your guidance and protection yet we are often reluctant to bend to your ways help us to understand the patterns of your creative hand in the miracle of life and the transformation to light you show us your awesome wonder both the changing seasons and the dawning of an each day reveal for us your subtle but consistent movement during every moment of life without a screeching halt or sudden curtain you change darkness into light and provide a new day only week after week this mother earth strip herself and then blanket herself for winter guide us to imitate your silent but reliant less plan of transcend through the gradual building of consensus and the hard work toward responsible transition new people all over the globalised world tire of competition and matters sure one of the greatest financial assaults on america's middle class is the alternative minimum tax originally it was meant to ensure that several dozen of the richest families in america paid their fair share of taxes but it wasn't indexed for inflation so it's robbing middle class taxpayers like our union members are cops our firefighters and our teachers nurses now after too long finally a real effort at reform is developing the ways and means committee majority has unveiled a repeal of the a m t now it's too early for me to say that i agree with every single element of this proposal and i'm convening a panel of experts in my congressional district to assess it but i am pleased that finally we are seriously addressing this middle class rip off and i want to thank chairman rangle and hope to work challenge recognizable and then thank you madam speaker i rise today to raise awareness of the imminent need for congress to extend and make permanent the research and development tax credit the r and d tax credit is set to expire at the end of this year and at a time of increasing globalization americans pressed prosperity depends more than ever on its capacity to innovate for decades our nation's leadership in research has led to discoveries that have dramatically improve living standards around the world and given rise to new industries that in turn created millions of new jobs other countries are well aware of the significant economic benefits that flow from r and d activities and many of created strong tax incentives designed to attract  investment around the world in fact ten thousand american companies will be able to take advantage of the permanency of the r and d tax credit in my district alone small and medium manufacturers technology companies and leading research institutions will greatly objection the gentleman is recognized madam speaker the american people agree with the democratic congress it's time to begin responsibly redeploying our troops from iraq and investing much needed funds here at home but instead of beginning to spend less money in iraq the president is once again asking congress to do more a lot more just last week president bush increases requests for additional iraq funding to a total of one hundred eighty nine billion dollars next year bringing the total cost for the war so far to over eight hundred billion dollars yet the president has never proposed any way to offset this massive spending in said stead sinking our nation deeper into debt this democratic congress and the american public have a different set of priorities we believe in being fiscally responsible and implemented a pay as you go system to stop piling debt on the backs of our nation's children that is why our children's health legislation which helps one hundred million children or excuse me ten million children receive the health care coverage they deserve is fully paid for madam speaker the president's fiscal priorities are irresponsible and misplaced he should be reducing the amount we're spending in iraq so that we can again invest in domestic priorities like children's health care in a time is expired f purpose the gentleman from idaho arrives telling us recognize one minute mr speaker remember speaker a global competition is a fundamental reality of today's economy america is doing well because we offer the highest quality products in the world only by staying on the leading edge of technology and innovation competitive edge station but our competitive advantage will diminish unless our companies have the ability to perform research and develop the technology improvements that keep america out front that's why we need a permanent r and tax credit one recent study found that already credit teases out nearly three dollars of additional r and d investment for every dollar of taxes companies can deduct in addition it's been estimated that more than three quarters of r and d tax  credits dollars are used for the compensation of employees who work in u s based research and development my home state of idaho roughly thirty five thousand people are employed in a high tech industry the companies where they work depend on the best possible research and action the gentleman is recognized one minute madam speaker one to again we have a vivid vivid example of this president's misplaced priorities earlier this month the president vetoed the child children's health insurance program which would have extended private health insurance coverage to ten million children in this country at a reasonable investment of thirty five billion dollars over a five year period it costs too much the president said we can't afford it yet last week the president requested additional funding for this misadventure in iraq to the tune of one hundred eighty nine billion dollars so we can't find money for children and health care in this country but we can find apparently endless supplies of dollars to fund the war in iraq madam speaker this president on this issue and on many other issues is hard times and recently things have become worse as michigan's governor and tax hiking state legislators inflected of a massive tax increase on the people of michigan want congress i am going to do all i can to aid michigan's comeback writing incentives for manufacturers and their employees to innovate grow and expand for example american auto manufacturers spend twenty billion a year on research and development and such investment innovation among american automakers should be encouraged one positive step congress can immediately take to continue similar innovation is to make permanent the research and development tax credit this legislation would keep high tech high paying jobs in america by maintaining important incentives and enable american companies to grow become more competitive globally and ultimately result in additional high paying american jobs i urge my colleagues to support h r twenty one thirty eight the r and d tax credit and encourage further investment and growth in our great the gentleman is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker nancy go the children health insurance legislation passed by the house last month was a bipartisan bill that provided health care coverage to ten million american children although it received overwhelming support from the american people from forty three governors and a veto proof majority in the senate the majority of house publicans rejected it and said they had specific concert to address their concerns past democrats met with republicans and interviewed introduced a revised s chip bill last week and we clarified three key points one there wasn't any possibility of higher income families two it further clarified that immigrants without documents would not have access to the program and it phased out over one year the coverage of childless adults but madam speaker republicans in this body just can't take yes for an answer even after pressing their concerns in this revised bill many of our colleagues still insisted on standing with president bush instead of with working american famil and i yield back the purpose of the gentleman from nebraska right that objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker i rise today in support of a permanent research and development tax credit where the strongest nation on earth in large part because of the innovation inspired through research and development this has been a driving force there our history leading us to discoveries which add convenience comfort and productivity to our lives in nebraska now more than ever our rural businesses grow when we are when people are willing to face the uncertainty and risks which others find dancing in our increasingly competitive global economy it is essential we ensure there is a permanent meaningful incentive for all businesses to invest in research and development we live in a world with limitless innovation and i look forward to seeing what the future will bring from further research and development thank you i yield back gentlemen yells back it's