Tuesday, February 9, 2010

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 February 9, 2010 11 12:21 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR RICHARD RAVITCH, President 19 ANGELO J. APONTE, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24 25

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will 3 please come to order. 4 I ask everyone present to rise and 5 recite with me the Pledge of Allegiance to our 6 Flag. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of 10 clergy, may we all bow our heads for a moment 11 of silence. 12 (Whereupon, the assemblage 13 respected a moment of silence.) 14 THE PRESIDENT: The reading of 15 the Journal. 16 The Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 18 Monday, February 8, the Senate met pursuant to 19 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, 20 February 7, was read and approved. On motion, 21 Senate adjourned. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Without 23 objection, the Journal stands approved as 24 read. 25 Presentation of petitions.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Messages from the Assembly. 2 Messages from the Governor. 3 Any reports of standing committees. 4 Reports of select committees. 5 Communications and reports from 6 state officers. 7 Motions and resolutions. 8 Senator Klein. 9 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, I 10 believe Senator Smith has a resolution at the 11 desk. I ask that the title of the resolution 12 be read and move for its immediate adoption 13 and allow Senator Smith to speak on his 14 resolution. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein, 16 has this resolution been deemed privileged and 17 submitted by the office of the Temporary 18 President? 19 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 20 Mr. President. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 22 will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Smith, 24 legislative resolution honoring Wanda 25 Best-DeVeaux, MA, MPA, of Queens Village, for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 her steadfast devotion and selfless service to 2 her community. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Smith. 4 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very 5 much, Mr. President. 6 Mr. President, every so often you 7 get a chance to speak on behalf and honor 8 someone who has devoted much of their time in 9 a volunteer way towards the betterment of 10 their neighborhood. Ms. DeVeaux has been the 11 director of our Dove House. It is a program 12 for victims of domestic violence. And also 13 she serves on the New Hope Family Shelter. 14 She has done a tremendous amount of 15 work with Citizens Against Recidivism. It's a 16 young lady who is an unsung hero. And I'm 17 just glad today that we pause at this moment 18 on this day to honor Ms. DeVeaux for the 19 services that she's rendered to victims of 20 domestic violence as well as individuals who 21 are within the recidivism program. 22 Thank you very much, Mr. President. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Anyone else wish 24 to be heard on the resolution? 25 The question is on the resolution.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 All those in favor please indicate by saying 2 aye. 3 (Response of "Aye.") 4 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed? 5 (No response.) 6 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 7 adopted. 8 Senator Smith has indicated that he 9 would like to open the resolution to the 10 entire body for cosponsorship. Any Senator 11 wishing to not be on the resolution please 12 inform the desk. 13 Senator Klein. 14 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, I 15 believe that Senator Smith has a second 16 resolution at the desk. I ask that the title 17 of the resolution be read and move for its 18 immediate adoption. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein, 20 has this privilege been deemed privileged and 21 submitted by the office of the Temporary 22 President? 23 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 24 Mr. President. 25 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Smith, 3 legislative resolution honoring Denean D. 4 Ferguson of Far Rockaway, Queens, for her 5 steadfast devotion and selfless service to her 6 community. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Smith. 8 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. I think the description of the 10 resolution is sufficient in honoring 11 Mrs. Ferguson. Thank you. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Are there any 13 Senators that wish to be heard on this 14 resolution? 15 The question is on the resolution. 16 All those in favor please indicate by saying 17 aye. 18 (Response of "Aye.") 19 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed? 20 (No response.) 21 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 22 adopted. 23 Senator Klein. 24 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, I 25 believe that Senator Leibell has a resolution

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 at the desk. I ask that the resolution be 2 read in its entirety and move for its 3 immediate adoption. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein, 5 has this resolution been deemed privileged and 6 submitted by the office of the Temporary 7 President? 8 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 9 Mr. President. 10 And I believe Senator Leibell wants 11 to speak on his resolution. 12 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 13 will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 15 Leibell, legislative resolution urging the 16 federal government to reverse its decision to 17 hold civilian trials of terrorists Khalid 18 Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammed Salih Mubarak 19 Bin Attash, Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, Ali Abdul-Aziz 20 Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Al Hawsawi in Manhattan 21 federal court. 22 "WHEREAS, Throughout the course of 23 our nation's history, from the time of George 24 Washington to the present day, the United 25 States has recognized that these terrorists,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 captured with the intent to attack the United 2 States, its people and/or its interests, and 3 which present a serious and immediate threat 4 to the nation and its people, should not be 5 afforded the same constitutional criminal 6 justice protections reserved for United States 7 citizens; and 8 "WHEREAS, Attempting to apply the 9 same constitutional criminal justice 10 protections reserved for United States 11 citizens, and attempting to apply the 12 principles of our civilian courts to these 13 terrorists, which have openly espoused, 14 planned and/or conducted acts of terrorism, 15 war and mass murder and destruction against 16 the United States, its people and/or its 17 interests, is contradictory to the rules of 18 war followed by our soldiers during the 19 capture of these individuals, and is 20 inherently inapplicable to the prosecution and 21 administration of justice; and 22 "WHEREAS, Permitting these 23 terrorists to enjoy the same constitutional 24 criminal justice protections reserved for 25 United States citizens, and awarding them the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 rules and procedures of our civilian federal 2 courts, will place a great risk on our 3 nation's most vital intelligence information, 4 offer a platform for the inspiration of hatred 5 of the United States, and encourage fellow 6 terrorists to commit further acts of war and 7 violence against this nation and this state; 8 and 9 "WHEREAS, The means necessary to be 10 employed to effectively stop the activities of 11 these terrorists before they fulfill their 12 missions to espouse, plan, and conduct acts of 13 terrorism, war and mass murder and destruction 14 against the United States, its people and/or 15 its interests, are not consistent with the 16 means to afford these individuals the same 17 constitutional criminal justice protections 18 reserved for United States citizens, or to 19 obtain a successful prosecution of these 20 individuals in a civilian federal criminal 21 court; and 22 "WHEREAS, Despite these issues, in 23 February 2009 the United States Department of 24 Justice stayed the prosecution before a 25 military commission tribunal of five of the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 most infamous, dangerous and devoted Al Qaida 2 terrorists in world history, Khalid Sheikh 3 Mohammed, Walid Muhammed Salih Mubarak Bin 4 Attash, Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, Ali Abdul 5 Aziz-Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Al Hawsawi; and 6 "WHEREAS, The government of the 7 United States of America announced on 8 November 13, 2009, through U.S. Attorney 9 General Eric Holder, plans to prosecute avowed 10 Al Qaida terrorists Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 11 Walid Muhammed Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi 12 Bin Al Shibh, Ali Abdul-Aziz Ali and Mustafa 13 Ahmed Al Hawsawi in federal district court in 14 Lower Manhattan; and 15 "WHEREAS, All of these avowed 16 terrorists to be so prosecuted in federal 17 court have been directly linked to the attacks 18 of September 11, 2001, which saw the deaths of 19 nearly 3,000 people on New York soil; and 20 "WHEREAS, The proposed location of 21 this trial, in the very shadow of where the 22 World Trade Center once stood, and in the 23 heart of New York City's financial and 24 commercial district, poses unacceptable and 25 significant risk, harm, and threat to the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 safety and security of millions of Americans 2 and New Yorkers residing and working in the 3 vicinity of the federal district courthouse in 4 Manhattan; and 5 "WHEREAS, The risk, potential harm, 6 threat and danger that will be brought to 7 New York State and New York City and its 8 citizens, as a result of the federal 9 government's decision to give these avowed 10 terrorists a civilian trial in federal 11 district court in Manhattan, will cause 12 New York City, New York State and its citizens 13 to bear not only the huge burden of such risk, 14 potential harm, threat and danger but also 15 bear, in the midst of a deep economic 16 recession and state fiscal crisis, an 17 unprecedented security cost which officials 18 have estimated could reach nearly $1 billion; 19 and 20 "WHEREAS, It is further 21 contemplated that these trials will cause the 22 State of New York, the City of New York, and 23 its citizens, many of whom experienced the 24 horrific events of September 11, 2001, 25 firsthand, further unprecedented disturbance,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 emotional trauma and economic hardship with 2 the institution of required security measures 3 by state and local law enforcement agencies 4 which would need to be taken in Lower 5 Manhattan for a period which has been 6 estimated to be years before completion of 7 such trials; and 8 "WHEREAS, New York Governor David 9 A. Paterson, New York City Mayor Michael 10 Bloomberg, and Julie Menin, chairwoman of 11 Community Board 1, representing the 12 neighborhoods surrounding the federal 13 courthouse for Lower Manhattan, have all 14 expressed serious concern and opposition to 15 the federal government's plan to prosecute 16 these avowed terrorists in New York City and 17 cause undue and unprecedented financial 18 hardship and burden on the people and law 19 enforcement agencies in the State of New York 20 and its political subdivisions in and around 21 New York City; now, therefore, be it 22 "RESOLVED, That President Barack 23 Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are 24 hereby strongly urged by this Legislative Body 25 to reserve their decision to prosecute Khalid

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammed Salih Mubarak 2 Bin Attash, Ramzi Bin Al Shibh, Ali Abdul-Aziz 3 Ali, and Mustafa Ahmed Al Hawsawi in federal 4 district court in Manhattan, over the 5 objections of our state and local government 6 officials, and be it further 7 "RESOLVED, That will copies of this 8 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 9 to President Barack Obama, U.S. Attorney 10 General Eric Holder, and all members of the 11 New York State Congressional delegation." 12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Leibell. 13 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 A few months ago the Attorney 16 General of the United States announced that 17 terrorist trials would be held in the Southern 18 District of New York in Lower Manhattan. His 19 decision was supported by the President of the 20 United States. 21 Now, I will begin my comments by 22 saying that I personally believe that we 23 should not be using the civilian criminal 24 justice system to deal with these terrorists. 25 And in fact we should be using a military

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 commission tribunal, for which there is a long 2 history in this country, going back over 3 200 years to George Washington's day. In 4 fact, in World War II, President Franklin 5 Roosevelt used them. 6 And who are the people that we are 7 discussing and describing? They are enemy 8 military combatants engaged in active military 9 combat against the citizens of the United 10 States of America. They are the worst of the 11 worst. They kill, they maim, they torture, 12 they burn, they behead. If any group of 13 individuals was ever eligible to be considered 14 to be tried by a military tribunal, it is 15 these individuals. 16 I would urge the administration to 17 reconsider their position on where they should 18 be tried. The subject of this resolution 19 today deals with the venue and where they 20 should be tried, in what court, what location. 21 I'm going to suggest to you that trying these 22 individuals in Lower Manhattan goes beyond the 23 pale. There is no area of our country that 24 has suffered more than those few square 25 blocks. They have suffered in terms of lost

