mr. cohen, what's your most recent political project that you're getting involved with? >> i'm working with the movement resourcegroup.org. and that organization is raising money to help support a lot of the work that's being done in the occupy and 99% movement around the country. >> why are you supporting those movements? >> you know, i've been working for economic and social justice for decades. and it seems to me that the thing that's been missing in that struggle is a massive grassroots movement. and i think that's what occupy and the 99% movement have the potential to become. and we want to support that effort. >> and how are you supporting it besides -- well, with money, yes. but what is your goal with the money that you're donating to this campaign? >> well, to keep the campaign going, to support it at this transitional time. as it's transitioning from spontaneous occupations in parks to a more strategic campaign that's more coordinated around the country. and that, you know, starts to t

. >> mr. cohen? >> david cohen. picking up on javitz and ancestors, even if theodore roosevelt is a distant ancestor to president obama, there's an effort at making him an ancestor. and so i wonder if you could all comment on another missed opportunity which is theodore roosevelt laid the basis for dealing with the abuses of money and politics and apart from rhetorical flourishes all of which i share about citizens united, where is the emphasis on finding ways of changing the system so the missed opportunity is in dealing with some of the political democracy deficits that we have from money and politics? >> just very briefly, everybody is talking about what wasn't in the speech and the omissions they cared about. that was the omission that really struck me. is because t.r. had such strong language about this in the original speech. in citizens united in some ways is a repudiation of a system that started when t.r. was president back in the -- when we passed tillman act. i think in 1907. so that there was i thought a

host: mr. cohen? guest: we have been very clear, and i hope if you visit our web site, you will see that we are adamantly opposed to violence. i do not believe that violence -- and, really, there has been some property destruction in terms of broken windows at the fringes of the movement, but that is certainly not part of the movement that i support. it is not a way to accomplish the objectives of the movement. we need to represent the 99% of americans and they do not believe in violence. host: in november, there was a gallup poll about the occupied and its -- the occupy movement, and its goals. people were confused about what the goals were. you think they have been clear in spelling out the goals? guest: actually, yes. the movement is clear that they want all world that works for the 99% instead of just the 1%. i think one of the reasons why there has not been demand or a few demands is because what is needed is a total change in terms of outlook and perspective. along the way to that change in outl

. >> mr. cohen, i've taken some notes when you were talking there. you were saying when your new system that you have that you now have the ability to track by country. and your vetting served a backlog that you testified before the subcommittee previously back in september. how many overstays do you think you have from special interest countries or how are you doing with identifying from particular countries and as you also mentioned the secretary when she was testifying here earlier said that the system that you're operating under now is that a good bridge to our mutual goal is to have a really robust biometric system. so i guess i'm just again trying to get a feel for what you're looking at with the various special countries as my colleague was mentioning all of the various countries and the days. it is rather startling to look at some of those kind of things and obviously that's an indicator that we all need to be looking at. >> thank you, madam chairman. so it's a work in progress, still, so we're continuing to implement these improvements that

. >> mr. cohen, in november, there was a gallup poll about occupy and its goals and there was some support for it, but people were confused about what its goals were. do you think it's the movement as a whole has been clear in spelling out what its goals are? >> actually, yes. the movement is very clear that they want a world that works for the 99% instead of just for the 1%. and i think one of the reasons why there hasn't been a demand or a few demands is because what's needed is a total change in terms of outlook and perspective, but you know, along the way to that changing in outlook, occupy has supported this effort to get a constitutional amendment to get finally get money out of politics. to state that corporations are not people, they've been very supportive and very active in terms of keeping people in their homes and ending the home foreclosure crisis and they've been very successful in getting banks to renegotiate mortgages and restructure them so that people can stay in their homes. so, y

mr. cohen: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for five minutes and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cohen: i reflect on the passing who served in this chamber since 1989, representative donald payne, who passed away this morning. representative payne sat in this section, was a quiet, courageous man who i had the good fortune to travel at the request of and sponsorship of care and the gates foundation to rwanda and to the condo last august. he cared about children greatly. he cared about education. he cared about people and was very upset some years back when don imus, the radio shock jock, said some wrongful things about the rutgers women's basketball team that cost mr. imus his position. and that brings me to what i was going to speak about today. yesterday, i mentioned that i slept well on my sleep number bed and i slept well on my sleep number bed last night because they canceled their advertising on the rush limbaugh show. i mention that advert