time for what purposes the gentleman from massachusetts ri gentleness recognized for one minute a command speaker just two weeks ago today tens of thousands of residents the dis congressional district of massachusetts supported my candidacy because they wanted to make sure that all our children have health insurance two days later i began my service to the fifth district by proudly voting to override president bush's veto of the children's health care bill that had overwhelming bipartisan support unfortunately the veto was upheld but the fact remains that millions of children that need health care don't have it last thursday i again voted to expand the children's health insurance program a program that was first developed in massachusetts and  now critical to the newly enacted massachusetts health insurance plan every concern raised by the president has been clearly addressed in this bill but he still threatens to veto it i will stand with a strong bipartisan majority ready to overturn this veto and get two hundred thousand children in massachusetts and millions more across the country a chance at a healthy safe future i urge the president to sign the bill i think that time expired what purposes the gentleman from louisiana writes and that objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute last week speaker pelosi embraced the democrats one point three trillion dollar tax scheme the ink is barely dry but she's already distancing herself from the mother of all tax hikes as reported in today's hill newspaper the speaker's offices change the transcript of her press comments to reflect that she says she supports chairman wrangles plan to begin tax reform not his actual tax plan maybe the speaker's caught on to what many americans have discovered in the fine print maybe she figured out that the bill raises taxes on every u s taxpayer or it could be the part about resurrecting the death tax and penalizing small businesses and family farms that is causing her concern then again it might be that she simply agrees that our tax code should punish a man and woman for getting married madam speaker you can change the transcript transcript but you can't change the facts the palosi rangle mother of all tax hikes is bad for the u s economy and worse for the american taxpayer a yield back the balance of my time jumping in fact at times web services the gentleman from new hampshire right is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker better speaker i rise today to celebrate red sox nation in this house we often disagree on many issues of national importance but today we are all part of red sox nation after trailing cleveland three to one in the american league championship series the red sox won seven straight games and won their second world series crown in four years in my home state of new hampshire where made up of die hard red sox fan and we are a proud part of red sox nation there is no such thing as a fair weather red sox fan granite staters went for generations without being able to celebrate a red sox championship and that's why it's been a great week and a great year to be a sox fan i also want to congratulate michael on being named the m v p of the series now we can finally all get some sleep go sox i yield back madam speaker gentleman yield back his time flippers the gentleman from south carolina right law school graduate and parent of a current clemson student i know the sadness and grief so many must be feeling at this time and our hearts and prayers go out to these two great communities i know that the strength and companionship shared by the students faculty family and friends led by president andrew so ensign of us see him president jim barker of clemson will help them through this difficult time i wish to express the deepest condolences on behalf of the house of representatives my family and the people of south carolina to the families and friends of those students who lost their lives and i specially grieve because my mother was a member of delta delta delta sorority at u s c and my father was a member of sigma alpha epsilon fraternity at u s c in conclusion god bless our troops and will never forget september eleventh turning us back a time to what purpose is the gentleman from south carolina right lauren mann capture the can lay william ray allison walden students at the university of south carolina which i probably represent here in this body and   hope for them a bright future and a long life all seven of these young men and women lost their lives in the fire this weekend and i and the remark without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker madam speaker this is day thirty that is thirty days so far our veterans have not had the use of the increased funding for their benefits and healthcare that is eighteen and a half million dollars a day not able to be used and why because the democratic leadership has just sided to not complete this bill and send it to the president who has agreed to sign it in june this house passed this appropriation bill with a six a billion dollar increase in a bipartisan manner we were proud of our work and grateful to our veterans on september sixth the senate completed their bill this work is done our veterans are not pawns in a political game they are heroes america expects us to get the job done america expects us to provide the best care to our veterans please join me in calling upon the democratic leadership to put our veterans first and send this bill to the president now gentlemen time decide what purpose of the general in california right now gentlemen recognize for one minute madam speaker last week president bush we question an additional forty two billion dollars from congress for the wars in iraq and afghanistan bringing his total funding request for the upcoming year to one hundred  ninety billion also last week the congressional budget office released a report concluding that the wars in iraq and afghanistan will cost two point four trillion dollars over the next decade that's nearly eight thousand dollars for every american just imagine if we rejected the president's plan to continue the war in iraq for another decade and worked instead to responsibility redeploy our troops out of iraq within the next year rather than spending two point four trillion dollars over in iraq we could instead invested here with our own people this would be more than enough to provide every college freshman in our nation with a free fo year education at a private college or university we could also use that money to provide health care coverage to every american four year are could pay off by a twenty six percent of our national debt the gentleman from michigan writes inanimate consent to address the house for one minute revise and extend that objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker i rise today to applaud this weekend's ratification of the contract between the united auto workers and chrysler the new contract creates a stronger domestic auto industry and modernizes a relationship between the big three and labor the ratification by the rank and file signals will do a new day for the domestic audio industry that has been struggling for market share with its foreign competitors and congratulations sincere congratulations to president ron gettelfinger of the u a w and his entire team on a job well done the industry still faces many challenges but this new pact between the u a w and chrysler and an earlier deal with g m means that both sides of come together to move the industry forward the good faith negotiations prove that all of the stakeholders put the future of the domestic auto industry first as they work towards manufacturing competitiveness this agreement secures jobs and allow the parties to move forward and to continue to create quality products and compete in the global marketplace again congratulations well done you know back joan yells back her time what purpose does the gentleman from california ari action the gentleman is recognized for one minute thinking that a speaker met a figure today i rise to discuss poverty and homelessness in the sangh gabriel valley in the thirty second congressional district at least forty three percent of adults living below the federal poverty line in l a county have worked either full time or part time they have to balance rent and mortgage payments childcare food gas prices and health care the increasing costs can lead to homelessness if you can't make these payments in los angeles county over one hundred fifty two thousand people are homeless over the course of the year and in the city of azusa which i represent at least one thousand five hundred children were homeless last year i'm proud the democrats have already taken steps to reduce poverty and homelessness in two thousand and