mr. wiener who the lady is? >> yes, i do, sarah. >> for the record, this is leon the helmsley before she passed away. that is her dog troubled who inherited $12 million. trouble would be affected by this bill, by the amendment that mr. pomeroy suggested. we've got bills to pay but apparently trouble does not want to be part of paying those bills. we've got a lot of work to do in this country. we have a very big issue in front of us. there is a real philosophical debate. there are points where it goes beyond the debate and it is pretty clear. for me, going back pomeroy issue, the inheritance tax, trouble would not have to pay on the first $3.5 million. what ever gender he is, he would have to pay tax on the balance. i think the amendment that was proposed by mr. pomeroy is perfectly in order. i think we have to remember that this really is about reducing revenues to the united states and its effect on its ability to pay for bills whether it is national security interests, the wars in the middle east, or whether i

mr. wiener. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. weiner: thank you, mr. levin. it doesn't take a great deal of courage to come to the floor of the house and say i'm in favor of low taxes. yeah, i think we'd all like no taxes, we'd like to have no communal needs that we have, no national defense, no concerns about clean water. what whear the fight about in leches and frankly every single day on the floor is who do we stand for? who are we defending? on this side of the chamber, we believe that those people in the middle class and those struggling to make it with through each and every year for the past two decades have been getting pushed further and further down need help. on the other side of this chamber are people who quite literally stood up all day today and say, i want to give tax cuts to people who make $1 million and $1 billion a year and wait for it, ladies and gentlemen, we want to borrow the money from the chinese to give it to them. i want the wealthy to be as wealthy as they cabe. any of grudge against that. i want all of us to be that wealthy. but

mr. wiener. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. weiner: thank you, mr. levin. it doesn't take a great deal of courage to come to the floor of the house and say i'm in favor of low taxes. yeah, i think we'd all like no taxes, we'd like to have no communal needs that we have, no national defense, no concerns about clean water. what we hear the fight about in leches and frankly every single day on the floor is who do we stand for? who are we defending? on this side of the chamber, we believe that those people in the middle class and those struggling to make it with through each and every year for the past two decades have been getting pushed further and further down need help. on the other side of this chamber are people who quite literally stood up all day today and say, i want to give tax cuts to people who make $1 million and $1 billion a year and wait for it, ladies and gentlemen, we want to borrow the money from the chinese to give it to them. i want the wealthy to be as wealthy as they can be. any of grudge against that. i want all of us to be that wealthy.

mr. wiener. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. weiner: thank you, mr. levin. it doesn't take a great deal of courage to come to the floor of the house and say i'm in favor of low taxes. yeah, i think we'd all like no taxes, we'd like to have no communal needs that we have, no national defense, no concerns about clean water. what we hear the fight about in leches and frankly every single day on the floor is who do we stand for? who are we defending? on this side of the chamber, we believe that those people in the middle class and those struggling to make it with through each and every year for the past two decades have been getting pushed further and further down need help. on the other side of this chamber are people who quite literally stood up all day today and say, i want to give tax cuts to people who make $1 million and $1 billion a year and wait for it, ladies and gentlemen, we want to borrow the money from the chinese to give it to them. i want the wealthy to be as wealthy as they can be. any of grudge against that. i want all of us to be that wealthy.

mr. wiener. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. weiner: thank you, mr. levin. it doesn't take a great deal of courage to come to the floor of the house and say i'm in favor of low taxes. yeah, i think we'd all like no taxes, we'd like to have no communal needs that we have, no national defense, no concerns about clean water. what we hear the fight about in leches and frankly every single day on the floor is who do we stand for? who are we defending? on this side of the chamber, we believe that those people in the middle class and those struggling to make it with through each and every year for the past two decades have been getting pushed further and further down need help. on the other side of this chamber are people who quite literally stood up all day today and say, i want to give tax cuts to people who make $1 million and $1 billion a year and wait for it, ladies and gentlemen, we want to borrow the money from the chinese to give it to them. i want the wealthy to be as wealthy as they can be. any of grudge against that. i want all of us to be that wealthy.

