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Red to Blue …Jim Dean

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Paul Ryan‘s plan to kill Medicare is killing the Tea Party Republican majority in the House.

Right-wingers are running scared as poll after poll shows the vast majority of Americans oppose any cuts to Medicare — and now Republicans are falling behind in a special election in the most Republican congressional district in New York.

This is a Republican district — Barack Obama won New York State by 25 points in 2008 and still lost District 26.

Now, Democrat Kathy Hochul’s grassroots campaign has pulled ahead in the polls and the Republican establishment is throwing everything it has at her. Just yesterday, Karl Rove’s shady corporate front group American Crossroads announced they were dropping $650,000 into the district to prop up the right-wing Republican candidate.

Republicans took a majority saying they were going to create jobs. Instead, all they’ve done is attack American women, students, seniors and the poor — and the American people are sick of it.

www.democracyforamerica.com

The only thing that can beat big corporate money is people power — Please, contribute $10 to Kathy’s grassroots campaign right now and deliver a knock-out punch to a right-wing Republican in a red district.

The most recent poll has Kathy up just four points over the Republican candidate, so it’s going to be a tough fight in these final weeks. Believe me, Republicans across the country are watching this race. They know that if they can lose districts like NY-26 then they can lose the House in 2012.

But it’s not just Republicans watching. If Democrats win this seat by exposing the Republican plan to kill Medicare, they’ll be emboldened to go all out on offense defending it.

Your support today can make the difference. Now is the time to put Kathy over the top.

Contribute $10 now and help put an end to the Tea Party Republican majority.

The Republican attack on middle class families in Washington DC, in Wisconsin and across the country is backfiring on them. Join Kathy’s campaign today and we can really turn the heat up on them.

Thank you everything you do.

-Jim

Jim Dean, Chair

Democracy for America

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BREAKING: New attacks on DADT repeal


Late last night, right-wing Republicans in the House launched a desperate attack on the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).

The House Armed Services Committee passed unnecessary, hostile amendments to delay DADT repeal – and to prevent equal access to military facilities all while infringing on the religious liberties of military chaplains.

These Republicans are so desperate to keep gays and lesbians from serving America that they’d reverse the course set by Congress and the Pentagon, and undo the work the Defense Department has already done to prepare for repeal.

Now the bill goes to the House floor – where House Speaker John Boehner can strip out these amendments if he chooses. With a large public outcry right now, we can show Republicans that they will pay a political price if Speaker Boehner puts anti-gay discrimination before national security.

Sign now: “Mr. Boehner, stop the underhanded attacks on repeal – focus on keeping us safe.”

www.hrc.org

We passed the bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” last year. The nation’s top military leaders supported it. President Obama signed it. But anti-equality House members haven’t given up. They’re trying to bury repeal under a mountain of delays, distractions, and scare tactics – amendments to the National Defense Authorization bill that would:

Delay repeal by demanding that all service chiefs “certify” it before repeal is finalized – even though it already has to be certified by the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The chiefs themselves testified in October that this step is unnecessary.

Prevent equal access to military facilities and infringe on religious liberty by prohibiting the use of Department of Defense facilities for marriages between same-sex couples even in states where those marriages are legal – and prohibiting military chaplains from performing same-sex marriages even when their religious traditions recognize them.

Reaffirm the Defense of Marriage Act even though every federal agency is already bound by the discriminatory law – a blatant attempt by Vicky Hartzler, the representative once termed “the most anti-gay candidate in America,” to distract and delay repeal.

The American public wants Speaker Boehner and the House to focus on the real work of our nation – keeping us safe and getting our economy back on track – not a hateful crusade to prevent open military service. The speaker still has time to strip these amendments from the bill before bringing it to the floor. But it’s up to us to show that there’s a political cost to thwarting the will of Congress and the nation.

Tell Boehner: Stop undermining repeal.  www.hrc.org

The American people want an end to discrimination in our nation’s military. Speaker Boehner must stop his party’s delaying tactics and allow repeal to move forward – now.

