r. 3421. credit scores and robust credit have done a lot for consumers. informing found in credit reports and captured by credit scores is used in today's economy for much more than just making credit decisions. a bell-functioning national credit reporting system helps those deciding whether to

extend credit properly -- to extend credit to properly manage the associated risk which in turn helps keep the cost of credit lower for those who are wishing to borrow. anything that undermines the reliability or integrity of a consumer credit report is likely to result in less credit being available to average americans. the question before us today is whether congress should micromanage the credit reporting system and restrict the ability of businesses and creditors to review the information about the credit history of a customer. when evaluating h.r. 3421, it's important to remember that the right to credit is not a right guaranteed by the government. it's just -- it's made available by lenders.

i think lenders have a right to all the information about a borrower in making those decisions. government micromanagement of a consumer credit file could misallocate credit and distort lending practices, two serious causes of the economic crisis we're struggling to escape. obviously, ms. kilroy, congresswoman kilroy, mentioned certain situations and i certainly sympathize with those situations. there may be other situations, though, that we could imagine where that information would indicate something else. it may indicate an inability to pay on a loan that someone was getting. as we consider proposals such as the one that the gentlelady brings with us dealing with the

use of credit reports, we must consider that in certain cases, the unintended consequences that may result from a less than complete picture of a prospective borrower may result in losses by the lender. this is something we can't just totally block out. i thank the speaker and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. kilroy: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. kilroy: the gentleman from alabama talks about robust reporting and making sure that credit is more accurately reported. this is what this bill would do. there's so much confusion and error in the issue of medical debt and medical debt is not an accurate predictor of somebody's credit worthiness.

somebody may get a sudden illness or get hit by a car. it's not like they're going out and buying a house full of televisions or going on a lot of vacations or out to dinner every night. they are people playing by the rules and paying off that debt. you know, i think that this bill, to the contrary, rather than undermining the availability of credit, would actually encourage the availability of credit by having more accurate credit scores and allowing people to obtain a more reasonable rate on credit because of a more accurate credit score. and particularly now when people are also using credit reporting as decision making on employment decisions, it is all the more important. i think it is fair to hard working americans, it will help the economy and will help make a more accurate credit reporting score. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama. mr. bachus: i thank the speaker.

i'm sorry, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the gentlelady talked about certain situations and let me say this. i'm sympathetic to the purpose of this bill. and as you see, we have -- there are three republican co-sponsors on the bill. what i'm saying and i think the american people are beginning to say it prettily loudly, is, they are uncomfortable with the government making these decisions as to what will be disclosed and what will be withheld. i think the american people obviously are sympathetic. i don't know of a family in america who hadn't faced a medical emergency, has not faced a relative or family member with a large medical bill.

so it obviously sounds like something that would benefit people had gone through a medical crisis. but you know, with each example of that, you could obviously select another example of someone, let's say, who had elective surgery, a type of plastic surgery, and didn't -- did not pay their bill for a few years. that might be an example where we would all say, well, that wasn't intended that that information not be shared with lenders or a landlord or whatever. but as i say, i think that this is something the conference -- the congress can decide. obviously you have some bipartisan support for this bill.

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. kilroy: thank you, mr. speaker. i have no further speakers. if the gentleman from alabama is prepared to close, i would as well. the speaker pro tempore: he yielded back. ms. kilroy: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a bill that will help millions of americans and i ask my colleagues for their support. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3421 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed -- mr. bachus: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama. mr. bachus: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quor are rum is not present and -- that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present.

i do that to allow someone who would like to vote on this issue to vote, i don't know if that opportunity will be seized upon. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, further action on this will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. are r. 6191. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: h.r. 6191, a bill to amend the small business jobs act of 2010 to include certain construction and land development loans in the definition of small business lending. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. miller, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. paulson, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr. miller: i ask that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and insert extraneous material thereon.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. miller: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. miller: this bill amends the small business fund legislation that the president signed yesterday. the bill is identical to a house amendment that passed 418-3 that was left out of the other body's version of the legislation for reasons that surpass understanding. this bill, like the amendment, adds land acquisition and construction loans to loans that qualify for the small business lending fund. the sad truth is that in many, really, most parts of the country, this bill will not have a lot of effect right away. under the sblf, community banks are on the hook if they make loans that don't get paid back and they're going to steer clear of acquisition and construction loans for home building until the demand for new housing improves. around the country, there's an

enormous inventory of existing homes on or off the market because so much of the foolishness that led to the financial crisis was connected to housing, the housing sector of our economy remains very sick and won't get well right away. there are millions of foreclosed homes and homes destinned for foreclosure. i wish everyone in washington felt the urgency i feel about fixing that problem. but there are markets now that have a demand for new homes and home builders cannot get credit, ordinary loans, because of pressure from regulators on the small business not to make real estate loan, not to make dirt loans. that indiscriminate refusal to lend for residential construction is killing jobs. we lost three million jobs in the last five years in home construction, in related industries, and the jobs we've lost are jobs for the working man and woman.

carpenters, plumbers, electricians, masons, painters, roofers, landscapers, on and on. we've got to get as many of those working men and women back to work as soon as we can. as the economy recovers, there will be an enormous pent up demand for new housing. catching up with that demand can be part of the virtuous cycle of recovery coming out of recessioning as it has been in the past. home construction now is probably about a third of the natural demand for new housing. that's created by new household formation, replacement of obsolete housing and second home purchases. as the economy recovers, young adults are going to move out of their parents' home or out of the apartment they're sharing with three or four roommates and dilapidated housing will be attorney down and replaced. we need to be sure that homeowners can get credit to meet that demand and put more

men and women back to work. that's what this bill does. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. paulson: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to rise in support of my colleague, mr. miller's bill, to amend the small business jobs act of 2010 and would like to point out that the irony is that we are here on the floor the day after the president signed the bill just one day ago this bill would allow construction, land development and other land loans to be included and commend efforts to make sure all small businesses will be eligible under the program. i also appreciate what my colleagues are trying to do but i believe if we're going to focus on helping the small business community, we need to bring certainty to the market and the economy for them. right now, many small businesses are struggling with the uncertainty, not knowing which regulations the congress will come up with next on health care and cap and trade legislation and most important now, rather than additional

bailout programs, we need to be talking more down the road about extending the tax cuts rather than having tax increases that will take place on january 1. that hostile business environment will also hurt the small business community and i commend the gentleman for his work on this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. miller: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota yielded back. mr. miller: i'm sorry, i thought he reserved. i have no further requests for time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6191. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition? mr. minnick: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6058. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the tite of -- title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6058 to ensure the housing assistance programs of the department of housing and urban development and the department of veterans affairs are available for veterans and member of the armed forces who have service-connected injuries and to survivors and dependents of veterans and members of the armed forces. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlemen each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognized the gentleman from idaho. mr. minnick: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all legislative members will each have five days in which to revise and extend my remarks and to insert extraneous material

therein. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered without objection. mr. minnick: mr. speaker, this bill directs the speaker of housing and urban development and the veterans administration to meet the needs of our veterans with service-related injuries and their families with their housing and mortgage programs. as importantly, the bill asks that h.u.d. and the v.a. help the survivors and families of these courageous people with respect to these matters. i compliment my colleague from minnesota, mr. paulson, for his leadership in introducing this legislation and urge my colleagues to pass this bipartisan bill. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. mr. paulsen: i yield myself as much time as i consume. i also rise today in strong support of h.r. 6058, the wounded warrior and military survivor housing assistance act.

