the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 351. the nays are 67. the bill is passed. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the house will be in order.

for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i send to the desk a joint resolution, h.j.res. 94, and ask unanimous consent for its 8 -- immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the joint resolution. the clerk: house joint resolution 94, joint resolution making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the joint resolution? mr. dicks: reserving the right to object, and i will not object, i yield to the distinguished chairman to explain this c.r. mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. dicks: could we have order. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order.

members will please take their conversations off the floor. the gentleman may proceed. mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for yielding. this continuing resolution extends funding for government operations by one day to give the other body an extra day to consider and pass the consolidated appropriations bill. i yield back. mr. dicks: i withdraw my objection. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the joint resolution is engrossed, read a third time, and passed. and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i send to the desk a joint resolution, h.j.res. 95. and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the joint resolution. the clerk: house joint resolution 95, joint resolution making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year

2012, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: is there an objection to the consideration of the joint resolution? mr. dicks: reserving the right to object. i yield to the chairman to explain the amendment. mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for yielding. this continuing resolution ensures that government operations will continue to be funded through december 23. the resolution is a simple date extension that gives congress time to prepare the consolidated appropriations bill for presentation to the president. this is a noncontroversial measure that has sign off on both sides of the aisle. i urge its adoption. i yield back. mr. dicks: i withdraw my objection and urge a positive vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman withdraws. without objection, the joint resolution is engrossed, read a third time, and passed. and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the

house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 10:00 a.m. on monday next. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. ryan, be authorized to insert extraneous material in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. honda: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to have my name removed as a co-sponsor of h.r. 3589. i was added to the wrong version of that bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches.

for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition 1234 -- recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to honor the 150th anniversary of boulder county, colorado. boulder county is one of 17 colorado counties officially created in 1861 by the territory assembly. in the mid 1800's settlers began flocking there because of the profitable mining sector. local businesses were created to support the growing number of new miners to the area. the original founders had more aspirations than just be a simple colorado mining town, residents pushed strongly to have the state university located there. mr. gardner: in 1877, one year after colorado was admitted to the united states, the university of colorado, the state's first university, opened its doors. from its early status as a college town and mining community, boulder county has expanded to a population now

reaching over 300,000 people. the picturesque scenery has allowed this county to grow significantly over the past 150 years. aside from the university of rofment colorado, boulder county boasts an excellent technology sector, numerous small business, countsless microbyries, -- microbreweries. it continues to rank high for overall health and well-being and one of the best places to raise a family. boulder county is the gateway to the rocky mountains. known for its tremendous outdoor recreation from skiing, hiking, fishing, hunting, and biking. boulder is an outdoorsman town. it is my honor to recognize the 150th anniversary of boulder county on the house floor. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: are there further one minute requests? for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

it was recently discovered that a venezuelan national broun to anti-american activity is present and active on u.s. soil. consulate general of venezuela in miami has been linked to a potential cyberattack on the united states involving affiliate of the iranian, cuban, and venezuelan regime. in 2008, while serving at the venezuelan embassy in mexico, she worked with members from the iranian and cuban embassy to develop plans for an attack on critical u.s. garment infrastructure systems. her actions demonstrate her willingness to undermine u.s. interest by partnering with iran and cuba. two u.s. designate state honsors of terrorism. mr. rivera: this heightens our concern for growing iranian presence in the hemisphere. the obama administration should take decisive action against iran in order to prevent the development of any sort of latin

american-iranian diplomatic relations. this is an essential component of the preservation of our national security and if the allegations are found true, it begins with the immediate diplomatic expulsion of ms. noriega. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas rise? >> to address the house for one minute. mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house is not in order. the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, we just finished debating and reviewing although the time was very short the language that would fund this nation. that is our duty. i am concerned, however, that some of the cuts impacted our seniors, our young people, and our environment. we must do better.

and i certainly disagree with cutting again the appropriations for this nation impacting our veterans and their families another 2%. i voted against it. and i believe that we must ensure that if america is hit by a disaster, we pay for it. we have to fight this fight again. however, mr. speaker, as our soldiers return, thank the members for wearing the yellow ribbon, but i ask you to go home and yellow ribbon your district offices, ask your cities and hamlets and states to put yellow ribbons out to welcome the troops who are coming home and say a job well done. it ended yesterday with the casing of the colors in iraq. it is our obligation and duty to not let one soldier come home to a silent america and silent community. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. -- the gentlelady's time has expired. are there further one minute requests?

the gentleman from tennessee. the gentleman is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i awoke this morning to unfortunate news. a friend of mine and one of the world's most brilliant writers and intel lects, christopher hinojosains passed away yesterday. christopher higgins was a brilliant man who was a writer and a provock tour -- provocateur. you may not have agreed with him, but i think everybody knew that christopher was well versed on the subject on which he spoke and could express it in a way unlike any other. i don't think there was a more erudite, knowledgeable individual on the face of this earth. he's left us. to me he was a good friend. he made my visit to washington here easier. to his friends he was a loyal,

gracious and fun. to his foes he was a feared enemy, a feared foe. the world was lucky for his being here and i was lucky for my life intersecting with his. the world shall miss him. a life well lived. rest in peace, my friend. thank you, mr. speaker. . the speaker pro tempore: are there further one-minute requests? are there further one-minute requests? hearing none, urn the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from nebraska, mr. fortenberry, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. fortenberry: the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house is not in order nesm members would please a leave the floor for their

conversations, take their conversations elsewhere. mr. fortenberry: i ask permission of the house to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so order. mr. fortenberry,: -- mr. fortenberry: mr. speaker, yesterday marked the end of our nine-year war in iraq. in a low-key ceremony, troops lowered the flag over the command in the area. the iraq war was a painful and difficult time, extraordinarily costly, in terms of american -- america's lives and resources, nearly 4,500 meshes including 45 nebraskans were killed in operation iraq wri freedom. 227 nebraskans were wounded in combat. tens of thousands of iraqis lost their lives. we lost good men and women,

individuals full of life and blessed with tall ebt whose proud families awaited their return to the country they love sod dear and expressed so well. we are proud of our fallen hero, proud of the veterans who have come back to us, proud of their sacrifice, proud of their noble vision that has significantly changed the global environment, where democratic ideals are now making steady gains everywhere. the work of our troops steadily done in the midst of extensive public debate and strategy, slickses about the war, was the strength of this mission. these troops achieved what was set before them. the victories were theirs. their unwavering commitment, their skill, and their bravery got the job done. the troops' efforts unbound in

iraq -- unbound, an -- unbound an iraqi people held hostage for decades by an egoma nikal dictator. terrorists seeking to wreak havoc and disorder were put down by our troops. space was created to allow iraqis to build a representative government and more open society. but there are still challenges and significant obstacles. it would have been preferable, mr. speaker, for a small stay-behind force to remain for ongoing response and stabilization efforts. the way forward will not be easy. but today, iraqis determine iraq's future. no longer constricted by the dictates of a despot, they have held elections, they have written a constitution, and hopefully they will build a culture that respects the rights and dignity of all their people. america and the world needs a

stabilized iraq. our security is strengthened by it. we will continue a strong, diplomatic relationship to help achieve it. an iraq that protects the rights of all its people, sunni and shiite, christian and yaziti and maintains a government that maintains order and preserves liberty, will be an iraq that can help transform the entire middle east looking for a new way forward. the foundation for this has been laid. after much toil and bloodshed, by valiant american soldiers, who return to us now as modern day heroes. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy, the gentleman from georgia has the remainder of the time.

>> mr. speaker, i very much appreciate the time and i want to get to tax policy here in a moment but i want to take a few minutes, having just passed the appropriations bill for f.y. 2012, to talk about about how long that's been. mr. speaker, i know you have been a pr component of regular order since you came to this body. mr. woodall: but as i went back and looked to see when was the last time the house was able to operate, not under a continuing resolution but under a regular appropriations process, mr. speaker, it's been since december of 2009. december of 2009. that's when we last passed an appropriations bill. an appropriations bill. now granted, appropriations bills come in all sorts of

sizes. the one we're dealing with today came in the large size, the jumbo size. my hope is, and i know the minority whip shares my passion for that, my hope is we'll be able to get to regular order for next year, go through each appropriations bill one by one by one. what i say to you, mr. speaker, is i came to this body a year ago to make a difference. i wanted to make all the difference last january. i'll be honest with you. and when i couldn't do it all in january, i hoped we could do it all in february. when we couldn't do it in february, i hoped we could do it all in march. we were able to pass the budget here in the house, the budget that took the first step toward reforming entitlement we've seen come out of this body since, i would argue, since lyndon johnson began these programs in the 1960's. but we have begun to make a difference, and as i look at this stack of paper here that represents the spend, the appropriations process, for

2012, mr. speaker, first time in two years we've had that. over 1,000 days since the senate has been able to pass -- to pass a budget. we have made progress as 2011 comes to a close, i hope we can celebrate some of those successes along the way. because in terms of real spending, mr. speaker, in this document, what we see is for the second year in a row, for the second year in a row, first time since world war ii, two consecutive years, mr. speaker work this leadership team, this appropriations committee, and this bipartisan house, we've been able to reduce federal discretionary spending. $95 billion. $95 billion. you know, a lot of folks say, well, rob, is that going to be funny math, is that going to be some item, not all items?

as you know, mr. speaker, that's everything. that's the regular appropriations process. that's the so-called emergency spending, that's the war spending, what they call the account, we brought it down $95 billion in just one year. just the one year you and i have be here, mr. speaker. $95 billion. but it can't all be done in appropriations bills, mr. speaker. you know. only about a third of all the money that goes out of the door here in washington, d.c., goes out of the door through this process that we did today, the appropriations process, the rest of it goes out through mandatory spending programs. medicare, medicaid, social security, interest on the national debt, those mandatory spending programs. in fact as you know, mr. speaker, we could zero out everything else. we could decide there within no

congress, there will be no white house, there will be no f.b.i., there will be no army, there'll be no navy, no marine corps, no coast guard, no air force, no parks, no environmental protection agency, no education department, no nothing. we could zero out absolutely everything that we fund through the appropriations process. and the budget still wouldn't be balanced. still wouldn't be balanced. zeroing out everything, not cutting it, zeroing it out, and we still couldn't balance the budget just on appropriations bills alone. there's two sides of every budget balancing operation, mr. speaker. there's the spending side, and there's the revenue side. i want to talk about the revenue side here for a minute. i put up a poster here, mr. speaker, you can't see it from where you sit but it says h.r. 25, the fair tax. i'm going to leave it up here the whole half-hour, mr.

speaker, because h.r. 25 named the fair tax, is the only tax bill in congress, the only piece of legislation on either the house side or the senate side that goes into the tax code and says, every exception, exemption, exclusion, special carve out, special favor, anything that gives you a break over your neighbor, your company an advantage over the one next door, all of those tax breaks, special exceptions, loopholes, gone. gone. it's the only bill in either the house or senate that does it. but that's not the good news. the good news is it's also the most popular fundamental tax reform bill in either the house or senate as well. more members of this body have co-sponsored the tear tax than any other fundamental tax reform legislation that's been

introduced here and more united states senators in the other body have co-sponsored their version of the fair tax than any other fundamental tax reform proposal in the senate. why is that important? why is it important to end all the loopholes? mr. speaker, the chart i have here is the cost of tax expenditures. now tax expenditures, i've got to tell you, that's a tough word in conservative circles. why? because the government doesn't actually have any money. as you know, mr. speaker, every nickel that gets spent in washington, d.c. got sucked into washington, d.c. from the heartland. from back in my district. in georgia. from back in your district, from somebody's family kitchen table, every nickel that gets spent in washington got sucked up here to washington, d.c. oftentimes when we talk about taxes and giving people their money back, that's not

spending. that's giving people their own hard-earned money back. but today, mr. speaker, when we have $15 trillion in national debt, when the amount of money we owe has eclipsed the entire productive capacity of america for an entire year, our entire annual g.d.p., the question now is, when you have a tax break, when you agree to let a loophole into the tax code and let somebody else pay less, what happens? well, what happens is that we then borrow more. that's a new debate, mr. speaker, because so often, we can talk about tax cuts like the capital gains tax cut, like interest in dividends, we can talk about tax cuts that stimulate the economy, tax cuts

we think will help the economy to grow faster and bring more revenue in but all tax cuts respect like that. some tax cuts are just free money you're giving away to people, instead of passing a bill that says, i hereby give you $100, it makes congress feel better to pass a bill that says, i hereby tax you $100 less. i'm going to pill your neighbors for it, i'll bill your kids for it, and your grandkids for it but i'm going to tax you $100less. it's time for us as conservatives to be honest about where the tax code takes this country when we fill it full of loopholes and exemses. you know better than most, mr. speaker they are art of the loophole is a time-honored washington tradition. time honored. and it's not something that's been perfected by republicans, it's not something that's been perfected by democrats, it was not even something perfected by me the whigs, mr. speaker. it's been around as long as

taxes have been around. and folks who work in this town to try to manipulate the tax code, have been around just as long as well. let's look at what's happening in 2012. the annual budget deficit for 2012, mr. speaker, is projected by the joint committee on taxation and the congressional research service, $1,100 billion and change. projected budget deficit for 2012. mr. speaker, how much money do you think that we've carved out in loopholes, exceptions, carve outs, deductions and credits? how much money do you think we've carved out? $1,065 billion. . that's a powerful message, mr. speaker. we could balance the budget this year if we eliminated every

single tax break in the u.s. tax code. that's a debate worth having. i don't want to eliminate every single deduction in the u.s. tax code. every single credit in the u.s. tax code. every credit in the u.s. tax code is not created equal. every deduction not created equal. there are some that help move this economy forward. there are some that don't. that's the debate we have. this is the end result of it. what if we start over from scratch, mr. speaker? what if we start over from scratch with a bill like the fair tax, something that ends all loopholes by starting a tax code that has no loopholes. ends the loopholes by starting a tax code that has no loopholes? so often we talk about reforming the tax code as if we are stuck with the tax code that we've got. are we? i tell you we're not. that's what this body does. this body could zero out the

entire tax code and start again with a blank sheet of paper tomorrow. we have that ability. we have that authority. and we ought to use it. and if we use it today, again, just to understand the magnitude of the exceptions and exemptions in the tax code when you go and you say, golly, i'm in the 15% bracket, i'm in the 25% bracket, i'm in the 10% bracket, when you talk about those things, the exceptions and exemptions total over $1 trillion. in 2012 alone. now, where are those? where are those exemptions and exceptions going, mr. speaker? this next chart quantifies those. number one, list of exceptions and exemptions, exclusion of employer contributions for medical insurance premiums and

medical care. $609 billion. hear that, mr. speaker. half of all the money that's included in loopholes, exemptions, exceptions, exclusions, carve outs in the united states tax code, half of it goes to employers to subsidize their purchase of health insurance for their employees. and candidly, mr. speaker, i hear from an employee day after daff after day, who say how--day after day after day, how come i don't get that? why am i held captive by my employer? since when did my employer get entrusted to make the best health decisions for me and my family? i will tell you this provision that originated in world war ii with wage controls here in congress. has led to so many of the third party payer problems the health

insurance inflation challenges that we have in this country today. mr. speaker, do i need to yield to allow our friends from the senate to deliver a message? the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the secretary: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house the senate has passed s. 209, cited at the interior act of 2011 which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia may proceed. mr. woodall: candidly i'm disappointed. i was yielding to that message from the senate because i thought it might have been the passage of the fair tax across the way, but i'm not going to give up hope that's going to happen because it makes a difference. $609 billion is what you, mr. speaker, and your family, and every other american family, has to pay more because we have

chosen to subsidize the business purchase of health insurance. which has the secondary and tertiary effects of trapping you in the job you have because you can't get insurance in your next job that was the effect of trapping you with the insurance policy that you have because your employer only offers one policy, that has the effect of you having a third party payer so it insulates you from the true cost of health care. trouble after trouble after trouble with the american health care system comes from the united states tax code, mr. speaker. and we can do better. $357 billion the deductibility of mortgage insurance on owner occupied homes. mortgage insurance deduction. again, a deduction that millions of american families take advantage of. the deduction that arguably has a tremendous effect on the real estate market and our real estate agents and our

construction companies, on and on and on, things tied into the deductibility of mortgage insurance. i remember once upon a time, mr. speaker, i was listening to a elected official talk and he had some folks in his office and they said, we have to have to have to have to have to have deductibility of mortgage insurance because the only reason we are able to sell real estate in this country is because folks were able to deduct their insurance -- deduct their interest, and that makes a difference. and the selected official said, how about if we double interest rates? will that help us sell more homes? and the answer is no. what we need are low interest rates to sell homes. we have low interest rates in this country today, but it's one of those things that whether republicans or democrats, folks have agreed that we want to subsidize interest payments for folks who own homes. there is no such subsidy program

for those who rent s there a good reason for that? maybe there is. certainly the argument has been made time and time again, but it's something that we have chosen to do in this country, mr. speaker, and i don't know that even for those americans that defend this deduction to their dying breath do they know that it comprises a full third of the value of every deduction exemption exclusion that exists in the united states tax code, because it does. half of the deductions and exclusions coming from the mortgage deduction, others from the medical insurance and premium deducks -- deduction for employers. finally of the biggest of our deductions and exemptions, the deduction for 401-k plans. down here at the bottom, $356

billion. again, deducting money that we are saving. because the power to tax is the power to destroy, mr. speaker. you know that. time and time again as you advocate for lower taxes because what we tax today is income and what income is is a measure of your productivity. and what we need in today's economy is more productivity not less. power to tax is the power to destroy. so rather than tax savings because we don't have enough retirement savings happening in this country, we don't have enough thrift happening in this country, we have given folks a tax break to encourage them to save. is that a laudable public goal, mr. speaker? i'm sure it is. i'm sure it is. we need more americans to take saving for their retirement more seriously. the question is, what's the best way to get that done? is it the united states tax code? but does america know that that's what's happening today? that today $356 billion of tax

revenue is foregone in the name of encouraging retirement savings. it's a debate that has to happen in washington, d.c. these are the big ones. because so often we argue about things as if it's the little ones that -- the little ones that find the headlines. you don't find headlines about the mortgage deduction or the employer health insurance deduction. you find headlines about the bridge to nowhere and how in the world that got in the transportation bill. but understand that this is big business. i'm not here to pick on lobbyists, mr. speaker. i think lobbyists perform an important role in this town. i can't be an expert on every issue and i can't hire staff. i've got alex perot on my staff down here today, he knows a lot about a lot, but he can't know everything about everything. and so when i need more information, i will go to folks

involved in the industry. we call those folks lobbyingses. the best lobbyists in the world are those who fly up back home. the teachers in your community, the caretakers in your community, the physicians, those members of your community who come up here and talk about their issues, those are the best lobbyists in town, but there are firms up here that have lobbyists as well. i'm going to date myself by going back to eddie murphy's movies were early and funny back in the day. and the distinguished gentleman was the tale of a fell who got elected to congress by accident and he was going along with the process and he walked up to a powerful committee chairman and the committee chairman said, how do you feel about sugar subsidies? and eddie murphy being eddie murphy, and a new congressman, said, well, mr. chairman, how should i feel? about sugar subsidies? and the chairman said it doesn't matter because if you support

sugar subsidies, we are going to get you money from the confectioners and the bakers. and if you oppose sugar subsidies, we are going to get you money from the cane growers and weight growers. there are folks on every side of the issue, mr. speaker, in this town. and so whenever there is an issue that's a contentious issue, you can call in one side, you can call in the other, and you can hear both sides of the argument. folks who are experts, folks who have been working on these issues for decade after decade after decade. well, when the federal tax bill for america's businesses, mr. speaker, is $10 billion, $10 billion, it doesn't take much of an investment in lobby -- lobbying for special exemptions in the tax code to make that a let me go back and look at corporate income taxes over time. corporations don't pay taxes. corporations do not pay taxes.

consumers pay taxes. if you go and you had -- i'm from atlanta, if you add a tax on a coca-cola company, what do you think is going to happen? they are going to raise the price of coca-cola. that's what happens every single time that we already have a competitive market, coke and pepsi are competing in a cutthroat beverage market out there today. they are already suppressing their prices as much as they can. there is only one taxpayer in america and it's the american consumer. when we tax businesses, we just make the businesses the tax collector and they raise their prices. i end up paying the tax when i buy the goods. they collect those taxes and pass them on. but according to our friends at centers for tax justice, you are not going to hear me quoting them often, mr. speaker, because we don't agree on a lot, but they pay a lot of attention to how much money is being spent in this town to manipulate the tax code.

they say $475 million is the extent to manipulate the tax code in this town. folks, it's our fault. we created the tax code. i don't blame the i.r.s. for the way the tax code works. congress created the tax code. so for businesses to spend $475 million, for individuals to pay folks to come and lobby for the united states tax code, that makes sense. why do you rob banks? because that's where the money is. why do you lobby the tax code? because that's where the money is. not in these appropriations bills that we are doing today. but in the tax code. trillions and trillions and trillions of dollars in revenue, mr. speaker, and with the stroke of a pen, a loophole, an exception, exemption hidden somewhere in what is now 76,000 pages of code, you can save

money for your client. you can get a break that your competitor doesn't get. and who ends up paying that bill? every other american family. and if we don't pay that bill today, we end up borrowing that money and our kids pay the bill and our grandkids pay the bill. for years and years and years to come. this isn't rocket science, mr. speaker. this is economics 101. economics 101. i do it when i go to speak to high school classes. i say, i have a job in my congressional office. you can serve your neighbors, your country, it will be a wonderful thing. i pay $10 an hour. who wants to come? hands go up around the room. then i say, but i'm going to have to put a tax on that because we have bills to pay in this country. so i'm going to put a $9 an hour tax on that but you can take home that last dollar, who wants

to work 80 hours a week for $1 an hour? all the hands go down, mr. speaker. that's economics 101. there is a sweet spot here. they call it the laugher curve. there is a sweet spot for where you can raise tax rates and continue to raise income to the government tax receipts, and if you exceed that rate, you begin to shrink tax receipts to the government. . i remember the story mr. speaker, over on the senate side, the question was, what would happen if we raise what would happen if we raise taxes to 100% on all americans, what would happen? what would happen if we raise taxes making over $50,000 a year to 100%. we ask that question to the tax

scoring committee and folks got excited, sent back a good message and said, oh, goly, if we did that, we'd raise this big pot of money to help pay federal bills. big pot of money. come on, mr. speaker. you tell me, what would happen if we raised taxes on ewe to 100%? you'd quit coming to work. you have a heart for service but you have bills to pay. no one would make over $250,000 a year anymore. the power to tax is the power to destroy, when you tax at 100%, you devoy 100% of all that economic production. what's sad is i look at the economics 101 chart, mr. speaker, is that it's america that has this disastrous, destructive, detrimental tax code. the former soviet bloc counties, the former soviet bloc countries, mr. speaker, they have flat taxes.

