reasons, meritorious reasons for naught redeeming the our trade securities money fund to the tune of $1 billion to its clients. it is so sad when you see them putting up their billboards and buying sports stadiums down there in tampa. it must be a tough life, raymond james, but we are still out here. what more can i tell you? we are still out there. we are still fighting. we continue to fight. i hope this serves as a warning for those of you who have come. i hope i don't sound like i am bragging. it has been a rough play over three years. we continue at it. if anyone needs our help you can reach us. we are here and i am happy to take any questions you may have. >> why isn't there any criminal prosecution? >> that is a very good question. that is the question everybody asks. i would say last week's rolling stones have a wonderful article by matt taibi who asked the very same question. wall street contributes a great deal to both parties. nobody wants to bite the hand that feeds them. the justice department did make a show in that it rounded up 32 little crooks for a total of about $8

in other words, all public policies, no matter how meritorious, have limits. no policy, whether economic growth or historic preservation, should trump all else -- all else. our goal is to talk about what that policy balance is, and what it should be. how do we acknowledge that a living are been, world-class city needs to serve its past while also moving forward and changing? we will be hearing a number of different perspectives today. i look forward to that. first i am going to ask if either of my colleagues have opening comments. we are going to proceed. the way we are going to do this is we are going to hear from several city departments we have asked to come and talk about the issue. i thank them for being here. we are then going to hear from the executive director of san francisco architectural heritage. then we'll enter into public comment. i think people have already given their cards in for public comment. if you have not, there will be yellow cards on the banister. we have a lot of public comment. that is great. the time limit is 2 the laminates. that

. >> would you say that the instances -- instances of the executions, or any of these meritorious? did you see someone put to death that he thought was innocent? >> not in the cases that i dealt with. the things i oversaw, and guilt or innocence was not a question. in one case, it was the intention and not whether they were innocent or guilty of the crime. >> nevertheless, you arrive with the same feelings that the man from mississippi talked about, having gone through this process. >> i arrive at the same conclusion. i started at san quentin in 1978, after graduating. i went there, a small number of us had college degrees. the old guard would say, everyone will tell you that they're innocent. and in my 26 years, i never had anyone say that they were innocent. including the jewish chaplains clerk. i think 17 or 18 years -- he wasn't tolerated. santa then you learn that many more innocent people have been found around the country, and this really should cause all of us to rethink in criminal justice what we think that we know. there is science out there that is not known to us that

maintaining the architectural character of our diverse neighborhoods as well as individually and meritorious and private buildings. however, i also believe if someone owns a home or lot, they should be able to build their dream home. in this way neighborhoods evolve, renew themselves, speak physically, esthetically, economically and culturally to the particular moment in time in which they're built. the same sentiment must be extended to the city government. the city has a duty to provide for changing needs and demands of its citizenry. while i do not advocate san francisco abandon or turns back on historical or architectural past, the city must have the ability and flexibility to decide that some sacrifices must be made. thank you. >> thank you very much. next speaker. >> hello, i'm courtney clarkson. in the 1990's i was on the board of directors of one of the large neighborhood organizations in san francisco. not the telegraph dwellers, by the way. we were very interested in historic preservation. i spent a lot of time at city hall before various commissions, including the landmarks board.

by the way, raymond james is another one that told us the other day they had "mar tore yows -- meritorious reasons for not redeeming the auction security funds to the tune of a billion dollars to its clients." it's so sad when you see them putting up billboards and buying stadiums in florida. it must be a tough life, ray james, but we're still out there. keep that in mind. what more can i tell you? well, we're still out there. we are still fighting. we continue to fight. i hope this serves as a warning to those of you who have come. i hope i don't sound like i'm bragging or whatever. it's been a rough fight over three years. we continue at it. if anybody needs our help, you can reach us. we are here, and i'm happy to take any questions you may have. yes, sir? >> why suspect there any -- [inaudible] >> that's a good question, and that's a question everybody asks. i would -- i would say last week's "rolling stone" had a wonderful article who asked the very same questions. why? because wall street contributes a great deal to both parties, and mob wants to bite the hand that feeds them. the ju

we gave theeaders medals for meritorious service and no one blinked an eye. what did we do? we passed the patriot act and said, come and take our liberties, make us safe. we have to protect what we read, to protect what we view, to protect what -- where we go and who we associate. we shouldn't allow government to patrol willy-nilly through millions of records. you've heard of warrantless wiretaps. a lot of these things are unknown because they're so secret that nobody knows, even many of us don't even know the extent of these things. but i can tell you that there's a great deal of evidence that we are looking at millions of records and that millions of innocent u.s. citizens are having their records looked at. now, are we doing anything, are we imprisoning innocent folks? no, i don't think we're doing that. i think they're good people. i think the people i've met with the fib f f.b.i., the people i't in our government, they want to do the right things. but what i'm fearful of is there comes a time when you've given these powers up. you know, when you recognize, for example,

