ready to yield back time on the paul amendment? and if so, we could move on to the whitehouse amendment. a senator: i would say to my friend from texas, i would like to have an additional two minutes is all. a couple of minutes. mrs. hutchison: then, i would just reserve an additional two minutes for mr. paul and we can close out. mr. harkin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: i heard my friend from tennessee talk about how this is -- it would be cheaper to build things. and the new senator from kentucky referred to that too. you know, sometimes cheapest is not always the least expensive. sometimes cheapest can turn out to be the most expensive. depending upon the quality of the work, how long these projects are, whether or not they're done on time, the quality of the work. i have a friend of mine in iowa, he happens to be one of the

largest contractors in the midwest, if not in the entire country, big earth-moving equipment. he's a huge contractor. works in states all over. probably does work in tennessee, kentucky, and texas and everyplace else. he told me once, i'll only hire union labor. i asked him why he said, well, because they have a great apprenticeship and training program. plus, he said i know that i get well-trained workers on my construction jobs. he said, i don't mind davis-bacon because i get apprentice, i get training, plus i get workers i don't have to look over their shoulder all the time. i get quality work done. he said i didn't get bigby being -- by undercutting. i got big because i did good work, and i get good quality. and so he's able to go head-to-head with nonunion contractors and he's become the

largest because of the quality of his work. so that's why i say, sometimes the cheapest is not always the best in terms of the interest of the taxpayers and of this country. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. paul: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: this amendment really isn't about quality. it isn't about unions. it's about a federal government that's spending too much money and it's about an enormous debt we have and it's about starting somewhere. people agree that you save money if you don't have to pay the prevailing wage. everybody knows it. the gallery knows it. the public knows it. in kentucky schools cost 30% more if you have prevailing wage. you can build less schools. your money doesn't go as far. it's not a good, efficient use

of your money. with regard to quality, to imply you can't have quality unless it is union labor or prevailing wage, completely ignores what goes on in our economy. that's to say that the 90% of things that are made in our country that are nonunion and nonprevailing wage does not have quality, the argument is specious, it has two no substance. what this is about is making a first step toward controlling our deficit. we need to make cuts in government. if we can't do these little things, this would sav save $500 million on this bill. it's a small amount in washington. it's a large amount us to in kentucky, to individuals. it's a small amount. but it is a first step towards saying that we are going to be responsible as a congress and say that enough's enough. we cannot live with $2 trillion deficits each year. it's out of control. we're headed towards financial ruin and this is one first step

forward and i support and wish and hope the rest of the senate will support this amendment to exempt from the f.a.a. bill the considerations of davis-bacon. i yield back the remainder of my time. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: is all time yielded back on the pending amendment? mr. rockefeller: yield back all time. mrs. hutchison: mr. president, i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? mr. rockefeller: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa? there is a sufficient second. the senator from west virginia.

mr. rockefeller: i ask that it be a tabling motion. move to table. i ask for the yeas and nays and the motion to table at appropriate time. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second on the motion to table? the presiding officer: there is a sufficient second. the amendment will be set aside there are now 10 minutes evenly divided on the whitehouse amendment. who yields time? mr. whitehouse: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i would like to speak to this

amendment which makes it a federal criminal offense to target an aircraft with a laser. the prevalence of this has increased enormously. according to the f.a.a., there were 2,836 instances of lasers aimed at airplanes in 2010, which is a nine-fold increase over the past five years. and the consequences of one of these attacks in the cockpit of an aircraft are significant. i'm reading from a news report, glendale, california, steve robertson remembers the first time he encountered a laser strike. he said his helicopter was hit by a powerful beam of green light one night while he was on patrol. here's what he said about the

experience, it immediately lit up the whole cockpit and it hit both of my eyes and burned both of my korea my corneas. instantly i was blinded. it felt like i was hit in the face with a baseball bat. he was momentarily incapaciated and would have crashed if his co-pilot had not been able to land the chopper. thankfully he recovered from his injuries. i want to express my appreciation to senators boxer and feinstein. clearly it is a major issue in california. i want to thank mark kirk, mark kirk of illinois who is the lead republican sponsor. o'hare is one of the busiest airports in the country it had 98 of these events take place in 2010. senator durbin of illinois is also a cosponsor as well and i

