before two thousand and seven i hereby appoint the honorable mike ross to act as speaker pro tempore on this day sign nancy pelosi speaker of the house of representatives the prayer will be offered b the chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces to the house his approval there are pursuant calls one of rule one the journal stands approved the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice without objection the gentleman from illinois mr rush is recognized for one minute chicago illinois and dr evans the son of a henry and esther nala evans was born on june twenty third one nine hundred twenty five in brownsville tennessee or dana baptist miss minister in one nine hundred fifty the lustrous founding pastor of the affectionately call ship has been responsible for launching them in a story all careers of ninety three men and women king that stops support calls funding for his new church to be cut oh and the structure stood and finished by eight years from one thing seventy one to seventy six he was the founding national board chairman of the rainbow push coalition revenue as was the founding president and chairman of the african american religious connection the founding president of the broadcasters ministers of chicago and was a board member of the national baptist convention usa incorporated this is radio and television minister who reached listeners weekly and more than twenty states has been happily married to the former luther may holland shit for more than sixty years and they are proud parents of five children although revan evans retired as pastor on december eighth two thousand he remains a man of faith a man of vision and one who emphatically believes it is no secret what god can do thank you mr speaker now you are back the balance of my time for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa are thirty five fifty four and i would ask unanimous consent that his name be removed from h r thirty five fifty four without objection thank you the chair will entertain up to five further request for a one minute speeches on each side of the aisle what purpose does the gentleman from oregon arise jealous recognize for one for morgan's recognize for one minute thank you mr speaker my republican friends need some time to reflect on the children's health program not over the course the two weeks just for pressure but to get their facts straight to stop getting their information from the white house talking points and get information from the american people their governor about how the program actually works president bush is worried that it won't go to poor children because some families earning up to eighty three thousand dollars a year will be eligible first of all this is not a program for poor children most of whom are already eligible for medicare medicaid it is for children of working families ninety percent of whom earn less than forty thousand dollars a year no one gets eighty three thousand dollars because the bush administration turned down one state's request a few do have higher incomes because the states requested it recognize for one minute last april thirty three students were killed a virginia tech tragedy exposed problems with federal laws that are a barrier to schools communicating with parents when a student has a serious problem the family educational rights and privacy act hundred seventy four states that students records cannot be released except to protect the health and safety of the students and others unfortunately the interpretation that law is so unclear that schools are fearful of being sued the just released report from the national association of attorneys general task force on campus safety calls for an update of the furball laws that would allow for protection from liability of schools make good faith efforts to protect students faculty and staff that is precisely what my bill h r twenty two twenty offers a way to allow schools to communicate with parents when a student has significant mental health problems that increases the risk for suicide homicide or violent violent acts always still protect confidentiality of records i ask that all my colleagues join me and represent of grace and politan co sponsoring our bill the mental health security for families an education act and work to protect our students let's take down the walls between parents and schools let's take action now to save lives john thomas expired what purpose does the gentleman from illinois arise  one minute jones recognizing all mcmillan noise recognize for one minute mr speaker and seven years the president has been awfully reluctant to use his veto pen but when it comes to important health care legislation this president hasn't hesitated to say no to the american people stem cell research which could cure diseases and save millions of lives the american people support it the president vetoed it children's health insurance provides health care to children from working middle class families who are in too much to qualify for medicaid  private insurance the american people support it this president vetoed it in my district the lower srini works for an insurance company has three children and is trying to get private health care for children that cannot get it in the private insurance marketplace  employer does not provide health care her children are on s chip this bill is right for the lower sweeney and the ten million children that get health care through it the president vetoed it even republican senator charles grassley said about the president and s chip he simply doesn't understand the bill and he is wrong the only health care legislation this president supported was a prescription drug bill which gave billions of dollars away to the special interests it's time for the president to stand with the american people and so generous i was asked by iron for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise gentleman pennsylvania's reckon us for one minute thank you mr speaker we have seen an incredible amount of political posturing this week over s chip the s chip program was created in a bipartisan effort to ensure poor children without health insurance have health care coverage poor children without insurance children not adults some states have more adults on s chip than children poor children not families making eighty three thousand dollars a year to get free health insurance poor children without insurance under the democrat bill one in three children who already have private insurance would drop their private coverage to get free government coverage let's ensure poor children have health coverage and do it in a bipartisan way not