yes at some point this afternoon in the house and no votes are expected until six thirty p m eastern time when fate came to be in writings rather than in hearts contention grew hot and love grew cold that which is forced cannot be sincere that which is not voluntary cannot please the lord these words of the medieval humanist erasmus give us pause lord as this congress faces today's problems to face such a tender gift by which you massage the human heart is safe does not spring spontaneously from within it becomes a dead man's quotes rigid braces for feeble limbs the freedom of religion cannot live in legislative words or inanimate objects religious they must be allowed to find its own expression freely left alone faith will flourish in its own time and find its own roots perhaps in open fields or in is examine the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval there of percent to close one of rule one the journal stands approved the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from georgia mr b thank you mrs baker what all members of the house all offices the house all guests please rise and join me in the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which is  god indivisible with liberty and justice for all a record high of ninety three dollars a barrel today no doubt americans will fill it at the lead at the gas pump there are numerous reasons for the increase namely all producing countries around stable mexico has cut off production twenty percent because of bad weather in the gulf of mexico africa's largest export of oil to the united states nigeria has had incidents where pirates have kidnapped workers from their offshore drilling rigs the middle east is still a tinderbox of uncertainty with iran's nuclear development turkey found in the kurdis rebels and of course the problems that persist in iraq and syria all of this affects a concern about the disruption of oil exports this plus a weak dollar means that crude oil process will grow even higher until the united states develops a safe energy policy that allows complete all shore drilling for crude oil and drilling in anwar we will be held hostage by third world countries rogue dictators and our political mates we have the ability to explore and drill safely our own abundant natural resources we must take care of our sales or the days of higher oil prices have just begun and that's just the way it is chair hands before the house of communication the honorable the speaker house of representatives madam pursuant to the permission granted and clause to age of rule two of the rules of the u s house of representatives the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on october twenty sixth two thousand and seven at ten twenty a m that the senate passed with an amendment h r thirty six seventy eight with best wishes i and sincerely signed lorraine c miller clerk objected to under clause six of rule twenty record votes on postpone questions will be taken after six thirty p m today for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia arise mr speaker i move the house suspend the rules and pass h r fourteen seventy three as amended the clerk report the title to bill h r fourteen seventy three a bill to amend the child care and development block grant act of one thousand nine hundred three choir child care providers to provide to parents information regarding whether such providers carry current liability insurance  pursuant to the rules the gentleman from georgia mr barrow and the gentleman from tennessee mr davis each can will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia thank you mr speaker i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend  little seven and a half year old boy named anthony de wine but right who was in a semi comatose state and hooked up to a ventilator he wasn't born that way but that's how he ended up he ended up that way because of an accident negligence really that never would have happened if his mother had been given the information that this bill requires back in two thousand and one wants mother jacqueline boatwright was doing what millions of mothers all over the country do every day she placed her child in daycare so that she could work to improve her life and that of her child she was a sophisticated consumer she done her homework and she shopped around and she found a daycare center it was licensed by the state it was clean and it complied with all sorts of federal regulations under the child care development block grant governing such things as the prevention and control of infectious diseases building safety premises access and minimum health and safety training for staff but there was one thing that jackie boatwright did not know that these folks could take her money they could take her child they could harm her child and they would not be financially responsible for any of the harm that they could do that because they had no liability insurance and there was no law state or federal that required them to tell her that and sure enough that's what happen they ignored little wine long enough for him to find a bucket of water and lie every child that age he had just enough strength to pull himself up and to look over inside and to fall inside headfirst but not enough upper body strength to push or pull himself back into it was a death trap and little line fell into it well wind survived but his life and that of his family has been ruined in change forever this bill would have prevented all of this from happening it would not have done it by creating a whole new bureaucracy of daycare inspectors to watch the watchers it would have done it in the least expensive and most efficient way possible by simply requiring the daycare center to tell jackie boatwright what they knew but did not tell her that they were willing to accept the morrow responsibility of taking care of her baby but they were going to accept none of the financial responsibility for failing to do so that would have prevented this from happening because that's all it would have taken to prevent this tragedy from happening because if jackie had known that she would have done what any other parent would do she'd have taken her business someplace else someplace where they accept some degree of financial responsibility for the consequences of their negligence and incorporate the cost in the cost of doing business just like every other financial responsible business does and jackie has tried to make something positive out of this she is determined to prevent this from happening to anybody else thanks to her efforts financial responsibility disclosure laws are now on the books in four states georgia california virginia and new hampshire this bill will close the gap by requiring financial responsibly disclosure  license they care facilities in the rest of the country in two thousand and five there were literally millions of kids in this country receiving day care into sillies that are governed by the child care and development block grant act only a fraction of these kids live in the four states that have now stepped forward to enact and anshul responsibility disclosure laws that means that millions of kids still go to license daycare facilities all around the country today whose parents have no idea that the daycare centers can harm their child and accept none of the financial consequences of doing so this bill will give the parents of these millions of children the same information that parents are entitled to as a matter of law in the state of georgia california virginia new hampshire these parents have just as much need to know about the financial responsibility of the folks they give their kids to and this bill will give them the same information this bill does not require any daycare facilities to go out and get liability insurance it merely requires licensed day care centers to tell parents whether or not they have insurance and if so how much that's all then leaves it up to the parents to do what jackie boatwright would have done if only she had had this information and that's decide for themselves whether or not to leave their child with someone who wants to accept the responsibility for caring for your child want to take the money for doing so but is on willing and able to accept any of the financial consequences of failing to fulfill this responsibility indirectly mrs because this bill actually does more than that by giving parents the information that they have a right to know it places a powerful economic incentive on all daycare centers to do what all of the responsible daycare centers are already doing and that is to assume the financial responsibility and to incorporate the cost of that into the cost of doing business that goes along with the moral responsibility to take care of the children in their care anyone who wants to do business without doing that will be at a competitive disadvantage compared to those who do this approach gives the invisible hand of self interest the opportunity do  some good in the marketplace the interest of daycare centers to do the right thing or compete a disadvantage compared to those who do and the interest of parents in placing their children in daycare centers that are ready willing and able to do the right thing if and when they mess up we have truth in labeling we have truth in lending and truth in advertising this is truth in day care the states have led the way and now it's time for the federal government to follow their lead the families that end up being harmed because they're kept in the dark deserve no less and with that misspeak of i reserve the balance of my time gentlemen reserves balance of his time gentleman from tennessee parents information regarding whether such providers carry current liability insurance working parents depend on child care so they can earn an income made it does support their families as well as ensure that their children are well cared for in a safe environment while they are working and sought child care is answerable part of the daily routine of millions of american families with young children research clearly shows us that the quality of child care has a lasting impact on a child's wellbeing and ability to learn children import quality child care have been found to be delayed in language and reading skills and to display more aggression toward other children and adults school age children the academic performance is it demands current law to do several things most importantly it requires each provider to openly post whether or not they currently have current liability insurance covering the operation of the child care business and requires each provider to supply parents with a written notice stating whether or not the provider carries liability insurance including the amount of such coverage this legislation does not supersede any state regulations regarding facility last and your are insurance requirements way of the federal government are simply asking providers to inform parents whether or not they hold liability insurance while we have not utilized the normal process of committed consideration reauthorization during the hundred can't say short of congress as we move forward reauthorizing this program we must consider policy that makes life for learning environments to exist where children can obtain the cognitive skills or other skills needed for them to succeed socially and academically federalizing childcare is not the purpose of this bill but rather properly and consistently informing parents of whether or not the childcare center has liability insurance in the future we must ensure that federal policy continues to be around states maximum flexibility in developing child care programs and policies as well as parental choice so that parents are able to decide the best suited care for their children with that i think congress the gentleman from georgia mr barrow for introducing this bill and i ask my colleagues to support and i reserve the balance time gemini reserves a bounce of his time gentleman from georgia thank you mr speaker and i thank the gentleman tennessee for his remarks in support let me start over again mr speaker i request that time be given to all those who wish to speak on c r on h r fourteen seventy three and i pause for just without objection the thank you mr chairman mr speaker i rise in support of h r fourteen seventy three the anthony the joy on boat right act it is named in honor of anthony the j boat ride who suffered a terrible tragedy at a license childcare facility in georgia in the wake of her son's accident anthony's mother jackie has become a child care advocate who has worked tirelessly to help provide better information to parents navigating the child care system this important legislation is modeled after laws in the states of georgia and virginia h r fourteen seventy three amend the child care and development block grant program in order to help parents receive more accurate information about potential child care providers the child care and development block grant is a very important federal probe graham providing almost five billion dollars in assistance to states to help low income famil child care almost two million children receive child care subsidies through this child care program and it has enabled millions of families to enter or remain in the workforce hundred seventy three strengthens the child care and development block grant by adding a safety standard h r four hundred seventy three requires licensed child care providers to give written notice t parents about whether or not they have liability insurance and requires child care providers to post publicly whether or not they have liability insurance h r fourteen seventy three also require states to recommend to license child care providers that they carry liability insurance child care quality can influence whether a child arrives at kindergarten ready to succeed providing parents with additional information about the child care providers in their communities will help parents make the right choice for their children and for their family i would like to thank my friend and colleague from georgia congressman john barrow for bringing this legislation forward in moving this bill forward we