Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I offer a privileged concurrent resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

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

I want to begin by thanking the gentleman from Maryland for his statement and yielding me the time to present the opening day's rules package for the 111th Congress.

Mr. Speaker, rarely has our great Nation faced such grave challenges. Millions of Americans are without jobs and consequently also without health insurance. Our troops are fighting two wars overseas. And as our economy spirals downward, Americans from coast to coast are struggling to make ends meet.

But there is reason to hope. In fewer than 14 days, a new President will be sworn in. And President-elect Barack Obama, the House Democrats and I, and my Republican friends are committed to rolling up our sleeves and getting to work immediately to solve the critical challenges that face our Nation.

On this day I am honored to address the House at the beginning of the 111th Congress to present the rules package that will govern this body as we work to meet the needs of American families over the next 2 years.

It is the responsibility of the majority to protect and enhance the integrity of the institution, and that is what this rules package does. Through building upon the important rules changes that Democrats implemented during the last Congress, we are keeping our commitment to the American people to restore accountability and honesty to government.

In the 110th Congress, Democrats put forth critical measures to restore transparency to the House. We banned gifts from lobbyists. We prohibited the use of corporate jets. We mandated ethics training for all House employees. We ensured transparency for earmarks by requiring the full disclosure of earmarks in all bills and conference reports. We established an independent Office of Congressional Ethics. And today we are building on our commitment to the American people to further strengthen the integrity of this institution in the 111th Congress.

By closing the loophole that allowed ``lame duck'' Members to negotiate employment contracts in secret, we are opening the doors of Congress and shedding light upon the process. By codifying the additional earmark reforms adopted mid-term in the 110th Congress, coupled with the ongoing rules that required the Members' signatures and their reasons for their requests, we are permanently strengthening earlier comprehensive reforms,

resulting in even further transparency and accountability in the earmark process.

By making commonsense changes to the motion to recommit, we are helping Congress to function more effectively while preserving the minority's legitimate right to present their policy alternatives through offering a motion that amends the bill or a ``straight'' motion that sends the bill back to committee without amendment.

By removing reference to term limits for committee Chairs from this package, we take away what was from the first a political consideration to eliminate that from the official House rules where they don't belong. And by maintaining strong PAYGO rules, we are demonstrating our strong commitment to fiscal discipline.

These important measures make good sense to protect the integrity of this institution and to enable Congress to help America get back on track. Today, we are not only harnessing the belief that we can continue to restore integrity and accountability to Congress, we are also laying down a strong foundation for House action on the grave challenges that face this great Nation.

Mr. Speaker and my friends on both sides of the aisle, the American people know exactly what's at stake over the next few years, which is why they have resoundingly raised their voices for change, and Democrats are listening. We are ready to help put Americans back to work by investing in job creation initiatives, strengthening our economy. We are ready to fix our broken health care system so that every citizen can get quality, affordable health care that they desperately need and are entitled to. We are ready to cultivate a clean energy economy by turning wind into energy, energy investments into innovation, and innovation into good-paying American jobs.

We are ready to begin responsibly withdrawing troops from Iraq, ready to ensure quality education for our young people, ready to continue making the tough choices that the American people elected us to make.

Yet in order for us to begin addressing these pressing challenges, we must ensure that Congress continues to put integrity and accountability at the heart of our daily actions. I can think of no better way to do that than by adopting these amendments to the House rules.

Mr. Speaker, it will be a long and difficult journey to strengthen our economy, to reform the health care system, and create a clean energy future worthy of our children and grandchildren. But the rules package before us today is an important first step, one that will ensure integrity in Congress as we move forward on this pivotal path.

It is time to reinvigorate America. It's time to make history. And let us begin.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this commonsense rules package to allow the House to operate more effectively and productively in solving the challenges facing our great Nation while strengthening our integrity in Congress.

Section-by-Section of Rule Changes--111th Congress

The changes in the standing rules of the House made by

House Resolution 5 include the following:

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the vice chair of the Rules Committee, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).

(Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Castor).

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), the chair of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve my time.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank).

Mr. Speaker, please let me yield myself 1 or 2 minutes. One minute, I think, would be sufficient. I hadn't planned to do this, but I think the Record requires it.

I want to quote from three of our Republican Members for whom I have great affection and an awful lot of respect. The first one, Representative Tom Davis, who is not with us this year, stated the minority's intent to use ``promptly'' motions to kill legislation during debate on a motion to recommit H.R. 1433, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act. And let me quote him: ``Let me just say to my colleagues, I think the gun ban in the District is ridiculous, and would join my colleagues in overturning it. The problem is this motion doesn't do that. Instead of bringing it back to the floor forthwith for a vote and send it to the Senate, it simply sends it back to the committee, essentially killing it.''

Representative Joe Barton of Texas likened motions to recommit promptly to gimmicks during debate on H.R. 3693, the Children's Health Insurance Program: ``I will tell my friends on the majority side, it's not going to be a gimmick. I think it will say forthwith, which means if we adopt it, we vote on it.''