expressed my appreciation to him. the house has passed a similar measure. there is every reason to believe if we take this step, we'll be able to help defend our airspace from these attacks. obviously they are most dangerous near airports when planes are either taking off or landing or in low-level flight as police sergeant steve robertson was. it has the support of the national association of police agencies and the pilots associations and i hope very much that my colleagues will vote in favor of it and take this simple step to protect our aircraft travel from a new and emerging risk. i yield back the -- does the chairman wish to speak? i yield back our time, but for the two minutes to the chairman. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. rockefeller: thank you for

the accuracy. mr. president, this is an enormously important amendment. and to be quite truthful, i think senator whitehouse would have been satisfied with just having it accepted by both sides, which it would have been. and i said, please bring it to a vote. this is a -- a national security threat. the technology's going to get much better. he's spoke ben the pilot who -- spoken about the pilot who was temporarily blinded whose cornea was affected as the technology increases, it will blind pilots. maybe if they're accurate, they can get the pilot and co-pilot and it will take place around the airports where there is room to site in on people who are taking off and landing. particularly landing, i would

think. it's absolutely a threvment the numbers in the -- threat. the numbers in the last two years prove it. i just want to emphasize, yes, this is on a federal aviation vote, bill, but it could be on armed services committee, intelligence committee, homeland security committee. it's a very very powerful vote because there will be a future for terrorists in this business. so the criminal penalties have to be established and the whitehouse amendment, which i strongly support, does that. mrs. hutchison: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mrs. hutchison: i support the whitehouse amendment. i think it will add to the security of our aircraft flying. i support it and i ask my colleagues to as well. and if the time has been yielded back, i would call for the vote. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i ask for the yeas and nays.

the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. all time -- if all time is yielded back, the question is on the whitehouse amendment. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any members wishing to vote or to change his or her vote? if not, the -- we have 96 ayes, we have one nay. the amendment is agreed to. mr. reid: mr. president? mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the

leader. mr. reid: could we have order, please. the presiding officer: yes. the chamber will be in order, please. the chamber will be in order. the presiding officer: the leader. mr. reid: mr. president? could we have order. the presiding officer: yes. please, order, please. thank you. mr. reid: mr. president, we've made good progress on this bill. we're working through the amendments. the staff's been doing a lot of yeomen's work. the finance committee's going to meet on tuesday to report out funding for this bill. there -- they have a path forward to do that. we need to keep the amendments relative to the federal aviation administration and that's been good. we -- we have made, as i've indicated, had some substantive amendments that we've worked on. we're voting on a couple here this evening. and staff has worked on a number that they can resolve. we are going to make more progress next week. we hope to complete the action

early in the week of the 14th. as indicated, it's been scheduled for a long period of time, the democratic senators have a retreat next week. we are going to have votes monday night and tuesday morning. that's -- everyone can count on that. but we felt looking at the schedule tomorrow, question accomplish just as much with having the senate in session tomorrow, the majority will be here taking amendments or doing whatever's necessary on this bill, and if somebody wants to give a speech on whatever their heart desires, they'll be able to do that tomorrow also. so this will be the -- this next vote will be the last vote of the week. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? mr. president. the presiding officer.the presie republican leader. mr. mcconnell: let me just say briefly. can we have order. the presiding officer: please, order. the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: we're making good progress on this bill. this bill is being handled like we've been accustomed in the old days to handling the senate. i want to commend the majority leader for that. we're going to be able to work our way through it with

amendments related to the subject from here on in and wrap up it, as he suggests, the week of the 14th. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to table the amendment from the senator from kentucky. the yeas and nays have been ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber who wish to vote or to change a vote? if not, on this vote the ayes are 55, the nays are 42. and the motion to table is agreed to. mr. inhofe: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma is recognized. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask for the regular order, the amendment we're on right now. the presiding officer: does the senator request to set aside an amendment? mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment for the consideration of inhofe amendment number 6. the presiding officer: is there objection?

