can happen in a legitimate way and can be questioned what's the progress on the american side, and there's a number of projects and by the administration there is progress and the question is when the reports will be there, and it is also an issue that sparks a lot of interest on this side of the atlantic and so is the case with those in poland. thank you very much. [applause] ..

>> i think the united states and european country to fight the economy, the death limits in this specific case. so i would not be surprised if our leadership. >> on the part of the u.k., i wouldn't use the word concerns is the wrong word because that's obvious by the policies of the administration and macroeconomic sphere came in a year ago and

agree with new policy to settle that past. i think having a discussion around the global economy and how to ensure there's growth and prosperity for both countries and others around the convention , you know, the type that the economic ties between the economic future is very important. >> a huge amount to add to that. if the primary source of discussion and the president becomes a challenge with the rules and ailing, but it is always so important to us to get the perspective of the united states to having been a meeting in the oval office on st. patrick's day, doubtless the agenda. said the president and we are

managing our way out of her economic challenges that we would be interested in having this perspective on the challenge of the states as well. >> question. in the back there. >> as far as the president trip to poland, i know there is an outreach with the polls to both russian and two u.s. how much of that comes down to improved relations and russia directly? what the polls reaching out to both the russian and to the u.s. to improve both relationships, how much of that is dependent on

improved relations directly with the u.s. and russia? >> since the beginning of the policy of the united states towards russia, we understand the objectives of the process. in the meantime, when the parallel with the american russian research, and is sometimes referred to the reconciliation because it's not only the political relations, but also reaching also to the issues, which is the historical problems. there are many avenues to enforce for the last two or three years, including performance of the polish russian commission of discourse of political issues. so we are moderately satisfied

with the outcome of the work. and if we put in the context of parallel nature with the russians and the american process, i think there is some degree of commonality. the expectation of the positive outcome in this process, these two parallel processes produce a more stable, more predictable, more comparable with the russians that we will be for the benefit of international relations. do not question her logo that they are. >> rich wolf, today. i'll ask about libya in particular and north africa middle east more generally. is there concern in many poor

countries that this is less of an opportunity will probably sagan tamayo and has said before for democratization of the region and more of the risk in terms of perhaps my military operations, more expense on the part of countries, particularly given what is happening in libya, whether anything like that could happen again elsewhere in the foreseeable future, whether that be serious or ukraine or anywhere else. >> i think tom donnellan has said the change were seen in the arab world from the embassy is likely to go on for some time. i think it's completely unfolding. the tank -- i do think actually

the british government and the prime minister see it as a major opportunity for this change in the united states. we have a shared set of values to free societies and the changes we are seeing in the support in countries like egypt and tunisia is a transition to those countries. i think there is a big opportunity among the subjects to finance and the president will discuss from the outside, recognizing the key actors on the ground, getting support is a topic for the g8. all that said, clearly there are risks in the process and for the challenge for all of us is to look at the way in which we were able to respond to the collapse

of the berlin wall in countries like poland to european union to provide security for those people, to find a way of providing a positive incentive by egypt and tunisia and others in a way which is more in line with our values. >> we didn't shy away from the democracy movements in various parts of the arab world, but this will be interested in celebrating with the u.s. president on an institutional level. especially the european union

and in the role of the organizations. >> the heritage foundation. i'd like to as the british representative, ever since president obama came into office and removed the busts of winston churchill from the oval office, there was the impression in this country and perhaps in britain, too, that this president wasn't quite as close as social relationship as his predecessor. do you think that one object of the presidential visit will be to correct this impression? >> i didn't actually buy your defense. i'm not convinced that there's an impression to correct. the truth is the british media and whenever there is an

interaction when the prime minister was here in july last year next week and in london they claim their relationship is less special. i think our tears as the full spec and a very deep and broad relationship in the united states remains as be as it always has been and i think remarks to the prime minister and making them public and discussions in private will reflect that. as i say, i don't get the impression they need to be threatened. >> gorbachev speak, u.s. trade council. i'd like to ask the ambassador whether there is also an emphasis on the economic development by because poland's transformation to democracy was

supported of course by the economic development that went on with it and you have the shock therapy program and things like the enterprise fund that provided financing to tens of thousands of businesses in conjunction with democracy building efforts that you initiated and north africa, are you also bring in a lot of those kinds of people who initiated the economic changes? >> thank you for these questions. the polish transformation, the result of the transformation came to one single conclusion, that the security freedom and market economy was worth every penny spent. and when you mention the enterprise, i we are the only country where we receive american assistance and returned ever since from the recent u.s.

