they are four hundred eight the nays are zero two thirds being in the firmer date rolls are suspended the resolution is agreed to and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table personally for what purposes the gentleman from tennessee rise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution without objection i give myself as much time as i may consume gentleman is recognized thank you mr speaker today our ra to join my colleague the honorable al green of texas and honorary the national association for the advancement of colored people on the occasion of his ninety ninth anniversary as we celebrate black history month it is only appropriate that we do so by recognizing our nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization its inception in double a city has united students laborers professionals scholars officials and others of all races to advance its vision of a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination historically the ends double i c p is probably best known for its role and that of thurgood marshall in the seminal case the brown versus board of education in which the supreme court held in one hundred fifty four that separate an educational facilities are inherently unequal yet we must not forget that the end of life the house is not in order and the conversation should be taken off the floor chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee thank you misspeak or yet we must not forget that the end of life c p has been at the forefront of all efforts to secure equality and justice for every american throughout the twentieth century and now into the twenty first century p spoke out against lynching challenge racially biased supreme court justice nominees as early as one nine hundred thirty and pursued discrimination policies in the military war related industries in the federal government during the world war during the world wars at the height of the civil rights era the end of life c p fought battles on the ground in the courtroom and in congress where lobbied for passage of civil rights legislation like the civil rights act of one hundred sixty four and the voting rights act hundred sixty five since then and during our current session in the c p s lobby for hate crimes legislation and other legislation that protects minorities not necessarily based on race but based on discrimination today on the soldiers shoulders of distinguished members and leaders such as dr martin luther king jr khurana scott king rosa parks medgar evers murli evers williams benjamin hooks graduation and college readiness protecting and advancing voting rights and identifying solutions to the sub prime mortgage foreclosure crisis i have the privilege of working with the association to further those important efforts s shadows recognized thank you misspeak i support and strongly urge my colleagues to support house concurrent resolution two eighty nine which recognizes the ninety ninth anniversary of the end double a c p for almost a century the n could no longer restrict and officially segregate african americans into particular residential districts the same year the n w c p fought for the right of black americans to be commissioned as military officers during world war one hundred twenty the n w c p held its annual conference in atlanta georgia which at the time was one of the most active areas for the ku klux klan as a result the end of lacy piece showed the world it would not be intimidated by racial violence in one hundred thirty five the end of c p lawyers charles houston and thurgood marshall won a major legal battle to admit students to the university of maryland during world war two the n w a c p led the effort that resulted in president franklin delano roosevelt ordering a nondiscrimination policy in war related industries and federal employment and in forty eight the end of life c p convinced president harry truman to sign an executive order banning discrimination by the federal government in one thousand nine hundred fifty four under the leadership of special counsel thurgood marshall the n w c p one one of its greatest legal victories in brown versus board of education hundred sixty in greensboro north carolina members of the n w c p youth council launched a series of nonviolent sit ins at segregated lunch counters the history of america's modern struggle to live up to our constitutional principles was written in large part by the a double a c p and it continues to champion the cause of social justice today for all americans the n w c p is served as the voice of those who are muzzled by fear it serves as the voice of those who were handcuffed and jailed under segregation his policies and it carried the weight for those whose backs were nearly broken and brutal beatings fueled by racial hatred it did so peacefully and with dignity and as a result america is a better place i'm pleased to join my colleagues on this concurrent resolution honoring the historic contributions made by the end up lacy p to the cause of civil rights in this nation and i would like to conclude by acknowledging and recognizing and honoring the leadership of a gentleman in my district reverend fred shuttlesworth who marched with dr martin luther king who's been ill recently but he's been a leader in our community and over the war really across the entire country and in the civil rights movement and we all keep him and in our prayers and hope that he recovers quickly and i reserve the balance of my time at this time gentleman reserves the balance of his time the gentleman from tennessee is recognized mr speaker i yield five minutes to the gentleman from texas mr green the gentleman from texas mr green is recognized thank you mr speaker and i thank the gentleman for the time i'd like to thank chairman conyers for being there and making this resolution possible bring it to the floor i also would like to remember mister sensenbrenner who at the time we first introduced this piece of legislation was the chairperson of the judiciary committee and i recall how he made a great effort to get this legislation to the to the floor and to get it passed i'm grateful to the honorable steve cohen who is our floor leader today a lawyer par excellence who does an outstanding job on the judiciary committee thank you so much grateful to mrs steve shabbat thank you for your very kind words what you said about the  p is entirely correct but it's also something that means a lot to a lot of people and i think the people across the length and breadth of this country appreciate what you've said and how you have made it clear that the in a c p is important to us in the united states congress i also want to thank the many persons about forty five of whom signed on to this piece of legislation so that we could bring it to the floor this year this is the ninety ninth anniversary of the a c p having been founded  and while we remember many of the names of the great in a c p years james weldon johnson of course who was one of the great executive secretaries of the organization we will remember always the name roy wilkins who was a labor leader and an executive secretary of the a c p w e b dubois who was one of the great intellectuals of his time and of all time we remember of julian bond who today is the chairperson of the organization and dr benjamin hooks who was c board member but also a lawyer and executive director of the a c p but some of the names that we don't always remember are names of persons who are not because americans who were there at the genesis of this organization mary white ovington this lady held one of the very first meetings organize they tional meetings of the in a c p in her living room at a time when it was not popular to host a meeting for  an organization like the in a c p i also would remember if we were at william english walling and oswald garrison villiers these persons were not african americans but they literally put their lives on the line so that african americans could have the types of rights and privileges that we enjoy today the in a c p the nation's oldest civil rights organization has been there at brown versus the board of education has always mentioned when we think of the a c p for it was thurgood marshall who took this case to the supreme court and won it integrating the schools across this country but then a c p was also there in the case  shelley versus kramer and the case of barros versus jackson these cases outlawed restrictive covenants racial restrictive covenants that barred african americans from living in certain communities the in a c p took these cases to the supreme court and won them as well if the truth be told we live where we live we sleep where we sleep and we eat where we eat because of the in a c p it has made a difference in the lives of all americans and i am so grateful that this congress has seen fit to honor it today for its ninety nine years of service as of late the in a c p was a party to the legend that we put before congress to deal with news intimidation news intimidation one of the latest means by which persons having civil rights violated and then in a c p was there to help us push this legislation through congress so as to make it very clear transfigures least so that this country will not tolerate loose intimidation in fact the president of the united states as late as yesterday made it clear that nuthin tema de sion is unacceptable in this country the n a s the p c has been a part of the fiber and fabric of the human rights civil rights movement in this country and if we did not have the in a c p we would have to create the a it has been there for us today we are there for the a c p thank you mr chairman and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yields back the gentleman from tennessee reserves the balance of his time gentleman from ohio is recognized submit that during my time here in congress and of another group that has had a more effective lobbying force on issues concerning human rights and civil rights and rights of people who are under represented and need the help of government and needed  a fair and just why in my community in memphis the president of life if he is miss johnny turner and we've had a great in the chapter then hooks who's a former head of the agency is a resident of my community all outstanding individual who recently was honored by president bush with a medal of freedom and maxine a vasco smith and jesse turner who have been the national officers of the end of life c p r residents of my community as well as the end of life if he has been very important to memphis but very important this country and i thank mr graham for bringing the resolution to the floor and i appreciate that this remarks made here on the floor and with that i would urge passage final passage and you back the remainder of the time gentleman from tennessee yield back t balance of his time the question is will the house suspend the rules in a great house concurrent resolution two eighty nine those in favor say aye those opposed say no in the opinion of chair two thirds being in tactical flag in arlington national cemetery honoring blind members of the armed forces that turn and other americans pursuant to the rule of the gentleman from texas mr rodriguez a gentleman from florida mr stearns each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas with the speaker you know myself as much time as i may consume the gentleman is recognized as just bigger today rises strong supporter of the leadership in this area today there are nearly one point three million blinded in visually impaired americans and approximately one hundred eighty seven thousand of those are veterans it is estimated that sixteen percent of these veterans as sustain injuries in operation iraqi freedom and operation enduring freedom leaving them with some form of severe visual loss and impairment these veterans due to their disability or often are afforded the opportunity to share each and witness the american flag as those without visual impairment that is why passing the american braille flag memorial act is so important as to it would authorize