shutting out republicans the way they did in the last bill this democrat congress truly is a dysfunctional congress they can't even get s chip and you'll back the balance of his time what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina arise the gentleman from south carolina is recognized for one minute thank you mr speaker mr speaker iraq today to voice my outrage and other disgust regarding the treatment of some of our brave men and women who had just returned home from serving gallantly in iraq recently members of the minnesota national guard known as the red bulls were told that they did not qualified to receive benefits under the jab bill why because they were deployed for seven hundred twenty nine days in iraq and not the seven hundred thirty days mandated by the g i bill to receive benefits the fact that they would have written not educational benefits  benefits they have earned and rife with deserved misspeaking of i might invoke the words of alexis de tocqueville who said to us america is great because america is good and if america ever ceases to be good it will gentleman from south carolina is recognized for one minute mr speaker the american people deserve better from the government when it comes to the way it spends their hard earned taxpayer dollars as gerry balloon of the lexan county conical would say it's the people's money not the government's money given to the people it seems that this democrat majority which wrote to power on a wave of promises about open and transparent congress has decided these principles do not apply when it comes to all  asked my colleagues on the other side of the aisle if identifying who is sponsoring an earmark is ok on spending bills why is it not ok on all legislation the american people deserve more transparency from their government not milty million dollars spending packages slip silently into legislation under bureaucratic cover in conclusion god bless our troops and we'll know if you get september the eleventh thank goodness for rush limbaugh who supports our troops gentleman yield back the balance of his time for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado arise which is speaker i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks gentleman from colorado is recognized for one minute mr speaker i rise today to denounce the liberals fraudulent attacks on rush limbaugh anyone who reads the widely available transcript as i have done sees that mr limbaugh was appropriately referring to the pretenders who pose as medal winners or who fosli claim to have committed atrocities in iraq when he used the phrase phony soldiers know the real scandal here is that liberals in america and here in this congress are willing to manipulate facts to smear those they disagree with but there's an even more insidious agenda by liberals going on and that is to reinstitute the so called fairness doctrine which is actually a way to silence conservatives on the radio waves mr limbaugh deserves  ga kudos for being a forceful and effective voice on the side of common sense and for being an example of the first amendment in action after all isn't that what our country is supposed to be about mr speaker i yield back expired for what purpose does the general of north carolina ross general of north carolina's recognize for one minute that speaker last april the charlotte police officer sean clark and jeff shelton were shot and killed in the line of duty as a responded to a call in the charlotte apartment complex as a result of the tragic murders came the blue ribbon campaign many miles of free blue ribbon were distributed through the greater charlotte area jeff katz a former police officer who hosts the afternoon show on w b t in charlotte north carolina urged listeners to display the blue ribbons on cars and homes as well as on their persons to visibly support law enforcement on drug dealers show cats asked listeners to donate a special memorial fund for the families of the slain officers in a matter of hours katz said pledges of fifty thousand dollars those making pledges were directed to make their donation directly to the paternal order of police lodge number nine when the command these officers and their families for their sacrifice thank their brothers and sisters in law enforcement for their commitment to keep the city site also want to thank jeff katz and his countless citizens for their tremendous efforts in the blue ribbon campaign responding to this tragedy out of this tragedy  encouraging to see the tremendous outpouring of support from the whole community for our law enforcement personnel who risk their lives every day for all of us which baker are you back gemma's time is expired the chair will receive a m for what purpose does the gentleman from california writes mr speaker by direction of the committee on rules like call a pos resolution seven o three and ask for its immediate consideration the clerk will report the road aleutian house calendar number one twenty nine house resolution seven zero three resolved that upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill h r thirty six forty eight to amend the internal revenue code of one thousand nine hundred eighty six to exclude discharges of indebtedness on principle residences from gross income and for other purposes 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 ways and means now printed in the bill modified by the amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted the bill as amended shall be considered as read all points of order against provisions of the bill as amended are waived the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as as amended to final passage without intervening motion except one one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means and two one motion to recommit with or without instruction section two during consideration of h r thirty six forty eight pursuant to this resolution notwithstanding the operation of the previous question the chair may postpone further consideration of the bill to such time as may be designated from california is recognized for one hour thank you mr speaker for the purpose of debate only i yield the customary thirty minutes to the gentleman from florida mr diaz balart all time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only mr speaker house resolution seven zero three provides for consideration of h r thirty six forty eight the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act of two thousand and seven under the traditional closed rule the route provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking member of the committee on ways and means the rule waves all points