all rise the house will be in order the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain pastor wes davis riverton friends church riverton kansas shall we pray father god maker of heaven and earth you are lord of all things created and sovereign over this great nation we humbly bow before you this day to thank you for your mercies being new every morning it is because of your great mercy that we would again ask for your blessing and your favor over these women and men who gather here as representatives of our congress please extend to them your mercy and your grace remind them that you love them your scripture tells us as iron sharpens iron so one person sharpens another may these your people sharpen one another today as their ideologies clash together as one philosophy grates against another philosophy different than their own help them to see this diversity not as tearing for these are not people of sheer fabric for they've been forged stronger by the rigors of politics and public scrutiny but help them see this clashing and grating as an opportunity to sharpen thought to cut through rhetoric and to pierce conscience for the benefit of humanity may their actions and decisions of today not become future apologies but may they be a statement of this congress's character their firm resolve and a hope for a better america amen amen the chair has examined the journal of last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof pursuant to clause one of rule one the journal stands approved the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from new jersey congressmen sires would you all join me please 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 please be seated the chair will receive a message madam speaker a message from the senate madam speaker madam secretary i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed without amendment hr three thousand five hundred and forty one cited as as the do not call improvement act of two thousand and seven thank you thank you without objection the gentlewoman from kansas congresswoman boyda is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker reverend wes davis left the beaches of california in the early 1990s to pastor a small church in kansas in the town of riverton he helped to construct the building that is the riverton friends church in cherokee county and he helped to grow the congregation from about one hundred to nearly four hundred people he did this while sharing his knowledge and faith from around the world from haiti to liberia to hungary and in addition to being pastor family man and missionary pastor davis is the executive director of stoa ministries stoa in greek means porch in solomon's day people gathered on the area porches to discuss theology and their faith wes davis is a man of faith who has made the world his porch always striving to help others learn god's grace pastor wes davis thank you for expanding your porch to the halls of congress today thank you the chair will entertain up to fifteen oneminutes on each side without objection the gentleman from oregon is recognized thank you madam speaker for the first time in american history the highway trust fund is running a deficit this year what's the solution for this administration well instead of having a comprehensive approach to deal with this shortfall they just want to steal some money from the mass transit administration account and walk away this will only delay the problem for one year and it will push mass transit into deficit the next year instead of a practical solution to fix the looming highway trust fund crisis this is consistent with their consistent underinvestment in our nation's infrastructure it's why the american society of civil engineers has rated our infrastructure a dminus and it will cost us sixteen trillion over the next five years to repair water sewer and transportation infrastructure a crisis not just for the federal government but even worse for state and local governments a hundred years ago teddy roosevelt had a vision for a national conference to develop a plan to deal with the nation's infrastructure it's time for this congress to revisit that concept maybe have a transportation vision for this century gentleman's time has expired for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise address the house for one minute without objection thank you mr speaker on friday december 14th two thousand and seven the varsity football team from thomas jefferson high school in jefferson hills pennsylvania won the class aaa state football championships clenching the jaguar's second title in four years with a final score of twenty eight to three the jaguars finished a perfect season coach bill cherpak became just the third head coach in western pennsylvania history to achieve a perfect win record in more than one appearance in the state championship game in hershey thomas jefferson high school in the west jefferson hills school district also excels in academics ranking in the top twenty of pennsylvania's five hundred and one school districts congratulations to coach bill cherpak the thomas jefferson high school jaguars for being champions on the field and champions in the classroom i yield back gentleman yields back the balance at this time for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise to address the house for one minute without objection mr speaker our national budget should invest in our future unfortunately the president's final budget is more of the same missed opportunities and misplaced priorities the president's budget is fiscally reckless adding sixteen trillion in deficit over the next five years instead of becoming balanced over that same period but you won't hear that from the president he claims that the budget is balanced by two thousand and twelve but that's only because he leaves out enormous costs including the fiveyear cost of fixing the alternative minimum tax and the full cost of the iraq war when realistic costs are included the budget runs into significant deficits over each of the next five years this unfortunately is more of the same the president took a 10year fifty six trillion of surplus that he inherited and turned it into a thirty six trillion deficit the budget continues down the same path by borrowing from our children and our grandchildren mr speaker democrats can simply not afford this fiscal recklessness in the coming months we will present a fiscally responsible budget that meets our payasgo requirements what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise request permission to address the house for one minute without objection mr speaker the border war with mexico continues on the mexican side of the border mexican nationals hide on rocky hills and throw rocks at american border agents these assaults have continued to increase and escalate to the point that border patrol recently acted in selfdefense and fired tear gas at the unruly mobs you see these are the same mexican nationals that later will illegally sneak into america when the border patrol isn't watching after the most recent tear gas episode the mexican government sent a selfrighteous statement to the united states that said even though these incidences are a response to hostile acts against border patrol agents by mexican citizens the actions by us authorities are unacceptable the mexican government seems to arrogantly support its rockthrowing nationals but doesn't want americans to defend themselves mexico needs to get its lawless house in order and control the disorderly mobs that lurk on the border united states should use every tool available to protect our borders from invaders rock throwers and drug smugglers and if mexico cries tears about it too bad and that's just the way it is gentleman's time has expired for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa rise address the house for one minute without objection mr speaker this week the president unveiled his final budget proposal and like previous budgets it fails to properly address the needs and concerns that are central to the everyday lives of our constituents perhaps most troubling is the fact that the bush budget continues the president's legacy of fiscal irresponsibility and leaves behind a four hundred and seven billion deficit the five largest deficits in american history have all occurred on the president's watch when president bush took office the debt stood at fifty seven trillion and it's projected to stand at ninety seven trillion by the time president bush leaves office this fiscal record ties the hands of the next generation which faces growing obligations with increasingly limited resources the bush budget also hurts americans struggling to make ends by cutting medicare and medicaid and the low income home energy assistance program his budget also hurts our longterm efforts to prepare americans for better jobs in the global marketplace by slashing important education and literacy programs mr speaker the american people do not want more of the same this democratic congress will propose a budget alternative that takes america in a new direction gentleman's time has expired for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise to simply address the house for one minute without objection mr speaker today i want to honor an individual who has a rich background in managing healthcare services and agencies within the state of south carolina his experience in education and healthcare has placed him throughout locations in the south affiliating him with dozens of communities and civic organizations as february recognizes black history month i honor dr joseph patton who has continuously reached out to provide knowledge support and service to benefit those in the community a native of spartanburg south carolina dr patton is an ordained elder in the presbyterian church and holds an honorary doctorate degree for his services to the church and community along with his service to his region dr patton has served overseas is a veteran of the united states army and is currently a member of the american legion and the veterans of foreign wars during black history month i give recognition to dr patton for serving as an educated leader of health for being wellknown as a caring husband father grandfather and mentor to those in the community gentleman yields back the balance of his time