madam chair, i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. tonko: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. >> thank you, madam chair. i am prepared to close. the chair: the gentleman is recognized to close. >> thank you. madam chair, my closing statement would be the administration has demonstrated that one of its top priorities is the research and necessary regulation of pfas. its ongoing commitment to public safety is responsible. congress should allow the e.p.a. to complete its work before casting such a wide net when labeling 5,000-plus pfas as hazardous. mr. balderson: this is an opportunity for congress to be proactive rather than reactive. i invite you to join me in supporting thoughtful action to ensure safety of the american public and our environment. i urge a yes vote on my amendment. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentle

[gavel]. >> chair fewer: okay. i think i make a motion to move this forward with a positive recommendation. if we can take this without objection. thank you. [gavel]. >> chair fewer: madam clerk, can you please read item 3. [agenda item read]. >> chair fewer: thank you very much. i think we have miss widener here, too. >> yes. thank you, chair fewer, members of the committee. kathy widener, san francisco international airport. the item before you seeks a ninth amendment to the existing between of t1 cubed and a.g.s. for the new boarding project. the proposed amendment will increase the contract not to exceed amount by $9 million. the project includes the construction of a new 550,000 square foot facility, which is boarding area b, 20 new aircraft parking positions, including seven international swing gates, a new building envelope, complete electrical and mechanical systems replacement as well as the interior architecture, and the paving of the taxi lanes surrounding the terminal. the board originally approved this

[gavel]. >> chair fewer: madam clerk. [agenda item read]. >> chair fewer: thank you very much. and we have hannah fjord. >> good morning, supervisors, and thank you so much for your time. so my name is hannah fjord. i'm the s.t.d. and behavioral health coordinator, and i'm here also with my colleague, john mellikar, and we are the d.p.h. branch that receives the h.i.v. funding. and we're heavy to ask for your approval to accept the retroactive grant from the centers for disease control. and the grant amount is $375,000 and the funding period is september 30 of 2019 to sept 29 of 2020. and this is part of the current administration's national end to h.i.v. epidemic initiative, and it's for one year rapid planning process to develop a comprehensive san francisco ending the epidemics plan. and so the san francisco plan will focus on health disparities and inequities, and it will use a racial and social justice lens and integrate hiv, sexually transmitted infections, and s.t.d. prevention and care strategies. it's going to develop new and existing enhanced strategic partnerships. t

chair. for what purpose does gentlelady connecticut rise? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise in support of h.j.res. 76, a resolution of the disapproval of secretary of education new borrower defense rule. this rule guts student protections for students and taxpayers and makes it difficult for students to access relief for loans and degrees that have no value. students in connecticut have been defrauded like i.t.t. tech and still await relief. the department has made the approval process more difficult leaving students desperately waiting for answers. low-income students, student veterans and students of color are lured into fraudulent schools to make profits. the devos rule weakens the early warning system that forces institutions to invest in the potential debt relief. and it puts a greater burden of proof on stud

chair. and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. shimkus: as we went through the debate, one thing i learned was exposure over time of the hazard equals the risk. so sometimes we conflate a bad chemical as risk unless you can protect it from exposure. that's why i have been exposing on the 6,668 chemicals. and the chemicals in a hockey puck but not in the bloodstream. what this bill does say, everything will be a hazardous waste and then the contrary argument is, well, great put in the superfund. when will that get cleaned up? and if it's in ellison air force base in alaska, not still cleaned up. williams in arizona, still not cleaned up. in merced, california, still not cleaned up. dover air force base, central landfield in rhode island, still not cleaned up. oneybrook, superfund site. but what we have is 5 years of litigation. i like that red map that they are touting out here on this bill. that red map indicates that red map indicates trial lawyer action in all those states because m