they have consumption taxes. they started with a blank slate after the fall of the soviet union and they created tax codes that work. they rejected the communist system. and said, what if we have a flat tax on everything that's easy to pay? mr. speaker, i know we have to have taxes in this cupry, and i don't mind paying them. i love the free tom we have in this country and i know freedom isn't free. what i don't like is having to pay someone to help me pay my taxes. i'm a smart guy. to have to pay someone to help me pay my taxes, if we're going to collect taxes from folks, it ought to be easy and the more complicated we make it, the less revenue we collect. who has proven that point? the former soviet bloc countries. that is where we look for

economic vie brans today. that's where we look for tax code success today. country after country after country, threw out the old code, adopted a flat consumption tax, a flat income tax, made it easy to pay, easy to comply with and raised the revenues. to the national treasuries. we could do that very same thing. there's a sweet spot and we are not in it. mr. speaker, we sometimes get swept up in partisanship here in the house. i know you avoid it, i try to avoid it, but sometime -- but sometimes it happens. when it comes to reforming the tax code, it's not a partisan issue. i'll point to this quote from president barack obama in a speech he was making on international tax policy reform he says, our tax code is full of corporate loopholes that make it perfectly legal for companies to avoid paying their

farrakhan share. his -- their fair share. his take on it is different than mine. the u.s. tax code defines what folks have to do. i think it's your patriotic duty to pay as little tax as you legally can. don't sent your extra money up here. whoever is encouraging you to do that, don't do that. keep as much of your own money as you can. i promise you're going to spend it better than i will. it's not from lack of trying. it's not from lack of trying. keep your money in your pocket, send as little as you legally can. but yes, the tax code has been warped over time to make it very difficult to tell what is someone's fair share. what is their fair share? the top 10% of all income earners in this country, mr. speaker, pay 60% of all the income taxes. top 10% pay 60% of all the income taxes. the top 50% pay 100% of all the

income taxes. about half of america today pays no income taxes whatsoever. in fact, a growing amount of american families are receiving money from the tax code instead of paying money in from the tax code. that's not what the tax code is for. but on both sides of the aisle, we agree that this tax code isn't working. president thinks it's not working because it allows folks to pay nothing and that's not fair. i.d. tell you it's not -- i'd tell you it's not working because it allow lous one company to pay one amount and its neighbor company to have to pay twice as much and that's not fair. the tax code for corporations shouldn't go from the 30's down to the 20's, it should go from the 30's down to zero, mr. speaker. to zero. because businesses don't pay taxes. their consumers pay taxes. i pay taxes when i shp at

wal-mart. wal-mart is not paying the tax. they're raidsing the price on the good and i'm paying the tax. and you're paying the tax and every american family that shop there is is paying the tax. so how do we get to something that defines our fair share? mr. speaker, that brings me to the heart of the fair tax. i don't like the divisive games being played in america today, mr. speaker. i don't know why it is that what we see in the media and what we sometimes hear from the podiums is language designed to divide america. i can't think of a single strength of this country, i can't think of a single trait that make this is country great that is enhanced by dividing america. that's why we talk about the

american dream, mr. speaker. something that unites us. something that brings all of our disparate views and hopes and dreams together into one understanding of what make this is country different from any other country on the planet. mr. speaker, my idea of fair, when i sit down with a blank sheet of painer to try to design a brand new tax code for this country, fair doesn't mean that we're going to try to ensure equal outcomes for every american. fair means we're going to start with a level playing field for every american. have you ever been in a community, mr. speaker, you see somebody driving a brand new porsche an wonder if they're paying their fair share? you ever been walking past a clothing store, you and i might

be on the way to the salvation army, goodwill or t.j. maxx and you see someone walking into brooks brothers and wonder if they're paying their fair share? i remember growing up, had a good friend next door, family had everything. boats, lake houses, beach houses, brand new cars, fancy clothes and when it came time to apply for college aid, we both filled out our applications. i didn't get a penny in federal financial aid because i got a note back that said, dear sir, your family saved too much. family saved too much. my buddy next door, fancy cars, fancy houses, fancy clothes, he got back a note that said, congratulations, you qualify for subsidized college education. you qualify for a subsidized college education. why? because in all of these flush

years that your family has had, you spent it all, so now in your time of need, you have nothing and you qualify for a bonus. mr. speaker, that's not anything. that is not anything that make this is country great. what make this is country great is people being able to make their own choices about how they're going to live their life and the federal government doesn't bail them out. mr. speaker, you and i weren't here when the bailouts came down the pipe but i guarantee you we'd have both voted no. both voted no for every penny of bailout money that came down the pipe because the american government is not supposed to be about bailing out anybody. it's supposed to be about protecting the freedom of the american people and that includes, mr. speaker, freedom to fail. freedom to fail. you get to make the choices you want to make about your life but you also have to bear the consequences. if you want to take great risks if you have great success, you

benefit from that. if you have great failure, you pay the price for that. we cannot insulate people, mr. speaker, from the consequences of their action but over and over and over again, that's what the tax code does. if you lose money, we want to protect you. you make money, we want to punish you. i don't get that. i don't understand that. fairness for me is a level playing field for opportunity. not a level playing field for outcomes. mr. speaker, you know, we talk every day in this chamber about jobs and by talk, i mean we act every day. to promote an environment in this nation that grows jobs. what do you think, mr. speaker, the american tax code does? when a multinational corporation is trying to decide whether it's going to put the next plant? what do you think it does?

i can tell you with absolute certainty that america has the highest corporate tax rate of any nation on the planet. the number one highest. so your business -- you're a business person, mr. speaker, where do you want to locate? you want to locate in the country that's ended the loopholes, restored fairness to the marketplace for a level playing field that allows our free enterprise system to work? or do you want to locate your business in the country with the single highest corporate tax rate in the world? those are easy decisions, mr. speaker and companies are making them every day. i talked to a c.e.o. in my district about six months ago he said i'm going to be leaving. government's made it hard to pack up and leave, it's going to take me about two years, but i aim taking every job in this district and moving home to switzerland because it's just not worth doing business in america anymore. mr. speaker, we have the hardest working work force on

the planet. we have the best education and transportation infrastructure on the planet. we have the finest education system on the planet. nobody, nobody gives you more bang for your buck than the american worker and yet people are deciding to take those jobs overseas. why? it's not the american workers' fault, mr. speaker. it's our fault. as we have crafted a tax code that doesn't work, as we crafted a regulatory structure that doesn't work. but the good news is, and it's good news, mr. speaker, there is nothing wrong with america. -- with america that this body can't fix. because i'll tell you, mr. speaker, there is nothing wrong with america that this body department cause. government is not the solution to our problems. many times, government is the creator of our problems. i do not want this body, no

matter how august, i do not want my 435 colleagues, no matter how well studied or well-intended, to decide for me how my life should be led. that's never been what america was about. what america is about is making your own decisions for yourself, making your own decisions for your family, and knowing with absolute serbity, mr. speaker, absolute certainty that by the sweat of your brow, by the power of your ideas, by the commitment that you make, you can make your tomorrow better than your today. i'll tell you, that's the american dream, mr. speaker. it's not how much money you have in your pocket, what kind of house you live in, what kind of car you drive. it's about that you can decide today that you're going to take

actions for yourself and for your family and you're going to make tomorrow better. hope, mr. speaker. hope is a priceless commodity. a priceless commodity. and i fear we're not growing hope in this country, mr. speaker, like we used to. i fear we are extinguishing the candle of hope in this country. and not out of malice, mr. speaker. that's what makes it so insidious. it's not out of malice, it's out of folks who believe in their heart, deep down inside, that they're passing these policies because they want to make america better. mr. speaker, america was better when americans were running america. the whole idea of a republic isn't that we get to be king of this land, collectively. our job is simple. it is to protect the freedom of

individuals back home so that individuals back home can make the decisions that work best for them. i'll tell you, mr. speaker, i come from the great state of georgia. we're conservative in our part of the world and proud of it. if anybody is looking for a good, conservative part of the world to be part of, i invisit you to come down, we got good real estate price, a good job market, come down, be part of what we have, mr. speaker. i read a story about my friends in california. i enjoy visiting california, don't want to move there, but it was a story about the afl-cio. i'm sorry, it was my friends the teamsters. the teamsters unionizing marijuana growers in california. because, medicinal marijuana is a big business in california these days. so they unionized the mirn growers. if you work hard and apply yourself and join the union, you can be a junior marijuana grower at about $25 an hour, i'm told. if you really work hard and yale apply yourself, you can exceed where you start and become a senior marijuana

grower and get close to $35 an hour. that's what i'm told. mr. speaker, i think that's wonderful for those folks in california. we're not bringing unionized marijuana growing to the great state of georgia. i'm not trying to stop folks in california from doing what they want to do but it's not going to come to our great state of georgia and that's what make this is country great. we can choose for ourselves as individuals, as families, as communities, as states how we want to live with our lives but not with the united states tax code, mr. speaker. the tax code is in every facet of your life. you're going to buy a green card we are going to pay you money. you buy a car that burns too much gasoline, we are going to charge you a fuel premium. if you receive your income from dividends, we're going to give you a tax break. if you receive your dividends

from working hard on the line every day, you're going to pay full freight. if you've had a great year this year, even if you hadn't made another penny in the rest of your life, we will tax you like you're rich. if you make a little bit this year, even though you've made millions every other year for the rest of your life, we're going to tax you like you're poor. mr. speaker, we manipulate behavior in line item after line item after line item in the united states code and folks on the other side of the aisle defend it. they defend it as if we're really smart here, and i'll tell you folks work hard. i am not down here on congress. folks here in congress work hard, but they don't know anything nor should they nor should they be burdened with the responsibility.

only if we encourage this behavior all of america will be happier and it's easier to hide things in the tax code. 175,000 pages. mr. speaker, i encourage you to take a look at h.r. 25. again, the single most widely co-sponsored piece of fundamental tax reform legislation in either the house or the senate, and in fact it's the most widely co-sponsored piece of tax reform legislation in both chambers. it ends every loophole. mr. speaker, you hear folks every day here on the house floor, i want you to end the loopholes for rich people. i want you to end the loopholes for oil companies. i want you to end the loopholes for sew lindhia. i want you to end loopholes, loopholes. mr. speaker, there's one bill that does it all and it's h.r. 25. no loopholes, no exemptions, we all pay the same, and it let's

our free enterprise system work, mr. speaker. we talk about creating jobs in this country, mr. speaker. we have to do that but our tax code is destroying jobs. we have to create new jobs. mr. speaker, that's hard preserving the jobs we already have -- mr. speaker, that's hard. preserving jobs we already have is what we need to do. more importantly, mr. speaker, the fair tax is revenue-neutral. you know, so many folks think about a conservative republican like me is like having tax cut. i want to leave more money in an individual's pockets. i believe the american family will spend their own money better than we spend it on their behalf in washington always. but, mr. speaker, there are bills to pay in washington. we do need to support our troops. we do need to defend our homeland. we do need to protect our

border and so the fair tax brings in every penny of revenue that we bring in today. it's revenue-neutral. in fact, given the bill that's in front of the senate right now, payroll taxes, we are going to bring in more revenue with the fair tax than we do with the current system but it's designed to be revenue-neutral because i know we must pay taxes. but we mustn't make it hard to do. that's a choice we've made in this body and it's the wrong one. mr. speaker, take a look at h.r. 25, the fair tax. you can find out all about it at www.fairtax.org. all the information, all the studies. we started with a blank sheet of paper. we came up with a plan that starts everyone on a level playing field and so far, mr. speaker, we've attracted enough co-sponsors on both side of the hill to make it the single most popular fundamental tax reform bill in congress. and i thank you for giving me this time this afternoon to

talk about it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: permission granted. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. happy holiday to america and let me reinforce that we live in a great country and that's

evidenced by the members of congress to come to this democratic body and the other body to speak about the values of this nation and the importance of our democracy and our responsibility to address the concerns of all americans. it is good for us to have an opportunity for dialogue and to be able to listen to each other. i know that i'll be joined shortly by the whip of this congress, mr. hoyer, so let me just quickly say i've always thought -- i remember serving in this congress when president bush was the president, and i always made the point that once we are elected, even as we come from constituency, even as we come out of tough political battles, it really is the oath that we take that ensures that we represent all of america, whether we have the glory of coming from a state that is claiming progressiveness or one

that is conservative, when we get on that trape or airplane or drive that car -- train or airplane or drive that car and come to washington, d.c., we represent all of america. so let me quickly just say that you're looking at a stack of papers that represent the approach that my republican friends took to fund the needs of the american people. under the democratic caucus and the democratic congress of last congress, we had the appropriation bills, almost 12 of them, come to the floor and members could debate all of the issues around the different bills dealing with transportation and housing and hourt and defense. they had an opportunity -- homeland security and defense. they had an opportunity to be on the floor. constituents could email and call and say what is that in this particular bill, but under this republican leadership this is what they brought us and gave us one hour to read these pages because of the emergency

of funding the american people. that's not a way to run a country. it's not democratic or republican. it's not conservative or liberal. it's just not the way. and i would offer to say that we're committed and should have done this weeks ago, extending the payroll tax cut relief, providing for 160 million working americans, extending the unemployment, helping six million americans. you see, i don't believe that those americans care whether we are conservative or republican, whether we twitter, whether we email, whether we speak on the floor of the house. they want us to abide by the oath that we take when we stand and affirm our relationship with the united states and our obligation and duty to the american people. when our soldiers who are coming home now, yesterday being the last day of war in iraq, the casing of the colors, not one soldier that i visited in iraq or afghanistan ever put up and said, i'm a republican,

i'm a democrat. every one of them were proud to be an american, and that's what we are obligated to do on this floor. you know, it sadens me to report to you and the american people, my colleagues, that the banks of america have $64 trillion in their accounts refusing to spend it, to yield -- to loan it to small businesses or to people who want to buy homes. our businesses have over $1.12 trillion in cash on hand. it sadens me to hear that businesses who are protected by our flag and our soldiers and can do business in a democratic setting just because of wanting more money, they will lift up their business and take it to another country and remove the employees who invest in this country. it sadens me. i ask the simple question, where there is a benefit, is there not burden? and i do want to correct any impression that we tax americans 90%. yes, we need tax reform, real

tax reform. we need to keep -- help americans keep money in their pockets but i can tell you out of $10 we don't take $9. we want people to be able to work and reap the benefit of their work, but may i just share with you that america's an umbrella on a rainy day, that when there are hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes, you expect us to come running and restore your communities, you expect us to take care of the dams and bridges, the highways to ensure that america's infrastructure is working, that the electric grid can withstand cyberattack, potential homeland attack, if you will. after 9/11, you asked america why and you wanted us to get busy and work together and ensure the homeland is protected, and i sit on the homeland security committee. every day our responsibility is to read the fine lines and the classified information to make sure that we are in front of the terrorists, whether it's a

lone wolf or whether or not it is a massive attack. we have been fortunate, because of our young men and women in the military, because of our intelligence community that we have not had a major attack on our soil since 9/11. that's what the government is all about. you cannot throw the baby out with the bath water. and we have some other responsibilities as well. the responsibilities of ensuring our children are safe and that we don't allow and condone sexual abuse of our children or bullying of our children. yes, you can make a national statement on that, though we want families to get help and children to get help, but the circus that is going on in penn state is so unacceptable. i've introduced legislation to stop the funding of any entity, federal funding that covers up or tolerates child sexual abuse. i've introduced legislation to make a stand against the bullying and ask communities and school districts to establish best practices to help our children and families.

and then it is important to note that we do need to have the harmony and the collegiate collaboration that really speaks of this grand place, this august institution of which we've had so many opportunities. one of our members was interviewed of one of our newspapers on the hill and he spoke eloquently as a protector of this institution, one when he was a page, and he mourned for the lack of collegiate interaction. everybody thinks it's a joke to call people names. i do not for we all come in different shapes, sizes and colors, and approximate is unfortunate that groups get condemned because of their race, because of their sex or because of where they come from, their lifestyle, their background, who they represent, who they come on the floor and attempt to advocate for. i do not in any way disallow

anyone who comes with a different perspective from one that i may be suggesting today, and that should not generate name calling. and the press loves it. they love to see us name call against each other. they make that the story of the day. they don't talk about the yellow ribbons that members wore both republican and democrat commemorating the return of our soldiers, and i personally thank them because i came to them and asked them to do so. i thank them. the speaker, the leader, the majority leader and, of course, the whip. leadership coming together to say thank you to our troops. members, why don't we as we go to our holiday season, turn ourselves around? let's not give fodder to the media who simply likes to ridicule and make us look as if we're doing nothing. whether or not i agree or disagree, i know members are in their offices and their districts and they're responding to the needs of our

constituents. and as i speak to our constituents back home as we send this bill to the president , an appropriations comes that will help you in housing, help you in transportation and the environment. it is important for our local officials, and i look forward to working with my own city of houston. let's be responsible in these dollars and make sure that the moneys get to those who are in need. so that when constituents sit back home and they see the debating going here and the ire going here and maybe some of the disagreement and they wonder, where is my help coming? we've sent it to the state. we have sent it to the cities and it's important for you to hold them accountable as to the resources that are needed to improve your quality of life. i'm here to announce, we're not going home, we're just pausing, because we have to come back and make sure the payroll tax cuts are extended for working americans so we can ensure we

don't lose 400,000 jobs and help 160 million americans, many of them the famloifs soldiers returning home. then, of course, it's important for us to ensure that the unemployed, six million of them, and some even beyond that, the 99ers who have come up against the law of no unemployment insurance are taken care of. can i just say to you, unemployment insurance is not a handout. i spoke with someone just the other day, had four boys they had to take care of, war working and now on unemployment, trying to find work, but they worked. this is their insurance. this is the wisdom of america. to not let people be abandoned. and so i would hope that we would find the collegiate ability to give the media back home and here more positive

messages to take back and not utilize, if you will, the media ways and the first amendment to ridicule an institution that so many of us hold dear, not for us being here present,s no for any personal status but we hold it dear and near because of the history of this place. so many decisions have been made, the early founding fathers had a smaller setting just outside of these chambers, but this is how we have come to be the longest lasting democracy, because we viewed this place as a place to work out our differences. and not a place to raise our differences. we've had some major crises in this country. i would like to have been here and imagined what the members were addressing in the 1929 collapse, when if you read your history books, people were jumping out of window, primarily in places where they

felt the financial impact. congress had to come together, decisions might not have been the best but they made it through the 1930's. i know my fwrarntes have spoken about what that depression was really like. then a president by the name of franklin delano roosevelt dealt with world war ii but also dealt with the dismal conditions of this nation and put america back to work to bring about the prosperity of the 1950's. i have the greatest hope that we have that potential and i know that president obama believes in job creation and has done so, three million jobs and more to come. rather than focus on a country that disregard the patriotic obligations to hire americans, and think it's so easy, and it is, we have no reason to keep

people here, but to have people say, i'm not going to suck it up, i'm not going to fall victim to greed and leave, i'm going to stay put and make sure i'm taking care of the mesh people. that's what i hope to see in this country. we all -- we all pulling ourselves together and pulling up our boot straps and making sure we have the ability to work hard and to ensure that as we work hard we can make this country a great place. that is the challenge that we have. and i might say this one thing about bailouts and investments, you don't know how excited i am and i'm not from michigan, to be able to applaud again the automobile industry, because we were right in there recognizing

that it wasn't just making cars in detroit, it was all the car dealerships and all the guys and ladies that supported the boys -- boy scouts and boys and girls clubs and little leagues that were going to be impacted. look at them now. many of them just rolling along. selling american cars again. that was the right thing to do. when we came after 9/11 and airlines came to us say, we just can't make it. and we had to extend a helping hand. i wouldn't even call it a bailout but they needed us because of the horrific tragedy and the attack, the murderous actions of 9/11. thank goodness we did it. look, there are families being reunited on america's airlines today. sometimes the government has to do what is unpopular for the greater good. yes, there are more things to do with the financial industry, there are questions to be answered about foreclosure that

still continue. there's work to be done to help our families restore their wealth. there are questions to be asked about the wealth disparity, the numbers of impoverished, the children that are literally living in poverty, the numbers of families that are on supplemental food assistance, 46 million. but for one moment, i have never thought that america was not a great country. i never doubted her. in spite of the accusations and name calling that comes about when the political process, i never doubt the greatness of america. >> will the gentlewoman yield. ms. jackson lee: i yield to the gentleman. mr. dreier: i thank my friend for yielding and i would like to join with my friend in sing this great level of dedication and patriotism in the united states does transcend party. while we disagree on a lot of somebodies, i appreciate the fact that she pointed to this

spirit of comity, i think it is key on this particular day when we have dealt in a bipartisan way with the threat of a government shutdown, we have been able to successfully avert that. the reason i ask my friend to yield is we met in the rule committees until early this morning, i have been going for the last couple of days and i just heard over the past several hours of the passing of a good friend of mine who was one of the greatest essayists and wit cysts of our time and when i heard the news of christopher hitchens' passing, i was struck with what a dedicated and -- patriotic individual he was. i suspect he would have disagreed with my friend on the issue of dealing with radical islam but it's one of the things that brought the two of us together and he and i over the last decade-plus have spent a great deal of time talking

about that and other international policy issues but if one looks at the piece the series he wrote in vanity -- in "vanity fair" when he was diagnosed with cancer, again, christopher hitchens and i didn't agrea on every issue but i enjoyed the exchanges and time i was able to spend with him and of course have been fascinated by his works. i think that the world is a better place for christopher hitchens having lived and obviously we're saddened by his passing and i want to say to his wife and daughters that our thoughts, i hesitate to say prayers when it comes to christopher, because he was a very committed atheist, but i will say that our thoughts and since we have them, our prayers are with the members of the hitchens family and to say that

his works, because he was such a great writer, will continue for years and years to come to fascinate and intrigue and create the kind of intellectual curiosity that is necessary and so i'd just like to say i'm saddened by the passing of my friend, christopher hitchens and certainly have had my life improved and bettered by his having lived. i thank my friend for yielding. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman for joining me, i think you being on the floor ened kates the bipartisanship. let me also indicate my concern and sympathy to christopher hitchens' family. that speaks to my point of coming together and being able to share and yield to a gentleman from the other party.

