House Proceeding on Mar 18th, 2009 :: 0:00:00 to 0:20:00
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this -- this edition of the "washington journal." c-span3 [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] . . e chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., march 18, 2009.

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i hereby appoint the honorable g.k. butterfield to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore:he prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, reverend george e. battle, bishop of the northern episcopal district, zion church, charlotte, north

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carolina. the chaplain: let us pray. god, we thank you for this wonderful day and this historic occasion. thank you for our wonderful nation and those who represent us in the congress of the

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united states of america. you continually give us the opportunity to start anew, so we celebrate this magnificent collection of leaders who will help power this nation. please give our congress the wisdom to do what is right and

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to not be driven by what is expedient. give them the discretion to not to be threatened by wise counsel or constructive criticism. in the face of this magnificent occasion, o god, continue to

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not only endow and bolster our representatives, but give us understanding to know at we play a crucial part in whether or not our leadership will be successful. blesthe brave men and women of our armed services and their

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families. god, and her people. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved.

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at this time the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from georgia, congressman hank johnson. mr. johnson: i pledge allegiance to the flagf the the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty an

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Melvin L. Watt: justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from north carolina, congressman mel watt, is recognized now for one minute. mr. watt: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

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Speech By: Melvin L. Watt

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Melvin L. Watt: mr. watt: mr. speaker, i'm privileged today to welcome and say words of welcome on behalf of the house to the wonderful bishop and minister who devered our prayer for us th morning who i'm privileged to have as a constituent in my congressional district.

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Melvin L. Watt: he is not only a leader in the african methodist episcopal zion church but has been a leader in our community in charlotte, north carolina, and in our state for a number of years. he served on our school board. he's been a corporate leader, serving on boards of

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Melvin L. Watt: distinction, and he has been an outstanding family man as well as, of course, a religious leader of our community. we are delighted to welcome him today and i wish him well. his wife is just recovering

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Hank Johnson: from surgery, so we wish her well also on behalf of the house. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair will now entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend

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Speech By: Hank Johnson

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Hank Johnson: my remarks. the speaker o tempore: without objection. mr. johnson: good mo everybody. good morning, america. how are you? showing my age a little bit. but, ladies and gentlemen, it's always great to be an american and it's always a great time in

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Hank Johnson: america because whave hope, vision for the future, and i'm happy to report to you that congress and the obama administration have departed on a new course of action. no more voodoo economics, no more trickled down economics. these are failed policies and

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Hank Johnson: it's time for something new. and whenever something new is on the table, there are always those who instead of appreciate being americans they complain and don't add anything positive to the discussion. but despite the obstacles that

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Hank Johnson: we confront, we will continue down this road and indeed

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Ted Poe: america will continue to experience morning in america. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. poe: mr. speaker, a.i.g. took bailout money and then

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Speech By: Ted Poe

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Ted Poe: gave millions to execs in bonuss. now congress is bent out of shape about it and rightfully so. but the truth is in the last stimulus bill that congress quickly passed with little or no debate was an attached amendment to allow a.i.g. to do exactly what they did, give out high-dollar bonuss. congress is responsible for this irrponsible spending and must deal with the consequences.

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Ted Poe: to make matters worse, a.i.g. gave bailout money to foreign banks, like in france. the french are the same people that ville find the united states -- villeified the united states, blamed the world's problems on us and have a disdain for anything american. we helped sa them in world war i, saved them again in world war ii and took over in vietnam after they failed there.

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Ted Poe: but with little or no gratitude from the french. and a.i.g. also gave billions to german and english banks. mr. speaker, we cannot continue to give away taxpayer money and

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Joe Sestak: reward failure while making the working americans pay for all of this nonsense. no to all bailouts foreign or domestic, and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from penylvania rise? >> to address the mi the speaker pro tempore:

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Speech By: Joe Sestak

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Joe Sestak: without objection. >> revise and extend my remarks. i thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to say a few words about the week that the society of neuroscience members spread throughout america to speak about the exciting wonders about the mind. but at franklin institute, they'll speak about not only neuroscience but how do we take care of those patients who suffer damage?

