tv U.S. Senate CSPAN January 11, 2011 5:00pm-8:00pm EST
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the new tax package could give growth and jobs a significant boost. overall, we believe the economy will expand by 3.2% in 2011 and create 2.4 to 2.6 million new jobs by the end of the year. yet, we still face a number of risks that could send us in the wrong direction and the recovery is fragile and uneven at best. housing and construction are still very weak. a new wave of home foreclosures could drive down real estate values and household wealth again. oil and gasoline prices are rising rapidly and could reignite inflation. major states are nearly
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insolvent and will be looking to raise taxes on consumers and businesses. and we face a long list of known and unknown geopolitical and national security threats that could change our economic prospects overnight. to be sure, november's election results, the tax package, progress on the korean trade agreement and a new tone coming from the white house have addressed some of the business communities immediate concerns. yet uncertainty among companies, lenders and investors still abounds. there are many unanswered questions about regulations, taxes and other policies that must be addressed in order to unleash aggressive hiring in the privacy. now ladies and gentlemen, when it comes to jobs, we have a steep hill declined.
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unemployment has succeeded 9% for 20 consecutive months. that hasn't happened since the 1930s. some 27 million americans are either unemployed, underemployed or have given up looking for work. let's suppose we do create about 2.5 million new jobs -- net new jobs this year. as well, so it be, it would only drive the unemployment rate down by about 1%. in fact, we must create 1.2 million jobs a year, just to absorb the new entrants coming into the workforce. on their current cost, it could take years to get back to where they were before the recession in the financial crisis hit. and my boat, that's not good
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enough. .. >> we must make the domestic economy attractive to global investors, job creators, and start up entrepreneurs to clear the impediment that is causing them to sit on their capital or invest outside the united states, and we must do right for future economies by continuing a serious university to cut run away spending, reform
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entitlements, and return government debt and deficit under control. to successfully improve our own economy, we must take into account what other nations are doing to improve their economy. in many respects, america is not keeping up. to deepen our understanding about our nation's challenges, we are doing what any smart political candidate or coach does, and that is to learn everything that we can know about our opponents' strengths, weaknesses, and those of ourselves. what about our weaknesses? what about our strengths? the chamber's now conducting this kind of competitive analysis. we are examining in an affective way the actions by our government and the actions by the business comoonlt that are
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-- community that are either moving us forward in o global economy or holding us back. we will then compare it to what our competitors are doing around the world. these findings, which we plan to release this spring, will set the stage for a major project to strengthen american's competitive position in the global economy. at the same time, the chamber will seek to focus or government's attention on a host of the immediate priorities, and we're prepared to work with anyone in order to make progress on these issues. time doesn't permit me to cover them all, so let me briefly touch on just a few issues, particularly in four areas. regulatory restraint and reform, expanding america's trade, rebuilding the nation's economic foundation and infrastructure, and reducing run away spending deficits and debt. first, we must reign in
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excessive regulation and reform the regulatory process. at the federal level alone, regulations already fill 150,000 pages of fine print and a cost to america of $1.7 trillion a year. now, look, many of these regulations we need. they are important for the economy, and we support them. yet, in recent years, we have seen an unprecedented explosion of new regulatory activity. furthermore, the administration is likely to turn increasingly to the regulatory agencies now that getting legislation out of the congress could be more difficult. the resulting regulatory tsunami poses in our view the single biggest challenge to jobs, our global competitiveness, and the future of american enterprise.
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for example, the new health care law, think about this a minute, creates 159 new agencies, commissions, panels, and other bodies. it grants extraordinary powers to the department of health and human services to redefine health care as we know it. my mid-december of last year, hhs had already granted 222 waivers to the law that had just been passed. a revealing acknowledgement that the law is not totally workable, and with key provisions under challenge in the courts by states and others, it's time in my opinion to go back to the drawing board. last year, while strongly advocating for health care reform, the chamber was the leader in the fight against this particular bill, and thus, we
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support legislation in the house to repeal it. we see the upcoming house vote, however, as an opportunity for everyone to take a fresh look at health care reform and to replace unworkable approaches with more efficient and effective measures that will lower costs, expand access, and improve quality. the regulatory tsunami is also about the washover on our capital markets. the dodd-frank bill again contains new numbers. they change all the time. 259 mandated rule making, another 188 suggested rule making, 63 reports, and 49 studies. your grandchildren and my grandchildren will be old and retired before it is all implemented. the chamber's center for capital
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markets competitiveness is deeply involved in the regulatory rule making triggered by this massive law. we are particularly concerned that the new consumer financial protection bureau does not use its broad authority in ways that will deny credit to small businesses and consumers and the financial product that business needs across the board. we want to make sure that main street and users are still able to use derivatives in an affective way to management their business risk without sidelining billions of dollars in productive capital and costing tens of thousands of jobs. although our pending litigation against the ncc over its proxy access rule delayed implementation, that battle is far from over. we'll continue to impose proposalling to ban special
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interest shareholders such as unions to exploit proxy access rules to the debt triment of companies, jobs, and all of the shareholders. job creators are also facing unprecedented regulatory activity and case law changes in the department of labor, the national relations board, and in similar agencies. over 100 such efforts are underway today covering compensation, contracting, leave , economics, workplace safety, hiring, firing, and union organizing. we can only wonder that will be forthcoming. the chamber will fight hard throughout the year to challenge rulings that are unfair to employers, but much more than workplace rules are at stake here. some unions, particularly the
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public employee unions are pushing and extreme agenda that extends well beyond representing their members in the workplace. they have been using their position as a powerful political force to sabotage the nation's trade agenda which has damaged standing around the world. someone to vastly expand the size and course of government perpetuate the status quo in our failing schools and attack the nation's best companies through destructive tactics. the sad ironny is that all of these activities undermind the nation's ability to create and keep good paying american jobs. we will also continue our legal and legislative efforts to stop the epa from misapplying environmental law in order to unilaterally regulate greenhouse
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gas. the chamber will support appropriate bipartisan legislation to delay or stop the epa and return the important climate change issues to the purview of the congress of the united states where it belongs. beyond greenhouse gases, epa's regulatory agenda lists 342 rule makes in various stages of development and completion. of these, 30 are deemed economically significant. each has a cause to our -- each has a cost to our economy of more than $100 million. how will the chamber challenge this vast array of regulatory activities across our government? we will use a range of tools depending on the circumstances, yet the time has come to also reform this regulatory process itself, to restore some badly
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needed balance and accountability to the system. this could be done by giving congress the right to vote up or down on major rules before they take affect, and by strengthening the burden of proof that all the regulatory agencies would have to demonstrate when they are imposing major rules on the business community and other elements of society. finally, the comaim beer will -- chamber will stand up with a new group to engage one or more of the most respected advocates in the regulatory arena. this group will continually tell the story to the american people to, to policymakers, and the media about the massive costs of excessive regulations on jobs and on our economic and personal freedoms. we cannot allow this nation to move from a government of the people to a government of the
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regulators. that's where it has been heading under the republican party and democratic party alike. we're going to be engaged in this fight for years to come and turn this curve in a more acceptable direction. another key priority for the chamber is to create jobs by advancing a pro-american trade agenda that doubles exports in five years, and then doubles them again in the next 5 years. last year, we heard a lot of talk about expanding trade, but we didn't see very much acts in anywhere in our government. we have a good bipartisan opportunity to change that in 2011. a year ago, the chamber released a study which warned that the united states will lose more than 380,000 existing jobs and 40 billion in export sales if we
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fail to implement our free trade agreement with -- that are all standing ready to be implemented, and if we don't do it, what's going to happen? both the eu and canada and other nations are putting their free trade agreements in, and they'll take the business we'd like to have. the administration must work urgently with the new congress to improve the south korea and columbia and panama agreements. we will pull out all the stops we can to help the administration get the votes to pass these bills. we also strongly support the transpacific negotiations to expand trade with some of the fastest growing asian countries. that's where our opportunities are, and let's not overlook america's largest commercial
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partner, the e.u.. this month i'll be travels to dublin and brussels and switzerland. one key objective is to advance the idea of simply eliminating all tariffs on goods in the $600 billion trade relationship. an independent study found that doing this would increase transatlantic trade by more than $100 billion in the next few years. we think it could also jump start global trade negotiations and set the stage for similar agreements with other partners. we also need stronger global rules as well as more effective enforcement to address the rampant theft of intellectual property in boast the digital -- in both the digital and physical worlds.
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this is an issue that units business and labor, republicans and democrats. no one wants our intellectual property stolen. consumers should not be threatened by unsafe and counterfeit products, and we cannot stand by as 19 million jobs in our most innovative and creative industries are threatened. in addition, we need to reform export control rules which are designed and were designed during the cold war and have cost us billions and billions of dollars in lost export sales. the administration deserves serious credit for the progresses it has made in creating a single exported control list that distinguishes between the crown jewels of american technologies and those widely available anywhere in the world, and we urge officials to move quickly to conclude these
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adjustments. we also continue to press our major trading partners to open their markets and create level playing fields for american goods and services. china is a vital market for the united states. our exports to that country are growing faster than almost anywhere else in the world, but we are also concerned about a host of chinese policies from its effort to promote indigenous innovation to the favoritism it shows to domestic industries to its lax protections to its undervalued currency. some progress has been made on these and other issues. more progress is needed and soon, but starting a trade war with one of the fastest growing export markets in the world is not the answer. as we work to persuade china and
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others to adhere to the principles of free trade, we must also live up to those principles ourselves. that's why we welcome last week's news that the administration is taking the first serious stop towards resolving the long running u.s.-mexican trucking dispute. it's been 15 years since the united states promised to allow state carefully inspected trucks to move back and forth between our countries. the resulting tariff against us and authorized under nafta have caused us 25,000 american job in recent time. it's time to keep our word and get the trucks moving. we also need to make the united states more attractive to global up vester -- investors, to global talent, and
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to tourist. they will reform our tax code, lower the corporate tax rate which is the second highest in the developing world. almost all of us, our sons, our daughters are desen daunts of immigrants. we'll continue to pursue with others a comprehensive immigration reform program. we also urgently need to improve visa processing. opposed attempts to cut worker programs and increase the number of worker visas. now regrettably, many americans think trade agreements cost jobs, that foreign investment and immigration threatens our national sovereignty, and that the u.s. investments abroad take domestic jobs away. to change these misconceptions, and they are misconceptions, we'll launch a major initiative to educate citizens and
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policymakers on trade that will clearly link global engagement to american jobs. 95% of the people that we want to sell something to live overseas, outside our country. there are 283 free trade agreements in force around the globe today. the united states has just 11 free trade agreements covering 17 countries. it's time to get our country back in the trading game across the globe. another priority that we're putting front and center this year is the need to rebuild the -- the need to rebuild america's economic foundation, the platform or the infrastructure on which our society runs. if we fail to act as growth returns, we will soon run out of capacity.
