the house will be an order like to have a prayer offered by the chaplain god of america returns to another work week well some coworkers and family members are away on summer vacation may this be a lesson to us all that life must be lived with balance and none of us is irreplaceable in your divine plan inspire members of the house of representatives lord to make the best use of the time given them in the midst of many duties that family needs to be attended to may the productive work of congress to stabilize this nation and create a better social order so that all your people may enjoy responsible freedom and equal justice under the law to you be praising glory now and for ever amen the chair has examined the journal  last days proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof pursuant to clause one of rule one the journal stands approved the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from maryland mr sarbanes i pledge allegiance to the flag the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivi liberty and justice for all lays before the house the following two communications the white house washington d c july twenty first two thousand and seven madam this is this morning i will undergo a routine medical procedure requiring sedation and see what they present circumstances i have determined to transfer temporal or temporarily my constitutional powers and duties to the vice president during the brief period of the procedure and recovery in accordance with the provisions at section three of the twenty fifth amendment to the united states constitution this letter shall constitute my written declaration that i am unable to discharge the constitutional powers and duty of the office of the president of the united states pursuant to section three the vice president shall  discharge those powers and duties as acting president until i transmit to you a written declaration that i am able to resume the discharge of those powers and duties signed george w bush july twenty first the white house washington d c july twenty first two thousand and seven matter in accordance with the provisions that section three of the twenty fifth amendment to the united states constitution this latter letter shall constitute my written declaration that i am presently able to resume the discharge of the constitutional powers and duties of the office of the president of the united states with the transmittal of this letter i am resuming those powers and duties effective immediately signed george w bush the chair will entertain requests for one minute speeches purpose of the gentleman from south carolina arrives this because a mission to address the house one middle of august in my remarks without objection mr speaker all americans should be grateful that the new york stock exchange closed at a record high of fourteen thousand last thursday students benefit as college and downline screw reducing tuitions cost retiree's benefit as retirement accounts appreciated and with the increase liquidity jobs are created for small businesses the stock market in five years has soared ninety one percent from the decline caused by the nine eleven terrorist attacks more than two million jobs have been created in the last year and eight point two million jobs have been created since the tax relief was initiated in june two thousand and three this is led to and on and plumet right lower than the average for the one thousand nine hundred seventy s eighty's and ninety's there was record high homeownership the republican tax reductions are helping workers i urge my colleagues to act immediately to make the tax cuts permanent so american workers not the federal government can continue to decide how to spend their hard earned money this proves the point of jerry balloon editor the lexington county chronicle that the earnings of america's workers belong to the people and not a handout from the government in conclusion god bless our troops and will never forget september eleventh for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise up for one minute reviving without objection thank you mr speaker the great lakes are the source of our drinking water for twenty or thirty million americans and the congress has enacted new laws to protect the great lakes ecosystem including the great lakes legacy act and the regional collaboration this is why we were so surprised no stunned when british petroleum applied for the rights to increase its pollution of lake michigan a thirty five percent increase in ammonia dumping a fifty four percent increase in the dumping of suspended solids b p is one of the most profitable companies on earth their plans include a three billion dollar upgrade to the facility but they presented excuses from their own paid consultants that they had to increase their pollution of the lake now tomorrow the congress will take up a resolution condemning p and the actions of the state of indiana that approved this pollution b p is a company spending millions to brand itself as a friend of the environment but we know what b p stands for bad polluter the before the house of communication the honorable the speaker house of representatives madam pursuant to the permission granted in clause to h of rule two of the house of the rules of the u s house of representatives the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the request a conference with the have a point conferees h r twenty six sixty nine appointment us united states holocaust memorial council signed sincerely lorraine c miller clerk of the the chair lays before the house communications colorado minnesota court for testimony in a criminal case after consultation with the office of general counsel i have to determine that compliance with the subpoenas consistent with the president and privileges of the house signed sincerely john bristol congressional aid pursuant to clause eight of rule twenty of the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suppose suspend the rolls on which are recorded vote or the asian days are ordered or on which the vote is objected to under clause shikse of roy twenty record votes on postpone questions will be taken after six thirty p m today the clerk will report the title of the bill h r thirteen eighty eight a bill to amend the national trail system not to designate the star spangled banner trail in the days that maryland and virginia and the district of columbia as a national historical trial pursuant to the role of the gentleman from arizona mr green however and the gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers well each well each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you mr speaker and i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks include extraneous material on the bill under consideration without objection thank you mr speaker a chart thirteen eighty eight would designate the star spangled banner trail in maryland virginia and the district of columbia as a national historic trail to commemorate the events of the chesapeake campaign during the war of eighteen twelve the bill was introduced by my colleague on the natural resources committee mr sarbanes of maryland who is a valued member of our national parks forest and public land subcommittee of the start spangled banner historic trail designated by h r thirteen eighty eight would follow the historic route used by british and american troops during the war the national park service service supports this designation as do an impressive a of state and local governments and numerous private organizations mr speaker as of the by continual of the world eight hundred twelve approaches this is story trail will help americans retrace some of the crucial events of the war that fashioned our nation's character mr starr brain has done great work on this measure and i urge my colleagues to support the bipartisan legislation and i reserve the balance of my time that the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington you mr speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume we cannot support h r thirteen eighty eight for a number of reasons to start a more apt description of this bill is the trail with no beginning or end it sprawls over two hundred mile radius has countless possible routes and isn't even continuous how can the public possibly support a trail when the national park service doesn't even know where the trail is the american people deserve transparency in the legislation we create more importantly if this legislation were to become law along with chairman rate all energy policy reform in revitalization act the outcome would be devastating to people living within a hundred miles of this chamber section one o three of that bill which could be debated on the floor next week prevents desperately needed energy corridors from being designated within one mile of historic areas such as this proposed federal trail edison electric institute whose members represent sixty seven percent of all electric customers nationwide recently submitted a statement to the natural resources committee it states quote new an arbitrary citing as stablished by section one o three of h r two three three seven could have negative impacts far beyond the effect in vision by many proponents of such designations it clearly lays out the ramifications of the majority's unsound energy policy coupled with federal designations such as this proposed trail at this point i ask unanimous consent to include this statement in the record r thirteen thirty eight coupled with the democrats no energy policy bill has the effect of leaving millions of people across the united states in the dark i urge my colleagues to oppose the bill and reserve the balance of my time process this legislation is the product of thorough study and planning by interested parties such as the park service local jurisdictions in maryland virginia and the district of columbia and historians and experts on the war of eighteen twelve there are too many to mention here but over several years these individuals have been dedicated advocates for creating the star spangled banner trail this legislation represents the culmination of their efforts and hard work with the bison townie all of the war of eighteen twelve fast approaching us now is the time to pass the legislation and begin the process of implementing the star spangled banner trail which will measurably enhance the celebration of one of the seminal