mr. cohen: thank you. before i yield to my colleague from california to respond, i would like to mention, i appreciated mr. lewis' history, but i would suggest to you that al qaeda could have found a base in yemen, they could have found a base in the sudan, they could have found a base in other places. there was nothing particularly unique about afghanistan that allowed them to have that base there. the fact is we went into a country to fight al qaeda who was all in the mountains in pakistan and even in the cities in pakistan, probably with the knowledge of the pakistani government. and we've wasted a lot of money and lives in an area where we didn't need to be, because that war will continue. there are only 100 al qaeda give or take left in afghanistan. but there are al qaeda in other spots in the middle east. and al qaeda's people have plotted terrorist activities from germany and from other places in europe. they don't need osama bin laden's base to have activity. there's nothing you need -- as far as th

mr. cohen: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of the welch-cohen amendment. this noncontroversial amendment states an important fact that was not mentioned in the findings section. i'm -- the critical fact keystone x.l. will run through the world's largest fresh water aquifer, the ogallala aquifer, which provides drinking water for millions of americans. this essential part of the pipeline that must be considered by the state department and the american public before granting a determination of national interest. our amendment also states the results of the only independent assessment of the worst-case spills for the proposed keystone x.l. pipeline, a report that indicates the trans-canada has greatly understated the pipeline's risks. perhaps the most important component of the report is the discovery that even a small undetected leak of an underground representure of the pipeline in the nebraska sand hills can produce almost 5 billion gallons of groundwater, a risk for anyone using th

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. cohen of tennessee. at the end of the bill before the short title insert the following -- section. for department of energy, energy programs, energy efficiency and renewable energy, for the solar energy program as authorized by section 602-b, 604-e, 605-d, 606-d, and 607-i-5 of the energy and security act of 2007, there is hereby appropriated in the amount otherwise provided by this act for department of energy, energy programs, fossil energy research is hereby reduced by $32 million. the chair: pursuant to the order of the house today, the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. for the record, there is a new version of had a amendment that is at the end of the bill insert the following -- atuned to the action we are encouraged to get

. -- mr. cohen of tennessee. amendment by mr. cicilline of rhode island. amendment by mr. cohen of tennessee. amendment number 2 by mr. poe of texas. amendment number 1 by ms. mccollum from minnesota. amendment number 2 by ms. mccollum of minnesota. amendment number 13 by mr. cole of oklahoma. amendment by mr. amash of michigan. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for the second through 11th vote. the final two votes will be five minute votes. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 1 offered by the gentlewoman from california, ms. lee, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment 1, offered by ms. lee of california. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the na

. >> on site is preferable, but given the world that we live in, i agree with mr. cohen. having the middle ground is appropriate. having the whole foods development market indicates what they are not going to do on site but they do want to do a land dedication. i agree that we all need to work towards more on site affordable housing. with that i move the amendments and i will move to continue this one week. supervisor mar: on the amendment without objection. continuing this item until the next meeting to the call of the chair. we may be meeting on monday. i am not sure. supervisor wiener: if there is no meeting on monday, when will the next meeting be? >> the second week of september for. but i will continue this to the call of the chair. please call item no. 2. >> item #two. hearing to follow-up with the san francisco municipal transportation agency (sfmta) regarding efficiency improvements to j-church light rail vehicle line service, and discussion with sfmta and the recreation and park department regarding the muni right-of-way in dolores park. supervisor wiener: very

an amendment by mr. cohen of tennessee. an amendment by mr. gosar of arizona. an amendment by ms. kaptur of ohio. first amendment by mr. flake of arizona. an amendment by mrs. capps of california. second amendment by mr. flake of arizona. an amendment by mr. scalise of louisiana. amendment number 81 by mr. broun of georgia. amendment 63 by mr. broun of georgia. amendment 76 by mr. landry of louisiana. first amendment by mrs. blackburn of tennessee. second amendment by mrs. blackburn of tennessee. amendment 53 by mr. hare is of maryland. an amendment by -- mr. hare is of maryland. an amendment by mr. rohrabacher of california. an amendment by mrs. adams. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment 26 printed in the congressional record by the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. cole, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 26 printed in the congressional record offered by mr. cole of oklahoma. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. th

