that house will be in order the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain the reverend joseph c holcomb director of pilgrimage basilica of the national pride of the macula conception here in washington d holcomb let us pray all powerful and merciful god we praise you and give you thanks for all your gracious gifts most especially the gift of your infinite love it is your gift of love that inspires and drives us to lives of committed service lives that are lived in truth in justice and for the good of all people and we always avail ourselves to your love so that we need better serve those we represent in this the united states house of representatives our deliberations discussions and actions always reflect the love you have bestowed upon us that we might bring about understanding tolerance and harmony in our great nation and peace for the entire world we pray this in your holy name  jap examine the journal of last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof pursuant to clause one of rule one the journal stands approved the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from georgia mr brown has a say as i say this pledge i would like to tell the listeners that i believe there should not be a comma between one nation under god and so please join me in the correct way of saying the pledge please join me i pledge allegiance to the flag the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all overlooked by our culture victims of crime sometimes been the rest of their lives trying to cope with being someone else's pray they speak to our cross section of america and include all races ages religions and they come from all economic backgrounds you see violent crime plays no favorites and does not discriminate we as neighbors should be aware of and concerned about these victims that is why we honor and remember them during this crime victims rights week since one thousand nine hundred one each year in april communities throughout these vast great plains have celebrated national crime victims rights week to promote victim's rights and to recognize victims as well as those who advocate on their behalf we can do victim's justice by raising awareness of their plight and and demanding that justice prevail in their lives many of whom spent quiet lives of desperation they are the forgotten participants in the judicial system and we will forget them no more and that's just the way it is thank you the slighty from north carolina seek recognition permission to house for one minute without objection thank you mr speaker a few a little over a year ago when they majority party was campaigning to take control of this house they promised a lot of change and they made a lot of promises about what they were going to do about gas prices and energy cost and everything else in this country however what has that promise change brought us it's brought us a forty three percent increase in gasoline prices the price of groceries is going up rapidly we've seen no no results from these empty promises this is a do nothing congress they accuse the republicans of being a do nothing congress and this is a do something congress and involved with a do nothing because what they've done has been detrimental to our country have caused the price of gas to go up forty three percent the price of groceries to go up we need a real energy policy not a lot of empty promises and i call on the majority to let us see some results from act to not come to the floor and the foreign intelligence surveillance act has expired we cannot monitor what osama bin ladin in afghanistan or pakistan is talking to about his phone calls to iran or any other place in this world only monitors phone calls from one to another the leadership seems more bit old protected lawsuits than they are in protecting america call upon the leadership to left vote all the protect america act so that we can make america secure again like before the house of communication from the clerk the honorable the speaker house of representatives madam pursuant to the mission granted in calls to a general to the rules of the u s house of representatives the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on april fourteenth two thousand and eight at twelve fifty six p m that the senate agreed to the amendment of the house senate seven ninety three with best wishes i am science entirely the ra miller clerk of the house before the house of communication the honorable the speaker house of representatives madam this letter is to the size you that i will relinquish my seat on the house committee on energy and commerce effective five o'clock m eastern standard time april ninth two thousand and eight it has been my honor to serve for the past twelve years as a member of the committee and for the past two years as chairman of the subcommittee on environment and hazardous materials i consider it a singular privilege to have work with the chairman dingell a true lion of the congress and on the important work of the committee while i have fully complied with both the letter and spirit of the ethics rules as well as engaged in appropriate i am concerned that this issue is a distraction from the critical work of the committee on climate change energy independence and environmental protection unfortunately it appears that this issue has become my fodder for cynical as an attack i would also like to thank you for all of the support you have given me throughout my career signs and generally are when a member of congress without objection the resignation is accepted on behalf of the majority and minority leadership the chair announces that the official objectors for the private