yeays and nays are ordered or on which the vote is objected to under clause six of rule twenty recorded votes on postponed questions will be taken later the gentleman from texas madam speaker i've moved to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution hr1086 the clerk will report the title of the resolution house resolution one thousand and eighty six resolution recognizing national nurses week on may 6th through may 12th two thousand and eight pursuant to the rule the gentleman from texas mr green and the gentleman from nebraska mr terry each will control twenty minutes the house will come to order members and staff will remove their conversations from the floor house will come to order members and staff will remove their conversations from the floor chair recognizes the gentleman from texas madam speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days revise extend their remarks and extend extraneous material on the resolution under consideration sound objection madam speaker i yield myself as much time as i may consume gentleman from texas is recognized madam speaker i rise today in support of hr1086 recognizing today may 6th through may 12th as national nurses week as a cosponsor's resolution i'm proud to lend my voice and support of our nation's nurses continuing in the illustrious tradition of florence nightingale the founder of modern nursing nurses today continue to attend our armed forces overseas these brave men and women place themselves at risk in war zones including conflicts in afghanistan and iraq to tend to our injured soldiers besides tending to the wounded abroad nurses are also on the front lines of our healthcare system here at home whether their primary function is to care for our aging population or to provide immediate aid to the sick and injured our nurses provide quality patient care and support to keep our health care system running as the nation continues to face a nursing shortage where the projected one million new nurses needed by two thousand and sixteen it's especially important that everyone is aware of the sacrifices nurses make on a daily basis for our country we must continue to encourage more young people and those seeking a change in career to join the nursing profession the resolution before us encourages all americans to observe this week as national nurses week by showing appropriate recognition to nurses and creating programs and activities during the week to demonstrate the importance of nurses i'd like to thank my colleagues and former nurses congresswoman eddie bernice johnson congresswoman carolyn mccarthy and congresswoman lois capps for their leadership on this issue and again i reiterate they are former nurses although i don't know if you're ever a former nurse i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting the resolute in its adoption and i reserve the balance of my time gentleman from texas reserves his time the gentleman from nebraska yield myself as much time as i may consume gentleman is recognized i rise today in support of house resolution one thousand and eighty six acknowledging may 6th through may 12th two thousand and eight as national nurses week in addition to kicking off national nurses week today we are also celebrating the comforts and care that nurses provide by recognizing may 6th as national nurses day this tradition started one thousand nine hundred and eighty two when president ronald reagan signed a proclamation making today national recognition day for nurses this is a week to recognize nurses as being the largest single component of health care profession with over twenty five million registered nurses in the united states and the critical role they play in providing care not only to the citizens of america but are also serving our nation in both iraq and afghanistan in addition to the immediate care they provide to patients they also have helped to educate and inform and improve education and retention of nurses i would like to thank the author of this resolution mrs eddie bernice johnson of texas for her leadership and honoring nurses that have helped promote health prevent disease and help other americans cope with illnesses i encourage all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time gentleman from nebraska reserves his time the gentleman from texas madam speaker i yield five minutes to my good friend and colleague from texas congresswoman eddie bernice johnson who literally we served with since one thousand nine hundred and seventy three with just a little break in the service so congressman johnson gentlewoman from texas is recognized for five minutes thank you very much madam speaker and let me thank my colleague and friend of long standing and also thank the minority side for their assistance and both chairman dingell and ranking member barton as a registered nurse with a master's degree it is a privilege and a delight to offer a resolution recognizing national nurses week which is may 6th through 12th and i have two outstanding colleagues that we have found to have something in common congresswoman lois capps and congresswoman carolyn mccarthy who are also nurses and champions of this resolution and of the profession and i thank them for their efforts to encourage more than one hundred and ten congressional colleagues to cosponsor this bill honoring nurses the congressional nurses caucus was also helpful in promoting the legislation and i appreciate the members efforts to rally for the support of hr1086 nurses are a key component of our nurses health care system whether on the battlefield or at sea and a skilled nursing facility and a hospital or even in a patient's own home the care that a nurse provides is very valuable nurses are intelligent individuals who must often make quick decisions in an effort to save the life of a patient even before the physician arrives nurses are recognized as the patient's primary advocate and every poll shows that nurses are always very trusted by the patients they are tasked with closely monitoring even small changes in a patient's health and they are some tough directed decisionmaking people and under stress and in difficult situations for fifteen years i provided handson patient care as a psychiatric nurse at the veterans administration hospital in dallas and the work was challenging but fulfilling and that's why i still remain very interested in the quality care for all of our veterans although more than twenty five million nurses work in the united states our nation has suffered from a nursing shortage those currently in the profession are beginning to retire there are a few individuals entering the profession the nursing shortage is unprecedented and the depth and duration with a projection of over one million new and replacement nurses are needed by two thousand and sixteen nursing schools need help attracting wellprepared faculty to recruit the best and brightest for the educational programs loan forgiveness and educational incentive programs can help but congress must do more to encourage bright young minds towards nursing nursing is a career that has been valued for a long time and it is fitting to recognize the navy nurse corps on it's 100th anniversary this year for nearly one hundred years before congress formally established the navy nurse corps in one thousand nine hundred and eight women worked as nurses aboard navy ships and in navy hospitals as early as the war of one thousand eight hundred and twelve volunteers performed nursing duty in places that were often dangerous and required courage in the face of adversity members of the esteemed navy nurse corps care for those brave men and women who fight for our freedoms they contribute to relief efforts in all corners of the globe they serve and lead roles as part of the unified healthcare system the navy nurse corps practices progressive patient care it enjoys a rich heritage accompanied by a hightech training a registered nurse in the navy is also a respected officer serving in modern facilities at home at sea and around the country and around the globe i'm proud to especially recognize the navy nurse corps for its centuries of outstanding service for our military men and women today's resolution honors the good work for all nurses one it recognizes the significant contributions of nurses to the healthcare system of the us supports the goals and ideas of national nurse weekends founded by the american nurses association and encourages the people of this nation to observe national nurse week with appropriate recognition ceremonies activities and programs to demonstrate the importance of nurses to the everyday lives of patients along with my many supportive colleagues i want to thank the house leadership for bringing this important resolution to the floor and i urge your support and i reserve the balance of my time i yield the balance of my time gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time the gentleman from nebraska madam speaker i would like to yield two minutes to one of our physicians in the house of representatives the gentlemen from georgia gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes madam speaker i rise today in strong support of h resolution one thousand and eighty six recognizing national nurses week which is may 6th through may the 12th of this year i'm proud to be a cosponsor of this bill i'd like to thank the gentle lady from texas representative eddie bernice johnson nurse johnson for advancing this legislation to help educate the american people about the critical role that nurses play in healthcare delivery with may the 12th being the birthday of florence nightingale the founder of modern nursing there's not any more appropriate time to celebrate the work done by nurses as an obgyn position for almost thirty years i was fortunate to work with intelligent hardworking compassionate nurses and they were indeed a cornerstone of the high quality health care that we provided so madam speaker nurses are on the front lines of health care delivery not only here at home but also in iraq and afghanistan therefore because we're relying on our nurses so heavily and because we currently are experiencing a shortage of nurses it is critical to support nurse training programs that's why i recently joined with a number of my colleagues in supporting title viii funding to provide loans and grants to our nation's nursing students i urge all my colleagues to support the goals of national nurses week and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman from georgia yields back is time the gentleman from texas madam speaker i'd yield three minutes to a colleague