cummings and also mr. kucinich raised earlier. mr. kucinich seemed to be hung up on the fact of when there was a significant indicator that merrill lynch was in rapid decline. rather than focus on november of '08. we can go all the way back to fall of '07 when they mounsed an almost $8 billion loss and mr. o neil was forced into retirement. there's a long history of decline here, all be it it accelerated to some degree around the time of your purchase. but there was significant evidence that they had overloaded with collateral debt obligations and other complex derivatives and they were in pretty tough straits for a while. isn't that true? >> yes,sir, it is true. >> let me ask you, there's a couple of e-mails and unfortunately they are very small up there. let me try to help you. one is from chairman bernanke to a selection of the board of reserve governors. and this is december 21st, 2008, around the time that your thinking about this material adverse change being existent or not. this is from chairman bernanke, i think the threat to

from ohio again, this time mr. kucinich. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. lewis, we would hope a ceo would have a good memory and responsibility to take responsibilities for his actions. you stated in response to my previous question that you did not recall asking for a letter from the government stating that bank of america was ordered to proceed with the purchase of merrill lynch. this is the linchpin of clarifying whether you were threatened by the fed or whether the fed was tough with you because you were threatening to be irresponsible. i want to direct your attention to an e-mail response from the fed's general council to chairman bernanke's e-mail which i previously disclosed. mr. chairman, says, i don't think it's necessary or appropriate for us to give lewis a letter along the lines he asked. first, we didn't order him to go forward. we simply explained our views and what the market reaction would be and left the decision to him. second, making hard decisions is what he gets paid for and only he has full information needed to make the decision so w

kucinich: i rise to invite the chairman to engage in a colloquy with me. mr. chairman, i wish to respectfully convey that i have three conserves with some of the practices employed by the virtual army experience, a high-tech traveling exhibit employed by the army as a -- as a recruiting tool. first, children as young as 13 years old are participating in the virtual army experience which paints an inaccurate picture of war by glorifying it while sanitizing the real effects. more than a mere video game, it includes interactions with real veterans who appear to be in perfect health. it also requires that the user, regardless of age, share personal information as a condition of participation. i think that we can find common ground on these issues. specifically i think we can and i believe that we can agree that the virtual army experience video game must be revalidated to ensure that its age-appropriate rating is accurate in the context of how it's being employed. that the virtual army experience content should be reviewed to ensure it accurately reflects the cons

mr. speaker, with that i would like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. mr. kucinich: i have a question to my friends and that is how do we support the troops by keeping them in a war that's based on lies? how do we support the troops by keeping them in another war which keeps expanding and they are getting shot at on all sides? how do we support the troops by festering a war on the afghan border with pakistan and put them in even more peril because they don't have the support? how do we support the troops? we support them by bringing them home. that's what we should be appropriating money for not to keep them there. beyond that isn't it interesting, we've got another $80 billion here for war. but we don't have money to keep people in their homes because there are still $13 million americans losing their homes. we don't have money for the 50 million americans that don't have health care. we don't have money to save jobs. we don't have money to save our steel mills and auto pla

. >> thank you during much, mr. chairman -- very much, mr. chairman. i am confused. just picking up on some of the things that the chairman and mr. kucinich were just asking about, if there was a $12 billion loss, i can understand. you were thinking of backing out of of the deal. i can understand that. that was based upon your expertise and your experience. i cannot understand the agreement you reported that you made with treasury and the fed which they both denied to disclose the $12 billion loss. if the loss made this horrible business deal to acquire merrill lynch, why did you still do it? and i know you've told us over and over again. but let's be frank. i mean, and i'm wondering, how do you determine what is -- you must disclose. we have shareholders here who are concerned. you're about to go into a deal with a company that is worse off than is made to believe. and it just seems to me that and a person with your experience, there are a lot of people in this situation and i don't care what paulson may have said, what bernanke may have said. they would have said,