calendar for the hundred to congress are as follows hundred fifty eight to amend the public health service act to establish a grant program to provide for education and outreach on newborn screening and coordinated follow up care once newborn screening has been conducted to reauthorize programs bennett eight forty five and actually direct the secretary of health and human services to expand and intensify programs with respect to research and related activities concerning elder calls or in which the vote is objected to last six of rule twenty record votes on postpone questions will be taken after six thirty p m today mr speaker i move the house bend the rules and pass the bill h resolution eight eighty six as amended which expresses sympathy to the victims and families of the tragic acts of violence in colorado springs colorado and nevada colorado mark will report the title of the resolution house resolution eight eighty six resolution expressing sympathy to the victims and families of the tragic acts of violence in colorado springs colorado and arvada colorado pursuant to the rule the gentleman from indiana mr ellsworth and the gentlewoman from north carolina mr fox heechul control twenty minutes chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five deanna's recognize mr speaker i join my colleagues in the consideration of age resolution eighty six as amended which expresses sympathy to the victims and families of the tragic acts of violence in colorado springs colorado  colorado house resolution eighty six was introduced by rebel representative doug lamborn from the state of colorado on december eighteenth two thousand and eight and has a supporting co sponsorship of over fifty members of congress the measure was considered by the oversight panel on march thirteenth two thousand and eight and was passed by voice vote after having been amended for technical purposes misters mr speaker it was only a few short months ago when our country was riveted by the violent rampage of one individual that left five people seriously wounded while killing four others it was a solemn day sunday in know in december december ninth to be exact when the lives of judy purcell larry baathists tiffany johnson phillip crouse and then driven now charlie blanch stephanie david and rachel works would be forever changed by a series of tragic events that grips central colorado but touched our entire country many of the persons impacted by the shooting rampage of a disturbed man where young people who had already chosen honorable and noble paths of service and faith in remembering that dreadful day i must also mention the heroic actions of gina som a volunteer security guard who swift response led to the wounding and killing of the assailant we thank her for her due to full service to help prevent an already this aspers to vent from escalating further mr speaker passage of this measure will our body opportunity to officially express our heartfelt condolences prayers and sympathies to the families and victims of the tragic acts of violence that took place in colorado springs and our vala colorado last year therefore i urged option of house resolution eighty six as amended and i reserve the balance of my time lady from the gentleman reserves the balance of this time lady from north carolina is recognized thank you mr speaker i yield myself as much time as i may consume without objection you recognize mr speaker i rise today to urge passage of this resolution recognizing the tragedy that befell the communities of colorado springs in arvada colorado mr speaker this resolution seeks to take a moment to reflect on the ampex one man senseless acts of violence can have on a community a state and a nation on an early sunday morning a man entered the new life church and proceeded to open fire tragically the lives of tiffany johnson and phillip krouse were taken they were both staff members of the youth with a mission center which educates individuals to be evangelical missionaries overseas to other staff members were seriously injured as well dan gravano and charlie blanch this is a place of peace for dedicated young men and women are educated to be christian missionaries what happened there on that cold sunday morning was a true travesty for those victims and the community that surrounds them later that afternoon at approximately one p m the same individual who opened fire at the youth a mission facility entered the grounds of the new life christian church and fatally shot two teenagers stephanie and rightful works the shooter also shot and seriously wounded their father david works in the parking lot before he proceeded into the church two others judy purcell and larry korb on a were also injured that day fortunately for the communities of colorado springs and arvada jan gina som a volunteer private security guard performed herrera weekly that are turning and engage the shooter when he entered the church's east entrance g salam was a former minneapolis police officer and licensed to carry a firearm she used her education and performed admirably to protect not only those inside the church but those in the surrounding areas well she was able to slow the gunman down which l ultimately led to the gunman taking his own life one shudders to think of the terror that could have ensued had the shooter been able to continue un the shooter was later identified as twenty or twenty four year old matthew murray there's only one word that can describe the acts of jena some on that day heroic the quick response by the security team at new life christian church who quickly moved to step up security after hearing of news of the initial shooting