Congressional Record UNUM

E PLURIBUS

United States

of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 111th

 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION

b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m.

Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor.

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H73 

Vol. 155 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009 No. 3 

House of Representatives 

The House met at 10 a.m. 

The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. 

Coughlin, offered the following prayer: 

O God, Who has had compassion on 

our darkness and sent forth Your own 

light upon our conscience to make 

right judgments, grant us the joy of 

knowing the closeness of Your love. 

May all our words and actions this 

day be infused with the creative spirit 

of freedom and bring forth personal integrity, as well as justice, and that we 

all will join together in serving Your 

people of this Nation with true goodness. 

May true freedom and justice reign 

in our hearts and become contagious in 

our world, now and forever. 

Amen. 

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THE JOURNAL 

The SPEAKER. The Chair has examined the Journal of the last day’s proceedings and announces to the House 

her approval thereof. 

Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved. 

f 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 

The SPEAKER. Will the gentleman 

from Pennsylvania (Mr. HOLDEN) come 

forward and lead the House in the 

Pledge of Allegiance. 

Mr. HOLDEN led the Pledge of Allegiance as follows: 

I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the 

United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, 

indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

f 

APPOINTMENT OF TELLERS ON 

THE PART OF THE HOUSE TO 

COUNT ELECTORAL VOTES 

The SPEAKER. Pursuant to Senate 

Concurrent Resolution 1, 111th Congress, the Chair appoints as tellers on 

the part of the House to count the electoral votes: 

The gentleman from Pennsylvania 

(Mr. BRADY) and 

The gentleman from California (Mr. 

DANIEL E. LUNGREN

f 

). 

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE SPEAKER 

The SPEAKER. The Chair will entertain up to 10 requests for 1-minutes on 

each side of the aisle. 

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WAKE UP, AMERICA 

(Mr. KUCINICH asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute and to revise and extend his remarks.) 

Mr. KUCINICH. Wake up, America. 

We have trillions for a war machine 

and the banks, while our government 

stands by and sniffs at the slaughter of 

innocents in Gaza, where Israel is 

blocking aid for wounded Palestinians. 

Here’s today’s Washington Post. It 

says, The International Committee of 

the Red Cross said Thursday that it 

found at least 15 bodies and several 

children, emaciated but alive, in a row 

of shattered houses in the Gaza Strip 

and accused the Israeli military of preventing ambulances from reaching the 

site for 4 days. 

Twelve corpses lying on mattresses 

in one home, along with four young 

children lying next to their dead mothers. That’s a quote. 

Today, U.S. tax dollars, U.S. jets and 

U.S. helicopters provided to Israel are 

enabling the slaughter in Gaza. The administration enables Israel to press 

forward with the attack against defenseless civilians, blocks efforts at 

promoting a cease-fire at the U.N., and 

refuses to make Israel comply with 

conditions that armed shipments not 

be used for aggression. 

Israel is going to receive $30 billion 

in a 10-year period for military assistance, without having to abide by any 

humanitarian principles, international 

laws or standards of basic human decency. 

Wake up, America. 

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THE FACTS ABOUT OUR ECONOMIC 

CHALLENGES 

(Ms. FOXX asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 

minute and to revise and extend her remarks.) 

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, we have 

been dealing with economic challenges 

for several months. Last fall it was 

called a bailout. Now it’s being called a 

stimulus or sometimes an economic recovery plan. But I think it’s important 

that we talk about the facts of what 

we’re discussing. 

The stimulus being discussed now 

could range from $800 billion to more 

than $1.3 trillion. This will likely be 

the largest single spending bill in history. Now, what will this do to our deficit which we heard so much about for 

the 2 years before the Democrats took 

power? 

Nonpartisan budget experts are now 

predicting a deficit for 2009 of almost 

$1.3 trillion, triple the current year’s 

deficit. That would equal 9 percent of 

GDP, which is a 50 percent increase 

over the World War II record of 6 percent. We may be paying a premium 

rate to foreign investors like China to 

borrow this kind of money. And what’s 

going to be included in that package? 

$350,000 for a fitness center, $4.5 million 

to bottle water with recyclable bottles. 

Mr. Speaker, we need more of the 

facts, not just words. 

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MONUMENT TO PRESIDENT BUSH 

(Mr. DEFAZIO asked and was given 

permission to address the House for 1 

minute.) 

Mr. DEFAZIO. In his last year, 

George Bush has constructed a monument to his Presidency that will last 

for generations to come. He not only 

doubled our national debt in 8 short 

years; as he goes out the door, he’s 


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