on the energy and commerce committee and a good friend congressman lois capps and also a nurse gentlewoman from california is recognized for three minutes i thank my colleague for yielding and madam speaker i rise in support of house resolution one thousand and eighty six and in support of national nurses week i commend my friend and fellow nurse ms johnson for introducing this resolution as we observe national nurses week i hope we can work together to raise awareness about important issues facing our nursing community and the important impact that nurses make to the lives of patients and their role in the arena of public health this is central to our delivery of health care we know that nurses advocate for their patients and provide personal care at the bedside often it is life saving care they're also community educators primary care providers and they serve in our military so often putting themselves in harm's way to carry out their duties but we are facing a terrible shortage of nurses we are jeopardizing our ability to provide the best quality care which each individual in each family deserves in this country of ours as a registered nurse currently serving in congress i feel it is by duty to advocate not only on behalf of my patients but also on behalf of my fellow nurses i'm cochair of our house nursing caucus and i was honored to be joined by one hundred and fifty five of our colleagues and a letter to the appropriations committee requesting additional funding for nurse education programs these programs have trained thousands of nurses but we are in desperate need of so many more and the very fact that we are funding title viii nurse education at the same exact amount that we did over thirty years ago is quite frankly inexcusable in addition nurses face difficult conditions in the workplace such as mandatory overtime unsafe staffing numbers and hazardous lifting and other workplace settings these conditions are directly contributing to our inability to retain many qualified nurses in the hospital setting now as our baby boomers retire and our demand for nurses soars let us use this week as an opportunity to reinforce our commitment to our current and our future nurses and thereby to a safer and healthier nation i yield back and thank you gentleman from nebraska continue to reserve we have no further speakers gentleman from texas mr speaker i yield three minutes to our colleague from new york carolyn mccarthy gentlewoman is recognized for three minutes thank you mr speaker and i'd like to thank lois capps and bernice johnson for bringing this forward on house resolution one thousand and eighty six recognizing national nurses week i've spent over thirty years as a nurse and it was mentioned earlier someone said once a nurse well let me say once a nurse always a nurse we carry our duties even here to the house of representatives i sit on the education committee and what i've been working on since i've came here was making sure that our nurses get every opportunity to increase our numbers as mentioned before by both of my colleagues the nursing shortage in this country is at a crisis portion we see our nurses today are a lot older they're at the retirement age and we must do everything that we can to make sure that we have our young people coming into a very very rewarding career nursing could be demanding it can be tiring it can be physically draining but it couldn't be a better career when i first joined nursing over thirty years ago i worked in the intensive care unit and i spent most of my life there and just to be able to help a patient in their greatest need but also to work with their families to comfort them as they saw their loved one going through a traumatic injury we need to make sure that this country has a supply of nurses continuously we have many young people that wanna go to nursing school but what we have found over the years is we don't have enough professors to be able to teach them to be nurses so in the higher education act there is money in there there's gonna be funding in there to make sure that those that wanna go into a higher education to be able to teach nursing it can work out for us you know when we look at the future we're seeing today in our hospitals such a shortage of nurses that a lot of the nurses are doing a lot of overtime when they take a day off they're always called to come back in that is not acceptable mainly because you have to be totally alert at all times and i certainly tip my cap to my fellow nurses that go through this every single day they stay in the profession because they love the profession they stay in the profession because it is a calling not everyone can be a nurse it is a calling and i salute those women and men that go into nursing and i also salute the women and men that are fighting in iraq and afghanistan and taking their nursing care to the soldiers and giving them comfort when they need it there is no greater in my opinion profession than to be a nurse with that being said i hope my colleagues will support h resolution one thousand and eighty six and recognize national nurses week with that i yield back the balance of my time gentleman from nebraska may i inquire into how much time mr green has gentleman from nebraska has seventeen minutes remaining mr green has ten and a half minutes remaining we have no further speakers i continue to reserve gentleman from texas mr speaker i yield three minutes to our fellow energy and commerce member congressman collins from new york gentleman is recognized for three minutes thank you very much mr speaker first of all i rise to support my colleague for bringing this resolution forward i wanna congratulate him on that and i rise today in support of h res one thousand and eighty six recognizing national nurses week on may the sixth to may the 12th as a cosponsor of this resolution i'm proud to speak out in honor of our valiant committed nurses who make our nation and our loved ones safe and well i pay special tribute to my esteemed colleagues in congress who introduced this resolution and who are themselves nurses the honorable eddie bernice johnson of texas the honorable lois capps of california and the honorable carolyn mccarthy of my home state new york additionally i wish to pay special tribute to the nurses who are serving in iraq and afghanistan and the nurses who generously tend to those who suffer wounds from these conflicts along with other healthcare professionals a nurse is responsible for the treatment safety and recovery of acutely or chronically ill or injured people they also help to maintain a patient's health and provide treatment to those who are facing lifethreatening emergencies like nine hundred and eleven and hurricane katrina nurses are also involved in medical and nursing research and perform a wide range of nonclinical functions today there are twenty four million registered nurses in the united states ninety two of the registered nurses are women five hundred and thirty one thousand is a number of licensed vocational nurses eighteen million is the number of nursing psychiatric and home health aids we cannot do without them i greatly commend the american nurses association and the academy of american academy of nurses practitioners and all of the nursing associations and academic institutions who train nurses and promote the advancement of the profession i look forward to working with members of the associations academia and others in making certain that we continue to increase the amount of nurses in closing i wish to thank my colleagues again congresswoman johnson congresswoman capps congresswoman mccarthy for their leadership on this issue and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution and i wanna thank you very much my colleague from texas of course mr green and of course others who've been involved in this resolution on that note mr speaker i yield back the balance of my time gentleman from nebraska thank you mr speaker and in our closing let me just once again reiterate our appreciation to the authors of this bill mrs johnson from texas and capps from lois capps from california mccarthy from new york and once again encourage our side of the aisle to vote yes on this measure we have no further requests for time so mr speaker i yield back all of our time gentleman yields back his remaining time gentleman from texas thank you mr speaker in closing i join my colleague from nebraska and encouraging all our members to support this resolution and recognition of nurses for this week and i yield back my time all the time has expired the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution one thousand and eighty six those in favor say aye those opposed say no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended and the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider mr speaker is laid on the table mr speaker i object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty and the chair's prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postponed mr speaker for what purpose is the gentleman from michigan rise i move to suspend the rules and pass hr4279 as amended the clerk will report the title of the bill hr4279 a bill to enhance remedies for violations of intellectual property laws and for other purposes pursuant to the rule that gentleman from michigan mr conyers and the gentleman from texas mr smith each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan thank you mr speaker i ask anonymous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks without objection so ordered including extraneous material and i yield myself as much time as i may consume gentleman is recognized ladies and gentlemen today we move to dramatically step up our nation's intellectual property laws and enforcement efforts with so much unpleasant economic news in the headlines the measure before us hr4279 puts resources toward aiding a sector of the economy that employs an estimated eighteen million workers that is thirteen of our labor force and accounts for half of all the united states exports driving forty of the country's growth as a result of less than effective enforcement however counterfeiting and piracy costs the united states economy somewhere in the neighborhood of two hundred and fifty billion a year and creates the loss of about seven hundred and fifty thousand american jobs and so hr4279 will do these important things that will prioritize intellectual property protection to the highest level of our government by creating an office in the white house that will be responsible for coordinating the intellectual property efforts of eight diverse