people hope lord is born out of promise it brings a freshness to every work and every new day because each is a step to the unfolding of was was once only promise into the reality of fulfillment as long as people have hope they are fixed on the brightness of another tomorrow building on the past people of hope seize the present moment make the most of a variety of possibilities and set in motion deliberate actions that will shape the future today lord give to the members of congress a consolidated vision marshal within them a discipline that will make them a force of trusted promise which will instill in people across this nation true and lasting hope now and forever and then like the chair has examine the journal of the preceding day and announce it to the house her approval there  speak for one method and revise and extend my remarks speaker i was home last week and although there was a great deal of discussion about gas prices the still number one issue among the people of my district in missouri is the military action in iraq and one of the things they are confused about is the fact that this is the most unpopular war in the history of our republic and yet nothing seems to change over seventy percent of the american public is against the war and we continue to travel down the same road over and over again one of the reasons i believe we have two ears and just one mouth is that we are to listen more than we speak therefore it seems to me that the people of this country are speaking are speaking but we are simply not listening it is my hope that all blank checks and rubber stamps will be put away and while remarks without objection thank you madam speaker i rise today to speak on leadership to the american people haven't trusted us with a great responsibility to represent their interest in this great hast the people of the seventh district of tennessee work hard and represent what is good about america and it is my honor to speak on their behalf in my district they are farmers bankers truckers accountants my district is as diverse as america itself one thing they believe than is the goodness and strength and perseverance of our country they trust us to do the right thing no matter the circumstances they want lower taxes and believe that they not the federal government should have first right of refusal on their paycheck and they believe that if ten percent is good enough for god it should be good enough for the government when it comes to taxing that paycheck and they think that government should learn to live within its means most importantly they want action not political action  grandstanding they want results not rhetoric they want and expect us to solve problems they expect us to stand in the gap stand up for them and do our jobs they expect us to italy thank you madam speaker i yiel back for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts rise without objection so ordered the gentleman is recognized madam speaker yesterday i spoke on the floor of this house about the food stamp challenge an initiative where public officials live for one week on a food stamp budget in order to raise awareness awareness of the food stamp program three of my esteemed colleagues representative joanne emerson from missouri tim ryan from ohio and jan schakowsky from illinois are also taking part in the food stamp challenge we started yesterday it's not easy eating on three dollars a day but it's nothing compared to the hardship faced by millions of americans every single day i urge my colleagues to read more about our experiences on the food stamp challenge blog at food stamp challenge typepad dot com this week my colleagues will be joining me in talking about the food stamp program and how we can better meet the needs of low income americans thank you managed to grow your background to make that for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina which is set to expire in two thousand and ten four months later this bill has gone to one hundred twenty five bipartisan co sponsors including ways and means committee chairman charles rangle as a grateful father of an adopted son and   member of the congressional coalition on adoption i know all too well the challenges and rewards adoption brings the adoption process can be mentally and physically exhausting families should not be overwhelmed with the financial burdens as well we should offer incentives not penalties for making this commitment i urge my colleagues on the ways and means committee to move forward with this legislation and make the dream of a family a permanent reality by promoting adoption in conclusion god bless our troops and we will never forget september eleventh for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise this one without objection so ordered the gentleman is recognized speaker the new democratic house has been busy passing a wide range of measures to help our nation's economy grow unfortunately we're having a difficult time finding support of the white house we began by increasing the minimum wage for the first time in sen ors the bill was overwhelmingly support by this house and yet president bush has already be told at once this house also voted to support the employee free choice act which helps all americans share in our nation's economic growth by supporting the basic right of workers to choose their own representatives but the president has a threaten to veto the congress also overwhelmingly supported the bill that invests in hiring ten thousand new science and messages so that we can better compete in the new global economy unfortunately the bush administration opposes this legislation in its current form madam speaker the new congress is passing legislation that will grow our economy we now we just need support from the white house to make it a reality thank you just weapons in iraq propelled grenades the place not in iraq but the united states army base at fort dix in new jersey they were knowledgeable in county using one member who just delivered pizzas on the base to gain intimate knowledge of the fort they're also planning to attack a u s naval installation in philadelphia before the attack could be unlaced on u s troops the f b i was tipped off to their plans and they were asked not surprisingly three of these terrorists were in the country illegally two others had green cards we are no longer a safe nation the dangers of our security are real we discussed in congress the war against extreme radical but it starts with securing the borders because crossing unsecured u s borders is very easy it brings the good the bad and the ugly because all three groups know that for political reasons the federal government refuses to up protect american citizens by securing our sovereignty and that's just the way it is for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania without objection so ordered the gentleman is recognized by the speaker we are now four and a half months into the new session of congress and the democratic congress has a long record of achievement we've already passed thirty seven pieces of key legislation many i'm proud to say with bipartisan support we've passed bills to strengthen our military increase funding for our veterans restore accountability promote energy independence lower the cost of prescription drugs  student loans balance the budget and grow our economy but unfortunately not everyone got the loud and clear message the american people delivered for change last november president bush opposes two thirds of those bills that we passed ordered the gentleman is recognized man here promoting homeownership especially homeownership for low and moderate income families is a high priority for republicans in this united states congress the g s sees that fannie mae and very important part and that goal we had to preserve that system madam speaker