has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof pursuant to cause one of rule one the journal stands approved the gentleman from louisiana mr bush danny will lead us in the pledge of allegiance please remain standing and join me in the pledge i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic with which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all the chair will entertain requests for one minute speeches for what purpose of the gentleman from ohio wri ford motor company has announced the closing of a casting plant in cleveland where they're going to be outsourcing their engine casting business and idling production at another engine plant for a year we're seeing all these blue collar jobs outsourced in this country and many white collar jobs as well we're losing millions of manufacturing jobs and it's not enough to just let this slide by without trying to challenge it we have to have a new manufacturing policy in america where the maintenance of steel automotive in aerospace is considered to be vital to our national economic security we have to have a new not for profit health care system which covers all workers so american businesses are not collapse by the high cost of health insurance and we have to have a new trade policy which means the end of nafta and the w t o in the beginning of trade based on workers rights human rights and environmental quality principles our community in cleveland is going to rally behind our auto workers we're going to do everything we can to see if it's possible to save those plants and make it possible to find ways of using those plants but all across this country we have to rise to meet this challenge helps their case for some time now the other side has been saying that the war in iraq is not part of the war on terror but a distraction from it mr speaker the latest video released by al qaeda number two operative clears that up in this latest rant calling for our destruction i'm an hour here recalls the violence in iraq a jihad he optimistically states that the situation in his in iraq quote is moving from the stage of defeat of the crusader invaders to the stage of consolidating a move islamic emirate in quote he goes on to proclaim that this victory for the terrorists will quote raise the banner of jihad in quote mr speaker the fact is that we are fighting al qaeda terrorists in iraq and if we are unwilling to defeat them there where exactly will we do so mr speaker when we're honest about who we are fighting in iraq the implication becomes clear we must win in iraq i yield back john the time has expired for what purpose of the gentleman from new york writes without objection thank you mr speaker last week mr speaker president bush vetoed the iraqi supplemental i disappointed that the president did not attempt to work with us here in congress prior to his veto we are now back at square one the american people want a new direction for iraq our current strategy is not working with morris sectarian violence spreading throughout iraq each and every day if a solution will be reached in this conflict the iraqi government must take more responsibility for their future the u s commitment to end the war and correct cannot be open ended we must put pressure on the iraqi government to make political economical and diplomatic reforms so far these reforms that not been made and little progress been shown by the iraqi government mr speaker when we talk about the iraqi war and we talk about terrorism iraq did not have terrorists there until we went in did not do our job in the first several months and that is why we have terrorism in iraq today we must defeat it we must bring our boys home let the iraqi government now take care of their own problems with that i am that i was fired for what purpose of the gentleman from louisiana writes for just one minute without objection mr speaker many americans lack protection from catastrophic long term care expenses related to chronic illnesses and disability worse yet many of these families assume medicare will pay for long term care services while it generally does not despite funding from congress long term care education activities the department of health and human services has done little to inform families and caregivers of this confusion h h s has neglected to clarify these medicare misperceptions with at least ninety percent of households contacted through its long term care  direct mail campaign h h s has a duty to use other communication methods to inform families i recently address introduced a bipartisan resolution with representative stephanie herseth sandlin to and to encourage secretary leavitt to be more proactive on this issue so americans can have greater independence choice and control of the services they need in the setting they prefer i urge my colleagues to support h conrads one thirty three and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yield back the balance of this time the purpose of the gentleman from missouri writes without objection misspeak or when the democrats took control of congress this year we pledged that the voices of children of the come a top priority for a change this month democrats a complete a final budget that meets our commitment to our children and abide by tough pay as you go rules we reinstituted in january this new congress has a responsibility to clean up the fiscal mess that we inherited deficits a batter over the last six years the choice to live beyond our means is common a great expense to our children who will be forced to pay off that debt the democratic budget says enough with deficit spending unlike the president's budget are as we balance within the next five years first we increase funding for our children's health care by fifty billion over the next five years which will allow states to insure millions of children who are now uninsured and then we will provide seven point nine billion over the president's budget for education funding so we can really mean it when we say no child left behind without objection in trying in the first amendment of the constitution are these words congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press nevertheless in the last two decades we have seen a troubling increase in the number of occasions where reporters have faced threats of subpoena subpoenas and even jail time for refusing to reveal confidential sources mr speaker compelling reporters to testify and compelling them to reveal the identity of their confidential sources is a detriment to the public interest and last week my congressman my colleague congressman rick boucher of virginia along with a distinguished bipartisan group of original co sponsors introduced the free flow of information act which would protect a reporter's right to keep confidential sources confidential as a concern who believes in limited government i believe the only check on government power in real time is a free and independent press i urge all of my colleagues to give due consideration to this bipartisan legislation let us put a stitch in this tear in the first amendment freedom of the press i urge co sponsorship of the free flow of information act gentleman's time is expired for what purpose of the gentleman from vermont rise without objection thank you mr president