can help other families avoid the terrible loss suffered by anthony the jo boat rights family with that mr speaker i urge colleagues to support this bill h r fourteen seventy three and i reserve the balance of our time until his time his time yes gentleman from george or misspeak with that i yield a balance of my time question is what the hell suspend the rules and pass h r fourteen seventy three as amended those in favor say  opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table for what purpose the gentleman from texas rise mr speaker i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h r fifty eight designating october two thousand and seven as will report the title of the joint resolution house joint resolution fifty eight joint resolution expressing support for designation of the month of october two thousand and seven as country music month and to honor country music for its long history of supporting america's armed forces and its tremendous impact on national t treaties i'm pursued to the riddle the gentleman from texas mr hidden hope mr tenet also and a gentleman from tennessee mr davis each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas mr speaker i request five legislative days during which members may insert material relevant to h j resolution fifty eight into the record of october two thousand and seven this country mule six months and to celebrate the long heritage of patriotism in country music the country music association celebrated its first national country bill forward today the themes invoked in country music resonate with important american values such as responsibility determination and hard work country songs foster an appreciation of the many important sacrifices made by our men and women serving in the armed forces songs like only in america by brooks and dunn and who are the stars and stripes and the eagle fly by aaron tippin encourage patriotism and the pursuit of the american dream in addition to powerful patriotic lyrics the country music industry has also directed supported the cost of our armed forces portions of the proceeds from some patriotic compilations have gone to support the u s o so active duty troops and families of fallen soldiers mr speaker once again i express my support for country music month and congratulate the general its many contributions to american society i my colleagues to pass this resolution and with that i reserve the balance of my time music month and i know the country music for its a long history of supporting americans armed forces and its tremendous impact on national patriotism country music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the southern region of the united states and i'm proud to represent the birthplace of counter music bristol tennessee country music has its roots in traditional folk music celtic music blues gospel music and all time music and evolved form of country music emerged western country these songs romanticize the laugh of the lonely but hectic and ironic cal boy on the western frontier some of those most famous for this western style were gene au america's singing cowboy and roy rogers who later teamed with his wife dale evans to become the famous view of the of this john rocker country music morphed once again in the early nineteenth fifty's with a sound that became known as rockabilly a combination of rock'n'roll and hillbilly music this album was made popular by many performers who developed staying power in the country music industry they include the everly brothers jerry lee lewis and of course the king himself elvis presley by the not being sick these country music found its home in nashville tennessee the natural sound was born this was the most definitely the sound of country but the sixty's sells more steel guitars and drums and the national s era of country music was the beginning of the age of contemporary country music that ushered in today's most popular artist such as kenny rogers dolly parton garth brooks and reba mcentire today country music as it is highest peak popularity as of two thousand and seven country is the most popular radio format in america reaching seventy seven point three million adults almost forty percent of the little population every week country music is a story of family faith freedom pride and patriotism and embody the american spirit and it's played an integral part in encouraging americans to support our armed forces the songs of feelings of determination liberty and responsibility all of ways this great country was founded upon and not two hundred sixty four october was declared country music month in honor of its rich history and tremendous impact on national by treaty as i'm country music is america's music and for this reason ours my colleagues to support house joint resolution fifty eight i reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserves the balance of his time to see the gentleman from texas mr speaker i ask unanimous consent to correct my initial comments it should be house joint resolution without objection thank the balance of my time mr speaker i yield five minutes the gentleman from texas mr poe jones recognized thank the gentleman from tennessee for yielding me time and i'm delighted as a member from tennessee the country music capital of the world as a co sponsor of this bill and i also want to thank the majority in mr hosts especially for quickly getting this house resolution to the floor i knew it was no with some difficulty in doing that on a timetable  appreciate it mr speaker country music is definitely a sound that is uniquely american because it speaks to the very heart and soul and inner being of everyday americans it's about the ups and downs of everyday life as well as the struggles vigils have in this country and the struggles our nation confronts as a country they're all example of flawed gore sleep through the gifted songwriting of our country music artists at no time is this more true than when songs are written during trying times for our country and for the unwavering support of our men and women who wear the uniform who are willing to fight and even die if necessary for this nation toby key saying in america's american soldier about our troops he set up an adam bright and early  all business in my suit i'm dressed for success from my head down to my boots i don't do it for the glory i just do it anyway providing our future's my responsibility i will always do my duty no matter what the prize and if die and ask me i'll bear that cross with honor because freedom just don't come free through songs like david worley's have you forgotten and league greenwood's god bless the usa alan jackson's where were you when the world stopped turning aaron tippin is where the stars and stripes and the eagle fly and of course brooks and dunn only in america america charlie daniels this ain't no rag it's a flag and shelley writes bumper of my v the thoughts and emotions of everyday americans rings out all across america through country music these musicians and their patriotic radio stations that air their songs of support for the military are to be commended for being on the front lines of encouragement to our remarkable relentless troops like many in this house i've been to iraq but also many of our country music singers have gone overseas to iraq and every other place where american troops are at their own expense to show appreciation to our american military for their loyalty to the usa so it is fitting that we as a congress take notice of this and honor come to music during the month of october and i urge adoption of this bill and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yield back the balance of his time the gentleman from texas mr speaker as i said earlier country songs foster an appreciation of the many important sacrifices made by congressional district a young man twenty eight years old serving his third tour in iraq and while on patrol their humvee stepped on a landmine that exploded and one of his colleagues riding in that humvee was killed and he lost his right arm and his right leg he came back to the united states where he stayed in walter reed the last two months and received an artificial on and leg and is now been released by the w hospital and i'm going to accompany him and his father and mother to weslaco texas where he is going to receive a hero's welcome and i'm pleased to tell you that i request that that country songs like only in america by brooks and dunn and where the stars and stripes and eagles fly by aaron tippin be played as part of the patriotic music that we're going to have at that celebration of a hero's welcome and with that mr speaker i wish to reserve my the balance of my time then reserves the balance of his time gentleman from tennessee m like to go back and i'd like to request the ice and they said without objection gentleman from texas mr speaker we have no other speakers on this resolution and i wish to yield back question is where the house has been the rules and agreed to pass the house joint resolution fifty eight those in favor say aye aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration without objection miss baker or myself as much time as i may consume in spacing on behalf and in support of this is quite literally as we know from satellite images one of the darkest places on earth one can see that when these images are taken from space at night it has an underdeveloped economy which cannot supply even the most basic utilities people there live under this darkness it's well known that the north korean regime regularly uses imprisonment bor torture and execution to intimidate people into submission therefore many try to flee their country each year thousands cross into northeastern china are driven by starvation or desperate poverty some play because they feel fear persecution for their thoughts and beliefs i would say that given this situation most north koreans given the choice would leave so they regime clamps down ruthlessly to stop this flow of refugees yet sad fact is that those who successfully make it my face for other human rights abuses by the government of the people's republic of china beijing is careful of attracting too many refugees so it tries to  as the north koreans the government sometimes imprisons age people who cross into china and in an attempt to avoid its response a bill is one of the united nations conventions and protocols that govern the status of you have refugees will not allow the un high commissioner of refugees access to northeastern china to assess the welfare of the north koreans who are there they're starving truth is it those in china go to great lengths to attract north korean refugees through sex and labor trafficking and congress to thirty four calls on beijing to stop the issue right and live up to its moral and legal obligations it further demands that china stop repatriating north korean refugees that it honor the united nations conventions that honors the status of refugees and that it provide gentlemen recognize thank you mr speaker the congressional gold medal ceremony that was held for his holiness the dalai lama earlier this month served to remind us all once again that the chinese leadership has a long way to go before it becomes a responsible stakeholder in the international community nowhere is this more apparent than in the the callous disregard of beijing of its international treaty obligations with regard to refugees both north korean and tibetans the international press has reported incidents of chinese border guards shooting and killing both north korean and tibet refugees as they sought to flee china these reprehensible acts must stop at once earlier this month beijing demonstrated once again its continued contempt for the international refugee conventions chinese police entered the south korean international school in beijing to drag north korean refugees from their hiding places north korean refugees had sought sa there in the process the chinese police roughed up south korean diplomats who were sent by their government to assist these refugees i call on beijing to act in accordance with the international refugee conventions that it has signed and to end the disrespect that it has shown toward the diplomats of a major ally of the united states this resolution put forward by my good friend ed royce of california is particularly timely and essential with the approach of the two thousand and eight olympic games in beijing olympic host should not include oppressors of refugees ration of north korean refugees is both irresponsible and immoral if there ever was a refugee population who faced the immediate threat of persecution upon return to their homeland it is the tens of thousands of north korean refugees now hiding in china the office of the un high commissioner for refugees u n h c r must also do a much better job in holding beijing accountable for its reckless disregard disregard of its obligations if beijing does not begin to address this urgent issue in a verse sponsible way then there should be dire consequences television viewers around the world next summer could possibly see on their screens the scene of a north korean woman with her baby seeking safe haven  athlete's dormitory at the olympic village as chinese police ruthlessly pursue her this resolution therefore mr speaker is a vial important for the  protection of refugees and most importantly for the north korean refugees themselves i rise in strong support of mr royce's resolution and i urge my colleagues to do the same with that mr speaker i would like to yield such time as he may consume to the author and the sponsor of this resolution mr royce of california gentleman's recognized i want to thank for their support in bringing this bill to the floor of the house of representatives i'd also like to thank congresswoman diane watson she's the co author of this resolution and in august congresswoman watson and myself traveled to south korea as chair and vice chair of the us republic of korea into parliamentary exchange we also had an opportunity to go to north korea at that time in seoul south korea we held a day long discussion with our counterparts in the in the national assembly there in south korea