iraqi institutions locally and nationally to strengthen the political process and promote economic activity and supporting the efforts of the united nations as iraq carries out local elections toward the end of the year these efforts w require an enhanced civilian commitment and we're going to leave this hearing now for live house coverage a reminder we'll have these hearings in its entirety available for you later today online at cspan dot org also another hearing today house report affairs hears from under suspension of the rules before turning to a land conservation bill we expect votes throughout the day now a lot of house coverage here on c span holy and gracious god we bow before you in wonder and gratitude that you care about the affairs of mankind thank you for offering divine counsel and wisdom to these men and women to whom you have granted the privilege of governing a loving father empower each member of this noble body with a vision of the common good and may the dynamic of partisan debate unify them in their resolve to serve our nation as a whole grant to each participant the capacity and the courage to discern fruit to feel compassion to recognize justice and to act with integrity lord i pray that every servant in this house will recognize your presence in this great hall and that all will experience the full measure of your blessing as they conduct the affairs of our great nation i pray in the name of jesus christ the wonderful counselor upon whose shoulders the burden of pledge allegiance to the up to fifteen requests for one minute on each side of the aisl madam speaker today house committees will hear from general petraeus and ambassador crocker about the supposed progress being made in iraq and the need to keep one hundred forty thousand u s troops there indefinitely as we listen to this testimony it's important to remember what our nation's true goals are and what true lasting security actually means a new report out this week from the same experts who by who advised the nonpartisan independent iraq study group concludes that political progress in iraq is that best slow halting and superficial and political pragmatism is so pronounced that we are no closer to leaving iraq than we were a year ago the expert predicts that it could take at least five to ten years to produce any real measurable political reconciliation madam speaker i would hope that president bush would read this new report so that he could see how people outside his administration are viewing the situation in iraq such sobering and nonpartizan assessments said sure should should serve as a wake up call that we should not leave  mr speaker free speech is under attack again this time and the so called un human rights council passed a resolution encouraging the criminalization of freedom of expression by the you in chief spokesman old speech  pakistan proposed the anti speech resolution and what it does it promote specific criminal restrictions on individuals in the world who criticize or make negative comments about islam according to the international world tribune muslim countries have been demanding world limits and free speech ever since a danish magazine published those not so flattering cartoons of mohammed so now the un human rights council wants to limit the human right to free speech and religious discourse of course this limit only applies to those who criticize one specific religion islam muslims are still permitted to bash christians jews and hindus free speech cannot be limited because some group doesn't like what somebody says that's what free speech  means humans rights council was wrong when it surrendered to the muslim speech police and passed a speech control resolution that advocates the criminalization of criticism of islam and that's just the way it is just time expired sure recognize  gentleman from minnesota i'm sorry from ohio for one minute the president's representative from the military is on capitol hill urging us to continue to stay in iraq telling us to wait don't leave what are we waiting for until the cost of the war reaches six trillion dollars so that our american economy goes totally bust so that we don't have any more money for education or health care housing what are we waiting for for the casualties to get to ten thousand twenty thousand deaths of our servicemen and women what are we waiting for for america to stand alone against the world it's time that we take a new direction in time that congress regained its rights role is a co equal branch of government it's not appropriate for leaders in congress to say well it's the administration's fault that the war continues when in fact we have the authority to cut off funds congress must take a strong stand and say no more funding and the war stop the occupation close the bases bring the troops home set in motion international peacekeeping and security force that comes in as our troops leave work for a program of reconciliation between the shiites the cities in the kurds work for a program of reparation and stop trying to control the oil of iraq number for south carolina is recognized for one minute thank you mr speaker there are plenty of the challenging news stories about the economy and we in the upstate of south carolina have had some of those experiences ourselves it's w celebrating some of the successes on march the tent b m w announced an additional seven hundred fifty million dollar expenditure there spartanburg south carolina plant bringing their total investment to four point two billion dollars they'll add five hundred employees to the sixty three hundred already there and fifteen hundred employees jobs to be added among the suppliers those suppliers by the way have invested two point one billion dollars in south carolina and have twelve thousand employees it's very exciting to have this kind of news is also exciting to see the technology that b m w