for for begin in this place and hallowed by the presence and we're honored by the blessing to juba steaua bonus and upon those that will be represented by the ones in the room or i cry this morning is for your wisdom our cries for your mercy your anointed king so that the ones in this room may accomplish and they are to ask it's been assigned to them today with insight or greater than their on in ingenuity in other provisions lord give to this house a spirit of unity that supersedes personal prejudice or party pressures so that your divine purpose may be accomplished this day lord for those precious men and women serving in iraq and other difficult global assignments are for those protecting us here at home gathering on with a sense that they are to ask is yours and learn by the words of our mile the meditations of our heart be acceptable in your side oh lord our strength our read deemer lord we pray these things in that sweet name of jesus your son the chair his exam in the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval there of pursuant to clowes one of rule one the journal stands approved those opposed no the ayes have it and the journal stands approved this to speaker gemma from south carolina misspeak i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make the point of order that a quorum is not present pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty further proceedings on this question are postponed the point of order is withdrawn the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from georgia  speaker a message from the senate mr speaker madam secretary i have been directed by the same to me from the house that the senate has agreed to at sunrise twenty seven supporting the goals and ideals of national p for out without objection the gentleman from alabama is recognized for one minute alabam baptist convention pastors conference he also service trustee of the international mission board of the southern baptist convention dr hudgins has been a teacher and a coach over the course of his career he has spent five years as a vocational pastor and today by his wife connie with whom he will be celebrating forty six years of marriage in a matter of weeks i'm honored to welcome dr billy hudgens as our guest here in the united states house of representatives this morning as someone who is a servant and has spent his career as a follower of jesus and one  who has helped others do the same along life's life thank you thank you the chair will entertain up to fifteen requests for one minute speeches for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise out objections mr speaker and in this tragic misadventure in iraq is necessary but insufficient how in the means by which we end it is of even greater importance both to the safety of our troops and to our overall strategic security first our troops it took us six months to extract six thousand troops out of somalia after black hawk down and we inserted seventeen thousand personnel to guard retreat we have not only one hundred sixty thousand troops in iraq but over one hundred thousand civilians we must ensure their safety and that will take approximately one year second that timeline of the year is actually the change in strategy that will ensure that we have an aftermath if we pull suit just pull missy with iran and syria to bring about an unfilled state recently the intelligence community said iran does not want a failed government therefore we must approach the end of this war with a strategic approach working with the republicans this is our country's war because the aftermath of its consequences is so great and requires a strategic and thank serving our country with great honor and courage are returning home from their sixteen month deployment to iraq last friday my friend and colleague congressman tim waltz and i had the privilege of visiting ball field near fort mccoy in wisconsin and welcoming home soldiers from the first brigade combat team thirty fourth infantry division the famed red bulls it was truly a memorable experience greeting these proud soldiers as they return from the longest combat deployment of any army brigade combat team in operation iraqi freedom minnesota's red bull's escorted supply convoys and travel two point four million miles in iraq other members of the b c to provide essential security to s bases throughout the country speaking with the fine men and women of the red bulls as they stepped off the plane and smelled that clean fresh air and stepped on american soil as a big oil it became clear that these soldiers are justifiably proud of their accomplishments the great state of minnesota and all americans can be proud as well thank you mr speaker i arrived today to honor robert cows or junior a paratrooper rifleman with the eighty second airborne division who was killed july seventh by a home made bomb in somalia iraq robert was born and grew up in san jose california since childhood he dreamed of being a soldier and after graduating from over felt high school he enlisted to serve in iraq despite worries from his family robert was determined to fi his lifelong dream to robert service in the military was a way to repay his country for the successes of his family he came from a close family one of twenty six cousins who lived in san jose for over three decades of california's sixteenth congressional district i offer robert's family our deepest condolences as they deal with this painful loss he will be decorated with many honors including a bronze star and a purple heart but today our thoughts and our prayers are with his parents the rest of his family and his friends what purpose is the gentleman from south carolina rise speak on him without objection mr speaker i rise today to remind my colleagues that we are engaged in what truly is a global war on terrorism the war in which you are fighting does not have borders it is not contained to iraq and afghanistan again last week the united kingdom reported that up to eight police officers and several public officials were uncovered with ties to extremists groups including al qaida who may have also attended terror training camps in pakistan and afghanistan everyone should be concerned about the recent series of suicide bombings in northwest pakistan al qaeda has established safe havens in the border areas of pakistan a nuclear armed nation the tribal area of north was zero stan announced on sunday that they are ending a ten month ceasefire with the government these terrorist attacks follow last week's mass murder of police officers in algeria and the beheading of ten army personnel in the philippines americans must face the threat that modern civilization is under attack worldwide i am proud of our brave men and women in uniform who fight daily to ensure that american families so protected in conclusion god bless our troops and will never forget september the eleventh what purposes gentleman from new york rise without objection thank you mr speaker the war in iraq has cost as of last week every man woman and child in my district new york's nineteenth district three thousand and seventy seven dollars now for that three thousand and seventy seven dollars the men women and children of my district and paid for a war that was a strategic mistake and has been horribly mismanaged in the latest example usa today revealed that the pentagon has been even slower than we thought and providing safer vehicles for our troops according to e mails within the pentagon a marine general in iraq requested m raps mine resistant ambush protected vehicles as far back as december two thousand and three these vehicles offer the best protection from an i e d as for our troops the number one killer of troops in iraq are i d s however while pentagon leadership delayed in providing these vehicles to u s troops they decided to equip the iraqi army with these vehicles while leaving our soldiers with humvees this resulted in the unnecessary deaths of at least six hundred americans for three thousand dollars the taxpayers of my district paid for the best to put equipment we could buy for the iraqi army but left our soldiers and marines was substandard humvees it is time we already reorient our priorities protect our own soldiers and end this war you know what purpose the gentle lady for michigan ri one by one and without objection thank you mr speaker mr speaker currency manipulation by our foreign competitors is creating difficult challenges for our country's manufacturing base particularly our domestic auto industry the wall street journal reported in june that a cheap yen is making it advantageous for toyota to increase manufacturing capability and to export cars from japan and that it is much more profitable to produce cars in japan and ship them all to the united states right now and what is the response of the congress to this threat against the american automotive industry which is directly responsible for the employment of millions of american jobs while the democrats control the congress and the democratic leadership has decided that detroit doesn't have enough its plate right now instead of trying to level the playing field democrats want to pile on unworkable new cafe standards on the domestic auto industry higher cafe standards will not reduce our dependence on foreign oil but they will steal investment dollars from technologies that could transform the entire automobile industry and level the glop global automotive market and i urge my colleagues to reject this misguided policy and stand up for american manufacturing companies stand up for american jobs i yield back for what purpose gentleman from missouri speaker and in a report last week by the white house confirmed what most observers believe that the situation in iraq is not improving the iraqi government has failed to meet the political benchmarks and doors by the president last january the iraqi security forces continue to perform below expected levels when the president continues to asked stubbornly to stay the course at the same time u s troops are overextended many having served multiple tours in iraq this is unfair to our soldiers their families and they andrus for our national security is major general john but teased recently noted iraq is distracting american from what should be the focus it is in america's best interest to rethink our national strategy deliberately disengage from iraq refit in really arm of the military get serious about homeland security and prepare to win the next phase of the struggle last week this vote this house voted to do exactly that this democratic joins with the american people in our retired generals and demanding a new direction in iraq this week the senate can join us by supporting the levin reid amendment for what purpose is the gentle lady from virginia r without objection this year speaker i rise today to honor the twenty fifth anniversary of operation smile a worldwide children's medical charity headquartered in norfolk virginia that replant repairs cleft lips and cleft palates for children and young adults in developing countries founded in one thousand nine hundred two by dr william mcgee jr a plastic surgeon and his wife