of order against consideration of the bill except for clause nine and clause ten of rule twenty one finally the rule provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions mr speaker as we have heard from countless media reports and i have seen in my own congressional district the housing market is in crisis sub prime mortgages and predatory lending practices are are more prominent than ever home values have plunged fifteen to twenty percent this year and foreclosures in the first six months of this year alone have surged fifty five percent over the same period in two thousand and six sadly mr speaker i know these situations all too well i represent communities that have been dubbed the foreclosure capital of the united states of america by the national media because the foreclosure r and four of about one in twenty seven homes i have seen the joy in families eyes when they have been able to purchase their first home and achieve the american dream i have seen the tears when they struggle to make their payments and their dream is taken away mr speaker losing your home to foreclosure is an unthinkable ordeal the way i see it if you are unfortunate enough to lose your home to foreclosure because you are struggling you you have suffered enough you shouldn't be punished further by being taxed on what you no longer own but that's exactly what's happening under current tax law the i r s counts as income the amount of the mortgage debt that you have been forgiven by the lender as consider a a gift and therefore subject to tax this means that when americans lose their home to foreclosure they are slapped with a tax bill well linder discharges the debt on their home families are shocked and frankly so my when they received a tax bill for something they no longer own simply because of phantom income that is created by the so called when the so called gift is forgiven this double whammy as chairman rangle likes to say of someone losing their home to foreclosure often because of circumstances beyond their control and then facing a tax bill on top of that is neither fair nor equitable and it has to stop the bill before us today h r thirty six forty eight addresses this very issue the bill is quite simple first it exempts forgiven mortgage debt from being counted as income for tax purposes this will prevent countless americans from receiving a tax bill after they have lost their home to foreclosure second h r thirty six forty eight provides for a seven year extension of the tax deduction for private mortgage insurance which is scheduled to end at the end of two thousand and seven p m i as its most commonly known the duction four is critical to many low and moderate income families and first time home buyers who lacked their tradition down payment th the p m i deduction allows them to purchase a home at lower cost while avoiding risky sub prime or predatory second loans that would need to be made for them to make a downpayment third the bill makes it easier for owners of co op housing units to qualify as co operative housing institutions h r thirty six forty eight also addresses a tax loophole regarding capital gains treatment on the sale of certain homes closing this unintended loophole will prevent people from switching back and forth between primary and secondary residences to get double tax benefit that was never intended mr speaker the bipartisan bill before us today h r thirty six excuse me thirty five sixty seven was unanimously approved by the ways and means committee as it has strong support of the organizations such as the national home builders the mortgage bankers association and the national association of realtors i would like to thank chairman wrangle in the ways and means  ee for their hard thoughtful work in bringing this legislation to the floor today mr speaker this bill provides more opportunities for people to buy a home more options for families to keep their home and eliminates an unfair tax bill should they in fact lose their home to unfortunate circumstances i am proud to join many organizations and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and supporting this common sense legislation today i reserve the bounds of my time jim a reserve the balance of this gentleman from florida is august over a hundred sixty five thousand properties in florida alone entered the foreclosure fifty percent more than the previous month the situation is most acute in the part of florida that i am honored to represent miami dade county ranks in the top five counties in the nation among major metropolitan areas where homes are entering some stage of foreclosure broward county ranks third in the nation this great cause for concern in the housing market has prompted has prompted anxiety over the tax consequences associated with discharges  forgiveness in connection with the restructuring acquisition indebtedness and home foreclosures as mr cardoza pointed out under current law when a lend forgives some or all of a mortgage debt mr speaker the borrower is required to treat the forgiven debt as taxable income taxed at ordinary rates in today's marketplace declining property values have left some sellers in the position of having to sell their homes for less than the and then the outstanding balance on the mortgage even if the loss of the value occur through no fault of their own if the lender forgives the shortfall that amount is taxable income for sellers this phantom income tax places a heavy burden on a family that has a significant economic loss this legislation will help protect those homeowners from an unexpected and unfair tax bill the bill also extends the deduction for private mortgage insurance for seven years current law limits the deduction for private mortgage insurance to payments made prior to the end of two thousand and seven this provision will be helpful especially to young families purchasing their first homes there is some concern that the bill may go well beyond what is needed during this time of the the administration and some of the minority have stated here in congress have stated that the relieve should be temporary to assist homeowners during the current mortgage market transition period of voiding as much as possible distorting consumer and under decisions on new mortgage loans but mr speaker there can be no doubt that the underlying legislation the being brought forth today for consideration by this house is an example of what can happen the good that can happen the progress that can be made when the congressional majority decides to work with the administration with the president and the minority in congress on an important issue such as this