mr. murphy stood here and said no other medallion holder had so you get to move from his own color schemer scheme and they were not treating him differently. the appellant says this is a misrepresentation of the facts and we were not prepared to creditor because we didn't have institutional knowledge as mr. murphy would have had we'd last week to present different facts at the time of the hearing would have made a difference. in fact, your i'm sure you're aware of the briefing gold star taxi owner left his color scheme in 2012 concurrent with his color scheme. although mta has not disclosed or divorced volunteered the information there were other such transfers as well concluding 626 taxi. here i'd like to ask mr. omaha a question on page 3 of respondents brief it says you never approached mta with a transfer color scheme permit to anyone else along with transferring our medallion to soto is that true what actually happened >> at the time i tried to transfer my medallion to soto on september 6, 2012, and mta said the only option available for me was to shut down any color scheme. i asked

mr. murphy of florida. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 487, the gentleman from florida, mr. murphy, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. murphy: thank you, madam chair. as a former small businessman, i am acutely aware of the strain unnecessary regulations have on business. while i strongly support the underlying goal of reducing the regulatory burden on american companies, truly smart regulatory reform would preserve government's ability to enforce clean air laws, food safety and consumer protections. it would not pile on duplicative procedural hurdles on already inefficient agencies. gumming up government bureaucracy and obstructing agencies' most basic functions. too often the bait up -- the debate up here about more or less regulations -- up here is about more or less regulations when we should be focused on smarter regulations. we should all be able to agree that government has a role to play in clean water for americans, an issue we're all too familiar with on the treasured coast. we should all be able

mr. murphy: let's be clear about what we're talking about here. we believe we're talking about a pretty light hand of accountability in the sense that we are really going after the true outliers. you talk about the work happening at the university of hawaii or university of connecticut. we don't imagine that any flagship university is going to run afoul of these accountability standards. i frankly don't believe many public universities at all are going to run afoul of these standards. we're talking about the hand full of outliars that have abysmal retention rates, graduation rates, default rates or tuition increase rates. and we're also talking about we think a pretty nuanced process by which to try to bring those schools around before they would lose eligibility for funding. our bill says that if you're not meeting these standards, you have pretty long period of time in which you'd be on probation with no practical effects in which you could set upon an action plan to improve your afford ability or outcomes. if you weren't hitting those benchmark

mr. murphy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut of the mr. murvery: i ask we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, madam president. yesterday we received news that 4 million people have now signed up in private health care exchanges all across the country. in addition, it was released that about 12 million people have called the call centers in january alone. 1.1 million people signed up to receive health care through the affordable care act during that time. young enrollment, the group of individuals that there's always been a question about as to whether they are going to sign up for these exchanges, grew by 65%. and it's time for this body to recognize that the affordable care act is working. it's working for people that have been desperate to get insurance. it's working for people that have been getting the short end of the stick from insurance companies, and it's working for millions of seniors all across this country who have been paying far too much for prescription drug costs a

mr. murphy: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, we are. mr. murphy: i ask that we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, madam president. i try to come down to the floor of the senate every week or so to give voices to the victims of gun violence. across this country, every day, every week, dozens, hundreds, thousands of americans are gunned down on our streets and in our homes, in part because the united states congress does absolutely nothing -- has done absolutely nothing over the course of the past several years, over the course of the past decade to try to curb this scourge of destruction that plagues virtually every corner of our society. 86 people a day die at the hands of guns. 2,639 people, approximately, every month. we lose 31,000 people every year. there is not another first-world country in the world that can come close to the level of gun violence that we have here in the united states. and on top of these numbers are the horrific trend lines on mass shootings. over the cour

mr. murphy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida for one minute. mr. murphy: last week the senate passed a bipartisan bill to fix the national flood insurance program to protect homeowners. it is beyond time for the house to follow suit by passing this bipartisan bill which will help millions of americans facing steep rate increases, including thousands of residents across the palm beach coast. homeowners do not need to face rate increases. any proposed rate hikes must be delayed until the affordability study gives congress a better understanding of how unaffordable rate hikes would negatively impact the flood insurance program. i urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can pass this bipartisan commonsense solution that will provide relief for homeowners across america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the alyields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: i yield to mr. pascrell. mr. pascrell: mr. chairman, i appeal to you to make this an urge

mr. murphy: thank you very much, madam president. you know, it's fascinating to watch the headlines change over the course of the day after the c.b.o. report on the status of the implementation of health care was released. at first the headlines flarkd thaheadlines --flashed that thet said that the health care reform law was going to cost 2 1/2 million jobs and republicans ran to the cable networks to trumpet that number. in fact, many mainstream newspapers actually ran initial headlines suggesting the same. but then as people actually started to read the c.b.o. report, they discovered the truth. they discovered the fact that the c.b.o. report actually says that the me and going to grow because of the health care law. and to the extent that there are reductions in the hours that people work, it's going to be because individuals are now no longer required to work simply because they need to get health care, that they can make decisions about what they want do with their life, the kind of work they want to do and the amount of time the