mr. cohen: mr. speaker, i respectfully object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a that -- that a quorum is not present. the speaker: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postpone. the pledge of aledges will be led by the gentleman from texas. mr. reyes: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: without objection, the gentleman from alabama, mr. aleder holt, is recognized for one minute. -- mr. aderholt, is recognized for one minute. mr. aderholt: it is my pleasure to welcome our guest chaplain who gave today's opening prayer. dr. culbreth, as senior pastor, serves a doing regation of 2,400 at first baptist church in jasper, alabama. prior to his tenure at first baptist church in jasper, he served congregations in crarls bad, georgia. dr. culbreth has been an active member

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank also representatives sewell and roby for sponsoring this resolution and for congressman lewis for his life. this is an historic resolution for the work and the memories need to be preserved. i, like congressman sewell, am here because of the work of congressman lewis and other civil rights leaders making this for a better america. i didn't think i needed to go on the pilgrimage because i'm from memphis, and i've been to the mason temple where dr. king made his last speech and been to the rain motel, the civil rights museum on many occasions and to the hall where he rallied workers. but when i went to birmingham, when i went to montgomery, when i went to selma, i realized there was much history i needed to know and filled with the spirit of the civil rights movement, which one is when they go to the rosa parks museum, the dexter street church, the 16th street church, the civil rights institute and the bridge. it's hard to fathom the way the world was in 1965, but that w

the chair now recognizes the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, for five minutes. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i stand here in the same spot where i was about two years ago , march 23, 2010, to celebrate the passage of one of the most important acts that this body has ever passed, the affordable care act. on march 23, we will celebrate the two-year anniversary of that landmark decision. of course, next week the supreme court will hear arguments on whether the individual mandate is permissible or not, and let us hope that the supreme court will act according to the law. the affordable care act will change the landscape of our nation's health care delivery system for the better. i hosted a telephone town hall last night with my constituents on the affordable care act and was joined by the deputy secretary of the health and human services to answer questions from folks in my district about how it will affect them. we listened to comments and stories about people who have been in the doughnut hole, seniors, that cost them a lot of money and we told them about the fact

roe: i yield now time to my colleague and time to mr. cohen, from member his. mr. cohen: i appreciate the time. everything has been said just about congressman payne and by such wonderful gentlemen and gentleladies that pay tribute to the man. i had the opportunity to meet him early into my entry into the congress and made me feel at home from day one. he was indeed a gentleman, quiet, with a marvelous record for peace, for justice, for the people the downtrodden who needed a helping hand. i had the opportunity to travel with congressman payne and his brother and others to rwanda and to the congo this past august and i saw how he was beloved among people in africa where he had traveled on many occasions before. we shared the experience of going to the memorial, to the victims of the genocide there, and congressman payne told me some stories of when he had been there with president clinton and president clinton had gone back and expressed his regrets in not having done more to prevent the genocide, but was a strong and supporting the nation of rwanda and the people g

if i could make one suggestion, mr. cohens this on to the powers that be within occupy, perhaps a reawakening of the single tax theories would be an excellent base which to start from. i don't know if you are familiar with henry george, but he still has probably the most widely purchased book on economics ever written. it was 100 years ago that he put it out, but anyway, thank you guys for everything you do. i tried to get in earlier. veterans don't need another parade. i am a vietnam veteran, and that is the last thing we need. we need to just not be used and thrown away when we get back home. >> that was a reference to our earlier segment. but if you want to address what he had to say it first. guest: i am interested in reading the book. i have not read it yet. occupy started off as a spontaneous movement, and then it spread spontaneously throughout the country. there never was a plan and strategy, and i think now, some of that planning and strategy is starting to be done and some of the national coordination is starting to

mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. last night i rested very well on my sleep number bed. knowing that the company had pulled its ads from rush limbaugh's show. in light of limbaugh's recent misogynistic attack on georgetown student sandra fluke's fight to obtain affordable, legal birth control for women, i have been drawn to the important part that advertisers play in politics. the use of airwaves to spread hatred of women is wrong. those advertisers who support broadcasters who do so are nothing less than accessories to the crime. advertisers monon keep the vitriolic and hateful shows on the air. talk radio has gone too far and it's long past time that advertisers take the initiative and recognize shows that support -- that they support often spread lies and hateful speech. i commend those advertisers who pulled their ads from the show and i'll await those who follow. companies like sleep number will keep my busines

mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. filmmaker james cameron is known for captivating us with his great films like "alien" and "the abyss," "titanic" yesterday he should have fascinated and captivated the world. he went down 36,000 feet under the sea to the lowest, deepest part of the world. in a ship that he designed over the last seven years privately, a 24-foot capsule, that took him down to visit and learn about the deep recesses of the sea. 80% of the world's biosphere is under the sea. we know less about that than the moon's surface. james cameron with the help of national geographic and rolex and a sponsor, and his friend, mr. allen, took that voyage and showed what man can do when he has curiosity and bravery. his activities that took a six-hour trip to the bottom of the sea remind me of charles lindburgh. an individual that conquered new territories and opened up new vistas. before that nobody had been that deep since 1960, and they were there for 20 minutes. they didn't see much. he was there for six hours. he'

conyers and mr. cohen for their support as well. this bill preserves the ability of u.s. museums and educational institutions to continue to borrow foreign government-owned artwork and cultural artifacts for temporary exhibition or display. the united states is long -- has long recognized the importance of encouraging the cultural exchange of ideas through exhibitions of artwork, loaned from abroad. cultural exchanges produce substantial benefits to the educational and cultural development of all americans. the future success of these exchanges depends on foreign lenders having confidence that loaning artwork to u.s. institutions will not open them up to lawsuits in u.s. courts. for 40 years the immunity from seizure act provide foreign government lenders with this confidence. however, rulings in several recent federal cases have caused that confidence to unravel. in these decisions, the act does not preempt the foreign sovereignty immunity act which provides u.s. courts with jurisdiction in cases against foreign countries. the effect has been to open foreign governments

mr. cohen is an expert on monetary policy and macro-commick economics.e advised ben bernanke in the 2008-2009 financial crisis and served as a key advisor to alan greenspan. he was a 40-year member of the federal reserve. before this he was an advisor to the board, secretary of the federal open market committee, director of the division of monetary affairs and deputy staff director for monetary and staff policy and a few more junior positions. he's also written extensively on monetary policy and implementation by the federal reserve. >> thank you, kevin. thanks to poth kevins, actually. thank you congressman brady for the opportunity to read your proposed legislation and for the opportunity to comment on it. this is a very welcome effort. in my opinion this is a constructive way to respond to concerns about past and potentially future performance of the federal reserve. open up the debate on objectives. the optimal central banking is often thought of as the elected representatives giving the central bank the objectives and the central bank having the ind

cohen? >> thank you, mr. mayor, for once again and leaving me with nothing left to say.t is good to see our city partners and a special thank you to the agency formally known as the redevelopment agency. thank you for your guidance in getting us here, to this ribbon- cutting ceremony. it is an exciting time. we are starting to go through a rebirth, as we focus on how we are reprogramming mandel plaza, continuing infrastructure programs as well as structural improvements to the bayview opera house. i am putting everyone in their area on notice. this will be the spot. the third street merchants corridor is coming back and it will be bigger and better than ever. this bill be the new spot for international cuisine. we have a peruvian restaurant down the street. here we have eskender. this is mediterranean, modern african, very bayview. we have some fantastic asian cuisine along the corridor, along with fantastic taco places. this place captures exactly what san francisco is looking for, bringing people and communities together over a wonderful meal. i want to thank the city