budget. when you look for his safety and cost effective relationship, look for the experience and we look for working with you in the future. clearly when we discuss innovations about economic corporations for which we are looking at this. one is democratization and implementation. we continue the economic cooperation and innovation and technologies to focus on development. i think it's also by the u.s. president, including high-level contacts in the new areas of corporations in the next couple of years.

>> question for george. >> sorry to take a second. when president obama took office there was unhappiness and poland over some of his policies on missile defense. can you talk about where that stands now and also the expected announcement of a living f-16s from vienna based out of poland. talk about the important is that. >> is the beginning about those countries agreed that the new program would not be approached would also involve poland starting from 2018. and this is the timeline we are currently working in consulting with the united states on. that's as far as the defense is concerned. i don't want to speculate any

place they come from, but we are working for some time and for the first time since 2010 the president publicly far and will a rotation of military presence on the polish so will continue -- we have bilateral negotiations taking place and i'll conclude by the time of the visit. we are acting very close. >> what is the significance of that? >> three forms. three consequences be made our first the increase of the u.s. military presence that will benefit not only our regional stability, but will also benefit me know, the long expected relationship within the united states. there is a prospect for joint --

joint exercises, for operations within the north atlantic, the north atlantic alliance. i believe if we look at those countries in the central europe, looking for more than the organization of forces in the proper decisions they may take regarding the modernization and equipment there is also building on the rotation president of the united states. it is a progressive relationship and having a lot of suspects that the two presidents announced a few months ago. >> question that area.

>> hi, kate brauer from bloomberg news. i am wondering how the imf is going to factor into these conversations at all and have any of your countries called for dominique strauss kahn to resign? the imf, the controversy about what's going on there. it's going to saturate some of these conversations who should -- who should take over, if he doesn't have to leave. i wonder if there's going to be any discussion of that. >> i don't know. [laughter] i do know obviously we have completed with the imf and the european central bank and the commission relation. obviously there are some issues around interest rate coming up fast as a subject of ongoing

negotiations. and as a matter personality site and it's pretty much an issue that's ongoing, but in terms about conversations for policy, i just couldn't anticipate what sort of conversation there might be. ideal mac >> the thing had emphasized is that the imf is still a functioning and the testimony director who is clearly in charge of the organization. >> and i'll just say the heritage foundation free-market organization, more than a few people have asked why socialist was in that position in the first place. [laughter] >> yeah, i'm with the heritage

foundation. my question is following up on polish ambassadors of poland not been a net after 9/11 for quite a few years, no new countries were admitted in the united states waiver program. most of the security concerns that want to harm americans and president george w. bush was traveling to the nato summit and he announced he wanted to bring in new partners in the waiver program. in the fall of two dozen make him a new partners came in, including the estonians, latvian, lithuanian, hungarians and checks. so many countries that were former warsaw pact countries are brought in, but not poland. i question his two-parter. hey, how does that resonate with the people of poland, and effectiveness are partners in article v? one for all, all for one of the united states, but not a lot of travel on the same basis as most

other europeans. the second question is actually a little bit fun. our british gas in irish friend, do ireland and poland for you -- i mean, gq pose security threat than i do to travel throughout europe? thank you. >> thank you very much for these questions. the only country which is not part of the polish effect -- there is no single national security threat coming to the united states, not to mention the long-standing record of polish military and engagement with the various part of the great future. i would venture also to say

there's no progression to the united states. the study also from the united states, there is a three movement from the european union and i have no report about travel around europe. we understand the domestic situation of how complex the situation has been united states, that there is no logical argument to the situation regarding the pose, 21 years for the u.s. citizens. 21 years after the presidential declaration and the willingness to solve this issue.