I yield myself 30 seconds.

During the debate on Representative Paul Ryan's motion to recommit on H.R. 5501, the Lantos-Hyde HIV/AIDS Act of 2008, Mr. Ryan acknowledged that ``promptly'' motions are intended to kill bills. ``This recommit motion is not intended to kill the bill. This is a forthwith recommit,'' he said.

I will reserve the balance of my time.

I don't have any further requests for time, or at least not from anybody who is presently on the floor, so I will reserve to close.

I reserve.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve.

I continue to reserve.

Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve.

I continue to reserve.

I am.

Mr. Speaker, without any question, all of us who serve in this House love it. We understand our responsibilities to our constituents as well as to this institution. I want to make it absolutely clear, unequivocally clear, that no intention here today is to in any way impede the minority rights. We will defend them to the death.

But we would have to be Alice in Wonderland, saying that she would be able to believe six impossible things before breakfast, if we gave serious thought for one moment to the possibility that a motion to recommit promptly is anything other than a way to kill a bill.

What we are trying to do here is to expedite the process to get the Obama agenda, which apparently we are in solid agreement on, moved forward because the American people are crying out for it. It must be done. We want to do this fairly. We want to do this equitably. I hope we can do it with minds that meet on all of these subjects, but we must remove some of the gimmicks which have done nothing but subvert the will of the House.

So I am really happy to close with this. I hope that everybody in the House--all of the new Members whom I congratulate, people who have been here for some time and those of us who have been moderately here for a long time--will all, please, get together today. There is nothing in here that hurts anyone. We are simply attempting to move forward the business of the United States of America for which we swore an oath not an hour ago.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.

Motion to Commit

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1533 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only.

I yield myself such time as I may consume and ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1533.

Madam Speaker, H. Res. 1533 waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII, which would require a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the same day it is reported from the Rules Committee. The waiver would apply to any rule reported through the legislative day of December 13, 2008, that provides for consideration or disposition of a measure to authorize financial assistance to eligible automobile manufacturers.

This is not an unusual procedure, particularly at the end of a legislative session. I want to point out that my friends on the other side of the aisle in the 109th Congress reported at least 21 rules that allowed for same-day consideration. In fact, five of those rules waived this requirement against any rule reported from the committee. This rule is for a true emergency. It is for one purpose, and that is to help facilitate the prompt consideration of bipartisan legislation that will prevent the collapse of our domestic auto industry.

I hope Members on both sides of the aisle will support this rule so we can move quickly to address this economic crisis before the end of the year and the end of this Congress.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

May I inquire of my colleague if he has more speakers.

Yes.

I am the last speaker on my side.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Would the gentleman tell me how many speakers he has and what time is he talking about.

We would really like to see this move forward, Mr. Dreier.

Madam Speaker, I yield 5 additional minutes.

I am sorry, Mr. Dreier, but I cannot.

May I ask if the gentleman is prepared to close.

There are no further speakers on our side.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and on the rule.

I yield back the balance of my time, and move the previous question on the resolution.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1534 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume and ask unanimous consent that all Members may be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1534.

Madam Speaker, H. Res. 1354 provides for consideration of H.R. 7321, the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act.

Madam Speaker, once again we find ourselves meeting under dire circumstances: a shaky stock market, the highest unemployment rate in decades, the greatest financial crisis we have seen in generations.

Of all the industries that contribute to our economy, the automobile industry has been hit particularly hard. The steep decline in auto sales emerged this past summer when gas prices rose to record-breaking levels and the deepening economic recession further reduced consumer demand for automobiles. Now sales have fallen to the lowest rate in 25 years.

The global economic crisis has the American auto industry facing an unprecedented liquidity shortfall that threatens their viability. Should this industry continue its stark descent, or in the worst case scenario fail, it would have a devastating effect on our Nation's workforce as well as our overall prospects for economic recovery.

Madam Speaker, the U.S. automobile industry is one of the largest sectors of our economy. Auto companies directly or indirectly support over 4 million American jobs and provide nearly 1 million retirees with pension and health care benefits. In western New York alone, the auto industry supports over 12,000 workers and 13,000 retirees, and the failure of major auto companies could cause generations of auto workers to lose their hard-earned pensions and health care while causing the current livelihood of workers to lose their jobs. It would also threaten the auto suppliers, the dealers, and other related businesses, a domino effect that would certainly cripple our economy. Furthermore, if the auto industry collapses, experts estimate the U.S. trade deficit would grow by over $109 billion or 15.6 percent.

Mr. Speaker, quite simply, America cannot afford to let Detroit fail. The auto industry is the backbone of American manufacturing, and should it unravel, all the government's work towards stabilizing the financial markets would be in vain. It is in our country's best interest, as we work to pull ourselves out of this recession, to ensure that our auto industry remains viable and competitive.