seven our farm bill raise the minimum benefit in the food stamp program for the first time in thirty years for the first time in more than ten years we've raised the minimum wage and expanded american home ownership and also would help to provide and ensure that low income and middle income families have affordable mortgage loans you'll back the balance of my time what purpose gentleman from new jersey r for one minute thank you madam speaker were fast approaching the one year anniversary of the november elections when the american people went to the polls demanding to take our nation in a new direction over the last ten once the new democratic congress has produced real results that are now making a real difference in millions of americans lives for ten years republican congresses had refused to increase the minimum wage for nearly six million hardworking americans democrats thought that was unacceptable and one of our first actions was to ensure that these workers finally got a much deserved and long overdue pay raise democrats also realize it's difficult for middle class parents to send their children to college and over the last six years as wages have stagnated college costs have increased forty percent above inflation this democratic congress passed and the president signed into law legislation that provides the single largest increase in college aid since the g i bill and this new law will allow more americans to live the american better speaker congressional democrats are proud of these accomplishments but they're only the beginning as we continue to move america in a new direction  internal to amend the internet tax freedom act to extend the moratorium on certain taxes relating to the internet and to electronic commerce under consideration the clerk report the senate amendment senate amendment strike out all afternoon act in clause and insert pursuant to the rule the gentlewoman from california miss antecedent gentleman from texas mr smith each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from california thank you madam speaker i have myself such time as i make him i will not recognize madam speaker i rise in strong support of h r thirty six seventy eight the internet tax freedom act amendments act as amended h r thirty six seventy eight legislation designed to extend the internet tax moratorium and grandfather protections clarify the treatment of gross receipts taxes and revise the definition of internet access is bipartisan legislation at its best it has widespread support by industry groups including the don't tax our web coalition as well as by various government organizations such as the national governors association the federalist sion of tax administrators the national conference of mayors and the national conference of state legislators it is also supported by a wide range of labor and union groups including the american federation of state county and municipal employees and with that broad support the house passed h r thirty six seventy eight by a  four hundred five to two h r thirty six seventy eight as amended by the senate contains four distinct changes first the senate version extends a moratorium on state local taxes on internet access and continues grandfather protections for seven years until november first two thousand and fourteen the seven year timeframe will allow congress to revisit the moratorium and consider them up developments in the states or in technology it will also provide businesses sufficient time to plan and ensure that consumers benefit from tax free access to the internet second the senate version extends from november first two thousand and seven to june thirtieth two thousand and eight the time for certain states to adjust to a phase out of the and father protection this alteration will benefit state governments who would have scramble to readjust their budgets with a loss of revenue beginning november first third the senate version expand the definition of internet access to prohibit taxation of certain services which are fee based not packets with internet access and are offered from sources other than providers of internet access finally the senate version prohibits the state from reimposing internet access taxes if the state had a limit of the taxes more than two years ago for nearly ten years we have agreed nearly unanimously to pass h r thirty six seventy eight the internet tax freedom act amendment fact this legislation is an example of how bipartisan approach to a complex issue can serve the public good while the senate made some changes to r thirty six seventy eight this is a version i'm very proud to support it retains the essence of h r thirty six seventy eight including refining the definition of internet access and most importantly providing a temporary extension of the mor this legislation minimizes the effect on state local government revenue treats businesses fairly and keeps internet access affordable to consumers i remind my colleagues on both sides of the aisle that the current internet tax moratorium expires in about thirty six hours madam speaker i encourage all my colleagues to join me in supporting h r thirty six seventy the amended internet tax freedom act amendment facts so that tax free access to the internet can continue and i reserve the balance of my time general  until the moratorium expires it's high time that congress passes this important legislation and gets it to the president's desk for his signature two weeks ago the house approved h r thirty six seventy eight a bill to extend the internet tax moratorium for four years i supported this while you slayton because it accomplished several positive things for example it clarified the definition of internet access to ensure that states do not tax internet access including the acquisition of transmission capabilities however i was disappointed that it did not permanently ban taxes on internet access in e commerce and that the house democratic leadership refused to allow a vote on permanency even though over two hundred  forty members are co sponsors of a permanent extension today by passing h r thirty six seventy eight with the senate amendments we're taking a step in the right direction this legislation extends the moratorium for seven years almost doubling what the house approved only two weeks ago the senate and then once the h r thirty six seventy eight also made several other important changes to the law the senate extended the coverage of the moratorium to all email regardless of whether it was bundled with internet access with respect to the original grandfathered states the senate added a new use it or lose it provision that says that if one of those states repeals or otherwise does not enforce its tax on internet access it loses its grandfather protections i think these are good changes to the original house passed bill and i am happy to support them by extending a ban on internet access taxes for a longer period of time we give businesses the certainty they need to spend billions of dollars to construct maintain and update the broadband internet infrastructure throughout the country despite a chalet ssion will help keep the cost of internet access down so that all individuals can continue to use the great informational tool that is the internet why i'm disappointed that we are not making the ban permanent which has wide support in the house we are certainly moving in the right direction by passing h r thirty six seventy eight today hundreds of companies and groups including a o l apple americans for tax reform a t and t comcast e bay electronic and alliance level three communications the national association of manufacturers national cable and telecommunications association national taxpayers union sprint nextel time warner communications team mobile u s chamber of commerce u s telecom association u s internet and your free association verizon yahoo the business software alliance and the hispanic technology and telecommunications partnership among many many others have in fact called for a permanent ban on internet access taxes while h r thirty six seventy eight doesn't get us all the way to the goal line it is a step forward that will benefit the economy and the consumer madam speaker if we're going to have a healthy economy in america if we're going to continue to create jobs if we're going to continue to enjoy a high standard of living if we're going to continue to increase productivity we have to do everything we can to encourage and help the high tech support of the amended legislation that's before us two weeks ago when the house brought legislation to the floor on internet taxation i was only one of two that opposed it ban on it permanent we introduced legislation that enjoyed over two hundred forty bipartisan co sponsors that legislation was not