for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise without objection mr speaker when democrats do control a congress last year we vowed to work on behalf of all americans last year we recognized that middle class families were struggling to make ends meet and so we work hard to ease that economic crunch we passed billions of dollars in tax relief to middleclass income families we increased the minimum wage for the first time in a decade and we enacted an energy bill that will save the average family anywhere between seven hundred and one thousand a year in energy cost and help families better afford college this was a good start but economic indicators continue to head in the wrong direction we work with the white house and house republicans on an economic stimulus package that will provide a real and significant shortterm boost to this economy the house bipartisan economic stimulus plan is the most progressive package this decade it will help jumpstart our economy and will provide real assistance to lower and middleincome families i hope our friends in the senate will enact this legislation this week gentleman yields back the balance of his time for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise mr speaker i ask permission to address the house for one minute revising remarks without objection mr speaker the city of berkeley california recently disgraced itself by referring to brave marines with slander when the city council voted to tell the marine corps to close its recruiting station as a veteran as the soninlaw of a veteran and as the father of four sons in the military i know firsthand of the education and opportunities provided by military service while promoting freedom in response to berkeley congressman john campbell has introduced legislation that would remove two million in secret earmarks for the city of berkeley and instead send the money to the marines while i believe wholeheartedly in free speech we owe respect to the very people who are sacrificing so much to defend our freedoms i invite the berkeley city council to visit buford south carolina home of parris island the naval hospital and the marine corps air station to see how our patriotic community supports the brave men and women who serve as proud marines in conclusion god bless our troops and the united states marine corps and we will never forget september the 11th gentleman yields back the balance of his time for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise to address the house for one minute without objection thank you mr speaker we're here today talking about the recent unveiling of the president's budget i think we should give the president credit at least he's consistent like all of his previous budgets this one does several things it leaves most americans behind and puts this nation further in debt at a time of a slowing economy and americans increasingly struggling to make ends meet the president focuses on one trillion in tax breaks to the top one of americans while the wealthiest few continue to prosper under the president the president cuts vital energy education and healthcare investments at a time of rising energy costs the president slashes lowincome energy assistance programs at a time of college costs skyrocketing the budget eliminates nearly one billion in grant programs at a time of rising healthcare costs the president proposes devastating medicare and medicaid that would reduce affordable access to healthcare for our seniors the one good thing that people know is the winds of change have been blowing this democratic congress will restore these and put the priorities of american people first and i yield back gentleman yields back the balance of his time for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise to address the house for one minute without objection mr speaker at a time when more and more americans are struggling to obtain affordable healthcare the president's budget drastically slashes healthcare for seniors and lowincome working americans today thirty six million seniors get healthcare coverage through medicare the president's budget takes a swipe at their pocketbooks by proposing to save nearly six billion by increasing the monthly premiums that seniors pay if the president was concerned about seniors he would instead go after the vast overpayments made by medicare to private managed care plans instead he has raised premiums on our seniors and focused his cuts on our nation's hospitals skilled nursing facilities and other healthcare providers the president also cuts medicaid by thirty three billion over the next five years today medicaid serves fifty five million lowincome and disabled americans such cuts would force cashstrapped states to either reduce benefits or cut provider payments mr speaker as our economy continues to face uncertain times this is the worst time the president to promote drastic cuts in medicare and medicaid rest assured the democrats would not allow these cuts to become law these provisions are as good as dead as they come to capitol hill time has expired for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise to address the house for one minute without objection thank you mr speaker mr speaker our economy is in trouble and millions of hardworking american families are feeling the impact as we speak since two thousand and one the real income of a typical working family has fallen by two thousand five hundred and workers wages have failed to keep up with the inflation for the fourth time in the past five years in december the unemployment rate shot up to a twoyear high of five with over nine hundred thousand more americans looking for work over the same period last year stagnant wages are not only forcing families to squeeze more out of every dollar but is also taking a toll on our overall economy retailers suffered their worst december shopping season in five years and consumer confidence fell this month to its lowest point on record last week the house approved a bipartisan economic package that will provide urgent relief to one hundred and seventeen million americans this is a fair economic package that gets money to the workers the people who need it the most and they're most likely to spend it on necessities like groceries and gas economists estimate that each dollar of the rebate will lead to one hundred and twenty six in economic growth mr speaker economists also say we have to act fast that's exactly what this house did and i hope the senate joins us thank you very much gentleman's time has expired for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise to address the house for one minute without objection today mr speaker the house will address one of the most important issues in america's future that is the opportunity to give young people a chance for a higher education hr four thousand one hundred and thirty seven the college opportunity and affordability act does just that it is interesting however that the president's budget unfortunately does not recognize that opportunity and it is in the business of cutting those opportunities for our young people the supplemental education opportunity grants for needy undergraduates is now being cut so i hope that on the floor today we'll make a statement to support our schools i represent texas southern university a school that has been under siege by its republican state government a school that is historically black and received money from the past administration in desegregation settlement but yet even today it is not receiving the funding that it should receive from the state of texas i'll be introducing legislation that will assure that historically black colleges hispanicserving colleges cannot be undermined by state government funding when they come under the supervision of the department of education our bill is a good bill it's a step forward mr president i hope that you will recognize that we cannot cut the opportunities of young people i yield back gentlewoman's time has expired for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise i ask permission to address the house for one minute without objection mr speaker last week this house came together in a bipartisan fashion to address the economic uncertainty that many of our citizens are facing president bush worked with both democratic and republican leaders of the house to develop an economic stimulus package that is timely targeted and temporary that plan which was passed here in the house last week will help jumpstart our economy by putting tax rebates in the hands of one hundred and seventeen million hardworking middle and lowerincome workers we should be proud of the bipartisanship that made this compromise package possible i would hope that we could bring that same bipartisanship to bear on the continuing war in iraq last month the iraqi defense minister said that his country will not be able to take full control of its security until two thousand and twelve and will not be able to defend its borders from outside threats until at least two thousand and eighteen democrats do not believe that american troops should be on the ground in iraq for another decade and neither do the american people the status quo can not continue i would hope that we could continue to work together to bring this war to an end i yield back gentleman yields back the balance of his time for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise to talk for one minute without objection mr speaker i come to the floor today to speak about an issue that is very close to my heart personally as a father as an american and as a member of congress there is a plague across this nation that has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of american citizens and it is disturbing and upsetting that there is no public outcry over the destruction that it leaves in its path the plague is urban violence mr speaker over the christmas break i was shocked by a piece of news that i saw on nightline which detailed how medics who are sent to iraq are honing their skills by working in urban hospitals attending to gunshot victims the documentary went on to say that over seventy five african american and latino males are killed in our inner cities on a daily basis over seventy five latinos and american males are killed on a daily basis in american streets a number of that dwarfs the number of fatalities iraqi and american that are