much of the legislation that we will be considering today was proposed the substance of the legislation was proposed by president bush and so this is an example of what progress can be made on important issues when the congressional majority decides to work with the minority in the administration now on on process mr speaker in a document called the new direction for america and the new congressional majority laid out its campaign promises to the american people last year included in that document was a promise and i quote that bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open full and fair debate consisting of a full amendment process that grants the minority the right to offer its alternatives including a substitute but with this rule today that as you know mr speaker the rule is what brings to the floor the underlying substantive legislation that will be considered subsequently by the house with this rule today the majority has broken its own promise in two ways first they denied the minority the ability to offer a substitute amendment my colleague the same with ranking member mr dreier offered to amendments tuesday in rules to allow ways and means ranking member mccreary mr mccreery the ability to offer a substitute amendment on this legislation but on a party line vote the majority rejected the minorities ability to offer a substitute the majority claims that they are running the house in a more open manner than we did in the hundred ninth congress but this rule today once again demonstrates that they are not moving toward a more open process but instead moving backwards this rule closes out all amendments so every i'm every member of the house is precluded from in any way offering their ideas to improve this bill so far this year the majority has offered thirty four close rules on bills thirty four close rules closing out all amendments far surpassing the number from the one hundred ninth congress at this point my fact more than more than double the amount of rolls of close rules at this point in the hundred ninth congress there have been sixteen close rules that's more than double and remember the promise the promise was to move in the other direction and instead more than double the amount of close rules clearly moving backwards what this rule today really represents mr speaker is a missed opportunity if the majority had offered an open rule the majority could have doubled their number of open rules on non appropriations bills to a whopping t instead they've permitted only one open rule on an appropriations bills and thus continuously violating their claim to be a more open and bipartisan congress  jill reserves the balance of his time gentleman from california thank you mr speaker i'd like to remind my friend and colleague from florida that tax bills have traditionally been handled under close rules including when mr dreier was chairman of the committee and recognized for five minutes and i thank my colleague from california who continues to be a leader for homeowners across this country as they face a very troubling time mr speaker i rise today in strong support of the mortgage debt relief act of two thousand and seven in this role i would like to thank chairman wrangle in the house ways and means committee for moving quickly on this critical legislation our efforts today will help families across america who have had to bear the unfortunate burden of their homes going into foreclosure you see under current law after a homeowner loses their home to foreclosure they are forced to pay income tax on that debt forgiveness so although the homeowner has lost their assets they must suffer the a measurable strain of a tax bill that they are often unable to pay when a family has lost their home to foreclosure or has been unable to renegotiate their loan with their lender to reflect the current value of their home homeowners under current law are being confronted with an unfair and frankly an affordable tax bill our legislation on the floor of the house today will help this is simply an issue of fairness for struggling families and homeowners it is unfair for a family to pay a tax on their income that they actually do not receive when a bank forgive some amount of debt for a homeowner either to avoid foreclosure or simply forgive a debt to the homeowner already in the foreclosure process the amount of forgiven debt is treated by the i income which is then taxed for families already struggling to make ends meet the phantom income and resulting tax burden generated by this can endanger their financial health even further this bill will fix this double whammy and with the current housing crisis that exists in our country especially from the sub prime lending market it is no wonder that so many families have found themselves in unfortunate it situations when it comes to their homes relieving families of this tax burden is the least we can do to help our families and all that they're trying to do in their everyday lives my colleague from florida is correct in august the state of florida had the second highest total of foreclosure filings up seventy seven percent from the previous month florida is ranked third in the united states for overall foreclosures this year and nationwide foreclosures are up one hundred fifteen percent in my home district in the tampa bay area over ten thousand of my neighbors have found their homes falling into foreclosure or within the first six months of this year well we are going to extend a lifeline today and believe me it matters last month i visited with one of my neighbors  she's a single mother of two a nice tampa who was very close to losing her home to foreclosure fortunately isley was able to keep her home with the help of neighbor works a community action group but many of our neighbors are in similar situations and they do not have the same prospects i promised i'd lean on our neighbors throughout the tampa bay area that we would work to ensure that help is within reach and i'm proud to say that today we will keep that promise and help bring relief to my hardworking neighbors we will have we will keep them from being faced with an affordable large tax bills as a result of foreclosure or renegotiating mortgages in the city of st petersburg florida the talented and caring staff at the local neighbor works center work hard every day to help keep homeowners in their homes since january they have the sisted sixty five families homeowners like joanne carnahan of st petersburg are working desperately with neighbor works so they don't lose their home joanne fell behind on her mortgage payment because she lost her job the house she lived in