i also want to thank my freshman colleague after his support of this pressure and co-sponsorship as well. a few weeks ago, i had the unfortunate honor of meeting the widow of a serviceman who had graduated from my hometown and someone who had served in afghanistan. since she was in washington, d.c. for her husband's burial at arlington national cemetery, she asked to come and meet with me so she could share some of the challenges she was facing in the midst of her crisis. she had an exhaustive list of concerns actually that she was trying to juggle through in the midst of the ceremony taking place of her husband. at the top of her list, the top priority was essentially wondering how she was going to be able to pay her mortgage that now that the family was no longer receiving any income, and the monthly burden of her mortgage was something she had never really had to think about during her husband's entire military career, which had gone on for a long time. while there are certainly many current provisions in law to try to help people remain in their homes when they come upon some difficult financial problems, i

believe that these programs should take into account the special needs of survivors and dependents and those with service-connected injuries. that's why i introduced the legislation the wounded warrior and military surviving housing act with mr. minnick. this legislation directs the secretaries of h.u.d. and the v.a. to make sure that their housing programs do indeed address the needs of survivors and dependents as well as those who have those service-related injuries. mr. speaker, these are families that have made great sacrifices. these are families that have basically allowed the rest of us to enjoy and all americans to enjoy the freedoms that we have and more freedoms and unprecedented than ever in human history. the least we can do is recognize those special needs and make sure that we are giving them the tools to help them adjust to the changes that have taken place in their lives. mr. speaker, i would appreciate support for the legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from idaho. mr. minnick: i have no further requests for time and would inquire if the the gentleman

from minnesota yield the balance of his. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, i have one additional -- mr. minnick: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from idaho reserves. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. paulsen: i would like to yield some time to the ranking member of the committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama is recognized. >> let me say this to both gentlemen offering this legislation. as the father of a marine, i want to commend you for doing this. these young men and women are our true heroes of the day. and their families face many hardships. many challenges. and this ought to be a priority. it's something that everyone in this body should embrace, and i like to commend you for standing up for our men and women in

uniform and their families. thank you very much. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: gentleman yields back. mr. paulsen: i'll just close and yield myself as much time as i may consume. i just want to thank both the staff of the financial services committee as well as the house of veterans affairs committees for all their work putting this together. i hope we can pass this bill to help all the families of our service men and women. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from idaho. mr. minnick: i'd like to thank the gentleman from alabama for his remarks and the the gentleman from minnesota for his leadership. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6058. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. . the speaker pro tempore: in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from hawaii seek recognition? >> i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1663. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1663, supporting the goals and ideals of syckle cell disease awareness month. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from hawaii and the the gentleman from michigan mr. ehlers each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from hawaii. >> mr. speaker, i request five legislative days in which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on house resolution 1663 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady is recognized. >> i rise today in support of house resolution 1663 which supports the designation of the month of september as syckle cell disease awareness month. syckle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects between 70,000 and 100,000 americans and many more around the world. while there's no cure, there have been recent advancements in the search, giving hope to millions affected by the disease. researchers believe that with continued research and funding, syckle cell disease may become more manageable within the next two decades and no longer interfere with the activity, growth, ore mental development of those affected. in addition, education and public awareness can play a critical role in fighting the disease as early diagnosis can often help those who suffer from syckle cell disease manage its effects. i will submit the remainder of my remarks for the record, but i

want to thank representative fudge for introducing this resolution, and once again, express my support for house resolution 1663 and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution. i reserve the balance of my time.e. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves her time. the the gentleman from michigan. >> mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> i rise supporting the goals and ideals of syckle cell disease awareness month. syckle cell anemia is a serious disease, in which the body makes syckle-shaped red blood cells. syckle-shaped means that the red blood cells are shaped like the letter c. normal red blood cells are disk shaped and look like doughnuts without holes in the center. they move easily through your

blood vessels. red blood cells contain the protein hemoglobin. this iron-rich protein gives blood its red color and carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. syckle cells contain abnormal hemoglobin. syckle-shaped cells do not move easily through your blood vessels. mr. ehlers: they are stiff and sticky and tend to form clumps and get stuck in the blood vessels. they block blood flow in the blood vessels that lead to the limbs and the organs. blocked blood vessels can cause pain, serious infection, and organ damage. this disease affects an estimated 70,000 to 100,000 people in this country. approximately 1,000 babies are born with syckle cell disease

each year in the united states. more than two million americans have syckle cell trait, and one in 12 african-americans carry the trait. there is a one in four chance that a child born to parents who have the trait will have the disease. the life expectancy of a person with syckle cell disease is about 45 years of age. researchers have yet to find a cure for this disease. however, there is hope that syckle cell disease, when properly treated like other chronic diseases, will not interfere with activity and development of the affected children. today we recognize the importance of prevention, treatment, research, and education on sickle cell disease and support the designation of september as sickle cell awareness month. i urge my colleagues to support

this resolution and i simply want to close by saying this is primarily a disease of african-americans. for years it's been known that they tend to have by far the largest number of sickle cells in their bodies, and therefore, there's a real demand, a great need to find out what the source of this disease is and what can be done to prevent it, because it has a dramatic affect on the african-americans in our nation. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from hawaii. >> does the the gentleman from michigan have any other speakers? mr. ehlers: i do not have any further speakers. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. gentlelady from hawaii. ms. hirono: thank you.

in closing, i too want to ask my colleagues to support this important resolution as it affects so many thousands and thousands of people, particularly the african-american community. with that, i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1663. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the aofficialtive, the rules are suspended. the resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from hawaii seek recognition? ms. hirono: i move that the

house grease to resolution 1663 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: resolution supporting the goals and ideals of national domestic violence awareness month 2010 and expressing the sense of the house of representatives that congress should continue to raise awareness of domestic violence in the united states and its devastating affects on families and communities and support programs and practices designed to prevent and end domestic violence. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from hawaii and the the gentleman from michigan mr. ehlers each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from hawaii. >> mr. speaker, i request five legislative days by which members may revise and extend and insert extraneous material on house resolution 1637 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: gentlelady is recognized.