plans to employee in spartanburg they're going to bring clean diesel for the first time to the objection just bigger i rise today to honor a congressional aide the broward county school district in florida for leading the nation in national board certified teachers currently broward county has a total of one thousand three hundred and seven national board certified teachers up two hundred seventy teachers from last year this is truly a testament to the dedication of teachers in broward county to improving the quality of education in their classrooms national board certified teachers are among the most advanced and highly qualified teachers in our country by pursuing this high degree of certification the teachers of broward county have demonstrated their commitment to elevating and improving instruction in their schools they will also join the tens of thousands of other teachers from across the country in an effort to improve student achievement nationwide i strongly believe that teachers have one of the most difficult and thankless jobs in america however the work they do is so critical to this success of our future generations as a parent i would like to personally thank the teachers of broward county for their dedication to the teaching profession the knowledge and skills that they developed in earning the sort of the cation will benefit students for generations to come i would also like to congratulate the members of the school board of broward county for this tremendous accomplishment broward county is truly raise the standards for teacher certification in school districts across the country i yield back as expired gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute thank you mr speaker this is an important week here is we're hearing the update most estimates from general david and ambassador ryan crocker under the leadership of general petraeus our troops in iraq have accomplished an astonishing reversal in a nation that was on the road to crippling ethno sectarian violence just eighteen months ago one of the stats that we are seeing as that these ethno sectarian killings are down ninety percent and with the security provided by coalition troops the iraqi parliament is now learning how to work as a parliament as a legislative body to negotiate and to cooperate by passing their two thousand and eight budget this february the iraqis demonstrated their commitment to bolstering security gains that working toward reconciliation stability and economic growth the people of a muslim state in the heart of the middle east have rejected violence and extremism and they have cast the speaker american families are facing real hardships as news of the slowing economy continues to make headlines the latest troubles came with the release of the march jobs numbers the fact that eighty thousand people lost their jobs last month this was not only the third straight month of job losses but it also was the worst in the last five years clearly washington must do more to stimulate the economy and an assist middle class families already this year working in a bipartisan way the democratic congress pardon me enacted an economic stimulus package that will give families in real need of relief by providing recovery rebates starting this next month raising loan limits for mortgages backing the federal housing administration this is a good start but it can't be the end of our efforts to reverse the negative impact of seven years of failed economic policies mr speaker we did earlier this year what democrats need to do and that is pursue common sense solutions to what our problems are and help get our economy back on track create jobs and speed assistance to families that are struggling i yield back the balance of my time time is expired tell me from ohio is recognized for one minute and then you jump from pennsylvania without objection just past one minute i gesture mr speaker the middle east research institute which monitors extremist media recently reported on a disturbing children's production that aired on hamas t v the program aimed at a child audience depicted a little boy who accuses president bush along with israel of killing his family in the show the boy proceeds to take out a sword and stabs the president to death this is a children's program there is little chance for peace in the middle east if the young minds of the region are polluted with this type of hatred and violence many young people in the region are being exposed to similar messages in their school textbooks i commend the council religious leaders in the holy land religious leaders from the jewish christian and muslim faith who are working together to counter this type of hate speech violent message and they do it with moral authority we need more brave leaders like those on the council if we're going to create a condition for peacemaking in the middle east i yield back jim yells back to gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute without objection baker every day that we spend money in iraq means missed opportunities to invest in priorities here at home while the bush administration spends three hundred thirty nine billion dollars a day in iraq we're diverting money from our nation's needs with that three hundred thirty nine billion dollars that we spend today we can instead ensure that two point six million americans have access to medical medical and dental care at community health centers we can provide nine hundred fifty five thousand families with help with their energy bills and we could hire fifty thousand more cops to protect our citizens on our streets mr speaker with the funds we are spending in iraq today we could also provide nine hundred thirty seven thousand grants for researchers of diseases like cancer and alzheimer's and diabetes could provide  thousand kids with vaccinations they could send eighteen thousand more students to school mr speaker