suffered in the war zone mr speaker we must break the silence and stop this violence it's past time to stop the killing stop the violence and i yield back to gentleman's time has expired for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise to address the house without objection mr speaker one of the best ways to expand prosperity for more americans is to make college more affordable today an education at a private university is close to fifty thousand a year and things aren't much better at public universities where prices have shot up forty above inflation in the last seven years alone this democratic congress has worked to eliminate some of the sticker shock last year we passed the college cost reduction act of two thousand and seven which was the singlelargest increase in college aid since the gi bill but we're not done today we'll vote on the college opportunity and affordability act which will make college more affordable and accessible the bill encourages colleges to rein in price increases and provides consumers with helpful information so they can make the best decisions on which school to choose the legislation also simplifies the federal student aid application process expands college access and support for low income and minority students and increases aid for our veterans and military families mr speaker let's continue to strengthen our nation's future by passing the college opportunity and affordability act today gentleman's time has expired for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio rise mr speaker by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution nine hundred and fifty six and ask for its immediate consideration the clerk will report the resolution house calendar number one hundred and eighty five house resolution nine hundred and fifty six resolved that at any time after the adoption of this resolution speaker may pursuant to clause 2b of rule eighteen declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill hr four thousand one hundred and thirty seven to amend and extend the higher education act of one thousand nine hundred and sixty five and for other purposes the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on education and labor after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the fiveminute rule section 2a it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the fiveminute rule the amendment and the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on education and labor now printed in the bill the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read all points of order against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived except those arising under clause ten of rule twenty one b not withstanding clause eleven of rule eighteen no amendment to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution and amendments on block described in section three of this resolution c each amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules shall be considered only in the order printed in the report may be offered only by a member designated in the report shall be considered as read shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole d all points of order against amendments printed in the report of the committee on rules or amendments on block described in section three of this resolution are waived except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one section three it shall be an order at any time for the chairman of the committee on education and labor or his designee to offer amendments on block consisting of amendments printed in the report of the committee on rules not earlier disposed of amendments on block offered pursuant to this section shall be considered as read shall be debatable for ten minutes equally divided in control by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on education and labor or their designees shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole the original proponent of an amendment included in such amendments on block may insert a statement into congressional record immediately before the disposition of any amendments on block section four at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute their previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions section five during consideration in the house of hr four thousand one hundred and thirty seven pursuant to this resolution not withstanding the operation of the previous question the chair may postpone further consideration of the bill to such time as may be designated by the speaker section six house resolution nine hundred and forty one is laid upon the table the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized for one hour thank you mr speaker for the purpose of debate only i yield the customary thirty minutes to the gentleman from washington mr hastings all time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only i yield myself such time as i may consume i also ask unanimous consent that all members be given five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on house resolution nine hundred and fifty six without objection mr speaker house resolution nine hundred and fifty six provides for consideration of hr four thousand one hundred and thirty seven the college opportunity and affordability act of two thousand and seven under a structured rule the rule provides one hour of general debate controlled by the committee on education and labor the rule makes an order the education and labor committee reported substitute as an original bill for the purpose of amendment the rule makes an order the twenty seven amendments listed in the rules committee report each of which is debatable for ten minutes except the miller's manager's amendment which is debatable for twenty minutes mr speaker last year congress passed the college cost reduction act to increase college financial aid by eighteen billion the singlelargest increase in aid in over sixty years that legislation significantly increased the maximum amount that pell grant recipients can receive at no new cost to taxpayers and was a strong start to this congress's efforts to make higher education a reality for america's students but that mr speaker was just the beginning i'm proud to rise today in strong support of hr four thousand one hundred and thirty seven the college opportunity and affordability act this will continue our efforts to make college more affordable and more accessible for america's students while making investments in critical areas to strengthen our workforce our nation is blessed to have the finest system of higher education in the world there is a breadth of opportunities available to our graduating high school seniors vocational and technical schools two and fouryear colleges and graduate and professional schools mr speaker the challenge we face today is to ensure that our institutions of higher education are accessible to all and the legislation we are passing today will make it easier for low income and middle class families to achieve the benefits of higher education as they climb up the ladder of success and investing in our students not only improves their future but it helps our economy and strengthens our competitive edge in the global marketplace this bill continues this congress's efforts to strengthen america's workforce by creating programs to improve teacher training and bolster student interest in science math and technology we must also recognize and applaud our nontraditional students those members of our workforce who are seizing the opportunity to continue their education while holding down fulltime jobs and sometimes raising families these students are often attending school less than half time and thus they sometimes benefit very little from traditional student aid that's why i support my colleague congressman baird's amendment which i hope will be incorporated into this bill to require the secretary of education to study and recommend how best to design a loan program targeted at lessthanhalftime students one of the keys to expanding access to our institutions of higher learning is to bring down the exorbitant cost of attending college tuition hikes in recent years have been stunning amounting to a thirty one increase at a fouryear public college in the last five years alone this bill enhances transparency in college tuition by requiring colleges to report the reasons for tuition hikes and the plans they have for lowering costs it also requires the secretary of education to publish a higher education price index providing students with the opportunity to compare institutions by state sector and change in tuition and fees from one year to the next this will allow students to make wiser decisions in choosing institutions that are a good fit for them and the dreams to which they aspire a more immediate way to make the possibility of attaining a college degree a reality is to increase the aid available to our students and i am proud that this bill does that doubling the maximum pell grant amount to nine thousand and beyond the sticker price of tuition any student will tell you that the cost of textbooks is also a challenging cost they incur the average student spends about one thousand per year on textbooks which is nearly twenty of tuition and fees at a fouryear public institution such high costs for textbooks can be the deciding factor which dashes or delays the dream of obtaining a college degree and a better life for many this legislation requires publishers to provide specific information about pricing so that faculty has all full information when making purchasing decisions so students can help plan for expenses and in addition mr speaker i am proud to support an amendment offered by my colleague from ohio congressman tim ryan along with representative jason altmeyer which will create a pilot grant program to assist colleges in setting up textbook rental programs these programs already exist in twenty five schools and a pilot test at bowling green state university in ohio last spring saved one hundred and fifty one students eleven thousand we must also continue to strive to reduce the achievement gap in higher education between low income and minority students and their peers we can do this by ensuring that all students are prepared for the rigorous demands of higher learning this bill strengthens the proven trio and gear up college readiness