mr. cohen: mr.speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cohen: mr. speaker, i rise in support of house resolution 260, a resolution that supports efforts to reduce infant mortality in the united states. the united states amazingly enough ranks 29th in the world in the incidents of infant mortality. that is a shocking figure. and while there are a lot of reasons for infant mortality, there is education, there's health care, there are certain other issues that may be existent. health care is the primary one. and as we discuss health care in this congress, it's hard to submit looking at the united states being 29th in the congress in infant mortality that we don't have a problem somewhere with our health care system. the extremely high incidence of infant death in the african-american community is particularly troubling. in shelby county, tennessee, the county which i represent, african-american babies die at three times the nation's i

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time and urge a positive vote on the amendment. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from tennessee. those in favor, please say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 10 printed in house report 111-255. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise? mr. donnelly: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 10 printed in house report 111-255 offered about mr. donnelly of indiana. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 745, the gentleman from indiana, mr. donnelly, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana. mr. donnelly: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: without objection. mr.

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. we in this house of representatives have the opportunity to participate and help shape history. last night during the joint session president obama was part of that great train of history of our nation. he spoke in the great tradition of teddy roosevelt who first spoke about national health care and eleanor roosevelt who talked about it, harry truman who spoke 60 years ago from this well about that need and this nation. he spoke in the great tradition of john kennedy and lyndon johnson who saw that medicaid and medicare were passed in 1965. i was very, very proud to be part of this body last night and i'll be even prouder when a vote comes up. over the speaker's rostrum engraved in stone is a quote from daniel webster, let us develop the resources of our land, call forth its powers, 3wil8d on its institutions, plote all its great interest, and see whether we also in our day and generation may not perform something worthy to be remembered. daniel webster's calling to us to heed barack

mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker. today, the house will vote on the student aid and fiscal responsibility act. it's an important bill to help education in our country. it will give higher pell grant amounts to students who need more money to make it through college. it will put moneys in the community colleges for fiscal improvements and also into k-12 for fiscal improvements. it will help historically black colleges and universities who are suffering a great deal at this time. there's so much this bill will do to help move us forward and it will save $12 billion toward the deficits. take moneys from the private sector that's been making money off of student loans and provide opportunities for students in education and it will repeal a draconian provision that hurts minorities and ors who can't get student loans because of federal laws because of simple violations of criminal laws. that shouldn't happen and those students should have the opportunity to get college grants and loans and go on and approve -- improve them

mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i like other members of congress went home and had a town hall meeting on health care and met with many doctors. what i found is that the american public knows that the system is broken and that we need to change. the difficulty i've got in my district is i'm for a public option, but i'm not drawing a line in the sand to say i won't vote for a bill that improves the health care system, that takes care of the problem concerning pre-existing conditions, that gives more wellness and preventive programs, and that sees that we have more family dogs and health centers. for that the liberals in my district, and i'm a liberal, are upset with me because i haven't said i won't vote for a bill that won't have a public option. on the other hand there are people against health care at all, if i vote for anything they'll be upset. tonight the president of the united states will address the nation. i plan to listen. and i plan to support the president of the united stat

mrs. carla cohen, a member of raising women's voices for the healthcare we need. we also have patricia nemore with the center for medicare advocacy and as a resource pierceon is the director of the national women's health network. we've heard stories, panels, euthanasia, we've heard any number of things, seniors will pay for the healthcare of younger americans. the myths abound, but what we are here to tell america and america's seniors is healthcare reform will be good for their health. first, for seniors who are right now receiving prescription drug coverage under medicare, prescription drug coverage under medicare part d, guess what? that ugly donut hole that you encounter about halfway through the year where all of a sudden your support and help paying for prescription drugs goes away this, legislation finally begins to close that loophole. secondly, for those who are saying, i'm going to need medicare for quite sometime and i keep hearing stories it's going under f. we pass this legislation today hr-3200, we will extend the life of medicare by five years, sim

election in to test and 10 kids and unlikely officeholder, a je-- robin brown also writes that "mr. cohen is a well known for --. to bloomfield connecticut. this is -- did i get your right -- your name right? kuba? caller: yes. the whole world is watching. when president obama won the election, america had turned the -- it appears the ugly face of racism manifest itself in all different forms. joe wilson is an embarrassment to republicans. he was an embarrassment to the whole house. he brought the whole house into total distribute. it is a -- it is -- into total disrepute. it is incumbent upon them to call him out. i do hope that the people in his constituency give him the boot. thank you so much. host: thank you for your call. to benton harbor, michigan. marcus, you think he should be censured? marcus, make sure you turn down your television or radio so that you do not feed back on us. caller: yes, i absolutely think he should be censured for an elected official to the congress of the united states to behave in such an unbecoming way is a total misrepresentation of what the founding fath