in arvada also deserves praise in addition we must take a moment to thank the first responders on alpine paso county sheriff's office the colorado springs police department the colorado springs fire department the colorado springs swat team federal authorities and medical professionals all played a quelling what could have been an even larger massacre thank you mr speaker i ask my colleagues to join me in support of this important remembrance and i reserve the balance of much time gentleman  kind remarks concerning this this day of tragedy in colorado and we've had a couple of those columbine about nine years go this week as well as this tragedy that occurred on december night mr speaker is with great sadness and regret that i rise today to honor and pay tribute to the victims and families of the tragic acts of violence that occurred on december ninth at the new life church in colorado springs and at on the faith bible chapel campus in arvada colorado with this house resolution eighty six the senseless acts of violence partially took place in my district at the youth with the mission why when i am in the heart of jefferson county in a community still reeling from tragic events of columbine several years ago the fate bible chapel campus is about a block from where my father in law lives it's a place that i drive by almost every weekend when i'm at home and it's a place that in the evening in the late hours of december eighth in the early hours of december ninth a reverse nine eleven call had to go out to the entire neighborhood to advise them of the killings that had gone on so nearby and all four young men and women lost their lives before the psychotic young gunman turned the gun on himself and this bill seeks to honor the memory of these individuals tiffany johnson who is twenty six years old philip crouse twenty four stephanie works and rachel works who i believe were nieces of a friend of mine john works who was a candidates several years ago for the seventh congressional district from colorado which is the seat that i now hold this bill also seeks to recognize the survivors and the families victimized gribben now charlie blanch david works judy purcell and larry bourbonnais who were wounded during this senseless day of killing it is important to note that this bill commands the heroism of the local first responders and law enforcement officials in the city of arvada jefferson county colorado springs and el paso county who responded quickly and professionally especially genia some a volunteer private security guard who courageously rushed into harm's way and used her own gun to stop the shooter thereby saving the lives of several other bystanders will never know what was going through the mind of matthew m the young man who killed these others and wounded several more we don't know what possessed his mind to take the senseless acts but we do know that the people who were killed here in this particular incident and the people who were wounded well always stay in our memory and will be honored by this resolution are never our nation can never adequately come to grips with senseless tragedy like these whether it's some kind of care for the perpetrator in this instance from a psychosis or whether it's additional protections that we might give to our church our schools there are many things that we can do but it's just a shame that sometimes demons possessed people and cause them to come up with acts of violence like we've seen here is my hope that this bill sends a message to the victims of these tragic events that they will continue to remain in our thoughts and our nation and they will never be forgotten for the events that occurred on december night this bill represents one small step in the process of healing for our communities affected by this tragedy closing i wish to thank each of my colleagues in the colorado delegation and especially representative doug lamborn who represents the city of colorado springs i want to thank each of the fifty one co sponsors who joined me today in expressing sympathy to the victims and families of the heartbreaking acts of violence in colorado springs in arvada colorado with this resolution eight eighty six i urge my colleagues to join us in voting in favor of house resolution eight six and with that mr speaker i yield back the balance of my time for what purpose the gentleman from indiana ross mr speaker i reserve the balance our time with no other speakers right now lady from north carolina we reserve the balance of each party seal to back the balance or time the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution eight eighty six as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules  nation of a national glance meant friend pastina awareness day pursuant to the role the gentleman from illinois mr davis and the gentleman from north carolina ms fox each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois  consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revising stand their remarks without objection thank you mr speaker now your myself such time as i might consume the speaker is a member of the house committee on oversight and government awareness day a dread nine ninety six was introduced by representative paul branch of the fine state of georgia on february twenty first twenty two thousand and eight and has the support in co sponsorship of fifty seven members of congress the measure was considered by the oversight panel on march thirteenth two thousand and eight and was passed by voice vote at that time after being amended for practical purposes spiegel while many people may not be aware prolong and bleed in time while on air rich