[gavel]. >> chair haney: mr. clerk, we can call the next item. >> clerk: item 10, adjournment. >> chair haney: thank you. this meeting is now adjourned. adjourned. >> shop & dine in the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do their shop & dine in the 49 with within the 49 square miles of san francisco by supporting local services within the neighborhood we help san francisco remain unique successful and vibrant so where will you shop & dine in the 49 my name is jim woods i'm the founder of woods beer company and the proprietor of woods copy k open 2 henry adams what makes us unique is that we're reintegrated brooeg the beer and serving that cross the table people are sitting next to the xurpz drinking alongside we're having a lot of ingredient that get there's a lot to do the district of retail shop having that really close connection with the consumer allows us to do exciting things we decided to come to treasure island because we saw it as an amazing opportunity can't be beat the views and r

chair. in this country, our credit reports are our reputation. determining where you can live, where you can work and how much it will cost you to finance everything from a car to a college degree. our credit reporting system is fundamentally flawed. reiff with inequities and disparities that stifle the upward mobility of millions of hardworking americans. i am proud to rise in support of my comprehensive credit reporting enhancement disclosure, innovation and transparency, or the comprehensive credit act, a critical package of reforms that will improve our fundamentally flawed credit reporting system. how and what information is shared with credit reporting agencies is especially important as americans take on ever-increasing debts, simply for trying to afford basic needs. housing, health care, and higher education. trailing only mortgages, student loan debt is now the second highest form of consumer debt, impacting nearly 1/5 of u.s. households and totaling over $1.6 trillion. . that's tri

>> chair: mr. sanna. >> good morning, commissioners. >> chair: before we start, i just -- commissioner fewer has to leave, you're excused. commissioner safai is making a motion to excuse supervisor fewer for the rest of the meeting, seconded by commissioner ronen. we'll take that without objection. [gavel] sorry, mr. sanna, the floor is yours. >> with the transportation authority and i'm here to provide an update on our congestion management program, or c.p.m. as a congestion management agency, the transportation authority monitors and reports various performance measures on c.m.p. network every two years. the c.m.p. network includes 230 miles of major arterials and freeways. requirements include monitoring level of service,. however, we are unique in a way that we -- in addition to automobiles. as san francisco continues to experience significant growth in jobs and population, auto speeds have declined further. there have been 1% to 5% drops across the different facility types and peak periods, co

[gavel]. >> chair peskin: i will move to the chair's report. colleagues, as we begin the new year here at the t.a., i want to share a few thoughts on our major thoughts and initiatives to collaborate with our community partners to improve transportation locally and regionally. as always, our top priority is safety, and i look forward to continued collaboration with chair yee, the president of our transportation committee to forward policies to reduce accidents, something that did not go well for the city for 2019. i want to point out that commissioner yee and i had with a meeting with representative chiu, and head of the california highway patrol, and others about moving forward with automated speed enforcement legislation for san francisco and possibly san jose, and that was a very productive meeting. so we're determined to advance the effort at the state level to obtain a.s.c. legislation and that front as we continue to invest in projects, and i'm particularly excited to see the embarcadero sidewalk tracks move forward in the northeast corne

[gavel]. >> chair peskin: i will move to the chair's report. colleagues, as we begin the new year here at the t.a., i want to share a few thoughts on our major thoughts and initiatives to collaborate with our community partners to improve transportation locally and regionally. as always, our top priority is safety, and i look forward to continued collaboration with chair yee, the president of our transportation committee to forward policies to reduce accidents, something that did not go well for the city for 2019. i want to point out that commissioner yee and i had with a meeting with representative chiu, and head of the california highway patrol, and others about moving forward with automated speed enforcement legislation for san francisco and possibly san jose, and that was a very productive meeting. so we're determined to advance the effort at the state level to obtain a.s.c. legislation and that front as we continue to invest in projects, and i'm particularly excited to see the embarcadero sidewalk tracks move forward in the northeast corne