Repeal first passed because so many of you raised your voices. I know we can count on you to speak up yet again.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese

President

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Thursday in Congress: the Republican led House -the Senate

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The Senate Convenes at 9:30amET May 12, 2011

Following any leader remarks, the Senate will be in morning business for debate only until 1pm with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the first hour equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the Majority controlling the next 30 minutes.

Following morning business, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Calendar #47, the nomination of Michael Francis Urbanski, of Virginia, to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Virginia with one hour of debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees.

There will be no further roll call votes this week.

Votes:

70: Confirmation of the Urbanski nomination; Confirmed: 94-0

Unanimous Consent:

Passed S.498, the Independent Task and Delivery Order Review Extension Act of 2011

Discharged Intelligence and adopted S.Res.86, recognizing the Defense Intelligence Agency on its 50th Anniversary

Adopted S.Res.181, designating May 15, 2011, as “National MPS Awareness Day”;

Adopted S.Res.182, expressing the condolences of the U.S. to the victims of the devastating tornadoes that touched down in the South beginning on April 25, 2011; and

Adopted S.Res.183, designating May 14, 2011, as “National Police Survivors Day”.

Adopted H.Con.Res.16, authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby

Adopted H.Con.Res.46, authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service.

Adopted H.Con.Res.50, providing for a conditional adjournment of the House of Representatives

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on May 12, 2011

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF MAY 12, 2011

112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

4:22 P.M. – SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

H.R. 754: to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes

4:20 P.M. – Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 754 as unfinished business.

On motion that the Committee rise Agreed to by voice vote.

4:19 P.M. – Mr. Rogers (MI) moved that the Committee rise.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Carney amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Carney demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

4:09 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 264, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Carney amendment No. 8.

Amendment offered by Mr. Carney.

An amendment numbered 8 printed in House Report 112-75 to establish the sense of Congress that railway transportation should be included in transportation security plans for intelligence agencies.

4:08 P.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Hinchey amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Hinchey demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

3:58 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 264, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Hinchey amendment no. 7.

Amendment offered by Mr. Hinchey.

An amendment numbered 7 printed in House Report 112-75 to require the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to report to the House and Senate Intelligence panels on information it has regarding the human rights violations of the military government in Argentina that resulted in 30,000 disappearances between the mid-1970’s and mid-1980’s. The amendment also seeks to help shed light on the unknown fate of hundreds of Argentine children who were born in captivity and distributed to members of the Argentine security forces.

3:57 P.M. – On agreeing to the Ruppersberger amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

3:52 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 264, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Ruppersberger amendment no. 6.

Amendment offered by Mr. Ruppersberger.

An amendment numbered 6 printed in House Report 112-75 to require, within 180 days after enactment, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community to submit to Congress a report on the degree to which racial and ethnic minorities in the United States are employed in professional positions in the intelligence community and barriers to the recruitment and retention of additional racial and ethnic minorities in these positions.

3:49 P.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Gibson amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Ruppersberger demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

3:44 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 264, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Gibson amendment no. 5.

Amendment offered by Mr. Gibson.

An amendment numbered 5 printed in House Report 112-75 to require the Director of National Intelligence to submit to Congress a report containing recommendations the Director considers appropriate for consolidating the intelligence community.

3:42 P.M. – By unanimous consent, the Dent amendment was withdrawn.

3:38 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 264, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Dent amendment no. 3.

Amendment offered by Mr. Dent.

An amendment numbered 5 printed in House Report 112-75 to require the Director of National Intelligence and the Director of the CIA within 90 days of enactment of this Act to submit to the congressional intelligence committees all information possessed by the DNI and the CIA relating to the pursuit and targeting of Anwar al-Awlaki by the Federal Government, as well as an analysis of the legal impediments to pursuing the capture of Anwar al-Awlaki.