i think it is the right moment and would like to have the answer. >> could i just respond to let you we have in the country of ireland is a security threat? absolutely not. there is one of first countries in fact in 2004, you know, to join the european union to open the country without qualification to the new member states of the time. and since that time we've had in our country hundreds of thousands in the last year, but may be around choo-choo hundred thousand polish people and their communities in the vibrant part of modern ireland. so they're very welcome members of the european union on our

shores. sometimes -- we have a lot in common and certainly people in ireland have made a substantial contribution to the degree of particular growth. >> for the u.k., ambassadors are saying we'd like ireland, with the u.k. open to migration and joined the opinion some other countries, which immediately freed up all the migration and he is in the whole u.k., our experience has been positive. one looks back over and in the u.k. we have had the spanish portuguese communities coming in when we've now had europeans including both coming in better

positive and it is sometimes falling back as a positive the fundamental level a partner >> question over here. could i ask all three of you which you think the president looked at from the publics in each of your country and will know how wildly popular western europe at a time when he came into office. do you think you've got the same popularity in your countries now i think president obama can

expect -- you know, i think the public event in musical event has energy around the whole event, but his message is still enduring quality to it, which will rest very warmly and very well, particularly with the other people at home. and with everybody at home and the president of the united states to come and spend time at eyes, you know, to deliver a positive message to the relationship with the united states into the future that

we're looking forward to very much and i can't imagine it would be anything other than hugely warm, hugely enthusiastic also, as my colleague said, you know, the acknowledgment of the u.s. role in the peace process is underestimated. or almost at a point where retake the peace almost for granted because it has been hugely successful, but would not have been a success of the partnership obviously the two edition irish government for northern ireland, but particularly our very good friends of all parties and so president obama would be the current embodiment of that contribution and that's a prospect we don't take for granted. it's the ongoing support that the united states remains very poor team.

it's all positive and eight ink we have our challenges at the moment. the visit with the president on monday represents a very bright moment for us. >> for the u.k., i've were in the british government quite a lot, so i've seen on the inside quite a lot of state visits to the kingdom, which we normally have two a year. if i'm completely frank, quite a lot of them come and go -- they're nice bags around the border and there might just be a photograph placed by the next telegraph. not solely sure that will be very, very significant interest both in the media, but also in the general public and the president and the first lady

will be extremely positive interests. >> is there a term for people will be able to see quite >> for obvious reasons, we will go into complete detail. >> for the same situation, we expected for a long time regarding the visit with the bilateral ankle that is attached to the decision as he sees the polish border. but i also know from talking with thomas resonates well in the united states. >> was that it did about 10? level assembled the great with

other presidents, which is what i'm getting at. why's he so popular to her three years ago? >> i think, you know, whenever there's a new president of the united states, he's the person who the american people have chosen as their elected head of state. that's a very significant thing for the world in the united states, but it's also true as people become familiar with politicians, i think there is still news to the president halfway, which means they will be keen interest.

>> anymore questions? one more back here. that was the last question. >> government studies at the heritage foundation. question for ambassador collins. looking at finance reports as i understand the total public support to the banks the debt is 65 billion euro, 42% of 20 leading gdp. do you think the subject will arrive upon discussion with the president to understanding the full extent of the banking crisis in the role the united states may play in capitalizing banks or improving lending domestically both from an international perspective. as i understand it, this seems to be a top priority for ireland. >> the banking situation in particular has been a source of difficulty and grief for people in ireland and some people find it hard to fathom some of these numbers were faced with and we

just recently stress tested the banks to a high standard. they are taking place at the moment, but of course as a matter of interest for the united states as to how this is going to evolve. it's a matter of significant interest because of the hughes interrelationship in terms of just the way these things are now interconnected globally and in europe it's no coincidence that when the prime minister mr. in march we had a bilateral, which are not always be something we have is a menu of it to good use. of course the united states is interested. we have set a course already defined policies and he mentioned some of those figures there appeared policies for the e.u. and european central bank, which we can refuse that suggest

were following the prescribed course. overall it's something the united states has a great amount of significant interest in and obviously the president will get a briefing. the prime minister has said track unfolding. we are very determined, very committed and to follow of course out of this crisis as soon as possible. the steps are being taken in relation to the banking perhaps will be crucial to our economic recovery. >> okay with that, i would like to thank potty training a warm e for the panel today. thank you again for being here.

[applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> history, as you know, is much more than just politics and soldiers, social issues. it's also medicine and science, music and theater and ideas so we shouldn't want things into categories. it's all part of the same thing.

>> first lady michelle obama to avert a keynote address at a fund-raising event thursday for the women's leadership forum. she said much progress has been made in the obama administration, but there's still much work to do. here's a 20 minute portion of her remarks. [no audio] [no audio]

[no audio] [no audio] yes i was proud of the work he

was doing as a u.s. senator and i know he would make an extraordinary president. and i told you that. but like a lot of folks, i still had them send it to some about politic and i was worried about the toll that a presidential campaign would take on our family. we had two young daughters at home. in the last thing i wanted to do was to disrupt their lives and routines. the last thing was to spend time apart from a girls. so it took some convincing on iraq's part and i sound i mean a lot. and even as they hit the trail, i was still a little uneasy about the whole president things and that's what malia would call it, the president thinks.

if something happened during the first few months they changed me. see, campaigning in places like iowa and new hampshire and south carolina, you know, that wasn't just about handshakes and stump speeches. for me it was about conversations on front porches and in living rooms, where people would welcome me into their homes and into their lives. i remember one of the first events in iowa that i did was a gathering in someone's backyard -- beautiful backyard, beautiful sunny day. i remember within a few minutes i was so comfortable that i kicked off my shoes, which i wish i could do today because they really do her. [laughter] and i was standing barefoot in the grass, just talking to folks. and that is that campaigning is all about for me. it was about meeting people

one-on-one and hearing what was going on in their lives. and i learned so much. i learned about the businesses that folks were trying to keep afloat, the home they loved but could no longer afford, the spouse who came back from the war and needed a lot of help. a child who is so smart, who could be anything she wanted if only her parents could find a way to pay tuition. and these stories moved me. and even more than that, these stories were familiar to me because then the parents working that extra ship are taking the extra job, i saw barack's mother struggling to support barack and his sister. i saw my father jack himself at the city water plant every morning because my father was

determined to be our fathers provider. in the grand parents coming out of retirement to pitch in and help make ends meet, i saw my own man who has helped raise our growth since the day they were born and i couldn't do this without her. [applause] i saw barack's grandmother who caught a bus to work before dawn every day to help provide for their family. and the children i met who are worried about a mom who is faster job rates had to wait far from home. kids so full of promise and dreams i saw my own daughters who are the center of my world. these folks were in asking for much. they're looking for basic things, like being able to see a.or when you're sick, things

like having decent public schools and the chance to go to college, even if you are not rich. these things -- simple things like making a decent wage, having a secure retirement and that means of the better for your kid and while they may have grown up in different places and seeing different in so many ways, their stories for my family stories. they were barack's family stories. things like you treat people who you want to be treated. he picher family first, work hard can it do what you say you're going to do. [applause] these were our family's values. [applause] everything barack had been saying how are all interconnected, not just with states and blue states, those are not just lines from the speech. it is what i was seeing with my

own eyes and that changed me. you want to know what else changed me during all those not on the campaign? i mean, you all really did. i see people out there who have become like family. you all changed me. and when i got tired, i would think of all the folks out there, making calls, knocking on doors in all kinds of weather. remember that? [laughter] and that would energize me. when i get discouraged, i would think of folks opening up their wallets when they didn't have much to give. i would take a folks who had the courage to let themselves believe again and hope again and that would give me hope. and the simple truth is that today, four years later, we are here because of all of you. and i'm not just talking about winning an election.