accountability is returned to washington with a new congress that takes its oversight responsibilities very seriously in the past four months congress has conducted over one hundred eighty oversight hearings and issues very important to the american people these are not just hearings they're hearings that have led to action walter reed since we concluded our hearing we determined on a bipartisan basis after the information came out that more money was needed and we put one point seven billion dollars to make certain that we would take care of our wounded warriors congress now continues to oversee the ever changing u s attorney scandal the american people absolutely must have confidence that the u s attorney's office is about inforcing the law not making it up as they go along or pursuing outcomes for partisan political reasons mr speaker we cannot have real accountability without congressional oversight and this is one of the ways the new democratic congress is changing the way that we do business here fifty ninety five when it comes up for a vote today i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yield back the balance of this time for what purpose of the gentleman from colorado arise for purposes of addressing the house for one minute without objection good afternoon mr speaker today is national teacher's day a day which is very important to me and my family this year's theme for national teachers day is great teachers make great public schools and i know that's true i had wonderful teachers in the jefferson county public schools and those teachers had a tremendous impact on my life our three daughters are products of jefferson county public schools and my sister is a public school teacher a few other professionals touch as many people as teachers do teachers are role models our confidence our taskmasters and our moral compass i look forward to working with my colleagues in the house to invest in our schools reduce class sizes and ensure that  teachers have the tools and resources they need to give our children the high quality education necessary to succeed in an increasingly competitive global economy thank you mr speaker and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yield back  the time for what purposes the gentleman from montana arise without objection that you are a speaker today i'm introducing legislation to recognize the one hundred twenty fifth anniversary of the city of billings montana first discovered by lewis and clark on the famous expedition billings is now the most popular city in the northern rocky mountain region of the united states i know for many u s cities one hundred twenty five years isn't very long however for billings these years have created a rich history that stretches beyond this age historically billings has been the gateway to the pacific northwest even its name which originates with former president of the northern pacific railroad frederick billings is a description of the city's historical role as an important a railway link to the northwest billings has also been home to many notable people for instance in one thousand seven famous cowboy author and illustrator will james came to billings where he lived and worked for years finally the city is home to the oldest higher education institution in the state of montana rocky mountain college today the city serves as an example of an all american city through both his flourishing economy and his continued growth i congratulate the city of billings montana and it years of rich history with that and you'll back the balance of my time gentleman yield back the balance of this time for the purpose of the gentleman from california right now without objection when the democrats obtain the this congress earlier this year we promise to keep our contract with our nation's veterans to keep our contract so how have we done during the first four months as democrats wherever we stand on the war wherever we stand on the war we are committed to make sure that every young man and woman who returns from that war gets all the care the love the attention the honor respect and dignity that this nation can be so and in the first three budget bills that went by this house for the last three months we were able to add over last year's total over thirteen billion dollars for veterans house care thirteen billion dollars that's over that's almost a thirty percent increase over last year the biggest the history of the veteran's administration and we're going to use that money to make sure that the terrible brain injured veterans that come back those who have scars mental scars with p t s d post traumatic stress disorder will get all the care advanced nation can give we are not doing our job now but we are democrats who are committed to make sure the job is done gentleman's time has expired for what purposes the gentleman from texas rise this mission to address the house one minute without object mr speaker another day but yet not another dollar has been sent by congress to supply our warriors in iraq with the equipment and resources they need the troops will soon be out of money to carry on the war in iraq congress needs to get needed funds to our military no halting or half measures we cannot for a minute afford to relax on the contrary we must drive ourselves forward with unrelenting zeal so congress must appropriate money to make that military mission successful and what is that mission in it is what president john f kennedy said years ago let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill that we will pay any price bear any burden meet any hardship support any friend oppose any foe to assure the survival and success of liberty and that's just the way it is i yield back the gentleman's time has expired for what purposes the gentleman from guam  mr speaker the people of guam endured a brutal occupation a public executions beheadings rape beatings forced labor force march and tournaments in concentration camps during the occupation of guam in world war two so why are we just now dealing with war claims because a federal claims review commission appointed by the secretary norton reaffirmed that the hopkins commission found in one nine hundred forty seven that glom war claims issue has not been addressed and here is this report over one thousand pages let me say this in a clear way the people who were occupied were ignored by their own government all war claims were settled by congress for the american people the commission found this has never been rectified for guam the review commission stated very clearly mr speaker this is our moral obligation so i urge today my colleagues to pass h fifty ninety five to fulfill this moral obligation to american citizens thank you gentlemen time is expired for what purposes the gentleman from michigan without objection mr speaker i'm proud to be part of a broad bipartisan coalition that is working to implement a strategy for the restoration protection and sustainable use of the great lakes in addition to supporting a comprehensive bill that would help stop sewage contamination prevent invasive species introductions and restore wetlands in the great lakes i'm also supporting h r five hundred three the great lakes asian carp barrier asian carp consume large amounts of food and compete with