The chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip each, to five minutes but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11 50 a. M. Well now recognize the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Jones, for five minutes. Mr. Jones mr. Speaker, thank you very much. This past friday was a monumental day in the house of representatives as we final leija debate on the merits of send finally had a debate on the merits of sending combat troops in iraq. I want to thank the leadership and Foreign Affairs leadership for working with representatives mcgovern, lee and myself for bringing h. Con. Resolution 105 to the floor and i thank the 370 members who voted in favor of this resolution. H. Con. Resolution 105 states very simply the President Shall not deploy or maintain United States armed forces in a sustained combat role in iraq without specific statutory authorization for such use enacted after the date of the adoption of this concurrent resolution. Mr. Speaker, it is my hope that we will have other debates on the constitution and the role of congress in deploying our military, including a debate on repealing both the 2001 and 2002 aumf. There is no decision more important than a vote to commit a young man or woman to war, to potentially give their life for our country. That is one reason that i am opposed to president obamas decision to allow u. S. Troops to remain in afghanistan. While he says that we are withdrawing our troops, the fact remains that 32,800 members of the American Military remain in harms way in afghanistan at this very moment. We have all read and heard the reports from the Inspector General for afghan reconstruction which details rampant waste, fraud and abuse of american resources. We in congress continue to propose cuts to domestic programs that assist our veterans, children and senior citizens. Yet, there are no cuts to the money that is being funneled overseas to prop up a corrupt afghan regime. One would think we would learn from history. No amount of blood or treasure will change afghanistan. It is what it is, like it or not, it is what it is. As i close i want to mention three members of the army who died on july 25 as a result of their service in afghanistan. I also want to thank abc news for faithfully honoring our Fallen Service members. The three are Staff Sergeant benjamin prange, p. F. C. Keith williams, p. F. C. Darnell hamilton. Why, you may ask, do i continue to speak against the war in afghanistan . Because American Service members are still dying. Mr. Speaker, i have a poster beside me on the floor today. That probably gives a better example of war than even i do with my words. It is a little girl holding the hands of her mom as the United States army is getting ready to start the caseon. The little girl is wondering why her father is in the casket draped by an american flag. These are the costs of war. We must be carefully and always be carefully consider where were going to send our young men and women overseas to fight and give their life. Mr. Speaker, with that i will close by asking god to please bless our troops, god to please bless the families and for god to continue to bless america and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair will now recognize the gentleman from oregon, mr. Lumenauer, for five minutes. Mr. Blumenauer thank you, mr. Speaker. As early as this afternoon the Senate Debates transportation funding, and its not just about the money to stop the summer slowdown thats impacting jobs and projects across america because weve not adequately funded our transportation needs. Its an opportunity to focus our response to the larger infrastructure crisis which is no longer just looming but is upon us. America is literally falling apart. The American Society for Civil Engineers has famously rated our transportation with a dplus, with an overall dismal scorecard for other infrastructure categories. We can no longer afford to maintain our existing system in a state of good repair. 11 of our bridges are obsolete or functionally deficient. Ongoing operations to say nothing of strategic new investments are increasingly difficult. This is sad because the federal government used to play an essential role for infrastructure throughout our history, from Benjamin Franklins postal roads to abraham lincolns Transcontinental Railroad to Dwight Eisenhowers interstate highway system. The ability to even imagine such accomplishments is increasingly a thing of the past. This means were losing our Competitive Edge to be able to move goods efficiently. Our families are losing mobility. Our low level of investment is being dwarfed by competitors overseas. Europe, india, japan and especially china. Hanghai has 14 subway lines. Highspeed railway, two massive modern airports, 20 expressways and a highspeed train leaving shanghai every three minutes. China has spent 8. 5 of its Gross Domestic Product for 20 years while American Investment has shrunk to 1. 