i am talking about what we've been doing every day in the white house since that time to keep on fighting for the folks we met in the values we share. i am talking about why barack has been doing to help all of us when the future, at a time when we still have so many challenges in so much work to do, it's easy to forget what we've done a lot the way. it is so easy. but let's just step back a moment, think about these past couple of years. i mean, we've gone from an economy on the birth of collapse to an economy that is starting to grow again. we are helping middle-class families by cutting taxes. [applause] working to stop credit card companies from taking advantage of people. [applause] were going to get working moms

and dads the childcare tax credit because we know how those costs on to those folks. we are helping women get equal pay for equal work with the lilies i'd had her fair pay act. [applause] if you remember, that was the very first bill that has been signed into law. that was the first thing he did. because of health reform, millions of people will finally be able to afford to talk to her. their insurance companies help build the childcare coverage when the state charges and through the roof because their child has a preexisting condition and they now have to cover preventative care. things like prenatal care, mammograms, that we all miss him saves money but it saves lives. we know that. we don't want to leave our kids a mountain of debt, reducing our deficit by to invite families

across this kind sure i was doing. we are cutting back so we can start living within our means and were investing in things that really matter. things like clean energy so we can bring down the gas prices, scientific research including stem cell research. we're investing in community colleges, which are a gateway to opportunity is for so many will have so many programs which help so many young people afford the tuition. that's what we're doing. enter a competition called race to the top, we've got 40 states working to raise standards and reform their schools. we are working to live up to our founding values of freedom and equality and today because we ended tomas totaro, our troops will never again have to live about who they are to serve the country they love. [cheers and applause] and you may recall that my

husband also appointed two brilliant supreme court justices and for the first time in history, our daughters and our sons watched three women take their seats on our nation's highest court. we are working to keep our country safe and restore our standing in the world. we are responsibly and in the war in iraq and of irony brought home 100,000 men and women in uniform who have served his country bravely. and as you know it today, thanks to the tireless work of our counterintelligence communities and heroic efforts of our troops, the man behind the 9/11 attacks in so many other horrific acts that have finally been brought to justice. [applause] and finally, we are tackling of course to issues that are near and dear to my heart, both as a

first lady and as a mom. you've heard the first is childhood obesity. this issue doesn't just affect our kids health and how they feel. it affects how they feel about themselves and whether they have the energy and stamina to succeed in school and minimize. so we are working to get food into our school and community and help parents make hard decisions for their kids and we're seeing some change. the second issue is when i came to on the campaign trail, and meeting so many extraordinary military families. i mean, these folks are raising their kids in running the households all about both spouses are deployed. and they do at all with tremendous courage, strength and pride in that slideshow and i launched a nationwide campaign to rally our country to serve them as well as they survived.

[applause] so let, that shows some of what has been accomplished. and i think it's fair to say that we've seen some change and we've should be a proud of what we've accomplished, but we should not be satisfied and we are still nowhere near putting the future, not when so many of our kids don't have what they need to succeed. now when so many of our businesses don't have what they need to compete. not when so many folks are still struggling to pay the bills today. the truth is that all those folks we campaign for and have been fighting and we've been fighting for over these past two years. those folks still need our help

and that more than anything else is what drives my house and as president. i mean, let me tell you, that's what i see when he comes home after a long day of traveling around the country, meeting with folks in that oval office, doing things. [laughter] they do things in that office. and he tells me about the people he's met. and i see it in those quiet moments later that night, after we put the girls to bed and he is reading the letters people have sent him because he reads everything. the letter from the woman dying of cancer hotels insurance wouldn't cover her care. the letter from the young person with so much promise, but so few opportunities. and i see the sadness and the

worry creasing his face. i hear the passion and determination in his voice. you won't believe what these folks are going through. that's what he tells me. he says michele, this is not right. we've got to fix it. we have to do more. i mean, let me share something with you. when it comes to the people that he needs, barack has a memory like a steel trap. i mean, you all know this. he might not remember your name, but if he's had a few minutes and a decent conversation for you, he will never forget your story. it's a gift, becomes imprinted in his mind and on his heart and that's what he carries with him every single day, that collection of hopes and dreams