and took part in a forum of parliamentarians from across the globe we had parliamentarians there from seven different countries to discuss the plight of north korean refugees and this resolution is a product of those discussions and what we learned from the defectors that we talk to and we listen to the defectors during this the these hearings mr speaker were all too familiar with the miserable human right conditions in north korea and i would just remind the members of this body of reports by the state department and n g o s that paint a very grim picture there is a total denial  political civil and religious liberties there is no dissent or criticism allowed of kim jong il the media is tightly controlled there by the regime so the ear severe physical abuse is inflicted on any citizen who violates the these laws and restrictions n g o s describe a system of concentration camps they say this is akin to the soviet gulags and they have somewhere up to two hundred thousand inmates food shortages are regular problem because the regime distributes food based on perceived loyalty and that of course favors the ruling elite in the military this dismal state has let led a large number of north koreans perhaps as many as three hundred thousand to cross into china there they seek food and they're looking for work and hopefully from their stand point to looking for resettlement in south korea but it is fought that nearly seventy five percent of these refugees are women and according to the n g o s that study this problem ninety percent of those women end up trafficked in northeast china north korean refugees live in constant fear of being rounded up by chinese authorities and this is despite the international obligations that china is supposed to keep china forcibly repay to repatriate these refugees and for many of them it's an effectively a death sentence some are shot on the spot some go to these concentration camps or work camps many of them live out their lives in these concentration camps the government of north of north korea deems leaving their country a crime in some cases capital offense and if not that the expense is the gulag china's mistreatment of these rest refugees is not new but as really intensified according to the state department in the last couple of years during two thousand and six several thousand north koreans were reportedly detained in forcibly returned in north korea that the state department reports as part of its stepped up campaign of  authorities reportedly also has stablish new detention centers along the border with north korea to accommodate greater numbers of north korean prisoners prior to the repatriation the congressional executive commission on china of which i served recently released its annual report finding that during the past one or two years the chinese government has attention fired its efforts to forcibly repatriate north korean refugees in part as a security problem preparation for the two thousand and eight olympic games mr speaker these refugees deserve better certainly kimchi chone he did miss kim as a north korean woman in her thirty's who sought refuge at a school in beijing in december two thousand and five only to be repatriated this despite attempts by the united states and others to raise her case to the chinese government to convince the chinese government not to do this and to this day it is not known whether she was executed or whether she's still alive there are thousands of similar stories those associated with humanitarian groups who assist north korean refugees in northeast china are also targeted by chinese officials and this includes u s citizens because last month american business steve kim was released from a chinese prison after serving four years and his supposed crime was helping north korean refugees who had scaped their homeland and were hiding in china hoping to make their way to south korea mr kim who recently spoke on capitol hill about his experiences recounted when i was in prison i saw a north korean defectors who i shared the prison cell with beaten to a pulp by prison guards now this is in china this is before they're sent back to north korea and we've documented the kind of treatment they get when they're sent back mr speaker this resolution sends a strong message to beijing this practice must stop specifically the terminating the practice of automatically classifying all north korean border crossers as illegal economic migrants and granting the u n high commissioner for refugees unfettered access to to get into these  areas to see these rest refugees so china has signed up to respect refugees it is part it is past time for them to live up to the protocols they've signed to do this the human rights situation in north korea is a nightmare these human rights abuses are worthy of this house the tension because north koreans are suffering two million two million were killed at the hands of this regime over this last decade but they also tell us something about the regime expecting to carry out commitments under the six party talks on north korea's nuclear weapons program it tells you something about this regime and i and i'll just quote andrey shacharit the soviet dissident who once said a country that does not respect the rights of its own people will not respect the rights of its neighbors teen off that quote unquote jay lefkowitz the state department's special envoy for human rights in north korea wrote in the wall street journal last year north korea is a prime example of a regime that doesn't respect either it wouldn't surprise chakka rafi said that a government that inflicts on its citizens repression reminiscent of the most cruel to trial the jury and rulers of the twentieth century is today counterfeiting us currency trafficking in narcotics building a nuclear arsenal and threatening other nations in testimony last week before the house foreign affairs committee assistant secretary christopher hill reported that he is moving the ball forward with north korea in respect to disabling their nuclear program i hope he is right part of the february agreement to do so involves a u s commitment to move toward full diplomatic relations with north korea the administration insists that it still has a clear eye on the north korean human rights situation however the congressional research service reports that ambassador hill increasingly has linked normalization of u s north korean relations slowly to a satisfactory settlement of the nucular issue mr speaker this body must let it be known that relations with north korea will be far from normal as long as north korea continues to treat its people as we have heard about today and i urge the passage of this important resolution thank you i yield back it's terribly important it's it's all about man's inhumanity to man kind here china envisions itself becoming a superpower in the twenty first century it's hosting the world  lympics we in the united states of buying tens of billions of dollars from china china has the opportunity to take its place among the nations of the world that matter that do the right thing that lead us into the future and what a terrific opportunity for china to show that it has a moral fiber that it knows right from wrong that it is not an amoral totalitarian state it knows beyond any shadow of a doubt the horrific conditions within which the north korean people exist today barely surviving and yet out of total desperation when they are able to escape north korea do the chinese help no they make it worse it's as though they have climbed and they have the scape from some pro guitar and to hell where they get beaten up by the chinese and then sent back to north korea probably to be executed this is a situation that just cries out for people around the world to speak up and i appreciate the fact that mr rice has given us that independent of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the concurrent resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table recognizing and commending the efforts of the united states public and advocacy groups to raise awareness about and help end the worsening humanitarian crisis and genocide in darfur sudan and for other purposes pursuant to the rule the gentleman from tennessee mr tanner and the gentlewoman from florida miss ross let them each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee thank you mr speaker i  darfur has taken a horrific toll on that region well over sixty percent of the villages have been destroyed two million people displaced four hundred thousand killed and two hundred thousand driven into refugee camps in neighboring k ed thanks to the work of tens of thousands of americans the genocide has not been ignored all over the country local communities have been organizing and mobilizing with regard to this issue in response to the call for the best month from sudan twenty states have adopted divestment from sudan policies and another have twenty have it under consideration fifty eight universities and colleges have adopted policies to the best pension funds from sudan and another forty seven are pursuing similar policies in addition ten cities eiter national and religious organizations and countries have either adopted policies or in the process of so doing while seven major international corporations have ceased doing business with the government there and sudan while this congress former secretary of state colin powell and president bush have described the atrocities in darfur as genocide and hold the job done sudan government overwhelmingly responsible the international community has yet to come together to put an end to the genocide i want to commend the american people for not giving up on this issue the u n is deploying peacekeepers foreign and civil society groups are also involved muslim  popstars from around the world recently came together a charity concert for dr or the head of the sponsoring organization islamic relay said british muslims must unite and raise their voices oh this is we cannot allow our voices to remain silent and therefore all of our citizens and activist organizations to consider it to continue speaking out on darfur and to continue pressure for economic sanctions recognized thank you mr speaker i rise in support of house resolution five seven three which commands the efforts of the american people and advocacy groups to confront genocide in darfur sudan as the resolution notes mr speaker there has been no other grassroots advocacy effort in the united states aimed at addressing mass atrocities and human rights abuses in africa that has been conducted with as much vigor since the anti apartheid movement of the one nine hundred eighty s and ninety's mass demonstrations and protest marches have been organized days of prayer have been observed by churches synagogues  mosques across the country countless fundraisers for humanitarian relief have been conducted in my own district school children as young as the first grade joined in an effort to collect hundreds of toys for the children of dar for which i had the opportunity to deliver while i visited that war torn region i'm extremely proud of the contributions that these children made and all the people in my community for to help bring some joy to the youngest victims of a modern day genocide advocacy efforts on the hill have also been extremely effective congressional offices have been inundated by phone calls letters and visits by individuals committed to making a difference it is due in no small part to the efforts of these groups that this body has considered ten separate bills and resolutions which seek to address conditions and are for this year including three that will be considered today alone i commend the efforts of those who have dedicated so much of their time and energy to raising awareness about the carnage that continues to unfold and are for and i urge my colleagues to support this important resolution with that mr speaker i reserve the balance of our time gentlewoman reserves the balance of our time gentleman from tennessee  pleased to yield as much time as you may consume to mr roy in gentleman's recognized i think my friend and colleague from tennessee mr tanner and mr speaker the intent of this resolution is to recognize the outstanding work of the school community and faith based advocacy groups who through their moral commitment and tireless efforts and countless hours of volunteer service have helped bring needed attention to the genocide occurring and are for their efforts reflect the true spirit of americans and bring hope to those who are facing historic a straw cities halfway around the world i want to particularly commend the students who are fueling this nationwide movement urging action to stop genocide by educating to peers and holding us their elected officials accountable and hold us accountable they have i recently met with students from an organization whose primary goal is to form a nationwide anti genocide coalition this organization has more than seven hundred chapters provide students with creative and affective organizing the chariots and policy and advocacy training recently in my home state of virginia several outstanding students from the new school of for genya held a three day conference where they educated fellow students about the genocide in darfur or i was so moved by their sincere and energetic commitment to end it ending that genocide i invited these students to congress and where they were led by s parata of my staff they these high school students briefed members of congress on their efforts to put pressure on the government of sudan to stop the genocide having given their peers numerous briefings on the situation for these students took it poignant pressing questions of our colleagues their message was clear help us save for having learned that villages have been razed women systematically raped and branded men murdered and food and water supplies destroyed they are determined to make a difference and to continue speaking up until their government does the right thing now we hear slogans from our president like not on our watch and we believe that he is sincere when he says that but our society continues to be witness to a crisis