and support programs for low income and firstgeneration students i have seen firsthand mr speaker the great things that these programs can do in elyria in my district which is a gear up site and the university of akron which has received trio funding i look forward to the expansion of these proven programs so that more students in ohio and around the country may benefit this legislation also addresses the disappointment we saw last year as the student loan scandal unfolded those financial aid directors that received kickbacks and payoffs and luxury gifts from private lenders exhibited a spectacular abuse of power and betrayal of the students they serve this legislation cracks down on that abuse and restores accountability by requiring institutions and lenders to adopt strict codes of conduct and protect students from aggressive marketing by lenders institutions will also be required to provide students with information about federal and private borrowing options this bill will also encourage and make it financially feasible for students to become public servants by authorizing up to ten thousand in loan forgiveness for military service members firefighters law enforcement officers first responders nurses educators prosecutors and public defenders this bill also continues the work this congress has undertaken to support our troops by creating a new scholarship and support programs for active duty military personnel their family members and veterans it also establishes support centers to help veterans succeed in college and ensures fairness in student aid and housing aid for veterans to make it easier for them to go to college while also fulfilling their military service duties i am also proud to support an amendment being offered by my colleague congresswoman susan davis that is based on legislation of which i'm a cosponsor her amendment will prevent interest from accruing for active duty service members and qualifying national guard members for the duration of their activation up to sixty months when serving in a combat zone mr speaker the dream of a college education is moving further and further out of reach for middle and lowincome families we need to put this prospect of a college education and a brighter future back in reach passing hr four thousand one hundred and thirty seven and building on the work we started last year is an important and priceless investment in the future of our children our communities and our country i reserve the balance of my time gentlewoman from ohio reserves the balance of her time gentleman from washington thank you mr speaker mr speaker i want to thank the gentlelady from ohio mrs sutton for yielding me the customary thirty minutes and i yield myself as much time as i may consume and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks without objection thank you mr speaker mr speaker i believe that we must do all that we can to make education more affordable so that more americans can achieve the dream of graduating from college this year alone over ninety billion in federal financial aid is available to students however with tuition costs on the rise students and their families continue to face the inevitable question of how to pay for a college education i believe a balanced approach is needed one that increases transparency of higher education costs and targets aid to the neediest students while simplifying the financial aid process and addressing the growing number of burdensome reporting requirements colleges and universities face i share the goal of increasing access to higher education but i have a number of concerns with the college opportunity and affordability act and i believe improvements to the bill are needed and mr speaker apparently members on both sides of the aisle also share this view because over sixty amendments were submitted to the rules committee before the deadline the last time that this house considered a comprehensive higher education reauthorization bill was in one thousand nine hundred and ninety eight at that time the rules committee reported a modified a modified open rule and as a result all members of the house had an opportunity to preprint their amendments in the congressional record and offer them on the floor mr speaker i am disappointed that this time the democratcontrolled rules committee chose a closed process to consider a long overdue reauthorization to the higher education act unfortunately by reporting out a closed rule the democrats on the rules committee once again chose to deny over four hundred members of congress the opportunity to offer amendments to improve the bill furthermore this rule makes an order five times as many democrat amendments as republican amendments by authorizing the higher education act it is important but by adopting this closed rule an opportunity will be missed to make the underlying bill even better therefore mr speaker i urge my colleagues to vote against this closed rule and i reserve the balance of my time gentleman from washington reserves the balance of his time gentlewoman from ohio mr speaker at this time i yield three minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from florida a member of the rules committee ms castor gentlewoman from florida is recognized for three minutes i thank my colleague from ohio mr speaker i rise today to support the college opportunity and affordability act of two thousand and seven and this rule because we are committed to making the cost of attending college more affordable and accessible this is great news for hardworking middleclass families and students across america and students in my hometown which is a college town with thousands and thousands of students enrolled in the community college and at the university of south florida you know there is great debate in washington today over the economy and how we are going to provide relief to middle class families one of the answers is to address the soaring cost of attending college and keep the doors to a higher education open by making college affordable through grants and lowrate loans a college diploma is a critical step towards a higherpaying job and success in life and one of the best investments we can make for the future of our great nation is to ensure that the doors to our colleges and universities remain wide open in my home state of florida unfortunately we're undergoing a budget crisis and the funding for higher education unfortunately has been targeted for millions and millions of dollars of cuts this has resulted in those university and community college doors being kept shut for many students one student in my hometown at tampa's jefferson high school is gabby rodriguez you know she has a forty three grade point average but because of the budget cuts in the state of florida and the lack of student financial assistance she may have to go to college out of state or put her college dreams on hold entirely so the passage of this crucial bill could not come at a better time with passage of this bill we will increase needbased aid and make the federal pell grants more available to students you know last year the congress battled the bush administration over the ability of firstgeneration students to attend college and work through the upward bound initiative well we're focused on better jobs for the future so we will strengthen the upward bound program through this bill today we are focused on better jobs for the future so we will provide loan forgiveness for graduates who decide to enter public service careers in areas of national need such as early childhood educators and child welfare workers and firefighters we're focused on better jobs for the future so we encourage students interest in math science and technology through this bill through the leadership of chairman george miller who is a hero to college students throughout america congressman john tierney the ranking member mr mckeon bobby scott lynn woolsey all of the members of the education and labor committee i salute them and thank them for their leadership because mr speaker this is an important bipartisan milestone for education and i urge my colleagues to support the rule and the bill gentlewoman's time has expired gentleman from washington thank you mr speaker mr speaker i am pleased to yield five minutes to the ranking member of the education and workforce committee mr mckeon gentleman from california is recognized for five minutes thank you mr speaker and i thank the gentleman for yielding a decade ago the last time we renewed the higher education act it was debated under an open rule that allowed every member the opportunity for full participation on an issue so important to our nation's continued success i would expect nothing less than a full and open debate i'm disappointed that the same opportunity was not provided today sadly suppressed debate is all we have known under this majority i'm also disappointed that misuse of the budget reconciliation process last year has left us with a bill that includes many important reforms but does not provide a full review of the largest financial aid programs because the budget reconciliation bill contained drastic and farreaching changes to federal student loans the bill before us pays very little consideration to student lending unfortunately circumstances surrounding the loan programs have changed in the last several months and it looks like now is exactly the time when we should be looking at these programs we're all painfully aware of the collapse in the subprime mortgage market those financial insecurities have spread to higher quality assets including the assetbacked equities that are often used to finance federal and nonfederal student loans as we face these market insecurities the full extent of the cuts enacted through last year's budget reconciliation bill are just beginning to be understood taken together it appears our federal loan program may be facing a perfect storm yet here we are with a comprehensive higher education renewal that does not consider the student loan programs i had hoped to offer an amendment today that would acknowledge the challenges facing the loan program although my amendment did not call for any immediate changes within the credit markets or the loan program structure a sense of congress urge the secretary of education to closely monitor the student loan marketplace so that if in the near future