the millions we are pumping into iraq today is desperately needed here at home in this country and wish stares recession in the face and yet president bush continues to recommend nothing but the status quo in iraq put america foreman thank you unanimous consent to address the house won an election that's your speaker hopefully in the very near future congress will be ready to vote on a new farm bill one that will help our farmers and our agricultural community continue to do what they do so very well  america and healthy the entire world we recognize and we encourage the very hard work in the ongoing negotiations between the house in the senate and the administration as we face the expiration of the current farm bill on april the eighteenth but planting season is here in our farmers are faced with difficult decisions about what crops to plant and how much without knowing what direction the federal government is moving and yet we look to our farmers to provide us with a stable food supply there are many issues affecting the development of every farmer business plan this year and into the next certainly the rising prices of fuel and other costs as well but the uncertainty of the national farm program needs to be resolved as quickly as possible i look forward to working together with our house and our senate leaders and the administration successful piece of legislation that will serve our farmers and all americans fairly and well i yield back joan yields back the gentlewoman from california recognized one minute thank you to speak american families continue to struggle in the face of this recession and if yet and one day the bush administration spends three hundred thirty nine million dollars on the war in iraq as general petraeus and ambassador crocker appear before congress this week to defend this occupation congressional democrats have many questions about the cost of this occupation this country has spent more than five hundred billion dollars in iraq it could go up to three to four trillion dollars yet forty seven million americans had no health insurance last month then g a o comptroller general david walker stated the rockies have a budget surplus we have a huge budget deficit one of the questions is who should be paying and that's a really good question considering that we are currently pumping billions of dollars into this war which is stimulating economies in iraq kuwait and saudi arabia while the american economy is in recession what about investing money in here instead of it in education health care and infrastructure to create jobs mr speaker this occupation has placed a massive human and financial costs on the united states and yet president bush demands more of the same we must in this occupation and bring our troops home jonathan virginia  choose to look the other way but you can never again say you did not know none of us can say that we do not know about the nation's long term financial outlook what former co spending level that will swamp our ship of state mr speaker it's time to discuss and this is a minister asian as secretary paulson wake up to the massive debt that we are amassing congressman jim cooper in are working together on a we know what is happening and for the secular children and grandchildren we must not look the other way wilberforce said i close harry heard all of this you may choose to look the other way but you can never again say you did not know an expired gentleman states tomorrow will have once in a lifetime opportunity present a special service to his holiness in faith as president will be felt nationwide by catholics and non catholics however his holiness wants us to focus on jesus christ not the president of the pope this is a swiss once that when he was named at the highest office the catholic church to humbly quote his holiness i come to the united states as a pope for the first time to proclaim this great truth jesus christ is a hope for man and woman of every language race cultural and social condition his own as comes with unity and hope for everyone cutting through the language ohio i asked to address the body for when that jackson mr speaker tonight in my community we will celebrate the lives of our fallen heroes who fought so bravely to defend our freedom including our own today general petraeus and ambassador crocker will speak to us and report on the surge of the and its success as we debate this issue i ask that we continue to support our men and women who have chosen to wear the uniform of our country and fight to keep us free they know all too well freedom is not free  thank you mr speaker behalf of our country in my congressional district which includes the university of notre dame we want to welcome pope benedict the sixteenth on his first episodic visit to the united states he is a highly regarded  having written over twenty five books reconciliation in peace have been the major themes of his papacy he has focused on the dignity of the human person standing behind refugees exiles and others we welcome pope benedict the sixteenth to our beloved country he has been a leader for peace and we look forward to his visit thank you mr speaker gentlemen yells back this time gentleman from michigan you mr speaker and as the olympic torch goes to san francisco today i'd just like to bring attention to the fact that i as well as others on the side of the aisle be introducing legislation to ensure that we send our athletes to the games but not our politicians in the past america has sent their athletes to the olympics to show what a free people can achieve most notably in one nine hundred thirty six when jesse owens won gold and disabuse the world of the fierce propaganda that there was an inferior race amongst did not go to the olympics i would encourage american politicians including the prez united states not to politicize the games by their attendance but rather stay home and