mr. rhodes, quickly on this question -- i want to be clear on the thought process here. is that true? did you not see the final bid? or did you see the rent proposed by the current operator portrait -- chosen operator? >> as in every case, within the department we deal with the proposed case. they submit the documentation and represent how the competitive process went and what the bids were. he is correct, we relied upon what the department delivered to us. summarized on page 1-5 of our own report. to specifically answer your question, we absolutely did not look at any of the individual bids. we always advise on the process as represented by the department unless the board of supervisors specifically asked us to audit the process because they felt that was wrong, we would never look at anything underlying beyond what the department submitted to us. supervisor mirkarimi: thank you. back to public comment. supervisor chu: i believe that there was one final person? if there are members of the public that wish to speak on this item that have not had a chance, please step up. >> good after

mr. rhodes is the host correspondent of public television's american experience and "frontline."e information visit to richard rhodes.com. >> we or hear the national press club talking with spencer abraham about his book, like that. can you tell us what some of the solutions are to her and she cries you detail in the book? >> i will, and energy secretary i watch what i felt was working and we have a real energy challenge facing america going forward and i think first we need to increase dramatically the role nuclear energy place here in the united states. right now does 20% of our power and i think it should be 30% by 2030. we also need to increase the role of renewable energy here in the united states. right now it is wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, these were nobles that are only 2% of our energy. we really need them to be much much higher so we need to support that effort. i am a conservative so i believe in conservation one of the things we would also need to do is to find ways to improve our energy efficiency so that we don't demand as much as right now is projected to be

rhode island approach? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker. even as i speak the lan slides continue to ravage the country. this national disaster, ongoing for several months now, has taken more than 300 lives and

mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. langevin. mr. langevin: section 8, the congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposes, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states, but all duties, imposes, and excises shall be uniform throughout the united states. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. lance. mr. lance: to borrow money on the credit of the united states. , to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the indian tribes, to establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the united states. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from michigan, mr. kildee. mr. kildee: to coin money, regulate the value of there, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures, to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting, the securities and current coin of the united states, to establish post offices and post roads. mr. goodlatt

mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. langevin. mr. langevin: section 8, the congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposes, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states, but all duties, imposes, and excises shall be uniform throughout the united states. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from new jerery, mr. lance. mr. lance: to borrow money on the credit of the united states. , to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the indian tribes, to establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of nkruptcies throughout the united states. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from michigan, mr. kildee. mr. kildee: to coin money, regulate the value of there, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures, to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting, the securities and current coin of the united states, to establish post offices and post roads. mr. goodlatte:

mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. langevin. mr. langevin: section 8, the congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposes, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states, but all duties, imposes, and excises shall be uniform throughout the united states. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from new jerery, mr. lance. mr. lance: to borrow money on the credit of the united states. , to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the indian tribes, to establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of nkruptcies throughout the united states. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from michigan, mr. kildee. mr. kildee: to coin money, regulate the value of there, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weights and measures, to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting, the securities and current coin of the united states, to establish post offices and post roads. mr. goodlatte:

mr. langevin of rhode island, mr. schiff of california, mr. boring of oklahoma, mr. gutierrez of illinois and mr. chandler of kentucky. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 5880 and 5581 of the revised statutes, 20 u.s. code, and the order of the house of january 5, 2011, the chair announces the speaker's appointment of the following members of the house to the board of regents of the smithsonian institution. the clerk: mr. johnson of texas and mr. latourette of ohio. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to 22 u.s. code 1928-a, clause 10 of rule 157bd the order of the house of january 5, 2011, the chair announces the speaker's appointment of the following members of the house to the united states group of the nato parliamentary assembly. the clerk: mr. turner, ohio, chairman. mr. shimkus of illinois, mr. shuster of pennsylvania, mr. miller of florida, mrs. emerson of missouri, ms. granger of texas and mr. bilirakis of florida. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to section 4-a of house resolution 5 112th congress and the order of the house of january 5, 2011, the

mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. langevin. mr. langevin: section 8, the congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposes, and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the united states, but all duties, imposes, and excises shall be uniform throughout the united states. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentleman from new jerery, mr. lance. mr. lance: to borrow money on the credit of the united states. , to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states, and with the indian tribes, to establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on the subject of nkruptcies throughout the united states. mr. goodlatte: i now yield to the gentlemafrom michigan, mr. kildee. mr. kildee: to coin money, regulate the value of there, and of foreign coin, and fix the standard of weightsnd measures, to provide for the punishment of counterfeiting, the securities and current coin of the united states, to establish post offices and post roads. mr. goodlatte: i n