the secretary of the army to place an american braille tactile flag on the grounds of the arlington national cemetery to honor the sacrifice of our nation's blind veterans and members of the armed forces this legislation would also allow the secretary of the army to approve the appropriate design of the flag as well as the site in the arlington national cemetery there would be most appropriate for the memorial which i understand is likely to be at the visitor center the bronze braille american flag generously donated by the kansas braille transcription institute would include the pledge of allegiance it would all allow the blinded and the visually impaired to feel the stars and stripes in colors of the american flag placed near arlington national cemetery  blind veterans association the american council an american foundation of the blind wholeheartedly support this piece of legislation our efforts today will show the over four million this a ders who come to the  arlington national cemetery each year that we remember and honor the blind veterans who died in service to our nation as well as all veterans and service members who live today with blindness in and vision mr speaker this legislation provides a way to include all americans in the wonderful patriotic spirit in this when visiting arlington national cemetery and seeing the american flag with heroes or laid to rest i'm told that when feeling many mature mock up versions of the braille flag blinded veterans and service members often break down and cry it would only be appropriate to allow our blind and visually impaired veterans and service members to share this experience by day paying tribute and honoring them with the recognition they deserve at the at the hallmark of a of american memorial the arlington national cemetery our job my colleagues to support the passage of h r forty one sixty nine without delay and mr speaker i reserve the balance of my time the gentleman from texas reserves rabbit gentleman from florida is recognized mr speaker thank you i rise also in strong support for h r forty one sixty nine which would authorize the placement in arlington national cemetery of american braille tactiles flag honoring blind members of the armed forces that chance and other americans my colleagues our nation's veterans have fought for our freedom many at the expense of their health and well being some of our veterans have not just lost the use of an arm or a like as a consequence of service but now live in darkness from the loss of their sight in order to serve the needs of blind americans the kansas braille transcription institute created and design a tactile american flag in braille which would enable these blind veterans and other blind americans this simple ability to see through the use of their hands the beauty of our american flag the flag has been specifically designed in a way that informs a blind of the full color of the american flag thirteen stripes and fifty stars on the blue field additionally the tactile flag bearers the pledge of allegiance in both raise print and grade one braille it is a plaque it's not a traditional flag mr speaker i offer in full support of this great bill the american braille flag memorial act by placing the braille american flag at arlington national cemetery we do indeed bring honor to our nation's blind veterans community and allow our blind veterans  speaker's minded pleasure to give time as much time as you may consume to the author of the bill mr totty heart from kansas the gentleman from kansas is recognized i think the gentleman from florida and the gentleman from texas there is systems in helping me with this very fine piece of legislation mr speaker last summer one of my constituents randy could brawl president of the kansas braille transcript institute emailed me with an idea to place an american braille flag at arlington national cemetery today we see the fruition of one man's idea prior to the creation of the american braille flag the american flag was not accessible to the blind this flag was created by the kansas braille transcript institute in wichita kansas as you can see on this poster to my left the flag has been specially designed in a way that informs the flying blind of the full color of the american flag the thirteen stripes in the fifty stars on the blue field additionally this tactile flag bears a pledge of allegiance both in raised print and in grade one braille if you know that our nation has over one million blind and low vision veterans and those numbers continue to rise the department of defense estimates that sixteen percent of those injured in operation iraqi freedom and operation enduring freedom suffer from severe vision loss additional ten to twelve million americans are blind or of low vision the american braille flag memorial bill authorizes the placement of an american braille flag at arlington national cemetery a national place of remember it's an honor for our nation's veterans the cemetery is visited by an estimated four million people annually the american braille flag memorial will bring honor to our nation's blind's community and allow our blind veterans to see the american flag again in order to ensure that this effort will enhance and not detract from the cemetery i've worked with says superintendent of the arlington national cemetery john metzler mr metzler believes that a fifteen inch by seventeen inch bronze replica of the american braille flag would be a wonderful addition to the visitor center at the cemetery this unique bronze replica and as such this is a unique bronze replica and as such this new drawing and special canst casting had to be commissioned the drawings for the bronze replica were completed by kevin west a student at wichita area technical college kevin is a specialist in the kansas army national guard he's also a veteran of operation iraqi freedom and operation enduring freedom he served in the seven hundred seventy eighth combat heavy equipment transport group or hete out of kansas city kansas as both a convoy security and a head operator let me take this moment to thank kevin for his service to the nation the actual bronze flag memorial will be cast free of charge by the trucks us company of oswego illinois the trucks company was founded by another american hero mr bill chuck has mr truck has joined the army  during world war two and served as a b twenty four pilot while serving in world war two he was shot down during the battle of the bulge and became a p o w in germany in one thousand nine hundred four he was liberated at the end of the war i greatly appreciate m chism and generosity in agreeing to donate to broadcasting and also want to thank him for his service with mr west and mr trucks as both donating their services and the kansas braille transcription institute donating the transportation this entire project will be provided to the government free of charge mr speaker i want to thank my sixteen co sponsors and the blind veterans of america for their endorsement and support of this effort but more importantly i want to thank those who serve this nation time gentleman yields back and mr speaker i just want to again to congratulate my colleague from kansas for introducing this bill it clearly shows a special sense of sensitivity to the needs of disabled that chance and i commend my distinguished colleague for doing this and for the support of the institute for their offering this to the government the only national cemetery and again it's a lot of hard work by the city hard and i commend it which to revise and extend their remarks and include extending its material on h r forty one sixty nine and i want to take this opportunity also to thank both the gentleman from florida as well as the  in this area and i yield back the balance of my time without objection all times yield it back the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r forty one sixty nine the those in favor say  twenty and the chairs prior amounts meant further proceedings on this motion will be postponed commending the people of the state of washington for showing their support for the needs of the state of washington veteran and encouraging residents of other states to pursue creative ways to show their own support for veteran a person went to the rule the gentleman from texas mr rodriguez and the gentleman from florida mr stearns each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas mississippi go you must self as much time as i may consume the gentleman is recognized mr speaker i would like to thank my distinguished colleague congressman brian baird of washington for craft in this resolution which calls on the states to create innovative ways to supplement state and federal programs created to assist our nation's veterans and also like to command the washington delegation with the strong bipartisan support they demonstrated introduced in this resolution this resolution a stub which is a certificate of deposit in but dissipating financial institutions that would automatically donate fifty percent of the occurred interest to the state of washington's veterans innovative program providing this new to invest in our veterans  will help ensure that the needs of our nation's heroes are available when they need them i strongly support the resolution encourage all states to follow the enthusiasm and support of our veterans mr speak a bill commemorating the people of the state of washington for showing their support for the needs of the state of washington's veterans and encouraging residents of other states to pursue creative ways to show their own support for veterans this resolution was introduced by my stressed english colleague from washington it is particularly inspired by the veterans family fund certificate of deposit and insured account created through the grassroots efforts of citizens in washington state to benefit military veterans and their families the veterans family fund certificate deposit was officially launched on november eighth two thousand and seven when an individual purchases a veterans family fund certificate of deposit from a participating financial institution half of the interest is automatically donated to the state of washington's that turns innovation program the veterans innovation program was curve was created to provide emergency assistance to help current or former washington national guard or reserve service members simply cope with financial hardships unemployment educational needs and many of the basic family necessities the initiative of the citizens of the state of washington in creating this program is to be commended throughout the years young men and women across this great nation have answered the call to duty taking up arms in defense of our freedom and  and that of others in this world we should recognize the service of these veterans and encourage others to honor them by simply passing this bill today so i'd like to thank chairman filner ranking member boyer for bringing this legislation washington brian baird the gentleman from washington is recognized i thank my friend and colleague from texas and the gentleman from florida as well and i want to commend chairman filner for his support as well i'm very very pleased today to recognize the efforts of my constituents who will join together with many others from across washington state to unite in a common endeavor to help our veterans and their families that is arab washington residents to help our veterans has led to the creation of the veterans family fun certificate of deposit in november of last year as my friends have described earlier anyone wishing to show their personal support for veterans can do so in a simple way they can simply invest in a six month veterans family fun certificate of deposit after the six months as mentioned earlier half of the interest earned on the certificate goes back to the individual who invested but the other half of the interest is donated as a charitable contribution to the washington state department of veterans affairs veterans innovation program the department of veteran affairs will use the new funding to