House Proceeding on Mar 19th, 2009 :: 0:00:00 to 0:20:00
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Daniel Coughlin: u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker: the house will be in o the prayer w ch chaplain coughlin: lord god, father of all, your prove dention care for our nation and your well-timed during singular events in our individual lives have revealed your constant and personal

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Speech By: Daniel Coughlin

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Daniel Coughlin: love. even before we were born, you prepared the way for us with well-chosen people who knew our need. to this very day, a single voice can speak wisdom over the dim of a crowd. people tell us their dreams and inspire us in our daily efforts.

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Daniel Coughlin: someone asks the right question at exactly the right moment and occasions the answer needed but until then hidened. history has shown us, lord, wars cree heroes in our midst. the struggle for civil rights and to put an end for suffering has quality forth leadership

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Daniel Coughlin: when most needed. lord, you continue to fashion and allenge us until we reach our full potential which you have placed within us. therefore, we are confident in our present difficulties you have placed in position those who know what we need and who

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Daniel Coughlin: will guide us and protect us.

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Nancy Pelosi: may your truth and your love be realized in us today and last forever. amever. -- amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will

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Speech By: Nancy Pelosi

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Nancy Pelosi: be led by the gentleman from pennsylvania, congressman pitts. pitts pitts -- mr. pitts: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and

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Nancy Pelosi: justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to five requests for one minutes on each side of

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the aisle. the gentleman from pennsylvania. without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker, i rise today to bring attention to an up caring and activism. tomorrow, march 20, would have

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Michael F. Doyle: been fred rogers' 81st birthday. it also marks the second annual won't you be my neighbor day, a day of furthering the efforts of pittsburgh native fred rogers, known to many as mr. rogers from the long-time running tv show "mr. rogers' neighborhood."

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Speech By: Michael F. Doyle

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Michael F. Doyle: he nurturing the development of self-rounded and caring young people. families incorporated the nonprofit organization founded by fred in 1971 as asking all americans to put on their favorite sweater tomorrow and undertake some act of neighborliness or caring. anything from striking up a friendly conversation with your neighbor to helping out your neighborhood.

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Michael F. Doyle: so long as it helps create closer communities and exemplifies what it means to be a good neighbor. i hope my colleagues and people

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Dennis R. Rehberg: across the country will join me in honoring fred remarkable life work by representing won't you be my neighbor day tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? mr. reichert: to address the

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Speech By: Dennis R. Rehberg

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Dennis R. Rehberg: house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. rehberg: the consumer commission has a off-road block for all-terrain vehicles. a.t.v.'s have been forcing a.t.v. and motorcycle dealers to remove their

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Dennis R. Rehberg: products from their showrooms and now couldn't be a worse time. as many of these dealers are trying to stay afloat through the slow economic times. i've introduced legislation to fix this problem. we all want to ensure the

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Gabrielle Giffords: safety of our kids. but let's put our efforts into protecting them from real threats, not bureaucratic bungaling. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from arizona rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for

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Speech By: Gabrielle Giffords

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Gabrielle Giffords: one minute. ms. giffords: the final platform of solar panels that will have laboratories. as the new chair of the space aviation subcommittee, i'm delighted by the space solar alliance that will allow technological development. the panels being installed 220

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Gabrielle Giffords: miles above us have the wing span of a 747 that contains 2,000 panels. recently first solar announced solar cells that will be less than $1 per watt. global solar, another arizona condition, creates solar cells that can be into police gear.

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Gabrielle Giffords: what started as an expensive technogy is now a mass produced product. solar was absolutely vital to america's success to explore the heavens. today it is playing a vital role in tackling a task, america's energy independence. the speaker pro tempore: the

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Gabrielle Giffords: chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a

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the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate hasassed without amendment h.r. 1512, an act cited as the federal aviation administration extension act of 2009. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. pitts: to address the house

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Joseph R. Pitts: for one minute the speaker pro tempore: without objection. excuse me. the clerk will read. provide for temporary extension of programs under the small business act of 1958 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may proceed. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, house republicans share the outrage the american people that

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Speech By: Joseph R. Pitts

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Joseph R. Pitts: a.i.g. would use taxpayer dollars to award executive bonuses dung this economic crisis. but we believe the american people deserve 100% of their money back, not 90%. the american people deserve to know that this whole outrage could have been avoided. one authored an amendment banning executive bonuses and that amendment was stripped

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Joseph R. Pitts: from the stimulus bill. senator dodd took responsibility. but he told cnn that the administration, quote, had a problem with the amendment, end quote. the bill on the floor today to have a 90% tax on a.i.g. employees is something to divert the truth that democrats in congress and this administration made these bonus

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Joseph R. Pitts: payments possible in the first place. house republicans have legislation that would ensure that 100% of these bonuses are returned to taxpayers. but they bl receiving a vote today. the american people have a right to get 100% of their money back and mr. gthner should resign. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back.