these market insecurities translate into a loss of loan availability we could act quickly to protect the interests of students mr speaker i won't be offering that amendment today it was not ruled in order somehow a sense of the congress acknowledging the very real challenges facing our nation's largest financial aid program was deemed unfit for consideration we also won't be considering an amendment to protect students free right speech on campus or either of two amendments to ensure taxpayers aren't forced to provide assistance under this bill to illegal immigrants nor will we take up any of the other republican amendments that were stifled by a heavyhanded majority mr speaker we're here to consider a bipartisan bill that i strongly support in fact the bill was voted out of committee with a vote of forty five to zero yet even a bipartisan college access bill the majority could not bring itself to allow a fair and open debate just four of the twenty seven amendments we'll consider today were offered by republicans about fifteen for every six minutes we spend debating democrat proposals today the republican ideas will be given sixty seconds democrats will claim that's how we ran things when republicans were in charge but during this same debate in two thousand and six when we considered comprehensive higher education reform more than a third of the amendments considered on the floor were offered by democrats this is not just a problem of amendments being made in order republicans were blocked from even submitting amendments just three minutes after the deadline tuesday morning key republican proposals were rejected from consideration some thirty hours and fifty seven minutes before the rules committee met is this a majority that strictly adheres to deadlines no matter what the circumstances evidently not at least not when they stand to benefit from a little flexibility the listing of amendments on the rules committee website was modified at four hundred and thirty nine pm wednesday just twenty one minutes before the committee met fully twenty of the democrats amendments were modified or withdrawn after the submission deadline i cannot help but ask why are republicans being shut out of a bipartisan bill why is the majority only permitting republican amendments that align with their policy goals is this payback because republicans plan to demand a vote today on earmark reform mr speaker this is an unreasonable rule that taints the bipartisanship of the underlying bill and i strongly oppose it i yield back the balance of my time gentleman's time has expired gentlewoman from ohio i reserve my time gentlewoman from ohio reserves the balance of her time gentleman from washington mr speaker i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from indiana also a member of the committee gentleman from indiana is recognized for three minutes thank you i thank my distinguished friend from washington state i have a little bit of irony here i had an amendment that we fully debated in committee on student free speech and i wanted to offer it today but isn't it ironic that while i was trying to argue for a student bill of rights and free speech that we're not allowed to have free speech and a bill of rights in united states congress how in the world when we're having twenty seven amendments and this amendment was overwhelmingly supported by our party we only have out of the twenty seven four that the majority party four from republicans and two of those that republicans oppose if we have time for twenty seven amendments why can't we have an amendment for free speech i just don't understand i never understood the opposition to amendment but what an insult to the american people that when we want to debate whether there should be a student bill of rights on college campuses which is being adopted and introduced in many places around the country that the united states congress can't even debate on the house floor a free speech amendment and protection for speech in colleges this is an outrage an embarrassment and a humiliation to the rules committee why twenty seven amendments but not one on the student bill of rights could it be that it's a difficult vote david horowitz and i'd ask consent to insert in the record an article in defense of intellectual diversity and objection that has been a champion of this problem now we had a very interesting debate in committee the chairman of the committee said that some of these students who have been complaining should grow up and cited a case of where he struggled and certainly when i was in college in the late 60s and early 70s and wore a button i'm proud to be a square when most of america wasn't proud to be a square that i certainly had my share of debates my share of harassment my share of being yelled down trying to offer a different view than the lemming view that was popular in the late 60s and some of that goes with being in a college campus but there are examples all over this country where intellectual diversity intellectual alternatives are being stymied in the academia this amendment would try to protect those rights some of it's from the far left a lot of it's on the conservative side right now in fact next tuesday ben stein has a movie coming out expelled no intelligence allowed that will debut about one of those debates in science where there is an effort to stamp it out and particularly when you get into government economics sociology philosophy and so on increasingly there's a rigidity and if you disagree you are harassed your grades can be altered your papers can be given back to you and alternative speakers are shouted down and yes there are nominal processes to do it but if there are nominal processes to do it what is wrong this amendment says for example individual colleges and universities have different missions and each institution should design its academic program in accordance within the context of institutional mission a college should promote intellectual pluralism and facilitate free and open exchange of ideas well that's will the gentleman yield an additional minute i yield one additional minute gentleman's recognized for one additional minute that's not very controversial students d students should not be intimidated harassed discouraged from speaking out discriminated against or subject to official sanction because of their personal political ideological or religious beliefs isn't that a terrible risky difficult vote students should be treated equally and fairly including evaluation and grading without regard to or consideration of their personal political views or ideological beliefs that's just awful how could we vote on that in the united states congress to say there'd be no persecution there's no whereas clauses here there's nothing in here that says campuses are liberal campuses are conservative we don't have anywhere as clauses that are insulting in here there's nothing in here that's partisan i just read you the guts of the bill why can't we vote on this why is this opposed why is it opposed so much that we're not even allowed to debate it on the floor of congress how can we say in a higher education bill that we believe in inquiry that we believe in searching for knowledge but when we had an amendment to protect students who might have a difference of opinion that we wouldn't even allow a vote yield back time has expired gentlewoman from ohio thank you mr speaker i'd like to take this opportunity to refresh the memory of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle on past rules the last time the higher education reauthorization bill was considered in the house was just two years ago in the 109th congress it too was done under a structured amendment process using two rules those two structured rules allowed a total of twenty two amendments out of the one hundred and thirteen submitted fewer than the rule we are offering today this is a very fair rule and i urge my colleagues to support it and the bill the rule makes an order twenty seven amendments on a wide variety of important issues relating to the higher education of our nation's youth and others seeking a postsecondary education members on both sides of the aisle will be able to offer amendments that they believe will further improve this already very bipartisan bill this bill is one of the most bipartisan products of the 110th congress reported from the education and labor committee by a vote of forty five to zero there is no arguing with those facts and mr speaker the benefits of higher education are undeniable for students their families and for our country and society at large as a nation we recognize this having always been a global standardbearer in our high regard for the merits of higher education reaching the american dream of leading a secure and fulfilling life is a goal that we can make achievable when we open the doors of college to all the fact that this bill passed forty five to zero out of the education committee is a testament to the great work that the committee has done on this bill and to the fact that we care tremendously about the future of our children listening to parents from my district mr speaker and across the country i hear about how the ability to send their children to college weighs on their minds and talking to professors counselors and administrators at the university of akron lorain county community college and other schools across ohio i also know that student debt is a tremendous factor in determining which professions our students are choosing to enter nearly twenty three of all students at fouryear colleges nationwide graduate with loan debt these days with the average amount of debt surpassing fifteen thousand this bill we're passing goes a long way to changing that distressing fact by increasing aid and encouraging colleges to rein in tuition this legislation will enable more students to pursue their passions and give back in service to their communities and our country i am proud that this bill continues the work of this newdirection congress in making necessary improvements for the workforce of tomorrow we have seen the necessity of investing in stem education and this legislation continues the effort we began last year in passing the innovation agenda by improving teacher training and development programs and focusing on recruiting teachers into highdemand science and technology