moments in american history the star spangled banner trail through the park service at the fort national monument and shrine would commemorate the routes used by british and american during the eight hundred twelve chesapeake campaign of the war of eighteen twelve the trail which in fact is quite clearly would begin with the june eighteenth fourteen battles between the british navy and the american chesapeake flotilla in st leonards creek in culver county maryland and at fort mchenry where francis scott key composed our national anthem as he witnessed the battle of baltimore and the british met their ultimate defeat it would also mark the british invasion of washington d c the burning of the capitol in the white house and other battles in between this legislation as special meaning for me because of the time i spent growing up in baltimore and the long relationship my family has had with the centerpiece of the trail for mchenry on countless occasions i've enjoyed  its history its vistas of the chesapeake bay and the surrounding wetlands and i highly recommend that members visit the site and sell many refer to the war of eighteen twelve as the second war of independence when the war began our fragile experiment in democracy was still in its early stages and the nation found itself under attack from one of the most powerful enemies countries in the world many wondered whether  democracy could hold together through the trials of war the war of eighteen twelve proved that it could and set the stage for the spread of democracy around the world i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i gentleman from arizona is recognized thank you speaker now you'll back the balance of our time the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r thirteen eighty eight as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table from arizona the speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass h r seven sixty one as amended clerk will report the title of the bill h r seven sixty one a bill to authorize the secretary of interior to convey the missouri river basin lewis and clark interpretive trail and visitor center foundation incorporated certain federal land gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend and include this material on the bill into consideration without objection the speaker h r seven six sixty one sponsored by representative fortenberry of nebraska would transfer to a nonprofit foundation an visitor's center for the lewis and clark historic trail in nebraska the legislation turns the site over to the nonprofit entity which currently manages the facility in partnership with the national park service this measure includes they were rever clause and other safeguards to protect the federal investment in the center we have no objection to h r seven sixty one and support its passage by the house today and i reserve the balance of my time and chair recognizes the gentlewoman from washington thank you mr speaker i rise in support of h r seven sixty one and yield myself such time as i may consume h r seven sixty one has been adequately explained by the majority and plays that mr for mary has brought us this legislation that will benefit both his constituents and taxpayers across the nation i reserve the balance of my time or i yield back the balance of my time the gentleman from arizona the speaker you'll back balance of our time the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r seven sixty one as amended those in favor say aye those opposed say no and the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the gentleman from arizona the speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass h r twelve eighty five as amende clerk will report the title of the bill h r twelve eighty five a bill to provide for conveyance of a parcel of national forest system land and to tell us county washington to facilitate the construction of a new fire and rescue station and for other purposes pursuant to the rule the gentleman from arizona mr green vala and the gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you misspeak or i washington conveys one point five acres of land in the in the mt baker snow still calling me that actual force to facilitate the construction of a new fire and rescue station fire and rescue is in need of a new fire station as the current station has numerous deficiencies the fire station is important to the community and offered a response to fires on federal lands mr speaker it is our understanding that there are ongoing discussions in washington state to address some lingering issues related to this conveyance and we support those efforts with that understanding we have no objections to a h r twelve eighty five and support its adoption by the house today and i reserve the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington thank you mr speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume the majority of adequately explain the bill i'd like to commend congressman doc hastings and his staff for their work on this chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the gentleman from arizona the speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass r seven sixteen as amended the clerk will report the title of the bill h r seven sixteen a bill to an end the reclamation waste water and groundwater study and facilities and to authorize the secretary of the interior to urban water reuse plan pursuant to the rule the gentleman from arizona mr green vala and the gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you mr speaker and i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend and include extraneous material under the bill on the bill under consideration without objection mr speaker the purpose of h seven sixteen as amended is to authorize the secretary of interior to participate in the design and construction of this sunset across our urban water we say we use plan the water recycling facilities authorized by this legislation will result in significant improvements in water quality and water supply reliability in the sun federal sayliyah i commend the sponsor of this legislation ms was leave it for her commitment in this important project i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill i reserve the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from washington thank you mr speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume the chairman has adequately explained the bill i applaud the amendment agreed to in committee that prohibits taxpayer dollars from being used to create unrelated wetlands in this project however given that the majority is not fully funded the title sixteen program in the energy and water appropriations bill i note that this bill makes the three hundred million three hundred twenty eight million dollars back log problem worse i yield back the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona the speaker you'll back the balance of our time the question is well the house suspend the rules and pass h seven sixteen as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the clerk will report the title of the bill that made the gentleman from arizona with speaker move to suspend the rules and pass h r fifteen or three as amended the clerk will report the title of the  r fifteen zero three a bill to amend the reclamation waste water and ground water study and facilities act to authorize the secretary of the interior to participate in the average black watch reclamation and riparian restoration project pursuant to the role of the gentleman from arizona mr green hollow and the gentleman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you the speaker and i ask  unanimous consent that members have five days to revise and extend and include extending the state of material in the bill under consideration without objection mr speaker this lead legislation which i introduced on march thirteenth of this year authorizes secretary of interior to participate in the ever black wash reclamation and riparian restoration project takes dreamily eric climate of tucson arizona in that metropolitan area requires time as i may consume the chairman and sponsor of this legislation has adequately is explained the bill as amended the funding in this bill is now specifically targeted for waste water infrastructure rather than trails and a visitor center despite th positive change however i note this bill also adds to the three hundred twenty eight million dollar funding backlog in the overall program i yield back the balance of my time  speaker yield back the balance of our time the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r fifteen zero three as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table that the gentleman from arizona thank you but speaker and i move to suspend the rules and pass h r fifteen twenty six as amended the clerk will report the title of the bill h r fifteen twenty six a bill to amanda reclamation waste water and ground water study and facilities and to authorize the bay area reason a water recycling program and for other purposes pursuant to the rule the gentleman from arizona mr green hall and the gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the know myself as much time as i may consume i would first like to recognize were present of george miller's hard work and dedication to this legislation and for his leadership in california water policy this legislation would authorize the secretary of in seven important water supply projects as part of the bay area regional water recycling program the projects authorized by the enactment of h r fifteen twenty six as amended will eventually produce thirty seven to thirty seven thousand six hundred her feet of refight cold water annually the water will be critical as california communities work to protect their water supply from future droughts i thank congressman george miller for his hard work on the legislation and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h r fifteen twenty six as amended and i reserve the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington thank you mr speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume the chairman has adequately explained the bill i note that this is another water recycling bill which will make the three hundred twenty eight million dollar funding backlog in the program worse because the majority even did not fully funded in the energy and water