the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: madam president, i would like to compliment my distinguished colleague from new york on his remarks and i would like to add a few observations of my own, but i first wanted to echo very much what he said, what the president -- what he said. what the president did last night was to point a finger towards the future and for some people were just capable of seeing the finger. but for most people they really saw where he was pointing and he has pointed us towards an important future for our country. these are the issues we're going to have to address the decades ahead and we have to be prepared now and i wanted to touch about three areas that he pointed to. the first, of course, is infrastructure. i am not the only person in america who has noticed our crumbling infrastructure. everybody who drives on our roads, everybody who goes across our bridges, everybody who has been to our water and sewage plants knows that we have underinvested in those areas for decades. as the presid

mr. president? the presiding officer: the junior senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr.resident, may i ask that the pending quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. from the recovery act to the small business jobs act, in the previous congress we passed a number of substantial pieces of legislation to preserve, protect and create american jobs. the recovery act alone has supported between 2.7 million and 3.7 million jobs, including 12,000 jobs in my home state of rhode island. this was vital in stemming the 700,000-per-month job loss rate that we faced when the previous administration left office. without the recover act and the -- recovery act and the other fiscal stimulus that we passed over the past two years, the economy would have been much, much worse. while the recovery act protected our country from what would have been a far worse economic meltdown, the employment market is still weak and families are sill hurting. our national unemployment rate was 9.4% in december, an unacceptably high level,

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, first let me thank the senator from new york for his very distinguished leadership of the rules committee and for the very open and thorough way in which he engaged that committee in these issues of addressing the filibuster and the problems that have been caused by its current abuse on the senate floor. and let me also thank senators udall and merkley who have worked so hard to organize this and who have put together what i think is a very good proposal. and i'd like to at the outset of my remarks ask unanimous consent that i be added as a cosponsor to the rules resolution that is here at this point. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you. the distinguished senator from oregon, senator merkley, showed a photograph a little while ago of jimmy stewart in "mr. smith goes to washington," and that has become the sort of emblematic signature demonstration of the american senate filibuster. and there's a scene in that movie that i'm sure the senator i

mr. sicily any of rhode island. >> i appreciate the opportunity to ask some questions. my questions relate to the impact of our relationship with china on american manufacturing. it has been clear to most of us have the chinese have willfully been weak in addressing intellectual property and presenting real problems for american businesses. i would like to hear your of thoughts on what actions we might take to protect american businesses from this theft of intellectual property, seizing of assets in joint ventures and refusal to meet contractual obligations and related to that i am particularly interested in your thoughts on what mechanisms we have in particular, for renewable energy. there was a recent complaint against the chinese subsidy policy which the administration contends favored chinese producers of wind equipment and there have been examples where those conflicts have been resolved at the joint commission on commerce and trade. i wonder if you think those are an effective place for resolution if there are changes we need to make that will really help. america

. >> the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline. >> thank you for being here and sharing compelling stories and i have a question for you, sounds like what you were describing in terms of your work experience would enhance your ability to become a meteorologist and get a good paying job and do other young people face the same choices you have faced if this act were repealed and you would nong no longer be able to be on your parents' insurance plan or quit what is a solid career path. >> that's the way the job market is right now. there are a lot of people i gauted with who are working internships because that's the way they can get because you need to put yourself above everyone else. they aren't getting much and repealing it, they have to choose to continue that ladder to a future job or just sit around and make sure their health is ok. >> and if i could ask you, you describe this anxiety of worrying about reaching a cap for your coverage which this coverage eliminates so you don't have to worry about that. this is a pra

mr. levin: it's now my privilege to yield 1 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. langevin. the gentleman is recognized. mr. langevin: permission to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. . mr. langevin: mr. speaker, i rise today in opposition to the patients' rights repeal bill and republicans have made this their first priority. rhode islanders sent me here with a clear purpose, to create jobs, strengthen our economy and reduce the federal deficit. those are the issues we need to address and in doing so, so should be our first order of business and our top priority. we are considering a bill that will increase already skyrocketing health care premiums for rhode island families and businesses, give insurers back the power to deny or drop coverage when people get sick and raise the deficit by an additional $230 billion over the next 10 years and $1 trillion the decade after that. pressing the reset button on health reform will not only bring our progress toward affordable and accessible health care to a screeching halt but will rescind tax b

