the last vote of the day on this federal railroad bill the legislation reorganizes and renames the federal railroad administration to federal railroad safety administration it also changes workplace rules for railroad workers and increases penalties for safety violations this is the last vote of the day here in the house today on capitol hill president bush's nominee to be attorney general michael mukasey testified before the senate judiciary committee washington post reporting that new casey sixty six said he would try to strike a balance between the need to forestall terrorist attacks and protect the constitutional rights of u s citizens will air the entirety of the entire confirmation hearing from today for attorney general nominee michael mukasey beginning at ten p m eastern time on c span two tonight and michael mukasey is testimony will resume tomorrow before the senate judiciary committee at ten a m eastern time we'll have live coverage on c span three of that continuation of his confirmation hearing now we'll go back to president bush's a press conference from today from the white house reconciliation to go with it there has to be a emergence of a democracy that's been my position ever since it started al qaeda still dangerous they're dangerous in iraq they're dangerous elsewhere a card is not going to go away any time soon that's why it's important for us to be listening and finding out what their intentions are what are their plans so we can respond to them this is a it's the war against al qaeda requires actionable intelligence that's why the rough go he's been captured or killed and we keep the pressure on him all the time and so yeah we're making progress and but no i fully understand those who say you can't win this thing militarily that's exactly what the it's exactly what the united states military says that you can't win this military that's why it's very important that we continue to work with the iraqis on economic progress as well as political progress and what's happened is in iraq as there's been a lot of political reconciliation at the grassroots level with people that hadn't been talking to each other not talking to each other the beginning to realize there's a better future than one of that one with the country would deep sectarian divide and what's going to end up happening is that the local reconciliation will affect the national government in the meantime we're pressing hard to get the national government to complete a strategic partnership with the united states as well as pass meaningful legislation like the deep bath law or the provincial government law or the oil revenue sharing la you disappointed with that message and does that indicate possibly that international pressure is not as great as he wants thought against iran abandoning its nuclear program as i say i look forward to if those are in fact his comments i look forward to having him clarify those because when i visit with him he understands that it's in the world's interest to make sure that iran does not have the capacity to make a nuclear weapon and that's why on the first round the un he joined us and second  n we join together to send a message to me if you want concerned about it read then why do we have such good progress at the united nations and around one in round two and so am i i will visit with him about it i have not been brief so what purpose does the gentleman from california are i guess madam speaker i ask unanimous consent today that the following legislative business and any special orders here to for entered into the following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes to revise and extend their remarks and include their in extraneous material congresswoman herseth from south dakota congress member cummings from maryland congress here to follow in it and to the fallen members may be permitted to address the house with baz and extend their remarks and include their and strenuous material mr pena today in october the twenty fourth of five minutes each mr  members please take your conversations off the floor under the speaker's announced policy of january eighteenth two thousand and seven and under previous order of the house the following members are recognized for five minutes each mr hersh is sandlin of south dakota for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland rise to five minutes the gentlewoman from south dakota is recognized for five minutes i rise today to talk about energy about where this nation's energy should come from and what form it should take in my view the answer is clear our energy should come from america produced in america by americans with the profit staying here at home and it should be clean and sustainable and renewable these should be the overriding considerations for the energy policy that we're seeking to implement in this congress if we accept these criteria and i think the american people already have been an important part of the solution becomes clear we must greatly increase our capacity to produce distribute and utilize biofuels just yesterday the price of a barrel of oil hit yet another all time high more than eighty eight dollars per barrel a few years ago this development would have been shocking yet no one was surprised by the news we've become accustomed to all prices shattering records every few weeks and a hundred dollar oil seems to be a virtual certainty in the near  even without all of the other problems geopolitical environmental supply that flow from our addiction to oil its price volatility alone dictates that we must move in a bold new direction and yet since peaking at three dollars and twenty three cents a gallon in late  prices at the pump have declined to an average of about two dollars and seventy six cents a gallon nationwide for regular unleaded what accounts for this a significant factor in bringing retail gas prices down for american families is ethanol according to an article earlier this week in c n n dot com and i quote gasoline prices have been held down in part by rising supplies of ethanol which have been coming down in