provide assistance to veterans and their families in areas where none is otherwise it's available through the state or federal government this will include direct grants for emergency financial assistance and efforts to promote the long term financial stability of washington state's veterans speaking personally as someone who worked in the v a system as a clinical psychologist i can tell you how valuable this sort of flexible individualized assistance can be to helping our veterans and their families last year congress stepped up to the plate and provided significant increases in funding for our nation's veterans but this is a creative way for the average citizen to show his or her support for the brave men and women who've served in the armed forces this program was entirely citizen driven and it demonstrates the power of interested individuals who come together to make a difference i'd like to particularly a doll it's jane jacobson who was the first to come up with the idea for the program and mike worthy of the bank of clark county who made his institution the first to participate in the program and it's already sold more than three hundred thousand in c d s including one which i was happy to invest in myself i also want to knowledge john lee the director of the washington state department of veterans affairs who supported the project from the very start and in particular i want to give special recognition to the outstanding governor of the state of washington governor christine gregoire who has been a key supporter and advocate for this program from its infancy i'm joined in this effort by the entire washington delegation on this resolution to commend the people of our state for showing their support for the needs of our veterans and we encourage residents of other states to pursue similar creative ways to show their support for veterans again i thank the chair and i thank the gentleman from texas and gentleman from florida for their time urge passage of this resolution yield back gentleman yells back the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time the gentleman from florida is recognition speaker i have no further speaker so i yield back the balance of our time gentleman from florida yield back the balance of his time gentleman from texas is recognized thank you very much and let me take this opportunity to recognize the congressman from rhode island congressman patrick kennedy gentlemen response time as you might consider the gentleman from rhode island is recognized i too want to join in support of this resolution commend my colleagues from washington state particular my colleague brian baird i've always thought and i've talked to the bank of america about this and have a appointment with the former treasury secretary bob rubin to a veteran's visa we all have credit cards and we all have the affinity cards and they they sell us cards where they have the affinity where you're americans when they use their credit card could send their bonus miles or the equivalent of those two veterans and they would be happy to lay down their credit card whether it be american express or visa or whatever with the big red white and blue credit card and someone say oh what kind of credit card is that that it's that color and they say that the visa the veteran's visa that means all of those bonus miles that would have gone to me being able to get a little extra bonus vacation or whatever is going to go to help our nation's veterans and i'll tell you i think there'd be a lot of americans out there who would be more than happy to be able to show their patriotic sense of duty when they were going around especially those two who are very scum for trouble and sitting at in the business boardrooms of this country doing business transactions all across this country and are sitting comfortably a whole while young men and women are overseas fighting for this country to be able to lay down that veterans visa card and had those affinity dollars go to those veterans groups and i think that we could send that directly to the the  very great organization in new york the fisher foundation which has a great a transparent a ruling for all the dollars that it sends to the intrepid organization and to the poly trauma centers and all to the vet  ers across the country i think this is a terrific notion of the set to the certificate of deposits having a percentage of those interest payments going to veterans and i think this is one that i'm hoping to get started as well and it follows on the same concept that you're working on here in washington state i hope to take your concept that you're doing in washington state and bring it to my state of rhode island and i commend you on it and i just want to salute you for the work that you're doing out and in washington state brian with the gentleman yield yes i just would like to thank you for supporting this initiative and would in turn support your proposal what this comes out of is citizen saying look we've got young men and women and as many people know in this conflict it's not just young men and women it's people of all ages over overseas in iraq afghanistan and throughout the country and when they come back home we want to show them our support and it's a fine thing and a proper thing that we would wave a flag and say thank you for your service but sometimes people need more than just a thanks sometimes they need the ability to visit a loved one sometimes they need a home repair sometimes they need a little bit of help financially to go to school and the kind of program that we're putting forward today allows over and above what we're already providing through ou a services the average citizen to provide support for doing just that and it sounds like that's exactly what you're seeking to do mr kennedy i commend you for your efforts and look forward to working with you and i thank you for and likewise thank you the gentleman from texas remarks and exclude including extraneous materials on house resolution seven ninety and i yield back the balance of my time objection all time as he'll to back the question is with the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution seven ninety those in favor say postponed for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise to speaker i move to suspend the rules and agreed to resolution one sixty three of the chair the clerk will report the title of the resolution house resolution one hundred sixty three resolution supporting the goals and ideals of national salute to hospitalized veterans week and for other purposes pursuant to the role the gentleman from texas mr rodriguez in the gentleman from florida mr stearns each for control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from wear the uniform of the armed forces with this service comes the real possibility of receiving an injury in answering the call to duty the global war on terrorism is no exception to date over thirty one thousand servicemen and women have been wounded in action nearly four thousand killed for thirty years the department of veterans affairs has designated the week of february the fourteen as a national salute to h paralyzed veterans week the goal of the programs are to pay tribute and express appreciation to the hospitalized veterans to increase community awareness and to encourage individuals to become involved at the local v a volunteers the v a s volunteer services is the largest volunteer program in the federal program over the past sixty years v a volunteers have donated more than six hundred and eighty nine million hours of service worth an estimated twelve point nine billion dollars in physical year two thousand and seven eighty five thousand one in twenty eight active volunteers contributed a total of more than eleven point six million hours of service equal to five thousand four hundred seventy four for full time employees worth two hundred eighteen million let's not forget those who have fought for this country in their time of greatest nee join me in recognizing and pain tribute to the hospitalized veterans i challenge each and every person to go visit their local v a medical centers brighten their smiles with the veterans face  is speaker at this time i reserve the balance of my time the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time the gentleman from florida mr stearns is recognized thank you mr speaker and i yield such time as i may consume the gentleman is recognized i also rise today in i sixty three supporting the goals and ideals of national salute to hospitalized sections week and for other purposes i'd like to thank my colleague mr rodriguez and mr miller for for sponsoring this timely piece of legislation the president has designated as ignited this week february eleventh through the steen as national salute to hospitalized veterans week this week provides the american people the opportunity  special group of men and women more than ninety eight thousand veterans of the united states armed forces who are cared for every day by the department of veterans affairs medical centers outpatient clinics d aires and nursing homes across this nation mr speaker this resolution specifically shows the support of the united states house of representatives for the national salute to hospitalized veterans program and it efforts to pay tribute to and express appreciation for these hospitalized veterans the resolution also seeks to increase community awareness of the role of the v a medical centers and to encourage citizens to visit hospitalized veterans become involved as volunteers the resolution also encourages citizens who live near a v a hospital or clinic just take time to visit and thank our veterans personally during my visit with this veterans at the gainesville florida da medical center and my trip this past year to ramstein to visit the troops at the hospital i've also been inspired by the courage and honor that sits played by these heroes you'll walk away feeling a whole lot better than when you came in because you're so proud of what they've done and finally mr speaker this resolution assures our nation's veterans that we in congress will continue to work with veteran service organization to support our veterans with words actions and financial assistance so again mr speaker i rise in strong support of house resolution nine sixty three and i'm sure that preserves the balance of the time a gentleman reserves his time the gentleman from texas is recognized in two to reserve the balance of my time gentleman from texas continues to reserve the gentleman from florida's recognize this is let me conclude say i'd like to extend my thanks to chairman filner ranking member boyer third bringing not just this resolution to unanimously support a jar one sixty three and mr speaker i have no for the request for time and i yield back the balance of my time the without objection members will have five days the gentleman from texas yields back his time the question is will the house all those in favor of taking this vote by the age of nays will rise and remain standing until counted since a sufficient number having arisen hasan naser ordered pursuant to cross made of rule twenty and the chairs prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postpone control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from california i ask unanimous consent that all members may have thought of a just a few days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration without objection  cuban this group diverse group of lead sponsors is testament to the importance of raising greater awareness about heart disease and especially heart disease in women the resolution  and national wear red day both of which occur in february heart month was first designated forty five years ago and has served as a launching pad to spur advocates into action around the country my hometown of santa barbara there will a go red for women luncheon in the coming weeks as there is each year this event provides opportunities for women to learn more about heart health for themselves and also for the role that they often play as the health decision