that's how we should go forward as we come back to vote positively on the payroll tax extension next week and stay here until it is done and of course the unemployment insurance, but going forward in 2012, to answer some of the cries of many of those who have taken to our streets throughout america, who have asked us about jobs, the occupy movement that have been just americans, i call them americans, who have taken up the constitutional privilege of petitioning their government. so mr. speaker, i want to make a commitment that our work will be focused on action and make the second part of the 112th congress equal what we did in the 111th with pay parity, with the g.i. bill, with the affordable health care bill and so many other items that were

so valuable to this country. when i say that legislative initiatives. let me also say to the american public and our local communities, i think -- you know someone else is calling or emailing but this is what democracy is all about. we want to hear from you on these issues of how we come together, not how we come together but the porps of doing so and working on issues and whether or not you appreciate the concept of where there's benefit there's burden, there's sacrifice, whether or not you think it's important that there are not homeless veterans or soldiers coming back who can't work, whether or not we want to encourage corporations who have cash on hand to realize what a wonderful, patriotic nation they live in and to be able to work and ensure that we have the ability to do the job that is necessary to be done. i know that mr. hoyer was

coming to the floor and -- so let me just say to mr. hoyer, who will be coming to you in just a while to again assure the working people of america that this congress will have the payroll tax extended and the president will sign it as we note that we has said every day that he wants to sign it and will sign it. let me say to the unemployed, i know that the unemployment insurance allows you to take your mortgage and to pay your rent and to pay your necessities but let me commit to you that we are looking to create jobs, more jobs, many network -- in america. i expect to be introducing legislation that will help the energy industry reduce the deficit, repair our coastal

waters and ecosystems, make sure that we are responding to the loss of wetlands and the deterioration by hurricanes that have come on that gulf region there, to restore the healthy fishing waters, but as well to develop natural gas and the ability to utilize the present exploration that generates resources for the american people. this is a season of giving and i only want that america be known for the benevolent nation but strong and valiant in her values and of course respecting her military but the military based upon a civilian-led government that focuses on democracy, equality and justice. i say to my colleagues, let's come back here next week to finish our job. but 2012, let it be the no name

calling session and let us focus on what we do for others, what we do for americans and let it not be as a progressive or conservative but as an american. that's the call for this nation to come and stand as an american. mr. speaker, it's been my privilege to share my thoughts with my colleagues an hope that as this legislation be signed by the president, although it has had a very difficult journey and i would have wanted a more expanded debate, we're glad that we are serving america and let us be prepared to roll up our sleeves to do so in the coming everyly days of 2012. thank you very much, mr. speaker, and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert for 30 minutes.

mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. appreciate the comments of my colleague from texas. my sister in faith. i know we get carried away sometimes in worrying about different bills. there's a lot to be concerned about. but looking at our nation's history from whence we've come gives us a better glimpts of where we should be going. and at this time, as congress has for decades, many, many

generations, we are about to have a christmas recess. and so debating back and forth, fussing back and forth because of the season and also with due deference to the things my friend from texas said, it is important to take note of whose we are and our history just as our founders did. got a back here. william federer. a wonderful gentleman,'s put together so many great books. this is called "prayers and presidents, inspiring faith from leaders of the past," and it's noteworthy. i was four years in the army and i never saw an order like

this. but right now we're debating whether or not chap lanes should -- chaplains should be forced to marry people that they know in their hearts violates their christian teaching, their christian beliefs and our constitution was not supposed to do that. and it's interesting to note that the order from the commander in chief of the revolutionary military, may 2, 1778, to the troop at valley forge was as follows and i'm quoting. the commander in chief says that divine service be performed every sunday at 11:00 in each brigade which has a chaplain. those brigades, which have none, will attend the places of choreship nearest to them. it is -- worship nearest to them. it is expecked that officers of all ranks whereby their attendance set an example for

their man. while we are zealously performing the duties of soldiers, we certainly not ought to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. to the distinguished character of patriot, it should be our highest glory to have the more distinguished character of christian. that was the order of george washington in 1778 to our troops. it's also worth noting that when he did what no man has ever done in the history of the world before or since, that was lead a military in revolution when the revolution and then attend to his resignation and go home, in essence, committing i've done what you asked, you've gave me all power, i'm giving it all back. at the end of that resignation was a prayer, and i'll read

part of the prayer from george washington. this was 1783, june 14. the end of his resignation was threes words -- almighty god, we make our earnest prayer that you will keep the united states in our holy protection. he goes on and says, and finally thou will most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and demean ourselves without charity, humility and specific temper of mind which were the characteristics of the divine author of our blessed religion and without a humble imitation of whose examples in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. that was george washington in resigning as no one had done before. in fact, king george when he

was told washington was resigning didn't believe him. he didn't believe that that would happen. he said nobody would do that. in fact, he said, if washington were to do that he would be the greatest man alive. he was. he was indeed. it is also noteworthy -- because in figuring out where we're going from here, and especially in this christmas season, we need to know where we came from. 1789, george washington said this in writing -- may the same wonder working diety who long since delivering the hebrews from their egyptian oak pressers delivered them in the promised land whose agency has lately been conspicuous in establishing these united

states as an independent nation , still continue to water them with the dues of heaven and to make the inhabitants of every denomination participate in the temporal and spiritual blessings of that people whose god is jehova. george washington. there may be the gentleman from maryland that follows me. if not these may be the last special orders before the christmas break, and i think with all the debate that goes back and forth, this is critically important to note. who said what while we were being founded? thomas jefferson said these words in 1781, and it's inscribed on the jefferson memorial. jefferson said, god who gave us life gave us liberty. and account liberties of a

nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of people that these liberties are the gift of god? that they are not to be violated but with his wrath. indeed, i tremble for my country when i reflect that god is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. think of those words as i know that in the county right next to my home county there are people, a group, freedom from religion, that is doing all they can to have a nativity scene removed that is a part of the history of athens, texas. thomas jefferson also said these words, and i quote, i am a christian in the sense and the only sense in which he wished anyone to be sincerely attached to his doctrines and preference to all others. jefferson said, i shall need to

-- i need to the favor of that being and whose hands we are who led our fore fathers aziz real of old from their -- as israel of old from their native land in a country with the confidence of life. i was on fox news last week with my friend, eric bolling, the gentleman from wisconsin, who said christians are a hateful group, it's a hate religion, not understanding our history, not understanding this observation this time of year, not so much that we designate truly december 25 was the day when jesus was born but that it has been traditionally a date where we remembered his birth. james madison had plenty to say. in part in one of his national day of public humiliation and prayer proclamations he said,

if the public homage of a people can be ever worthy of a favorable regard of the holy and omniscient being to whom it is addressed it shall be guided by the free choice, by the impulse of their hearts and the dictates of their consciouses and such a spectacle must be interesting to all christian nations as proving that religion that gift of heaven for the good of men. abraham lincoln, september 5, 1864, said in regard to this great book, talking about a bible, i have but to say i believe the bible is the best gift god gave to man. all the good savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. but for this book we would not

know right from wrong. all things must desirable for man's welfare here and hereafter are to be found portrayed in it, the bible. so it's interesting that now a place where so many christian groups came to avoid persecution, we're about to come full circle. now we have people, groups like just in the recent days, they're on television telling me as a christian i'm a member of a hate group. he understands not what washington understood, jefferson understood, madison understood. and how about the only president to have ever been elected congress -- to congress and been elected president and to have been appointed to the supreme court? in fact, he was chief justice of the supreme court.

that was william howard taft. william howard taft, a chief justice of the supreme court, said these words in 1908. he said no man can study the movement of modern civiliation from an imparblee standpoint and not real -- imparblee standpoint and not realize that the spread of christianity is the basis of hope of modern civiliation and the growth of popular self-government. our only member of congress who was also president who was also chief justice said this, the spirit of christianity is pure democracy. it is equality of man before god, the equality of man before the law which is, as i understand it, the most god-like manifestation that man has been able to make. william howard taft.

franklin d. roosevelt said these words on december 24, 1933, because he believed the christian religion, not to be a hate religion, as so many are now saying, so many are trying to persecute. franklin d. roosevelt said this, this year -- and it is important to understand this is in a terrible time of depression. roosevelt said, this year marks a greater national understanding of the significance in our modern lives of the teaching of him, and he capitalized him, whose birth we celebrate. to more and more of us the words, quote, thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself-, unquote, is taking on a meaning and purposes in our daily lives. may the practice of that high

ideal grow in us all in the year to come. i give you and send you one and all, old and young a merry christmas and a truly happy new year. and so for now and for always, god bless us, everyone. the words of franklin roosevelt. roosevelt also said this in 1941, just two weeks exactly after the horror of pearl harbor's sneak attack. franklin roosevelt said this, sincere and faithful, men and women are asking themselves this christmas, how can we light our trees? how can we give our gifts? how can we meet and worship

with love and with uplifted spirit and heart in a world at war? a world of fighting and suffering and death? roosevelt went on, how can we pause even for a day, even for christmas day in our urgent labor of arming a decent humanity against the enemies which bessette it? how can we put the world aside as men and women, put the world aside in peaceful years to rejoice in the birth of christ? franklin roosevelt went on. he said, looking into the days to come, i have set aside a day of prayer, and in that proclamation i have said, the year, 1941, has brought upon our nation a war of aggression by powers dominated by arrogant rulers whose selfish purpose is to destroy free institutions. they would thereby take from

the freedom-loving peoples of the earth the hard one liberties gained over many centuries. the new year of 1942 calls for the courage, our strength as the strength of all men everywhere is of greater avail as god upholds us. he said, i therefore do hereby appoint the first day of the year, 1942, as a day of prayer, of asking foregive n for our shortcomings of the past, of the task of the president of asking god's help in day's to come. we need his and roosevelt capitalized his, we need his guidance that this people may be humble in spirit but strong in the conviction of the right, steadfast to endure sacrifice and brave to achieve victory of liberty and peace. he says, our strongest weapon in this war is that conviction

of the dignity and brotherhood of man which christmas day signifies against enemies who preach the principles of hate and practice them, we set our faith in human love and in god's care for us and all men everywhere. a year later, exactly, frank lynne roosevelt said, to you who serve in uniform, i send a message of cheer that you are in the thoughts of your families an friends at home and that christmas prayers follow you wherever you may be, to all americans, i say that loving our neighbor as we love ourselveses is not enough. that we as a nation and as individuals will please god best by showing regard for the laws of god. there's no better way of fostering good will toward men

than by first fostering good will toward god. and then franklin roosevelt quotes from john 14:15, he said, if we love him, we will keep his commandments. in sending christmas greetings to the armed forces and merchant sailors of the united nations, we include therein our pride in prayer bravery on the fighting fronts and on all the seas. it is significant that tomorrow, christmas day, our plants and factories will be stilled, that it is not true of the other holidays we have long been accustomed to celebrate. on all other holidays, work goes on gladly for the winning of the war. so christmas day becomes the only holiday in all the year, i like to think that this is so because christmas is a holy day , may it -- may all it stands

for live and grow throughout the years. might be worth hearing from john kennedy, december, 1962, approximately a year before he was assassinated, john kennedy said these words -- at this season, this time, with the lighting of this tree, which is an old ceremony in washington, one which has been among the most important responsibilities of a good many presidents of the united states, we initiate in a formal way the christmas season. we mark the festival of christmas, which is the most sacred and hopeful day in our civilization, for nearly 2,000 years, the message of christmas, the message of peace and good will toward men, has been the guiding star of our endeavors. i had a meeting which included some of our representatives from far off countries in africa and asia. they were returning to their posts for the christmas

holidays. talking to them, i was struck by the fact that in the far-off continents, muslims, hindureks buddhists, as well as christians pause from their labors on the 25th of december to sell pate the berth day of the prince of peace. kennedy went on and said, there could be no more striking proof that christmas is truly the universal holiday of all men, it is the day when all of us dedicate our thoughts to others, when all are reminded that mercy and compassion with the enduring virtues, when all show by small deeds and by acts that it is more blessed to give than to receive. it is the day when we remind ourselveses that man can and must live in peace with his neighbors and that it is the peacemakers who are truly blessed. in this year of 1962, we greet each other at christmas with some special sense of the blessings of peace. this has been a year of peril when the peace has been sorely

threatened. but it has been a year when peril was faced, when reason ruled. as a result we may talk at this christmas just a little bit more confidently of peace on earth, good will to men. as a result, the hopes of the american people are perhaps a little higher. we have much yet to do. we still need to ask god to bless everyone. and then finally, i was asked last year to write a story, personal story, about a previous christmas season. i would like to share that. it can be found at human events, entitled answered prayer from december 25, 2010. mother had become so very impulsive, you never knew what she might do next. this brilliant woman in her younger years had put herself

through baylor university in less than three years while working full time, was a member of an honor society and had spent most of her professional life as an eighth grade english teacher. she had prided herself on being able to solve almost any puzzle, answer most any question and now it was she who was puzzled by lots of things. she got disoriented and was going crazy thinking she might be going crazy. in fact a local doctor in our town of east texas told dad if she got much worse she might need to be put in a home or institution. that drove her even crazier. amidst the other perplexing conditions she thought she was not hearing out of one ear. but that was a minor thing so she didn't pursue answers for a long time. eventually deshe decided to go the 60 miles to longview, texas, have a hearing checkup with an ear-nose-throat

specialist named dr. norman whose only other contact with her family was about 14 years before that when he diagnosed a hearing problem for me when i was 8 years old. he ran tests and did x-rays of mother but was baffled. he said she had lost most of her hearing in her right ear and he expected to find a small tumor in her inner ear but the x-rays showed nothing. they didn't show there was a tumor at the normal spot. she had a hearing loss but he had no idea why. she went home feeling that at least there was something wrong with her that was not psychosomatic. nonetheless her depression, anxietying loss of balance, impetchwossity, all kept getting worse and she knew it. as fall was heading toward christmas, mother was heading for disaster. that was what she feared the most. as did my father, my oler

sister susan, my two younger brothers, david and bill, along with me. several months after her office visit, with dr. norman, my brilliant mother was overwhelmed in a way none of us could help this smart woman who read us all bible stories from our earliest age who loved to recite poetry from memory, jokes and stories, was having trouble remembering those. it was not just age taking its toll on this 50-year-old mother. one night she could not sleep. that was not unusual. but she got on her knees and began to pray. this was a regular habit for this staunch christian a southern baptist, in fact. but that night it was in complete desperation and hopelessness. she prayed in essence, lord you know i would not take my own life but i cannot live another day like thisky not go on.

you have to do something. please, help me. my youngest brother bill was the only sibling still living at home at the time. he said he awoke, got up, saw a light on, went up to the living room, he saw mom and worriedly asked, are you all right? she said, yes, son, i'm fine, go back to bed. he did, she prayed a while longer, eventually drifting down the hall to fall in bed beside our father. the next morning, mother slept late until the phone rang. since dad was already at work, mother answered, it was the ear doctor. dr. norman. who had seen her once many months before but with whom there had been no contact since. he said, ms. gohmert, this is dr. norman over in longview. i woke up in the middle of the night thinking about you. and just wanted to call and see if your problems have gotten

any better. mother told him no, she'd actually thought she was worse. he said, that's why he had awakened and that's what he'd awakened thinking and he wanted to send her to a neurologist fren of his at baylor hospital in dallas and let him run tests until they figured out what was wrong with her. mother and dad did not have a lot of money then but they readily agreed to do just that. dr. norman was not a fren of the family but -- and had not seen mother in many months, we did not have common friends, but he was prove den rblely usable and awoke with mother on his mind. almost a week of testing and nothing showed until they finally tried a new machine, new at that time, called a c.t. or cat scan. it revealed a small walnut sized tumor just inside the skull above her left ear. mother was elated when she told us the results. we were all heart sick but not mother.

she was so excited because she knew it was a physical problem, she wasn't just going crazy. what was more, she knew, as we all did, god had answered her prayer. from there, she could handle whatever happened. the doctor at baylor, concerned abthe sensitive area of the brain in which the tumor was located referred her to a neurosurgeon friend at the mayo clinic and again, she and dad did what they had to. surgery scheduled shortly after christmas when the neurosurgeon went in, he found the tumor was more like grapefruit size instead of the walnut size, it involved a great deal of the brain and could not be entirely removed. we were told late it -- later it would grow back, maybe a year, maybe 20, no one knew. fom felt that was ok. through it all she found her amazing sense of humor again as well. her surgeon was concerned that he had traumatized the nerves

of part of her brain and it could have materially affected her abilities. he told the nurse it was imperative he watch her come out from under the anesthesia so he would have a better idea of the damage that might have occurred. he was a lerted and -- alerted and was at the stoost -- foot of the bed when she opened her eyes and she met his eyes, he said, do you know who i am? she looked at him and said, if you don't know who you are, you're worse off than i am. she still had her 15 -- her sense of humor. it took 15 years for the tumor to grow back. it grew back big enough to take her life. in the last few years, and the last few years were tough. half of her face did sag a bit, causing many to think mother might have had a stroke but that, too, did not matter as much as the fact that mother's

prayer had been answered. she and we all had a god who listened to our prayers and answered them. christmas was rather special that year, it was before surgery. so none of us knew what lay ahead for mother or our family from there. but everyone seemed a little closer, loved a little deeper, hugged a little longer, had had fewer squabbles and appreciated everything a little more. 2,000 years after god gave us jesus, he was and is still in the business of answering prayer just as george washington, thomas jefferson, james madison, the presidents

throughout our history, abraham lincoln, on up to the present day have acknowledged. mr. speaker, as so often occurred in the first 100 years of this country's history in this building, i close with a verse of scripture as so many in congress used to do. psalm 116-1-2. -- psalm 116:1-2. i love the lord because he has heard my voice and my supplication, because he has inclined his ear to me, therefore i will call upon him as long as i live. merry christmas, happy holidays to others who are offended by merry christmas. but as franklin roosevelt said, god bless us all, every one, merry christmas. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the

chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, ms. norton, for 30 minutes. ms. norton: thank you, mr. speaker. i come to make a few remarks about the 2012 omnibus appropriation conference report just passed and about one part of that report that had no place in any conference report or any house appropriations bill. i refer, of course, to the part of that report called the d.c. appropriation bill. for all of the contention in this congress, as we look at the 2012 omnibus appropriation, there are certainly much more

democrats to be relieved -- much for democrats to be relieved about. there was a wholesale attack in the beginning of this congress on everything from education to clean energy, but in the end, because democrats know how to fight for what the american people tell them to fight for, health care reform was saved. wall street reform was saved. clean energy was saved. job traping was saved. n.p.r., the national public radio, was not defunded. planned parenthood, which offers reproductive services throughout our country, was not defunded. and title 10, family planning,

was not defunded. the national habe relations board -- labor relations board can continue on its rules concerning union elections. and these are only some of the many ingredients in this omnibus report that led democrats to vote for it because it contained much -- for them to be proud of. appropriations, the kind of give and take there should have been more of during the -- this congress. there were some things in this appropriation bill for the nation that i do not support and that democrats generally do

not support. still, this bill was far more bipartisan than any bill that has come before the 112th congress. there, of course, was the d.c. appropriation. from anywhere in america, the words d.c. appropriations do not sound like on the house floor. this is a place where we deal with the nation's business, not the business of any local jurisdiction. but, of course, there are aknack rowmisms here -- anacronisms here, there are intruces here dealing with the district of columbia -- intrusions here dealing with the district of columbia. this was not a total loss for

the district. the bill funded our top three priorities. the extraordinary d.c. tuition grant program, the department of homeland security headquarters. now going up in ward eight a part of our city where there is great unemployment, where this construction is doing a great deal of good. and funding for hiv-aids prevention in the district of columbia. i want to thank my good friends , mrs. emerson, and mr. serrano, particularly for the hiv-aids funding, for education and prevention. this funding was included in the president's bill, pu it didn't have to be in -- but it

didn't have to be in our appropriation, and indeed it was not in either the house or senate appropriation. i asked these two appropriators if they could possibly see to it that this funding was included because the district has the highest hiv-aids rate in the united states in part because of the needle exchange rider. well, this doesn't have to deal with the needle exchange rider. this has to do with making sure there is money for prevention and education. so i want to thank mrs. emerson, and i want to thank mr. serrano because together they saw to it that this funding was in the bill, and i certainly want to thank mrs. emerson for the bipartisanship she has shown ever since she

has been on the committee that handles the d.c. appropriation, even in those occasions where she and i are in disagreement, she's always open to hearing from us. i am equally -- i'm equally glad that the d.c. tag program was funded. thousands of our children are going to colleges throughout the united states. on funding from the federal government make up for the fact that the district of columbia does not have a state university system. had this funding been shut off it would have been a catastrophe for those in college and those preparing to go to college and, of course, i mentioned the department of homeland security headquarters.

