Charitable Giving Extension Act

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 670, I call up the bill (H.R. 4719) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to permanently extend and expand the charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 4719.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The American people are the most charitable people in the world, donating money, food, and clothing in times of need. Their donations ensure that charities and foundations can help individuals and communities across the country.

There are numerous provisions in the Tax Code that encourage giving, and the bill we have before us today, H.R. 4719, the America Gives More Act, ensures that some of these provisions are made permanent so individuals, businesses, and farmers can donate and give back more. The first provision will make permanent and expand the charitable deduction for contributions of food inventory by businesses, regardless of how they are organized.

Food banks are a vital part of communities, helping Americans put food on the table and provide for their families when they have come across hard times or suffered through a natural disaster.

The Food Donation Connection has estimated that since this tax deduction was expanded in 2006, donations have increased 127 percent. Unfortunately, a provision in current law that encouraged passthrough businesses to contribute food inventory expired at the end of last year, and charities and foundations across the country are urging that it be restored and made permanent.

According to Feeding America, 3.6 billion pounds of food is distributed by food bank members each year. This legislation would significantly increase food bank access to the 70 billion pounds of nutritious food wasted each year.

Today, we have the opportunity to continue this important credit, allowing all businesses, farmers, and ranchers to take advantage and donate more nutritious food to the millions of Americans who need it most.

This bill also ensures that seniors who donate to charities from their Individual Retirement Accounts can do so without a tax penalty. According to the Independent Sector, this provision has ``prompted more than $140 million in gifts to the work of nonprofits since enactment, assisting social service providers, religious organizations, cultural institutions and schools, and other nonprofits.'' Making this provision permanent can only serve to increase the generous donations that charities rely on.

In addition, the bill will make permanent the deduction for contributions of conservation easements. This provision will also increase the amount of land or property donated for charitable use. Witnesses before the Ways and Means Committee have testified that in the first 2 years of the enactment of conservation easements, the number of donations doubled compared to the previous 2 years, resulting in a 32 percent increase of acreage conserved.

This is one area, especially, where long-term planning is essential. To allow this to expire makes it much more difficult for the often multigenerational planning necessary to take place. In Michigan, I have seen the benefits of conservation easements firsthand. This is a tremendous legacy for future generations.

The tax reform draft the committee produced earlier in the year would encourage charitable giving in several important ways and, by creating a stronger economy, analysis found that it would increase charitable giving by an estimated $2.2 billion each year.

Two important charitable provisions from the draft--lowering the excise tax on private foundations and extending the tax deadline for charitable contributions from December 31 to April 15--are included in the America Gives More Act.

At the end of the year, many taxpayers have no idea what their tax liability will be, and it is only after struggling through the daunting process of preparing their tax return that they know with certainty. If taxpayers were permitted to make and deduct contributions prior to filing their tax return, I believe many Americans will be even more generous in supporting religious and charitable causes. Testimony before the Ways and Means Committee found that allowing donors to deduct gifts until April 15 would result in significantly more charitable giving.

Another provision from the draft would lower and simplify the excise tax on private foundations, making compliance easy, especially for smaller foundations. As a result, foundations will have more of their resources available to support charities and exempt organizations across the country.

All of these provisions are bipartisan and have the support of over 850 charities and foundations across the country, who wrote to Congress stating:

Without an incentive in place and assured, many of the

gifts the charitable incentives were intended to promote will

simply not take place.

I will insert in the Record the letter from Independent Sector, supported by 850 charities and foundations across the United States.

Independent Sector,

July 15, 2014.

Open Letter to the House of Representatives: Millions of

individuals and families are served by the essential work of

America's public charities, which is made possible in part by

incentives for charitable giving in our tax code. The House

may soon have an opportunity to address tax legislation that

would renew and make permanent three key incentives for

donations to America's public charities. We strongly urge you

to approve legislation that would renew the IRA charitable

rollover and the enhanced incentives for donations of food

inventory and land conservation easements, each of which

expired as of January 1, 2014.

Originally enacted in the Pension Protection Act of 2006 as

a way to encourage increased charitable giving, these three

provisions have demonstrated a significant impact on the

nonprofit community. The IRA charitable rollover increases

the ability of older Americans to make gifts to charities by

allowing individuals age 70\1/2\ or older to donate up to

$100,000 to a qualifying public charity directly from their

IRAs without incurring tax on the withdrawal. The provision

has prompted more than $140 million in gifts to the work of

nonprofits since enactment, assisting social service

providers, religious organizations, cultural institutions and

schools, and other nonprofits.

The enhanced deduction for donations of food allows

individuals and organizations to reduce their taxable income

by providing qualifying food inventory to certain charitable

organizations. According to Feeding America, 3.6 billion

pounds of food is distributed by food bank members each year.

This legislation would significantly increase food bank

access to the 70 billion pounds of nutritious food wasted

each year, particularly the 6 billion pounds of produce that

does not make it to market.

The enhanced deduction for donations of land conservation

easements allows land owners to get a meaningful deduction

for permanently retiring development rights to their property

to protect and preserve significant natural resources. A

survey by the Land Trust Alliance showed that this incentive

helped 1,700 land trusts increase the pace of conservation by

a third--to over a million acres a year.

Unfortunately, these charitable tax provisions were allowed

to expire on January 1 for the fourth time in recent years.

On each of the three previous occasions, an entire package of

tax extenders was reinstated retroactively at the end of the

following year. While this may be an adequate solution for

many provisions in the extenders package, these charitable

provisions are different. Without an incentive in place and

assured, many of the gifts the incentives were intended to

promote will simply not take place. The time to plan and

execute the gifts will have already passed by.

For all these reasons, we urge you to support legislation

to permanently reinstate these critical giving incentives,

namely: H.R. 4619 (to make permanent the IRA charitable

rollover); HR 4719 (to permanently extend the charitable

deduction for donation of food inventory); and H.R. 2807 (the

Conservation Easement Incentive Act). We hope to see them

combined and passed as a package as soon as possible in order

to continue sustaining the vital work of charitable

organizations in our communities.

Thank you for your consideration,

Independent Sector; 92nd Street Y; Achievement Centers for

Children; Ackland Art Museum; Acton Conservation Trust;

Adults with Developmental Disabilities; Advonance;

Agricutural Stewardship Association; Agudath Israel of

America; Agudath Israel of the Five Towns; Air Force

Museum Foundation; Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank; Alabama

Dance Council; Alachua Conservation Trust; Alexander Haas;

All Saints Church; All Stars Project (ASP); Alliance for

Children and Families; Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits; The

ALS Association; Amador Livermore Valley Historical

Society & Museum on Main; American Alliance of Museums;

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association; American

Behcet's Disease Association; American Cancer Society

Cancer Action Network; American Chemical Society.

American Clock & Watch Museum; American Folk Art Museum;

American Friends Service Committee; American Heart

Association; American Jewish Committee (AJC); American

Library Association; American Lung Association; American Red

Cross; Americans for the Arts; Americans for the Arts Action

Fund; America's Charities; Amon Carter Museum of American

Art; The Ananda Center for the Arts; Anderson County Museum;

Andy Warhol Museum; AngelCare/Americans Care & Share; Angus

Nazarene Food Pantry; Ann Arrundell County Historical

Society, Inc.; Annette Strawder Here to Help Pantry; Antique

Boat Museum; Apache Creek Deaf and Youth Ranch, Inc.;

Appalachia Ohio Alliance; Argus Museum; Arkansas Nonprofit

Alliance; Armstrong County Museum; Arthurdale Heritage, Inc.;

Association for Healthcare Philanthropy.

Association of Art Museum Directors; Association of Direct

Response Fundraising Counsel; Association of Fundraising

Professionals; Atlantic Coast Conservancy; Auburn Automotive

Heritage, Inc. & Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum;

Bainbridge Island Land Trust; Baltimore Heritage Area

Association; Baltimore Museum of Art; Bass Museum of Art; Bay

Area Food Bank; Bayer Center for Nonprofit Management at

Robert Morris University; Bayou Land Conservancy; Bayshore

Baptist Church Food Pantry; Bedford Historical Society;

Believer's Sanctuary; Bellville Christian Food Pantry;

BethanyKids; Bishop Hill Heritage Association; Black Swamp

Conservancy; Blair County Historical Society; Blue Ridge

Conservancy; Blue Ridge Land Conservancy; BoardSource.

Boise Art Museum; Boston Baroque; Boston Children's Museum;

Bowers Museum;

Boys & Girls Clubs of Austin County, TX; Boys & Girls Clubs

of Southeastern Michigan; Branford Land Trust, Inc.; Brazoria

County Alcoholic Recovery Center; Briar Bush Nature Center;

The Bridge Ministries; The Bridge Over Troubled Waters;

Bridging for Tomorrow; BrightFocus Foundation; Buckner

Children & Family Services; Burchfield Penney Art Center; The

Burd Group; Califomia Association of Food Banks; Califomia

Association of Museums; Califomia Museum of Ancient Art;

Califomia Science Center Foundation; Califomia State Parks;

Calyx Sustainable Tourism; Capital Area Food Bank of Texas;

Carbon County Museum; Care and Share, Inc.; Carolina Mountain

Land Conservancy; CASA Program for the Ogeechee Circuit; Casa

Rosa Food Pantry.