a senator: mr. president, reserving the right to object, i don't want to object. mr. kerry: i would ask the indulgence of the senator, if he would, before he engages in a discussion of his amendment, if he would permit senator mccain and i to send to the desk a resolution with respect to egypt. we would like to speak for a brief moment of time on it. mr. inhofe: mr. president, all i want to do is put two amendments in the queue. mr. kerry: no objection. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent to waive the reading of the amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the amendment by number. the clerk: the senator from oklahoma, mr. inhofe, proposes amendment numbered 6. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment for the consideration of inhofe amendment number 7. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report.

the clerk: the senator from oklahoma, mr. inhofe, proposes amendment numbered 7. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kerry: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts is recognized. mr. kerry: mr. president, i will not send this resolution to the desk. what we are doing is, it is currently being hotlined in both offices, and so it may be actually dealt with in a short period of time in the senate in the wrap-up or wherever we are. senator mccain and i both wanted to speak briefly to this resolution. this is a resolution which expresses the deep concern of the united states senate over the events that are taking place in egypt at this time. we acknowledge the long relationship and the importance of the relationship with egypt. most importantly, we call

attention to the need at this moment for the government of egypt and for all of the parties involved in this to take every step possible to avoid violence, to respect the rights of people in egypt to assemble, to express their rights to, fight for and demonstrate for a transition in their lives and in their country. this is a now many days long demonstration, the longest in the history of egypt in which hundreds have been killed, many hundreds, thousands wounded. it is our hope -- and we express this -- that over the next days responsible leadership will stand up on all sides and work towards a transition process that respects people's rights

and that builds a future that meets the aspirations that have been expressed so passionately in the streets of cities all across egypt. we hope this process will respect the rights of journalists who report on events of egypt to the people of egypt as well as people of the world who are watching. and we ask the leadership there to find a path by which they can transition to some kind of interim government over these next days that will build towards the elections that can be free and fair and set an example for how any country in this kind of crisis can deal with it, and most importantly, meet the aspirations of their people. so i'm privileged to join with senator mccain, senator graham and others in an effort to try to send this message from the united states senate about our

deep concern over the violence and our hopes and prayers that in the next hours and next days responsible leadership will step up and do what is right. mr. president, i think senator mccain would like to speak. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona is recognized. mr. mccain: on behalf of senator kerry, the distinguished chairman of the foreign relations committee, and myself and others, we send this resolution to the desk. i will send it after i finish my remarks. mr. president, this -- and we will not be seeking a vote at this time because we are hotlining the resolution. but, mr. president, this is a seminal moment in the history of the middle east and the world. we are seeing an uprising and a movement that spread across the entire middle east. egypt is the heart and soul of

the arab world, and what we have been watching unfold in the last week has grieved all of us and concerned all of us. and there is every possibility that this crisis lurches into a genuine massacre, and we can a lot afford that, and we must do everything in our power to see that it stops. senator kerry's and my resolution urges the egyptian military to demonstrate maximum professionalism and restraint and emphasizes the importance of working to peacefully restore calm and order while allowing for free and nonviolent freedom of expression. we do not want the egyptian military to encourage thugs. we do not want the egyptian military to be a party to increased violence. we are concerned about an interim government. that interim government must be

representative of all democratic forces within egypt. we call on in this resolution president mubarak to immediately begin an orderly and peaceful transition to a democratic political system, including the transfer of power to an inclusive interim caretaker government in coordination with leaders from egypt's opposition, civil society and military. again i want to emphasize, i know my colleagues know the egyptian military is the most respected institution in egypt, and they risk, they risk turning the people of egypt against them unless they act as a genuine peacemaker in egypt. mr. president, i've been involved in the middle eastern affairs for many, many years. i've traveled many times to the region. what is happening here is a

