themselves cry out with the anguished cry of your people who seek justice and reconciliation made a mindful process in the experience of this interfaith council of jerusalem imitated across our nation and in the holy land so that mutual understanding can build trust without compromising religious faith they are on the road to peace by creating common agreement on principles and formulating a common language in secular terms the us will they together give you glory that objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute the defense bill contained a request for millions of dollars to retrofit b two stealth bombers so they can carry thirty thousand pound bombs bunker busters which would be germane to the administration's intention of attacking iran imagine for a moment thirty thousand pound bombs dropped on nuclear research labs in the times air and you have a humanitarian and ecological disaster on your hands now the case for war against iran is being built on lies just as the case for war against iraq is built  only four thousand troops dead nearly a million innocent iraqis perished in a conflict borrowing money from china to fight a war against baghdad it's time to impeach this from mississippi right this is one of the ones that objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute madam speaker house democrats have failed in their misguided attempt to hold veteran spending hostage yesterday the senate voted from the labor h h s conference report the senate's action was commendable and should have been expected veterans groups from around the nation have made it clear it is wrong and senekal to use their bill for political purposes now the democratic majority saying they will not even try to have this vital legislation on the president's desk by veteran today but there's a way out of this box yesterday i introduced the milk on the conference agreement as a stand alone bill h r forty one zero four it is a difficult to the bill already agreed upon by house and senate negotiators it could be passed today by unanimous consent and immediately sent to the senate members who are tired of the political games should co sponsor this bill and urge speaker under the dome another day another free trade agreement but in mainstream america things aren't so bright the dollars dropping like a rock with skyrocketing oil and gas prices we're borrowing two billion dollars a day from overseas to buy things that we don't make here in america anymore we've lost five million manufacturing jobs forty thousand in oregon but this isn't the same old failed trade policy they tell us not yet another platform to exploit cheap labor it's decorated with negligible environmental and labor protections and burgeoning middle class and perot all three of them are going to go on an orgy of buy u s goods after this passes but the destructive multinational corporate written chapter eleven core that led to the failure of nafta cap and other trade agreements remains at the center of this policy this agreement is by four in about wall street plain and simple it doesn't address our current economic crisis it's not in the best interest of american workers the u s economy or our national days so far that our veterans have not had the use of the increased funding for their benefits and health care that is eighteen and a half million dollars a day not able to be used the work on this bill has been done for months but instead of sending this bill to the president the democratic leadership decided to use our veterans as a smokescreen in an effort to pass billions in unrelated domestic spending they failed in their scheme when the senate yesterday split the bills to consider these funding issues separately and on their own merits but today with veterans day quickly approaching the democratic leadership is going to put our veterans aside to consider billions and bloated domestic spending and stead of bringing a clean veterans bill to the floor i won't stand for it the american people won't stand for it i'm standing with our veterans send a clean veterans appropriation bill to the president now and when the time is expired let her pursue the gentleman from oregon arise gentlemen is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker illegal logging is a scourge of poor countries and rich countries alike it damages the environment often very fragile ecosystems it didn't disrupt the lives of poor indigenous people and it corrodes the government through bribery and often violence illegal logging also hurts rich countries as our timber and lumber manufacturing industries lose to those who cheat and bribe over a billion dollars a year in lost sales we can do something about it yesterday the natural resources committee passed out my illegal logging bill to give the tools to the first time the government to do something about it later this morning we can pass the peru free trade agreement with not just the strongest environmental protections ever in a labor in a trade agreement but specific provisions to halt the illegal mahogany harvest  this can be the most significant congress ever in the global fight in illegal logging by passing these bipartisan measures german yells back in time for what purpose the gentleman from tennessee r objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker it's a rare opportunity to rise in support of common sense decisions coming out of the other body so it gives me great pleasure to rise in full support of the majority's decision on the other side of this capitol to separate the labor rights approach bill from legislation that funds our military installations in veterans health care i certainly hope the majority on this side is paying attention while the other body has said no to politiciz veterans health care no to putting the security of our military installations at risk and no two budget busting pork it appears that the majority on this side is well a little time data center madam speaker our veterans i'm in and women in deserve better they deserve quick action from the leadership in this house to pass a plain veterans bill and provide the funds they need let's lay the politics of disrespect behind let's pass a country will be obligated to pay the alternative minimum minimum tax the a m t over one hundred thousand of these middle class families live in new york nineteenth district they will have to go through the tedious process of computing their tax returns twice and they will end up having to pay thousands more than they otherwise would they empty is an unfair tax which in one thousand nine hundred seventy when it first took effect only affected one hundred fifty five households in the entire country the people who pay it lose the