price in recent weeks ethanol production jumped thirty four percent to thirteen point one million barrels a month in july the latest month for which data is available from july two thousand and six unquote even the wall street journal whose editorial board arguably has been biased against and relentless in its  ethanol stated in a september twenty first article that despite recent record high petroleum prices there is quote another reason for steady gasoline prices the use of that the knowledge an additive to gasoline is on the rise while crude prices ethanol prices have dropped as much as thirty percent in recent months at an all cost more than sixty cents a gallon less than gasoline and gasoline suppliers get off that some of the rise in crude oil prices by blending their gasoline with small amounts of the cheaper fuel and quote the facts are clear ethanol is cleaner and less polluting gasoline it's grown right here at home with the benefits flowing to rural communities rather than foreign governments who may or may not be friendly it's renewable and it's  it's cheaper than gasoline and helping to keep costs down at the pump for american consumers yet despite its obvious benefits since corn farmers started producing this product thirty years ago opponents of the industry primarily big oil and its mouthpieces have never that trying to undermine it for many years energy balance was the opponents rallying cry they claim that ethanol took more units of energy to make than it yielded when it was burnt if that was ever true it hasn't been the case in at least the last decade and countless reputable studies have confirmed that fact with remarkable increases in corn fields in ethanol production efficiency in recent years there is no question that there is a tremendous net energy gain in the production of corn based ethanol yet even the most biased naysayer can no longer make that argument with a straight face and that red herring seems finally to be dead industry opponents now have a new angle of attack and we're again being told that the sky is about to fall the new argument americans will go hungry because demand for corn is rising while we're using more corn for energy than we ever had before and demand for that product has risen we've seen only modest increases in food prices and those are attributable to many factors just yesterday acting agriculture secretary chuck connor indicated that he expects food prices to increase next year to moderate rates in line with where they've been in recent years because increases in food costs in this country have been well below the rate of inflation for many years this bodes well for consumer he also explained that there were many significant factors affecting the cost of food today including disappointing we yield around the world and high energy costs finally as the farmers in my state of repeatedly told me there is one truism about american agriculture the cure for high prices is high prices in other words when the value of a certain commodity goes up farmers will rush to produce more of it and this year it's been a clear demonstration of that as we've ever had an agriculture future prices for corn were high this spring and farmers took that into consideration when making their planning decisions according to just released u s d a estimates corn production for this year is forecast at thirteen point three billion bushels twenty six percent above two thousand and six when it's in the bin the two thousand and seven corn crop will be the largest on record with more acres harvested than any year since nine hundred thirty three these facts clearly indicate that american farmers have the ability to produce enough corn to meet the needs of u s consumers for both food and for energy this is a winning formula for consumers for agriculture in the environment and will propel us toward her ultimate goal of producing clean sustainable renewable fuel in america by americans with the profits staying here at home thank you and i the house will be in order the chair will entertain one minute request the gentleman from kentucky without objection madam speaker i rise deceiving to recognize the achievements of community christian academy and independents kentucky founded in one thousand nine hundred three by the community pentecostal church the academy was born out of a strong desire to provide a first rate education rooted in the fundamentals of christianity what began as a small school has grown into one of the most respected private schools in northern kentucky the cademy offers curriculum from kindergarten through high school recent years have seen the school and its facilities grow by leaps and bounds becoming a fixture in the community c c a is accredited through the international christian accrediting association and the nonpublic school commission of kentucky the cademy is known for its family oriented atmosphere that emphasizes the participation of the entire family in the education of their two hundred students recently c c a was recognized by cincinnati magazine as one of the best private high schools in the greater cincinnati area this is cheeseman would not be possible without the support of an outstanding staff and faculty guided by principal tara bates i'm pleased to recognize the achievements of students parents and educators at the community christian academy for over twenty years the c c a has produced highly educated students in god's image tonight i would ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing their meant to excellence in education dedication to their students into thank them for their contributions to our community better speaker i yield back the leopards and the gentleman from florida right that a speaker i rise today in honor staff sergeant william clemmons was killed in iraq october tenth two days before she was scheduled to come home when insurgents launched a rocket attack on her unit i want to send my deepest condolences to her husband raymond her three children  to her parents and all of her family and friends staff sergeant clemons was a true american patriot