seminal event. and how it turns out will affect the future of the 21st century. if egypt turns to radical islamist extremism and other countries as well, it poses not only a threat to america's national security, but to the well-being of tens or hundreds of millions of people who have the god-given rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness as we guarantee to all people. so i want to say again thanks to senator kerry. we are sending a message from the united states senate that i'm sure the overwhelming majority of my colleagues will agree with. stop the bloodletting. let's start a peaceful transition to a free and open society and a government that can regain and hold the trust of the people of egypt. this, as i say, is a seminal

moment and one that i think the future of peace in the world will be relied upon. so i thank my colleagues for this, and we look forward to further discussion of this. but we wanted to bring this up now. it's very important since tomorrow could be a very, very, very critical day in the history of the egyptian people's struggle for independence and freedom. mr. graham: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina is recognized. mr. graham: i want to congratulate and compliment my colleagues. this resolution represents the best of the united states senate. you're having two people who are very well versed in the ways of the world and understand america and what we stand for, and they've crafted a document that i would like to is cosponsor. i ask unanimous consent to be a cosponsor. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. graham: tomorrow is a big day for the future of egypt, and

senator mccain said it well. to the army -- i doubt if you're watching c-span -- but you have a chance to bring order out of chaos and to continue to have respect throughout the world and within the borders of egypt. do not let this opportunity pass. an interim government should be formed quickly, as this resolution urges. and when it comes to the egyptian people, i have faith that the young women who are risking their life and limb in the square tonight and tomorrow are not doing so to be required to wear a burka in the future. i have faith that the young men who are risking their life and limb tonight and tomorrow would not want such a fate for their daughters and their wives. i have great respect for islam. radical islam, like any other form of religion, is a threat to

all we hold dear. the egyptian people have a chance to chart a new way for the future of the arab world and the world at large. this resolution is a statement of principle by the united states senate that we stand with you and all those who believe in tolerance and the dignity of mankind. so this statement is bipartisan, it's well thought out, and i think it reflects where the american people want to be in relationship to egypt. one final thought: to those in congress who want to act quickly about defunding our relationship with egypt, please consider the consequences of such action. give the egyptian people a chance to work this out. give the army a chance to bring order out of chaos. it is in our national security interest that we have a stable egypt. the army is the most respected

institution, and we should not -- mr. mccain: would the gentleman yield for a quick question? mr. graham: yes. mr. mccain: isn't the time now to urge democracy and freedom, not the time to threaten? there's plenty of time to threaten the egyptian government and people with reprisal. the time now is to urge democracy and freedom. mr. graham: well said. it is now time for the united states to say what we're for and urge the egyptian people to realize their hopes and dreams and that we want to be your partner. now's not the time to sever the partnership. now's the time to stand by a future partnership that would be beneficial to both countries. this resolution is a statement of principle that i hope the egyptian people will see as an acknowledgement by the united states senate that we are with you when it comes to your best hopes and dreams. ms. klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota is recognized. ms. klobuchar: i also ask that

i be added as a cosponsor. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: i want to commend these two great leaders, senator kerry and senator mccain, for coming together on this resolution. a lot of people try to bring us apart in this great institution, but they speak with one voice. i was in vietnam, mr. president, with senator mccain, and i couldn't get over all the people that came up to him and still talk about the work that he and senator kerry had done together with p.o.w.'s and other issues, how they had gone to vietnam together. once again they have come together at a time of great crisis to tell the people of egypt, have the senate tell the people of egypt that we are there with them and we are behind them. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

mr. akaka: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii is recognized. mr. akaka: mr. president, i rise today to strongly oppose senator wicker's amendment to the -- to prevent transportation security administration employees from being able to collectively bargain. there is really no need for the senate to use valuable time considering this issue right now. congress gave the administrator of t.s.a. the authority to determine if and how collective