they had that headquarter a priority for this administration and the prior administration. it's a prior for the district of columbia because so many of the jobs will go to those in this region and of course in the district of columbia. we are justifiablely angry about the d.c. appropriation rider that was again placed on this appropriation for the second year in a row. despite an energetic campaign from many of our allies, district residents as well as to eliminate this rider. i see that my good friend, mr. hoyer, has come to the floor. while there is a great deal more i want to say about this

bill and how it affects the district of columbia, it is with pleasure that i yield to my good friend, the whip, such time as he may desire. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. i want to join her in saying that there were some minuses in this bill. the minuses in this bill historically has been as it relates to the district of columbia that the congress has treated the district of columbia as its own possession as opposed to an independent political yours diction and has been granted home rule. and the congress ought to honor that home rule. and as we urge democracies around the world or dictatorships in the world to

honor the views of their people , the congress of the united states ought to honor the wishes of the people of the district of columbia. and i always lament when we put in these individual provisions. i also want to say to the gentlelady from the district of columbia how outstanding a job she does representing this jurisdiction in which we have the capital of our own country. the only capital of a free world company whose citizens do not have a representative in their parliament who has the authority and privilege of voting. it's a lamentable fact that ms. norton, who is speaking to us today, this afternoon, does not have that vote. and all of us ought to recognize that's a blight on our democracy. but i congratulate her on

representing the district of columbia in such an extraordinarily positive fashion even without the vote and it would be awesome of what she could do in addition to that with a vote. and i rise as well to make a couple of comments, mr. speaker, about the business that is pending before this congress. we have passed an omnibus appropriation bill. this bill that is on the desk here, 1,207 pages, reported out last night, a conference report. i urged support of that bill, but it was not, of course, consistent with the pledges that were made to do appropriations bills discreetly. that is one after another. difficult to do that, unfortunately. the way we should do it, but we didn't do it this year and we

have not done it in years' past under democrat and republican leadership. but i am concerned, mr. speaker, that we have some critically unfinished business pending in the congress of the united states. we passed a bill here through the house some days ago which provided for the extension of the payroll tax cut that we gave to 160 million americans last year. our economy is still not as robust as we want it to be. and the president of the united states has said, let's continue that tax cut for middle-income americans. we have not done that yet. and unfortunately the bill that we passed through the house had items in it that obviously the

senate do not agree with. the majority leader tried to put that bill on the floor for consideration by the senate, and the minority leader objected to that consideration so it has not moved. in addition to the middle class tax cut, we must not leave washington without providing for the extension of the unemployment insurance. this great nation, this wealthy nation should not abandon those who cannot find work through no fault of their own. if we do not act, millions of americans may go off unemployment insurance to help pay their housing bills and continuing to afford to look for work. in the month of february, another two million will find

themselves similarly situated. lastly, we must pass an extension of the compensation of doctors who are serving medicare patients. es that critical to do so -- that is critical to do so we can ensure health care for our seniors, there isn't a member of congress who doesn't want to see that happen or at least none who say want to see that happen, so i want to join mississippi norton as we stand -- want to join ms. norton as we stand here today as we're leaving for the weekend, but i also want to call the house's attention to a concern that i have. the majority leader, eric cantor, announced to us the schedule this afternoon and said that we would not be meeting today, later in the day after our business, which has now concluded.

we would not be meeting saturday and sunday and we may come back on the 19th, which is monday. now, one of the things i was concerned about is he said on the floor, it is difficult to predict if or when we need to return. now, he meant by that that he wasn't sure when the senate was going to act. i understand his meaning. but i will tell you, mr. speaker, that i hope the american people will demand that we return and that they will demand that we act before we adjourn sine die, before we conclude this first session of congress. yes, christmas is coming. hanukkah, kwanza, other celebrations, but there will be no celebration for those people who cannot find work and who

believe that the support system that this country has extended to them will be ripped out from under them. so i am here on the floor to join my colleague in talking about the omnibus appropriation bill to say i am pleased that we passed it. it will keep our government operating. it has not yet passed but hopefully in the next 48 hours the senate will have acted. hopefully in the next 24 on the conference report and we'll get ready to send it to the president. but i am very hopeful that all 435 members of this house that all 100 members of the united states senate are committed to the proposition that we will not leave this town, that we will not abandon our responsibilities to assure the adoption of the

three measures which i have rernsed. -- referenced. the middle class tax cut which will affect 160 million americans. i frankly think we should pay for that with a slight surcharge. not a sacrifice, just an additional contribution by some of the best off in america. not because of class warfare but because they want, i'm sure, to help. -- help their fellow citizens who need help. not leave here without making sure that that middle class tax cut continues, that unemployment insurance is available and that doctors will be compensated. so i thank the gentlelady for yielding for this comment. and in closing let me say that i wear a yellow ribbon. there's a great song about tie a

yellow ribbon around the great oak tree. we wore that yellow ribbon for the troops that have been overseas, defending freedom, in harm's way. we wore that yellow ribbon to remind them of how pleased we are that so many of them are coming home. the president has met his commitment to end our participation in the war in iraq. and bringing our troops home. we welcome them home. we honor them for their service. and we pledge to them our continuing care for their needs resulting from their service. and i thank the gentlelady for yielding this time, to call our attention to the important work that is yet to be done in this first session of this congress. and i yield back. ms. norton: thank you, mr. hoyer. it was a very special pleasure

to yield to a man who is second in our own -- among our own democrats here in the house. and i think that it was particularly appropriate as we close out this session for our democratic whip, our democratic leader, to come to the floor to remind us of unfinished business . it was a great pleasure to be able therefore to give time to mr. hoyer who speaks for us all and i thank him for speaking not only to the nation's business but speaking to the business of the district of columbia. he never neglects the city, he has been a great champion of the district and freedom for the nation's capital. mr. hoyer essentially spoke about the unfinished business.

i opened relieved at what the democrats were able to accomplish in this conference report. when you consider that almost everything of great priority for us was you understand attack. so, yes, we are relieved, but what mr. hoyer has reminded us about this evening is that there is unfinished business that should not allow congress to go home to celebrate its own person -- personal christmas with a clear conscience until they deal with this part of the nation's business. the payroll tax that will go up unless we extend it, unemployment insurance for six million people, these would have been routine, these ingredients, the payroll tax, for example,

that economists tell us are essential to keep the economy from collapsing because that tax is going to be instantly spent. and if that payroll tax goes up instead of staying out, there will be a full 1% decrease in the shallow or already shallow growth of the economy. unemployment insurance does precisely the same thing. for every four people looking for a job there's only one job available today. who would want to deny unemployment insurance? and as for medicare, we already have too many physicians unwilling to take medicare patients. the last thing we want to do is

to leave that situation so that so many of our seniors would have nobody to go to. mr. speaker, four residents were arrested this morning in front of the longworth building to protest congressional actions to keep the district from spending its own local funds as it sees fit, in this case for abortion services for low income women. no one asked these residents to do it, there was a picket line. i went to longworth there on independence avenue, joined the picket line, left, and then was informed that four people had decided to engage in civil disobedience in order to leave the congress with a message that we will never go away quietly so

long as you treat the residents of the district of columbia as second class citizens. these four joined 73 or is it 72 who were arrested the first time that the congress attempted this very rider. they have been successful in this sense. while there is one rider, the abortion rider, there are no more. and yet they were -- there were attempts to put more riders, more attachments, at odds with what the residents of the district of columbia themselves have enacted. and those were not added. there were riders that would have kept the district from using needle exchange programs,

indispensable to eliminating the spread of hiv-aids. there were promise riders on the district's marriage equality law. and there was a promised rider to eliminate all of the district's gun safety laws. because district residents did not go silently the last time, we have been able to beat back those riders. we are relieved that the federal government didn't shut down because the district government would have shut down on friday had the federal government shut down, although the district of columbia is no part of this fight. the district's local budget was passed months ago. however, the congress treats the

district paternalistically and makes it bring its budget to people who know nothing about its budget and have contributed nothing to its budget in order for the congress, people from other districts, to sign off on the local budget of a city not their own. so, because the district of columbia budget was locked within one of the appropriations and almost none of them had in fact been passed, the district faced a possible shutdown. i have had a bill here pending for many months to the effect that if the government shuts down, the district can continue to spend its own local funds. that bill has not passed. it is amazing to even

contemplate the possibility that the local government would have been shut down over issues having nothing to do with the local government. there is only one way to avoid that problem and it is a way that we are making at least some progress on. and that is to give the city the right to pass its own budget and be done for it. we are pleased that there is some interest in this issue, especially the bill, mr. issa of california -- the bill mr. issa of california has introduced to allow budget autonomy. a bill that mirrors my own in many ways with of course the deference his bill gives to the congress, but it would go a long way toward avoiding shutdowns, toward allowing the district

when it in fact passes its own budget timely and balanced, to go forward. to have its budget done before school opens, to avoid having to pay a premium on wall street because the congress forces the city to bring its budget to the congress thereby creating uncertainty for those who hold our bonds. so there is a way and it is a way that we will never give up until we get that way. may i ask how many -- how much time remains? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady has three minutes remaining. ms. norton: so as the residents of the district of columbia look at the national appropriation, they will see -- the national

conchings report, they will have much -- conference report, they will have much to be grateful for because the wholesale attack on everything from education to health care reform did not succeed. yes, there were some extraordinary and important, very good things in the d.c. appropriation, even as the city's in anguish, that the congress would dictate to the city how it must spend its own local funding, so the city is justifiably angry that there was one rider, one amendment at odds with our own law forced upon us in the way of authoritarian governments. at the same time, other riders that would have been terribly destructive we were able to

fight off. and the funding was in fact saltory and mindful of the needs of the nation and of the city, especially the funding of the homeland security headquarters in ward eight, a ward with a high unemployment rate, d.c. tag which is the bill that allows our children to go to state colleges around the country because we do not have a state university system, and we are especially appreciative again of the funding for hiv-aids, to engage in education and prevention in a city that has a high aids rate. the appropriation committee has tried to overcome the partisanship of the 112th congress. it did so to a fair extent on

the general conference report and it certainly did so on our report, on our appropriation, the d.c. appropriation, notwithstanding, notwithstanding those -- the issues that we will continue to take with our appropriation. until our appropriation is ours alone. our appropriation, our money. my thanks to those who in civil protest, civil disobedience, were arrested this morning because of the rider on the d.c. appropriation. and my thanks as well to the hunger strikers who for the first time in the 210-year history of the district of columbia made a very special sacrifice as d.c. residents to indicate how intolerable it is for 600,000 residents of the nation's capital to be treated as second-class citizens.

happy holidays to all members of the house, may we have a bipartisan year next year. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlelady from washington. ms. norton: mr. speaker, i ask that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands adjourned until

>> from lectures in history, a professor rees first hand accounts from former female slaves. the american story, this saturday. >> next, at mitt romney from earlier today on his jobs plan on the u.s. economy. he also gave his support for religious displays to be put up on public land. this program is 50 minutes.

♪ ♪ >> hello. i will spare you my old jokes. i will share with you a couple of quick thoughts. i will introduce mitt romney in a moment. i had a chance to meet a 10-year old boy. he came up to me. he gave me his theory about how

we can grow jobs in the united states. he said this. if you keep the taxes low, people will have more money. if people have more money, they will buy more things. if they buy more things, businesses will be busier. if businesses are busier, they will hire more people. those people have more money. and then he said, and so on and so on. we should not have a little boy know more about jobs in the economy than president obama. [applause] at sure that story with you because we have someone running for president who in my view is the most capable and knowledgeable candidate in this field by far. one of the pressing issues that is facing our economy is how to

grow jobs. the answer to that is not best answered by politicians in washington, d.c. at the answer is to go to people who have outgrown businesses and provided jobs. mitt romney is the only candidates in this race who has done this in his entire life by investing in businesses and growing them and provided jobs. when you talk to people in iowa and minnesota and across the country, would ask them what they care most about, they always say things like i am worried about my health care premiums. i am worried about whether my children will be able to go to college and afford it. i am worried about whether i will still keep my job. i grew up in a meat-packing town.

i saw firsthand what it means about the power of the family to have opportunity through jobs. the gentleman you'll hear from in a few minutes is the best one by far to lead this economy back to a great one. before he comes up, some of you have heard the old saying. the best sermons and not to just preached, they are laid. it means there is a difference between talking the talk and walking the walk. mitt romney has led a life of integrity and service. these are individuals of incredible character. i am proud that people of this character and integrity would step forward and say they want

to lead this country. these are two wonderful amazing people. their hearts and heads are connected. i am proud to support them. i hope you will support them in the iowa caucuses and coming up. this would and will be a fabulous first lady of the united states. >> thank you. i look at these bases and you could be at other places this morning doing other things. christmas is around the corner. i appreciate that you are here. he talked about his upbringing and his family. all of us have our own stories. i have my own story. my father grew up in wales.

there was very little bread on the table at times in my father's life. they struggled. my grandfather had a terrible coal mining accident. he came to america for opportunity. i feel many times as if i have one foot still in wales. at the close to those lives and the difficulties that they experienced. we are all close in many ways. we share many things. we are worried about america right now. many of us recognize that america is heading in the wrong direction. the sacrifices that our ancestors made and that we are making to make sure that your children have all the opportunities in the world, we worry about those things. mitt romney and i are running,

he is the one who is really running, but i am supporting him, it is not about us. it is about america. this country is the hope of the earth. it needs to remain that way. i feel strongly that there is only one person that truly can turn this country around and keep america the way we think it should be. it should be the hope of the earth. i am thrilled to be here. let's hear from mitt romney. [applause] >> i see you have constructed a stage this morning. look at this thing. what do we have here? looks like about 20 different pieces of steel.

we were on a stage higher than this a few years ago. it had two parts. my wife was on one side. her side collapses. she falls down. i turned to her and ask her, what do you think? she said she fell on her butt i. we are not worried about that this morning. [laughter] i hope you appreciate this building and what it represents. good men and women have jobs as a result of the people who have built this. it is not just an outside this building. it is the thinking and innovation that made this building a reality.

those jobs are associated with a number of things that make it work. >> if any one of those things stopped working, those jobs would be done. what is happening here is happening in places all over the country. this is how i spent my life is in businesses like this learning how they work and trying to make them better, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. ann didn't tell the story. as soon as she walked in the room, she said this reminds me of jared. that was her dad's company, just like this. it was a steel fab shop. they made specialty parts and so forth, largely for the u.s. navy and the ship builders. they made various parts. they did well. you might look into that. there are a lot of opportunities there. so as she came in, she smelled the smell and looked around, yeah, this is like jared. i knew how much that meant to her. let me tell you why i think this happens, how is it that industries happen, jobs occur. it goes back to something about the american spirit.

my dad was born in mexico and ann's dad born in wales, similar in some respects in what happens to their lives. my dad's family came back to the united states. they were american citizens. they came back several years after he was born, i think five or six years. his dad was a contractor and construction goes up and down and so now and then, they wanted a business that went bankrupt. my dad was a carpenter. it was a drywall carpenter, never got the time or the money to get a college degree, but he didn't think that would prevent him from realizing his dreams and he ultimately became head of a car company. and then became governor of a state. he believed in america and believed in america the circumstance of your birth doesn't prevent you from accomplishing what you might want to achieve. he came into the company he was going to run called american motors. they made ramblers and jeeps.

i see a couple of nodding heads right there, all right. did you have a rambler? >> a gremlin. >> a gremlin, oh, i'm sorry! [laughter] >> it was not our finest hour. but he came in and the company's stock, the chief executive of the company, a fellow named george mason passed away and my dad was suddenly made the new head of the company and the stock collapsed and i remember mom and dad talking about whether the banks would provide ongoing financing or whether the company might not survive. my dad went around and convinced the banks and the employees that the company was good and he brought in a new idea. they were making great big cars called in additions and hudsons. and they made it a year before called the nash rambler. he thought that was the future. he introduced that car.

he brought that car become. he did that when george mason was still alive. they increasingly focused their company on the small car. he called it a come pact car and he coined that term, the compact car. my english teacher in high school would say to me, your dad is ruining the english language. i said why? he said it's not compact. a compact is what a woman uses to powder her nose. my dad coined the term compact car and helped selling the ramblers and helped turn the company along. as a result, a lot of them had a lot of good jobs for a long, long time. innovation, risk taking, vision , that's the nature of what allows a place like this to be in business. some years ago you were a fab shop here as i understand it. business got real tough and the margins got squeezed more and

more until it looked like the business wouldn't be able to survive. somebody had an idea to come up with a slagger? who was that it was all these guys, people from the shop said why don't we make cutting tables? why don't we create this thing and sell it around the world? at the high point you're selling over 100 a year of those things. right now the economy is struggling, but innovation by men and women seeing opportunity to keep this place going. if you don't have any idea ideas for 10 years, you'll be out of business in 10 years because competition will copy what you have done, steal your ideas and your designs, try and outcompete you. so you have to always be innovating and creating. that is what is extraordinary about america is that we have in this countrymen and women with ideas, technology, thinking, and we also have the freedom to be able to implement those things. we allow risk to be taken.

we do those things that allow enterprise to grow and thrive. it's a remarkable thing, business. very few things stay the same over time. what concerns me is that we have in washington a class of people who spent their whole time in washington and they don't understand what you do. they don't understand how the economy works. i watch our president, i think he is a nice guy. i just think he has no appreciation of what it takes to work in the facility like this to come up with ideas to create new products, to sell a product to germany knowing that china is also trying to sell the same product, he doesn't understand that because he hasn't done it. in the past it didn't make difference. we were so strong and everyone else was so weak, why, america could outcompete anyone in the world. now we have some tough competition, not just from our european ancestors, if you

will, but also from the more populous nations of asia like china and ultimately india will become more competitive. we face real competition around the world. we need a government that sees their job as encouraging you in the private sector, making it easier to take risk. making it easier to get capital and loans so you can be able to make the investments necessary to keep a place like this going . i watched our president over the past three years shaking my head saying he is over his head, he doesn't understand. he goes to the banking industry and puts in place a bill with thousands of pages of new regulation to be written and those things make it harder for banks to make loans to businesses like this which make it harder for you to sell products around the world and get the credit you need to do so. and then he puts in place something called obama care. there are a lot of things i

don't like about it, but one of them is it's scaring small employers. small businesses are saying i'm not sure i can afford people right now because of obama care. he has another idea. how about businesses that are not union businesses where the employees don't want unions and you have your right to choose, but we're going to take away the right to a secret ballot from america's workers. now, that's a bad idea that he has been promoting. why? well, because it would allow intimidation to occur to encourage people to vote in a certain way. let me tell you, that will scare aware employers and entrepreneurs and innovators. i want to keep america the most attractive place in the world for every kind of innovation, investment, and job growth. i'm a proved a mom and a dad who took risks, were highly successful, and then i went off

on my own and started my own business. i have learned from that, had experience working in businesses that, in my opinion, helped me understand what it takes, not just to keep this business going, but to see more businesses and enterprises around the country grow and add jobs and just like that 10-year-old, was it, tim? this 10-year-old, the more businesses we have successful, the more we'll have people working, the more they're working and the more they can buy. the more they can buy, the better business is here. one more thing i'll mention. it's good for us to have trade with other nations. how many of these slaggers do you sell to countries outside the united states? what proportion do you think? a small portion today. where are some of the places that you have sold? >> china, sweden, denmark. >> germany. what did you say? >> israel. israel, saudi arabia.

they're going to go out around the world. i want more places for our goods to go. i want people to think it's easy to buy products from the united states of america. i want more markets open. i also want to make sure as we compete with people who make something like a slagger. there is nothing quite like a slagger, there are people who will try, i want them to understand that they better not cheat or the united states is going to step in and stop them from cheating and there are some cheaters out there when it comes to fair trade. one of them is china. they have been stealing designs, patents, technology. they have also manipulated their currency so that their products are artificially low priced. you can't allow that to go on year after year after year. i want to use the experience i have in the world of the free enterprise system to make sure that america gets working again. and i am running in this race

because i understand how to get middle class americans prosperous again, working again, buying things, and putting more americans back to work. and i happen to believe that that's what america needs and what america wants. [applause] now, i'm going to turn to you guys here and ask if you have a question or two. this is kind of a daunting scenario with these lights here and the fabulous flag hung back there and but nonetheless, i'm going to ask you for some questions here in just a moment. you probably don't need a microphone. i can repeat the question if you can't hear it. i do want to hear your thoughts. i want to say one more thing, though. and that is ann mentioned that these are tough times. they are tough times. you guys have jobs. hope your spouses do. but i know these are tough times. even for those with jobs.

the average or the median income in america has dropped 10% in the last four years, 10%. and the prices of things you're buying are not going down like that. gasoline isn't. food isn't. health cost isn't. and so there is a real squeeze in america for middle class families like those in this room. and so it feels tough. and then we see 25, 26 million people out of work or stopping or having stopped looked for work or in part-time jobs and they need full-time work. you see home values in a lot of parts in this country having dropped by 1/3 or more. these feel like tough times. ann says they are tough times. a lot of people think the future isn't as bright as the past. let me tell you this. i'm convinced the future is a good deal brighter than the present and for our kids and our grandkids, it will be every bit as great as we have enjoyed and the greatest generation enjoyed. why do i say that? well, we're still the most

inventive nation in the world. we still have ideas. we have met extraordinary assets and technology that we can draw upon. we have financial resources. we have a powerful economy. we're the hope of the earth and we have a highly patriotic people who will do what is ever necessary to keep america strong. one of the things that most impressed me about my chance to go off and run the olympics, you may not have known that, i got a chance to run in the olympics in 2002. it was noticing that when the national anthem was played that the young people in america, if they were standing on the podium and they got the gold medal and our flag went up and the national anthem played, they put their hand over their heart. you could see them sing the words to the national anthem and sometimes they got them right. and i have asked, where did this tradition begin of putting our hand over our heart during the playing of our national anthem? it began during the second

world war. f.d.r. asked us to do that in honor of the blood that was shed by america's sons and daughters in faroff places. we're a very patriotic people. we love america. we're willing to sacrifice for america. if called upon by leaders who tell the truth and who live with integrity and who know how to lead, and i hope to be one of those leaders, i need your help at the caucus. i know that bob was telling me that the caucus side at the high school gets full, so get there early. i need you guys to get there. i would love to have your support and your vote at the caucus because i want to be one of those leaders that will tell the truth, live with integrity, and knows how to lead and will put america back to work with rising incomes again because i love this country and because i know how to do it. thank you so much for your help this morning. thank you. [applause]

now last night you saw a debate, if you had nothing better to do. and so that means two or three of you saw the debate. but if you did see the debate, you're all questioned out, if you have any further questions, i'm happy to respond to anything that you may have this morning. yes, sir. >> [inaudible] >> the question, i won't repeat all of the compliments although i wish i had begin i u-a microphone so everybody can hear them. the question was what am i going to do on the first day? i have a long list. one, there are a series of bills that i will file and,

number two, there are a series of executive orders of things that happen immediately. let me mention some of those. number one, i'm going to direct the secretary of health and human services to grant a waiver from obamacare to all 50 states so we can stop obamacare in its tracks. [applause] >> and i'll go on to find -- to file legislation to repeal obamacare and to instead return to the states their constitutional responsibility and right to care for the needs of their poor and those that are uninsured. that's one item. number two, i will direct the secretary of energy to provide licenses to drillers, wildcatters, gas drillers, oil drillers to start developing our energy resources in our country and get the oil and gas that we need. that's number two. [applause] >> number three and this is a

little controversial. i will designate china as a currency manipulator. under our law, that allows the president to apply tariffs where the president believes the chinese currency manipulation has cost american jobs or is unfair. i'll look at what they have done with regard to stealing technology, intellectual property, designs, patents, and so forth as well as where they have hacked into computers to steal technology and will apply those tariffs where i believe they're necessary to make sure that they understand we're not going to allow them any more to play on an uneven playing field. that's the next. i will also make sure that the president's policy, he said, look, you can't work on a federal work site unless it's a union organization and i'm going to say, no, no, it ought to be a level playing field. i'll change that executive order as well. there is something else i want to do and i'll do this on day one. i'll file a piece of legislation that relates to taxes for employers. now, this goes back to what governor pawlenty mentioned.

we have right now, the highest taxes in the world for employers. we're tied with japan. europe is about 10 points lower for employers. we're about 35% tax rate. europe is about 25%. i'll bring our rate down to 25% for employers and take out some special deductions and exemptions that companies currently get so we don't lose revenue but at the same time bring our rates down so that businesses are able to stay in this country and not have to pay higher taxes to do so. otherwise they'll leave. i don't want businesses to leave here going elsewhere because they can get a huge tax break. i want the jobs to stay here. then there is something else i'll do and it relates to taxation and the other big burden on small business and that's regulation. sometimes in my party i think we misspeak. we say we're for deregulation. well, what we mean by that is if regulation has become too

heavy and burdensome, we want to shrink it down. we don't want zero regulation. you need regulation and law to make a market work, to let players know how to compete with each other, but i want to get our regulation down to be supportive of industry rather than overwhelming and burdening industry. i have watched this president and his administration has been out of control when it comes to regulations. the rate of regulatory introduction in this country, new regulations has quadrupled under this president. and so i will on day one put a halt to all of the regulations that were put in during the obama years and then i'll take a look at them one by one and get rid of any of those that are costing american jobs. those are the first things. i have a plan that has 59 different steps. we'll get going on them from the very beginning. thank you for the question, thank you, thank you.