belonged to her parents she refinanced for eighty thousand dollars her father was still there but he passed away and she had to pay all of his bills due to lack of the income her income and her father's death she was unable to negotiate a payment plan with her mortgage company under current l goes into foreclosure she will be hit with an income tax bill that she is in absolutely no position to pay mr speaker the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act of two thousand and seven will aid families and people like joanne and s petersburg and help them get back on their feet after foreclosure with the whirlwind of problems in the mortgage finance system this bill will help stabilize families in our neighborhoods and i urge adoption today i yield back the b tradition to bring tax bills has been a tradition to bring bring track tax bills to the floor under restrictive rules that has not precluded in the past as we did often the ability of the minority to offer a substitute  t and so what i what i was talking about with regard to process is that there's been a clear there was a clear promise to go to move in a more open direction to move toward more openness and more transparency and more right for the minority and what's happened is exactly the opposite a doubling a doubling by the majority of close rules that absolutely the close out in other words prohibit all all members from me from proposing amendments on this floor so that great contrast between the promise and the performance is what i was alluding to that unfortunate contrast now on substance again i think that today is an example of something very positive the congressional majority decided to work with the minority in the president on an issue that is of importance to this nation and so we see legislation much of which was proposed in much of which was proposed by the president of the united states coming to the floor today to solve a major problem facing the american people so i on on while i reiterate the great disappointment that we in the minority feel with regard to the lack of performance by the majority with regard to its promise to open this house to more fairness on substance i think it's commendable that for once there is an issue of importance to the american people that the congressional majority has decided to work with the president on and with the minority in congress so i don't i would i would ask my friend if he has any other speakers mr speaker we have had additional requests for time however those members have not yet made it to the floor so at this time i would reserve continue to  is to state that i will be asking for a no vote on the previous question mr speaker so that we can amend this rule and allow the house to consider a change of the rules  house to restore accountability and enforceability to the earmark rule under the current rules so long as the chairman or e of a committee of jurisdiction includes either a list of earmarks contained in the bill a report or a statement if there are no earmarks no point of order lies against the bill this is the same as the rule in the last congress however under the rule is it functioned under the republican majority in the hundred ninth congress even if the point of order was not available on the bill it was always available on the rule as a question of consideration but because the democratic rules committee specifically exempts earmarks from the waiver all points of order they deprive members of the ability to raise the question of earmarks on the rule or on the bill i'd like to direct  distinguished colleagues mr speaker to a letter that the house parliamentarian the distinguished john sullivan recently cell sent to the distinguished chair of the rules committee mr slaughter which confirms what we have been saying since january that the democratic earmark rule contains loopholes in his letter to chairwoman slaughter the parliamentarian stated that the democratic earmark rule and i quote does not comprehensively apply to speaker will restore the accountability and enforceability of the earmark to rule to where it was at the end of the one hundred ninth congress to provide members with an opportunity to bring the question of earmarks before the house for a vote i urge my colleagues to close this loophole by opposing the previous thank you mr speaker i would just like to correct my colleague a gentleman from florida my friend and and great colleague on the committee that on page nineteen of the committee report issued after the bill was written i would like to read section g what's reads pursuant to clause nine of rule twenty one the rules of the house of representatives the ways and means committee has determined that the bill as reported contains no congressional earmarks limited tax benefits or limited tariff and if it's within the meaning of that rule further mr speaker the gentleman has mentioned that mr mccreery had offered a substitute and that the majority had denied the minority the ability to bring that substitute up that's correct for good cause the amendment of the substitute was not paid for under the house pay go rules and in fact violated the house paygo rules and so it was not deemed appropriate to be brought to the floor finally that same substitute only made these very important tax  loophole corrections and changes enable for three years we believe that this per particular provision needs to be permanent in federal law and that homeowners need to be protected if they lose their homes permanently so mr speaker we did not make mr mccurry substitute in order and in fact it has been the tradition that most all tax bills come to the floor under close rules even when mr dreier and the republicans were in charge because of the complexity of tax law if you amend that bill on the floor we don't know how it will affect other clauses within that bill so it has been the tradition because of tax law complexity that bills coming to the floor that deal with the federal tax code do in fact come under close rules mr speaker declining property values and rapid increases in the number of foreclosures are causing a national housing and mortgage crisis this is the commonsense bill it is a bill that takes key steps in stabilizing the housing market h r thirty six forty eight eliminates the double whammy of someone losing their home to foreclosure and then facing an additional tax bill right when they're down on their knees anyway it reduces mortgage costs make it easy making it easier for families to purchase a home while avoiding high risk loans and most importantly it will help countless families of void foreclosure and to stay in their homes