>> mr. speaker, i rise today in support of house resolution 1637, which supports the goals and ideals of national domestic violence awareness month to be recognized this october. national domestic violence awareness month is an important time to raise awareness of domestic violence and its devastating effects on our families and communities. in addition, this month offers organizations, social workers, and public officials a chance to spread the word about the resources which help victims seek the help they desperately need. mr. speaker, i will submit the remainder of my remarks for the record, but i would like to thank representative green for introducing this important measure, and once again, express my support for house resolution 1637. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from michigan. mr. ehlers: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized. mr. ehlers: i rise today in support of house resolution 1637, supporting the goals and ideals of national domestic violence awareness month, 2010, in expressing the sense of the house of representatives that congress should continue to raise awareness of domestic violence in the united states and its devastating eafects on families and communities, and support programs and practices designed to prevent and end domestic violence. women disproportionately experience domestic violence in their lives. boys who experience domestic violence are four times more likely to commit domestic violence as adults. the cost of domestic violence exceeds $3.77 billion each year. domestic violence has far-reaching effects in our society. domestic violence is the willful intimidation, assault,

battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior perpetrated by an intimate partner against another. it is an epidemic that affects individuals in every community regardless of age, economic status, religion, nationality, educational background, or gender. domestic violence is far-reaching and affects men and women of all ages and backgrounds. male victims are less likely than women to report violence and seek services but are often victims of domestic violence. both men and women experience the same dynamics of interpersonal violence and face many of the same hurdles thereafter, including job loss, increased rates of drug and alcohol abuse, and increased rates of suicide. unfortunately, children are often victimized as witnesses of domestic abuse.

research has shown that children who witness domestic violence and living in an environment where violence occurs may experience some of the same trauma as abused children. children who witness domestic violence are more likely to become abusers as adults and face many of the same risk factors as the victims of abuse. domestic violence affects the victim, children, the abuser, and entire families and communities. it is important that we support the promotion of awareness of this issue and those individuals and organizations that work to prevent and end domestic abuse. i urge my colleagues to support house resolution 1637 and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. ehlers: mr. speaker, i'm forced to leave at this time. mr. cassidy will replace me, if

you will tell me what motion is appropriate to make. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman from louisiana will control the time. the gentlewoman from hawaii. ms. hirono: i'm pleased to recognize the gentleman from texas, mr. green, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentlelady for the consideration of the time. i would ask the gentlelady if she might allow me to speak longer than two minutes, unless we have other speakers. is this possible? ms. hirono: i will yield the gentleman four minutes. mr. green: the four minutes will be adequate, i believe. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. green: i would like to thank the sponsor of this bill,

and my colleague, mr. ted poe a former prosecutor in harris county, someone i have known for more than 20 years. he and i have worked on this effort, it's a collaborative effort, this is his year to sponsor and i co-sponsor with him. i'll p honored to sponsor next year and he will work with me as co-sponsor of this resolution. but i want to say this about mr. poe. this is something that he does, not because it happens to be legislation. i know him from his days as a prosecutor and these cases concerning domestic violence were cases he took seriously. i know him from his many years as a state district court judge. i can honestly say as i look toward him that these were cases he took seriously. this is more than just another resolution for mr. poe and for me as well. this is something that we take

seriously because we as judges, we have seen what the results of domestic violence can do to a family what it can do not only to the person who is the victim but the entire family becomes the victim of domestic violence. i'm honored to have the opportunity to co-sponsor this resolution with mr. poe this year. the resolution has 41 democratic and republican co-sponsors, clearly it's bipartisan. it is a resolution that receives wide support annually. and it is a resolution that transcends more than party lines. it also transcends lines of ethnicity, it transcends lines of religion, it transcends the lines of business, the lines that tend to put us in various categories, this resolution transcends all of these lines because the violence that is perpetrated transcends all

these lines. it goes into all walks of life. it doesn't matter what your economic status is, your social status is. domestic violence can impact people at all levels of life and this resolution, hopefully, will put enough focus on it such that we will continue to admonish persons who engage in this kind of invidious, jab hornet behavior, -- ab hornet behavior, -- abhor rent behavior, such that you can treat your fellow human being as a child of god, meritting the same kind of consideration you'd like for your daughter or your mother, if you happen to be male. there have been federal efforts that should not go unnoticed. this started 20 years ago and has continued. we have had more than just this month, we also have the violence against women act of

1994, which created a new culture as it relates to domestic violence and helps the police and judges and prosecutors to understand that this was more than a personal event that took place. it was something that impacted society as a whole. i'm looking forward to supporting the re-authorization of the violence against women act in 2010. family violence prevention and services act. this provides emergency shelters, crisis intervention programs, and community education. i'm also proud to mention the american recovery and reinvestment act because this act provided $225 million for violence against women in the sense that it helped to fund programs that will help women who find themselves being victimized. the awareness of domestic violence is growing. i've indicated that judges and prosecutors and police officers -- may i have --

ms. hirono: i yield an additional minute to the gentleman from texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: the con tab lair if you will, -- the con stab lair, if you will -- the constabulary, if you will, has done a lot with this issue. but much more needs to be done. we have thousands of requests for help that go unnoticed, we have victims that continue to suffer in silence. 29 women lost their lives in harris county, 136 texas women were killed 1rk1 texas children were killed, 92% of homeless women suffer physical and sexual abuse. i close with this, i am honored to be a co-sponsor and i'm honored that the amendment, excuse me, the resolution is being presented and i think my colleagues would please, support this resolution because you're supporting families across the length an breadth of the country and you're helping

to prevent someone from being abused. thank you, mr. speaker, i thank the gentlelady for the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. does the gentlelady reserve? ms. hirono: yes, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana. mr. cassidy: i yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. it is an honor to once again sponsor this domestic violence awareness month resolution. i want to commend judge green for working with me on this issue. you did make a mistake, however. you said we have known each other 20 years. i'm sorry, it's been 30 years, since we were both young buck lawyers in the courthouse doing battle in houston, texas. it's been a long time. but you are correct. this is an issue that must continue to come to the

awareness of the american people. that domestic violence is something that is unfortunately continuing in this country, 35% of the murder victims that were killed in 2008 were killed at the hands of people they knew. intimate partners. 35% of them. murdered by people that were close to them. in 2007, crimes by intimate partners counted for 23% of all crimes against women. in a single day in 2009, 65,000 victims were treated by domestic violence programs. but due to lack of resources and funding, many of of -- many of those, almost 10,000 were turned away because there was no resources to take care of them. we have a growing need for domestic violence shelters in

the country and they have fewer and fewer resources to take care of these women who seek refuge from someone that they knew who has been trying to assault them or has succeeded in assaulting them. congress must, of course, pass the re-authorization of the family violence prevention and services act, victim service providers are on the front lines of defense against domestic violence. this is vital to the treatment and reduction of domestic violence. i spent all my legal career before coming here as a prosecutor and a criminal court judge. i was always in the courthouse doing criminal cases. i saw the result of what happens when people who live in the family situation commit crimes against other family members. it's something that has to cease in this country and it's also something that we as a community need to be aware of. unfortunately, many times, courts don't take these cases seriously.