fields in today's global economy it's essential that america's workforce remain competitive at an international level mr speaker the higher education act has not been reauthorized in a decade the senate has already passed a reauthorization so we must act expediently to pass this vital bill so the president may sign it into law i hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle will join me in voting for this bill and supporting a brighter future for our students our families and our communities and i reserve the balance of my time gentlewoman from ohio reserves the balance of her time gentleman from washington thank you mr speaker before i yield to my friend from utah the gentlelady made the point in her initial remarks when she was talking about reauthorization two years ago it was done in a bipartisan way and it was done successfully but we know that this process already has some that the administration already has some problems with it while they haven't issued a veto threat they have some concerns and with that mr speaker i want to yield three minutes to the gentleman from utah mr bishop a member of the committee gentleman from utah is recognized for three minutes thank you mr speaker and i appreciate the gentleman from washington yielding me the time you know if you remember back in the 1960s when volkswagens were very popular and they had this wonderful selfdeprecating campaign going on for their advertising for instance putting a volkswagen in a carport and the caption would read it makes your house look bigger my favorite one was taking a volkswagen ripping off the fenders putting big tires on it putting even a spoiler in the back a painting stripe jacking it up on the back and the caption read is nothing sacred sometimes while i've been here in congress i've often wondered if nothing is actually sacred education even higher education is still the purview of states 10th amendment gives them that parameter and yet it is possible that we often ignore that it is possible to soup up a volkswagen but we never should it is also possible for us to tell states how to run their policy on education how to appropriate their money to education but it never should happen the provision to which i object is called maintenance of effort this is the provision that was added to the budget reconciliation act or attempted to and it was removed and most of the people in local governments are very surprised to see this effort coming back in here in this particular bill now it's one of those things that this was also not discussed in our committee to any detail it is one of those things that the rules committee will always talk about how these things should be discussed in committee but when we in committee after committee have major pieces of legislation held close to the vest and only brought only hours or days before the actual markup in a committee oftentimes we find things within those bills that are surprising this provision was found in this bill and it was not one of those pleasant surprises maintenance of effort amendment that was put into this bill requires the states to maintain a fiveyear rolling average of their funding for higher education and if they ever go under that fiveyear average of education their leap funds which are now renamed in this particular bill will be yanked from those states unless they go to the department of education and grovel before the secretary of education to try and get some kind of penitence so they can get those monies back this proposal is counterproductive we all know that states have cyclical budget years like we do in two thousand and two the average state increase in higher education was eighteen two thousand and six it was up ninety three if i was a state legislator again responsible for those budgets realizing this proposal was in here when we had a chance to add more money to higher education knowing we would now be judged on a fiveyear rolling average there is no way i would ever put that kind of increase in there this is gonna be counterproductive to actually states funding their higher education system but even if this policy worked we should not do it hl mencken once said there is always an easy solution to every human problem it's neat it's plausible and it's wrong even if this federal stick to states was effective it is wrong it is wrong to tell states how they will appropriate their money it is wrong to give them more federal mandates now the chairman of the committee mr miller will soften this proposal in a managed amendment that is good but doesn't go nearly far enough mr hoekstra had a perfect compromise amendment that was refused to be considered by the rules committee on a technicality it is wrong it should have been considered and i had an amendment to remove this to put it back to the status quo until we can have a chance in the committee to discuss this issue and it was not allowed to be made in order that is wrong the proposal is wrong the discussion process is wrong it should be if we're not gonna discuss these issues in the committee it should be the purview of allowing people to come here on the floor and ask these issues which are not just technical in nature but philosophical in nature of what the federal government ought to do and what it ought not to do this particular provision in here should be discussed we should know full well what we are doing to states if we move forward in that area and for the rules committee not to make that in order i think is wrong i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yields back the balance of his time gentlewoman from ohio i would inquire of the gentleman from washington if he has any remaining speakers i have several speakers that wanna remark on this okay well i will reserve the balance of my time gentlewoman from ohio reserves the balance of her time mr speaker at this time i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished ranking member of the rules committee mr dreier gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes speaker i without objection mr speaker i thank my friend for yielding this is a very important piece of legislation we all know and i was happy to hear my friend from ohio talk about the importance of our global competitiveness and we have to have the best educated people as we proceed to make sure that we can compete in that global economy but i have to say mr speaker that the process around which we're considering this very important legislation is just plain wrong we had sixty one amendments that were submitted to us in the rules committee now the last time that this was successfully authorized as mr hastings has pointed out to our colleagues was ten years ago it was done under a modified open rule now we had four democrats sit before us on one of the panels last night and they complimented the rules committee members for the hard work and the very distinguished chair of the committee on rules proceeded to talk about how life was tantamount to a living hell when we as republicans were in control versus this great new day that we have well mr speaker let me tell you just a little bit about this great new day that we have there have been more than double i repeat that more than double the number of closed rules in the first session of the 110th congress and during this month of january leading up to the 1st of february than we had in the first session and leading up to the 1st of february in the 109th congress more than double the number of closed rules and as i said the last time we authorized this bill was in one thousand nine hundred and ninety eight and it was done under a modified open rule yes there was an attempt two congresses ago to do it and when we had a structured rule it failed why don't those colleagues of ours who are in charge learn from the mistake of having not done this under an open amendment process so we continue to hear mr speaker this is a great new day and all these wonderful changes have taken place we actually have had democrats and republicans democrats and republicans prevented from improving this bill now mr hastings correctly pointed to the fact that the administration has raised a number of concerns dozens of new programs that are included in this bill the president wants to work with us to improve this legislation doing it under the structure that we have today undermines the potential to see that happen reject this rule and let's come back with at least a modified open rule so that we can proceed with something that in a bipartisan way we very much want to see happen i yield back the balance of time gentleman's time has expired gentlewoman from ohio i reserve my time gentlewoman from ohio continues to reserve her time gentleman from washington mr speaker how much time on both sides gentleman from washington has thirteen minutes remaining gentlewoman from ohio with fifteen twelve minutes remaining mr speaker i am pleased to you three minutes to the gentleman from minnesota also a member of the educational workforce committee gentleman from minnesota is recognized for three minutes thank you mr speaker i thank the gentleman for yielding mr speaker i rise today in strong opposition to this rule the bill under consideration today is a product of a multiyear bipartisan effort by the education and labor committee democrats and republicans worked together to craft this legislation now the rules committee has thrown this bipartisan effort to the wind and revealed the true partisan colors that are flying there by allowing twenty democrat amendments and only four republican amendments the rules committee has effectively announced that the minority party is not to be a player folks it isn't fair it's not a democracy i submitted an amendment to the rules committee early this week but my colleagues will not even have the chance to consider its merits because it was not made an order by the rules committee it is a particularly sad statement given the nature of my amendment on january 29th the city of berkeley passed resolutions that among other things state that the united states marine corps recruiting office is not welcome in their city and if recruiters choose to stay they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders i'm appalled my amendment addresses this action by denying federal funding to colleges that contract with an entity that takes action to discriminate or condones