mr. kucinich: mr. speaker, i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kucinich: it's good our administration is reaching out to the muslim world. it's bad to spend another $100 billion to keep wars going which will kill innocent muslims in iraq, afghanistan and pakistan. it's good we try to create an incentive for people to buy efficient cars. it's bad the car vouchers will not be expressly for the purpose -- and purchase for cars made in america. it's even worse that we tie such an incentive to a war-funding bill. cash for clunkers and bunkers in the same bill. cash for more war in iraq, afghanistan and pakistan. cash to help china sell its cars to americans. meanwhile, back in the u.s. of a, factories and dealers are closing. people are losing their jobs, their businesses, their homes, their retirement security. who are these people who are coming up with these innovative ideas to keep wars going and to move jobs out of america? who are these people? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expi

cummings and also mr. kucinich raised earlier. mr. kucinich seemed to be hung up on the fact of when there was a significant indicator that merrill lynch was in rapid decline. rather than focus on november of '08. we can go all the way back to fall of '07 when they mounsed an almost $8 billion loss and mr. o neil was forced into retirement. there's a long history of decline here, all be it it accelerated to some degree around the time of there was significant evidence that they had overloaded with collateral debt obligatio

mr. cummings said. and tremendous pressure on everyone. they think you're playing a game. they think you're throwing this thing out as a red herring in that they think what you're really trying to do and what some people suggest you might have been doing was to leverage taxpayer support by falsely putting this mac out there. the fact that you're going to let this deal crash, walk away, even asserting -- you don't have to win the mac, as you said before, you don't have to win it. this deal needs to stop and then i think the weight of all of the forces that play there with lehman and everything else, were in some pretty deep trouble. so what i'm asking you is, was that your strategy here? did you use this mac as leverage to force bernanke and paulson to come in with taxpayer support. and i want to note your own firm was in pretty tough shape at the time. everyone seems to think you were the white knight and strong party, as mr. kucinich has indicated, you know, bank of america had its probl

mr. kucinich: madam speaker, i request permission to address the house and -- for one minute. the speaker: without objection. mr. kucinich: millions of americans have been and are under the threat of wild weather changes, scorching heat, extraordinary cold and food and security. we're running out of time to craft practical, workable solutions to moderate the effects of global climate change brought on by global greenhouse gases. we're past the tipping point and instead of asking about saving ourselves we talk about saving the coal industry. our first steps on the path towards a clean energy future will leave footprints caked in coal because under the bill u.s. fossel emissions will not fall until 2030. and they'll have the licensing of 25 new coal fire plants. it guarantees coal's future by spending $60 billion on an unproven leaky technology where co-2 is pumped into the ground. we can still save ourselves and the planet or we can save the coal industry. we can have a carbon-free and nuclear-free world which comes into harmony with nature's god with microtechnologies which wi

mr. kucinich: good morning, mr. speaker. i request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kucinich: iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, no capability of attacking the united states, had no role in 9/11. each and every statement made by the previous administration in support of going to war turned out to be false. yet here we are, a new administration and the same old war. an expansion of the war in afghanistan. we cannot afford these wars spiritually. they are wars of aggression and they're based on lies. we cannot afford these wars financially. they add trillions to our national debt and destroy our domestic agenda. we cannot afford the human costs of these wars, the loss of lives of our beloved troops and the loss of innocent civilians in afghanistan and pakistan. so why do we do this? why do we keep funding wars since they're so obviously against truth and justice and when they undermine our military? these are matters of heart and conscience which must be explored. our abil

mr. kucinich: request permission to address the house for one minute. despite agreements over funding for the monetary fund and closure of the guantanamo bay detention facility, the primary inintent of the supplemental is to continue funding the wars in iraq and afghanistan. as members who remain opposed to the bill, we need to make sure and make clear our opposition and work to defeat the bill. it's notable that attempts to make important changes to the legislation, such as a call for an exit strategy from afghanistan or demands for increased transparency or account built to the i.m.f. have been rebuffed. it ensures the continued occupation, there by undermining the stated withdrawal. funds for iraq have been dedicated to bringing our troops home and the contractors home as well. it's time to end this war. no to any more funds for the war in afghanistan and war in iraq and no to any legislation if they try to tie it to war funding. the speaker pro tempore: are there further one-minute requests? if not, the chair lays before the house the following pers