native fish for habitat throughout the great lakes region our great lakes would suffer a repairable harm with asian carpenters like michigan with other aquatic invasive species already wreaking havoc on our waters the threat posed by asian carp is not one michiganders can afford to overlook we must act now and construct barriers to protect native fish and wildlife from these large not native predatory fish it is time for congress to invest in restoring their great lakes and i urge my colleagues to support this bill vital to maintaining the water treasures essential to both michigan and the entire nation recognition of the wall world war two loyalty recognition act twenty two thousand american nationals were captured during world war two by the japanese imperial forces all twenty two thousand  on us territory the island of guam for nearly thirty one months these us citizens were civilian prisoners of war many were executed many atrocities committed against them that included rape physical torture and other such efforts all committed because of their loyalty to the united states they refused to become a part of imperial japan they would not bow to the occupiers to federal commissions have now recommended to congress that we have the moral obligation to make our fellow americans whole from their suffering they endured because of their loyalty and patriotism to our country i will vote in favor of h r and fifty nine hundred ninety five the guam will truly healthy act carried by our colleague and i urge my colleagues to do the same this is an important measure we must never forget thank you gentlemen time has expired for what purpose that gentleman from georgia writes the one that stands without objection to speaker three weeks ago the supreme court upheld the ban on the abomination of partial birth abortion act this morning to say thank you to one of our former members the honorable chairman henry hyde who served in this body almost thirty years as chairman hyde stood up for the scientists the old life at every step of the way every day that he served in this great body and i hope he's enjoying his retirement in the great state of illinois mr baker henry once said this is not a debate about religious doctrine or even about public policy options it's a debate about iran's understanding of human dignity what it means to be a member of the human family even though tiny powerless and unwanted and i hope my colleagues will all reflect on these words chairman hyde we thank you from the bottom of the heart  god bless you for your service of this great body and i yield back gentleman yield back the balance of his time for the purpose of the gentleman from ohio rise without objection mr speaker it's now been four months since democrats took control of congress and already we see a dramatic change in how business is done on capitol hill to begin with we restored the five day work week so that actually we are addressing the people's business longer work longer work weeks have led to more bills and resolutions being and passed in two thousand and five the previous congress had only seventy two bills up to this point this year alone we've already passed one hundred sixty five that's almost one hundred bills more in the short four month period time we've also approved a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that significantly increases funding for veterans health care children's health care and education and we do it all without raising taxes mr speaker mr speaker we've only began to change in the four months that we've been here but we are already producing positive results for american people baker did you know that the nation's border agents have no confidence in their top these men and women are on the front line of illegal immigration and they want need and deserve strong later shipped recently the national border patrol council the union representing the country's eleven thousand non supervisory border agents announced it had a unanimous no confidence vote in u s border patrol chief aguilar the vote comes as two border agents sit in jail for doing their job combat and illegal immigration fears outraged as i am about the unjust persecution of law enforcement agents go what purpose of the gentleman from minnesota writes without objection thank you mr speaker i rise today in support of h r twenty one seventy nine the traumatic brain injury centers act i introduced this bill because traumatic brain injury or t b i has become the signature injury of the wars in iraq and afghanistan and it needs our nation's full attention while new forms of mere military technology are routinely saving soldiers lives from deadly explosive attacks the survivors often return home suffering from t b i veterans suffering from t v i may have trouble relearning simple skills or might be left permanently unable to perform daily functions h r twenty one seventy nine would help veterans and their families cope with t b i by creating five traumatic brain injury centers these centers would conduct p p i research develop improved models for t b i care and provide education and training on t b i for be a staff while the v a has built an impressive impressive medical system that includes poly trauma centers h r twenty one seventy nine would ensure that the v a system includes centers solely focused on t b i these centers would be the focal point for research in education dealing with this industry this injury as american service members return home many of them suffering from t b i we owe them nothing it's th highest quality care this nation can provide i yield back gentleman's time has expired for what purpose of the gentleman from connecticut rice without objection my democratic colleagues talk about the great activity in the house we had great activity in the house before you didn't have a do nothing congress last year you had a do nothing senate and you're going to have a do nothing senate again this year you're going to stack up all your bills and you're going to be waiting just like we did the other outrage that is happening is there is a bill h r twelve ninety four that is going to recognize six indian tribes bypass the bureau of indian affairs corruption is alive and well in this place again because that's what we did a few years ago we stopped it there's a process that should be followed go before the bureau of indian affairs how do we know what's a tribe how do we know there's economic social and political continuity of these tribes pre colonial time the democrats are bringing back a corrupt practice i urge you to pay attention to this gentleman yield back the balance of his time for what purpose the gentleman from california that object thank you mr speaker today i will consider we will consider the guam world war two loyalty recognition act two federal commissions one in  forty seven and the other in two thousand and four recommended to the congress that the people of guam have not been made whole this by efforts to rehabilitate their lives and livelihoods that were destroyed during juan's accusation by chinese imperial forces during world war two two federal commissions have spoken about the atrocities of war they lived through beheadings a public executions rapes and torture two federal commissions have underscored that the