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 lives, lost dreams, and of course the economy. 2 Mayor Bloomberg has said that this 3 trial or trials will cost in excess of a 4 billion dollars. In fact, that may very well 5 be a low figure. I had the chance a few weeks 6 to walk through Lower Manhattan, to go through 7 the federal court buildings, to try and get 8 some sense of the great inconvenience, the 9 great cost that will be placed on the 10 residents and those who work within that area, 11 trials that in fact could last for years. 12 I think we should listen to Mayor 13 Bloomberg. I think we should listen to 14 New York City's police commissioner, Ray 15 Kelly. I think we should listen to those who 16 are active in that community and those who 17 live in that community and work there. 18 Through this resolution -- and I'm 19 grateful that it has been brought to the 20 floor -- we have an opportunity today as a 21 legislative body to urge the President and the 22 Attorney General to reconsider their previous 23 decision. It was a mistake. But there is 24 time to correct that mistake. 25 It is not correct to have these

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 trials in Manhattan. It is not correct to 2 have them in New York City. We serve no 3 purpose by doing that. In fact, we will only 4 put at risk many people's lives, not the least 5 of which will be the jurors who could be 6 selected, the judges who may be involved, the 7 police authorities who will work to attempt to 8 protect people. 9 If we wish to be politically 10 correct, especially with this type of enemy, 11 we as Americans can be politically correct all 12 the way to the cemetery. There are ways to 13 assure fair trials and there are locations 14 where that can be accomplished. I'm going to 15 suggest to you, my colleagues, that New York 16 City and New York State is not the correct 17 location. 18 Thank you, Mr. President. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 20 Senator Leibell. 21 SENATOR LEIBELL: I'd like to 22 open up this resolution for sponsorship -- I 23 believe there are 30 names on it already, but 24 to anyone who would wish to join. 25 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Do other Senators wish to be heard 2 on this? 3 Senator Squadron. 4 SENATOR SQUADRON: Thank you very 5 much, Mr. President. 6 The problems and the challenges and 7 the devastating burden of these trials for the 8 community is not dearer to anyone's heart in 9 this room than my own. This is my district, 10 this is my community in Lower Manhattan. 11 And so I appreciate Senator 12 Leibell's highlighting just what a burden 13 putting these trials in the federal courthouse 14 in Lower Manhattan would be. We know what a 15 burden it would be because immediately after 16 it was announced that they were considering 17 the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan, I 18 asked the NYPD to present to the local 19 community what it would take to make sure to 20 do these trials safely in Lower Manhattan. 21 Because a very important value that 22 was being raised was one that I and my 23 community in Lower Manhattan, the community 24 board and others, wanted to support, which was 25 civilian trials for these accused terrorists.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 But if the burden of those civilian trials was 2 going to be too great for our community that 3 has handled so much, has risen to so many 4 challenges since September 11th, since 1993, 5 then those civilian trials in that courthouse 6 would not be possible. 7 And what we found when the NYPD did 8 as they do, their unparalleled quality when it 9 comes to telling us what it will take to make 10 us safe, we saw that the burden in the Lower 11 Manhattan community would be too great to 12 bear. 13 And that's why I, along with 14 Congressman Nadler and Speaker Silver, 15 Councilmember Chin, all of the local 16 advocates -- chair of the community board 17 Julie Menin, as has been mentioned -- have 18 come together and said we can't do this in 19 Lower Manhattan at this courthouse. 20 We can't do it because this 21 community, which has been at the epicenter of 22 an international fight, at this point needs to 23 be able to survive and thrive and continue to 24 be the community that it was and has 25 miraculously become since September 11th.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 However, I'm not able to vote for 2 this resolution that's been put forward today 3 because, as I read this resolution, it says 4 that these trials should not happen in 5 civilian court. And when I listened to 6 Senator Leibell just now describe the 7 resolution, it sounded to me like he was 8 calling for the United States to take these 9 trials out of civilian court and put them in 10 military tribunals. 11 And the fact is that at my core, at 12 our core as Americans and New Yorkers and in 13 the community of Lower Manhattan, that idea, 14 the idea that our justice system can't rise to 15 the challenge of what happened September 11th, 16 is contradictory. 17 And so that's why we are going to 18 as a body have the opportunity to stand with 19 the Lower Manhattan community that I am so 20 proud to represent to make clear that we're 21 not going to have any community, whether in 22 Lower Manhattan or anywhere else in this 23 state, bear an unbearable burden for these 24 trials. However, we are not going to turn our 25 back on the fundamental tenets of this

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 country, of due process, of the civilian court 2 system in order to do it. 3 So let me be very clear on my no 4 vote on this resolution. I appreciate Senator 5 Leibell's concern for the Lower Manhattan 6 community, and I hope that you will maintain 7 that concern as we have further resolutions. 8 I appreciate the concern of everyone in this 9 room when it comes to the extraordinary and 10 heroic way that the Lower Manhattan community 11 has dealt with these issues. And we should 12 stand with the community as a legislative 13 body. 14 However, we also must stand with 15 the fundamental tenets and principles of our 16 nation and our Constitution. And that's why 17 I'll be voting no today. 18 Thank you, Mr. President. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Adams. 20 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you. 21 First, before speaking on the 22 resolution, I would just like to take a moment 23 just to acknowledge the absence of one of our 24 colleagues, Senator Morahan. And I just hope 25 for his family and for the Senator he's all in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 our thoughts and he's all in our prayers as he 2 recovers over this unfortunate incident that 3 has come into his life. 4 No matter which side of the aisle 5 we are on and no matter how much we debate 6 here on the Senate floor, there is a level of 7 collegial atmosphere that we do care for each 8 other. And I care for the members of this 9 body no matter on what chair they sit or where 10 they are in proximity of what party they 11 belong to. 12 So our hearts and our family goes 13 to the empty chair that's here. We hope our 14 Senator returns with us to participate in 15 improving our state. 16 Speaking to the resolution, I share 17 the support of this resolution, as my 18 colleague Senator Leibell pointed out. And I 19 respect the concerns of my colleague Senator 20 Dan Squadron. 21 We are on unchallenged and 22 unchartered waters. Our country is under an 23 unprecedented level of attacks. Those who 24 wish to harm Americans every day are becoming 25 more and more creative in the methods that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 they use to disrupt our way of life. If we do 2 not change with them, if we do not find ways 3 to stay ahead of their diabolical creativity, 4 then we will find ourselves having to address 5 this issue year after year, day after day. 6 Our criminal justice system cannot 7 support trying cases in civilian courts of 8 this magnitude. As a person who walked the 9 ground of our Center of Trade when it was 10 attacked on September 11th as a police 11 officer, I understand how much it takes to 12 secure that area. The billions of dollars 13 that would have been needed or will be needed 14 to protect the geographical area of a 15 courtroom during the trial of a terrorist is 16 just too costly for our systems to bear. 17 By having a military tribunal, it 18 does allow one due process. And I want to be 19 clear on my position. Individuals who blow up 20 planes, who take down buildings, who attempt 21 to disrupt our way of life in this fashion, 22 they are enemy combatants. They should be 23 treated in a military atmosphere because 24 they're taking a military action against the 25 people of this state.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 We cannot compare a person that 2 takes down the Trade Center with the person 3 that snatches a pocketbook. That is not a 4 reality. And we cannot continue to 5 romanticize and live in a make-believe society 6 where there's just one or two people that are 7 attempting to hurt Americans. 8 People want to harm us. And I'm 9 extremely clear on this. Because we don't 10 hear about all the reports, don't believe it's 11 not happening. That's why they're called 12 sleeper cells. There was a seven-year gap 13 between the first attack on the Trade Center 14 and the collapse of the Trade Center. While 15 we are moving further and further away from an 16 attack, we become more and more comfortable, 17 but a countless number of men and women all 18 across America are attempting to foil, stop, 19 prevent, and apprehend individuals who are 20 carrying out these attacks. 21 These individuals should not be in 22 our criminal justice system, they should be 23 removed from our criminal justice system, and 24 they should be treated as they are. They are 25 enemy combatants to wars on the United States.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And if we fail to treat them that way, if we 2 allow them the luxury of going through the 3 criminal justice system and waiting it out and 4 further endangering the lives of Americans by 5 putting them in a criminal justice system, 6 we're making the wrong decision, in my 7 position. 8 Their attack is a military attack. 9 If they are apprehended, they should be 10 apprehended as a person of a military status. 11 You don't have to don green fatigues to be in 12 the army of hate. These are men who have 13 decided, they have declared war on America. 14 And if we continue to treat them as merely 15 insignificant criminals that are standing on 16 the corner selling a nickel bag or a dime bag, 17 that's a mistake. You treat enemies of war as 18 enemies of war, and you make sure they have 19 the necessary prosecution that a wartime 20 criminal deserves and should receive. 21 I support this resolution, and I 22 thank you, Senator Leibell, for bringing it to 23 the floor. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Volker. 25 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 it's kind of interesting that in a time of 2 severe fiscal emergency that we are in -- and 3 we know we're in that. The issue of how much 4 and all that is one thing. But at a time like 5 this, when the budget that we are looking at 6 is a rather enormous decline in the numbers of 7 State Police -- we just in this budget would 8 cancel another class. And there's a reason 9 I'm saying this, and Senator Leibell knows why 10 I'm saying this. 11 If these trials are held in 12 New York City, we will go to the highest 13 level, that is the highest level of security 14 for all of downstate New York. What happens 15 when that happens is a substantial number of 16 State Police and other law enforcement people 17 are virtually automatically moved down to the 18 city. This does not just involve Ray Kelly 19 and -- who, by the way, is a very courageous 20 guy. I know him personally. And the New York 21 City police are ready to do anything they have 22 to do. 23 But let's remember, if these trials 24 are held, we are going to have an enormous 25 commitment of State Police as well as city

