ms. jackson lee: i do. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: my good friend from georgia, some things bear repeating. i love february 2. it happens to be my daughter eric's birthday. some call it groundhog day. i call it a great celebration for a bit of joy that came into our lives. so it's a day for many that is happy. it's a day that many humor ousley look forward to great -- humorously look forward to great weather. some remember bill murray. and it's a day that symbolizes repetition. sometimes the pain of americans de-- not speaking for mr. pallone but in actuality we have the opportunity now to have bipartisan hearings. nothing is precluded. and mr. pallone's statement was accurate. he was not writing the structure of long-term care. he was indicating that for americans it was vital. what is disappointing is that my friends on the other side of the aisle are willing to give up so easily. i don't understand that. where's the american genius? of course they'll cite h.h.s. well, they know congress directs h.h.s. they know that the

ms. jackson, excuse me one moment. some of the members are having a hard time hearing you. >> i'll get closer. in some instances we to take a step back from some programs. there's been elimination of programs that have either met the goals or can be achieved by other agencies. let me spend a moment discussing major elements of the epa's budget request. it recognizes the importance of the state and local and tribal level. they are at the fronts lines of enacts the laws. 40% of the funding request is directed to the state and tribal assistance grants. it proposes nearly 15% of the request be allocated back to the states and tribes through grants. this includes fund forgive state and local air quality management grants, pollution grants and the tribal general assistance program. a proposed additional 25% goes to the state for clean drinking water. it will support development of water infrastructure in our communities and we are working to identify opportunities to fund green infrastructure projects that can reduce polluti

ms. jackson with us. a pleasure to have you with us.your programs, there is also a flier in your programs. it is on the flip side of "lift every voice and sing." it is a flier about a program which will be doing on sunday, february 26. we will be honoring several african american women, consistent with the theme of african american history and culture. those women are identified here. we do have one of them with us today. i have a supervisor kennedy with us today. she will be one of the people we will be honoring on the 26th. we certainly encourage you all to come out and be part of that event. that is fine. with that, i think what we will do is -- are featured speaker today -- the mayor was delayed with some matters of urgency before him. rather than delay further, we will move on. i will assume the honor. there is no way i can do the justice he would have done to introducing our keynote speaker today. but i will say that in your programs we have a brief biography of our keynote speaker today, naomi kelly. you can read that at your lei

ms. jackson lee: yes. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from texas will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: i have amendment number 1. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in the congressional record offered by ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank you so very much, madam chair and, again, i rise with great concern about h.r. 1173 and, again, i want to make it very clear that in all the course of traveling throughout my district when the affordable care act was passed in 2010 there was a great deal of emotion and celebration. i take, for example, those senior citizens who were falling through the holes of medicare part d. this particular legislation helped close the doughnut hole where seniors, prescription drugs did not skyrocket and therefore they co

ms. jackson he of texas. the chair: the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: i, too, want to express my appreciation to the rules committee for allowing my amendment to come in. i acknowledge the ranking member of our budget committee for his excellent service, mr. van hollen. i thank dr. price for his presence here today engay gim -- engaining in this discussion. in a few days, i will be meeting with a number of my clergy along with my small business community, coming from all walks of life. all of us have found in our hearts an minds to recognize that small business is in fact the back bone of this country. so i would ask that as we look at the issue of macroeconomic analysis of this legislation, that we include a well defined concept as to understand what the impact will be on hub zone areas as defined by the small business act. h.r. 3582 would require the congressional budget office to provide a macroeconomic impact analysis for

ms. jackson will show you to the safe-deposit box. thank you. there you go.se the room to your right. oh, thanks. i didn't know dad stashed all this stuff away. i had no idea he kept all this. oh, it's a letter from a women he saved in the hotel fire. what's this? rebecca: oh, i can't believe it! it's a program from a recital i was in when i was a little girl. i didn't know he was so sentimental. let me see. and a letter from mom. here's dad's discharge papers from the boston fire department. here's his birth certificate. here's mom's death certificate. look, it's a picture of dad and uncle brendan. they look so young. just about your age. oh, grandma and grandpa's passports from ireland. these passports were processed at ellis island, in 1920. they must have sailed right past the statue of liberty. god, that must have been something! can you imagine what that was like? it's an old irish ring. isn't it beautiful? kevin: i can understand what the heart means, but... what about the hands and the crown? the hands mean friendship and the crown means loyalty. ther