. >> chair haney: thank you, mr. clerk. will you please call the next item. >> clerk: item 2, chair's report. this is informational item. >> chair haney: thank you. and thank you, colleagues, for convening as the treasure island management committee. as you know, housing on treasure island is ever closer to reality. the first new homes are anticipated on yerba buena island as soon as 18 months from now. significant construction is underway, and with that, the new year requires some important decision including toll policy for future workers workers -- current workers as well as residents and future workers. this month, i offered our full support for the water emergency transportation authority's innovative application to the california state transportation agency for the 2020 transit and inner city rail capital program. the requested funds will support the construction of an all-electric 99-passenger ferry vellve, and the required shoring infrastructure to serve the new treasure island route, demonstrating the nation's firs

i'm sandra lee fewer, the chair. and i'm joined by gordon mar, and shanti singh and our clerk, and i would like to thank michael baklazar and jason goldhammer -- golddahmer, i'm sorry, i don't know what is with me today, from sfgov-tv. madam clerk, any announcements. >> clerk: silence all cellphones and documents should be submitted to the clerk. >> chair fewer: i wanted to everyone to know that we will need to recess this at 11:20 to 12:00 noon. so let's start. madam clerk. can you call item number 1. >> clerk: item one was to the call to order and recall call. would you like me to call item two. >> chair fewer: yes. >> clerk: the approval of the lafco minutes from the november 15, 2019 regular meets. >>> chair fewer: any questions or colleagues? seeing none, any public comment? seeing none, let's approve the minutes of the meeting. and we can take that without objection. do ied i need a second. thank you very much. and madam clerk, call item 3. >> clerk: the presentation and discussion on the cleanpowersf local ren

commissioner mar. >> thank you, chair, chair fewer. i just had a question about the recommendation number two and it's going on the public comments from mr. brooks and the need for the city to have a comprehensive plan to reach our ambitious goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. and the suggestion that lafco could and really should play a role in getting that comprehensive plan developed. so recommendation number two is just about bringing on a consultant with a more limited sort of role -- it's not to support lafco or to help to get the city to develop the comprehensive plan to meet the goal, but can you explain what -- what -- at least what you're proposing for the consultant to focus on? >> so, thank you, commissioner mar for the question. so i think that the goal here is to strengthen lafco's role oversight authority over cleanpowersf by adding expertise that would allow us to provide better feedback to the p.u.c. on their proposed projects. to basically to more deeply examine the proposals that are coming from the p.u.c. with reg

the chair now lays before the house a communication. the chair: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives -- the clerk: the honorable speaker, house of representatives, madam. pursuant to the permission grapted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on january 13, 2020, at 12: 28 p.m. that the senate passed senate 1982. that the senate passed senate 2629. that the senate agreed to senate joint resolution 65. that the senate agreed to senate joint resolution 66. that the senate agreed to senate joint resolution 67. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 263. that the senate passed with amendments h.r. 925. with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, cheryl l johnson. the the speaker pro tempore: the chair now lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 583, an act to amend the communications act of 1934 to provide for enhanced penalties for pirate radio and for other purposes. e speaker pro tempore: pursu

chair? >> we have before us an opportunity to elect a chair and vice chair. we will begin with the chair first. do i have any nominations for chair? >> yes. i would like to nominate miguel bustos as chair. >> i second that nomination. >> okay. i will accept the nomination for chair. nominations for chair is closed. are there any members of the public would like to comment on this nomination for chair? seeing none, any oppositions or extensions? madam secretary, please call roll call for this. >> this roll call item is for miguel bustos to serve as chair. [roll call] mr. chair, the vote is three aye one absent. >> thank you, commissioners. the next item is electing the vice chair. do we have any nominations for vice chair? >> i would like to nominate mara rosales. >> i will second that. >> i accept. thank you. >> okay. nominations for vice chair is now closed. are there members of the public who wish to speak on this item? seeing none, any oppositions or extensions? madam secretary, please call roll call for this election. >> this roll call item is for mara ro