opportunity to take many of the deductions and exemptions that make the tax code friendlier to families under the amc it doesn't matter what on e is spend on health care on property tax or on education everyone pays the same amount of tax regardless tomorrow we will consider legislation to allow almost seventy three thousand seventy three thousand of my constituents to escape the a m t millions of families today are in danger middle class future is providing an excellent education for our children as a former school teacher myself it gives me great pleasure to recognize four schools from my congressional district ohio's first which have truly lived up to this commitment elm avenue primary school hilltop primary school our lady of visitation in st james school in white ok i've recently received been named two thousand and seven blue ribbon schools of excellence achieving test results in the top ten percent of the state is truly an accomplishment for some they've received in the past like st james i happen to be there monday presented them a flag in their honor that was flown over this very building and the atmosphere which really electric these kids were filled with enthusiasm and pride for the job that they had done in their to be commended as are their teachers the administrators the parents but especially the students and i want to commend all those schools for the excellent work they've done this is the future of american if this is our future america's future is bright you'll back bassman telling us that the time to let her pass is a challenge new york right that section the gentleman is recognized for one minute thank you madam speaker regardless of how my colleagues to stick characterize it the new democratic congress has an impressive record of honoring our veterans and our troops since taking control of congress we have provided real support for our veterans by passing the largest veterans funding increase in history but don't don't take my word for it just listen to what veterans organizations are saying about our historic veterans funding bills the american legion called it an impressive commitment to this nation's service members veterans and their families the veterans of foreign wars said that the record funding level acknowledges the deep debt this nation owes to its defenders and that the care and service provided to them is the ongoing cost of war overall and that's believe these funding levels will ensure v a will be able to serve america's veterans and their families with dignity and compassion madam speaker for most of the year president bush oppose the investment in americans veterans this the day after the house passed the labor h h s spending bill containing more than two thousand earmarks we got a look at the defense bill what we're finding is troubling to say the least again there are more than two thousand earmarks in this bill bill that is intended for the military now we all know that earmarks draw funds away from more urgent priorities nowhere is this more clear than with the military spending bill simply put every dollar that congress has earmarked in the defense bill is a dollar the troops won't have for critical equipment what so important that it diverts money away from soldiers well airdropped into this conference report and this defense appropriation bill three million dollars for a golf program for kids this earmark might be par for the course in any other bill but in the defense bill it's clearly indefensible i don't believe that earmarks like this represent the sentiment of the country when it comes to military spending and i urge my colleagues to reject the bill until the  group of veterans whose story and service this congress must honor during world war two thousands of filipino soldiers were inducted into the united states armed forces by president roosevelt following the invasion of their country by imperial japanese forces these filipino soldiers fought valiantly with us in the name of freedom they were to be entitled to full veterans benefits but such promises were reneged by congress with the passage of the one nine hundred forty six recession act ironically the very democracy that these veterans fought to defend was used to take away the recognition of their service we have a duty to fulfill what president truman called a moral obligation to take care of these veterans there are eighteen thousand still with us today let us make this the two thousand and eight presidential elections are just one year away is a good time to reflect on the importance of voting and the integrity of our election or election process the right to vote is one of the most important freedoms granted to citizens united states i right and a privilege that should not be taken lightly our voter registration process needs to be reformed in order to ensure that only american citizens are eligible to vote it is alarming that eight of the nine eleven hijackers were registered to vote the sanctity of the ballot box must be paramount if we can ensure the integrity of our elections are represented form of government breaks down when a person gets a driver's license they can check a box to register to vote and there's no guarantee that the person challenge ability to but will be verified their house seats that have been decided by just a few votes per precinct the american people deserve to know that elections will be won and lost by legal right to legal registered day this weekend that's coming up congress has spent a lot of time this week talking about veterans talk about how this congress provided the largest increase in seventy seven year history of the veterans administration we've debated which side cares more about  veterans and who's to blame for the delay i think the american people can see who really is holding up the latest v a appropriations bill and i'm i'm i'm here to remind each and every member of congress that if you go home this weekend it speak to veterans and their families in your district to honor them ask yourselves what have you done daughter your pledge to our veterans and their loved ones i hope the president also takes a hard look in the mirror before he decides on how he intends to honor veterans on veterans day we have to remember in honoring our country's veterans that you have to honor their families they don't come alone they have parents they have loved ones they have children and the bill that takes care of that is the bill that we're voting on today which is the labor h h s appropriations bill in order objection the gentleman's right natural one minute madam speaker i rise today to bid a fun farewell to a member of my staff brian nicely brian will be leaving our office to join the staff of south carolina