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 police in New York City, and we'll have a 2 situation that's going to go on for a long 3 period of time. 4 As I thought about this 5 situation -- and I formally was in charge of 6 homeland security in the Senate hear several 7 years ago -- it dawned on me that this will do 8 far more than just create a problem with 9 security, it will create havoc with the City 10 of New York, its economic and social fiber, 11 and may in fact encourage a lot of people to 12 leave the City of New York. Which is the last 13 thing that we need, is for people to leave 14 this state. 15 You have to be reasonable when 16 you're dealing with this sort of a situation. 17 I don't think that Attorney General Holder 18 thought this entirely through. I know he was 19 making some sort of statement. And let's 20 remember, by the way, that the Constitution of 21 the United States is for the citizens of this 22 country. Enemy combatants are not included in 23 the protections of the Constitution of the 24 United States. That issue is under a whole 25 different issue.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 These are people that are willing 2 to kill in my area of the state -- I live in 3 Western New York, second biggest target after 4 New York City. Interestingly enough, the law 5 enforcement people will move from other parts 6 of New York to help out with New York City. 7 Especially if we pass this budget the way it 8 is, the State Police in this state will be 9 short everywhere. We are headed, by the way, 10 for the lowest number of State Police since 11 well before 9/11. After 9/11, we increased 12 the number of troopers substantially. 13 I think Senator Leibell's 14 resolution is about as common-sense as 15 anything I've seen this year before our house. 16 We have to look at things logically. And 17 that's especially true when the fiscal 18 situation of the state and the country is in 19 the situation that we're in. 20 I thank Senator Leibell, I thank 21 Senator Adams and all those who support this 22 resolution. And I would appeal to the 23 President of the United States. This is not a 24 political issue, really. It's a real issue, 25 as I call it. It's an issue of fairness to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the City of New York, of fairness to everyone. 2 And it seems to me that what we 3 need to do is realize that criminals are 4 criminals, but enemy combatants are altogether 5 different. They don't follow the same rules, 6 and they shouldn't be covered under the same 7 rules. 8 So it seems to me every piece of 9 logic that I can think of says these trials 10 should be moved out of New York City and out 11 of this state. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Golden. 13 SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you, 14 Mr. Lieutenant Governor, Mr. President. I 15 rise to talk on this resolution here today. 16 Senator Vinnie Leibell, thank you. 17 Thank you all of the Senators -- Senator 18 Adams, for your comments, Senator Squadron, 19 Senator Volker, and many others that will 20 speak on this bill. 21 Senator Adams pointed out the seven 22 years between 1994 and 2001. Those sleeper 23 cells, ladies and gentlemen, lived in Brooklyn 24 New York. They lived here. They were part of 25 our communities. And they came out and did

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 this. Mohammad Atta was, in 1997, in 2 Brooklyn. He was the head of those 19 that 3 flew the planes into the World Trade Center. 4 It's not all right for us to move 5 the trial someplace else and respectfully say, 6 Well, we don't want it here because it 7 shouldn't be here, and give it to another 8 community. I think that's plain wrong. I 9 think this trial belongs where it does belong, 10 in a military court. Not in someone else's 11 backyard. Not so somebody else in this great 12 country can get hurt. 13 President Obama himself, he said we 14 are at war. He said it. And you know what's 15 important about this resolution today? It's 16 because President Obama even said the other 17 day, that he says, you know, it's going to be 18 a little difficult, he says, because Mayor 19 Michael Bloomberg is against it and the police 20 commissioner is against it. 21 Well, that's why this resolution is 22 so important today. Because this is the 23 legislative body that represents the 24 19.5 million people of this great state. And 25 we, the people of the State of New York, do

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 not want that trial here. That trial belongs 2 in a military court. 3 None of us can forget and let us 4 never forget Police Officer Riches, Police 5 Officer O'Berg -- I'm sorry, Fireman O'Berg, 6 chief of the Fire Department Jimmy Riches. 7 Police Officer Moira Smith, the first woman 8 killed. Thirty-seven Port Authority police 9 officers, 23 New York City police officers, 10 343 fireman all perished that day. 11 Do you remember the smell, the odor 12 of the dead bodies and the burning metal and 13 twisted metal that day and the almost 3,000 14 people that perished that day? Ladies and 15 gentlemen, we can't regurgitate that. We as a 16 society cannot take that back into the City of 17 New York and allow our people to go through 18 that again. 19 The businesses that were closed. 20 You couldn't go down blocks, you couldn't get 21 into buildings. That all happens again. You 22 couldn't get over bridges and through the 23 tunnel. That all happens again. Do we want 24 that? No, ladies and gentlemen, we don't want 25 that.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I see, up in the audience, Lou 2 Matarazzo and Ben Marquis. They were police 3 officers years ago, as I was, as some of you 4 here in this room. Think about it, trying to 5 protect the City of New York with 35,000 6 New York City police officers, already 5,000 7 to 6,000 police offers less than what they 8 should have. Think about it. State troopers, 9 National Guard, where are we going to get the 10 people? How are we going to get the New York 11 City Police Department to be part of this 12 surveillance and this setting up of security? 13 It is a nightmare, it is a logistic 14 nightmare. If the commissioner of the 15 New York City Police Department, Ray Kelly, 16 has to do it, he will. And if the mayor, 17 Mayor Bloomberg, is forced to do it, we will. 18 But ladies and gentlemen, it would be a 19 travesty to every living American in this 20 great state and in the tristate area. And the 21 cost would be so overwhelming that we'd never 22 be able to recoup it. 23 As I opened up, cells were living 24 here in the City of New York, in Brooklyn, 25 where cells today, ladies and gentlemen,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 across this state and across this nation still 2 live. It's only a matter of time. We do not 3 need to give them a venue. We've given and 4 protected this great country since 2001 from 5 any attack. We should not, ladies and 6 gentlemen, open that door just a little bit to 7 give any terrorist an opportunity to hurt or 8 kill or maim another American. 9 That's why that belongs in a 10 military tribunal. That's why they do not 11 belong here in the City of New York. We can 12 never lose sight of how long the day, the 13 week, the months, the years that we toiled in 14 and out of Manhattan, the volunteers that went 15 down to that site, the truckloads of equipment 16 and people that we sent into that. Never, 17 ever let us forget the loss of those lives, 18 the loss of those lives in Washington, D.C., 19 the loss of those lives in Pennsylvania. We 20 can never, ever, ever forget. 21 So I commend you, Senator Leibell. 22 And God, I hope You're looking and listening 23 and somehow we have the ability of making sure 24 that that trial does not come to this great 25 city and this great state.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Thank you Senator. Thank you, my 2 colleagues. Thank you. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator LaValle. 4 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. 6 I'd like to thank Senator Leibell 7 for putting this resolution before the body. 8 To Senator Adams, thank you for your 9 thoughtfulness both in talking about Senator 10 Morahan and your thoughtful remarks on the 11 resolution, as well as Senator Volker and 12 Senator Golden. 13 Senator Leibell, my eighth-grade 14 English teacher would have been very proud of 15 you, because the topic sentence, first 16 sentence in your resolution says it all and 17 without anything else being said, talks about 18 the heart of what you want to do. 19 "Whereas throughout the course of 20 our nation's history, from the time of George 21 Washington to the present day, the United 22 States has recognized that these terrorists, 23 captured with the intent to attack the United 24 States, its people and/or its interests, and 25 which present a serious and immediate threat

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 to the nation and its people, should not be 2 afforded the same constitutional criminal 3 justice protections reserved -- reserved -- 4 for the United States citizens." That says it 5 all. It says it all. It goes to the heart of 6 what we're talking about. 7 For those who have had the 8 opportunity to read, there are a number of 9 recent biographies on George Washington, the 10 father of our country and the commander of the 11 Continental Army. It is very clear that he 12 knew and understand that criminal combatants 13 as well as those who may have committed 14 treason were treated to a tribunal and then 15 very quickly hung. That was it. 16 That methodology, as the resolution 17 talks about, from the beginning, from George 18 Washington forward, has been what this country 19 has done with criminal combatants. 20 Senator Volker said it -- you know, 21 it's common sense. People that I talk to in 22 my district are really befuddled by this whole 23 action. As a good friend of mine says, What 24 were they thinking? What were they thinking 25 when they moved this trial to New York City

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 and afford these terrorists the same 2 constitutional rights as our citizens? 3 And I'll tell you, my colleagues, 4 that is what is very troubling to the people 5 that we represent. We talk about it costing a 6 billion dollars at a time when we have 7 deficits, we're cutting programs and 8 education, higher education, healthcare, 9 programs for our youth. We're spending a 10 billion dollars? It's ridiculous, absolutely 11 ridiculous. And to traumatize the people who 12 have gone through this whole attack on our 13 soil just goes beyond the pale. 14 And so I'm glad we have this 15 resolution, that we're discussing it, debating 16 it. And hopefully we will send a message on 17 behalf of the 19 million people that live in 18 this state that I don't believe it belongs 19 anywhere but in a military setting in a 20 military trial. So for one, I'm not for 21 pushing this no of New York, but push it to 22 some other state, some other place. 23 Senator Leibell, again, thank you 24 for your vigilance in allowing the body to 25 vote on this resolution.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 2 Marcellino. 3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 4 Mr. President. 5 And I want to thank my colleagues. 6 And Senator Adams, thank you for your 7 comments. They were excellent. You usually 8 do speak well, but that was probably the best 9 I've heard him speak. And Senator Volker and 10 all the other speakers who have gotten up and 11 said this very important message. 12 These trials are not typical 13 trials. This country is at war. I don't 14 think anybody has any doubt of that. If you 15 do, you're living in a dreamland. We are at 16 war. There are people out there who want to 17 hurt us. They want to do more than that, they 18 want to destroy our way of life. These people 19 want to destroy our way of life. They don't 20 believe in our Constitution. They don't 21 believe in the protections. They believe we 22 deserve to die. 23 The 3,000 people that died on 9/11 24 in those buildings did not deserve to die. 25 They didn't do anything wrong. They went to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 work that morning. They woke up, got dressed, 2 had their breakfast, tended to their families, 3 and went off to work on a normal day. And it 4 was their last day, because these people 5 perpetrated a horrendous act on this nation, 6 an a act of war. 7 These are not common trials. And 8 we do not have anything to prove to anybody. 9 I've heard it said and I've read in the papers 10 that we have to prove that our criminal 11 justice system is the greatest, the fairest in 12 the world, that our Constitution is fearless, 13 and that we don't worry about the threats of 14 other people, the threats of a few terrorists. 15 Nonsense. We have nothing to prove here in 16 this country. 17 We are the fairest country in the 18 world. We are the only country right now 19 standing up for the rights of human beings. 20 Who else is in Haiti? Who else is down in 21 Haiti right now keeping order, distributing 22 food, and doing the best it can? This 23 country. Our troops are down there 24 maintaining order, distributing food, and 25 doing the best they can to help those poor

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 people. 2 We don't have to prove we are a 3 great nation. We are a great nation. And 4 these are not typical criminals. As Senator 5 Adams said, these are not guys you picked up 6 on the street corner selling a nickel bag. 7 This is not a common criminal act. These 8 people took 3,000 lives without even thinking, 9 without batting an eye. 10 What are you going to do to the 11 judges? What are you going to do to the 12 jurors? How are you going to protect all 13 these people? The Lower Manhattan area is one 14 of the most congested areas in our state. To 15 try to put through and to try to put security 16 for all of the people that have to be 17 secured -- including, including these 18 terrorists, because they have to be 19 protected -- can you imagine the hue and cry 20 that would come off if one of our police 21 officers is killed, maimed, or in any way hurt 22 defending or protecting the lives of one of 23 these terrorists? My God, why would you want 24 to do that? 25 We have a system. The military