On agreeing to the Barrow amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

3:35 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 264, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Barrow amendment no. 2.

Amendment offered by Mr. Barrow.

An amendment numbered 2 printed in House Report 112-75 to task the Director of National Intelligence with creating a pilot grant program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities to assist in creating and maintaining academic curricula that teach advanced critical foreign languages, and for study abroad programs. Amendment aims to help intelligence community meet strategic, diversity and critical language goals.

3:34 P.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Rogers (MI) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Ruppersberger demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

3:31 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 264, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Rogers (MI) amendment no. 1.

3:30 P.M. – Amendment offered by Mr. Rogers (MI). An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report 112-75 to clarify that Section 411 of the bill, which provides certain authorities for Defense Intelligence Agency Expenditures, applies only to National Intelligence Program funds. Would also strike Section 412 of the reported bill, providing for the establishment of certain transfer accounts for intelligence funds.

2:42 P.M. – GENERAL DEBATE – The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 754.

The Speaker designated the Honorable Kevin Yoder to act as Chairman of the Committee.

House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 264 and Rule XVIII.

2:41 P.M. – Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 754 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order. The resolution waives all points of order against the committee amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence now printed in the bill shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule.

Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 264.

2:40 P.M. – The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on May 12, 2011 at 11:30 a.m.: Appointments to the Board of Visitors of the United States Air Force Academy.

Ms. Ros-Lehtinen asked unanimous consent That, it may be in order at any time on Tuesday, May 24, 2011, for the Speaker to declare a recess, subject to the call of the Chair, for the purpose of receiving in Joint Meeting His Excellency Binyamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel. Agreed to without objection.

2:39 P.M. – Ms. Ros-Lehtinen filed a report from the Committee on Foreign Affairs on H. Res. 209.

H. Res. 264: providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 754) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes

2:38 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 251 – 133 (Roll no. 322).

2:32 P.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

H. Con. Res. 50: providing for a conditional adjournment of the House of Representatives

2:31 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 227 – 158 (Roll no. 321).

2:26 P.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

2:25 P.M. – UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question on adoption of H. Con. Res. 50 and H. Res. 264, both of which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

H.R. 1231: to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing program offer leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources, to establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal, and for other purposes

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On passage Passed by recorded vote: 243 – 179 (Roll no. 320).

2:18 P.M. – On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by recorded vote: 180 – 243 (Roll no. 319).

2:00 P.M. – The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection.

1:50 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Holt motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment to require each oil and gas leasing program in the underlying bill to specify that all oil and natural gas produced from such leases under the program, is offered for sale in the United States and not exported. It would also require the Secretary of Interior, in developing a 5-year oil and gas leasing program, to seek to reduce the number of nonproducing offshore oil and gas leases by 50 percent by 2017.

1:49 P.M. – Mr. Holt moved to recommit with instructions to Natural Resources.

1:48 P.M. – The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 1231.

On agreeing to the Inslee amendment Failed by recorded vote: 160 – 256 (Roll no. 318).

1:43 P.M. – On agreeing to the Thompson (CA) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 156 – 263 (Roll no. 317).

1:40 P.M. – On agreeing to the Brown (FL) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 134 – 279 (Roll no. 316).

1:35 P.M. – On agreeing to the Tsongas amendment Failed by recorded vote: 195 – 223 (Roll no. 315).

1:11 P.M. – UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question on agreeing to the amendments to H.R. 1231 which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

H.R. 1231: to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing program offer leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources, to establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal, and for other purposes

1:10 P.M. – The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.

1:09 P.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

H. Con. Res. 50: providing for a conditional adjournment of the House of Representatives

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on H.Con.Res. 50, the Chair put the question on agreeing to resolution and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Hastings(FL) demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question on agreeing to the resolution until later in the legislative day.

1:07 P.M. – Considered as privileged matter.

