there is a tremendous amount of oil and gas in those three areas. two of them are open, one of them is close. yes sir do we oh-- voted to open in dark blue area. and we voted to open the dustin dome but again i believe the people of florida and the gulf coast that they are going to serve as host for this major industry, as you know you don't just wait a magic wand and nabrit appears in the water. there's a tremendous amount of work peter that goes into the fabrication of these facilities which by the way are quite clean today. by the way the more like the space industry than the oil and gas industry. but we believe the people along the coast should use some of those revenues for coastal restoration, for improvements to our energy ports, our general infrastructure, just like the state of wyoming and new mexico last year. wyoming received $1 billion, the

people of wyoming, from sharing the revenues on federal land. we believe the coastal states should share as well so it is going to be a big fight on the floor of the senate. we helped to build coalition of interior and coastal states that believe that go it alone is not the right way, partnerships guest: i am encouraged by his goal of energy independence for our nation. i am encouraged that he wants to move to cleaner and more renewable fuels. i consider nuclear part of that option. france is generating 80% of its electricity from nuclear. we are at 20%. we need to increase perhaps up to 50%. it has been proven technology,

particularly third-generation and clear. however, his proposal to put a $34 billion tax on the oil and gas industry on top of the fragile economy is wrong. it will lose many jobs in america. not only in louisiana and texas, but illinois, new york, new jersey, california as well. we are trying to modify the tax increases or eliminate them. make natural gas -- ask boone pickens what he thinks about natural gas. we have a tremendous opportunity. host: our guest is senator married landriue.

ue. host: the know where denham springs is? guest: us, i do. caller: yes, i have called the senator's office quite often. what has me puzzled here is, if we are needing oil so bad, why have the oil companies cut the rigs in half in the past four years? why have they cut the oil rigs in half in the state of louisiana over that time? why are you pushing a single- payer health care, mary? it will get you in trouble. you know what i'm talking about. guest: let me take the first question. you are right, ri rightg count is down by 50% because the prices have fallen so precipitously. they are on the rise again. they were all the way down to

$40 per barrel. the last look it was at $85 per barrel. i am not defending the industry. i think they have lots of problems, but it is difficult to plan billions of dollars of investments if the product you so one day is $40 and the next day is $140. our goal is to help and stabilize as much as we can so we can get the account up. on your second question, i know that canada has a single-payer program and some like it. but i think we can do a much better in america. if i have to say so myself. to have a program that is market-faced with government protection. i am looking to give you and everyone in america a health care plan almost identical to that in congress for you cannot be dropped.

there are no pre-conditions. you can afford it and if you cannot the government will subsidize it. the government does not necessarily subsidize hours, but we have a health care plan that we can afford and pay for. we think it is a better way, but the great news is, just like in a single-payer plan and of the one i have described, everyone is covered. i support the president's effort to do that. host: your position on health care has been a little difficult the last couple of days. has it been fairly reported? guest: no, it was not. it has been picked up by "the huffington post" which got many parts of the story wrong. i support bipartisan efforts. we have seven democrats and seven republicans. it is the proposal closest to bringing all americans into the plan the members of congress

have, but it is a private-based plan. it is not government-run. it is government-supported, but not government-run. that is a big difference. many of us want to see reform, but not a government-run program which would be too unwieldy, too expensive. we want a program that is market-based. people can have their own independent health insurance and seek whatever provider they want. all of their benefits would be covered. some think it is too good to be true. the fact is members of congress and federal employees have it. we think everyone in america should have it. host: on our republican line, you are on with the caller: senator are you? i have been listening to you on

tv about drilling more off the coast. that is great. but don't you think sometimes ceo's and president's of the oil companies are holding down bank? anything to raise the prices? guest: my effort is to give jobs kept and to ensure energy. we have a growing demand for energy, not only here, but all over the world. it is very serious. if we do not try to increase the domestic production and clean

coal which is probably used more around the world been even oil and gas for production of electricity -- and it is very dirty and contributing terribly to the warming of the atmosphere and rising of the oceans and pollution. the strategy is to clean coal and to expand clean, natural gas drilling. oil can be done cleanly as well, and then promote alternative fuels like wind and solar, expanded a clear. our goal, and some senators, is to get america as energy- independent as possible. our scientists tell us we cannot be completely independent but we can be energy-secure. when we need to import let's go to our friends, not our enemies. let's never have another war over oil or gas.