bargaining should take place in the air transportation security act which established t.s.a. in the wake of the attacks of september 11. administrator pistall with a strong national security background is evaluating this issue in detail, and i feel that we should let him complete his review. although i believe administrator pistall should be given time to make the decision on granting collective bargaining rights to t.s.a. employees, i want to address the argument some were making in opposing t.s.a. workers' rights. i believe giving t.s.a. employees a greater voice in

their workplace would be good for security. t.s.a. suffers from low morale, high attrition and high injury rates. national security is jeopardized when agencies charged with protecting our safety continual ly lose trained and talented employees due to workplace injuries and a lack of employee protections. moreover, the vast majority of federal employees have collective bargaining rights. this includes other employees of the department of homeland security performing similar security functions such as border patrol agents, federal protective service officers and immigration and customs enforcement officers. in addition, there currently are

some private airport screeners with full collective bargaining rights. airport security is handled by contract screeners in a handful of airports, including some large ones. these contract employees have full collective bargaining rights. ironically, some have recently been arguing for contracting security at more airports, saying the security is better there. to be clear, i strongly support federalized airport security, but if there are any benefits where security is contracted, perhaps it is because the screeners are unionized, not because they are privatized. proponents of collective bargaining restrictions say they are necessary so that t.s.a. has the flexibility to respond to

emergencies. that is simply not true. under federal law, agencies are provided the authority to take any actions they deem necessary to carry out their missions during an emergency. granting collective bargaining rights would not in any way hinder t.s.a.'s flexibility to transfer employees in the event of a national emergency. moreover, under civil service laws, t.s.a. employees, like other federal employees, would be prohibited from striking if they are granted collective bargaining rights. we all remember the heroic first responders who rushed into the world trade center and the pentagon on september 11, 2001. i vividly recall the capitol

police officers working franticcally to protect our safety when it appeared the fourth plane could strike the capitol. these were unionized workers, like the heroes of 9/11, the brave men and women of t.s.a. have dedicated themselves to protect our security. there is absolutely no basis for the republicans to argue that t.s.a. employees would invoke union contract restrictions rather than rise to the occasion in an emergency. mr. president, i urge all senators to protect t.s.a. employees' opportunity to have a voice in their work force by opposing the wicker amendment. mr. president, i yield back my time, mr. president, and note the absence of a quorum.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. rockefeller: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia is recognized. mr. rockefeller: i thank the presiding officer. i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment -- the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia is advised we're currently in a quorum call. the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia -- mr. rockefeller: the senator from west virginia asks unanimous consent to rescind the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rockefeller: i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendments to call up on behalf of senator ensign the ensign amendment number 32. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the senator from west virginia, mr. rockefeller, for mr. ensign and others, proposes an amendment numbered 32. mr. rockefeller: i ask consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. rockefeller: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to -- i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. rockefeller: shouldn't be, right? i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

of the quorum be terminated.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent joint leadership letter and the colloquy be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent that we now go to s. res. 42. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 42, to constitute the majority party's membership on certain committees for the 112th congress or until their successors are chosen. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask consent the resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, there be no intervening action or debate and any statements relating to this matter appear in the record at the appropriate place as if given. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to consideration of s. res. 43. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 43, a resolution to constitute the minority party's membership on certain committees for the 112th congress or until their successors are chosen.

the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be agreed to, that there -- that there be no intervening action or debate and any statements relating to this matter appear at the appropriate place in the record as if given. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask, mr. president, we move to s. res. 44. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 44, supporting democracy, universal right and the peaceful transition to a representative government in egypt. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to,

the motion to reconsider be laid on the table there, be no intervening action or debate and any statements relating to this matter appear in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask, mr. president, we go to s. res. 45. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 45, congratulating the eastern washington university football team for winning the 2010 national collegiate athletic association division i football championship subdivision title. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid reid: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, there be no intervening action or debate and any statements relating to this matter appear in the record at the appropriate place as if read. the presiding officer: without objection mr. reid: i ask consent that s. 126 be discharged from the committee on rules and administration and be referred to the committee on foreign relations. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the finance committee be discharged from further consideration of s. 109