patriotism of people  guam during their occupation was unquestionable two federal commissions recommended we make additional reparations to give them justice and parity in the past time the congress see it is past time that congress recommendations of both all commissions to recognize their loyalty and patriotism i urge my colleagues today to vote in favor of h r fifty ninety five the guam world war two loyalty act you'll back the balance of my gentleman's time  expired for what purposes the gentleman from california writes that objection thank you mr speaker last week president bush vetoed a plan to fund our troops and to change the direction in iraq following his veto the house voted for the fourth time in three months for a new direction in iraq and rejected the president's open ended commitment unfortunately the house republicans have refused to join us in our attempts to change the course of the war republican leader boehner said over the weekend that he wants a clean bill what he's really saying is that he wants us to rubber stamp the president's war proposal that's what republican congresses have been doing for four years and it hasn't helped our military and it hasn't made america safer what house republicans going when are they going to realize that the american people overwhelmingly support benchmarks and a real plan to change direction in iraq one encouraging sign was when leader boehner said this weekend that he'd be willing to look at a plan b in september does that mean that the house that objection thank you with the speaker today's headline in guam marine island in the state of mourning this is because guam has lost its temper son to the war in iraq the headline could read the same after us those calls were recorded vote by the republican leadership on h r fifty ninety five the y m world war two loyalty act a bipartisan bill giving power to guam up to sixty three years of inequity and injustice the question we must ask ourselves before this vote today is will we ignore history will we be deaf to the testimonials of was liberated as our u s servicemen who spoke about guam patriotism in the face of enemy occupation will be vote be for people who aided our military to take one back from the enemy who greeted our military with tattered rag made into american flags a vote against h r fifty ninety five is one against patriotic americans urge  fifteen ninety five the guam world war two loyalty recognition act when the japanese invaded guam during world war two six u s servicemen remained on the island rather than surrender these six men fled into the jungle the japanese soon learned of their presence and demanded that they turn themselves in they threatened execution of anyone found helping the american soldiers despite these threats the american soldiers refused to surrender in the people of guam continued to help them avoid capture they faced long odds with the japanese military conducting intense searches of the island but one soldier george tweed survived tweed was later awarded the legion american medal for his efforts one of his protectors antonio crews are tara was awarded the medal of freedom countless others who aided tweed receive nothing but the satisfaction of knowing they helped save the life of a man who symbolized hope for americans to return to liberate guam today's vote will recognize the patriotism of the people of guam who risked their lives to save a u s serviceman i urge all my colleagues to vote in favor of h r fifteen ninety five the gentleman's time has expired for what purpose of the gentleman from tennessee rice one minute without objection thank you m speaker this month the democratic congress will approve a final budget group plan that unlike the president's budget will actually be balanced with the next five years and we do it without raising taxes now the president claims likes to claim that his budget proposal achieves balance but two thousand and twelve does not increase taxes but that's simply not true according to the nonpartisan congressional budget office the president's budget will still be running a nine billion dollars deficit five years from now the president's broken promises don't stop there his budget would also cost middle class families two hundred forty seven billion dollars in tax increases over the next five years under the alternative minimum tax and five hundred billion dollars in taxes on the poor provided health insurance fortunately democrats rejected the president's budget instead we restore fiscal integrity to our nation protect middle income families from tax increase and actually reach balance by the year two thousand and twelve the american people asked us to take this next nation a new direction and our budget answers their call and by the way mr speaker give peace  iraq were over to that point we have lost one hundred thirty nine soldiers over the last four years due to the administration's incompetence and lack of planning thousands more u s troops have been killed and wounded hundreds of billions of dollars of u s taxpayer money have been spent and now iraq is consumed by a civil war that the president is asking our troops to referee it was way too soon for the president to declare mission accomplished but four years later the president seems content to tell our soldiers that their mission is not going to be accomplished any time soon by vetoing the racks up metal last week the president ignored the voices of the american people his own military generals and this congress he can no longer afford to be that stubborn the president must work with the congress to come up with an agreement on how to move forward he can't believe that this congress is going to roll over and rubber stamp his failed policies like past republican congresses have done mr speaker democrats refuse to allow the status quo to continue it is time we accomplished our mission in iraq you know the time has expired for what purpose of the gentleman from texas arise without objection it's bigger mr speaker for the last four months we've taken control of the house and we've had it in the right direction bringing back necessary oversight of this administration in producing positive results for the american people in the especially as it dealt with the special interest groups we got off on a quick start that's in six bills you know in our first one hundred hours that will make college and prescription drug more affordable and will expand economic opportunities for millions of americans who have not received a pay raise in the last nine years mr speaker i rise today to to indicate to you that we'll continue to do that we also passed the budget for two thousand and seven that should have been done last year striking out all earmarks and adding additional money for our veterans three point six billion dollars i'm pleased to also announce that we passed a supplemental that added additional money for our veterans an additional one point eight billion and for a war veterans unfortunately the president has vetoed this piece of legislation we're going to continue to push forward and making sure that we have oversight over these committees thank you gemma's time has expired for what purpose of the gentleman from texas rice mr speaker i ask for unanimous consent to speak out of