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Joe Sestak: i speak about this because as a veteran, as the pentagon announced earlier this month, 360,000 of those 1.8 million members of our society who went to iraq or afghanistan have returned with a brain injury. the vast majority of them have healed and will heal except for about 90,000 that will have lasting damage. that's why this week is so

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Joe Sestak: important, why we have a tendency to take care of these patients, there's much more to be done in the treatment of their damage with the discovery of neuro stem cells and the possibility of stem transplants to repair the damage.

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John Fleming: again,i commend the society of neuroscience, particularly in this area of our veterans to help them have the quality of life. i give back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise? mr. fleming: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

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Speech By: John Fleming

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John Fleming: mr. fleming: mr. speaker, i rise today. this is budget time again, and this budget proposed by the administration has some very major flaws in it. it creates a greater tax burden on the american people, among other things. the budget calls for a $637 billion tax increase for the majority of small businesses that pay taxes as individuals.

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John Fleming: the cap and tax program, not the cap and trade but the cap and tax program will increase taxes conservetively by $646 billion on energy to every household in america. these households can expect to pay more than $3,000 a year extra on their utility bills. this is money taken directly

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John Fleming: out of the pockets of working families struggling to pay bills each month. this budget also caps the value of itemized deductions for those with higher incomes and really middle-class incomes, reducing charitable givings by $9 billion a year which will devastate charities. finally, this budget reinstates the death tax.

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Earl Blumenauer: this tax has been found to lower it by $1.5 billion. this bill spends too much, taxes too much and borrows too much. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon rise? mr. blumenauer: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

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Speech By: Earl Blumenauer

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Earl Blumenauer: mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. not quite so fast on the a.i.g. bonuss. thweasels who drove that country -- company into the ground may not even be entitled to the bonuses in their coract based on their performance. and a failed company rescued from bankruptcy by the united states government may not be obligated to pay them anyway. but thankfully there's also the power of the tax code.

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Earl Blumenauer: let's return to the eisenhower tax rates of 90% for people who receive bonuses from companies that we already own 50% or more with taxpayer money. for years the tax code around here has been tortured to reward people who need tax cuts the least -- absolutely the least. hopefully we can use it this

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Marsha Blackburn: time to impose a little tax justice. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from tennessee rise? mrs. blackburn: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. speaker. one of my constituents recently said to me, i'm tired of the

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Speech By: Marsha Blackburn

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Marsha Blackburn: government spending money i have not made yet for programs i don't want. and my constituents are right on this. on top of the trillions that have already been spent in the presidens budget is proposing doubling federal spending by the year 2019. that would be doubling. and my constituents are saying, how are we going to pay for this? well, as we have heard this morning, there is the cap and

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Marsha Blackburn: tax scheme which is $646 billion and is going to cost every american family an additional $3,128 per year out of their household budget. there's also the small business taxes. $637 billion of new small business taxes. it's all going to wipe out any kind of tax reduction that

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Marsha Blackburn: would have gone to the 95% of working americans. so the question becomes, where does all this money come from? well, we know that the democrat leadership is going to borrow too much, they are going to tax

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Jason Altmire: too much and they are going to spend too much of the taxpayer money. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. fo gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. altmire: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. passage of the long overdue

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Speech By: Jason Altmire

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Jason Altmire: schip bill, congress and the president expanded health care coverage to four million american children who were previously uncovered. and this single step did more to improveur health care system in one day than we had seen in eight years. but there is still more to be done. every individual, every family and every business in america struggles every day with health care costs. their inability to afford

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Jason Altmire: coverage in the increased cost for good and services a result of health care costs for their business, this issue affects everybody in every way. but for the first time the president and congress plan to consider health care reform as part of the budget process so we can accurately count for the true cost of doing health care reform and of not doing health care reform which would be the

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Jason Altmire: price of inaction. health care costs increases are on an unsustainable course and we can no longer hide behind budget gimmicks and just pass

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Joseph R. Pitts: along the tough fiscal decisions for future congresss. the time has come to act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. pitts: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, the $3.6 trillion budget released by president obama spends too

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Speech By: Joseph R. Pitts

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Joseph R. Pitts: much, taxes too much, borrows too much and wastes too much. today, middle-class families and small businesses are making sacrifices when it comes to their own budget. yet, washington continues to spend trillions of taxpayer dollars on bailouts another government programs. the spending in this budget is so massive that independent estimates suggests roughly 250,000 new federal bureaucrats may be needed just to spend it all.