we ought to protect that system however congress also has a responsibility to limit the risk that the g s t he's posed to the united states taxpayer and their burden to that market many of my colleagues have been working for years to print an act meaningful reform of the g s t isn't there regulator that's a good thing but this year's bill goes far beyond improving the safety and the soundness of the by now taxing those portfolios to create an affordable housing fund i agree with the congressional budget office madam speaker this new assessment on the g s t is will be passed along to customers and the form higher fees it will raise the cost of purchasing a home or rethink financing a mortgage that's exactly the opposite direction that we want to go i urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this bond i yelled back without objection so ordered the gentleman is recognized that i'm speaker today the house begins debate on the defense authorization bill a bill that was passed out of the armed services committee fifty eight to nothing unanimously the legislation received the support of the entire committee because it focuses on our nation's immediate threats and benefits our soldiers that they need today the defense bill authorizes the substantial resources to improve the protection of our troops including four billion dollars for mine risk risk resistant ambush protected vehicles these vehicles have been shown to dramatically reduce the injuries of our soldiers we want to ensure that our troops have access to the best equipment that will protect them while they're in battle in this budget earlier this year the president proposed giving our troops a three percent pay raise this congress believes they deserve more and consequently they will receive a three point five percent raise madam speaker this defense bill shows our dedication to the troops on the frontlines and it deserves strong bipartisan support i yield back the balance of my time for what purposes the gentleman from illinois  without objection so ordered the gentleman is recognized thank you man i'd like to welcome good shepherd lutheran school and all the visitors that we have in our nation's capital today this constitutional republic works the founding to defend against or patient by either and each branch i just come here today because many times we forget about the great institution in which we serve about the blessings of freedoms and liberties madam speaker and today i rise in strong support a legislation that i recently introduced h r nine hundred sixty eight the community health workers act of two thousand and seven the bill provides federal support for community health workers also known as burma taught us community health workers conduct education and provide prevention information on chronic illnesses to communities of color asian latino african american and even native american communities they're able to reach out to patients in ways in ways that traditional healthcare providers can culturally and linguistically appropriate care there trusted by their communities families who interacted with community workers were a times more likely to obtain health insurance for their children and their children stayed insured and that's why i strongly believe that the community health workers need to be part of the s chip reauthorization bill moving forward in the house as chair of the congressional hispanic caucus health task force i'm committed to reducing health care disparities in our country the legislation will help achieve that goal and i'm proud to have the support of other colleagues here today thank you and i yield back the balance of my time for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina rise without objection so ordered the gentleman is recognized madam speaker while the president continues to resist any changes to his failed policy in iraq the situation is getting worse it's getting worse for our troops i'm eric and casualties are up fifty three percent this year over the same period last year despite the escalating civil war last week pentagon officials told thirty five thousand more american troops that they will be sent to iraq earlier this year the president said the surge would last a couple of months but now the administration is planning to stretch the plan out for eighteen months it is increasingly clear that the president's plan to escalate the war in iraq is not working the american people overwhelmingly favor a new direction in iraq and a plan to hold the iraqi government accountable for their own nation and their own security but for some reason republicans continue to stall unwilling to break away from president bush bush and ignoring all the bad news on the ground madam speaker after four years of failed policy we do not need to give the president a blank check out of his time is expired for what purpose does the gentleman from i without objection so ordered the gentleman is recognized madam speaker last thursday the leadership of the house announced a new trade policy for america and as this body considers future trade agreements it would be well to look at the house ways and means committee web site where a one page policy on a new trade policy for america is stated that policy states that our new trade policy will ensure trade agreements raise the standard of living including companies to adopt maintain and enforce international labor standards in their domestic laws and practices thus promoting basic worker rights and acceptable working conditions we need to make sure that the maintenance and enforcement of those international labor standards are part of any trade agreement on the domestic side of those trade countries that we are negotiating with the constitution of the soviet union had great statements about protecting the rights of workers and protecting the rights of individuals and on paper that's what they said but in reality they meant little be trade agreements need to have enforcement on the other side to be effective thank you out and other public service off those who protect our communities as yesterday was national police officer memorial day there's no better time to call on department of justice to award the benefits due to our law enforcement officers but made the ultimate sacrifice  depending on nation but thirty years now we have made a strong statement about the value that we have for our our nation places on the contribution that those who serve our community through the public service offices benefit plan at the for you about beautiful people asked me to come to washington and congress to view our capital and our nation's capital and it's a beautiful sight and another thought was talk about the need for general alberto gonzales to resign to bring back the morale of the justice department the people's faith in that institution but the bottom line is the thing i campaigned upon is still the most important issue facing america today we need to bring our troops home redeploy our troops and put our resources financially and also personnel wise to work in america protecting our streets and giving us a more secure country we need less troops soldiers on troops on the streets of baghdad and more cops on the streets of memphis and other cities in this country to fight crime here at home thank you madam speaker for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin right now without objection so ordered the gentleman is recognized madam speaker as we move closer to memorial day weekend in the summer months ahead families in wisconsin across country will be packing up their families that often vacation like up north in minot or door county in wisconsin and once again gas prices are hitting record highs american families and small businesses everywhere are bringing the full weight of the bush administration's failure to enact a