Catawba Lands Conservancy; Cathedral Arts Project, Inc.;

Catholic Foundation of Eastern Montana; Cedar Rapids Museum

of Art; Cedarhurst Center for the Arts; Celiac Disease

Foundation; Center for History; Center for Nonprofit

Excellence; Center for Non-Profits; Center for Success and

Independence; Central Co-op; Central Pennsylvania Food Bank;

Champlain Area Trails; Cheyenne Center, Inc.; Chicago

Humanities Festival; Children's Discovery Museum; Christian

Tabernacle; Civil War Trust; Clay Center for the Arts &

Sciences of West Virginia; Clear Lake Food Pantry; ClearWater

Conservancy; Cleveland Zoological Society; Clinton Symphony

Orchestra; Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis; Colby College

Museum of Art; Cole Art Center at Stephen F. Austin State

University.

Collins Group, A Division of Donald A. Campbell & Company;

Colorado Nonprofit Association; Colorado-Wyoming Association

of Museums; Columbia College (MO); Columbia Land Trust (OR &

WA); Columbia Museum of Art (SC); Columbia Pacific Heritage

Museum; Columbus Museum of Art; Community Action Committee of

the Lehigh Valley; Community Care Center, Inc.; Community

Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma; Community Food Pantry in Tool

(TX); Community Food Pantry of Franklin County, Texas;

Community Foodbank of New Jersey; The Community Foundation

for Crawford County; Community Foundation for Muskegon

County; Community Foundation for Southwest Washington;

Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut; Community

Foundation of Northern Colorado; The Community Foundation of

South Puget Sound; Community Foundation of the Great River

Bend; Community Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland Area;

Congaree Land Trust; Connecticut Electric Railway Association

dba Connecticut Trolley Museum; Connecticut Farmland Trust.

Connecticut Food Bank; Connecticut Land Conservation

Council; Connecticut Nonprofit Human Services Cabinet;

Connemara Conservancy Foundation; Conservation Foundation of

the Gulf Coast; The Conservation Fund; Conservation Tax

Credit Transfer, LLC; Conservation Trust for North Carolina;

The Contemporary Austin; COPD Foundation; CoreStrategies for

Nonprofits, Inc.; Cornerstone Outreach Center of Amarillo,

Inc.; Council for Christian Colleges & Universities; Council

of Michigan Foundations; Council on Foundations; Cow Marsh

Creek Consultants, LLC; Cradle of Texas Conservancy, Inc.;

Crawford County Historical Society; Crested Butte Land Trust;

Crisis Center of the Plains; Crocker Art Museum; Crossroads

at Park Place, Inc.; Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County;

Cultural Assets Consulting; Cumberland Land Trust.

Currier Museum of Art; Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; Da Vinci

Science Center; Dallas Museum of Art; Dance/USA; Dare to

Believe Ministries Outreach Center; Dare to Care Food Bank;

Datil Educators Club; Deke Slayton Memorial Space & Bicycle

Museum; Delaware Center for the Contemporary Arts; Delaware

Highlands Conservancy; Denver Art Museum; Des Moines Art

Center; Desert Foothills Land Trust; Dixon Gallery and

Gardens; DMA Nonprofit Federation; Donors Forum; Douglas

County Historical Society; The Drawing Center; Duck Hollow;

DuPage County Historical Museums; Dutchess Land Conservancy;

Earl Scruggs Center; East End Baptist Church; East

Hillsborough Historical Society, Inc.; East Texas Food Bank;

Eastern Sierra Land Trust; Ecology Project International.

EcoTrust; Edisto Island Open Land Trust; Eightmile River

Wild & Scenic Coordinating Committee; Ellis County Museum,

Inc.; Eno River Association; Epilepsy Foundation; Epiphany

Lutheran Church; Equestrian Partners in Conservation (EPIC);

Erie Art Museum; Essex County Greenbelt Association;

Exploration Place; Family Abuse Shelter of Miami; Family

League of Baltimore; Family Worship Center Food Pantry; Faye

Gehl Conservation Foundation; Fayette CARE Clinic; Federation

of Protestant Welfare Agencies; Feeding America; Feeding

America San Diego; Feeding America Southwest Virginia;

Feeding America Tampa Bay; Feeding Indiana's Hungry; Feeding

Pennsylvania; Field Museum; First Baptist Church (Atlanta,

TX); First Baptist Church (Bovina, TX); First Christian

Church Food Pantry.

First Christian Church Outreach (Conroe, TX); First

Resource Center; Fishtown Preservation Society, Inc.;

Flathead Land Trust; Florida Holocaust Museum; The Florida

Orchestra; Florida Philanthropic Network; Food Bank of

Central New York; Food Bank of Delaware; Food Bank of

Northeast Arkansas; Food Bank of the Albemarle; Food Bank of

the Rockies; Food Bank of the Southern Tier; The Food Bank of

Western Massachusetts; FOOD for Lane County; Food Industry

Alliance of New York State; Foodbank of Southeastern

Virginia; The Foodbank, Inc.; Foodshare; Foothills

Conservancy of North Carolina; Forgotten Harvest; Fort

Ticonderoga; Foundation Layers; Fox Valley Family YMCA;

Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center; Franklin Area Community

Services.

Franklin County (KS) Historical Society; Franklin

Institute; Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens;

Freshwater Future; Freshwater Land Trust; Frick Art and

Historical Center; Friends Committee on National Legislation;

Friends of Balcones Canyonlands National Wildlife Refuge;

Friends of Lopez Island Pool; Friends of the Mitchell Gallery

of Flight; Friends of Tualatin River National Wildlife

Refuge; Frist Center for the Visual Arts; Galveston Bay

Foundation; Gates Mills Land Conservancy; Gateway Science

Museum; Gathering Waters Conservancy; Geist Fall Creek

Watershed Alliance; The General Society of Mayflower

Descendants; Genesee Valley Conservancy, Inc.; George Eastman

House; Georgia Center for Nonprofits; Georgia Charitable Care

Network; Gilroy Historical Society; Girl Scouts of San

Gorgonio; Girl Scouts of the USA; Girls Inc.

Glen Ellyn Historical Society; Glencairn Museum; Global

Orphan Assistance Foundation; God's Pantry Food Bank; Gold

Coast Railroad Museum; Golden Gate National Parks

Conservancy; Golden State Bonsai Federation and Bonsai Garden

at Lake Merritt; Goldstein Museum of Design; Good Neighbor

Community Builders; Good Samaritan Health & Wellness Center;

Goshen Land Trust; Grand Encampment Museum; Grand Haven Area

Community Foundation; Grand Rapids Art Museum; Grand Traverse

Regional Land Conservancy; Grantmakers Forum of New York;

Grassroots International; The Graue Mill & Museum; Great

Peninsula Conservancy; Great Plains Food Bank; Great Plains

Welsh Heritage Project; The Greater Boston Food Bank; Greater

Chicago Food Depository; Greater Grace Outreach; Greater

Hudson Heritage Network; Greenbelt Land Trust of Mid-

Missouri.

Greensboro Land Trust; Grosse Ile Nature and Land

Conservancy; Grounds For Sculpture; Gulf Coast Community

Foundation; Gulf Coast Symphony; Hammer Museum; Harmony

House; Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida; Harry S.

Truman Little White House; The Hartt School; Harvard Art

Museums; Harvest Assembly, House of Blessing; Harvest House;

Harvest Texarkana Regional Food Bank; Harvesters--The

Community Food Network (KS); Harvesters--The Community Food

Network (MO); Hawaiian Islands Land Trust; Heart of the Lakes

Center for Land Conservation Policy; Heaven's Windows; Hedley

Senior Citizens; Heifer Foundation; Heifer International;

Helping Hands Outreach Center of Gasconade County; Henderson

Food Pantry; The Henry Ford; Herbert F. Johnson Museum of

Art.

Heritage Museum (OR); Heritage Museum of Orange County;

Hidalgo Medical Services; High Museum of Art; High Plains

Food Bank; Higher Heights Church of God Food Pantry;

Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust; Hill Country Land Trust;

Hillsboro Independent School District Education Foundation;

Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens; Historic Flat Rock, Inc.;

The History Center in Tompkins County; Holy Family Home and

Shelter, Inc.; Holy Family St. Vincent de Paul; Holy Ghost St

Vincent de Paul; HomeAid Atlanta; Honolulu Museum of Art;

Hope Food Pantry; HOPE Outreach; House of Help Hempstead; The

House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association; Houston

Food Bank; The Humanity Institute for Children & Families

(HICF); Hunger-Free Pennsylvania; Hyde Hall; IBB Local 684

Labor Participation.

Idaho Coalition of Land Trusts; The Idaho Foodbank; Iglesia

Trinidad (TX); Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence;

Illinois Collaboration on Youth; Illinois Network of Charter

Schools; Illinois Valley Symphony Orchestra; Immune

Deficiency Foundation; Indian Hill Music; Indiana

Philanthropy Alliance; Indianapolis Museum of Art; Informal

Learning Experiences; Inner Wisdom, Inc.; Interfaith Caring

Ministries; International Primate Protection League; Iowa

Natural Heritage Foundation; IRIS Orchestra; Iron and Steel

Museum of Alabama; Irving S. Gilmore International Keyboard

Festival; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; The Isamu Noguchi

Foundation; Islamic Society of North America; Jack Hadley

Black History Museum; Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens; Jacob and

Terese Hershey Foundation; Jefferson Land Trust.