appropriations bill recognizes the gentleman from california thank you mr speaker i rise in support of h r fifteen twenty six george miller's good water reuse bill and i ask unanimous consent that i speak out of order on h r seven one six and ask to have my words included in the appropriate section of the legislation of without objection today without objection thank you mr speaker and thank you mr ray hall for recognizing me and for leading this effort this morning and this afternoon and i want to thank chairman wright hall for his leadership in bringing h r seven sixteen the santa rosa urban water reuse bill to the floor the santa rosa urban water reuse bill is a huge step in the right direction for the city of santa rosa it will help the city increase its reuse of wastewater as an alternative to releasing the water into the russian river where my district see the great majority of our drinking water the project is especially important in a region that remains arid for six months of the year and we're droughts pose a genuine threat to humans and endangered species under the reuse plan the city of santa rosa will use recycled water for landscape irrigation allowing the city to conserve valuable fresh water for human consumption and for watershed preservation and enhancement it is essential that we find new ways to reuse waste water and prevent further discharge into nearby waterways this project can help the city of santa rosa by making great strides in its water  program and giving the city the opportunity to tell an endangered species and at same time protect the russian river from further discharge i urge what you've already voted to pass that i thank you for unanimous the back the balance of our time on the question is where the house is bend the rules and pass h r fifteen twenty six as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you mr speaker and work to suspend the rules and pass h four ninety five the clerk will report the title of the bill h r four ninety five a bill to update the management of oregon water resources and for other purposes pursuant to the rule the gentleman from arizona m the gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona the speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration without objection thank you mr speaker the purpose of h r four ninety five was introduced by our colleague from oregon mr walden is to update the man in the management of or oregon water resources and authorize various water projects in the state of oregon the bill authorizes the extension of participation of the bureau of reclamation in in the just shoots river concepts conservancy and the well  lake dam rehabilitation the little butte bear creek sub basins water resource study and the north unit irrigation district these projects will enhance the water resources in the number of areas in the state of oregon almost identical legislation passed the house in the hundred ninth congress we have no objection to this non controversial bill and i reserve the balance of my time in the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington thank you mr speaker i yield myself such such times i may consume r four ninety five sponsored by my pacific northwest colleague greg walden improves a number of water management projects in central and eastern oregon the provisions in this bill reflect the work of the past two congresses and enjoyed bipartisan support because they help water consumers and improve the environment i urge my colleagues to support this bill and you'll back the balance of my time with the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona concealed yield back the balance of our time  the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r four ninety five those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass h r twenty four hundred as amended the clerk will report the title of the bill h r twenty four hundred a bill to direct the administrator of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration to establish an integrated federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for the great lakes and coastal state waters the territorial c the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf of the united states and for other purposes pursuant to the rule the gentleman from arizona mr green hava and the gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona mr speaker again i ask unanimous consent that all members have five days to revise and extend and include extended as material on the bill under consideration without objection the speaker h r twenty four hundred would direct the administrator of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration to establish an integrated federal ocean and coastal mapping plan for and atmospheric administration consolidate and coordinate the federal government's mapping activities a national research council study made similar recommendation to accomplish this in h r twenty four hundred which would coordinate the efforts of all federal agencies involved in mapping our oceans and coast consistent protocols would be developed across all federal agencies to collect data and develop maps instead of various agencies using their own criteria in addition the legislation would require federal agencies to coordinate their efforts ultimately those in the he depended on maps for navigation national security scientific research energy development and location of cultural res resources such as shipwrecks would all greatly benefit h r twenty four hundred will increase the efficiency of remapping efforts reduce redundancy and allow data used by one agency to be used again and again by of others  multiple for multiple purposes i support the legislation and encourage members to vote for this non controversial legislation and i reserve the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from washington thank you mr speaker i rise  support of h r twenty four hundred the ocean and coastal mapping integration act chairman greg hall the has adequately explained the bill which will lead to a maurice fissioned an effective use of ocean data i yield back the balance of my time and chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona that you missed speaker at mit speaker at this point i would like to insert in the record the exchange of letters regarding the committee of science and technolog interest in this legislation without objection thank you and with that i yield back the balance of our time the question is where the house suspend the rules and pass h r twenty four hundred as amended those in favor say  those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona hundred ninety four pursuant to the role of the gentleman for arizona michigan hava and the gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five days to revise and extend their remarks and include material in the bill under consideration without objection thank you mr speaker let me let me begin by commending  congressman don young the ranking republican on the committee of natural resources for introducing h r fifty the multi multi national species conservation funds reauthorization act of two thousand and seven this bill would authorize two important international wildlife conservation laws the african elephant conservation act and the right nasser's and tiger conservation act mr speaker illegal poaching habitat loss and other factors have pushed african elephants rhinoceroses and tigers dangerously close to extinction extinction h r fifty authorizes funding through fiscal year two thousand and twelve for scientific research management law enforcement and public education activities used to conserve and protect these keystone wildlife species and their habitat congress has provided twenty six point nine million which has been leverage through matching funds and in kind contributions to generate more than ninety six point one million for international species conservation this has been an excellent investment for the federal government we support this non controversial bill urge all members on both side to vote for this important conservation bill and i reserve the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington thank you mr speaker i rise in strong support of h r fifty this legislation introduced by the distinguished ranking republican on the natural resources committee the honorable dong young will extend the african elephant conservation act and there are not certain tiger conservation act this legislation builds upon the proven success of these two conservation funds and allow the secretary of interior to continue to approve badly needed conservation grants for the next five years these acts have been two of the most effective conservation laws ever approved by the united states congress i urge adoption of this legislation and yield back the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentleman from the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h r fifty as amended does in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you ms speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass h r four sixty five as amended the clerk will report the title of the bill minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona and speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend and include material on the bill under consideration without objection thank you much speaker i commend my colleague congressman jim saxton for introducing h r four sixty five the asian elephant conservation reauthorization act of two thousand and seven h r four sixty five would authorize the ation asian elephant conservation fiscal year two thousand and twelve this law authorizes grants to be issued for the survival of the asian elephant in the wild unfortunately missed because the status of the asian elephant remains tenuous fewer than forty thousand asian elephants are found throughout the forests and savannas of south asia approximately sixteen thousand of these animals are held and kept captive a d the captive elephants are used to assist people in timber harvest forests clearing and agriculture in the wild populations generated by leveraging the seven point eight million contribution made available by the congress funding to support cooperative conservation projects that protect asian elephants and their habitats by providing scientific research law enforcement and education i support this non controversial bill and again