H. Res. 264: providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 754) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2011 for intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United States Government, the Community Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on H.Res. 264, the Chair put the question on adoption of H.Res. 264 and by voice vote, announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Hastings(FL) demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of H.Res. 264 until later in the legislative day.

The previous question was ordered without objection.

12:22 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H. Res. 264.

12:19 P.M. – Considered as privileged matter.

12:03 P.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches which by direction of the Chair, would be limited to 15 per side of the aisle.

12:02 P.M. – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mr. Sires to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

12:01 P.M. – The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

Today’s prayer was offered by Monsignor Craig Harrison, St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, Bakersfield, California

The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of May 12.

10:58 A.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 P.M. today.

10:00 A.M. – MORNING HOUR DEBATES – The House proceeded with Morning-Hour Debates. At the conclusion of Morning-Hour, the House will recess until 12:00 p.m. for the start of legislative business.

The Speaker designated the Honorable Tom Graves to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.

The House convened, starting a new legislative day.

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Barack H. Obama …Fixing what’s broken


I went to El Paso, Texas, today to lay out a plan to do something big: fix America’s broken immigration system.

It’s an issue that affects you, whether you live in a border town like El Paso or not. Our immigration system reflects how we define ourselves as Americans — who we are, who we will be — and continued inaction poses serious costs for everyone.

Those costs are human, felt by millions of people here and abroad who endure years of separation or deferred dreams — and millions more hardworking families whose wages are depressed when employers wrongly exploit a cheap source of labor. That’s why immigration reform is also an economic imperative — an essential step needed to strengthen our middle class, create new industries and new jobs, and make sure America remains competitive in the global economy.

Because this is such a tough problem — one that politicians in Washington have been either exploiting or dodging, depending on the politics — this change has to be driven by people like you.

Washington won’t act unless you lead.

So if you’re willing to do something about this critical issue, join our call for immigration reform now. Those who do will be part of our campaign to educate people on this issue and build the critical mass needed to make Washington act:

http://my.barackobama.com     

In recent years, concerns about whether border security and enforcement were tough enough were among the greatest impediments to comprehensive reform. They are legitimate issues that needed to be addressed — and over the past two years, we have made great strides in enhancing security and enforcement.

We have more boots on the ground working to secure our southwest border than at any time in our history. We’re going after employers who knowingly break the law. And we are deporting those who are here illegally. I know the increase in deportations has been a source of controversy, but I want to emphasize that we are focusing our limited resources on violent offenders and people convicted of crimes — not families or people looking to scrape together an income.

So we’ve addressed the concerns raised by those who have stood in the way of progress in the past. And now that we have, it’s time to build an immigration system that meets our 21st-century economic needs and reflects our values both as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.

Today, we provide students from around the world with visas to get engineering and computer science degrees at our top universities. But then our laws discourage them from using those skills to start a business or a new industry here in the United States. That just doesn’t make sense.

We also need to stop punishing innocent young people for the actions of their parents — and pass the DREAM Act so they can pursue higher education or become military service members in the country they know as home. We already know enormous economic benefits from the steady stream of talented and hardworking people coming to America. More than a century and a half ago, U.S. Steel‘s Andrew Carnegie was a 13-year-old brought here from Scotland by his family in search of a better life. And in 1979, a Russian family seeking freedom from Communism brought a young Sergey Brin to America — where he would become a co-founder of Google.

Through immigration, we’ve become an engine of the global economy and a beacon of hope, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. We should make it easier for the best and brightest not only to study here, but also to start businesses and create jobs here. That’s how we’ll win the future.

Immigration is a complex issue that raises strong feelings. And as we push for long-overdue action, we’re going to hear the same sort of ugly rhetoric that has delayed reform for years — despite long and widespread recognition that our current system fails us all and hurts our economy.

So you and I need to be the ones talking about this issue in the language of hope, not fear — in terms of how we are made stronger by our differences, and can be made stronger still.