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 tribunals were set up for this stuff. We have 2 courthouses in Guantanamo built to try these 3 people under safe circumstances. Use them. 4 Bring these people back where they belong. 5 This country has nothing to prove. 6 We have nothing to prove. We have nothing to 7 demonstrate to the rest of the world. We are 8 the greatest nation in the world, and we 9 should treat all who come to this land and 10 attack us and kill our people just like the 11 animals they are. They are not deserving of 12 the protections of the Constitution of this 13 country. They do not deserve it. And to 14 pretend that they do is farcical. 15 The President is wrong. His 16 Attorney General has made a bad decision, and 17 it should be retracted. It should be 18 retracted. We should not be carrying this 19 forth to save somebody's face. This is a 20 mistake. It should never have been decided in 21 this way. It should never go forward. They 22 should be sent to Guantanamo and tried under 23 safe conditions, under proper military 24 tribunals. And let that be the act. 25 Senator Leibell, thank you for to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 resolution. I intend to vote aye. And I 2 would hope that this resolution, as a 3 demonstration of this Legislature's feelings 4 towards these terrorists, that our act and our 5 vote would be unanimous, to condemn these 6 people and to condemn their vile acts for what 7 they are, an act of war. 8 Thank you, Mr. President. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Larkin. 10 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, 11 Mr. President. 12 A lot of my colleagues have stole 13 my thunder. But, Vince, I've served with you 14 for over 20 years. I think your presentation 15 on behalf of the people of this great nation 16 of ours was outstanding. And I thank you from 17 the bottom of my heart. 18 I listen to people talk about 9/11, 19 and I listen to people talk about Lower 20 Manhattan. Two weeks ago I went to Lower 21 Manhattan, because we have some priest 22 friends, Maridols {ph}. You probably know 23 where that's at, Mr. President. And they were 24 crying out what this would do to the community 25 the second time around.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And I don't think somebody in 2 Washington is listening. I served my country 3 for 23 years, and one thing I remember, the 4 commander in chief has a responsibility to 5 defend this nation and its people. 6 Now, the President said sometime 7 ago, "I didn't make this decision. The 8 Attorney General, Eric Holder, made this 9 decision." Well, I got news for you. When 10 you've ever been in a position of 11 responsibility and command, somebody goofs off 12 that bad, it doesn't take long to cut his legs 13 off and make sure somebody else is there. I 14 don't believe that Holder did this by himself. 15 I think the President was up to his ears with 16 it. 17 But what are we talking about? We 18 had 3,000 people killed, killed in combat. If 19 you don't think this is combat, maybe I'll 20 send you a couple of books on war. Those of 21 us who fought -- you're talking about 22 noncombatants, they say. They're not 23 noncombatants. Their mission was to kill us. 24 If you've ever been in a unit, whether it's 25 air, sea, or ground, and you came in touch

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 with combat units, your mission was to kill 2 them before they killed you. And if you took 3 them as prisoners, they went to a prisoner-of- 4 war camp, and then you took it on from there. 5 The Supreme Court said we could 6 have the military tribunals. My friend 7 Senator Padavan reminded me and all those who 8 have ever been in the service, there's a 9 Uniform Code of Military Justice. Read it. 10 We can try them at Guantanamo. That's the 11 right place. I don't want to see them go to 12 Illinois, Montana, or someplace else. 13 They've recommended an alternate, 14 my area. West Point. What a disgrace. A 15 university that's been cited as one of the 16 greatest in this country. And then you're 17 going to put these combatants. And I want 18 everybody to stop calling them noncombatants. 19 And my friend Senator Squadron 20 talks about he can't vote for this because of 21 this change to do that. I'm not a lawyer, but 22 they tell me where the crime was committed and 23 that, you're going to have to try them in that 24 same venue. I don't know anything about that. 25 All I do know is this. They killed 3,000

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Americans. 2 Just last week in this chamber we 3 had a resolution honoring the 59 Americans 4 that were killed in Iraq or Afghanistan in the 5 year 2009. 9/11, 49 people from my district 6 were killed at 9/11. What are we saying here? 7 Who are we trying to please? Who are we 8 trying to say we want to be nice to you? Nice 9 for what? You killed 3,000 Americans. You've 10 killed probably 10,000 or 12,000 in combat in 11 two wars. 12 We don't need to apologize to 13 anybody. What we need to do is unite as a 14 body here and tell the President and his 15 Attorney General and our Congressional 16 delegation that this is not acceptable not 17 only to New York but to the United States of 18 America. 19 These people have pled guilty. 20 They want to be martyrs so that someone can 21 look at them. It gives them incentive for 22 taking people from Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran 23 to come to America and kill more Americans. 24 I ask you to think twice if you're 25 going to vote against this resolution.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Because if you are, you're voting against the 2 men and women who are in harm's way today 3 defending our country. Why should they be 4 over there in a lost way when you're saying, 5 oh, bring them to New York City. I've heard 6 dozens of lawyers -- and I'm not a lawyer -- 7 say what a field day I will have. I will 8 bring it up that the President of the United 9 States said they'll be found guilty and 10 they'll be murdered. 11 For what? Why should we expend all 12 this money when we're talking around here 13 about everybody we meet, there's no money for 14 this, there's no money for that. But here 15 we're willing to blow $2 million to $5 billion 16 on a trial that should never occur in the 17 United States of America. Don't we have any 18 guts here or any guts in Washington to say 19 stop? 20 And anybody who's been in combat 21 knows it's a hell of a life. It's serious. 22 When you've been in combat, your worry is not 23 only your own but your worry -- am I right, 24 Hiram? -- your worry is your surrounding. 25 Because they're worrying about you and you're

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 worried about them. 2 So let's sit down here today and 3 say, on behalf of those who have given so much 4 and made the major supreme sacrifice, let us 5 vote on behalf of them and vote to say try 6 this in a military tribunal where it's 7 authorized, it's sanctioned, we don't have to 8 blow up anybody, we Don't have to lose any 9 money, we don't have to start funneling 10 around, we just all have to have the guts to 11 say this should not happen in the United 12 States of America. 13 Again, I thank my colleagues for 14 their comments. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. 16 Senator Farley. 17 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 I rise in support of this and again 20 thank Senator Leibell for bringing this 21 forward. I don't know of a single New Yorker 22 that is anxious to have this trial in 23 New York. 24 You know, we do a lot of 25 resolutions. This one has significance in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 that the President is vacillating where this 2 will be held and so forth. And I think this 3 could be meaningful. 4 You know, Senators Schumer, 5 Gillibrand, the mayor, Commissioner Kelly, so 6 many of our Congresspeople are all united 7 against bringing this to New York City. 8 Let me just say I want to just 9 approach it from a little different point of 10 view, the pain that happens to the families 11 that suffered these murders. I had a first 12 cousin, the father of five children, that was 13 killed in this terrible tragedy. And I knew a 14 score of people personally that died in this 15 gruesome murder. 16 I think that every one of us should 17 rise up and say we should not be bringing this 18 back to this venue so close and go through 19 this pain -- so many of these towns and so 20 forth on Long Island and so forth that knew so 21 many, many people that were murdered, 3,000 22 people. My colleague here was saying I think 23 that's even more than were killed in Pearl 24 Harbor. Just unbelievable that we should even 25 consider bringing this back to New York City

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 for not only for a show trial but something 2 that's going to spend a billion or more 3 dollars. 4 I support this resolution, and I 5 just wish the President of the United States 6 could have heard some of these remarks made by 7 my colleagues. 8 Thank you, Mr. President. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. 10 Senator Krueger. 11 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you 12 very much. 13 So I'm a little bit farther to the 14 north than Senator Squadron, where the bombing 15 of the World Trade Center took place. 16 Although I guess I don't have much of the 17 privilege of representing the district that 18 had the largest number of people in my zip 19 codes who died in the World Trade Center 20 bombing. 21 And I support not having the trial 22 in New York, as everyone here has spoken 23 about. And in fact pretty much everyone who 24 represents New York State at the federal level 25 has made it clear that they too don't think

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Lower Manhattan is the right place to have the 2 trial. And so I think the good news for all 3 of us here today who share that view is I 4 don't think we're going to have the trial in 5 Lower Manhattan. It's the wrong place. 6 But I have to disagree with my 7 colleagues, respectfully, if they say they 8 don't think the federal court system can 9 handle the trials and come to swift, extreme 10 punishment of the guilty parties. I believe 11 in the Constitution of the United States, and 12 I believe that our federal court system is up 13 to any challenge to protect our constitutional 14 rights and protect us. 15 I worry about this expression 16 "military tribunal." President Bush proposed 17 them. No one ever really defined them. The 18 U.S. court system is the fundamental 19 protection of democracy that we all have and 20 live under. We have fought wars protecting 21 our right to democracy. Our young men and 22 women go to wars on foreign soil to protect 23 our Constitution and our right to continue to 24 live under the democracy that we designed. 25 I believe the U.S. federal court

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 system is the place to process guilty people, 2 whether it is this situation or others that we 3 may face. We've faced a lot of tough things 4 in our history. We have had wars in our 5 history. We have had the federal court system 6 try criminals, war criminals, and successfully 7 do the right thing and bring swift justice. 8 I think it is dangerous, dangerous 9 under the belief that somehow this is 10 different enough that we should violate the 11 sanctity of our constitutional faith in a 12 federal court system to solve this quickly, 13 correctly, and in the best interests of the 14 United States and all 300 million citizens. 15 So I urge my colleagues, don't walk 16 away from the Constitution in your desire -- 17 which is my desire -- to make sure justice is 18 swift and is not in Lower Manhattan. We can 19 have a correct, fair, constitutional process. 20 We can find them guilty. We cannot have it in 21 Lower Manhattan. And again, these numbers, 22 $3 billion to $5 billion for a trial, that's a 23 new one on me. 24 So I urge my colleagues to continue 25 your passionate support for all our federal

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 elected officials in New York State calling 2 for us not to have the trial in Lower 3 Manhattan, but to not let go of your belief in 4 the Constitution. 5 And because of that, I will vote no 6 on this resolution. Thank you. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 8 Schneiderman. 9 SENATOR SCHNEIDERMAN: Thank you, 10 Mr. President. 11 Very, very briefly, I will be 12 voting in support of this resolution. I 13 appreciate the passion with which many of my 14 colleagues have spoken. 15 I do so, however, just because the 16 "resolved" clause which calls on the federal 17 government not to hold the trial in federal 18 district court in Manhattan is something I 19 agree with. 20 I do have issues with some of the 21 "whereas" clauses. And I share Senator 22 Liz Krueger's concern that we put aside the 23 constitutional protections that we all enjoy 24 at our peril, and it should be done with 25 great, great care.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I actually believe that we have 2 work to do in restoring the credibility of the 3 United States around the world as the nation 4 that is different, as the nation that does 5 provide protections to the innocent and the 6 guilty alike. 7 I think that after the last 8 administration, quite frankly, and what's come 9 out about torture and what's come out about 10 abuses of process, we have some work to do. 11 And I know people who have said, 12 oh, lawyers will have a field day. I think 13 this is an opportunity for our lawyers, those 14 representing the United States government, to 15 also make a presentation that would say to the 16 rest of world no one is more determined to 17 fight terror, but that we remember why we are 18 fighting that terror so that we do not have to 19 live under the sort of oppressive systems 20 represented by and advocated for by the people 21 who will be on trial. 22 I'm voting yes, Mr. President, but 23 with that caveat. And I appreciate the 24 passion and the sentiment of all concerned on 25 this very serious issue.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Saland. 2 SENATOR SALAND: Thank you, 3 Mr. President. 4 I've listened very carefully to all 5 of those who have engaged in this dialogue or 6 debate here today. Each of us in this chamber 7 has certain responsibilities as either a chair 8 or a ranker of a particular committee. And 9 each of us within that particular venue is 10 responsible for some greater degree of 11 expertise than perhaps the members at large. 12 And I heard two gentlemen, 13 different sides of the aisle, the one 14 currently the ranker on the committee that 15 deals with homeland security -- Senator 16 Leibell, the former chair -- I heard the 17 current chair, Senator Adams, both speak 18 rather eloquently not only about the need to 19 avoid having this trial held here in New York, 20 but, every bit as importantly, that these 21 people who are the subject of these trials are 22 enemy combatants. 23 And this is not about whether our 24 federal court system can handle these trials. 25 It's about whether a component of our federal