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our economy will hit the wall, and we will be physically unable to grow. we will lose jobs and even lives as a result. our core service transportation and aea and water service programs are all operating under a series of short term funding arrangements. it makes it impossible for states and the federal government to work together to fix these problems and to create jobs. the chamber will lead the fight to remove the regulatory financial and legal barriers that have locked away federal money, but hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars of private infrastructure spending, but we must also have a strong, consistent, and reliable federal commitment to infrastructure or these private dollars will go somewhere else.
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now, with crude oil prices on the rise again, i'm sure we all noticed what gasoline costs, we are also reminded of the compelling need to develop more of our own vast energy and other natural resources. now, according to one study, increasing access to america's domestic oil and gas resources could in the next 10 or 15 years create a minimum of 530,000 jobs and give us about $150 billion in government revenue or the equivalent of 4 million barrels of oil a day. we use about 20 million barrels of oil a day in this country. there is no good and valid reason to send our money to other countries to pay for something that we have an adequate supply of right here at home. we can create jobs, reduce our trade and budget deficits, and increase our own security by
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prudently and environmentally soundly developing all forms of alternative renewable and traditional energy. in order to expand trade and move people, goods, and information, and money throughout the world, we have got to focus on attention -- focus our attention in this country on america's global supply chain. it operates on our infrastructure, but it's a supply chain that moves everything that i just mentioned, and so we have done something i think will help us and we'll all benefit from. weave engaged -- we've engaged jackpotter, the longest serving postmaster general since the 1800s, and we've asked him to lead this important project for us. he will consult with the leading supply chains experts and firms
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around the world and help us rally the business community to develop a plan to improve, maintain, secure, and advocate for a 21 tion century global supply chain and logistics system. now, rebuilding america's economic foundation is about more than physical infrastructure. it is fundamentally about we the people. in 2011, the chamber will continue to mobilize our grass roots federation to the cause of improving education and training opportunities for all americans. this is more than an economic issue. how can any of us sit still when millions of american's children are trapped in failing schools, and a third of them don't even get a high school diploma. this is a moral outrage and a ticking social time bomb in this country.
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business like all americans, must also do its part to help address another defining challenge of our times. the growth of government spending and entitlements and with it, the explosion of government debt on a federal and state basis. the national debt already exceeds $14 trillion and is on track to nearly double over the next 10 years. our current fiscal path leads only to one destination, insolvency. to control deficits, we must first put unemployed americans back to work so that they can be paying taxes instead of collecting benefits, but congress and the administration must also move swiftly to reduce spending. now, this next sentence i'm going to say it, and i'm not sure everybody is going to love it, but the chamber will support
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strong proposals even if we don't like all the details. we also make the case for entitlement reform because any plan that fails to tackle these run away programs is doomed to fail. the great per upon rains of our expendtures are in entitlements. now, ladies and gentlemen, let me end where i began, on a positive note about our economy and country. the economy is picking up steam, and we'll see stronger job creation ahead, and while the philosophical gap on some issues will be too wide for us to bridge, i believe that our elected officials can find enough commonground, or at least some shred of enlightened self-interest to make progress on the priorities i have outlined today.
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to help persuade them, the chamber will keep the grass roots system including the education and issued add vo cay tore programs fully funded and fired up through this year. we'll continue to expand our free enterprise program and all the activities we're conducting around the country. we will also significantly expand our efforts to support small businesses and do everything we can to assure their success. at the same time, we will get small businesses more actively engaged in the chamber's political, legislative, and advocacy programs, and we will spare no effort to vigorously defend the rights of companies and associations to lobby, petition the government, and to fully participate in the political and policy debates that will shape the future of
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this country. we will not allow the business community to be intimidated and we will use every tool at our di poe sal -- disposal to talk to those who try to silence our voice. we will call them as we see them. we'll continue to have our differences from time to time with the white house on some issues, but on many of them, we'll work vigorously together. we'll support the new house loin on -- leadership on many occasion and work with democratic leaders as well, but no one should expect the chamber to march in lock step with anyone. we have a clear mission and an agenda of our own. it is to continue to win important policy victories for our members, the american business community. it is to support, protect, and advance the free enterprise
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system that made this country great, and it is to help great good jobs and promising opportunities for all the people of our country so that they can achieve the american dream. i want to thank you again for coming. we look forward to working with all of you to vigorously and proudly represent the one institution in our nation that really works, the one institution that can put our nation back to work, the american business community. thank you very much. have a wonderful day. [applause]
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>> a federal commission investigating the gulf oil spill is inspecting new regulations for offshore oil operations. released the today, the commission's final report on bp and halliburton for the biggest oil spill in history. more now from the commission members at this hour and 10 minute event. >> president obama wanted a commission to study the deepwater horizon disaster. we were given several charges. first is to answer the question, what happened? second to answer the question what can we do to mitigate the prospects of that happening in the future? third, what is the future of offshore ail and gas drilling in the united states? i am very pleased that today we are submitting our report. we are submitting it on time, under budget, and with unanimous vote of the 7 members of the commission. >> here, here.
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>> we began our efforts six months ago with a trip to the gulf. we thought it was important to hear the voices of those who had been most affected by this tragedy. i'd like to recognize the distinguished service and extraordinary work of the commissions staff led by richard lazarus and ed bartlet. this staff exposed of scientists, engineers, lawyers, and more performed under a very tight schedule, a great public service for which we as the commission are extremely proud. i would like to give a brief overview of our report and some of its findings, and then i will turn the podium over to my colleague and co-chair, mr. bill
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bill william reilly who will address the future of offshore drilling. there is a fundmental fact that the oil and gas off our shores is an american asset. it belongs to the people of the united states of america, and thus the federal government has a dual role. it is a regulator for things such as safety and environmental protection, but it is also the landlord in a very real sense. we own this property and have an obligation to respond when the public trust is abused. a fundamental finding of our six month investigation is that the deepwater horizon disaster did not have to happen. it was both foreseeable and preventable. that fact alone makes the loss of the 11 lives, the serious
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injury to others on the rig, and the enormous damage that the explosion caused even more tragic. for the past 20 years, there's been a rapid movement by the oil and gas industry to deeper and deeper riskier and riskier areas of the gulf of mexico. this movement has generated abundant revenues for the private companies and for the federal treasury. industry has been justifiably proud of its technology advances which have frequently been compared in sophistication to those of the space program. the federal government has benefited by the increase in revenues. what happened during that 20 year period, however, was that we became lulled into a sense of inevitable success, an illusion that masked that the dramatic
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increase in risk that accompanied the deep water move. on april 20th, after a long period of rolling the dice, our luck ran out. our investigation found significant errors and misjudgments by three major oil drilling companies, bp, halliburton, and transocean. these culminated in the disaster. these eras and misjudgments are described in detail in the chief counsel's presentation which was explained in november and will be in a separate report soon to be issued. they ranged from imprommerly interpreting results and key tests of flaws not being properly understood, and
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late-stage design decisions. these mistakes amounted to a significant failure of management. it is important to emphasize these errors, mistakes, and management failures were not the product of a single rogue company. we believe they unvailed systemic failures within the oil and gas industry and within the regulation by the federal government of that industry. how did such a situation come to pass? how could it be that such questionable practices could take place when the stakes were so high? i'm sad to say that part of the answer is the fact that our government let it happen. our regulators were consistently outmatched. the department of interior lacked the in-house expertise to affectively enforce regulations. there was also an internal
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conflict of interest with the department of interiors old minerals service. it was a service that the responsibility both for collecting revenues. in fact, the second largest source of revenue to the government, second only to the income tax, and it had the responsibility of providing an effective management of safety and protection of the environment. those two conflicting responsibilities as we heard from three former directors of mms consistently led to revenue trumping safety as a priority of the department. we recommend, therefore, that congress and the administration create an up dependent safety agency within the department of interior with enforcement authority to oversee all aspects of offshore drilling safety.
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we believe this agency should be headed by an individual with a background in both science and management, who should serve a 6th term in order to be insulated from the inevitable political influences that will attempt to affect decisions. we also recommended bringing our offshore drilling regulations into the 21st century. it's not asking too much that our approach in the united states be at least equivalent of the best practices in the world. they are not that today, and sadly, the united states has one of of of the lesser records in the safety of its offshore drilling practices. the second piece of this modernization approach is called risk-base regulatory orientation. this requires all offshore
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drilling companies to demonstrate that they have thoroughly evaluated all the risks associated with drilling a particular well. one of the realities of macondo was it thought to be and turned out in fact to be an unusually risky area in which to drill. high pressures, many unknowns about the geology, and yet a company with one of the worst safety records received the lease and therefore the entitlement for access to that area. april 20th was the consequence of the convergence of those two unfortunate facts. our investigation has also demonstrated that science has not been given a sufficient seat at the table. actually, i think that is a considerable understatement.