commend the gentleman from new jersey congressman jim saxton the author of the original asian elephant conservation that for his unwavering commitment to international wildlife conservation and i reserve the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from washington thank you mr speaker i rise in support of h r four sixty five the asian elephant conservation reauthorization act this legislation will extend the asian elephant conservation fund at the existing authorization levels until september thirtieth two thousand and twelve and their early one thousand nine hundred there were less than forty thousand wild asian elephants living throughout the world in response to this international wildlife crisis congressman jim saxon introduced the asian elephant conservation act since one thousand nine hundred seven the secretary of the interior has reviewed over three hundred proposals to assist asian elephants and one hundred eighty three grants have been awarded to very entities these projects have received seven point eight million in federal funds and eleven point three million in private matching funds this conservation fund has had a profound impact on protecting asian elephants and there's no question that these have stopped this species slide into extinction this is a sound it's meant as a small amount of federal tax dollars i urge and i vote on h r four sixty five and yield back the balance of my time chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona this he'll back the balance of our time the question is where the house suspend the rules and pass h r four sixty five as amended those in favor say aye those oppose no and the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h r twelve thirty nine as amended the clerk will report the title of the bill h r twelve thirty nine it deals with them in the national underground railroad network to freedom act of nine hundred ninety eight to provide additional staff and oversight for fines to carry out the act and for other purposes pursuant to the rule of the gentleman from arizona mr green halter and the gentlewoman from washington mrs mcmorris rodgers each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you mr speaker and i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill into consideration without objection thank you to speaker h r twelve thirty nine introduced by representative alcee hastings seeks to further the commitment made by congress with the passage of the national underground railroad network to freedom act of one thousand nine hundred eight by reconfiguring the the authorization of funds to carry out the act mr speaker the underground railroad was a new story of protest movement against slavery which helped escaped slaves find freedom in northern states and canada prior to the civil war the national underground railroad network to freedom act of one thousand nine hundred eight established the underground network to freedom program administered by the national park service today the program carries out important activities in more than twenty seven states and the district of columbia mr speaker i'd like to commend my friend and colleague from florida representative hastings for his work on this legislation he has been a real leader in this bipartisan effort to enhance the underground railroad network to freedom program we support passage of h r twelve thirty nine as amended and urge its adoption by the house today and i reserve the balance of my time the chair recommend recognizes the gentlewoman from washington thank you mr speaker i rise in support of h r twelve thirty nine year old myself such time as i may consume like to commend the sponsor representative hastings as well as the chairman of the committee m for explaining this bill we appreciate the work that has been done to improve the bill and look forward to seeing this program succeed i urge your support and yield back the balance of my time jerry recognizes the gentleman from arizona thank you i'm a speaker let me heal as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from florida mr hastings the author and sponsor of this legislation the chair make you very much the good friend and gentleman from florida thank you legislation with my good friend representative mike castle of delaware the widespread bipartisan support this legislation has received with sixty seven coal sponsors and endorsement by the national parks conservation association has demonstrated that black history is synonymous with american history as a life experience shared by all citizens of america i'd like to thank chairman ray hall and representative don young of the natural resources committee for bringing this important legislation to the floor and i would especially like to thank my good friend of the subcommittee chairman of and his counterpart of representative rob bishop for their support and my congratulations to ms mag morris on her recent addition to her family and her finding time to come and support effort as well with the passage of this legislation i hope that the national park service will give the national underground railroad network to freedom its due priority with adequate staffing to maintain the railroad to freedom i don't think any of us could have foreseen the emergence of the national park service says one of the largest stewards of black history in the united states nor could we have predicted the rapidly expanding interest for one of the most intriguing multicultural collaboration's in the history of our nation the network to freedom is a key feature that diversity in gauge men and interpretive opportunities of our national park system it is grown to three hundred programs site and partners in twenty eight states and the district of columbia this network is a national treasure of historic buildings routs programs projects and museums all with the magic connections to the underground railroad the legislation before us today appropriately adjusts the authorization levels for the network  freedom to reflect the growth of interest nationally and the resulting expansion of opportunities these adjustments will help to resolve the financial challenges facing the network to freedom that include the lack of consistent development grants and it ministries of support for ophelia's this is speaker this bill protects the interpretive interests of our national park system by providing the necessary support staff an oversight for the network to freedom to exist in perpetuity it is time to take a stand for the future of our national parks and american history i urge my colleagues to support this bill and preserve a vital asset to the history of our nation the underground railroad and i yield the time back to mr green home chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona mr speaker i yield back the balance of our time the question is where the house has been the rules and passed h r twelve thirty nine as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table without objection the title is amend before the house of communication westminster colorado for testimony in a criminal case i do not appear to have any relevant or material testimony to offer accordingly after consultation with the office of general counsel i have to term and that compliance with th is inconsistent with the precedents and privileges of the house signs and clearly mark udall for what purpose does the gentleman from california ari speaker i move to suspend the rules and agree to the bill h r twenty seven ninety eight as a med a clerk will report the title of the bill union calendar number one fifty one h r twenty seven ninety eight to reauthorize the programs of the overseas private investment corporation and for other purposes pursuant to the role of the gentleman from california mr sherman and the gentleman from indiana mr p each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from california thank you mr speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members will have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill now under consideration and on the next three bills that the house will consider without objection mr speaker i rise in strong support of this bill and yield myself as much time as i may consume i'd like to thank the many colleagues who have been involved in crafting this legislation including the chairman of our committee mr lantos the ranking member ms last leighton the ranking member of our subcommittee mr royce mr manzullo ambassador watson and others their assistance was critical in the bipartisan effort of making the overseas private investment corporation even more effective as i proceed i will point out that the overseas private investment corporation is saddled with the most unfortunate acronym in washington opaque let us hope that it is not confused with that other nefarious organization opec opec's mission is to mobilize and facilitate the participation of united states private capital and skills in the economic and social development of less developed countries in areas since his creation in one thousand nine hundred seventy one the overseas private investment corporation has generated seventy one billion dollars in u s exports supported over two hundred seventy one thousand u s jobs and supported projects in over one hundred fifty developing countries opec uses a nimble private sector model to accomplish its important public sector goals those goals to further development in poor countries including unstable countries and to support the goals of american foreign policy it supports targeted investments in some of the world's poorest countries many of which would otherwise not benefit from american private sector projects because the private sector would be otherwise unwilling to take the risks involved opaque being though part of the federal government is uniquely qualified to carry out this mission there are private sector organisations which will sell on rare occasions expropriation insurance but they often refuse to sell such insurance or refuse to finance projects in difficult and problematic countries because if expropriation did occur they would only have their private sector contacts to persuade the foreign government to relent in the case of it is able to rely upon the united states state department to convince foreign countries not to expropriate up projects and assets funded by or guaranteed by the united states agency sophisticated system that