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 court system, which is the military component, 2 should be handling these trials. It's all 3 part of the same federal court system. 4 So it's not that it can't be 5 handled in the federal court system. It can 6 be. The question is whether it should be 7 handled in the federal district court in 8 New York -- or, for that matter, in federal 9 district court in any other venue in any other 10 part of this country -- or whether it should 11 be handled in the federal military component 12 of our federal court system. 13 Now, there's nobody here who 14 doesn't remember where they were on 15 September 11. There's nobody here who doesn't 16 know, either through family or friends, 17 somebody who lost their lives or a number of 18 somebodies who lost their lives. I can well 19 recall my wife and I trying reach my son, who 20 was an assistant district attorney in 21 Manhattan at the time and how she was driven 22 to tears because hours and hours and hours 23 went by and she could not get through to him 24 and literally was crying -- excuse me. 25 (Pause.) Ultimately, we were able

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 to reach him on his home phone, where he had 2 the good sense to leave a message that he and 3 his roommate were safe and that they would get 4 back to us whenever they could. 5 This was an act of carnage that was 6 premeditated. And one of the very reasons 7 that this act was premeditated was because 8 this nation represents the very things that 9 some of you have referred to earlier. We're 10 the bastion of democracy. We believe in 11 freedom of expression. We cherish our 12 Constitution and its Bill of Rights, all of 13 which are an anathema to the people who sought 14 to wreak this horrid devastation on the City 15 of New York, on our nation's capital, and Lord 16 only knows where else that plane that 17 ultimately destructed in Pennsylvania would 18 have wound up. 19 The simple fact of the matter is 20 they vilify our Constitution, they vilify 21 everything we represent. It's a credo. It is 22 a way of life. These are not civilians. 23 These are soldiers in a war against this 24 nation and everything we believe in. They may 25 not necessarily be smartly attired in uniform,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 but these are soldiers, soldiers of death and 2 destruction. Soldiers that believe that under 3 any circumstance, to the point of giving up 4 and sacrificing their lives, they must bring 5 this nation to its knees in any way that they 6 can. 7 To afford them the opportunity for 8 a civilian trial is really to compound the 9 injury that they've already imposed upon us. 10 They in fact should be subjected to no more or 11 no less than any other military combatant. 12 They should be tried before a military 13 tribunal. They should be entitled to the same 14 degree of justice that we would afford any 15 other in that situation. And yes, there is, 16 believe it or not, a series of justice that 17 does occur in our military courts. 18 They should not impose the anguish, 19 the fear upon any community in which they 20 might located in this country, whether it's 21 here, whether it's in Montana, whether it's in 22 Chicago. We should make the statement that it 23 is simply unacceptable to degrade ourselves in 24 order to somehow or other make the 25 international community feel that we're

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 apologizing to them. And that's basically the 2 only justification that can be offered for 3 conducting a civilian trial somewhere here in 4 this country. 5 I want to commend Senator Leibell 6 for bringing forth this resolution. 7 And incidentally, when I mentioned 8 each of us has an area of expertise, as far as 9 I know the only two people that are routinely 10 briefed and briefed, by statute under the law 11 of New York, by those in charge of homeland 12 security here in New York -- and also 13 including, from time to time, I believe, 14 federal officials as well -- are the Senator 15 who chairs the Homeland Security Committee and 16 the ranker. 17 So I suspect that they've been 18 privy to information that the remain remaining 19 60 of us have not. And in their judgment, in 20 their well-qualified opinion, military 21 tribunals are the appropriate places for these 22 people -- and in many respects I think I 23 stretch and accommodate to consider these 24 people just that, people -- should be tried in 25 a military tribunal.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Thank you, Mr. President. Thank 2 you, Senator Leibell. Thank you, Senator 3 Adams. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Lanza. 5 SENATOR LANZA: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. 7 I rise in support of this 8 resolution, and I want to thank Senator 9 Leibell for bringing it to the floor today. 10 And I want to especially commend Senator 11 Leibell and Senator Adams for their very 12 poignant comments today. 13 And I added my name to the list 14 late here because I knew my colleagues would 15 do an excellent job in speaking in support of 16 this resolution, and you have. And I want to 17 associate myself with those remarks. 18 But I rise to respond to a couple 19 of statements that were made by two of my 20 colleagues that somehow a belief in our 21 Constitution requires that we afford enemy 22 combatants greater rights than United States 23 soldiers. 24 I not only believe in our 25 Constitution, but I've read it. And nowhere,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 nowhere in the United States Constitution does 2 it say that we should give greater rights to 3 foreign attackers who take, in one fell swoop, 4 3,000 innocent lives, that we should somehow 5 give them more rights than we do an American 6 soldier. Because that's what a civil trial 7 would do. 8 It was said that they should be 9 afforded the same rights as any citizen in 10 this country. We can discuss and debate that. 11 I disagree. But that's not what a civil trial 12 would do. It would afford greater rights to 13 these enemy combatants. 14 And I am a bit perplexed by the 15 notion that a civil trial would be too 16 dangerous and too expensive for New York City, 17 and because of that we should move it. My 18 question is, which town, which hamlet, which 19 city, which neighborhood in this state or any 20 other should be exposed to that danger and 21 that expense? 22 My colleague Senator Farley 23 mentioned Pearl Harbor. The enemy combatants 24 who attacked Pearl Harbor and dropped those 25 bombs were not afforded a civil trial. Is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 anyone suggesting that that's what should have 2 happened? 3 On the battlefield in Europe, 4 Americans were killed in combat by our 5 enemies -- the Germans, the Italians. Is 6 anyone suggesting that our country would be 7 stronger had we afforded those enemies a civil 8 trial? I would suggest to you that if we had, 9 America might not still be the greatest, 10 freest nation on the face of the earth today. 11 It is twisted logic to suggest that 12 making America weaker somehow makes her 13 stronger. It does not. A civil trial would 14 afford our enemies with the intelligence that 15 they would use -- because they said they 16 would -- to wage additional attacks against 17 this country. It would make it easier for 18 them to do what they have vowed to do, and 19 that is to attack and destroy us. Doing that 20 would not make America stronger. It would 21 make us weaker. It would endanger our 22 citizens. 23 I want to thank Senator Saland for 24 reminding us of the human face of what 25 happened that day. I lost, as some here had,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 very dear friends, very dear friends in that 2 attack. They deserved justice. America 3 deserves justice. 4 And you know, if a military trial 5 is good enough for a United States soldier, 6 it's too good, it's too good for those who 7 attacked us that day. 8 And so I want to thank you, Senator 9 Leibell, Senator Adams, for bringing this 10 resolution to the floor. It is unconscionable 11 for us to even debate whether or not we ought 12 to give those who attacked America on that day 13 a civil trial. 14 And yes, Senator Krueger, we can 15 handle it. There's no doubt about that. But 16 it's not a matter of whether or not we could 17 handle it, it's a matter of whether or not we 18 are going to stand for American freedom. And 19 I think this resolution does that. 20 Thank you. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz. 22 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 Just, just to ask myself here in 25 public, why is it, Mr. President, why is it

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 that we are always giving the Republicans the 2 opportunity to paint us Democrats as 3 anti-American? 4 It is just a simple, a simple 5 resolution. Why is it that we always have to 6 be looking like the bad guys, like that we 7 hate America? A simple resolution, yes. Why 8 do we have to go against this resolution to 9 give them the opportunity to look like great 10 Americans and we stupid dummies, that we hate 11 America? Simple. It's a good resolution. 12 I was in the Army. Many of my 13 colleagues never went to the Army. Many of my 14 colleagues never went into the armed forces. 15 I was into the Army. Do you know what 16 happened when one soldier violated the law? 17 Do you know where he or she would be tried? 18 In a military tribunal. Any soldier that 19 violates the law, they are tried, in the Army, 20 in the military tribunal. 21 So why do we have to give the 22 terrorists such a privilege? Let them be 23 tried in the tribunal. Let them be tried 24 there. Let them be just like they are, 25 military.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So, ladies and gentlemen, we 2 Democrats, we are great Americans too. So 3 yes, I am supporting that resolution. 4 And even though Senator Squadron 5 says that he is the one representing the Lower 6 Manhattan and the people, hey, we all 7 represent Lower Manhattan here. We all 8 represent the City of New York. We all 9 represent the State of New York, especially 10 when we are attacked like we were attacked on 11 9/11. Let them feel the power and the justice 12 of the military tribunal. 13 So I'm here to tell you that I am a 14 great American and that I support America and 15 that this is a good resolution and that we 16 should stop talking about it and approve the 17 resolution and stop giving the Republican side 18 the opportunity to be painted as the great 19 Americans, because we are all great Americans. 20 Thank you very much. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Owen 22 Johnson. 23 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: I'd like 24 to thank Senator Leibell for bringing this 25 resolution before the body today, and all the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 members who spoke in support of not doing it 2 in New York City. 3 I think the President and the 4 Attorney General made a thoughtless decision 5 when they wanted to put this trial in New York 6 City, the greatest city of the world. It 7 should not have been thought of in the first 8 place. This mistake will concentrate the 9 world's attention on this trial, and they and 10 their left-wing attorneys will put the United 11 States on trial if it's in New York City. 12 Can you imagine how deeply they 13 would dig into the fact of the apprehension 14 and treatment of these terrorists, the 15 methods, torture they endured, by them, to 16 which the world's media would flock with 17 enthusiasm, to repeat and say terrible things 18 about the United States? 19 This trial should take place in 20 Gitmo and not give America's enemies any 21 propaganda victory by putting them on trial 22 here. The foreign nations who hate America, 23 they'll have a field day by repeating all the 24 things that they said at the trial, trying to 25 indict America when they are the criminals.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I think that -- well, I can't keep 2 talking. I think that the fact is that we 3 don't think it should be in New York City and 4 we don't want America's enemies to celebrate 5 this, we don't want to make a slide show out 6 of it. The trial then should go back to Gitmo 7 and have a military tribunal. 8 Thanks. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. 10 The question is on the resolution. 11 All those in favor please indicate by saying 12 aye. 13 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Libous. 15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Could I please 16 request that we vote on the resolution by a 17 show of hands. 18 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 19 will ring the bell, please. 20 (Pause.) 21 THE PRESIDENT: All those in 22 favor of the resolution please indicate by 23 raising your hand. 24 Members will have to leave their 25 hands up to make sure the Secretary gets an