kathleen a nurse and clinical social worker operation smile has grown from humble beginnings into a worldwide children's medical charity whose network of medical volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children worldwide operation smile has helped more than two hundred thousand children and young adults and thirty developing countries overcome their physical irregularities the organization now operates one of the world's largest volunteer networks utilizing more than five thousand medical and non medical professionals around the world i commend them  as for their passion to improve the health and lives of children and young adults worldwide through operation smile their efforts over the last twenty five years have offered new life and new hope to those suffering from facial deformities thank you mr speaker i report showing that the iraqis have not met the benchmarks that they were supposed to the failure of the iraqi government to keep its promises coupled with continued violence on the ground the death of our soldiers and iraqi civilians have led senate republicans at least some of them to join us in calling for newer direction in iraq some senate republicans see the writing on the wall writing this on the wall in both of our house cloak rooms but as yet to be seen on the republican side but for four of our colleagues for the optometrist hasn't made as what made his way over there the situation is getting worse for our troops we'll see this week where the senate republicans mean what they say and they vote for the levin reid amendment when it comes to the floor tomorrow bring our troops home the amendment is close to identical of what the house passed with democratic votes and for republicans last week the iraqi prime minister maliki has said they can supply their own defense and they don't need us any longer when a host says go home it's only correct to go home he says they don't need us we are needed we need to baptist church of marietta georgia celebrating one hundred forty three years of spiritual service to our community the history of mt sinai reaches back to as far as the history of marriage sell in eight hundred sixty four one year before the civil war ended a group of black slaves gathered in the backwoods of georgia and they began their worship own worship service and by eight hundred seventy three days now freed slaves built mt sinai baptist church on a plot of land south of marietta they w content to mirror to be a house of worship mount sinai creative school to educate the children of almost laid them became a central gathering place for the whole community the speaker today mount sinai baptist church carries on that tradition as a spiritual and a today in congratulating mt sinai baptist church on one hundred forty three years of service and request that they have at least one hundred forty three more and i yield back the balance of my time what purpose the gentleman from new jersey rise without objection mr speaker over the last week we have seen more approval of the devastating effects of the war in iraq is having our nation's budget a military last week c r s reported that the average monthly cost of the iraq war is now ten billion dollars a month that means the sheol and the bush administration has already spent sixty billion dollars in iraq just imagine how we use sixty billion dollars see about home big would have improved a lot americans lives and address the deficit the war is also negatively impacting our military last week the army announced it missed its recruiting goals for the second month in a ro falling out thousand recruits shy of the june goals was to speak of the status quo cannot continue in iraq that's why democrats have repeatedly tried to change the direction of the war with little help from my friends across the aisle how much worse things have to get before congressional republicans stop blindly following president bush the warning signs of change have been in the air for months but republicans fused to see them saffi was serving with the army's third infantry division as a combat engineer when he was tragically killed by an improvised explosive device last month sergeant zappy was a dedicated soldier on his third tour in iraq bill grew up in park hills and dry ridge kentucky and joined the military shortly after graduating from high school he came from a family of dedicated public service his late father joseph was a state trooper and his two brothers joseph and edward have also dutifully served our nation he's remembered by his family as a loving and devoted husband and father without objection mr speaker last week the white house released an interim report on iraq that unfortunately reaffirms what we have known for quite some time the president's troop escalation plan is not working and we are desperately in need of a new direction in iraq since the president announced his surge six months six months ago we have lost six hundred american troops and spent another sixty billion dollars and yet by the bush administration's own admission there is an satisfactory progress on all of the political reconciliation benchmarks announced by the president in january mr speaker just days after this report was released the white house once again asked for more time to pursue the president's failed strategy the american people and this democratic congress know that more time and lower standards are no substitute for real progress it is time for a new direction in iraq the house acted last week the senate has the opportunity this week they should join us in changing course i yield back my time for what purposes does the gentleman from florida objection mr speaker as the body here begins a debate on the s chip reauthorization plan separate from medicaid i'd encourage my college colleagues not to lose sight of the purpose of this program which is ensuring underprivileged children when we created this program in one thousand nine hundred seven it was intended to provide health insurance for children at around two percent hundred percent of the poverty line today in states like minnesota almost forty thousand people are role enroll in s chip thirty four thousand of them are adults the democrats want to expand this program up to four hundred percent of the federal poverty line this type of expansion would allow a family of four with an income level of more than eighty thousand dollars to be eligible for s chip program and some parts of this country let's get our priorities straight we want to provide insurance for underprivileged children not adults who can afford to pay for it themselves thank you mr speaker president bush said last week al qaeda in iraq attacked us on nine eleven nothing could be further from the truth the truth is there was no oh al qaeda and iraq on nine eleven in fact we helped create al qaeda and iraq by our invasion and what we are going to learn today from our intelligence service report is four years in iraq has made al qaeda stronger around the world so let's get our facts straight in this war and focus on the real threat in a smart and intelligent way thank you mr speaker i yield back what purposes gentleman from texas right now one me without objection mr speaker and legally immigrated to united states from russia in one nine hundred ninety three he fought of the law to get here and then became a protector of the law as a member of new york city's finest around two thirty a m tuesday july tenth officers timoshenko and stopped in issue the on a dark new york city street as the officers approached the s u v the passengers turned and gunned down both officers also and was shot in the chest in the arm and he will recover russell timoshenko was shot twice in the face and saturday the twenty three year old officer died he had had been a new york city cop for only eighteen months to outlaws have been arrested for murder mr speaker officer russia will russell timoshenko was the american dream a naturalized citizen who dedicated his life in service to american citizens america can use more immigrant citizens that wear the badge and that's just the way it is for what purpose a gentleman from oklahoma arise mr speaker i rise today to express the importance of access to colorectal cancer screening test for americans like far too many other americans my life has been touched by cancer nine years ago i lost my mother janet to colon cancer i understand too well the importance of catching cancer early colorectal cancer is a leading killer in the united states that will unnecessarily take the lives of more than two thousand of our constituents this is a tragedy because we have every tool necessary to prevent suffering and almost all death from this disease last september i took very seriously the fact that i signed and fifteen play edge to do anything possible to eliminate suffering and death due to cancer by the year two thousand and fifteen today i had to take a step in that direction twenty two states in the district of columbia have protections in place to provide access to screening and early detection for colorectal cancer it is time that the rest of the country has the same access that could save their lives please join me and my friend from texas mr ralph hall as we introduce the colorectal cancer without objection thank you mr speaker today the liberal leadership at this house will call up h r nine eighty the public safety employee employer cooperation act sounds harmless but let's not mince words this bill is not concerned with public safety it's a pay off from the left to the powerful labor union step finance many of their campaigns the liberal leadership already bound to getting in pressure by passing legislation to strip workers of the right to vote in a private ballot election now they're attempting to federalize collective bargaining for public safety professionals the international association of chiefs of police opposes the legislation because it would effectively take power from state and local governments and during labor management relations i oppose it because it will likely make our communities less say mr speaker there is a time and there is a place for  not when our lives in the safety of our communities is its stake i yell back for what purpose of gentleman from minnesota arise one minute without objection mr speak for weeks now the republican senators have been coming forward saying that the status quo in iraq cannot continue their right this week they have an opportunity to act on those words we'll see if they join us in changing the course of the war or if they find another excuse as to why they must continue to support president bush's failed policy i would hope that they would stand by their words senator lugar correctly stated the president and some of his advisors may be tempted to pursue the surge strategy to the end of his administration but such a course contains extreme risks for united states national security senator voinovich correctly stated  policy of responsive military disengagement with a corresponding increase in nonmilitary support is the best way to submit vantz our nation's interests in iraq and achieve our primary goals senator d correctly stated there's