agencies and producing a national joint strategic plan for ip enforcement it will elevate ip enforcement within the department of justice and provide more resources for investigating and prosecuting ip crimes it will make changes to both civil and criminal ip laws to enhance the ability of intellectual property owners to effectively protect their rights and it will increase penalties for ip violations that endanger public health and safety throughout the process of developing this bill we heard many expressions of support as well as a number of expressions of concern but we've been able to work out these issues on a bipartisan basis at every step of the process i congratulate the distinguished members of the judiciary committee both republicans and democrats for their cooperation in this process and so now as a result the measure is supported by the consumers electronics association the digital media association the net coalition the internet commerce coalition the coalition for consumers pictures rights and the printing industries association and more and that's in addition to the support we've already had from the teamsters the directors guild of america seiuf uni fm opeiu the coalition against counterfeiting piracy the motor equipment manufacturing association the motion picture association of america even pharma and nbc universal intellectual property protection is among the key issues that will determine american competitiveness in the 21st century the ability to create innovate and generate the best artistic technological and knowledge based intellectual property is the formula for continued growth in the global economy fundamental to the promotion of human progress and this committee of ours the judiciary committee has given these items involved in the measure extensive consideration lots of compromise back and forth and we feel that this bill will make important contributions to the fight against counterfeiting and piracy it was reported by voice with strong bipartisan statements of support and i urge my colleagues to vote for its passage and mr speaker i reserve the balance of my time gentleman from texas thank you mr speaker i yield myself as much time as i may consume gentlemen is recognized mr speaker at the outset i want to recognize chairman conyers subcommittee chairman berman and ranking member howard coppola the subcommittee each of whom i've enjoyed working with and developing and advancing this legislation mr speaker at a time when many americans are facing a slowing economy and increasing cost of food and fuel it is imperative that congress put aside any differences we may have and work together to promote the interest of us entrepreneurs and industry over the past twenty five years perhaps no group of industries has contributed more to the tremendous and sustained growth in our economy than those who rely on strong patent trademark and copyright protections american intellectual property industries including entertainment hightech and pharmaceutical industries account for over half of all us exports represent forty of the country's economic growth and employ eighteen million american workers american technology entertainment and productivity based enterprises serve as the cornerstone of our economic and export strength because of the important role ip industries play in our economy we cannot take these innovations or the creativity and investment required to bring them to life for granted unfortunately the tremendous success of these innovators creators and rights holders has made them prime targets for thieves who seek out items protected by patent copyright trademark or trade secret designation these things not only steal the creations of others but also reap the monetary benefits by reproducing and distributing the products themselves and the losses attributed to counterfeiting and piracy affect more than the inventor according to the us government american businesses lose approximately two hundred and fifty billion each year to pirated and counterfeited goods the theft of intellectual property has also cost nearly seven hundred and fifty thousand americans their jobs given the current state of the economy preventing these crimes and enforcing ip laws must be a top priority for the federal government hr4279 the prioritizing resources and organization for intellectual property act of two thousand and eight which is also known as proip is a measure designed to respond directly to these challenges specifically the bill strengthens our laws against counterfeiting and piracy provides new resources to key agencies involved in the enforcement of ip rights and mandates a new and unprecedented level of coordination and leadership on ip enforcement issues from the white house mr speaker the incentive to innovate and the ability to profit from the creation of new intellectual property cannot be sustained without enforcing the rights that protect the ownership of such valuable intangible property and while our government agencies are doing more today to protect intellectual property than ever before the reality is that we must do much more we must make it increasingly difficult and costly for counterfeiters and traffickers some of whom are connected to organized crime to steal and profit from american innovations because intellectual property is such an important asset to both the inventor and the economy as a whole congress has a responsibility to ensure that ip enforcement is made a permanent priority of every administration by supporting the proip bill the house will send a clear message that there is a bipartisan commitment to ensure the next president and succeeding administrations have the resources organizations and strategies required to protect our vital national and economic interests mr speaker i urge my colleagues to support this bill hr4279 and i reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserved mr speaker i rise now to yield to my dear friend and chairman of the intellectual property committee who's worked on this subject matter for so many years howard berman has been a bellwether in bringing together the groups and i'm happy to yield him as much time as he may consume gentleman is recognized well thank you mr speaker and thank you chairman conyers for those kind words i rise today in supportive hr4279 american inventors artists and businesses rely on intellectual property rights to protect the value of their creative works these works unfortunately are being ripped off around the world the rampant counterfeiting and piracy of us products is having a devastating impact on our economy counterfeit and pirated products may account for up to eight of world trade and a significant portion of this illicit trade are knockoffs of american products latest estimates indicate that us businesses lose up to two hundred and fifty billion a year due to intellectual property theft this level of counterfeiting and piracy of us intellectual property rights translates to job losses lower tax receipts and a greater trade deficit it has also led to public health and safety threats ranging from exploding batteries to toxic pharmaceuticals and sawdust brake pads the economic threat and safety problems that counterfeit and pirated products pose for us businesses and consumers must be dealt with given the difficult economic times we find ourselves in it is much more important that we address these problems quickly and effectively i'm aware of the recent efforts the administration has taken to stem the tide of counterfeit and pirated products the department of homeland security has seized record numbers of counterfeit and pirated goods coming through the border the department of justice is prosecuting and convicting more intellectual property thieves the patent and trademark office has stationed representatives in foreign countries to advocate for better enforcement however despite these efforts intellectual property theft is on the rise more must be done hr4279 is more the act strengthens our civil and criminal laws in ways that attack the organizational structures intellectual properties thieves are using and reduce the economic incentives that thieves have to engage in commercial scale counterfeiting and piracy the act devotes more resources to investigate and prosecute intellectual property crimes the act also provides more resources for the us government to work with other governments to improve intellectual property enforcement abroad and probably most importantly hr4279 provides a permanent and effective means of coordinating intellectual property enforcement activities this includes the creation of an intellectual property enforcement representative in the executive office of the president and requiring that a national strategic plan to counter intellectual property theft be created complete with clear goals and benchmarks that will facilitate accountability i'd like very much to thank chairman conyers ranking member smith a ranking member of the subcommittee cobell and all of their staffs as well as mine for the hard work they've put into crafting this bill the hard work shows in both the scope of the reforms and in the strong support for the bill by us businesses and labor groups and chairman conyers outlined a number of those organizations and the broad sweep of that they cover and their strong endorsement i'm also pleased to say that the amendments adopted in the bill before us go a long way to alleviating concerns raised over the operational independence of agencies like the ustr and the department of justice without compromising the underlying reforms hr4279 will bolster us efforts to combat counterfeiting and piracy and i urge support of the bill and i yield back gentleman yields back gentleman from texas mr speaker i yield to the gentleman from north carolina mr cobell the ranking member of the intellectual property subcommittee and a former chairman of the intellectual property subcommittee as much time as he may consume gentleman is recognized i thank the gentleman from texas and mr speaker at the outset i too wanna recognize and express thanks to judiciary chairman john conyers a ranking member lamar smith and subcommittee chairman howard berman for having made every effort to address all concerns raised during the development of this legislation mr speaker the prioritizing resources and organization for intellectual property act of two thousand and eight reflects the bipartisan recognition and shared commitment to the scrutiny of our nation intellectual property laws a comprehensive measure it is not confined to making marginal improvements in the available civil and