Take a moment now to watch my El Paso speech and join this campaign for change:

http://my.barackobama.com

Thank you,

Barack

Black History

Congress is in Session -the Republican led House -the Senate


The Senate Convenes at 9:30amET May 11, 2011

Following any Leader remarks, the Senate will be in a period of morning business for debate only with Senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each, with the first hour equally divided and controlled between the two Leaders or their designees, with the Republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the Majority controlling the next 30 minutes.

At 2:00pm, the Senate will proceed to Executive Session to consider Executive Calendar #44, the nomination of Arenda Wright Allen to be a District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia with one hour of debate equally divided and controlled between Senators Leahy and Grassley or their designees. Upon the use or yielding back of time (at approximately 3pm), the Senate will conduct a roll call vote on confirmation of the Allen nomination.

Votes:

69: Confirmation of the Wright Allen nomination; Confirmed: 96-0

Unanimous Consent:

S.Res.179, making minority committee appointments

~~~~~~~~

The next meeting in the House is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on May 11, 2011

CURRENT HOUSE FLOOR PROCEEDINGS

LEGISLATIVE DAY OF MAY 11, 2011

112TH CONGRESS – FIRST SESSION

8:08 P.M. – Ms. Kaptur moved that the House do now adjourn.

6:39 P.M. – SPECIAL ORDER SPEECHES – The House has concluded all anticipated legislative business and has proceeded to Special Order speeches.

6:31 P.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches.

H.R. 1231: to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing program offer leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources, to establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal, and for other purposes

6:30 P.M. – Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 1231 as unfinished business.

On motion that the Committee rise Agreed to by voice vote.

Mr. Pearce moved that the Committee rise.

6:29 P.M. – On agreeing to the Keating amendment Failed by recorded vote: 186 – 240 (Roll no. 314).

6:21 P.M. – On agreeing to the Markey amendment Failed by recorded vote: 189 – 238 (Roll no. 313).

6:13 P.M. – On agreeing to the Connolly (VA) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 193 – 228 (Roll no. 312).

5:46 P.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Inslee amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Inslee demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

5:35 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 257, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Inslee amendment.

5:34 P.M. – Amendment offered by Mr. Inslee. An amendment numbered 8 printed in House Report 112-74 to require the Washington state Governor and legislature approve any leasing of the Outer Continental Shelf off of Washington state.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Thompson (CA) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Thompson (CA) demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

5:24 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 257, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Thompson (CA) amendment.

5:23 P.M. – Amendment offered by Mr. Thompson (CA). An amendment numbered 7 printed in House Report 112-74 to clarify that the legislation does not allow for oil and gas drilling on the northern coast of California.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Brown(FL) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Ms. Brown (FL) demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

5:16 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 257, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Brown amendment.

5:15 P.M. – Amendment offered by Ms. Brown (FL). An amendment numbered 6 printed in House Report 112-74 to make permanent the current moratorium on drilling in the eastern gulf of Mexico that expires in 2022.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Tsongas amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Ms. Tsongas demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

5:07 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 257, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Tsongas amendment.

Amendment offered by Ms. Tsongas.

An amendment numbered 5 printed in House Report 112-74 to require that all applicants for a drilling permit under a lease issued under H.R. 1231 would have to submit a worst-case scenario oil spill containment and clean-up plan.

5:06 P.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Keating amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Keating demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

5:00 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 257, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Keating amendment.

Amendment offered by Mr. Keating.

An amendment numbered 4 printed in House Report 112-74 to require the Secretary to make public information about the lessee’s executive bonuses from the most recent quarter.

4:59 P.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Markey amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Markey demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