one of my favorite people is yvette cabe, from baltimore, maryland. she's a real person, all these cases are about real people. on october 10, 2005, yvette cabe's estranged husband, roger hargrave is his name, he and his wife were not getting along, so he sought her out, went to the business where she worked a video store, -- where she worked, a video store, walked inside, he had a bottle full of gasoline, he came up to her and poured that gasoline over her head and he set her on fire. yvette cabe. victim of domestic violence. she survived that brutal assault and thanks to a passer-by that saw all this happen, she was -- the fire was put out and the -- in the

parking lot. it seems as though that the judge involved in this case, prince george county judge richard palumbo had already lifted a protective order against hargrave. if he had not lifted that protective order to chemokeep him away from his estranged wife she may not have had this brutal assault committed against her. hargrave is serving life in prison for the assault, setting his wife on fire. but ms. cabe has 60% third degree burns over her body, she's had 19 surblingries, she survived this brutal attack, she is a remarkable woman. she has the spirit that surprises me that she has the spirit that she does. but she is just one of thousands of people, mr. speaker, that are assaulted in the family. and it continues. and we in this society must

make sure it is socially unacceptable to hurt somebody in the family. my grandmother, who was the most influential person in my life, she lived to be the age of 99, mr. green, judge green, would like her. she never forgave me for being a republican, anyway, that's a different issue, but she always said, you never hurt somebody you claim you love. and that is a true statement. it always has been. you never hurt somebody you claim you love. and we need to send that message out throughout the nation, especially in the family situations and young males need to understand if they get in a relationship with a young woman they never hurt them if they claim they love them. it's an honor to support this and i honor and recognize the national coalition against domestic violence, all those wonderful organizations out there taking care, mainly of women who find themselves in desperate situations because

someone that supposedly loved them treated them so bad. with that, i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back. does the gentleman from louisiana continue to reserve? mr. cassidy: mr. speaker, does the gentlelady from hawaii have additional speakers? ms. hirono: i have no additional speakers, i do reserve my time to close. mr. cassidy: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana yields back, the gentlelady from hawaii. ms. hirono: in closing, mr. speaker, it's very cleerk and i thank my colleagues for their very strong remarks in support of this resolution. domestic violence truly knows no bounds. the seniors who are the most vulnerable in our communities who are generally the victims of domestic violence, need our help and our support. again, i urge my colleagues to support house resolution 1637.

with that, i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1637 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. . in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. the resolution is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bills. the clerk: h.r. 2923, an act to enhance the ability to combat methamphetamine. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does does the the gentlewoman from hawaii seek recognition?

mrs. myrick: i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1645. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1645, resolution expressing support for designation of the week beginning on november 8, 2010, as national school psychologist week. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the the gentlewoman from hawaii, ms. hirono, and the gentleman from louisiana, mr. cassidy, each will control to minutes. ms. hirono: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend my remarks and insert extraneous material on house resolution 1645 into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. myrick: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. hirono: i rise in support of this bill which which designates the week of november 8, 2010, as

national school psychologist week. school psychologists are mental health professionals with specialized training who understand that many students face barriers to learning and need additional support to overcome these barriers and improve academic and behavioral outcomes. there are more than 35,000 credentialed school psychologists in this country who are essential in helping children succeed in school. national school psychology week reminds us of the integral rules school psychologists play daily to ensure that our students have an opportunity to reach his or her full potential. mr. speaker, i will submit the remainder of my remarks for the record, but i would like to thank representative loebsack for introducing this important measure, and once again exprets my -- express my support. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana?

>> i yield myself as much time as i may consume. i rise today in support of house resolution 1645, espressing support for designation of the week beginning on november 8, 2010, as national school psychology week. national school psychology week takes place from november 8 to november 12 this year, recognizing national school psychology week promotes the importance of providing support for students, to help to create a healthy, safe, positive learning environment and to help remove academic and personal barriers to success. mr. cassidy: the role of school psychologist is diverse. school psychologist may help deliver mental health services as well as academic support. these individuals may also help to assess students to determine what learning barriers they face and how best to address those barriers. the theme of this year's national school psychology week is today is a good day to shine. this theme focuses on

highlighting the positive work school psychologists do to promote students' academic and personal success. we recognize national school psychology week to show our support for the effort school psychologists make to help create a healthy, safe, and positive learning environment. i stand in support of this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from hawaii. ms. hirono: does the gentleman from louisiana have any further speakers? mr. cassidy: no, i do not. i yield back the balance of my time. ms. hirono: mr. speaker, in closing, i would once again urge my colleagues to support house resolution 1645. it takes many people to enable a child to succeed and school psychologists are definitely among those. i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1645. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3

being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from hawaii seek recognition? ms. hirono: i agree to move on to h.r. 27 as amended. the clerk: h.r. 4072, a bill to require that certain federal job training and career education programs give priority to programs that is nationally industry recognized. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from hawaii ms. hirono and the gentleman from louisiana mr. cassidy each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. speaker, i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend my remarks and insert extraneous materials on this

bill into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. hirono: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. i rise today in support of h.r. 4072, the american manufacturing efficiency and retraining investment america works act. this bim would directly use the work force investment act funds for programs that provide a national industry recognized and portable credential certificate or degree. it would also support credentials that are nationally recognized under the karl v. perkins career and education act. mr. speaker, i will submit the remainder of my remarks for the record, but i want to thank representative minnick and the co-sponsors of h.r. 4072 for bringing this bill forward. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana. mr. cassidy: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cassidy: i rise today in support of the american and manufacturing efficiency and retraining investment collaboration act by the america works act. h.r. 4720 -- in the perkins career and technical education act, to highlight industry recognized credentialing. especially those in high demand professions. this bill would require one-stop career centers to give priority to training programs that result in participants receiving an industry-recognized credential for a high demand profession in the locality of the center served. this bill also requires schools to include in their local career and technical education plan a description of how the technical and career education program will assist students in earning an industry-recognized credential or certification. this bill makes some positive steps towards encouraging students and job seekers to pursue training that leaves the

industry-recognized credential, which could increase participants' chances of obtaining the job in a given profession. however, h.r. 4072 amends only a very small portion of the work force investment act, which is eight years overdue for re-authorization. this bill would amend a provision without reauthorizing other important aspects of the law. considering these changes within the context of a larger re-authorization discussion, it is important to ensuring the future of the american work force. we need to take a comprehensive approach to work force development and not approach these problems in a piecemeal fashion. i i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from hawaii. ms. hirono: i'm pleased to recognize mr. minnick for as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. minnick: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 4072, the america works act. this is a bill that would direct the use of already appropriated

funds within the karl perkins vocational technical education act, to prepare american workers with the skills necessary to qualify for the increasingly high-tech jobs available in the 21st century. it would do so by making available federal funds from these programs to obtain nationally recognized industry credentials acceptable anywhere in the country. under this bill, training would continue to be done by technical schools, universities, and union sponsor journeyman programs in coordination with companies and business groups. a welder trained in a junior college in maryland would have a certificate qualifying him to work in a machine shop in idaho. a trained diesel mechanic in my state could get an auto mechanic's job in jors. american workers are the best in the world. they are resilient, innovative, and hard-working. but they must be properly

trained and have widely accepted and understood credentials making them employable anywhere. this bill will ensure that federal job training is used to provide hard-working americans desiring training with the certificates and credentials that americans need to fill a sophisticated technical job available in today's business world. i thank my colleague from louisiana for his support and the gentlewoman from hawaii for her leadership and urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan common sense legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from idaho yields back. the the gentlewoman from louisiana. mr. cassidy: i yield my time. mrs. myrick: does the gentleman have any further speakers? the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman from louisiana yields back. the gentlewoman from hawaii. ms. hirono: i once again