meaningful energy policy on monday the president announced his most recent attempt to do something and once again it's another insufficient and inadequate solution to this failed attempt at energy policy is a placebo it's a fake solution to a very serious problem there is a better way of doing things and it begins with energy efficiency developing renewable energy resources and moving away from fossil fuels and  the house on thursday may tenth two thousand and seven of house resolution three ninety three election of minority members to certain standing committees of the house i have been elected to the committee on appropriations pursuant to my conference rules regarding service on certain select committees i hereby resign from service on the following committees committee on armed services committee on science and technology and committee on natural resources thank you signed sincerely member of congress without objection the resignation is accepted for what purpose was the gentlewoman from florida arise madam speaker by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution four zero three and ask for its immediate consideration the clerk will report the resolution house calendar number sixty one house resolution for over three resolved that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker pursuant to clause to be of rule eighteen declare the house resolving to the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h r fifteen eighty five to authorize appropriations for fiscal year two thousand and eight for military activities of the department of defense to prescribe military personnel strength for fiscal year two thousand and eight and for other purposes the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one general debate shall be confined to the bill and the amendments made in order by this resolution and shall not exceed ninety minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on armed services after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five minute rule section to say it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five minute rule the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on armed services now printed in the bill the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read all points of order against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute our way except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one b notwithstanding clause eleven o amendment to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution and amendments on block described in section three of this resolution see each amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules shall be considered only in the order printed in the report except as testified in section four of this resolution may be offered only by a member designated in the report sh be considered as read shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and in up own it shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole d all points of order against and then thence printed in the report of the committee on rules or amendments on block described in section three of this resolution are waived except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one section three it shall be an order at any time the chairman of the committee on armed services or his designee to offer amendments on block consisting of amendments printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution not earlier disposed of amendments on block offered pursuant to this section shall be considered as read shall be debatable for twenty minutes equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on armed services or their designees shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole the original proponent of an amendment included in such amendments on block may insert a statement in the congressional record immediately before the disposition of the amendments on block section for the chairman of the committee of the hall may recognize for consideration of any amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution out of the order printed but not sooner than thirty minutes after the chairman of the committee on armed services or designee announces from the floor a request to that effect section five at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments there to two final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instruction section six during consideration in the house of h r fifteen eighty five 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 florida is recognized for one hour madam speaker for the purpose of debate only i yield the customary thirty minutes to the gentleman from washington mr hastings alltime yielded during consideration of the rules for debate only i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the record without objection so ordered i yield myself such time as i may consume manna speaker house resolution four zero three provides for consideration of r fifteen eighty five the national defense authorization act for fiscal year two thousand and eight under a structured rule the rule provides ninety minutes of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on armed services the rule waives all points of order against the bill consideration except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one the rule makes an order and provides appropriate waivers for fifty amendments the rule also provides the chair of the committee on armed services or his designee to offer amendments not earlier disposed of and blocked and blocked and debated for twenty minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the armed services committee the chair of the armed services committee also may request that amendments printed in order in the rules committee report be offered out of that order with appropriate notice on the floor madam speaker today the new congress under democratic leadership will chart a new direction for a stronger and safer america through the adoption of the defense author it authorization bill fifteen eighty five and this role as a member of the house armed services committee i am pleased to report that our committee under the leadership of chairman i'd skelton passed the bill out of committee unanimously in a bipartisan way fifty eight to zero the defense bill provides six hundred and forty eight point six billion dollars to support our brave american men and women in uniform but it does much more the provisions in the bill would repay there the damage done to america's national security by this white house by improving the readiness of our armed forces requiring accountability from the white house in its iraq policy and making more strategic investments for the protection of the american people and our interests across the globe on readiness we're going to take care of our troops and their families we're going to fully fund the needs of our armed services we're going to strengthen the national guard and reserves and here are a few detail we've authorized one point two billion dollars for body armor two point five billion dollar billion dollars for up armored humvees one point two billion dollars for vehicles add on armor and five hundred and nine million dollars for the armored security vehicles we're going to increase the end strength of our armed services with thirty six thousand new soldiers in the army nine thousand new troops in the marine corps and thirteen hundred troops in the army national guard this bill authorizes four point five billion dollars to fund the  e d improvised explosive device efforts of the joint improvised explosive device device defeat organization in addition madam speaker although the president called for only a three percent pay raise for our brave men and women in uniform we have gone far beyond that because we recognize the sacrifices they are