Jemez Helping Hands; Jeremiah Call Christ Ministry/

Jeremiah's Food Pantry; Jesus Outreach Ministries; Jewish

Federations of North America; The Jewish Museum; Jordan

Schnitzer Museum of Art; Joseph's House; Julian Pathways;

Kansas City Symphony; Kansas Land Trust; Kenton Conservancy;

The Kingdom Zone Before & After Community Center; Kings Local

Food Pantry; The King's Palace Food Pantry; Kohl Children's

Museum of Greater Chicago; The Kreeger Museum; Kress United

Methodist Church; Ku'ikahi Mediation Center; K-VA-T Food

Stores/Food City (TN); K-VA-T Food Stores/Food City (VA);

Ladies In Action; Lafayette Symphony; Lancaster Community

Library; Lancaster Farmland Trust; The Land Conservancy for

Southern Chester County; Land Conservancy of Adams County;

Land Trust Alliance.

The Land Trust for Tennessee; Laredo Crime Stoppers, Inc.;

LeadingAge; League of American Orchestras; Leander

Independent

School District Educational Excellence Foundation; Lebanon

Food Pantry; Leelanau Conservancy; Lehigh Valley Abundant

Life Ministries; Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum; The Leighty

Foundation; Life Challenge; Light of Christ Food Pantry;

Literary Arts; Little Miami Food Service; Littleton

Conservation Trust; LIVESTRONG Foundation; Living Faith Food

Pantry; Living Water I.A.M; Livingston County Historical

Society; LJC Mercy Ministries; Local Infant Formula for

Emergencies, Inc. (LIFE-Houston); Lorraine Street Church of

God in Christ; Los Angeles Regional Food Bank; Louisiana Food

Bank Association; Louisiana Landmarks Society.

Louisville Zoological Garden; Lowe Art Museum; Lupus and

Allied Diseases Association, Inc.; Lutheran Services in

America; Magdalena Samaritan Center; Maiden Alley Cinema;

Maine Appalachian Trail Land Trust; Maine Association of

Nonprofits; Maine Coast Heritage Trust; March of Dimes; Marin

Agricultural Land Trust; Martin Luther King Jr. Center; Mary

Reynolds Babcock Foundation; Mason Food Pantry; Massachusetts

Land Trust Coalition; Massillon Museum; Matthew 25 Ecumenical

Food Pantry; Maxwell Museum of Anthropology; McCary's Chapel

United Methodist Church; McHenry County Historical Society &

Museum; Mead Art Museum; Meadowlark Methodist Food Pantry;

Meals On Wheels Association of America; Memorial Baptist Food

Pantry; Menil Collection; Mental Health Association of Rhode

Island; Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.

Miami Springs Historical Museum; Michigan Historic

Preservation Network; Michigan Nonprofit Association; Mid-

South Food Bank; The Miller Art Museum; Milwaukee Art Museum;

Mims Chapel Drydock Food Pantry; The Minneapolis Foundation;

Minneapolis Institute of Arts; Minnesota Historical Society;

Minnesota Land Trust; Mission Aviation Fellowship; Mission

Northeast, Inc.; Mississippi Food Network; Mississippi Valley

Conservancy; Missouri Association for Museums and Archives;

Missouri Street Church of Christ Pantry Program; Mitchell

Prehistoric Indian Village Preservation Society; Mobile

Medical Museum; Mojave Desert Land Trust; Molly Brown House

Museum; Mon General Foundation; Monadnock Conservancy;

Montana Association of Land Trusts; Montana Food Bank

Network; Montclair Art Museum.

Montgomery County Emergency Assistance; Montgomery County

Food Bank (TX); Montgomery County Lands Trust (PA);

Montgomery County Youth Services (TX); Montgomery Museum of

Fine Arts; Morton County Historical Society Museum; Mountain-

Plains Museums Association; Mt. Canaan Missionary Baptist;

Mt. Manna; Murphysboro Food Pantry, Inc.; Muscarelle Museum

of Art; Museo de Arte de Ponce; Museum Association of New

York; Museum at FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology); Museum

of Arts and Design; Museum of Contemporary Art; Museum of

Contemporary Art Denver; Museum of Contemporary Art San

Diego; Museum of Cultural and Natural History; Museum of

Danish America; Museum of Fine Arts Boston; The Museum of

Fine Arts Houston; Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, FL;

The Museum of Flight; Museum of Glass; Museum of Latin

American Art; Museum of Science, Boston.

Museum of Zavkhan Province; My Brother's Keeper Outreach

Center; Mystic Art Association, dba Mystic Arts Center; N.C.

Center for Nonprofits; Nacogdoches HOPE; Nantucket Historical

Association; Naperville Heritage Society; Naples Historical

Society; National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Omaha;

National Association for Interpretation; National Association

of Area Agencies on Aging; National Association of Clock and

Watch Collectors; National Atomic Testing Museum; National

Audubon Society; National Bottle Museum; National Civil

Rights Museum; National Council of Nonprofits; National Czech

& Slovak Museum & Library; National Multiple Sclerosis

Society; National Museum of American Jewish History; National

Museum of Wildlife Art; National Parks Conservation

Association; National Soaring Museum; National Veterans Art

Museum; National Watch and Clock Museum.

National Wildlife Federation; National Woodland Owners

Association; National Youth Leadership Council; Native

American Rights Fund; Natural Land Institute; Natural Lands

Trust; Natural Resources Defense Council; The Nature

Conservancy; Nebraska Land Trust; Needy Basket of Southern

Miami County, Inc.; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art; Nevada Land

Trust; New Canaan Historical Society; New Covenant Christian

Fellowship; New England Museum Association; New Hampshire

Boat Museum; New Hampshire Charitable Foundation; New Hope

Seventh Day Adventist Church; New Jersey Conservation

Foundation; New Museum; New Path, Inc. aka New Path Outreach;

New River Conservancy; New River Land Trust; New York

Botanical Garden; New York Live Arts; NGO Foundation;

Nisqually Land Trust; Nonprofit Association of Oregon.

Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York; Nonprofit

Institute at College of Southern Maryland; Norman Rockwell

Museum; North Carolina Museum of Art; North Carolina

Symphony; North Creek Baptist Church; North Creek Baptist

Church Food Pantry; North Group Consultants; North Olympic

Land Trust; North Salem Open Land Foundation; North Shore

Land Alliance; Northeast Iowa Food Bank; Northwest Montana

Historical Society; Northwest Railway Museum; Norwich

University; NPO Accounting Solutions; Nunda Historical

Society; NY Textile Conservation, LLC; Oblong Land

Conservancy; Ohio League of Conservation Voters; Okanogan

County Community Action Council; Okanogan Land Trust;

Oklahoma City Museum of Art; Old Pine Farm Natural Lands

Trust; Old Stone Fort Museum.

One Powerful Movement Community Development Center;

Onondaga Historical Association; Open Door Pantry; OPERA

America; Orlando Museum of Art; Orlando Science Center;

Ouabache Land Conservancy; The Our House Tavern; Ozark

Regional Land Trust; Pacific Battleship Center; Pacific Grove

Museum of Natural History; Pacific Science Center; Paducah

Area Food Pantry; Paducah Symphony Orchestra; Pajarito

Environmental Education Center; Palm Springs Art Museum;

Parkdale Valley Land Trust; Parks & Trails New York; Passages

Alternative Living Programs, Inc.; Pathways Food Pantry;

Patsy's Place Transitional Home; Peabody Essex Museum;

Pelican Coast Conservancy; Pennsbury Land Trust; Pennsylvania

Academy of the Fine Arts; People Attempting To Help ``PATH'';

People Helping People.

Peoria Riverfront Museum; Peralta Memorial United Methodist

Church; Petersen Automotive Museum Foundation; Philabundance;

The Phillips Collection; Phoenix Art Museum; PhotoArts

Imaging Professionals, LLC; Pines and Prairies Land Trust;

Pinnacle Community Church; The Pittsburgh Foundation; Places

of New Beginnings; Plant City Photo Archives & History

Center; Point Blue Conservation Science; Portland Art Museum

(OR); Portland Museum of Art (ME); Pound Ridge Land

Conservancy, Inc.; Prairie Public Broadcasting; Primary Care

Development Corporation (PCDC); Project Restoration Outreach;

Project Sister Family Services; Prospect House Museum; Puerto

Seguro, Inc. (PSI) Safe Harbor; Pulitzer Arts Foundation;

Ralphs Grocery Company; Redwood Empire Food Bank.

Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland, African American

History and Culture; Regional Food Bank of Northeastern New

York; Renaissance Charitable Foundation, Inc.; Renaissance

Entrepreneurship Center; Rensselaer County Historical

Society; Rescue Rehome Resource; Restoration Care Ministry;

Restore & Enlightenment Ministries; Riverside Baptist Church

Crisis Closet; Rochester Area Community Foundation; Roger

Williams Park Zoo; Rooted In; Roxbury Land Trust; Sacramento

Mountains Senior Services, Inc.; Sagebrush Steppe Land Trust;

The Salvation Army; San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts; San

Antonio Food Bank; San Antonio Museum of Art; San Diego

Natural History Museum; San Diego Youth Symphony and

Conservatory; San Diego Zoo Global; San Francisco Heritage/

Haas Lilienthal House; San Isabel Land Protection Trust; San

Jacinto County Historical Commission; San Jose Museum of Art;

San Jose Museum of Quilts & Textiles.