order for the purposes of making an announcement to the house without objection thank you mr speaker today i would to inform my colleagues at the crash site next to h r twenty eighty two the intelligence authorization act for fiscal year two thousand and eight will be available during regular committee business hours to members only personal staff are requested to call to extension five seven six nine zero to schedule a viewing for their member of congress members will be required to fill out the appropriate  consideration the court a report the resolution calendar number fifty two house resolution three seventy seven resolved that upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill h r twelve ninety four to extend federal recognition to the chickahominy indian tribe the chickahominy indian tribe eastern division the upper mattapan tribe the rappahannock tribe incorporated indian nation and then indian tribes all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on natural resources now printed in the bill modified by the amendments printed in the report of the committee on rules to accompany this resolution shall be considered as adopted the bill as amended shall be considered as read all points of order against the bill as amended the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended to final passage without intervening motion except one one hour of debate on the bill as amended equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on natural resources and to notion to recommit with or without instructions section two during consideration of h r twelve ninety four percent went to this resolution not withstanding the operation of the previous question the chair may postpone further consideration of the bill to such time as may be designated by the speaker ge florida is recognized for one hour for purposes of debate only misspeak i yield the customary thirty minutes all to the gentleman all my good friend from washington representative hastings and all time yielded during their remarks on house resolution three seventy seven that objection this is because as a clerk just read this rule provides for consideration of h r twelve ninety four the jordan indian tribes of virginia federal recognition act of two thousand and seven the rule provides for one hour of general debate in the house equally divided and controlled by the chairperson ranking minority member of the committee on natural resources and this is because this legislation provides something that has been lost over due to the six native american tribes in virginia after literally centuries of injustice some three thousand one hundred seventy five members of these great tribes will finally gain federal recognition under this bill just like recognition and respect they rightfully deserve just like the other five hundred and sixty two federally recognized american indian tribes in the united states these tribes will finally have access to basic services such as child welfare services of dull care and community development services every one of all in this body take for granted each of these six american indian tribes descended from the historic tribes that occupied the virginia calls line in sixteen will sever their rich history and tradition forever ties them to this land over the centuries they have survived racial hostility and state sanctioned attempt to stamp out their injustice because in the early part of the nineteenth century virginia officials intentionally destroyed the majority of their historical records and artifacts that affirm the existence of native americans in virginia virginia love the journey of finally recognize them in the one nine hundred eighty s and it is appropriate and long overdue that congress is finally following suit unfortunately mr speaker native american tribes whose land was forcibly taken from them centuries ago all still struggling for their basic rights and freedoms to this day ask does this story of repression refusal and repudiation not ring true for so many generations of americans now it takes acts of congress to give them the recognition they have long deserved legislation providing federal recognition for these six tribes the chickahominy the eastern chick queen of england is in the united states today and last we she visited the call salon of a journey of jamestown where many of these people that we seek to get designation for and recognition for today came from and yet she would not have had an opportunity to see them in their cultural array for the reason that they are not recognized legislation providing federal recognition or recognition for the six tribes has been introduced in both the house and the senate in every congress since the one hundred and six without action to deny them recognition once more is to perpetuate the tyranny of the underlying legislation would be a small step in rectifying our nation's history of suppressing these great people i'm proud to support this rule and the underlying legislation and hours of my colleagues to do the same and i reserve the balance of the time gentleman reserves the balance of this time down that washington thank you mr speaker  speaker i want to thank my friend from florida namesake mr hastings freely me the customary thirty minutes now you myself as much time as i can consume in asking as consent to revise extend my remarks that objection thank you mr speaker mr speaker i rise today in strong opposition to this close rule this close rule provides for consideration of a bill to federally recognized six new engine tribes in the state of virginia this bill marks the first time in over twenty years at the house of representatives has considered legislation to extend federal recognition to a tribe colleague knowledge congress can grant federal recognition to individual tribes the department of interior as bureau of affairs has the administrative process by which a group may have stablish itself as an indian tribe and become eligible for services and benefits extended to other tribes under federal law while each of these six tribes have separately submitted a petition for recognition to the bureau of indian affairs none of the petitions are complete rather than wait for these petitions to go through the administrative process the democrat majority has decided to bring this legislation t floor under a completely closed rule which allows no input or improvements to be made to this legislation mr speaker despite commitments made by the democrats for a new era of openness the rules committee has only approved one truly open rule that allowed members of congress to come to the floor and offer amendments during consideration of a bill house resolution and three seventy seven is the eighteenth close rule brought forth by the democrat majority which means that this is the eighteenth time the democrat majority has cut it has shut down members of congress out of the deliberate very deliberative process so i urge my colleagues to vote against this close rule and i reserve the balance my time gentleman reserves amount of his time gentleman from florida this is speaking very pleased that this time to yield to our distinguished colleague from virginia the member of the minutes for yielding me the time and i would also like to address my good friend from