encourage my colleagues to support this bill. we need to do everything we can to enable our workers not only to be trained, but to be able to utilize this training anywhere in our country. with that, i yield back the rest of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4072 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- ms. hirono: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentlelady from hawaii. ms. hirono: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: all those in favor of requesting the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, pursuant to clause eight, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? >> i now move from that the house suspend the rules. the clerk: senate 3839, an act that provides for additional temporary extension of programs under the small business act and the small business investment act of 1958 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the the gentlewoman from from new york ms. velazquez and mr. cassidy each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from new york. ms. velazquez: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend my remarks and include extraneous rules in the bill. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady is recognized. ms. velazquez: this has never been more important. making up over 99% of all u.s. firms, they are critical to innovation, wealth creation, and most importantly -- the economy continues to show signs of resurgence, we need to make certain that entrepreneurs have the right tools to make the most out of their recovery. the legislation before us extends the authorization of several important small business administration programs which are key to supporting businesses across the country. able to get a loan, secure a contract, and receive expert technical assistance. the f.d.a. is unique in that many of its programs work through resource partners. these partners include training

centers and community banks, essential to the delivery of the agency's services, to the small business community. through this public private network, entrepreneurs are able to gain access with the knowledge that they stand behind the tools and services. this combination is a powerful one for small businesses and the reason why we need to extend the agency. in the house we have passed 14 bills since the beginning of the 111th congress. however, because we have not considered work on these matters with the senate, we must extend the s.b.a.'s program. this legislation will make certain that the s.b.a. keeps operating. we cannot afford the services so lapse just as our recovery is getting off the ground. i urge my colleagues to vote yes and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from louisiana.

mr. cassidy: mr. speaker, i rise -- i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cassidy: i rise in support of the chairwoman's request to suspend the rules and pass s. 3839. the legislation provides a two-month extension of all the small business administration's programs until january 31, 2011. this is a necessary measure, the extension we passed last july expires september 30. america's small businesses are struggling in this tough economy. employers are having a tough time accurately predicting cost and revenues, making them hesitant to hire new workers or take steps to expand their businesses. it's time to show our small business owners that we recognize and support the essential role we play -- they play in our economy. we can do so by extending the s.b.a. program and continue our work by crafting and implementing a more thoughtful authorization of the critical

programs. again, i support the chairwoman's request to pass s. 3839 and urge all members to vote for the measure. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from new york. ms. velazquez: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 3839? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. >> i move to sprulls and -- suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1639,

recognizing the contributions of the national waterways conference on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1639, recognizing the contributions of the national waterways conference on the occasion of its 50th anniversary and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. schauer, and the gentleman, mr. diaz-balart, each will control 20 minutes. the speaker pro tempore: -- the gentleman is recognized. mr. schauer: i ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the -- on house resolution 1639. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. schauer: i yield myself such time as i may consume. h.r. 1639 recognizes the national waterways conference

on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. i applaud mr. hare for recognizing and i urge its adoption. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. diaz-balart: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognize. mr. diaz-balart: i also rise to honor the national waterways conference the 50th anniversary and the united states army corps of engineers, mr. speaker, operates and maintains more than 12,000 miles of commercial inland channels. 12,000 miles. they maintain waterways leading to 926 coastal and great lakes and inland harbors and things we take for granted every single day for our economy and so i'm actually pleased to be here today speaking on behalf of this recognition and again of this 50th anniversary. if i may, mr. speaker, if i may ask if he has many people

speaking on this? mr. schauer: no additional speakers. mr. diaz-balart: what i would like to do, then, because this is an important issue, i would like to yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. schauer: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1639. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. schauer: i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4387, to designate the

federal building located at 100 north palafox street in pensacola, florida, as the winston e. ar noah -- a are rnow federal building. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4387, a bill to designate the federal building located at 100 north palafox street in pensacola, florida, as the winston e. arnow federal building. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan, mr. schauer and the gentleman from florida, mr. diaz-balart each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. schauer: i ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 4387. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. schauer: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. schauer: colleagues, i

would urge adoption of this resolution and yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? mr. schauer: i reserve the balance of my time. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. diaz-balart: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. diaz-balart: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to take this opportunity to thank congressman miller of florida for his leadership and hard work on this bill to correct the designation of the building which was named after judge arnow. we could say so much about the judge but what i would like to do is just highlight one part of his career that i try to do whenever possible. whenever anybody serves in the armed forces of the united states of america, i think as much as his record is herer tos you, it's one thing i like to -- is meritorious, it's one thing i like to highlight.

he was a lawyer, but he was in the jag corps in world war ii, served in gainesville, florida, i could go on and on but i try to highlight when somebody has a military career i try to highlight that to make sure that's something we never forget. with that, i yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. schauer: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4387. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. schauer: i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5591 as amended to designate the airport traffic control tower located at spokane international airport

in spokane, washington, as the ray daves air traffic control tower. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: house calendar number 238, h.r. 5591, a bill to designate the facility of the federal aviation administration located at spokane international airport in spokane, washington, as the ray daves air traffic control tower. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. schauer, and the gentleman from florida, mr. diaz-balart, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. the speaker pro tempore: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that -- mr. schauer: i ask all that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 5591. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shower: i yield myself such time as -- mr. schauer: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the, without objection. mr. schauer: i -- i reserve the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. diaz-balart: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. diaz-balart: i also rise in support of h.r. 5591, which, as the gentleman has just said, designates the airport traffic control tower located at spokane international airport as the ray daves air traffic control tower. i urge all our colleagues to also spoth it and i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back. the gentleman from michigan. mr. schauer: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5591 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

without objection, the title amended. -- the title is amended. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. schauer: i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 600 as amended, the corporate liability and emergency accident notification act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 06008 a bill to amend title 49, united states code to ensure telephonic

notice of certain incidents and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from michigan, mr. schauer, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lobiondo, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. schauer smk i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 6008. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. schauer: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. schauer: mr. speaker, after the b.p. deepwater horizon oil spill, i never could have imagined that my community, too, could have been impacted by such an oil spill, but it happened. on july 26, 2010, enbridge energy partners reported a ruptured pipeline that spilled an estimated one million gallons of heavy canadian cruel oil -- crude oil into a creek

south of my district. oil covered wildlife a river and creek, flowed black with oil for miles and citizens were evacuated from their homes. these were all images from this oil spill that my constituents will not soon forget. according to the national transportation safety board, on sunday, july 25, 2010, at 5:58 p.m., alarms began sounding in enbridge energy partners' control room in edmonton, alberta, canada, on line 6-b of enbridge's lakehead pipeline. for more than 13 hour, alarms continued in their control room. enbridge did not know what was wrong with their 6-b pipeline until 11-:18 a.m. the following -- 11:18 a.m. the following day when another company's technician reported to enbridge that there was oil in the creek. the leak was confirmed by

enbridge personnel at 11:45 a.m. on july 26, and they began laying booms immediately, but did not report the spill until 1:29 p.m., nearly two hours later, to the national response center. another recent incident in san bruno, california, the tragic pg&e rupture, took the lives of four people and three more are still missing, injured numerous others, destroyed 37 homes and damaged 11 others. this occurred at 6:11 p.m. on september 9, 2010. it wasn't reported to the national response center until 11:35 p.m., over five hours later. when public safety and health are at risk, every second counts. in the time enbridge and pg&e