rhode island approach? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker. even as i speak the lan slides continue to ravage the country. this national disaster, ongoing for several months now, has taken more than 300 lives and damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 homes. in total more than two million victims have been affected by the flooding and some reports are calling this the worst natural disaster in colombia's history. my district in northern rhode island is home to many wonderful colombian families. in fact colombians make up the fourth largest latino group in rhode island, most of whom have loved ones in the affected areas. so on behalf of the people of the first district of rhode island i extend my sympathies. we remember those who have died to those who have lost loved ones, injured, or lost their homes as a result of this destruction. i express my wishes for a rapid reconstruction of the damage to areas and return to safety for the families affected by this tragic natural disaster. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

. >> i yield two minutes to the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. cicilline: i rise to honor those injured or killed in last saturday's attack. congresswoman gabrielle giffords, members of her staff and other members of the tucson community are now fighting for their lives. six innocent others, including a 9-year-old little girl and the congresswoman's director of outreach, gabe zimmerman, gave the ultimate sacrifice in the exercise of our democracy. this tragedy gives us great pause as we begin the work of the 112th congress and serves as a painful remainder -- reminder that our democracy is built on the ability of citizens to fully participate in the democracy and we must protect that. these have been tragic hours for our country, for those who lost loved ones, and for those who were injured and their families. on behalf of the people of the first district of rhode island and my colleague, representative langevin, we send our sincere condolences from the entire state to all

island where southern rhode island newport was the host of the america's cup for 53 years out of a 150- year tradition, of course, that enthusiasm is compounded once we knew that mr. ellison had won the cup, the san francisco should pounce on the ability to try to become the host here. naturally, we wanted to do everything we possibly could to work together as a city family to extend our families to secure that particular right. needless to say, the people of rhode island are a little bit upset with me, and i and my home town, as my mom likes to remind me. i'm sort of kidding. they said the politics thing does not work there. come back home. that idea is completely off the table. as it relates, i think, to index steps, we are very appreciative of the fact that the city family came together in what was amid very extraordinary circumstances. the board of supervisors, supervisors, room 200, as well as with the private sector to be able to proffer what seems to be the strongest deal that will possibly could devise in meeting a deadline that really was imposed upon us. we also realize in the blessing of that particular agreement, that there needed to be some massaging

mr. manzullo. proud to recognize the member from rhode island. welcome to our committee. >> a.q. i know i think it's been pretty clear to most of us that the chinese have really been willfully weak in addressing the theft of property and it's been present promise for american businesses but i would like to hear your thoughts on what actions we might take to rid protect american businesses from the theft of intellectual property, the seizing of aspects and joint ventures and the refusal to meet contractual obligations. and related to that, i'm particularly interested in your thoughts on what mechanisms we have come up her ticket to the opportunities that exist for production development of renewable energy. i know there was a recent complaint wild against the chinese subsidy policy which the administration contends favor chinese producers of wind, wind equipment, and that have been examples where those kinds of concepts have been resolved at the u.s.-china joint commission of commerce and trade. so ensure that unwanted what you think those are an effective place or solution, if th

mr. manzullo. proud to recognize the member from rhode island. welcome to our committee. >> a.q. madam chairwoman. i appreciate the opportunity to ask questions. my questions also relate to the impact of our relationship with china on american manufacturing. and i know i think it's been pretty clear to most of us that the chinese have really been willfully weak in addressing the theft of property and it's been present promise for american businesses but i would like to hear your thoughts on what actions we might take to rid protect american businesses from the theft of intellectual property, the seizing of aspects and joint ventures and the refusal to meet contractual obligations. and related to that, i'm particularly interested in your thoughts on what mechanisms we have come up her ticket to the opportunities that exist for production development of renewable energy. i know there was a recent complaint wild against the chinese subsidy policy which the administration contends favor chinese producers of wind, wind equipment, and that have been examples where those kinds of concep