washington also mr hastings as well as my friend from connecticut sitting behind mr hastings because i heard his statement earlier which reflected the statement of the gentleman ruppert representing that minority on the rules committee i would like to address the concerns legitimate concerns  that you have raised and explain why i think you would agree that this is what we are doing today is not only appropriate proper but well justified there was just a white tie dinner at the white house last night the country in particularly for january celebrating the four hundredth anniversary of the jamestown settlement but the six indian tribes are the reason why those english settlers were able to survive they should told them how to survive they sheltered them they taught them how to grow the plants that were native to north america they took care of them and subsequently when the english settlers got on their feet they displaced these indians took their land treated them pretty badly finally and sixteen seventy seven there was a treaty signed with king charles the second there was no american government at the time was the only government that could sign a treaty with the oldest indian treaty in existence today and it continued that treaty but the implementation of it did not the english government and south and large pot the settlers here they violated that treaty at every opportunity diminished these tribes took their lands and then to compound this situation and to understand why this is a unique situation beyond the four hundredth anniversary in one nine hundred twenty four the commonwealth of virginia passed what was called the racial integrity act it was sponsored by a white supremacist who had alliances with the nazi government in germany we understand what some of the fascist governments it's a very bad time in american history but this law allowed the commonwealth of virginia to destroy the documents that prove the existence of these native american families they went to the courthouse and they destroyed the birth records they destroyed everything that identified them as native americans and that's why there is a unique situation here they don't have the documentation that they would need to present to the bureau of indian that is compounded of course by the fact that this recognition process is almost impossible we wouldn't want to wish on our worst enemy to have to go through what native american tribes now have to go through and they were told well you might get recognition but certainly not in your lifetime these native americans have been mistreated in every way by this country now we have compromised you could say mistreated them again as the only way to get this recognition through in time for the celebration of the jamestown settlement we said we're not going to treat you like other native american tribes you're not going to be able to have gambling to have casinos to even play bingo we're going to prohibit in this legislation just to reassure people who are concerned about gambling and understandably given all of the corruption that and i don't have to get into all that so to reassure opposition we made a compromise and they reluctantly agreed to it then even though they have five hundred acres that everyone agrees is theirs that should put into trust we're going to hold back and require all of the environmental process and so on to go with a did be gone through by the department of interior and you name it whatever that administrators process is they have to wait to go through all of that and audit just to have their own land put into trust and other compromise we compromised in every way we could that's the reason for the closed rule we've talked to everyone that appeared to have any opposition missed a well ted legitimate office concern about gambling gentleman is recognized for an additional two minute i again think my very good friend and this was a legitimate concern about gambling we tried to bring this to the floor before understandably he has blocked it i know i can understand his concern but this is a unique situation we've addressed it we've addressed that issue on gambling mr wulf now supports the bill he's told me mr young supports the bill because they've looked at extensively i don't believe my good friend is on the natural resources committee and may not have but tessa paid in those discussions all of those compromises that have led us to this point but i think if you look at the justice of the situation if you look back at the truth of what has occurred to these indians you have to come to the conclusion this is a unique situation this is justified and in fact of this is urgent there's some representatives of the tribes here today you know they have been so frustrated senekal even disappointed that the congress won't understand what they understand what they would like to relate to their children the only people that whatever educate their them and their ancestors were christian missionaries a four foot didn't go to public schools they were if they didn't have jobs they couldn't get their their children out of hospitals if they call them an american indian because they would be subject to a year in prison i don't want to go into all this because i'd like to put this behind us because it is a very sad chapter of american history but that chapter is about t end and a new chapter will begin with this legislation and that's why i would ask my colleagues approve this legislation do the right thing do it in time so that we can honestly celebrate with the english  with the people in jamestown and with these tribes these tribes deserve recognition they deserve to be able to have the kind of pride that they have merited through their persistence they are extraordinary patriotic loyal it seems to me if there is this much work that is done with it we certainly should have an open process because of all a compromise with the maid rather than a closed process with that mr speaker i yield as much time as i may consume to my friend from connecticut mr sha connecticut is recognized as much time as he may consume i thank the gentleman and i just want to say to mr moran i told the trust and understand it sincerity but everything he said there are significant answers to and all he has done is raise even more questions he's basically saying pass this bill and rush it through the senate real quickly so we can have this be part of the celebration how clever were these six tribes to decide that this is the way they would get it through and bypass the bureau of indian affairs process we have with this legislation going to create six independent nations within our nation and we are now going to go back to bypassing a process and just deciding here in this chamber i have no way of knowing if this is a legitimate tribe it each of them are there's no way for us in this chamber to do it we did that before republicans were elected and we stopped the process because we saw bypassing the bureau of indian affairs process was corrupt and it was corrupting because it meant that if you had the influence even if you didn't meet the standards of the bureau of indian affairs you could become a tried and the fact that my colleague has said he's dealt with one of the objections what you have done is dealt with the