i wonder if there are not meritorious cases that are falling to the side because of those resources. is there something we can do or recommend? maybe not a better job, but a broader job. >> rob, thank you for asking that question, commissioner. i think we do excellent work, but we are truly limited by the resource constraints that we face. i think with additional funding and additional staff we would be able to, as you say to of broader job and address more of the complaints that we get that we find to be meritorious but that, for example, won't necessarily result in the kinds of systemic relief that we think of the best use of the resources that we have. we would very much like to proceed in cases which often present egregious tax, but which we simply did not have the bandwidth to be able to take on. >> ninety. >> you are recognized by the chair. >> thank you. he talked about the philadelphia case, but that is really an extreme case. as you recognize, it involves physical violence. i mean, it seems to me there is a bright and clear line between physical violence and verbal harassmen

i wonder if they are not meritorious cases that are falling to the side because of those resources. is there something we can do or recommend to help you to enhance those resources so you can, maybe not a better job, but a broader job? >> thank you for asking that question, commissioner. i think we do do excellent work, but we are truly limited by the resource constraints that we face. and i think with additional funding and additional staff we would be able to, as you say, do a broader job and address more of the complaints that we get that we find to be meritorious, but that, for example, won't necessarily result in the kinds of systemic relief that we think are the best use of the resources that we have. so we would very much like to proceed in cases which often present each we just facts, but which we simply do not have demands with to be able to take on. >> thank you. >> vice chair thernstrom is recognized by the chair. >> you talked about the philadelphia case, but that is really an extreme case, and as you recognize, it involves physical violence. so, i mean, it seems to me t

his awards include the bronze star medal, the meritorious service medal, air force commendation medal with three oak leaf clusters, joint service achievement medal and air force achievement medal. he survived by his wife, son, daughter, two sons, and his father and mother. these brave heroes are an example of what's best about our country. and while we mourn their loss we celebrate the freedom that they passed defending. so i'd say over the next couple years as we go forward and we debate really big issues near washington with and we have disagreement, never forget that we're all americans. that's the most important thing. so to the nine heroes and to those who gave their lives already, to those who continue to serve everyday, let me just humbly say, on behalf of everybody in the united states congress, on behalf of americans, on behalf of a republican and democrat standing here in the chamber, united on this, thank you. thank you for defending your country. thank you for being an example for generations to come. we mourn for your loss but now we celebrate the freedom that you defende

[applause] >> donna mcaleer was awarded the bronze star for meritorious service. he served 22 years as a senior u.s. diplomat at the state department including service as national security council director for russia and eurasia. he served ten years with a nato working foreign policy adviser to in nato's afghanistan commander. he is a visiting distinguished fellow of national defence university and a lecturer at northeast michigan college. welcome. [applause] >> karl marlantes is a rhodes scholar at oxford and a marine veteran who served with great distinction in vietnam where he was awarded the navy cross. lebron star and two metal the valor and two purple hearts. his novel "matterhorn: a novel of the vietnam war" was a new york times best seller the bridge the usa today best seller, best of 2010 title in time magazine by digital entertainment weekly and the washington post. "matterhorn: a novel of the vietnam war" is the recipient of this year's colby award and we are proud to have karl marlantes with us today. [applause] >> nearest to me is doug stanton. he is

army vietnam veteran awarded a bronze star into meritorious service medals. usurper 22 years as a senior u.s. diplomat at the state department including service as national security council, director for russia and eurasia. he served 10 years with nato including work in foreign-policy adviser to nato's afghanistan commander. he is a visiting distinguished fellow the national defense university and a lecturer at northwestern michigan college. welcome. [applause] karl marlantes is a graduate of yale university, a rhodes scholar at oxford and a marine veteran who served with great distinction in vietnam where he was awarded the navy cross, the bronze star, two navy commendation medals for valor, two purple hearts and their medals. is novel "matterhorn" come his debut book was in her times bestseller and the "usa today" bestseller, best of 2010 title from "time" magazine, entertainment weekly, esquire and the "washington post." "matterhorn" is the recipient of this year's colby award and we are very proud to have karl marlantes with us today. [applause] and final

she has received numerous awards including the presidential rank award for meritorious service in 2005t is our privilege to have these witnesses. let's start with mr. kerlikowske. please proceed with your statements. >> and thank you for the opportunity to address the important issue of prescription drug abuse. i am grateful for the committee's attention to the topic. prescription drug abuse has been a major focus since my confirmation. i directed the national drug control program agencies to address the epidemic. i have a responsibility to raise public awareness, coordinate federal activities, and take action on drug issues that affect our nation. the efforts we've taken our balance. they incorporate new research and evidence-based approaches. prescription drug use -- abuse is the fastest growing drug problem in the united states. it is categorized as a public health epidemic by the centers for disease control and prevention. the number of individuals who for the first time consumed prescription drugs for a non- medical purpose was similar to the number of first-time marijuana users.