the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, to suspend the rules and agree to h.res. 260 as amended on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 260, resolution supporting efforts to reduce infant mortality in the united states. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 415, the nays are zero. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid up

mr. cohen's position of calling for regime change, you then have to take the next question after that, which regime change something that we can impose from outside? it's something we've been pretty poor at doing in recent years. or do you try to exploit what's happening in iran right now anyway? you know, the big unknown in this, mika, are the fissures that are taking place within iranian society. the problem is that we're running against two or three different clocks here. we have a relatively short clock on the nuclear problem. but we also think that after the elections, the disputed elections in june, that the leadership in iran over the long term has been considerably weakened. and the question is can you do things that would allow that weakening to continue in time to solve the nuclear problem? >> so you raise those questions. pat buchanan, what are the things that can be done? what are the options right now? >> i think we've got a lot more time than people think. this plan, according to the iranians, is 18 months from completion. they're going to have iaea inspectors in there. if they

and it is an appropriate morning to have mr. cohen in studio.arks one year since lehman brothers collapsed setting off a chain of events, that will change the financial world forever. september 14th, 2008, lehman brothers employees were seen walking out of the firm's new york headquarters carrying boxes unsure about what the future held. on that same sunday bank of america and merrill lynch were working out an historic deal that we're still talking about that is still in court for certain things and may be in court for years. based on what's happening. i don't know if we'll ever know. was that a good deal, do you think, when it comes down to it for ken lewis or not? >> terrible deal. >> terrible deal. >> never be -- >> destroyed shareholder value. >> of enormous proportions. >> and lehman brothers, that failure was a shot heard around the global world. steve sedgwick reporting from canary wharf this morning. good morning, steve. >> reporter: good morning. isn't it interesting we're talking about the financial markets having changed forever, but

mr. cohen's name pretty frequently throughout this cause. he is the 80 w.ew -- hew point man on these issues. they're considering the medicare legislation. >> hi, mr. president for the wilbur mills situation is deteriorated. at this moment, totally. i had celebrates call him over here early this afternoon and mills killed a couple of hours in the committee this morning but there was no action. he feels that he cannot put this thing together and he will have the final markup with an increase in benefits and would not ask for any vote on, putting that over the next year, -- for any vote on king-andersokerr-mig that over to the next year. at that point, conceivably something could happen. now i ask them what they both felt. a conversation between you and mills, there was not anything that that happen tomorrow morning except lose this thing totally, the best at what happened and that they not take a formal budget. it would require talking to others to keep them away from demanding a formal vote, because they have been raising and not with him as it is. it is at

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise today to honor the life of mr. richard shadiac who was deceased last wednesday at age 80. he was the former commander in chief executive officer of the american lebanese syrian associated charities which is the fundraising arm of st. jude's children research hospital. he leaves a wife and two children, richard who will take on his work, and a son, tom, who is distinguished in the entertainment industry. he served as c.e.o. of st. jude for over 13 years and he led an effort that raised millions of dollars for the purpose of research and treating childhood cancers and other diseases. st. jude children's research hospital is the leading hospital and research center on catastrophic illnesses in this nation. it is located in memphis, tennessee. it was founded by his good friend, danny thomas. after mr. thomas passed, he knew we need add new public face. and the new public face was the children. the children of st. jude who it serves. under his leadership, donations increased fourfold. he worked closely with the patients

mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to honor the life and legacy of a great memphisian and great american, dr. smith. dr. smith was one of the stall warts of civil rights in the city of memphis and to the nation. he served on the county commission with me in 1978 to 1980, but he served in the county commission in shelby county from 1973 until 1994. he and his fellow county commissioner, jesse turner sr. were known as the freedom fighters. jesse turner sr. was the national treasurer of the naacp. and dr. smith's wife was executive director of the naacp. they worked on all things in civil rights in memphis and stood up when others did not. and were always a voice of conscious and reasonableness and morality in my community. dr. smith was a great county commissioner. he worked with me and others to build the regional medical center, our general hospital in memphis that serves the people that needs health care. he was a dentist that served his community as a physician and he served in the air force and served o