maker in their families the importance of community events like go red for women lunches and other similar kinds of event cannot be overstated heart disease is a number one killer of both women and men but now in fact more women than men die of heart disease each year unfortunately there is still an existing knowledge gap both in terms of public awareness and professional awareness despite the fact that almost four hundred sixty thousand american women die of heart disease every year women are still growth the under represented in clinical trials as one example the numbers are even worse for minority women who are at an even greater risk for developing heart disease and who have many more barriers to accessing care so today as we pass this resolution to recognize the importance of heart month and wear red day let us use this opportunity to discuss the real changes we can make to improve women's heart health my colleague barbara cuban and i have introduced h r ten fourteen the heart for women act this act takes crucial steps to address women's heart health it ensures that research stratified by gender in other words that we recognize that women need to have research that will take their can from these into consideration provide for the edge of an educational campaign for health professionals and the public and it expands a very successful wise woman program that conducts cardiovascular screening for low income women has been in the pilot phase proven very successful in various parts of the country we had a successful hearing in the health subcommittee and i'd like to say the energy and commerce committee for working hard to move the sludge is legislation along and i hope the very near future finally i want to thank the speaker for suggesting that we encourage everyone to wear red tomorrow in order that we be even more visible to all of our colleagues and other staff members and others on the hill to continue this very important dialogue and thank you and i reserve the balance of my time the gentleman reserves the balance of her charm the gentleman from north carolina is recognized thank you mr speaker and i think the gentle lady my friend from california for all the hard work th put into this issue for the last several years not just this year but i know it's been a real passion with her for a long time and thank you for that i rise in support of this important resolution because it does raise awareness about heart disease and the effect on women which doesn't get talked about as much as heart disease in men as a breast cancer survivor i spent a lot of time raising awareness about breast cancer and the importance of preventive screenings and effect treatments there are vital battles and as a country they've made great strides toward earlier detection of cancer and less invasive treatments but when we're reminded that heart disease is the leading cause of death for american women it's a sobering thought i remember being surprised to learn that the physical symptoms of heart attacks in women are often different than they are in men women are less likely to feel typical chest pains during the attack women symptoms are often categorized by back pain or and while these a typical symptoms are hard to recognize it's important to be vigilant about heart health many lifesaving treatments like anti clotting drugs and angioplasties work best if given within the first hour of a heart attack so it's important we know what's really going on with us as women before you get to that point you want to revenge life threatening heart attacks the easy way through lifestyle changes that can keep heart disease in check and i  a had helpful guidelines about steps that all american women and men can take to improve heart health some tips are as easy as talk on the a doctor about it another's are as easy and simple as taking a daily stroll  i truly appreciate the opportunity to speak on this resolution and i hope women all across the country will take some time this week to do something good for themselves relative to their heart to wear red and i would like to reserve the balance of my time journal  reserves her charm a gentlewoman from california is recognized i continue to reserve the gentleman reserves the gentleman from north carolina yes i would like to yield so much time is she may consume to one of the key sponsors of this resolution this fallon gentle lady from excusing his i'm sorry we had the wrong person i beg your pardon miss blackburne from tennessee gentlemen from tennessee is recognized and thank you mr speaker i appreciate that and miss fallon is going to follow me to the microphone where all joining together to sponsor this resolution and before i speak i want to command both the gentle lady from california and the gentle lady from north carolina for the exceptional weren't that they have done on this issue they we all are on the health subcommittee they have worked diligently on this and have continued in their efforts to raise awareness on heart health for women the resolution is timely and is something that we hope tomorrow is going to share the limelight a bit with valentine today as we raise awareness on the importance of heart health for women it is something also that is important as an educational tool as we each individually and then all working together continue our outreach efforts to make certain that women are aware of the signs of the disease they are aware of the precautions and they are then properly informed on the steps that they need to take again i commend my colleagues for their diligence and their work i appreciate the opportunity to sponsor the legislation with them and i yield back to the gentle lady from north carolina of the balance of my time  gentleman from north carolina reserves your charge the gentleman from california is recognized continue to research the gentleman's jealous for new reserves or charm the gentleman from north carolina is recognized as i do have one more speaker the gentle lady from oklahoma mrs allen great resolution to honor women and of course the american heart association go red for women man that's a very important resolution thank you so much to jelly from california for her leadership in the women's caucus especially in highlighting women's health and i too am very and proud to be a sponsor of this legislation as you know february is american heart met and now is a great time for all of our members of congress to and concerned citizens i will say in our nation to focus on how we can live healthier lifestyles to educate ourselves on what we can do to prevent heart disease and to prevent stroke and to live the kind of quality of life that we all deserve i think it's already been mentioned that heart disease is the number one killer in the united states and it certainly is a huge problem in the state of oklahoma heart disease afflicts more than one in four americans and  nearly eighty million in total in our nation and for many it is a deadly disease heart disease also kills about two americans per minute and contrary to popular opinion heart disease is every bit as dangerous for women as it is for man in the last two decades more women than men have died from it and in my home state alone almost twenty women a day die from heart related illnesses and tomorrow millions of men and women are participating in the national go red for or a go red for go red day and by the way i know i get all black today and i think all the other ladies have all black you know a little bit of red on but tomorrow will be wearing a red so i encourage all our colleagues here in congress to be able to wear their red and those around the nation and as we were read tomorrow we're remind those around as of the importance of fighting this disease and we can fight this disease by starting just to take some simple precautions exercising maintaining a healthy eating styles and refraining of course from habits that are harmful to our health like smoking so mr speaker i want to encourage all my colleagues and all americans smart to carolina continues to reserve gentlewoman from california is recognized thank you i have no more speakers but i do want to commend our colleagues who have spoken to this important topic and particularly my good friend and colleague from north carolina sue myrick who is symbolizing in her attire what we're all going to be doing tomorrow which of of course is not only valentine's day but where red day heart month and wear red day month to underscore the need for us all to pay attention to women and heart disease on this month of february and i yelled back at the gentleman yields back you know i'm from north carolina i have no speakers i offer you a bath gentlemen from california remove  motion the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution nine seventy do those in favor say aye aye those opposed no the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative cause eight of rule twenty of the chairs prior announcement further proceedings on this motion will be postpone for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and concur  resolution read house resolution than seventy one suspend the rules agreed to house resolution nine seventy one the clerk will report the title of the resolution house resolution nine seventy one resolution expressing the sympathies and support of the house of representatives for the individuals and institutions affected by the powerful tornado that struck community in alabama arkansas kentucky mississippi and tennessee on february fifth two thousand and eight per cent to the rule of gentleman from tennessee to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on house resolution nine seventy one without objection gentleman is recognized mr speaker if it's appropriate normally i'd feel myself time now but i'd like to yield some time on the front end of mr tanner the lady from oklahoma for allowing me to go ahead spake mr speaker i want to commend the federal response to the tornadoes that occurred in tennessee i left here arnie last week and went down to my district in west and middle tennessee to view with the governor of our state and others the tremendous damage that was done the loss of life that occurred and i want to say that the secretary of homeland security and the director of fame a war there as i got there last thursday morning and as we toured in tennessee the most morning and i can only describe the devastation to union the dorms and so on as horrendous and also conclude that it was a miracle that there was no more bodily injury or loss of life than that occurred at union but the other thing other than the sectarian the director fame of being there was any aftermath of these tragedies like we've friends neighbors and others there gives one a great sense of resolve and gives one the magnanimous failing of the human spirit rising out of the ashes of  these tremendous natural disasters and so that made us make the observation that we appreciate the quick risk ponts of the federal government the state government all of the fame of people there but typically to the friends neighbors and american statements of those who were injured who lost everything their house is gone it is truly a blessing to see people come together even under tragic circumstances in so i want to commend mr cohen for bringing this it memphis also as well as middle tennessee but any other states but let me just simply add my congratulations to those who brought this resolution in my thanks to those for the recognition of so many who are doing so much at this time to help those who have suffered so much thank may go on with my remarks i've ra's discuss for house resolution not seventy one of which is a resolution expressed sympathy and support for the individuals and institutions affected by the peril for tornadoes that swept through the southeastern conference states of alabama arkansas mississippi kentucky and tennessee just over two weeks ago over one hundred tornadoes landed they killed over fifty people destroyed thousands of homes schools businesses and the thousands of people without power and the true american spirit