and struggles. that's where barak gets his passion and that's why he works so very hard every day. starting first thing in the morning every day and going late into the night, hunched over briefings can i redeem every single word of every single member of the case, making the, writing questions can and making sure knows more than the people briefing him because all of those when and losses are not wins and losses for him. they are wins and losses for the folks whose stories he carries with him, the folksy words about and praise about before he goes to bed at night. in the end for barack and for me and for so many of you, that is what politics is about. it is not about one person, one

president. it's about how we can and should work together to make real change that makes a real difference in people's lives. the young person attending college today because she can afford it. that's what this is about. the mom or dad can take their child to a doctor because of health reform. the folks who are working on the line today at places like gm and bringing home a good paycheck for their families. that's what this is about. [applause] now more than ever before, we need to finish what we started and we need your help. we need all of you to be with us for the next phase of our journeys and i am not going to keep you because they never do.

it's going to be hard. it's designed that way. there'll be plenty of twists and turns along the way. but here's the thing about my husband and this is something i would appreciate even if he hadn't shown that the fence to marry me. [laughter] that even in the toughest moments, when it seems that all is lost, everybody's raising their hand and calling, what are they doing? what's going on? i'm one of those people. barack obama never loses sight of the end goal. he never lets himself get it by

the chatter in the noise, even if it comes from some of his supporters. he just keeps moving forward. and in those moments when we are all sweating it, when we are worried that the bill won't pass for the negotiations might fall through, barack always reminds me that we are playing a long game here. [applause] he reminds me that change is slow. he reminds me that change doesn't happen all at once. but he says that if we keep showing up, if we keep fighting the good fight and doing what we know is right, then eventually we will get there. we always have. and that's what he needs from

you. he needs you to be an mess with them for the long haul. she needs you to hold fast to our vision and our values and our dreams for kids and for her country. he needs you to work like you have never worked before, people. [cheers and applause] but i plan on doing. i'm not going to ask you to do anything that i wouldn't do. and i will not be doing it just as a way for is the first lady. i'll be doing it as a mother who wants to leave a legacy for my children and more than that, i'll be doing it as a citizen who know so we can do together to change this country.

>> next, a senate hearing on oil and gas run with interior secretary, ken salazar and former deepwater ricin incident commander, admiral thad allen. last week and president obama announced that the administration is taking to speed up wheeling gas production. the republican-led house recently passed three bills that

would significantly expand and accelerate oil production in the u.s. read the companion measure furloughed to move forward in the senate. this is just under two hours and 10 minutes. [no audio] >> we are having some trouble with her signal here on c-span 2. we are working on the problem and hope to have it resolved shortly.

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[no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> next up, a hearing with ken salazar, the public and let house recently passed three bills that would significantly expand and accelerate oil production in the u.s., companion measure failed to move forward this week in the u.s. senate.

>> mr. secretary, we welcome you back to the committee you used to serve on. we always are glad to see you here and your written testimony will be placed in the record in full. we'd like you to take whatever time you need here to summarize that auras, make the main points we need to understand and i'm sure there will be questions. once you go right ahead and introduce your colleagues if you'd like, but were familiar with both of them, but we always like to have been introduced. >> thank you very much, senator bingaman, it bicester chairman of the committee come it's always an honor working with you and also working with ranking member senator murkowski in the great work we've done in in the years past out of this committee, so thank you for giving us the opportunity to come and present in front of all of you today. joining me here today are david

hayes who is deputy secretary of the interior and been working on the oil and gas issues and legislation for the last several years and to my left is my drum winch. mike is the director of the bureau of ocean energy management and regulation and he is overseeing the reforms that will present mms, now the going merry peered over the last year he's been working closely as they move forward with oil and gas production in the oceans of america. let me first say from the president's point of view in the administration's point of view, we have been working hard for now over two years to move forward with evolving a secure energy future for america and we have enjoyed the work we've been able to do with the congress as we have made strides in what we believe is the right direction to get us a secure energy future. when you hear the president or hear me or any of my colleagues on the cabinets feature that secure energy future, we really

are talking about a secure energy future that is based in three buckets. ..