considered by the judiciary committee or the house  the bill also contained a loophole that could have opened up the possibility of new taxes on the internet services such as e mail and music downloading i knew we could do better and today we are the senate amended legislation will establish the longest term for the internet tax moratorium since it was first created in one thousand nine hundred eight the congress acted on that again in two thousand and one in two thousand and four and today's moratorium is the longest that will be adopted so i think it's a cause for celebration the legislation will guarantee that new barriers created by taxation of the internet access and e commerce will not emerge when the current moratorium ends which is just in is the chairwoman said thirty six hours away so we're coming in right under the wire i think that this is very our goal of broadband and for everyone in the united states and i'm very very pleased that the senate under the leadership of really the father of this effort senator ron wyden  father of twins a son and a daughter many congratulations to him i urge all of my colleagues that there should be a one hundred percent vote in the house for a seven year moratorium and i thank  leadership for bringing it to the floor and the chairwoman for her leadership on this is well i yield back gentlemen your second time journalist in texas madam speaker i yield five minutes to the german from virginia mr goodlatte senior member of the judiciary committee and the principal for his leadership on this issue as well as well as that of the two gentlewoman from california congresswoman eshoo and congresswoman lofgren who have been advocates of a permanent extension of this legislation madam madam speaker i am pleased that the house leadership has now seen fit to schedule a vote on a bill to extend the internet tax moratorium for longer than the mere four year extension contained in the house passed bill however i am still extremely disappointed that the majority did not allow any amendments to h r thirty six seventy eight when it was considered by the full house the handling of that bill two weeks ago by the house leadership is unfortunately reflective of the stranglehold that leadership has placed on the will of the majority in this congress i had introduced legislation along with representative eshoo to make the ban on internet access taxes permanent and that legislation had garnered nearly two hundred forty bipartisan co sponsors before the house was forced to vote on the four year extent can these co sponsors represent a strong bipartisan majority of the members of this body however with absolutely no explanation the majority party cut off all opportunity for amendments to that legislation on the house floor where i have no doubt an amendment to make the ban on access taxes on the internet permanent would have passed with a very strong majority during committee consideration the house judiciary committee even restored to obscure procedural tactics to reverse a vote for an amendment in committee to extend the moratorium from four years to eight years because all but one democrat congresswoman  lofgren on the committee voted against an amendment offered there to extend them or to moratorium for six years i assume that to be consistent they will vote against the seven year extension before us today but we shall see with regard to the merits of a four year extension we heard arguments of the senate would not accept anything longer than a four year extension however that has proven not to be the case now house leadership has been forced to schedule a vote on a bill to extend the moratorium for seven years because the current moratorium expires tomorrow it's a shame they did not do this and more voluntarily when they had the chance instead the senate and i to join in commending senator wyden and senator in the bipartisan effort that was made in the senate which passed a more reasonable bill with a longer term of protection for american taxpayers the bill before us today extends the moratorium for almost twice as long as the house passed bill and while i would prefer a permanent ban this is a vast improvement over current law this bill will continue to help ensure that the digital divide does not grow between those who can and cannot afford broadband internet access the bill help ensure that businesses have more certainty when making business decisions about whether to deployed broadband areas they do not currently serve such as rural areas across the country i urge the members of this body to support this important gentleman from california is recognized for three minutes madam speaker i rise in support of h r thirty six seventy eight in a welcome and refreshing instance of bipartisan buy campbell cooperation the senate took our bill and improved it the longer moratorium means that service providers will have more certainty when deciding whether to make critical investments in the basic infrastructure of the internet the seven year extension is longer than any that has ever been approved by any previous congress consideration of this bill today shows that democrats in the one hundred tenth congress truly understand the importance of the internet to our economy equally important the bill as amended makes absolutely clear that internet access in braces ancillary services such as email instant messaging and personal storage capacity this change removing ambiguity with respect to these services and thereby encourages robust competition among internet service providers and importantly today is october thirtieth by passing the extension of the internet tax moratorium with ample time for the president to sign the bill into law we have void the almost certain disruption that would attend any further delay failure to act would be a mistake and a step away from the pledges we made in the innovation agenda i continue to believe that a permanent ban on the taxation of internet access is important to maintaining and him and improving our place in the information economy i remain a cow  proud co sponsor of my friend and as whose bill that would have made the moratorium permanent i will continue to work with her and mr goodlatte to achieve that goal but i heartily accept h r thirty six seventy eight is a fair compromise between our position and the views of those who are reluctant to entirely abandon the possibility of one day taxing the internet alternately we will reach the legislative conclusion the tax in there in the internet is simply a bad idea fortunately this bill buys us enough time to get there and is an important big step in the right direction aside from supporting expansion of the broadband and innovation it's also good news for american families that they will not face and new tax burden when they utilize the internet come november first therefore i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important and very timely legislation i thank the chairwoman of the subcommittee and thank you madam speaker  yielding let's make it clear what this bill does not do what it does not do is it does not prohibit states or localities from putting general application taxes on internet transactions as they would apply if that transaction were taking place not on the internet for example it does not ban sales taxes on transactions over the internet as long as those taxes are the same sales taxes of would be applied if that purchase was transacted in a store or in a over a catalog but what it does do is it says you cannot put discriminatory taxes on the internet so you cannot take that sales transaction and tax give it a sales tax that is higher because it was transacted over the internet then if it were not and it also says that you cannot tax access or use to the internet can you imagine can anyone out there imagine that if every time you sent an email there was a tax that went on your credit card or something for using it or every time you went to website there was a tax that's absolutely unconscionable and particularly today when we realize how much of the economic growth we've experienced in this decade has come from the internet and how much distribution of knowledge there has been and how it is a great equalizer that so many people at so many incomes  in so many locations are able to access knowledge that was previously unavailable internet has been a great engine for economic growth and for the distribution and knowledge of we don't want to slow down that engine by taxing it now i like i believe every other speaker this morning wishes that this bill were a permanent ban i can't imagine the time when we would want to restrict your access to the internet by taxing it however four years is better than zero and seven years is better than four so this seven year extension is something