mr. manzullo. proud to recognize the member from rhode island. welcome to ourcommittee. >> a.q. madam chairwoman. i appreciate the opportunity to ask questions. my questions also relate to the impact of our relationship with china on american manufacturing. and i know i think it's been pretty clear to most of us that the chinese have really been willfully weak in aressing the theft of property and it's been present promise for american businesses but i would like to hear your thoughts on what actions we might take to rid protect american businesses from the theft of intellectual property, the seizing of aspects and joint ventures and the refusal to meet contractual obligations. and related to that, i'm particularly interested in your thoughts on what mechanisms we have come up er ticket to the opportunities that exist for production development of renewable energy. i know there was a recent complaint wild against the chinese subsidy policy which the administration contends favor chinese producers of wind, wind equipment, and that have been examples where those kinds of concepts have been resolved

rhode island approach? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker. even as i speak the lan slides continue to ravage the country. this national disaster, ongoing for several months now, has taken more than 300 lives and damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 homes. in total more than two million victims have been affected by the flooding and some reports are calling this the worst natural disaster in colombia's history. my district in northern rhode island is home to many wonderful colombian families. in fact colombians make up the fourth largest latino group in rhode island, most of whom have loved ones in the affected areas. so on behalf of the people of the first district of rhode island i extend my sympathies. we remember those who have died to those who have lost loved ones, injured, or lost their homes as a result of this destruction. i express my wishes for a rapid reconstruction of the damage to areas and return to safety for the families affected by this tragic natural disaster. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

rhode island approach? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker. even as i speak the lan slides continue to ravage the country. this national disaster, ongoing for several months now, has taken more than 300 lives and damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 homes. in total more than two million victims have been affected by the flooding and some reports are calling this the worst natural disaster in colombia's history. my district in northern rhode island is home to many wonderful colombian families. in fact colombians make up the fourth largest latino group in rhode island, most of whom have loved ones in the affected areas. so on behalf of the people of the first district of rhode island i extend my sympathies. we remember those who have died to those who have lost loved ones, injured, or lost their homes as a result of this destruction. i express my wishes for a rapid reconstruction of the damage to areas and return to safety for the families affected by this tragic natural disaster. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

mr. speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> just yesterday i had a privilege from hearing from a rhode island, who spoke at the one and only hearing congress had to discuss the negative effects of repealing the new health care law. mr. cicilline: he graduated last may with two bachelor degrees, he's able to afford health insurance because he can stay on his parents' policy. repealing this law means alex and millions of americans will lose their coverage. i also recently spoke to beth, a woman who told me she's an insurance agent, she sells insurance every single day but she's denied access to coverage because of her pre-existing condition. repealing this law would mean she would again be denied access to health care. please do not let them take my health care. i was sent here to find practical solutions to solve the problems facing rhode island families. let's work to improve this law not repeal it. i yield back the balance of my time. th

rhode island can fit into most state's counties. so don't give me just wyoming. mr.olivo, thank you for your testimony. my can tad worked for a great printing company for 30 years in minneapolis, johnson printing. a prints salesman. we got our health insurance through johnson printing. we got great health insurance for our family and your testimony about the 1099s both here and in your written testimony, this is why i've co-sponsored a bill to get -- actually get rid of that burden. and i think we will. so thank you and thank you for contributing to our understaing of that. wrou you wrote in your written testimony that your health care insurance premiu increased by an average of 20 parse year over the last 17 years snart. >> that's correct. and what i mean is renewing the same type of policy, it uld typically come in over the average around 20% over a ten year period. >> and that happened when there was no health care reformat take poin point. with a if i told that you monthly premiums for massachusetts businesses at take point. with a if i told that you monthly prem

rhodes is the author of over 20 books. in his book "the making of the atomic bomb" with the recipient of the to surprise in in nonfiction and the national book award for nonfiction. mris also the host a correspondent of public televisions and there and experience and frontline. for more information, visit richardrhodes.com. >> we are here at the national press club talking with spencer abraham about his book, lights out. can you tell us what some of these solutions are to our energy crisis that you detail in the book? >> i will. as energy secretary i want to seem to work and what i felt was not working. we have a real energy challenge facing america going forward. and i think first we need to increase dramatically the whole nuclear energy place here in united states. right now it is 20% of our power and i think they should be 30% by 2030. we also need to increase the role of renewable energy here in the united states. right now it's wind, solar, biomass, geothermal. these renewables are only about 2% of our energy. we need them to be much, much higher so we need to support that effort. i'm a conservative so i believe in conservation. one of the things would also nee