this country can use the technology and engineering to get the energy we need to reduce prices for consumers, and promote alternatives. that is what the president wants to do. host: you said energy is more original issue than a political one. guest: yes. i should have brought my map to explain this. as simply as i can say it, there are places where the wind blows very strongly and consistently, and in their places where the wind does not blow it all. so, when people talk about wind energy -- that is places like north dakota and kansas who have a lot of wind. they cannot wait to get wind energy. but in places in the southeast we have on oil and gas, but not much wind on shore. we do have wind offshore. that is what this does not break down between democrats and

republicans. it breaks down by region. some places have a lot of coal, some have a lot of gas. nuclear is interesting because it can pretty much go anywhere if people allow the plants to be built. it is about one part of the country saying we have these resources and want everyone to use a because there will make money. then it would cost my taxpayers more to have to buy wind from north dakota when they have natural gas in their backyard. that is what the debate is about and it is always a very heated debate on energy. host: missouri, on at the independent line. caller: good morning, y'all. guest: y'all, i heard that. caller: a comment on our energy

policy. we should set a policy to reduce it each year the amount of oil consumed because it is a great pollutant. i basically disagree with the government with respect to oil leases. we basically give the oil to the oil companies for next to nothing and then we let them charge us whatever they want to. i would approach that the oil is the natural resource which belongs to all the people in the united states and the government should contract production of it, just like a contract building an airplane. guest: you raise an excellent point. it needs to be looked at. it is the way that the united

states government has contracted with oil companies. as a result -- first on the positive side -- we have some of the finest technology in the world. all over the world people look to american companies for that technology. i am very proud in my state of louisiana along the gulf coast we have developed a lot of that. as gently as i can say this, you have hit a point that may be time to look royal to reforms. we should look to see if companies are paying their fair share, just like we look to see if the coastal states are receiving theirs. and if the federal government is receiving there's been nohow? i do not know how we will proceed. but there are many different ways that countries all around the world contract with, or, on the far left side of the argument, they just take over

the oil fields been a the problem with that is that you do not get any oil produced because governments do not a good job of running oil rigs. you need the technology and no- hassle of the private sector. but thank you for your comment. host: hurricane season has started. are you ready? guest: we are more ready than we were. i think everyone along the coast is more ready than they were before hurricane katrina, but we have a long way to go. here are a couple of examples. you can look at a map of all the shelters -- the majority are red cross shelters and they are school. if you have a catastrophic flood and people have to flee to shelters, let's say schools better on this map, what happens two or three weeks down the line when you want to open the schools for the children who should be going to those

schools? there is no backup plan. number two, unfortunately, the bush administration was stuck on trailers. why? i do not know. if they just could not come up with something else. the obama administration has inherited this plan with trailers. if a hurricane five hits manhattan as it did in 1938 on long island, i don't know how many troops can fit in times square, but it will be interesting to see. -- how many trailers can fit in times where. we finally have a good fema director and has a vision and leadership ability. we finally have a very excellent homeland security director who was a governor and had to do this for her own state and is cognizant of what governors must do. we have made progress, but we're

not ready for a catastrophic storm. host: nearly four years ago -- how many people are still in trailers. guest: we had 3400 trailers. maybe 30,000 people in them. we have come a long way. we still have homes, thousands better still not repaired. the question is, what is the obligation of the government? what is the role of the private sector? how we support non-profits to help rebuild communities? i have been to the netherlands. i feel like i have been to the mountaintop. i have seen a great cultural area below the sea level that has the north sea lapping at it just as with the gulf shore, but they have protected their people and have a system of flood control and water management that is the best in the world. we can do this along the gulf

coast, not by building concrete barriers, but by managing the water. i was told that we have a system of patch and pray in the united states whereas they have a design of guaranteed flood control. they treat water like a marathon swimmer, not a drowning man. my vision is to learn to live with the water. we have a long way to go. host: a democrat from st. louis, you are on with senator mary landrieu. caller: good morning, since we were given the stimulus packages for the auto industry, why don't they have the oil companies about the oil industry? there have been inventions that the oil companies have had shelved because the want to keep gas prices in the mileage at a

certain rate. there is a movie called "who killed the electric cart?" -- car?" that was in northern california. the oil companies least those cars and prevented their use. one of the major things that obama was saying -- preventative medicine, better food. making quality of food better, i think that is one of the major things that is a problem with health care. guest: you are right on both of those points. i thank you for those comments. in the old days and still today there has been a dragging of the fee. and there has been some unfortunate partnerships if you will between the oil companies and though car companies to keep

all of our automobiles moving on oil. it has been a major fight. we are making a lot of progress. people have realized, even the energy companies themselves, that americans want cars that run on a multitude of fuels. we do not want to move from oil and get stuck on another -- let's say natural-gas. we do not want to move to all- electric vehicles, either. i would like to move away from a monopoly on all together and let consumers have lots of choices. because the more diversity, then consumers are put more in charge. if the price of natural gas is how you can go to a pump and fill up with electricity. it would give you choices. whether we can get there quickly i do not know, but that is the

