resolution providing for consideration of the bill h r eighty fifty two to modernize and update the national housing act and enable the federal housing administration to use respect pricing to more effectively reach under served borrow  for other purposes september nineteenth to grant a rule which may structure the amendment process for floor consideration they charge twenty eight eighty one the f a a reauthorization act the two thousand and seven members who wish to offer an amendment to this bill should submit thirty copies of the amendment and a brief description of the amendment to the rules committee and h three twelve in the capital no later than ten o'clock a m on wednesday september nineteenth members are strongly advised here to demand the deadline to ensure the amendments receive consideration amendment should be drafted to the amendment in the nature of a substitute to h r twenty eight eighty one the amendment reflexion agreement between the transportation and infrastructure committee and the science and technology committee a copy of the texas posted on the website of the rules committee amendment should be drafted by legislative council and also should be viewed by the office of the parliamentarian to be sure that the members comply with the rules of the house members are also strongly encouraged to submit their memo to the congressional budget office for now this is regarding possible peco violation for what purpose the gentleman from missouri right let's figure out a unanimous consent to extend my remarks on the record and to include therein extraneous material notwithstanding the fact that it exceeds two pages and estimate about a public printer to cost one thousand nine hundred twenty four dollars the chair lays before the house the following personal request of kentucky for today without objection the requests are granted yes mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business any special orders here too for entered into following members may be permitted to address the house for five minutes to revise and extend their remarks and include their in extraneous without objection the chair will entertain one minute requests the gentleman from texas lady from texas the speaker i'd like to join my colleague congressman al green in congratulating dr michael a debate before having the congressional gold medal that was passed on the day today on the day of the house acknowledge his outstanding leadership that's a debate he is not only a great american a great texan and a great houstonian about he is a great lover of freedom and peace and he does so by evidencing it through his wonderful hands of surgery dr baker he was in world war two he established a mass unit that is now saving lives of our soldiers in iraq and afghanistan his wisdom has been sought by virtually every u s president since har truman he served on presidential commission doing both the kennedy and johnson administration and that's provided essential support in the passage of the last in mach one hundred sixty five medicare legislation dr de bakey was awarded the presidential medal of freedom with distinction one hundred sixty nine and the national medal of science by president ronald reagan in one thousand nine hundred seven i want to thank dr debakey and my former colleague chris bell for initiating the legislation that will allow us to award him the congressional gold medal he is deserving on his birthday of september seven when he reached almost one hundred years old he is deserving of this great honor we in houston love him and admire him we thank him for the service he has given and all the lives that he has served this is a great day when we have passed legislation to honor dr michael e the baking of houston texas the texas medical center with a congressional gold medal are there for further one minute requests at this time under the  john well known or to the trial now recognized mr cummings of maryland for five minutes three speaker mr speaker this evening i will continue my discussion on a growing and often deadly play on our society witness intimidation each day there's a story reported about civic minded citizens being threatened with violence or becoming victims of fire bombings or shootings all of which are designed to prevent them from testifying to crimes that they have witnessed unfortunately these tactics are working to form what has become commonly known as a conspiracy of silence witnesses are literally afraid for their lives if you do not believe me listen to these recent reports in newark new jersey but reginald row was the star and sole witness that prosecutors were relying on in a case involving an ambush gang killing in a parking lot there having picked humans pictures out of a filed a photo array and sworn before a grand jury he said and i quote i saw everything i was there and quote but when the case came to trial with a group of gang members glaring at him in open court wrote changed the story testifying that he had heard the shots but never saw who fired them the two suspects were acquitted in philadelphia as a culture of fear continues to deter witnesses from coming forward a federal grand jury dury accuse a drug dealer and his girlfriend of conspiring to intimidate a government witness by having the witnesses neighborhood plastered with flowers leaving labeling him quote a rat and a snitch and of quote in parachute colorado got fuel county deputies arrested five teenagers they believe threaten to beat someone with a baseball bat who plan testify against them in my hometown of baltimore a sixteen yo witness in a case of the murder of a fifteen year old christine which isn't was moved from the city by relatives due to mounting threats indeed the teenager