House Proceeding 02-24-09 on Feb 24th, 2009 :: 0:00:00 to 0:20:00
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Daniel Coughlin: the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father coughlin. chaplain coughlin: lord of history and father of all humanity, as we mark bm --

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Speech By: Daniel Coughlin

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Daniel Coughlin: black history month this year, anxiety gives much to pray about, yet we have much to celebrate as well. the honorable john lewis tells a story which may serve as a parable for afro-american history in the united states. on a sunday afternoon he was one of 15 children who took

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Daniel Coughlin: refuge in aunt savannah's house as a storm was brewing. the house began to sway. the wood beneath their feet began to bend. the corner of the room started lifting . that was when aunt serena told the children to line up and hold hands.

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Daniel Coughlin: then she had them walk as a group back and forth from kitchen to the front of the house, to every corner of the room that was rising. 15 children were walking with the wind holding that trembling house down from flying to the sky with the weight of their

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Daniel Coughlin: own bodies. they had learned that you, lord, were right in the midst of the storm and your voice could be heard in the thunder. throughout history, lord, your presence can be found. be with this house tonight as history is made.

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Earl Blumenauer: be with us now and amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the hse his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: pursuant to clause

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Speech By: Earl Blumenauer

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Earl Blumenauer: 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the jeist it it and the journal -- the ayes have it and the journal stands approved. mr. wson: mr. speaker. i object to the vote on the

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Earl Blumenauer: grounds that a quorum is not

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present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. a quorum is not present. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , further proceedings on this question will be postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from ohio, congressman wilson.

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Dennis J. Kucinich: mr. wilson: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman

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Speech By: Dennis J. Kucinich

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Dennis J. Kucinich: seek recognition? >> i ask unanimo address the house minute and to revise and extend. without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. kucinich: 50 million americans without any health insurance and another 50 million undensured. there's never been a more significant moment where this country has the opportunity to

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Dennis J. Kucinich: turn crisis and opportunity by making it possible for all americans for the first time to have a plan of national health care, a universal single payer not for profit health care system, where all $2.2 trillion spent for health care will be spent for health care for people.

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Dennis J. Kucinich: and not for profit for insurance companies. insurance companies make money not providing health care. with so many americans without health care today, it is urgent that we recognize the value of h.r. 676, the providing with americans the coverage they need, plus we stop this system which is excluding people from getting the care they need because of the cost of premiums

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Dennis J. Kucinich: and co-pays. this is a moment we need to seize.

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Joe Wilson: h.r. 676, universal single payer not for profit health care. let's move from bank care to health care. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i ask permission to tremendous and to revise and extend my e speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speake i rise today to recognize the national

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Speech By: Joe Wilson

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Joe Wilson: guard youth challenge program. when we invest in the mentoring and education of our children, we provide them a strong foundation for their future success. the national guard youth challenge program has a proven track record of teaching the leadership, citizenship and life skills tt can make a difference in so many lives. i am particularly proud to have

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Joe Wilson: members and supporters of the program here on capitol hill today, including general john conaway, chairman of the national guard youth foundation, also colonel jackie fogal, director of the youth academy. as they celebration and bring recognition to the extraordinary work they are doing on behalf of our nation's youth.

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Joe Wilson: i'm grateful to have introduced legislation that would help expand the resources for these programs to ensure they continue to have a positive impact on the young men and women in our communities. i'm particularly grateful to see the plans for success in

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Stephen Cohen: guam with governor felix comacho. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: to address the house it takes for a memorial. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker.

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Speech By: Stephen Cohen

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Stephen Cohen: yesterday in memphis, tennessee, my hometown in the site of tennessee nine, a great leader in our community passed away. a gentleman by the name of alvin king. alvin king was 73 years old, and during his time in memphis, he was a political leader. he was an african-american gentleman. this is black history month. he was the third memphian to be

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Stephen Cohen: elected to the house of representatives in tennessee since reconstruction in 1968, and he served in the house of representatives for 24 years, the third longest serving african-american in the tennessee house of i served with representative king for 106 those years when i was a senator, and he was a very capable, well-liked and effective legislator.