as devastating as rwanda are you can't understand why it continues today after years of knowing what has been going on tens of thousands have died hundreds of thousands are displaced and living in refugee camps more than two million people have been driven from their homes and over the last few years we've seen major changes and u s foreign policy with respect to the ongoing crisis and tougher but a far more aggressive response is still needed on july twenty second two thousand and four congress on april eighteenth of this year president george bush asserted that the united states has a moral obligation to help in the genocide in darfur or but it still goes on had not been for the grassroots effort to pressure the administration and other national governments and on this home unitarian crisis i doubt we would see the united nations african union peacekeepers and offer but we have got to do so much more the mission is not complete just last month on september twenty ninth an estimated thousand members of a heavily armed for rebel group overran a basin house can eat in which is occupied by the african union mission this ambush resulted in intense fighting that killed ten peacekeepers and wounded many others fifty stole just a still missing according to u n effort to metz in the aftermath of the brutal attack fifteen thousand civilians had to flee the area to neighboring towns or the wilderness the effort and resources put into resolving this conflict pale to what the president has requested for iraq clearly this so much more that we as a nation could be doing to end of this crisis the humanitarian situation is not improving african union peacekeeping forces are limited to only seven thousand troops as evidenced by the attack on a house can eat it it's like unlikely that their efforts alone will ensure any real meaningful progress we've got to keep pressuring the sudanese government and build support for a larger peacekeeping force more americans who need to speak out day in day out like these students are we cannot continue to allow the raping the massacring the displacement of people to continue the students are asking us to hear them to act and to bring to bear the strength of the nations of the world to address this conflict thank you mr speaker i want to thank the gentleman for yielding me the time and for his leadership on so many issues advocating human rights especially the humanitarian crisis in darfur i also want to thank congressman jim moran for introducing this resolution that recognizes and commend the outstanding work carried out by dozens of national organizations and literally thousands of local groups across the country to educate americans and motivate them to take action on ending the genocide here in washington as part of a larger effort organized by religious student and human rights groups to focus the country's attention on the genocide in darfur all of us were arrested and many of us joined thousands of our fellow citizens two days later for the national rally on the mall to stop the genocide in darfur i brought my two children patrick and molly to that rally so they could listen to the speeches see the great diversity of people united in this effort and meet so many of the young people and students who have been engaged in the cause of ending genocide i happen to be especially blessed mr speaker and having thirteen colleges and universities and the third congressional district of massachusetts and engage religious community of many face and school districts that believe in debating the serious issues of the day inside the classrooms i had been hearing and learning about the humanitarian crisis in darfur for months from elementary school middle school high school and college students from religious leaders and community groups from the armenian american community in worcester and from local human rights and refugee advocates when i stood with my colleagues in front of the sudanese embassy i was there not just  protest the genocide but to honor the broad coalition of voices that works every day that works day after day week after week and year after year to end the violence the terror the humanitarian crisis the genocide in darfur among these are the save darfur coalition stand anough and the genocide intervention network since the rally since the national ereli on the mall a little over a year and a half ago these groups have continued to raise the awareness of the american people over the april recent recess i had the privilege of traveling to eastern chad to meet some of the three hundred thousand refugees from tao for a living in camps along the sudan border i spent several days with representatives from u n h c r unicef the world food program oxfam i c r c catholic relief services doctors without borders and so many others whose lives and work are completely focused on responding to the humanitarian crisis i cannot possibly express in words the respect and admiration i have for them and all the other n g o s working inside darfur and in chad and the central african republic the nearly three million people displaced from their homes by the violence in darfur mr speaker today we are considering three bills went out for this one that recognizes and commands the work of advocacy groups and other n g o s who raise awareness and are working to help end the genocide in darfur the resolution introduced by congresswoman rosa de lauro about the need to protect the women and girls of darfur from acts of rape and sexual violence that have become commonplace in this conflict a third condemning in the strongest terms the attacks on september twenty ninth on the african union peacekeepers mr speaker the genocide goes on the humanitarian crisis persists this morning's washington post speaks to the fact that the united states and the international community speak with passion but accomplish little in ending the violence and for this week another peace conference on darfur is underway in libya except all the parties to the conflict are not present continues we are there are so many things that the world community has done that the president has done that n g o s have done and yet here we are with a genocide in place in their fur the message is we haven't done enough therefore i am among those who've been arrested in front of the embassy while the whole point there was to call attention to death for  was least more than a year ago not to mention all that has happened all around and around the world i want to call special attention to the most defenseless a main mean that the women in society were more accustomed to being protected by the men of those with the mores of that of course protection is long gone because of the genocide against the men so what we have often i society of women and children defenseless against what appears to be interminable genocide just two months ago there was yet another report of ma rape ings dozens of women it seems to be a modus operandi when the attacks a made single out the women after the attacks for rape the large attacks on the around the camp we speak continuing genocide what is perhaps most pitiful is that the women continue to do what women in developing societies have always done to be the would gatherers of the society to go out and get gather the wood that is necessary to do the cooking and deed to live live there are firewood patrols that must go with these women and still the rape continues the the lack of resources for these patrols the lack of communication and organization for these print patrols means that emergency conditions for women and children continue the hybrid  force for death for in not even scheduled to be on the ground and until next year the shame of it all that the mass rape is often  by members of the sudanese armed forces and the militias and that we've been able to do nothing about it means that we have an obligation to raise our voices about mass rape and abuse of women that is now well pardon me well document finally mr speaker bear in mind that these are women with no recourse except our raising our own voices i thank the gentleman  no recourse whatsoever and consider that after the rape of such women which is often shameful enough even in a society like ours of the women don't even want to come forward and and speak about it these women often called and there that child it's outside of the society outside of what is normally done as a matter of course for children i hope this resolution begins to no further requests for because so i you back as well gentleman yield back balance of his time question is for the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution five seventy three as amended those in favor say aye those opposed the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative  prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postponed seven twenty six resolution calling on the president of the united states and the international community to take immediate steps to respond to and prevent acts of rape and sexual violence against women and girls in darfur sudan eastern chad and the central african republic pursuant to the rule the gentleman from tennessee mr tanner and the gentlewoman from florida mrs ross lehtinen each control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee humans the rights of women in the process of the door for genocide women and girls have been targeted specifically let her speak more about this but when women living in refugee camps for an example were asked why they went to fetch water and risk right rather than the man they answered if we let the men go they will be killed it is better for us to be right than for our husbands to be killed he goes on mr speaker and i feel myself such time as i may consume and i rise in support of the resolution by my good friend mr lauro h resolution seven two six which calls on the international community to take immediate steps to respond to and to halt acts of rape sexual violence all of the h r occurring in dar for eastern chad and the central african republic i'd like to to thank the chairman of our committee mr lantos and of course the lead sponsor my friend mr lauro for their flexibility in accommodating concerns raised prior to the introduction and then during the committee consideration with regard to nonis sensual health issues and the international criminal court with those issues addressed in the amendment before us we now have a strong resolution that effectively focuses much needed attention on the horrific reality that has  befallen women and young girls and our for without contradicting our u s policy since the beginning of this conflict mr speaker sudanese armed forces john jaweed militias and other rebel factions have used rape as a weapon of war despite the conclusions of the door for peace agreement and the deployment of peacekeepers these attacks have continued unabated the pattern of rape and sexual violence  widespread and systematic and it seems that no one is spared ever elderly women pregnant mothers even girls as young as ten years of age have fallen victim to the rapists thugs who attack with immunity this is a horrific practice that must be condemned and the strongest possible terms i fully support efforts to provide essential health and psycho social services to these women and girls as well as efforts to hold those responsible for such attacks accountable for their actions mr speaker i strongly support this resolution and i reserve the balance of our time gentleman reserves the balance of our time gentleman from tennessee support of house resolution seven twenty six calling on the president of the united states and the international community to take immediate steps to respond to and to prevent acts of rape and sexual violence against women and girls in dar soon dan eastern chad in the central african republic i was proud to introduce this resolution and i've been proud to work with my colleague chairman lantos which attention to the crisis in darfur has been on relenting his dedication made it possible to move this important legislation through the committee and onto the floor the house so quickly my friend congressman brad miller also took the lead on this resolution and following his trip to darfur this summer he has shared his unique in about the region and our responsibility and today it is also important to note that we have reached this point together with my colleagues from across the aisle congresswoman ileana ros leighton and lead our bipartisan collaboration and we now have the support of more than one hundred co sponsors from both parties that broad support from members at every point along the political spectrum make sense because this is not a political issue it is a moral issue and it is urgent we have an obligation to act and to act now as members of the united states congress we believe we must do everything in our power to protect the basic human rights of individuals around the world and there me may be no greater violation of a woman's or a girl's basic human rights than when she is a victim of rape or sexual violence all too often during war rape and sexual violence are used systematically as a weapon of intimidation humiliation terror and ethnic cleansing there is no other way to put it these crimes are crimes against humanity and war crimes and we cannot ignore them the use of rape as a weapon of war is as prevalent today as ever an average of forty women are raped every day in the ongoing are conflict in the congo it is estimated that between twenty thousand and fifty thousand women were raped during the war in bosnia and herzegovina in the early one nine hundred ninety s and it is estimated that between two hundred fifty thousand and five hundred thousand women were raped during the genocide in rwanda now as these atrocities occur in the darfur conflict region we must ask ourselves again when will we learn from history the answer it seems is not soon enough for the untold number of darfur women and girls being kidnapped and raped often multiple times by multiple attackers and held as sex slaves by the sudanese armed forces a judge away and other armed combatants since the current conflict began over four years ago instances of rape and sexual violence