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 accurate count, please. 2 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Libous. 4 SENATOR LIBOUS: Sir, while the 5 roll is being called, if I could just also 6 state that we have two members that are in 7 committee meetings. And under Rule 9, 8 Section A, they have until 5 o'clock to vote. 9 Do you want me to state that for 10 the record? We have Senator DeFrancisco and 11 Senator Hannon. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Under Rule 9, 13 they have until 5:00 p.m. to vote. 14 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. I just wanted to make note of 16 that so they're not recorded as absent. 17 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein. 19 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, I 20 certainly agree with that. We have, I think, 21 one or two members also who are at committee 22 meetings that would like to cast a vote on 23 this. 24 THE PRESIDENT: The same rule 25 applies.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Valesky. 2 SENATOR VALESKY: Yes. I just 3 wanted to -- Senator Leibell, I believe, in 4 his presentation of this resolution indicated 5 that the resolution is open to cosponsorship 6 by any member of the Senate who wishes to 7 cosponsor. I just wanted to confirm that with 8 the desk. 9 Thank you. 10 THE PRESIDENT: It's confirmed. 11 All those voting nay, please raise 12 your hand. 13 The Secretary will announce the 14 results. 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. 16 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 17 adopted. 18 Senator Klein. 19 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, at 20 this time I move that we pass the Resolution 21 Calendar in its entirety, with the exceptions 22 of Senate Resolutions 3811, 3855, and 3791. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: All 24 those in favor of passing the Resolution 25 Calendar in its entirety, with the exceptions

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of Senate Resolutions 3811, 3855, and 3791, 2 please signify by saying. 3 (Response of "Aye.") 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Those 5 opposed, nay. 6 (No response.) 7 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 8 Resolution Calendar is adopted. 9 Senator Klein. 10 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, at 11 this time can we take up Senate Resolution 12 3811, by Senator Stavisky. I ask that the 13 title of the resolution be read and move for 14 its immediate adoption. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 16 Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 18 Stavisky, Legislative Resolution Number 3811, 19 honoring New York State Higher Education 20 Opportunity Programs whose achievements and 21 endeavors further enhance excellence in 22 education. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 24 Senator Stavisky. 25 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. 2 Very, very briefly, the Opportunity 3 Programs in higher education enable young 4 people to achieve a degree, to benefit their 5 career and advance, and ultimately hopefully 6 they'll stay in New York State and they'll pay 7 their taxes and everybody will benefit. 8 This is the 35th anniversary of 9 TAP, the Tuition Assistance Program. And I'd 10 like to remind my colleagues that nearly 11 30 percent of the New Yorkers who are enrolled 12 in TAP come from families whose income is 13 lower than $40,000 a year, and 11 percent have 14 a family income of less than $20,000 a year. 15 And the same numbers are true for 16 HEOP, which is the Higher Education 17 Opportunity Program, and they are celebrating 18 their 40th anniversary. In this case, 19 80 percent of the students come from 20 low-income families. 21 And there are other opportunity 22 programs. We have the STEP program, which is 23 the Science and Technology Entry Program, the 24 CSTEP, which is for college students, and the 25 STEM, the Science, Technology, Engineering and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Math programs, the Liberty Partnerships and 2 all of the other programs. These are 3 celebrating a significant anniversary. 4 TAP is such an important part of 5 our state program of service to higher 6 education. It's such an important ingredient 7 for students, for their success in the future. 8 They benefit from these programs, and we'd 9 like to recognize their achievements. 10 We have some students from some of 11 the colleges and universities in the gallery, 12 and we pay tribute to those students who have 13 benefitted from TAP, the thousands and 14 thousands of students who are enrolled in the 15 public and private colleges of New York State. 16 And we recognize them in the gallery. 17 Thank you, Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank 19 you, Senator Stavisky. 20 Are there any other Senators 21 wishing to be heard? 22 Senator LaValle. 23 SENATOR LaVALLE: Thank you, 24 Mr. President. 25 I rise to support to Senator

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Stavisky's resolution, and I hope that it 2 might be opened up for whoever wants to 3 sponsor that. 4 I think New York State without a 5 doubt has clearly been a leader in student 6 financial aid. Access and choice have been 7 very critically important to our colleges and 8 universities, but most importantly to the 9 students and parents, to have that choice and 10 that access available to them. 11 Only through student financial aid 12 are we able to maintain the access and choice 13 that really thousands of students have in this 14 state. So I rise to support the resolution. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank 16 you, Senator LaValle. 17 Are there any other Senators 18 wishing to be heard? 19 Senator Johnson. 20 SENATOR OWEN JOHNSON: I'm sorry 21 I forgot the birthday of my baby. The Tuition 22 Assistance Program was my baby. Senator 23 Ronald Stafford was the chairman of the 24 committee; we worked together to create that 25 program and worked together to improve it over

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 many years. 2 But thank you, Senator Stavisky, 3 for reminding us. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank 5 you, Senator Johnson. 6 Are there any other Senators 7 wishing to be heard? 8 The question is then on the 9 resolution. All those in favor please signify 10 by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 13 Opposed, nay. 14 (No response.) 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 16 resolution is adopted. 17 Senator Stavisky has indicated that 18 the resolution is open to total sponsorship 19 unless someone would come to the desk and 20 indicate they do not wish to be on it. 21 Senator Klein. 22 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 23 can we please take up Senate Resolution 3855, 24 by Senator Monserrate. I ask that the title 25 of the resolution be read and move for its

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 immediate adoption. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 3 Secretary will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 5 Monserrate, Legislative Resolution Number 6 3855, honoring Doris "Dorie" Miller 7 posthumously for special recognition, and 8 noting the significance of his purposeful life 9 and his accomplishments as a member of the 10 United States Navy. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 12 Senator Monserrate. 13 SENATOR MONSERRATE: Thank you 14 very much, Mr. President. 15 I rise to introduce formally a 16 resolution honoring the life of Dorie Miller. 17 Dorie Miller is a very distinguished name in 18 the community I represent in Corona. 19 Currently his name is placed on a 20 300-apartment complex called the Dorie Miller 21 Co-ops, predominantly African-American and one 22 of the first African-American co-ops 23 established in the United States. 24 But Dorie Miller is a true 25 all-American hero. In fact, he is the first

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 African-American to win a Navy Cross, the 2 highest honor given to members of the Navy and 3 the United States Marine Corps. His heroics 4 happened during the Second World War, the 5 attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. 6 And just last week the United 7 States federal government bestowed upon him 8 the honor of a postage stamp. So I encourage 9 you all to purchase that and keep it. 10 And let's always remember Dorie 11 Miller, his family, and the community he 12 represented. Semper Fi. 13 Thank you very much. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank 15 you, Senator Monserrate. 16 Are there any other Senators 17 wishing to be heard on the resolution? 18 The question is then on the 19 resolution. All those in favor please signify 20 by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 23 Opposed, nay. 24 (No response.) 25 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 resolution is adopted. 2 Senator Monserrate has indicated 3 that he would like to open this resolution to 4 cosponsorship by the entire body. Anyone not 5 wishing to be on the resolution please 6 indicate so by coming to the desk. 7 Senator Klein. 8 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 9 can we take up Senate Resolution 3791, by 10 Senator Squadron. I ask that the title of the 11 resolution be read and move for its immediate 12 adoption. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 14 Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: By Senator 16 Squadron, Legislative Resolution Number 3791, 17 memorializing Governor David A. Paterson to 18 proclaim March 11, 2010, as PKD Day in the 19 State of New York. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 21 Senator Squadron. 22 SENATOR SQUADRON: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 Polycystic kidney disease is one of 25 the most common deadly genetic diseases in

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 this country. Over 600,000 Americans have it. 2 More Americans are afflicted with polycystic 3 kidney disease than cystic fibrosis and 4 Down syndrome combined. 5 It's often considered the silent 6 scourge, though, among genetic diseases, 7 because families or those afflicted with it 8 don't know they have it until a tragedy 9 occurs. 10 Polycystic kidney disease over time 11 basically creates kidney failure for those 12 whoa have it, and kidney failure leads to all 13 sorts of other issues -- high blood pressure, 14 problems with other organs. And so for many 15 families, they don't know they're afflicted 16 with polycystic kidney disease until someone 17 in their family suffers a major event. 18 This is a disease that is not 19 curable right now, it's not preventable right 20 now, but it's a disease that we can do 21 something being it and make less painful for 22 those afflicted with it, with increased 23 knowledge about the disease, increased 24 research, and more organ donations. 25 Over 50 percent of people who get

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease end 2 up going into kidney failure, which means they 3 either need to live in dialysis, with all of 4 the costs that come with dialysis, or in order 5 to survive they need an organ transplant, they 6 need a new kidney. 7 With a new kidney, though, people 8 with polycystic kidney disease can live for 9 two, three, even four decades. Without it, 10 the prognosis is not very good at all. 11 Also, with additional research 12 dollars and additional knowledge about the 13 disease, there's a belief that we can stop its 14 effects on the kidneys before you've created 15 that sort of crisis situation. It would save 16 lives, it would save donations, it would also 17 save money for our medical professions. 18 I bring this resolution because a 19 constituent of mine, Amy Epstein, had a 20 husband who was afflicted with polycystic 21 kidney disease. He lived with it, he overcame 22 it, he was on dialysis. Eventually he did 23 succumb to the disease. She reached out to my 24 office and asked for this joint resolution to 25 ensure that March 11th would be PKD Day in the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 State of New York, to help raise awareness, to 2 help raise funding, to help encourage organ 3 donation. 4 Little did she know when she called 5 my office that I knew exactly what she was 6 talking about, because my sister has 7 polycystic kidney disease. And in fact today, 8 right now, my sister is looking for a kidney 9 donation because she is beginning to go into 10 the process of kidney failure. 11 It's not really that big a 12 surprise, though, is it, that I had a 13 constituent and that I myself and my family 14 are so deeply affected by this disease -- 15 because it is that common. If you look around 16 this room, I'm sure that almost every person 17 in this room has a family member or a friend 18 or a friend of a friend who has this disease. 19 They may not know it, because we don't test 20 for it, we're not aware of it. But believe 21 me, it is overwhelmingly likely that that's 22 the case. 23 And it is undeniable that if we had 24 more available kidneys, more people willing to 25 donate and join organ registries, that if we