discrimination against the military by denying equal public access the amendment essentially holds colleges and universities accountable for maintaining agreements or contracts with entities that allow this open discrimination mr speaker during the vietnam era and i'm old enough to have not only remember it but to have experienced it many of our service members and veterans received shameful treatment at the hands of those who opposed our nation's foreign policy we must protect our current service members from the same treatment by showing that the berkeley city council's appalling behavior is unacceptable in this great nation demonizing the men and women serving our country in the military as demonstrated by the berkeley city council has no place in our nation's political discourse as a graduate of the rotc program and a 25year veteran of the marine corps i am profoundly disappointed with the appalling actions of the berkeley city council institutions that continue to maintain contracts and agreements with this city are in effect condoning this discriminatory and unjust treatment of our service members they deserve better from us mr speaker this structured rule excluding my amendment denies this body the opportunity to reaffirm our strong support for the men and women who so honorably and bravely defend our nation mr speaker i urge my colleagues to vote against this restrictive rule and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yields back the balance of his time does the gentlewoman from ohio continue to reserve her time i continue to reserve gentleman from washington mr speaker i am pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia a former member of the rules committee mr gingrey gentleman from george is recognized for three minutes mr speaker i thank the gentleman for yielding and mr speaker i rise not in opposition to the bill i think there's some good things in the bill i was a former member of the education and workforce committee i know our ranking member mr mckeon is a supporter of the bill i rise in strong opposition to this rule mr speaker the gentlelady on the rules committee of the majority side the gentlelady from ohio has mentioned a couple of things in her remarks talking about what we did we republicans did when we controlled this body and indeed the rules committee and how restrictive we may have been but what i want to remind her is that i sat on that rules committee during that time and i can remember the comments that were made from the minority the then democratic minority of if they had an opportunity to control this place then rules would be open and fair and people would be treated fair so that each member would have an opportunity they didn't say well when we get the majority we're gonna stick it to you just like you've stuck it to us so i think they should live by what they said they would do and the other thing i want to point out to the gentlelady from ohio she talked about the bipartisanship of this bill on a four hundred and fifty vote well forty five members of this body is ten ninety of us don't get an opportunity to speak on the bill and to offer what i think are very good amendments now forty seven were submitted twenty seven were made in order but how many republican amendments four out of twenty seven it wasn't one of mine and i had a very good amendment mr speaker this is the only opportunity i get to talk about it it's bipartisan basically mr speaker this amendment deals with ferpa the family education privacy rights act of one thousand nine hundred and seventy four the tragedy at virginia tech where we lost so many lives was because i think because colleges and universities misinterpret that law and my amendment would simply say that if a parent lists a child a student on their tax return as a dependent even though they might be over age eighteen maybe they're a junior and age twenty but they are dependent as verified by the tax return then those parents should have access to academic records disciplinary records drinking on campus whatever and many of us i'm sure have had college students where because of ferpa we never could find out how our youngsters were doing until they were in dire trouble of maybe flunking out of school or having a substance abuse problem i commend representative tim murphy for his work in regard to mental health issues along this same line but this was a very good amendment mr speaker and one that i would think that the democrats would want to join republicans and vice versa and have unanimous support of that so i'm very disappointed i'm very disappointed not only for myself but for the american people my constituents students and parents all across this country so again it's not the bill that i'm opposed to i'm opposed to this restrictive rule and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman's time has expired gentlewoman continues to reserve her time yes speaker gentleman from washington thank you mr speaker mr speaker i am pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from georgia mr kingston gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes yes jim thank you very much and i've urged my colleagues to vote no on this rule so that we can amend it or offer an amendment on earmark reform and as we heard the president last week speak about earmarks in the state of the union to my knowledge no president has ever talked about something that's ordinarily a house and senate procedure in his state of the union comments but in it he declared war you may say on earmarks now we believe in the prerogative of the legislative branch to put things in the budget and take things out of the budget indeed the white house earmarks all the time but the reality is mr speaker we need to have a discussion on earmarks we do need to stop the practice of airdropping earmarks into conference committees earmarks that haven't been debated discussed or had hearings held on them on the house or the senate level i think that's the first step but i think there's a whole lot of other things that we should do for example there are earmarks routinely in the transportation bill there are earmarks in trade bills earmarks all over the place in any tax bills we believe that earmarking should be reformed on all committee levels we always talk about appropriations but there's lots of committees that do it if we allow this amendment to come to the floor we will set up a joint bicameral bipartisan select committee on earmarks that will come up with recommendations on how to do a better job with them this would require or we would urge a moratorium on earmarks until the select committee comes back to congress with recommendations but there's so many things that we could do that would improve this process for example financial disclosure on earmarks does the member have anything at stake to personally gain transparency so that when an earmark is added on a subcommittee or a full committee or a floor level will the gentleman yield the gentleman additional one minute gentleman's recognized for an additional minute transparency so that the earmark's put in and members have an opportunity to ask why is that in there who put it in there what does it do and why should the people of idaho have their tax dollars go to something that happens in florida we want to be able to have that debate i think that that is so important and again there are tax loopholes that are basically industryspecific earmarks who puts them in at least with appropriations right now you know who puts them in but on tax earmarks you do not the white house the white house does all kinds of earmarking and we and certainly the press lets them get away with it because for some reason they're the white house but under the constitutional concept of equal branches of government particularly when spending bills originate in the house we have the right to earmark but we should all be measured by the same yardstick the other thing that is important is what is the impact of earmarks on the budget when you take an earmark out of a bill it does not reduce the bill is that something that we should look at there are all types of things that a bipartisan bicameral committee could look at that would improve this process so i'd urge a no vote on the rule so that we can come back and have this opportunity to vote on this amendment gentleman's time has expired gentlewoman from ohio mr speaker i have only one remaining speaker who will close debate for this side because we have the right to close i'll reserve the time until the gentleman has closed and yielded back his time mr speaker i understand the gentlelady that she's prepared to close if i finish mine is that correct yeah gentlelady has just one i have a speaker who will close who will close for you yes gentleman from washington mr speaker i just want to acquire again there's only one speaker on that side is that correct that's correct mr speaker how much time do i have gentleman from washington has four twelve minutes remaining mr speaker i yield myself the balance of the time gentleman is recognized mr speaker much has been talked about about this unfair closed rule dealing with the underlying issue and that seems to be a recurring pattern and i wish that it would change but i don't hold out any hope that that will happen but mr speaker since house earmark rules were changed just last year loopholes and concerns have been raised questions remain such as what and what is not an earmark when do earmark rules apply and how are earmark rules enforced we have seen examples of member trying to challenge earmarks and enforce the earmark rules only to be told they can't because the rules don't apply and we have seen earmarks repeatedly airdropped into bills at the last minute that were not subject to transparency or scrutiny time and time again republicans have come to the floor advocating for additional earmark reform including stronger transparency and enforceability taxpayers also recognize the earmark process is broken and are outraged with wasteful spending this has led to an erosion of public confidence in congress and could explain part of the reason why congress's approval ratings are so low it is clear americans want congress to act now and fix the broken earmark process an earmark timeout is needed in order to get our fiscal house in order and restore public confidence in january house