waited to report these spills, federal agencies and government emergency responders could have been en route or at the sites to help. congress directed that a pipeline facility shall provide immediate telephonic notice of a release of hazardous liquid. in 2002, the pipeline and hazardous material safety administration's predecessor determined immediately to be defined as between one or two hours after discovery. congress said a reportable spill incident needs to be reported immediately. five hours is not immediately. two hours is not even immediately. my bipartisan bill h.r. 6008, the corporate liability and emergency accident notification act, the clean act, clarifies the congressional intent of the

term immediately in reporting a spill incident to the national response center and defines immediately to be no more than one hour after the discovery of an incident. my bill also -- including failure to report a spill incident in a timely manner. additionally, the clean act seeks to increase transparency by directing the u.s. department of transportation to create a searchable public data base of all reportable hazardous liquid incidents. i urge members to support h.r. 6008, the clean act, to hold companies accountable to reporting spill releases immediately as congress intended and to increase transparency of spill incidents to the public. with the proper spill reporting

standards, we can work toward preventing devastating spills in the future for safety and protection of our communities in our environment. mr. speaker, i i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the the gentleman from new jersey. >> mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> the the gentleman from michigan has adequately described the critical importance of this bill and pipeline safety. we support the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. schauer: mr. speaker, i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman from michigan yields back. will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6008 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will clarify h.r. 6008, the title was not amended. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will clarify. h.r. 6008, without objection, the title is amended. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4714 as amended, the

national transportation safety board re-authorization act of 2010. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title for the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4714, a bill to amend title 49, united states code, to authorize appropriations for the national transportation safety board for fiscal years 2011 through 2014 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the the gentleman from minnesota, mr. oberstar, and the the gentleman from new jersey each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend my remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 4714. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. oberstar: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. oberstar: mr. speaker, this is a very special moment for me. it's at least the fourth or

fifth national transportation board re-authorization bill that i have brought to the floor to manage. in years that i chaired the aviation authorization subcommittee, and then during the years when we were in the minority, partnered with our republican colleagues on the committee to bring ntsb authorization to the floor. i'm proud to say they have all, under management by either party in our committee, these bills have all come out of committee with unanimous vote. we have not had recorded votes within committee. whatever differences of view, we have been able to resolve and acknowledge one another's contributions, and the same with this authorization, or re-authorization for ntsb. i served in congress as staff in

1966-1967, whep the -- when the congress created the department of transportation and included within it an independent safety board. after a few years, it was apparent that a safety board could not be independent within the department. so the congress, before i was elected, moved to separate the ntsb, separate the safety board from the department and establish it as an independent agency separate from the department itself. in the year since then, the ntsb has become the worldwide gold standard for safety standards, for investigation of transportation accidents, and for leading the world to a better safety regime and all modes of transportation. other nations have come to the

u.s. to emulate our ntsb, to see how it works, how it's structured, and how it acts with independence. and we in this authorization continue that standard for the ntsb, increasing staff, increasing funding modestly, only if just to accommodate the needs of ntsb for the additional responsibilities we have shouldered upon the safety board. i would like to say that we add two full-time equivalent employees to support the recently enacted rail disaster family assistance act legislation that the former chairman of the committee don young had introduced in 2006, in which we adopted by voice vote in the committee, and i just want to make acknowledgement of mr. young's continuing splendid contribution. with that, i reserve the balance

of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman from new jersey. >> i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. oberstar has been very passionate on this issue, along with a number of other issues. the critical importance of ntsb has been outlined over and over again. i urge all members to look very carefully at this and i i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: we have no further requests for time on our side. i would submit for the record a more detailed explanation of the provisions of the re-authorization and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4714 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. oberstar: i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3427 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3427, a bill to amend title 23, united states code, to protect states that have in effect laws or orders with respect to pay to play reform and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the the gentleman from minnesota mr. oberstar and the the gentleman from new jersey each will

control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. and yield to the the gentleman from illinois. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. now more than ever, we must use every tool at our disposal to fight corruption. my home state of illinois has made headlines time and time again. many of these charges involve pay to play politics, trading campaign contributions for government contracts. in 2008, the illinois general assembly took a bipartisan stand by passing the bill to eliminate pay to play contracting. amazingly, the federal government then told illinois that it had to back down or risk losing highway funds. the federal highway

administration interpreted their competitive requirements to mean that states couldn't weed out corrupt contractors. clearly that wasn't the intent of this chamber when it passed those requirements. that is why i am pleased we are debating this important fix. h.r. 3427, the state ethics law protection act, will make it clear that congress supports the right of states to fight corruption. states like connecticut, new jersey, south carolina, pennsylvania, kentucky have passed laws like illinois, and others are debating similar bills. mr. quigley: they are all arriving at the same bipartisan conclusion. corruption must be stamped out and pay to play made a thing of the past. our states have shown they are ready for reform. it is now our duty to ensure they have the ability to do so. at this critical juncture, we must do all we can to inspire the trust and confidence of

people across the country. after all, without the people's trust, we cannot govern. i wish to thank mr. oberstar and urge my colleagues to support the state ethics legal protection act. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois yields back. the gentleman from new jersey. >> i yield myself as much time as i may consume. this is a common sense good government bill that i support and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the the gentleman from illinois stated the case very clearly and thoughtfully. and the gentleman from new jersey has further underscored the significance of this bill. this legislation makes clear that no state will be considered to have violated federal highway administration competitive

bidding requirements solely because the state chose to enact an anti-pay-to-play law. the bill would neither require a state to pass anti-pay to play, nor prohibit a state from doing so. would not weigh in on the merits of any existing state law. simply removes what currently functions as the federal prohibition on some states' efforts to prohibit pay-to-play. as the gentleman from new jersey said, it's common sense legislation. i urge its passage and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3427 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. oberstar: mr. speaker, i agree to suspend the rules -- providing for the senate amendment to h.r. 3619 with amendments. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1665, resolution providing for the concurrence by the house and the senate amendment to h.r. 3619 with amendments. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. oberstar, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lobiondo, each will control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend my remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 36 -- excuse me, on h.r. -- excuse me again, on house resolution 1665. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. oberstar: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. oberstar: this is a bill the committee has worked on for the past two years, actually, six years, starting in the time when the -- of the republican majority when our committee was united, our committee was unified behind this bill but we couldn't get the other body to act upon it. we have now happily been able to do so. the bill will enable the coast guard to continue to perform

and meet its daily demands, allowing it to continue to be defined as the world's premier maritime service. over the past several years, the coast guard has fought international terrorism, defended iraqi pipelines, patrolled for pirates in the arabian sea, saved thousands of lives in hurricane katrina, and is leading the response effort to the largest ill spill in u.s. history. we must provide the coast guard with the support it needs to take care of its staff and carry out its everyday missions. we also need to make long overdue reforms to enhance the coast guard's ability to carry out its important responsibilities for maritime safety, security, and protection of the environment. the bill we consider today carries out those objectives. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. lobiondo: i'd like to yield

such time as he may consume to mr. mica. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mica: i thank the gentleman, the ranking member, mr. lobiondo, for his yielding and also for the excellent job, there is no one more dedicated to the united states coast guard than the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lobiondo. he lives works, breathes, just exists to assist the united states coast guard, i'm very proud of that dedication he exhibits. mr. oberstar, my partner, we have probably one of the greatest challenges of any of the teams that serve in congress, we have the largest committee in congress, a great deal of jurisdictional area, none that we enjoy working on more than the united states coast guard. these are some fantastic