providing for the benefit of the american people and we provide a pay raise in this bill for our troops of three point five percent inexplicably in this time of conflict in war the bush administration also proposed increases in health insurance premiums for military retirees and troops under tri care and provoke proposed cuts to active military medical services well we have blocked that measure it is the wrong time for the white house to propose health health premium health insurance premium increases when we are asking so much of our brave american men and women in uniform madam speaker in this bill we have also included provisions that we passed last month the wounded warrior assistance act because we remain committed to seeing that our wounded service members receive health care possible indeed madam speaker under that wounded warrior assistance act we're answering the call of the american people and th congress is demanding through this role and through this legislation that the executive branch move beyond the rhetoric of support our troops to concrete actions that sustain our brave men and women in uniform and their families by providing the quality health care they deserve when they return from the battlefield supporting our troops does not mean that you simply salute and send them off to war ask them to serve and sacrifice for our great country but it also means that they are supported when they return home their families are respected and our wounded warriors receive sapir your health care for their physical injuries and mental scars we're going to improve the health care mental health care for our when wounded warriors in th to tackle the bureaucracy that has blocked their access to health care we're going to require expedited action provide medical advocate improve support services for families and really tackle traumatic brain injuries and aid the poly trauma centers and v a hospitals across this country that are serving the most crucial madam speaker this bill also calls for greater accountability from the white house in this bill we're requiring more in depth reports on i on operations in iraq we want to know what's truly happening on the ground with the iraqi security forces there has been so much waste and fraud in contracting in iraq and under this white house that we're not going to put up with it any longer the department of defense the department of state us a i must have additional oversight of the multibillion dollar contracts that have been approved during this war in iraq we require reports on the proficiency as of the iraqi army the police and all security forces there and to the credit of this armed services committing we've not forgotten about afghanistan and in fact in this bill as an additional accountability measure we have a stablished an inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction as we cannot sanction the waste and fraud that has accompanied the administration's iraq reconstruction madam speaker we're also going to be more strategic and more strategic in the defense of our national security like i said afghanistan cannot be the forgotten war in fact in this bill we direct more attention to operations there in addition to the inspector general that will oversee the reconstruction efforts this bill contains a detailed plan to achieve long term stability in what has been an unstable country in afghanistan for many years madam speaker we will hear debate today about missile defense now this bill provides a great investment in the protection and missile defense of this country it also reinvigorates the nonproliferation and threat reduction initiatives that have suffered under the bush administration we are going to refocus our efforts on strategically on terrorism and the true threats to our national security i'm very proud to say that the headquarters of special operations command is located in my district in tampa florida at the mcdill air force base this defense bill under democratic leadership not only fully funds our special operations forces but it went beyond the bush administration's budget request and we have funded their five unfunded needs under the bush proposal we have also authorized a twenty five percent increase in special forces by the year two thousand and thirteen because we recognize that we cannot rely solely any longer on the conventional threats to our country we've got to be smarter we've got to be more strategic and the democratic defense bill authorizes the increase in special forces and also a new emphasis on indirect action oftentimes to win the hearts and minds you don't go in with guns blazing in fact you have you institute a smarter policy where you you work with folks on the ground to prevent any terrorist initiative from ever developing and this bill does that we reinvest additional resources to improve education and analytical intelligence surveillance we harness the science and technology innovation in this country by investing in information technology and others and other technologies to make sure that our so troops on the ground have the best technology available across the globe yes madam speaker this defense bill charts a new direction for true readiness accountability and more strategic investments to prevent to protect our national security and at this time i reserve the balance of my time general of washington speaker the national defense authorization act for fiscal year two thousand and eight contains provisions that are important to our troops serving abroad to our national security and to my constituents in central washington it authorizes more funding for force protection including over four billion dollars for vehicles designed to protect our troops from improvised explosive devices in iraq this legislation includes a wounded warrior bill which passed the house earlier this year and would help address the challenges that face our recovery and service members and families this bill also extends a language an act of last year to prevent tri care co pay increases in addition to providing the authorization levels for us or that our service members need i am pleased that the language was included that emphasizes congressional support for the national nuclear security administration's role in the three hundred area transition at the hanford nuclear reservation i specifically at the pacific northwest national laboratory the national nuclear security administration department of energy office of science and the department of homeland security all signed a memorandum of understanding last year a green two funding commitments for this very important transition committee has been helpful on this issue in the past and i appreciate his continues support in the pacific northwest national lab three hundred area transition a successful transition at the lab will make it possible for nearly one thousand scientists to continue their work and allow key national security relations related missions to continue another issue that is an issue of great importance is the ongoing clean of the department of energy's hanford nuclear site which is a leg see going back to world war two i am pleased this committee like in recent years has supported my request to authorize a full six hundred ninety million dollars needed for the waste treatment plant next year construction of the waste treatment plant is a critical effort to clean up some of our nation's most dangerous legacy nuclear waste i'm pleased this legislation recognizes the importance of this project in addition to authorizing the funding needed for clean up the hanford i am pleased that we are working to address the concerns of department of energy nuclear site workers who suffered health effects from their work at government sites this bill includes language similar to the bill i recently co sponsored that extends and increases the