For this reason Democrats have met this administration at the table to work toward a solution to stabilize this industry. The bill before us today is an important bipartisan step in helping to address the crisis that is afflicting not only the auto industry but American families from coast to coast.

Our goal with this loan package is to strengthen and to restructure the auto industry and to ensure viability before the crisis further impacts Main Street. Since talks began, Democrats have fought for key measures to protect the American taxpayers. When the automakers first requested funding, Democrats told them to come back with a plan to show us how they would restructure the industry in order to achieve the viability necessary to repay the loan. The package before us today now includes several key oversight provisions. By making $14 billion available in already appropriated loans, the bill will provide a needed boost to the overall economy.

Mr. Speaker, what happens to the U.S. auto industry affects us all. The three car companies, for example, purchased $156 billion in parts, materials, and services last year. Supporting jobs in all 50 States, the bill preserves the jobs of 355,000 workers in the United States directly employed by auto industry and an additional 4.5 million Americans working in related industries.

The bill contains stringent taxpayer protections, including authorizing our government to take equity stakes in the company through stock warrants

so that taxpayers can benefit if the firms profit and if the value of their shares increases in the future. It contains strong, independent oversight provisions with oversight by both the Government Accountability Office and the Inspector General overseeing the TARP financial rescue funds. It prohibits carmakers receiving loans from owning or leasing corporate jets, and it prohibits senior executives from receiving bonuses or ``golden parachute'' severance packages.

The bill requires the companies to restructure or repay the loans. To ensure the companies restructure to achieve viability, increase fuel efficiency, and reduce emissions, the car czar can require immediate repayment of the loan if the company has not made adequate progress by February 15 in developing a long-term restructuring plan. Companies will not get Federal assistance if they fail to submit an acceptable restructuring plan by March 31.

Importantly, the bill requires shared sacrifice. Auto executives, employees, labor unions, dealers, suppliers, creditors, and shareholders should and will all participate in the restructuring efforts.

The end result will be a vibrant and competitive U.S. auto industry that pursues the aggressive production of energy-efficient advanced technology vehicles and thrives in the 21st century global marketplace.

By insisting on transparency and accountability, Congress is ensuring that the auto industry is held accountable for this loan and that American taxpayers will get their money back.

We are grateful also for the work of Congresswoman Sutton of Ohio and Congressman LaTourette from Ohio, who has presented a good amendment pertaining to transparency to go along with this bill.

Mr. Speaker, we have an obligation to take action today, not to simply save the automobile industry but to protect the millions of hardworking men and women across America whose jobs depend on it. We have a responsibility to take action for the line worker in Detroit who works hard every day just to put food on the table for his family or her family. We have a responsibility to the retiree who depends on the pension she earned or he earned through decades of hard work and now relies on it to survive. We have a responsibility to countless American families across this great Nation whose livelihoods depend on the auto industry whether they realize it or not. And unless we act, the well- being of millions will be on the line. From plants to parks, dealerships to driveways, and gas stations to grocery stores, what happens in the automotive industry impacts us all.

Mr. Speaker, we face some daunting challenges on our path to economic recovery, but this is a necessary step to build a brighter tomorrow. We know all too well the consequences of failure, which is why it's critical that we pass this package to help get U.S. auto manufacturers back on their feet so they can be competitive and viable in the years ahead. Revitalizing American automakers is not only essential to our economic and national security, it is vital to our fragile economy. And that is why the Democrat-led Congress is doing everything possible to ensure America keeps working and that government keeps working for America.

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

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts, the chairman of the Financial Services Committee, who has worked extremely hard on this bill, Mr. Frank.

I yield the gentleman 1\1/2\ additional minutes.

Let me take 30 seconds, please, Mr. Speaker, to explain this is Mr. LaTourette's amendment. Mr. LaTourette brought it up. I mentioned Ms. Sutton's name. She is Mr. LaTourette's neighbor and his friend, and she talked to the Democrats about it to make Mr. LaTourette in order.

I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

(Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I will be happy to yield the gentleman an additional minute.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes of that time to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

I am pleased to give the gentleman another minute.

I reserve my time, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire from my colleague how many other speakers he has?

Two, I believe. And I will yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

I yield the gentleman 1\1/2\ minutes.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve.

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

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

Like you, Mr. Dreier, I don't know. People come and go.

One moment, please, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, I am. I will close, but not yet.

Yes.

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

Mr. Dreier, I do have one more speaker. I don't know if you want to take the closing back.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

(Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I want to urge everybody to vote ``yes.'' I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize and laud Dana Gioia's service as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Since 2003 when he began his service, Chairman Gioia has played a vital role in advancing America's cultural vitality and economic prosperity by promoting and expanding access to the arts. As a co-Chair of the Congressional Arts Caucus, I am grateful for Chairman Gioia's efforts and look forward to his future contributions to the arts in America after he leaves the NEA in January 2009.