Santa Fe Texas Education Foundation; Save The Prairie

Society; Scenic Hudson; Schingoethe Museum, Aurora

University; Science Factory Children's Museum & Exploration

Dome; Scleroderma Foundation; Sealy Christian Pantry; Seattle

Art Museum; Second Harvest Food Bank Mahoning Valley; Second

Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida; Second Harvest Food

Bank of East Central Indiana; Second Harvest Food Bank of

Northeast Tennessee; Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast

Tennessee; Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North

Carolina; Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San

Mateo Counties; Second Harvest North Central Food Bank;

Sedoan Historical Society; Senior Connections; Sequoia

Riverlands Trust; Seventh-Day Adventist Church (Tulia, TX);

Shared Harvest Foodbank; Sharlot Hall Museum; Shepherd Senior

Citizens, Inc.; Sheridan Community Land Trust.

Shiloh Museum of Ozark History; Sierra Foothill

Conservancy; Silver City Gospel Mission; Six Rivers Land

Conservancy; Skagit Land Trust; Society for Experimental

Graphic Design (SEGD); Society for Preservation of Long

Island Antiquities; Society of St. Stephen Outreach Ministry

(SOSS); Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Houston, TX;

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum; South Carolina Conservation

Exchange; South Texas Food Bank; South Union Church of Christ

Food Pantry; Southbury Land Trust; Southeast Area Ministries;

Southeast Missouri Food Bank; Southeast Texas Arts Council;

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy; Southside Church

of Christ Food Pantry; Spearman Ministerial Alliance; Spinal

Cord Injury Network International; Springfield Museum of Art;

Squam Lake Natural Science Center; St Vladimir's Orthodox

Theological Seminary; St. Andrews United Methodist Church

Food Pantry; St. Anne de Beaupre Food Pantry; St. Anthony's

Bread Food Pantry; St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum.

St. James Episcopal Church Food Pantry; St. John of the

Cross Food Pantry; St. Joseph Museums, Inc.; St. Leo the

Great St. Vincent de Paul; St. Louis Area Foodbank; St. Louis

Art Museum; St. Mary's Food Bank Affiance; St. Mary's United

Methodist Church (TX); St. Monica Food Pantry; St. Monica

Knights of Peter Claver, Ladies Auxiliary, Court # 151; St.

Monica's Altar Society; St. Paul's Lutheran Food Pantry; St.

Stephen Presbyterian Food Pantry; St. Stephen's of St.

Andrews United Methodist Church (TX); St. Vincent de Paul in

Los Lunas, NM; St. Vincent de Paul in Artesia,

NM; St. Vincent de Paul Society (St. Philip Neri Catholic

Church); Stax Museum of American Soul Music; Sterling and

Francine Clark Art Institute; Stockton Symphony Association;

Sts. Joachim and Ann Care Service.

Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater; Studebaker National Museum;

Sullivan Museum and History Center; Summit Land Conservancy;

Tacoma Art Museum; Tall Timbers Research Station & Land

Conservancy; Tampa Museum of Art; Telfair Museums; Temenos

CDC/Bread of Life, Inc.; Temple University Anthropology

Laboratory; Tennessee Parks and Greenways Foundation; Texas

Land Conservancy; Texas Land Trust Council; Texas Quilt

Museum; THE PROGRAM for Offenders, Inc.; Theatre

Communications Group; Three Angels Seventh Day Adventist

Church; Three Village Community Trust; The Time IN Children's

Arts Initiative; Timken Museum of Art; Toledo Museum of Art;

Toledo Northwestern Ohio Food Bank; Towne Learning Center;

Travis Audubon; Tread of Pioneers Museum; The Treehouse

Center, Inc.; Tri County Assembly Choice Food Pantry;

Triangle Land Conservancy; Tri-county Meals.

Trinity Garden First Food Pantry; The Trust for Public

Land; U.S. Military Combat Camera History & Stories Museum;

U.S. Pain Foundation, Inc.; UJA-Federation of New York, Inc.;

The Ukrainian Museum; Ukrainian National Women's League of

America; Union Symphony Society, Inc.; United Assembly

(Plainview, TX); United Food Bank; United Way Fox Cities;

United Way of Buffalo and Erie County; United Way of Greater

Cincinnati; United Way of Portage County; United Way

Worldwide; University Christian Church; University of

Michigan--Dearborn; University of Michigan Law School; Upper

Savannah Land Trust; Upscale CDC; Upshur County Shares Food

Pantry; Urban Gateways; Utah Food Bank.

Utah Museum of Fine Arts; Uvalde Baptist Church Food

Pantry; Venice Community Housing Corporation; The Vermont

River Conservancy; Vermont Symphony Orchestra; Vero Beach

Museum of Art; Vesterheim Museum; Vietnamese American

Community Center; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; The Viscardi

Center; Vision Weavers Consulting, LLC; VisionServe Alliance;

Voices of Victory; Walker Art Center; Wallowa Land Trust;

Wartburg Community Symphony; Washington Association of Land

Trusts; Washington Nonprofits; Washington State Historical

Society; Washington Street Family Service Center; Way Food

Pantry; Wee Care Child Center, Inc.; Wellsprings Village,

Inc.; West Central Ohio Land Conservancy; West Side Baptist

Early Education Center; West Wisconsin Land Trust; Western

New York Land Conservancy; Western Reserve Land Conservancy;

Western Rhode Island Civic Historical Society; Westmoreland

County Agricultural Land Preservation.

Westmoreland Museum of American Art; Westport Arts Center;

Whidbey Camano Land Trust; White Deer-Skellytown Lighthouse

Food Pantry; Whitney Museum of American Art; Wilbarger Creek

Conservation Alliance; The Wilderness Society; Wildling

Museum; Wildwood United Methodist Church; Williams Temple

Church of God In Christ; Wilmette Historical Museum; Wings

for L.I.F.E. (Life skills Imparted to Families through

Education); Winston-Salem Symphony; Wisconsin Youth Symphony

Orchestras; Wood County Senior Citizens Association; Woods

and Waters Land Trust; Wyoming Symphony Orchestra;

Yellowstone Art Museum; YMCA of the USA; York County Heritage

Trust; Zimmerli Art Museum.

The goodwill of the American people is unmatched, and we should do everything we can to encourage Americans to do more, enabling charities, nonprofits, foundations, and schools across the country to expand their reach and serve those most in need.

A ``yes'' vote on this bill is a vote for hardworking Americans who selflessly lend a hand every day to their neighbors, communities, and others in need.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Reed), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Gerlach), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schock), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly), a distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young).

(Mr. YOUNG of Alaska asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Montana (Mr. Daines).

At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis).

Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?

At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), the distinguished member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the provisions we are talking about today, the policies, whether it is donations to food inventory or IRA contributions, excess dollars from an IRA, or whether it is a conservation easement, these are all items that have been extended unpaid for, if you will, time and time again.

We have heard a lot about the cost from the other side. But if charities, religious groups, foundations, food banks, if we can make these permanent--because, right now, these three are expired. They can't be used. But if we can make these permanent, we will see an increase in charitable giving--850 organizations have written us and said that would happen, all of them who serve the poor, who serve the needy, who serve Americans in trouble.

Also, it doesn't go through the government. What these charities do, what these religious groups do, and what these foundations do is beyond the power of government to give. Let's make these permanent. Let's extends these provisions. Let's increase charitable giving in the United States, and let's help people help themselves.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

I object, Mr. Speaker, and I reserve a point of order against the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my point of order and seek time in opposition to the motion.

Mr. Speaker, this motion would create chaos for the charitable community. Americans are more generous than any other nation in the world. What we need is certainty in our Tax Code--certainty for those who want to donate food to food banks, certainty for those who want to make excess contributions to IRAs, and certainty for those who want to preserve fragile land for future generations.

This motion makes it much harder to help those in need, and God knows, we have a lot of Americans in need with a contracting economy and the worst recovery since the Great Depression.

We are the only nation in the world with temporary tax policies. Some of these provisions have expired and have been renewed time and time again, and we need to admit it and make them permanent.

Let me just say, when it comes to inversions, the administration agrees with me that the best way to address this issue is through lower rates and through comprehensive tax reform, and we should be doing that, but this motion actually creates a perverse incentive for American companies to pack up and move overseas. That is the worst thing we can do for American workers.

I urge a ``no'' vote on this motion to recommit and a ``yes'' vote on the underlying legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, first, let me just say I'm very pleased to anchor this Congressional Progressive Caucus Special Order on Iraq with my colleague from California, Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

Let me also take a moment to thank Congresswoman Waters, who is the founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus. Congresswoman Waters had the vision and the determination to pull together Members of the House who really needed some space, who needed to be able to provide legislative strategies and to beat the drum to end this war in Iraq. The country owes Congresswoman Waters a debt of gratitude, and we thank you very much for that.