reviews applications and funds projects in some of the places where companies are least likely to get the very kind of insurance they're most likely to need namely insurance for political risk in fact opic requires applicants for assistance to seek insurance in the private market and certify that it was unavailable before opec will offer its services opec operates and this is stunning as to any federal agency or entity of the federal government opec operates at no net cost to the united states taxpayer amazingly it has turned a profit in every single year of its operations and now has reserves of four point three billion dollars on deposit in the us treasury despite working in some of the least developed countries of the world it is a mass this four point three billion dollars in reserves if all our governments agencies ran this way perhaps even those on the other side of the aisle would be moved more favorably disposed to federal programs today's bill not only reauthorize opec but improves both its strategy and oversight to make it the most in sri sponsible investor it can be with this bill the new and improved opec will work in countries and with companies private sector companies in a manner which provides greater protection for international worker rights the new and improved opec will take additional steps to guarantee that its projects do not damage the environment and in fact move toward a green or a con a me the new and improved opec will be as transparent as possible and more transparent than any federal agency i'm aware  i want to especially focus on section ten of the bill because it contains a provision that is you know the key as to bills that have come to this floor but which is being talked about in a wide variety of our other bills designed to focus on using the economic power of the united states to deal with terrorist countries particularly those who are committing genocide such as sudan or developing nuclear weapons iran and north korea if this bill is an act of this provision will be the only statute requiring a screen for companies doing business with a government agency that requires the private sector companies betting benefiting from partnership partnering with the federal government to certify that neither they nor any entity is part of their affiliated group of corporations is engaging in an enterprise which is helping terrorist states is defined in the bill now one of the toughest issues anyone trying to use the economic power of the united states to achieve our foreign policy objectives must ask is what types of investments are we trying to discourage the broader our definition of what we're trying to discourage the less focused will be the pressure that we put on private sector entities in this bill and this is the a bill that i hope will form a template for the divestiture movement in the united states for park your mint laws that come before this congress it's cetera we focus rather narrowly the economic pressure of the united states we tell these multinational corporations that we're not going to bar you from dealing with opec if you sell a candy bar to a private store in or you sell paper clips to a stationary store in khartoum rather you must certify that your corporation and all its a few elliot's have abstained from two very important a first that you've made no loan to the terrorist government and second that you are not investing a significant assets in the oil and energy sector of the terrorist states particularly no more than twenty million dollars this builds on the what used to be called the iran libya sanctions act nile the iran sanctions act which draws the line and finds the the pressure point for both iran and sudan and probably syria as well in stating that our goal is to prevent investments of more than twenty million dollars in the terrorist states of oil sector also opec would not be able to approve an application if the applicant company has an outstanding loan or extension of credit to one of the state sponsor of terrorists governments sales of goods like food and medicine on anything other than a cash basis would constitute the extension of credit for these purposes now section ten of the bill would apply these prohibitions as i've pointed out to foreign subsidiaries of the applicant in order to benefit from partnership with opec the entire group of affiliated corporations would have to make the certification section ten of the bill would require the c e o s of any applicant and the c e o of the applicant's ultimate parent corporation to certify that none of the affiliated groups have engaged in the prohibited activities section ten is also narrowly targeted with regard to the geography of or of sudan exam in that it does not prohibit activities in those regions of sudan not under the power of the khartoum government for thirty five years opaque is funded and insured the type of interest trucks you're building that no one else would do in some countries where no private corporation would otherwise go opec is pave the way for roads and bridges buildings and energy facilities in countries marked by conflict and war for these reasons we should reauthorize opec and seeing as i have no speakers i reserve the balance of my time chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana thank him a speaker and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks about  objection at the outset i'd like to express my admiration to our distinguished chairman our ranking member ms ross layton as well as mr sherman for crafting this important legislation and for bringing to it the careful thought and consideration that colleagues in those looking on today would see easily in evidence in the gentleman from california remarks and i am grateful for his leadership mr speaker we all understand that from time to time the overseas private investment corporation has been the subject of controversy on the other hand it is accurate to say that it is a it is significant that every president since one thousand nine hundred eighty one has believed that  important tool for advancing international development and u s foreign policy by stimulating private capital investment in recent years oh pick appears to have better focus its resources and efforts bringing economic development to to under served markets in central america africa afghanistan and now in iraq hope it has also reached out to us small businesses and minority and women owned enterprises for example more than eighty percent of all o projects approved in fiscal year two thousand and six involved u s small and medium sized enterprises of pictures also sought to enhance transparency and fight corruption thereby leveling the playing field for u s businesses as they compete in national markets it's also worth noting that opec is embarking on new efforts to encourage investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the use of clean energy and by charging market based fees for its products opaque continues to operate a self sustaining agency which i applaud effectively operating at no net cost to taxpayers and returning net income every year of operation with reserves now totaling more than five billion dollars on balance then spite controversy i believe opaque continues to serve foreign policy interests of the united states and i urge support of this legislation and reserve the balance of my time jerry recognizes the gentleman from california mr speaker i have no requests for time myself just a couple of minutes and reemphasize this is an agency that has conducted its activities at no cost to the federal treasury and in fact made a profit it is appropriate that we reauthorize opec second this bill is i believe the first to come before this house which defines what it is precisely that we want international corporations to stop doing and that is investing in the oil sector of terrorist states and second making loans to terrorist states that is why i think that this bill may be an important template for other legislation and i hope will those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the bill is passed and without objection a motion to reconsider is laid on the table the chair recognizes the gentleman from california mr speaker next on the list is house resolution five twenty one but i'm not going to ask for its consideration now but rather at the conclusion of this group of four bills in the hope and expectation that the gentle lady from new york ms gillibrand will come to the floor in time to describe the glories of the one nine hundred thirty two winter olympic games accordingly i turn to house resolution three eighty i move to suspend the rules and that the house agree to h read as three eighty the clerk will report the title of the resolution house resolution three eighty resolution contending idaho and winning the bid to host the two thousand nine cents on lympics world winter games pursuant to the rule of the gentleman from california mr chairman and kennedy shriver the world's great champion of people with intellectual disabilities created the special olympics for mrs shriver the founding the special olympics was a capstone of her decade long effort to improve the lives of people with intellectual disabilities it is a testament to her dog and dedication to the special olympics thrives today eunice's idea was simple give people intellectual disabilities the same opportunities that the other young people have to develop their physical fitness to create friendships and it's a joy the thrill of competition today the special olympics offers year round training in thirty summer and winter sports for both children and adults with intellectual disabilities special olympics serves more than two and a quarter million intellectually disabled people through two hundred programs in a hundred and sixty countries i want to salute my colleague mr sully from idaho for introducing this legislation mr sali is  rightly takes pride that his state has landed the honor of hosting the two thousand and nine special olympics a world winter games being named host of the two thousand and nine winter games as a tremendous achievement for the great state of idaho there could be no better backdrop than the start beauty of the state of idaho and the sawtooth mountains the special olympics has become an important global event the two thousand and nine games will include  thousands of competitors from over one hundred companies