devoted to her family and her country she served in the army reserves for more than fifteen years and was assigned to the first possible to a thirty foot jump general company in miami prior prior to the development to her deployment madam speaker she worked as an administrative clerk at the u s the southern command in doral she exemplified the best our nation has to offer a loving mother of three children a devoted wife and a soldier of selflessness committed to serving our country than a speaker her life will continue to inspire all those who knew her and many who frankly did not know her the united states and our world is a far better place because of her service and the best way to hot honor her is to replicate her devotion to her country and her family she gave the ultimate sacrifice to help defend our freedoms and advance liberty for so many others she was a true american hero whose dedication to freedom and family madam speaker made a difference in this world i join all americans and expressing my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of staff sergeant lilian clements her commitment to and sacrifice for our great nation will never be forgotten she has a deepest gratitude and devotion of our nation try to kill americans the uninformed have compared the place to a gulag or a dance dungeon i've been there in the places neither be that as it may some p o w s are treated better there than our border agents ramos and company on who were sent to federal prison for shooting a border drug smuggler this is a case where our government let a drug dealer go free and put border protectors in prison for eleven twelve years most people ws that get moer not in solitary confinement but the border agents have been in solitary confinement for most of their sentences the p o w s get nine hours a day exercise included soccer the border agent spent twenty three hours a day in their sales the p o w s watch arabic t v the border agents watch no t v the border  w s receive the same medical treatment as the united states military but one border agent was assaulted in prison didn't see a doctor for over five days madam speaker only in america do we treat terrorists and p o w s better and get moke than we do border agents who went to prison for protecting the border and that's just the way it is drug smuggler who brought seven hundred forty three pounds of marijuana across our borders into texas to decorated border patrol agents with exemplary records who were doing a duty to protect the american people from an illegal alien drug smuggler or serve an eleven and twelve years in prison since the agent's convictions thousands of american citizens and dozens of members of congress have called for justice for these two border agents you just heard the congressman from texas mr post speak about this issue in a one minute speech these two decorated agents were doing their duty to enforce the law and did not deserve to spend one day in prison while these two men appeal their convictions they continue to languish in solitary confinement nine months in solitary confinement is unacceptable the bureau of prisons has violated its own guidelines which state that administrators detention is intended to be used for short periods not to extend ninety days although former law enforcement officers face increased safety risk in prison the harmful effects of prolonged solitary confinement a well documented solitary confinement is not an acceptable long term solution for ensuring their physical safety this week i was pleased to join my friend congressman rohrbacher and many of my friends including congressman poe in sign a letter to mr michael mckay skee this letter asked that upon confirmation the new attorney general thoroughly examine the flaws of this prosecution and will put an end to the harsh treatment these agents are receiving in prison a directive from direct to prison abuse give me bureau of prisons or the attorney general can correct this unfair treatment of man and speak of with on a bass review by the incoming attorney general i'm hopeful that this gross miscarriage of justice will be corrected i say in closing madam speaker that the family of mr mr copy on please know that there are many of us in the united states congress the house in the senate there are trying to do what is right for your loved ones this is an injustice that should not be allowed continued we need to bring justice to this injustice for cummings of maryland is recognized for five minutes thank you very much man speaker madison speaker according to today's baltimore sun there have been two hundred forty homicides in my hometown of baltimore city twenty two more deaths and this time last year unfortunately many of these victims and their families will not have closure because of the inability of law enforcement to bring their killers to justice this is due in large part to the fear that witnesses have in coming forward witness intimidation is a serious threat to our justice system according to the national institute of justice fifty one percent of prosecutors in large jurisdiction find witness intimidation to be a major problem in baltimore city it is estimated that witness intimidation occurs in ninety percent of the cases that are prosecuted but technically protecting witnesses is a core government it is standard in federal in a federal system and state and local prosecutors should have the same tools however there is a great disparity between funding and witness services if any that are provided by local authorities and those of the federal witness security program within the united states marshal service which operates on a forty million dollar budget to assist seven thousand seventeen thousand five hundred witnesses and their family members with gaining new lives due identities a new jobs the milwaukee journal sentinel recently reported on the problems associated with inadequate witness protection programs mari's foley was shot to death in front of his home the apparent vic i'm a retaliation for agreeing to cooperate with authorities just three days prior to