and violence have all been documented o s like amnesty international doctors without borders and the united nations high commissioner for human rights has reported on widespread and systematic mass rape occurring in the region as well as grave health risks psychological trauma and resulting pregnancies in july the united nations security council adopted its most recent security council resolution relating to dar for and which it expressed wrong concern about the quote continued and widespread sexual violence while emphasizing the need to bring justice to bring to justice the perpetrators of such crimes but we cannot simply talk about the downward spiral spiral in darfur or the conditions that have only worsened since the so called darfur peace agreement that was signed in may two thousand and six as we saw just this weekend peace talks in libya appear to be breaking down because key rebel groups refuse to participate demonstrating that we are a long way from peace and sick european dar for we cannot sit idly by as women and children are targeted the resolution before us today calls for action it calls on the president and it calls on the international community to do the following one develop within the state department and usa id a women and girls of dar for initiative to among other things provide victims and potential victims of rape and dar for eastern chad and the central african republic with all essential and quality medical supplies and health care services psychological counseling and legal advice to to ensure that a hybrid united nations african union peacekeeping force is deployed that can properly protect women and girls from and respond to acts of rape and sexual violence and three through the un security council find sudan and noncompliance with its obligations to protect women and girls and call on khartoum to bring perpetrators of rape and sexual violence to justice our state department and usa id must make this a top priority as a rape and murder in darfur goes on the perpetrators of these atrocities go  unpunished and while the rhetoric of the administration and the international community have hit the mark their action has fallen far short too much is at stake to allow these atrocities to continue we have the power the will and the moral obligation to stop sexual violence and rape in the darfur conflict region there is no reason that we stand by when we should be acting i plead with my colleagues to understand what women and girls are undergoing and darfur and to please to pass this resolution and let's act together and the best interests of women and girls around the world y of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table gentleman from tennessee pace keepers were brutally killed and wounded and fifty others are missing seven of those killed were nigerian soldiers the other three were on our military observers and civilian police officers from mali senegal and bo na with consideration of this resolution today the u s congress since its condell condolences to their respective governments and to their families who made the ultimate sacrifice in a war far from their n nations is intensely lobbying countries to provide helicopters for a un african union peacekeeping force one of many obstacles to starting the mission according to recent reports no country has made a credible offer to provide the twenty four transport and attack helicopters needed for the twenty six thousand strong force this lack of helicopters in part of cancer for the deadly attack on a youth troops after rwanda the world said never again never again would we stand by and let another genocide take place yet we continue to fail in darfur for over four years now we have failed today our congress calls upon our allies and friends to help put an end to this nightmare we call on the sudan sudanese government its militia and rebel forces to take up seriously peace negotiations and that part of the world i reserve the balance of my time gentleman reserves the balance of his time gentleman from florida thank you so much mr speaker i'd like to yield myself such time as i may consume gentleman's recognized thank you and i am pleased to be a co sponsor of house resolution seven morrow which condemns the horrible and cowardly attacks that occurred last month in has kony to according to reports as we heard up to one thousand heavily armed rebels believed to be associated with the sudan liberation army and bush the small base that had been occupied by the african union peacekeeping mission on september twenty ninth of this year ten u peacekeepers were killed including seven nigerian soldiers and three unarmed military observers and civilian police officers from mali senegal and botswana seven others were wounded and fifty peacekeepers went missing this was the worst attack against the a you african union mission since it first deployed in july of two thousand and four khartoum deployed it forces to secure the area on october sixth three days later the entire village was found burned to the ground though khartoum has not publicly claimed responsibility there is little doubt about who burned the village the initial attack against the african union peacekeepers and the subsequent burning of the small base must be condemned in the strongest possible terms it is outrageous that rebels would attack those who had been sent to secure the peace in dar for particularly as the international community prepares to deploy a much larger hybrid united nation african union peacekeeping mission to the region it is equally outrageous mr speaker that the sudanese armed forces would seek retribution for the initial attack by burning the village to the ground and leaving an estimated  hundred fifty thousand people homeless as a result it must be made clear to all parties to the conflict the regime in khartoum its armed proxies and the various rebel forces  that the ongoing attacks against peacekeeping forces humanitarian operations and civilian populations and are for are completely unacceptable those who are truly interested in peace in darfur must stop these senseless attacks fully commit themselves to a binding ceasefire agreement and regular regular slee pursue a political settlement failure to do so will send a clear signal to the international community about who is and who is not interested in peace and let there be no doubt that the united states has done much to alleviate the suffering in this war torn region the united states has provided more than two billion dollars in humanitarian assistance and assistance to the african union peacekeeping mission and are for the u s has also led the debate at the u n security council to get a larger more capable united nation african union hybrid priest keeping mission approved and deployed we have build and maintain the camps for the african union forces and we will continue to expand camps until the u n takes over we have also provided airlift for troops and will fund twenty five percent of all peacekeeping costs we have a dedicated special envoy who has led international efforts to bring peace to dar for we have funded and supported critical peace talks we have imposed comprehensive sanctions against khartoum meanwhile china and russia continue to allow their business interests in sudan to override their concern for human rights both have failed to take meaningful action at the united nations and have blocked consideration of sanctions against khartoum so all obstruction is to peace and our four regardless of their association must ultimately be held to account it is particularly appropriate that we are considering this resolution as dar for peace talks are getting underway in tripoli libya because despite the best of intentions the international community cannot impose peace on dar for the burden is on the sudanese themselves to find a lasting political settlement the time for khartoum and the rebel factions to roll up their sleeves and get to work toward that end is long overdue and frankly the people  darfur deserve better i thank the sponsor ms jackson lee for introducing this important and timely measure and i urge the support of all of my colleagues and with that mr speaker i yield back the balance of our time gen means charley panic and i thank you for using the time mr speaker i rise today in strong support of legislation calling on the president of the united states and the international community to take immediate steps to respond to and prevent acts of rape and sexual violence against women and girls and our forest to their eastern bad in central african republic for many years now we have seen the devastating atrocities taking place neighboring chad and the central africa republic today we highlight some of those more last longer will of these victims and are for women and girls we saw the same devastation in rwanda over a decade ago where it's estimated that between two hundred fifty thousand and five hundred thousand women and girls were raped during the genocide in rwanda their american people have made their voices heard on this issue by never again to remain silent when humanity is threatened today there have been numerous reports of ra on july nineteenth you all for amnesty international reported that it collected the names of two hundred fifty women who have been raped and are for and information on two hundred fifty additional raids on january twenty fifth the international commission of inquiry our four and a report to the u n secretary general report numerous causes or cases of mass rapes are out there for this is just the tip of the iceberg we must do all that we can to ensure that no more and women and girls are violated so today we give voice to the voiceless today we speak up for those who are often overlooked and after this in this country that we all within our do all within our power to stop the rape and sexual violence and gives the women of the darfur region i would like to add my support to the other pieces of darfur legislation discussed today and i applaud all the groups who have truly been on the frontline of this issue particularly the students who have been so passionate in their support it's my hope that we'll be able to work  the across this country and i mean the level congressional district and across this country to did tenure continue to let our boys be heard on the issue i encourage my constituents to contact me with your ideas and resources and i think my colleague and good friend john tanner for yielding the time and i know that i'm speaking on another piece of legislation but they all affect our for and it gives me an opportunity to be here thank you very much gentleman those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table jammin from tennessee to speak i move to suspend the rules an upgrade of the resolution i trist seven forty seven clerk will report the title of the resolution house resolution seven forty seven resolution recognizing the religious and historical significance of the festival  of good over evil for some and as remembrances of liberation for others all to muttley it is a day of joy celebrated annually by hindus sikhs buddhists and jains throughout the world particularly by indian and indian americans with more than two million to vote tazer they face in our country this resolution honors this holiday and those who cherish its message there a few religious holidays that are solid by celebrated by a multitude of vice and it is a tribute to the diversity of india and to our country that we have such a rich religious heritage in our societies celebrating the volley we also are celebrating this diversity of shared value that it brought the united states in india closer together through the years much has been said about our two countries being natural partners in this world and the importance of having multi ethnic multicultural and invade multi religious societies cannot be overemphasized but a great as i look forward to celebrating this festival and strongly support i rise in support of house resolution seven forty seven which recognizes the significance of the festival of the wali i want to extend my appreciation to the gentleman from south carolina mr wilson for his leadership on this issue and so many others that are out so many issues that are affecting u s relations with india and indian americans mr speaker as my colleagues know because of our previous speaker the w y is a major multicultural festival celebrated in india and everywhere around the world although often referred to as a hindu festival jain sikhs and buddhists also observe it known as the festival of lights it symbolizes the victory of good over evil and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for mankind the wyly is celebrated for five consecutive days in october or november and it is one of the most popular and eagerly awaited festivals in india this celebration presents all of us with the opportunity to reflect on the many ways in which people history and traditions of india and elsewhere in south asia have contributed to the rich cultural mosaic that is the united states of america it also reminds us again that america's extraordinary diversity is one of the our nation's most enduring strength i was proud to sponsor a similar resolution in the hundred ninth congress house resolution five eighty four which also recognizes the significance of this important festival of the walley so with to balance his time the question is with the house has been the rules and agreed to house resolution seven forty seven those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended proceedings on this motion will be postpone resolution two thirty concurrent resolution supporting the observance of breast cancer awareness month and for other purposes for such as the rule the gentlewoman from wisconsin mrs baldwin and the gentlewoman from florida miss brown wait each will controlled twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin just because i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution supporting the observance of breast cancer awareness month as an original co sponsor of this rez resolution i am proud to speak out in favor of greater support for breast cancer awareness and prevention