that i will heartily support however i also desperately hope that before we get to the day of the expiration of this next seven year period that some time within this seven years that this congress realizes and recognizes once and for all that taxing the access to or use of the internet is a bad idea and makes this ban permanent in the future i yield back the balance of my time the gentleman yells back in time the gentleman from california madam speaker i ask unanimous consent that a statement by judiciary committee chairman of congress that actually reads in signs all of his legislative mail from their district and i can remember not too long ago there was a write in campaign to every congressional office complaining about a bill that congressman snell had introduced that was going to tax the internet every single piece of transaction that what one might have on the internet and of course as we know as we look at this board i've served in the congress i'd like to say not long enough but i have never served with a congressman snell in the twenty one years that mr smith and i have served here together and i went through it to find out when did congressman snell serve must of been a congressman snow well there was he served in the sixty fourth congress now that was a long long time ago and i dare say it was before the internet is it was before al gore invented the internet and it was before the senate and house discovered it as well but can you imagine taxing every different thing that one might do on the internet i look at our own household here and back in michigan often we come home my wife and i the first thing we do is we get on the internet we check what our daughters might be saying at college two nights ago i was doing some internet surfing and i got i ams for my daughter probably about twenty twenty five was wonderful experience that she and i had communicating but can you imagine if it was a tax on every single i am message that came back and forth a lot of us do our banking on the internet check our different accounts can you imagine every single time you're going to get a tax on the internet for me i'm a sports nut my wolverines as an i am go blue last night a couple of different times when is the michigan michigan state game going to be on this weekend can you imagine if you got taxed every time i want to check if michael hart was going to play this saturday i checked the dump a bunch of different websites can you imagine if you got attacked every single time that's just nuts thank goodness we are extending the current moratorium that otherwise expires this week and i'm one that wanted to make it a permanent extension i join mr goodlatte mr smith and others as a co sponsor of legislation to do it so we don't have to do this every single year we passed in the house a couple weeks ago a bill was unanimous in fact as i recall that extended it for four years the senate finally did something right they actually extended it beyond four years we're going to see an extension for seven years even though it's not permanent seven years is better than nothing and that's what we're doing today but is i think about all the different uses that we use in the internet today to think that we would tax every email every search of the web all those different things and as the former chairman of the telecommunications subcommittee i know that this will stifle the growth of the internet in a major major way so i would ask all of my colleagues republican and democrat to support this extension let's get it to the president i'm sure that he'll sign it hopefully before the week is out so that we can no longer have the the audacity to think that a congressman schnell will come back and in fact perhaps introduce a piece of legislation that will solve the the th because we have no other speakers on the sides while you're back down to my time telling us that it's time to warm california thank you madam speaker inter thirty six seventy eight as amended by the senate remains a good strong bill that provides much needed clarity to the communications and internet industries and strikes an appropriate balance in addressing the needs of state and local governments while helping keep internet access affordable i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting it and i yield back the balance of my time support the resolution house calendar number one forty house resolution seven seventy three resolved that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may pursuant to clause to be a rule eighteen declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on this date of the union for consideration of the bill h r thirty eight sixty seven to update and expand the procurement programs of the small business administration 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 a rule twenty one general debate shall be confined to the bill and not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on small business after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five minute rule the bill shall be considered as read all points of order against provisions of the bill are waived notwithstanding clause eleven of rule eighteen no amendment to the bill shall be in order except those printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution each such and then it may be offered 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 opulent 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 all points of order again such amendments are waive except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one 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 the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments there to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions section two during consideration in the house of h r thirty eight sixty seven pursuant to this resolution notwithstanding 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 gentleman california is recognized for one hour thank you madam speaker for the purpose of debate only  customary thirty minutes the gentleman from florida mr diaz balart alltime yielded during consideration of the rules for debate only i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise extend their remarks on house resolution seven seven three that objection men and speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume thomas rice not man speak or house resolution seven seven three provide for the consideration of h r thirty eight sixty seven the small business contracting program improvements act under a structured rule as the clerk reported the rule provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the committee on small business the rule waves all point of order against consideration of the bill except for clause nine and ten of rule twenty one ten amendments that were submitted to the rules consider the committee for consideration were made in order all four republican amendments that were submitted and six democratic amendments that were submitted were all made in order finally the rule provides for one motion to recommit with or without instructions madam speaker through a series of laws and prepare met requirements congress established a benchmark for the s b a to give small businesses every opportunity to compete fairly for the award of federal contracts despite a clear mandate that has been in existence for more than fifty years small businesses have not received their fair share of federal government contracts this is especially true regarding service disabled veterans men and women and minority owned businesses in two thousand and six alone the federal government spent over four hundred seventeen billion dollars on goods and services but small businesses have not have been continuously losing out on contracting opportunities this is a tragedy small businesses are the engine of our economy and securing a federal contract is a major financial boon for these entrepreneurs especially veterans women and businesses in the low income areas we cannot afford our budding entrepreneurs to be shut out of what would should be an open market and be denied opportunities to succeed not when their existence is so vital to our economy especially madam speaker h r thirty eight sixty seven take several critical steps to assist small businesses participation in federal by updating and expanding the s b a as procurement programs first it improves contracting opportunities for service disabled veteran businesses today only point eight seven percent of federal contracts are granted to service disabled veteran businesses a far cry from the three percent goal that was an active in one thousand nine hundred nine h r thirty eight sixty seven give service disabled veteran businesses priority for federal contracts providing more opportunities for nation's veterans