there are only two hundred cases of bland's men starbursts in the reported every year the disease and finding a cure for it still requires our attention women and children of all ages across the globe the disease affects the ability of blood platelets to form our clot around the site of a broken blood vessel due to a deficiency of a specific protein on the surface of the like since a blood is unable to clot normally those who suffer from g t are faced with uncontrollable potentially life threatening blood loss and severe bruising a very rare and little known hereditary disease g t has severe emotional and physical effects on those who suffer from it children with g t often find themselves socially isolated as they are unable to participate in normal childhood activities such as sports or physically active play there's no cure for this disease and because it is so rare there's little information on the symptoms and treatments it isn't simple important that we support valuable organizations such as the glans women's thrombus denia research foundation founded by helen p smith in two thousand and one and their effort to educate the public promote awareness and fund research of this serious disease i urge my colleagues to join me in support of this resolution that seeks to raise the awareness of th lady by the name of joe your smith and her family came to my office do your lives in augusta georgia it is a constituent of mine this nine year old young lady when she was first born was covered with bruises her parents of course were needlessly needless to say were very concerned and they asked the doctor about these bruises the parents were told that this is just from the result of a difficult delivery short time thereafter or joe you had a little scratch on her face there resulted in bleeding that covered the whole face and of course her mom was frantic the blood test were normal the family to julia to the medical college of georgia maoism out i'm a medical doctor and so i'm proud of the medical college george of doing the the testing that was required to bring about the diagnosis of julia her mom helen was of course very distraught so she started researching trying to find out about this very rare disease the more she searched the more she realized that there's very little information anywhere and she started meeting other families all around the country whose family members also suffered from g t with the help of a small grant from a private individual helen smith founded the glans ms drama senior research foundation and what she's doing is trying to found the certainly the cure of this disease but also as searching to try to find ways of of informing people who have this disease about about the disease and help to comfort them and so it's a research foundation that is extremely needed to provide try to prevent the the disease symptoms which are uncontrollable bleeding as well as very painful bruising it's a life threatening disease but miss mina talked to me about this disease and as a physician as a member of congress i realize that we really need to bring this disease to the forefront so that she can have some help she's  for recognition she's seeking for private grants and private funding of her foundation which is very much needed and hopefully this young lady julia smith can live a long and fruitful life and we can find a cure to this disease in fact the researchers say that there's a possibility of finding a cure within a matter of just the next few years but without bringing public attention to the disease the mismatched going to continue to struggle to try to get the recognition that she should suffer richly deserves for this very rare blood disorder this day was chosen to coincide with the date of the fundraiser for the research foundation i want to thank natalie stroud of my office and my staff for her excellent work on this resolution and  this legislation and go back the balance of our time gentleman yield the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution nine ninety four as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the pursuant to the role the gentleman from illinois mr davis the gentleman from north carolina ms fox each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois mr big guys unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise least in their remarks without know myself such time as i might consume gentleman's recognized as a member of the house committee on oversight and government reform i join representative paul and his fellow colleagues from the lone star state of texas in considering h r fifty five seventeen which renames the postal facility at seventy two thirty one f m nine hundred sixty and humble texas as the texas military veterans post sponsored by all members of the texas congressional delegation the measure was referred to the committee on oversight and government reform where it was considered passed by voice vote on march thirteenth two thousand and eight h r fifty five seventeen is intended to remember the lives service and legacy of hundreds the military men and women from the state of texas who have served the last their lives and service to our great country by renaming this particular humble texas post office a jar fifty five seventeen will set into motion the creation of a live in tribute to the sacrifices made by so many attacks and sons and daughters who gave their lives in service in honor of brought in order to assure ensure our protection here at home and i want to be fit in the thousands of the military men and women past and present from every state of the union that have unselfishly giving of themselves and service and