attend of the pressing issues which face us as a people this would be the proper way objection this is speaker yesterday general petraeus and ambassador crocker made it clear that the bush administration and ten as to continue its current strategy in iraq's with no changes despite absolutely no progress on political reconciliation today when we listen to both general petraeus and ambassador crocker testify again it's important to remember that the principal objective of the president's troop escalation plan was to give iraq government time and the proper environment to create political reconciliation i recently returned from iraq and it's obvious that the political reconciliation that we hope for is not taking place they had both reconciled they've had both but the reconciliation remains elusive general petraeus himself has admitted that there has been no sufficient progress by any means in the area of national reconciliation in iraq mr speaker how much longer will general petraeus and ambassador crocker and this is ministration demand our troops and our nation to continue to sacrifice for the sake of an iraqi government that is unwilling and unable to secure its own future i'd like to hear the answer to that question today because many of us here in congress do not believe it is our nation's best interest to keep more troops on the ground in iraq thank you and i yield back the balance of my own time is expired  here in this congress president franklin delano roosevelt enunciated a voice for all the world are for essential human freedoms freedom from fear freedom from want freedom of speech and freedom to worship god in one's own way these are the freedoms we fought two world wars for and one these are the freedoms we must endorse everywhere in the world and i encourage the current leaders of communist china to support these four essential human freedoms everywhere in the world soon very soon the olympic games would be held in china and wouldn't it be grand if china would compete fairly and openly on a level playing field not just in the olympic games but in marketing their products as well we must ship our values overseas not our jobs that is the goal of our presence here on this floor we must represent people here in these united states not in china and i yield back resolution eight thirty eight resolution welcoming his holiness pope benedict sixteenth on his first episodic visit to the united states pursuant to the rule the gentleman from new jersey mr paine in the gentlewoman from florida miss ross latine and will each control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey mr speaker as unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revive and revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution on a consideration that objection mr speaker i rise and strong support of this resolution and you know my self as much time as i may consume i would first like to recognize like to commend my disting apostolic visit to the united states it is appropriate that the house support h raz eight three eight and welcoming this distinguished leader of a church which has more than a billion members worldwide during his five day visit pope benedict will hold numerous meetings in washington d c and new york city his schedule includes a private conversation with president bush a candle lighting and prayer service at ground zero two widely anticipated masses at the brand new nationals park and the marble yankee stadium he will be only the third person in the history to address the united nations general assembly in addition to meeting u s bishops and catholic groups  spend time with members of non christian face in particular he will meet with representatives of jewish groups to acknowledge that the start of passover this practice is very much in keeping with pope benedict stated emphasis on reconciliation and faith that the eck america lebel as he has sought to foster dialogue with a range of religious groups and last but not least during his visit to our country pope benedict will celebrate an important milestone his eighty first birthday john ratzinger was born and baptized on april sixteenth one thousand twenty seven university posts authored twenty five books and thousands of hours of lectures and protests a paid as a theological adviser to the second vatican council before becoming pope he was the state distinguished himself as the first first as archbishop of munich and phrasing and then dean of the college of cardinals and finally as the bishop of rome he ascended to the pap y april nineteenth two thousand and five after nine past the let the zits in europe and one to brazil the two hundred and sixty fifth pontiff is now traveling to the united states it is with great pleasure that i welcome him to our country the home of more than sixty six million catholics and that's my colleagues to join me in support of this resolution extending this chambers welcome to pope benedict the sixteenth who will be making his first visit to the united states next week in his role as leader of the catholic church pope benedict was elected to the pa three years ago succeeding pope john paul the second who has led the catholic church for close to three decades the holy father's visit provides an opportunity to reflect on his life and his teachings pope benedict had devoted his life to his fate and to the road to the promotion of peace from his early days as a priest he has also sought to inspire others to always search for the truth  hundred seventy seven over thirty years ago he declared that his duty was to follow the truth and be at its service on that occasion he went on to say that in today's world the theme of truth is  omitted almost entirely as something too great for man and yet everything collapses if truth is missing moreover pope benedict has spent his years of service in the church in an effort to clarify the tenets of