criminal authorities instead it incorporates bold and urgently needed provision that will permanently elevate the importance of intellectual property ip enforcement in the future administrations this is accomplished by providing focused and accountable strategic leadership in the executive office of the president and the key enforcement agencies mr speaker in considering why we should take steps to improve the enforcement of us ip rights members should be aware that united states losses from global copyright piracy and counterfeiting cost our innovators and entrepreneurs from two hundred thousand to two hundred and strike that from two hundred to two hundred and fifty billion each and every year the impact in america has been widespread more than seven hundred and fifty thousand americans in communities across our land have lost their jobs due to counterfeiting and piracy counterfeit goods lack proper control quality control and can be dangerous toothpaste medicines cigarettes fake auto parts are but a small sample of the virtually unlimited supply of goods that have been counterfeited the united states chamber of commerce has done an excellent job of documenting the extent of this problem i encourage anyone interested in learning about these issues to visit the chamber's website for additional information or to take the time to watch the documentary illicit which was produced by the national geographic and the chamber mr speaker fighting piracy and counterfeiting as you all know is easier said than done because most of the illicit activity occurs outside our borders in recent years the federal government has made progress in improving both our domestic and global enforcement efforts but it is also clear that achieving success in the fight against piracy and counterfeiting requires government wide coordination and cooperation in addition to all the rise in the office of the united states intellectual property enforcement representative hr4279 also raises the profile of ip enforcement within the department of justice through the creation of a new ip enforcement division this is absolutely necessary in my opinion the bill creates an additional ten attachs at the united states patent and trademark office who will be assigned to work with foreign countries to better coordinate our international enforcement efforts and the bill enhances existing antipiracy and counterfeiting criminal statures authorizes grants to assist local antipiracy and counterfeiting efforts and directs the justice department to refine its policies for investigating and prosecuting piracy and counterfeiting operations before closing mr speaker i'd like to note for the record three final amendments in the that agreed to incorporate into the bill the first is designed to harmonize the forfeiture provisions entitled to the bill the second in section three hundred and one places an affirmative limitation on the authority of the new ip enforcement representative that makes clear the official has no authority to control or direct law enforcement agencies in the exercise of their respective investigative or prosecutorial direction in particular cases and the third which amends section three hundred and twenty three of the bill simply contains technical and conforming changes to make the text of the bill clearer finally mr speaker i wanna recognize some of the stakeholders who have worked so diligently on this effort specifically i'd like to note the efforts of the coalition against counterfeiting piracy which has been so ably led by mr rick cotton and the us chamber of commerce which of course is led by president tom donahue and the congressional international antipiracy caucus which is led by representative adam schiff of california and bob goodlatte of virginia in closing i urge my colleagues to support hr4279 and i yield the balance of my time back and i thank the distinguished gentleman from texas for having yielded to me gentleman yields back gentlemen from michigan mr speaker i think i have only one speaker left but might i say a word about the distinguished ranking member lamar smith of texas who's worked with us incredibly with deliberation he's brought parties together there's been a enormous amount of work behind the scenes for which nobody knows how much he's done to make this possible i thank him publicly and now i would yield the rest of our time to the gentlemen from tennessee steve cohen thank you gentlemen is recognized thank you mr chairman for the time and i wanna thank the chairman and the chairman chairman for the work they've done and for the ranking member on this bill i rise in support of hr4279 the prioritizing resources and organization for intellectual property act of two thousand and seven or the proip act our nation's intellectual property is the basis for our economic success and security that is something that can't be undermined by cheap labor prices overseas it's an american product therefore protecting our intellectual property must be among our highest priorities in addition to undermining our global economic primacy counterfeit and pirated products can threaten the health and safety of american consumers american pet owners steal income from legitimate businesses deprive american workers of good jobs and undermine the necessary incentive for innovation and creativity which has made america the great country that it is it is for these reasons i'm an original cosponsor of the ppoip act the proip act will help strengthen enforcement of intellectual property rights domestically and internationally through enhanced criminal and civil penalties for intellectual property crimes better high level coordination among federal government agencies and increased resources to domestic and foreign law enforcement authorities this bill mr speaker rightfully enjoys broad support from a wide range of industries including the entertainment pharmaceutical food automobile parts and software industries it has such diverse partners as the chamber of commerce and the teamsters when the chamber of commerce and the teamsters come together it's like ef hutton we listen and we've listened well and need to pass this bill this coalition that supports proip is indicative of the broad support and the need for passes of such legislation i urge my colleagues to heed the words and vote in favor of this important legislation thank you mr speaker gentleman from texas mr speaker first of all i'd like to thank the chairman of the judiciary committee mr conyers for his earlier and very generous comments i'd also like to say we have no further speakers on this side so i'll yield back to balance my time gentleman yields back his time gentlemen from michigan mr speaker i follow suit and yield back any time remaining on this side all time has been yielded back the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass hr4279 as amended those in favor say aye aye opposed say no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table mr speaker for what reason does the gentleman from the i object the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty and the chair's prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postponed the point of no quorum is withdrawn mr speaker on what purpose is the gentleman from michigan rise mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass hr i move to suspend the rules and pass hr5690 as amended removing the african national congress from treatment as a terrorist organization the clerk will report the title of the bill hr5690 a bill to exempt the african national congress from treatment as a terrorist organization for certain acts or events provide relief for certain members of the african national congress regarding admissibility and for other purposes pursuant to the rule the gentleman from michigan mr conyers and the gentleman from texas mr smith each will control twenty the gentleman from michigan mr conyers thank you mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and incorporate extraneous material on the bill under consideration and yield myself as much time as i may consent without objection sorted and the gentlemen is recognized members of the house the american national congress is a rare example of an oppressed people fighting for their freedom and then leading a successful and peaceful transition to a modern nation the fight went on for years underground and in exile against the morally bankrupt apartheid system in south africa and once they prevailed the response to gaining political power was not retribution and reprisals but truth and reconciliation not withstanding this peaceful transition the united states had not gotten around to giving anc leaders the opportunity to enter this country because of certain provisions in the immigration and nationality act currently require us to consider them still as terrorists and after the attacks on nine hundred and eleven congress sought to exclude and remove terrorists from the united states by strengthening the terrorism bars and our immigration laws and in doing so however we inadvertently covered groups and individuals whom we did not intend to including allies and even victims of terrorism these bars have been used against the brave men and women who fought side by side with the united states forces in southeast asia they've been used against those who used arm resistance to defend themselves against brutal and repressive regimes such as those in cuba and burma they've been even used against women who were raped in a enslaved by armed militia in liberia and as we recognize today they've been used against members of the african national congress including the great leader nelson mandela this has had profound affects preventing us from protecting vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers and resulting in embarrassing denials of visas for nelson mandela himself and other foreign heads of state we all know how mr mandela and other anc leaders suffered unjust incarceration for decades at the hands of the apartheid regime we know how the apartheid regime labeled its opponents as terrorists as communists and anything else they could invent to accuse them of that was negative in an attempt to deflect criticism of their own institutions of repression and racial separation and yet these people are steadfast they fought for freedom and chose a path of peace once they came to power are now blocked from entry to the united states and so that's where this measure comes in congress has begun to take corrective action and last year we removed a number of freedom fighting groups from treatment as terrorist organizations today we do the same