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Stephen Cohen: he did something that is, i guess, embodied in our president, barack obama, that people can get beyond race. alvin king was born of the civil rights era when it was important in his district that he was african-american and that his district elected an african-american. as time went on, he saw the need for people to reach across and get votes from people

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Stephen Cohen: regardless of race. and he said in 1991 in a mayorial race when he supported a candidate other than the candidate i supported that black people will vote for white people and white people will vote for black as long as race isn't the issue. and he supported a white candidate who was incumbent

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Stephen Cohen: mayor because he worked with him as a state legislator. that was the cause of his defeat in 1992. but he was early in the call for biracial voting. it wasn't popular for african-americans to come out and support me openly.

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alvin king was a leader. he leaves three sons and a daughter, a daughter esperanza, he loved, serves as an intern in my office. his sons, alvin, samuel and ashley, and his wife, who he dearly loved and will miss him,

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as will i and the city of thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. pence: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without jection. mr. pence: thank you, mr. speaker. during these challenging economic times, american families and small businesses

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are making sacrifices to make ends meet. and congress should do the same. with all the talk about fiscal responsibility in washington, d.c., it's time for our democratic colleague our money where their mouth is. and republicans are willing to come together across the aisle and make the hard choices necessarto put our fiscal house in order.

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judging from what's scheduled to come the floor tomorrow, mr. speaker, it looks like the majority just doesn't get it. just slightly over one wee after passing a $1 trillion so-called stimulus bill, democrats in congress are planning to pass another bill spending bill, $410 billion, 9,000 earmarks, as usual, the

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largest increase in discretionary spending since the carter administration. house republicans and millions of americans are saying enough is enough. let's do wt every american family, what every small business is doing. let's freeze federal spending immediately and come together to get this congress' house in the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

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Charlie Wilson: for what purpose does the gentleman from mr. wilson: i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: thank you, mr. speaker. tonight, the american people will hear the truth about the fiscal situation that president obama inherited. there won't be any sugarcoating

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Speech By: Charlie Wilson

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Charlie Wilson: in the form of gimmicks that hide the wars in iraq and afghanistan, natural disasters and some medicare payments . president obama believes that government should be honest, and he is doing the right thing by eliminating accounting gimmicks. such tricks ga the false impression that the government was actually addressing our nation really wasn't.

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Charlie Wilson: mr. speaker, tonight president obama will level with the american people about the $1.3 trillion deficit that he inherited from president bush.

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in the days ahead, we will work with president obama to make the hard choices n put us back on a f responsible path. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one

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minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. l during our work periodback in the district to be at seven of my county courthouses. what i did was i met one-on-one all morning and met until the afternoon and we got locked in the courthouses in the evening to talk to these people that we represent. and they're concerned.

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they're concerned about the spending that's been going on in this congress. i had one gentleman wait four hours, four hours to come up and to sit across from the desk from me for 30 seconds to say we're spending too much money in this country. they're worried about what's happening to their future, to their kids' future and their grandkids' future. you know, it's tough when you

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Peter A. DeFazio: pick up the paper and try to explain it to them and say, where is this money coming from that's being borrowed? and over the weekend when we saw the secretary of state over there in china with cup in hand saying, we need to keep buying our debt. the folks back home are concerned about their future and they want this congress to and that means we got to quit

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Speech By: Peter A. DeFazio

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Peter A. DeFazio: spending. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon rise? mr. defazio: to address the house r one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. defazio: well, we just heard from the republican side of the aisle that they're ready to make the tough fiscal choices. unfortunately, they're about

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Peter A. DeFazio: short with their newfound fiscal conservativism. remember, george bush inherited a surplus. wh was the answer to the surplus? tax cuts. then we 9/11. we had tax cuts. we had the misbegotten war on iraq. tax cuts. then we had the bank collapse

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Peter A. DeFazio: and the recession, growing into a depression. what was the answer of george bush, tax cuts.

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and what's the answer to the re tax cuts. for them to say they're for fiscal responsibility and honest budgeting after those eight years is laughable. the obama administration is going to give it to the american people straight tonight. they had a hash out of it and we're going to try and fix it but it's going to take some time.