senator jim de mint although i will his presence i am confident brian has a will be a tremendous addition to senator meant staff brian came to the hill earlier this year as an intern book when bill schuster of pennsylvania his hardwork professionalism thoughtfulness and personal integrity have been an enormous asset to the people of the second district of south carolina he will certainly be difficult to replace a graduate of the university of south carolina bryan is the son of david an iraq war veteran and denise eis of aiken south carolina south carolina is proud of its native son and i'm excited for brian success i wish him all the best in the years to come bryan has a bright future as a capable and competent public servant and a lot look bad news and good news this veterans day the bad news is a study by harvard medical school that there are two million veterans who don't have health insurance and are not eligible for veterans care two million veterans what makes it worse is that president bush is banning two hundred seventy three thousand veterans from receiving v a care because they are not income eligible so he is balancing the budget on the backs of middle class and working veterans the good news is that this democratic majority passed the largest increase in v a health care in the seventy seven year history of the v a we are going to add one thousand eight hundred new claims processors to make along the lines a little shorter and the wait shorter as well now we have to go even further urging my colleagues to sign a letter that i've sent to the president demanding that he reverse the policy of denying health care to two hundred seventy three thousand veterans and not means test them we didn't means test them when we asked them to fight our battles we should not means test them when they have to come home for health care i yield back the balance of my time to time what purpose gentleman from ohio writes permission to address house for one minute revise and extend that objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute madam speaker one of the most significant factors of a student's secret academics achievement and success in life is a teacher who inspires it is my privilege to rise today to recognize two outstanding teachers from my district who have been honored for their exceptional service and dedication just last month tara man was recognized among four thousand nominations by the u s department of education is ohio's recipient of quote america star american stars of teaching quote with nineteen years of teaching at worli school and can and hundreds of inspired students binder terror is talent and commitment has propelled students forward in five years she has risen to the challenge and helped move a struggling school to one of the highest designations of success we measure as a nation particularly in the critical area of reading proficiency julie hermann teaches that compton elementary in canton ohio and is the most recent recipient of the milken family foundation national education or educator award and award also known as the quote oscars of teaching quote she is an intervention specialist and engages young at risk and disabled students to achieve remarkable success academically in two thousand and five two zero six she helped all of her third graders pass the ohio achievement test before our future entrepreneurs innovators and leaders stands a teacher and these women are examples of the truly best i'm pleased to recognize and congratulate them here today tell me a fact what purpose is the gentleman from michigan objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute and i'm speaker this country must keep it promises made to service men and women when they choose to serve our country by taking care of them when they return home as veterans this democratic congress has been dedicated to making sure the needs of all american veterans are fulfilled so far this year we've passed legislation providing the largest funding increase for veterans in the seventy seven year history of the v a this funding will allow the v a to to keep up with the growing number of veterans who need care maintain its health care facilities and treat veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan who are suffering from p t s d and traumatic brain injuries we also voted to increase military pay by three point five percent as well as special pay and bonuses to combat troops putting add additional seven point three billion in military paychecks unfortunately the bush administration is now reading again on these unless the bonuses to those severely wounded combat veterans madam speaker this democratic congress had made has made meeting the needs of the veterans and our military a know there are many good things happening in federally funded family planning clinics nationwide but should the largest abortion provider in america also be the largest recipient of federal family planning funding under title ten i think not and this summer one hundred eighty nine republicans and democrats agreed supporting my amendment to prohibit tax dollars from funding planned parenthood well in that vein today i'm introducing the title ten abortion provider prohibition act a bill that would prohibit the distribution of title ten family planning money to abortion providers here at home there's simply no reason in the world why the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro life americans should be used to underwrite abortion providers in this country i urge my colleagues to join me as original co sponsors this week in support of the title ten abortion provider prohibition act and  war began are as concerned as ever over our seemingly endless presence in that country and never demean prospects for peace i have received a search of prayers for my constituents regarding the war in recent weeks and would like to read to from orange connecticut and i quote loving god inspire our leaders in congress to release your spirit of wisdom courage and love and end the war death and suffering in iraq and quote from hamden connecticut i praised the hearts and minds of those making decisions concerning the war in iraq be open to finding viable peaceful alternative to continuing the war i pray that was droll of truth commence immediately and continues steadily over the shortest period possible to bring them all home i pray that the light of god will fall upon the country and iraq and bring peace in that place it is well past time to listen to these prayers redeploy our troops and bring them safely home  seventeen thousand businesses depend on exports for their survival forty percent of the corn soybeans and pork and beef and other livestock products are export