scope of the energy employees occupational illness compensation program so that is still better to assist workers seeking compensation the ombudsman office included in this language assist workers who have filed for compensation under this compensation program these workers and speaker played a vital role in our nation's defense during the hot war and the cold war if it is found that their illness has been caused by their work in our defense they deserve just in proper compensation i'm also pleased that funding is authorized to upgrade and expand the training range at the aca much training center in my district twenty mind million dollars leads to increased the size of the training space allowing for urban operation training and support the digital systems used by today's stryker forces the new range of expected be to be completed by august of two thousand nine and will provide critical training for active duty and reserve army soldiers man speaker while h r fifteen eighty five is a good bill it is not a perfect bill this bill eight hundred million dollars in funding for a robust layered ballistic missile defense system capable of intercept the missiles at all stages of flight despite recent missile tests in north korea and the intelligence community's belief that within the next decade iran will have missiles capable of reaching united states the democrat majority of the house armed services committee rejected a proposal to restore a more than seven hundred sixty four million dollars to the missile defense agency's budget i don't believe madam speaker and now is the time to slow down the development of a strong missile defense system a ballistic missile threats be increased we must be able to  capabilities necessary to protect ourselves this bill also cuts eight hundred sixty million dollars from the army's modernization program the future combat systems which helps keeps our armed forces prepared for future combat scenario is important to find new technologies to optimize information flow and combat systems in the future but the severe cuts in this bill put some modernization of the army in jeopardy this one year cut is greater than cuts in the last three years combined congressman todd akin from missouri the ranking republican on the arm house on services committee on oversight investigations put forward an amendment to the rules committee last night to restore one hundred thirty four million dollars for future combat systems but sadly his amendment was rejected on our party line vote by damn a by the democrat controlled rules committee and a speaker a total of one hundred thirty five members were allowed to be submitted to the rules committee for consideration and this blue rule allows for a consideration of fifty amendments on the floor today i'm deeply troubled that for the first time the first time during my ten e in congress and tenure on the rules committee members of congress re ported that they were actually prohibited prohibited from submitting an amendment to the committee after the deadline specifically congressman akin from missouri and congressman gingrey of georgia attempted to offer second degree amendments to an amendment offered by represent him a show considering the morning after pill these types of amendments by definition cannot be drafted until the text of the original meant has been seen and therefore it was after the announced amendment deadline that each of those two members  attempted to submit their amendments but this submission the submission itself was denied by the democrat majority while amendments to amendments are not the norm of the house members certainly have had the ability to offer such a menace to the rules committee or at least they did madam speaker until this week so let me be clear the democrat leadership actually denied members of congress the opportunity to have their amendments presented and then denied by the committee because typically members that are offered late are denied but they didn't even have the opportunity to submit them late all members of congress are elected to this body and they have a duty to represent their constituents through the legislative process the manner in which these members of congress were treated was unnecessary and madam speaker i certainly hope it never happens again i'm also disappointed the democrat majority has chosen to go out of its way to be inconsistent and change the rules and devan that definitions leaving members of congress questioning what rules and norms they should follow democrats on the rules committee have chosen to strictly enforce the amendment deadline on some occasions but others have made amendments in order that were submitted past the deadline they have changed the definition of rules and for the first time at least a decade they have outright rejected members of congress from it in submitting minutes to the rules committee for consideration last year speaker and members of the current majority pledged that this congress would be the most open congress in history however on several occasions now the rules committee has literally closed the door on members and denied them the opera made it opportunity submit amendment to the committee and speaker i remain optimistic i tend to have that in my nature but so far i must say the new democratic majority so far their actions have spoken much much louder than their words and with that i reserve the balance of my t gentleman from florida madam speaker when it comes to the rules committee i think the record should reflect the true reality on this defense bill over one hundred and thirty amendments were in none that is precisely the point and my point is how can a member offer a second degree amendment until amendment has been offered to which a member could respond to well it's so gentle lady talks the gentle lady talks about  hundred thirty five minutes that tends to be somewhere near the norm for defense appropriations for authorization bills in the past so there's nothing outside that norm but thanks i thank you generally for making the point none of the one hundred thirty five are second degree in them as in my were in fact offered by the other side of the aisle and debated and voted upon in committing right now late at night only i know again on that point and please feel yes it is true we are the minority members of the rules committee offered secondary amendments but they are secondary amendments and we had to ask unanimous consent of the full committee to break the order because they were denied to be submitted on a regular order so while yes we offered them and they were defeated on a party line vote had they been offered they would have had a notation that they relate and they probably would have been rejected my point is you broke from tradition you pro from tradition by not allowing a member to submit a member  my whole point i think the jelly for yielding and i thank the gentleman and the fact remains over one hundred thirty amendments were submitted on time to the rules committee and a record breaking number of fifty amendments are being allowed and made in order on this defense bill i think it's also important to respond to the the claims that missile defense is not funded through this bill indeed that is incorrect and the record should reflect that only in washington can a program be provided unfunded with billions and billions of dollars for numerous decades and then say oh we're we're suffering in fact that is not the case man speaker this gracious managership of this a rule including yielding to me into the gentleman from washington to have the kind of debate that we should have on the floor of the house mr mann a speaker i rise in strong support of this rule in the bill i want to applaud chairman skelton for his leadership in guiding the bill to the floor today and also acknowledge a ranking