[tone] supervisor cohen: thank you. mr. wells, mr. pearlstine. >> thank you, supervisors. glad to be able to speak to you today. i have been a resident since 1982. i have seen on the south slope of the hill some changes, as a whole city has gone through changes. we have changed from a forgotten neighborhood to a very active neighborhood in the late 1990's. the adjacent land to this was a project that was fought for bitterly by the people in the neighborhood. i was also a member of the board of directors at open space, which was set aside on the top of the hill, a compromise against the over-building concerns that people had. i recognize my neighbors having legitimate concerns that their block, their street would suddenly have a wall behind them that would not allow them to have the quality of life that they have now. expressing another concern, the speed at which this project is moving. i understand the financial implications of the project, but it seems we are perpetuating a process that will take another 15 years from groundbreaking, which was supposedly going to happen

supervisor cohen: thank you, mr. president. good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. i would like to take a moment to a

supervisor cohen: thank you, mr. president. good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. i would like to take a moment to a knowledge and thank the commission on the status of women, the commissioners as well as the staff. it is amazing what you ladies do. not only do you celebrate women on an annual basis, but you also provide thoughtful data to help us shape policies. not just on politics, but on the important data points. also, it is amazing what you are able to do on an annual basis considering how underfunded you are. without further ado, i would like to a knowledge one woman that has been an outstanding leader in the southeast part of san francisco. she has made the bay view community her home since 1961. she has been a role model for me, and inspiration for most. , i would like to introduce you to doris vincent. [applause] as a single mother, she purchased her first home in the bay view neighborhood in 1961 and has been a tireless advocate and community member since. her list of community and educational acts is extensive. most recently, she served as the trusty at

cohen? >> thank you, mr. mayor, for once again and leaving me with nothing left to say. it is good to see our city partners and a special thank

mr. cohen is a 40 or better -- veteran before taking office as a member of the board of governors he was an adviser to the board for monetary policy, secretary of the federal open market committee, director of the division of monetary affairs and deputy staff director for monetary and financial policy and a few more junior position. he as also written extensively and his implication by the federal reserve. >> thank you, kevin. my thanks, both cabins. thank you, congressman bernie. certainly for the opportunity to read your proposed legislation and for the opportunity to comment on. this is a very welcome effort. in my opinion, this constructive way to respond to concerns about past and potentially future performance of the federal reserve, open up, open up the debate, open up the debate on objectives. the optimal central banking is often thought of as the elected representatives, giving the central bank the objectives, and the central bank having considerable independence to move their instrume

cohen joining me now mr you know neal good to have you on the program of course time for your sports hero here a bump in the road for c.s. garza basketball as are on the continent could it prove costly tried i'm not sure if it will or not you know it was going so c.s.k. in the quarterfinals of the euro basketball competition want to tell you what if they win tomorrow night they're into the semifinals once again rory caprices hope right there what about a busy night ahead for ice hockey fans as well yeah again we're in the semifinals of the. time's gone quickly hasn't thought of talking about this only last month but here we go again it's semifinals big games ahead rory that coming up in just a second before it's over. pretty becoming this is sports day we have got plenty have for you this hour including the stories and three. are going hopes mobo have the deficit in their euro league basketball quarterfinal with c.s.k. moscow after victory and game three. then there were eight state quarter final stage of football's europa league gets going in a few hours with manchester united's con

supervisor cohen: is there any member of -- mr.n updike. >> good afternoon, members of the committee. supervisor. i wanted to briefly outline we have done since we were last before you on this item. we were asked to do community outrage -- outreach, which i will go over for you. a roughly one block radius around the site would extend it further in a northerly direction. really, a sideline of walt, which is where my finger is. reawe also take a jet -- outreah to the condominium complex, to capture their attention on this item. in doing so, we also offer the opportunity for direct details. all the comments received through 5:00 on friday -- i do not think that anything has come in to my office. not today. we captured the totality of that for you. a couple of petitions were signed. i think you have all the letters as well, in the package. a visual might be helpful. one of the issues that we discussed was the difference between the proprietary apartment, the item before you today, city acting as a man board, against the regulatory perm