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it has been virtually shut out. we need broader consultation with those who have the expertise. scientists both in and out of government, experts at agencies like noaa, and the coast guard. these are the kinds of people who should play a major role in evaluating specific permit requests and the operation of drilling rigs. it is -- it is disturbing to learn that the march 2010 decision to expand areas to additional drilling in the atlantic and eastern gulf were made without appropriate scientific input about the potential consequences of those expansions. we hope that the changes that will flow from our recommendation will avoid a reputation of that. i will conclude my remarks by
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making a simple and obvious point that is often forgotten when we talk about offshore drilling, and that is again that these properties belong to all of us. they belong to the people of the united states of america. it is our government's responsibility to assure that exploration and extraction occur in ways that are beneficial to the country. drilling offshore is a privilege to be erped, not -- earned, not a right to be exercised by private corporations. the american people have a say in how it is carried out, and whether they -- and that they want it to be done safely and affectively. our recommendations offer a path to that destination. much has changed in the months since the macondo blowout. we lrned how to contain splils in deep water, and industry has
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a new appreciation of the risks sorted with offshore drilling, and the federal government initiated significant reforms in how it oversees this risky industry. the commission applauds all of these efforts, but they are not enough. drilling offshore is inheritly risky, we will never reduce the risk to 0, but as a nation, we can take concrete steps that will mitigate the chances of another macon doe and reduce the cons queens should another -- consequences should another event like that occur. the commission believes these steps are vitally necessary. without such response, we will continue to place safety, the workers, the environment, the economy, and the gulf region at unacceptable risk. if dramatic steps are not taken, i'm afraid that at some point in the coming years another failure will o cor, and --
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occur, and we will wonder why did the congress, why did the administration, why did the industry, why did the american people allow this to occur again? the people of the gulf have suffered so much that they deserve to know that their government and the industry are going to do and that they are committed to the highest standards of safety and protection of the environment. thank you. >> thank you, bob. i want first to recognize that one of our distinguished members, sherry murray, dean of harvard, is ill today and could not be with us. she understood in ways many of us do not the specific engineerings and realities that help us explain what happened on april 20th.
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i also want to emphasize as bob just did that this report is unanimous. it came in under budget, and also on time. i understand that's the first time in the history of commissions that anybody has not ask for more time. i was told by one member of congress this is something we should account and take credit for, and others say we set a terrible precedent for washington. well, i'm proud of it. i'm proud of to served with the commissioners that i did and no more than my long time friend statesman and co-chair, graham. this has been a significantly satisfies enterprise that the report has the quality it has and did get completed on time as a result of a good staff as in recruited by richard.
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senator graham talked about what happened on april 20, talked about the mistakes and unexplainable choices we have documented and he also talked about the root cause as the president in his executive order directed us to do. a culture of complacency that affected both government and industry. i think the reality is that none of us were prepared for this. obviously, government and industry certainly should have be. if not for a disaster for the size that occurred, then of a major spill. the early response to that spill is evidence of the degree of unpreparation and this commission is critical, even harsh about some of the faulting early efforts to get a grip on the problem, to identify the flow rate, to contain the blowing well. having said that, having visited
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the gulf, i have to say there's something very impressive about the response of this bill. tens of thousands of people worked day and night to try to clean it up. they may have incurred costs of time, energy, and health, but they did the job, and our own leadership of the government i think after a slow start responded quite effectively to this bill, and even in the case of timely determining the flow rate with considerable ingenuity. make no mistake about it despite some allegations, this was not obama's katrina. however, we have vived gap -- identified gaps that lead us to make recommendations, important recommendations to the congress, to the administration, and to industry. to congress we say, it is time
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to exercise serious oversight over the department of the interior and the bureau of oceans management that there succeeded mms, oversight that has not been characterized by previous congressional responses and attention to that agency. we recommend as a first priority the resources be allocated by the congress to ensure that this agency is cape nl and -- capable and is a match for the people they regulate every day. they have been overmatched and under resourced. money is going to be necessary to add to the efforts underway by the secretary both of which we are admiring and respectful of. they have to get resources from the congress and have a compensation system that allows more receiptment of able people who unlike so many who revealed
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to us in the course of investigations they did not understand heat technologies like centralizers and negative pressure tests. the congress, therefore, needs to act. i must say given -- we got a lot of questions whether congress will pay attention to us. clearly one congressman paying attention yesterday when i briefed him based upon the verbatim of speech that later came from him, so we can take some encouragement from that i think. [laughter] the fact that the building operation at interior now underway and quite affectively so is going to take time. it points to a specific reason of industry that cannot wait and will continue to drill, needs to pick up its own game. we make a very important recommendation, and the recommendation is based upon the
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experiences of other high-risk industries which acted after their own disaster. one of the chemical industry and established responsible care, when things in the nuclear industry, three mile island and established the power operations. there are other examples. the oil and gas industry which may not have been high risk in shallow waters has become so in deeper waters. it needs to draw the obvious consequences. we characterized the problem that confronts industry and that we have identified and documented as a systemic problem of industry. now that deserves some explanation. personally, i have heard from ceos of companies who dislike and revolted with the idea of being painted with the same brush, companies that have
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exemplary records for safety and environmental protection. i understand that. i served on one of those boards. we do not say those companies have been remiss. what we say is that the likelihood that dependency upon contractors who operate in every ocean where hydrocarbons are mined are most likely as risk as a result. in order to believe that this is not a systemic problem, one has to be also that halliburton would have supplied faulty cement to bp or transocean on any other rig but a bp rig would have detected gas rising from the drill pipe. irrespective of whether industry accepts our analysis that this is a systemic problem that hal burrton and transocean operate
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in all the world's oceans for gas industry, even if you don't accept it, it's indisputable that the solution must be industry wide. industry has to stop thinking they are sufficient to have a state of the art safety and management system. that's the end of the story. several outstanding companies presented their safety and management systems to the staff, meetings at which i was present, chevron and shell and others. nevertheless, i asked the question, well, how did you adjust -- how did you manage the risk that your rigs might be shut down in the gulf? to that, they had no answer. they need such a question. therefore a safety institute which is entirely controlled and managed by industry which
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enforces best practice, evaluates, audits, and which grades the performance of the various companies is what we recommend, and i strongly encourage the most exemplary leaders and practitioners of safety and environmental protection to lead the rest of the industry which i know ask a complicated industry and more complicated than the nuclear industry, and also very capable and a well-financed industry to follow that course. i guess one of the real tragedy ies and a tragedy like this leads us to be open to new directions is the poor condition of the gulf of mexico. we had long known that the resources there, ceo lodge -- they are profound.
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two-thirds of the fish in the sea are knewtured in the wetlands. louisiana has 30% of the wetland. they are silently eroding away. they are disappearing because of sea level rise, but also flood works, dredging, and generations of oil and gas activity. for a long time, we have known what needed to be done there. there are many projects, many of them authorized that are standing by for support. for the first time in my career as a conservationist, we have the prospect of serious money to do what needs to be done. if the fines and punishments that are to be assessed under the clean water act are deployed, 80% at least of the restoration. the country owes that to the gulf, and i very much hope congress will agree to appropriate those funds and direct them towards the gulf as secretary mabus in his report also recommended.
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finally, the problem that we confront in industry and the oil and gas industry are like so many oil and gas problems. we cannot solve them alone, as a country even. the gulf of mexico is shared with mexico which indicated intentions to go in deep water in the next two years and cuba expressed interest in drilling 14 wells, 50 miles off the coast of florida. i have open conversation with the mexicans as has the secretary about their need to enter in agreements with the united states and hopefully cuba can be drawn into the conversation as well so that all of us practice the same level, have the same standards, the same protections as our industries go about mining those resources. the same is true of the arctic. the arctic is a punishing environment. it is beset by weather the like
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of one does not see in the gulf except in the occasion of a hurricane. it's going to require special care and attention. the kinds of standards and regulations affective in the gulf will not be sufficient in the arctic. russia, canada, norway, denmark has already begun last summer to drill two wells, all will want to develop those resources as well as the united states. we need special care as we do so, and we recommend that the state department engages those countries in a common standard arctic protection and management going forward. those are some of the highlights of our recommendations. they are by no means all of them. we believe that if these recommendations are followed and in the course we have set out is taken, we will go a long way towards restoring the face of
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the country in a vital enterprise. thank you. >> questions? sir. >> as you pointed out, mr. riley with the oil and gas -- [inaudible] as you pointed out, the oil and gas industry operating in shallow waters was not a high-risk industry. some of the energy industry complained the reason they drill in the 5,000 feet of water is excessive federal government barred drilling off the coasts. would the commission recommend or did you discuss the possibility of getting those shallow areas open so they don't have to go into deeper waters? >> we understand fully that the notice to leases five and six are requiring some attention and that certification of equipment as a backup.
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there are necessarily some adjustments that are going to take some time before full resumption of drilling occurs in the shallow waters as well as the deep water. we have been critical of the moratorium which we thought was excessive and lasted too long, but that aside, i think the real reason we're in deep water is because that's where the oil is. if you look at the reserves estimated to exist, they are not only in the deep water, but in the deeper and deeper water. we have heard plans to go down 10,000 feet down. i think to the extent that the oil and gas is in the deep water, that's where the industry will go. not just here, but in brazil and other parts of the world as well. alaska and arctic is shallow water, i think 140 feet or so, and that presents its own set of problems, but our view, i think,
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fundamentally this is a hopeful message. we believe this is a problem to be managed and it's in the interest of everybody, government, industry to manage it. sir? >> yeah, matt clover with cns news. you mentioned in the steech these are industry-wide problems. do you have any evidence the same mistakes are being made right now, and are they made in u.s. waters, and where are they being made? >> the commission did not document these problems in other places. we're perfectly aware of blowout preventers that didn't work in other environments, but i cite one statistic that's induce piewtble. the fatality rate for 1 million hours worked in the united states is 5. in united states waters in the gulf. in the north sea and in europe,
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it's one. that needs an explanation, and it points to a problem. i think it points to a system-wide problem. sir? >> thank you, gary with plats. as early as last week, president of the american petroleum institute, said he felt the american people believe that macondo was an isolated incident, and as you know there's resistance on the part of industry in creating the safety institute you called for, and on the government side, congress last year tried to pass an oil spill regulation that could handle the things you call for. that legislation went nowhere. what are you going to do to make sure your report is not ignored by congress and industry? >> well, we're going to make a lot of noise.
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we're testifying before senator bingman on the 26th of january in the morning and in the afternoon. we expect that there will be more attention i think to the kind of thing that we've suggested which really is a very detailed research, and i think carefully thought through set of findings and recommendations and well-documented. we don't say what we don't know. we do know this is a systemic problem given the pervasiveness that owners at the largest in the world which is operating everywhere and servicing the oil and gas industry. the only thing i say that directs what you said is i don't think one should assume that industry will not support a safety institute based upon the private conversations i have had. , they are seriously deliberating on the possibility. i have every hope and expectation that they will in fact establish one.