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 had more awareness about the disease so that 2 people could catch it early and help to slow 3 its effects, and if we had more dollars for 4 research, events like that that happened to 5 Amy Epstein's husband or that are happening to 6 my family right now would be much, much less 7 likely. We would literally save lives on a 8 disease that afflicts more than half a million 9 Americans. 10 That's why having March 11th be 11 PKD Day in the State of New York is so 12 important and why I urge my colleagues to 13 cosponsor the resolution. 14 Thank you, Mr. President. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank 16 you, Senator Squadron. 17 The question is on the resolution. 18 All those in favor please signify by saying 19 aye. 20 (Response of "Aye.") 21 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 22 Opposed, nay. 23 (No response.) 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 25 resolution is adopted.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Squadron has indicated that 2 he would like to open this resolution up to 3 the entire body for cosponsorship. Any 4 Senator wishing not to be on the resolution 5 please inform the desk. 6 Senator Klein. 7 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, I 8 believe there's a report of the Judiciary 9 Committee at the desk. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: There 11 is a report from the Judiciary Committee at 12 the desk. 13 The Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Sampson, 15 from the Committee on Judiciary, reports the 16 following nomination. As a judge of the Court 17 of Claims, Mark R. Dwyer, of Brooklyn, 18 New York. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 20 Senator Klein. 21 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, on 22 behalf of the chairman of the Judiciary 23 Committee, Senator Sampson, I had a chance to 24 look over Mr. Dwyer's resume. 25 And sometimes in life we prepare

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 for the job we're ultimately going to take 2 very carefully. And certainly Mr. Dwyer has 3 certainly done that. A graduate of Princeton 4 University, he has a law degree from Yale Law 5 School, a very extensive history at the DA's 6 office in New York County, someone who really 7 served his entire legal career for the public 8 good. 9 I would just like to say also he 10 was at one point in his illustrious career a 11 clerk to a United States District Court judge. 12 He's someone who throughout his 13 career used his intelligence, his law degree, 14 his experience to help the public good. And I 15 will say that when Mark Dwyer assumes his 16 position as judge of the Court of Claims, 17 justice will be done. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank 19 you, Senator Klein. 20 Senator Maziarz. 21 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 22 much, Mr. President. 23 Mr. President, I had the 24 opportunity and the pleasure to meet with 25 Mr. Dwyer as part of the Judiciary Committee

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 pre-meeting today. 2 And as my colleague Senator Klein 3 pointed out, this nominee is very qualified 4 for this position. I think he would do a 5 great job. We talked a little bit about his 6 background in the Manhattan DA's office. 7 And I would strongly recommend that 8 this nominee be confirmed, and I second the 9 nomination. 10 Thank you, Mr. President. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Thank 12 you, Senator Maziarz. 13 Are there any other Senators 14 wishing to be heard on the nomination? 15 The question is then on the 16 nomination of Mark Dwyer as a justice of the 17 Court of Claims. All those in favor please 18 signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye.") 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 21 Opposed, nay. 22 (No response.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 24 motion carries. The nomination of Mark Dwyer 25 to the Court of Claims is hereby confirmed.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Judge Dwyer, congratulations to you 2 and to your wife Anne Ryan and to your 3 daughter Mary Kate Dwyer. 4 (Applause.) 5 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 6 Senator Klein. 7 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, at 8 this time could we please move to a reading of 9 the calendar. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 11 Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar 57, by 13 Senator Dilan, Senate Print 5174, an act to 14 amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in relation 15 to emergency rule. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Read 17 the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll.) 23 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 24 Senator Little, to explain her vote. 25 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. I would like to explain my 2 vote. 3 I did vote for this last year. But 4 we've had a recent incident in my town where 5 we are finding that really getting to gross 6 negligence is very, very difficult. 7 And I support this bill in that it 8 affects I-95, but I would like to see the bill 9 amended so it did not affect all roads in 10 New York State. And I would ask Senator Dilan 11 to consider that amendment to the bill. 12 But at the current time, I vote no. 13 Thank you. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 15 Senator Little will be recorded in the 16 negative. 17 Announce the results. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 60. Nays, 19 1. Senator Little recorded in the negative. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 21 bill is passed. 22 The Secretary will read. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 58, by Senator Aubertine, Senate Print 6237, 25 an act to amend the Highway Law, in relation

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 to designating. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll.) 9 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: 10 Announce the results. 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 61. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 13 bill is passed. 14 Senator Klein, that completes the 15 reading of the noncontroversial calendar. 16 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 17 there will be an immediate meeting of the 18 Transportation Committee in Room 124 of the 19 Capitol, followed by a meeting of the 20 Investigations and Government Operations 21 Committee also in the Capitol, Room 124. 22 Mr. President, may we please stand 23 at ease. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT BRESLIN: The 25 Senate will stand at ease. There is an

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 immediate meeting of the Transportation 2 Committee in Room 124 of the Capitol, followed 3 by an immediate meeting thereafter of the 4 Investigations Committee in the same room, 5 Room 124. 6 The Senate will stand at ease. 7 (Whereupon, the Senate stood at 8 ease at 2:13 p.m.) 9 (Whereupon, the Senate reconvened 10 at 9:19 p.m.) 11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein. 12 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 13 can we return to the reports of select 14 committees. I believe there's a report at the 15 desk. 16 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 17 will read the title of this report. 18 THE SECRETARY: "Report of the 19 New York State Select Committee to Investigate 20 the Facts and Circumstances Surrounding the 21 Conviction of Hiram Monserrate on October 15, 22 2009." 23 THE PRESIDENT: The question is 24 on the acceptance of the report of the select 25 committee. All those in favor please indicate

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 by saying aye. 2 (Response of "Aye.") 3 THE PRESIDENT: Any opposed? 4 (No response.) 5 THE PRESIDENT: The report is 6 accepted and will be entered into the Journal. 7 Senator Klein. 8 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, if 9 we could at this time return to the order of 10 motions and resolutions, I believe Senator 11 Foley has a resolution at the desk. 12 I ask that the resolution be read 13 in its entirety and move for its immediate 14 adoption. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein, 16 has this resolution been deemed privileged and 17 been submitted by the office of the Temporary 18 President? 19 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, 20 just a clarification. Can we just read the 21 title of Senator Foley's resolution. 22 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 23 will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Foley, 25 Senate resolution condemning the conduct and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 calling for the expulsion of Senator Hiram 2 Monserrate. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein, I 4 asked you earlier, has this resolution been 5 deemed privileged and submitted by the office 6 of the Temporary President? 7 SENATOR KLEIN: Yes, it has, 8 Mr. President. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Are there any 10 other Senators that wish to be heard on this 11 resolution? 12 (No response.) 13 THE PRESIDENT: The question is 14 on the resolution. All those in favor -- 15 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 16 could I ask for a show of hands on the vote, 17 please. 18 THE PRESIDENT: All those in 19 favor please signify by raising your hands. 20 (Senators raised their hands.) 21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz, to 22 explain his vote. 23 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 24 Mr. President. 25 Today we are getting even. There

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 was a process here back in November when 2 Malcolm Smith wanted to be president of the 3 Senate. And then there was a coup when Hiram 4 Monserrate brought the Senate to a halt. So 5 today we stand to get even. So we formed a 6 committee, a committee to go and find out 7 things that the Queens district attorney and 8 the judges and the court system, according to 9 the committee, didn't found. 10 But there was a guy here in this 11 chamber, a guy by the name Marty Markowitz, 12 long time ago. And he was convicted for money 13 laundering, misdemeanor. And when he came 14 back, he was received as a hero. They didn't 15 form a committee to go after Marty Markowitz. 16 But they formed a committee to go after the 17 Hispanic one and get even. 18 So, ladies and gentlemen, go ahead, 19 get even. Enjoy it. But that was not done 20 before. It's only done to the minority 21 Hispanic. 22 And by the way, if you see in my 23 Democratic conference, all the whites. Only 24 one Puerto Rican, Jose Serrano, and the lady 25 in the -- in the -- what's your lady's name?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Andrea Stewart-Cousins. 2 So yes, time to get even. And you 3 might feel good. The Republicans feeling good 4 because, aha, you came to us, you jumped back, 5 now we getting you. 6 The Democrats, they was begging 7 Monserrate to come back. The same people. 8 You got to see, you got to see, Mr. President, 9 Eric Schneiderman, how he was begging 10 Monserrate to come back when he was on the 11 other side. He was a great guy. He was, 12 oh -- he was, "Oh, come back, come back." All 13 of us: Come back, come back. Just to make 14 fun of him and to put him to shame and to do 15 this to him. 16 And you got to see how our leader 17 have no leadership. You got to see the 18 mockery. You got to see how his closest 19 lieutenant, his closest lieutenant goes 20 against him. 21 And then they're going to call us 22 to be a united front, a united Democrat party, 23 a united thing. 24 Go ahead, enjoy your victory. 25 Republicans on the other side, enjoy it. You

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 got it. Whatever he did to you in the summer, 2 now it's time to get even. And you Democrats, 3 Eric Schneiderman, good, good public relations 4 to become AG. Go ahead. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz, how 6 do you vote, sir? 7 SENATOR DIAZ: How am I vote? 8 You asking me how am I vote? You asking me 9 how am I vote? 10 THE PRESIDENT: We were on a 11 vote -- we were on a vote, sir, at this -- 12 SENATOR DIAZ: I vote against all 13 these people here. Thank you. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Espada. 15 SENATOR ESPADA: Thank you, 16 Mr. President. 17 Let me strike a different tone. 18 Although I consider Senator Diaz my friend, I 19 do want to acknowledge my continued support 20 for a fair and just leader, Senator Sampson. 21 We were in conference. Our 22 conference met privately. And those thoughts 23 and points of view will remain private. 24 But these thoughts are my own. I 25 proffered legislation and unveiled it

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 yesterday that would have removed the 2 ambiguity concerning this matter into the 3 future. But we are focused on the so-called 4 Senator Monserrate expulsion decision here 5 tonight. 6 Earlier today, Senator Leibell 7 produced a resolution and there was intense 8 debate about what kinds of rights we would 9 confer upon terrorists. And there were many 10 that were voting today -- or voted already in 11 favor of allowing civil trials. That is, the 12 Constitution that serves us so well for 13 hundreds of years, we confer upon terrorists 14 the rights to enjoy their due process in our 15 court system. 16 That due process, by the very same 17 people that supported it for the terrorists, 18 did not find themselves capable of supporting 19 Senator Monserrate's due process rights. And 20 that is a fundamental reason why I must vote 21 no on this resolution. 22 Thank you, Mr. President. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 24 Senator Espada. 25 We were in the middle of a roll