mr speaker the bill before us today h r thirty six forty eight the mortgage forgiveness debt relief act of two thousand and seven is a necessary bill and once again it shows that the democratic congress is committed to addressing the mortgage crisis sweeping across our nation i want to thank mr rangle and his committee for bringing this bill to the floor and i urge a yes vote on the rule and on the previous question i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution german yells back the balance of his time the question is on ordering the previous question those in favor say aye those opposed say no the i have it which is bigger one purpose does the gentleman from florida or postpone purpose does the gentleman from new york ri that upon the adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill h r thirty to forty six to amend title forty united states code to provide a comprehensive regional approach to economic and infrastructure development in the most severely economically distressed regions in the nation all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one  nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on transportation and infrastructure now printed in the bill modified by the amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted the bill as amended shall be considered as read all points of order against provisions of the bill as amended our way and 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 equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on transportation and infrastructure and two one motion to recommit with or without instruction section two during consideration of h r thirty to forty six pursuant to this resolution notwithstanding the operation of the previous question the chair may postpone further consideration of the bill to such time as may be designated by the speaker the gentleman from new york his record as for one hour as a speaker for purposes of debate only or you'll the customary thirty minutes to the gentleman from washington mr hastings all time yielded during consideration of this rules for debate only and i unanimous unscented all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the record without objection thank you mr speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume gentleman's recognized this is bigger house resolution seven o four provides for consideration of h r thirty to forty six the regional economic and infrastructure development act of two thousand and seven the rule provides one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on transportation and infrastructure i rice today in strong support of this rule and h r thirty to forty six i want to thank the distinguished chair woman of the economic development public buildings  emergency management subcommittee ms norton chair chairman oberstar and the ranking members for drafting this legislation to authorize three new economic development commissions h r thirty to forty six establishes the northern border southeast crescent and southwest border regional commissions and reauthorize the successful delta in northern great plains regional commissions these five commissions will help bring economic development to regions of our country that desperately need it mr speaker this bipartisan legislation creates a northern border regional commission that will bring much needed job creation and economic development resources to the northeast region maine new hampshire vermont and upstate new york will all benefit tremendously from the establishment of this commission because it will assess and address the very specific needs assets and challenges of this region over the last several decades upstate new york including my congressional district has experienced a consistent pattern of economic distress resulting from substantial loss in the manufacturing sector sector coupled with an aging infrastructure and lack of opportunities for a skilled workforce my district alone has seen a staggering loss of more than fourteen thousand manufacturing jobs from two thousand to two thousand and five this is been devastating to our local communities however this loss is an anomaly it is extremely characteristics of several states in the northeast a targeted regional approach like this one created by this bill can help bring economic vitality to this region the three new commissions are modeled after the highly successful appalachian regional commission a r c the commission similar to the air sea will create federal state partnerships where local development districts and other non profits bring project ideas and priorities from the local level to the commissions to promote economic development specifically the northern border regional commission will be charged with investing four million dollars per year rising to six million per year by two thousand and twelve in federal grants focused on local transportation infrastructure projects broadband development alternative energy projects projects agricultural development and health care facilities with regional planning technical assistance and funding of projects aimed at encouraging economic prosperity this commission will help local communities work together to support common developmental goals simply put the numbers speak for themselves since its creation the a r c has reduced the number of distressed counties in the in its region from two hundred nineteen to one hundred cut the poverty rate from thirty one percent to fifteen percent and that's helped one thousand four hundred businesses create twenty six thousand new jobs in fiscal year two thousand and five each dollar of the a r c funding leverage two dollars and fifty seven cents in other public funding in eight dollars and forty six cents in private funding speaking from personal experience six counties in my up street new york district have experienced similar success being a part thousand dollars a r c grant to improve aging water infrastructure ensure better new york a problem that is plaguing many states in the northeast was able to leverage close to four million dollars in state and local community investment mr speaker the northern border under the air see we need to ensure that every american has access to job training employment related education and high tech infrastructure so that we can retain and grow our global competitive edge i'm confident the regional economic and infrastructure development act will help us achieve that and i thank you mr speaker and i reserve the balance of my time the gentleman from washington state's direct enough for thirty minutes thank you mr speaker and i want to thank the gentleman from new york customary