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. while on this fourth of july most americans were partaking in american pastimes like barbequing and watching ball games, montanans were immersed in a new tradition, cleaning up an oil spill. in this case they were working and are still working to clean up 40,000-gallon leak from exxon mobil's silver-tipped pipeline. a spill that's having a devastating impact on the residence, economy and environment of the state of montana. as writen this legislation opens the door for more destructive events like the yellowstone spill. this is why i proposed a simple zero cost amendment that will resolve this issue and continue protecting the american people, its environment, our economy, our water system from the harmful effects of pipeline spills. the investigation into the yellowstone spill has made it clear that the spill occurred because the pipeline was not buried deep enough below the stream bed. have having only been buried five feet below the river, years of yellowstone river's powerful flow

eshoo, amendment number five by mr. cohen, amendment number six by mr. rush, amendment number eight by ms. hanabusa of hawaii, and amendment number 10 by mr. kucinich of ohio. excuse me, that last amendment, is amendment number 11. the chair will reduce to two minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote after the first vote in this series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number one printed in house report 112-181 by the gentleman from vermont mr. welch on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number one printed in house report 112-181, offered by mr. welch of vermont. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in favor of taking this vote by a recorded vote will rise and be counted. 5 sufficient number having ruzzen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote, followed by a series of two-minute votes. [captioning made possible

them obey detention camp for five years before releasing him without charge mr cohen as have you ever been given an apology or an explanation by the americans. and they did not what's even i don't thing that they are going to apologize for anything you were arrested in pakistan in two thousand and one why were you there here in germany i saw a group it's called jamaat to be helping. young people who have problems with drugs or homeless people who has problems at all they always come from pakistan they have their own fault eighty million members it's i thing the biggest group. nonpolitical and they are against war of course and they also hate and by taliban because they are against war but. when i went to pakistan i went to that to their school of jamaat to be they have each year i guess.

mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. republicans slash and burn politics have not created a single job for americans and republicans have not presented a bill on jobs in this congress. the fact is we need jobs. and we need innovative jobs and the democrats have proposed a jobs plan that emphasizes innovation. we had an opportunity last week to have more investment in solar, lessen fossil fuels. solar green jobs that are innovative create more jobs and protect us in the future so we don't have to spend money on defense to protect those lines that bring us oil from the middle east, yet we didn't do it. we need to invest in education and the democrats have tried to do it but the republicans want to cut pell grants and cut work force investment opportunities. we need to have an educated work force and we need to have creative ways to job create. jobs is the most important thing here. we have one job the american public wants us to do is that's to prevent a default on our debt and embarrass the u

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. it's a difficult time to talk because ms. schakowsky has said just about everything i was planning to say. she said it extremely well and said the issue. it basically comes down to fairness and justice to the american people and the president who has been burdened with problems caused by the bush, republican congress and the bush years, wars in iraq, wars in afghanistan not paid for, prescription drug bill not paid for, and bush tax cuts for wealthiest americans which have caused most of the deficit, and the problem with the debt ceiling. now we are not calling on them to make some sacrifice and pay for it. most everybody in america knows about dieting. most of us are a little overweight. michelle obama will tell you that any day. we need to watch our weight. but when you go to diet, you got to reduce your calories, and you got to exercise some more. spend some calories, reduce some calories. that's the way you diet. the same thing with the budget. you got a problem at home with your budget, well, maybe you think i won't take