mr. robert wiener of robert wiener and associates. where is that microphone? >> and, steny, thank you so much for coming to the club. it's a real honor to have you. as i said, the importance of it has shown that the president of the club ramped it up and decided to be the host of the event. we're thrill that alan verga has done that. >> the president, right? >> that's true, mark hamrick will be coming on next year. steny, you mentioned the fiscal commission provocative report but they and many republicans and many in the media have, don't acknowledge that social security is solvent and you remember my sorted background when i was the chief of staff of the house aging committee, that social security is svent and paid for through 2037 and 25% at the short at the most even after that it doesn't contribute a dime to the deficit even on paper, so it isn't anything the deficit commission can take advantage of other than taking money from it. how did social security become the symbol of saving the deficit and doing something instead of the real costs of iraq, afghani

mr. wiener of new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. weiner: how much time is remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 11 1/2 minutes. mr. weiner: thank you very muchism appreciate the sponsor of the legislation. it is not as my good friend characterized it throwing money or giving money away. this is whether you take people who have helped build this couldn't are troy what it is, who have paid into the social security trust fund and who very often rely entirely on social security for their support. these are people who, frank arery, -- frankly, on average, are making in the magnitude of $16,000, $17,000, $20,000 for the entire year. the social security cola was passed in the 1970's with a logical rationale, to allow seniors to keep up with the high cost of living. the mistake that we continually make and perhaps it's because the law is written incorrectly, perhaps it's a misinterpretation, is that we assume for a moment that when inflation is at a low level like it is today, it means costs haven't risen for seniors. but if

mr. robert wiener of robert wiener and associates. where is that microphone? >> and, steny, thank you so much for coming to the club. it's a real honor to have you. as i said, the importance of it has shown that the president of the club ramped it up and decided to be the host of the event. we're thrill that alan verga has done that. >> the president, right? >> that's true, mark hamrick will be coming on next year. steny, you mentioned the fiscal commission provocative report but they and many republicans and many in the media have, don't acknowledge that social security is solvent and you remember my sorted background when i was the chief of staff of the house aging committee, that social security is solvent and paid for through 2037 and 25% at the short at the most even after that it doesn't contribute a dime to the deficit even on paper, so it isn't anything the deficit commission can take advantage of other than taking money from it. how did social security become the symbol of saving the deficit and doing something instead of the real costs of iraq, afgha

mr. robert wiener of robert wiener and associates. where is that microphone? >> and, steny, thank you so much for coming to the club. it's a real honor to have you. as i said, the importance of it has shown that the president of the club ramped it up and decided to be the host of the event. we're thrill that alan verga has done that. >> the president, right? >> that's true, mark hamrick will be coming on next year. steny, you mentioned the fiscal commission provocative report but they and many republicans and many in the media have, don't acknowledge that social security is solvent and you remember my sorted background when i was the chief of staff of the house aging committee, that social security is solvent and paid for through 2037 and 25% at the short at the most even after that it doesn't contribute a dime to the deficit even on paper, so it isn't anything the deficit commission can take advantage of other than taking money from it. how did social security become the symbol of saving the deficit and doing something instead of the real costs of iraq, afgha

mr. robert wiener. >> think so much for coming to the club. it's a real honor to have you. the president rammed it up and decided to be the host of the event. >> he is the present president, right? >> that is true. you mentioned the fiscal commission's provocative report. they and many republicans and the media do not acknowledge that social security is solisolt and paid for 32037, and 25% short even at the most after that. it does not contribute a dime to the deficit, even on paper. it is not anything the deficit commission can take advantage of, other than taking money from it. how did social security become the symbol of saving the deficit and doing something, instead of the real cost of our iraq and afghanistan, tax breaks for the rich, and will democrats and the congress as a whole resist the sound bite to save the budget by cutting social security? >> first of all, let me say that social security ought not to be look debt as a way to reduce the deficit. your point is well taken. however, at the same time we need to make sure that social security is not only solvent th

mr. waxman: i rise in strong support of h.r. 847 the james zadroga 9/11 health and compensation act. i thank frank pallone and my colleagues from new york on the committee, eliot engel and anthony wienerepresentative maloney and nadler and the whole new york city delegation, who are tireless in their support of this bill. this is an important piece of legislation that will attempt to provide the services to first responders and community residents who develop illness as a result of their exposure to the massive toxic dust include that blanketted lower manhattan after the terrorist attack on september 11, 2001. i urge all members to support this legislation. and i will have a further detailed description of it in my prepared statement. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. burgess: i yield one minute to the the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. cole. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cole: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam speaker, long before new york city's first responders rushed to save fellow americans in the fire and horror of 9/11, they came to help the people of oklahoma c