nothing to wait for we agree that's why this house voted last week to bring most of our troops home by next april the senate have the chance to take that same action this week  hope that these senators will stand by their words and join us in changing the course thank you for what purpose of gentleman from georgia arise without objection this to speaker less week the president's preliminary progress report on iraq showed no progress at all in fact the bush administration admitted that the iraqi government failed to meet any of its targets for political or economic progress you would think that this report would serve as a wake up call to the bush administration it has it's clear that president bush does not want to change a thing in fact the washington post reported that the administration is not considering a strategic change but simply a shift in message mr speaker the failures of iraq have nothing to do with message president bush promised that the iraqi government would meet these benchmarks when he announced his troop escalation plan earlier this year many of us with specht was skeptical that the iraqis would actually follow through and now that it is it's clear that the government has failed to meet any of the benchmarks a shift in message is simply not enough democrats have a plan to bring our troops home by poll of next year it's time for the iraqis to take accountability for their own country and that's why we passed the republican re last week and the senate should follow our lead this week thank you and i yield back what purpose the gentleman from new jersey ri without objection mrs speaker despite the fact that seventy percent of americans support withdrawing almost all u s troops from iraq by april and despite a growing number of retired generals and senior republican senators joining democrats in calling for a new strategy in iraq many house republicans remain staunchly in favor of the president's failed iraq policy in fact just last week the leader of the house republicans referred to the senate republicans who have spoken out against president bush's failed policy as wimps and it begs the question does the minority leader believe seventy percent of americans and numerous retired generals are wimps as well it's such it's a much easier thing to toe the line and keep rubber stamping the president's failed  policy as many republicans in this body continue to do it's a lot easier to do that than break from your party and the will of your president to take a print principles stand for what you believe those republicans who are against the president's policies are the true patriots is just speaker despite the name calling democrats will continue to push for a responsible redeployment of u s troops from iraq and we hope that some of our republic republican colleagues here in the house will join with us pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty the chair will postpone further proceedings today on the motion to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote on the asian nasar ordered or on which the vote is objected to under clause six of rule twenty any record vote on postponed question will be taken later today for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan arise mr speaker i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h r nine hundred eighty the public safety employer employee act of two thousand and seven as amended the clerk will report the title of the bill union calendar number one forty three h r nine eighty a bill to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by state or their political subdivision pursuant to the rule the gentleman from michigan mr kildee and the gentleman from florida mr keller will each control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan mr speaker i request five legislative days during which members may revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material relevant to h r nine hundred eighty into the record without objection mr speaker i yield myself as much time as i may consume the gentleman is recognized speaker i am proud to be sponsor of h r nine eighty along with my good friend from tennessee mr john duncan h r nine eighty extends to firefighters police officers correction officers and other public safety officers the basic right to discuss workplace issues with their employers public safety officers who risked their lives to protect us use ervice say in decisions that affect their lives and their livelihood we were dressed concerns raised during the hearing held on the legislation in the education and labor committee and strengthen this strongly bipartisan bill this bipartisanship of this legislation is demonstrated by the two hundred eighty co sponsors of this bill and a forty two to one bipartisan vote in favor of this bill during markup in the education and labor committee but to thank german motor chairman andrews and the committee staff for all their decade ago back in one thousand and ninety five it has been a long journey to today and this legislation is long overdue for our nation's public safety employees i would also like to thank the groups that we have worked with on his legislation including among others the international association of firefighters the paternal order of police the american federation of state county and municipal employees international union of police associations and the national association of police organizations the absence of the right to collectively bargain denies these public servants the opportunity to improve his decisions that affect their work and their families are firefighters and police officers risked their lives to keep us safe yet there are some states in this country that deny them the right to discuss workplace issues with their employers a right most americans have at the very least they should be allowed to negotiate for wages hours and safe working conditions when i was in the state legislature in michigan i helped pays to pass legislation that granted all public and plays the right to collectively bargain in michigan this has led to a working environment that effectively protects the public and that both employers and employees are proud of h r nine hundred eighty would merely create a minimum standard th states have the flexibility to implement regulate and enforce as they see fit many states such as my own state of michigan have laws in place that go well beyond h r ninety and the states would not be affected by this legislation additionally this legislation is now not allow strikes or lockouts and it preserves management rights firefighters and police officers are very serious about their commitment to public safety  have the basic right to sit down with their employers and discuss their work conditions the reasonableness of this legislation again is demonstrated by the wide bipartisan support it has from his two hundred and eighty co sponsors i urge my colleagues to join me in passing this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time the gentleman from florida well thank you mr speaker and i yield myself as much time as i may consume  iraq support of this legislation and i'm proud to be a co sponsor of h r nine hundred eighty the public safety employer employee cooperation act of two thousand and seven firefighters and police officers put their lives on the line to protect us and they deserve the right to collectively bargain for safe working conditions and fair wages recent events remind us of their heroism it was a week ago today that a plane crashed into two homes in sanford florida just outside my home town of orlando florida an off duty firefighter name ryan cooper was nearby when he heard the plane roaring toward the houses as the airplane smashed the two homes and exploded them into flames ryan cooper went into action he rushed into the smoldering homes and brought out a ten year old boy and his father firefighter ryan cooper is a true hero from his hospital bed where he was being treated for smoke inhalation mr cooper humbly said that any firefighter would have done the same thing sometimes firefighters pay the ultimate sacrifice just last month nine firefighters in charleston south carolina lost their lives fighting a blaze at a furniture store these acts of heroism highlight the dangerous nature of public safety officers jobs this legislation gets the ball in the strike zone on the one hand it allows firefighters and police officers to collectively bargain for better working conditions and fair wages on the other hand it expressly out wall strikes and it does not overturn state right to work laws in short this beer this bill is fair and reasonable and deserves our bipartisan support finally let me address the main concern raised by some folks about this legislation they say that this legislation would mandate compulsory unionism and right to work states that simply isn't the case section eight  subsections two and three specifically state that this legislation would not preempt state right to work laws in other words this legislation allows states to enforce laws that prevent employers and unions from requiring union fees as a condition of employment many people confuse collective bargaining with right to work the two can co exist for example firefighters currently enjoy collective bargaining rights in my home state of florida yet florida is a right to work state in closing i would like to thank the gentleman from michigan mr kildee for all his hard work on this bill mr kildee has been a tireless advocate for this legislation i would also like to thank the chairman of the education and labor committee mr miller and the majority staff for working with the minority to make some changes and improvements in this bill particularly those that address issues which are raise your in consideration of this bill in committee i would also like to thank the lead republican of this legislation mr jimmy duncan from tennessee for his work i will be voting for h r our nine eighty today and i urge my colleagues to do likewise i reserve the balance of my time the gentleman from michigan first of pensions a subcommittee that jurisdiction over this bill such time as you may consume the gentleman is recognized i thank my friend for yielding i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks without objection thank you mr speaker i'd like to begin by mr keller for his strong statement of support of the legislation mr duncan for his very vigorous advocacy of this bill mr mckeon for his cooperation in getting in here today obviously chairman miller for his leadership and especially  my friend and colleague from michigan mr kildee from mr kildee this is been a twelve year effort and in durance test where he has built a coalition of all different kinds of groups across party lines and around the country for a very worthy piece of legislation so mr speaker i would commend my my good friend for his persistence and congratulate him on the job beautifully done on this legislation and there is a strong bipartisan consensus for legislation because it's all about common sense mr speaker most americans would agree that almost without exception every american should have the right to