[applause] anybody else here? yes, sir. >> what are you planning on doing forage culture, young guys like ourselves here, we are trying to get started in farming. it's impossible with ground bringing $20,000 an acre in the area. machinery is extremely expensive. farmers are using themselves and employees to get tax dollars from their employees. get rid of it. sink or swim on our own and give some incentives to get the young people in there. having that dream come true. i had the chance when i was 15 to go work on a ranch in idaho. my uncle later in his life had gotten out of the business world in the automobile sector, bought a ranch in idaho. his uncle had a ranch called

thousand springs. it had a lot of water on it. that's good in ranching. the ranch he thought he would get thought it would get a bunch of springs, it didn't. i loved it. it was one of the greatest experiences in my life to work on the ranch. one of the biggest challenged we have in agriculture today is getting loans. and i talked to community bankers, how come i hear you aren't providing loans like you have in the past. what i hear from them is that a bill called dodd frank which puts a whole host of new regulations on banking has scared the dickens out of them. they have pulled back, not sure they are able to pass inspection from the government inspectors. this is also controversial.

some of my friends think that we should just not worry about ethanol. i actually like the fact that ethanol is part of our energy mix. i know that at least in my view, the ethanol is an important part of our energy security. i don't want to keep on going overseas to get energy there when we have resources here and one of the renewable is ethanol. i believe the sub saudi in the past made sense. that subsidy is going away now that the industry is on its feet. i believe the renewable fuel standards should be kept in place so we continue to encourage people to invest in the agriculture sector. that has been good as you know forage culture. it's tougher for people trying to buy a farm. the price of farmland has gone up. i want to do my very best to keel the agriculture system alive and william. i do want to see us do to

farming what we have done to manufacturing. we have allowed manufacturing in many cases to leave this country. i do not want to see that happening to agriculture. thank you, appreciate it. [applause] yes, ma'am. >> i have one comment. the caucuses and the traffic jam. there are many more locations this year so you don't have to worry about getting there an hour early. there are plenty of opportunities to participate at different locations. >> that's great. if you're voting for me, the date is january 3. the other folks are taking their votes on january 4. just kidding. just kidding. >> i was wondering on what you plan to get in god we trust in this country again. our kids can't celebrate christmas in this country for fear of offending someone else. when we came here, we were founded on in god we trust, i would like to see this back in the country again.

there are some people that want this a secular nation. they want to take god out of everything. they want to say it's constitutional. it's hard giving that our founding document, the declaration of independence notes that we were endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. how do you take god out of america when the declaration points out that it's god that gave us those rights in the first place. we should have ornamentation and celebration in the public square. whether that's a manger or a representation of other faiths. it's important as a society to recognize that we look to god for many of our blessings. i have had the chance, i'm sure you have to read some of the stories about the early days of the revolution.

how many times we were in a tight spot and how many times george washington many times gee washington felt that it was only through the blessings of providence that this nation was able to become a free and able to win our independence militarily. we have been blessed by our creator. i think it's appropriate for us to recognize that in the public square. i think that at school celebrations, we should be able to have prayer there. i am not looking for teachers to have prayer every day in the classroom, but i do think at special ceremonies, graduation, football games, and the like, that calling on our creator is a good idea. and to recognize that on this earth, they're sending more than just ourselves. by the way, i know there are a lot of people that do not believe in god, and that is their right. we do not want to impose on those folks. one of those things i love about the country is that whether you are believing or non-believing,

you typically have something that is more important to you in your life than just yourself. it is the great thing about our country. we are bigger than ourselves. we're willing to sacrifice for things to believe in. for many of us, it is our god. for others, it is our country and our family, the future of this country. those things combined to be a great source of sacrifice. it is part of who we are. we live person to greater than ourselves in this country. if we lose that, we lose a great deal of what makes america american. i love the stories of that french historian, the french historian came here long ago and tried to understand what made america an extraordinary land. one of those things was our willingness to help care for one another and to sacrifice our own interests for the interest of our fellow citizens. it is a great country, and i trust in god. and i know you do. and i believe that it is

appropriator in the public square for us to recognize that we do, indeed, have a creator and that we trust in our creator, particularly at this time of the year. thank you. [applause] yes, sir? >> i was wondering if you could touch on entitlements a little bit. your first day in office will be busy, but maybe sometime later in the week you can talk about entitlements. >> [laughs] thank you. i help identify all that bill on day one. it might be that paul ryan is able to get that under way in completed before then. probably not, but i sure hope so. but i do not think this president is likely to take any bold or courageous step as it relates to an issue as important as that. last night i mentioned a couple of things. one is you have all heard that we have a huge deficit every year. we spend more money than we take in. that is getting to be a big problem. and this president, by the end of his four years, will have put

in place as much total deficit or a total debt as all the prior presidents combined, almost. it is extraordinary how much he has borrowed. so the national debt has come to a point of about $15 trillion, and that threatens america, because as some point the people who loaned us that extra $1 trillion of a deficit each year, the people who loaned us the money will say i am not willing to loan it anymore, unless you pay me a lot of higher interest rates. then evens start happening, and it starts eating up our budget. interest rates from everything, from cars to being able to get financing because diesel products around the world and around the country. higher and higher price. if that happens, the economy slows down and a lot of people have got to work. this does that matters, and we have to stop that. there is something else that matters. that is the promises that we have made to one another that we have not put money aside to pay

for. and the total of those entitlement promises comes to about $62 trillion. the big ones are medicaid, medicare, and social security. that money has been spent, the money you have put in over the years was grabbed by congress and spend. so how are we going to pay for that? for those who are retired or near retirement, we're fine. we can care for those. but for young people coming along in their 20's, '30's, '40's, and early '50s, we have to make sure we're telling people the truth. this week was a big week. because of republican congressmen and a democrat senator came together and said we have got an idea for making medicare work. now knows the kind of proud, because it was the same idea to put forward about a month ago. so i am pretty excited about it, and the fact that a democrat and republican came together and proposed it is good news. in means that there is a willingness on both sides of the aisle to deal with a tough

problem. the idea was this -- with regards to medicare in the future -- i will call it medicare version 2.0 for young people coming along, for medicare in the future, you'll be able to get a premium support payment as a retiree, and you can use that to the by traditional medicare or to buy a private plan. and they will compete. the private plans with the government medicare. and, by the way, people of higher income will get a smaller payment. they will get a smaller subsidy or premium support payments. people of lower income will get a higher payment. and if you do those things, we can make medicare sustainable forever and get rid of that huge overhang of over-promise. on the social security said, similarly, we can bring down the rate of growth in the social security payments for high- income recipients of the future. again, no change for people already retired or near retirement.

but that means for someone in their 20's, they know that they're going to make a lot of money in their life, and their social security payment is going to be less than for some new lives through their life with more modest means. again, those kinds of changes allow us to keep those programs solvent and protect them and provide them for the next generations. finally, medicaid. you wonder what medicaid is, those that are not into all this government stuff. i have to admit, i do not know the differences between these things before i got into government. then i got into it and understood that medicaid is the health care program for the poor, by and large. that is a program that runs very, very fast. the federal government picks up half the bill. the state picks up the other half. i would go to government and take its money and give it back to iowa and say, i like, you craft your own program in the way you think best to take care of your own poor. we're not going to get the federal government tell you how to care for your own people.

because, by the way, their differences between being poor in mississippi or michigan or massachusetts or montana or iowa or ohio, so let states craft their own programs and then run that program, that inflation plus 1% -- if we do that, by the way, we said about $100 billion a year. by the fourth year i would be in office. so i get those programs to work by making relatively modest changes, and you might think, how are you going to get this through congress? good news if we have democrats and republicans seeing eye-to- eye on this right now. number two, we need to have a leader. i am going to close with this thought. one of the things you know here is that someone has to be a leader in this enterprise. maybe it is bob. i presume it it is. right here. is it john? it is john. [laughter] john is laughing and saying, it sure is, bob. [laughter]

and you need to have someone, a leader -- by the way, with being a leader means is not that you make all the decisions or that you are always right. being a leader means that you can listen to other people, and you can hear ideas and then get them done. that you know how to build a team of good people that can work together. that is what being a leader means. it is not being a boss, it is being a leader. i have had the unusual experience of watching a leader as a boy. my dad, i watched him run that car company. i watched him run for governor. i want to as governor. i used to watch him in his office interacting with members of his administration. i sort of learned by watching him. then i got a chance to run a business and to start a business. and then to go off and run the olympics. and i got a chance to be a governor of a state. and in that leadership experience, i learned in -- by the way, i learned from

successes and failures. not everything i touched turned out well. those experiences, i think are needed in washington. it we need a leader there. we have got a lot of people on the republicans it -- republican stage, any one a better president than we have now. but i also think is helpful to have a leader in washington who knows how to bring people together and who understands in his heart and in his core how to make the economy work for the american people. that is what i hope you understand i represent. by the way, i am concerned about the poor in this country. i want to make sure we have a safety net to care for the poor. if there holes in that safety net, i want to fix it. i am not terribly concerned about the rich in this country. the region doing just fine. as a word about the whole people in the middle, the middle class. that is the group want to see get to work again with good jobs. i want a good job for everybody

who wants one, with higher income, with the confidence that the future will be bright. i want to be your president as a leader and to work with you to make sure that america remains the shining city on the hill. i love this country with all my heart. i learned that from my mother and father. and what to make sure that america remains as it has always been, the hub of the earth. thank you so much. it has been an -- i want to make sure america remains as it always has been, the hope of the earth. thank you so much. john, bob, thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] freeborn i was born free i was born free born free free like a river raging strong

in the wind and chasing dreams and facing father time deep like the grandest canyon wild like an uncaged stallion my heart cannot be blind you cannot me down and watch me believe that you cannot keep no change on me i was born free i was born free i was born free born free ♪

>> this event with mitt romney their deep in the crowd took place earlier today in sioux city, iowa. with the iowa caucuses coming up on january 3, he is not the only candidate talking to voters in the state. earlier, michele bachmann continued her bus tour through iowa, which started yesterday. she stopped at the dutch bakery in orange city, where she spoke with supporters for about 35 minutes. [applause]

>> how are you? good to see you. hello, you guys. [applause]

>> hello, thank you for coming out. why don't we did get congresswoman michele bachmann a huge suit county welcome -- sue

county, iowa welcome. [applause] >> thank you so much for your leadership here. thank you so much for all of you here in the bakery. mforp --anybody want to take a guess? michele for president. i am with you. thank you, everybody. this is wonderful. we're going to break at that and pass it around, and we will watch and god will apply it in front of our eyes. i am thrilled to be here. there is nothing like a dutch bakery. isn't that true? it is the best food in the world, so we're thrilled to be here. as was surprised that my husband is not over here at the counter right now, because he lives and dies by bakeries. so we are glad to be able to be here -- >> i will not go that far. [laughter] >> well, we're thrilled to be

able to be here, and this is really your time. i want to open up by saying this -- just a michele bachmann, and i am running to be the next president of the united states of america. i think it is time to put an iowan in the white house. [applause] more orange lot city and a lot less washington, d.c. why did you think? i agree, too. i want to just bring up real briefly, in 1980, some of us were around then, but we have got a lot of young people, want to remind you. in 1980, then it candidate ronald reagan and his the asked the question -- some of you may remember. he asked all of america, are you better off today than you or four years ago when jimmy carter took over as president? so i am going to ask you, are we better off today than we were when barack obama took over as

president? >> [all] no. >> those are with you, i agree. today barack obama took over as president comedy know how much gasoline was a gallon? $1.79. give this one and a picture of the shetland pony. [laughter] that is right. $1.79. today, it is a little bit more than that, isn't it? if we would legalize american energy production, we will bring down gasoline to the price again. you see, that is the situation that we're dealing with right now. so i ask that question during i think the republicans actually -- and is a more difficult place and even when ronald reagan asked that question in 1980. so the question is, who will stand in the same legacy of ronald reagan? who will be the person who will act like a margaret thatcher in that legacy of a ronald reagan?

what we need to ask is, who is the person who has already stood toe-to-toe with barack obama and taken him on with obamacare in washington? who has already stood and to convert obama on with the jobs and housing distracted -- destruction act, known as dot frank? who has looked him in the eyes on the issue of taxpayer-funded abortion, on the issue of illegal immigrants in this country, which we have got to build a fence on our southern border? who has taken the president on on cap and trade, on issue- after-issue? what i want you to know if i am is fully prepared to stand on the stage and to all barack obama accountable for flapping our economy, decimating our national security, and i will emerge victorious. i will be that presiden t i sail that his words were some of the most dangerous i had ever heard. i stood on the intelligence

committee. we deal with the nation's classified secret and national security. i cannot talk to about those things but i can tell you a report was issued in early november that said under no uncertain terms, we can be looking at iran having that weapon inside of a year. the reason why that could happen is because barack obama gave iran the luxury of time. he did absolutely nothing to stop them. that has gotten them that much closer. our options are to your and our options are worse than the ones we had before. but i want you to know, as commander in chief, i think that is the number one duty of the president. i will stand up against in iran to make sure they never a nuclear weapon. i will stand with our ally, israel. [applause]

let me get another question. i will happen -- i will be happy to take media questions. >> would you continue funding for cancer research at the current level? >> the question is will i continue funding for cancer research can do what is being done at the national cancer institute? >> this is a worthy cause to take a look at. i want to see more research, not less. but we have to do it within the confines of our priorities. our big problem now is our national debt. the day i came into congress, four and a half years ago, we were $8.67 trillion in debt. that is a drop-off -- jaw dropping amount of debt.

the know how much we are in debt today? $15 trillion. it took us who hundred 19 years to get into that hold. now, four and a half years later, we are at $50 trillion. next year it will be at home over $17 trillion. the one thing we cannot do you and the young people right here is take away your future and your help. i refused to do that. i am not going to be a president who runs deficits. everything will be on the table. i cannot guarantee we will continue funding at the current level. i want to see stores. the best way to seashores -- to see cures -- the venture capital for medicine has left the united states. we are not the place to do business any more to create new drugs and cures.

that has to end. i want to slow the economy and abolished the tax code. through pro-growth policies in the tax code. i also want to get rid of obamacare. you want to talk about hurting health care, i am the chief opponent of obamacare and i wrote a bill to get rid of it. there is no equality on the candidates when it comes to getting rid of obamacare. we have candidates in this race that had been for the individual health care mandate for 20 years. that is newt gingrich. right up until may of this year. he has taken $37 million on the health industry to promote that view. i did not share that view. mitt romney is the only governor in the history of the united states to put in place socialized medicine in his own state.

do we really think that people who have made this their signature issue are going to repeal obamacare? this is going to be tough to do it. i am not kidding you. it will be very tough to repeal obamacare but i am committed to it with everything in my being. i will tell you why. for their first time in the history of united states, we have a taxpayer funded or boat -- abortion in obamacare. barack obama said in august that we are going to did -- give the morning after abortion pill and contraceptives for free. because he said so. that is the spending power in obamacare. that is wrong. i want to take that away. [applause] the president just announced last week his plan, he in his administration was to put in the

grocery store aisle next to bubble gum a three day abortion pill for the morning after called the plan b. they knew that would hurt his reelection chances. no parent wants to see and a 11- year old girl be able to buy something like that. even the obama administration had to back off. it president obama is reelected, you can take it to the bank. the next day, they will put in the same kind of radical social policy. all of the radical policies will be put in place through obamacare. i am the only candidate in the race who knows exactly what to do to appeal -- repeal obamacare and bring back high-quality health care for the greatest number of americans at the lowest possible price. that is what i'm going to do as

president. >> what to believe about global warming? >> what i believe is that we should not have a political agenda. so much of the political agenda which i talked about and answered to your question on in twenty-one was this durbin -- in southconference africa. that is being used as a political pretext to have the united states tax us with a national energy tax, take that money into the federal government and build upon and redistribute our wealth across the world. i disagree with that. i absolutely disagree with that agenda. i did you have to follow the signs. what does sein say? -- does science say?

where are the sources of carbon dioxide? is it a human activity? i think you have to look at the science and let it make the decision. that is not what is happening now. now it is politics driving this. >> what with the epa look like under your administration? >> there would not be one. the epa would be gone because there is already hit the of them in the united states. there is one here in iowa. it is best if you set your standards for your state. to hear once dirty water and who once a dirty air? -- who wants dirty water and hoopwho wants dirty air ? the epa is about killing jobs

right now and they have been a disaster for farmers. i will set down the epa and the department of education. i have a few others in mind that will go. if that is not grandstanding, i mean it. you can take that to the bank. >> since government is not producing wealth and it used to be that 20 people would support one person in government, now it is almost one-one and they want it bigger. i do not understand how they are expecting to get this money. >> you are right. pick government has grown exponentially. you talk about federal employees. the average federal employee makes $123,000 a year. that is more than double what people in the private sector

make. if there is no relation. i am talking apples to apples. like a librarian in the federal government versus alkylate -- out locally. that is why what i intend to do is shut down entire departments, repealed law and sent the authority, back to the states. we cannot live the way we are living because i am not willing to let these people young people here pay a tax rate effectively of a 75% of your income. that is what some of the experts say. if you take your state and local and federal taxes and with the current rates, as you can have a 75% tax rate. are you going to get out of bed and go to work to pay out 75% of what you make in taxes? then you have to pay your rent, your car, buy your food, do

itunes downloads. it is not going to happen. i think too much of you. i have five biological kids. my husband and i raced 23 kids -- raised 23 foster children. i love this next generation. you deserve at least what our parents gave us. i was born here in waterloo. i am a seventh generation iowan. our family were early pioneers get out of the ground here. i will tell you, i am so grateful for these iowa values that i learned here. here is one of the best animating principle in the united states -- no one owes you a living. you learn to make it on your own garrett the other thing is an

honest day's work for an honest day's pay. they also said your word is your bond. those are good values. those are the same kind of the values we will rise again as a great nation. we do not have to lose our opposition to china. if we start acting like a first world nation, rather than like a banana republic like the barack obama is doing right now. we will be that first world nation again and the shining city on the hill. that is what i came to return. i need your vote on january 3. i will stand for life. i will stand for marriage. i will stand for religious liberty. i will stand for a strong united states defense. my father served in the military. i will stand strong for fiscal conservatism. i get it. i am a former federal tax lawyer.

i get how taxes work. we started our own successful company in business. i believe in profits. i want more profits for more businesses to grow our economy. i also believe in the values that we are taxed enough already. the government should not spend more money than what it is taking in. we should act within the limits of the constitution. one thing that sets me apart -- i have already been proven. for five years in the lion's den of washington, d.c. -- i stood up to the task. i did not get caught because i was not for sale. as president, i will not be for sale either. there is only one voice at this into -- the people's voice. your voice. that is the voice i am taking to the white house. they're very per se party will have is the iowa party. kenya dax uphill -- can you guys supply all the pastries that day? we are going to have a good

party. thank you. god bless you. [applause] i am willie glad you came out. that is so nice. -- i am really glad you came out. that is so nice.

they have on a disrespect for women in their own culture but when they are dealing with their nation --[inaudible]

>> she was old. >> i m two, item 55. [laughter] -- i am too, i am 55. thank you for coming. what is your name? reagan? that's a great name. can i hold you? you know how to smile really pretty. is this your sister? pallon

we get a variety? but make sure i get this one. [laughter]

thank you. >> thank you. god bless you.