and one out of five manufacturing jobs are dependent on exports we have an opportunity today to expand trade the fourteen trade agreements this congress has adopted last twelve years have created sixteen million new jobs today we have before us the us through free trade agreement what's nice about this agreement is it makes trade a two way street right now proven products and in the united states duty free manufactured goods agricultural products from peru enter the united states that terrorists are duties but it's not reciprocal caterpillar for example our biggest manufacturer no lawyer their products face and twelve percent tariff what's good about the agreement we're going to vote for today is eighty percent of the terrace a manufactured goods are gone on day one for u s products export it to peru under this trade agreement it's good for all my workers it's good for el no i manufacturers and i also know for all my farmers right now they're at a disadvantage opportunity to be competitive let's have a bipartisan vote for u house resolution eight zero one proceedings will now resume on h r thirty six eighty eight which the clerk will report by title union calendar number two sixty six h r thirty six eighty eight a bill to implement the united states through trade promotion agreement when proceedings were postponed on wednesday november seventh two thousand and seven twenty minutes remain to debate the gentleman from new york with a wrangle has five minutes remaining the gentleman from california mr had ten minutes remaining and the gentleman from a mystery show has five minutes remaining without objection the resume control of the time from the gentleman from california mr herder and without objection the gentleman from michigan controls the time of the gentleman from new york who yields time or you one minute  we've been fighting for a new trade policy a trade policy that shapes globalization it shapes trade to expand the benefits and to address the downside it's enforceable worker rights and environmental standards then at the core of this struggle worker rights in the trade equation fundamentally alters the power dynamics in developing countries just as it has in our own this is important for those workers for prove who needs a middle class for our workers who should not compete with workers who are suppressed in our businesses in their workers who need more middle classes to sell to and let me close by saying a word about enforcement the core labor standards in the environment environmental obligations are on a par with every other provision in this bill every other any person can file a petition if there's a failure to enforce we have the power of oversight including to a recent money strike and we work with the pru government to change their rules regarding what it takes to have a strike and also they're working now to turman who is within a low rulz the proper authority to declare a strike legal or not this pru f t asia victory it's a breakthrough it's a first step in a new trade policy our job is to surprise to many of my colleagues because i have seldon's of ported their previous trade agreements that have come before this body and my reasons have been quite simple having said that most of the trade deals that have been offered to this bar to be unfair to my constituents and many communities in my region of the country but i want to thank the drafters of this legislation for bringing a bill to the floor that i consider to be fair this bill addresses critical environmental and labor concerns are very important to me and my constituents this bill will help farmers in my district and all across this country compete in the global marketplace because of the size of the verses of this body it is not an easy task to bring legislation to the floor th i ever saw to a new direction in trade legislation and should serve as a template for those of us to use in moving our trade policies in a more friendly worker friendly and environmental protective direction have come a long way with our trade policies in recent years and we may still have a long ways to go before we're able to consistently get trade bills that are as good as i would like but it is important that this new congress continue to vote against the peru f d a while i've been a member of congress for only five years i've been a mill worker all my life the mill i worked at in maine shut down three days after sworn in as a member of congress a culprit badly flawed trade deal this lunch bucket proudly in my office it symbolizes who i am what i stand for it also symbolizes what has been lost sense the passage of nafta our country has lost over three million jobs when the vote on now to happen members of congress were promised nafta would raise the standard of living for all they were sold a dream but the dream is now a nightmare of millions of workers all across this country the american people get at polling indicates that a overwhelming number of americans republicans and democrats are concerned about exporting out of jobs they worry whether or not they will have a paycheck in the years to come we have alll seen the ugly face of trade agreements that don't live up to the promises the debate here today is not whether peru is a small country and the trade impact is small compared to china the debate is when will we truly change the course of trade policy if this was truly a good trade policy i'd be the first to support it the bill's supporters claim that enhanced environmental standards in the f d a will preserve our natural resources so where is the strong support from sierra club greenpeace friends of the earth the new labor provisions supposedly will improve conditions for workers in peru and create jobs here at home so why is no single labor union actively supporting this trade agreement that's right not one not one labor union if this so called new model is so great then why aren't we hearing from all sides of the trade debate asking us to support it if you stand with  multinational corporations that seek to offshore jobs then vote for it if you stand with the chamber of commerce who says that these labor standards are unenforceable then vote for this trade deal if you stand by president bush who track record of listening to corporations instead of the men and women of this country by all means vote for this trade deal but if you stand by the working men and women of this country i would encourage you you must vote no a no vote calls for a new model and a new direction on trade a no vote means you stand up with the workers of northern maine lorain ohio flint michigan galesburg illinois and men and women all across this country who are asking no who are begging this congress for