his death mr polly had agreed to testify as a witness against calvin glover for shooting him on june thirtieth however line force was not able to offer him assistance because a witness program in the county was essentially terminated due to budget cuts the sheriff even admitted to occasionally relying on private funding to relocate witnesses the same week the democrats told the story of divide marshall fields and he has to be on say who were gunned down just days before divide was scheduled to testify against robert ray in two thousand and four robert shot and killed one person and wounded two others including javadoc marshall feels a program to protect state witnesses has been in existence in colorado for over twelve years however the budget was recently cut from one hundred thousand to fifty thousand unfortunately it isn't it now allows for little more than a bus ticket or security deposit for a new new apartment to make matters worse it appears that no one told  program even existed even though prosecutors filed a motion to keep his address and those of five other witnesses secret due to their fia retribution why was divided not notified of the program his mom was told that it was because he did not ask as i always say there's nothing worse than a person not knowing what they don't know this is why i recently teamed up with baltimore city state's attorney patricia jessamy to film a public service announcement encouraging people in the community to come forward if they have witnessed a crime or if they have already come forward and feel they may need protection additionally i've introduced h r nine three three the witness security and protect act of two thousand and seven that authorizes two hundred seventy million dollars over the next three years to enable state and local prosecutors who demonstrate a need for funds to protect witnesses in cases involving gangs or other violence to establish short term witness protection programs this legislation will assist in correcting the inequity that exists between the federal and state level and i call upon my colleagues to support it's in that mn improving protection for state and local witnesses will move us one step closer to alleviating the fears and threats to prospective prospective witnesses and help save guard our communities from violence it is time that we show our commitment to our constituents and the justice system because without witnesses there can be no justice and with that matter speaker mr burton of indiana or five minutes now to speaker elect purposes the gentleman from texas right i wish to claim mr burton's time without objection thank you madam speaker the gentleman is recognized for five minutes thank you madam speaker in america's first war fighting for freedom it was said by patrick henry the great orator the battle sir is not to the strong alone it's to the vigilant the active and to the brave we are fortunate that those words still ring true today and that american soldiers overseas carry those values into battle one such warrior was staff sergeant eric duckworth army staff sergeant eric duckworth was killed in the line of duty in iraq just a few days ago in october the tenth when he was leading a convoy and his vehicle was hit by an i e d an improvised explosive device on the side of the road sergeant duckworth was twenty six years of age and on his second tour in iraq he graduated from clearlake high school in houston texas in one nine hundred ninety nine and while in high school he wanted to participate in the military so he joined the reserve officers training corps the r o t c and of course as soon as you graduate from high school he joined the united states army his parents michael and barbara duckworth of the woodlands texas say that for as long as they can remember their son eric wanted to serve his country and public service both in law enforcement and in the military his father michael described him as an outgoing and good humored son he further said eric was full of love and laughter and a godly spirit but above all he was a true soldier and a proud warrior when i talk to michael about his son eric he told me that eric's only two wishes were that he served in the military and he also served in law enforcement those wishes were granted when he was a military police officer and also a member of the united states army sergeant duckworth was also a husband and a father he survived by his wife of five years sonya and they have three children carolyn age ten madison age four and young michael age one eric's mom barbara would send what i call care packages overseas to her son eric and what she included in those packages tells us a lot about eric and his personality he received beef jerky bubblegum nascar magazines and dallas cowboy t shirts eric said that the iraqi people were grateful to americans for their sacrifice in iraq sergeant duckworth also said it was his destiny and his belief that he should be an american soldier and he shared that belief with his mother in their last conversation they had together before he was killed in iraq eric's father spoke of his pride in his son's firm belief and dedication to the mission in iraq eric's father michael said eric believed in his purpose and his children his nieces his nephews will all grow up in a better world because of eric's dedication to america so not only eric but the whole duckworth family felt it was important that staff sergeant eric  serve in the united states army overseas sergeant duckworth service to his family and to the army and to this country will always be remembered and of course he is one of those few proud american heroes madam speaker this is a photograph of staff sergeant eric duckworth he was a real person that lived and died for the rest of us his service reminds me of the lyrics to a song written it's titled the american soldier part of those lyrics say i will always do my duty no matter what the price i've counted up the cost but i know the sacrifice i don't want die but if die is ask of me i'll bear that cross with honor because freedom doesn't come free i'm an