and the bill referred to the committee on foreign relations. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i'm told there are three bills at the desk due for their first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the bills en bloc. the clerk: s. 289, a bill to extend expiring provisions of the u.s.a. patriot improvement and reauthorization act of 2005 and so forth and for other purposes. s. 290, a bill to extend the sunset of certain provisions of the u.s.a. patriot exact for other purposes. s. 291, a bill to repeal the sunset provisions in the u.s.a. patriot improvement and reauthorization act of 2005 and so forth. mr. reid: i ask for the second reading of these matters en bloc but object to my own request en bloc. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent -- the presiding officer: the bills will be read the second time on

the next legislative day. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid reid: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until tomorrow morning, friday, february 4, at 10:00 a.m. following the prayer and the pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, the time for the two leaders be reglebd for their use later in the day, following any leader remarks, the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that we adjourn under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until

>> president obama today focused on energy efficient building programs during remarks at penn state university. under the president's plan, those initiatives would be paid for eliminating roughly $4 billion worth of subsidies for oil companies.

today speech continues the presidents when the future theme which first appeared in a state his state of the union speech. this is 30 minutes. [applause] [applause] [cheers] >> thank you. thank you nick nay lions. thank you. thank you so much, thank you. thank you everybody, thank you. thank you so much. please have a seat, have a seat. i love you back.

thank you. it is great to be here. [cheers] it is good to be back and happy valley. good to be back at penn state. i want to say first of all thank you to your president. elizabeth gorham, the mayor of state college, congressman glenn thompson is here. i met this guy, i hadn't heard of him before but apparently he coaches your foot all team, joe paterno is in the house. [cheers] and one last introduction i want to make. some of you know i have these military aides. they go with me everywhere.

they are from each branch of our armed services. they are the ones to carry the football -- you have heard of that? so they are really important guys. well it just so happens that the military aid with me today is mr. sam price, lieutenant lieutenant colonel in the air force -- happens to be penn state class of 95. [applause] we have got some lions who are taking care of business on air force one as well as here on campus. now, last week i visited a small town in wisconsin that was right next to green bay.

so, in the spirit of fairness, i have come to pennsylvania -- [laughter] not too far from the center of steeler nation. [applause] to which steelers fans good luck in super bowl too. two years ago i stole one of the team's owners, dan rennie, to be our ambassador to ireland. so i've got some love for the steelers. i also am aware though that this state splits up a little bit, so i suspect there may be a few eagles fans. [cheers] you are with us bears fans. sitting at home, watching. but that small town in wisconsin and the borough borough of the state college have something

else in common besides championship but all teams. these are places where the future will be one. these are the places where the new jobs and the world's best businesses will take root -- right here in in state college, right here in pennsylvania. and in the short-term, obviously we have got to focus on the devastation that occurred because of this recession over the last two years and the best thing we can do to speed up economic growth is to make sure that people and businesses have more money to spend. and that is exactly what the tax cut that we passed in december is doing. because democrats and republicans came together, americans paychecks will be a little bit bigger this year. and businesses will be able to write off their investments and companies will grow and jobs will be created. that is all good in the short-term. but the reason i wanted to come

here to penn state is to talk about the long-term. the reason i wanted to talk to young people is to talk about the future and how we are going to win it. if we want to make up for the millions of jobs that were lost in this recession, but more importantly if we want to make sure that america is still a place where you can make it if you try, where you can go out as far as hard work and big dreams will take you, then we are going to have to make some serious decisions about our long-term economic health at a time when we are facing stiff competition from other nations for jobs and industries of our time. and i know every person young -- young person here feels the pressure. you understand that it's not going to be a cakewalk, this competition for the future, which means all of us are going to have to up our game.