to become successful entrepreneurs it also codified president bush's executive order directing agencies to provide veterans resources and assistance they need to participate in federal contracting processes second h r thirty eight sixty seven aids women's owned businesses with federal procurement processes the women's prevent program was enacted seven years ago to increase the number of contracts awarded to businesses owned by women however the s b a has been dragging its feet in implementing the program costing women tens of thousands of billions of dollars in lost contracting opportunities h r thirty eight sixty seven fully implemented the woman's procurement program giving woman's own businesses greater access to federal to the federal marketplace the bill also takes the first step and monitored izing the eight a program which helps minority owned businesses secure federal contracts has not been updated in over twenty years the bill updates the a program to reflect today's economy so that minority owned businesses have time to grow and graduate from the initiative finally h r thirty eight sixty seven continues the democrats commitment to combining fraud if you need to combating fraud and reducing and eliminate wasting taxpayer dollars the bill in hand says business integrity standards to ensure that taxpayer dollars only go to reputable individuals it promotes self policing to allow small businesses to challenge individual program awards it protects disabled veterans by penalize ing firms that falsely represent themselves as service disabled veteran businesses and it requires on site reviews by s b a personnel before the hub zone contracts are awarded madam speaker the bill before us today h r thirty eight sixty seven has extremely strong bipartisan support it passed the small business committee by a vote of twenty one to four among other organizations is supported by the national federation of independent business the u s hispanic chamber of commerce the national black chamber of commerce the u s women's chamber of congress the american legion and veterans of foreign wars i would like to thank chairwoman of alaska's members of the small business committee for their hard work that went into this piece of legislation madam speaker we all recognize the importance of small business to our economy it is imperative that we follow through on our commitments to small businesses and give them every opportunity that we can to succeed our economic strength the almost to twenty six small businesses twenty six million small businesses in the united states employee over half of all private sector workers and and pay approximately forty five percent of total private payroll over the last decade small businesses have generated a sixty to eighty percent of net new jobs annually congress for decades has acknowledge the important role small businesses play in the federal procurement process this is evident in the small business act of one nine hundred fifty three the acts as that and i quote it is the declared policy of the congress of the government should aid counsel assist and protect the interests of small business concerns in order to preserve free competitive enterprise and to ensure that a fair proportion of the total purchases and contracts or sub contracts for property and services for the government be placed with small business enterprises and quote in two thousand and six the federal government spent over four hundred billion dollars on goods and services in over eight million separate contracts small businesses want about eighty billion worth of those contracts little over twenty percent the veterans entrepreneurship and small business development act of one nine hundred ninety nine stablished a goal of three percent for feather federal contracts awarded to service disabled veterans unfortunately we have yet to meet that worthy goal the underlying legislation being brought floor to the to the floor today h r thirty eight sixty seven the small business contracting improvements act seeks to expand procurement opportunities for businesses owned by service disabled veterans by placing these businesses at the top of the priority list for receiving federal contracts the legislation at just the net worth standard for businesses in the a program for the first time in about twenty years to five hundred fifty thousand dollars so it is more consistent with inflation to take part of the a program a business must be owned by citizens who are in a socially economically disadvantaged participants in the program are eligible for sole source and limited competition government contracts they also can receive a ten percent cost advantage in some procurements as part of their a campaign madam speaker the new majority  spoke often about the taking the house of representatives in a new direction and unfortunately that direction seems to be backwards because now the rules committee no longer allows members to present their  majority last week several members attempted to file amendments with the rules committee the majority denied the members even the ability to file the amendments because they were few minutes late thereby denying members the right even to come before the rules committee to speak about the merits of their respective amendments representative king attempted to file his amendment on online as required by the committee however due to technical issues he was not able to file the amendment to on line he represent representative king was told by the majority in the rules com they would waive the electronic filing requirement however because he had spent time trying to get the memo in following trying to electronically he missed by a few minutes the deadline to physically file the amendment it's disappointing that the majority would not allow representative king to offer his amendment when it was clear he was trying to comply with the filing requirements because of technical issues he was delayed i understand the need majority may have been issuing a deadline but in the prior majority madam speaker we always allowed members to at least file their amendments even if they were past the deadline and even made some of those  amendments in order it is a shame that the new majority has decided to take a step back and not allow some discretion in this matter this new  hard and fast a time requirement is particularly difficult if not impossible when a members trying to file a second degree amendment as you know madam speaker a second degree amendment is written to amend an amendment so that it is not possible to draft such an amendment until the initial memon was made public and that the that list of amendments filed is not made public until after the amendment  allowed to offer a second degree amendment so unfortunate and a speaker by not allowing members to even offer amendments in the rules committee we believe that to the majority is  speaker i'd respond to my friend from florida by saying that it is the hard copy being received in the rules committee that needs to be done by the time that has been specified by the rules committee timely filed amendments were all made in order on the republican side for this measure we certainly look forward to the republican our republican colleagues filing amendments in committee when we called for amendments to a bill and encourage them to the ranking member of the full committee on the small business administration and acknowledge the important step that is being made here today dealing with ensuring government contract opportunities for small businesses owned and controlled by service disabled veterans we are certainly going to have more of those and every time you meet with a veterans group they wonder what are the opportunities for them small businesses the backbone of america and i support this with great enthusiasm i also hope however that this bill does not do harm to the hub zones that have been used by many small businesses across america and as we review it i will look closely at this legislation to ensure that hub zones are protected and i ask the question as to the formula that requires a site visit to the business and background checks i know for sure that many in the minority community use small business as a step of opportunity out of a pass that might not have been as strong as they would have liked it to be people who are rehabilitated who move forward in life have an opportunity to provide for their families and i would hope that that would be  the framework of this particular legislation that we're not doing harm to those opportunities because this is america and then i certainly would have wanted to have the amendment that i offered that indicated in times of disaster and terrorism that small minority and women own and disabled veterans businesses be utilized in