I also want to acknowledge Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, who retired from Congress at the end of last year, but who loomed so large during this Special Order, given her incredible leadership in working to end the war in Iraq and to bring our troops home. She is and remains our sister in arms when it comes to working for global peace and security for our children, all of our collective work.

It was no wonder that many observers called Congresswomen Waters, Woolsey, and myself ``The Triad,'' but it was actually Congresswoman Woolsey who coined this term in our formation.

We are here today to reflect back on the 10-year anniversary of the start of the unnecessary, immoral, and costly war and to remember and pay tribute to the sacrifices of our troops, those who lost their lives, the injured, their families, and their loved ones, many of whom are still grappling with the scars and the impact of the war. We are also here to reflect on the costs of this war in blood and treasure. On the costs of this war: $800 billion, 4,486 soldiers, an untold number of Iraqi civilians, countless refugees, and also on the lost opportunity costs of this war to our country.

Instead of spending $800 billion on Iraq, we could have created jobs, rebuilt our crumbling infrastructure or invested in our schools to provide every child with a 21st century education. Sadly, this list goes on and on. It is especially painful when we understand that this war never should have happened in the first place. It was a war of choice. It was unnecessary; it was immoral; and it was wrong.

Over 10 years now in the run-up to the war, there were those of us in Congress and millions of people in the antiwar movement who fought the launch of this war. We had questions about weapons of mass destruction claims. We pushed for hearings; we called for a full debate; and we called to halt the rush to war.

In October 2002, the Bush administration pushed for invading Iraq. During that time, I was on the Foreign Affairs Committee. I proposed an amendment, which the Rules Committee made in

order. We brought that amendment to the floor, which would have required the United Nations to continue with weapons inspections. At that time, I stated on this House floor that unilateralism is really not the answer. If Iraqi weapons of mass destruction are a problem to the world community, yes, we must confront it. We must do so through the United Nations, and we must determine whether or not there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. There were 72 of my colleagues who voted in favor of this amendment, which would have led us to the same conclusion that so many soldiers lost their lives and limbs to reach-- that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We all know the tragedy that followed.

The Bush administration launched its war of choice, claimed its ``mission accomplished,'' and chose to send pallets of shrink-wrapped cash and more of our brave young men and women to fight on and on-- despite the fact that there was no real military solution to the quagmire that the Bush administration created.

It is important to remember that this war did not go unchallenged, that there was a tremendous groundswell of opposition and that that was critical in demanding its end and in helping to bring it to a close, finally, under President Obama. In Congress, this opposition was centered around the Out of Iraq Caucus, which Congresswoman Waters, whom I mentioned earlier, founded, and Congresswoman Woolsey and I helped cofound. This was in 2005. Together, we held ad hoc hearings that the Republican congressional leadership refused to hold or participate in. We held press conferences, wrote op-eds, and took the floor to sound the alarm.

Here I need to acknowledge, as I know Congresswoman Waters will-- because I know this is a very important benchmark to acknowledge--that Congresswoman Woolsey on this point delivered 441 floor speeches over the last decade to call for the war's end.

We worked with our grassroots allies, like MoveOn, Win Without War, Progressive Democrats of America, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, United for Peace and Justice, Peace Action, and with great leaders like Tom Hayden and others, to help build a movement to bring our troops home.

I recall vividly when we marched here in Washington, D.C., past the White House, with hundreds of thousands of protesters in opposition to the war. These marches and rallies and actions happened all across this country. I have to say, in northern California and especially in the East Bay and in San Francisco--the entire Bay Area of California--they were really at the forefront of this effort. Of course we worked the legislative process as hard as we possibly could. There were many members of the Out of Iraq Caucus who led important legislative efforts to end the war:

I recall clearly the efforts of Congresswoman Woolsey, who offered the very first sense of Congress resolution calling for an end to the war and to bring our troops home. From what I remember, she received approximately 132, 133 votes for that resolution, but that was another defining moment;

There was a resolution that I offered very early on to repeal the doctrine of preemption--that's preemptive war. In other words, let's start a war to prevent a future war, which the President claimed in waging the war in Iraq;

There was the McGovern amendment, led by Congressman McGovern, who led on the effort to bring a responsible end to the war by calling for a timetable;

Then, of course, my annual Lee amendment: to limit the funding for the safe, timely, and orderly withdrawal of our troops. What this Lee amendment was trying to accomplish was to stop the funding and to end combat operations but to protect our troops and contractors and bring them home.

One of my amendments, the Lee amendment, eventually was signed into law, which was to prohibit permanent bases in Iraq. Now that is and was and continues to be the law of the land. There were so many other efforts led by members of the Out of Iraq Caucus--from amendments, to resolutions, to letters, and to floor actions.

I want to yield now to my colleague from California and just, once again, thank her for her tremendous leadership in case she has to leave early before this hour ends.

Congresswoman Waters, thank you so much for that very eloquent and profound statement and for your kind remarks. Let me just say to you also that you have been a woman who has always believed that peace is possible and peace is patriotic. So I just want to thank you for your leadership, for being here with us, and just say how proud we are that you are our Financial Services ranking member also. Thank you.

Let me take a moment now to yield to the gentleman from California, Congressman Mark Takano, who has been way out there in terms of opposing this war from day one.

Thank you again for being here.

Immigration Reform

Let me go back now to the 10th anniversary of this unfortunate war, Mr. Speaker.

I'm going to introduce now into the Record tonight a timeline of some of what we have talked about tonight because they should be remembered and because these efforts and the efforts of the movement that ended this war finally did make a difference, although obviously not as quickly as we wanted; but we did make a difference together.

After years of speaking out and as the toll of the Iraq war stretched the patience of the American people, public opinion started turning. People began asking what were we doing in Iraq. Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, as the Bush administration told us. Iraq had not been involved in the 9/11 attacks, as suggested by the Bush administration.

Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell made a presentation at the United Nations that was greatly misleading, stating that Iraq possessed extremely dangerous weapons of mass destruction. Some of you may remember the smoking cloud that he talked about. It was just really very, very tragic. He described biological weapons factories on wheels, and estimated that Iraq had between 100 and 150 tons--no, I believe it may have been 500 tons--of chemical weapons stockpiled. All of those claims about weapons of mass destruction turned out to be false.

Secretary of State Powell's own chief of staff, Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, later said about his own participation in the deception at the United Nations, he said:

I participated in a hoax on the American people, the

international community, and the United Nations Security

Council.

Iraq did not present a clear and present danger to the United States. Secretary Powell and his staff, they

knew this. President Bush, he knew this. Vice President Cheney, he knew this. But they wanted their war and they deceived the United Nations and scared the American public to justify their war of choice.

I distinctly remember the day in May 2003, 10 years ago next week, when President Bush stood on the deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln and proclaimed ``Mission Accomplished.'' Of course, the mission was far from accomplished. The war was to drag on for another 8 years.

President Obama committed to ending the war during his campaign; and he, of course, did as President. While the war in Iraq is over, its legacy continues and the lessons still have yet to be learned. We need to look closely at the decisions made, understand the mistakes and misjudgments, and ensure that we never again repeat such a tragedy.

In Ghana, in the Akan language of Ghana, there is a mythical bird that's a symbol. It's called Sankofa. It's a bird flying forward looking back, and the message is that in order to not make the same mistakes as we move forward, we have to look back and we have to know our history. We have to know where we have come from, what we have done in order to move forward, and we should learn from those mistakes. Sankofa.

The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction issued its final report to Congress just last month, detailing billions and billions of dollars lost to waste, fraud, and abuse. The occupation of Iraq was characterized by poor planning by the Bush administration, who ignored State Department and USAID analysis envisioning protracted U.S. involvement in Iraq requiring substantial spending for many years.

The Pentagon was left in charge of managing postwar Iraq, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld famously underestimated the resources needed to stabilize the country. When Lieutenant General Jay Gardner told Secretary Rumsfeld that the United States might need to spend billions of dollars to rebuild Iraq, Rumsfeld responded:

If you think we're going to spend a billion dollars of our

money over there, you are sadly mistaken.

Well, of course, it was Mr. Rumsfeld who was sadly mistaken, and the American public who was sadly misled, and the Iraqi people who sadly suffered from the chaos and destruction unleashed by ideologues who used Iraq as a laboratory for a light-footprint war.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, those lost opportunities and tragic mistakes are not behind us.

I would like to take a moment now and yield to my friend and colleague, a woman who has consistently been against the war and has stood for peace all of her life, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

Let me thank the gentlelady from Texas for that very profound statement and presentation. And just let me say to you that, as the daughter of a 25-year veteran of the Armed Forces, I am deeply thankful for your bringing forth the faces of our Armed Forces.

And also, talking about the obstacles now that they're facing upon their return, I'm especially concerned with the widespread and often undiagnosed incidents of PTSD and the alarming suicide rates among our soldiers.

The back claims, the Veterans Affairs losing records, denying claims that are clearly service-related. I want to acknowledge Congresswoman Jackie Speier and her work in our area and throughout the country to try to address the backlog of claims of our veterans who don't deserve to be treated this way.