thirty minutes and i yield myself as much time as that may consume and ask unanimous consent revising stand my remarks gentleman's recognized without objection thank you mr speaker mr speaker this rule provides for consideration of the regional economic and infrastructure development act which would authorize one point two five billion dollars to create three new regional commissions to replace two other regional commissions these five regional commissions would be federal state partnerships that would provide grants to state and local governments to produce infrastructure and economic development while i believe that comprehensive regional approaches to address infrastructure and economic development as can be off often can be beneficial i'm not convinced that creating five commissions into layers of bureaucracy associated with them is necessary to provide grants to communities most in need need the regional economic and infrastructure development act was rigidly considered by the house on september seventeenth under suspension of the rules which limits debate bars amendments and requires two thirds vote for passage bills typically considered under suspension of the rules are bills and resolutions to name post offices and federal buildings congratulate sports teams and to raise general awareness of other issues generally bills authorizing a billion dollars in government expansion are not considered under a process with limited time for debate and no opportunity for a minute but that is what the democrat majority chose to do with the original economic and infrastructure development act last month because of concerns either with the underlying bill or with the baby way which is bill was originally considered it failed to garner a two thirds vote and did not pass under suspension of the rule this close rule does provide for more time to debate the merits of the underlying bill but unfortunately it also shuts members out from offering amendments to make this perhaps a better believe that every earmark should be debatable on the house floor republican leader boehner has introduced a proposal to improve the house rules and allow the house to debate openly and honestly the validity and accuracy  in all bills to date one hundred ninety six republicans have signed a discharge position to bring this measure to the house floor for a vote unfortunately we are still twenty two members shy of what is needed therefore i not only would encourage all members of the house to sign the discharge position by i will also be asked my colleagues to vote no on the previous question so that i can amend the rule to the house to allow the house to me reconsider house resolution four seventy nine introduced republican leader boehner it is vital at the house of representatives act today and palace pass house resolution four seventy nine so we can show american taxpayers we are serious when it can comes to earmark transparency so mr speaker i ask unanimous consent ask unanimous consent to have the text of the amendment inserted into the record prior to the vote on the previous question without objection i urge my colleagues to oppose the previous question mr speaker  that i'm a bit confused as to what the earmarks and what the statements that he just made have to do with this rule gentlemen with a gentleman yield on that point i will yield i will be more happy to tell you we think that the inten on both sides of the aisle was to have all earmarks have a trick transparency to them so we know where those earmarks come from under this rule under this rule we are self exit kate executing an amendment and that amendment is not covered is not covered under the transparency now i don't know if there is something within that within that bill that has earmarks that aren't being reported but but the but the leader boehner is a resolution simply would make this subject to transparency that's all we're saying and is all that we're saying and so i thank the gentleman for yielding on this point i think the gentlemen with all due respect i couldn't disagree more while some of my colleagues on the other side continue to criticize our new earmark rule the fact of the matter is that the house democratic majority has implemented the most honest and open earmark rule in the history of the united states house of representatives but don't take my word for it in this week weekly ryan alexander president the taxpayers for common sense was quoted as saying the house has given us more information than we have ever had before on earmarks and they deserve credit for that the other side continues to talk about their plan to modify the year mark rule but what they don't tell you is that there is a mark rule would not cover any measure not already covered by the earmark rule presently in effect it's important to remember which side actually abused the earmark process in who actually stepped up to the plate to reform the system and provide transparency we didn't wait until two months before the election we responded to the people's call for more openness on the first day of this congress it seems quite clear to me that the minority is more concerned with obstructionism while we are focused on actually meeting the needs of our constituents when that's exactly what this bill does which is you know when you don't the underlying rule does but the gentleman yield on that point i will yield i appreciate the gentleman yielding and i appreciate that he has a little bit different view than i have but i would ask the gentleman what bills are covered by the earmark rule transparency rule that you are talking about today what what what bills are built this bill today the rules only cover appropriation bills if i mean reclaim my time you can reclaim your time the bill today is covered by it and as i say this bill helping americans this is about putting americans back to work and about putting money back into the development of infrastructure into financing hospitals and to do it the kind of things that i was sent to congress do today as i said earlier passage of this bipartisan legislation which this rule provides consideration is a critical step toward helping some of our neediest communities achieve economic parity with the rest of the country the regional economic and infrastructure development act authorizes the creation of five regional economic development commissions under a common framework of administration and management these commissions are designed to address problems of systematic under development in their respective regions in general the five commissions authorized in this bill will utilize the successful appalachian regional