for the anc and its members in addition to specifying that the anc is not on the list of terrorist organizations under the immigration and naturalization act the bill would also give discretionary authority to secretaries of the state and homeland security to admit individuals regardless of activities undertaken an opposition to apartheid rule in south africa the bill finally would require the secretary of state in coordination with other agencies to ensure that government databases are updated so that they're consistent with exemptions provided in the bill i'd like to thank committee chairman of the judiciary howard berman but also in his capacity as a chair of the foreign relations committee and in memorial i'd like to remember the chairman that proceeded mr berman tom lantos for their work on this bill and i would like to insert into the record at this point an exchange of letters between our two committees as unanimous consent without objection that they be included in the record and thanks again to the ranking member from texas lamar smith whose bipartisan discussions have enabled us to reach this point this is a noncontroversial bill that repairs something that should have been taken care of earlier it closes the books on the evils of apartheid and so i'm very proud to bring this to the floor with the members that i have mentioned i reserve the balance of my time gentleman from texas mr speaker i thank you and i yield myself such time as i may consume gentleman's recognized mr speaker the african national congress has played a significant role in history nelson mandela and the anc for many years fought against the unjust apartheid system in south africa through a largely peaceful transfer of power apartheid is a thing of the past and south africa now has a representative democratic government many anc officials are now in fact officials of south africa's government south africa provides hope the genuine reconciliation between historically opposed groups can in fact be achieved however real terrorist acts were committed as part of the struggle against apartheid there were deadly bombings of civilians there were socalled necklace things in which car tires were put around persons necks and set on fire i am pleased at the bill's sponsors mr berman and miss lofgren and chairman conyers were willing to ensure that this bill will provide appropriate relief to the african national congress without excusing the perpetrators of terrorist or criminal acts first the anc is added to the list of organizations not considered terrorists organizations for immigration purposes such a list was created to shield certain organizations from the broad reach of the immigration act of one thousand nine hundred and ninety under the one thousand nine hundred and ninety legislation any guerrilla group would find itself within the definition of a terrorist organization the groups currently on the exempt list include the hmong who fought alongside us soldiers in the vietnam war and groups that are fighting against the repressive burmese government today it is understandable that the agency be added to that list second the administration is granted the authority to waive the criminal grounds of admissibility with respect to aliens for activities undertaken an opposition to apartheid rule in south africa congress already granted the administration waiver authority for the terrorismrelated grounds and last year's omnibus spending bill third the bill contains a sense of congress that the administration should immediately exercise in appropriate instances the authority granted under the bill to waive grounds of inadmissibility for the antiapartheid activities of aliens who are current or former officials of the government of south africa i am confident that any administration will use this power wisely finally the bill directs the administration to ensure that government databases used to determine admissibility to the us be updated to reflect any waivers granted mr speaker i urge my colleagues to support this bill and again i want to thank mr berman and chairman conyers and chairman loughlin for working in good faith to address concerns with the bill as it was introduced i now reserve the balance of my time reserved gentleman from michigan mr speaker i'm proud now to recognize the subcommittee chairman from which this bill came and the chairman of the foreign affairs committee howard berman for as much time as he may consume gentleman is recognized well thank you mr speaker it's an honor to be part of the debate on a bill being managed by the chairman of the judiciary committee who perhaps was one of the first members of congress to speak out and lead the effort against the old apartheid regime going way back into the late 60's and early 1970s and who along with congressman ron dellums and many others led the effort in one thousand nine hundred and eighty six i believe it was to override the veto and provide the first really tough sanctions against investment that have helped play a part in the ultimate downfall of that apartheid regime mr speaker this bill is a long overdue one and it's the direct result of a stunning and frankly embarrassing story for the united states the united states throughout the 1970s and 1980s had a much too cozy relationship with the apartheid government of south africa which had labeled the anc as a terrorist organization the apartheid government banned membership and political activity in the anc and forced its leaders underground or into exile a direct result to that ban was that under us law individuals convicted of crimes including the nobel laureate and former president of south africa nelson mandela were deemed inadmissible for entry to the united states along with individuals labeled as terrorists by the former south african government much has changed for south africa since those dark times president de klerk and nelson mandela negotiated an end to the conflict and an end to the apartheid system on behalf of the national party and the african national congress in one thousand nine hundred and ninety four the country held its first democratic elections in which full enfranchisement was granted today the anc serves as the majority party in a diverse ruling coalition yet astonishingly while south africa completed its monumental political transition the us position regarding entry for anc's leaders remained frozen in time leaders such as nelson mandela walter sisulu govan mbeki the father of president thabo mbeki were continually barred from entry to the us and they had to apply for special waivers to gain entry even more embarrassing than the original us embrace of apartheid policies was the fact that few of those who opposed apartheid in the united states government including many of us in congress were even aware of the residual terrorist designations against anc members despite recognizing two decades ago that america's place was on the side of those oppressed by apartheid congress has never resolved the inconsistency in our immigration code that treats many of those who actively oppose apartheid in south africa as terrorists and criminals in part because the apartheid regime labeled them as such increasingly stringent security measures passed by congress since two thousand and one have further ensnared anc members because the anc used armed force as part of its campaign against the repressive apartheid regime in south africa current law continues to regard the anc as a terrorist organization and to deny entry to members based on their affiliation with the anc the intent of hr5690 is to purge the united states of any residual effect of its former policies with regard to the south african government and to update us law with regard to the anc the bill as mentioned specifically removes the anc from treatment as a terrorist organization and grants the secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security the discretionary authority to determine that certain criminal and security related grounds of inadmissibility do not apply to an alien with respect to activities undertaken in opposition to apartheid rule in south africa i wanna take a moment just to compliment again the ranking member of the judiciary committee who has a very strong and passionate views on the issues of immigration and obviously also as we all do in this chamber on the issue of terrorist organizations and inadmissibility for those organizations he has truly understood and internalized the historic transition here and the unfairness of the present situation and i do wanna affirm one point that he raised this bill does not have anyone close their eyes to acts committed by the anc or by the apartheid government and nothing here would preclude the secretary as she exercises her discretion from considering whether or not civilians were targeted by an individual act of civilians we should also take into account as we decided what to do on this the very powerful and legally binding truth and reconciliation process in south africa which provided a restorative justice process that solved many of the wounds of the apartheid era once enacted the anc will be removed from terrorist watchlist the anc will receive the treatment befitting its status as a leading party and a close ally of the united states i urge my colleagues to support the legislation and yield back the balance of my time gentleman from texas mr speaker first of all i'd like to say that it's always nice when the gentleman from california mr berman and i can agree on immigration issues as we did it in this particular instance mr speaker i'll yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from iowa mr king the ranking member of the immigration subcommittee of the judiciary committee gentleman it's recognized thank you mr speaker i thank mr smith the ranking member of the immigration subcommittee for yielding and appreciate the privilege to address this issue before this congress first i wanna point out that i believe there's been a constructive compromise has been reached across this aisle that has not necessarily closed loopholes but made some clarification that help protect this country from a kind of a blanket waiver so to speak with any of those formerly potentially violent members of the anc and for me i come to this debate with more concern than many because i still maintain vivid memories of what went on in the streets of south africa during those antiapartheid riots and demonstrations and strategic actions that took place black against white white against black i also have vivid memories mr speaker of actions taken in this country and positions taken