we are going to have to win the future by being smarter and working harder and working together. if we want those jobs and businesses to thrive in the united states of america, we are going to have to out innovate and out educate and build the rest of the world. [applause] that is what we are going to have to do. that means investing in cutting-edge research and technology. it means investing in the skills and training of our people. it means investing in transportation and communication networks that can move goods and information as fast as possible. and to make room for these investments, it means cutting whatever spending we just can't afford. so, i have proposed that the freeze annual domestic spending

for the next five years, which will reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade and will bring annual domestic spending to the lowest share of our economy since eisenhower was president, and meaning since way before most of you were born. [laughter] he said, not me. now just like americans do every day, government has a responsibility to live within its means but we also have a responsibility to invest in those areas that are going to have the biggest impact. and in this century, those areas are education and infrastructure and innovation. [applause] and that last area, innovation, is why i have come to penn state

today. innovation is what this country is all about. sparking the imagination and creativity of our people, unleashing new discoveries -- that is what america does better than any other country on earth. [applause] that is what we do. and this innovation has always been driven by individual scientists and entrepreneurs. i was up in schenectady new york the other day at the ge plant that was thomas edison's original plan. and anywhere you go in the country you will find inventors and businesses that created products that are now sent send all around the world. but innovation has also flourished because we as a nation have invested in the success of these individual entrepreneurs, these inventors,

these scientists. in this country, from the moment you have a new idea, you can explore it in the world's best labs and universities. you can develop it with a research grant. you can protect it with the patent. you can market it with a loan to start a new business. you've got a chain that takes a great idea all the way through, and that is something that we as a nation have always invested in. it is how we as a people have advanced ideas from the earliest stages of research to the point where you can hand it off and let the private sector run with the ball. it's how investments in basic research led to things like the computer chip, and gps, and audience of good jobs. in america, innovation isn't just how we change our lives. it is how we make a living. and to support american innovation, but my administration is trying to do

is not just hand out money. what we are doing is issuing a challenge. because right now some of the most promising innovation is happening in the area of clean energy technology -- technology that is creating jobs, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and something that every young person here cares about, making sure our planet is a healthier place to live that we can pass on to future generations. [applause] so we are telling scientists and we are telling engineers all across the country that if they assembled teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on tackling the biggest obstacles to clean, abundant and affordable energy, you are going to get behind their work. we as a country will invest in them. we will get them all in one place and we will support their

research. we call these places energy innovation hubs. at caltech, they are developing a way to turn sunlight and water into fuel for cars. [applause] they are using supercomputers to find ways of getting much more power out of nuclear facilities. [applause] and right here, right here at penn state, a universities whose motto is making life better, you have answered the call. [applause] today you are preparing to lead the way on a hub that will make america home to the most

energy-efficient buildings in the world. that may not sound too sexy until -- [laughter] energy-efficient buildings. but, listen. our homes and their businesses consume 40% of the energy we use. think about that. everybody focuses on cars and gas prices and that's understandable. but our homes and their businesses use 40% of the energy. they contribute to 40% of the carbon pollution that we produce and that is contributing to climate change. it cost us billions of dollars in energy bills. they waste huge amounts of energy. so the good news is we can change all that. making our buildings more

energy-efficient is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to save money, combat pollution and create jobs right here in the united states of america. and that is what we are going to do. [applause] so that is what this energy innovation hub based in philadelphia is going to be all about. you will help make america a world leader in innovative guide to -- designs for cost effective energy-efficient buildings from lighting to windows, from heating to cooling. all of it. this is where we need you to push the envelope and ask just how efficient can our buildings be? can they be self-sufficient, producing just as much energy as they consume? what new discoveries can we make? and single-hatted soon your have

anyplace to answer these questions, a clean energy campus and the philadelphia navy yard. now this campus will be the product of a true collaboration. what penn state, you have done, is develop an innovative model for how to do research. government pulled resources from across different agencies to support your effort, from programs that train new workers and skills to loans for small businesses that will grow. private sectors are the pitching in to help so ibm is providing supercomputers. bear material science is providing materials for insulation and façades that save energy. pp bg energy is providing false that reflect sunlight in windows that reflect infrared. building this campus will support jobs in all of these businesses and the discoveries made on this campus will lead to even more jobs -- jobs and