the catholic faith after serving as president of the commission that reviewed the catholic catechism he presented the new catechism to pope john paul the second to date he has written twenty five books which are now used as reference sources for many who are interested in a deeper study of theology he served as the advisor of theological affairs to the second economic economical vatican council a gathering of great importance that was the largest in the church's history this council adopted significant changes in the doctrines of the catholic church and its set central legacy its reforms were meant to ensure that the heart of the church and its mission would be focused on helping people the council urge greater engagement by the church to elevate the dignity of all human life to ease suffering end poverty in needy countries and to promote international peace this council was also intent on encouraging reconciliation between those in the catholic church and those of other beliefs since ascending to c in april of two thousand and five the pope has advanced those doctrines in church affairs particularly in terminal a just die alone on september seventh two thousand and seven pope benedict visited austria where he joined jewish leaders in a silent tribute to the victims of the nazi holocaust and he joined v n as chief rabbi in a memorial to the sixty five thousand viennese jews who perished in nazi death camps during his time in the united states he will visit the park street synagogue in new york city and he will meet with holocaust survivor rabbi arthur schneier monsignor david malloy general secretary of the u s conference of catholic bishops said of this meeting and i quote by this personal and informal visit which is not part of his official program his holiness wishes to express his goodwill toward the local jewish community as they prepare for passover and october of two thousand and six pope benedict met with the dalai lama in the vatican and when he visited turkey he played he prayed at the blue mosque and he now plans to meet with muslim scholars and religious leaders at a catholic muslim seminar to be held later this year in rome pope benedict has underscored his support for interfaith reconciliation with statements just such as the following a friendship with god becomes for us something even more important and decisive then we will begin to love those whom god loves and who are in need of us god wants us to be friends of his friends and we can be so mr speaker pope benedict's wise words of inspiration of hope and peace can serve to guide all of us it is my pleasure to rise in support of this resolution welcoming his holiness pope benedict the sixteenth to the united states and with that mr speaker i reserve the balance of i q gentlewoman reserves the gentleman from new jersey i yield four minutes of the gentleman from honor a key reason for his visit the bicentennial of the archdiocese of louisville only baltimore new orleans retained older dial archdioceses than the four created by pope pius the seventh two hundred years ago yesterday was on that day april eighth eighteen zero eight that his holiness created a diocese a new york boston philadelphia and bardstown kentucky to be bishop in bardstown e tab the next while the french revolution benedict joseph laissez name revered in louisville to this day dubbed the first bishop of the west bishop legit was responsible for an area that now covers more than forty dioceses he immediately led a spirited period of growth in the area establishing numerous seminaries churches and schools where none had existed core a strong catholic community grew in louisville and in the surrounding areas one united not only by a shared faith but by a mutual moral sense of community education and service that community grew and thrive for nearly a century and in  seven became the archdiocese of louisville as we know it today now serving over a million people in twenty four kentucky counties is it was in service to the archdiocese of louisville the thomas merton one of the most influential religious authors of the twentieth century had his legendary louisville epiphany that led to an impassioned and inspired quest for peace and social justice the archdiocese of louisville also operates catholic charities of lavelle which offers countless services to people of all religious ethnic social an economic backgrounds throughout our community the efforts of catholic charities can be seen in every corner of louisville giving hope to disadvantaged youth assisting the elderly lending support to those who need help to stand on their own and revitalize neighborhoods that have fallen into disarray we also have the archdiocese to thank for one of the truly outstanding parochial systems in this nation for more than a century and through every stage of a young person's development of those catholic schools that help to foster generations of great citizens role models and leaders during my tenure representing louisville in congress i have had the pleasure of serving alongside two archbishops archbishop thomas kelley retired this past year after a quarter century defined by interfaith outreach multicultural ministry and a commitment to social services archbishop joseph kurtz now leads the archdiocese and in his first year as shown the leadership abilities an initiative to build upon the incredible foundation already in place in oil the theme for this year's bicentennial is serving god's people yesterday today and tomorrow it is a fitting tribute to an institution that has always done and continues to do exactly that serve all the people of the louisville area through acts of faith peace and kindness extraordinary is nothing new for the archdiocese of louisville still in a pep a style of visit to the united states from his holiness pope benedict the sixteenth to mark by centennial is a recognition that will be