Thank you very much, Carolyn, for your work.

When Nydia and I served on the City Council, there were 700,000 people waiting to get into New York City public housing. There are now 200,000 people waiting to get into New York City public housing.

I commend Ms. Velazquez for her tireless work on improving the lives of public housing and subsidized housing residents everywhere.

It takes Nydia's leadership to take a bill that has been on the books since 1968, dust it off, put it back to work, and turn it onto a mandate.

My only addition is that the $2 million is not enough. I would support her in pushing it up to $50 million.

I am even more shaken with what is happening in the underground with the huge amount of money that the bankers and financial services community representatives are going to spend to lobby Members of Congress.

I am still shaken from yesterday when we had the financial services community representatives, bankers, etc., come before us and take on the consumer financial agency with great opposition.

Moreover the act has had a disparate impact on the African American community, resulting in the incarceration of a disproportionate number of African Americans often for many, many years.

I just want to dispel the notion that any community is being helped by being treated differently.

The Major Drug Traffic and Prosecution Act would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses and redirect Federal prosecutorial resources toward major drug traffickers.

The current sentencing requirements have failed to accomplish the legislative intent of the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act.

We are wasting precious government resources on low level drug offenders.

We want them to take leadership again from the African American community.

The foreclosure problem far exceeds current resources.

I have been troubled about aiding the Black banks, trying to save them...

I appreciate the fact that you have been on the cutting edge of issues dealing with the criminal justice system, dealing with civil rights, and of course, African-Americans in all aspects of our society.

I want you to know that some of the suggestions that I have heard can certainly be acted on...

Only 44 of the more than 1,200 TV stations are owned by people of color.

We are really talking about trends affecting minority broadcasters. And this is extremely important.

It is a real way by which to help not only our cities but families get back into housing.

What we are hearing is that we don't believe that your measurements are correct.

We are in a bad economic time, and it is very appropriate that we talk about trends affecting minority broadcasters.

I believe this legislation represents an important step towards ensuring our economic stability.

What you do will decide what the advertisers do.

All of my career, all of my life that I have been involved with public policy, I have been forced to have to deal with trying to save minority institutions.