member hunter and of course our expert staff on the committee i want to in particular acknowledge a the a way in which a chairman skilled work with me on important items for colorado including limits on how the army can pursue possible expansion opinion kanyon maneuver site others include funding a new squadron operations facility for the colorado air national guard promoting an agreement between the air force in the city a problem about flight operations at the airport urging the defense department to use on site disposal of chemical weapons stockpiles at the public chemical depot asking the army to track pilots who trained to high altitude aviation training school in eagle colorado and naming a housing facility at fort carson on or of our former colleague congressman joel hefley i'm also pleased that the committee adopted two of my men mints including one to a repeal a provision adopted last year that makes it easier for the president to federalize the national guard for domestic law enforcement purposes during emergencies by repealing this my amendment restores the role of the governors with regard to this subject madam speaker the bill rightly focuses on our military's readiness needs after five years at war both the active duty and reserve forces are stretched to their limits the bill will provide what's needed to respond including a substantial strategic readiness fund and additional funds for national guard equipment and training  enlarges the army and the marine corps consistent with the tao sure you'd all army expansion bill in the last congress and it would provide a three point five percent across the board pay raise for service members boost funding for the defense health program prohibit increasing tri care and pharmacy user fees and establish a traumatic thirty more seconds thirty seconds gentlemen this recognize for an additional thirty seconds and establish a traumatic brain injury initiative to allow emerging technologies and treatments to compete for funding so madam speaker this is an excellent bill a carefully drafted and bipartisan bill and i urge its passage gentleman from opposition to this rule our surprise to ensure grand when i looked over the long list of fifty amendments and sall missing from that loss the troops on the border are amendment which had been made smugglers and potential terrorists it would be optional while the troops could be used but it would be a mashie to illegal aliens those involved in the legal drug trial and those who would rate carmona a country that we would use those troops where necessary to defend our borders let me tell you just a minute about the history of this body each of those years this bill would be much stronger and would send a message that we are serious about border security if this amendment had been made an o the gentleman from florida better speaker i'm pleased to yield two minutes of the gentlewoman from california miss lee the gentleman from california is recognized for two minute to minute thank you madam speaker and i'd like to thank the gentleman from florida for a yielding but also for your very effective leadership on the house rules committee thank you very much for everything and also let me just acknowledge and thank you chairman of the house armed services committee chairman skelton for his dedication to the brave men and women who are serving in the armed forces and also to our national security i believe that in this bill madam speaker that we should be taking meaningful steps to end the occupation of iraq and to bring our troops home iraq isn't a civil war and our occupation only inflames the insurgency and puts our troops in harm's way the facts on the ground the trade the administration's empty rhetoric a majority of the american people support withdrawal from iraq and here we have a chance to press the issue further we need enforceable timetables for withdrawal from iraq and we must hold this administration accountable also i disappointed that the amendment which congresswoman wills and myself offered was not made an order our amendment basically would have just simply required the president to present a plan for withdrawal and execute complete withdrawal within six months it recognizes that there is no military solution to the civil war the bottom line is that we must continue to demand that the president in the iraq nation and bring our troops home and we must do so at every opportunity thank you and i you know the balance of my time gentleman from washington franklin thank you madam speaker man speaker i am pleased to yield three minutes to a member of the armed services committee mr franks of arizona gentleman from arizona is recognized for three minutes well thank you madam speaker and thank you sir madam speaker since mankind took up arms against his fellow human beings every officer of weapon has been countered by a defensive weapon the spear brought the shield the sword spawn the suit of armor bullets brought heavier armor and each succeeding advancement an officer happens has brought a defensive response wherein mankind hopes to buy a little more time yet today when we are sixty years into the nuclear age and mankind faces the most dangerous weapons in the history of humanity there is in this moment a debate in the united states congress as to whether or not the united states of america should fully pursues defending its citizens against nuclear missiles mr speaker the rumsfeld commission madam speaker the rumsfeld commission reported that north korea has developed a missile with a range of ten thousand kilometers quote placing at risk western u s territory in an arc extending north west from phoenix arizona to madison wisconsin and quote in this defense authorization bill the democrats cut nearly eight hundred million dollars from missile defense this prompted me to offer six amendments before the rules committee last night but under this rule madam speaker only one has been made in order and whether or not it will be adopted still remains to be seen however under the rule one democrat amendment that was made in order was one to cut missile defense it's another billion dollars mr speaker if speaker if we truly build a layered missile defense system that may one day call on us to apologize to the american people for building a defensive system that proved unnecessary that i can go home and live with but god save us from the day when we will have to apologize to the american people for failing to build a system that could have protected them from the unspeakable nightmare of missiles turning american cities into nuclear flames matter speaker if we build it maybe they will not come thank you gentleman from florida thank you madam speaker and we did have a debate over missile defense in the armed services committee but at the end of the day recall we had a unanimous vote fifty eight to zero a bipartisan vote to send this bill to the floor i would i would offer there is no debate we must protect this great country from nucular threat missile threats and in fact this bill does that we provided one point four billion for patriot pac three a maid's missile these funds will be used to person purchase additional interceptors upgrade remaining firing units configurations continue the development of the maids program and purchase equipment for two additional patriot battalions the committee also also authorized one point one billion for aegis b m d and increases seventy eight million above the budget request from the white house these funds will be used to continue and expand the fielding of standard missile three improve the discrimination capabilities of the a just by one radar and continue the joint development with japan of the s m three block to a missile we have authorized two point three billion for ground based missile defense we have the committee supports th