Since the invasion of Iraq 10 years ago, over 2,000 current and former servicemembers have committed suicide. The lessons from this tragedy cannot be any clearer. It's a lot easier to get into war than to get out of one.

It's my hope, Mr. Speaker, that this reckless and shortsighted decision will mark a turning point in American history, and that we will be more careful about war and use all of the tools of American power, as Congresswoman Woolsey so eloquently talked to us about and introduced over and over again, SMART security that should be used in resolving disputes, including diplomacy.

Let me ask you, Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

I would like to know if the gentlelady from Texas has anything else to say. Otherwise, we will close.

Let me just use a bit more time and say that there's no military solution in

Afghanistan either, so we must absorb that fact and learn, again, what we learned in Iraq. And we need to bring the war in Afghanistan to an accelerated end.

We need to stop throwing good money after bad, poorly conceived and poorly managed reconstruction efforts, and bring our troops home now.

And we need to repeal the 2001 Authorization For the Use of Military Force, which Congresswoman Waters mentioned, which I voted against right after the horrific events of 9/11. This overly broad blank check has underwritten the past decade of perpetual war.

I have a resolution, H.R. 198, it's the Repeal of the Authorization For the Use of Military Force. This will remove one of the underlying legal justifications for targeted drone killings that has been invoked over and over again, this time, targeted killings, to justify a wide range of activities, including warrantless surveillance and wiretapping activities, and, yes, a blank check for war anywhere, any time, for any length of time.

I hope those who are listening and who care about this, go back and read that resolution of 9/14. What it said was the President, and I'm paraphrasing now, but it was the President is authorized to use force against any nation, organization, individual, deemed connected to terrorism and the 9/11 attacks.

Now, this was in 2001. 2001. No end game, no timetable, a blank check, perpetual war until this is repealed. So Congress really needs to reassert its constitutional authority in the matters of war. Our Founding Fathers were very deliberate in placing war-making powers in this body. In a democracy, such as ours, we have this system of checks and balances.

On 9/14, we did not have a full debate. From what I remember, it may have been an hour, it may have been 2 hours. But we did not fully debate that blank check and what that meant by authorizing then- President Bush, now President Obama and any future President, to use force in perpetuity.

We can no longer abdicate our constitutional duties allowing any President to engage in hostilities without debate, without oversight, and without accountability.

And I want to commend Senator Durbin for conducting hearings this week looking at the constitutionality and the rationale for targeted killings using drones. This was a very important hearing. I was able to sit through some of that hearing, and it was very revealing. Actually, there was a young man from Yemen who received a State Department scholarship. He went to school here, had gone back to Yemen, and his village was devastated by drones.

So you can see what's happening now. There are more and more hostilities, unfortunately, toward the United States, unless we get this policy straight about the lethal use of drones and have congressional oversight and debate and really exercise our constitutional responsibility to really declare war, if that's what we're going to do.

And so as we embark into this new age of modern warfare, we do need rules. We need oversight; we need accountability; and we need to develop an international legal framework on drones.

And we understand asymmetrical warfare and the new world in which we live. None of us have our head in the sand about that. We just need to make sure that Congress has a role in debating exactly how we're going to, if we're going to, and when the appropriate use of force is necessary.

For me, personally, I believe in SMART Security; and I know that that will lead to a world that our children deserve and is worthy of our children's future.

So let's put this decade of perpetual warfare behind us. We should bring our troops home. We should invest in our veterans and our children, create jobs here at home and really begin to invest in our future for the sake of our children and our grandchildren.

I have this chart here to show you just in terms of the fiscal implications of what these policies have brought. When you look at the deficit, with the war and the economic policies of the Bush era, the tax cuts, we're looking at this line right here. Had these unfortunate policies not occurred, our deficit would be down here. This is very clear. This was put forth by the Congressional Budget Office in February. These are their estimates.

It's very clear, I hope, to everyone that the failed economic policies of the Bush administration and the wars in Iraq are the major contributing factors to the economic crisis that we find ourselves in. And so, aside from the human toll that this 10-year war and the war in Afghanistan has taken, we have a real crisis now, an economic crisis in this country that we need to come to grips with. Our senior citizens did not cause this crisis. Our children did not cause this crisis. The poor, our middle class individuals, and families did not cause this crisis. And we cannot forget what has taken place over the last 10 years of this unbelievably terribly sad time in our history, where we lost so many lives and we lost so much time in terms of rebuilding our country for the future of our children.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Key Iraq Votes From the 109th Congress

H. CON. RES. 35 [109th]

Latest Title: Expressing the sense of Congress that the

President should develop and implement a plan to begin the

immediate withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq.

Sponsor: Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [D-CA-6] (introduced 1/26/

2005) Cosponsors: 34

Committees: House International Relations

Latest Major Action: 1/26/2005 Referred to House committee.

Status: Referred to the House Committee on International

Relations.

H. RES. 82 [109th]

Latest Title: Disavowing the doctrine of preemption.

Sponsor: Rep Lee, Barbara [D-CA-9] (introduced 2/9/2005)

Cosponsors: 15

Committees: House International Relations

Latest Major Action: 2/9/2005 Referred to House committee.

Status: Referred to the House Committee on International

Relations.

H. AMDT. 214 [109th]

(A009)

Amends: H.R.1815

Sponsor: Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [D-CA-6] (offered 5/25/2005)

I thank the gentlelady from California, and I particularly thank you for your astuteness on bringing us together. If I might reflect on memory lane that was very painful, we traveled a lot together, and I think of the moments in history on the Iraq war. The rising up of the American people was powerful, from San Francisco to places in between, to the quarter of a million people that walked down 53rd and 57th Street in New York on a cold morning in January.

People all over America recognized that it was not these brave men and women that you see here. And I brought pictures of wonderful families and men and women who were called to serve who we continue to honor and appreciate. I thought it was important to acknowledge that our soldiers have families. We see it all the time. My district is near Ellington Field, and it is increasingly becoming a base utilizing the talents of young Americans who are willing to volunteer. So I take this 10th anniversary, as well, to pay tribute to them and those who still serve in foreign fields around the world. We know that they still serve in Iraq and Afghanistan.

So we come here today on the 10th anniversary simply to ask the question: Why? And when we ask the question why, it is not a selfish question on behalf of Members of Congress. It is a question on behalf of those brave men and women who, no matter who calls them as Commander in Chief and for what cause, they accept the cause. For that reason, it is imperative that we understand the battle into which we send them.

In the Iraq war, it was alleged there were weapons of mass destruction. We have come to a fairly complete conclusion that there were no such weapons. We all knew Saddam Hussein, and none of us adhered to his despotic and horrible governance. But I will tell you, my colleagues thought the same thing, that our approach should have been different. The bloodshed not only of the young men and women that you see here, some of their comrades were lost, but the millions, the numbers of Iraqi people who themselves, their lives were lost and of course still continue to be in danger.

The Iraq war saw more than 4,400 brave men and women who wore the United States uniform make the ultimate sacrifice, and tens upon tens of thousands who in actuality were wounded. Over 32,000 of the men and women who came home suffered wounds. But as we know, those numbers have risen. Some 3,000 of the wounded call Texas their home, 500 lost their lives. We know the scars that were left on families--mother, fathers, children, and wives. We realized that we needed to make a better judgment.

As the tragedy unfolded in Boston, one of the emergency physicians, one of the medical professionals, said they knew exactly what it was because they had been to Iraq, and they understood the sound of the IEDs. How many of our brave men and women encountered these makeshift IEDs that tore through their body and either killed them or completely amputated or caused the amputation of their arms or legs and the disfigurement of their face. We see them now. We call them wounded warriors. We call them heroes, and certainly those who followed in Afghanistan.

But this 10th year reminds us to ask: Have we made the progress that we should have? The gentlelady spoke of the moneys, $800 billion that has directly contributed to the Nation's deficit, and the amount of money that was supposed to be used for restoration; and because there was no infrastructure in Iraq, we made our Army personnel be the little government.

We made soldiers be the ones that had to interact with the village leaders and the chiefs, and carry monies to them. No, nothing accounted for; just good intentions, following orders. But we cannot account for those dollars. We don't know if they made a difference. We don't know if they helped bring Iraqis home. We don't know if they helped build schools or hospitals.

So I think it is important to note that when we make decisions regarding war, we need to think about soldiers holding their families and loving their families. We need to think about the better way to go, and we need to ask those whose war we fight--Saddam Hussein is gone-- the people whose war we fight, the conflict between the Shiites and Sunnis.

We need to understand our history as to whether or not a war that would see the loss of all these brilliant young people, divide families, whether or not we can bring some measure of peace, some comfort, some stability.

And I'd venture to say today that we have not. And I say this to the head of Iraq, the leader, Mr. Maliki, for his participation in the ongoing conflict in Iraq, because that is the case.

There is no coming together of the Shiites and Sunnis. There is a cluster of a government that hides in the walls, that does not go out and try to bring peace to the people. And I give you one example, Mr. Speaker, that troubles me over and over again--it is the Iranians who left Iran.

We know the conflicted issues and alliances were all, if you will, misunderstood; old alliances, friends and enemies. We understand that. But this is supposed to be a peaceful nation now, and there are Iranians who fled the despotic Iran, and have become, in essence, enemies of Iran.