commission model which facilitates a bottom up approach local development districts nonprofit organizations and others bring projects ideas to the commission from the local level ensuring that the actions of the commission reflect local and regional economic development needs and goals as i mentioned a short while ago the northern border regional commission created by this legislation builds on the success of the a r c it would be charged with investing forty million dollars each year in federal resources for economic development and job creation in the most economically distressed border areas of maine new york new hampshire and vermont this commission will help fund projects that both strengthen traditional sectors in the region's economy and help to diversify the northern border regional commission is focused on helping areas in the northeast that have higher levels of unemployment a significant loss of population and significantly low household incomes mr speaker this legislation is yet another example of true bipartisan cooperation often seen on the transportation and infrastructure committee i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to vote yes on the previous question in the rule i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution questions on ordering the previous question those in favor say aye those posts a no so the ass having what purpose does the gentleman zero two and rule eighteen the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house and the state of the union for the further consideration of the bill h r twenty seven forty will the gentleman from new york mr cheery cannily take the chair the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the further consideration of a chart twenty seven forty which the clerk will report by title and bills requiring accountability for contractors and contract personnel under federal contract and for other purposes when the committee as a whole rose on wednesday october third two thousand and seven the amendments made in order pursuant to house resolution seven o two had been disposed of the question is on the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended those in favor please say  those oppose no the ayes have it the amendment is adopted accordingly under the rule of the committee rises house resolution seven zero two reports the bill back to the house with an amendment adopted in the committee of the whole under the under the rule of the previous question is ordered as a separate vote demanded on any amendment to the amendment reported from the committee contract and for other purposes for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia writes the speaker of the motion to recommit at the desk is a gentleman opposed to the bill i am a speaker in its current form the gentleman qualifie following section six rule of construction nothing in this actual be construed to affect intelligence activities that are otherwise permissible prior to the enactment of this act the gentleman from virginia is recognized five minutes thank you mr speaker mr speaker the motion to recommit i have offered is straightforward it preserves the ability of our intelligence community to protect america's national security we all agree that it's important whole contractors law befor criminal acts of they commit while working overseas no one is above the law but unfortunately h r twenty seven forty in its present form will have significant dangerous consequences to the intelligence community and their vital role it plays in protecting america the motion to recommit clarify the application of h r twenty seven forty to ensure that critical intelligence activities will be able to continue the majority and it tasted to score political points as ignored the intelligence community concerns about the implications of the bill let me take a moment to outline some of the specific concerns that the mage already has ignored first h r twenty seven forty covers all agents of any department or agency of the united states including clandestine assets if a clandestine asset was implicated in a crime investigating and arresting that asset under traditional criminal procedures could expose other assets and compromised critical intelligence activities second h r twenty seven forty extends united states criminal jurisdiction without regard to the nationality of the offender host country national serving or says thing is since the vast sets could become criminally liable for a felony violation of u law and undermine critical intelligence activities third h r twenty seven forty applies the entire criminal code to the new category of potential offenders and could implicate the authorized business of the intelligence community employees and contractors the bill also does not limit criminal liability to activities that occur in the course of employment whether committed on duty or off duty and increases the risk of exposing intelligence activities we agree with our colleagues on the other side of aisle that we must hold everyone accountable under the law our criminal code is aimed at ensuring peace and order in our country and should not be applied internationally to every aspect of our nation's foreign activities our country relies on our intelligence community to preserve our national security and protect our citizens we must legislate responsibly when it comes to applying our criminal code to overseas activities preserving our critical intelligence operations is paramount politics has no role in this decision were willing on this side to accept the motion to recommit with the understanding that we will work to clarify its scope as has been indicated in the discussion and  we do understand that this would not in any way weaken the military extraterritorial jurisdiction act or invalidate current law which is now in place and with with that agreement on the part of the ranking member this side except the motion to recommit and i you know back t no the ayes have it and speaker for what purpose of the gentleman from virginia or i speak or objected on the grounds that of course is not present i make a point of order that a quorum is not present the gentleman from virginia objects to the vote on the device pursuant to calls eight and twelve not a rule twenty this fifteen minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by five minutes votes on passage of h r twenty seven forty if ordered ordering the previous question on house resolution seven zero for adoption of house resolution seven zero four if ordered ordering the previous question on house resolution seven zero three and adoption of house resolution seven zero three if order