mr. murphy, thanks for being here. >> thanks for having me. >> being subpoenaed doesn't mean you necessarilyanything wrong. either way, seems like a strange time for a promotion, right? >> it's an odd time to make the move. i saw it last night and kind of had the seriously reaction. especially since, i mean, i think you've pointed this out before. this is the -- this is our copy of the -- or at least my copy of the testimony that bill baroni gave to the state assembly in which i can find two sets of handwriting added to this. both of them look female to me. it seems from the messages that we've seen that nicole crifo might have been involved in prepping baroni for the testimony which we know if bill had to give under oath would have caused serious legal problems for him, and in fact, when he was subpoenaed to come and give that under oath again, he subsequently resigned. >> so now working at the port authority, if they were trying to create the impression the port authority isn't a political slush pile -- >> i don't think they're trying to create that impression. >> court dates were set toda

mr. murphy: i ask unanimous consent that i be able to engage in a quoll quey with the senator from -- in a colloquy with the senator from hawaii for up to 20 minutes. officer 123er without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, i am down here with my colleague, senator schatz from hawaii, the college affordable care act and innovation act, which we introduced along with senator murray of washington and senator sanders of vermont. and by way of framing the conversation that we'll have today, madam president, i want to talk about one particular college that maybe paints a picture of the crisis that we are in today with respect to the mounting cost that confronts kids and families when they want to get a college education and the variety of outcomes, the frankly surprising outcomes that students are getting when they show up at the doors of institutions of public -- excuse me, institutions of education, particularly institutions of for-profit education. corinthian college is a pretty big college, about 100 campuses on 25 different states. let me give you some statistics about corinthian college.

mr. murphy. >> thank you. prime minister, we would like a little bit more about how the -- at the moment the committee has some ideas. agendas you have. names of countries. we could be dealing with syria, afghanistan. it doesn't indicate it gives any secrets away, how operational or long-term those discussions might be? the secretary gives a report to the committee, they talk about it, and that is the end of the committee? >> it is a lot more than that. what this national security council does, it -- it is normally the secretary of state. we don't really allow, if we can avoid it, junior ministers coming in. i think it's very important in my cabinet to oversee one of the most important meetings of the whole week. but it brings together foreign secretary chancellor, prime minister deputy secretary with the heads of the intelligence agencies with the chief of the defense staff. if necessary, the head of the metropolitan police dealing with counterterrorism and you have the experts in the room as well as the poli

mr. murphy, for that. as we end our project here, i will turn to each of the three of you and ask, as we look across this long history of first ladies, who are the ones in changing the role as we know it today? let's wrap that way. richard, can you think of how you would answer that? >> i would just point out the obvious. if martha washington had not been as successful in the garden of eden in which she found herself, defining what a presidency and the first lady was, distinguishing it from the monarchy against which we had rebelled, finding the right mix of democracy and authority, if she had not succeeded, we might not be having this series. >> abigail adams is one, of course, that fits that mold as well. i think our founding mothers really made it possible for us to be sitting here talking about the influence that these women could have on our country, absolutely. >> i would say later on in our history, edith roosevelt, who i think structured the modern first lady's role for the 20th century, and certai

mr. murphy: thank you very much, mr. president. i appreciate my colleagues, senator warren, senator schumer and senator murray for joining us on the floor today. i think we will be joined by senator stabenow in a few moments. i appreciate them also being at an event we did yesterday in which we were kicking off the affordable care works campaign, which of course is designed to tell what has been untold for much of the last six months, which is the increasing good news about the millions of americans for which the affordable care act is working, and indeed for many of them changing their lives. an announcement was made this week that four million americans have now signed up for the private health care exchanges. over 10 million americans all across the country now have insurance today that didn't have it prior to the passage of the law, either because of these private exchanges or because of increased eligibility of medicaid or because of the law's provision that young men and women under the age of 26 could stay on their parents'

mr. murphy, for that. as we end our project here, i will turn to each of the three of you and ask, as we look across this long history of first ladies, who are the ones that really made the difference in changing the role as we know it today? let's wrap that way. richard, can you think of how you would answer that? >> i would just point out the obvious. if martha washington had not in the gardensful of eden in which she found herself, defining what a presidency and the first lady was, distinguishing it from the monarchy against which we had rebelled, finding the right mix of democracy and authority, if not -- not succeeded, we we might not be having this series. >> abigail adams is one, of course, that fits that mold as well. i think our founding mothers really made it possible for us to be sitting here talking about the influence that these women could have on our country, absolutely. >> i would say later on in our history, it edith roosevelt, who i think structured the modern first lady's role for the 20

mr. murphy: peer support is only support, it is not the whole treatment. in "time" magazine a parent whose donson died of drug overdose said, i did everything i could, but i failed him. that included eight residential treatment programs and four outpatient programs but those programs don't always do everything right. 90% of those who enter those treatments don't receive evidence-based treatment. i encourage my colleagues to join me in sponsoring the helping families in mental health crisis act, h.r. 3317. let's get people the help they need. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. from 194 to 1949, the african-american marines that trained at monfort camp, north carolina, fought intolerance and segregation, yet they continued to serve their nation proudly. i'm honored to have one of these men,