politically and the divesting of investments within south africa by many american companies as an incentive to end apartheid which was i believe a sin against humanity to have a policy that identified some people as being more equal than others and i believe it's a sin against humanity to maintain those policies whether they are in the united states or south africa or anywhere else i offered an amendment to the judiciary committee before this bill and the purpose of it was to send a message because i have traveled to south africa and i have met with people there who expressed to me some concerns and i asked of them because of that i've also dug a little deeper into their readings in the current events and it will be not a surprise to the members of the committee that i'm concerned about the land transfer that is part of the federal policy of south africa to transfer a significant portion of land from right now under the deeds held by white south africans into the deeds of black south africans i made it clear in the committee that i do not compare this to the things we see going on in zimbabwe that is far different and that is without benefit of rule of law but there still remains a concern i also want to point out and i promised ambassador welile nhlapo who is the ambassador to the united states from south africa that i would make the statement and he came to my office yesterday we sat down in my office for a good strong hour and discussed these issues and he assured me that there are constitutional protections that exist and statutory protections that exist to protect all property owners in south africa and that there will not be a transfer of real estate property into the hands of black south africans at the expense of white south africans without due process of law and constitutional protections i've voiced my concern about that he reassured me that that would be the case and i pointed out to him that it's difficult for us in this country to reach an objective position on these issues that are racially charged because it's so much wrapped up in who we are and i would point out mr speaker that for the observation of the body that to listen to an analysis of the political campaigns that are going on now and in fact today to listen to an analysis of the predictions of those going to the polls and the democrat primary in places like indiana and north carolina which are taking place right now you cannot hear a political pundit talking head analysis without race and gender coming into that debate and so i challenged the ambassador malabo that's a very difficult standard that we can't meet it here in this country as old as our traditions are for freedom as much sweat and toil and blood has been spilled to keep people free make them free and keep them free we still can't extricate ourselves from being wrapped up in that debate and may i have our public policy identified by how we might side whom we might side with rather than how we might analyze the constitution or the law it's difficult here in the united states with our traditions it's far more difficult in south africa we had that discussion it was a constructive discussion and i rise today mr speaker to support this bill and to encourage an open dialogue globally and continuing communication and interchange with the people of south africa and people of all nations on the earth i would remind also the body that the record of postcolonial africa is not a stellar record and there are many problems in the continent many of those in the southern part of the continent of africa and as i travel and visit there and go into the aids orphanages in particular and can step into villages where there isn't a single adult of reproductive age unless they're a missionary it has been devastating to the continent and we need to have an open dialogue and be frank about our problems and be open in our discussion and hiding our dialogue because we're afraid we might hurt someone's feelings only pushes the problem further downward instead of letting it surface so that we can all address it together with open eyes open ears and open dialogue that's what we did yesterday and my meeting which i so gratefully received ambassador nhlapo into my office and in that engaging conversation i'm confident that we've opened up communications for a continued dialogue and i trust that this bill will open communications for further dialogue and i certainly support this and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yields back gentleman from michigan i rise to recognize the distinguish gentlelady from texas sheila jackson lee who's worked with steve king and suggest that there may be a codel going to this part of the globe and i would certainly like to invite the distinguished gentlemen mr king to consider joining us on such a codel i yield the gentlelady from texas at least three and a half minutes for at least three and a half minutes i thank the speaker and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend i thank the distinguished chairman of the judiciary committee distinguished chairman of the foreign affairs committee and distinguished ranking member who has joined us in a very important and historic step that is being made on the floor of the house today and i appreciate my good friend from iowa who has given us a global overview but i wanna remind my colleagues that this is a pointed and focus legislative initiative along with the leadership of chairwoman zoe lofgren that we have gotten to a point that is long overdue my good friends the congresswoman barbara lee and congressman don payne were part of those who initiated this effort and it is pointedly to focus on really what we would call heroes fighters against apartheid in south africa who shed their blood so that south africa could be the reconciled nation that it is today president mbeki former president mandela father mandela as he is called and many of the seniors who are now in their retiring years who when they come to the united states are detained interrogated and embarrassed by our own treatment of these heroes this goes to the very point of the expanded use in the united states of the word terrorism and the utilization of it by preventing innocent people people who have been heroes to come into this country this is not necessarily a strict immigration bill it is people who are coming into the country legally but because they have been freedom fighters somewhat the way that dr martin luther king stood nonviolently for rights here in this country these individuals had to be in the midst of a encounter if you will to provide the safety and security for their people this particular legislation is an important step forward but i might suggest to my colleagues that i hope that on the floor today we're making a legislative statement and providing legislative history so that the department of homeland security and the secretary of state or the state department will not dilly dally around because unlike the previous legislation this does not order it to be done it gives those departments the discretion to be done as they have requested and so we are trusting in them we're entrusting to them this noble responsibility to do well by father mandela to do well by president mbeki or former president mbeki and we need to ensure that we do the right thing and as we look to make this country and to give this country a different face on terrorism let us likewise be assured of that we recognize that there are other groups that are similarly situated that we should take a look at so i rise to support this legislation mr chairman mr speaker because it is an important step forward it does give the ability to admit these individuals were to remove the stigma if you will of the name of terrorists because they were freedom fighters to save and preserve and to free our south africans so that they too might live in a democracy that is what this legislation does and i appreciate all of the hard work that is going on let me just as an aside indicate that i was not here for hr4279 on the intellectual property and i support it enthusiastically we'll put a statement in the record i close by simply saying good day for the freedom fighters of south africa and the anc good day for father mandela who led the fight on reconciliation and peace along with bishop tutu good day for all of them as we stand here acknowledging that they are heroes freedom fighters fighting for democracy and equality to the secretary of state the secretary of homeland security act now once this bill is passed i yield back gentleman from texas mr speaker i have no further speakers on this side now and i'll yield back to balance my time gentleman yields back his time mr speaker i rise to recognize the gentlelady from oakland california barbara lee who for many years worked as chief of staff with our former colleague ron dellums on this subject so in her capacity as member of congress and former staffer she has stayed on the course for all of these years and i yield her as much time as she may consume gentlewoman is recognized thank you very much mr speaker and let me thank you chairman conyers for yielding and for those kind words but also for your leadership on so many issues you are a true warrior and we would never be at this place today had it not been for yourself i also want to thank chairman berman i wanna thank our subcommittee chairman don payne and chairman bennie thompson for their leadership on so many issues and for making sure that this bill came today to this floor in a bipartisan fashion as a cosponsor with this legislation and along advocate against apartheid i am especially pleased that we are taking this important step to finally right this inexcusable wrong many of us were arrested during the antiapartheid movement myself included it wasn't until the mid 80s that finally congress put our country on the right side of history by overriding president reagan's veto to impose sanctions this was a bill that my predecessor a great warrior now the mayor of oakland california ron dellums had introduced for twelve long years i can remember during that period the ilw for example protested in fact i was arrested with them also the unloading of ships from south africa which kicked off much of the antiapartheid movement congresswoman maxine waters is a great leader who just recently received as then mayor ron dellums one of the highest honors by the south african government she led the fight in california against apartheid and i think we were one of the first states to impose sanctions all of us who were involved during that time you had to take risks the anc couldn't