. >> item 3, election of chair and vice chair for the year 2020. this is an action item. >> nominations are now in order for the office of chair. is there a motion, commissioner xi. >> i would like to make a motion to nominate erin peskin. >> seconded. >> any other nominations? nobody wants the job. seeing none, we will close the nominations and on that motion made and seconded, can we do that same house, same call -- i'm sorry, commissioner furer. >> i meant to put my name on the next item. >> same house, same call. thank you for your confidence, colleagues and now the nominations are in order for the office of vice chair, commissioner furer. >> i nominate commissioner mmandelman. >> made and seconded by commissioner ronan -- i'm sorry, commissioner stephanie, excuse me. are there any other nominations for the office of vice chair? seeing none, co nominations are closed and we can take that same house, same call and another year at the sfcta. mr. clerk, next item, please. >> item 4, allocate 220,000 with conditions and sales tax funds to the san f

not just a chair 200 years of chair design are on show with a select examples from the famous german furniture manufacturer among them classics. a chair designed in 836. and another one from 2018. munich's pina could take down more down a museum is dedicating an entire exhibition to the last 200 years of chair design. the show is entitled to an at and design one of the curators. one of her favorites is this chair from 859 it's sold over 50000000 times entirely new at the time it was the use of bentwood. that's us i believe this is an iconic piece of design this so-called coffeehouse chair also simply known as number 14 is characterized by the unity of technology and design it's a simple piece of furniture and consists of just 6 parts and 10 screws and 2 nuts say that's all i want that is. the exhibition looks ahead as well as back. munich designer stephan calla created the show's concept and contributed a study of his own for a new chair and a stool. as a woman from guns this is an early prototype of a very narrow chair this here's a study on active sitting and about finding the tipp

commissioner mar. >> thank you, chair, chair fewer. i just had a question about the recommendation number two and it's going on the public comments from mr. brooks and the need for the city to have a comprehensive plan to reach our ambitious goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. and the suggestion that lafco could and really should play a role in getting that comprehensive plan developed. so recommendation number two is just about bringing on a consultant with a more limited sort of role -- it's not to support lafco or to help to get the city to develop the comprehensive plan to meet the goal, but can you explain what -- what -- at least what you're proposing for the consultant to focus on? >> so, thank you, commissioner mar for the question. so i think that the goal here is to strengthen lafco's role oversight authority over cleanpowersf by adding expertise that would allow us to provide better feedback to the p.u.c. on their proposed projects. to basically to more deeply examine the proposals that are coming from the p.u.c. with reg

vice chair clarida: we have said the u.s. economy is in a good place, solid growth, historically low unemployment, inflation stable. we left rates unchanged. that was the right call. we think policy is appropriate to support a continuation. solid growth, strong labor market, and low inflation. that is the message. low low inflict -- david: inflation is a good thing up to a point. we also saw the chairman saying i do not want to take any risk on disinflation. he was adamant about 2%. what can you do to make sure we are at or above 2%? vice chair clarida: that is a good point. we did clarify our statement saying we have a policy in place to get inflation up to 2%. the reason you want to keep inflation at the golf is we have seen in europe in japan that over a decade it gets harder to keep the economy humming. we are top you bought a policy that will move inflation up to 2%, which we think is important. guy: -- david: how will you get that done? you've not been able to keep core inflation at 2%. are atal institutions record leve

the chair will alternate recognition between the parties. all time shall be equally allocated between the parties and in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip shall be limited to five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. aguilar, for five minutes. today,ilar: mr. speaker, i rise to honor the life of tim husband, devoted brother, son, and teacher. working to life save the life of another. volunteer for the intesan county's search andres could you team, tim searched for a hiker on valde.nia's mount tragically, this would be tim's final rescue operation. the risks, tim's endless dedication to serving others guided him through nine years as volunteer with the search andres could you team, where he ssisted with countless operations to help save the lives of fellow san bernardino county residents. passion for search andres could you was not the -- the desire to not community. tim's desire serving the ommunity spanned across educati

chair? >> we have before us an opportunity to elect a chair and vice chair.e will begin with the chair first. do i have any nominations for chair? >> yes. i would like to nominate miguel bustos as chair. >> i second that nomination. >> okay. i will accept the nomination for chair. nominations for chair is closed. are there any members of the public would like to comment on this nomination for chair? seeing none, any oppositions or extensions? madam secretary, please call roll call for this. >> this roll call item is for miguel bustos to serve as chair. [roll call] mr. chair, the vote is three aye one absent. >> thank you, commissioners. the next item is electing the vice chair. do we have any nominations for vice chair? >> i would like to nominate mara rosales. >> i will second that. >> i accept. thank you. >> okay. nominations for vice chair is now closed. are there members of the public who wish to speak on this item? seeing none, any oppositions or extensions? madam secretary, please call roll call for this election. >> this roll call item is for mara rosa