Chairman Gioia has launched a handful of national initiatives that have spread the reach of the NEA across the country and expanded arts education in schools and communities. One favorite program of mine, The Big Read, provides citizens with the opportunity to read and discuss a single book within their communities. The initiative includes innovative reading programs in selected cities and towns, comprehensive resources for discussing classic literature, an ambitious national publicity campaign, and an extensive Web site providing comprehensive information on authors and their works. The NEA inaugurated The Big Read as a pilot project in 2006 with ten communities featuring four books. The Big Read continues to expand to include more communities and additional books. By 2009, approximately 400 communities in the U.S. will have hosted a Big Read since the program's 2007 national launch.

Chairman Gioia has democratized the arts. Last year, the NEA awarded over twenty-two hundred grants totaling over $100 million in 435 congressional districts. The National Endowment for the Arts is the largest national source of arts funding in the United States and supports local arts programs in every congressional district across the country. While the NEA's budget represents less than one percent of total arts philanthropy in the United States, Chairman Gioia has successfully leveraged NEA grants to have a powerful multiplying effect, with each grant dollar typically generating seven to eight times more money in matching grants.

Chairman Gioia is a Renaissance Man. As an artist himself, he recognizes that the arts are more than just a cultural or emotional enterprise. With his background in business, he knows that the arts have immense financial and social impact. Creativity, innovation, and imagination fuel today's global economy, and America's artists are a large source of that investment. Chairman Gioia led the NEA with this always in mind. When Chairman Gioia visited my congressional district, he brought not only great enthusiasm and energy to all of the arts organizations he toured, but imparted valuable guidance and advice to these organizations on how to increase their membership, spur local investment in the arts, and expand their presence in the community.

As a blues singer myself, I can empathize with Chairman Gioia's decision to return to his artistic craft. But despite his departure from the NEA, Chairman Gioia will continue to enrich the arts community. Art transcends barriers of language, time, and generation, translating cultural differences, breathing life into history, and bridging experiences across cultures. Chairman Gioia's exceptional writing and poetry no doubt enrich the lives of all Americans. Chairman Gioia will leave big shoes to fill, but I am confident that his leadership has trickled down in the NEA over the years. The NEA will continue to drive excellence in the arts with his spirit always in mind.

Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1525 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1525.

Madam Speaker, H. Res. 1525 provides for the consideration of the Senate amendments to the bill H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The rule will allow the House to concur in the Senate amendments to this bill and vote on the text of the bill that was adopted in the Senate.

Madam Speaker, today, this body meets under dire circumstances as our great Nation stands on the precipice of the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. Our stock market is fluctuating at an alarming rate, and our unemployment rate is soaring. Many of our financial institutions, some of which were deemed too big to fail, have failed or are close to collapse. Credit, even for the most creditworthy, is hard to come by. Our once robust and booming economy is on the brink of disaster, and that is why we have this bill before us today.

Like so many Americans, I have absolutely no interest in bailing out any fat cat executives on Wall Street. I stand firm in my belief and in solidarity with the American people when I say that corporate greed should never be rewarded, but the crisis we're facing today is much bigger than the corporate greed. It's bigger than Wall Street. It reaches beyond the Wall Street titans and directly into the lives of hardworking, middle class Americans.

Our savings--retirement savings, college savings for our children and investments in our future--are all at risk if this industry fails. The financial crisis threatens our ability to get a loan even if we have outstanding credit. The crisis threatens our jobs.

Without decisive action, most experts believe that our economic situation will only grow worse. Credit markets will freeze, and Main Street and all of America will suffer. Families living paycheck to paycheck will see their credit card limits slashed and their interest rates increased. Families won't be able to take out basic home and car loans, and employers may not be able to make their payrolls.

Take, for example, earlier this week when the body failed to pass a previous version of this rescue bill, and the country watched in horror as the Dow Jones plummeted more than 750 points. That dive, that single day in the stock market, cost our economy over $1 trillion, but when the stock market crashed, the majority of the $1 trillion that was lost did not belong to Wall Street giants. It came from the pensions of people who have retired or from people who have frugally worked for their entire lifetimes to save a few dollars for their families' futures.

It is for this reason that Congress must intervene. The bill before us is intended to rescue Main Street. By rescuing the financial institutions, we rescue the jobs, the savings and the ability to get a loan for each hardworking American. However, as we go ahead with this bill, we must be mindful of the road that led us to this crisis. After all, if we don't know what went wrong, how can we make sure it will not happen again in the future?

Like so many Americans, I am deeply disappointed by the Bush administration's reckless deregulation policies that wrecked our once booming economy. This President put incompetent people in charge of the Nation's most critical regulatory agencies. Transparency was lost. Business was allowed to regulate itself, and the total deregulation of the financial services industry ensued.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Cox just recently noted ``voluntary regulation does not work.'' I'll say it doesn't. Looking back in history, we saw that, when deregulation occurred in the last century, it led to bread lines and to Hoovervilles.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt, well acquainted with the havoc wreaked by deregulation, said, ``We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals. We now know that it is bad economics as well.''