the area of the disasters certainly if there is a disaster those small businesses may be impacted but what we saw in hurricane katrina we saw the misuse of these small businesses who were there meaning that they did not have the opportunity to one save the government money but at the same time do the job on behalf of their community which they loved and so i hope that we will be able to work this language in maybe through conference because i think it is an important sense of congress statement and i also hope that we'll protect those subzone and make sure that we reaffirm the opportunities for small businesses program improvements act small businesses we all know is the lifeblood of our communities small businesses are responsible for their creativity and the innovation and the community investment and i honestly believe that a community that has strong small businesses is a strong and vibrant community this legislation is going to give small businesses in my home state southern arizona a chance to be competitive with federal contracts whether it's in or a valley down to green valley or tucson all the way to busy into douglas for example asa smart in sierra vista was founded in one thousand nine hundred three by glen mcdaniel who is a veteran along with his wife diane office mark has thirteen employees and nearly one thousand commercial customers in southern arizona they compete for federal contacts contracts and to provide office supplies to fort huachuca this bill is going to keep federal contracts benefits targeted at local small businesses like office smarts in local communities it honors our commitment to disabled veterans we know with the war in iraq and afghanistan there's going to be more and more veterans and also kickstarts the s b a as woman's pro former president as paul business owner myself i know them points of small businesses how difficult it is to compete and i strongly support passage of this bill i urge my members on both sides of the aisle support it thank you mr chairman for your hard work on this committee and to the chairwoman and  the i would ask my friend he has no other speakers no other speakers were of the right across thank you amount of speaker i will be asking for a no vote on the previous question so that we can amend this rule and move toward passing a conference report on the bipartisan military construction and veteran veteran affairs appropriations act the house of representatives passed the veterans in military funding bill on june fifteenth of this year by a vote of four hundred four hundred nine to two with the senate following suit and naming conferees on september sixth of this year unfortunately the majority leadership in the house has refused to move forward on this bill and name why has the majority decided to hold off on moving this bill with bipartisan support because that's what this is this legislation has extraordinary bipartisan support it was almost unanimously passed by why has the majority decided to hold off on the moving this bill forward well according to several publications of madam speaker including roll call the majority intends to hold back and in sending from sending appropriations bills to president bush so that they can use an upcoming anticipated veto of one such bill the labor h h s appropriations bill to services and i quote an extension of their successful public relations campaign on the s chip program so for purely  partisan tactical reasons about the speaker the majority is holding back from sending to the president legislation to fund our veterans and military construction that recently madam speaker republican leader boehner took a step towards naming house republican conferees now speaker pelosi should follow suit and take the steps necessary to ensure that work can begin on writing the final veterans funding bill that can be enacted into law madam speaker every day that the majority chooses not to act to move this legislation forward our nation's veterans lose eighteen point five million dollars our veterans deserve better than partisan bickering holding back their funding so i  colleagues to help move this important bipartisan legislation forward quite frankly than a speaker it is a it's an unfortunate fact to have to report that this is the first time in twenty years where we have reached this date end of october and we're still waiting for the first spending bill to be sent to the president for his for his signature it is a most unfortunate most unfortunate so i urge my colleagues to help move the important legislation the spending bill with regard to veterans and military construction and to move it forward to send it to the president to appoint conferees so that a final product can be sent to the brother for that reason for that reason i don't speak that we oppose the previous question remind the gentleman my good friend that a recent the recent republican led congress shortchanged veterans funding by failing to provide sufficient increases to keep up with v a s a growing number of patients and the rising cost of health care while they were in charge in the summer of two thousand and five the v a confronted a one point five billion dollars shortfall as they significantly underestimated the health care needs of the new veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan this year the v a expects to treat five point eight million patients one point six million more than in two thousand and one the new congress under the democratic majority committed to taking the country in a new direction for two thousand and seven the democratic congress increased veterans funding by five point two billion dollars and that congress is proposing an additional increase of three point eight billion more than the president in fiscal year two thousand and eight that is the largest increase in veterans funding in seventy seven years i'll not choose to yield at this time madam speaker the democratic congress once again is bringing to the floor a bill that provides real solutions to the obstacles facing america's small business owners innovators and entrepreneurs r thirty eight sixty seven ensures that veterans women and minority owned businesses and other on other represented under represented entrepreneurs receive the assistance they need to thrive in the federal marketplace it also paves the way for them to develop their companies create jobs and give much needed jolt to our economy madam speaker securing a federal contract is a major boon for entrepreneurs especially those owned by minority and veteran small businesses this bill is yet another step towards ensuring that these businesses are not in fact left behind but rather given every opportunity to succeed i appreciate the debate with my friend from florida eight and clause nine of rule twenty to sixty minute vote on ordering the previous question on house resolution seven seven three will be followed by five minute votes on adopting the resolution house resolution seven seven three standing the rule concurring with the senate amendment to this is the first vote of the day in the house this is a procedural vote on the small business government contracting bill if this vote passes the members will vote on the rules governing debate on the small business contracting bill the senate is also in continuing work on the amtrak passenger rail service bill we learned more about this bill from a capitol hill reporter who covers the issue forty votes minimum that will happen tomorrow morning heard from our early afternoon and if the six year authorization bill that will provide an track with authorization of eleven point four billion ok and what some of the issues that  the senate is debating well the republicans like to try to move amtrak toward a private system so they've offered a series of amendments that would break apart amtrak in a way and also reduce their federal subsidies and both of those the chance to do so were rejected by the senate by a pretty wide margin that's pretty much the biggest issue the republicans constantly want to downsize amtrak and sort of move toward a private passenger rail system what is the bush administration vision for amtrak it's just that it's basically privatizing the system breaking it into pieces and discontinuing unprofitable long distance routes the routes and the northeast corridor between washington and new york is highly profitable and they would like to see a private company develop that further and make money from it and how does that compare with what congress is proposing congress is proposing bolstering the whole national network including keeping the long distance lines and and improving the  infrastructure of the rails making the trains show up on time repaired tunnels and speed up the times between washington and new york and they would do