i thank the chair for her indulgence. i yield back. chair rice: thank you. the chair now recognizes the gentlelady from texas, ms. garcia. ms. garcia: thank you, madam chair. thank you for your vote on letting me in on-to-sit on this committee. thank you to the witnesses. i have been following this issue for a great number of years, beginning with the first influx when i was the chair of the senate hispanic caucus in texas. have visited probably about 10 facilities under the jurisdiction of c.b.p. or o. r.r. i have seen the differences in a lot of the medical protocols, a lot of the medical care that's provided, and all the different facilities. i must say i never found them to be adequate. i never certainly found them to be a clinic or hospital. and to just borrow the words of my colleague to the right, congressman lee, no one's asking for a hospital. and dr. eastman, i know you made reference to -- you can't make -- put a clinic in every single, used the word substation or police department facility. i don't think we are asking for that, either. but i thin

chair? >> any questions? nothing. next item? >> item 10, close session, under california government code, 54956.9, conference with legal counsel for existing litigation offers the city and county of san francisco, number c18 c18-6830sba, northern district of california, complaint filed november 9, 2018, item b, under code 95946, .1 conference with legal counsel for existing litigation, city and county of san francisco versus michael e. johnson, 18-8594, san francisco city and county, complaint filed august 16, 2018. >> thank you. madam secretary, do we have any speaker cards? >> no speaker cards. >> so we have vice chair rosalis who would like to speak about this. >> yes, i need to disclose on the record before we go into closed session that i have a personal and business relationship with the defense counsel in the second matter. the defense counsel representing michael johnson. >> thank you. >> i would like to ask anybody not directly involved with this matter to please leave the room. >> we are reconvening. there was no actio

thank you, madam chair. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? mr. raskin: madam speaker, by direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 811 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house ralder number 71. -- calendar number 71. resolved, that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill, h.r. 3621, to amend the fair credit reporting act to remove adverse information for certain defaulted or delinquent private education loan borrowers who demonstrate a history of loan repayment, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments specified in

chair. i thank our professionals who are appearing before us today, the panelists, hastings and eastman, for your service at the board and for being here today. i look forward to hearing about the actions dhs has taken to enhance customs and border protections' ability to handle migrants arriving at the border in deteriorating health and to prevent deaths in its custody. the crisis that unfolded along our border last year was real. it was not the fault of the men and women of customs and border protection. it wasn't the fault of the executive branch nor the president of the united states. the truth is, this past year, we saw record numbers of family units, unaccompanied minors, large groups of 100 migrants or more, 213 groups to be exact, arriving at our border during the height of flu season and during months of extreme heat. at the time the border patrol was referring 50 cases per day to medical professionals. the border crisis was a result of legal loopholes, activist judges, propaganda f

the chair: mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on has had of the union h.r. 535 andration ursuant to house resolution 79, i report the bill, as amended, by that resolution back to the house with sundry further adopted in the committee of the whole. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the reports the committee has under consideration the bill 535 and pursuant to house resoluti 779 reports the bill back to the house with sundry further mendments adopted in the committee of the whole. under the rule, the previous question is ordered. is a separate vote demanded on by the dment reported committee of the whole? if not, the chair will put them en gros. adoption on is on the of the amendment. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. it.ayes is the amendments are agreed to. he question is on en grosment and -- engrossment and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. no.e opposed, third reading. the clerk: a bill polyfluoroalkyl substan

the chair will alternate recognition between the parties. with time equally allocated between parties and each member other than the he majority and minority leaders and minority whip limited to five minutes. but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, for five minutes. thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today long last the united states-mexico-canada agreement will officially become law. usmca is a major win not only for american farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and business owners, but for each and every american who depends on these industries. thanks to the leadership of the trump administration, we are delivering real results for the men and women who are the backbone of the american economy. freer markets, fair trade, and increased opportunity are on the horizon as usmca is signed today and implemented. the numbers are staggering. more than $68 billion in new economic activity, approximately 176,000 new jobs, an increase of more than $2 billion a year in