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Joseph R. Pitts: for what purpos gent mr. welch: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. welch: thank you, mr. 164 years ago brave texans and brave vermonters fought on a historical battlefield in the

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Peter Welch: battle of the wilderness. 165,000 troops amassed there, including vermonters from the first brigade. 1,200 from vermont's ranks died. among them was daniel lily, a teacher in vermont, and his funeral is still today remembered as the largest funeral in the history of that town. another, ed holden, fought and survived but saw his brother

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Speech By: Peter Welch

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Peter Welch: with his head shot off die on the battlefield. today, a different battle is taking place on that hallowed ground. it's a conflict between a great american corporation, wal-mart, battlefield, the wilderness. and my friend from texas and i are joined together to ask wal-mart to do the right thing

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Peter Welch: and not build its facility, 140,000-foot facility on that battlefield where troops were

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Ted Poe: mass the question for us is whether we can honor the fallen that is, as my friend will tell you, is just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempor

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Speech By: Ted Poe

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Ted Poe: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. poe: mr. speaker, i appreciate the historical comments my friend from vermont has said regarding union troops from his home state. the battle of the wilderness took place in 1864 on the second day of the three-day ttle with a statement by general lee, texans always move them, the texas brigade successfully forced back grant's union troops.

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Ted Poe: however, the texans sustained 60% casualties. there were 165,000 troops, union and confed rate, in this battle of the wilderness. that's the number of troops we have in afghanistan and iraq put together on one battlefield. there were 29,000 casualties. the fighting was so fierce in

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Ted Poe: the dense woods it caught fire and hundreds of wounded onoth sides burned to death. and they are -- and their graves are only known by god. mr. speaker, all those troops, from the north and the south,

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mr. speaker, here is the battlefield. it's outlined in this black line. on this hallowed ground right here you can see this x is where wal-mart wants to build one of their beautiful stores. there are other locations available for wal-mart. so we from the north and the south in a bipartisan way want wal-mart to build someplace

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Stephen Cohen: else. and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee rise? mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. democrats and republicans may disagree on things and people in my city of memphis may disagree on things over the years.

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Speech By: Stephen Cohen

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Stephen Cohen: but one thing that brings us together is march madness, the ncaa tournament, which tips off this morning. in my tournament will be my home team, the university of memphis tigers. they have the longest winning streak in the country, 25 games, and they have the coach of the year. we have a great team that came just inches away from winning the national championship last year. we were seeded number two this

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Stephen Cohen: year rather than number one where we should have been, but this is the opportunity to show who deserves to be seeded

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Michelle Marie Bachmann: number one. and the university of memphis tigers that bring my community together and do something that basketball and sports can do for this country in bringing us together in difficult times and give us a pastime will do so well and our city will cheer for them and see that they do well. president obama has picked them to make the final four. he was correct. he picked them to lose to louisville. he was wrong.

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Speech By: Michelle Marie Bachmann

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Michelle Marie Bachmann: we will do well. go, tigers. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from minnesota rise? mrs. bachmann: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. bachmann: now today we understand that the obama administration's stimulus bill,

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Michelle Marie Bachmann: the trillion dollar stimulus bill was also the a.i.g. bonus protection plan because we understand now today that language is contained within the stimulus bill that would ensure that the a.i.g. bonuses would stay with the executives who receive them. outraged. we are outraged as well. but who knew about these bonuses, when did they know about it? cbs news has reported the obama administration has known for

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Michelle Marie Bachmann: weeks about these bonuses. senator chris dodd also said he knew about these bonuses. put the amendment into place but says it wasn't his language, it was the administration's language. this is a scandal that's brewing in washington. we need to have answers. the american people need

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answers. this is their money that's being spent for these failing businesss. it's time that the american people know what the real truth is. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in outrage also

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Dina Titus: over the recent news that a.i.g. paid out over $165 million to executives. some of whom are no longer with the company. every day in southern nevada families face tough decisions about their economic futures. can they afford to stay in their home? are they going to be able to provide for their children's future? i find it insulting that the