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 call vote. Mr. Secretary, have you counted 2 all the votes? 3 Excuse me. Senator Monserrate. 4 SENATOR MONSERRATE: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. Good evening to you, to my 6 colleagues on this very somber evening. 7 I stand before you today, in front 8 of my 61 fellow colleagues, facing a vote on 9 expulsion. The basis for this, an act that 10 took place even before I was sworn in as a 11 Senator. Behavior that is unbecoming of a 12 State Senator. 13 Many questioned if the Senate even 14 has the right to expel a sitting member, 15 particularly one who is eligible to be seated. 16 Ultimately, whatever action this body 17 undertakes, it should adhere to the principles 18 of fairness, process, and obviously the rule 19 of law. 20 Let me remind everyone that a new 21 election cycle is right around the corner. If 22 my sins are of such magnitude that the voters 23 of the 13th Senatorial District feel that they 24 can no longer support my continued service to 25 them, then so be it. But it should be up to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 them. 2 Not one of the members in this 3 Senate took place in any of the elections that 4 I have participated in since 2000. I think 5 it's the height of arrogance for someone who 6 has never pulled a lever in my community -- 7 that never saw the narcotics sales on 8 Roosevelt Avenue, that never saw the lack of 9 services that my community receives -- to 10 think that today they have more power than the 11 constituent voters who sent me here to 12 represent them. 13 All of us here are here as a 14 privilege, because the people have decided to 15 send us here to represent them. Moreover, 16 there are legitimate questions, legitimate, 17 under our State Constitution and our legal 18 system, if this Senate, if this body currently 19 has the power to expel members. 20 But even if the Senate had the 21 right to, even if they had the right -- which 22 I believe they do not -- this process has 23 deprived my constituent voters and me of due 24 process. 25 It was eloquent today when I heard

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Squadron speak about due process when 2 he talked about the Taliban terrorists. And 3 even Senator Liz Krueger from Manhattan stood 4 up and rose and spoke boldly about an America 5 that would protect the rights of even 6 terrorists. 7 Well, ladies and gentlemen, I was 8 denied basic due process, rules of evidence, 9 and the like during this inquiry. 10 It is clear that outside of the 11 felony conviction, there are no standards or 12 rules that delineate an act of expulsion. 13 Prior to 1821, there were provisions regarding 14 the purging of members of the legislature. 15 But in the Constitutional Convention of 1821, 16 they were taken out, and with good reason. 17 Respectfully, my colleagues, we 18 don't have the power to expel a member. This 19 action would be unconstitutional, illegal, and 20 contrary to precedent. 21 So what is it that we are doing 22 here? We are all here doing the people's 23 business because of one salient reason: The 24 people have afforded us the privilege of 25 serving. Expulsion, therefore, is an extreme

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 action that clearly abrogates the rights of 2 people who exercise their democratic rights to 3 vote. 4 Now, over the years we have 5 witnessed on numerous occasions how some of 6 the people's representatives have abused their 7 privilege, lining their own pockets at the 8 expense of the public interest that they have 9 sworn to uphold. Just recently, a leader of 10 this very body for many years was convicted of 11 corruption, using his office for personal gain 12 at the expense of the taxpayers and this great 13 state. 14 We have also seen a long list of 15 others who were convicted or even pled to 16 misdemeanors. Senator Diaz mentioned one, but 17 there are countless others -- dozens, if we 18 include the New York State Assembly. Many of 19 them negotiated pleas to avoid felony 20 convictions. 21 Ladies and gentlemen, I was facing 22 four felony charges and prison time. I 23 believe so much in my innocence that I went 24 into a courtroom with my attorney and we 25 fought a legal battle to prove my innocence.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Today we are in appeals process of the sole 2 reckless charge. 3 I want to underscore that. For 4 those of you who are members of the bar -- 5 including the Democrats who somehow forgot 6 their ethical guidelines along the way -- 7 there was no mens rea here. There was no 8 intent. There was a reckless act. And for 9 that, I am sorry. I'm also very sorry for all 10 the pain and the upset that has occurred as a 11 result of that to this body. 12 But let's be clear what we're 13 dealing with here and what the offense was. 14 In all the time that all these things were 15 occurring, with other elected officials being 16 arrested and convicted, corruption scandals, 17 who knows how certain individuals and their 18 friends get contracts in this house -- with 19 all of that going on, no one from the 20 Democratic Conference stood up and said 21 "Enough is enough." Even when the behavior 22 became common knowledge. 23 Before I arrived to Albany, two of 24 our colleagues, one on each side of the aisle, 25 were convicted of using their office for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 corrupt purposes. Is it any wonder that we 2 have earned the label of "dysfunctional" that 3 has been bestowed upon us? 4 Yet with all this history of 5 corruption, suspect behavior, no Senator has 6 ever been forced to face the prospect of 7 expulsion -- not one -- until now. Why now? 8 What is happening at this time that makes the 9 current effort to expel me so compelling? 10 At every turn, we as a body are 11 facing charges of failing to adequately 12 represent the public interest. Editorials 13 written by billionaire publishers single out 14 lists of elected officials who it is alleged 15 have violated their oath of office. It is a 16 climate that paints us all with a very wide 17 and broad brush -- but everyone in this body 18 stands accused. 19 In response, we rush to craft an 20 ethics bill -- someone pounding on the table 21 about how important the first step is -- to 22 signal to the public that we begin to approach 23 the people's business differently. But at the 24 same time, let's make sure the lawyers in the 25 room can hide whatever business they have

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 going on -- that's okay. The same individuals 2 who are so pompous and stand on the ethical 3 bully pulpit. 4 Make no mistake about this. This 5 is about, in a dramatic and public manner, the 6 effort by some in this body to demonstrate 7 that they are going to expiate all its sins by 8 making Hiram Monserrate the scapegoat. Now 9 we're going to clean up the house. We're 10 going to put on our suits and our ties, we're 11 going to look sharp, and we're going to say 12 what we're doing to clean up the house. 13 My colleagues, it has been now over 14 14 months since I entered these chambers as a 15 Senator. I have voted with you on hundreds if 16 not thousands of bills. I have worked with 17 you. Many times, on more than one occasion, 18 to my great colleagues in the Democratic 19 conference, I provided the 32nd vote on so 20 many important pieces of legislation -- bills 21 introduced by Senator Klein and Malcolm Smith 22 and Diane Savino, my good friend Senator Eric 23 Adams, even Tom Duane. 24 So many times we worked and we 25 battled against differences of opinion from

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the other side of the aisle with respect to 2 budgetary constraints, budget reduction bills, 3 member items, capital projects. We have dealt 4 with the MTA bailout, we've protected 5 homeowners, and yes, even enacted some pretty 6 significant rules reform that I think I should 7 take some of the credit for -- right, Pedro? 8 SENATOR ESPADA: Absolutely. 9 SENATOR MONSERRATE: Some of the 10 rules reform that equalized the resources of 11 this house so that the minority party could 12 also benefit and be treated like what they 13 are, legislators serving the public, to reduce 14 a little bit of this partisanship that so many 15 times provides for gridlock. Not that losing 16 the 32nd vote in this conference will help 17 much towards that. 18 During this same period of time, my 19 office has serviced thousands upon thousands 20 of constituents, many of them new Americans 21 and people of color who need the services that 22 my district office has provided for them. 23 Clearly, I am not being judged for 24 violating my oath of office. I'm not being 25 judged because I had no-show jobs in my

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 office. I'm not being judged because 2 something went wrong with whatever public 3 funds were at risk during the process of the 4 budget. 5 But for whatever reasons, ladies 6 and gentlemen, my colleagues, the actions that 7 I have committed, that I've been involved 8 with, do not rise to the level of expulsion. 9 And the process that this body has used has 10 not only deprived me of my due process but in 11 fact is disenfranchising the voters of my 12 majority minority district. 13 When the committee whose report is 14 the basis of the expulsion action was 15 constituted, the underlying charges were and 16 are the basis of an appeal. This report, 17 which is full of material omissions, legal 18 inaccuracies, and factual distortions, has 19 really amounted to a self-serving document 20 designed solely to justify a result of this 21 committee desired before even commencing its 22 investigation. 23 Sadly, I learned recently that the 24 committee didn't even receive vital evidence 25 from the district attorney's office that was

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 in their possession and supposedly, under 2 court order, agreed to be received by the 3 distinguished members of the committee, their 4 chair, and their legal counsel. 5 Despite never hearing from the only 6 two people involved in the incident that I was 7 involved in on December 18, 2008, the 8 committee proceeded anyway. And its report, 9 written as a prosecutorial brief, lacks both 10 balance and fairness. In this way, it is what 11 the jury hears before the defense counsel even 12 has a chance to speak. Yet this is what has 13 been used and what this body has prepared to 14 use as the basis to expel me from the Senate. 15 I therefore stand before you today 16 to ask for your forbearance and, yes, in many 17 respects your forgiveness. Forgiveness is 18 important, isn't it, Reverend Diaz? That's 19 what the Scripture teaches us. 20 I know that my behavior has brought 21 unwelcome discredit to this chamber. And for 22 that, again, as I've earlier stated, I am 23 sorry. But as Reverend Jesse Jackson once 24 said: "God isn't through with me yet." He's 25 got a lot of work to do.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Let the people, come next fall, if 2 they decide that I can no longer effectively 3 serve them, let them be the final word on the 4 matter of Hiram Monserrate. 5 I thank you for the time and the 6 opportunity to speak here on my behalf, and 7 for the privilege that I have had to represent 8 the people of Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson 9 Heights, East Elmhurst, Woodside, and Lefrak 10 City, USA. 11 I thank you all, and I'll close 12 solely by saying that this clearly is a much, 13 much bigger issue than just me. This is about 14 the process and the rule of law. I really 15 hope that no one in this chamber, ever in 16 their life, in their public-service career, 17 that they ever find themselves in a situation 18 similar to me -- that on one evening or one 19 day, something goes awry and you find yourself 20 at the mercy of certain colleagues with 21 unfortunate political agendas. 22 I will be voting no on this 23 resolution. I would encourage every member of 24 this chamber who believes in fundamental 25 fairness and can put to the side the politics

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 and the heated discussion of the issue and say 2 "It's Hiram Monserrate today, it can 3 definitely be me tomorrow." 4 Clearly, Senator Espada, in his 5 effort to bring some clarity to this 6 situation, has proposed legislation which I 7 think would be an important first step. But I 8 want to just remind everyone that when you 9 have a process with no rules, no boundaries, 10 no parameters, we could all find ourselves 11 being judged for the wrong reasons at the 12 wrong time. 13 Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. 14 I'll be voting no. Thank you. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 16 Monserrate will be recorded in the negative. 17 Mr. Secretary, would you please 18 read the results? 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 53. Nays, 20 8. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 22 adopted. 23 Senator Klein. 24 SENATOR KLEIN: Mr. President, is 25 there any further business at the desk?

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Klein, 2 the desk is clear. 3 SENATOR KLEIN: There being none, 4 Mr. President, I move that we adjourn until 5 Monday, February 22nd, at 3:00 p.m., 6 intervening days to be legislative days. 7 THE PRESIDENT: There being no 8 further business to come before the Senate, on 9 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until 10 Monday, February 22nd, at 3:00 p.m., 11 intervening days being legislative days. 12 (Whereupon, at 9:46 p.m., the 13 Senate adjourned.) 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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