in the battle for america a job five seventeen were helped memorialize the memory of generations of texas servicemen and women for years to come by designating the seventy two thirty one f m nine hundred sixty humble texas postal facility as the texas military veterans post office yielding appreciate the comments by both sides on this very important piece of legislation the post office that we wish to name today is in my congressional district to nobble texas and its a part of southeast texas where i great number of people continue to volunteer to be in our united states military texans have always when called upon to  by their country to go into service have met that call with overwhelming numbers and in fact today serving somewhere in the world in a military uniform one out of ten people wearing the american uniform or from the state of texas and it goes all the way back to eight hundred thirty six when the first texas veteran by the name of william barrett travis came to texas from the state of south carolina he was a young lawyer twenty seven and he was passionate about liberty and freedom and he found himself at a beat up old spanish church in central texas that we now call the alamo the alamo was over one hundred years old at the time that he and one hundred eighty six other brave texans but they were really from all states in the united states six foreign countries as well many of them mr speaker after him the state of tennessee and  e like those defenders of the alamo work determined to seek liberty for the for the republic of texas and as we all know all of those first veterans gave their lives in that word that we praise today that word of freedom he was the first veteran that i wish to mention today and i will continue to mention just a few more so we know the importance of naming buildings after these wonderful people who have gone before us of course in that same struggle all texas armies were led by another ten a scene by the name of sam houston sam houston became the general of all texas forces after the battle of the alamo he served as the unit distinction of the only person in american history being governor of two different states the governor of tennessee and the governor of tennessee texas but before he came governor of texas he was president of the republic of texas and because of the fact that on april the twenty first which we celebrate a week from today and eight hundred thirty six general sam houston laden a ragtag army of volunteers once again from all over the united states several foreign countries defeated the enemy santa ana and his meaning army at the banks and the marshes of san just center on april twenty first eight hundred thirty six after that battle is over with texas became a republic and remained a free nation for over nine years and we owe much of that to general sam another veteran of the state or the republic of texas it's interesting to note that general sam houston his last words before he died he mentioned to his wife two words texas texas and then he died as a great military veteran of our state of texas and world war one it was an individual by the name of kenneth mars that served in one thousand eight hundred nine he was born he joined the navy in one thousand nine hundred seventeen and he served in the battleship oklahoma in world war one and after the war to end all wars was over with he went ahead and became an agricultural expert in the state of texas he lived to be one hundred seven before he died and it came the third oldest survivor of that war to end all wars world war one and world war two there were many great texans who serve but probably the most notable was a young individual who was a cotton farmer from farmers texas audie murphy was too little and too small they said to join the marine corps so he got into the united states army and he fought in the army in world war two he served twenty seven months in combat he is the most decorated u combat soldier and united states military history he had received the medal of honor of course the highest us military award along with thirty two other medals from the united states five medals from france and one from belgium audie murphy symbolizes the great tradition of folks who join the military a nun or another wonderful veteran from the state of texas a little known veteran from texas was individual by the name of doris miller that was his name although he was a male and he didn't even want is friends calling him dory because his name was doris he had found himself on december the seventh on the u s s west virginia he was a cook because of his race he was not allowed to be in combat but as becoming the first african american to receive the navy cross because of his heroism on that fateful day that day of infamy december the seventh one thousand nine hundred one doris miller later died in combat and he was from the city of waco texas a friend of mine who recently died also served in the battle of was a were pearl harbor survivor by the name of luke trey hahn from beaumont texas served in the united states navy a wonderful person  and was a symbol of everything that's good and right about the veterans from our great state and of course having been the son of one of those individuals the of the greatest generation my father virgil post served in europe during world war two he didn't say anything about his service in the united states army because he went when he was a teenager and after fifty years he finally started talking about his service there after he and my mother serve a rather went to that place in france that we call normandy where over nine thousand americans are buried he along with