american soldier an american soldier staff sergeant duckworth america appreciates your sacrifice on the altar of freedom for the rest of us and we also appreciate the sacrifice of the entire duckworth family down in houston texas and we are sympathetic and grieve with this family but are proud of their son who served in the united states army and that's just the way it is i yield back without objection the gentleman is recognized for five minutes i think the speaker and tonight i would like to discuss briefly another case of one of our very valiant soldiers who has returned to ohio and numbers himself among the walking wounded and my question to the president of the united states my question to members of this congress what is wrong with the government of this country when we cannot move the bill we passed in this house that increase veteran spending by eighteen percent get it through the other body and to the president of the united states to sign what is wrong with the way we govern that's present the united states cannot call the leader of the other body and say move the bill so we can take care of the over one hundred thousand wounded that are coming home to us the soldier i would like to talk about and he's only one of many that i met last sunday who returned home from iraq and are not being treated this is a soldier who saw it as a member of the one hundred eighty third army engineering battalion combat heavy duty in iraq saw conflict came home wounded and is not getting treatment here's what happened there was an accident involving a truck and i e t f over there in iraq and this particular soldier had severe spinal cord injury and injuries to his head and in addition to that since returning home has had grand mall seizures epileptic seizures he never had that before he went to iraq the military said you know there's something wrong with him we'll give him a sixty percent disability but we won't give him a hundred percent disability because maybe he got those injuries from playing football in high school football in high school he never had seizures in jail he went to iraq and got injured so the military says well we'll try to fix your neck he goes through an operation for a hospital several hours away and it's very difficult for him to return there because he doesn't have regular employment at this time and he's dealing with p t s d on top of everything else now why doesn't the government of the united states make it easy for wounded veterans we're not talking about twenty five million people we're talking about somewhere between one hundred and one hundred fifty thousand americans to get cared for closest to home why can't we do that why can't the president of the united states he's commander in chief of our armed forces and this congress work together in the national interest to take care of all the soldiers that are coming home to us wounded in that particular unit that i visited on sunday there are many many many many service members who have p t s d why are they being asked to go two and a half hours away from home spending an entire day waiting in line at a hospital and then maybe coming back home again and wasting a day when they don't get paid at work if they have a job why can't we take care of them close to home you know we're not talking about twenty five million people we're talking about a very discrete set of americans who put their lives on the line for us and yet we can't find a way to care for them i hope the president the united states has somebody listening to this tonight because you know as commander in chief it be very easy to call over to that other body and to move our department of veterans affairs bill out of this congress up pennsylvania avenue get it signed and with dispatch get in the secretary of defense and the secretary of veterans affairs and say work with the congress work with the individuals who are here let's get these ill veterans to the care they need why do we make it so hard why do we put the burden on the veteran i had one veteran come up means a congresswoman you know my knees are messed up i had an accident over there but they tailed why did the deal d discharge me before fixing my knee now he's got to take weeks and weeks off of work which he's unwilling to do to try to go get an operation at a hospital very far from where he lives and he doesn't have a support system in place why would we do that why would the deal  not find a way to take a valorous veteran who is part of a combat engineering battalion and take care of him why do we let him fall between the cracks between the d o d and the v a it's our responsibility and the president's responsibility to care for these that are ins and we do best get at it thank you madam speaker i yield back my remaining time mr davis of kentucky m the generally recognized for five minutes better figure i rise today to urge my colleagues to override the president's veto of the children's health insurance program reauthorization the bill we sent him earlier this month will provide health insurance for ten million low income children this includes continuing insurance for the twenty thousand kids in my state of hawaii already in the program and reaching out to provide coverage for an additional twelve thousand hawaii children currently eligible but not yet enrolled in the program i am disappointed that the president and many members on the other side of the aisle have taken what can fairly be characterized as a stand against children and this is how much of the country views their position apparently even the president is aware that his veto was a bad decision because he now says that he wants to find a way to compromise with congress however the chip reauthorization that the president vetoed was already a bipartisan compromise their original bill we passed in the house would have ensured health care for children of illegal immigrants and other important provisions that the senate saw fit to cut so the version of the legislation that the president vetoed was in fact already a compromise bill it is not surprising that we have strong public