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. while we were in recess on june 25, memphis lost one of its great citizens, bishop paterson jr. he was the grandson of the founder of church of god and christ. the cousin of the late bishop paterson. he was a public servant as well as a bishop and a revered citizen of memphis. he was my friend. we served together in the constitution convention in 1997. he served 20 years in the city council and was the first appointed mayor african-american mayor of the city of memphis. he was the leader in his church and he cared about his community, he cared about jazz. he cared about his fellow man. he was low key, sincere, down to earth and a leader whom memphis will miss. he did much with the communities that he was given through his father and his family and his city in politics and in other areas. he was the jurisdictional bishop for the tennessee headquarters, the head of the penacostal temple of god and christ and did much. i will miss him and so will the city of memphis and all the saints. t

mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: on sunday like millions of other americans i was watching the women's soccer team play in germany. what a wonderful moment it was when they came back at the last second and clutched -- grabbed victory from defeat. abby wambach's header and the save by hope solo and five kicks by the american women made us proud to be americans. the american soccer team won and they are going to play again tomorrow and we need to cheer for them. amy, when asked about her kick, said, it was something about being an american. we don't give up. we know we can win. and we don't give up and we win. i would ask my republican colleagues to remember abby wambach and not give up and win on the deficit because otherwise we'll be losers in the eyes of the world on our economics and our ability to finance our own debt. go united states of america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlema

mr. cohen: thank you, i appreciate the time. mr. speaker, i think that the reputation of this united states house of representatives in congress is at a low ebb. because of the fact that we have en-- haven't acted prior to this date, the fact that the reputation of the united states of america is on the line and we're being talked about in the same level as the economies of spain and greece and ireland and portugal. this should never have happened. and i'm embarrassed as i see the greatest power on earth and the country that has been the greatest power on earth through my entire life possibly diminish because of the actions of the other side in not getting this debt ceiling resolved. the rate of the united states will go down, that will cost interest rates to go up, that will cause us to lose jobs. and to extend this for just six months which is what is happening means the same theater will take place again in six months. the american public doesn't want to see it, moody's doesn't want to see it, standard & poor's doesn't want to se

mr. chairman. supervisor cohen, and others assembled, i'm aim yes, sir brown, president of the san francisco naacp. and i just want to simply say that, number one, the issue of incarceration in this nation will be at the top of the agenda at the naacp national convention in los angeles next week. number two, as we think about the topic, realignment, as it pertains to those inmates who are incarcerated from the state to the county, might i suggest that maybe he would do ourselves a favor by first having a realignment of our thinking. i want to recommend that everybody gets this book and reads it. chairman mirkarimi: "the new jim crow" right? great book. great book. >> my by she will alexander dealing with the mass incarceration in the age of so-called colorblindness. if we read it, it just might help our thinking on this issue. thirdly, i wish to say that we appreciate all of the data that has been given and all the representation that's come from the various departments. but i'm missing something here. we are missing something. not much was said about what goals or visions we are setting. i just re

mr. president. president chiu: yes, supervisor cohen.ervisor kim: yes, i would like -- supervisor cohen: yes, i would like to sever item 52. [roll call taken.] the clerk: there are 1 1-a yes. president chiu: those resolutions are adopted. item 51. the clerk: [reads item 51. [ president chiu: supervisor cohen. supervisor cohen: thank you. i'd like to move to have this item continued, please. president chiu: supervisor cohen has asked to continue this item for a week. i hear a second. any objections to continuing this item to one week? this item is continued to july 26. item 52. [item 52 read] president chiu: supervisor campos. supervisor campos: thank you, mr. president. let me simply say that i wanted to just note the main reason why i have introduced this resolution. i think that much has been heard here in staal in terms of how -- in city hall in terms of how taxi drivers feel in terms of the interaction they've had with the municipal transportation agency. and i think that very legitimate concerns have been raised by taxi drivers. bei

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. last weekend while most americans were celebrating the fourth of july, montanans were immersed what has become the new american tradition, cleaning up oil spills. after exxon's silver tip pipeline failed and spewed 40,000 gallons of toxic oil into the yellowstone river, exxon quickly labeled the incident a freak accident, a phrase commonly used by the oil industry after spills. but an exhaustive history of big oil spills these are not freak accidents but evidence of big oil's neglect. empty safety promises belongs to transcanada who dubbed the keystone pipeline the safest pipeline ever built. a year and 1 spills later keystone was shut down and deemed an imminent threat to life, property and the environment. before we permit the keystone e.x. pipeline, another deadly transcanada pipeline, we must reform our safety regulation because our pipeline must be as consistent as old faithful. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yi