americans. one of the major service organizations of the united states. sometimes i think the least recognized and we've been blessed with great leaders, thad allen, he came just at the right time, inherited so many problems, i can't even begin to spend tonight to enumerate the problems, i think he came on duty about the same time i became the ranking republican and i'd get his calls. he always handled every situation so professionally. we have been blessed as a nation to have leadership in the coast guard like thad allen, now admiral, just when thad allen thought he was going to retire, just at the end of his service, we had the

incredible gulf in the -- incredible disaster in the gulf. the shores of the united states, the coast guard are protectors of not just maritime safety but national security and they have done that through their long, rich, productive history. so tonight, this is long overdue, too, this authorization. i believe some four years in coming. i've been a ranking member for three. -- i've been ranking member for three. i'm pleased that tonight, as the congress will probably go into recess, that we're able to set with this bill the major policy decisions to operate the united states coast guard, the whole framework of federal policy, you have to authorize these projects under the constitution and laws, we must pass a law that gives them the authority to operate, it's the framework of the policy, it really sets the funding

parameters and i think also i'm pleased to rise on behalf of my side of the aisle, right now, people i just got back from my district and traveled in august across the united states, people are tired of huge expenditures, 200% increases in programs and the skyrocketing deficit that this congress has brought on. this is a moderate increase, it represents 3% -- a 3% increase, it's it's -- i think it's deserved and worthy of our support. the other thing about the coast guard, they aren't like some agencies lobbying for huge amounts of money or this team of lobbyists or special interests or whoever coming here, whining, complaining, trying to get more of the taxpayers' money, expanding the range and control of their programs, they just get their

job done and again, i'm pleased that we are getting, finally getting our job done and authorizing this coast guard legislation. let me also say that this is a much better bill than was introduced several years ago and it may have taken more time but i want to say, from my side of the aisle, i'm pleased with what we've accomplished. again, the leadership of mr. lobiondo and others who worked on this, we blocked, i think, some -- first of all, we blocked some devastating operational and structural policy changes that the coast guard did not want. the coast guard is, again, one of our service organizations and it doesn't need to be ham strung by congress. safety is important and we need -- the component of safety is one of their pryities, i think we properly place that -- some

of the original provisions that i don't think they could properly operate or live with. so i think first of all, we've got that provision, which is much better and will operate on a sounder basis, the second thing is, there were provisions in here, and there are folks that had their own little interests, and some of those interests would have blocked our energy supplies as far as licky the -- liquefied natural gas and bringing that into some of our ports, we would have created higher costs to consumers, i think the northeast region in particular would have been hard hit by some of the regional constraints and provisions in here. yes, we want safety for the delivery of those kinds of fuel, but we also want reasonableness in the process, we don't want to make, again, a

problem, where there isn't a problem, and we do need to have clean energy available and at an affordable price for the consumer. i think we've been able to do that. we've also, i think, put provisions in here that protect america's port. there was a provision originally introduced that would have prohibited states from conducting additional background checks on port workers to ensure that drug smugglers and other convicted felons' access to secure areas of our ports was actually allowed under this bill and states were prohibited from, again, putting these provisions forward for safety and security. we've seen what happened with the federal government in arizona and arizona wants to enforce federal immigration laws. states should be able to ensure that the -- that their ports, too, are safe and if they have

the need of a background check, it should be done. weand shouldn't have felons and others that with bad records in some of the secure areas of our ports. i think we've also improved the quality of that particular provision. then i think we've put some common sense acquisition reform . when originally introduced this bill would have, i think, created a disastrous recipe for failure for the united states coast guard to become a system integrator. i know we've had problems. we had problems with the national security class coast guard cutter we tried to produce for the first time. we had problems -- problems with changing out 110-foot coast guard cutters to a longer model, i believe it was 123-foot, and yes we had problems with some of these projects but the answer isn't for government to step in and create a huge operation. when you get into some of the

acquisition questions and systems designs and systems integration, even the united states navy, which has one of the largest maritime fleets in the world, has trouble doing some of this by itself. the navy -- the navy is a much larger entity than the united states coast guard which is a smaller entity. and casting legislation that would require them to do things that they don't have the capability of doing was, i think, not a good proposal and i think we've made it a better propose. a the other thing we have to remember, too, the coast guard pays a lot less than the private sector and god bless those men and women who served and many of the professionals end up going on into the private sector or the private sector attracts folks to do these highly technical systems

integration programs and they have the resources to do this. so where we can't always employ, and also the other thing, too, we found with the coast guard, we do have a turnover in coast guard personnel. many people serve their whole career there, but there's also a turnover in some of these highly professional, highly technical positions. so given all of that, i think the provisions put into this legislation will allow us to not repeat some of the mistakes of past acquisitions and not get the government into creating a huge pew rackcy of acquisition -- a huge bureaucracy of acquisition and take on something the federal government should not do and cannot do and we can do it much more cost effectively, i think, in the manner that we've prescribed in this legislation. so i'm pleased with the bill. it took some tough negotiations, it took some

time, but i'm honored to join my colleague, mr. oberstar, mr. lobiondo, i don't see more cummings, some of the other members here tonight but anyone who is involved in this on both sides of the aisle, and particularly the staff who worked so hard to secure what i think is a -- not only a sound piece of legislation but an excellent bipartisan product that the american people can be proud of. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is are recognized. mr. oberstar: i don't have other speakers, so i'll conclude on our side. recognizing, acknowledging the splendid work and diligent effort of the gentleman from maryland, mr. cummings, chair

of the coast guard subcommittee, devoted an enormous amount of time, hours of effort, hearings, one of which went for 10 hours on the coast guard procurement program, where we had to hear in great detail the failure of allowing the private sector to self-certify, in effect. that was a massive failure of the procurement system. we went into great detail, mr. cummings spent an enormous amount of time and effort, mr. lobiondo as well, gave his expertise, his years of seasoning and understanding of the coast guard's work. we passed major procurement reform, the senate passed it. and we did not have to include

that language in this legislation. those reforms are moving into place. we're not going to repeat those mistakes of the past. it was necessary to make those changes. it was urgent for the integrity of the coast gard and for its successful -- of the coast guard and for its successful operation and all through this the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lobiondo, who was a partner, he was regularly -- he regularly participated in all the committee and subcommittee hearings and our markup and lent great expertise to the final product of the committee and for that, i'm enormously grateful and recognize and acknowledge his splendid contribution. mr. speaker, i now will yield to the gentleman from michigan, mr. stupak. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as

much time as he may consume. mr. stupak: i thank the gentleman for yielding me some time. i'd like to engage the gentleman in a colloquy. mr. oberstar: the gentleman may state his question. mr. stupak: the coast guard station in marquette, michigan, relocated, the new location allows them to streamline their operation and respond to emergencies more quickly. the city of marquette sold the city property for the new facility for $1 in 2008. since then, the city has funded the necessary infrastructure improvements such as water mains, lateral -- water lateral construction and other improvements for a new coast guard facility at a total cost of $170,000. on april 7, 2008, the city of marquette turned over the property with infrastructure improvements to the dos guard. the bill before us, the coast guard authorization act of 2010 and 2011 conveys the old coast