but fox 5's stacey cohen introduces to a man caught in the middle of the gun battle. >> reporter: welcome to paradise. mr. charles neighborhood. the peace at paradise housing project in northeast is often shattered by gun fire. bullets blew out car windows sunday night at 10:00 p.m. just as mr. charles closed up its truck. it and its owner were untouched. >> nobody ever messes with me. >> you have been here for years, since i was a kid. >> every day since ' 74 mr. charles has sold sundries from his truck from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. his cramped work space is packed with an array of items it is said here if mr. charles doesn't have it you don't need it and he is closed only one robbed and august 4th the day killed here in ' 78. >> that's the only day i'm not here. >> reporter: but he is here every day and paradise would be lost without him. >> helps us to get money and make sure we work together. >> $7. >> he extends credit to the people of paradise. this is mel. folks an here don't offer their last names to the media. he says nobody would have to rob mr. charles beuse he'd give you money if y

cohen is the hew point man. mr. n is talking about wilbur mills. >> wilbur mills situation, it has deteriorated. i would say at this moment, totally. i had celabrese and cohen over here this afternoon. there's no action this afternoon. he talked to: after that. -- he talked to cohen after that. he is going to have the final markup with an increase in benefits that he would not ask for any the vote and put that over the next year and he can either vote medicare, which would lose, or he could skip that most entirely. at that point conceivably something could happen in the conference. i asked them, what they both felt, short of a conversation between you and mills that nothing could happen tomorrow morning except to lose this thing totally. the best would be that they not take a formal vote. that would require talking to keep them away from demanding a formal vote because hell has been raised as it is. there has to be another conversation of some sort. i did not have to handle. i know i am -- i think perhaps what we oug

mr. mark calabria, director of the cato institute, our secod will be mary coffin, and our third witns will be alice cohen staffttorney, a fourth witness will be mr. jack schakett, mortgage strategist bank of amera, our fifth witness will be molly sheehan, j.p.morgan chase. our 6th witness will be the senior economist of the federal rerve bank of boston. withoutbjection, your written statement will be me part of the record. you will now be rognized for the five-minute statent. we will now start with mark calabria. >> you may begin. >> thank you. i thank you for yr invitation. i'm mark calabria. my testimony will address two specific questions. the first of which why has the current and previous administration efforts along with the mortgage industry s little impact on the overall foreclosures numbers. my second question is given what know aut the first qstion what policy options do we look and do we have? my short answer that these efforts are largely misdinosed the program. the current foreclosure almost exclusively the result of practices and adjustment rate mortgages. the simple truth that the vast mor

cohen. >> i think it is a great bill, mr. president. >> is that right? >> yes, sir. you natalie have very thing that you wanted, but we got a lot more -- you not only have everything that you wanted, but we got a lot more. >> on the budget, what do we estimate to? >> i think that it would be around $450 million more than what you estimated for the net cost of the supplementary program. >> what do they do under that? how is that handled? explain that to may, over and above the supplementary you stole from burns. >> generally speaking, it is physicians' services. >> so my doctor that i go up to and he pumps my stomach to see if i have ulcers, that is the physician. >> yes, sir. >> any and the services? >> yes, sir. -- pennanny md services? >> yes, sir. he cannot charge whatever he wants. it would be their responsibility, under the with the chairman has provided the deal, that they would regulate the fees in effect of the better. they wanted to make sure that the government was a regulating the season directly. the bill provides that the doctor can only charge the reaso

mr. president. the wilbur mills situation has deteriorated at the moment. i had mills here, he killed a couple of hours in the committee this morning. there was no action. he talked to cohenollowing that and feels he can't put this thing together. and he's suggesting why not vote out of the social security bill in the morning. he's going to have the final markup, and with an increase in benefits that he wouldn't ask for any vote on current bills and put that over in the next year and that he can do both medire or perhaps he could skip that boat spirally. and why didn't we try to do something over at the senate side whe it went over there to atch medicare to it and at the point something could happen in conference and what have you. now i asked them just what they both felt that short of the conversation again because you and mills that there wasn't anything that could happen tomorrow morning except to lose this thing totally. the best that would happen is they take a formal vote. that would require talking to gene and others to keep them away from demanding a former vote because he's been raising hell with mills as it is. the whole thing is at a point where i think there