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Joseph R. Pitts: rather than government cutting back, showing restraint, operating more efficiently on basic government responsibilities, the president proposes to create massive new programs vastly expanding the scoach and reach of the federal government. the -- scope and reach of the federal government. the taxes on energy will cost every household $3,000 a year.

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Joseph R. Pitts: this will cost american jobs at a time when we can't afford it. the majority of those hit by the new tax increases are small businesses, the engines of job creation in our economy. this budget takes us in the wrong direction. i yield back. . >> i request pmission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: witho jection.

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Joseph R. Pitts: mr. wilson: i recently -- it recently ranked seventh in the nation among midsized metropolitan areas for business attraction and expansion according to selection magazine.

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Charlie Wilson: this is the first time the valley has been chosen since the survey began 30 years ago. amidst all the bad economic news, this announcement was a bright spot that demonstrates all the hard work our business, work force, and leekted officials have put in to making our community a great place to live and work and expand. the mahoning valley is right for

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Speech By: Charlie Wilson

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Charlie Wilson: economic development and i'm so pleased to see it receive such positive recognition. the magazine recognizes the local metropolitan area which includes mahoning, trumble counties in ohio. congratulations. i'm so proud to help you and look forward to continuing to

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Lamar S. Smith: help foster economic development in the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. smith: i ask unamous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. smith: mr. speaker, many of us remember the tragic case of shan doctor levy, a former washington, d.c., intern who disappeared suddenly eight years ago.

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Speech By: Lamar S. Smith

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Lamar S. Smith: the man charged recently with murdering her entered the united states illegally, but you might not have known that by following the news. cbs, cnn, and the a.p. among many other media outlets failed to mention even once that the suspect entered the country illegally. instead, the media used terms like incarcerated felon and

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Lamar S. Smith: jailed attacker to refer to the suspect in news reports. they neglected to point out that the suspect would not have been able to commit the alleged murder if he had not ebt entered the country illegally in the first place. this is an example how the media's liberal bias on immigration issues prevents americans from getting the facts.

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Diane E. Watson: whether it's immigration or any other issue, the media suld report the facts not slant the news. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. watson: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objectn. ms. watson: mr. speaker, in january, 2001, president bush inherited a fiscal situation

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Speech By: Diane E. Watson

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Diane E. Watson: stronger than any in half a century. when president clinton left office, the federal budget was on track to retire all debt for the first time since 1835 and add $3 savings, but republican trickle-down economic policies changed all that, squandering

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Diane E. Watson: the entire budget surplus and instead deficits in the trillions. republans let budget rules lapse. the increased spending, they cut revenue, and enacted expensive tax cuts for those whoeeded them the least. on president bush's watch, the debt held by the public gr

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Diane E. Watson: om 3.4 to 6.3 trillion dollars. the gross federal debt doubled and foreign held debt more than tribbled. mr. speaker, the healthy fiscal forecast the bush administration now been replaced by record budget deficits as far as the eye

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Diane E. Watson: an economy in a tailspin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without mr. sullivan: thank ??eaker. while our nation is suffering a severe economic recession, the democrat majority is working behind closed doors to enact the largest carbon regulatory scheme

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Diane E. Watson: in our nation's history in the

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form of a tax system. in fact, president obama's budget includes $640 billion cap in trade energy tax that will be paid by every american who drives a car, turns on a light switch, or buys a product made in the united states. and that's every single american regardless of income.

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no matter how you slice it, this issue is a huge tax. government revenues are of course taxes on the american people. this cap and tax scheme would cost the average american household in every state up to $3,000 a year. and that's a very conservative estimate. it also not only -- this is

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really not a good way to stimulate our economy in economic bad times we are in. i ask my colleagues to reject the cap and tax program in the president's budget. the democrat majority is borrowing too much too much, spending too much. when is it enough? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.