bargain collectively and organize and join or not join a union this legislation gives that right to our career firefighters police officers emergency service personnel corrections officers and other public safety officials there is a commonsense consensus that because of this significant work that these individuals do they should not have the right to strike if there is a difficult country negotiation and under this bill they do not there is not a right to strike created by this bill because we recognize the difficulty that strikes could create in the public safety field there's a commonsense consensus that there should not be one size fits all national rule to govern police officers firefighters and public safety personnel in each of the fifty states and other jurisdictions that's not what this bill does it creates a set of standards and it says that if a state and local jurisdiction meets those standards then it's public sector collective bargaining laws stay in place without exception or change but it says in those states where the right to bargain collectively the right to organize the right to grieve are not fully recognized where those states do not come up to standard then there is a new federal procedure that would have taken that would guarantee men and women these rights the critics of this legislation say it's a threat to public safety there is not a shred of evidence that that is the case not a shred there's not a difference in crime rates where there is collective bargaining among public safety professionals there is a not a negative difference in absenteeism or other chain of command type of issues and frankly we saw a dramatic example of just how wrong that point of view is on september the eleventh the police officers and firefighters and other public safety personnel in and around new york city the port authority the new york city fire department the new york city police department those public safety professionals who responded to this great crisis were all unionized many of them the were in the middle of a difficult contract process where there was strong disagreement between the city of new york and the union as to what to do next not one one of those men or women failed to respond  to the crisis this country faced not one when they went up the stairs in the towers as they were about to crumble no one talked about whether they were in a union or not when the new york city fire department lost more people in one day than it previously done in months and years before that no one talked about a contract dispute these individuals responded nobley and heroically so the suggestion that there is some corrosion of public safety because of you news ation is unsupported by the evidence and just flat out wrong so i congratulate mr keelty for the strong bipartisan coalition he has built and i would urge my colleagues to vote yes in favor of this will our time back to mr killed the gentleman from florida thank you mr speaker at this time i would like to yield the four minutes to my fellow east tennessee and mr jimmy duncan who is the lead republican an original co sponsor of this legislation and been a true champion this issue mr duck gentleman is recognized thank you mr speaker and i want to thank my good friend mr taylor the gentleman from florida who  very rightly claims tennessee is a homo so and i'm pleased to join with him and i want to commend him for his work on this legislation but especially also commend the gentleman from michigan m and the gentleman from new jersey mr andrews for their comments about this legislation originally agreed to co sponsor h r nine eighty several years ago several congresses ago at the request of firefighters and police officers from my district certainly and not anti union nor am i controlled by any union i strongly believe so that no one strongly believe that no one should be forced to join a union but i also feel that anyone who chooses to organize or join a labor union should have that right employees should be able to make this decision for themselves in fact i am a co sponsor and have been in several tang's says of h r six ninety seven the national right to work act this legislation would prohibit compulsory union membership not applying the right work laws that we have in tennessee to the entire nation in regard h r nine eighty i want to emphasize for the x main points and then provide some additional details first this bill specifically prohibits strikes and lock lock outs by public safety employees and employers as has been pointed out by previous speakers second the bill is not mandatory it is totally voluntary and therefore is a right to work bill third it does not federalize or nationalize this aspect of labor relations the important details would still be governed by state law and as has been pointed out by some other speakers several states give their public safety employees more collective bargaining rights than this this bill and it certainly hasn't caused any problems of it anyone knows of in those states family this bill would simply give firefighters and police officers some but not all of the rights enjoyed by other workers the legislation provides very limited collective bargaining rights and does not give state and local public safety employees the right to strike are numerous other rights that almost all other employees say and over the years congress says knackered a number of laws granting such rights to other workers and has expanded the scope of collective bargaining laws to govern private sector nonprofit association transportation and federal government employees since the enactment of the congressional accountability act state and local public safety employees are the only workers left in america who not have the right to enter into collective bargaining agreements with their employers while most states provide collective bargaining rights for these employees others do not when this legislation is being considered originally during the hundred fifty congress local firefighters and police officers contact me directly regarding the bill unfortunately as local elected officials change these public safety workers have found that their benefits and wages have sometimes been subject to change to these firefighters feel that this and police officers to feel that this legislation will help them establish consistency in their benefits between the ministrations firefighters and police officers have taken an oath to protect public safety and i believe that these individuals should have the opportunity to voice their concerns about issues affecting their livelihood these brave people risk their lives for public safety every day and should have the same rights as workers in other fields family mr speaker let me just mention this others have that the fraternal order of police and other places the national association of police organizations are supporting this bill the international association of firefighters and family i'll call it closed just by emphasizing once again that this legislation would give firefighters and police officers the option to participate in collective bargaining discussions but would not require such action and i think that good labor unions do not need compulsory union is a great myths and i believe this is a bill that is encouraging and voluntary and i urge  thank you mr speaker and i think the gentleman from michigan mr kildee both for the time for his leadership in this bipartisan effort i'm so happy as a new member of congress to be here to join you to support this legislation today because it's about fairness for those on the front lines protecting our neighborhoods and communities our firefighters and law enforcement officers this bill is about ensuring these public safety employees these heroes have the right to ensure their voices are heard in the workplace not only do they deserve this right we owe it to these public servants who risk their lives and put their safety on the line every day to protect our families and our communities  legislation simply gives them the same rights that so many other workers around this nation retain these people who put the public first deserve to be heard on the matters that affect their livelihood for our firefighters police officers ease and other public safety officers let's rise beyond the words of support and pass this bill and make it clear that we respect and admire the work and sacrifice of these brave men and women i yield back ayers opposition of h r nine hundred eighty because it will force unions so called representation on public safety employees labor relations between states and their public employees have historically remained at the state level h r nine hundred eighty would impose federal law states that do not meet forced unionism standards defined in this piece of legislation furthermore the bill fails to ensure a secret ballot election for public employees who would be given the right to unionize under this legislation h r nine hundred eighty would deny thousands of police and firemen the freedom to negotiate directly with their employers those who attempt to negotiate on their own behalf could face fines and even firings unionizing a public sector workforce also requires hiring and training staff to negotiate with unions and administer union contracts which would impose an unnecessary financial burdens on taxpayers don't allow the federal government to impose costly and inappropriate requirements on state in local governments state and local governments are capable of managing their own public employees your job position to h r nine hundred eighty to ensure each state's right to define labor laws for their own public employees and i yield back the balance of my time the gentleman from michigan kildee for his off the ship of this legislation for over i believe twelve years now in support of this legislation of mr duncan his and his co sponsor for many of those same years to try and provide for the  co sponsors of this legislation which obviously represents very strong bipartisan support this legislation clearly demonstration this that this congress is committed to protecting the rights and the livelihood of our first responders and this legislation stands in tribute to these dedicated men and women i'm proud that the education labor committee was able to pass h r nine eighty out of the committee almost unanimously by a vote of forty two to one firefighters police officers correction officers and emergency medical technicians risked their lives every day and every day to each and every day to protect our lives and this country h r nine eighty will ensure that all public safety officers have a right to sit down with their employers and bargain over wages and working conditions while states and cities and towns  historically managed their own labor relations approximately twenty eight states do not fully protect the collective bargaining rights of public safety employees that is why this legislation is so necessary this legislation would respect respect those states that already provide for collective bargaining rights for public safety employees but it would extend those rights in all of the states the bill