>> and i want to just quickly review them. first with respect to alaska at the conversations with senator murkowski and others who are very interested in what we are doing in alaska all the time. we are moving forward with the holding of annual lease sales and the national petroleum reserve in alaska. we are trying to deal with some of the difficult permitting issues there and the deputy secretary and myself and others that have personally been involved in dealing with the issues. secondly, the president announced we will be holding three lease sales in the gulf of mexico by mid -- by june 30th of next year. that's when the 2007-2012 plan expired. we expect to have one of those lease sales completed by the end of this year, in moving forward to the sale of mexico and the following year. third, we want to create new

incentives to move forward with oil and gas production. we look forward to working with the committee on ideas that we have, ideas that you have, for example, under the mineral leasing act today on the on shore areas of oil and gas production, those leases are given out under a mandatory ten year term. we believe with flexibility and the way that we have the flexibility in the outer shelf, we could reduce lease terms and therefore incentivize the oil and gas in the on shore. the lease extensions, we recognize that there were impacts to oil -- the oil and gas leasees both in the gulf of mexico as well as in alaska as we have moved forward to develop safe oil and gas regulations and oversight in the government. so the president voiced his support for a lease extension with respect to the gulf of mexico wells that were directly impacted by the events of the

deepwater horizon last year. and 5th, we are the belief that there is a need to do better coordination in terms of what we deal with, in terms of alaska oil and gas and resources and we are taking those actions within the administrative authority in this point in time. let me move quickly to review the few things from the lessons. deepwater horizon and oil spill was a national crisis. in my view, those of us who are here in washington, d.c. and who were working on the issues in the gulf must not forget the lessons from the deepwater horizon. and in some ways, the national crisis which for some of us has worked on an emergency basis for over 140 days deal, that particular issue. it doesn't seem like it was that long ago.

april 20th now is only not even 15 months ago. as we move forward and the events of the macondo well oil spill and approximately five million barrels of oil that was spilled out into the gulf of mexico ought to be a spark reminder to all of us that we need to move forward with safe gas and oil production in america's oceans and that is exactly what we have been doing with the department of interior with the support of the president to initiate the safe oil and gas drilling that is necessary. now even as we have gone forward and dealt with all of the reform efforts in america's oceans, oil and gas drilling, it is important to recognize the policy in terms of supporting oil and gas development, including in the deep water is a policy that has not changed. we moved forward with development and authorization of oil and gas drilling in the deep

waters of gulf of mexico and are looking at other places where we can develop oil and gas resources safely in america's oceans. the reforms that we have made have been simply led by one north star. that is what we want to make sure that the lessons of the deepwater horizon lead us to develop a regulatory regime in the united states that does everything possible to prevent another deepwater horizon oil spill like the one we saw last year. deputy secretary hayes and director bromwich have led the effort and respect the new rules and regime on drilling safety, workplace safety and creation of a new organization to oversee oil and gas. we also are cognizant of the fact that what we do here in the united states and gulf of mexico will have an impact around the world. in the gulf of mexico, for example, it is one pond and we largely share that with the nation of mexico. so we worked very hard to put

together what hopefully will become one standard, one set of protocols with the gulf of mexico and the development of oil and gas in the gulf and hopefully reach some agreements with respect to transboundary issues that are very important for the united states as well as for mexico as we deal with those -- that is the gulf, the respect to the arctic as senator murkowski witnessed last week in greeneland, we have taken the initiative to make sure all of the arctic nations, including russia, canada, and all of the united states that share the arctic are sharing the best resources so when it comes to oil and gas we are doing the best with the opportunities in the oil and arctic. and finally in other places around the world, i have been in brazil where we are working with the brazilians to learn from their experiences in terms of moving into their reserves where

they expect to have some of the most significant findings in the western hemisphere. we already have made some of the most significant findings, and hope to be able to develop the oil and gas resources in the future. that's all part of an effort to make sure that we are diversitying the sources for oil and gas that we have here in the country. we hosted an international forum where we had 11 countries and european union participate in the department of interior about two months ago. what we were doing it to begin a dialogue with the other countries around the world to make sure they are moving forward with the development of the gold standard with respect to oil and gas development. the oil and gas industry is a global industry. the same companies that operate in the gulf of mexico, operate in places like angola and russia and a whole host of different places. our efforts have been to take