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>> all the way over here. john beckman with energy daily. a week or so ago the interior recently relaxed and are meant to reduce for a number of of offshore crude water drillers that had already had their operations permitted prior to the drill. what was your response to that? >> immediately after the all of the companies i am aware of step down. investigated, inspected each of the companies, certainly the 33 that were shut down. the exploratory rigs down seven or nine violations. i think one can have confidence decisionssecretary's
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are defense will and wont to go ahead on those rigs. >> one of the underlying themes of our report is particularity. we are recommending that drilling on specific sites be evaluated in terms of riskiness. it was our feeling that rather than throw a blanket over 33 that were affected by the moratorium that it should be a evaluated on the company by company, rig by rig. when a company and its mechanics were shown to be in compliance with the higher standards that have now been established, they should not be held back because there were others that had failed to comply with the new standards, and i believe that is
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the essentially -- that is essentially the policy the administration has concurred with. >> hi. i am with the "fiscal times." you have talked about funding and compensation. can you tell me where the funding is coming from and where, if you have a time when or specifics on how quickly you want this established? >> one of the areas where i think the funding should come from is the lease itself. what is special about offshore drilling as compared to on shore, where much of the drilling takes place on privately owned land, all of the land in the gulf of mexico is public land that belongs to the people of the united states or to the people that belong to the five gulf states.
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we believe it is appropriate that in the decision to allow a company to have access to the publicly and, there should also be a provision requiring the company to pay a fee significant to cover the regulation as it executes that lease. this is not a new concept. in fact, but offshore industry is almost an allied air. regulatedmajor reg industry pay for the regulation through some sort of sfee. we think that should be the case with the oil and gas industry, and believed the lease is one of the means of doing so. in doing so in a way that would ensure a sustained it, predictable source of funds for
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regulation so that the kinds of competencies can be met. >> over here. we have one. >> "washington post." can you talk about how the lack of subpoena power may have affected the ability to look into accountability high up as some of these companies? >> terry garcia. we were able to through the very able efforts of archie cancel to chief cancel able to ascertain the answers to the questions the president asked.
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that does not mean there were people we did not interview, but we were able to obtain the information that was necessary for us to do our work. i want to follow up on something that the senator and bill had said about the question of whether this was an industry- wide issue. what was not in doubt and what is not disputed is that the industry was not prepared for this. what is not in doubt is that industrywide research and development efforts had not been undertaken to address this sort of event. what was very clear was there was an utter lack of ability when this occurred for the industry to effectively respond and then to contain this event. it was industrywide in that sense. >> sir. >> gentleman, one of your
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recommendations deals with the liability of offshore oil spills saying that 75 million is totally inadequate. to you have a range in mind? why did you not say lift the cap all together as some in congress have proposed? >> we looked at the question of liability and the recommendation is that the cap be lifted. we did not recommend that it be lifted to and unlimited liability. we could not reach an agreement on that. we did identify the ad to be lifted in the per incident. this is also the recommendation that the of magician has made, and it is really of to congress to address this. it is really one of the things that does require congressional action. just to put a point on one of the earlier questions, there are many recommendations in this report that can be enacted by the administration. the agencies to have authority. as we call on congress to act
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and called on industry to act as well, there are actions that can be taken by the federal government using agency authority to strengthen oversight and regulation and we're calling on the administration to do that as well. >> thank you. libby casey with the alaska public radio. i was wondering if you could elaborate more about arctic. should there be a moratorium until oil spills in icy water can be cleaned up with proven technology? >> the commission is not asking for a moratorium in alaska. recognizing that there are very important questions still ahead for us to be answered through additional research and investment in the arctic specific technology. we feel that research that has a specific time when it and focus research that will help answer
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questions for the private sector and public sector is really what is required. another very important recommendation of the commission as it relates to arctic development is we are asking congress to fund the coast guard so that they are adequately prepared for god forbid an oil spill, but also search and rescue. as ice retreats and we see more and more traffic in the arctic, it is essential but the coast guard, and for that matter, the navy, at the essence necessary to be able to respond in the arctic. for us to be able to move forward with oil and gas development and in the other development, we need to be prepared as a nation. a number of studies have indicated that the coast guard does not have adequate capabilities to be able to respond appropriately and arctic. there are a number of things, additional research in terms of
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the environment, the international protocols that bill mentioned earlier with other arctic nations, additional investment in the coast guard, and i would add something we have not talked a whole lot about of this point, empowering local people to be part of the decision making process. after the exxon valdez oil spill regional citizens' advisory committees were created in alaska. our commission recommends doing something very similar in the gulf of mexico to empower the people to be active participants in the planning of oil and gas development, in reacting to proposals, reviewing a oil spill response plans, in training so that if there is this bill they are able to be part of the work force and a better prepared way. we recommend the same thing for the arctic. we think all of these things will better position the united states to be able to take advantage of the resources of the arctic, but we do not feel as though we should sit back and wait indefinitely for that to
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happen. we're challenging congress to put funding into both the research and the capabilities for the coast guard and other agencies so that we can move forward. >> yes, sir. >> randy showstack. i would appreciate if you could explain or elaborate on why science has not had a significant lead at the table and way made -- what may be the relationship between that and the initial difficulties in determining oil flow rates and other problems. >> the lack of understanding of basic environmental processes in the gulf of mexico was striking as a result of this incident. for example, there were lots of confusion about whether there were submerged deepwater plumes of oil.
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there was a lack of understanding of where those plumes were going and what the effects may be. the science can answer these questions. some of the first results of science that have been conducted on this have been very revealing a very -- a number of very important publications. it should be done in advance so that we understand operating environment in a comprehensive way. in the past investments in science related to support the offshore development program have been oriented towards completing the minimum, identify potentially sensitive environments for development of environmental impact statements, rather than comprehensively and distending the effect of oil and gas that might be released into the system. our recommendations are still up the scientific
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research community, elevate it so that it can bring the fruits of the research to bear on the environmental assessments to support the leasing decisions. and as part of that process to involve other very important powerful science agencies, both to bring theusgs best science to bear on this environmental decision making. the second area where science will be very important is, as mr. wright the indicated, we recommend doing substantial investments of the penalties of the clean water act violations to go to the environmental restoration. these restoration assessments can only be effective if they are guided by the best science to directed to the priorities of restoring brazilians to the system and making sure that we're using the best methods to
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assess the outcome. in both of those areas in terms of the assessment of the risk going forward, with respect to oil and gas development, as well as the investments in restoration we think a solid scientific program is essential. >> down here. >> russell from "corporate crime reporter." nowhere in your report to question whether a crime was committed. i am wondering if you believe there should be increased resources to criminals and in our mental enforcement to help detour -- deter this type of behavior? >> when we first met with the
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president and he gave us the assignment, there was an understanding that our purpose was to develop the factual record upon which this event occurred, that it would be for others, specifically the department of justice, to determine if those facts constituted a criminal act, and if so, for what specific purpose? we did not undertake the issue of attempting to determine criminal liability. i will leave it to the readers of the reports of of whether they believe they can find it in our factual program. nor did we look specifically at the question of the resources necessary to reach a judgment as to whether a crime had been committed. >> all the way back there. >> amy harder with "national
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journal." you said you did not recommend unlimited liability. i understand that oil spill liability trust fund already does that. two questions. why did you not recommend an unlimited liability removing the cap entirely, and you did -- did you consider the concept where companies producing in the gulf would pay into that? >> we do recommend a significant increase in liability. we frankly are sensitive to what we do not know. we know that canada has a much lower liability maximum. $35 million. the united kingdom that has one that is not much more. we do not really know how the insurance company would address issues of liability were we to propose some kind of
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straightforward insurance pool. we have a lot of sympathy for the fact that there are 185 independent operators in the gulf. the truth is we did not have time to get in to conversation with the insurance industry. we assume, though we do not know, that some kind of insurance pool can deal with the special problems of the independence. we have been clear in meetings with them that on one hand we respect what they do, have a concern to ensure that they continue to be operating competitive for all the economic and cultural reasons that they represent, but it is also unreasonable to expect they can inflict billions of dollars of damages that that bill will not be sent to the public. some kind of compromise has to be worked out on that, and our position on this one is close to the administration in that we recommend a significant increase in the liability cap,
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without specifying exactly what it should be. >> if i can supplement what bill has said, the question that there should be a single member that covers all instances, if there is one thing we have learned is that there is a dramatic difference in the risks and consequences of that risk the deeper and deeper you drill into more dangerous high you're pressured or geologically challenging areas. -- or higher pressured or geologically challenging areas. it could be dramatically different for well-known as shallow waters, as opposed to the unknown of the old toward deep into which we are about to
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commence operations. that at raises the issue ba the state the case as a new mode of regulation, i do not expect that will become familiar very rapidly in this country where it has not been the practice before, though a couple of companies to already use it in the gulf and is required to use in the north sea. what that says is on the foundation of prescriptive regulations come each company goes beyond that to assess those dangers and threats that are inherent in a specific well information or rig design situation. the advantage of that is a put a lot of initiative on the industry to focus specifically, not just to get the box is checked for compliance, specifically on a given place with its given challenges. one thing we hope it will do is avoid the prescriptions, which
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may be perfectly applicable today and the year after that, but the given -- but given the rate that this industry progress is, become obsolete in three to five years. the state the case would guard against that. we're recommending the interior department promote the in the industry can operate and do that in our own waters as well. >> what are the top priorities for congress that you will be recommended when you testify? >> i think the top priority is to first of all give resources to the interior department to enable it to provide oversight job that has. secondly, to ensure that the majority of the clean water act penalties go to the gulf restoration, which i think is a top priority of ours. third, to lift the liability cap and really address that issue so
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that any future spill that happens in u.s. waters the public is protected. >> one question -- >> you are? >> [inaudible] one of the proposals was calling for more time to assess the applications. there is argument of about whether they can do that with existing authority or whether they can extend the 30 day window they currently operate under. i am wondering if there has been a determination reached about whether this is is an existing authority? >> our position is that congress has to act. and that the clock starts running once the application is complete. >> yesk si, sir. >> jonathan tyler from "the tribune."