mr. chairman. supervisor cohen, and others assembled, i'm aim yes, sir brown, president of the san francisco naacp. and i just want to simply say that, number one, the issue of incarceration in this nation will be at the top of the agenda at the naacp national convention in los angeles next week. number two, as we think about the topic, realignment, as it pertains to those inmates who are incarcerated from the state to the county, might i suggest that maybe he would do ourselves a favorby

lee -- mr. cohen lon thank you, ms. lee. we previously heard from other people, particularly the distinguished congressman john lewis, had a was a civil rights hero in the 1960's and risked his life for the right to vote. we are experiencing the day after international nelson mandela day, it was his 91st birthday. next month we'll dedicate memorial to dr. martin luther king on the mall. when you think about martin luther king and nelson mandela and john lewis, you got to think about voting rights and how far the nation and the world have come in the last 45 years. and how long it took to get there. and to think that there are impediments being placed in the way of people to vote, whether intentional or not, i believe those impediments are being placed there intentionally to dissuade african-americans and democrat leading groups to vote in the elks. to stop president obama from being re-elected and the public to pick democratic representatives to switch the priorities of this house to those that would be more reflective of th

supervisor cohen: thank you. good afternoon. mr. mirkarimi -- mr. mayor, will you provide us an update of improvements that cities have been working towards? specifically, what has been accomplished around a facade improvements and employment opportunities for community members? furthermore, what is the status of the redevelopment agency and

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. our nation and our world is at an economic crossroads with the debt ceiling needed to be raised by the second of august. fortunately i think some common sense appears to be coming from the senate, from senator mitch mcconnell. the idea of surrendering but claiming victory. more noble than admitting defeat. and much more noble than putting this nation and the world on an economic precipice, all based upon the resistance of putting tax increases on the millionaires and billionaires in this nation. people who have benefited and haven't hurt one iota are being told by the republicans that they will not agree to a compromise if it causes an increase in taxes for the millionaires and billionaires. those tax breaks from the bush years that helped cause this debt problem and caused the recession. so i praise senator mcconnell for claiming victory in surrendering in a noble way and keeping our economy. hopefully this project will be successful and save us from having a catastrophic wall street

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. sometimes art imitates life, sometimes life imitates art. i think today life is imitating art. i often reflect on motion pictures and learn from them and when i came up here it was mr. smith goes to washington. but currently i've been thinking about blazing saddles. remember blazing saddles, mel brooks and richard prior, they did a movie. they had a city called rock ridge, all-white city of lawless problems and the government appointed a handsome, sharp, young black man to be the sheriff. first black schiff ever in rock ridge. he went there answered wanted the towns folk to help him prepare to beat off the thugs and have a better city. they didn't want to join him. he said, you do it for randolph scott. and they would have done it for randolph scott and realizing that, they helped the sheriff. the republicans, well, there'd do it for george bush and they did it for george bush a lot. thank you, mr. speaker. life imitates art. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >>

mr. deco sta and a few others. the design intent is not being met. supervisor cohenam glad you're asking some many good questions. we have senator feinstein and senator boxer and th

supervisor cohen: thank you. good afternoon. mr. mirkarimi -- mr. mayor, will you provide us an update of improvements that cities have been working towards? specifically, what has been accomplished around a facade improvements and employment opportunities for community members? furthermore, what is the status of the redevelopment agency and administration's plans for the next step in bayview? i know we are only allowed to ask one question, but i so articulately have brought in 3. [laughter] thank you. mayor lee: thank you, supervisor. i think, as you know, the third street corridor and fifth street -- what we are trying to do their deserves more than one answer as well, so i appreciate that -- what we're trying to do there. i am committed to supporting the revitalization of the third street corridor, and i am committed to retaining and attracting businesses to that area, and i support many programs which will help achieve that goal. as i mentioned in my answer to supervisor farrell pose a question, the mayor's office administers the san francisco s