so by by pouring money on it basically authoriz almost two billion a year for amtrak and traditionally amtrak the last several years has received about one point three billion so one point five billion from congress and that's been just enough to keep the trains running not really enough to invest too much in infrastructure company it's kind of like the postal service that receives money from the federal government but it doesn't have direct oversight by the federal government yes they hold hearings and such but the congress doesn't set the actual rules for the company the board of chair of the board of directors of amtrak does that's it's been a while since amtrak was last reauthorized by congress why does the issue what to do with amtrak seem to generate such debate among lawmakers from all over the country well because you hear those publicized reports of trains the unsubsidized to the tune of four hundred dollars per tickets meaning taxpayers money is going to pay for you know four hundred dollars of your six hundred dollars ticket to go from florida to california and that upsets a lot of people the profitable lines are like along the corridors the northeast corridor and that doesn't cost you know that actually makes amtrak money so people are happy about it in those districts in those states but the states where the unprofitable lines go through those lawmakers tens of point that is pork is you know wasteful spending and advocate shutting down those particular lines in those areas and how do you interact leaders respond to those concerns and check leaders that the board has been supportive of keeping the system national there was one attempt last year to study removing pulling the northeast corridor out and outright selling its the board has been supportive of the long distance routes overall they've always asked for more money and track continually has been asking for requesting each year about one point eight billion almost two billion dollars and they always end up just getting just enough to survive to keep the trains running when is a final passage the expected in the senate oh that welker early tomorrow afternoon possibly as early as noon and it will clear by  least the sixty votes will have the sixty votes to easily pass that probably more there was a chance to vote on this similar legislation last year was afoot in the form of an amendment that actually cleared the senate ninety three to six or ninety three to five last year so it will we are currently in the middle of a procedural vote on the small business government contracting bill if this vote passes members will vote on the rules covering debate on the small business contracting bill other include and extending the internet access ban on excuse me a vote to extend the internet access ban from four to seven years and a suspension bill debate debated yesterday designating october two thousand and seven as country music month the house continuing with the first votes of the day this is a procedural vote if it passes members will vote on the rules governing debate on the underlying bill the small business government contracts contracting bill other votes in this series include extending the ban on internet access taxes from four to seven years and a suspension bill debated yesterday designating october two thousand and seven as country music month later this week we expect the h to debate a trade assistance bill to learn more about that we spoke to a capitol hill reporter who covers the issue i'm graham silverman of congressional quarterly the house is turning its attention to a trade assistance bill later this week what does the bill do and why do supporters say it's necessary well the  adjustment assistance which essentially is the federal government's main program for helping out workers who lose their jobs because of of globalization if their jobs have offshore they're eligible for some retraining the for if they take a lower paid job in some cases they're eligible for a wage insurance program that pays them the difference between their new job in their old job those sorts of programs and the democrats are trying to not only renew but to expand the plan to include service as well now about opponents of the legislation what don't they like about it well they're concerned about the cost for one thing me it which is unknown i mean if you're suddenly throwing something like eighty percent of the  workforce into this program you could potentially be looking at a a much larger cost there's also a suggestion that doing this has will bring out a veto threat from the white house  over the idea of you know telling a department of labor what to do here your recent story in c q says that this particular trade assistance bill is expected to be combined with another bill could you explain that and how that would work and why sure that's another bill designed to help workers it would increase the amount of time and i've noticed that a company would have to give before laying off workers and it would expand some of the benefits for  for some of these workers including if they're if they're above age fifty five allow them to keep the cobra health care benefits which if you've ever left a job you know your employer is to keep providing you health care at out of your pocket but it would allow them to keep that for depending on situation up to ten years and that also has not made the ministration very happy they don't really want to see a big expansion that program but the idea to combine these two bills is to you know paint them as one big worker assistance measure now house ways and means chairman charlie rangle and some other democrats say they want to do this bill first before they take up some of the free trade agreements that may be forthcoming was that well the conventional wisdom is that you need to have something in place to help the workers who could be displaced by some of these free trade deals that that before the democrats want to go along and give the administration a victory they want to protect the people you know back home in their districts  mark up this week and it's probably going to move roughly in tandem with the trade adjustment assistance bill so it will be on the house floor probably next week it would you know set up a preferential system of trade with  u and it was negotiated all these packs actually were negotiated under fast track authority that the president has to it's a thirty he was granted that allows him to negotiate trade deals that congress can't amend so the bush administration is very anxious to push all these deals through because they've negotiated them under terms that they would do that that the democratic congress can't really tinker with so after after peru they'd like to see colombia panama and south korea but each of these deals has has its unique problems what are the sentiments over in the senate for both the trade assistance bill coming up this week as well as these free trade agreements we talked about  well like the house that sounds like the senate is onboard with expanding the trade adjustment program which is really it seems like it to be the sticking point with the administration chuck grassley who is the ranking republican on the finance committee so that's one of the more powerful republicans on the issue he he wants to tie this trade adjustment to a reauthorization of this fast track negotiating authority which has expired they've always been there's two issues have always been connected and unions and democrats like to break them apart because you know they want on the one hand the trade assistance they don't want to give the president a blank check to negotiate trade agreements but you know it's unclear what what it will take to get grassley to drop that that insistence that these two issues be linked in terms of the the trade deal it's pretty likely that both in the house and the senate to prove deal will be approved there are going to be some hardcore anti trade pro worker folks who will who won't be supporting pru they don't think that the labor and environmental standards in the bill go far enough but they they a the first in a new set of agreements that they've managed to work out some new labor and environmental rights which has pleased chairman rangle and a lot of other rank and file democrats back to the trade assistance bill briefly what are the bills prospects for passage in the house probably quite good most everyone likes this program the there's a lot of republicans who represent steelworkers or textile workers who will support it tech workers even as some of those jobs move overseas and the overwhelming majority of democrats support it even those who don't want to see these trade deals go through adam graham silverman of congressional quarterly thanks for being with us thank you