even travel outside of new york couldn't come to washington dc because they were considered a terrorist organization many of us had to go to europe just to meet the members of the anc to talk about how we could help in the brutal regime of apartheid which was killing so many people dehumanizing the whole country and was one of the most ruthless systems that we have ever known it's been eighteen years since nelson mandela was released from prison fourteen years since he was elected president of south africa and this year he will turn 90yearsold yet to this day to this day despite his legacy as a hero of the antiapartheid movement despite the fact that he is a nobel peace prize recipient he received the peace prize in one thousand nine hundred and ninety three despite his election as president we still required nelson mandela to apply for a visa waiver to enter into the united states just for a visit this is just plain wrong last december i traveled to south africa for world aids day with our colleague congresswoman donna christianchristensen and we were asked by many people many times over and over and over again why president nelson mandela was still on the terrorist list well we were quite frankly very embarrassed and shocked and we were determined that we would do everything we could to finally again put our country on the right side of history so i am pleased and i'm excited that we are taking this step today the anc was fundamentally involved in a war of liberation against the oppressive apartheid regime in south africa for over four decades if they hadn't been involved in this war of liberation apartheid would still be existing in south africa so instead of continuing to penalize the anc for their political struggle against apartheid we really should be commending them for their work in transforming south africa into a beacon of democracy and just look at how they have moved forward in their peace and reconciliation process i think we could learn a heck of a lot in our own country by the leadership of president mandela and how the people of south africa black and white have come together to reconcile and to move forward to take south africa into this new millennium into a new south africa so let me just thank again chairman conyers and chairman berman for bringing this bill to the floor today it's really the right thing to do and for those of us who have been so long involved in the antiapartheid movement and now of course in the movement to stop the genocide that's taking place in darfur this is a day that we been waiting for a long time this is the only thing that we can do now to say first of all that we understand that this should not have taken so long but at least better late than never thank you very much mr conyers gentleman from michigan no further requests for time i thank the gentlelady barbara lee of oakland california for closing our statement and i return all and yours time all time has expired the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass hr5690 as amended those in favor say aye opposed say no the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table mr speaker i object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty and the chair's prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postponed point of no quorum is withdrawn for what purpose is gentlewoman from california rise mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass hr1512 clerk will report the title of the bill hr1512 a bill to amend the immigration and nationality act to provide for compensation to states incarcerating undocumented aliens charged with a felony or two or more misdemeanors pursuant to the rule the gentlewoman from california ms sanchez and the gentlemen from iowa mr king each will control twenty minutes the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from california ms sanchez thank you mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration and i yield myself without objection sorted i yield myself such time as i may consent gentlewoman is recognized thank you mr speaker today we act to restore the state criminal alien assistance program or scaap to its original meaning that which congress originally intended it to have introduced by myself hr1512 will help states obtain much needed reimbursement for the cost of detaining deportable illegal immigrants charged with or convicted of certain criminal offenses scaap was created in one thousand nine hundred and ninety four to reimburse states and localities for arrest incarceration and transportation costs incurred in detaining criminal aliens from the program since inception until two thousand and three states were able to obtain reimbursement for the costs of detaining deportable illegal immigrants charged with a felony or two or more misdemeanors in two thousand and three however doj reinterpreted the scaap statute to require that a criminal alien be actually convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors moreover the reimbursement must be requested in the year in which the conviction takes place and is limited to that one year regardless of how long the expenses are incurred not surprisingly this novel reinterpretation which contradicted congress clear intent as well as doj's consistent interpretation from one thousand nine hundred and ninety four to two thousand and three caused every state's reimbursement to fall dramatically hr1512 would amend the immigration and nationality act to return scaap to its originally intended meaning states and localities would be reimbursed for the cost of incarcerating criminal aliens who are either charged with or convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors regardless of when the incarceration and conviction occur hr1512 corrects the current administrations errant reinterpretation of the law and provide states and localities burdened by the cost of jailing criminal aliens the opportunity to apply for and receive much needed reimbursement for the cost they bear from detaining deportable criminal alien immigrants charged with crimes the bill has broad bipartisan support and the support of many respected law enforcement groups i would like to especially commend zoe lofgren chair of the immigration subcommittee and steve king the subcommittee ranking member for their leadership and helping bring this bill to the floor today i urge my colleagues to support this bill pardon me to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time gentlemen from iowa mr speaker i yield myself so much time as i may consume gentleman is recognized thank you mr speaker the federal government under the state criminal alien assistance program which we refer to as scaap reimburses part of the expenses that states and localities incur in incarcerating illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a felony or of two or more misdemeanors and in fact i would bring the chamber's attention mr speaker to a report that was issued by the gao in april two thousand and five that identifies that the federal government's reimbursing twenty five of the costs of the incarceration of criminal aliens within the institutions in the united states but hr1512 expands the state criminal alien assistance program to compensate states for incarcerating illegal immigrants who are charged with and not only convicted as under their wishes under the current program charged with a felony or two or more misdemeanors and i stand here mr speaker and applaud the gentlelady from california for bringing this legislation and because i think this is a constructive change to our policy and the language very simply adds the words charged with or to the existing language of compensation for those convicted of and it recognizes that there's significant cost involved and processing criminal aliens and the investigation the arrest stage and the indictment stage and as those costs amount and are incurred we need to be sure that we take this position that the federal government's job it is to guard and protect our borders that is not the job of a political subdivision that's essentially the job of the federal government when we fail to do our job when we don't have sufficient constraints in place at our borders or at our airports or our ports of entry then the result of it is that this burden of law enforcement falls upon the political subdivisions on the states on the cities and on the counties to enforce the law and when they do they incur these costs this bill is hr1512 seeks to lift off some of that burden and it certainly wouldn't be all of it lamar smith the ranking member of the full judiciary committee and i both believe the available statistics on criminal illegal immigrants in the united states leave much to be desired there's too little data on illegal immigrants in prison in the united states we don't really know how many there are or what crimes they are charged with or convicted of or how long is time they spend in our prison systems and i particularly can speak to that since i asked for the gao study that was completed in april of two thousand and five i thought in that study i would get the answers to the percentages of our inmate populations that are criminal aliens what crimes they might have convicted and in quite a list of things it would help us establish our policy both law enforcement policy and our immigration policy however that report came back not quite apples to apples and there are conclusions that can be drawn there are also gaps to their knowledge base and because of the inspiration that's brought forward because of this bill of ms sanchez hr1512 we engaged into the judiciary committee and dialogue about how we can better gather that information and i'm really pleased that ms lofgren the chair of the immigration subcommittee of which i'm the ranking member and mr smith the ranking member of the full judiciary committee have agreed to send a joint request to the general accountability office to develop additional statistics on criminal alien immigrants and i look forward to working with ms lofgren and mr smith and others on this particular subject matter and this is something we vitally need to provide statistics that will help us establish a better immigration policy and as we move forward with this piece of legislation that i believe is a constructive move in the right direction that helps to compensate and it won't be all but it'll be at least in part help compensate the political subdivisions for their costs incurred to enforce the laws against the criminal aliens as it adds to it those charged with the crime not just those convicted of a crime or two serious misdemeanors