would provide basic labor protections for state and local public safety workers including the right to join a union the right to have the union recognized by their by their employer the right to bargain collectively over hours wages and terms and conditions of employment a mediation or arbitration process for resolving the impasse in the goshi ations and forstmann through the through the courts public h ninety eight will give public safety officers a voice in issues like safety on the job and effective delivery of services it will prove that communications and cooperation between rank and file public safety employees and their employers ensuring a more cohesive and coordinated operations and that's the crux of this legislation this gives the rights of the of these negotiations the it's of these discussions the rice to have a union to the very same people that we that we trust every day to protect our lives to protect our communities to protect our country both before and after a terrorist attack before and after a criminal act these are the people that we trust to do this this legislation under the authorship of mr kildea mr duncan also suggest that we trust them to have a responsible say in the were in their workplace conditions and how they carry out their job to make suggestions to negotiate with their employers to more effectively carry out their their duties and i think it's a long time coming i think this legislation and this code and it and it's very broad co sponsorship indicate that this could have been done much sooner but it's going to be done today it's going to pass the house it's going to pass the house i believe with a very large bipartisan support and and i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation alice so i want to say that this may be as well is the fact that this legislation is here today although twelve years late is a is may be a of mr kill these career and that is persistence that is persistence he doesn't he doesn't give up on an idea because others disagree he's pushed for this legislation year in and year out was not allowed to have it to have it h d for for passage and this year we were able to accommodate him and mr duncan and we do that we're also accommodating and supporting our first responders all across the country who need these rights too to to better  do the job that we have that we have handed to them a very difficult a very dangerous job and i would hope that the house would pass this legislation overwhelmingly and i yield back the balance of my time and i again i thank you the gentleman from florida thank you mr speaker and just before i yield to our next beaker man i inquire as to the time remaining on both sides you may the gentleman from florida has eleven minutes remaining and gentleman from michigan has seven minutes remaining thank you mr speaker and at this time i yield three minutes to the gentle lady from north carolina mrs fox ten ladies recognized for three minutes thank you m thank my colleague from florida for yielding this time there's no one who appreciates firefighters police and other public safety personnel more than i do however i rise in opposition to h r nine eighty because public sector labor relations has never and should not be an issue with which congress metal's historically the terms and conditions of employment for all state local employees has been an issue decide on the state and local level this is the way it should be some states such as my home state in north carolina have laws banning monopoly bargaining schemes while others give unions total control over public sector labor relations most states fall somewhere in the middle but in a move that chips away states rights this bill requires all states to set up systems to impose monopoly bargaining on all public safety workers in effect nala find the preexisting laws of twenty seven states a move like this is virtually unprecedented infringement on states right i want to be perfectly clear every worker in america whether public or private already has the right to form and join a union that is not the question here what the unions are asking for is the power to force their so called representation on police and firefighters who do not want it plus some states have made what the mistaken decision of giving unions that kind of power that is their right under our federal system this bill is flawed in that it takes away the right of states to make the decision on their own at the end of the day this issue does not belong in our hands it should be left the states and frankly it is not congress's business more than half the states in the country refuse to go union bosses the complete monopoly control over public safety employment mandated by h r nine eighty they've done this not only as a rightful exercise of their state's rights but in the interest of keeping costs low for their tax payers studies have shown that monopoly bargaining increases calls for tax payers multiplied across dozens of states this would impose millions of new costs on taxpayers state local government should have jurisdiction over the own employees not the federal government the fact that this bill inserts the federal government into an issue there's always been one left to the state should give us pause and it ought to make us wonder why it's being passed under suspension today any bill that makes this sort of dramatic change to public policy should be subject to the regular order a full debate and amendments please i ask my colleagues to join me in protecting the rights of states and boating against h safety employer employee cooperation act providing our first responders with the rights that they deserve his long been withheld the right of collective bargaining many americans have this right in our first responders responders should not be left out you know in professions where working together can mean and does mean the difference between life and death for the workers and for citizens in our communities cooperation in a healthy working environment are critical in my home state of vermont first responders have the right to collective bargaining we're very proud of them that right should be extended to their colleagues across the nation last fall mr chairman i had the opportunity to participate in firefighting training at the vermont fire academy in pittsford vermont and i suited up jackets pants oxygen mask and you know what i learned the work they do is hard the work they do is dangerous we must make certain that they feel fully entitled to represent themselves at the bargaining table for safe in decent conditions representative kildee in met representative duncan thank you for your leadership and this overdue legislation thank mr speaker the gentleman from florida thank you mr speaker at this time i yield two minutes to the gentleman from georgia mr westmoreland gentleman is recognized for two minutes i want to thank my friend from florida for you old and i come to the floor today i didn't come here to speak but you know my father was a fireman for twenty six years for the city of atlanta in fact he died in alarm and i know what it's like for these firefighters to answer the alarms and he suffered a heart attack while turning off an o s and while val venis in a pit it was eighteen degrees that december morning and i know what it's like for those firefighters but you know my father never belonged to a firefighters union and that's what this is this is basically a union bill and in payback to the unions but you know georgia is a right to work state and we have a  amendment to our constitution and i can and i was very disappointed to hear from the chairman that this thing passed out of committee forty two to one that breaks my heart that really breaks my heart that that those republicans were on that side i don't know what the majority thinks about the tenth amendment but i believe very strongly in it and this is got something to do with states rights and i'm sorry and i'm very disappointed that this house will do this under suspension it won't be any opportunity for amendments or this thing to be looked at and i hope that the majority of members here will realize what's going on oppose this suspension and bring it up under regular order and i yield back to bounce my time the gentleman from michigan mr speaker i yield a one minute to the gentleman new jersey just speaker i wanted to respond to our friend from george's comment about compulsory unionism and affirm something my friend from florida said earlier about compulsory unionism section eighty eight two of this bill says that nothing in this act or the regulations issued under this act shall be construed to prevent a state from enforcing a state law which prohibits employers and labor organizations from the goshi ating in a labor agreement that require union membership or payment of union fees as a condition of employment this bill expressed lee preserves the rights of states to maintain rights so called right to work laws in their state so i want the record to reflect that point that the gentleman's concerns about the georgia constitution are met in this bill now yield that gentleman from florida mr speaker at this time i will continue to reserve the balance of my time the gentleman from michigan well i will i will do that if you want to go back about your time and i will i will just i will say this first of all i think that this has been a great example of bipartisanship on an issue that very often has divided us this is brought us together i think this is a great historical moment and democrats and republicans it was forty two to one i think that is something to be said of this body but i think this illustrates that an issue that very often divides is labor issues we've can find when it comes to a specific group of these first responders a way to resolve that and if general do to provide some reassurance to some of my republican colleagues who may be concerned this bill expressly does not allow public safety officers to go on strikes this bill does not preempt state right to work laws this bill does not require compulsory unionism this bill does not require binding arbitration i think we all agree that firefighters and police officers risk their lives every single day and they are entitled to make fair wages and have working editions that are safe as possible this legislation is fair and balanced and that's why it has received such broad bipartisan support on the one hand it does allow firefighters and police officers to collectively bargain for better working conditions and fair wages on the other hand expressly outlaw strikes and does not overturn state right to work laws for these reasons i would urge all of my colleagues to do as i'm about to do and vote yes on this important bipartisan legislation and i will yield back the balance of my time gentleman from michigan you go ba the gentleman yield back the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r ninety eight and those in favor say by those i know in the opinion of the chair two thirds being nasar requested those in favor of taking this vote but the asian age will rise and remain standing until counted a sufficient number having