republicans united together and called on house democrats to join us in an immediate moratorium on earmarks and the appointment of a bipartisan bicameral joint committee to reform the earmark process and eliminate wasteful spending house democrat leaders were invited to join with republicans and take the sensible bipartisan course of action to reform the broken earmark process but the democrats have remained silent and chosen to continue the broken status quo so today i'm going to give all members of the house an opportunity to show their support for a bipartisan solution mr speaker i'm asking my colleagues to vote against the previous question so that i can amend the rule to allow the house to immediately consider house concurrent resolution two hundred and sixty three which would establish a joint select committee on earmark reform the joint select committee on earmark reform would hold hearings and make recommendations for the comprehensive reform of the earmark process their resolution would also prohibit bills resolutions and conference reports containing earmarks requested by members or the administration to be considered until the joint select committee has filed its report considering and adopting house concurrent resolution today is a sensible bipartisan solution that will bring genuine accountability and transparency to the spending process and will restore taxpayer trust and integrity in congress let me be clear with my motion every member of this house will have a chance to publicly vote and take a stand on earmark abuse and earmark secrecy every member will vote on whether they believe the earmark process must be reformed so mr speaker we will do all that we can on our side to challenge the leaders to adopt this resolution until a moratorium or bipartisan committee is in place house republicans have adopted already a series of earmark reforms that we will adhere to including barring members from using taxpayer money to fund projects named after themselves and prohibiting earmarks from being airdropped into bills at the last minute to avoid transparency so mr speaker i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment the letter sent from the republican leaders to speaker pelosi on january 25th two thousand and eight and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question without objection mr speaker i urge all of my colleagues to join me today in acting to permanently change the way in which washington spends taxpayer's money vote no on the previous question so we can address this very important house concurrent resolution mr speaker with that i yield back the balance of my time gentleman from washington yields back the balance of his time gentlewoman from ohio mr speaker it's my honor to yield the balance of time of my time to the gentleman from wisconsin the distinguished chairman of the committee on appropriations mr obey who will close for our side gentleman from wisconsin is recognized mr speaker to listen to the last two speakers one would think that they had rip van winkled their way through the last year in this house for the republican party leadership to belatedly give us lectures on earmarks is in my view akin to reformed alcoholics giving lectures on temperance the higher education bill being debated today is funded through the labor h appropriation bill in fiscal one thousand nine hundred and ninety five the last year i chaired that subcommittee that bill contained virtually no earmarks by the year two thousand that same bill contained four hundred and ninety one earmarks and by two thousand and six that bill had three thousand and thirty one earmarks totalling twelve billion the previous republican leadership was notorious for using earmarks as enticements in order to get their membership to vote for bills that individuals would otherwise not be inclined to vote for for example newspapers at the time reported that the previous republican leadership used earmarks in the transportation authorization bill as rewards for several republican members who switched their votes and agreed to support the medicare part d provision that forbade the federal government from negotiating with the drug industry to provide lower costs for seniors under medicare under the republican leadership the cost of earmarks quadrupled and we were treated to stories about mr cunningham mr ney mr abramoff abusing the process as well as several others when democrats took over the house until we could reform the process we suspended earmarks for a year over the fierce objections of as many members of the republican party as we saw in my own party in response to demands from both parties after we reformed the process we then resumed the earmarking process with the expressed intention of cutting in half the cost of earmarks in nonproject accounts we made no such commitments for accounts that are by their nature projectbased because to do so would gut the very purpose under the bills or of the bills under consideration example the army corps budget is by its nature projectbased in fiscal two thousand and six the administration sent up a budget request for the army corps containing nine hundred and eighty four projects of the final amount provided for the corps eighty six of the projects where administrationrequested earmarks the corps is an interesting example the administration argues that they have a system for selecting projects and that they only select projects that score a three or better on their scale however in two thousand and six there were sixteen projects requested by the administration that did not even qualify for funding based on the administration's own criteria after all the shouting was over last year we essentially met our promise cutting nonproject earmarks by forty three after negotiations with the senate cutting it from sixteen billion down to nine billion so we came pretty doggone close to our goal i would've preferred a larger reduction to fifty but forty three reduction is a forty three larger reduction than any republican congress ever produced and we did it under a reform process at the beginning of the 110th congress the new democratic majority passed unprecedented new rules that require the listing of the sponsors of every earmark that require that any member of congress requesting an earmark disclose in writing the name and address of the intended recipient the purpose of the earmark and require that members certify that he or she had no financial interest in the project we also require that all matters before a conference committee including earmarks must be subjected to full and open debate and that no item might be added to the conference report after the conference committee had adjourned as has happened many times in the past as we moved forward with the earmarks last year i brought a motion to the floor to see if members wanted to eliminate all earmarks that motion failed by a vote of fifty three to three hundred and sixty nine with the majority of both parties voting against it i'm assuming they did that because an overwhelming member of honorable members on both sides of the aisle believe that members should not lose the ability to fund priority items for their districts because of the scurrilous behavior of a handful of renegade members during house consideration of fiscal eight appropriation bills seventy one earmarkrelated amendments were debated and voted on on the floor including three amendments to eliminate all earmarks in the bill under consideration and sixty eight amendments to eliminate particular earmarks of the forty eight amendments on which recorded votes were taken only thirteen received the support of more than half the republicans who voted on those thirteen the percentage of republicans who voted yes never exceeded fifty seven every member knows that even if the house unilaterally suspends earmarks the senate will not follow suit a firm majority on both sides will see to that i have learned that lesson the hard way one last point the resolution introduced by our friends on the other side calls for the suspension of earmarks for six months until yet another group offers their suggestions for change it is ironic indeed that that delay would force us to do the same thing that the republican leadership so roundly criticized me for last year when i proposed to delay earmarks one month until we had time until we had more time to review them the practical effect of the resolution which our republican friends want to bring up today even though it is nongermane to this bill would be to require the airdropping of every single earmark in the entire federal budget it would guarantee that no earmarks could be discussed or debated while the bill was on the floor of the house of representatives it would then give you in spades what our friends on the republican side said last year they wanted to avoid i fail to see how requiring every single earmark in appropriation bills this year i fail to see how requiring all of those earmarks to be airdropped rather than debated when we consider the bills is reform it moves exactly in the opposite direction of that which our republican friends said we should move last year so as far as i'm concerned the truth is this is not serious reform at all it is a grandstanding attempt to escape the reputation of previous congresses if i had presided over those previous congresses i would be running away from their reputation just as fast as the minority appears to be today and with that i yield back the balance of my time gentlewoman from ohio i move the previous question on the resolution the question is on ordering the previous question those in favor say aye aye those opposed no no in the opinion of the chair the no's have it mr speaker i demand the yeas and nays the yeas and nays are requested those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise a sufficient number having risen the yeas and nays are ordered members will record their votes by electronic device pursuant to clause eight and clause nine of rule twenty this 15minute vote on ordering the previous question will be followed by five minute votes on adopting house resolution nine hundred and fifty six suspending the rules of adopting house concurrent resolution two hundred and eighty three suspending the rules of passing house resolution four thousand eight hundred and forty eight this is a 15minute vote the house