>> michele bachmann saying goodbye to supporters. she just started her bus tour in iowa yesterday. the caucuses will be held on the first tuesday of the year, the january 3. >> for the past two months on c-

span, we have examined the lives of the contenders, 14 men who by and for the office of president but lost and had a lasting impact on american politics. we will talk with the jean baker tonight, carl cannon and presidential historian richard norton smith to see what they have learned from this story -- series. visit c-span.org. >> on capitol hill, the house finished its legislative work for the week. the senate is staying in addition -- session for the weekend. the house passed a spending bill for the 2012 budget year and sent it to the senate. it is waiting for the senate to send over an extension of the social security payroll tax cut. tomorrow on washington journal, we will take a look at the congressional plan to revamp

medicare with kaiser health news correspondent marilyn serafini. and it buys on preparing this year's taxes. plus your e-mails, phone calls and tweets. >> sometimes i think it would be best for government to stay completely out of sports. a lot of times when congress gets involved, the hearings are basically television shows designed to give the congressmen and women involved exposure. >> author and sports commentator john feinstein on the introspection -- intersection of sports and government. >> sports is a multi-billion dollar business in this country. it has a huge effect on the lives of people in terms of raising money for universities, higher education. there are so many different ways

that sports affect our lives. many stadiums that exist are built with government funds. there are times when i'd think the federal government should be more involved. >> his new book is "one on one." you can watch the rest of the big two -- interviews sunday night. the u.s. supreme court will hear an argument on the case of the current sec standards for indecency. it cites a 1978 supreme court case. george carlin also fill the words monologue was reared get set words that were censored by fcc. >> the listener pointed out that the words were broadcast at a time in the afternoon when a child could have been attuning of the dial and would have come across those words. >> c-span radio will air that

historic argument. listen at 90.1 fm and online at c-spanradio.org. >> earlier today, jay carney held a briefing. he be used to say whether or not president obama would veto the payroll tax that the bills. if it contained the keystone of pipeline project. this is 50 minutes. >> good afternoon. thank you for being here. thank you for your patience. before i get started, i wanted to read a statement from me on the president's phone call with the russian president. president obama spoke with him today to congratulate him on the world trade organization's decision to extend a formal invitation to russia to join the wto. the presidents hailed this achievement as another result of the reset and bilateral relations which will benefit the

united states and russia. brushup's membership will lower tariffs, improved access to russia's services markets, hold the russian government accountable to a system of rules and provide the means to enforce those rules. it will generate more export opportunities for american manufacturers and farmers -- farmers. president obama called president medvedev that the administration is committed to working with congress on the amendment to russia in order to ensure that exporters will enjoy the same benefits of a russian wto membership at their international competitors. they discussed the recent elections and subsequent demonstrations. president obama welcomed president medvedev's commitment to investigate the allegations. the peaceful demonstrations --

and it will the conditions that allow those demonstrations to occur peacefully and lawfully. president obama noted how the expression of civil society is consistent with the modernizing russia that president medvedev has saw to foster over the last four years. they said the two presidents said they look forward to meeting next year in south korea in 2012. this is the only call i have to read out to you, president to president. also, before i get started, i want to say that i know you all have a lot of questions about the negotiations happening now on capitol hill to resolve and come to a conclusion on the payroll tax cut extension and unemployment insurance extension, and i know that the

questions you are asking are the same ones the american people are asking, and i appreciate them. i just want to warn you that i am not going to have a lot of details to give to you because i do not want to give you a status update on a situation that obviously is quite fluid. we -- as you have seen it -- we take part in the statements by leaders of both parties on capitol hill the progress is being made and this will be resolved. which will mean that the president's priority of ensuring that americans do not have their taxes go up on january 1st will be met. we look forward to that happening and are cautiously optimistic that it will happen. having said that, i am not going to have a lot of details to give you on the process. you are welcome to ask anyway.

>> the president has said directly that he will reject any legislation that has the keystone pipeline attached. the house and senate have insisted that the pipeline be attached. >> let me say a couple of things about that. first of all, the president made clear that he opposes these kinds of extraneous issues being inserted into a tax-cut bill. i think it is quite clear that an oil pipeline has nothing to do with the payroll taxes that everything in this room who gets a paycheck pays every week or two weeks when they get their paycheck, and at 160 million americans pay.

the president's focus is on getting that bill passed to ensure that americans do not have their taxes go up in 15 days. what he was referring to at the time hypothetically the other day was the idea that a bill, any kind of provision that would try to force a decision or mandate a decision, or approval rather, mandate approval. i would also note the statement that the state department put out pretty clearly the other day in response to the language that exists currently in the house republican payroll tax cut proposal. and what that would mean in terms of short circuit in an absolutely necessary process to properly and carefully review the alternate route or roots in nebraska that need to be steady here. having said that, i'm not going

to prejudge the final product that does not yet exist. >> but the president was not asked specifically about -- or he did not get into language of mandates needing to do this that will be fined or if it calls for a provision that the state department rejects. he said any effort. people want to know if the tax cut extension will be approved or not. would he sign it into law? >> again, i'm not going to get ahead of the process. let's see where it ends, and let's hope it ends with congress not leaving town, going on a month-long vacation having decided that it is ok for 160 million americans to get a tax hike on january 1st. the president's priority is ensuring that americans do not get that tax hike. this money is vital. this tax cut is vital to every american family that is trying to make ends meet.

it is vital to the economy as countless independent economists have said. the payroll tax cut as well as unemployment insurance are provisions that are some of the most effective provisions when it comes to getting momentum into economic growth and adding jobs. >> you said we will see where it ends. just so i'm clear, that is pretty different than a veto threat. >> again, i would point to what the president said and what the state department said about specific language that was later put forward in the house republican proposal. when absolutely is the case is that this is pure politics, as we have seen from statements by republicans saying, essentially, if the president is against it, he is for it. it is hard to make the argument that the pipeline has anything to do with whether or not

middle-class americans get a tax cut next year. but again, it is not appropriate for me at this point to negotiate from the podium to say that this specific provision or this language is unacceptable but this language is ok because the folks who are working at now have enough on their shoulders as it is. >> you are clear that the white house would not accept a promise from the house gop about passing on this and coming back. you said that was unacceptable. >> let me be clear. there are different ways of looking at this in terms of what a deal would look like. there is a guarantee and there's a promise. again, without getting into

specifics, the president insists that there be an absolute assurance that congress will not let americans experience a tax hike on january 1st. that is why members are working hard right now to try to fashion an acceptable compromise and we are engaged in a process, and we hope that it bears fruit, because it is essential. if americans do not have that tax break, it would be awkward, i would thing for members of congress to have to go home and explain on vacation and why folks who are out there struggling to pay the rent or the mortgage or tuition, car payment, but they're going to

see more taken none of their pay check to reverse because congress could not get its act together on this thing that republicans and democrats at least now support. let's look to where we began here. the payroll tax cut extension is being debated now as it has been for several months because the president put it on the table. he made it a central part of his american jobs act. earlier in this process, republicans are not sure if they even supported giving tax cuts to the middle class. they pooh-poohed the suggestion that it would even help the economy, deciding that they knew better than economists, i guess. there are few better ways to help the economy than a payroll tax cut or unemployment insurance. they changed their tune. that is a welcome metamorphosis. and hopefully will result in

americans getting that tax cut next year. >> you believe they will come back? >> again, that is up to the leaders on the hill to work out. >> if i could try again on the pipeline. >> you did hear the beginning, right? >> it sounds like you're saying you would not rule out the president's signing of bill that would include the tax break and have language related to the pipeline. >> i'm not here to go beyond anything we have said with regards to this matter already, which is the president's statement, the assessment by the state department of the specific language in the house republican bill, and, i think the point i made yesterday or the day before that they have not even identified and alternate routes yet, so the whole 60 day thing is pretty impossible.

having said that, there is a process at work, and i'm not going to analyze what language would be acceptable and what would not. i will let the process run its course. >> is it possible the diluted language would pass muster? >> i do not have any other answer for you. >> with the budget, on the way to full congressional passage, can you give us a sense of how soon this issue will be resolved? >> as soon as possible. as i said earlier, these things are very fluid. for as long as i have been doing this job and observing in washington, the last days and hours of the congressional session are very hard to predict and they tend to -- issues tend

to be resolved at the last minute. so, beyond that i would not get specific in my predictions about how this will play out. but it is important that it gets done. it is essential that it gets done. because if it does not, as i said before, congress will be testing the proposition of whether or not they can go below 9% in public approval and whether they can go above 45%- 50% in the judgment of the american people that it is the worst congress in history. >> looking at the budget bill, were your concerns addressed satisfactorily and will the president sign it? >> is a fluid situation. i'm not going to get into specifics. we have some issues, as i mentioned, and those issues have

been and are being addressed. what i can say is that we're heartened by the tone that we have heard up on the hill and the cooperation that we have seen on both sides, the stated goal here being that both suspending -- the spending bill and the payroll tax cut will get done, and done in a way that does not harm the economy, that does not stick it to the middle class, but done in a way that is acceptable to this president. we are still midstream here in this process, so i'm not going to offer any detailed assessments of the product. >> the deal on the omnibus takes away funding from the department of energy for the provision that would essentially eliminate or ban all incandescent light bulbs. senator boxer has called this

[unintelligible] do you share her concern? the president has talked so much in the past about about a new light bulbs. how significant a step back is this? >> it is certainly not something we supported, the removal of this provision, but i would point out that it is something that was put into law by the previous administration. beyond that, i am not going to get into specifics about what provisions are acceptable or not. >> do you not even have an opinion? >> we do not support that. we think it is a bad thing to do. but i'm not going to make a statement about made and one that has been made in the current israeli government as well as others who

are considered respectable voices with in israel. i would simply reiterate this president's commitment to israel's security is unshakable. that is this administration's policy, and it has been demonstrated by the steps we have taken in these last nearly three years in regard to israel's security. >> ye think there is still the skepticism and something like this -- why do you think there is still this skepticism and something like this? >> i do not know who put it out, but you know, the idea that somebody out there does not agree with everything the president does is not a new one on a host of issues. it is true for every president, stowe the -- so the fact that i disagree with the opinion expressed as not change the fact that the opinion is neither mine

nor the president's or the right that they have to express it. what i do know is what the president's position is and that it is exceptionally strong. >> the first lady is flying to hawaii. she is not able to go with the president. isn't it an extravagance for four people to go in two jets, particularly given the state of the budgets? >> first of all, i think you ought to check your sourcing on that. i think the original story was an interesting one, but the first ladies and their daughters will be traveling today, as originally planned for their annual holiday trip, to visit the president's home state of hawaii. as previous first ladies have done, they will travel on military aircraft. >> could they wait so that

everyone could go on one jet instead of two? >> again, as previous first ladies have done, they will travel on a military aircraft. as previous first ladies have done, they will travel separately from the president. that has been the practice in previous administrations. the president has made clear for a long time now that he will stay to ensure the congress gets its work done. let's see what happens in congress. i do not have a scheduling announcement to make, but i think you are effectively putting two and two together there. >> i am available to work on the budget too. [laughter] >> it stands to reason that if

160 million americans -- to reason that the president will stay to make sure 160 million americans do not have their taxes raised on january 1st. >> is there a compromise here? >> they say there is and we hope there is. in the holiday spirit, i am going to cautiously assess that there is a compromise available here. one obvious avenue here is that if the desire is to give 160 million middle-class americans a tax cut and not to play politics, then you just craft a bill that focuses on the tax cut. >> what about an accelerated

time line on keystone? >> that has nothing to do with the tax cut. if what folks are most concerned about on the hill is middle class americans struggling every day to make ends meet and making sure they do not see their taxes go up on january 1st because of congressional inaction, then they should just move the payroll tax bill that everyone can agree on. we are hoping that is what is going to happen. unfortunately, politics as clearly affected this process. i know that the fervor the use to animate republicans when it came to tax cuts was absent in this process, although it was present when it came to benefiting the tax rates of millionaires and billionaires, it was absent when it came to the middle class and those struggling to get into the middle class. there has been a little more interest expressed lately it by republicans in extending the tax

cut, and that is a sign that the debate has moved in the right direction. but politics is still a part of this. hopefully, we will reach a compromise that everybody can live with. >> i spoke with the senior democratic leader in congress who said that the white house and senator reid had engaged in politics by injecting the idea of a shutdown on the omnibus bill, which was ultimately a distraction from what the democratic members said was a winning argument on the payroll tax cut. is there a regret in the white house? >> the democratic member said that anonymously, i guess? >> they would not want to publicly criticize the president. >> the president's approach has been on what he believes is the

absolute necessity of extending the payroll tax cut. that has been his policy focus. it has been his strategic focus. everything he has done has been designed to ensure or to make more likely that congress will actually do the thing it should do here which is help the american people. he certainly -- you know, we make no apology for that approach. we think it is the right approach. we think the american people, come new year's day, if they wake up with not just a hangover but with the realization that they have the tax hike on the horizon, then they will want to know what the heck congress was d why it did not get

this simple business done. but again, let me go back to the start and say that we are hopeful and we take as encouraging the message from the hill that there is an effort under way. we hope this will get done. >> the president last night -- in the republican debate, mitt romney said that he has experience running a business and learn from their successes and failures, all the credibility that the president does not have. do we have a president who does not have an understanding of how the economy works? >> online no is that the president's record is what it is, -- all i know is that the president's record is what it is, and the folks running against him all espouse a policy philosophy when it comes to

economics that is virtually identical to the policy philosophy that got us into this mess. we look forward to that debate. and that includes all of the leading and not leading contenders in terms of the proposals they have put forward, the positions they have taken. they echo perfectly the positions and proposals that were unfortunately adopted that led to the worst economic crisis any of us i see -- i do not think there are any folks old enough here to have lived through the great depression -- so the worst any of us have ever seen, and hopefully the worse any of us will ever see, because this president is going to get reelected and he is going to continue to pursue policies that build up the middle class and build a foundation that is essential for america to win the 21st century.

>> there are democrats on the record same -- saying that they think the president is wrong on keystone and that it does not make sense to delay the decision. i think there are eight senate democrats who if you add that to 48 republicans, are pretty close to 62 and a filibuster and be able to move forward on this bill. how does the president approach this money has a significant number of his fellow democrats saying move forward? >> the president has not stated a position on whether or not the keystone pipeline should be granted a permit or not.

what he has said is that there are criteria that must be considered. the process is run by the state department in accordance with a decades-long tradition -- appropriately, because of the international nature of the project. because of the opposition, including opposition by the governor -- the republican governor of nebraska, the decision was made to look for an alternate route, and that has extended the review process. you cannot review something unless you have something to review, as i understand it, not being a scientist. that is a pretty reasonable approach to take.

there are legitimate concerns about nebraska. there is now a process which will lead to designation of an alternate route or alternate routes. that process needs to be reviewed because it needs to be taken into consideration. all of the impact that this thing can have need to be taken into consideration, and that is why, as i understand it, and i refer you to the state department, the duration of the process has been identified. the president is not making a judgment on whether the permit should or should not be granted. once that process is completed, that process is housed in the state department and if that process is allowed to take place, the state department will make its recommendation once the review is done. what it should not be a short circuit id because folks think it ought to be. that is just not how it works.

this kind of thing is not unprecedented. there are a lot of factors here, a lot of impact in terms of jobs, energy security, the environment and public health that have to be considered, and that is what the review process is all about. >> republican senator orrin hatch -- do not shoot the messenger -- but he called the president a scaredy-cat. again, it has been said before that you're trying to kick this past the election. >> one of the most prominent voices expressing concern about the original proposed route was the republican governor of nebraska. his concerns were validated with the concerns of others, again, based on the assessment of the state department, which is why the process was expanded, the duration of the process was expanded. that is how it is supposed to

work. >> the first lady attended at toys for tots event today and a marine asked her to be his date for the marine corps ball next year. she said she would love to do it but she would have to ask the president. what the president object? [laughter] >> i do not know if he is watching. i do not know. the first ladies commitment to military families is very strong indeed, so i'm sure she was flattered by the invitation. >> critics of this new bill have

been accused of not reading the bill. what is your reaction to that? does the president really understand the plan and proposal, and what is wrong with competition for medicare? >> we have read the bill, and you saw what i said yesterday, heard what i said yesterday in our assessment of it. we are for strengthening medicare. the proposal the president has put forward, the affordable care act and the proposals he has put forward this year in his budget and his long-term deficit and debt reduction plan includes savings in medicare that are designed to strengthen medicare so is there for seniors in the future we are always open to new

and different ideas that we have not come up with other smart people have that strengthen medicare. what we do not think is the right approach are ideas that wink in medicare and -- week in medicare, the create an uneven -- weaken medicare, that create an uneven playing field. a proposal was put in brochure form. it was pretty quick and easy reading. it would not strengthen the program. it would weaken medicare unnecessarily. that is why we took the position we took. it is not because we're against ideas that do not originate in the white house, but because we are focused on ideas that will strengthen medicare, that has been an enormously successful program, that has aided millions and millions of senior since it was created, and needs to be there for seniors in the future.

that is the foundation of our approach. >> would he work with paul ryan on a compromise? >> we will work with folks in congress next year and the years after who have ideas that can strengthen not just that program but others. i do not know of any plans right now -- you know, we are focused on the endgame for the end of the year right now, these other issues, but we are open to ideas that we think can strengthen medicare. but we do not need to do the kind of radical surgery that essentially ends the program as we know it and makes it prohibitively expensive for millions of seniors who then have no choice but to go into plants that do not offer them the kind of services they need. the focus here is on strengthening medicare. >> is there anything other than

getting the payroll tax cut through that the white house is pushing for as strongly as republicans are pushing to keep keystone in it? >> this gets into acronyms and that kind of stuff, but there are things that need to be done whether they are part of the payroll tax bill or not. what is essential, we believe, is the unemployment insurance extension. those are things that have to get done by the end of the year. but that is it. i mean, the president's priority is, you know, not letting congress leaves town having not assured americans that their taxes will not go up in 15 days. we are confident that both parties will prevent that from happening. >> what are you going to negotiate on?

>> we have been very willing, as we said from the beginning, negotiate on a variety of things. i would simply say, why is there horsetrading here if republicans are actually for giving middle- class americans a tax cut? they are not doing the president a favor by giving middle-class americans a tax cut, and by being so lukewarm and in some cases opposing a middle-class tax cut, they are not doing the american people a favor. this needs to get done, and it is the kind of thing that has traditionally had bipartisan support. it has had strong republican support, and we hope that because of that, and because of the unwelcome response that members of congress would get if they do not get this done, that they will figure out a way to do it. >> republican senators including

lindsey gramm and john mccain just saying that welcoming a terrorist from the iraqi government sends the wrong message to our enemies. do you have any response to that? >> i do. because of the president's concerns about the crimes that he is alleged to have committed, we looked at a wide range of options to transfer him to a place to bring him to justice. we are considering -- we're continuing to work this out with the rockies. he is been transferred to a rocky custody -- with the iraqi people. he has been transferred to iraqi custody. we have worked with the highest levels of the u.s. and iraqi

government and continued to discuss the best ways to ensure that he faces justice. >> you say we continue to discuss the best way to ensure that he faces justice. can you go into a little more detail about what some of those ways are and how confident the administration is that he will in fact face justice? >> not really, to be honest with you. i can tell you that those conversations are continuing, that we are -- we obviously have, you know, we are dealing here with sovereign iraq and in the handling of this case has been in accordance with both u.s. and iraqi law, and we are continuing to discuss the matter. we have received assurances, as i said, that he will be tried for his crimes.

>> one of the big concerns that has been raised is that he could be handed over to iran. how concerned is the administration that that will happen? >> we have been assured at the highest levels that he will be tried for his crimes. >> a family member said this decision is synonymous with letting him go free. what do you say to the family members. what is the administration's message to them? >> we take this matter very seriously, which is why we have worked on it at all levels, including the highest levels, and why we are continuing to work on it in accordance with both u.s. and iraqi law, and why we sought and received the assurances that we have received. we take very seriously. we understand those concerns, and will continue to have these discussions and work this issue. >> one more about the payroll tax cuts.

what are some ideas that have been discussed -- one of the ideas discussed earlier today is a possible short-term extension. is that something the president would agree to? >> i appreciate the question. i do not want to get into negotiating from here. the president's priority is that americans do not have their taxes go up on january 1st. our preference is for the proposal to mirror what the president put forward back in september in the american jobs act, which is for a full-year extension of the payroll tax cut, and in his proposal, an extension and expansion. at the minimum, we need an extension so that americans get that $1,000 average tax cut in 2012 rather than the $1,000 average tax hike. >> two questions, one keystone, one payroll tax.

jim jones did a call sponsored by american petroleum. he said he thought elaine keystone was -- delaying keystone was a threat to national economic security and would constitute a significant setback. >> i had not heard that. our position on this is clear. the route was changed because it concerned -- because of concerns expressed by a variety of folks, including the republican governor of nebraska. that require the state department, which runs this process, to begin a new review, look for alternate routes. that needs to take place. it would be wrong to do it otherwise because of the important issues at stake here, including public health, the environment, economic security,

internal security. the president's approach on energy security is very broad based. it is and all of the above approach. that is why he has expanded drilling and the search for oil and gas. it is why he has pursued aggressively clean energy technologies. and i would say expanding and in making sure it happens in irresponsible and safeway -- in a responsible and safe way in the wake of the gulf oil spill. in regards to keystone, there is a process here that is important for something of this nature and magnitude, and that process has to run its course. this is not about making a judgment of whether in the and the permit should be approved or denied. it is about making sure that the process is thorough, so that when the decision, when it is made.