4:49 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 257, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Markey amendment.

4:48 P.M. – Amendment offered by Mr. Markey. An amendment numbered 3 printed in House Report 112-74 to require that new 5-year leasing plans require that companies bidding on new leases first renegotiate any royalty-free leases they own; thus raising more than $2 billion over 10 years.

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on the Connolly (VA) amendment, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote, announced that the noes had prevailed. Mr. Connolly (VA) demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption until a time to be announced.

4:39 P.M. – DEBATE – Pursuant to the provisions of H.Res. 257, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Connolly (VA) amendment.

Amendment offered by Mr. Connolly (VA).

An amendment numbered 2 printed in House Report 112-74 to clarify that new offshore drilling would not conflict with military operations.

4:38 P.M. – On agreeing to the Young (AK) amendment Agreed to by voice vote.

4:37 P.M. – Amendment offered by Mr. Young (AK). An amendment numbered 1 printed in House Report 112-74 to make technical numbering corrections to section 2 of the bill.

4:15 P.M. – GENERAL DEBATE – The Committee of the Whole resumed general debate on H.R. 1231.

The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.

4:14 P.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

4:13 P.M. – Ms. Foxx filed a report from the Committee on Rules on H. Res. 264.

H.R. 1231: to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing program offer leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources, to establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal, and for other purposes

4:12 P.M. – Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 1231 as unfinished business.

On motion that the committee rise Agreed to by voice vote.

Mr. Young (AK) moved that the committee rise.

3:36 P.M. – GENERAL DEBATE – The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 1231.

3:35 P.M. – Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 257, the amendment recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole.

3:34 P.M. – The Speaker designated the Honorable Candice S. Miller to act as Chairwoman of the Committee.

House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 257 and Rule XVIII.

Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1231 with 1 hour of general debate. Previous question shall be considered as ordered without intervening motions except motion to recommit with or without instructions. Measure will be considered read. Specified amendments are in order. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted and the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.

Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 257.

3:33 P.M. – FILING AUTHORITY – Mr. Miller of Florida asked unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs have until 5 p.m. on Friday, May 20, 2011, to file reports on the following bills: H.R. 1407, H.R. 1484, H.R. 1627, H.R. 1383, H.R. 1657 and H.R. 802. Agreed to without objection.

H.R. 673: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the depreciation classification of motorsports entertainment complexes

Ms. Berkley asked unanimous consent to be the first sponsor of H.R. 673, and to have the authority to add co-sponsors. Agreed to without objection.

H.R. 427: to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide a 5-year recovery period for computer-based gambling machines

Ms. Berkley asked unanimous consent to be the first sponsor of H.R. 427, and to have the authority to add co-sponsors. Agreed to without objection.

H.R. 1800: to temporarily extend expiring provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 relating to access to business records and roving wiretaps and to permanently extend expiring provisions of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 relating to individual terrorists as agents of foreign powers

3:32 P.M. – Mr. Lungren, Daniel E. asked unanimous consent that the Committee on Judiciary have until 5:00 p.m. on May 18 to file a report on H.R. 1800. Agreed to without objection.

H. Con. Res. 46: authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.

Mr. Denham asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.

Considered by unanimous consent.

H. Con. Res. 16: authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby

3:31 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to without objection.

Considered by unanimous consent.

Mr. Denham asked unanimous consent to discharge from committee and consider.

The House received a communication from the Honorable Mr. Fincher . Mr. Fincher submitted his resignation from the Committees on Agriculture and Transportation and Infra- structure. The resignation was accepted without objection.

H. Res. 263: electing Members to certain standing committees of the House of Representatives

3:30 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

3:29 P.M. – On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by voice vote.

Considered as privileged matter.

H. Res. 257: providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 1231) to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing program offer leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources, to establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal, and for other purposes