cohen? supervisor elsbernd? supervisor farrell? supervisor kim? supervisor mar? supervisor olague? supervisor wiener? mr. president, all members are present. president chiu: thank you. please join me in the pledge of allegiance. >> [inaudible] president chiu: colleagues, do we have our meeting minutes from the january 10 and 24th board meetings? do i have a motion to approve those minutes? seconded by supervisor campos. approved. madam clerk, any communications? >> no. president chiu: please read the consent agenda. >> items numbers one and two. they will be acted upon by roll call vote unless requested. president chiu: would anyone like to sever these items? roll-call vote on items one and two? >> items one and two. supervisor farrell? i. -- aye. supervisor kim? president chiu: we are in the process of a vote. we can rescind and discuss at the end, if you like. >> supervisor olague? aye. supervisor wiener? aye. supervisor avalos? aye. supervisor campos aye. supervisor elsbernd? ay.e e. there are 11 aye.s president chiu: the motion is approved. supervisor cohen: i have made a motion to rescind. president

cohen: i have one simple request. close at the board in the memory of mrs. mary howard. ms.the mother of ms. clark. >> seeing no other names, that concludes introductions. the next is the opportunity for the public to address the board. including those items on the adoption without committee reference. the portion of the agenda and excluding those items that have been considered by a board committee. speakers using translation assistance will be allowed twice the amount of time. if a member of the public would like a document to be displayed, please clearly state such and remove the document when the screen returns to live coverage of the meeting. president chiu: why don't we hear from members of the public. you have two minutes unless you are translating into another language. let's hear from the first speaker. >> [speaking foreign language] we have problem -- [speaking foreign language] it is my pleasure to talk with you about what is going on here, in san francisco. as you know, i am [unintelligible] in the last month, the u.s. has lost a great singer, whitney houston. you can see her pic

i wanted to emphasize what supervisor cohen, and this is the same conversation we have had with the nominee, and i look forward to seeing mrramos and the conversations and the balance he has expressed to me, and also recognizing some of the challenges that different neighborhoods might have with having accessible transportation, usage of cars and how is he would balance that, given multiple demands there might be, such as large families among other things. so i look forward to that conversation. my parents immigrated to the united states about 30 years ago, and that probably was the most formative part of my background. growing up in an immigrant family, you learn many things. my parents raised me in southern california, and i grew up in the restaurant business. they had a small restaurant at the time, and i was there every weekend working, and it taught me the value of working hard and what it meant to be part of a small business, a small family, and an immigrant family at that. growing up in an atmosphere in being impacted by the los angeles riots when it did occur. we were always worried watching the news to see whether

mr. blank finde the chief executive and gary cohen, the president. i think they've got to get out there and make the case of why goldman does add value for its clients. and to be fair, i got e-mails from a lot of clients of goldman saying they've always served them well and goldman has its adhernts and loyalists on wall street but i think they've got to make that case. host: our guest is with us to talk about goldman sachs, the incident this week, the larger issue of ethics practices at banks. if you want to ask them questions here's your chance to do so. the numbers are on the bottom of the screen. so would you say that when it comes to mr. blank fine's leadership at the organization, is it coming to an end soon? guest: that's a really tough one to say. he's been in the job since 2006 when he took over for henry paulson who went on to be treasury secretary. so he beens in there six years. i think the average c.e.o. is something around seven years. so he's certainly been in there a little while. on the other hand he's very, very respected on wall str

mr. dalio who also made an enormous amount of money the year prior. probably the number one earning overall, although paulson is close, as well. steven cohename in at $585 million. ken griffin showing up again. but when you look at these numbers, the enormous compensation, i always make the point that a hedge fund that has revenues of $500 million or a billion dollars has a very good year. it employs as few as 30 people. whereas a company started by an entrepreneur that has that number might the employ 1,000 or 2,000. >> taxation very favorable. so if i were president obama, i would look at this and say look at these guys. they pay almost nothing and the people at that 1,000 person plant, they're paying at a much higher rate. >> and yet money continues to move into hedge funds. the market is the market. if institutions and pension funds feel that they can get a better return with hedge fundses, that's where the money is going. but we've had so few hedge funds in 2011 that really outperform the broader in-d indices. and if they have one really lousy year, the alignment of interests. manager might have made hundreds of millions of dollars du