. >> let me yield to the chairman of the subcommittee, mr. kucinich for five minutes. >> mr. chairman, members of the committee, our investigation also finds fed officials believe that you were potentially libel for violating security laws by withholding material information in your possession from shareholders before the vote to prove the merger with merrill lynch in december 5th, 2008. mr. lewis, please look at the following e-mail from the fed's general council to chairman bernanke on december 23rd 2008. quote, a different question that doesn't seem to be the one lewis is focused on is related to disclosure. management may be exposed if it doesn't properly disclose information that is material to investors. this potential liability here will be whether he knew or reasonably should have known the magnitude of merrill lynch losses when bank of america made its disclosure to get the shareholder vote on a merrill lynch deal in early december. mr. lewis, did bank of america supplement the proxy solicitation it sent to shareholders with what the company learned in november about

mr. wilson: madam speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise seek recognition? mr. wilson: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from colorado, congressman perlmutter. mr. perlmutter: 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 pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: madam speaker, a message from th

mr. kucinich: thank you. we all want to protect our planet. but will the american clean energy and security act of 2009 do that? i don't think so. the pollution targets are inadequate. regulatory authority is stripped from the e.p.a. the bill relies on huge numbers of carbon offsets. for example, it says you can have two billion tons a year of carbon offsets which is roughly equivalent to 30% of all u.s. greenhouse gas emissions. recent analysis suggests it might be 2026 until we see the emissions decline below 2005 levels. the renewable targets are not strong enough. a recent analysis by the union are concerned -- of concerned scientists indicate this target provides no new renewable energy over business as usual projections. dirty energy options qualify as renewable, including biomass burners and trash incineraters. it gives a significant number of pollution permits away free. it opens up a carbon derivatives market in the u.s. and this bill would help establish one of the largest derivative markets in the world, without adequate oversight o

kucinich, as well as yourself and other members of this body sent a letter to the administration saying we want t.d. toe the auto task force to revert back to an advisory capacity. many of us remember the 1970's when a congressionally led assistance of the chrysler corporation brought the stake holders together in an equitable process and resulted not only in the survival of the company but with lee iacocca presenting a check for the loans plus interest to president reagan. mr. latourette: could i inquire how much time is left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 14 minutes. mr. latourette: thank you. i want to finish clue the travel edition, again, the game of clue, manufacturers by hasbr, -- hasbro, the weapon, not the pen but the ax to make several thousand people unemployed and in one of these rooms, around the board, mr. nardelli, larry summers, senior advisor on the economy to the president, president obama, of course. over here, ron bloom, who i talked about, here's mr. geithner, secretary of the treasury. here is former president bush. so this group forms our new clue tra

mr. kucinich. >> i thank the gentleman. chairman bernanke, your staff believed bank of america knew about milledge's accelerating losses in mid november. for months before coming to you, and weeks before the shareholders voted to approve the merger. those fourth quarter losses rose over 15 billion out of the pockets of bank of america's shareholders. but i want to ask did the fed know about those accelerating losses before the fed approved the merger at the end of november? >> no, i don't think we did. >> may i introduce into the evidence this e-mail which is from the new york fed to autrey of merrill lynch dated wednesday, september 17. it says hope this gets to you. our management, that is the new york fed, has asked to continue the flash report on a daily basis and i am sure with the sec. so the fed was receiving detailed information by which they could have concluded that the overwhelming losses at merrill lynch were more than problematic and that the fed could have done something if they chose. now, are you familiar wi

. >> thank you mr. chairman. obviously as minority members return they will have question time. mr. kucinich i think has been among the most fierce and articulate advocates of single payer is recognized. >> gentle, not years. [laughter] there's been a lot of talk about rationing and during the war, people have rations. imagine during wartime if one out of six americans who are getting rations during a critical period when the war, imagine if one out of 61 of able to get rations and they just starved. well, one of six americans starving for health care, 50 million americans can't get any health care at all. now, dr. gratzer, you tried to make the case for rationing in canada worse than it is in the u.s.. do you know what statistics canada and a lot to the u.s. census says the wait time is across canada for elective surgery? >> why don't you inform us. >> it's four weeks. >> why does canada say to the wheat time for diagnostic imaging like mri? >> i can tell you the government recently looked at that -- >> it's three weeks. >> how many uninsured are there in canada? >> probably relati