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how do you square that with the finding that the disaster was a result of systemic problems that could repeat? >> the way i would swear it is that the companies that have not been implicated in this specific spill and that had been carefully inspected by mms immediately following the spill were judged to be in compliance with all known requirements and to have had an exemplary safety records are ready. over here. edward falker with "energy guardian." the they determine it was inherently unsafe formation and should not have gone as far as it did? that at some point they should have abandoned the macondo well? >> i do not think we did
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conclude that. i know that is not the opinion of the industry. tom? >> as the well was drilled, operator recognized that there were inherent dangers to go further in drilling the well. so they stopped short of their ultimate target and decided to complete the well there then at that point. there is every reason to think in terms of the investigation that the well could have been completed and abandon safely at that point. there were, however, a chain of mistakes, errors in judgment made, as they went about that process. each of which could have been easily prevented. i think our assessment of the investigative team was that this will could have been completed and abandon safely and came back and produced at some future
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time. there is, however, a recognition that as one trills the well even with the best geological reconnaissance information available, that the company will find unusual risks and challenges as they go deeper down the well. part of that is the safety case is to assess that in advance and a comprehensive way, while other than being surprised as one goes down and drilled the well. -- rather than being surprise as one goes down and drills the well. ith the "l.a. times." there is a serious and regulatory sentiment in congress. i was wondering if you could tell us, given the priorities that you have that you will present to congress, what kind of reaction you have gone so far privately from members of congress to the recommendations
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that you are making? we will obviously ask them ourselves today but i wanted to get insight from you given this time it on where you expect to push back? >> i would say the answer is that as there are 535 members in congress, there are close to that in terms of their response to your question. i believe this issue and the searing impact at the deepwater horizon has had on a conscious of americans is such that it will override an ideological preference for less government, less government intrusion, less government cost. what makes that level of optimism i think credible is the fact that members of congress understand that this is not just a typical example of government regulating of private
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enterprise. this is government regulating land of that the government and the people of the united states own, and that it must be treated as we are stewards of public assets, and valuable public assets, the gulf of mexico. and that recognition will cause, in spite of the reticence to accept additional regulation, this to be an exception. second, as has been said, we think a substantial amount of the recommendations that we are proposing can be adopted without congressional action, that is it is in the hands of particularly the department of interior and administration to execute. and from the comments we have had thus far from the obama administration, i am very
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hopeful they will take advantage of that opportunity. >> let me add to things. the congress can reorganize the department of interior to make a safety enterprise totally walled off from general -- revenue generation. that can be done. it does not involve more regulation. that is as simple initiative they can take. we think it will be a guarantor in the future against revenue driving this program. we document through several of ministration's that it has. german upton, a german hastings, chairman hastings and bingaming have allnm expressed interest and we believe will follow through with
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the recommendations. >> i wanted to ask you guys to talk about the recommendations you made with regard to epa. it seems after an event happened. was there any sense of given them a more up front role rather than leaving everything after the incident? >> the va has a national response center and has a role in preparing for any response. we believe there are structural changes that need to be done with respect to the area wide councils, and those are detailed in the report. one of the real surprises here, to me, is having overseen much of the response to exxon valdez in 1989, the status of the dispersant question was still unresolved. i did not permit the dispersant to be in many of the sensitive
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areas because of fear that getting into the water column will contaminate the fish. remarkable to me that we finally have a spill, and they are predictable, that we then have the argument about whether it is toxic? does it persist in the environment? does it depend how deep it is injected or how much is? we make strong recommendations that epa seriously begin to test toxics, the toxicity of dispersants and their effectiveness, and to do so in real time situations. i can perfectly well understand why you when an application may go in through epa to deposit oil on the water and see whether something works to contain it or dissolve it, that is probably ot left at the top of in bobox,
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nevertheless we think it needs to be done. particularly recommended be done in the arctic to find out how it would work in the icy waters. >> it has a major role to play in restoration efforts and recommendations that we have made and the secretary made. as you are aware, the president has asked the administrator lee said jackson to head a task force. she has been set up to make progress in an interim basis. she is leading that effort involving other agencies and the states. they will have a major role to play and the restoration programs. specifically one of the areas we point out is the alleviation of the so-called dead zone in the gulf of mexico. this has to involve management and regulation and pollution sources.
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it is an area much larger than was actually affected by this oil spill on an annual basis. if we're going to restore the resilience of the gulf oil spill, this is one area we should undertake in this restoration efforts, and the epa has a leadership role in that regard. >> to be clear and contrary to my initial assumption going into the issue, we believe secretary jackson made a quite sound decision in the way to use dispersants in the way that she did. >> >> thank you. i'm from blue bird news. the recommendation, how does this compare to how secretary salazar said we will do?
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>> secretary saws are made recommendations that are in direct response to the kinds of concerns that we have. he has now made separate leasing and revenue generation and a report to two separate secretaries. we respect that move. we think it is not enough. those two secretaries still report to racing will separate it -- deputy secretary and that deputy secretary reports to the secretary. we are supposing that there be a walled off enterprise that is headed by someone who is appointed for a term, someone who has industry knowledge or experience, engineering capability and training, and cannot be removed or politically interfered with. we think for the long term, that is the only way to ensure that revenues do not again become excessively influential in decisions relating to non- revenue items such as the safety
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and environment. yes, ma'am? >> i am with reuters. i was wondering, with all of the additional regulations i you are calling for and things of that nature, is there any concern about further delays in the gulf? already, there are complaints that there have not been deepwater drilling permits and that drilling could be delayed until next year. is that something you took into consideration when you were planning for it, and is it a concern now? >> senator gramm? >> yes, we did take into account. as commissioner by niki just mentioned, we recommended an increase of time that the department of interior agency should have to reviewe applications, but it was not an indefinite amount of time.
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it was 30 to 60 days. we are sensitive to the fact that there are costs, both financial costs and time costs, involved in these decisions. but think of the enormous liability that the industry has just brought upon itself as a result of the failure of -- failure to attend to the basic safeties, and thus, deepwater rise in. we think that the long-term viability of the industry in the gulf and its economic successes in the gulf are very closely tied to a new standard of safety and environmental protection, which is what our report will, i think, establish a path toward bree -- toward achieving. >> we will take couple of more. yes, sir?
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>> john kingston from plats. how do you deal with the fact that if they hired a regulator, someone who understands the industry, the compensation package will never be on the level that the private industry can pay for and then presumably take that person away from boem. >> i will tell you two ways. the we've got to get the competition of for those highly trained, special-specialty, technical people. it is possible there are other agencies, like nasa, that have a pay scale that permit that. whether we can get it up to a level comparable to that of industry remains to be seen, but that is one thing that i think the regulator can be helped by having a safety institute with industry people who are evaluating, auditing and inspecting, and who do have comparable compensation, as in
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the nuclear power industry. the people in the nonprofit industry that the industry has set up are every bit as eligible for pay also as those who are in the inspecting. and enforced regular will give us much more protection. >> in fact, i think the united states is the exception to the role. the fact is that most of the countries where there is a substantial amount of oil and gas exploration do compensate their professional regulators at a level that would allow them not to be out man. and interestingly, in great britain it has been said that if there is one issue that ignites -- that unites the industry, it is the desire to have that
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strong, professional regulation, because the industry understands that it -- that its continued success, particularly in the north sea, is a direct function of how well it performs and that is, in turn, directed -- affected directly by the quality of regulation. >> last question. >> bill gibson with the sunset. please forgive me if you have covered this. what are the lessons learned from this experience in terms of allowing areas in which oil drilling should be expanded? should it be brought closer to florida's shores? >> [laughter] you are now asking me but a policy in a parochial question. -- both a policy and a parochial question. i believe one of the issues that this has raised is the issue of the future of energy policy in the united states.
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at the current level of proven reserves and at our annual consumption of petroleum if america were to go to a drill- baby-drill philosophy, we would exhaust our reserves by approximately 2031. if we continue at the current of using 48% domestic and 52% imported, we will stretched that to the year 2068. i think that those numbers indicate the imperatives of having as part of our energy policy that we need to be holding back some areas that have potential for future generations. and the absolute imperative of moving aggressively toward
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reducing america's almost insatiable appetite for petroleum, and appetite which today is consuming 22% of all sea,petroleum from the north africa, australia, as well as the united states. we're using 22% of it. those numbers are not sustainable and i believe our policy toward reaching out to areas that are not currently being exploited has to be within that context. >> and effective summary and conclusion airey statement. >> thank you.
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>> my friends, thank you very much. [applause] all right, settle down. i have a few points of want to make. all right. settle down. i have a few points i want to make. thank you all so much. to the lieutenant governor, fellow constitutional officers, members of the governor's council and of the administration, madam president, thank you for the generous introduction and your partnership and in that same spirit to mr. speaker and the members of the legislature, mr. chief justice and members of the judiciary, to the many mayors and local officials who are here, reverend clergy, distinguished guests and friends and first and above all to the people of the commonwealth of
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massachusetts. four years ago i challenged you to take a chance on your own aspirations, on hope for an economy based on innovation and opportunity, on hope for better schools and universal health care on hope for better politics. four years ago hope was in short supply. young people and families were leaving our state, roads and bridges were crumbling. health care reform had passed but had not yet been implemented. stem cell research was restricted. our clean energy potential was undermind by refusal to joint regional green house gas initiative or to support cape wind. and we had too many years of leadership, more interested in having the job than in doing the job. together, we set out on a journey to change that. and along the way, the global economy collapsed.
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thousands of people lost jobs, lost savings, lost homes. many, maybe some of you lost confidence. people all over the commonwealth began to wonder whether the american dream itself was up for grabs. times like these are more than a test of policy. they're a test of character. so when the going got tough, we didn't look for a scapegoat or run for cover. we didn't lose our temper or our way. growing up in rough times and in rough circumstances taught me not to just curl up and wait for better times. no. what i learned was that optimism and effort, hope and hard work is the way to climb out of a hole. so just like families across the commonwealth, we took a fresh look at our plan, stiffened our resolve and made choices.