President Roosevelt led our Nation through that crisis by regulating the financial industry. However, deregulation proponents have removed FDR's regulations because, for them, big business comes first and knows everything.

That is why, when the administration handed Congress an ultimatum for a $700 billion blank check which lacked the very accountability and transparency that contributed to the problem, Democrat leaders said absolutely not. Over the past 2 weeks, we have insisted that the original rescue package proposed by President Bush and by Secretary Paulson be changed dramatically. As Democrat leaders negotiated plans to rescue the economy, we fought tooth and nail to make sure that any proposal included expanded oversight, transparency and an assurance that taxpayers will be reimbursed in full. That is what the proposal in front of us does today.

We have a three-part plan to reinvest, to reimburse and to reform. We will rescue the troubled credit and financial markets to stabilize and to reinvest in our economy, to insulate hardworking Americans, to reimburse the taxpayers for every dime, and to reform how business is done on Wall Street.

With this bill, we are standing up for all Americans by ensuring that there will be no help for Wall Street without help for Main Street. We are standing up for taxpayers by requiring strong, independent oversight, transparency and accountability for the money spent.

Even the General Accounting Office will be moving into the Treasury Department.

We are standing up for the working Americans by limiting excessive compensation for CEOs. We are standing up for homeowners, basically the crux of what happened here, by requiring the government to steer mortgages in danger of foreclosure to loan workout programs to prevent the foreclosures that are driving down home values all across the country. We are insuring more of the hard-earned money saved by families and by small businesses across America by upping the Federal protection of bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000.

I am proud to say that three House committees will begin oversight hearings very shortly. In January, with a new Congress and with a new President, we will be ready to reinstate the regulations so cavalierly removed by an administration which believed that the financial industry could regulate itself, leading us to the dire consequences we face today.

Taxpayers should know that we push to ensure that the government receives shares of any company it provides with aid, and after agreeing to rescue AIG from filing for bankruptcy, the government received nearly an 80 percent share in the company. The action was reassuring enough to the market that people are now clamoring to buy AIG assets.

By making sure the government gets shares of companies we aid, we are working to revitalize this industry in a way that will benefit the taxpayers who are funding this rescue. By doing so, the New Direction Congress is standing up for swift action to ensure a more sound economic future for all Americans. We are absolutely committed to doing everything possible to ensure that America keeps working and that government is also working for America.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts and a member of the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Solis).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hare).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. DeFazio).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. McCarthy).

Madam Speaker, may I inquire of my colleague if he has further speakers?

I have.

Madam Speaker, we have found ourselves again at a junction where we have found ourselves many times in these last few years, at the mercy of the Senate. We have the bill that they passed; and, unfortunately, if we were to open it again, we would probably be here for another 2 years trying to do this bill, because I think both sides have many issues that they would have preferred to see here. But nonetheless, we understand the emergency that we are under, what it is that we have to do.

I take great comfort and want to say again that three of the major committees having oversight over financial services will begin very shortly to have hearings not only to determine why we are in this position, but what we can best do in January in the new session to remedy it and make sure that it never happens again.

We are expecting very quick action from those three committees. We wish them well. And we want the Nation to know that we are not just leaving town and letting that go, but we will be working on this throughout the rest of this time.

With that, I want to urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Madam Speaker, I was unavoidably detained and missed rollcall vote 683. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall 683.

Madam Speaker, today I am proud to introduce the Fairness and Accountability in Defense Contracting Act. This bill will provide much needed transparency to the growing defense contracting industry, and help shine light on any conflict of interest between Pentagon contracting officials, as well as any perceived ``revolving door'' between the Pentagon procurement offices and private defense contractors.

As our military conflict and commitments have increased overseas since 2003, the Department of Defense has increasingly relied on private contractors to supply goods and services to support our armed forces. In January, 2007, the Acquisition Advisory Panel issued a report to the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the United States Congress on the procurement policies of the Federal Government. In this report, the advisory panel devoted an entire chapter to evaluating the appropriate role of contractors in supporting the Government, and found that the potential for conflicts of interest ``has increased significantly in recent years'' as the traditional lines between public and private functions are continually blurred.

In July of this year, the Project on Government Oversight sent a letter to the General Services Administration and stated that a revolving door now exists between public and private sectors that has ``become such an accepted part of Federal contracting in recent years that it is frequently difficult to determine where the Government stops and the private sector begins.'' The conflict of interest that results from this ``revolving door'' between private contractors and Government contracting offices can create serious conflicts of interest that may result in an environment of favoritism and profiteering that will only serve to misuse Federal tax dollars and betray the public's trust.

While a revolving door culture would be disturbing in any instance where public funds are used, it is particularly heinous during a time

when our country is at war and the lives of our men and women in the armed services depend on the equipment that is supplied to them by our procurement offices. Unfortunately, and to my complete dismay, there have been far too many instances over the past decade where the Pentagon's procurement policies have sold our soldiers short.