a new direction on trade these workers don't want more trade adjustment assistance they want their jobs back it's time to send a message that we embrace globalization so long as it lifts us all up i will never forget who i am why i'm here i hope my colleagues will do the same remarks to revise and extend my support of this free trade agreement and at this time madam speaker for closing for our side i would recognize th on this proof trade bill and the other trade bills that i hope they will see on the floor soon when you look at america's economy that today i think we have to recognize that ninety five percent of the consumers in the world live outside of the united states and that as the u s economy and certainly in certain sectors is softening of the one area where our economy is doing very well are on our exports around the world and if you look at what's happened in some recent trade agreements let's point out the facts in jordan since two thousand and one our exports have risen some ninety two percent if you look at chile a trade agreement that was passed but since one thousand nine since two thousand and four we've had a one hundred fifty one percent increase in our exports to chile australia since hundred two thousand and five we've had a twenty five percent increase in our exports you know if i look in my own home state of ohio ohio's export shipments in two thousand and six were thirty seven point eight billion dollars up thirty six percent up thirty six percent since two thousand and two thanks in part to many of the trade agreements that have been signed and what this means in terms of these increased exports to consumers around the world are more jobs here in the united states and my own part of ohio procter and gamble is a major employer right near my home are a number of their research and development facilities which have continued to expand employment doing basic research doing product research doing marketing and doing sales efforts that support their sales and their development new products all around the world which means new jobs for people who live in my part of ohio i understand that there's displacement in our economy and we ought to be doing everything we can to retrain and train workers for the new economy but that's going to happen regardless of whether we pass this when you look at this proof rate agreement in particular say we have or they have open access to our market today what this trade agreement does is allow us freer access to their economy increasing our exports to peru and to the rest of south america  i'm a big believer that trade has benefited our country in a in a very significant way and when you look at the fact that two out of five jobs in america two out of five jobs are dependent on our ability to export products and services elsewhere in the world you can begin to understand why opening markets for our companies around the world is so critically important to america's future so i want to congratulate all my colleagues for their work on this bill and madam speaker this is a very exciting historic day for me was an opportunity to break a deadlock of lack of civility on on the ways and means committee which i really deeply appreciate being a member as well as being chair to get to know jim mcquery not as a republican but as someone that we can have serious philosophical and political differences at the same time want to do what's best for our constituents in our country for sandy levin who was more than a member of congress but in  understands what it is for working people have an opportunity to have self esteem and to want to do for themselves they community and their children and to have a speaker like nancy pelosi who's appeared to think as to what's not best for the democrats or even the congress but what's best for the country and to encourage people who have different views the come together so that nobody from any country could say that we have a trade policy that's republican or democrat but we have in the united states of america a united states trade policy this is a very historic vote it breaks the ice and opens an opportunity but also it brings about a lot of candid discussion and i would suggest for any member that has campaigned against trade that said over and over that trade is bad or any person who's campaigned against nafta or capita or all of those things which this is not the new all it to yourself and you owe it to your constituents to vote against this bill because if in your conscience you believe that things are so bad in your district people lost jobs lost homes lost hope and this country has let them down and the multinationals to let them down and trade agreements have let them down then you're conscious the man's that you vote no because this is what you believe in and this is what you should do but for those people who truly believe that they come from community that scott has blessed them with the opportunity to grow more food than this nation needs to make more equipment that this nation needs and to know that in their towns and villages and congressional districts they cannot eat and they cannot use for those people who understand that exploiting things mean not that we're trying to help other countries but we need the talents we need the productivity we need the competition we need the workers for the nation to survive for those people like the state of new york there are patches there that people have no hope for the future they want to vote against this but they better not talk with my mayor because service is going to be a ball directly for it for those people who really believe that we've got a long way to go to get the hopes of americans up and then have the u s trade representative multinationals understand that it's not just this is a good agreement for the shareholders but i good agreement for america but those who believe in the speaker and the minorities that we're doing what's best not for labor and not just for fund raising but we're doing what we think is that as though a challenge on integrity vote your conscience but this is a heck of a time to make certain that we're not known to be against trade with for trade with for trade that makes sense in terms of honest the job creation and what's good for each and every american do we have a long way to go yes is this a beginning you bet your life any time we take it down trade barriers and countries are open to buy what we make in the usa it's almost on patriotic not to let them do what we do b but don't you challenge my integrity and don't do it for the speaker because i will challenge you would know because you're doing what you think is the right thing tennis has expired on time for debate has expired