authorizes eight hundred fifty eight million to continue the purchase of tooth and firing units so to come to the floor and say the missile defense is not provided for in this bill is incorrect what we are facing though is because of this war in iraq we have growing needs for the troops on the ground so our committee made the decision that the troops on the ground come first that they will have the body armor they will have the emirate vehicles the mine resistant vehicles because that is the priority today tough decisions but our troops come first on the ground and at this time madam speaker i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from utah mr mathis the gentleman from utah is recognized for two minutes madam speaker the department of energy and the department of defense have been proposing the development of a new nuclear warhead under the reliable replacement warhead program and they're also proposing  ambitious nuclear weapons complex modernization proposal called complex twenty thirty and the bill we're going to be voting on today provides funding for those activities this is a multi billion dollar agenda and it's being proposed in my opinion in a policy vacuum without any administration statement on the national security environment and that the future deterrent nuclear deterrent is designed to address now the lack of any definitive analysis or strategic assessment defining the objectives of future nuclear stockpile makes it impossible for congress to weigh the relative merits of investing the billions of taxpayer dollars in new nuclear weapon production activities when the united states is facing the other challenge of having two largest stockpile as a legacy from the cold war now the argument for the reliable replacement warhead program started out with a concern that was most frequent expressively east was about the expected lifetimes of the plutonium pits which is the nuclear core of our existing nuclear weapons at the time their projected lifespan was forty five to sixty years and with some of our arsenal having entered the force in the seventy's and eighty's that would be a cause for concern however just a few months ago we received a new study performed by the independent jason panel a highly respected body often consulted on technical issues that study using data combined by the nuclear weapons lab shows that all the plutonium pits in our existing weapons have life spans of at least eighty five years and most are good for one hundred years or more the labs themselves agree with the study so it seems there isn't a threat to the reliability of our current nuclear warheads so i think we need to be careful this bill while funding was reduced somewhat on the reliable placement warhead program i think we need to be careful about going down a path that we may not need to go down we should not be in any hurry to go down this path can i get just an additional thirty seconds please thank you gentlemen it's right nice for an additional thirty seconds in conclusion we should be careful not to hurry down a path when the the life loop with tony and pitt is no longer an issue but should we be in a hurry to go to a path when the history of the department of energy include long list of canceled and over budget projects that were started before the objective was thoroughly thought through and understood we should not make that mistake with the nation's nuclear weapons complex or the decision to begin building new nuclear weapons thank you considering does not allow a very critical of madmen which we voted on in committee several of the votes that were most important in committee were not done in a bipartisan way they were strict party line votes this was one of those one was missile defense the other is the modernization program for the army the modernization program for the army that i'm talking about was cut by twenty five percent a massive slash in that particular program what that program does is it provides the first modern is the first major modernization program in the last forty years for the army what the program does is it provides real time on line information networking a whole group of different sensors satellites and individuals on the field tanks unmanned aerial vehicles pulling all that information together to give us accurate and timely information in the battlefield to anybody who's studied military warfare will tell you that if you just had this piece of information or that piece of information the tide of battle would have shifted and so this whole system is designed to provide that information for a war fighters it has been slashed twenty five percent it's called future combat systems why is that important first of all it means you've got to go all the way back to the drawing board with this program changing all the time schedules it's tremendously complex the second thing is that this program really is the four runner for things that will be used by the marines and the navy the navy calls that more network centric warfare but the concept the software will be the same now we are denied an opportunity to try to restore some funding to the army's first major modernization program in forty years the result is that our sons and daughters will have to pay the price my own sons will have to pay the price because we have not gotten the information that is absolutely critical to our war fighter there at the time that we need to do it i yield back  a woman from florida thank you madam speaker i think it is also very important for the record to reflect that the army is fully funded and in its need indeed thirteen point six billion dollars are authorize through this defense bill to fully address the equipment reset of the army what has happened because of the war in iraq and in afghanistan and we all know that the readiness of our armed forces has suffered indeed the army chief of staff testified before the armed services committee that the escalation of the war creates a terrible strategic risk for this country if there was any other threat from across the globe that threatened our national security it would be very difficult for us to respond because all of the equipment all of the trucks the humvees are there in iraq when the units are deployed and go over to iraq they're not able to bring the equipment back this was highlighted recently in the state of kansas with these terrible tornadoes when the governor of kansas told us directly that there was a threat to they weren't able to respond as quickly and i'll tell you coming from the state of florida at the beginning of hurricane season this is an issue we've also had to make those gentlemen yield not at this time we've also had to make the tough decision about equipping our warriors on the general you know not at this time with the equipment that they need the army came forward during their budget discussion in the armed services instead are the most critical needs are these mine resistant ambush vehicle provide the truth on the ground with the equipment they need to say to stay safe and serve with the japanese some other programs that aren't as tested in aren't as proven to get a slight cut yes it does yes it does because that is a priority protecting the troops on the ground today with the gentleman yield they happen to you be the general from kansas here i would like to address the mention of the kansas national guard i was in greensburg kansas where the tornado occurred four times since it has occurred on saturday the day after the tornado occurred general tod bunting the advent general of kansas said he had all the equipment he needed to respond to emergencies in mischaracterization of the facts in kansas i think the gentleman for yielding and i thank the gentleman and before i reserve the balance of my time on the future combat system so the record is clear only in washington  