They started out in Camp Ashraf. They were called rebels and terrorists. They have now been vindicated, and they're not called that anymore.

But let me tell you what the present government of Iraq allows. They allow, in the camp that was Camp Ashraf that is now Camp Liberty, bombs to go in from the Iraqi soldiers. They allow no medical care to come into that particular camp.

Just yesterday, the Friends of Iran, American Iranians were here, and they had 10 people or more, their faces, who had died in that camp because the government of Iraq, the government that we shed blood for, that we asked to be a peaceful nation, is, in essence, attacking people on their soil who are unarmed, who are not interested in war, who fled because they'd been persecuted.

And they don't allow them to get access to cars, access to hospitals, and so people die from sicknesses because they could not get care.

When we go into battle and send our troops into battle, shouldn't we ask the question of what is the ultimate result?

We understand that democracy in its structure that is here in the United States cannot only be the structure that fits every community, every nation, every faith. But what I would say to you is that we bring one of those C-130s, big C-130s that many of us have rode on to go into Iraq. And I spent many hours there, nothing in comparison, of course, to those who served, but I'm grateful I had the opportunity to go and serve and see those individuals who served, and to sit down with those from Texas and to break bread with them.

When we land one of those C-130s, why don't we know, and shouldn't we know our purpose, our goal, what is our ultimate direction that we would like to see?

Not the dominance of the United States over this nation that we help but to be able to know that they, too, stand for democracy and peace.

I want to thank the gentlelady from California for allowing me to share this time with her, and to say, it's important to remind us of the 10th anniversary, one, to say thank you, for when we land these C- 130s and these men and women come out ready for battle, they are wearing our uniform and our flag but, at the same time, we must ask the question, for what? For what results? For what long-range results? For what peace? For we owe that to them.

I ask that we consider those in Camp Liberty and we find relief for them. I thank the gentlelady very much.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in solidarity with my fellow members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus to speak in recognition of the 10th Anniversary of the Iraq war. I want to thank my colleagues, Representatives Lee and Waters for anchoring this Special Order.

On March 19, 2003 President Bush launched invasion of Iraq ten years ago under a cloud of questions about the motivations for the invasion. Today we see the toll of this war on our young military men and women, their families and communities across our nation.

First and foremost, I would like to thank our troops who served in the Iraq war, but more broadly I would like to thank all members of the armed forces for their courage and heroism under circumstances that few of us could imagine. As members of Congress we have, regardless of our view of the wisdom of entering into armed conflict with Iraq, have always stood in strong and unwavering solidarity with our troops.

Part of our role as representatives in Congress is to give voice to the plight of our constituents that include men and women in the armed forces--many of them served tour after tour after tour without break; and in the beginning of the war had insufficient equipment to protect them from IEDs which cost the nation countless lives and left many with traumatic life changing injuries.

We cannot forget their sacrifice and heroism in the face of what was asked of them. In April of last year the great city of Houston, which I am proud to represent, hosted a Bayou City-style parade honoring the homecoming of the American troops. This gesture of thanks defines the support that Houston has for our troops in any situation.

During the course of the Iraq War more than 4,400 brave men and women in uniform made the ultimate sacrifice and over 32,000 were wounded. Of these brave men and women more than 500 of the fallen and 3,000 of the wounded call Texas their home.

In 2003 I fought with many of my colleagues in the Congressional Progressive Caucus to ensure that the order to proceed with the Iraq War did not pass the House, but our efforts were not successful.

Although we have withdrawn from Iraq it is imperative to understand that the withdrawal is not synonymous with the end of the war on terror. It has been my stance since the beginning of the war that there are different steps that must be taken to combat terror--which include diplomatic and humanitarian efforts.

The war also had an economic cost to our nation, which we are still paying and will continue to pay until our colleagues on the other side of the isle resolve to battle the economic threat at home with the vigor of the fight against a less than creditable threat many thought they saw in Iraq 10 years ago.

The monetary cost of the war exceeded $800 billion, which directly contributed to the nation's deficit that is now trying to be mended by the Sequester. More worrisome, the long terms costs from the results of the war are expected to exceed $3 trillion.

Since our withdrawal, insurgencies have erupted across the country of Iraq. Iraq has been seen to gravitate towards Iran, a nation that has openly been hostile towards U.S. mission, and one that has proven to be a source of destabilization in the area.

The remedies to these issues once again come from intelligence and diplomatic channels that do not include invasions like the one the United States so hastily entered into with Iraq.

The tactical withdrawal from Iraq can be seen with some high regard as a template for how to end the war in Afghanistan, and exit the region safely and decisively. As a nation we must turn away from this past decade of occupying countries in the name of fighting terror. These endless occupations delay the creation of opportunity within our own nation, which must be one of the priorities as we attempt to overcome the economic hardships facing the nation.

In closing, I would once again like to extend my deepest gratitude to our troops fighting across the nation on the 10th Anniversary of the Iraq War, and would like to thank my Congressional Progressive Caucus colleagues again for hosting this event.

In this post-Iraq time we must turn our attention to helping' our men and women who have fought bravely overseas to ensure our freedom and the promotion of democracy.

Earlier this week a new Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic was opened in the Houston area, which will shorten the distance between Houston veterans and the care they need. The nearly 30,000 square foot establishment provides primary health care, mental healthcare, women's specialty care, x-rays, optometry, physical therapy, occupational therapy, ENT (ear, nose and throat) and audiology. The new center will have a fully operational laboratory by July, as well as a visiting cardiologist and surgical physician's assistant for minor procedures.

The new clinic is expected to service 7,000 to 8,000 veterans within its first year of operation and create more than 50 paying jobs.

The Houston area clinic is one of many Community-Based clinics that have been established in response to the growing number of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans returning from war. It is vital that we keep these veterans, and current soldiers, in mind as we develop policies to ensure their care and wellbeing.

Mr. Speaker, I rise for the purpose of inquiring of the schedule for the week to come, and I am pleased to yield to Mr. McCarthy, the majority leader-elect. I appreciate his stance. We had the opportunity to have lunch. I am hopeful that we can have a very productive relationship, as I am sure this House and the country is.

I am pleased to yield to my friend, Mr. McCarthy, the majority leader-elect.

I thank the gentleman for his information.

We have now completed six appropriations bills. The gentleman has announced we will have a seventh--Financial Services--on the floor next week. Does the gentleman anticipate doing the balance of the five remaining appropriations bills before the September 30 end of the fiscal year?

I yield to my friend.

I thank the gentleman.

I know he has this expectation also, but I hope that we would pass the appropriations bills individually in the manner that we have considered the previous bills on this floor.

I note that the Labor-Health bill has not been marked up in subcommittee, and I would simply ask him, in light of the fact that has not moved through subcommittee yet, if that would be one of the bills that he would anticipate bringing to the floor before September 30.

I yield to my friend.

I thank the gentleman.

That, of course, from our perspective--and I am sure his--is a very, very important piece of legislation.

The highway bill that is coming to the floor, we know that that is critically important. It passed out of committee I think on a voice vote, although, as the gentleman knows, there was substantial disagreement on the length, the term of that. We are disappointed that we haven't either done a short-term or a long-term bill, giving confidence to contractors and jurisdictions around the country. We find ourselves in a situation now where more than 100,000 transportation projects could be delayed.

We look forward to working to not only move this process forward in the

short term, but we would like to urge, notwithstanding the fact it appears it is going to be a longer term--until May of next year--that we continue to focus on a long-term, confidence-building, economy- growing effort at a longer term reauthorization of the highway program.

The gentleman doesn't need to comment on that. I just wanted to make that comment to him, unless he wanted to say something on that.

I thank the gentleman.

We passed, as the gentleman knows, the tax credit for investment in equipment, or the depreciation allowance. We passed that today. That was a $287 billion cost.

I would call to the gentleman's attention, as I have with Mr. Cantor, that we are still concerned on this side of the aisle--and I know the gentleman knows this--that the unemployment insurance bill that lapsed in December of 2013 has still not been funded. There are some 3 million people who have fallen off that.

As part of your new responsibilities, you will be focused on scheduling legislation, and I would urge the majority leader to consider very seriously bringing that unemployment bill to the floor for a vote.

We believe that it does have the votes on this House floor. That is 3 million--and it is growing by thousands per month--who have run out of unemployment insurance, which is slowing our economy, but it is also, from their perspective, giving them no support to support themselves and to help support their families.

So I would urge the gentleman to look again at the unemployment insurance status originally proposed to be done retroactively. Even if we look prospectively, we would hope the majority leader would look at moving forward on the House floor.

I yield to my friend.

I appreciate you not only keeping us posted, but focusing on that to see whether we might do that.

The gentleman has announced that TRIA is going to be under consideration. We believe this is a very important piece of legislation. However, it passed out of committee on a party-line vote, as the gentleman knows, and there are still concerns that need to be addressed. I would hope that we could work on those before it comes to the floor.

Does the gentleman know whether that will come under a rule and whether or not that rule will provide for an open amendatory process?

I yield to my friend.

I thank the gentleman.

As the gentleman knows, we only have 12 days remaining of legislative days that we will be in session before the August break and only 22 days before the end of the scheduled session prior to the election. The scheduled date is October 2 for us to adjourn.