and resolve  volunteers cared for the victims and provided shelter food and clothing x press my heartfelt sympathy dollar fellow citizens in the wake of mother nature's wrath and to commend the men and women who serve this nation as first responders police and officers firefighters mercy  medical personnel who placed themselves in great danger every day but did in this day as well to protect us and people that were in harm's way our neighbors and friends deserve our sympathy and prayers and the first responders deserve our deepest thanks and respect on the occasion of the day after the tornadoes congressman blackburn joined me in memphis and we toured around hickory hills and i met with some individuals the mayors of wharton inherent in another city officials in memphis to help the residents in tennessee and the other states as well president bush i would like to commend for his quick response and he responded to governor bredesen this request to have tennessee and other areas declared disaster areas and those were that was done and famous on the ground already issuing checks and helping people we've seen a great response from the federal government was needed and we're looking for more response which we will be which we're working on now to provide to our people throughout that district and with such time as i may consume i rise today in support of house resolution nine seventy one introduced by mr gordon of tennessee the resolution expresses the heartfelt sympathy of the house of representatives for the victims of the devastating tornado that struck communities in the state of alabama arkansas kentucky mississippi and tennessee on february fifth two thousand they more than one hundred tornadoes devastate communities throughout the mississippi valley resulting in the deadliest tornado outbreak in the united states in twenty years attorney took the lives of fifty people injured countless others and damaged or destroyed more than a thousand homes additionally the trails have left tens of thousands of residents in the mississippi valley without power in response to these deadly tornadoes local state and fed officials and emergency personnel respond as swiftly to preserve and protect human life their south push actions save lives and help their communities in their efforts to recover from the disaster well this resolution is a fitting commendation of courage and determination of local citizens of businesses and volunteer organizations following the disaster they have shown their heroism their compassion for their federal city citizens while faced with such destruction the citizens of that alabama arkansas kentucky mississippi and tennessee will work hard to rebuild and to make every effort to ensure the recovery of their communities and recognition of their efforts in this resolution our support as they continue to rebuild their homes and their lives and mr speaker i'd like to extend my heartfelt sympathy and my prayers to all those who have been affected by this tragedy and to their families and i support this resolution and urge my colleagues to do the same and the speaker i'd like to reserve the balance of my time the gentleman from tennessee is recognized thank you thank you mr gordon of  speak the speaker lady from oklahoma for yielding and i rise in support of house resolution nine seventy one and appreciate the efforts of mr gordon to bring the resolution forward mr speaker my colleagues have spoken about being on the ground and seeing firsthand the devastation and of course congressman cantor congressman cohen and i all have the counties that were affected by this in my district i have nine counties that saw devastation and destruction with the impact of this four tornado we had shelby county fayette mcnairy harden hickman perry whaling williamson among gummer a canny each saw devastation destruction of property and loss of life and it mr speaker indeed we extend our condolences to those families who have lost their lives and to their loved ones who have seen that loss of life and we all we also extend our condolences to those families who have lost their livelihood because indeed as has been stated destruction is on imaginable i have a poster right here from sunday afternoon when we were in harden county at sharon baptist church which was a wonderful church and school it was completely obliterated all six buildings on the campus of that church were obliterated and while you see the destruction that is just unimaginable what you also see is the rising of the human spirit and neighbors who are reaching out to help i asked dr spencer who pastors that church what next how do they move forward because they had nothing left they had a hell no that was found two counties over but other than that nothing left and he said well tomorrow morning we start to rebuild and tomorrow morning we're going to be pulling out the scrap metal and we're going to be moving the rubble to the street and tomorrow morning is a new day and that is the spirit that we see of individuals pitching in neighbors coming to help now and they've also been so well supported by sema by director a and the team that is on the ground by our state and local elected officials who didn't sit around and wait for someone to say they're coming to take care of it and they took action and said we're going to get this done it has been a wonderful testament to the volunteer spirit of our great state of tennessee and i commend all of those who have served who have shown up to help and again extend my condolences to those who have lost family members and have lost the means of their livelihood and i yield back to the gentle lady from oklahoma the gentleman from tennessee is recognized i would like to yield as much time as the gentleman from palm all tennessee needs i thank the gentleman from memphis and depreciate your management today of this resolution that we are discussing here on the u s house floor the tornadoes and storms and winds that recently tore across the south and wrought upon each of our states the tragedy of loss of lives and families being separated but now all of us have seen the images of fallen trees and a couple of homes and one by one to the scene is another southerners affected but this is after i began the seemingly impossible task of piecing their lives together lands with terrible acts i'm proud to say though as we face the worst of the forces we cannot control we continue to see the best of the humanitarian speared that is very much within our power to command in this time of need volunteer social action from the united way to the red cross help bring aid and comfort to the affected within days of the tornadoes passing the red cross around help provide shelter next door or the neighbor next door that may not have lost their home gather together to offer a shoulder of condolence hope for the future and concern compassion for those affected it was not long ago that the people of new orleans endured the worst of what can happen when we fail to act and the wake of the storms in tennessee in the south we have shown that we will never commit the sin of annexing again this week and last we have shown that there is no tornado so perfect no storm so terrible that the ones of compassion cannot restore and repair any damage brought upon us and we rast today  losses of those affected to grieve for those who were so callously and abrupt and taken from the from us that nat and we placed a renewal of our great country and our states in the wake of the storm in in this time i think mahatma gandhi once said that if all the people who profess to be christians would act like jesus the world would be at his feet and i was reminded of that last week because we gather sunday morning for the johnson actually sunday school class at red bank baptist church where i go our honestly the lesson was all witnessing and many times people of faith consider witnessing sharing the gospel bullet but we all know the most powerful witness anybody can give of their faith and their commitment to the lord is in what they do and man did we ever see that again last week in tennessee i have to tell of the people in madison county who have been hit and hit and hit again over the last several years by tornadoes because one of the students at union university who is hurt very badly is david wilson who happens to be a very very close friend of my family's his parents are two of my wife and my best friends and he coached taught that sunday school class with me at redmond baptist church for a number of years and his son was transport today from the hospital in madison county across the state to erling or in chattanooga where he will be continuing in recovery but he was hurt critically and he was underneath the rubble for four hours with other students at union university and i got to tell you the experience that that family cell there was a witness of their faith in their goodness they not only had the basics of water and food and shelter they found a home and they took care of them but they went and eyeglasses and they met every single need and they made sure he was flown back to the hospital at home today and met every single need and that's how people express their love for god is by sharing what they have with others especially at a time of need tennesseans are good people and man when folks are hurting everybody comes to help we saw it again in madison county on behalf of the wilson family i want to say from the other end of the state thank you to the good people of that entire area where the tornadoes hit yet again thank you to union university for meeting every need thank god none of the students that david wilson's got a long long road back to stand and walk again we pray for the wilsons we pray for david we pray and thank god for all the people who helped this time of need just appreciate the goodness of the people of tennessee that came out and helped in so many ways and all of those professionals that were there it has been since thanks to this delegation for pulling together yet again and for the people who were hurt in other states and affected in the loss of life our prayers went up this is really what it's all about is people be in there because that's really all we're here for is to love god and to serve others and  things for people in need and it was an important instrument of of good in in society abraham lincoln might have best expressed it and crises like this we realize how important government can be and first responders come to the rescue and do jobs of heroic proportion to many times when we don't are not the tragedies and catastrophic events we don't reflect on the importance of government and government is the policeman on the street and it's the paramedic and it's the firefighter and it shouldn't just be on nine eleven on days when you think about nine eleven or tornadoes you think about these people but they are government they show government works and government worked in this particular situation still working is famous helping people get compensation for their losses and saying they have habitable places to go to live in and that the small business administration is helping get business started indeed as mr romp and others said the volunteer spirit in tennessee was shown by people in alabama arkansas and throughout the south showed their care for their for their neighbors there were people from georgia in the red cross to come into memphis and help people there i want to thank everybody who's come to help all the victims and thank mr gordon for being the prime sponsor on this resolution and with that mr speaker i was just asked that everybody join in in voting for the passage of of this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time the question is will the house just bend the rules  agreed to house resolution ninety seven one those in favor say aye those opposed now in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the resolution is a great do and without objection the motion to reconsider is your lays before the house the following message to the congress of the united states pursuant to the international