affairs mr bill you're from indiana the gentleman from mr the gentleman from indiana is recognized for three minutes i thank the gentleman for yielding i am coming to the floor deeply disappointed that the rules committee has denied two amendments that would have protected veterans in the v a maintain a a national formulary based on a system of deep discounts on prescription drugs through a system of price controls in maine we maintain this national  formulary we're able to do that because we are to purchase drugs seventy six percent of the of the non federal average manufacturing price it is a price control but what is happening the onslaught the democrat majority against pharmaceutical manufacturers continues they want now to extend the price controls v a pricing now into d o d and so all i asked for was for an amendment  would have asked for a certification from the secretary of defense to this congress that their ambition to do this would not increase prices on our veterans the v a national formulary amounts to about one percent of the pharmaceutical marketplace the more we extend these price controls whether it goes into the d o d tri care pharmacy whether it's the one extended into medicare as you do that we continue to cost shift so i am deeply disappointed that the democrat majority would make this onslaught not just against pharmaceutical manufacturers that gets their political juices going but in the meantime they're going to smack veterans right in the face and it is very disappointing now it is a simple amendment and you should have they should have made it an order there's a second amendment the second amendment that i that i asked to be in order that was also denied was that i asked that with regard to this provision whereby the secretary defense may now be able to deny a drug being placed on the tri care formulary if they do not offer the federal pricing schedule i ask that with regard to this provision that the secretary shall not be able to exclude from the pharmacy benefits program any pharmaceutical agent that the pharmacy and therapeutics committee determines to be clinically effective or that the patient or the provider demonstrates to a satisfaction to the pharmacy and their abuse committee that is clinically necessary and that's  also i am stunned i am stunned but let's be very clear an american what is happening this is a socialist policy you said oh my gosh don't use the word socialist no this is a socialist policy a socialist policy is one of price controls why do we say we do that with regard to veterans because we say in the v a we say there is no greater classification of people in our society that we should be able to give  then our disabled veterans but then what does the democrat majority want to do they want to take these deep discounts then and give them into tri care give them into the medicare prescription drug program they want to continue to do use price controls what happens when you do that not only do you cost shift but you also have a dulling effect upon research and development that hurts hurts this country and i'm deeply disappointed that gentleman gentleman from florida is recognized madam speaker i yield two minutes my distinguished colleague from the armed services committee ms giffords from arizona gentleman from arizona is recognized for two minutes thank you madam speaker i rise today to highlight a very important issue facing our nation that is addressed his legislation mental health care for our troops the mental health implications of extended and repeated combat tours in iraq and afghanistan are now only beginning to be understood among vietnam era veterans a lifetime rate  d sometimes taking decades to appear is thirty percent according to the v a the current rate for iraq and afghanistan veterans is already twenty percent the mental health needs of the generation of combat veterans that we are creating will face this country for decades to come we must realize that the nature and scope of war has changed bringing a new level of stress to combat deployments that is fundamentally new even in the green zone of baghdad soldiers are repeatedly attacked and regularly attacked the troops must cope with ongoing severe stress for months to come experts tell us that extended periods of stress like this with no way to alleviate it create the conditions where p t s d is most likely to develop according to  recent report in the new england journal of medicine ninety five percent of troops and army marine units report having been shot at during their deployment and ninety five percent report seen dead bodies eighty nine percent report being ambushed or attacked one in five is currently suffering from depression anxiety or stress while the ploys twenty percent are now facing marital problems including divorce or legal separation from their spouse the after effect of these extended and highly stressful combat deployments will continue to affect their families the military and our communities for many many years to come so i believe that we need to shift towards preventative care what we know from our experiences that p t s d not being treated can start  downward tragic cycle of addiction isolation and despair this bill improve the mental health training for military case managers working with outpatient facilities like walter reed so they can dental five problems early this way we can help provide treatment before block several important amendments on this bill and i will oppose this rule but there was one that they blocked that makes absolutely no sense and it really calls into question the priorities of the majority on the rules committee there are two million women in this country's history of serve in uniform all of them have been volunteers and i was one of them i'm the only woman veteran serving in the united states congress one in seven americans serving in iraq or afghanistan are women and the challenges that they face when they come home are often different than their male counterparts particularly when accessing health care from both d o d facilities and v a facilities many women veterans don't even call themselves veterans and don't know that they are eligible for care and care is not always available appropriate for women in the v a system i offered an amendment that was non controversial and it wasn't even particularly aggressive all it said was that we should have a bipartisan commission to make some recommendations to us to get a group of people together including women veterans to make recommendations to this house on how we can make this system better for women veterans so they can get the health care that they need and all of us have seen the problems that women veterans are facing the moment wasn't manere order now i know like everyone else the time on the floor is limited and we can't do everything but i would note that an amendment was made in order for a study in mrs slaughter's district the chairwoman of the rules committee for a plan for niagara air reserve base in her district so we've got time on the floor devon amendment for a study for mrs slaughter but two million women veterans don't count as much so i asked my colleague from florida who is here defending the decision of the rules committee why did you win your committee think it was more important to allow an amendment for a study of niagra air reserve base in this is slaughters district and to tar you're ba women veterans get their health care you didn't will my men in the water what's your excuse why thank the gentleman from yielding we did have over the five months in the armed services committee armed services committee many opportunity to hear from members across the aisle i question why this wasn't brought up before a sufficient number having risen the yeas and nays are ordered members will record their votes by electronic device