competing in several different winter sports it will be the largest multi sport of vent in the history of the state of idaho idaho will be a terrific coast for an event that empowers these brave young men and women and builds their self esteem i urge my colleagues stu support this important resolution mr speaker i reserve the balance of my time the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana know myself this time as i may consume i congratulate iowa on its successful bid as well to host the two thousand and nine special olympics world winter games and express strong support for a trip as three eighty special olympics program has benefited countless people with disabilities nationwide and around the globe raising awareness fostering support for a great cause while enabling the participants to enhance their self confidence and gain a sense of well deserved personal accomplishment through sports and competition it is in every sense a blessing to the participants the millions of volunteers coaches and athletes involved with the special olympics do a great service for their community in their country and of course to those with intellectual disabilities i would also say though having been involved and been in attendance at special olympics programs i haven't yet met a volunteer mr speaker who who didn't think that they were richer as a result of their participation in this extraordinary program to see the courage of those who compete in the extraordinary sacrifice of the parents of those who bring them to such a wonderful opportunity through the dedication of these volunteers of the special olympics have continued to grow and impact the lives of more and more people around the world the two thousand and nine winter games in idaho promise to be a great showcase for special olympics participants from around the world to compete a high level and demonstrate that disabilities are no which for individuals who are driven to succeed again i congratulate idaho for being selected as the host of an event of such magnitude extend my best wishes to their new governor and my friend and i am fully confident that it will be a resenting success i urge my colleagues to render their full support for this measure and reserve the balance of my time chair recognizes the gentleman mr speaker i have no further requests for time and i yield back the balance of my time gentleman from indiana mr speaker i have no further requests for time other than to again express support for  three eighty and congratulate the state of idaho for winning the opportunity to host the two thousand and nine special olympics world winter games and i yield back the question is whether how suspend the rules and agree to house resolution three eighty that was in vain for say i suppose no and the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the resolution agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the chair recognizes the gentleman from california noting again that we will be dealing at the end of this series with a thread five twenty one now move to  one thirty nine mr speaker i move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution h con read as one thirty nine as amended the clerk will report the title of the conc resolution house concurrent resolution one thirty nine current resolution expressing the sense of the congress that the united states address the ongoing problem of untouchability in india pursuant to the well the gentleman from california mr chairman and the gentleman from indiana mr pence each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from california mr speaker i rise in support of this resolution to yield myself as much time as i may consume i would like to commend our distinguished colleague mr trent franks of arizona for introducing this important resolution roughly twenty million people in india are subject to discrimination and sometimes worse simply because of their caste discrimination inflicted against people known as dull eats and tribals in india is solely based on being born into a certain family this is an unethical practice is outlawed under the indian constitution the whole concept of untouchability itself is banned by the instance by the indian constitution however in forstmann of this law ought to be strengthened and crimes against the lea ought to be prevented more vigorously investigated and prosecuted this resolution seeks to state clearly the sense of the united states congress in this regard we must continue to raise this issue on our bilateral meetings with our good friends in the government of india especially at a time when the united states indian relationship has entered into it and press it unprecedented did an unparalleled partnership furthermore we must ensure the anti poverty programs and other pro programs we support india incorporate the needs of the dollar community our government and our companies that do business in india ought to make a special effort to help these people because right now they have little help in their own communities although there are programs of the indian government also focused on meeting these needs it is our moral obligation to speak out against abuse news of human rights wherever we see them even in countries that are our allies and excellent partners that is why congress must address the problem of the treatment of the leats and tribals in india we need to be consistent it is easy to criticize our adversaries but we have even more impact when we point out the need for improvement both past and failure in our friends and our allies the world's oldest democracy the united states and the world's largest democracy india should work together to  discrimination in both of our countries and i urge my colleagues to support this resolution i reserve the balance of my time chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana as unanimous consent to revise and extend the speaker  as well as mr smith for their leadership on working to bring this and so many other human rights issues to the attention of this body as we all know india is not only the world's largest english speaking democracy but it's one of the world's richest and most diverse civilizations india is also emerging as one of the world's most dynamic economies with the results of that growth uplifting the lives of millions of indian citizens yet despite this impressive record of reform and growth india like all of the countries including our own also faces a number of compelling domestic challenges as recently reported in a front page story in the washington post one of these social traumas relates to the problem of inequality and deep seated caste prejudice more than two hundred million people in india are considered untouchable people tainted by their birth into a caste system that deems them i and less than human despite constitutional protections and other legal and regulatory efforts by the government of india to improve the lives of the deletes and other tribal peoples all too many continue to suffer from human rights abuses as well as discrimination in this regard the state department reports that wall rare in urban settings examples of intolerance occur regularly in rural areas many deletes are malnourished lack access to health care work in conditions and continue to face serious social discrimination in addition delete women are all too often the victims of rape and exploitation at the hands of cruel human traffickers and tragically they also disproportionately suffer from the circumstances may be for this body not to acknowledge these extraordinary issues would be an error and mr speaker in a respectful and well balanced way this resolution appropriately shines a light on the plight of india's untouchables and i believe it deserves our support i would reserve the balance of my time chair recognizes the gentleman from california i thank the gentleman from indiana particularly for noting the ongoing efforts of the indian government to deal with this issue and i believe that this resolution should be regarded as one where we will work with the government of india to deal with what both countries acknowledge  be an ongoing problem i believe the the tradition is for the minority to yield back their time first so i will yield to the gentleman for a common chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana i thank the gentleman and i'm pleased to support this resolution would reiterate the spirit with which this resolution is brought cannot be more eloquently stated in the gentleman from california just did this is a brought in a spirit of cooperation with a friend to assist them  in confronting a domestic challenge but it is among friends that we that we speak and and will support this legislation today and i yield back the balance of my time  recognize the gentleman from california and i yield back the balance of my time the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution one thirty nine as amended does in favor say aye those opposed no and the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the concurrent resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table the chair recognizes the gentleman from california mr speaker and now as five twenty one this was going to be the second of this series of four bills from the foreign affairs committee it is now at the end of that list before once again i move to suspend the rules and agree to resolution h read as five twenty one the clerk will report the title of the resolution house resolution five twenty one resolution celebrating the seventy fifth anniversary of the nine hundred thirty two winter olympic games in lake placid new york pursuant to the rule of the gentleman from california mr sherman and the gentleman from indiana mr pence each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from california mr speaker i rise in strong support of this resolution to yield myself as much time as i may consume let me first express my appreciation to our colleague from the great state of new york kristen gillibrand for introducing this important and timely resolution i know the gentle lady from new york would like to be here and if i speak very slowly may yet get here before we conclude but whether she is here in person she is certainly here in spirit the little village of lake lived up to its name on two spectacular occasions in the last century the one nine hundred thirty two winter olympics and again the one