mr. kucinich: are insufficient. we can take market based approaches that protect the planet, respect nature through incentivizing the mass production and worldwide distribution of american made wind and solar microtechnologies, lowering our carbon footprint, lowering our energy cost, and rallying the

mr. kucinich: we're destroying our nation's integrity with the war supplemental. instead of ending wars in iraq, afghanistan and pakistan now by appropriating only enough money to bring our troops home, congress abdicates its constitutional authority, defers to the president and asks for a report, that's right, all we're asking for is a report on when the president will end the war. there's money, too, for the i.m.f., presumably to bail out private european banks, billions for the i.m.f. so they can force low and middle income nations to cut jobs, wages, health care and retirement security, just like corporate america does to our constituents. and there's money to incentivize the purchase of more cars, but not necessarily from the u.s. because a by america mandate was not allowed. another $106 billion and all we get is a lousy war. pretty soon that's going to be about the only thing made in america, war. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> yes, mr. speaker. by direction of

mr. lewis said he told then treasury secretary hank paulson that he was strongly considering backing out of the deal. according to lewis, paulson ultimately told him that if he didn't go through with the acquisition, he and the board would be fired. internal e-mails we have obtained from the federal reserve indicate officials there were very skeptical about mr. lewis' motive in threatening to back out of the merrill deal. fed chairman ben bernanke thought lewis was using the merrill losses as a bargaining chip to obtain federal funds. fdic chairwoman sheila bair was opposed to providing assistance, saying it might ford does not want to do this. in essence, ken lewis claimed that the government made-- made me do it. but was bank of america forced to go through with the deal or was this just an old-fashioned shiekh down? these questions are particularly important with the administration's new proposal to give broad new powers to the federal reserve. i believe that before congress acts on th

we have republicans like david nunes and others, mr. broun who just spoke, mr. rogers, mr. calvert, others who want to have a chance to stand up and guess what, madam speaker, they unfortunately are denied that in this process. justice felix frankfurter in 1943 made the following statement. he said the history of liberty is largely due to the history of procedural safeguards. now, madam speaker, i believe that the federal government is too big and spends too much as our leader boehner regularly says. i believe we should have a right to bring about those reductions so we can get our economy back on track to ensure that americans aren't going to lose their jobs, their businesses, and their homes. and we are denied that chance today. but, i want to say to my democratic colleagues and my republican colleagues, madam speaker, we have an opportunity , and it is before us right now. all we need to do is vote no on the previous question and what will happen? we'll be continuing the 220-year tradition of appropriations under an open amendment process. if we can defeat the previous q

wanted thank the chairman for the opportunity to work with you on this hearing and i look forward to mr. bernanke's testimony and i want to thank you search for being here today. >> i thank the gentleman from ohio. we will now yield five minutes to the ranking member of the policies of committee, congressman jordan of the way. >> thank you for holding today's hearing on the government's involvement in the bank of america deal to purchase merrill lynch. i appreciate chairman bernanke's danced the burkas testimony is important to bring transparence into the role of the federal government in the transaction and the overall financial crisis. i'm troubled by the information and documents the committee's investigation has uncovered. they show mr. bernanke, mr. paulson, ken lewis and his board of directors in order to force the bank of america to acquire merrill lynch for going recognize the actions took place and significant economic challenges and uncertainty but there must be limits to government action even in the time of crisis and those limits must be respected. we must keep in mind is p

it's not often that i and mr. kucinich work together on the exact same issue. we believe that the free flow of tremendous, tremendous green technology around the world will in fact dramatically improve our economy and the standard of living and quality of life for the american people and for the rest of the world. defeat this rule so that we can bring back some of the 224 brilliant ideas that were offered but totally denied by this majority. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from california. . ms. matsui: has the gentleman yielded back all his time? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has yielded babbling all his time. the gentlewoman is recognized for 4 1/2 minutes. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i yield myself the remainder of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for 4 1/2 minutes. ms. matsui: the rule before us today is a fair rule that allows us to highlight our current energy policy challenges and a vision for a better tomorrow. the bill contains expedited procedures for consideration of a