Let us pray. Dear chaplain conroy let us pray. Dear lord, we give you thanks for giving us another day. At the beginning of a new workweek, we use this moment to be reminded of your presence and to tap the resources needed by the members of this peoples house to do their work as well as it can be done. May they be led by your spirit in the decisions they make. May they possess your power as they steady themselves amid the pressures of persistent problems. May their faith in you deliver from them wear them down. All this week and through the week may they do their best to find solutions to pressing issues facing our nation. Please, hasten the day when justice and love shall dwell in the hearts of all peoples and rule the affairs of the nations of earth. May all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory. Amen. The speaker pro tempore the chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. The pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from michigan, mr. Kildee. Mr. Kildee those with us, please join in the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The speaker pro tempore the chair will entertain requests for oneminute speeches. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from North Carolina rise . Ms. Foxx i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. On february 18, the state of North Carolina lost one of its most generous and devoted Public Servants when former congressman cass balance injury passed away at the Cass Ballenger passed away at the age of 88. He was a beloved colleague to many who served in this chamber for 18 of those years. He never lost an election which tells you plenty about the honesty and tenacity with which he lived his life. In addition to his reputation as a straight talking legislator who reformed the Occupational Safety and health administration, he was known for his extensive humanitarian efforts in latin america where he helped build medical clinics supported orphanages and delivered medical and relief supplies with his wife donna. Although i never had an opportunity to serve with cass in congress i considered it a great privilege to know this remarkable man and always looked forward to seeing hism when our paths crossed in North Carolina. Cass was a man of integrity who said exactly what he thought and fought for what he believed was right. He will be greatly missed. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise . Mr. Kildee mr. Speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Kilmer mr. Kildee thank you, mr. Speaker. Well, this week in congress its deja vu all over again. Last week instead of bringing a clean longterm funding bill for the department of Homeland Security the house again kicked the can down the road. Now, we know we needed to preserve and keep open keep funded the operations of the department, but we certainly cant make this yet another manufactured political crisis this week. We know and everybody in this house knows that there is support in the house, bipartisan support for a clean Homeland Security bill. I dont know precisely what the numbers are but more and more we hear from our friends on the republican side they would like to see a vote to fully fund d. H. S. For the remainder of the year and then take up in regular order the process of determining what immigration policy ought to look like in this country. We have big countries in this nation. We have big challenges across the globe. We need to focus our attention on getting an economy that works for everyone and not continue to fight battles over manufactured political crises intended to pander to the smallest minds in this bill. Thats not the way people across the country wants us to work. We need to get back to the business of the American People. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Newhouse mr. Speaker, last week we celebrated national f. A. A. Week, the national f. A. A. Organizations more than 80 years of commitment to providing students with a path to leadership and career success through agriculture this theme, go all out, asked more than 600,000 students from over 6,700 f. A. A. Chapters to go all out for agriculture and show their communities how they live the f. A. A. Motto, learning to do, doing to learn, learning to serve. As a former f. A. A. Member, i have always been impressed with how well f. A. A. Helps hone certain skills and prepare students for the future. I find that f. A. A. Not only helps to advance the knowledge of agriculture and develop Community Relationships but you can always tell an f. A. A. Student by how articulate and wellspoken they are. My own experience in f. A. A. Not only helps shaped my career as a farmer but also prepared me to represent the Fourth District of washington state. Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating the f. A. A. On 80 years on commitment to agriculture and education. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from californ sk coitn . Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Sak. Mr. Speaker, i rise today on behalf of the millions of americans who are concerned about the state of our National Security. In todays world, we face many threats from foreign enemies who intend to do us harm. Mr. Vargas americans expect congress will fulfill its duty to act in the best interest they serve. The question of whether or not to fund the department of Homeland Security should never even be up for debate. I respect the difference of opinion some of my colleagues hold with regard to the president s recent executive action on immigration. But by taking hostage a funding bill thats intended to keep American Families safe in order to get what you want is reckless and it is not the way this body was intended to function. Lets pass a clean d. H. S. Funding bill and then lets have a serious debate on immigration. We need to find a comprehensive solution to our immigration challenges and the only way to do that is by working together to pass a bipartisan bill. Lets utilize this chamber to debate and pass meaningful legislation and lets start right now by approving the department of Homeland Security funding for the remainder of the fryer. Mr. Speaker, remainder of the fiscal year. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor the life of a man who was dedicated to protecting and serving the country. Mr. Davis the fire chief for medora died in the line of duty earlier this month. He was entering his 21st year of the Fire Department and had served as fire chief since 2006. While repairing preparing to respond to a 91 call, he was struck by a fire truck that was heading to the scene. This tragic event reminds us all to never forget the selflessness and sacrifices our First Responders make on our behalf especially when many give their lives for our safety. Earlier this month, more than 500 First Responders, family and friends packed a gym nair yum at Southwestern High School in illinois to pay their respects to chief layer. Some firefighters traveled more than two hours to honor chief lair. Friends and coworkers of chief lair noticed his unwavering willingness to help others both as fire chief and as a member of the community. Hes survived by his family, one son and three grandsons. My thoughts and this houses thoughts and prayers are with his familiarly, friends and the community as they family, friends and the community as they continue to mourn. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from georgia pursuant to clause 4 of rule 1 the following enrolled bill was signed by the speaker on friday, february 27, 2015. The clerk h. R. 33, to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to ensure that Emergency Services volunteers are not taken into account as employees under the shared responsibility requirements contained in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care act. The speaker pro tempore pavilion called olympia by the sea. As the storm increased in intensity, these beach structures literally were turned into match sticks. The 1900 storm struck saturday september 8 1900 and tapered off toward midnight. That evening. This hurricane was and still is it the deadliest recorded natural event. In the history of the United States. Watch all of our events from galveston, saturday at noon eastern on cspan2s book tv and sunday afternoon at 2 00 on American History tv on cspan3. He said hes considering a run for president in 2016, and that he would base his campaign in New Hampshire which holds the first in the nation president ial primary. Why did you come here . What was the attraction . You like school . Yeah. Why here . Real professor teach you . Small school thats a big advantage. Close knit community . What else . A really oneonone thats what you pay for. Thats great. I appreciate youall coming. Ill try not to bore you. Im going to involve you guys. Be ready. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of our center for engagement i would like to quome you to new england college. I a senior Political Science major. Today it is my pleasure to introduce our guest speaker governor bob ehrlich. Governor ehrlich has served as governor, member of congress, state legislator and civil lit gayor. Most recently hes advised clients on an array of Government Matters with particular expertise in Health Care Finance and Economic Development. As marylands first republican governor in 36 years when elected in 2002, he improved maryland as fiscal condition by turning 4 billion in deficit into over 2 billion in surplus. In the process, he helped create 100,000 new jobs. He made record investments in Public Schools and authored marylands first public Charter Schools law. He doubled funding for needbased college scholarships, helping enrollment reach an alltime high. Among his many recognitions, governor ehrlich was recognized by Chesapeake Bay foundation for the historic Chesapeake Bay restoration act. The foundation called the act the most important environmental achievement in 20 years. Governor ehrlich also earned National Recognition for empowering adults with disabilities. He created the nations first cabinetlevel department of disabilities for which he earned the highest Recognition Award from the secretary of health and human services. He earned his bachelors degree in politics from Princeton University and his law degree from wake forest university. Please join me in welcoming governor bob ehrlich. [applause]. Stephanie presented this to me, by the way. I want everybody to see. I appreciate that. [applause] hows everybody . We are going to be interactive today. Thank you for the nice introduction self fay. I doll a fair amount of college lectures. Do i not like talking at you i would like to talk with you. I move around a lot excuse me. So i brought my wife with me today. Kendall