thousand nine hundred eighty winter olympics were two of the most exciting events of our time featuring the most beautiful backdrops in the history of the games the organizing committee of the one nine hundred thirty two olympics faced an uphill battle raising money for the games in the middle of the great depression but symbolizing the american spirit of generosity dr godfried dewey donated land owned by his family to be used for the all important bobsled run in fact the winter olympics that year became a real distraction from the great depression for all the residents of the state of new york and in fact the entire world in those one hundred thirty two games eddie egan became the only olympic athlete ever to win a gold medal in bobsled team that triumphed in first place this resolution takes the opportunity to congratulate him and celebrate lake placid upon the seventy fifth anniversary of the games it hosted in one nine hundred thirty two lake placid had new facilities and a renewed spirit to host thousands of people to those winter games those games became famous for the unbelievable miracle on ice conquest when the united states hockey team a group of amateurs and college kids captured the hearts of the nation by appending the soviet union's intimidating hockey machine into a dramatic four three semifinal victory they went on to win the gold and lake placid involvement with the olympics has grown larger than just those two games lake placid maintains world class elliptic facilities and serves as one of the three united states olympic committee's national trading setters the small town in upstate new york continues to host international sporting events as well as some two point two million tourists every year i encourage members to support the resolution recognizing lake placid historic place in the lip of history and encouraging the u s o c to select this idyllic town for future bids in the olympic and paralympic winter games so long as they're not in competition with an applicant from the state of california mr speaker i reserve the balance of my time  rise in strong and unqualified support of a tryst five twenty one no indiana exceptions mr speak at least not today and i congratulate representative  gillibrand as my colleague from california did for this important resolution mr speaker for close to a century a lake placid has been central to america's participation and achievements in international sports the only site in north america  moments when the u s national hockey team defeated the heavily favored soviet union and walt disney films recently created an extraordinary motion picture remembering that miracle on ice it was not only a victory for one hockey team over another but for millions it symbolized the triumph of freedom over tyranny and seem to to be a part of setting into placid is important in the history of freedom as well as the history of sport indeed countless americans actually remember where we were to glorious moment but lake placid contributions to international sports continue to this very day it's the home of one of the u s olympic committees three national training centers and regularly hosts international sports competitions bringing near the athletes from across the globe to celebrate the excellence of sports perhaps above all this figure lake placid is an example of what a society can accomplish this small village in new york with a population of less than two thousand and seven hundred not only as a venue for grand scale sporting events but also welcomes over two million visitors every year this resolution recognizes lake placid place in the olympics history encourages americans to visit that village is state of the art olympic facilities and further encourages the u s olympic committee to select lake placid to represent the united states in a future bid for the olympics for para olympic games i commend my distinguished colleague from new york again ms gillibrand and mr mchugh for introducing this important resolution will the house to spend the rules and agree to house resolution five twenty one those in favor say aye those opposed no and the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table report the title of the joint resolution house joint resolution forty four joint resolution approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in the burmese freedom and democracy act of two thousand and three pursuant to the rule the gentleman from michigan mr levin and the gentlewoman from illinois mrs bigger each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan as thank you very much this bill will renew the import ban on products of burma in light of the overwhelming evidence that that country continues to blatantly disregard human rights and suppress democracy it is important indeed i would say vital to continue the current saxe sanctions for another year the state peace and development council as it's called the controlling military junta continues to have total disregard for chone people and their basic rights the burmese regime forcibly relocate civilians and has created a situation in which hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced or forced to flee to neighboring countries that government continues to arrest imprison torture and beat political activists and senior  news of the national league of democracy over eleven hundred political prisoners are imprisoned in may the government of burma extended the detention of the leader of the national league for democracy and a nobel peace prize laureate she has been detained for eleven of the last seventeen years without charge or trial and has spent the past four years in isolation in light of that country's continually continuing dismal record and its lack of any concrete steps to provide basic human rights to its citizens i urge all of my colleagues to stand up then and the import of burmese products for another year and oh so very important we hope the european union has c n n and other nations around the world who continue to work with the united states to increase pressure on the burmese regime burma import sanctions have been in place for four years and fortunately that bernie's military junta has shown no progress and improving it's a gross human rights and its records a violation the actions of this regime in burma are inexcusable the u s state department's annual report on the effectiveness of the sanctions observed that burma's already poor human rights record is only worsened this regime continues to use force labor deny participation in the democratic process and commit killings on excusable despite the regime's promise roadmap to democracy no meaningful progress has been made to create a democratic system of governance the the regime's continues continues to exclude pro democracy groups from the national convention and to jail pro democracy opposition leaders on sense of she has been living under house arrest for four years therefore i believe it's necessary and it's appropriate to continue these sanctions to send an important message to burma leaders that their violation of basic human rights is inexcusable i generally approach unilateral trade sanctions with skepticism sanctions can have the unintended consequences of harming the people we seek to help the state department acknowledged at this that some opposition figures in burma academics and exile burmese question whether u s unilateral sanctions have any chance of success without the participation of burmistrov major trading partners including asean members china india and other regional countries i do share their concerns however various aspects of the burma sanctions system mitigate like concerns to some degree the important sanctions will sunset after one year unless congress votes under a privilege resolution to maintain the sanctions and they are completely terminated in two thousand and nine furthermore the administration is required to submit an annual report on whether the sanctions have effectively improved conditions in burma and further u s policy objectives along with the impact of sanctions on other us national security economic and foreign policy interests moreover the law grants that the president grants the president the authority to waive the sanctions if it's in the national interests and also directs the president to craft a multilateral sanctions regime to pressure burma to improve its human rights if we are to be successful inducing change by the government of burma sanctions must be multilateral there have been high level international discussions on burma over the past year in september two thousand and six the un security council discussed burma in december  two thousand and six the un general assembly adopted a resolution expressing its grave concern over human rights violations in burma and calling on the regime to take urgent measures to address these violations separately the ass and countries called for the rule release of those placed under detention and for effective dialogue with all parties that are concerned i hope these words will be followed by tangible kucera efforts to build multilateral pressure on burma are critical to my future support for this chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan shaker it's now my privilege to use as much time as he shall consume to the lead sponsor of this resolution the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee appreciation to my friend and colleague from michigan congressman levin for his help in bringing this important legislation to the floor and to the chairman of the ways and means committee charlie  of people the people of burma that was the year in which she helped found the national league for democracy a movement to promote democratic change in  rather than seeds to the widespread calls and massive protests for a free and fair election a military junta seized and maintained power in burma the fair the power of one fearless voice for democracy on sun suu kyi in nineteen ninety the military who now finally permitted a general election which the national league for democracy one handily the military promptly nullified the results preventing the daughter of the very general who negotiate out of prison and house arrest as though she were simply a pawn in the to mulch yours and chaotic game being played by the corrupt fat cats running burma but like the people of the nation she's in fact much more than a pawn she's an ardent champion