-- when it is made, is made on all of the affirmation available. >> you guys have been talking very passionately about the need for tax equity and making the wealthy pay their fair share. it seems like that conversation has stopped in the last 48 hours. why should the american people believe you folks are really committed to that, and what you propose going forward to deal with tax equity if not this payroll bill? >> the president's position is clear from the american jobs act. it has been clear since he was a candidate. it is clear today and it will be the same after today and throughout his presidency. with regards to the payroll tax cut measure and the other elements of the american jobs act that republicans blocked, yes, we have a situation. republicans made it clear that

rather than put four hundred thousand teachers back in the classroom, rather than fund infrastructure and put construction workers back to work, rather than give 1.6 million americans a tax cut -- 160 million americans a tax cut, they have protected the loopholes, benefits and tax province of the wealthiest americans. in the case of the senate democratic process, they refuse to give a tax cut to 160 million americans, because they would not ask 300,000 millionaires and billionaires to pay a little more. we will not stop talking about that. it is a matter of simple balance and fairness. it is also the case that we have to get this payroll tax cut done or else middle-class americans, working americans, are going to have a tax hike on january 1st. at a time when we are trying to continue to recover from the worst economic crisis since the

great depression. we are hopeful that will get done. it does not change the president's overall position on the balanced approach we need to take in our economic policies, whether it is with regards to measures that are designed to help the economy grow and create jobs or measures that reduce the deficit and debt. everybody should be in this together. the burden should not be borne by seniors or folks with disabilities, or the folks who can bear it least. >> when you start talking about spending bills early next year, the payroll tax cut is tied to this now, but when it isn't next year, are you planning to make increasing taxes on the top and

a -- top and a precondition of some of those conditions -- top end a precondition of some of those discussions. >> the broader debate year will certainly continue. that i can guarantee. >> this is been an interesting year of divided government for the president. he has expressed his frustration many times over the year in dealing with what has been called the worst congress in history. >> that is what more than 44% of americans are calling them. >> as the era of divided government went to a close -- as the year of divided government wends to a close, what would you say the president has learned about working with divided

government and what will he carry into next year? >> i'm sure you have the opportunity to ask him that question at some point. without being specific, he has and will continue to try all approach is that he thinks have a chance of succeeding when it comes to economic policies and other policies that would benefit the american people. the economy and jobs is a principal focus, but that holds true for other areas too. he is not wedded to a strategy here. he is wedded to getting results that help the american people. he is committed in the case of the current debate to getting a payroll tax cut done so americans do not have their taxes go up, but if it does get done, our work will not be done. it will still not be the kind of economy that we need to build in this country.

economic growth will not be fast enough. unemployment will still be too high. we need to push proposals that grow the economy that help it create jobs. he will continue to push proposals that are balanced the deal with our deficits and debts. the means by which he does that, working with a divided government, a divided congress, are less important than the results. he is agnostic on that, i believe, because the focus is helping americans deal with their everyday problems, their bills, their jobs, their economic security, their health care. that is what is focused on. >> any plans for the weekend? >> i do not have one, because we're hopeful that at some point we will get done and you all will get out of fear.

take care. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> for the past few months on c- span, we have examined the political lives of the contenders, 14 men who vied for the office of president but lost, yet had a lasting impact on american politics. tonight, we will talk with james baker and a presidential historian to see what they learned from the series. that is tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern. to watch the series and review all episodes, go to c-span.org. >> tomorrow on "washington journal," kaiser health news on medicare costs and kipling her on what tax issues to expect for 2012. "washington journal" is live at

7:00 a.m. eastern here on c- span. >> next month, the u.s. supreme court will hear oral arguments on a case dealing with the constitutionality of the current fcc standards for indecency. the case cites a 1998 supreme court case where an new york radio station aired words censored by the fcc. that is this saturday at 6:00 p.m. eastern. >> the listener pointed out that the words for broadcast at a time in the afternoon when any child -- when a child could have been tuning dial and would have come across those words. >> c-span radio air that historic argument. listen to c-span radio in washington d.c. at 90.1 fm, nationwide on ex-im satellite, and online at c-span.org. every weekend on american

history tv, the people and events that document the american story. the first administrator of the epa, acting director of the fbi, and deputy attorney general. saturday at 8 a.m. and sunday at 3:00 p.m. eastern. from the civil war, author and presidential historian on life in the wartime lincoln my house. from lectures in history, virginia tech professor and her students read firsthand accounts from former female slaves. saturday at 8:00 p.m. and midnight. the american story, this weekend on c-span-3's american history tv. >> the house passed a one trillion dollars spending package today to avert a government shutdown with a vote of 296-121. next, in the debate after the passing of the measure. this is a little over an hour. from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i rise

today to present the final fiscal year 2012 appropriations legislation, which includes the conference report for the remaining nine appropriations bills. as well as two other bills we will consider later that provide funding for disaster recovery and assistance. for the second year in a row, mr. speaker, the appropriations committee, along with the body, has achieved significant reductionsn federal government spending to the tune of some $95 billion in reduced spending. never before in recent history has congress cut spending two year back-to-bk. the republican majority is truly living up to our commitment to slice federal spending. getting r budgets back into balance.

and living within our means. the legislation also includes absolutely no earmarks, zero earmarks, abideling by the house rule--abiding by the house rule. this report and the disaster aid spending package signify the end of the road for the fiscal year 2012 appropriations cycle. helping to avoid a potential government shutdownnd supporting vital programs and services the american people rely on. in particular, mr. speaker, this bill provides funding necessary to support our national security , including fundingor our military engagements abroad, and our domestic obligations, benefits, and programs for our veterans, active military, and their families, and homeland security efforts to keep our borders and communities safe and sound. in addition, this legislation includes policy provisions

targeted at reining in harmful govement interference and protecting life, liberty, and the constitution. mr. speaker, after weeks of arduous negotiations on this package with our senator counterparts, we struck fair bipaisan compromise. no party got everything they wanted. but we have found a reasonable, responsible balance between reduced spending, wi federal investments, and poly changes that american businesses need to thrive. with christmas coming on, it's time we complete this important legislation and go home to our families and our friends. we don't have much down time before our work will begin again on fiscal year 2013. and i'm hopeful that with the

groundwork we have laid this year, cleaning up past years' messes, clearing the table for next year when we can bring these bills separately and individually to the floor, for members to debate, amend, and vote on, that's the goal. so i'm hopeful the groupedwork we have laid this year will be able to -- groundwork we have laid this year will be able to work through next year's appropriations in regular order. and most importantly on time so that we don't find ourselves in this situation next december. one last note, mr. speaker, this result today would not have happened without the good will and the good work of the committee's ranking member, mr. dicks. who's been a great partner throughout this process. while things have been difficult and we haven't always seen eye

to eye, his knowledge of the process and his commitment to a fair and positive outcome have been a huge asset. his leadership has been critical to the bills we passed and certainly the one before us today. along with mr. dicks i must thank the cardinals and the ranking members of the subcommittees where we -- to whom we turned to produce this bill that's before us today. . chairman young, ranking member dicks on defense, chairman frelinghuysen and ranking member viscloskied on energy and water, chairwoman emerson and ranking member serrano, chairman aderholt and ranking member price on homeland security, chairman rehberg, ranking member delauro on labor-hhs. chairman crenshaw, ranking

member honda on legislative branch, chairman culberson, ranking member bishop on milcon -- they worked through these bills with a sharp eye and respect for the taxpayer and the programs that they dealt with. time and again, mr. speaker, throughout this year, we've faced difficult and arduous tasks head on. met every challenge before us. without the leadeship of these subcommittee chairmen and ranking members, we would not be here today. they made up the packe that's before us today. finally, i want to thank the staff, both sides of the aisle, majority and minority, hard work this year beyond anything i've ever seen. it's been a tough year. with h.r. 1 in the spring that took so much time and effort,

500-plus amendments, and then 150 hrings that our subcommittees have conducted, making up this year's propings bills. and then after that, the effort that took place on the debt ceiling increase and the time and distraction that it took from the rest of the work we were doing and then finallthe concoction and the makeup of this bill before us today. it has been a long, tough year. we have appropriated in one year for two years. both for 11 and now for 201 -- and 2012, all in one year, to us back to where we can go on regular order next year. the staff has been arduous and dedicated, week in, week out, day in, day out, night after night, holidays included, they've just been terrific and i want to thank -- i want to

thank our staffs on the committee, both sides, for all the hard work that's taken place. billingley, the chief clark on the committee and david, on your side, mr. dicks, what a terrific team we have backing us up. we are deeply indebted to these wonderful staff workers for us that have us where we are. finally, i want to say this. today's sort of a special day, mr. speaker, for any number of reasons. i think we're going to wd up with a good bill here that will get the appropriations process over with finally for this year. but it's also a very special day for two members on the floor with us this very minute. one of them is my ranking member, mr. dicks. who is celebrating a birthday, today.

and also -- yes. happy birthday. and also, another gentleman is celebrating a birthday today, that's mr. bl young, the chairman of the defense subcommittee, happy birthday. and with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the plans. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield myself two minutes. mr. speaker, the conference report before us contains nine separate bills, defense, energy and water, financial services, homeland security, interior, labor, h.h.s., and education, gislative branch, military construction and v.a. and state foreign operation. it is a bipartisan agreement reached after many hours of deliberation and debate. it reflects the fact that neither party can pass this

bill on its own in either the house or the senate. the conference report is a remarkable product of the hard work of all members of the appropriations comttee and as the chairman mentioned, especially the ranking members and the cardinals, the chairman of the subcommittees, an i'llest -- and i especially want to congratulate the staff. i was a staff person myself and as the chairman has said, i have never seen people work harder than the staff on the house appropriations committee and i want to commend bill and david for their work all during this year, their cooperation, which was -- and their leadership o the staff and we have a great staff, i mean, you know, these people have enormous experience, they have great background, and we're proud of all of them. i also want to congratulate bill young, my chairman on the

defense subcommitteeformer chairman of the full committee, we've been good friends and i want to wish him a happy birthday and it's kind of ironic that here we are on the last day, getting this big bill passed, on our -- on both of our birthdays. so there's so many smiles on us, maybe it was the other body by slowing things down, but anyway, i want to yield back my time. wee going to have our ranking members present their statements after the chairman on the other side. i yield back my time. i want to thank mr. rogers again for his courtesy and great work. he had to have the patience of job in order to get this thing done but he did it and i commend him for his -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has expired. i assume you're reserving your time. mr. dicks: i want to commend him for his patience and determination.

next year we're going to get all 12 bills to the floor. i reserve the plans of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the quelt from kentucky. mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for his words. i yield three minutes to the chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee, mr. young of florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. young: mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentleman, the chairman, for yielding the time. it's not ealy adequate to explain this defense bill, the largest part of this omnibus or minibus, call it what you will. thank you, chairman rogers, especially for bringing back regular order in the appropriations process, which we haven't done for a while. you've done a great job in leading this committee to get this job done and my friend mr. dicks, i've already wish him personally a happy birthday, but we appreciate mr. dicks' relationship with the congress, owur subcommittee, with the

full committee, together they made a great team and have done a good job. as i said, the defense bill is the biggest part of this bill. it is actually $21 billion less than was requested in the budget. we were given a number, we were instructed to make reductions. the subcommittee, the members and staff worked diligently to make sure that any reductions that we had to make would not affect the readiness of our nation or would not adversely affect any of our troops. we successfully concluded that task, we kept our commitment to maintain readiness and to remain strongly in support of our troops. it makes me feel good that we have an agreement that was agreed upon by the moneys an the democrats in the house. d the plups and the democrats

in the senate. we will get a unanimous vote on this package tissue we won't get a unanimous vote on this package but we worked together. people have wondered and i'm sure all of us have been asked by our constituents, why can't you guysn congress work together and get things done? you know, when congress acts as a congress and avoids a lot of outside political influence, it's amazing what we can do. want to call atntion to the fact that we just concluded the intelligence bill. bipartisan basis. we did the national defense authorization act last week. on a bipartisan basis. this omnibus bill we pass -- that we will pass today on a bipartisan basis. we worked together and got things done when we were able to work as a congress. i'm happy to be supportive of especially the defense part of

this bill and i want to congratulate chairman rogers and ranking member dicks for their strong leadership in gettg usack to regular order and as mr. dicks said, next year, we'll do all the appropriations bills one at a time,ust like it's supposed to be done. with that, mr. speaker, there is so much more to talk about this bill, so many details, we have written copies of the report on what it does and what it doesn't do. we'll be happy to provide that for any member who asks. other than that, let's vote for this package and let's get our job done. we want to wish you all a very merry christmas and hopefully won't ha to wish you hppy new year until we come back next year. we'll see how th is. thank you, mr. chairman, i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentman from washington. mr. dicks: mr. speaker, the

department of fense appropriations bill is part of this package. this bill cludes base funding -- i yield myself as much time as i may need. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dicks: includes base funding of $518 billion a reduction of $21 billion below the president's budget request. the bill also provides $115 billion for overseas contingency operations. $2.billion below the budget request. the bill balances funding essential for u.s. troops and their families with readiness, weapons acquisition, and technology development. for military personnel and family programs, the bill includes full funding of the military pay accounts including a $1.6 -- a 1 ppt 6% pay raise for r troops. for community support programs, the bill includes $40 million above the request formpact aid and $250 million to replace

inadequate schools located on d.o.d. bases that are owned and operated by our local educational authorities and the u.s. department of education. for ready n, the bill includes $163 billion for operations and maintenance with this account, the bill includes $150 million above the request for ship depot maintenance and $40 millio t fund the officer training corps program. for other programs, it includes $55 million to prevent the shut down of m-1 tank production. $1 billn for national guard and reserve equipment, $200 million for rapid innovation funding, $230 million to procure equipment to enhance special operations, $130 million for ongoing weons defee programs with israel and $100illion above the request to ensure technologiers in next generation bomber.

for overseas contingencies, it includes $115 billion, $2. billion below the request and $43 billion below the 2011. the decline compared to last year reflects the withdrawal of u.s. troops from iraq. the bill provides for the withdrawal of u.s. personnel from iraq by the end of this month, operation of u.s. forces in afghanistan, programs to train and equip afghan security forces so they're capable of assuming security responsibility. this bill is essential to maintain the readinesand capabilities of u.s. forces. it provides for the need of our mep and women in uniform and their families, the bill also includes responsible reductions from the budget request recognizes the fiscal realities that our nation faces. this is a must-pass bill which i support, i commend chairman young, again, and the staff of the defense subcommittee for

its extraordinary work. this is the largest appropriations bill, it is essential to national security, and with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. dicks -- mr. rogers: i yield three minutes to t chairman of the energy and water subcommittee on the committee, mr. frelinghuysen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three mins. mr. frelinghuysen: i thank the chairman for his support as we work through the appropriations process. this morning, i am pleased to support this appropriations bill that keep ours government open for business but also substantially reduces central spending in almost every department. special thanks to my ranking member and good friendote visclosky for his hard work, his knowledge of our nrnl and water bill and his passionate support for so many priorities. our portion of the bill has an important national security component so we increase funding for the safety and reliability of our nuclear

deterrent as well as for new generation of naval reactors. while dunding -- funding for the department of o-- department of energy is below the president's request we continue to ensure our nation has a diversity of energy sfly and knew leer energy will be a critical part of that future and that important research and development will continue at a remark -- at our remarkable national laboratories. additionally, it provides funds for the army corps of engineer to provide for public safety, keep america open for business an meet emergencies. i'm pleased to support a bill that ensure ours national security, our safety, our economic security, with less taxpayers' dollars and i yield back. mr. dicks: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman fromndiana, mr. visclosky. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is

recognized for two minutes. mr. visclosky: i thank the gentleman for yiding and will have remarks for the record. there is great substance in this bill but really want to address the process. and to begin my remarks by saying how very proud i am of the appropriations committee of the house of representatives and the united states senate of this congress. the appropriations committee is composed of serious and intelligent people. our members and our terrific staff -- was also on the staff at one time -- work hard to invest in our country and to improve the lives of the people we represent. as chairman rogers indicated, our members do disagree, but they thoughtfully consider the facts, they consider each other's perspectives and positions and reach reasonable compromises that improve the government of the united states of america. this is how this entire body should conduct itself. and i especially want to thank chairman gers and mr. dicks

and their staffs for leading the way. also want to express my gratitude to chairman frelinghuysen who is also my friend and a consummate gentleman, and our subcommittee members and our exceptional staff for their hard work in crafting a wonderful piece of legislation. the energy on water provides $9.3 billion, $30 million above last year's level ensuring the ability to counter the most serious threat confronting the threat of nuclear terrorism is adequately fded. the griment provides for renewable energy programs at level funding from last year, and the science council, critical to the competitive of our nation is $46 million above last year. arpa e drives innovation to support our scientific

competitiveness. the army corps of engineers is funded at $5 billion ensuring that some programs will not be terminated. we must invest in our infrastructure. while this increases funding for corps we are not adequately investing in infrastructure but i do support the legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. chairman, i yield three minutes to the chairman of the homeland security subcommittee, mr. aderholt from alabama. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. aderholt: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and i ask for unanimous nsent to revise and extend my remarks. mr. speaker, i re i strong support of the conference report, and i want to thank chairman rogers as well as ranking member norman dicks for their leadership and their commment as we went back to regular order,s we produce this agreement. we had a challenging negotiations with our colleagues from the other body, but i believe we aforged a

disciplid agreement that puts the priority on limited spending and on true priorities like border security, immigration enforcement, disaster relief, while at the same time instilling robust fiscal discipline and oversight. this conference report provides a total of $39.6 billion in discretionary spending for the department o homeland security. that is $4 billion below the president's request. 9.1%. it's $3 billion below the f.y. 2010, and it is $ billion below last year. -- $2 illion below last year. these are genuine reductions, not just budget gimmicks. while this contracted funding frontline operations are made a priority as well, including funding and direction to i.c.e. to maintain a daily detention bed capacity of 34,000 beds.

that is the highest capacity in history. also, funding fo the highest ever level of staffings for border patrol agents, c.d.p. officers and i.c.e. agents. it has two departments at the office of homeland security. it has unprecedented oversight at fema, and it includes a statutory requirement for the secretary of homeland security to enforce the immigration laws that are on the books. finally, this conference agreement and the disaster bill that we are considering today fully funds fema disaster relief requiments for 2012. that means that all the devastated areas across the country will get what they need to get back on their feet, and this funding can be offset through reductions that will also be considered later this afternoon, which i support. let me close again by thanking all those involved in this process on the appropriations

committee. i'd like to thank ben nicholson with the majority and the staff from the majority staff as well as stephanie guptka with the minority and her staff and also to thank senator landrieu and senator coates and ranking member price, of course, who was my process in this -- colleague in this pros. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from north carolina, the ranking member for the homeland security subcommittee, mr. price. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for two minutes. mr. price: mr. speaker, i'm pleased that we're finally considering an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal 2012 to fund critical federal agencies including the department of homeland security. after a year of lurching from one manufactured crisis to anothe these stabilizing the american economy and sending congress' approval rings to

record lows. it's high time we restore some measure of regular order to this critical legislative function and i applaud chairman rogers, ranking member dicks, my subcommittee chairman aleder holt for their commit -- aleder holt for their commitment of having bipartisan cooperation that distinguishes our committee, even in today's hyperpartisan environment. i want tthank our talented staff for drafting and negotiating for what was a very difficult package to put together. with respect to d.h.s., overall funding will drop for a second year in a row. but this dp is compensated for by the separate disaster relief bill we will be considering shortly. when these two measures are combined, fema will receive a total of $7.1 billion for disaster relief, ensuring that families and businesses affected by recent disasters will receive assistance vital to their recovery and rebuilding. beyond disaster assistance, the

reduced allocation meant we had to make some tough decisions. i'm pleased the sufficient funding is provided in this bill for our frontline d.h.s. employees to conduct critical operations along our borders, protect our nation's airports, sea ports, and thwarts cybersecurity attacks on our federal government. other accounts radcally underfunded in the house -- radically underfunded in this house bill has been nowhere near adequate levels. research and development funds hab been cut since 2010. targeted specifically at homeland security threats. and state and local grants have been reduced by more than 50% from the 2010 level, requiring our states and communities to delay or abandon vital preparedness efforts. mr. chairman, may i have an additional 10 seconds? the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman from washington wish to yield additional time? mr. dicks: 15 seconds.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 15 seconds. mr. price: these grant cuts will require states and communities to delay or abandon vital preparedness efforts. we simply have to do better next year. while this is an imperfect bill, under the circumstances we know it could have been much worse. it's the product of bicammeral and bipartisan process. with that in mind i urge colleagues to support this omnibus bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the very distinguished chairman of the financial services subcommittee on appropriations, e gentlelady from missouri, mrs. emerson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from missouri is recognized for three minutes. mrs. emerson: mr. speaker, i ank the chairman for yielding. i know he hasn't enjoyed an easy task, but he has done a tremendous job in bringing us to this point today so thank you very much, mr. chairman. i also want to express my appreciation to ranking member serrano and laura on their

staff. they have be terrific to work with. even though we didn't agree on something we still had dialogue. they were terrific. our own staff on the subcommittee, ery ablely led by john martin and winnie kelly, ariana and karen have done a tremendous job. there are a lot of reasons to be happy about ts bill and to vote for it. from the perspective of the financial services subcommittee , the bill reduces this portion of the president's budget request by $4.2 billion. compared to 2010, discretionary funding in this bill is reduced by 11%. we're heeding the american people's call for a more limited, more responsible government. the bill prohibits funds for certain white house czars, rescinds $25 million from a mandatory slush fund at the securities and exchange commission, and dead indicates much-needed resources for the

counterterrorism activities at the -- and dead indicates much-needed resources for the counterterrorism aivities at the department of defense. our small businesses are critical to our economyand this progm extend accessible and affordable credit to help them grow. as fortunate as i feel to ave reached agreement with my colleagues in so many areas, i'm still startled and a bit dismayed by the white house's refusa to submit the consumer financial protection bureau, an agency whose mission is to promote accountability and transparency in the financial industry to the usual and customary transparency measures accorded to congress and the american people. provisions in the house's bill would have limited the budget at the bureau and submit it and subject e cftb to congressional review. i am hard pressed to understand

why a $200 million limit is not enough for a bureau without a director and why the centerpiece of the dodd-frank act cannot withstand meaningful regular review by the congress which established it in the first place. the checks and bances envisioned by our founders apply to every other consumer-oriented agency in the executive branch of government. the cfpb ought to be treated no different than the federal trade commission, the securities and exchange commission, the commodities futures trading commission, the food and drug administration and others in this important regard. i can promise that the cfpb will be revisited agaiand again by congress. leaving that subject, though, for anher day, i do urge my colleagues to support the bill and the savings it contains on behalf the american people and yield back. the spear pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield two minutes to the distinguish gentleman

from new york, the ranking member of the financial services subcommittee, mr. serrano. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york recognized for two mines. mr. serrano: mr. speak, i would like to thank congressma dicks for yielding me time so i can comment on the financial services and general government section of this bill. i'd also like to thank both him and chairman rogers for their hard wk in bringing this bill to the floor. please, let me also express my appreciation to chairwoman emerson who worked so well with me a her staff throughout this process. unfortunately, because of the budget agreement and the allocation that was given to the subcommittee, there are significant cuts to many important agencies. however, this is a much better bill than what emerged from our committee markup, and we worked hard to provide sufficient funding in order to avoid layoffs of hardworking federal employees. i'm especially pleased that the health care repeal provisions and the many anti-dodd-frank

provisions that were a part of the committee passed -- committee-passed bill have not been included in this final conference agreement. i am, however, distressed that this agreement once again interferes in the local affairs of the district of columbia. although d.c. will be able to continue to use its own local funds for syringe exchange programs, this conference report prohibits them from using their own local funds for abortion services, a restriction that no other american city has dictated to it by the federal government. finally, i am pleased that the provision reinstating the harsh bush-era restrictions on cuban american travel to cuba and limitations on remittances was dropped from the conference report. had this provision stayed in the bill, there would have been an immediate shutdown of family travel to cuba which would have been particularly difficult just days before the holiday

season. before i conclude, i would like to take this opportunity to thank the majority and minority subcommittee staff for all of their hard work and to acknowledge the efforts of my own personal staff. mr. speaker, within the strict buetary limitations that were given the committee and this section, an improved version, i in favor of the bill and i would ask my colleagues to vote for it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i yield three minutes, mr. speaker, to the distinguished chairman of the state foreign ops chair subcommittee, chair of the subcommittee, the gentlelady from texas, ms. granger. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for three minutes. ms. granger: mr. speaker, i rise in support of the state foreign operations part of this conference which contains $42.1 billion in discretionary budget authority. this means that since january, spending in this bill will decrease by $6.6 billion or more than 13%.