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we chose to invest in education, in health care, and in job creation because we all know that educating our kids, being able to count on good health care and having a job is the path to a better future. and that's why today massachusetts leads the nation in student achievement and health care coverage for our residence. that's why we are creating jobs faster than most other states, why our unemployment rate is well below the national average, why we're coming out of recession faster than the rest of the country and why cnbc has moved our state up to fifth best place in america to do business today. that's why. [ applause ]
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that's why we'll be home to america's first off shore wind farm. that's also why the corey system finally got fixed and why veterans -- and why veterans serving in iraq, afghanistan, and all around the world know that we will look after their families when they are away and help them when they come home. and that is why today for the first time in 20 years young people and families are moving into the commonwealth faster than they're moving in. none of this is happening by
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accident. it's happening because of the choices we made, the investments, you, the legislature and the people of the commonwealth have supported. this and more is happening because we didn't just sit around and wait for better times. we are building a better future for all of us by making better choices. now not everyone supports every choice we make. some of those choices have made even some of our political allies uncomfortable. but this job and these times demand more than making each other comfortable. the times demand that we face the hard choices before us with candor and courage and that we act. because doing so today will make us stronger tomorrow. and we need to keep an eye on tomorrow. i read a newspaper article some while ago that compared the so-called greatest generation to
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my generation, the baby boom generation. the article described the greatest generation in the way you all heard it described, the generation that fought and won the second world war and then rebuilt europe. the generation that then came home and built great public institutions and universities and the federal highway system, that created the social safety net we so worry about today, that launched the modern civil rights movement. and then the article described my generation as the grasshopper generation. because we've been feeding off of that all our lives. look around you. think about it. university of massachusetts and mit, the mass pike, the park or rink in your neighborhood, the t, the good school and the distinguished old building down the block, the world class hospital, tanglewood, logan airport, the police and fire stations and the people who
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serve in them, none of it sprang fully formed from thin air. each is the result of our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, asking themselves what they must do in their time to leave things better for the generation to come. and then sacrificing for it. they saw their state not just in themselves, but in their neighbors, not just in their times, but in tomorrow. they boer their generational responsibility. and now so must we. we must demand more of ourselves than rhetoric that divides us in leadership that kicks every tough decision down the road. we must demand more not just of our public leaders, but also of our private ones. and of ourselves as individual citizens. generational responsibility belongs to all of us, every one
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of us owes a debt to the future, payable only by making the kinds of choices today that build a better and stronger commonwealth for tomorrow. and so the work of the second term looms before us. that means jobs to create, schools to strengthen, health care costs to reduce, and urban violence to end. working together we have made progress on many fronts. but this is no time to be satisfied. we can't be satisfiedl y work can it.
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that means we must invest in education, in the innovation industries that are expanding opportunity all over the commonwealth. in the small businesses that are the backbone of our economy and in the infrastructure that supports it all. we must reduce the costs of doing business here and make it easier for companies to hire people, by removing unwarranted barriers be they outdated regulations, escalating premiums or limits on capital access for small businesses. and as more and more massachusetts companies compete nationally and internationally for sales, jobs, investors and talent, we must answer their call by helping to promote the attractions of doing business and creating jobs right here in the commonwealth. and so xpekd me to lead more trade missions here in the states and abroad, to lobby hard for our interests in washington and elsewhere.
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to be your jobs advocate. we have the tools to compete. we have the talent, the tradition of innovation, the venture capital, the ideas. and so we will compete. for every job, in every industry, in every corner of the commonwealth and of the world. we can't be satisfied until a great school is within reach of every young person in the commonwealth. and that means -- and that means we must find ways to invest in public schools, from early education right up through public universities. because young people get their
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chance right now and don't have the option to sit out their education until the recession is over. and it is critical -- it is critical that we use the tools we have and the landmark achievement gap act which the legislature passed and i signed only last year to support the imagination and creativity of great teachers, principles, parent groups and business partners. to reach the poor children and children with special needs and children who speak english as a second language, the children on whose preparation and optimism, our future economy and quality of life depend. we will close the achievement gap in massachusetts and continue to show leadership in public education for the nation.
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but being first in the nation is a good start. being first in the world is where we're headed. we can't be satisfied until health care is as affordable as it is accessible. and that means -- that means creating incentives for all providers to work together to deliver better care at lower cost. it means improving transparency in the charges for services. it means reforming the medical malpractice system. it means getting excessive paperwork out of the way of the relationship between doctor and patient. it means a new emphasis on wellness and on prevention. and it means that we must change
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the way we pay for health care. so we will file legislation in the coming weeks to address health care costs including significant payment reform and simplification. this will be a challenge. there will be great debate and resistance to change. but working families, small and large businesses alike and governments, too, need a solution. and they need it now. some steps we can take immediately without waiting for new laws. and my direction mass health, the health care connector and the group insurance commission will implement pilot programs to demonstrate new more cost effective ways to buy health care. to get different results, we need to start trying different things. we need to start now. we will work on these and other plans with our partners in the health care industry and in
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washington as well as with patient advocates, everyone, insurers, hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals and especially patients need to be a part of this solution. but let me be absolutely clear, let me be clear, the time for talk is over. the time for action has arrived. we can't be satisfied until children stop killing other children, until we have developed an implemented a comprehensive strategy for preventing youth violence. one that ends the despair felt by too many young people and the fear felt by everybody else. it's time to move beyond ideas
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and programs that may once have worked but don't today and stay on alliances to individual budget line items. i don't have all the answersment and that us from straits me to no end. but i know that the answers are out there. so we will engage this full spectrum of people who work with young people, educators and law enforcement, street workers and clergy, human services providers and business leaders, victim advocates and survivors, whoever is willing to help support and love a young person on to a positive future. the cycle of violence and poverty in any community is a threat to every community. it threatens our fundamental belief in opportunity for all. and it must stop.
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more jobs, stronger schools for all our children, affordable health care, safer neighborhoods. that's the work of our second term. we cannot be satisfied and i will not be satisfied until we have done all we can in each of these areas. only in this way will we bear our responsibility to leave this place better than we found it for our sake and for the sake of a generation yet to come. that is my commitment and the commitment of my administration to the people of the commonwealth of massachusetts. and that also means continuing to improve the way our government serves our people. we have a pension system that needs further reform. cities and towns that need more tools to cut their costs.
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a re-entry system both in probation and parole that needs to regain the public's confidence. sentencing laws that need coherence, a tax code that needs simplicity and fairness. none of this is simple. all of it is challenging. but we're fortunate, too. because we also have a legislature and leaders who have shown their willingness to take tough votes, public employee unions willing to work with us in respectful partnership, appointees who understand that the public's interest comes first. and attentive and engaged electorate and a governor who has shown you that i will stand up to anybody if that's what it takes to bear our generational responsibility.
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we have -- we have, even we here, so much of what we need right now to do what's right. now it's time to fix what's broken. to meet these responsibilities, i challenge us all to turn to each other, not on each other. let us bring our passion not to scoring political points but to finding real solutions. let us bear our generational responsibility together. because there are real needs in real people's lives at stake. nothing we say or do here today will long be remembered. what will be remembered, what will last, is the w .. neighbor's lives and in
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our commonwealth. and in some fundamental way that is all about service and sacrifice, the service and sacrifice of the soldiers or police officers or firefighters who put themselves in harm's way abroad and at home for all the rest of us. the service and sacrifice of the teachers who come in early and stay well past the class day to help a child master her reading. the service and sacrifice of the immigrant who works three jobs to provide the signature american opportunity he once lay awake dreaming about in a distant homeland. the service and sacrifice of our res >> old ladies in my old neighborhood and neighborhoods all across the commonwealth who chose through some gesture, great or small, to make a bigger way for each one of us. what is at stake today in it's
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the american dream. i'm here to tell you it is worth fighting for. it is worth serving and sacrificing for, and i say that not just as your governor, but also as someone who has lived it. make no mistake. for that reason, i will give everything i have to move this agenda forward. on saturday, through something we call project 351, we will gather 8th graders from every city in the common wealth for a day of service. they are remarkable young people already contributing in their own extraordinary way to make a better community. they are young people like some from lawrence who serve as a companion to children with severe disabilities and volunteer at the local food
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pantry. kids like steven of penbrook, who is one of 11 children, who led a school drive to donate holiday packages for troops in afghanistan where his older brother is currently stationed. the point of project 351 is to lift up their examples and encourage the spirit of their work and the parents, teachers, and communities that inspire them, and then to send them back, back to their communities. they will then be a beacon and a challenge for the rest of us. service for them is not just about what they do. it's always about who they are. shirley if these -- surely if these 8th graders can find a way to serve and serve their generational responsibility, then the rest of us can also. in that same spirit of service and sacrifice, we embark on the
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journey of this second administration. humbled by the public trust, invigorated by the task, confident in our plans, committed to our responsibility to build a better commonwealth, and in the sure and certain faith that with optimism and efforts and the grace of god, our best days lie ahead. thank you, all. god bless you all, and god bless the commonwealth of massachusetts. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. [applause] [applause] [cheers and applause] [applause] [applause]
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[applause] [applause] >> connecticut governor dan malloy was ig august rated as the state's 88th governor last week. he was the governor from 1995 until 2009. >> mr. president, mr. speaker, my fellow state officials, ladies and gentlemen the general assembly, honored members of the jew decision their, -- judiciary, and honored guests and nancy wyman, and another special mention to my friend, the first, former first lady,
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the wife the late great governor bill o'neill. [applause] [applause] [applause] >> to all of the former speakers and leaders of the senate who are here, thank you very much for joining us as well. to my very extended family who are with me today and to all of my friends who have joined us today and to all the citizens of connecticut represented in this room and watching us on tv, i want to thank you for joining us, and to the four people who mean the most to me. my wonderful wife, my partner and best friend, kathy, and our three sons, daniel, --
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and sam. thank you for being here to mark a crucial cornerstone in our democracy, the transference of responsibility and the conveyance of hope from one administration to the next. before i begin, i want to make three notes. first is to acknowledge the great service of governor ralph who stepped in in a different type of crisis, a crisis of confidence and character, a crisis in confidence in the character and intentions of its leadership. she worked tirelessly to restore that, and she'll hold a special plait in our hearts and history because of her efforts. governor ralph. [applause] second, i would like to congratlate all of you seated here today for your victory in
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last year's elections. both returning members and newcomers, you are seated in a hall surrounded by lawmakers who were also called todd same higher purpose. that is public service. i want to congratulate each of you. thank you for your service. [applause] thirdly, i'd like to acknowledge the heroic service the brave men and women from our great state of connecticut serving in the armed forces. they are serving in two wars and across the globe today. i hope and pray that we will have peace disci soon, and i want to thank them for their dedication to their country. thank you. [applause] i believe that what is in our history and what is in our
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hearts is intertwined to create a dna of sorts that defines us as a people. connecticut has a story 375 year history, one rooted in the political and military founding of this great nation, one driven by industrial, political, and innovation that has become the signature of our people over time. today, though, as has happened from time to time over the centuries, we are faced with considerable challenges, i dare say, a crisis of historic proportions. we are indeed at a cross roads of crisis and opportunity. we will need to reach deep to our roots, those of strength, yet compassion, steadfastness, yet innovation. most importantly, we will need to solve our problems together by pursuing with great urgency, not republican ideas or democratic ideas, but good ideas that no political master or
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agenda. we will do these things so that if -- in our future we can celebrate shared pros parity for us all. today, then, marks quite a bit more than the singular act of transition from one gubernatorial administration to the other. it is a demark cation between where we have been and where we are going, about remembers who we are and what we are capable of when it counts the most. perhaps connecticut's governor will burr cross captured it best in 1936 when he wrote to the people of connecticut and gave thanks. thanks for the blessings that have been our common lot and have placed our beloved state within the favored earth, for the richer yield from labor of every kind that has sustained our lives, for honor held above price, for steadfast courage and
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zeal in the long, long search after truth. as governor cross so elegantly pointed out, we, the people, of connecticut are blessed. we come from good stock, and it is within that historical context that i stand before you a deeply humbled man. many observers say that this has been a six year journey for me from the point when i first started considering a run for this office, but in many ways, it started much earlier. growing up, as you know, i had learning disabilities that might have left me on the fringes. back then, there were not programs to support children with date.coms, but there was schoolteachers who touched my life, and there was a sheer will power of a mother of eight children. my parents both worked while raising a large family, but my mother who was a nurse knew i was different. she knew i had challenges, but
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she never let those challenges overshadow my strength. she focused her children on the importance of character, hard work, dedication, and love of family, and she repeatedly challenged us to leave this world a better place than we found it. not unlike what we need today for our great state. i believe we need to focus on our strengths and acknowledge there are no challenges before us we cannot fix with hard work, dedication, and getting in touch with the character which is our heritage. [applause] [applause] in many ways the adversities i faced growing up and the challenges connecticut faces today are intersecting at this cross road of crisis and opportunity, so today we gather to talk about how to leave connecticut a better place than
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how we found it. we must reach back to our heritage for fortitude, to make an honest assessment of where we are, and to join to the to define our collective future as a people. it will require us to think differently, to compare how things have been done in the past, and to take a different path forward. i'm reminded by a renown poet, robert frost, when he wrote "the road not taken ". two roads diverged in the road, and i took the one less traveled by, and that made the difference. today i see an economic crisis and an unemployment crisis fueled by an unfriendly employer environment, a lack of educational resources, a lacking transportation system, and an enormous budget crisis of historic proportions all cad led by political sugar coating that passed our problems on to the next generation.