of freedom an exemplary defender of the more crecy and one of the strongest willed moral beacons on this planet she stands firmly in the tradition of gandhi mandela martin luther king and all other voices of the oppressed those legendary figures eventually the liver their people to freedom and we in this congress aim to help and sun suu kyi to do just that inspired by her resolve and the resolve of the bird miss people this congress has been committed to their cause for many years today we're a new import sanctions aimed at four seeing democratic change in burma which i can say categorically is one of the most repressive regimes on the planet america's tough sanctions against burma including an import ban export sanctions an arms embargo and financial sanctions have spurred the civilized nations of the world to take similar actions against burma the european union recently updated its own set of sanctions though they need to be even tougher the leading members of r c m who for years went sochi the united nations has held its first ever security council debate on the security threat to the asia pacific region posed by the bird mees regime but too many other nations in the and china in particular continue to prop up the government through shockingly direct blatant the ills including arms trading with this cruel whom in burma just this past week misspeak or the b b c reported that in any major hotel in rangoon and  quote russian arms dealers south korean and french or oilman singaporean consultants and chinese bankers are all  and so today as we're in you are import sanctions we aim both to pressure directly the military junta in burma and to influence those in the international community who are currently asleep at the wheel of justice and human rights oppressive power can only be the illegitimate ties when it is fully isolated therefore a leader of the plight of some fifty million people in her native land of burma we must do our part to carry her torch and i urge all of my colleagues to vote today for the sanctions once again the yield back the balance of my time chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan the gentleman from michigan and i want to add to my admiration for his occur mention both the statement of the gentleman from nevada and the very eloquent words of my the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house joint resolution forty four as amended those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table without objection the title is amended the chair recognizes the gentleman purpose does the gentleman from maryland rise to speak or move at the house suspend the rules and pass house resolution three eighty four as amended without objection the clerk will report the title of the resolution house resolution three eighty four congratulating the university of wyoming county are all for winning the women's national invitation all tournaments for the first time for their most successful season in school history pursuant to the rule of the gentleman from maryland mr sarbanes and the gentlewoman from illinois miss bigger each will control twenty minutes the chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland mr speaker i request five legislative days during which members may insert consume i want to congratulate the university of wyoming cowgirls for winning the two thousand and seven women's national invitation all tournament basketball tournament on march thirty first two thousand and seven the university of wyoming won the women's and i t by defeating the university of wisconsin badgers seventy two to fifty six the cowgirls won the title in front of the largest women's basketball audience in school history with over fifteen thousand in attendance wyoming had their most successful season in team history winning twenty one regular season games in time for second in the mountain west conference overall the cowgirls finished twenty seven and nine besting the previous team record of twenty five wins a record which had stood for nearly thirty years they also advance deeper into postseason play than any cowgirls basketball team before them i want to congratulate head coach athletic director tom berman the university of wyoming president tom buchanan and the student athletes who won the n i t title i also want to extend my congratulations to the university of wisconsin badgers on their impressive season wisconsin finished their season with a school record twenty three wins their seventeen home wins were also the most in program history winning the and i t title for the first time proved that cowgirls have a ride as a force on the national scene and i know all the fans of the university will continue to be proud of this team for years to come mr speaker i reserve the balance of my  yield myself such time as i may consume but just figure i rise today in support of house resolution three eighty four congratulating the university of wyoming as women's basketball team for winning the two thousand and seven and  division one women's national invitational tournament championship on march thirty first two thousand and seven the university of wyoming cowgirls basketball team defeated the university of wisconsin by a score of seventy two to fifty six to capture the n i t title and conclude their most successful season in school history led by junior hannah that vick the tournaments m v p and junior jodie bowler jack who scored sixteen points in the championship game the cowgirls of wyoming truly had a remarkable season in which they compiled a record of twenty seven to nine finishing second in the mountain west conference that tournament title capped what ended up being the most successful season ever for the cowgirls basketball team in school history no wyoming call girls team had won as many games the previous record was set by the seventy eight one hundred seventy eight seventy nine teams which finished twenty five to seven and no team ever advanced so far in postseason play as the state sold for your educational institution the university of wyoming we see strong support from the state and its residents making it the perfect place for a great learning environment the university was recently ranked by the princeton review as one of the nation's best colleges for two thousand and six and the college of business department of economics and finance was also ranked tenth in the nation and twelve in the world program in resource and environmental economics i stand my congratulations to head coach joe leaguer leader ski athletic director tom berman press you can and all of the hardworking players the fans and to the university of wyoming i'm happy to join my good friend and colleague representative cuban in honoring this exceptional team and all because complements and wish all involved continued success i joined my colleague from the education and labor committee mr sarbanes in support of this resolution and i would serve the balance of my time in chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland and just to go to ask if the generally from illinois has any further speakers for their revise and extend their remarks in include extraneous material and house resolution forty four as amended it was previously discussed without objection we haven't done this ok the question is with the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution three eighty four those in favor say aye those opposed no in the opinion of the chair two thirds being in the affirmative the rules are suspended the for what purposes the gentleman from massachusetts rise but just figure i move the house to spend the bill the rules and pass health resolution five sixty one without objection the clerk will the clerk will report the title of the resolution house resolution five sixty one resolution recognizing the twentieth anniversary of the mckinney vento homeless assistance act and the impact of has made on how many men and endeavoring to continue working through and women eight homeless homelessness in the united states pursuant to the role of the gentleman from massachusetts mr frank and the gentleman from connecticut mr shays each will control twenty minutes each chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts this is a very important resolution it is an appropriate noting of the anniversary twenty year anniversary of the passage of the homeless assisted jack it marked the beginning of a formal federal recognition of the farm of homelessness a great paradox and one of which we should be embarrassed in this country it may not seem obvious to people but beyond before this certainly twenty five years ago and beyond the homeless population was an invisible one it was in the eighty's and people began to focus on it two former members of this body both of whom said lee died younger than could have been the case well of powers's members of this body were among the first to recognize it that was bipartisan the former member from connecticut stuart mckinney whose successor will be speaking on behalf of this very shortly was one of those who began it and he was joined in his advocacy by the late bruce vento from st paul and they were two men of great compassion and vision they were skilled legislators who served on the committee as it was then called on banking finance to have an affair and they insisted that we as a body in this very wealthy nation address the charcoal tragedy of people who are homeless including children and war veterans a number of things contributed to the homelessness issue there were some trends in the society and often we hear about unintended consequences there were some trends in themselves who welcomed these negative consequences one would see improvement in urban areas the transformation of many downtowns in our big seventy's in boston in downtown boston there were forty houses rooming houses and many of the downtown parts of boston most of those are now much more expensive housing they are single family homes of condominiums that from the standpoint of the city i suppose is an improvement but many of those who lived there were priced out of the market and in many cases found no alternative housing we also had the movement of dns to to can it was asian of deciding that people with various problems emotional and mental problems that it was better to try to get them integrated into communities to have them living forever apart in institutions and on the whole that was a very