but into this negotiation also will be the formal request for the gao study to look further at the effect of crime on the united states of america by criminal aliens and the question has got to be constantly before us since we are charged with the responsibility of protecting the american people and it's very much a constitutional responsibility and we're also constitutionally charged with the responsibility of establishing immigration policy and the executive branch is charged with the responsibility of enforcing that policy however aggressive or lack of aggressivity they might have and the result is some get through the borders through our ports of entry some commit crimes and some of those crimes that are committed are of a very heinous nature and the cost of those crimes against this society can be quantified if we can identify the numbers of crimes that are being committed by criminal aliens and in what categories they are in where they are being incarcerated what length of terms they are serving and especially mr speaker when they're released when they're released from a municipal jail or a county jail or a state penitentiary let alone from a federal institution when they are released we need to know if they're released into the hands of ice if they have been processed for deportation if that happens to be the law or if they're released back into the streets and if they are we need to ask the question are there committing further crimes so what is the level of effectiveness in our law enforcement system how many what percentage of our overall crimes are being committed by criminal aliens what are those crimes what's the price against society and how does this break down into all of these categories that i've mentioned in a fashion that will allow us as a congress to prudently step back take the empirical data that we are expecting to receive from the general accountability office after the submission of this request and process that into policy that reflects the best interest of the people in the united states of america i think this bill is a healthy step in the right direction i think it's the prudent thing to do and i think it says the right thing to the people in america mr speaker and i applaud the gentlelady for bringing hr1512 and i support the expansion of scaap funding to those who have been also charged with the crime and i would reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserves gentlewoman from california mr speaker may i inquire how many more speakers that mr king has remaining i have no further speakers i reserve the right to close so if the gentleman would like to gentleman from iowa i thank the gentlelady i yield myself as much time as i may consume gentleman is recognized just in summation mr speaker this is a component of taking this legislation in the right direction and it's important that we compensate political subdivisions when the federal government's not doing the job they need to be doing this is a natural result of it and i expect that this has come from our request of those political subdivisions although they aren't making this request necessarily in my district there are many jails in my district that will be beneficiaries of this piece of legislation and so i urge it's adoption and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yields back gentlewoman from california thank you mr speaker immigration is probably the signature federal policy issue try as they might states simply can't fix failures and federal immigration policy on their own but when we fall down on the job states cities and counties bear the burden for an immigration system that simply isn't working while congress is working on a comprehensive solution to our broken immigration system we must not forget about the local governments who are paying an extremely high cost as a result of our inaction in one thousand nine hundred and ninety four congress passed the state criminal alien assistance program scaap to reimburse states and localities for the arrest incarceration and transportation costs associated with criminal aliens averting a tidal wave of expenses that could have overwhelmed those state and local budgets however in two thousand and three the department of justice reinterpreted the scaap statute and caused as drastic drop in every state's reimbursement now states no longer receive reimbursements unless first the criminal alien is convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors and second the arrest and conviction occur in the same year to add insult to injury president bush has zeroed out scaap in his budget proposals for the last six years this means that state and local governments are left to pick up the tab every dollar reduction in scaap reimbursements is one less dollar that law enforcement agencies have to hire new officers provide essential training make critical equipment purchases and detain other perhaps more violent inmates following the scaap funding cuts in two thousand and three the la county sheriff's department implemented a new early release policy for inmates convicted of misdemeanors this means the neighborhoods i represent in southern california are at risk sadly these communities are not alone across the country the scaap reimbursement cuts have had a domino effect where funding for antigang activities homicide investigations antiterrorism activities and even basic maintenance is cut to pay for expenses associated with incarcerating criminal aliens and suspected criminal aliens as arizona county supervisors recently stated this is a huge problem because we can't keep up with fixing roads the other cost of law enforcement and keeping up with health agencies while this bill on its own won't solve the fiscal crisis many states now face it will help in the longterm by covering a greater share of costs that properly belong to the federal government hr1512 amends the scaap statute so that states and localities can be reimbursed for the cost of incarcerating aliens who are either charged with or convicted of a felony or two misdemeanors just like it was before the doj's reinterpretation in two thousand and three this federal investment will allow state and local enforcement agencies to devote more resources to important public safety programs law enforcement agencies and coalitions from all over the country including the usmexico border counties coalition the national association of counties the california state association of counties the sheriff's association of texas and the virginia sheriff's association support this bipartisan legislation lastly i wanna offer thanks and gratitude to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for passing this bill unanimously through the judiciary committee and for bringing it to the floor today without any amendments we may not agree on many aspects of immigration policy but this bill accomplishes a larger goal making our community safer and for that reason i appreciate your support i urge my colleagues to support their local law enforcement agencies by voting for this bill and i yield back the remainder of my time all time has expired the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass hr1512 those in favor say aye oppose say no and the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table mr speaker for what purpose is the gentleman from i object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make a point of order the quorum is not present pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty and the chair's prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postponed the point of no quorum is withdrawn pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty proceedings we'll resume on questions previously postponed votes will be taken in the following order motion to suspend the rules with regard to hr3658 hcongrec three hundred and seventeen hrec one thousand one hundred and nine h2929 in each case the no vote and motion to instruct on hr2419 by the yeas and nays the first electronic vote will be conducted as a fifteen minute vote remaining electronic votes will be conducted as a five minute vote the unfinished business is the question of suspending the rules and passing hr3658 which the clerk will report by title hr three thousand six hundred and fifty eight a bill to amend the foreign service act of one thousand nine hundred and eighty to permit rest and recuperation travel to united states territories for members of the foreign service the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill so many of us are in favor say aye those opposed say no in the opinion of the chair two thirds mr speaker being in the affirmative the rules are suspended mr speaker gentlemen from new jersey i ask for the yeas and nays the yeas and nays are requested those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise a sufficient number is in the yeas and nays are ordered members will record the votes by electronic device this will be a fifteen minute vote to be followed by five minute votes a round of a four votes suspension bills bills debated yesterday they just wrapped up debate on four or so suspension bills dealing with issues like intellectual property national nurses week and also the african national congress exempting that group's treatment as a terrorist organization in the recent last week's state department annual report on a terrorist organizations it's a fifteen minute vote here on the house floor and we've seen some procedural votes already today and if on the republican side as they are upset about the democrats bringing the iraq funding bill the additional spending in iraq and afghanistan to the house floor plans are to bring it to the house floor by thursday so it seems a couple of procedural votes so far in the us house meanwhile over in the senate they've been working on faa programs bill they've moved on to the national flood insurance bill and you can follow senate coverage of course on cspan two committee we covered earlier a hearing that you'll see later in our program schedule a congressional quarterly writing about the judiciary subcommittee hearing today they voted to authorize a subpoena for vice president dick cheney's chief of staff as part of an investigation into the legality of controversy of bush administration counterterrorism policies the subcommittee on the constitution by a voice vote authorized the subpoena of david s addington who served as vice president cheney's legal counsel before becoming his chief of staff in two thousand and five that subcommittee met earlier today and again you'll have a chance to see it later in our program schedule