was beaten the day after the murder occurred and was threatened by three girls one of whom brandished a gun mrs bigot a current situation is simply unacceptable we should be making it easier for witnesses to climb to come for it should be the norm rather than an art occurrence for criminals to be prosecuted this issue must be addressed because without witnesses there can be no justice in america some success stories do exist on august thirty first baltimore city state's attorney patricia jessamy was able to get a witness to testify which helped secure the conviction of thirty nine year old joseph brinkley on two counts of attempted first degree murder and handgun charges in november two thousand and five brinkley approached two men as they hailed a cab and shot them in the back multiple times with a nine millimeter semiautomatic handgun the victim originally told detectives that he did not see the shooter but recanted his statement after brinkley approached him and his and his nine year old son unfortunately such bravery is rare our constituents must know that taking an interest in their community every port in crime is the right thing to do and that the government will do everything possible to ensure their safety this is why i urge my colleagues to become a co sponsor of h r nine thirty three the witness or security and protection act of two thousand and seven and to support its passage when it comes to the house floor upon ackman this legislation authorizes nineteen million dollars per year over the next three years to assist a local law enforcement with witness protection while fostering federal state local partnerships priority will be given to prosecuting offices in states with an average of a least one hundred murders during the immediate past five years however smaller entities also have a chance to receive funding state and local prosecutors will also be able to use these funds of i witness protection on their own what to pay the cost of enrolling their witnesses in the short term state witness protection program to be created within the u s marshal service mr speaker finally improving protection for state and local witnesses mr jones of north carolina assured domestic tranquility provide for the common defense promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity do ordain and establish this constitution of the united states of america on this day two hundred twenty years ago the fifty five delegates to the congressional congress convene in philadelphia to hold their final meeting a sign a document that would change the course of history our founding fathers created a monumental plan to govern a small and sprawling young country dedicated to the idea that citizens were sovereign and should be free from the tyranny of unchecked authority constitution day presents us with an opportunity to pause and reflect on what a magnificent job these fifty five individuals did in crafting a compromise that has provided us with a unified and stable nation in their wisdom they sought to protect the rights and liberties of individuals but abiding power and authority between states in the national government the result is a system of shared roles designed to prevent any one element from gaining too much power members of congress have taken an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution and with that responsibility to mine it is vital for us to fully understand the sacred document that is was a day on the two hundred twenty then a virtue the signing of our constitution i'm introducing the america act a modest effort to read constitution and the divisions in constraints on power contained within it the america act is meant to be a reminder to lawmakers to stay within our country's founding framework as we conduct our legislative business to our detriment we often take the path of political  ignore the limits so clearly written into the constitution today i call on all members of congress join me and rededicate ourselves to our founding principles of limited constrained governance as is front in our constitution by setting our founding document will continue the legacy of these great m and their groundbreaking ideas as well as develop the habits of citizenship the keep the constitution alive and relevant for a new generation of americans are as you all to join me in co sponsoring the support america act and its final passage in a year back so many of  iraq a relation sipp that extends beyond his administration he did not tell us exactly how long this would last but we would have a good idea we have to have a good idea because the white house and the secretary of defense of said that our involvement on the korean peninsula should be the model for iraq that would mean they are planning to occupy iraq for fifty years or more consider what this means a lame duck administration is committing the united states to decades of occupation that will cost trillions of dollars and result in the deaths of countless american troops and iraqi civilians this is simply simply intolerable we're also told and we're told last week that the next to train us report will come in in this coming march and that we must wait for that report before we act but we can't sit around and we can't wait we can't wait for another patris report we can't sit around and wait for another crocker report because we're fiddling while iraq verne's we've already had a four and a half year sugarcoated spin and t v show from the oval office mr speaker enough is enough the occupation is damaging america morally politically and economically and it must and the congress has the constitutional power and the congress has the responsibility to end it it is time to take bold action it is time to use our power