rhode island approach? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. cicilline: thank y, mr. speaker.as i speak the lan slides continue to ravage the country. this national disaste ongoing for several months now, has taken more than 300 lives and damaged or destroyed more than 2,000 homes. in total more than twoillion victims have been affected by the flooding and some reports are calling this the worst natural disaster in colombia's history. my district in northern rhode island is home to many wonderful colombian families. in fact colombians make up the fourth largest latino group in rhode island, most of whom have loved ones in the affected areas. so on behalf of the people of the first district of rhode island i extend my sympathies. we remember those who have died to those who have lost loved ones, injured, or lost their homes as a result of this destruction. i express my wishes for a rapid reconstruction of the damage to areas and return to safety for the families affected by this tragic natural disaster. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman

puerto rico, rhode island, south carolina, south dakota, tennessee, texas, utah, vermont, burgeon islands, -- virgin islands, virginia, washington. west virginia. , wisconsin, wyoming. thank you, mr. chairman. if you are holding a proxy -- sorry, we already did that. linda harris. >> if there are any other members who have come to the floor, but whose names were not called, please check in with the secretary. we do have a quorum, so we may move lower. we would like to call upon jonah for a report of the proxy committee. >> the proxy committee wanted to assure accuracy. we need a few more minutes. >> ok. we will move on to approval of the agenda. rule number 8-a requires an agenda be mailed to you before the meeting. we will conduct business according to that agenda. hearing no objections, let's proceed. before you is a copy of the minutes from the 2010 summer meeting. we will dispense with meeting -- which reading of these meetings. -- dispensed with the reading of these minutes. the motion passes. i am pleased to announce the election of two new members. the national committee man for new jersey and the national committee man for new hampshire. they will be ratified by the repub

mr. christie is doing in new jersey. the agriculture department reduced 24%. education down 8%. rhodes' 3%. i suggest new jersey is not going to sink into the ocean. it will still be there. this idea at that even this deficit commission, i hope i would have been willing to support the recommendations as good as anything we have seen. it does not call for reduction in federal spending. we can do better. the american people are telling you. i don't criticize some of you folks including president bush in it. i don't think you realize the political world we live in. you think in 2001 when we needed to stimulate the economy we can just ask the congress to spend money. then when they get to a certain point we can tell congress to stop. we were elected to try to balance the budget and -- we had our legs drop off. we were not able to warn against spending. the fed seemed to be saying deficits don't matter. now see how hard it is to turn off the spigot? maybe you can turn off the spigot just like that, but for us politically it is not easy. i think the american people have a sense right now that the

mr. burke will not have to worry about deny treatment or dropped from his coverage. [inaudible] >> alexander -- alexander lataille from rhode island is like many students on the 2010 graduating class was been able to find a job that offers health care benefits. fortunately, because of the affordable care act disabled is the on his health -- parent health plan. claudette therriault is from sabbattus, maine. she and her husband was a significant savings in their prescription drug costs as result of the affordable care act. in addition as result from the paris preventive care included in the law, they are not able to access lifesaving preventive services which they had previously cut off due to cost. dr. odette cohen is a small business owner from willingboro, new jersey. dr. cohen runs a small practice and as result of a small business tax credit included in the affordable care act she will be able to hire another nurse practitioner which means she will be seeing more patients and growing her business and the economy. >> thank you. ms. branch, we will begin with you. >> i would first like to thank chairman miller, chairwoman

mr. president, not just a new feature speevep. give the american people a new direction. the speaker pro tempore: members are advised to direct their comments to the chair. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island rise? without objection. >> i rise with serious concerns about the misguided agenda our friends on the other side ofthe aisle are pursuing. while democrats continue to make job creation, economic recovery and debt reduction top priorities the majority continues to engage in political theater. in fact their first actions after assuming control of the house hasn't created a single job or president-elect prokted a single american business. mr. ciciline: the top priority has been to repeal the health care reform bill. and their so-called budget reform resolution they offer today is a one paige document with no specific spending, no budget numbers and most importantly, no ideas on job creation or on economic recovery. mr. speaker, we were sent here to create jobs and the get the american economy back on track. both republicans and democrats. let's stop the political gimmickry and get to the work of putting the american people back to work. i yield back the balance of my time the spe