supervisor cohen: i am curious, is mr. mason going to come back and speak to the safety and security? we kind of skipped over that slide. >> do you want to talk about it? >> this is mr. mason. >> [inaudible] >> good afternoon. i am director of safety and security enforcement for the mta. i want to talk about what we're doing on the t-line with the inspectors in the muni transit assistance. they're deployed on a daily basis, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. at night. they ride the t-line. they start out add muni metro east, right off of cesar chavez. they ride the t-line to get to their post and back. we have folks that are dedicated to the k-t line on a daily basis. they do monthly focused inspections at different stations along third street. we have the muni transit assistance that are concentrating in the bay view area. they write buses and trains throughout the area. they are a uniformed presence to be -- to deter crime. we work closely with the bayview district police station, with the fare inspectors and the muni transit

mr. president. clerk calvillo: thank you, supervisor cohen. supervisor farrell? supervisor farrell: supporting our post 9/11 veterans. san francisco has always had a very rich history of supporting our veterans, and i will say along with supervisor cohen, the son and daughter of vietnam-era veterans, the sacrifices that they make for us, there is not enough gratitude we can show them. this recognizes the number of organizations that have been deeply involved with the post 9/11 veterans in particular, and those that serve in the middle east theater face unique challenges in san francisco as well as across the nation. these organizations play an important role, and they are more than worthy of our full support, recognition, and honor, and i want to thank the supervisors for their support. the rest, i will submit. clerk calvillo: thank you, supervisor farrell. supervisor mirkarimi? supervisor mirkarimi: this legislation would allow them to opt out of secure communities. it urges governor brown and the state attorney to join the governors of illinois, massachusetts,

supervisor cohen alluded to the support from other mr. supervisors. it is my pleasure to introduce supervisor scott wiener. [applause] >> thank you and congratulations to everyone on this amazing progress. all the three branch libraries in my district were open before i took office, so i like to live vicariously through my colleagues to help celebrate something so important. in a time when we all get down on our city government for not doing as well as we want them to do, in terms of services, what our government has been able to do with renovating and opening libraries, helping to build communities in the neighborhoods is critical. i am optimistic for third street. this is a big part of moving this entire corridor forward. i also want to reiterate something the mayor said. i have the fortune of working with malia cohen. we sit on a land use committee together. she is a tenacious advocate for district 10. she is doing a great job and i am proud to call for my colleague. congratulations, everyone. [applause] >> thank you. my next introduction is someon

supervisor cohen: thank you. i'd like to call mr. mason to the podium. folks, i am almost done. i just want to talk about the t- line, get clarification. so, tell us the overall strategy. >> the overall strategy for the t-line -- we have transit fare at inspectors. there was an audit conducted about a year ago, with the concern that the t-line, the fare increase was the highest on the t-line. the fare inspectors were moved to muni metro, so they could have a more concentrated effort, and that is all the way up to a third straight. you have more of those folks up there. there are folks that are completely dedicated to that area. supervisor cohen: is this a standard approach to fare evasion? or is this unique to the se? >> i'm not going to say it is unique, because we have targeted this line. i do not want to say it is just 33. we have a concentrated effort on the line. it is a high target area where we see the need for fair enforcement. supervisor cohen: ok. ok, folks. i am done with my questions. supervisor mar: i think we should open this up for public comment. supervisor cohen

to ask you to support the resolution that has been submitted to you by supervisor cohen that surrounds the issue of the mrur voice is important to our community. as the speaker before me said, the saggy pants issue is picked up by other nationalities of youth. but this has nothing to do with saggy pants in the underlying situation. it is about justice for all. that is justice for all. thank you. president chiu: next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i would like to take this time to think supervisor -- thank supervisor cohen for your support, for your endless time that you have put into this situation with this. by the way, the whole family -- our family is related to the family. also, espinosa jackson is related as well. so you never know whose family member you are doing these types of things to. as i reflect back on the homeless issue, i have seen so many people who may not fit right. they do not necessarily come with a belt. they have a homeless individual. they have pants donated to them and they sag. are we going to arrest them as well? this has gone too far. this racism is so prevalent in th