3:28 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On agreeing to the resolution Agreed to by recorded vote: 243 – 179 (Roll no. 311).

3:09 P.M. – On ordering the previous question Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: 241 – 179 (Roll no. 310).

3:01 P.M. – Considered as unfinished business.

3:00 P.M. – UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question on adoption of ordering the previous question and adoption of H.Res. 257, which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

H.R. 1229: to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to facilitate the safe and timely production of American energy resources from the Gulf of Mexico

2:58 P.M. – Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

On passage Passed by recorded vote: 263 – 163 (Roll no. 309).

2:52 P.M. – On motion to recommit with instructions Failed by recorded vote: 186 – 239 (Roll no. 308).

2:33 P.M. – The previous question on the motion to recommit with instructions was ordered without objection.

2:24 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Connolly (VA) motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to report the same back to the House with an amendment to prohibit the Secretary of Interior from issuing a permit to any applicant that has been required to pay a civil penalty, criminal fine or monetary damages resulting from the applicant’s drilling activities on the Outer Continental Shelf, until the penalties have been paid in full, or the applicant has entered a formal agreement to pay the penalties in order to redress economic and environmental harm caused to the Gulf of Mexico Region.

2:23 P.M. – Mr. Connolly (VA) moved to recommit with instructions to Natural Resources.

2:22 P.M. – The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.

2:21 P.M. – The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union.

The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 1229.

On agreeing to the Hastings (FL) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 185 – 239 (Roll no. 307).

2:16 P.M. – On agreeing to the Deutch amendment Failed by recorded vote: 205 – 222 (Roll no. 306).

2:11 P.M. – On agreeing to the Hastings (FL) amendment Failed by recorded vote: 169 – 258 (Roll no. 305).

2:07 P.M. – On agreeing to the Polis amendment Failed by recorded vote: 174 – 254 (Roll no. 304).

2:03 P.M. – On agreeing to the Holt amendment Failed by recorded vote: 179 – 247 (Roll no. 303).

1:56 P.M. – On agreeing to the Hanabusa amendment Failed by recorded vote: 187 – 235 (Roll no. 302).

1:32 P.M. – UNFINISHED BUSINESS – The Chair announced that the unfinished business was the question on adoption of amendments which had been debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

1:31 P.M. – The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.

Considered as unfinished business.

H. Res. 257: providing for consideration of the bill ( H.R. 1231) to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to require that each 5-year offshore oil and gas leasing program offer leasing in the areas with the most prospective oil and gas resources, to establish a domestic oil and natural gas production goal, and for other purposes

1:30 P.M. – POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS – At the conclusion of debate on H.Res. 257, the Chair put the question on ordering the previous question and by voice vote announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. McGovern demanded the yeas and nays, and the Chair postponed further proceedings on ordering the previous question until later in the legislative day.

12:22 P.M. – DEBATE – The House proceeded with one hour of debate on H. Res. 257.

Considered as privileged matter.

H.R. 1540: to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, to prescribe military personnel strengths for fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes

12:21 P.M. – Mr. Reed asked unanimous consent that the Committee on Armed Services have until 5:00 p.m. on May 17 to file a report on H.R. 1540. Agreed to without objection.

12:03 P.M. – ONE MINUTE SPEECHES – The House proceeded with one minute speeches, which by direction of the Chair would be limited to 15 per side of the aisle.

12:02 P.M. – PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE – The Chair designated Mrs. Ellmers to lead the Members in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.

12:01 P.M. – Today’s prayer was offered by Reverend Wallace Shepherd, Second Baptist Church, Santa Barbara, California.

12:00 P.M. – The House convened, returning from a recess continuing the legislative day of May 11.

10:45 A.M. – The Speaker announced that the House do now recess. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 P.M. today.

10:08 A.M. – MORNING-HOUR DEBATE – The House resumed with Morning-Hour Debate.

10:07 A.M. – The House received a message from the Senate. The Senate agreed to S. Con. Res. 16.

10:01 A.M. – MORNING-HOUR DEBATE – The House proceeded with Morning-Hour Debate. At the conclusion of Morning-Hour, the House will recess until 12:00 p.m. for the start of legislative business.

The Speaker designated the Honorable Renee L. Ellmers to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.

10:00 A.M. – The House convened, starting a new legislative day.