forever treasured by our community i join my colleagues and thanking and welcoming his holiness to the united and and all the members the foreign affairs committee for bringing this resolution to the floor you know i remember back when i was growing up there was a movie the movie was called a hard day's night this is at the height of beatlemania and the beatles that obviously been wildly popular and well received when they first hit our shores and yet in the movie there's a scene where a reporter seemingly unaware of this asked john lennon a question and the question was this they said how did you find america and lennon said i turn left to greenland and the point that i bring this up for is quite simple today we hear many inane questions about how his holiness will be received by the american people how will america find the pope  the pope find america well i think these questions are inane for a very simple reason the united states understands the holy father because he advocates that we use faith and reason to find our way through these trying times and on to a transcendent creator the united states a revolutionary experiment in human freedom was founded upon faith and reason the founders had the faith that they were playing a role in divine providence that they had rights that were endowed to them and inalienable by a courageous are and it was not passionate alone that allowed for the founding of our free republic they also used their reason to find their way to express how those rights could be guaranteed against government and how individual citizens could live together with their rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness this is no different than the message that the holy father brings today the holy father has said that faith and reason are can count and blessings from god which allow us to find him not only in ourselves but in each other so as americans await the pope's first visit i'm not saying that there will be teenyboppers dropping in the streets as the popemobile passes but i do say his holiness will ever see him a warm receive a warm reception from people who have understood and who continue to understand that faith and reason are guests from god we squander on our own peril i yield back the balance of my time gentleman yield back the gentleman from new jersey i most to reconsider is laid on the table main street in glouster virginia as the congresswoman jo and as davis post office clerk will report the title of the bill h r fifty four eighty nine and bill treated to a facility of the united states postal service located sixty eight ninety two main street in class or virginia the congresswoman can win and david has tom pursuant to the rule the gentleman from missouri mr klain the gentleman from texas mr daley each will control twenty the house committee on oversight and government reform i am pleased to join my colleagues in the consideration of h r fifty four eighty nine which seeks the life of congress and joanne davis and the example first congressional district from two thousand and one until her untimely death in two thousand and seven she was the second woman ever to be elected to congress from virginia a woman of faith and strong conviction congresswoman davis lived her lives admirably and with down to earth humility which is why her presence here in the house issue were to be by a reported from the oversight committee on march thirteenth two thousand and eight by voice vote the measure has the support of over twenty members of congress and provides our body a collective opportunity to acknowledge one of our very own for her dedication in congressional action to improve the lives of others whether in her congressional district her beloved home state of virginia our throughout our great country amos was born in rowan county north carolina on june twenty ninth one nine hundred fifty at the age of nyad her parents moved to the virginia peninsula despite her humble beginnings congresswoman davis set her hampton roads business college after graduating she became an executive secretary at a real estate company in newport news until she obtained her real estate license in one thousand nine hundred four and soon  found it joe and davis realty her whole life she exceeded expectations so it should come as no surprise when she ran for congress in one thousand nine hundred ninety one by receiving fifty eight percent of the vote  southern virginia district represented davis congressional record is a testimony to her fight for employees rights and fairness in the workplace her first piece of legislation raised life enjoy its benefit to survivors of military members killed on duty and she also pushed for improving dental and vision benefits for government employed and argued in favor of a more even handed system for compensating federal law enforcement officers our country owes her our sincere and sincere appreciation for her efforts in making public service which is the life blood of our nation a more equitable and beneficial system in september two thousand and five our dear friend congresswoman davis was diagnosed with breast cancer and for years underwent unnecessary treatments although she was planning to seek reelection in two thousand they congresswoman davis unfortunately succumbed to the cancer act over six two thousand and seven in her home and glau sastre virginia she is survived by her husband chu davis a battalion chief for the hampton fire department two sons and a granddaughter mr speaker let us join together this day to express our thanks and to pay our respects for the sacrifices and battles congresswoman jo ann fought in the name of liberty and justice and passed h r fifty four eighty nine which would designate the main street post office in our hometown of glass estimate genya as the congresswoman jo and as davis age of nine joanne davis set the standard for republican women in virginia