and that is the honorable lisa jackson, who is the administrator of epa, and ms. bennett is there to provide additional information if she needs it, which she probably won't. we are delighted to have you here as well, i'm recognize myself for three minutes for the purposes of an opening statement. this is a joint hearing of the sub committees of the energy and commerce committee. i think it's important that we have this hearing because in washington it seems like we do become unsensitive to dollar amounts. when we go home and attend civic clubs and have town hall meetings, people get upset about the many dollars that are being spent in washington, d.c., president obama's fy '13 budget request is for $3.7 trillion dollars and there's new programs and initiatives in that. we will be focused only on the budget of epa. and the epafy '13 budget request is 8$8.3 billion and certainly that is moving in the right direction. i might add that i think all government agencies at this particular time, when we have $16 trillion federal debt do have to be aware of how we are spe

ms. jackson, secretary jackson, today the d.c. circuit is hearing oral argument in the greenhouse gas organization and that involves the tailorring rule. in your brief that has been filed on behalf, it indicates in that brief that there would be a need to hire 230,000 full-time employees, that there would need to be an additional 81,000 psd permits per year, 6 million title 5 permits and a cost to the epa of $21 billion -- on top of the current budget, $21 billion per year. i'm looking at the brief where i get these numbers and then the sentence right after the paragraphs that lay out these numbers say based on this analysis, epa found applying the literal statuary thresholds on january 2nd 2011 would, quote, overwhelm the resources of permitting authorities and severely impair the functioning of the programs. you would agree with that assessment yes or no? >> yes, sir. >> and that's why you all have defended the tailorring rule based on a theory that there is a theory of law that says if it's not practical, you can -- you don't h

ms. jackson? >> i was not going to talk on this, i did not know it was on the agenda, but i would like for the young lady who is the head of your department, if there had of that community college, when it was built, if the discussion during that time was january of 1976, then i hear about you doing something in 1999? i do not know if it is the framework or the policy for the southeast community college. i would like to say that i would like this young lady -- where are you at, honey? come here, baby. [laughter] because, you know, this is very important. when i learned in when i was checking on puc being over -- you know, the community college? i would check in on my own to see who that land was under. guess who it was? it is not under the water department. the reason it was done that way , i am what they said was supposed to pay no taxes. the real-estate, whoever we pay it to, property tax and everything, they told me i am not paying property tax on it and they do not keep records there, but the

ms. jackson. second speaker will be francisco da costa. and the third -- supervisor mar: we're going to limit it to two minutes per person. supervisor cohen: then it ruben santana. and then eric smith. >> thank you, supervisors piteously from bayview-interest point. too bad you have given me two minutes. this is a toxic area there. there is no bus stops there. there have been groups that want to build their across the street for many years, and we have opposed because of the sewage plant. there has not been in eir dun, environmental impact than in that area. when i tried to talk to about a month ago, to meet with you, i wanted to explain to you because i heard this was coming up, and wanted you to know about that area. i have lived there since 1948, so i know the community. i know what has been there over the years. this -- that is the most toxic areas. they have all the tracks running through there. there are other businesses based there. you might not even find a parking spot if you go to the meat company over there, because there's no p

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for two minutes. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent, madam speaker, to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i'm always in awe at the gentleman from the rules committee that has just spoken so eloquently about consensus and coming together. i've seen him in action in the rules committee and certainly thank the members of the rules committee for their service. we know that his history brings him here from being a staffer and so he knows this institution, he knows where all the bathrooms are, he knows where all of how much good we can do. and so i'm grateful of his acknowledging our friend, congresswoman slaughter, mr. walz who have been working and, of course, wanted to have their bill come forward in a way that would be transparent, would have the opportunity for all facets of this bill to be understood. and so it begs the question, i thank mr. polis for his leadership, how we have the cloak and dagger, midnight legislation trick that really is not befitting

ms. jackson, one thing that mr. mckinley brought up and a number of people brought up is the amount of grants that are given by epa to foreign entities directly or indirectly. i would just ask that you all provide us with a list of those over the last three years. last three years. at this time i recognize the gentleman from west virginia -- i mean from virginia for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. miss jackson, secretary jackson, today the d.c. circuit is hearing oral argument? the green house gas litigation and that involves the tayloring rule. and in your brief that has been filed on behalf that indicates in that brief that there would be a need to hire 230,000 full time employees that there would need to be an additional 81,000 psd permits per year, six million title five permits and a cost to the epa of $21 billion on top of the current budget, $21 billion per year. and then the sentence right after the numbers, based on this analysis, epa found that applying the literal statutory thresholds on january

ms. jackson, thanks very much for being with us today. before i let you go, i want to just ask one additional question. under the renewable fuel standard law, epa is required to publish the required volume obligations for certain fuel categories. and the proposed volume of bio-mass diesel specified in the june, 2011 proposed rule omitted from the final rule published in december. so what was there in june for the volume for diesel bio mass was not in the final report in december. and i was just curious, is that an oversight? or was there some other explanation for that? >> sir, i don't know. i don't have a fact sheet on that. can we get you an interim after the hearing? >> yeah, i would appreciate that very much if we could get that answer. thank you, again, for being with us. we appreciate you and ms. bennett taking the time to be here and, with that, the hearing is adjourned and the record will remain open for ten days for any additional materials to be submitted. thank you. >>> in a few moments, energy secretary speaks on capitol hill

ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 537, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas. jackson scrax jackson i thank the chair very much -- ms. jackson lee: i thank the chair very much. as i understand this legislation, it is to establish a commission that deals with the civilian property realignment for this nation. some 340,000-plus square feet, i understand, is within the jurisdiction of the general services amendment. i want to acknowledge the leadership of the ranking member on many issues dealing with property around the nation. thank her for that leadership. my amendment is a simple amendment that expresses that the commission or other appropriate federal agencies should conduct a public should conduct a public information campaign to

ms. jackson was operating at the epa and said how did we get here, most of the statutory authority was given to her under an republican administration. so we have got a long, big mountain to move. and the conservative movement has got to take the lead in moving that mountain. >> well, let me ask you this. along those lines, is there -- and congressman huelskamp, you were a member of the kansas legislature before you came to washington. so you have been in a state legislature and know something about legislating. compare your experience in the state legislature and how things worked compared to congress. are there things that the state does better? are there things that are worse? what can we learn from the states? what would you say about how to fix some of the things that congressman pompeo just talked about. >> a great question. i hate to speak for my colleagues. it's never ending. there is never a solution. it's like well we'll do that tomorrow there is four magic words they learned that i put in my vocabulary for 2012. it's "after the next election." we're going to solve the problem, we'

ms. sheila jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. i, too, want to rise today to acknowledge both the chairman and the ranking member. i know this has not been an easy task, and i certainly want to express my appreciation to mr. costello and the work that he has done and the friendship he's shown to members but the understanding that he's had for this industry for those of us who represent airports. i cannot deny that this is not an important bill and legislative initiative. so let me thank you and thank you as well for the late hours that all of you who are on the transportation committee engaged in. might i for a moment before i speak of this bill thank the ranking member and ms. brown, congresswoman brown, congresswoman johnson for saving houston, again, and its light rail. something i worked for almost 20 years, and the amendment last evening that would have defunded houston's rail, lig

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. -- mr. speaker, for giving us an opportunity to share on some enormously crucial human catastrophes that are occurring around the world. i'm challenging all of my colleagues and those who would listen, that sometimes we are, in fact, through peaceful means, our brothers and sisters' keeper. first as we have seen the asending -- ascending violence occur in syria, a nation state that i have visited, blood shed that has included the loss of women and children, hearing news reports where citizens of syria are begging for someone to do something. it is almost as if you came out of your house and stood by as your neighbor's house burned. we know in america many try to get a garden hose, others call 9-1-1, but they do something because of the horror of what they are seeing. and constantly our media airwaves are being beat with the sounds of gunshot, smoke, and devastation in the steadfast refusal o

ms. jackson lee for five minutes. >> that me thank the ranking member and secretary for visiting lone star college in houston. they expressed their appreciation. i am also very happy of the disaster aid increase in the president's budget and i would ask on the record for someone in the department for some issues that are still going on in houston, texas that are still going on. if i could get that, i would greatly appreciate it. you said something earlier that i would very much appreciate hearing again as you open. you said the issue of radicalization terrorism, and i am paraphrasing your words is not attended to the label by it any religion our particular group. would you want to just clarify that for us? i think it is very important to the many diverse groups and our nation how we address the issue of terrorism and terrorist threats domestically in our nation. >> what i said is terrorism is not narrowed to any ideology or nation. it is islam as, the hottest, it can be based on other ideologies. it can be internationally based or homegrown. it requires those of us in the terrorism prevent

ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is correct. the house is not in order. please take your conversations off, please. ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i rise today to speak of the loss that so many have spoken about over the last week and that is the loss of whitney houston, who i would imagine that everyone would acknowledge the beauty of her music and certainly the beauty that she was as a person and a human being. what a very sad loss for her daughter bobby and her mother cissy and her aunt dionne warwick. but we cannot help be reminded of whitney's voice singing "the star-spangled bancher," or the words when she sang "yes, jesus loves me," when she did it in "the bodyguard" and can't help bery minded of "i'll always love you." and my quints are deeply saddened and our good friend, congressman don payne who has been in touch with the family and helping he has been a comfort as well. so i simply wanted to say, whitney,