In January of 2006 it was revealed by the New York Times that an internal Pentagon memo reported that 80 percent of the Marines killed in Iraq due to upper body wounds could have survived if they had extra body armor. This troubling news followed earlier revelations that our troops went into Iraq without enough bulletproof vests and armored vehicles necessary to safeguard their lives. In light of these reports I requested that the Department of Defense Inspector General conduct an investigation into the Pentagon's body armor procurement policies. The Inspector General's initial findings, while incomplete, uncovered a troubling trend: 13 of the Army's 28 body armor contracts between January, 2004, and December, 2006, did not either require, perform, or have documentation to support proper first article testing as required by Federal Acquisition Requirements. While I am waiting for the Inspector General to complete a more thorough audit of the overall body armor procurement policy, these initial results should spark the desire for greater contracting oversight in any civic minded person.

In addition to the DoD IG's findings on body armor, there have been numerous recent public cases where the Pentagon's procurement policies have failed our troops. Earlier this year it was revealed that in 2007, the Army awarded a contract worth over $200 million to two 22 year old boys to supply ammunition to Afghan troops. Appallingly, this ammunition was found to be from the Cold War era and completely inadequate for the Army's needs. Additionally, the botched contract award by the Air Force for KC-135 tankers, which was, challenged, reviewed by GAO, and ultimately reopened, received even greater public scrutiny. And perhaps most damning is the recent GAO report that the Pentagon has wasted about $300 billion in defense spending.

These public examples show a disturbing trend of the failure of Pentagon procurement policy. They also suggest that an increasingly blurred line between the public and private sectors as identified by the Advisory Panel, as well as the perceived ``revolving door'' between contracting offices and private contractors, have consistently undermined the public's best interest.

This legislation will fight the revolving door between Pentagon contracting offices and private defense contractors by strengthening the transparency and reporting requirements for private contractors bidding on and receiving defense contracts. The Fairness and Accountability in Defense Contracting Act will require contractors who are bidding on contracts to disclose any Defense Department employment history of its employees. This legislation will also require that contractors submit a yearly report, for each year that a contract is in effect, which discloses this Defense Department employment history. The Department of Defense will also be required to submit a report to congressional defense committees that details the employment information reported by the contractor as required by this Act. And finally, this legislation will direct the GAO to submit a report to Congress on the implementation and enforcement of rules governing future employment negotiations of contracting officials.

These measures will provide the transparency necessary to ensure that conflicts of interest with the Defense contracting offices, and a perceived revolving door to the private sector, are not undermining the public trust and selling the American taxpayers short. Most importantly, this legislation is necessary to ensure that defense contracting policies serve to provide the best possible equipment for our men and women in uniform at the best possible value to the taxpayer.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1514 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For the purposes of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1514.

Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 1514 waives clause 6(a) of rule XIII which requires a two-thirds vote to consider a rule on the same day it is reported from the Rules Committee. This waiver would apply to any rule reported on the legislative days of Sunday, September 28, and Monday, September 29, 2008.

Waiving the same day is not an uncommon procedure. It has been used routinely by the majority party, both Republicans and Democrats, as an important tool to help expedite important legislation, particularly at the end of a legislative session.

It is not as common to have a same day rule that covers any measure reported by the Rules Committee. This is the only time in this Congress that this Rules Committee has reported such a measure. All of the previous same day rules have applied to only those specific measures contained in the rule.

However, in the 109th Congress, when my good friend, the gentleman from California, was chairman of the Rules Committee, there were five rules reported from the committee that did what this rule does this evening.

I want to emphasize to my colleagues that adoption of this rule does not provide for passage of any other rule or any other bill on its own. Any measure brought before this House pursuant to this rule must pass by a majority vote, just like any other measure considered under regular order.

What it does do is to allow the House to consider important legislation in a timely fashion. Hopefully, the legislation to help address our Nation's looming financial crisis will be ready for consideration soon. It is very important that this package is considered and adopted by the House as soon as possible. This rule is an important part of the process to make that happen.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire of my colleague whether he has any further speakers?

I have no speakers, and we would be happy to have you close.

Mr. Speaker, for the purposes of the record only, I will state why the majority has not taken the Senate bill, which as my colleague pointed out passed rather handily in the Senate.

The Senate bill is not paid for. It is the purpose of this majority and has been for the 2 years we've been in the majority to pay for measures that we enact.

I will.

I will reclaim my time, and I will urge everyone to vote ``yes'' on the previous question and ``yes'' on this rule so that we can get on with this important business of the House. As my colleague correctly points out, we have much, much work to do.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1517 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

For the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to my friend from California (Mr. Dreier). All time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. I yield myself such time as I may consume. I also ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1517.

Mr. Speaker, I am saddened to say that rarely has this body met under more dire circumstances. Our stock market is a roller coaster and the unemployment rate has soared. Many of our financial institutions, some of which were deemed ``too big to fail'' are on the brink of collapse. Our economy, the biggest and most robust in the world, is at a standstill.