objection so the bill can pass but gambling will be alive and well first it will be tested in the courts the prohibition and the mere fact that my colleague said we're not treating him fairly by taking it out is his next argument to say we have to treat them fairly once they are tribes the bottom line is gambling is a license to print money and the financial instincts and pressures will be so great that to say they will not have gambling is patently laughable they will have it if they are tried and the bottom line to me is th we have a process we started to go around that process and we started to bring bills forward and now every state is going to ask the same thing that mr miranda the process is too long or if we don't like the process fix the process but we're not capable decide what tribe should become independent nations within our confines of the united states we don't have that capability we have given that process to the bureau of indian affairs and they need to document it the fact that these six tribes can document that they have an historic economic and social and political continuity is significant it's very significant they don't even have reservations a place where they were meeting so i can't say how strongly oppose this legislation i fear that however well intentioned and and my colleague from virginia is he has become the point of the spear that will result in a huge huge pressure the tribes in connecticut the tribes in massachusetts the tribes in new york those that can't prove that say meet the federal standard like these tribes will come to congress and say they want the same thing and our argument disappears because when this passes and i think it will more than fifty percent of our members will have voted for it they will not be able to go and say to any tribe follow the process they will in my judgment have corrupted the process of the bureau of indian affairs and now have no standing to say follow it so i just urge my my colleagues if you have a tribe and i speak to all of my colleagues those that are in this chamber and you are not if you have a tribe that you think is trying to get around the bureau of indian affairs and you vote for this legislation you will have no standing whatsoever to oppose then you will now have to be part of corrupting that process going around and passing a bill on the floor when we have no capability whatsoever to determine if there are legitimate federal tried not state tried federal tried proving social political and economic continuity through historic times i urge my colleagues to vote against this bill i know this i sure will gentlemen in washington reserve the balance of this time warrior the gentleman from virginia all another man jennifer journeys recognizer one minute i would ask my friend from connecticut to listen to my response to the points that he just made because i know he is a fair man and when he considers the fact that the first of all the narragansett tribe was recognized in the one nine hundred ninety s with a similar pro bishan they haven't tried to gamble they don't gamble this particular tribe they were raised by christian missionaries they believe gambling is us and they could be operating bingo parlors down the street like the v f w an american legion today they don't because they believe that it's wrong to do so they don't want to gamble but they are unique and i would say to my friend in  and nineteen forty six the bureau of vital statistics and for jenny has systematically erased all reference to indians and all public records that's unique it hasn't happened in other states they say governor of virginia recognizes these tribes they been recognized by hundreds of years and the fact is we are not bringing this legislation up all of a sudden now this legislation we have been trying for eight years to get through eight years i've sponsored it if i could have one more minute again thank my very good friend the racial integrity of act of nine hundred twenty four and i go back to this as a barest as i am about the fact that it passed the legislature for genya but it required all persons to register as white or colored in the language of those days and it made it a criminal offense for indians not to so register that's why they were eliminated in the state it was what some people have historian called a paper genocide that's why this is a very unique situation it's not all of a sudden eight years wait but trying this legislation the governor recognizes they exist and is not about gambling as i it's understandable you would have so many this it is not and we have examples of other tribes that are not gambling today that have similar prohibitions so i would say to the gentleman plays to the right thing read the tried to change it and these tribes don't intend to change it either this is about recognition is it not about could i say gentlemen to have a question so it's it's your reference that one tribe would clearly not one gambling it's a fact that these tribes didn't want gambling the only way you could get this bill through the chamber was to take it out and you said on the floor i think i heard you correctly that it was an outrage to take it out and it took away their rights and so on i mean with a gentleman he'll yes but the gentleman w yield i didn't use the term outrage but i do think that it is unfair if i were a native american member of any of these six tribes i would feel badly that i wasn't treated the way other native american tribes have been treated it's a matter of pride it's a matter of sovereignty even sell that you can choose not to gamble not to have the congress say we don't trust your we're going to prohibit you from gambling but it is not their intent to gamble just point cannot it can be turned over by the court and it can be changed simply by inserting language in some major appropriation that the tribe can have gambling and that it may not even see the light of day the fact that the tri in this fashion the the the fact is that they have tried for eight years to get recognition but when you say that they are bypassing the process the reason the process doesn't work is in this case the commonwealth of virginia made it legal to destroy all of the documentation that would have proved their existence it was legal under the racial integrity act they went and destroyed every  claim in my time the challenge i have is a as we keep talking about it more and more warnings go off to me the fact that they would have only tried for the last eight years to go through this process it strikes me as extraordinarily arrogant that this try that is only tried for eight years should bypass tribes that have tried for much longer than that and the fact that they're trying now as opposed to in the past tells me that they saw the kind of revenues that existed and said hey let's be part of this gravy train that's what concerned the gentleman absolutely first of all it's six tribes the got the governor of virginia recognizes them the commonwealth of virginia has recognized them sensa did away with the racial integrity at senator allen when he was tribes recognized by states will get federal recognition then you have just included a whole number of connecticut trot no need to measure whole number of connecticut tribes that will have