a we gave the leaders medals for meritorious service and no one blinked an eye. what did we do? we passed the patriot actot and said, take our liberties and make us safer. to make a safe we shouldn't give up our rights to protect what we read, to protect what we viewt and to protect where we go in who we associate. we shouldn't w allow governmento control willy-nilly through millions of records. we have heard of warrantless wiretaps. a lot of these things areseet unknown because they are so even secret that nobody knows. evekn even manyow of us don't know the extent of these things but i cat tell youha that there is a great deal of evidence that we are re looking at millions of records a and that millions of innocentd u.s. citizens are having their records look that.mprini nongw are we doing anything?no,o are wen' imprisoning innocentth. folks? i don't think we are doing that. i think there are good people. i think the people that i've w t with the fbi and in our government want to do the rightt things.ngs. what i am fearful of is that there comes a time when you have given thes

awards including the rank of distinguished executive in 2004 and a presidential rank award for meritorious service in 2005 and 2000 it is our privilege to have these two witnesses here and while they go across the table and we will start with mr. kerlikowske. please proceed with your statement. >> mr. chairman whitehouse, thank you for the opportunity to address the important issues prescription drug abuse and i'm very grateful for the committee's attention to this topic. prescription drug abuse has been a major focus at omb pc since my confirmation and i've directed the national drug control program agencies to address this epidemic in our country. i have the responsibility to raise public awareness and coordinate federal activities and take action on drug issues that affect our nation. the efforts that we have taken are balanced and they incorporate the research and evidence-based approaches to address drug use and its consequences. prescription drug use -- abuses the fasted growing to problem in the united states. it is categorized as a public health epidemic by the centers for disease

i think it's an important and meritorious amendment. i think at least the republican caucus can do, the least they can do is say, you know what, if we are going to create -- go back to the bad old days back -- before health insurance reform, back before the affordable care act was passed, before we go back to the bad old days, we should know what harm we're doing to the american people. i urge support of this amendment and i will reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. burgess: i thank the chairman for the recognition. i do rise in opposition to the ellison amendment. the chair: the gentleman controls five minutes. mr. burgess: i feel obligated to point out that the insurance companies of this country love the patient protection and affordable care act. look what happened to their stock on march 24 of 2010. it went through the roof. the reason why is they got an individual mandate not supported by any american that i know, they got an individual mandate that every man, woman, child in this coun

we gave the leaders medals for meritorious service and no one blinked an eye. what did we do? we passed the patriot act and said, come and take our liberties, make us safe. we have to protect what we read, to protect what we view, to protect what -- where we go and who we associate. we shouldn't allow government to patrol willy-nilly through millions of records. you've heard of warrantless wiretaps. a lot of these things are unknown because they're so secret that nobody knows, even many of us don't even know the extent of these things. but i can tell you that there's a great deal of evidence that we are looking at millions of records and that millions of innocent u.s. citizens are having their records looked at. now, are we doing anything, are we imprisoning innocent folks? no, i don't think we're doing that. i think they're good people. i think the people i've met with the fib f f.b.i., the people i't in our government, they want to do the right things. but what i'm fearful of is there comes a time when you've given these powers up. you know, when you recognize, for example,

admiral allen dedicated himself to these missions and kept his -- capped his career by providing meritorious leadership to our nation's oldest, continuous sea-going service. thad allen was born and raised in tucson, arizona. his parents were chief damage controlman clyde allen and wilma allen. after grad waight from the united states coast guard academy in 1971, he served in a variety of assignments eventually becomin becoming com. it has been said before and i think it is worth repeating, when times are at their worst, the coast guard is at its best. admiral allen deserves credit for providing the leadership skills that allow that statement to remain true during some of the most difficult time of our nation in recent years. i came to know thad allen in a time of hardship. my home state of mississippi and other coast guard -- gulf coast states had just experienced two of the deadliest hurricanes in our nation's history in katrina and rita. he was the principal federal official for response and recovery for those natural disasters. i will never forget the destruction we witnessed. homes, scho