vision. the second question -- i am sorry? host: health care and food. guest: thank you. you are right, the new system we want to have to have health insurance for everyone must include a strong preventative aspect. if people can get in to see their doctors before they're sick and keep themselves from getting sick, that is the best health care we could have. we have a system now of treating illness. we need a system of maintaining and promoting wellness in america. it is about diet, exercise, not smoking, and other things. and also good prescription drugs that help people to stay well and out of the hospital. thank you for those comments which are right on. host: republican from ohio, you are on with senator mary landrieu. guest: hello. caller: i think the whole agenda

of the democrats is a backward. host: give an example, vincent. caller: clean energy. we have oil, coal, gas, air. but it is all complicated, that is all i hear from you guys. because people from this area do not want this. you are the government. you are supposed to at least protect us. all i heard was that we were over there after their oil, welcome yes we are not producing enough to take care of us. guest: let me say this. i am for more domestic production. i began my conversation by saying that we do need to produce more oil and gas here. we need to continue to produce coal, mine it, but need to clean it, of course.

sometimes the debate in washington go between democrats and republicans, but in the energy debate it is region against region, not party against party. it is not really that complicated. but some regions have certain resources they want everyone to use. others have others. hopefully, we'll get to a good end which is our job, to work through these issues, to get a plan where we can be energy- secure. where we have clean energy, consumers have choices, and prices are lower. it would support our economic growth model which our current situation does not. thank you very much. host: the last call from phoenix. caller: hello, mary. i am annoyed by both the far left and far right. i appreciate that you are more in the middle. why are we not using a rail

system as in europe? we have to rely completely on airlines. we even get charged, and will probably soon get charged for using the restroom. there is no alternative other than driving. with large families that is extremely annoying. i do not understand what these incentives what we could not be building a mass transit system to give people from the east to the west coast when these trains run on mike 1 gallon of gas over 400 miles. guest: you are absolutely correct and that is one of the president's number one goals. to bring america to the 21st century totrwith trains. there were billions of aside and the stimulus package. you are right, the airline industry with our help how screwed up a lot of things.

people need choices. there should be not only more trains, but more metro systems and internal city transportation systems. washington, d.c. has a pretty good one. but all cities need good transit systems like the one in washington, d.c. -- and in rural areas so that you do not drive for miles to stand and security lines to get on planes that are expensive. you do have to pay for everything which is aggravating. you could just get on a train. that is our hope. europe has done this right in america has done is wrong. we need to change. hopefully, we can. host: you recently met with judge sonya soto. what were your impressions? guest: she is an extraordinary woman and that she is so comfortable in her ability, so confident, so sure about the way

the issue was brought up, so love to, so confident. she has a wonderful character and that is what i look for more and justice than anything else in a despite her critics, she does have a pretty balanced approach to many issues. what i want is one of high intellect with great passion and a great art, someone who understands that their role is to judge fairly. i think she will. host: and finally, hal is bobby jindal doing? guest: well, if he would stay home in louisiana a little more and focus on being governor. since the legislative session has started he has, but before that he was all over the place. our state really needs the governor to stay focused. we have a deficit, this oil and gas situation to deal with, and our universities are in terrible

shape right now. he is recommending substantial cuts to our universities and spending a lot of time focused on his next office instead of the the one that he has. that is unfortunate. people elected to office should serve in the position they were

will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: madam president, yesterday this city and our country experienced a terrible and horrifying tragedy. a man by the name of stephen johns went to work every day for six years at our most moving museums, a living memorial to one of our world's more horrific atrocities, the holocaust museum. while standing guard yesterday at that united states holocaust museum, mr. stephen johns was killed protecting thousands of others who were inside the building. protecting them from the same fate that he suffered. his death is shock, upset and anger for the senate, our nation and all who detest senseless bloodshed. mr. jones was murdered in a place build to memorialize humanity's most unspeakable murders. he was a victim of violence and

hatred in a place dedicated to teaching us the evils of violence and hatred. he was a target of intolerance in a blaze created for reflection on the consequences of intolerance. his death remind us we have much more to do, much work to do. stephen johns was just 39 years old. he had a wife and a son. he grew up in temple hills maryland, a few miles south and east of where i stand today. he still lived in that communi community. stephen johns started working at the holocaust museum after spending a year in new articles in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. those who knew mr. johns called him "big john," a genera gentle, friendly and helpful. even those who did not know him are deeply saddened by the loss and inspired by hi the heroism.

it is our duty to keep alive his memory. today the holocaust museum is closed. flags fly at half-staff. when it opens tomorrow it will continue to serve as one of our nation's most poignant reminders of the inexcusable racism, hatred, violence and cruelty we must never stop working to erase from the world. when it opens tomorrow, and every day thereafter, stephen johns, courage and c