my both of my uncles james hamilton and charles willis both teenagers all three teenagers and served in that great war world war two also served in world war two as a vet a cult policy she was a lawyer and although she was a lawyer she found herself in washington d c and when the war break broke out she became the director of the women's army auxiliary corps which was later called and referred to as the women's army corps she has the distinction of being the highest ranking woman to serve in world war two and was awarded the distinguished service medal for her contributions in the war effort becoming the first army first woman in american history to receive such award we're proud of the fact that admiral chester nimitz is from fredericksburg texas fredericksburg mr speaker is a landlocked place it's a long way from water it's in the central part of the hill country of texas but admiral chim it is nimitz ended up being in the united states navy and during world war two he was the commander in chief of all pacific naval forces for the united states and allied forces where he served with distinction a high school his name for him and my congressional district sometimes we forget the fact that dwight david eisenhower was born in denison texas and eight hundred ninety although he later moved to kansas and he served man was commissioned as a teenager in the united states naval reserves and he was assigned to the united states ships and u s senate and on this ship he was assigned to become a pilot for  area this individual flew fifty eight combat missions he received the distinguished flying cross three or medals and the u s s anzio senna was awarded the presidential unit citation that individual of course was former president of the united states george h bush mr page figure there were many others who have served in the history of the state of texas but twelve individuals were remarkable and that these individuals twelve brothers these band of brothers from a little town dayton texas they the repast brothers all served in world war two and korea they served in all branches of the service they serve all over the united states and in foreign countries in combat and after the wars were over all twelve of them had the unique history of returning home to dayton texas where all of them lived except one whom is moved six miles away to the small town of liberty a great family that has served our country and veterans and their own right during the korean war joseph rodrigues from el paso was drafted into the united states army although he later made the army his career colonel rodrigues during the korean war received the medal of honor for president truman because he attacked a communist foxhole and then went on to attack for more communist foxholes destroying all emplacements and saving the lives of several of his comrades we have the unique distinction in this house of having a lot of great people who have served in our military  all branches of the service both on this side and the other side in this house and in the senate but one of those individuals grew up in dallas texas and he served in the united states air force for twenty nine years he was director of the air force  weapons school and flew with the air force thunderbirds he was a highly decorated father pilot who flew combat missions both in the korean war and vietnam and in korea he flew f eighty six in sixty two combat missions and vietnam he years and in one nine hundred sixty six while flying his twenty fifth combat mission our own sam johnson was shot down over north vietnam he was a prisoner of war in the hanoi hilton for seven years and clued in forty two months in solitary confinement during that time he was repeatedly tortured he's a decorated war hero he was awarded the two silver stars two legions of merit the distinguished flying cross the bronze star with valor two purple hearts for your medals and three outstanding unit awards as well we are honored to have him not only from the state of texas but to serve in this house of representatives as many other veterans do as well one of the most remarkable stories  a after being trained in special forces at fort bragg and on may the second one thousand nine hundred eighty two his twelve man special forces team was income cambodia to observe a large scale north vietnamese truth movement but the enemy had discovered them and they were  all ambushed roitman a v d s was behind those lines and he jumped on a helicopter to help rescue his men he was in such a hurry the only thing that he armed himself with to go rescue his fellow comrades was a  seven gunshot wounds and mortar shrapnel in his back along with two bayonet wounds he was left for dead in fact he was put in a body bag and he the person that was putting him in the body bag zipped the body ba eighty's found it within his demeanor to be able to spit in the face of that soldier letting him know that he was still alive and i know even though he was wounded thirty seven times he recovered he received the medal of honor president reagan said at the ceremony if this would have been written as fiction no one would have ever believed it a great american hero and we're proud to have him from the state of texas just recently monica brown served in afghanistan she was nineteen years old from like jackson and received the silver star for her heroism in saving her fellow come comrades and there are many others that i would like to mention but i'm not going to do so i read or ask permission revise and extend my remarks without objection and just a couple of other comments there are so university in texas called texas a and m they used to be a obviously