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well, ladies and gentlemen, the next generation is here. [applause] [applause] we will conjure up the true grit and character of our heritage and take the road less traveled. we met challenges before. in the war of 1812 when the british block aid crippled our business, we pivoted to machine tools and industrial technology. thanks to the likes of eli whitney and other inventors, they sparked a string of firsts from the string to the color tv. we had more patents issued per capita than any other state in the union. we define the industrial revolution and became the arsenal of democracy that president roosevelt called for
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in world war ii only we started a century earlier by playing a role in the civil role and revoked wars and the cold war and in the 1960s, after all, we built the first nuclear submarine, and our mighty economic presence intertwined with a different strength. in the mid-1800s, prudence ran a school tar african-american girls. in doing so, she defined the edges of equality and the power of education to change us all for the better. we shattered the glass ceiling of gubernatorial history as a nation's first female governor elected in her own right. our heritage also includes literary and artistic heros of global proportions. we became the home of harriet stoa, mark twain, and the founders of webster's kick
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knicks and still home to the oldest newspaper, our own "hartford current." [laughter] [applause] we have, after all, overcome events beyond our control, hurricanes, snowstorm, and floods. more recently when the planes hit on 9/11, and i remember this as mayor of stanford at the time, i remember how we went into rapid response mode ramping up our hospitals and preparing for the wave of transported victims we would be receiving. obvious, they never came. instead, we counted the unclaimed cars that remained in commuter parking lots. we mourned and persevered. we had an astounding history, this heritage. you know, as i traveled around the state for years meeting amazing people in churches, diner, and picnics, one of their consistent messages was this
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feeling that maybe our best days are behind us, that economic security let alone prosperity is a thing of the past, that maybe we won't or can't leave this place better than we found it, and even while they were sending me that message, there was a context to it. they were asking me to help them do something about it. that tells me the true grit that is connecticut, that can-do spirit of innovation is still alive and ready to engage in the fight for a better future for everyone because -- [applause] thank you. [applause] any time somebody is hooping, and it's not my family, that's a good time. [laughter] because as their own harriet stowe staid, when you get into a tight place and everything goes
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against you until it seems as though you cannot hang on a minute longer, never give up for that is just the place and the time the tide will turn. i can sense it. it is our time. never give up. the tide will turn. it's not just a story of my life. it's the story of connecticut, so if you believe like i do that connecticut's best days are ahead, i hope you will join me in what must be a shared emerging movement for rational honest achievable change, a movement that restores economic vitality, creates jobs, and returns to fiscal solvency. we will put in place an economic development strategy that makes sense for the 21st century economy, aggressively competing with other states and nations for lucrative fuel cell technology and stem cell research jobs. we will joint connecticut to the energy economy attracting companies that reduce our
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dependence on fossil fuels. we will develop our three deep water ports to spark commercial activity and decrease our reliance on heavy trucking and the congestion it brings to the highways. we will make -- [applause] [cheers and applause] we will make bradly international airport an independent entity freeing it to better grow its passenger base. [applause] cities and towns will have a partner in hartford, and we will marshall our resources, the resources of state government to help local projects with an economic impact. you know, i've been -- [applause] i've been on the municipal side of this equation, and i know firsthand how important a
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partnership could be. we will work to remove the barriers that keep us from attracting employers and lowering the highest energy cost in the nation, lowering -- [applause] lowering health care costs and reforming all regulatory system to protect the public while building our economy. [applause] i hope you joib me in a movement to once and for all to resolve our out of control budget crisis and retire gimmicks and one-time solutions. we must adopt a responsible, tell it like it is approach to managing our budget, and frequent it like any company treats a budget with generally accepted accounting principles commonly known as gap.
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[applause] [applause] [applause] >> thank you. [applause] honestly, i didn't know there were that many accountants serving in the legislation. [laughter] that's why before i stepped into this chamber to give this speech, i signed an executive order which begins the process of requiring the state to keep its books according to those principles. we require every city in the state to do it and now require the state to do. state government makes sense to serve the people better, shorten the zones of what they need and when they get it. in the coming weeks, you'll hear about reducing the size of government. from the size of my own office,
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to the number state agencies, and not just cutting for cutting's sick, -- sake, so that better decisions are made, and as we go through this together, i believe it is em pertive we not lose sight of who we are and who we have been. not unlike when our beloved governor said during her inaugural address in this room, we must provide government that is efficient, compassionate, and humane. we will full fulfill that role aware of our heritage and responsibilities to the people. to get there together is going to take courage, conviction, and shared sacrifice. i believe we have the courage. i believe we have conviction. after all, we're not good at being last in anything. i believe in our hearts we are willing to make sacrifices if,
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if we understand where we are going and the shared sacrifice and there is a fairness factor applied. [applause] [applause] this is not sacrifice without payoff. this is sacrifice with a purpose. this is the kind of sacrifice i think my mother was talking about that will leave the world a better place with our having been here. it is a time of historic proportions when we as a people must ask ourselves who we collectively want to be and what separates us as a people. do we believe in every woman, man, and child for himselfs or believe that a rising tide floats all -- floats all boats?
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[applause] do we believe that we can be a mighty economic force? do we believe in the education of our children? do we believe in the social safety net for our most vulnerable citizens? that it should be a hand up instead of a hand out. [applause] it's going to be tough to finally address our most difficult problems while being true to ourself, but the question is not whether it can be done. we already know we can from our history, and i know from personal experience that we can. i remember when we transformed stanford that was a industrial city and made it a world class finance city. it gained national attention. the question is whether we want to do it.
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i want to do it. i hope you do too, and we will together. in the coming weeks, my administration will be developing detailed proposals to set and fund priorities for the state that i will outline in my budget address to the legislature later next month. we clearly face big problems, and in my estimation, big problems call for a big table. i will be meeting with the legislature, labor leaders, economic advisors, private industries, and the nonfor profit sector so we have the best solutions to our problems, and then i will begin working with the legislature to adopt a budget. with your help and a shared sense of responsibility and sacrifice, we will realize shared prosperity for all. future generations will look back on this particular cross roads of crisis and opportunity and say that we rallied, that we reached deep, we chose to leave
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this great state better than we found it. after all, as we know as the people of connecticut, it is in our nature to do so. i would look forward to serving the people of connecticut with you. may god bless you. may god bless the state of connecticut. may god bless the united states of america. thank you. [cheers and applause] [applause] [applause] >> at a news conference last
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week, the japanese prime minister said top priorities are passing the national budget and rescuing the -- he is under opposition for increasing the sales tax to fund the well fair system. >> translator: we will now begin the prime minister's new year conference. happy new year, everyone. i hope 2011 will turn out to be a wonderful year for all of you. to start the new year, allow me to share three principles that i believe our nation must embrace.
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first, i believe 2011 should mark the founding year for a new japan that is open to the world. it should also be the start of a society in which up happiness is limited to a minimum, a year in which politics can right wrongs. those are the three principles. today, many countries in the world are continuing in an effort to catch up with and overtake japan. when meeting the leaders of sitcountries -- of such countries, they held japan as a model worthy of immewlation, and have been working hard to meet that goal. that's right, long served as an older brother to many nations in financial and technical assistance. i believe it is important that we continue to support other
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countries while japan in turn draws upon their dinism as energy for its own growth. to achieve this, we must further promote free trade and reinvigorate economics by having younger people adopt it as a vocation. my hope is that 2011 will become the founding year for an open door japan, but also a year in which all japanese set their sights and truly global business just as we did during the restoration and early post-war era. to expedite the process of opening japan, we need to
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minimize poverty and unemployment, the factors feeding misery. many citizens are concerned about the future of our social security system. during the house of counsels' election last year, the issue over raising the sales tax was broke without warning, and voters showed little sympathy towards it, yet it remains clear to all discussion over tax reforms including the higher sales tax rate to finance japan's social security system is imperative. fortunately, the liberal democratic party and others have taken a similar position. i believe the time has come to engage in such discussions in order to establish a robust
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social security system. we must begin discussing the issue of revenues on a nonpartisan basis. i call upon the opposition parties to partake in these talks, and in regards to the security of the asian-pacific rooj region, it is necessary to take action not only on the needs of our country, but the security and stability of the region as a whole. i intend to advance the u.s. japan alliance from that perspective that it is vital to the stability of the asia-pacific region. there is another point that must be addressed in pushing forward japan's open door policy.