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Speech By: Dina Titus

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Dina Titus: c.e.o. of a.i.g. said that his decision to give out these bonuses was difficult. difficult is trying to figure out how to keep a roof over your head when you have lost your job. difficult is providing for your children when your hours at work have been cut back. difficult is not deciding if you're going to dole out hundreds of millions of dollars

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Dina Titus: to irresponsib wall street executives. so i would urge cgress and the

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Ted Poe: administration to act quickly recoup the taxpayers' money. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. murphy: i ask permission to ad minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. speaker. on march 7 and 9 the young government of northern ireland was put to the test. two british soldiers and

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Speech By: Ted Poe

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Ted Poe: policemen were killed by fringe groups. trying to reach the future through a return to the past. they failed and the people of northern ireland became stronger. the people voted for peace and acceptance of the good friday agreement, the people voted for their first minister and deputy first minister who jointly condemned the murders. the people of northern ireland grew stronger when thousands of

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Ted Poe: calt licks, protestants marched together as americans, as felt lovers of freedom and democracy, we are with the people of northern ireland. we are both nations of laws and can only survive when the law is upheld. god be be with the families who have suffered a loss and god bless the people and peace of northern ireland. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the

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Ted Poe: balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from maine rise? ms. pingree: by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 257 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number

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28, house resolution 257. resolved that it shall be in order at any time on the legislative day o march 19, 2009 for the speaker to entertain motions that the house suspend the rules relating to a measure addressing excessive compensation paid to employees of corporations in which the federa significant interest. the speaker pro tempore: the

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gentlelady from maine is recognized for one hour. miss pingree: -- ms. pingree: all time yielded during consideration of the rule is for debate only. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to insert extraneous materials into

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Chellie Pingree: the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. pingree: thank you, mr. chair. i yield as much time to myself as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. pingree: mr. speaker, people across the country are outraged by egregious nature of the a.i.g. bonuses. it is unconscionable for a.i.g. to pay out $165 million in

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Speech By: Chellie Pingree

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Chellie Pingree: bonuses to the same top executives who mismanaged the company to the point of failure. it is fundamentally wrong to be rewarding the very same people who ran a.i.g. while it is losing billions and billions of dollars with risky schemes that directly lead to the staggering $170 billion bailout last year. it is a stunning example of

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Chellie Pingree: greed and shamelessness. and it is gross mismanagement and misuse of taxpayer funds that borders on criminal. people in maine, my district, around the country are angry. i have heard from hundreds of my constituents sharing their outrage. one resident of wells, maine, wrote to me in this manner, he said, let a.i.g. fail.

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Chellie Pingree: let those greedy blood sucking executives find out what it means to lose their life savings. you need to tell those that want our tax dollars, these are the conditions. clear and simple. if you don't want to use it for what we want, you will get nothing. he went on to say it has become a sad day in our history when we have to lose our retirements and give billions to those who have caused the problems and then in

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Chellie Pingree: turn give -- they give it themselves as bonuses. another man wrote i am writing to you because i am appalled that we as citizens and taxpayers have given billions of dollars to a.i.g. only to have that company give us all the proverbal finger and pay out $165 million in bonuses to their staff.

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Chellie Pingree: their conduct given their own monetary losses in the billions of of dollars is crime cal. the small businesses in my state of maine are doing what businesses around the country are doing. they are diverse filing, they are freezing wages, they are using their own resources adoptling cost saving measures, whatever it takes to stay in business and keep people in their jobs like so many businesses around

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Chellie Pingree: the country, a businessman in rtland recently chose to dig into his own pocket and use his own money so he wouldn't have to lay off his employees. just last week i met with the owners of a small machine shop that had been growing. they came to me with questions about how they could better use the money in the recovery package to stay in business just to stay afloat. they weren't looking to line their own pockets.

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Chellie Pingree: they were asking for help to keep people employed and keep their business afloat. these are the types of people who are stung the hardest by the a.i.g. bonuses. families and businesses in maine and acros the country are struggling to make ends meet and stay in their homes. and they are helping each other out of a shared sense of responsibility. meanwhile on wall street we see executives who seem to think

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Chellie Pingree: they live by a different set of rules and refuse to take responsibility for the damage they have caused. it's a perfect example of why we have and will continue to have a commitment to transparency and oversight in government. when the house passed tarp last yearefore i was here, this type of abuse is exactly what the american people were afraid of.

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Chellie Pingree: we knew there was a chance of waste, fraud, or abuse and now it has come to light and we are here today to fix it and will continue to forge ahead toe fix our struggling economy. i reserve the balance of my time. e speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves her time. the gentleman from florida.