This is the greatest financial crisis since Herbert Hoover's administration's lack of oversight led our Nation into the Great Depression.

We cannot steer ourselves through this crisis until we fully understand the road that we took to get here. After all, if we do not know what went wrong, how can we be sure to get it right in the future?

Like so many Americans and Members of the New Direction Congress, I am deeply disappointed by this administration's reckless deregulation that wrecked our once-booming economy.

Since the beginning of his first administration, President Bush has put incompetent people in charge of the Nation's most critical regulatory agencies; but because of this administration, big business always came first.

A complete loss of transparency and a reliance on voluntary measures led to the total deregulation of the financial services industry. Yet as SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said this week, ``The last 6 months have made it abundantly clear that voluntary regulation does not work.''

He went on to say the program was ``fundamentally flawed from the beginning, because investment banks could

opt in or opt out of supervision voluntarily. The fact that investment bank holding companies could withdraw from this voluntary supervision at their discretion ``diminished the perceived mandate'' and ``weakened its effectiveness.''

As President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, ``We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals. We now know that it is bad economics as well.''

This administration should have heeded Roosevelt's advice and followed his path to economic recovery by reinstituting important regulations on Wall Street. It is shocking and shameful that it took this catastrophe to show the administration that big business cannot be expected to regulate itself in good conscience.

A recent survey by the University of Michigan found that 9 in 10 Americans feel that the economy is in a recession. It took a crisis of this magnitude to teach this administration what the American people clearly knew. And every day that Americans see the financial sector falter, they lose confidence in our economy. With many of the country's major financial institutions declaring bankruptcy or on the verge of declaring bankruptcy, we no longer have a choice on whether to offer a rescue package. The alternative, we've been told, is pure disaster.

Financial failures help no one and put the savings of every family in jeopardy. Our jobs, our retirement savings, our college savings accounts for our children's future, our investments in our own future are at risk due to the failure of this industry.

I have heard from hundreds of my constituents who are enraged at the lack of oversight that caused this mess. Congress is going ahead with this intervention because we've been warned that without it, Main Street could feel as much pain as Wall Street.

When deregulation happened in the last century, it led to bread lines and Hoovervilles. Today, the New Direction Congress is working to shield Main Street from all of that and to lead us out of this mess to a brighter and more prosperous future.

As FDR said, ``There are many ways of going forward, but only one way of standing still.'' And after much deliberation, we are moving forward with a bill that we hope will benefit all Americans. We believe and hope that this legislation can begin to stabilize our markets and start recovering consumer confidence.

One week ago, we were handed an ultimatum for a blank check of $700 billion which lacked the very accountability and transparency--let me repeat that because this is so important--that demand for the bailout lacked the very accountability and transparency that contributed to the problem in the first place. And many safeguards, I'm happy to say, have been added to this bill since that time.

We've worked hard to ensure that this package benefits consumers and homeowners more than it does the people who caused the crisis. We vowed that any bill that we passed would include serious oversight and transparency of any funds provided to the Secretary of the Treasury, and that's exactly what this proposal does.

As the Speaker said, we have a three-part plan to reinvest, reimburse, and to reform.

We will first rescue the troubled credit and financial markets to stabilize and to reinvest in our economy and insulate hardworking Americans; second, we will reimburse the taxpayer for every dime as the plan begins to work; and third, we will reform how business is done on Wall Street with no more golden parachutes for CEOs, trimmed executive compensation, and sweeping congressional investigation and regulations to prevent future abuses.

By passing this bill, we're standing up for all Americans by ensuring that there will be no help for Wall Street without this help for Main Street. We're standing up for taxpayers by ensuring that this is not a blank check, and we are standing up for homeowners by taking actions to prevent foreclosures that are driving down home values across America.

To help Americans keep their homes, this bill will allow the government to help modify loans by reducing the principal, the interest rate, or by increasing their window of time to pay back the loan.

Although the administration's initial proposal called for no congressional or agency oversight, Democrats will require an appointed oversight panel to frequently report to the Congress--monthly--on what the Secretary of the Treasury is doing.

In addition, Democrats insisted that the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office, the GAO, will have an office inside the Department of Treasury to handle the funds. This will help to ensure any money spent is done in a way that is responsible to the American people.

We are committed to using as little taxpayer money as is absolutely necessary, and we are set on recovering every cent.

Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman will begin his oversight hearings next Wednesday. And in January with a new Congress and a new President, we will be ready to reinstate the regulations so cavalierly removed by the administration which believed that the financial industry could regulate itself--and it has with very dire results.