the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. january 14, 2020. i hereby appoint the honorable henry cuellar to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 7, 2020rk the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with the time equally allocated between the parties and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and minority whip limited to five minutes. but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, recently hi the pleasure of kicking off the new year by teaningd the 104th pennsylvania farm show in harrisburg, pennsylvania. the largest indoor agriculture expo zigs in

also judiciary committee chair nadler. house committee chair zoe lofgren. democratic caucus chair hakeem representatives val demings of florida, jason crow garcia ado, and sylvia of texas. the house is coming back in at eastern. shortly thereafter they'll debate the appointment managers.t votes expected around 12:45 p.m. eastern. impeachment will be signed by speaker pelosi today at 5:00 eastern and walked over to the u.s. senate. it here on c-span beginning with the coverage at noon of the u.s. house. now, though, we're going to take you live to the white house. president trump this morning what's being g called phase one of the trade deal with china. get under way shortly. we are live at the white house. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] get under way. we are live at the white house. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2020] >> president trump set to sign the china trade agreement. o

the chair will alternate recognition between the parties. time equally allocated between the parties. each member other than the majority and minority leaders and minority whip limited to five minutes. but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from kansas, mr. marshall, for five minutes. thank you, mr. speaker. in response to successful precise united states air strike against iranian terrorists, general soleimani, a strike that was carefully thought out, that was vetted, there was carefully planned by our president, the secretary of state, white house leadership, and the pentagon my democrat colleagues are threatening to force a vote to restrict our president's ability to exercise his constitutional powers as commander in chief. and thus place more american lives at risk. listen, i don't want a war. the president doesn't want a war. many, many kansans i talked to, they don't want any more american lives lost in another endless war in the middle east. but what kansans do want is a president to

the chair will alternate recognition between the parties. all time shall be equally allocated between the parties and in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. green, for five minutes. green: and still i rise, mr. speaker. today because i have a question. a question for prosperity. those who estion for within the well senate. i have a question. also have a predicate for the question. the predicate is this. know, knowing u hat the national security advisor was in the room with the that he has owing ndicated that there were concerns within him with reference to the president's countries, h other heads of state, knowing that he ook his consternation to the attorney general of the united states of america, knowing that expressed y general some concerns as well, knowing the national, that security advisor, not just another person in the room, but person who advises the resident on concerns with reference of our security, knowing this, how can you efforts to have the national security advisor the

the chair recognizes mr. raskin. >> madame chair, thank you very much. and congratulations to you. >> thank you. >> on your first hearing. and i know that this will be an important landmark for you the way that it was an important land mark for chairman cummings when he had the prescription drug hearing as his first hearing of the new congress. mr. seyedian, i want to go back to the tax cuts. some colleagues have suggested the trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthiest corporations and people has provided paid leave benefits to workers. and i know there was a limited temporary tax credit for employers who provide two weeks of paid leave that was built into the legislation. but is there any evidence that this trillion dollar tax cut has actually made a structural difference in people's ability to get family and medical leave? >> not that i'm aware of. and certainly not in my experience. i certainly as a small business owner don't feel the effects of that law, i would say. >> okay. is there anybody who has any structural evidence or data about this point w

chair, i yield back. the peaker pro tempore: chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. kennedy, for five minutes. mr. kennedy: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, young men and omen enlisting in our military for the first time went to throughout offices our country this year. will reflect days they will sign up to fight for started before they were born. 19 years. in 's how long we've been afghanistan. 7 years, that's how long we've been in iraq. not to mention the american dollars, he american american boots, american lives to yemen, ton sent and many, many globe.orners of our we are a generation that's spent the better part of their life at war in a country in the middle east. perpetual wars fought under the of two permission slips that this body gave the executive branch nearly 20 years ago. . in 2001, congress authorized our offensive against al qaeda and the taliban in the wake of 9/11. in what became the largest armed conflict in american history. in 2002, congress authorized the invasion of iraq in what became the gravest foreign policy mistake of a generation