arisen the asian nations are ordered pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty and the chairs prior announcement of further proceedings on this motion will be postpone purpose does the gentle lady from california rise mr speaker by direction the committee on rules i call up house resolution five forty seven and asked for the media consideration the clerk report the resolution house calendar number eighty eight house resolution five forty seven resolved that any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may pursuant to clause to be role eighteen to clear the house resolves into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h r thirty forty three making appropriations for the departments of labor health and human services and education and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september thirtieth two thousand and eight and for other purposes the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived except those arising under clause nine or ten of rule twenty one general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five minute rule points of order against provisions in the bill for failure to comply with clause two of rule twenty one are waived during consideration of the bill for amendment the chairman of the committee of the whole may accord priority and recognition on the basis of whether the member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the congressional record designated for that purpose in clause eight of rule eighteen amendments so apparent so printed shall be considered as read when the committee rises and reports the bill back to the house with a recommendation that the bill do pass the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments there to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instruction section two during consideration in the house of h r thirty forty three pursuant to this resolution notwithstanding the operation of the previous question the chair may postpone further consideration of the bill to such time as may be designated by the speaker the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one hour for the purpose of debate only i yield the customary thirty minutes to the gentleman from washington mr hastings called time yield a joint consideration of the rules for debate only yield myself this time as i may consume i also ask unanimous consent that all members of the given five legislative days and wish to revise and extend the remarks on the resolution without objection mr speaker house resolution five forty seven provides for consideration of h r three zero four three the labor health and human services and education appropriations act for two thousand eight hundred and open rule under this rule our members of the house are afforded the opportunity to offer any amendment that is germane and otherwise complies with house rules mr speaker the phrase most often associated with this bill has been feast or famine for instance congress first double funding for the national institutes of health between one nine hundred ninety nine and two thousand and three and then flatlined the agenc funds since then it was actually cut for the first time in history in fiscal year two thousand and six and contrast this year's bill sticks to the principle of sustainable growth in strategic areas health research worker safety and education i would like to applaud chairman obie and ranking member walsh for their hard work in crafting this fair and responsible blueprint for our nation's future nowhere is this broader strategy a sustainable growth more evident than it and i h the underlying legislation provides a modest two point six percent increase over last year's level such an increase is critical to maintaining america's global leadership and biomedical research this research will expand the boundaries of human knowledge and keep america at the forefront of the field unfortunately low or frozen funding levels resulted in almost thirteen hundred fewer grants from two thousand and three to two thousand six but this year's sustainable increase will allow those grants of span responsibly in particular i would like to thank the committee for its continued support of the national children's study its budget within the n i age is very modest but its impact the children's and family will be great the study will examine environmental effects on childhood development including autism asthma and premature birth for several years i've been working with the committee and other members to provide a study with proper support i'm happy to report that this study has now received widespread and bipartisan support i would also like to highlight the full funding a ryan white aids programs within the bill cities and towns all across the country rely on these funds to provide vital health services to individual with hiv or aids with his funding that victims of hiv aids will have increased access to medications primary care and home health care in addition to ensuring health care access and advancement this bill also plans for a children's education future we all realize that the cost of a college education is not getting any cheaper in fact it's growing by thousands of dollars a year so i command the committee's increase in the maximum power grant by three not three hundred ninety dollars to four thousand seven hundred dollars it will permit by point five million students to take advantage of this critical assistance and it does so without having to reduce other student financial assistance programs as administration had proposed the underlying legislation also acted responsibly to prepare our nation's students before they get to college by ensuring better performance a case through twelve grade levels taiwan grants support schools and high poverty areas and they are the engine behind no child left behind nonetheless these grants have been flat funded or even reduced in the past two school years this is hand or the ability of title once goes to assist local farming students i commend the committee for increasing this fund so that nearly fifty five thousand title once goes can best in their young people make no mistake in a world that increasingly depends on highly skilled employees this legislation is an investment in the future of our students and in the future competitiveness of this nation in conclusion i urge our members to support this role and underlying bill it deals responsiblity with the needs of the customary thirty minutes and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my memory my remarks without objection heal myself as much time as i may consume gentleman is recognized this is because this proposed rule would provide for consideration of the labor health and human services education appropriation bill the seventh zero twelve appropriation bills because considered by the house this year mr speaker i am pleased that for the seventh time will be considering this appropriation bill under open rule that allows every member of the house the opportunity to come to the floor and offer his or her amendment to the bill except for the instance earlier this year when the house considered the final fiscal year two thousand and seven spending bill which allocated four hundred  sixty three billion dollars while denying all members of the house opportunity to the members the bill this rule continues a longstanding tradition of openness on spending bills mr speaker the labor health and human services and education appropriation bill provides over six hundred seven billion dollars to support the federal government's role in labor health and education programs of this total over four hundred fifty five billion or seventy five percent is comprised of spending for government programs that grow automatically every year with little congressional review for the next fiscal year alone these programs will increase by an estimated fifty four billion dollars nearly twelve percent which i might add mr speaker is three feet or four times the rate of inflation without question these programs pose the largest threat to our long term economic health because they essentially run on autopilot with little accountability to the taxpayers writing the checks if we want to get spending under control it is vital it is vital that we take a hard look at these programs sooner rather than later the remaining money in the procreation is bill is set by congress each year for the last fiscal year one hundred forty four billion dollars was provided to support the federal government's role in labor health and education programs but for the upcoming fiscal year the underlying bill bill provides for one hundred fifty one billion dollars an increase of seven billion dollars and mr speaker while i support some of the increases in the bill such as an increase funding for the individuals with disabilities education act i do have concerns with the overall increas spending level in this difficult budget year i believe that congress has always stop and remember that we are sparing spending merican taxpayers money when considering appropriation bills each time a decision is made to spend more money taxpayers face a higher tax bill or the deficit faces an increase in an increase leaving our children and grandchildren to foot the bill therefore we must take a balanced approach that provides for the general welfare our nation while reducing the deficit is important to taxpayers are aware that under the democratic majorities budget plan each taxpayer faces an average of three thousand dollar increase in our federal tax bill in order to pay for the democrats spending over the next five years as reflected in their budget throwing money at all our nation's problems will not make them go away the american people expect more of congress they make they expect us to tackle the difficult issues making tough decisions and lower the deficit through fiscal gelati from california mr speaker i just like to make a few comments before you go to next speaker i'd like to just say that the president's budget will cut education programs health care programs energy assistance for seniors avian flu by seven seven point six billion dollars below last year after adjusting for inflation this bill rejects most of those arbitrary cuts as a result some members have criticized it but the bill only increases these funds by modest three percent after adjusting for inflation and population growth this increase possibile a full two point nine billion dollars below that funding level in two thousand and five it is interesting logic that when you're spending less than you did two years ago it's out of control spending the subcommittee's ranking member testified to the rules committee last night that he would have written a very similar bill as mr obedient had he been the chairman seat and most of the amendments offered in committee were by the minority seeking to increase various funny levels in the bill this bill funds our nation's health care education and worker protection programs in a responsible sustainable manner and with that i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from vermont mr welch gentleman is recognized for three days thank