through my work with congresswoman sue myrick in reauthorizing the national breast and cervical cancer early detection program i am well aware of the challenges that lie ahead in preventing als and ultimately finding a cure for breast cancer as my colleagues may know breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women between the ages of forty five and fifty four and many of us have witnessed a family member or a friend struggle with the devastated the facts of breast cancer we must ensure that these women do not suffer alone with this resolution we affirm our solidarity with the two million plus breast cancer survivors as we seek to find a cure for this and other cancers we also pay tribute to the volunteers and health care professionals who work to combat breast cancer every day h kind of resolution two thirty supports the observance of breast cancer awareness month a time to reemphasize the importance of monthly breast self exams and annual mammograms as in the case of many diseases early detection goes a long way toward ensuring survival as many of my colleagues know approximately ninety eight percent of women who are able to detect breast cancer in its most early stage survive we must use this opportunity to educate women all women to ensure that they take the necessary steps to protect themselves from this potentially fatal disease i also rise to pay tribute to our friend and our colleague congressman joanne davis who lost her life to breast cancer earlier this month we are reminded that breast cancer can strike anyone this resolution also expresses our gratitude to national and community organizations such as the susan g komen breast cancer foundation that have made us all aware of the power of the pink ribbon been on the forefront in raising awareness about this disease and provided information to better understand this disease i also want to thank my colleague representative jenny brown weight and the congressional caucus for women issue for women's issues for their leadership on this resolution and i urge my colleagues to join me in support of its adoption mr speaker i would reserve the balance of my time john the gentleman reserves the balance of our time  from florida thank you thank you very much mr speaker i am proud to offer my resolution on the house floor today house concurrent resolution two thirty supporting the observance of breast cancer awareness month the effects of breast cancer have touched almost every american whether through losing a loved one as i did or going through the pain of chemotherapy and a long recovery as millions of individuals have done i introduced this resolution to support the breast cancer education and outreach efforts that have taken place this october we all know that every three months every excuse me every three minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer and that this is the leading cause of death among women between the ages of fifteen and fifty four however if this disease is detected early the breast cancer survival rate is ninety eight percent congress must continue to promote breast cancer awareness and support efforts to defeat this disease my resolution expresses support for the observation of breast cancer awareness month which is this month of october the resolution provides a special opportunity to offer education on the importance of monthly breast self exams annual mammograms my resolution also salutes the two point four million breast cancer survivors in the united states and the efforts of victims volunteers and  combat breast cancer every day finally this measure plods the national and community organizations for their work in promoting awareness about breast cancer a woman's risk for developing breast cancer increases if family members have a history of breast cancer particularly at an early age however eighty five percent of women who develop breast cancer have no known family history of the disease it cannot be stressed enough that early detection is the best chance for survival of a person who has a breast cancer diagnosis women must take care of their health and be aware of their risk factors perform self examinations and get annual checkups while breast cancer predominantly affects women were regularly reminded that a significant number of men are also diagnosed with breast cancer each year my colleague miss baldwin mentioned joleon davis joy and davis certainly was a very very brave lady who fought breast cancer actually she fought it twice she won the first time and it came back we all remember her in this chamber and we remember her her desire to make sure that a cure is davis were here today she would not only vote in favor of this but she also would be speaking on behalf of that mr speaker i want to think representative baldwin and the hundred twenty nine members who cosigned this very important piece of legislation with me i certainly urge all members to support h conrad's two thirty to ensure that the house continues to bring awareness to this important issue i thank the gentleman i think the gentle lady and i don't believe because so many members are flying to get here for the votes tonight i don't believe yield to the gentleman from tennessee mr tanner gentleman from tennessee is recognized thank you very much it's been brought about attention that we need to ask unanimous consent as regards chris five seventy three that all members have  support this very important resolution observing breast cancer awareness month gives us an opportunity to educate the public on the importance of monthly breast self exams and annual mammograms and it also gives us an opportunity to salute those who work every day in raising awareness about breast cancer and our health care professionals who work with patients to fight it again i want to commend the work of my colleague representative jenny brown wait for her work on this important suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution two thirty those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the current the concurrent resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table colorado is recognized mr speaker i moved to spend the rules and passed a bill h r thirty two twenty four as amended to amend the national dam safety program act to establish a program to provide gran to the states for the rehabilitation repair deficient dam clerk will report the title to bill union counter number two forty h r thirty two twenty four a bill to and then the national day and safety program act to establish a program to provide grant assistance to states for the rehabilitation and repair of deficient dams pursuant to the rule the gentleman from colorado mr salazar and the gentleman from arkansas mr boozman each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and to include experience material to h r thirty two twenty four without yield myself as much time as i may consume gentleman is recognized mr speaker many people are not aware that there's approximately eighty thousand dams in the in the united states of these the association of state dam safety officials has identified thirty five hundred dams that are considered deficient or unsafe in my state of colorado we have already thousand eight hundred m of those one hundred thirty one are high hazard public than an additional one thousand dollars are deficient and the state has determined that they are in serious need of repair without proper maintenance these dams are an obvious threat to public safety it is critical that we help to ensure that the safety and security the dam h r thirty two twenty four which is introduced by myself and the gentleman from new york mystery randy cool is a bill that does help to insure such safety and security dam and rehabilitation to the definition section of the dam safety act and thus makes this category of them eligible for funding for rehabilitation second the bill directs administrator of thema to stablish within fema a program to provide granted assistance to states for use and rehabilitation of publicly owned deficient dams the grants will be was awarded so that each state will get an equal share of the one third of the total amount while the remaining two thirds will be awarded by risk the federal cochere is capped at sixty five percent the program's goal is to reduce the risk to life on the property and property by establishing effective national dam safety rehabilitation program that utilizes the resources and expertise of the federal and nonfederal communities to achieve the reduction of dam safety hazards in other words one of the primary primary purposes of the dam rehabilitation or repair act of two thousand and seven is to provide financial assistance to the states for strengthening their damn a safety programs mr speaker i support this bill energy passage and i reserve the balance of my time safety act safety program act to establish a program to provide granted assistance to states for the rehabilitation and repair of deficient dams i would like to commend congressman randy  leadership on this issue he was the riginal sponsor of similar legislation this year and he was instrumental in the reauthorization of the national dam safety program last year i would also like to thank mr salazar again for his leadership in this issue also this bill would authorize a program at the federal emergency management agency to provide funding for a pairs to publicly owned dams that would pose a direct risk to human life if they fail the number of eighty percent since one thousand nine hundred eighty eight to more than thirty two hundred this grant program would fund repairs of the most critical dams which the association of state a state dam safety officials estimates is a ten day in need over the next twelve years dams require ongoing maintenance monitoring and rehabilitation and many states are unable to fund necessary repairs to publicly owned dams without assistance from the federal government this new program will provide assistance up to sixty five percent of the cost of the repairs h r thirty two twenty four authorizes the program for a five year two hundred million this is an important issue throughout the country in areas with numerous old and abandoned dams too often the not seen century companies that built the dams no longer exist and local governments are left with orphaned dams in their jurisdiction these downstream communities have responsibility to protect their population but they rarely have the tax base or revenue to repair the failing dams the speakers are the balance of my time gemma reserves the balance of his time gentleman from colorado colorado i want to thank the gentleman from arkansas for his leadership also on on transportation issues this is a very important piece of legislation mr speaker this legislation has strong bipartisan support and outside groups including the association of state dam safety officials american rivers the american society of civil engineers and the associated general contractors who all have endorsed this important piece of legislation i want to thank the gentleman from new york mr randy cool for working with us on this critical bill as well as other committee members of the transportation committee who have supported this bill as well and i would urge my colleagues to simply pass h r thirty to twenty those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table and they prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postpone gentlewoman from the district of columbia right madam speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h r three two four seven is amended a bill to improve the provision of a disaster of disaster assistance for hurricane katrina and rita the clerk will report the title of the bill h r thirty to forty seven a bill to improve the provision of disaster assistance for hurricane katrina and rita and for other this bill has been a top priority of our leadership and has received excellent cooperation and support from the minority and its members as well it was reported by the transportation and infrastructure committee on august first two thousand and seven tenth two thousand and seven our subcommittee on economic development public buildings and emergency management held a hearing entitled legislative fixes for lingering problems that hinder katrina recovery where members from louisiana and mississippi testified on issues that were still delaying the recovery from these extraordinarily destructive storms particularly in the public assistance program these were problems that and i stress could not have been invasion by the stafford act because of the unprecedented nature of the gulf coast this after and therefore it was felt that there was a need for amendments to the accidents bhima often felt it could not move without specific authority this bill addresses issues specifically identified by those that these members represent the gulf coast area and testimony before our committee testimony that was evaluated by our subcommittee and found to be compatible with the mission of the stafford act and the unique nature of the katrina and rita disaster for example the bill allows thema to apply its so called simplified procedures for small projects from the current threshold of fifty five thousand dollars to one hundred thousand dollars and authorizes fema to use alternative dispute resolution to resolve appeals in the public assistance program and they have been made here appeals so these need to be handled expeditiously of recovery is to occur expeditiously the bill also increases the federal contribution for large in lieu projects also known as alternate projects to ninety percent for both public and private nonprofit facilities these are examples of remedies that will provide bring significant results according t investigation the testimony from the region hurricane katrina made landfall nearly two years ago and proved to be the costliest natural disaster in american history the storms had a massive physical impact on the land affecting and nine hundred thousand square miles which is an area the size of great britain more than eighty percent of the city of new orleans flooded which an area seven times the size of manhattan and toll untold consequences