mr. murphy, for that. as we end our project here, i will turn to each of the three of you and ask, as we look across this long history of first ladies, who are the ones in changing the role as we know it today? let's wrap that way. richard, can you think of how you would answer that? >> i would just point out the obvious. if martha washington had not been as successful in the garden of eden in which she found herself, defining what a presidency and the first lady was, distinguishing it from the monarchy against which we had rebelled, finding the right mix of democracy and authority, if she had not succee w

mr. murphy for five minutes. >> thank you for your time. it has been a long day. the collapse of the housing bubble and results of the financial crisis devastated the global economy and cost american $17 trillion worth of wealth. many assign the responsibility for low-interest rate and lack of capital leverage standards to the federal reserve and chairman alan greenspan. i do not believe the fed caused the crisis but its policies helped fuel the bubble. in june of 2009 you said higher short-term interest rates might have slowed the and sustainable increase in housing prices. with the benefit of hindsight would measures to slow the housing bubble have been appropriate? >> certainly the collapse of housing and the bubble were devastating and the heart of the financial crisis, so with the benefit of hindsight, policies to have addressed the factors that led to that bubble would certainly have been desirable. a major failure was in regulation and in supervision and not just in monetary policy. going forward, i recognize and my colleagues do, and environmental blow int

mr. murphy for five minutes. >> thank you for sticking it out for us. t many of us assign responsibility for low interest rates and lax capital and leverage standards to the federal reserve and then chairman green span. i do not believe the fed caused the crisis its policies certainly helped fuel the bubble. in 2009 you said that the interest rates may have slowed the growth. would measures to slow the housing bubble have been appropriate? >> i mean certainly the collapse of housing and the bubble were devastating and at the heart of the financial crisis. so of course, yes, with the benefit of hindsight, policies to have addressed the factors that led to that bubble would certainly have been desirable. i think a major failure there was in regulation and in s supervisi supervision. and not just in monetary policy. so i would say going forward while i certainly recognize and my colleagues do that an environment of low interest rates can, we can't take monetary policy off the table as a tool to use to address it, it's a blunt tool. and macro pru dental pol

mr. murphy, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for three minutes. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. chairman. john, clark sonny, are n, william and mitch the victims of legion air's disease outbreak at the pittsburgh v.a. health care system in 2011 and 2012. we can never really heal the emotional scars that these families have suffered. and the 21 additional families who had a member with a case of this disease. we can work to make sure something like this doesn't happen again. today's legislation fixes one of the flaws uncovered during this investigation and under this bill. v.a. hospitals will soon follow the reporting requirement as other medical facilities. this way public health authorities will know when a disease outbreak occurs and it cake immediate action. thanks to the dogged determination and diligence of chairman miller, congressman coffman, the house veterans affairs committee, the ranking member and my colleagues, we now know the legion jairre's outbreak

mr. chairman. >> senator murphy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you both for being here today. i want to frank associate myself with the opening comments of senator coons. it has been a robust pursuit of sanctions by this administration that has led us to a point today in which we have an opportunity, a chance to achieve a peaceful resolution to this crisis. undersecretary sherman, as you know i was in munich this weekend, sat on a cow with a foreign minister zarif. he made the laughable contention that iran was at the table -- sat on the commission with foreign minister zarif. that being said, though no one in the audience believe it, there was a discussion there about the different trade missions, mainly of a private nature that has gone to tehran, and secretary was there pushing hard, as you mentioned, back on our partners to make sure that those were simply missions connected to potential future activities rather than undermining existing sanctions. let me give you just my impression, and you tell me if i'm wrong. the fact that there are groups going to tehran, think about

mike murphy is our special best bear. make your case. >> mr.ust had on the previous segment because i'm going to say it is the weather and it did matter for general motors. i think that the full year eb bit which came in at $8.6 billion was ability 10% better than the prior year. i think those are reasons to own it here. i think that when the government exited, murph, back in december, that more or less marked the top. now we've corrected by 16%. i like it here. operating cash flow, 11 billion. free cash flow, nearly 4 billion. i think those are reasons that you buy gm at 35. you don't sell it. >> i think what you have to look at here, doc, is that coming into this year, gm was an extremely overowned name. a lot of -- most big funds out there loved this name. now after you got this quarter today i think you may see a lot of big funds questioning all these restructuring charges that are going to be coming up. north america for gm was great. we kind of knew that. however, the international operations, they're nowhere near where they need to be. t

murphy of connecticut. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: i've begun the year expressing my hope that we set aside our differences, do what's best for our country by confirming qualified nominees to fill these critical vacancies facing our federal judiciary. since senate republicans for the first time since i've been here -- and i'm in my 40th year. i've been here with republican and democratic leadership, republican and democratic presidents. never have i seen such an effort to exploit every means of delay for every judicial nomination, even when a nominee is supported by both republicans and democrats and supported by their home state senators. never since i've been here, president ford, president carter, with president reagan, with president george h.w. bush, with president clinton, with president george w. bush. this president is treated differently. now i've heard some senate republicans claim the majority leader can simply bring up these nominations for a vote whenever he chooses to do so. i think that's done to hope that maybe