support for our for a bill that reflects our american values forty three governors republican and democratic governors alike share our belief that all children deserve access to health care senate republicans who helped shape the legislation agree the honolulu star bulletin summed it up precisely in an editorial this month by declaring that the president's veto quote is in defensible unquote therefore i urge my colleagues not to defend the president's indefensible veto but instead joined together and defense of the most vulnerable among us our children this is not only the right thing to do it is the fiscally responsible thing to do the bill is fully paid for and the cost of this preventive care will save substantial money over time as we keep children out of unnecessary and expensive emergency room visits i'm also distressed but not surprised by the president's misinformation in defending his veto he would like people to believe that our bill provides health coverage to families who don't need  who are making eighty three thousand a year for a family of four he says this is simply not true in fact our bill does the opposite our bill help states reach out to enroll the poorest children most in need of health coverage and a decrease as federal contributions to states which cover families over three hundred percent of the federal poverty line what this veto comes down to is a question of values should every child in this country have health care does every child deserve a trend chance to grow up into a healthy adult i think so as do my constituents in hawaii and indeed the majority of americans to mars vote will reflect our values i urge my colleagues under the speaker's announced policy of january eighteenth two thousand and seven the gentleman from minnesota mr wall is recognized for sixty minutes as the designee of the majority leader thank you madam speaker and thank you to my colleagues who are here tonight as a new member who's been in this body i'm joined tonight by other new members who have been in this body part nine march tomorrow we have the opportunity to an important an override on the state children's health insurance plan this is a piece of legislation that many of us as you just heard our colleague from hawaii so clearly illustrate is critically important to the health of our nation's children we came here nine months ago from the classroom from the courtroom from the board room and from the operating room and we're here tonight with a single purpose the purpose to talk about the importance of this piece of legislation to clearly illustrate when this body makes a choice like we will make tomorrow and the president talks about it being a budgetary issue he's partially right budgets are financial documents but they're also much more there are a reflection of the values that we as a nation share and tomorrow we will have the opportunity to show as a people that we value our children we value their help we value our future the greatest asset we have is these children at my house this weekend was  what was a very special occasion and one that i felt very blessed to be able to attend my son gus celebrated his first birthday on saturday he was surrounded by family friends his grandparents his cousins aunts and uncles and a good time was had by all i came back to washington and on tuesday morning my wife said that gus was feeling a little bad and she ended up taking him into the emergency room or taking him to see our doctor and gus had an earache and gus was put on some antibiotics and he was given some little bit of motor and and he was sent home he had one rough night but he was feeling better the next day the thought of this little guy going through any type of pain or suffering over something so treatable and so easy to take care of as an  earache would be unimaginable to me yet that's what happens for nine million children across this country that's what their parents go through so the president made it very clear those types of issues and if gus happened to not be with someone who had health care insurance would have suffered just maybe would have had a parent that couldn't suffer through it and would have taken him to the emergency room where it would have cost us far more so my colleagues and i are here committed to making sure that no parent has to make the choice whether to take their child to get care no parent has to have the gut wrenching experience of deciding if they're going to pay bills or if they're going to try and pay out of pocket to get their child covered this government and we as a people can do far better than this and tonight we're going to take you through the process of this piece of legislation we're going to take our colleagues madam speaker through everything that's involved and the myths that have been perpetuated on this this is a part that's very difficult i think for myself and my colleagues to deal with we're going to hear from people who  kagan who is who is saying what happens if children cannot get health care see what happens if a child is suffering with asthma and he'll also talk about the implications of what it takes to get a child cover and what s chip does and i think each of my colleagues here tonight are going to put a face on this for you and we're going to ask my colleagues in this building to take a hard look tonight to think this over they have the opportunity to cast a vote tomorrow to override this veto to do the right thing to provide this nation's children with the health care that they deserve  it's not a privilege for them it's a right as an american citizen and we're here to guarantee that we're here to make an investment in our future we're here to do the basically responsible thing and i just wanted to mention a couple things this program's ten years old now been highly successful no matter what the president said i think it's very clear to understand that people need to know this part that this is a cap block grant program this is state administered this is private physicians and private insurance any words to the contrary is muddying the waters on