to the residents of the region were visited upon individuals and families our subcommittee will hold a hearing in new orleans soon to look further into the status of recovery from these storms we certainly did not want to go to the region without pass this act which is so urgent to recovery i'm pleased that we'll be able to report to the citizens of the gulf that our committee and hopefully the house has taken further steps to time as i might consume h r thirty to forty seven introduced by subcommittee chairwoman norton will improve the provision of disaster assistance for hurricanes katrina and rita this bill was created through an open and inclusive process and i want to thank chairman over starr chairwoman norton for working for our rip working with our republican members to to include our provisions to this bill additionally i want to thank my good friend and colleague from louisiana ranking member baker for his steadfast steadfast support of louisiana in the wake of hurricanes katrina and rita congressman baker's been a great advocate for our state and i thank him for helping the committee to draft this bill earlier earlier this year the subcommittee on economic development public buildings an emergency management hilda hearing on the recovery in the gulf coast following hurricanes katrina and rita the bill includes a number of provisions recommended by members of congress from both parties who testified at this hearing these provisions are designed to alleviate specific problems with the recovery in the gulf coast h r thirty to forty seven authorizes changes to the stafford act programs exclusively for the recovery from hurricanes katrina and rita and applies these changes retroactively the congressional budget office does not expect these proposed changes to have a significant effect on the pace or amount of federal expenditures on the disaster relief fund and has estimated that in acting h r thirty to forty seven would have no significant effect on direct spending support this legislation and i encourage my colleagues to do the same i also want to thank chairman oberstar and chairwoman norton specifically for working with our gulf coast delegations on this important legislation the t n i committee has really been very helpful in a strong advocate throughout this process as my home state of louisiana and the rest of the gulf coast have tried to recover and i'm pleased that the tradition continues today with the work on this bill i also want to mention that whil much of the nation's focus remains on the aftermath of hurricane katrina i want to remind my colleagues that there were two storms of similar magnitude that hit the gulf coast in two thousand and five the second storm hurricane rita brought high win in excess of one hundred twenty miles an hour and a storm surge equivalent to that of a category five storm and total damage in southwest louisiana was estimated at approximately ten billion dollars making rita the forgotten storm the  third most costly natural disaster in u s history two years later our recovery remains slow but progress is being made in the people of southwest louisiana or resilient and we will rebuild this bill will help fix some of the roadblocks to recovery that we've encountered along the way notably i want to mention one particularly the bill addresses one of the bigger problem still lingering in my own district which is the reimbursement to the sports arena called the cajun dome for its use for use of the facility and sheltering both katrina and rita evacuees the cajun dome acted as a shelter from october thirtieth through october twenty eighth two thousand and five and processed an estimated eight hundred thousand evacuees within that sixty day period the facility was subsequently closed until january two thousand and six for recovery and repair from the sheltering operations fema initially approved and then sought reimbursement for funds paid to the cajun dome for use of the facility while conducting response activities at issue is whether or not a government entity can be reimbursed for fees for sheltering evacuees after a disaster the cajun dome however operates auton government does not have a sustaining tax base and instead relies on the fees it generates from events during its peak season to maintain operations year around age or thirty to forty seven will allow fema to pay for the reasonable cost of renting or leasing a public facility that was used for conducting response activities for hurricanes katrina and rita facilities like the cajun dome are integral to our disaster recovery and response and we shouldn't punish them for opening their doors and providing shelter during a national crisis again i want to thank the committee staff as well especially mike herman and jennifer hall for working with my legislative director terry fish to develop language that will address th as well as chairman over starr for their continuing attention courtesy and problem solving for those of us along coastal states suffering from the yet the aftermath of storms katrina and rita particularly want to speak to the great work of congressman boustany representing his community as he expressed here this afternoon the second storm of the season which followed katrina hurricane rita was just as devastating to his communities as was katrina to the coastal portions of eastern louisiana and he has been the singular outspoken voice for the victims of that disaster and seeking relief and remedies that are appropriate contained in this resolution before us today is a unique resolution as the stafford act never contemplated disasters of the magnitude and scope that have affected our state the duration was unexpected as well as the intensity of the damage if you would have thought an inconvenience of a few days for a public facility would be cause for reimbursement from the stafford act but in this case the damage went on not just for days not just for weeks but literally for months and income that was planned for many of these facilities was lost as well as the operational expense to engage in the relief activities as well unfortunately as in the damage that occurred to the facilities as a result of this unusual and prolonged use that for example  southern edge of the city of baton rouge acted as the staging point for many law enforcement search and rescue efforts which went on for many days and as a result of the sheriff's police municipal police and others  simply engaging in this activity without seeking pre clearance not having a contract with fema in order to save people mar dixon similarly engaged in the care and feeding of literally thousands of those in gage and daily rescue activities we were needless to say surprise when we learn that the stafford act provisions would not allow for the reimbursement of these highly appropriate and highly valuable services that were rendered during the height of the storm today with the adoption of this we cure these deficiencies and although i hope such a need would never arise in any other community in our country if it does these changes are meaningful not only to the people who engage in the service but to the communities who likewise support and help in this most louisiana is heard thank you madam speaker thank you and thank you congresswoman holmes norton for your leadership in moving this piece of legislation fall it also want to commend my colleagues and of what we've done in the congress to address the recovery and rebuilding needs in the gulf coast after these two unprecedented storms put to train and read on and on needs are still great they haven't gone away for many from my experience over the last two years i found that stafford act was not written for disasters with devastation the size of katrina and rita nor was fema prepared to respond particularly in the long term to events of this magnitude h r thirty to forty seven what i'm in the stafford act more accurately reflect the rebuilding the recovery needs of the gulf coast st bernard parish in my district only had a handful of buildings that were not damaged in the storms and less than forty percent of the population has returned to the parish through the alternate project penalty the stafford act essentially penance penalize the parish and its officials as they try to rebuild and to reflect the returning population h thirty to forty seven would reduce this penalty from twenty five percent to ten percent of each of the projects cost and this is enormous in the needs that follow and has been mentioned about the inadequac of the stafford act the bill would also instruct the men to use alternate dispute resolution in place of its completely inadequate project where cheap appeals process many project work sheets are still under review after twenty seven months without a guarantee that this project will be fully funded the state and local governments are apprehensive to even begin projects for fear that the mill will ask for the money back fema itself is preventing the rebuilding of the gulf coast it is not their intention but it is the reality and this needs to change i appreciate all the work congress has done to address the recovery and the rebuilding needs of the gulf coast and i ask that my colleagues again assist with easing the restrictions to allow for full recovery by supporting h r thirty to forty seven i thank you for the opportunity speak on this issue and i yield back my time to the gentle lady and again thank her efforts and the efforts of my friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle for helping in the free building up and this effort to bring sima to a position of reality rather than bureaucracy  want to thank my colleague mr last saw from louisiana together he and i have all of coastal louisiana and we have dealt with this disaster firsthand i know side by side along the coast we were rolling up our sleeves and helping our friends and families back home through all of this and i want to thank him for his work in helping to come up with these revisions to the stafford act that were desperately needed this is a good piece of legislation is not going to cure all the problems we still have on in coastal louisiana but it's a good start so i urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass this important legislation h r thirty to forty seven again i think chairwoman holmes norton and chairman oberstar for their work and their really informing us of what needed to be done looking at the stafford act understanding that we were amending the act of katrina and rita purposes only the least the congress could do was to recognize that in all of our rhetoric about this being an unprecedented disaster that we responded with an unprecedented remedy we do not expect the remedies available here for the most part to be necessary else we have for example we just had a big disaster in california that's of a different kind and and will have a different effect on the on the entire region very devastating but very different and we intend to have a hearing madam speaker with respect to that this aster and comparing that disaster and the responses to that disaster the responses to the gulf coast because we need to do all we can to learn about that disaster moreover the katrina and rita disaster have exposed other changes in the stafford act that we need these are rida and katrina specific changes but we are learning from what happened to this extraordinary region of our country without which we cannot do and every day that you see oil prices go up i hope you understand we in the united states how central this region is to the economy of this country as a result we will be we will be holding hearings on on the way in which the stafford act should be even further updated to the benefit not only all of a disastrous of the kind we hope never to see again but to disasters that may occur in the future in our country and i'm happy to yield back the remainder of my time time the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r three two four seven as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table united states court house pursuant to the rule of the gentlewoman from the district of columbia miss norton and the gentleman from arkansas mr blair's men each will control twenty minutes in the chair now recognizes against a woman from the district of columbia thank courthouse bill has broad bipartisan support from the florida delegation judge acton's was a federal judge for over thirty years in south florida and was a leader in many capacities in his community judge achatz presided over some of the most controversial cases in south florida and often spoke of those spoke for those who had no voice he ruled that miami schools would no longer be racially segregated judge akon found that the city of miami was guilty of a rassm n of the homeless and stopped them from arresting the homeless eating sleeping and bathing in public judge act and also ruled that haitians and cuban refugees should receive the equal treat treatment in addition judge ak and courage from in addition to judge actions covered from the bench he also played a prominent prominent leadership role in his own community served as president of the dade county bar association florida bar association he's a trustee biskra biskra kane college and mercy hospital he was also very active in the catholic church where he was named a knight of st gregory by paul paul paul the six judge acton's if it is clear that judge akon struck the notion of being a public servant serious when endeavor to make his service a large part of his life  a judge act in public service as a federal judge for thirty three years it is fitting to name the courthouse located at three zero one north miami avenue in miami florida as the c clyde acton's united states courthouse and i urge my colleagues to representative ileana ross layton of florida designates the united states court house located at three a one north miami avenue miami florida as the c clyde atkins united states courthouse the bill recognizes judge jackson's dedication to the law and his spareness on the bench in one hundred fourteen judge ekins was born in washington d c he received his law degree from the university of florida college of