state recognition stay recognition is different than federal federal has to prove that there is a social economic and political continuity through historic times with the gentleman you yes are and what would be wrong with that i'm reminded of the comedian flip wilson america the native americans must have been running down the shoreline saying discover me enough already we've abuse these people continuously we put them on reservations and now we would stand here in this body and argue that they are not entitled to designation this particular set of tribes all six of them have gone to the bureau of indian affairs and sought recognition there and since the one hundred six congress we have introduced measures you whether or not they gamble or didn't gamble they gamble in connecticut they gamble in florida in this crazy nation is going to gamble its brains out but it ain't the indians fault and if it is their fault then they ought to have that right with what we took from them i'm definitely what's wrong with all of this the state recognized tribes getting federal recognition in my state for instance i'd like all of my state legislators and my senators and my state representatives to hear what you just said because that's what concerns us there's a lot wrong with that because some of the state recognized tribes don't need the standard that we say of a social political and economic continuity there were times where they didn't even exist for a while but we recognized them on the state level i can't emphasize enough that what you're doing is you're open a huge pandora's box and however well intended mr moran you are you've heard the basic argument every member of congress who has a state recognized tribe but not a federally recognized tribes be well aware of what this new congress is coming from what's wrong with that there's a lot wrong with that go through the process and if the process is not working change the process don't start overriding the bureau of indian affairs and just doing it for a select few and i just want to point out to my colleague i'm not impressed since it was from at the congress of one hundred six that's just a few years ago there are others that are going through the process fairly working hard and now they're going to say we've been trying since since one zero five and zero three and ninety nine and whatever you know back jones from washington reserves the bounds of his time gentleman from florida mr speaker inquire of the gentleman through the chair of all washington if exchange that we've had here back and forth between the gentleman from virginia and the gentleman from connecticut the gentleman from florida begs to a process that should be much more open i mean clearly there were some issues that were raised by friend from connecticut talked about the process and the fact that this may be by bypassing the process maybe an open process would have allowed us to pursue that but we don't have that opportunity we have a closed rule dealing only with six tribes and i think that's significant so mr speaker as a majority member of the house rules committee in the last congress i just want to point out that nearly sixteen percent of the rules by that committee last congress were open rules and eighty four percent were restrictive or close thus far in this congress one hundred tenth congress only two and a half percent of the rules brought forth by the new tip democrat majority on the rules committee have been open while a staggering ninety seven and a half percent have been restricted or close so mr speaker i hope that the trend we see before us today with yet another close rule denying members an opportunity to try to improve that legislation does not continue for much longer however i must commit i am more disbelieving with each restrictive inclose rule brought to this floor so with that mr speaker i urge my colleagues to vote against this close rule and i yield back the balance of my time the balance of this time gentleman from florida added my good friend that i've served on the rules all committed within the minority and in the majority that he's obviously in his statistics called an imperious izing not taking into consideration the pre planning requirements that have been offered but also remind him i'd also remind will not yield at this time i also would remind you that no one came to the rules committee with reference to any starts on the floor nobody can come down and amend the rule therefore it's a close rule secondly i daresay i can't say for certain but the exchange that we had down here a very good exchange may have brought forth some idea  closing now on the have all vall the six tribes all that i believe that we have a great opportunity today to finally bring closure to all of their injustice indeed in my view congress has a duty to end this oppression and provide these six native american indians with recognition long overdue listed number one they were not recognized by all the federal government and if they didn't exist fall very long time it w of the federal government and then when they tried to come back and say that we are going to meet all of these exacting requirements on the petition who had destroyed their record the journey your government ha destroyed their record what part of that don't you all understand that these people can't make something out of whole cloth in a situation where their records have been destroyed how fish your skin one situation b when you destroyed the records of individuals and then i asked them to corroborate and prove that you exist that's a virtual impossibility in this particular case if there is one group of native americans that deserve an exception and i might add they would be all six of these in light of the fact that systematically at every courthouse in virginia every one of their records were burned or destroyed and that was done on the ages of the authority of the vagina your government give these people a break if no one else now they've made it very clear that they do not intend they forego forgo the right to gamble and all things considered i don't see my colleague from connecticut and i don't see my colleagues from california and nevada and me and all those from florida around turning the revenue back that is being produced the state of florida for example is about the business of trying to come up with a better formula so that they can get more of the revenue that's coming into the seminole and the because look at dr i suggest to you that connecticut would probably be near a bank if it hadn't been for the indian tribes and the revenue that comes into that state somewhere along the line when you take them from people you already at least give them an opportunity to have the playing field level and we're talking in this case only about three thousand one hundred seventy five members five hundred sixty two federal drives i've already been recognized and yes  mr speaker i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present to make a point of order that a quorum is not present jennifer march and objects to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order that a quorum is not present a adoption of house resolution three thirty seven will be followed by a five minute vote on adopting house resolution three seventy