guard land back to the city of marquette, however, it may result in the city paying for a conveyance of the property despite the city's generous contribution of land and infrastructure improvements for the coast guard in 2008. mr. oberstar: the gentleman has stated the case very well, and summarizing it very simply, the city of marquette and the coast guard entered into an agreement, the city of marquette kept its part of the agreement, conveyed the property to the coast guard for one dollar, and now is going to be stuck with the bill. the problem is that the way the transfer worked out, the statutory pay-go rules conclude in past conveyance and calculated in the cost of the bill. we simply got hung up with our own legislation, our own rules

to reduce the cost of government, but now we're in the position of possibly increasing the kansas of government to a local unitive government, the city of marquette. the city's contribution to the coast guard cannot therefore be calculated into the cost of the spill. i look forward to that we'll be able to work this out in a different setting. i yield to the gentleman. mr. stupak: i ask the congress to recognize the generous contribution of the city of marquette and urge the coast guard to perform this land transfer at no cost to the city. the city has already borne significant cost by transfering a new parcel of land to the agency and spent unreasonable costs. my friend and colleagues -- i have constantly advocated that the city of marquette, which has contributed greatly to the coast guard and the city should not incur additional costs. i yield back to the gentleman.

mr. oberstar: i agree the coast guard should not conduct its business in this manner. it should recognize the contributions of the city of marquette in exercising this conveyance, and we'll continue to work with the gentleman throughout the balance of this congress, and into the next congress, even though the gentleman is retiring, this issue will not be forgotten, we'll find a way to work it out, recognize the good faith contribution of the city of marquette that held its part of the bargain that is not being fairly treated. mr. stupak: thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you to the minority side for their help and assistance in this matter. mr. oberstar: how much time remains on our side, mr. speaker? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota has 13 minutes, and the gentleman from new jersey has 9 1/2 minutes. mr. oberstar: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i'd like to express my

appreciation to the ranking member of the committee mr. mica, who made a very elaborate statement a few minutes ago about the provisions of the bill. and i'll not elaborate on it except to concur with him that we're getting the best bargain perhaps in all of government. he didn't put it this way. i do. in supporting the missions of the coast guard. they are extraordinarily frugal and economical in carrying out their missions. when i was elected to congress in 1974 and started my service on the mercenary and fisheries committee as well as the public works committee, the coast guard 's authorized personnel limit was 39,000. today we increased it to 47,000. but in that 34 years -- almost 36 years, we've added 27 new missions to the coast guard without commensurately

increasing their personnel. the coast guard has proudly held itself up as a multi-mission agency, able to carry out numerous overlapping missions without adding personnel. we recognize, however, that there is a limit to how much you can stretch your existing personnel by a modest increase in the coast guard personnel. we give them the personnel resources they will need to carry out the mission of the future for safety and for security. mr. speaker, this also is a very nostalgic moment for me. this year represents 34 years that john cullither, the chief

counsel has served the house of representatives. started with our former colleague don peaz, and then as counsel on the committee on mercenary and fisheries. this will be the last bill that john cullither will bring to the house floor as counsel of the coast guard subcommittee. he has served enormously well with a profound grasp of the legislative history of the coast guard, of maritime law, he is recognized widely across washington as the fund of knowledge on maritime law of the united states, and of course, specifically of the coast guard. john has told me just today of

his intention to retire at the end of this session. i am personally grateful for the friendship that we have had over these 30-plus years, and more specifically, during the years he served on the committee of transportation and infrastructure in the role of counsel. i think back over the long history of this country, the first congress, the third act of the first congress was to establish the revenue cutter service, to collect duties from inbound cargoes and pay the debts of the revolutionary war. that revenue cutter service became what we know as the coast guard today. john cullither has served or maritime history, served the coast guard enormously well with his rich knowledge of the practices and the strengths as well as the weaknesses, the shortcomings of the service, and has constantly worked to improve the quality of service with the

resources that the coast guard has had at its disposal, the training of its personnel, to make it the very best uniform service of this country, and the best of its kind in the world. to john cullither, i offer my enormous personal gratitude and all the members of the committee for his superb, stellar service on our committee for 3 1/2 decades. has the the gentleman from new jersey yielded back his time? the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? mr. lobiondo: i reserve my time. mr. lobiondo: i want to, again, thank mr. oberstar for his diligent work on this, and mr. mica. a lot has been said about mr. oberstar and mr. mica. a couple points to be

reiterated. i think the men and women of the coast guard are some of the most underrecognized and underappreciated patriots that we have in our country, and for far too many years, the message was sent to them as we increase their mission that it was acceptable for them to be expected to do more with less. we send a very clear signal with this legislation that that's not the case. i am very appreciative of the majority's position in rejecting the president's very misguided direction to cut the coast guard with personnel and funding. exactly the wrong message at the wrong time. we can look to some other things that are in this bill that maybe aren't quite as high-profile, but there's a housing provision in this bill that the master chief of the coast guard, master

chief bowen talked about. horrendous conditions that we're expecting men and women of the coast guard to live in. this helps correct that. and another issue that is not at the forefront right now, but certainly was a very short time ago, and that was the piracy issue. and we're taking steps to allow the captain and crew of u.s. vessels to be able to defend themselves and their cargo. this is a good step in the right direction, and overall, this bill is very, very much past due, and i'm very pleased that we're going to be able to move forward with this. i want to thank mr. oberstar, mr. cummings, mr. mica, and all staff on both sides for so much in their doing. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey yields back. the gentleman from minnesota. mr. oberstar: i yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. oberstar: in addition to mr.

cullither, the staff on the republican side of the committee and other members on the majority side, have all worked together diligently. these have been stressful times these last several weeks as we work to craft a bill that could pass the other body and overcome several reservations and objections raised. we've accomplished that. we've done that on a -- in a bipartisan fashion and have brought to the house. and i think directly through the senate to the president, it should go to the president this week and be signed, this authorization for the u.s. coast guard. and again, be it the culminating work of john cullither and his service to the committee and to the congress. and without, i know, having served on the staff, without our dedicated, seasoned career professional staff, we members

of the congress would have a very difficult time accomplishing our work. so thank you on both sides for your splendid contributions and to john cullither -- i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1665. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. the resolution is agreed to, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3960 as amended, the residential and commuter toll fairness act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3960, a bill to provide authority and sanction for the granting and issuance of programs for residential and commuter toll, user fee and discounts by states, municipalities, other localities, as well as all related agencies and departments thereof, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. mcmahon, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lobiondo, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york.

mr. mcmahon: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend my remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 3960. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcmahon: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcmahon: i rise in strong support of h.r. 3960, the residential and commuter toll fairness act of 2010. this bill aims to protect locally provided residential commuter toll and fair discounts throughout the nation. many of us represent people in communities burdened by high tolls and fares. due to specific isolating geographic factors like residents on an island or peninsula, as well as the location of toll roads and bridges, residents in and commuters to certain localities endure a disproportionate toll endure a disproportionate toll burden.