emergency economic powers act as amended fifty u s c seventeen zero wine i hereby report that i have issued an executive order taking additional stance with respect to the government  syria's continued engagement and certain conduct that formed the basis for the national emergency declared in executive order one thirty three thirty eight of may eleventh two thousand and four including but not limited to its efforts to undermine the stabilization and reconstruction of iraq this order will block the property and interest in the property of persons determined by the secretary of the treasury after consultation with the secretary of state to be responsible for to have engaged and to have facilitated or to have to curate improper advantage as a result of public corruption by senior officials within the government of syria the order also resides is a provision and executive order one thirty three thirty eight to block the property an interest in property of persons determined by the secretary of the treasury after consultation with the secretary of the state to be responsible for or otherwise and nick leaks attributing to actions or decisions of the government of syria that have the purpose or effect of undermining efforts to stabilize iraq or in laos the use of syrian territory or facilities to undermine efforts to stabilize iraq i delegated to the secretary of the treasury the authority to take such action after consultation with the secretary of state including the problem of geisha and of rules and regulations and to him lawyer all powers granted to the president by i p a as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of my order i wish to emphasize as well my ongoing concern over the destabilization role syria continues to play in lebanon including its efforts to obstruct through intimidation and violence lebanon the house will recognize members for one minute the gentleman from tennessee mr speaker ice unanimous consent today following legislative business and the special orders heretofore entered into the following members may be printed dress the house for five minutes to revise and extend the without objection you know from georgia's recognized that misspeak my speaker i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business in any special orders heretofore entered into the following members may be permitted to address the house revise and extend their remarks and includ an extraneous material mr murphy february fifteenth for five minutes and mr price today for five minutes without objection of texas under the speaker's announced policy of january that under previous order of the house the following members are recognized for five minutes each ms poll of texas gentleman from georgia mr speaker misspeak or this says hadn't planned on coming down here tonight but this is a sad and distressing day for this house of representatives a spec you know mr speaker some may not but there are companies in america that are patriotic and they want to help our nation fight against those who would do us harm but amazingly mr speaker they feel that they can't and why they believe that if they do they will be sued that's right mr speaker companies in america believe and have been given counsel by their attorneys that if they if they help the united states government assisted making our nation safer they will be sued the threat of trial lawyers are preventing our nation from protecting itself outrageous you say so do i so do i if congress doesn't act this week this week critical tools that allow our intelligence officers to monitor terrorist communications overseas yesterday the senate approved a bipartisan bill a bipartisan bill by a vote of sixty eight to twenty nine to close the terrorist loophole in our intelligence laws the senate bill represents a remarkable compromise between congress and the administration it rightly restores the original intent of the foreign intelligence surveillance act sites or by ensuring that intelligence officials can conduct surveillance on foreign targets without a court order while still protecting the civil liberties of the american people it also grants five belated protection to telecommunication companies that helped our government after september eleventh allowing these companies to be subjected to frivolous lawsuits threatens their cooperation in the future and would cripple america's counterterrorism efforts this unfortunately mr speaker appears to be what the house democrat majority desires every american will become exposed to  greater threats every american moms dads sons daughters every single american is exposed to greater threats because this majority refuses to consider a long term solution to the problems facing our intelligence community i haven't read i haven't read mr speaker that terrorists have placed an expiration date on their plots to destroy our way of life congress shouldn't put an expiration date are intent on our intelligence community's ability to protect our nation this bill expires this week we must act mr speaker elections have consequences and it appears that the democrat left majority now in charge is beholden to trial lawyers i just didn't think that they would put those trial lawyers ahead of national security is bigger this is a sad day i to speak out of order without objection gentlewoman's recognized for five minutes mr speaker this is a moment that i had hoped would never come i am rising for the two hundred and fifty it's time to oppose the occupation of iraq is a sad task because two hundred fifty times means that the occupation has dragged on and on nearly five years i had hoped that my first speech would be by last or my fifty s are even my one hundredth but the administration continues to follow its lin destructive path year after year as the saying goes all that is necessary for evil to triumph is that good people do nothing so be sure i have raised my voice time and time again on this floor to protest the administration's folly and hold it accountable for its reckless action and its reckless policies the american people have raised their voices also mr speaker they have said that they want an end to this occupation and they want responsible redeployment of our troops face but our leaders in the white house who first turned a deaf ear to the people of the world when they invaded iraq continue to turn a deaf ear to their very own people in the united states of america what makes this occasion even sadder for me is that i will have to rise more times before the occupation and because the administration has made it absolutely clear that it will continue its occupation right to the bitter end of its term in office and i fear that the occupation may go on long after that a leading republican presidential candidate has said that he has no problem with the occupation lasting one hundred years no problem and the same candidate said the other day and i quote him there is going to be other wars this is exactly the kind of shoot first ask questions later thinking that got us into trouble in iraq in the first place fortunately the democratic presidential candidates have a different mindset a mindset that uses  and international cooperation to solve problems of war but the current administration is working hard to tie the hands of the very next president it's negotiating to establish permanent bases in iraq and it is planning to keep troop levels absolutely as high as possible remember all the sweet talk mr speaker last september about possible troop troop cuts it was an absolute sham and what are we getting for of the tragedy of iraq are we any safer absolutely not in fact the director of national intelligence has warned that al  getting stronger and it is in a cosy safe haven in pakistan and that they are busy training more and more operatives a whole new generation is growing up in occup that rak their memories began after u s forces rolled in since electricity and water and basic services have been on the fritz since whole neighborhoods have become wandering refugees many have never known the cultural jam their own country this can not bode well for the region secretary of state rice has admitted that the taliban is resurgent in afghanistan and the report of the congressional commission on the national guard and reserves found that there is an appalling gap in our ability to defend the homeland because of guard and reserve development in iraq meanwhile we are squandering twelve billion dollars per month on the occupation while our economy slides into recession and the american people face the loss of their jobs their health care and their homes let's be clear mr speaker the main reason we are in this recession is because of the senseless and and ending occupation of iraq and our brave men and women in uniform what about them they're paying a very high price for this occupation every day five u s soldiers try to commit suicide because the frequency of development has put tremendous stress on them and their families this is simply not acceptable mr speaker i'll be back on this floor talking about this some more moments time's expired but this is my two hundred fiftieth time and i want you to know it's time that this occupation be over i yield back mr jones of north carolina for what reason is the gentleman from georgia rosemary is the long standing executive director of the national media association and has been somewhat of a legend in the meet in food business her dedication to the industry is evident by her business there are so many of them rosemary was born in scotland and went to work at the ministry of agriculture and fisheries for the british government before being hired as a secretary at the pacific coast made association which was later named the western states meat association and then renamed the national media association in one nine hundred ninety six rosemary received the forbes or a floyd forbes award for the from the national ma association for her outstanding service she was honored again in two thousand and two by the american meat science association for her common sense leadership she served on the national advisory board on meat and poultry inspection and was the vice president of the international national association national advisory committee on meat and our well it's called in a c c p alliance throughout her career she  has highlighted importance of information in the education to the maid association to improve standards efficiency and quality rosemary will be retiring very soon but if i know rosemary retirement for her won't mean just quietly fading out into the sunset she's going to be active probably still in there so she ation and industries i had the opportunity to get to know rosemary about ten or twelve years ago when we in the house subcommittee of appropriations was passed and the half of law and at that time there we were moving from visual carcass the carcass inspection of meat and poultry to mock microbial test this to the modern technology and rosemary i knew so many people in the industry there was a lot of controversy but she was able to get the people together to come up with the right compromises in the right push at the right time to get the thing from floundering she also was very active in a time when there were some salmonella and they caught cold issues they had threaten to close down the industry and push through i think very aggressive and detrimental mandatory recall authority for the secretary of agriculture rosemary brook work to broker some peace in the valley you might say she's got kind of enthusiasm that can only be called contagious met through her a man who's a sausage manufacturer in san francisco named alpa cherry and a libertarian family has also become friends of mine and it seems like birds o the feather flock together rosemary's friends are good people they have invited libby and me to go visit them out in san francisco and we had a very nice time dealing with them al h the hospitality i'd say that they had given us over the years and the friendship is kind of relationships that in this business are rare to find and i will say this i have no idea