I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley), a member of our committee.

I now yield 1 minute to a member of our committee and chairman of our caucus, the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra).

I yield 1 minute to another member of our committee, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott). (Mr. McDERMOTT asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, here we are with another…

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel). (Mr. RANGEL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

I yield 1 minute to another member of our committee, the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

I now yield 2 minutes to the ranking member of the Budget Committee, Mr. Van Hollen.

I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), a member of our committee.

If the gentleman from Michigan is ready to close, I'll do the same and yield myself the balance of my time. I regret the last statements. It is not correct to say that the President has not been interested in deficit reduction. That is not…

We are going to vote soon, but first we want to hear from our whip, the distinguished gentleman from Maryland, who has worked so hard on these issues for decades. I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

I now, with pleasure, yield 3 minutes to another member of our leadership, the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn).

I now yield 2 minutes to Danny Davis, our colleague from Illinois who is soon rejoining us on Ways and Means.

I now yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Schwartz), our colleague-to-be on Ways and Means.

I will yield to my temptation to respond, and I will now yield 2 minutes to another distinguished gentleman, a member of our committee, Mr. Neal of Massachusetts.

I yield myself 15 seconds. I just don't want the chairman's statement that this settles permanently how much revenue will be made available. The President has made clear there has to be a balanced approach, and no one should be misled into…

I yield myself 15 seconds. We Democrats sat on Ways and Means, time after time, when Republicans passed tax cuts and never brought $1 to the table to pay for it. They thought that that was the way to promote economic growth. How wrong they…

This is a bipartisan bill, and I will try to keep it within that spirit to the extent possible. As we are here today on January 1, hours away from Americans returning to work, markets reopening around the world, and all eyes focusing on…

I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15- minute vote on the motion to concur will be followed by a 5-minute vote on the motion to suspend the rules and pass…

I now yield 2 minutes to another member of the Ways and Means Committee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).

I will vote in support of the legislation before us because we have a responsibility to help our fellow Americans who have lost homes and businesses through no fault of their own. Natural disasters are something we can attempt to prepare…

I rise to pay tribute to a staff member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who will be retiring at the end of this session of Congress. Her name is Christine Cowart, and for the past 6 years, she has served as the Chief Clerk of the…

I very much thank my dear friend from Arizona. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Michigan.

I thank the Presiding Officer. The only one thing I will add to this subject before we vote--the Senator from Arkansas seeks to speak and we will run out of time soon--is that a provision which is in our bill, which both the ranking member…

I would note that the committee's chief clerk Chris Cowert will be retiring at the end of this year after completing more than 41 years on the committee staff. She has been a driving force behind the staff support of the annual Defense…

Yes, that is correct. The language does not apply to fiscal year 2012 funds. We should all expect the agencies involved to adhere to the framework set forth in last year's memorandum of understanding.

for the Committee on Armed Services I report favorably the following nomination lists which were printed in the Records on the dates indicated, and ask unanimous consent, to save the expense of reprinting on the Executive Calendar that…