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that is to firmly address that which ordinary citizens believe are wrong. when i learn that the skeletal remains of former japanese soldiers were left behind in hiroshima which is part of tokyo, i could not understand why. after i became prime minister, i set up a special team that set up documents in the u.s. national archives and discovered a mass grave. i recently traveled to the island and took part in a memorial service. our government must be responsible for the return of the remains of their families. in addition, there's many young
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people who graduated from school but remain unemployed. others have children, but no day care service, or patients suffering from illness and are denied proper treatment. these are the problems that i intend to tackle. i have become involved in one issue by setting up a special team, and i will personally work on other problems by setting up additional teams. another point regarding righting wrongs is the issue of politics and money. the first time i ran for public office was in the house of representatives election that was dubbed the lock heed scandal election. i ran at the age of 30 because i
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felt that democracy in japan would suffer inrepairbly if we could not put a stop to political scandals involving money. indeed, citizens remain disstressful over politicians and money to this day. if this should continue, we cannot ask the people to share in the pain of the various reforms we must enact. i would like to make 2011 the year in which we can finally put an end to the problem of politics and money. that is why i'm hoping former dpg president will testify before the dice on the court. in closing, let me offer a few thoughts regarding this.
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i, too, have spent many years as a member of the political opposition and have on occasion been a harsh critic of the government in power. with this in mind, i ask the japanese people to continue apainting -- continue pointing out any up consistencies of the ruling party of any age. nevertheless, now that i look back, i admit there were times when our party and i personally placed more emphasis on political considerations rather than engaging in sufficient decisions on policy issues. as an ul los traition -- as the administration changed over the years, most political parties today have accrueed spreerns. i realize to seek this mass
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resignation merely for political expedience is not necessarily in the best interest of the people. we and other parties must mend this practice. at the same time, we must transcend partisan difns and -- differences and show the media and people that these policies are enacted for the sake of the public good. that is the at to do that our parties -- attitude our parties must adopt, and the ask the opposition for their cooperation. i ask them for two things in particular. first, i ask that a summary of the questions opposition parties intend to ask in the diet be submitted 24 hours before they are posed.
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in the previous extraordinary session of parliament as well as during the budget committee hearings, the best i could do was to wake up at 5 a.m. and study such questions on the day they would be asked. that severely limits the opportunity for meaningful debate in england, a summary of questions are submitted three days in advance. i believe a prior notice of 24 hours is justifiable and urge both ruling and opposition camps to reach an agreement on this manner. conferences are assuming even greater significance today. some call it top sales in which ministers go abroad to look at
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>> what will be your main priority when choosing cabinet members, and when do you plan to do it? do you plan to increase cabinet membership versus now or reshuffle your party leadership as well? since the opposition parties are taking a position, do you have any plans of reblessing chief cabinet now that they have been sentured by upper house votes? >> translator: this ordinary
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session is vital in that deliberations will be conducted to pass the national budget which is of utmost importance for citizens. i looked at the budget and get to passed as quickly as possible so that it can benefit the lives of our people. my basic position is to establish the most effective capacity to achieve this. obviously, as others point out, i must do so based on various considerations, but i plan to devote further to address specific issues with this basic position in mind. >> translator: he is incesting
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to be in the political ethics hearing committee and comment at the beginning of the session or after budget deliberations have concluded while you say no conditions be attached to his testimony. if this continues to insist on these conditions, how will you respond? are you mulling the possibility of an et igs -- ethics committee vote, and if he is charged, will you ask him to resign from the party or strick him of his dpj membership? >> translator: since he has said that he will personally explain his position before the us, i hope he follows through with this.
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moreover, if he is indeed charged, then i believe he should clarify what he intends to do as a legislature and devote himself to his trial defense. >> translator: what is your timetable in adopting reforms in sales tax for the social security system as well as relocating the american marine base? as i said earlier, i see social security and revenue sources as being inseparable with the sales tax included in tax reform.
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our party is coming to see this issue from this perspective is and solidifying its position accordingly while other parties are willing to debate social security and revenue sources together as well. therefore, it is not a matter of which will come first. the issue will be addressed along the lines of the u.s. japan agreement of may 28, 2010, although, it must be con currently addressed by all of japan since the basis have remained on this soil for so many years. we must do everything possible to alleviate their burden and given these points, the issue must be actively tackled, and
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your proposed timetable. social security and revenue sources are something that needs to be discussed with both the ruling and opposition parties as soon as possible. i'd like to reach a general consensus as to which direction to take by around june. given the opposition majority in the house, if the budget bills do not pass, is dissolving the lower house and calling for a general election an option? >> translator: that possibility is simply nonexistent.
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>> translator: a litmus test for your commitment to a new open door command is the transpartnership. it is said the time to decide the pros and cons of entering the ppp negotiations would be around june when basic agriculture policy will have been finalized. when do you think will be the ideal window, and what initiatives will you be offering to secure the port for farmers? >> we are currently examining specific agriculture initiatives that will be necessary for japan to participate in the tpp talk abouts, so i would guess that
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june is a probably window for such examination to end. we would like to reach that stage as quickly as possible. >> translator: in the previous session, you said you hope for earnest discussions with the opposition parties. do you expect the same for the current session, the ldp claims it will not participate from the start in any deliberations. if that should happen, will you assume an increasingly confrontational stance as well? >> translator: as i mentioned earlier, political parties battling over the seat of power
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is to be expected to some degree, but if we look at what happens in other countries where changes are efficient in our routine, we can see there's little discussion over whether a new government should or should not step down. england, for example, has elections once every five years, and such talk is rarely raised. in many countries, once a party assume the reigns of government, it does so for a certain period of time. only after it receivers for several year -- serves for several years that voters are asked to judge its success in the next election. i believe that is the constructive way a parliament should operate. my basic hope is that we can devote the proper time to debate policy. that remains unchanged.
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>> translator: if he is charged, you said he should devote himself to his trial defense. does that mean you think he should resign as a legislature from the perspective of righting a wrong, what actions will you with taking to resolve the problem? >> translator: when i was first elected in 1980, former prime minister tanaka was called the saddle showman. i recall to this day how strongly i felt that japanese politics must change. from that stand point, i feel as
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though we've reached a point where it doesn't matter who did what. we shouldn't even need to be having a discussion on this issue in japan's political society anymore. if he is charged, then he must choose what to do for himself. i believe that is the best course. >> translator: i was moved by the concept of an open japan. ever since you served as a member of the political opposition, you advocated the need for disclosure, and you continued to call for clean and open politics. you pledged to disclose information on the chief
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secretary's flush funds and open the so-called press clubs in a fair manner. isn't it time you kept that promise? you also told him to keep his word. are you going to hold him to this? >> translator: you have suggested that press conferences should be more open, and i have made my own meetings with the press as open as possible. i have also called on my cabinet to be behave similarly when interacting with the media not only during cabinet meetings, but on other occasions as well. as there are many issues involved in the secret funds, i
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need to discuss this matter further with my chief cabinet secretary before i'm prepared to take action. when the budget for fiscal 2011 was being formulated dpj's secretary stated that there was room for adjustment. were you involved in any of these discussions? >> translator: my cabinet approved the budget because we believed it was most appropriate in meeting the needs of the people. another factor was our hope to gain as much support as possible
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from other political parties. those two factors will continue to be our primary determinants in finalizing the budget. >> translator: at the end of last year, you began talking with the sup rise party of japan on the possibility of forming a coalition government, but they declined. it appears that achieving anything with the opposition party will be difficult. will you thus look to a partial coalition in cooperating with other parties on a policy-by-policy basis, or are you continue to pursue a full coalition? >> translator: last year, we had numerous discussions with
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other parties on a variety of moves and policies. i believe our position op this matter -- on this matter will remain the same this year. >> translator: as stated earlier, chief cabinet secretary has been censured by one house. what is your position as budget deliberations are set to begin? >> translator: i've been
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listening to numerous suggestions made by various reporters on this matter. if a no-confidence vote is passed in the lower house, for example, you know there is the choice of the cab -- cabinet resigning or the prime minister dissolving the house and calling for a general election, but there are no stipulations regarding upper house sentures. the constitution does not
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mandate dissolving the upper house in this case if a cabinet member had to resign if censured by that house, it would mean that chamber would aguy great -- acquire greater authority than that house. that was not what the current constitution given its framework had in mind. this is one of the suggestions i've heard to date. in any event, this and other views should be discussed within our party and among other members of the diet as well. >> translator: your call for a
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new open door japan and revitalizing the agriculture sector could mean that a massive investment will be needed in support of agriculture policy, one that could include higher taxes. will this point be discussed in other government forums, and will they include tax breaks? >> translator: i believe it's necessary to discuss ways to revitalize japanese agriculture from a variety of perspectives. the average age of an agriculture worker in japan is 66 years old, and young people,
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as i've said, simply do not have much of an opportunity to get involved. this is just one of the hurdles. we also need to discuss in greater detail management solutions in any attempt to add greater value to agriculture and products. it is possible that we may need to discuss such investments. however, rather than proceeding on that basis, we need to rethink japan's agriculture framework so that it can be open to the rest of the world. whenever forpers come to -- foreigners come to japan, they enjoy our dishes, and never fail
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to praise the safety and quality of our agriculture products. i believe it is truly possible for japan's agriculture sector to be opened. >> translator: even if the u.s. base is relocated, as per the u.s.-japan agreement of may 2010, that still doesn't alleviate the burden. i believe this is a wrong that must be righted. you also said today that japan itself must dress this problem. what specific initiatives do you have in mind?
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>> translator: i have read some history on okay -- and understand that while many u.s. bases on the japanese mainland have been shuttered, that has not been true since its return to japan. that fact pains me deeply, and i have conveyed this sentiments during my visits there and her people. while i'm not sure if this is necessarily righting a wrong, i
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believe action must be taken to readdress the situation. based on this belief, i have discussed specific steps while i was there. my basic position is that we must do everything possible to reduce the burden and do so in expeditious manners. >> translator: this concludes the press conference. thank you.
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