what miss marcos politics are if she's democrat or republican in fact last time she was in washington she she really prefers for some reason the west coast but the last time she was here she said jack only to say i'm going to go see chairwoman rosa de lauro because that's where the action is now she said that with a twinkle in a smile and then she went to go see rosa but she has those kind of goodwill that she she can deal with both sides of the aisle and get the argument off politics into what is best for the american food consumer what's best for the industry in the consumer has always been her goal i will say i don't even know what kind of activity she does on a personal level but i know this whatever she is doing right now she's doing it with a smile and a lot of fun and involving a lot of people she's the canned of lobbyist or industry advocate that keeps  our good reputation for the industry that she read represents because she doesn't cut corners she doesn't do political things she doesn't think in terms of backroom deals or power moves or anything like that she wants to do what's fair what's just for the american people and has a broad picture far beyond her job or her industry or her association so we're going to miss her kind of leadership but i do hope that in her retirement she she does not become a stranger and with that you rosemary maclow for the many years of advocacy for the american food consumer and for the industry and with that madam speaker i yield back the balance of my time hinchey of new york for what purposes the gentlewoman from california or i want to speak i'd like to speak out of order for five minutes to one point without objection that gentleman is recognized for five minutes thank you very much man a speaker and i come to the floor theme to join congresswoman woolsey in her two hundred fiftieth special order on the ongoing quagmire in iraq and i just want to take a moment to commend congresswoman wilson and thank her for her leadership and her commitment to  ending this occupation of iraq and bringing our troops home that was her resolution several years ago so that we were able to begin actually that the debate on this floor with regard to bring in our young men and women homes i do have to salute you congresswoman will be in thank you again very much for your commitment and your tenacity and your willingness to be a voice that is so desperately needed to be heard maddest because really the unfortunate that congresswoman myself congresswoman waters and all of our colleagues have to come even once to this floor and speak out against the invasion and subsequent occupation of iraq but the reality is we are in iraq and the reality is also th costs of our invasion and the subsequent occupation of iraq have been very high as of february tenth two thousand and eight according to the defense department thirty nine hundred fifty five of our brave young men and women have given their lives nearly thirty thousand united states troops have been injured and countless thousands of iraqis have been killed we've made it i have trillion dollars and gotten what in return we are still occupying a country which has undermined our standing and credibility in the world what we have done as it relates to our occupation of iraq and follow we have an opportunity once again to talk about why we do not believe funding the president or given the president another blank check for waging war in iraq makes any sense we have the opportunity to turn this around in the coming war supplemental which i understand maybe once again before us next month we must insist that the only funds that the president should get should be to protect our troops on the ground and bring them back home safely not one more dime to continue the occupation nor one more dime to continue the combat that is taking place in iraq and of course we called that and it is better known as a fully funded redeployment equally as important when our troops come home we must ensure that they all come home and that's why we continue to work with our colleagues to include provisions to prohibit permanent military bases in iraq and let me just tell you we have been successful in a bipartisan fashion including this language in a number of authorizing an appropriations bill as well as a standalone bill h r twenty nine twenty nine which passed the house in july two thousand and seven by an overwhelming bipartisan vote that spite of the fact that the president has signed these provisions into law i believe is six times since two thousand and six he issued a statement as he signed the fiscal year two thousand and eight department of defense authorization bill signaling his intention to ignore the provisions banning permanent military bases to ignore that provision sadly unfortunately this is a pattern coming from the white house that really does seem intent on cutting congress and out of any decisions relating to the permanent station stationing of the united states military in iraq at the end of last year without formal congressional input this declaration of principles for long term relationship of cooperation and friendship between the republic of iraq and the united states of america was discussed between prime minister maliki and president bush now these principles will set up the stage for future agreements on the disposition of united states troops in iraq to make certain that this does not end up being a backdoor way to keep our troops in iraq indefinitely which of course many of us are worried about i recently introduced h r fifty one twenty eight which really quire that any formal agreement emerging from this declaration of principles has the rule of both the house and the senate further it states that a sense of congress states that a sense of congress it is that the iraqi parliament should put their seal of approval on any agreement as well which just makes sense finally it will prohibit funding for any agreement that may were emerged from these principles that does not have the approval of the house in the senate there's no need nine that a majority of the american people are with us a reason c n n opinion research corporation poll has found that nearly two thirds of all americans oppose the occupation of iraq man a speaker we need to end this occupation and bring our troops home as safely and as quickly as possible and it is because of the courage and fortitude of members such as congresswoman woozy and waters who come to this floor each and every day when the history of this period is written historians will look back and say that there were some who oppose this and wanted it to end quickly thank  a speaker according to a two thousand and five g a o study employers reported the use of one point four million social security numbers that did not exist nearly one point seven million numbers had been used by multiple individuals sometimes as many as five hundred times names for the same social security number in my district the waukegan police find that at least twenty fake social security cards are found by law enforcement every week now upgrading the social security card should be common sense it's about seniors it's about identity theft it's about illegal immigration and it's about keeping americans safe when look at today's social security card we find a nineteen thirty s design it lacks a picture it lacks a barcode it lacks a magnetic strip it poses almost no barrier to the thousands of counterfeiters that make false social security cards today along with my colleague from illinois peter roskam we have introduced legislation to finally give americans the choice between the old  so security card and the new secure social security card this card offers enhanced protections across the board it would replace that flimsy and easily counterfeit of all so security card w twenty first century identity document that give seniors real protection our legislation and this design is based on the government's common access card already the u s government has issued ten million of these cards and it's protections in our judgment we believe should be offered to people in the twenty first century against social security card counterfeiters we think this legislation is important to pro pose a significant barrier to those who would counterfeit social security cards to help seniors in fighting a den of the theft and to make sure that a person who has that number and this card is really who they say it is we saw on september eleventh that eighteen of nineteen hijackers had balad u s ids during their crime of the century i think it's time to make sure that at least the source security card has the twenty first century protections that we can offer to make sure that we protect seniors to make sure that we protect all americans and trips protect the social security system that's why we think that this legislation to create the secure social security card is an idea whose time has come and i yield back down to my time providing for the adoption of the resolution eight friends nine seventy nine recommending that the house of representatives find harriet miers and joshua bolten chief of chief of staff white house in contempt of congress for refusal certain subpoenas a report to accompany house resolution nine eighty three resolution waiving a requirement of clause six a of rule thirteen with respect to consideration of certain resolutions reported from the committee on rules and providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules we've heard to the house calendar and ordered printed oregon for what purpose does a gentlewoman from california or i our requests unanimous consent to speak for five minutes out of the letter without objection the gentlewoman can speak for five minutes thank you very much madam speaker this on this floor i come to be with her to commend her for the tremendous leadership that she's provided not only in speaking out against the war in iraq but because she has given numerous press conferences she has been on numerous speaking engagements she has spoken with editorial boards she has written articles she has done everything that could be done in order to provide leadership and to encourage and urge the congress of the united states to bring our soldiers home unfortunately her messages have not always been heard but there are those of us those of us who work with her in the progressive caucus those of us who work with her in the out of iraq caucus who have tried to not only give support but to do the same kinds of things that she has been doing in order to end this war the american people are tired of this war and i find it disingenuous for some of the pundits to say that somehow this is off the radar screen that this is not an issue that the american public cares about anymore that somehow it is the economy of course it is the economy but you cannot separate what is going on with in our economy from the war we must look at this war for what it is first of all it is a war that we certainly should not be and we were misled there were never any weapons of mass destruction so the absolute saying is dead four thousand of our american soldiers have been killed in this war countless iraqis iraqi civilians and others who have made up the coalition forces from other countries are also dead and so here we are talking about and pun talking about it is not about the war it's not on the radar screen of the american public the economy is when in fact our condo me is in recession because of this mismanaged war where the president of the united states who came in as a fiscal conservative supposedly belong to the party of the fiscal conservatives who have been spending spending spending on this war in iraq over five hundred billion dollars on the war in iraq at the same time given tax cut to the richest one percent of the corporations of america and did nighy the dollars that we need to invest  in our own domestic problems that need to be addressed we had a bridge fall down in minneapolis and people wondered why did that happen and when we took a close look at the  reviews the assessments had been done about the state of