ehrlich. And she is the mother of my two sons drew, age 15, and josh, age 10. And what do you think whats your name . What do you think im doing here today . Youre speaking about your vision for america . Speaking of my vision for america. All right. What should that vision be . All right. Lets say you guys are running for president. Lets just say youre running for president , ok. I want to hear from you what you think the major issues confronting this economy this country, this culture what they are, and most importantly what you do about it. Im going to have my answers too. I want to hear from you. You are were interactive today. We get extra credit for hands. Professors here, right . Yes. How would you define wage and equality when we have so many laws on the books both state and federal with regard to wage fairness . What statute would you advocate . Not a specific statute i think women should be paid equal to men for doing the same work and the same job. Its the law. It is. I think the law should maybe be enforced more than they are now because if its going on, somebodys not enforcing the laws properly. All right. Its very interesting because when you deal with issues like this, you have the sort of objective goal, right . Equal work, equal pay, right . Whats your name . Muriel. Should someone at the same job whos been there 10 years be paid the same as someone who has been there two years . So youre not saying equal pay for equal work. [inaudible] ok. All right. Heres the deal. When you talk about these issues, define your terms. Do not let anybody label you. Prolife prochoice, progun antigun it means something very different to all of you. They are just labels used in politics. There are short cuts for reporters. You do not play into those short cuts because once you do, your opponent has you. Ok. As a member of congress, member state legislature governor, voigted on bills thousands of times in legislatures, two lurkse, one state one federal. Abortion issues, hundreds. Gun issues, hundreds. Each vote has to be taken on its own merits. So if i asked the students here if you identify yourself as progun, raise your hand. Youre progun. One, two . Three . Ok. No right or wrong answer. Now, if youre antigun raise your hand. Ok. I just told you not to raise your hand because i just defined you. I labeled you. You had no idea what i was talking about. So never answer that question. If somebody tries to corner you with some label on a social issue or economic issue or defense issue you make them define their terms. What that means to you. Medicaid financing t in maryland we have a really expanding medicaid statute when it comes to abortion. Longterm lateterm abortions parentsal consent judicial bypass, stem cell research. All of this these issues i voted on. Same with guns. Right to carry. Home invasion. Whatever it happens to be. Ammunition, gun shows. Do not let anybody force you into lanling yourself labeling yourself without you giving them to define you. You meant equal pay for equal work, equal experience, equal talent, equal pay correct . Define your terms. Always. Ok. So, if youre running for president and we have one issue pay and equality, what other issues out there confronting the american middle class . Every politician, every governor every member of congress likes to talk about the middle class. I guarantee you by statute alone defines middle class every one of you would have a different definition. As far as income, what your family situation is, where you happen to live, right . But as far as the sort of widely defined middle class what issues are confronting the american middle class today . Number one issue . Cspans here. That times not good on tv, im telling you. Yes. Income. As far as income. What do you mean as far as income . Based on what people make per year. Right. So wage stability. So we have, as you know, in this country today the sort of wage freeze. We have wages that have really not gone up. In an awful long time. So we have middle class stuck thats an issue. Thats why you have all these politicians playing to the middle class. Everybody wants to play to the middle class. Does the middle wage speak to the middle class . Why do some politicians talk about the middle class in the context of a minimum wage . We are trying to change the subject, right . Real income growth, which has been not very good in this country for the last eight years seven years, so thats one issue. So people feel stuck. They feel as though their lot in life is not improving. J. P. . Whats the number one issue for you . Introduce yourself, please. J. P. , i think security. Security, how defined . Immigration probably. I would define it as whats going on in the world today is distressing. Domestic and interinternational, Border Security and interNational Security. Border security, domestic security. Who here believes sovereignty . Citizenship should mean something . Raise your hand. What does it mean to you . First hand up. What does citizenship mean to you . I think it should be a group of people who come together with a common goal and common values. Whats your name . Morgan. A for you. Wheres your professor . Wheres wayne . Extra credit. Extra credit. A. What is this country all about . What did we what did our families what nationality are you . Ethnicity . American. Whats your folks come from . French, french canadian. Polish, german, ehr