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the speaker pro tempore: the for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: mr. speaker, someday in the future we may live in a land flowing with renewable green energy. windmills on every corner, cute little battery operated cars in every garage, but the path to blissful nirvana is long and we

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have just begun that journey. right now our primary fuel source for vehicles is crude oil, whether we like it or not. we get most of it from the middle east. we transfer billions of dollars of taxpayer money to countries that don't like us or respect us. countries that have ties to radical terrorists that want to kill us. the american people support clean offshore drilling. it's good for the country. we will keep our money in

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america instead of sending it overseas. offshore drilling creates high-paying jobs for americans. we reduce the risk of oil spills from tankers from the middle east and oil companies will send millions of dollars for our treasury for the right to lease offshore and it can be done cleanly and safely. but the new administration has blocked offshore drilling. with all the rhetoric about stimulating the economy, one

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Rush D. Holt: would think a real stimulus would be to drill off our shore and bring jobs and money to americans instead of going into debt with the illusive stimulus it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks.

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Speech By: Rush D. Holt

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Rush D. Holt: the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. holt: mr. speaker, i rise today to represent mike she he, the national security advisor for the speaker. mike shehee -- when the speaker first selected me on the committee of intelligence, mike was one of the first people i turned to. his deep experience on

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Rush D. Holt: intelligence matters as well as his knowledge of the house and its members have served the speaker and all of us well over the years. especially after the speaker asked me to chair the select intelligence oversight panel, i frequently sought his advice on a wide range of issues, and i found him to be always thoughtful and well informed. and, i might add, always calm.

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Rush D. Holt: he's a consummate professiol. as he leaves his professn here on capitol hill,

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others want to recognize him, thank him and wish him well. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? mr. kirk: to revise the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kirk: mr. speaker, the house will vote on the $410 billion omnibus appropriation bill this week. the bill's text was finished weeks ago but kept secret from

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the american people. and now we know why. the legislation contains 9,000 earmarks to be approved ironically the same week as we had a fiscal responsibility summit. last night my staff and i stayed up to read this bill longer than the stimulus. we found no less than 12

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earmarks for clients of a lobbying firm that was raided by the f.b.i. three months ago. the leaders of paul magalechiti and associates will go to jail, but their earmarks are in this legislation. totaling over $8 million of the taxpayers' money. all approved by the leaders of

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this house. this is irresponsible spending by a criminal enterprise to the detriment of this congress. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio rise? >> to address the house for o minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. sutton: mr. speaker,

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president obama inherited a scal mess created by eight years of republican economic and fiscal policies. tonight our new president will begin the slow process of restoring fiscal discipline to washington. he will do that first by leveling with the american people about the true costs of the budget he'll release on thursday.

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second, he will reinstitute the pay-as-you-go guidelines similar to those that have been in place here in the democratic house now for the last two years. the principal of pay-as-you-go played an instrumental role of the surplus the 1990 's. unfortunately they were rejected by the bush administration and helped lead to the record deficit our country must now address.

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third, president obama's expected to propose mandatory congressional reco -- across-the-board spending cuts to offset any new initiative that expands the red ink. these reforms will help cut the budget next five years which is not bad considering what we inherited from our republican friends. i yield back.

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the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: witho objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, welcome to the ally in wonderland world of congressional budgeting. a place where congress calls for fiscal responsibility but then spends bond, well beyond our

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means even as the budget deficit grows to over $1.4 trillion. we are all too familiar with the litany of the spending. it's already occurred this session. 3d50 billion for the tarp bailout. $787 billion for the pork-filled imulus bill. and this week, right after the so-called fiscal responsibility summit, congressional leaders

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will bring up a giant omnibus spending bill that will spend another $410 billion, an 8% increase over funding for last year and has over 9,000 earmarks. my constituents aren't seeing an 8% increase in their paychecks. the brookings institute, the nonpartisan brookings institution, also cited recently, i quote, these are not

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Russ Carnahan: just deficits as far as the eye can see, but they are trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. we are making sacrifices every day. congress should continue to do the same. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expir for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

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Speech By: Russ Carnahan

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Russ Carnahan: mr. corporation has a proud history of producing cars, trucks, and fans in the plant. the workers there help chrysler survived its darkest hours in the 1980's. and helped thrive during the 1990 's and 2000. the u.s. government has september stepped in to help our american auto makers survive and protect american jobs. i was truly disappointed to read