affairs of our bridges and our infrastructure we learned that many of our bridges in america are in the same position that that bridge was then and we know that they have been assessed to be dangerous that they need repair why don't we have the money to invest in our infrastructure why is it we cannot create the jobs by investing in our infrastructure why can't we repair the bridges and the roads and the highways and build up a credible transportation system it is because this administration has decided that we're going to spend a disproportionate amount the taxpayers dollars on this war in iraq and we don't know when we're going to get out of this war in iraq and this administration would have us believe because they have said more so just spend more money and the so called surge that somehow we are winning the war what are we winning what does women look like i don't recognize it i know this i know that these four thousand soldiers that have been killed in iraq are not with their families that their families many are in disarray many of them that every patriotic who went to war because they president said that they were needed and many of them who are no longer with us their families are suffering and we have others who have been entered who have come home and they have not gotten the best treatment they haven't got not gotten the best medical treatment that they should have received even though they were promised that if they they would be taken care of and so here we are we have destabilized the middle east and we have occupied iraq all we have iran that is threatening us syria lebanon they stabilize and pakistan is a joke yield back the balance of my time and simply conclude by thanking lynn woolsey for all that she has done to try and convince this congress we should bring our soldiers so a gentlewoman's time  practicing physician for over twenty five years back in texas and i will tell you that sometimes death even seems a little less complicated than our tax system the complexity of the tax code as a consequence of countless to directions and exemptions aimed at steering a social agenda a social agenda when it's supposed to be a tax code the result is a federal law fraught with opportunities for avoiding taxes loopholes to be exploited all at the expense of fellow americans everyone is familiar with the problems inherent in our convoluted tax code criticizing the tax code is as at as american as apple pie and baseball and for good reason each year americans spend billions of hours and billions of dollars trying to do their best to comply with our complicated tax code that's not counting the billions of hours they spend complaining about it ministry car time is precious and too often we don't have enough of it for the personal things we like such as earning a living raising our families spending time with friends and then there are the dollars the dollars and cents side of this equation where you know time is money and valuable resources are squandered navigating tax law instead of spent growing the economy and creating jobs taken together this is a strong prescription for real change in our tax code we know what works when it comes to changing the code because we caught a glimpse of it when ronald reagan cut the code in half in one thousand nine hundred six as a result of that reform the economy grew revenues increased and jobs were created i can't think of a better prescription for our slowing economy than replicating the reform of the tax code on an even greater scale so what should we do prescription is also pretty simple flatten the flat broaden the base and shift the burden away from families and small businesses the encouraging news is that we have a practical and effective group blueprint for making this real change across the board this blueprint is called the flat tax in  has proposed a new and radically simple structure that would transform the internal revenue service and our economy by creating a single rate of taxation for all americans today several states have implemented a single rate tax structure for their state income taxes and from utah assa chooses citizens are seeing the benefit in colorado a single tax rate generated so much income so much revenue that lawmakers actually reduce the rate less than ten years after its implementation in indiana the economy boomed after a single rate went into effect in two thousand and three and since that time the corporate income tax receipts have risen by two hundred fifty percent here in congress we have several people working on problem people such as myself congressman david dreier from california the ranking member the rules committee paul ryan of wisconsin the ranking member on the budget committee are all working to establish the same a simple tax rate structure for our united states other members are working on it in the other body as well i brought a poster to show you how a faster flatter fair tax structure would work and it's pretty simple here you go your name a little bit of a dedication data right in your income a line for personal exemptions calculate your deductions for personally exemptions taxable income calculate the tax but multiplying by a flat rate subtract x is already withheld and you're done what it takes thirty seconds not very long no more expensive tax attorney bills gone are the hours of stressful research trying to figure out whether your military service or your marital status will adversely affect your return no more headaches trying to determine where the estimated tax payments go a single tax rate structure would eliminate taxes on capital gains taxes on dividends and taxes on savings personal savings would increase business of what expanding create jobs without the heavy corporate income tax which is currently the second highest in the industrialized world companies would have less incentive to offshore their headquarters and more importantly less incentive to offshore their earnings and when he said here is where the all american principle of freedom comes into the prescription the decision to move to a single rate system would be entirely up to the individual or business not the government this would be an optional program if someone has constructed their domestic finances or their business finances to maximize earnings under the current federal income tax code they'd be allowed to stay in the code but if you're tired of the shoe box if you want to fill out a single page form and spend the rest of that time with your family or on a personal vacation you're free to do so a flat tax would be much less costly saving taxpayers more than one hundred billion dollars a year and reducing compliance costs by over ninety percent the resulting increase in personal savings the resulting increase in personal savings there's a stimulus package there's a stimulus package which have an immediate effect on our american economy recent polling by american solutions so shows that over eighty percent of americans favor an optional one page tax return with one rate and after all who could complain about making something easier especially a process that comes at such high cost but it's because this is a very political year we hear a lot of talk about change you can't turn on the television without hearing talk about change let's consider how that change could improve the most complicated of institutions the internal revenue service and more importantly deliver prosperity in return time return time to the american taxpayer that's a stimulus package worthy of everyone's vote you'll five minutes without objection the gentleman is recognized for five minutes now thank you madam speaker i rise today to honor the memory of their brian johnson and the efforts of his father robert johnson a resident of eastern pennsylvania to seek justice for his son derrick brian johnson was only thirty two when he died he worked as an internet security manager he enjoyed singing skydiving motorcycle racing he was passionate in his support of the make foundation he also loved music and bands and it was this last love that ultimately cost him his life on february twentieth two thousand and three nearly five years ago derek went to a club called the station in west warwick rhode island to hear a band called great white the club was jammed that night with patrons as the as the show the show ensued tour manager daniel bickley set off a pyrotechnic display that was part of the band's floor show the display ignited the building soundproofing foam the station went up like kindling people rushed for the exits and panic ensued many were crushed as the crowd stampeded to it to get out of the burning building in the end one hundred people died that night at the station including derrick johnson ultimately bickley and club owners jeffrey derderian and michael derderian were charged with manslaughter as a result of the fire and is suing desks and their began my constituent robert johnson's quest to find justice for his son  search that from his point of view has not been at all fruitful first there was the matter of the club itself there were more people in the club and there should have been the station had no sprinkler system which would have prevented or at least minimize the  conflagration in the soundproofing foam was not treated with flame retardant materials second there were the court proceedings the cli pled guilty to one hundred counts of manslaughter he could have gotten ten years to serve under a plea agreement that bob claims he did not know about the judge gave bickley fifteen years but suspended all that for michael to dare darian was allowed to plead no contest to one hundred counts of manslaughter pursuant to a plea agreement he too only received four years to serve finally there were the parole hearings even though both of these men responsible for the deaths of one hundred people state parole board in rhode island has decided to release them i have to say that i agree with bob johnson when he tells me that serving less than four years after being found legally responsible for so much carnage hardly seems just i commend robert johnson for the hard work he's put forth to find justice for his son and for the other victims of the station the other victims of the station nightclub fire i know that the memory of their brian johnson will live on in the heart live on into his father's heart forever and i applaud his efforts that the soldier on behalf of the man who was taken of to was taken from us all too soon i thank you madam speaker and i yield back the balance of my time under the speaker's announced policy of january eighteenth two thousand and seven the gentleman from new jersey mr barrett is recognized for sixty minutes as the designee of the minority leader thank you madam speaker  recognized for sixty minutes as the designee of the minority leader thank you ma'am speak thank you madam speaker and it's an honor to come tonight and talk a little bit about spending talk a little bit about budget talk a little bit about reform talk a little bit about entitlements talk a little bit about  marks what we want to do matter speaker over the next hour is talk a little bit about what's going on in washington what's broken what needs to be fixed and have a big picture discussion we can talk about line items we can talk about things down in the weeds but what we want to talk about tonight is a philosophical difference between the republicans and the democrats on how we're going to get this country and speaker back on track now the president's budget lays out critical fiscal issues that the congress is going to have to deal with in the near future key among them balancing the budget promoting sustained economic growth slowing the growth of federal spending and addressing the coming into a crisis first on deficits last year at this time after several years of dramatic declines in the federal deficit we found ourselves in what may be described a guide path to balance in the near term now that path has been or interrupted mainly due to the slowdown in the economy in the stimulus package but we should feel we will still balance the budget