engineering, jobs in manufacturing, jobs in construction, but jobs and insulation, jobs in retail. and they will be more than jobs that help support families. they will be jobs within national purpose. jobs that make our economy smarter, jobs and make our planet safer, jobs that maintain america's competitive edge in the 21st century. [applause] now, as any scientist will tell you, it is often a challenge to commercialize research. you come up with a great idea, but moving that new discovery from theory to practice or from the lab to the marketplace, that's a challenge. so that is why today, here at penn state, i'm announcing what we are calling better buildings initiative, and it's a plan to

dramatically improving energy efficiency of america's businesses over the next decade. [applause] by reaching this goal we could save america's businesses nearly $40 billion a year in their utility bills. think about that, $40 billion. that is money that could be spent growing those businesses and hiring new workers. i'll just take one extreme example, the empire state building. right now, its owners are investing in renovations that will reduce their energy consumption, and this investment will soon pay for itself and save them for $.4 million a year in energy costs. that one building. now granted, it's a big building. [laughter] so most buildings aren't as big.

they are not going to use as much energy as the empire state building but what we are saying to people is if you are willing to make your buildings more energy-efficient we will provide new tax credits and financing opportunities for you to do so. [applause] and is fine but told on the home star program we proposed last year, which would have provided rebates of up to $3000 for homeowners to make their own homes more energy efficient. and these are upgrades that could save families hundreds of dollars each year in energy costs. see, the problem for both homeowners and businesses is they will recover the money that they make by lowering their utility bills, but they may not have the cash upfront. if we can provide you -- if we can provide the american people an incentive, you will recover that money. you will get it back into the meantime, we are making our

entire economy more efficient. steps like these also can boost manufacturing and private sector jobs. so over the last two years we have offered similar incentives for cities and companies and clean energy manufactures that wanted to help america become more energy efficient. i will give you a couple of examples. in maryland, our program helps an energy-saving window manufacturer boost business by 55%. in north carolina, there's a company that makes energy-efficient lighting, hired hundreds of new workers. the company that manufactures l.e.d.'s just down the road from here in altoona's other business increased by a million bucks. we are also going to support state and local governments to come up with the best ideas to make energy-efficient buildings the norm. so you show was the best ideas to change your game on the ground and we will show you the money. [applause]

we will show you the money, states and local government. [applause] to get the private sector to lead by example i am also issuing a challenge to the ceos, to labor, to building owners and hospitals and universities and others to join us. now, tax credits mean lost revenue for treasury. it costs money. since we have got a deficits we have got to pay for it. so to pay for it i have asked congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars that we currently give to oil companies. [applause] they are doing just fine on their own.

so it is time to stop subsidizing yesterday's energy. it is time to invest in tomorrow's. it is time to win the future. that is what our project is. [applause] now, penn state is a place that knows a little bit about playing to win. last i counted, coach paterno has got more than 400 wins under his belt. [cheers] but your nation needs to win, too. we need you to be as proud of what you do in the lab as you are of what your football team does on the field. [applause] we need you to seek

breakthroughs and new technologies that we can't even imagine yet. and especially the young people who are here, we need you to act with a sense of urgency to study and work and create as if the fate of the country depends on you, because it does. it depends on you. [applause] and if we are harnessing all the energy in this room, all the young people in this audience, then i am confident we will do it. we can do this because what this university is going to lead will be more than a pioneering research center or an economic engine for pennsylvania and america for years to come. what you are going to do is lead a a modern-day incubator for what sets us apart -- the greatest force at the world has ever known, and that is the american ideal. [applause] if you remember that and keep breaking new ground, if we as a

country keep investing in you, i'm absolutely confident that america will win the future in the century just like we did in the last. thank you. god bless you and god bless the united united states of america. [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

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on c-span2 night federal reserve chairman ben bernank