you mr speaker and thank you gentleman from california this congress faces the challenge of acting on the direction of the american people as expressed in the vote of november two thousand and six and that is to change the direction of this country in to restore a domestic agenda that serves all americans we began again on a bipartisan basis with one hundred hours raising the minimum wage reversing wasteful subsidies to the big oil companies and instead funding renewable energy requiring price negotiation so our tax payers didn't get ripped off in prescription drug prices making college more affordable these measures are a down payment but just a beginning today the house takes up the  of twelve appropriation bills in this bill under the leadership of mr obi more than anything else is going to put a stamp on a new direction that this congress is moving in its head it's a direction that says all americans have to be included not just the wealthy not just those who can afford corporate lobbyist all americans have a right to affordable education to quality health care to say that working conditions into a financially secure retirement getting from here to there is the challenge but this is the road that this bill takes us on let me mention just four different areas first the legislation restores seven point six billion dollars in funding to vital programs that had been cut by the administration at the same time it saves one point one billion from lower priority programs there's a commitment here to fiscal responsibility we must invest in america's future generations in the bill does that by second and again i'll just mention a few things that are important us in vermont we've had on funded mandates special ed no child left behind are the poster child of that this bill increases funding for no child left behind by eight point six billion over fiscal year two thousand and seven this bill invest in revival rural health care program something that we in vermont are very familiar with by increasing funding by three hundred seven million dollars that provides real services to real people with real health care problems this bill increases funding for the vital low income heating assistance program that was cut in the administration proposal by three hundred seventy nine million dollars or seventeen point five percent below last year's level that's simply not sustainable that's going to inflict real harm on people who have no ability to control the price of home heating oil so mr president here mr speaker this bill is taking us further road of having a congress who is committed to the needs of all americans thank you i yield the balance of my time gentleman from washington and this speech by choir my friend from california i had one request for speaker and the gentleman is not here now so i reserve my time this is to generate he has more speakers i reserve my time i have mr speaker i yield my south the balance of my time mr speaker house resolution five twenty seven is an open roll providing for consideration the fiscal year two thousand and labor health and human services and education appropriations  underlying legislation passed many of these nation's most critical agencies on a responsible and sustainable funding path chairman i'll be a ranking member walsh should be commended as a rules committee her in the testimony yesterday they worked in a cooperative manner without partisan rancor to balance many competing competing needs funded through this bill mr speaker this bill strengthens our families and prepares our workforce for the challenges that lay ahead for instance and just seven years  of all the nation's job growth will be concentrated in our key patients requiring a college degree this bill helps repair our young people for this new world by increasing funding for students at the k to twelve and  administration proposal to freeze pell grants instead this legislation increases pell grants by three hundred ninety dollars to four thousand seven hundred dollars on top of the two hundred sixty dollars two hundred sixty dollars increase provided in two thousand and seven concerning appropriations resolution these efforts will make great strides in making college more affordable the legislation also maintains our nation's leadership in health care research by lifting a two year freeze on the average cost of new research grants to an i h and provides a responsible increase employment trends training and worker protection programs these are just some of the ways in which the underlying legislation provides millions of americans have time and i move the previous question on the resolution without objection the previous question is ordered the question is on the adoption of the resolution all those in favor say aye those opposed  with the senate amendment they are to disagree with the senate amendment and agree to the conference requested by the senate clerk report to title a bill h r one and act to provide for the implementation of the recommendations of the national commission on terrorist attacks upon united states tennessee move that the managers on the part of the house at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two houses on the senate amendment to the bill h r one be instructed to agree to section fourteen fifty five of the senate amendment convicted of certain crimes this card is the access card to our nation's critical and sensitive port and maritime facilities we have over seven hundred fifty thousand workers who access our ports a daily and having this and t w i c would was created to ensure that they are all screened and that they pose no threat of terrorism now or motion would specify that individuals convicted of certain crimes such as treason espionage sedition are murder would be permanently disqualified from receiving a t w i c card this would further specify interim disqualifying crimes such as smuggling arson kidnapping or robbery that would disqualify an individual within a certain time frame of conviction this provision provides the right balance between ensuring that our ports are safe while ensuring that we have the workers that we need to get the job done in a timely manner we all agree that protecting our ports is one of the most critical duties that we have and all the guns all the gates all the guards in the world every bit of that is useless if we give an individual a t w i c card to walk right past them so this would ensure that the screening of these individuals is thorough in that it is complete and while some may argue th will unnecessarily qualify too many individuals we have already provided for an appeal and waiver process elsewhere to ensure that individuals can apply or eighty debbie i see despite their past history this section that we are offering today in this motion to instruct passed the senate ninety four to two and our motion to instructor would a seat to the language in the senate provision mr speaker i would reserve the balance of my time mississippi thank you thank you very much mr speaker the speaker as you know the house has passed its own language a about treason it talks about addition it talks about espionage all those things therefore i think carrying it to the level that mike ali would want to carry is not in the spirit of the report that we are negotiating with our colleagues in the senate it is bipartisan we have been meeting for two months to craft a language it's good language and  with with this clause i know that this program t s a is going to roll this twitt card program at on september one and i would hope that our security is of such important to us that we would not weaken this program we know that the security of our ports as important we want to make certain that the workers that we are sending into these port have gone through the appropriate clearances we know that seas are critical in sensitive areas and why would we want to give a card to someone who has been convicted of crimes such as treason espionage s or martyr i do not think that the american people want to see those individuals inspecting the cargo that is coming into these ports we hear so much about security and food security the issues that surround that we are hearing about the security of the human trafficking that is going through our ports for goodness sakes we want to be certain that the people that are walking into those ports to work every day are not tennessee we're here on this floor for a very serious deliberation over the last ten days we have heard a number of responses from the administration and i've often said that if and when if and when there was a turn of events that would generate a horrific and terrorist act against this nation it is the members of the united states congress and committees with names like homeland security and defense that would have to be call to the carpet none of us none of us mr speaker have any desire to be on the list of those who are derelict in their duties in fact chairman thompson has been enormously  in constant oversight of the department of homeland security constant briefings and i'm reminded of one that occurred in the last ten days where the term gut feeling was introduced to us out of that particular briefing many of us tightened our belts and began to reflect on the oversight hearings and the legislative initiatives that will respond and have responded to that gut reaction so the dilemma or the discussion today as we bring up the nine eleven bill may i remind my colleagues is about terrorism it is about the thought and the fear that americans half of who live amongst the twit cart as transportation security administration is about to issue forward with regulations is one of the elements to define who is in this country that would want to do  harm let me say this again mr speaker it is a card to define who wants to harm us as the chairwoman of the transportation security subcommittee critical infrastructure we live every day with those individuals who are receiving identification those at airports we've done oversight about employees in gresini grass about the back side of the airport we are well aware my colleague representative sanchez alre sanchez and her committee well aware of the massiveness of the nation's ports we could give you a list of times that we have been to look at the intimacies of the port but what my good friend is speaking about clearly has no direct relationship to ensuring america's security and releasing or eliminating the fear that americans have about the next door terrorist cell this amendment this motion to instruct is not constructive for what it says is that age long workers union workers an early life time had the ups and downs of a criminal record how now been cast as terrorists speaker i'm not interested in opening the doors to criminal elements i don't disrespect the fact that we are concerned about murderers and others all who have done dastardly deeds but what you're talking about is taking a age all seasoned port worker union member and eliminate their livelihood by projecting on to them the question of whether or not they are in line to perpetrate a terrorist act the twit card is a identification documents to ensure that those who