Finally, Democrats pushed to ensure that the government receives shares of any company that it provides with aid. After agreeing to rescue AIG from filing for bankruptcy, the government received a nearly 80 percent share in that company. The action was reassuring enough to the market that people are now clamoring to buy the AIG assets. By making sure the government gets shares of companies that we aid, Democrats are working to revitalize this industry in a way that will benefit the taxpayers who are funding this rescue until the industry recovers; and by doing so, the New Direction Congress is standing up for swift action to ensure a more sound economic future for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, we saw what happens when an administration deregulates industry to a point where insecure companies are expected to police themselves. And that is why this Democrat-led Congress is doing everything possible to ensure that America keeps working and that the government is working for America.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman an additional 10 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

I yield an additional 20 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kucinich).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman).

May I inquire from my colleague if he has any further speakers.

Let me first give Mr. Sherman 30 seconds to respond.

Yes, I am.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question and a ``yes'' vote on the rule.

I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 1 o'clock and 3 minutes a.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until today, Monday, September 29, 2008, at 8 a.m.

Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to support HR 6669, a bill that will waive and relinquish claims by the United States to certain documents relating to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This legislation would allow the transfer of the Tully/Suckley papers from the Sun Times Media to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library. These papers shed a great deal of light on the FDR era and are the largest collection of FDR documents and memorabilia in private hands.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt started his political career in New York State by working vigorously for reform movements that would redefine the role of government, and he never stopped. The programs that epitomized the New Deal had their genesis in Albany. As governor, Roosevelt implemented many of the innovative, progressive policies he would later introduce to the Nation as President. He expanded state assistance to social services and state agencies and eased the hardships on New York's agricultural industry by encouraging tax cuts for small farmers. Upon the onset of the Great Depression, he authorized the New York State Unemployment Relief Act and the Temporary Emergency Relief Administration.

In 1928, Roosevelt won the Democratic nomination for Governor at the Naval Armory in my home city of Rochester, New York. While serving as Governor, his successes elevated him to national prominence, and in 1932, he was elected President of the United States for the first of an unprecedented--and never to be repeated--four terms in office.

Franklin Roosevelt embraced the unique capabilities of every individual and worked tirelessly to ensure that all Americans would be able to earn a living and build this great Nation. As a result of initiatives like the PWA, the

WPA, and the CCC, the unemployed got jobs, people were able to support their families, and this Nation was able to grow and prosper. I hope that, as public servants, my colleagues will join me in following in his example by supporting honest policies that work to better the lives of American people.

Franklin Roosevelt had great regard for public service, and served with a sense of responsibility and honor. His respect for the American people and the value he placed on their well-being and security drove everything he did. President Roosevelt came to embody strength, hope and resolve during some of the most difficult days in our Nation's history. From the economic distress of the Great Depression to the horrifying attack on Pearl Harbor that caused the Nation to enter World War II, Roosevelt's steadfast leadership ignited an economic engine and calmed a frightened nation.

The legacy of his policies will certainly outlast my lifetime and will continue to benefit my children and grandchildren for years to come. We owe him an unpayable debt of gratitude. And while only those closest to him realized that he couldn't walk unaided, as former Governor of New York, Mario Cuomo said, ``Franklin Roosevelt lifted himself from his wheelchair to lift this nation from its knees.''

Today more than ever, we can learn from Franklin Roosevelt's leadership. There is no better way to do this than to study his past. By allowing the transfer of these documents, it will open up the life of Franklin Roosevelt for everyone to enjoy. With the economic distress that our nation is facing today, we would do well to follow President Roosevelt's example. There is little doubt this nation could use some lifting up right about now.

This bill makes sense, is non-controversial, and is for the good of the United States. Please support this legislation that would allow this transfer to the FDR Library. It would shed light on one of the most important Presidents of the 20th Century and greatly consolidate the legacy of the Roosevelt era. I am honored to rise today and support this legislation and encourage my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act and urge its passage.

Breast cancer is so pervasive it touches every American family. One in eight women can expect to be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime, and it remains the number one cause of death in women between the ages of 30 and 54. In my congressional district there are almost 1,500 incidences of breast cancer and nearly 300 women die ftom this disease every year.

Breast cancer surgery is not easy, physically or emotionally--but all too often women find themselves forced by their insurance companies to leave the hospital before they are ready--sometimes just hours after surgery.

One woman ftom New York said: ``I was one of those women that was forced out of the hospital after having a double bilateral mastectomy with four drainage tubes still attached. It was the most barbaric thing ever done to me.''

Rushing a woman through a hospital stay and pressuring her to return to her normal life almost immediately, hampers her recovery at the least and may put her in grave danger. That is why it is imperative that we pass the Breast Cancer Patient Protection Act.

This bill would help ensure that patients have adequate support after breast cancer surgery by: Guaranteeing a minimum hospital stay of 48 hours for a woman having a mastectomy or lumpectomy, and 24 hours for a woman undergoing a lymph node removal; requiring health plans to include notice of these benefits in their monthly mailing and yearly information packet sent to plan participants; and requiring plans to cover a second opinion should the patient seek one.

We must also support research into better breast cancer detection methods. Mammographies miss too many women and cannot suffice as our gold standard.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer across this country deserve the best care possible--their lives depend on it.