law in one nine thirty six and began his career in the private practice of law in stuart florida judge jack in service in to his community in the legal profession includes serving as president of the dade county bar association president of the florida bar association trustee of the mersey hospital and trustee of this going college in one thousand nine hundred sixty six president lyndon johnson appointed judge jackson's to the u s district court for the southern district of florida hundred ninety this legislation is a fitting tribute to judge jackson service take will justice i support this legislation and encourage my colleagues to do the same i have one  florida thank you so much madam speaker and i thank the gentleman for yielding me the time man of speaker i rise today in support of h r twenty six seventy one to designate the united states court house located at thr one north miami avenue in my district of miami florida as the c clyde atkins united states court house i'd like to commend my florida colleagues for working together in a bipartisan manner to bring this bill to the floor today i also want to thank our florida senators bill nelson and mel martinez for taking the lead in introducing this bill in the senate as the author of this legislation madam speaker i am pleased that this bill would take the next step toward ensuring that we can properly pay tribute to one of florida's great jurist by naming the courthouse in miami in honor of the stellar career of judge atkins after receiving his law degree from the university of florida hundred thirty six c clyde acton's worked as a distinguished attorney and held prestigious post such as the president of the miami dade county bar association as well as president of the florida bar in  six atkins was nominated to the bench by president lyndon b johnson the late judge atkins brought tremendous honor to the legal profession through his dedicated service as the united states district judge for the southern district  hundred sixty six until his death in one nine hundred ninety nine at the age of eighty four judge atkins was committed to the administration of the rule of law without consideration of race creed or national origin he was recognized for his devotion to quality by the national conference of christians and jews and the anti defamation league to name just a few madam speaker judge atkins was the first catholic to be appointed to the bench  the southern district of florida his faith in his church was recognized by pope paul the six through this his selection of judge adkins as a knight of st gregory judge atkins was a fair and capable judge and rendered important decisions in the area of civil liberties and civil rights judge atkins declared that segregation in miami dade county public schools was intolerable he ruled that homelessness was not a crime and affirmed that right of expression was a constitutional right judge atkins was a man of principles who held the most respect for the rule of law therefore i asked my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation the  united states courthouse at the rio one north miami avenue in miami will serve as a lasting tribute to the incredible life and great accomplishments of this distinguished man and with that the madam speaker i yield back to the is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r two six seven one those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table in the chair now recognizes us recognize the gentlewoman from the district of columbia thank you madam speaker and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have legislative days within which to revive and extend their remarks and to express include extraneous remarks on h r two seven to eight without objection myself as time as i may consume to recognize this bill honors the two border patrol inspectors who died in the line of duty by night shift in southern california their tragic deaths were considered a turning point for the border patrol since the after the deaths of these two border patrol inspectors the security and procedures for intercepting border crossings changed dramatically the border patrol now requires that a minimum of three to five agents work each checkpoint along with a backup unit in addition to the increased manpower or person power in the border patrol has also increased the amount of training and support that all border patrol agents now i see i support the theater al newton junior and your jeff as are a border patrol station naming bill and it's my colleagues to join me in supporting this effort to honor these two law enforcement officials who died in the line of duty while serving their country in a battle were role and i  california designates the station of the united states border patrol located at twenty five seven sixty two madison avenue in myriad california as the theodore l newton junior and  george as racked border patrol station forty years ago theodore newton and george as rak were tragically killed in the line of duty the deaths of these two agents shook the foundations of the i just see the two young border patrol agents were working the graveyard shift at a remote checkpoint when they were kidnapped from their post by drug smugglers they were found murdered and handcuffed to a stove in abandon mountain shack these two agents just like agents on the front line today put themselves in harm's way to uphold the tradition of honor integrity and service in securing our nation's boy there's over one hundred employees of the border patrol have died in the line of duty since it was for hundred four the newton as rack toward the border patrol's house toward pays tribute to those who show courage and heroism in the in the in the face of grave danger this bill recognizes the ultimate sacrifice rolls and pass h r twenty seven twenty eight those in favor say aye those opposed no and in the pinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection t motion to reconsider is laid on the table thirty eight seventy seven a p l to require the director of the national institute of standards and technology to establish an initiative to promote the research development and demonstration of minor tracking and communication systems and to promote th assessment of standards regarding underground communications to protect minors in the united states person to the world the gentleman from utah mr matheson and the gentleman from georgia dr degree each will control twenty minutes and the chair will no district in utah and that includes the crandall canyon mine where this past august i think everyone in this country is aware of the coal mining accident that occurred where six men were trapped and during the rescue attempt three rescuers were killed in a cave in and there were a lot of emotions that we all felt and shared during that disaster but beyond those emotions i think something that must have crossed all of our minds as we all watched this tragedy unfold was a question and that was how is it as the rescuers to try to locate the six trapped men that we can't know exactly where they are that there isn't some kind of signal or beacon or some way to communicate such that we can have better sense of exactly where the six men were trapped i think it's a question that a lot of us had and here in congress as a member of the house science committee i i asked those questions and the committee collectively a majority minority staff has looked at this issue and and the answer really is that the technology doesn't exist today to communicate in this manner with between the surface and folks who are trapped deep underground and so the effort here and the purpose of this legislation to very narrow piece of legislation that looks at encouraging development of technology that allow this type of communication to occur in the future and the thing about this bill that i'm really proud of is the fact that the committee worked so well together and i really want to thank chairman gordon and ranking member hall for their extraordinary effort and also the staff of majority minority for working together to move this bill in a rather quick manner but in a bipartisan manner and suggestions were taken from folks on both sides of the aisle and the bill that came out of the committee reflected those discussions and deliberation between everyone involved in the committee and so i think this is an example where congress is passing good legislation a substantive piece of legislation it's a piece of legislation that is so important for the fourteen hundred underground mines we have in this country and quite frankly the many thousands of underground mines that exist around the world today where this type of technology if it is developed will allow better communication capability and allow an opportunity for perhaps more success in rescue operations now i want to be clear on a couple of things the purpose of the legislation is really to accelerate next generation technology the legislation will direct the national institute of standards and technology to establish initiative promote research development and demonstration of minor tracking and communication systems and to promote the establishment of standards and other measurement services regarding underground min i think the legislation will foster much needed research and development in this field of communications to better protect miners time to address this issue is now before many more any more accidents leave any additional miner families desperate for consume i recognize menace picaro as also in support of h r thirty eight seventy seven the man communications technology innovation act first i want to take this opportunity to thank chairman gordon ranking member hall and all of the members of the science committee and the staff who worked so hard to bring this important bipartisan legislation through our committee and of the house floor today madam speaker every member of the house hopes to avoid another catastrophe such as a sago mine explosion in west virginia in two thousand and six all the disaster at the crandall canyon mine in utah all this past august and i certainly want to commend my colleague the gentleman from utah mr math for introducing h r thirty eight seventy seven to address one of the major obstacles to miner safety in this is our inability as he just pointed out to track miners underground and to communicate with them in the event of such an emergency under the two thousand and six miner act the mine safety and health administration him show and the national institute for occupational health and safety  significant funding to lead an interagency program to develop communication tracking oxygen supply and refuge systems forman's to date this program has invest over twenty three million dollars and it is steadily progressing towards installation of new safer communication systems by the year two thousand and nine as nyasha in him should continue to advance research and development in this area there was clear bap artisan agreement within the science committee that the national institute of standards and technology nist couldn't hansie efforts by fostering standards for communication equipment and mines and development of those systems through the creation of best practices measurement services and research evaluation nist has long been a leader in communications research technology and has the equipment and it has the expertise to characterize the man environment and determine what techniques are best suited for these very difficult situations and conditions madam speaker this bill is a product of bipartisan work in the science committee and it creates a basic framework to ensure that the government's research agency were cooperatively effectively and quickly to improve man and man or safety the world renowned capabilities of nist laboratories in the years of study and experience at nyasha an im sure can significantly improve implementation of emergency communications and tracking systems in our minds improvement in the systems will substantially increase rescue his ability to find and free manners in the event of a match and catastrophe as we just out land that occurred recently in west virginia in the great state of utah h r thirty eight seventy seven would significantly contribute to the health and the safety of manners that uniting the communications and standards experience of nist with the ongoing research and the man environment experience nyasha and i am sure so madam speaker again i want to applaud my colleague mr matheson for addressing this issue that he knows so well that is of such utmost importance to his constituents in utah as well i thank my colleague and i just want to also thank him for making one additional really good point his remarks and that is that this legislation is complimentary with what we're trying to do it nyasha new hampshire and you know congress these days doesn't have the best reputation for working together in certain things that this is an example where this committee worked really well in terms of coming up with legislation where i did bills it originally introduced had some other questions during the committee process folks a minority saw the aisle offered suggestions for a manager amendment we improve this bill it's got good bipartisan support it's the right thing to do and i again want to thank dr gingrey and everyone on the science committee to staff for their help in making this legislation work and i'll just close man speaker by saying that i is the crandall canyon mine families right after the disaster and you know they were going through so many emotions that it's difficult for us to even imagine that but to not know where their loved ones were was probably the greatest frustration of all those legislation can provide a path to help provide answers to those questions in the future then clearly it's the right thing to do and so i i i asked for a favorable vote from everybody on this legislation and with that i'll yield back the balance of my time opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table without objection the title is amended pursuant to clause twelve a rule one the chair declares the house in recess until approximately six thirty p m today