We believe this legislation is critical--again, for the economy and for confidence in the marketplace--to be passed. And so we would hope that to facilitate that we could pass it through this body in a bipartisan way, which would make it easier for the Senate to facilitate passage and to get that bill to the President because we think it is very important.

So I look forward to working with the gentleman to see whether or not we might overcome the partisan vote that came out and replace that with a bipartisan vote and make some accommodations on both sides to accomplish that objective. I appreciate his being willing to work on that.

Next to last, the Export-Import Bank. I know there is work being done on the Export-Import Bank. I know the gentleman indicated that he thought that this was not ready, at least for passage, but we know that this expires at the end of the year. We are very concerned about the adverse impact it will have.

Will the gentleman give me any information on where he thinks the consideration of that bill may be at this point in time.

I yield to the gentleman.

Again, I do understand that it is not coming up next week, but the reason I mention time is we have so few legislative days left, that we are going to need to plan to address some of these issues that, I think, are going to be very important to our economic growth.

I know the gentleman is very concerned about that. We are very concerned about it on our side, and his Members are very concerned about that. We believe that the Export-Import Bank is an economic growth and an economic confidence-building measure, and we would hope we could address that.

There are also, as the gentleman knows, 41 House Republicans who have signed a letter urging that that be passed and indicating their support of it. We believe every Democrat on this side will vote for that. That is almost 200 people, and with the 41, it clearly makes a majority of this House.

We think it could be passed on this floor, and we think it would have a very positive effect on the economy, so we would urge the gentleman to consider very carefully with his colleagues whether or not we could move forward on that.

Lastly, I would say to the gentleman that we are very concerned about the children who are coming to the border. We are concerned about the process of making sure that this humanitarian crisis is dealt with in a constructive, positive way for the children, but also in a way that gives clear notice that America cannot have borders which are simply open, but must be able to authorize people to come into this country and not have them come in, in an unauthorized fashion.

In that respect, I don't know whether the gentleman had an opportunity to see The Wall Street Journal editorial today, but they made it very clear that one of the problems is that, because the system is broken and because we have not passed comprehensive immigration reform--and the gentleman, of course, based upon where he lives, obviously will probably be one of our more knowledgeable Members on this issue--that people cannot come across the border and then return in a fashion which will provide for work here by them and also for their not only coming here, but then leaving without an expectation they will ever be able to visit or work again--either family members or for the purposes of work.

We continue to believe that the passage of comprehensive immigration reform would be a solution and ameliorate the present crisis that we see at our borders, and we continue to hope that comprehensive immigration reform will also be an item on the agenda.

Although we have 22 days left between now and our October 2 projected adjournment, the expectation, I think, of all of ours is that we will come back in a postelection session--a so-called lame duck session. Either before that, in the next 22 days or in the session after the election, we believe it is critically important to address the immigration issue.

The gentleman and I have had some opportunity to discuss this over the

last number of months, and I know he is very knowledgeable about this issue and sensitive to this issue, and I would hope that we could work together to see whether or not we could put a bipartisan bill on the floor sooner, rather than later.

I yield to my friend.

I thank the gentleman for that response, and I would hope that the supplemental--because it deals with a humanitarian crisis-- would not be a partisan issue. We obviously need to deal with the immediate problem.

I was talking, of course, about the longer-term problem, but I appreciate the gentleman's observation with reference to the supplemental. I am a supporter of that supplemental.

Obviously, the Appropriations Committee needs to review it with respect to the proper levels of funding, but there is no doubt that we, right now, have inadequate resources to deal with the humanitarian crisis that confronts us immediately, and those funds are necessary.

I am pleased that the gentleman brought it up, and I look forward to working with him on it.

Unless the gentleman wants to make further comment, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I want to be clear what this debate is about and what it is not about. It is not a debate about the merits of public charities and private foundations.

All of us support the good works of the charitable community and strive to provide charities and foundations with the resources they need to carry out their mission. Indeed, along with Congressman Gerlach, I am the lead sponsor of the food donation deduction.

I think that highlights that this is a debate not about charities, not about foundations. It is about fiscal responsibility and fiscal priorities.

Today, Republicans have selected to make permanent 10 of the approximately 60 expired tax provisions without a single dime of offset--not a single dime. After today, if this bill passes, the House will have approved $534 billion worth of tax provisions without a single offset, wiping out more than half of the total deficit reduction enacted last year during the bipartisan fiscal deal.

Indeed, this bill is totally inconsistent with the Republican tax reform draft they unveiled in February. And, I might add, if you add up the 14 bills that came out of the Ways and Means Committee, entirely unoffset, it is $825 billion.

I was reading, this morning, the debate which I heard yesterday on a motion to recommit. I was reading this language from Mr. Crenshaw in opposition to the motion to recommit.

This is what he said about how Republicans proceed with budget issues:

We do it just like every American business does, like every

American family. They sit down. They take the money that they

have, and they set priorities. Then they make some tough

choices. That is what we have done.

There is not a single tough choice in what the Republicans are doing. It is, essentially, throwing discretion and tough choices to the wind.

Also let me say that their approach is inconsistent with their own tax reform draft of some months ago. The enhanced deduction for food contributions that the chairman has spoken so eloquently about was expressly repealed in the Republican reform draft, and the rollover provision was allowed to expire. So you have irresponsibility, you have inconsistency, and you also have a violation of priorities, because left to an uncertain fate are important provisions, like the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, the New Markets Tax Credit, and the renewable energy credits, as well as the long-term status of expansions to the EITC and the Child Tax Credit.

This is the Statement of Administration Policy just issued:

The administration supports measures that enhance

nonprofits, philanthropic organizations and faith-based and

other community organizations in their many roles, including

as a safety net for those most in need, an economic engine

for job creation, a tool for environmental conservation that

encourages land protections for current and future

generations, and an incubator of innovation to foster

solutions to some of the Nation's toughest challenges.

The President's budget includes a number of these proposals

that would enhance and simplify charitable giving incentives

for many individuals. However, the administration strongly

opposes the House passage of H.R. 4719, which would

permanently extend three current provisions that offer

enhanced tax breaks for certain donations and add another two

similar provisions without offsetting the cost. If this same

unprecedented approach of making certain traditional tax

extenders permanent without offsets were followed for the

other traditional tax extenders, it would add $500 billion or

more to deficits over the next 10 years, wiping out most of

the deficit reduction achieved through the American Taxpayer

Relief Act of 2013.

Just 2 months ago, House Republicans, themselves, passed a

budget resolution that required offsetting any tax extenders

that were made permanent with other revenue measures. As with

other similar proposals, Republicans are imposing a double

standard by adding to the deficit to continue and create tax

breaks that primarily benefit higher income individuals while

insisting on offsetting the proposed extension of emergency

unemployment benefits and the discretionary funding increases

for defense and non-defense priorities such as research and

development in the bipartisan Budget Act of 2013.

House Republicans are also making clear their priorities by

rushing to make these tax cuts permanent without offsets,

even as the House Republican budget resolution calls for

raising taxes on 26 million working families and students by

letting important improvements to the EITC, to the Child Tax

Credit, and to education tax credits expire.

The administration wants to work with Congress to make

progress on measures that strengthen America's social sector.

However, H.R. 4719 represents the wrong approach. If the

President were presented with H.R. 4719, his senior advisors

would recommend that he veto the bill.

So what in the world are we doing here today? What in the world are we doing? We are passing another bill that deepens the deficit, that is contrary to the rhetoric of the Republicans and is going nowhere in the Senate--zero. It is hard to figure this out, Mr. Speaker. What is motivating Republicans to be so totally inconsistent and irresponsible?

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds.

Mr. Reed, do I care? It is my bill, with Mr. Gerlach, that you have taken and put your name on--my bill. To make it permanent without any offset, with over $500 billion already done, is the wrong way to do the right thing. I care.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson), another member of the committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), another distinguished member of our committee.

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), another distinguished member of our committee.

I yield the gentleman an additional minute.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis), a distinguished member of our committee.

Mr. Speaker, could you tell us how much time remains on each side, please.

I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind), a member of our committee.

I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 45 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I just wonder where the gentleman from Alaska was. I mean PAYGO existed under Democrats. We tried to pay for things, and we did not dismiss out of hand the tax proposal.

The ones who are throwing it to the winds are Republicans. It is the Republicans. You are throwing fiscal responsibility to the winds. You are throwing any kind of prioritization to the winds. You are coming here and just saying, do anything and pay nothing.

Mr. Speaker, how much time is there now on both sides, please?

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this is a severe case of losing the forest for the trees. This is not about the benefits of charity. This is not about the benefits of foundations. It is not about the benefit of conservation easements. This is a dramatic challenge to Republicans in terms of fiscal responsibility and fiscal priorities.

They passed a budget that cuts severely into needed programs, and then they come here and say, let's pass provisions that would add up to close to $1 trillion and not pay one dime.

I don't think anything can be more fiscally irresponsible and hurt the priorities of this country. Maybe they do this because they know it is a dead end in the Senate. So they think somehow they can use this to their political advantage. But it is reckless, and it is to the harm of the Nation, and I think the process is on a bipartisan basis of this institution.

I urge everybody to vote ``no''. There is so much a better path than this reckless one.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.