The chair the gentleman will suspend. Pursuant to House Resolution 504, the gentleman from new york, the gentleman from new york, mr. Serrano, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. Mr. Serrano sorry for interrupting you, mr. Chairman. My amendment is very straightforward and prohibit funds allocated in the bill being used for the construction and operation of private forprofit prisons. The use of private the use of private prisons in our country is in a crises. People are being locked up in a facility that doesnt respect basic human rights. One in four people behind bars worldwide is in a United States jail. Thats right. The country with less than 5 of the worlds population accounts for a quarter of all the worlds prisoners. In fact, our prison population has continued to increase over the past few decades even as statistics have shown a decrease in crime. According to the f. B. I. , violent and Major Property crimes are at a historic low. Nevertheless, more and more ame
Electricity is the lifeblood of the U.S. economy it is essential for all transportation, and for manufacturing all food and consumer products on which Americans rely every day. Many small businesses and families are still struggling to make ends meet during this fragile economic rebound, and the last thing they need is the rapidly increasing electricity, fuel, and food costs. Affordable energy is the key to lasting economic recovery, and a market-based energy policy is the best way to achieve it. An effective energy policy embraces and encourages the use of abundant and reliable domestic energy resources. Any energy policy that tightens supplies and raises prices will hurt everyone but especially the lower and middle income and needlessly prolong the economic misery. It is vitally important to thwart policy initiatives that raise energy prices, make American manufacturing uncompetitive, and send American jobs abroad.