7 . Recently for a system thats variously rated 12th or 27th, depending on what youre looking at. Is it any wonder that chinas economy has expanded 700 in 20 years while america struggles to grow at 2 a year . With such an overwhelming wellestablished need, its criminal that congress is in the process of making a decision that will probably delay any meaningful opportunity to correct this situation in transportation funding for three years or longer. Yes, its essential that a financial transfer take place to the Highway Trust Fund to stop the summers slowdown and give congress a chance to work, but hopefully only with enough money to work through this year. The senate may well appropriate enough money, as the house did a couple weeks ago, to slide into the next congress with new committees, new leadership perhaps in the senate. The situation will get no easier, no less complex and no less expensive if this congress abandons its responsibility. This is a continuation of an unfortunate pattern since 2003 where a series of ever shorter solutions and 21 temporary extensions have created nearpermanent uncertainty for communities who rely on the federal partnership for the big picture, major repair and new construction of road, transit and bridges. The people who build, maintain and depend on our transportation infrastructure are in the dark. Where they stand now, where theyll be in six months, where theyll be two years from now is absolutely unacceptable. Ill fight for this congress to get on with its job now. If it means we have to work in october instead of campaigning, so be it. If it means we have to come back after the election and work into the holidays, we should do so. Congress should not recess for vacation, for campaigning or adjourn for the year unless its met its responsibilities for a long overdue sixyear robust transportation bill, provided with enough sustainable dedicating funding to stop this chronic uncertainty. The senate will be debating limiting funding for this year or sliding into next. They will even debate senator lees proposal to slash the federal partnership and turn it back to the states as an unfunded mandate, eliminating the gas tax and with it any thoughtful overall federal transportation system. These are the choices that really need to be drug out in the light. They need to be talked about in the open, to find out what the public thinks and then we make a decision, let them know and move on. Merica deserves no less. The speaker pro tempore members are reminded to refrain from trafficking the well while another member is under recognition. At this point the chair will now recognize the gentlewoman from North Carolina, ms. Foxx, for five minutes. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, the recent decision in held that obamacare, quote, max tax credits available to individuals who Purchase Health insurance through exchanges established by the state, end quote. Supporters of the law predictably decried judicial partisanship. They claim the reasoning of the court was spurious because it led to an absurd result which was not in line with the intended policy of the law. Also recently, videos surfaced of m. I. T. Health economist jonathan gruber, a prominent architect of and supporter of obamacare clearly stating that states have an incentive to set up exchanges so that their citizens will have access to federal subsidies. So much for the charge that the courts reasoning led to an absurd result. Mr. Speaker, its quite obvious that someone at some point in the legislative drafting of obamacare thought using federal subsidies as an incentive to get states to set up insurance exchanges was a good idea, and that was the view that was codified as law. But at a fundamental level, the issue here isnt the way the statue was written. Its the way the statue was passed. The extremely partisan nature of obamacares passage has made the administration unwilling or unable to seek fixes via the normal legislative process because doing so would necessitate working across the aisle and compromising. We all remember that obamacare was hastily passed after an election which cost the democrats their supermajority in the senate. They couldnt edit this law because the people of massachusetts denied them that privilege. But that didnt stop democrats from ramming this poorly drafted law through using some very questionable legislative tactics. Now theyre asking the courts to let them make edits to the plain language of law without consulting congress. As this case moves forward on appeal, judges should ask themselves this question. Is it my role to shield the Democratic Party from the consequences of a republic form of government . I dont recall ever reading that particular clause in my copy of the constitution. I yield back, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The chair will now recognize the gentleman from illinois, mr. Quigley, for five minutes. Mr. Quigley thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, as the house uses what little legislative time is left in the year to sue the president , im reminded of what benjamin israeli once said, how easier it is to be critical than correct. Thats the reason why the American Public thinks the lawsuit against the president of the United States is a political stunt because it is a political stunt. The majority argues that the president s executive action give them no choice but to sue the president. That is the legislative branchs job to defend against the executive branchs supposed overreaches. But ill tell you what the job of the legislature is. The job of the legislature is to pass legislation. For 112 congresses before this one, the fight over the separation of powers has endured with each congress before us using the powers allocated to it in our constitution to pass legislation to counter the actions of the president. Its not a unique idea. You dont like the job the president is doing, well, then, lets do our job. You dont like the president s policy, well, lets enact some policies of our own. Rather than litigating, we should be legislating. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been so busy trying to prevent the president from doing his job they have forgotten to do their own. For years their number one legislative priority was making president obama a oneterm esident to discredit him, to delegitimize him. Time and time again, from extending Unemployment Insurance to comprehensive Immigration Reform, climate change, to name a few, this congress has punted the ball. Instead of finding the courage to tackle the tough issues the American People are begging us to take on, we have retreated. For many issues we even refused to allow a simple up or down vote on the floor. This Congress Makes trumans donothing congress seem down right busy. No wonder why our approval numbers are so low. Its ironic that a congress that refuses to get anything done has the audacity to accuse the president of getting too much done. The president isnt taking our power away from us. We have abdicated it to him. Since george washington, our president s have used executive actions to get things done. The majority argues this president is the exception to the rule. President obama may be the exception but not in the way that they think. Out of the last 10 president s, president obama has signed the least number of executive orders on the average per year. So far the president has even signed half as many as president reagan did. Yet despite this, lets remember what the president has been able to accomplish over the last six years. President obama brought our economy back from the brink of depression, lowering unemployment from 10 in 2009 to 6. 1 today. We have had 52 straight months of private sector job growth with the last month being the fifth month in a row of adding 200,000 jobs or more to the economy. The president passed health care reform, achieving what every president since Teddy Roosevelt has tried and failed to do. Now millions of americans who were previously barred from Health Insurance coverage because of preexisting conditions or simply could not afford it can access the care they desperately need. And the president has taken unprecedented action to protect our environment. Hes proposed the toughest fuel economy standards for Passenger Vehicles in u. S. History, put a plan in place to cut Carbon Pollution from new and existing power plants, and significantly increased production of renewable energy. In six years president obama has accomplished more than many who have come before him. Despite a donothing Congress Whose stated mission has been obstruction. Mr. Speaker, malcolm x used to say if you have no critics, you likely have no successes. The intent of the majoritys lawsuit may be to spotlight the president s critics, but im confident what it will actually do is prove his successes. Thank you. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Murphy, for five minutes. Mr. Murphy thank you, mr. Speaker. Helping families and Mental Health crisis act reforms our broken and harmful Mental Health system. Here are some reasons why we need it. For some who are experiencing the most serious Mental Illnesses like bipolar disorderar schizophrenia, they dont think their hallucinations are real, they know they are real. Their illness affects their brains in such a way they are certain beyond all doubt their delusions are real. Its not an attitude or denial, its a very real brain condition. With that understanding we are left with a series of questions. Do these individuals have right to treatment, do they have a right to live as victims on the street or right to get better . Do they have a right to be disabled, unemployed, or recovering and back to work . I believe these individuals and their families have the right to heal and lead healthy lives. But they are sometimes blinded by a symptom of a neurological condition of the frontal lobe which renders the individual incapable of understanding they are ill. Every single day, millions of families struggle to help a loved one with serious Mental Illness who wont seek treatment. Many knew that aaron, james, jared, adam, and Elliott Rogers needed help. Their families tried by the individuals illnesses caused them to believe nothing was wrong and fought guns that help. These families watched their brother, son, parents spiral downward in a system that by design only responds after crisis not before or during. The loved one is more likely to end up in prison or living on the streets where they suffer violence and victimization, or cycle in and out of the emergency room or commit suicide. In a New York Times resent article about reichers island prison, they say over an 11 month period last year, 129 inmates suffered injuries so serious doctors at the jails clinics were unable to treat them. 70 77 of those inmates had been previously diagnosed with Mental Illness. They now have as many people with Mental Illness as all 24 psych hospitals in the state combined and think make up nearly 40 of the population up from 20 . Ill inmates with illnesses commit 2 3 of infractions in the jail, and they commit an overwhelming majority of assault on jail staff members. Yet by law they cannot be medicated involuntarily at the jail and hospitals often refuse to accept them unless they harm themselves or others. Is that humane . Shouldnt we have acted before they committed a crime to compel them to get help . According to the article, correctional facilities now hold 95 of all institutionalized people with Mental Illness. That is wrong. Yet with all we know about Mental Illness and the streements to help those experiencing it, there are still organizations federally funded with taxpayer dollars that believe individuals who are too sick to seek treatment will be better off left alone than an inpatient or outpatient treatment. It is insensitive, it is callous, it is misguided, it is unethical, it is immoral, and congress should not stand by as these organizations continue their abusive malpractice against the mentally ill. The misguided ones are more comfortable allowing the mentally ill to live under bridges and behind dumb strs tha