are in possession of that car have no connection to any elements of terrorism it is to safeguard the american public it is not it is not if you will the sledgehammer on hardworking taxpaying americans and let me be very clear the twit card is no wimp there is a serious review process that goes forward that takes into account everyone's reckitt and includes any elements that would lead us to believe that this person might perpetrate a terrorist act i respect the gentle lady from tennessee because i know that she is as we all are war is against terrorism in this congress has to be united on this factor i would raise the question however as to whether or not these modifications of a twit card that has already been vetted directed only at eliminating firing and terminating lifelong employees with strong records that have shown no inclination and no past history to terrorist acts is the appropriate direction to take i hope that we can join in this body as cha thompson has encouraged us as members of his committee to focus in a bipartisan way on solutions to major problems critical infrastructure nuclear and biological possibilities the reconstruction of thema the interest in protecting our ports and borders north and south this is how an intelligence response that ols who's here as it relates to terrorist cells and who's here to do damage these are the key elements along with the nine eleven bill that laid down the underpinnings the framework if you will of the survival of this nation let us not fall upon divisiveness in the redesign of a card that has been fully vetted in its structure will do what it is intended to do which is to weed out the terrorists and to allow hardworking americans the continue to work and provide for their families they too are patriots and we  patriots and lovers of this country was stand united together in doing the right thing to secure america with that i yield back my time john does a gentleman genesee thank you mr speaker you know the gentleman from mississippi spoke of the compromise language and the compromise language is does not give our t s a the tool in its tool box that it needs indeed the compromise language would weaken that tool they say need in that too but to be certain that they are giving americans the certainty that they want to view our nation's port security when they want to know that certainly the people that are coming into those ports have our nation's best interest at heart and i fully believe this i do not want individuals who are convicted of these crimes  espionage to dition murder and further interim disqualifying crimes such as smuggling arson kidnapping or robbery it to be and they are watching the cargo and the transportation that comes into our ports in maritime facilities certainly this is a regulation that t s a uses now with our truck drivers who are moving hazardous material so the compromise language would take a tool out of that tool box that t s a uses to give americans the certainty that they are doing their best now with respect to the question from the gentle lady from texas and i appreciate the hard work that she does at homeland security committee and but in this it would provide only a seven year look back and i think that that's important to note in that screening process but at the same time mr speaker we want to be certain that screening is thorough that it is complete and if there is certain to given to the american public can we set our reserve my time unless the gentleman from mississippi is ready tennessee this bipartisan agreement was worked out in the spirit of making sure that those individuals who were in various capacities in high risk involving a transportation security incident improper transportation of a hazardous material on lawful possession and use sale distribution manufacture purchase purchase receipt transfer shipping transporting import export storage all dealing with an explosive device we've grown into great detail in defining those disqualifying areas in addition to the we have laid out interim disqualifying criminal offenses there goes toward unlawful possession sale manufacture purchase distribution of firearms extortion bribery smuggle in immigration violation distribution possession with intent to distribute or importation of controlled substance arson kidnapping rape assault with intent to keel robbery as we could now from what i understand from the delayed is a motion that we're debating the only issue is that you don't want the secretary of homeland security to have the ability to look at these things and say whether or not they should be modified now if we are wrong in our interpretation as spam but as we look upon what you have before us today that's the only thing if we can't trust the people who run the department to make certain administrative decisions then who can we trust and it's on this spirit that we left that particular modification language there for the secretary to look at any on foreseen crime that may or may not have been excluded in this disqualifying criminal  know as the gentleman i was just making his point and in part of that he is right but the important part of this is that what we have to do is to be certain that a secretary doesn't delete these provisions and if you're going to give them that flexibility and if they delete it then you have that hole that is there so because of that we needed in statute to be sure that it is not altered and secretary of homeland security is appointed by the president i would think that he would appoint the best qualified person someone who would have the interests of this country at heart every second that he or she may be in that position so to take the ability of an individual who's running a department for making certain decisions is not in our best and says we should not micromanage the department of homeland security we should let the secretary of homeland security run the department he should have administrative authority to do it this would not be in the best interest of us we do not do this in other secretarial departments and mr speaker an interest of identifying crimes that are disqualify but notwithstanding the fact that the secretary should have some discretion over running his or her department irregardless to what that department may be this is a bipartisan spirit and the conference that we reach and with that i have no further speaker back to the gentle lady from tennessee but i would say that in my prior life of before coming to congress i was a prosecuting attorney and i was responsible for sending a lot of people to prison i also had a responsibility to go down to visit people that i had sent to prison and i remember the first visit that i made down to one of the prisons in ohio and there's these trustees outside the prison gates and white stripes on their side and they were given trusted positions within the prison i said who are the trustees how do you how do you get to be qualified to be a trustee and i said well they're and i said what do you mean they're murderers you said they're murderers and what we find is that in the crime of murder most murders in this country are committed in crimes of passion has been murders a wife a wife murders a husband a boyfriend so forth and so on but there are also the least likely people to ever commit crime again and what concerns me about the requirement of receiving to the senate provision in this is that it ignores the opportunity for rehabilitation it ignores the opportunity that people make mistakes and they're not a threat to national security and they can be good productive people they can work in our ports and i am concerned that murder is one of the automatic disqualifiers i'm also concerned that the other list of crimes that that have waiting periods of five to seven years they have nothing to do in my mind with terrorism and port security and i am all for such them where the secretary or even a lot of the congress the united states says you know what if you've committed a crime of islands we're going to take an extra look at you but to be automatically disqualified either for ever or for a considerable period of time i think that disturbs me i intend to vote against the motion i respect the gentle eighties opinion and why she's brought this motion but sadly i can't agree with it and i am back in gentle warm tennessee you know the appeals and waivers process was put in place for a reason and that is why it is there and that's why you've got the the look back provision and why it is stated as such again i will re emphasize the point we don't want to do something that is going to weaken a tool that is in the t s a to box for being certain that we have the necessary security at our ports that we know who is they are and we know the reasons they are they are that we know as if they have the appropriate clearances for being there and with all due respect to the chairman and the chairwoman who have worked on this legislation our wording here as ceding to the language that passed over in the senate ninety four to two would be certain that we have the we have in statute something that is going to give our citizens the security that we have done our job it is the responsibility of this body to be certain that we have this national security interest at heart for the people of this good nation and certainly this language one step in so doing and at this time mr speaker if the gentleman from mississippi has no further speakers and is ready to yell back then i will do so but i want to be certain i have the right to close on this i will reserve at this point speaker are you one minute to the gentle lady from texas in the stacks and i think the chairman to my good friend from tennessee let us be very clear that homeland security is a bipartisan issue what the chairman has indicated is that we are yielding to the secretary of homeland security for a slight opportunity to be able to modify if you will in his reasoned just judgment that deals with securing america we are not ignoring sedition and treason i want my colleagues to know that but the individuals that will now be subjected to the twit cart which cost one hundred thirty seven dollars seven hundred thousand the first year one point five mi the second year all neighbors individuals who have been working in this capacity who have no background that would suggest they would be terrorists the general lady's motion would literally shut down america's ports commerce would come to a standstill and my good friend from ohio has said people rehabilitate give the secretary the opportunity to have his judgment and to have discretion to be able to secure america on the harshness of  this time mr speaker i have no further i have no further speakers but i would reserve to have the right to close motion the gentleman from michigan mr killed the to suspend the rules and pass h r nine eighty as amended on which the asian asian order clerk report titled a bill h r nine eighty a bill to provide collective bargaining rights for public safety officers employed by state or their political subdivision question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended member of record or a vote by electronic