the agreement includes overseas contingency spending to implement in frontline states and conflict areas. these costs are temporary and extraordinary and will be reduced over time. this bill has been written to address our foreign assistance and state department funding through the lens of what is most important to our national security interests and the security of our allies and our neighbor, mexico. the bill provides security assistance for critical allies including full funding f the u.s.-israel memorandum of understanding. the bill also carries new language on the palestinian authority, cutting off their economic aid and stopping their ability to have a u.s. office if they attain member status at the united nations. adecisionally, it addresses concerns about assistance to egypt and pakistan. new restrictions are also placed on the up and other international organizations,

for example, funds are withhold from thesing ornyizations until they publicly display their audit and financial reports. -- reports. i want to thank members of the state foreign operations subcommittee and in particular my ranking member, mrs. lowey, who has been extremely helpful in developping -- developing this compromise. i want to thank my colleagues across the capitol who worked in good faith for the best possible outcomes. i believe we were successful in protecting our national security while priding appropriate oversight of taxpayer dollars. i want to sincerely thank the staff, from ms. lowey's staff, steve, aaron andalia and on my staff, ann marie, celia, alice, susan, craig, jie, johnny, and matt. they all worked appreciable hours and with great dedication.

with that, mr. speaker, i yield the floor. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield twowoman to the distinguished gentlewoman from new york, the ranking member of the state foreign operations subcommittee, mrs. lowey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. mrs. lowey: as rank member of the subcommittee, i want to congratulate chairwoman granger, chairman rogers, ranking member dicks and the outstanding majority and minority staff. thank you all for working together with me on a bill that will help maintain our global leadership, protect national security, and promote economic growth. our wise investmes in betr health and education systems, economic opportunity in the developing world, humanitarian assistance, international financial institutions, development assistance, economicupport funds, and international family planning

will help to save lives, develop the next generation of u.s. trading partners, boost job growth domestically, confront the conditions that foster radicalal -- radicalism and instability that threaten the long-term security of the united states this bill also fully funds our agreements with vital allies including israel, jordan, and egypt an supports governance and development activities in egypt to aid the transition to democracy. however, we do not write blank checks and stringent conditions on continued assistance for egypt,he palestinian authority, pakistan and afghanistan will help ensure accountability and responsible use of taxpayer dollars. this bill is aimed at advancing our economic and strategic interests around the world through effective and efficient diplomacy and development and i

urge my colleagues to support it and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. dicks: i risto go out of order here for one second to yield as much time -- two minutes to the gentleman from maryland, the democratic whip, mr. hoyer, my good friend and a former member of the appropriations committee who has a -- who has worked very strongly with us all year to move these bills forward. the speaker pro tempore: the jell is recognized. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for his comments and thank him for yielding and i rise in support of this legislation. but this ought to be a lesn for us in some humility. i was the majority leader, had i as majority leader brought that bill that sits on that floor, 712 pages, within the last 24 hours to the floor, i think the response from that

side of the aisle would have been harsh, accusatory, and not helpful. now why do i say that? because it happened. it ought a portion of humility for all of us to understand the legislative process is difficult. we bring different view, rewept -- we represent different constituencies, we have different priorities. i rise in strong support of this bill. and i urge my colleagues to support this piece of legislation. none of them have read it. not one of us has read every page in this bill. see the chairman raising his hand and i take him at his word. that means 434 of us have to rely on hisdvice and i'm sure mr. dicks has read it as well my point is not -- we work by committees as president wilson said, and we worked hard on this bill throh the year.

my republican colleagues during the course of the last election said we're going to bring bills one at a time to the floor and consider them. the labor-health bill included in a substantial portion of those pages has not only not been brought to the floor, it didn't pass the subcommittee, nor the full committee, nor this floor. but this bill has been worked on carefully and i want to congratulate mr. rogers and mr. dicks and all the subcommittee chairs for working out the differences that we had so we could do what the american people expect us to do. come to agreement on a bill that none of us perceives as perfect, but perceive as a positive step for our country. and -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is yielded an additional minute. mr. hoyer: i urge my colleagu to support this bill. yes,t will keep government open, which is essential. but it will also do the mo fundamental job this congress

has to do every year and that is to fund aropriately the priorities that this congress puts before the country. so again, in closing, mr. speaker, let me congratulate my friend hal rogers from kentucky, with whom i served on the appropriations subcommittee for over two decades. and mr. dicks work whom i've served every day of my congressional career. both are decent, harorking, conscientious representatives. they and their subcommittee chairs and ranking members have come together to present this product. it is time to act, it is time to act positively, and i will -- when the roll is called, i will be supporting this piece of legislation. and i yield back me balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields pack. the gentleman from -- yields back. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for those comments. i yield now, mr. speaker, three minutes tohe chairman of the interior subcommittee, the

gentleman from idaho, mr. simpson. the speaker pro tempore: mr. simpson is recognized for three seconds. three minutes. the gentleman is recognized for three minutes, maybe. mr. simpson: thank you, mr. chairman. let me thank chairman rogers and ranking member dicks. as i have told many members if this is your first term or second term or third term here in this bdy, this is actually the first time you've seen an appropriations bill come to the floor under an open rule. and i know that's something we both want. i know is very -- the majority party want that, i know the minority party wants that also and while mr. hoyer was correct, we need to get them all done, we are moving in the right direction and we will get there, where every bill comes under an open rule so members have input into that legislation. first, let me thank my partner in this effort, mr. moran of virginia. he's been a great asset in work

ought this bill. we don't always agree on every issue. m from idaho, he's from virginia, we sometimes have differences of opinion. but we're able to sit down and work together to solve the differces and work out a bill that i think is in the best interest of the american public. the superior bill conference agreement -- agreement is $21 ppt 75 billion, below the f.y. 2011 enactelevel. it funds the e.p.a. at $2.45 llion, $524 billion below the president's request. it includes a yen provision that amends the clean air act to transfer air quality permitting authority as of the date of this enactment from the environmental protection agency to department of interior this will provide parity for the planning areas with the western and central gull of of mexico planning areas. it funds the bureau of ocean

energy management with $60 million to help expedite the review of offshore expeditions. it fully funds the newly created of safety and environmental enforcement ars $76 million including $54 million for oil ill research. it provides authority for the collection of $62 million in inspection fee bus it dedicates funding for approving permits, expe dieting exploration plans and hiring much-needed inspectors an engineers. it fully funds wild fire suppression at a 10-year average, cuts n.e.a. and n.e.h. funding from the 2011 appropriation, it provides $4.3 billion to the indian health service. this has been a bipartisan effort with mr. dicks, when he was chairman of this committee, mr. moran when he was chairman of the committee and now with me that we fully fund the indian health services. this is a $5.% -- this is a

5.8% increase to fund health facilities and contractual obligations to tribes. it provides $10le knoll sithsonian for the museum of history and churl, it does several thing for westerners in public land states for grazing. it provides prection for trailing of livestock. this overall is a good bill. i think it's one we can all be proud of. i want to thank mr. moran for his dedication an work on this. i want to thank the staff on both sides of the aisle who work -- if you're not on this committee, if you don't work with this committee, you don't know how much time they put in. they do an incredible job for congress, for the american people and i thank you and yield back. the spear pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman

from virginia, the raking memb of the interior subcommittee, mr. moran. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. moran: i want to join the chorus in commending chairman rogers and chairman simpson and our ranking member norm dicks and the phenomenal work of the appropriations staff on both sides. ritchie and shalonda have been working on this bill for the last several months, sometimes through the night but all the pros on the staff, led by dave, leslie, bill, they are pro, they all deserve special recognition. mr. speaker, this is a vast improvement over the interior and environment bill considered by the house in july. the agreement provides $1.7 billion measure the initial house allotion, $8.4 billion is provided for e.p.a., it's $1.3 billion over the house bill, it maintains level

funding for the national parks service and restores funding for the science programs in usgs, land and water conservation fund programs are increasededly 22 million over last year's level and it's imrtant to note we have restored funding for endangered species and critical habitat listings. subcommittee chairman mike simpson spearheaded a bipartisan effort in support of funding for native american programs. and as a result, the indian health servi has increased i by 6%, important increases in education, public safety and ibal government this agreement doesn't abandon our commitment to the arts, in fact, n.e.a. and n.e.h. reach $11 million, it's equal to the president's request. just as important, though, as what is included in this agreement is what isn't. the conferees dropped more than two dozen unacceptable environmental riders that were part of the house bill, gone are greenhouse gas, grand canyon uranium ming,

mountaintop mining to name a few. this is not to say it's destroyed of environmental restrictions but this is a compromise. i can say in nearly every instance what's been included is significantly been approved over what is -- what was proposed. can i have an additional 10 seconds? mr. dicks: i yield the gentleman 15 seconds. mr. moran: this is the way things were meant to be done in this body. politics was meant to be the art of compromise with people acting in good faith for the betterment of their country. that's what this omnibus appropriations bill is all about. so it deserves to be passed unanimously of the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: i yield two minutes to the chairman of the legislative branch subcommittee on appropriations, the gentleman from florida, mr. crenshaw. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlemais recognized for two minutes. mr. crenshaw: i thank the gentleman for yielding the time and i thank him for his

leadership. i urge all my colleagues to support this conference report because i think it takes another step to change this culture of spending that we've had in this time to a culture of savings and wectually spent less money this year than we did last year. and if you look at the legislative branch subcommittee, which i chair, you ll find that we reduce spending this year by 7.5%. in fact, the money we spend on the legislative branch is less than we spent last yoor. it's less than we spent in 2010 and it's less money than we spent in 2009. and when you look specifically at the house of representatives , which we are all a part of, the last two cycles we have reduced spending on the house of representatives by over 10%. when we ask other agencies of the federal government to do more with less, to rein in spending, to tighten their belt, be more effective and be

more efficient, we have not exempted ourselves from that and we have led by example. every member's office account in this body has been reduced by 10% these last two years. the leadership offices have had their funding reduced by 10%. and the committees as well, even the appropriations committee's been reduced by more than 10%. so i think this is another step forward to fund our priorities but exercise spending discipline and i certainly want to thank my ranking member, mr. honda, for his cooperation and hard work, thank all our staff members for their dedication and commitment and urge my colleagues to support this very good bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, the ranking member of the legislative branch subcommittee, mr. honda. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. honda: thank you. mr. speaker, today congress is considering a bill to keep the

government running for the remainder of the fiscal year. that is our basic responsibility as members of congress. i am pleased we are operating under regular order and considering the conference report. the erican people want us to work together. this package is the reflection of what we can accomplish through hard work and compromise. the legislative branch appropriation bill will provide the congress and its agencies with $4.3 billion to work with which is a reduction in the previous year. i had hoped for more fund for the congressional budget office and the government accountability office who have experienced increased demands during these budget focused times. however, i am glad we restored funding for agencies that were the targets of the most extreme cuts proposed in the original house bill. this conference report restores $18 million to the government printing office, $12 million to the library of office, avoiding layoffs the original house bill

would have caused. capitol police remains at last year's funding. it is the only legislative branch agency that was not cut from last year's level. this conference report includes language requiring the chief administrative officer and sergeant at arms to take on more of a leadership roles in setting policies regarding district office security, including helping members renegotiate new terms on security requirements. this bill provides the basic level of funding for the legislative branch of the government and should be sufficient to keep current services in place. that's why i support this bill and ask my colleagues to do the same. i want to thank chairman crenshaw and his staff for the working relationship throughout this process. the majority clerk and the subcommittee and michael from his personal staff. i want to thank sholanda young

and makumoto from my staff. while not perfect, this bill is the result oa lot of hard work and compromise. i thk my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and yield back. mr. dicks: mr. speaker, can you tell us what the time is on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington has nine minutes remaining. the gentleman from kentucky controls 3 1/2 minutes. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rors: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma, a very hardworking member of the appropriations committee, mr. cole. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for three minutes. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. . speaker, first of all, i want to congratulate chairman rogers and ranking member dicks for an exceptionally hard job which yielded frankly a very good product. this bill spends less, $70 billion less than the president requested, $6 billion less than we spent last year, the second

year in a row we have actually cut discretionary funding. it cuts 5% for e.p.a. regulatory spending. it eliminates 23 programs totaling $240 million. and while this bill cuts wasteful spending, it actually focuses additional funds on things that count, defending our country, helping some of our most vulnerable and challenged citizens and providing funds to educate some of our most disadvantaged young people. the bill provides a 1.6% pay increase as requested by the president and funds the defense health and military family programs at there are 1.1 billion above f.y. 2011 and $283 millionbove the president's request. along with supporting our armed forces, this bill exceeds the f.y. 2011 levels for our veterans. $58 billion in discretionary

spenng, this bill fully funds, is $2.1 billion above last year's level for those who have served our country. in addition, the indian health service is funded at $4.3 billion,. i want to thank chairman simpson and ranking member moran for their hard efforts. the orming house bill was actually -- the original house bill was actually higher. the house really did a great job in this area. finally, i want to notetoryo fuing was increased in the difficult environment by $15 million. mr. speaker, this is a good bill. it reprioritizes our spending away from wasteful programs that don't work toward things that are truly important for the american people. i urge its passage. i thank my friends. mr. dicks: will the gentleman yield? mr. cole: i certainlyield to my friend. mr. dicks: i certainly commend the gentleman for his work in support of indian country, both the indian health service, the b.i.a. you have been a tireless

advocate. our subcommittee on interior has had bipartisan work on this issue, and i commend you for your strong leadership on that. mr. cole: i thank the chairman, the gentleman, very much and appreciate that and with that yield back urging passage of the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield 3 1/2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from connecticut, the ranking member of the labor , health and human services subcommittee, congresswoman rosa delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for 3 1/2 minutes. thraur delauro thank you to my colleague -- ms. delauro: thank you to my colleague, chairman dicks, chairman rogers, the staff, both majority and minority, for their tireless work in this effort, including david, steven, david rishe, lisa and liddy. susan as well. they did unbelievable work in this effort. i rise in support of this

budget for 012. it fun the government at a -- budget for 2012. funds the government without many of the damaging and extreenyuss ideological riders that marked earlier efforts. make no mistake, there are real cuts here, including hard cuts to vital programs like the liheap program, the low income energy assistance program. still, i believe th legislation habeen improved. in terms of labor and health and human services and education, the agreement restores $2.9 billion in cuts made in the chairman's draft. these restorations are key investments in job creation, education and the health and the well-being of families that will lead us to recovery. we know especially as over 13 million of our fellow americans look for work, that investments in human capital, le job training and re-employment services are part of the core essential role for government. theyelp responsible people succeed, and i am pleased that

this agreement restores the 74% cut to job training programs that was proposed in the original chairman's bill which was never considered before the committee. health care is no longer shortchanged. with an aging population and a nursing shortage before us, we need to make wise investments in our health work force. the programs that help to train primary care doctors, nurses and othehealth care providers cut is only 6%. mental health services, once cut by 17% are now only cut by 3%. and it has key investments in the affordable care act implement and in title 10. i'm glad to see the national institutes of health receive a funding increase of $299 million and a new national center for transformational science.

n.i.h. can now keep funding life-saving research d pushing the frontiers of medical knowledge. perhaps no other investments we make are as important as the ones we make in our children. this agreement includes a $60 million increase for the childcare and development block grant, providing desperately needed aid to working parents for safe and reliable childcare. it provides a $424 million increase for head start, allowing our kids to continue a path to academic success. $60 million increase to title 1, supporting schools serving low-income children and $100 million increase to idea, supporting students with special needs. one of the hardest issues for this conference has been pell grants. the agreement maintains the maximum grant amount of $5,550. too many students i have met, even $100 cut would have derailed their prospects for higher education. at the same time we have made some targeted cost-saving changes to the program that

should eliminate the funding shortfall for this year and perhaps next year as well. am pleased to see that the virtual elimination of the corporation for national and community service proposed in the majority's draft had been rolled back. instead of ending americorps it will continue. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. delauro: i encourage my colleagues to support this conference agreement and would encourage all to do so. and i yield back the balance o my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky. reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield two minut to the distinguished gentleman from georgia, the ranking member of the military construction and veterans' affairs subcommittee, mr. bishop. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes. mr. bishop: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in support of this conference agreement, the milcon-v.a. section of the conference agreement excludes $71.7 billion, a decrease of $1.4 billion below last year's

level and decrease of $2.1 billion below the president's request. military construction provides $13.1 billion for military construction projects and reductions to the budget request of possible -- is possible because of savings on projects that were appropriated in previous years. however, even with these reductions, the agreement funds family housing construction at $1.7 billion with a total of 48 new family housing units, 80 replacement units and improvements to 216 family housing units. for vetans' affairs, the conference agreement provides a total of $122.2 billion for the f.y. 2012 programs for the department of veterans affrs off which $5 kp 8 billion is discretionary funding. it contains advanced funding for the v.a., the identical level that was requested by the president for our v.a. medical

accounts. mr. speaker, i'm also pleased that the conference agreement provides $45.8 million for arlington national cemetery, which is $700,000 over last year's level. finally, mr. speaker, the conference agreement fully funds the armed rces retirement home request and has $14.4 million for the armed forces retirement home to facilitate the repairs at the d.c. campus to repair damages sustained by the earthquake in august. mr. speaker, let me just thank theommittee and the subcommittee staff for all of their hard work in putting the bill together in a cooperative way, taking leadership from our chairman and our ranking member who have worked firelessly to get this appropriations process back to regular order. i urge the adoption of the conference report and i urge all my colleagues to support it. it's a good bill.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky still reserves. the gentleman from washington. mr. dicks: i yield 1 1/2 minutes to the distinguished jo from ohio, ms. kaptur, who is the -- distinguished gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur. the speaker pro tempore: the ntlelady from ohio is recognized for a minute and a half. ms. kaptur: i thank my dear colleague and friend, mr. dicks, to rise and support this conference report. this bill is welcomed news and helps restore confidence that america can govern. . it is essential to economic grothe and job creation in our country and the bill cuts overall discretionary spending by $7 billion over last year, and also $98 billion less than the president's f.y. 2012 budget proposal. this bill donstrates e appropriations committee is still one of the few that properly functions in this institution, and i can't thank enough chairman hal rogers and ranking member norm dicks for their bipartisan leadership and

hard work along with their staff to bring this house to regular order. this legislation includes vital funding for the defense of our nation and our domestic imperative. the bill includes support for our great lakes ports as in cleveland, low rain, sandusky, and invest in their infrastructure necessary to modernize those facilities to increase exports and increase jobs. it also includes environmental restoration funding needed for the great lakes to allow economic revitalization as we create more maritime jobs and nature tourism. the bill keeps our commitment to establish america's energy independence with robust investments in renewable energy, in solar, wind, and biomass, the investments in technology for those represents not just jobs fotoday but for tomorrow. as we grow our economy forward, budget certainty matters for fiscal year 2012. i urge my colleagues to support

this so we can govern our nation in the nation's interest. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from kentucky yield. the gentleman from washington. miss darbg: i -- mr. dicks: i yield one minute to congresswoman barbara lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for one minute. . lee: let me thank the gentleman for yielding and the chairman and ranking member and subcommittee chairs for bringing together a bipartisan bill to the floor. but i cannot support this bill because once again poor and w-income communities are taking the brunt of the terrible cuts while there are good provisions in this bill, what we have, however, is a bill loaded with special interest tea party republican riders at the expense of low-ince people, especially women of color right here in washington, d.c. cutting off low-income women of color in washington, d.c., from access to the same health and reoductive services available throughout the country is really not critical to preventing a shutdown. forcg the continuation of

abstinence only sex education that fails to meet the needs of young people, that's not crital to preventing the government shutdown. increasing the spread of h.i.v. and hepatitis c through dirty needles is not critical to preventing a government shutdown. finally, let me just say this bill continues to fund over $2 billion a week, mind you, $2 billion a week on a war without end in afghanistan. we must allow the afghan people to control their own destiny and immediately begin to pull our brave young men and women in uniform out of harm's way. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. mr. dicks: mr. speaker, how much time do i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: both sides have one minute remaining. mr. dicks: would the chairman yield me a minute? to do a colloquy. mr. rogers: i'll be happy to yield. the speaker pro tempore: who is yielding what time here? mr. dicks: i yield to the gentlelady from guam. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from washington yields a minute to the gentlelady from guam. ms. bordallo: the recently passed f.y. 2012 defense authorization bill restricts transfer of funding from the department of defense to support civilian infrastructure requiremen on guam. except funding specifically authorized in law. does the languagef section 8110 of division a of this bill require any further authorization? mr. dicks: i thank the gentlelady from gm for raising this question. it is our intent that section 81 10 of division a of this bill has the required authorization and should be executed by the department of defense as specified in division a of this bill to support civilian infrastructure requirements on guam. ms. bordallo: i thank the gentleman for the clarification. mr. dicks: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back. the gentleman from kentucky. mr. rogers: . speaker, i yield

back the balance of my time. urge an aye vote on the memememe >> the senate may take up the bill on saturday. we will have live coverage on c- span2. >> there is much more to the newly designed c-span.org. more video with 11 choices, making it easy for you to watch today's events. our online schedule and a three network layout so you can quickly scroll to all the programs on the c-span network and even received an e-mail alert. more access to our most popular series and programs like washington journal, campaign 2012, american history tv. use our handy channel finder to see where our networks are available on cable or satellite

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