someone's here from that university texas a and m has produced more officers in the united states military than even west point it is has the distinction distinction over than west point having more medal of honor winners than any other university in the united states and they volunteer and continue to volunteer to serve and when george patton was in europe going to combat in the third army he made a comment about the texas aggies and the soldiers that he had in his division serving with him he made the comment that it's give me an army of west point graduates and i'll win a battle but you give me a handful of texas aggies and i'll win the war and that's the sentiment that he had and the sentiment that we all have about folks that from the state of texas that are better and that have served all the way back from eight hundred thirty six to the war in iraq and afghanistan at this time and with that i yield back the remainder of my time gentleman have a post office dedicated to those selfless men and women in the armed forces and i commend my friend ted poe for spearheading this effort you know many war heroes from iraq and afghanistan call a lone star state home he mentioned one of them but in the example you may know the name marcus latreille he was a petty officer first class born in huntsville texas former navy seal awarded the navy cross cross and wrote the new york times bestselling book lone survivor the book details his remarkable story of surviving one of the war's deadliest battles for u s special forces i had the honor of meeting him last week and he's a remarkable individual ted mention monica in brown the one hundred year old medic from texas who became the first woman in afghanistan and the only second woman since world war two to receive the silver star the nation's third highest medal for valor army specialist monica lin brown save the last of all soldiers after a roadside bomb tore through a convoy of humvees last spring in afghanistan after the explosion which wounded soldiers in her unit brown ran through insurgent gunfire and used her body to she'll wounded combat comrades as martyrs fell less than a hundred yards away well today i only have mentioned iraq and afghanistan i could go on for hours as ted poe did highlighting notable texans gone above and beyond in their service to this great nation to thank you mr poe animal texas for recognizing those men and women who proudly wear the uniform for the united states of america they helped keep america the land of the free and the home of the brave question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r fifty five seventeen those in favor say aye those opposed now in the opinion of the chair two thirds of the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table that the speaker gentleman from illinois i request that the a's and days are requested all those in favor of taking a vote by the ins and they will rise and remain until counted sufficient number having arisen the a's and days are ordered pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty in the chairs prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postponed will what purpose do you rise mr speaker i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h r forty eight eighty one as amended the clerk report the time of the bill union counter number three fifty six h r forty eight eighty one contract or grantee has no seriously delinquent tax debt and for other purposes pursuant to the rules the gentleman from iowa mr brayley in the gentlewoman from north carolina ms fox each one troll twenty minutes chair recognizes the gentleman from iowa mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks without objection so granted i yield myself such time as i may consume your recognized h r forty eight eighty one th contracting and tax accountability act of two thousand and eight is a very simple bill and a very timely bill it prevents companies that don't pay their taxes from receiving contracts with the federal government today people across the country are finishing up their tax returns to submit to the i r s by tomorrow nobody likes to pay taxes but the vast majority of american families and companies obey the law and comply with their responsibilities as citizens and taxpayers unfortunately some people d not follow the law and have serious delinquencies in paying taxes to the i r s what is shocking to me an honest piers across the country is that many companies that didn't pay their taxes were benefiting from federal government contracts g a o studies over the past few years have identified more than fifty thousand contractors owing nearly eight billion dollars in unpaid federal taxes this bill will put an end to that problem once and for all mr speaker h forty eight eighty one establishes a process to prohibit companies with seriously delinquent federal tax debt from receiving new federal contracts and grants it will reward responsible tax paying contractors with more opportunities to continue serving the federal government for abiding by the law and it should increase collections because companies will get current on their tax bills if they want to continue receiving federal contracts with the mounting federal budget deficit and rising obligations the federal government cannot afford to leave billions of dollars in tax revenue one collected the sponsor of h r forty eight eighty one mr ellsworth from indiana has put in a lot of work on this bill and i want to thank him for his efforts as a former sheriff he wants to make sure people who break the law are not rewarded when we get into contracting in tax law the law gets complicated and he has worked hard