the lessons of the deepwater horizon and share them with the rest of the world. in the testimony today we have outlined in the written testimony some legislative principals on behalf of the administration that i want to just very quickly review. the first is that we ask the support and help of congress with respect to incentivizeing more prompt development for oil and gas. and there are several example that is are laid out in the testimony, one that i will just quickly note is the mineral leasing act now requires a ten year term for all on shore leases. we have a different flexibility with offshore leases. that ten year term has been in place since the 1920 mineral leasing act was passed. the time to shorten the lease terms to further incentivize prompt oil and gas so they are being leased and now developed. secondly, we need the tools to

continue to push forward with respect to the reform efforts that we've worked so hard over last year. those tools include the creation of organic legislation by the united states congress for this agency as senator wyden and others have spoken about frequently over the last several years. an agency that has this herculean mission should not have be secretary order and have organic legislation that codified the important missions that we are very much in support of. tools that we need include the creation of an institute for ocean energy safety. we have created an ocean energy safety advisory led by dr. tom hunter, the former director. we have a good effort under way, but it exists by virtue of the

committee, not by virtue of legislation. we urge congress to act for ocean energy safety. and finally, i know there has been debate here about the timelines for the expiration plans and requirements now that boemer has approved plans. frankly, it is too short. it does not give the agency time to develop the environmental agency to make sound decisions. our request also is one the tools that we need to extent that time as the president articulated last year and reiterate it again. third, we ask the congress to work with us and continue to look at ways of making sure there's a fair return to the american taxpayer from these oil and gas resource that is are owned by the american public. we do not believe, for example, that the royalty relief programs that we could only have for offshore drilling are necessary

in the context of oil and gas prices for $100, and oil and gas making the record profit that is they have been making. it's an not incentive that is actually needed. there are other needs that we have, including deficit reduction which are important for us as we deal with those subsidies. lastly, with respect to the fair return to the american taxpayer and protection of the american taxpayers as well. we hope to be able to work with all of you to address the liability limitations concerning oil spills. in conclusion, mr. chairman, and ranking member and members of the committee, simply say to all of you, that we still a lot of work ahead of us. there is no doubt that the deepwater horizon awakened the country and awakened the congress to do things differently and the oceans of measuring and how we deal with oil and gas. i'm proud of the work that we have done. i know there are critics of how fast we have moved and critics that would want us to do

different things. but for us to be at a point where we have issued the 14 deepwater permits in the gulf of mexico, we have more than 50 now in the shallow waters where the industry is working and where we have essentially dealt with the national crisis and continued to produce oil and gas and move forward at the robust program that's something that i'm proud of and could not have done that if we did not have the support of this committee and the leadership within the department of interior. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you very much. let me start with five minutes of questions. then we'll just go around the dice here. let me just ask for mr. elaboration, mr. secretary, from you or director bromwich, about the current status of permitting in the outer continental shelf. i know this is a subject that

many people have expressed criticism about how slow it -- the department has been to issue permits. and how there is a great desire to get additional permits issued more quickly. if you could elaborate on what the circumstance is as you see it and what the prospects are for additional permits in the coming weeks and months, that would be useful. thank you. >> mr. chairman, let me make a quick comment and turn it over to director bromwich. it was not until the last several months that helix and marine well had their sub-sea containment vessel and caps in place and has been tested for us to have a level of assurance that they could move forward in the deep water and do it in a safer way than what was done

before april 20th. director bromwich and myself and other leaders of the department actually vent to houston to inspect and review the sub-sea containment mechanisms that had been built by those two corporations. and what we have done is based on those assurances we have moved forward with the issuance of permits. and i will have director bromwich give you a status report on that, as well as what we expect and intend to go. >> thank you. we have approved permits to 14 unique wells in deep water. there maybe multiple permits for each well. for example, when the bop is inspected, it gets an additional permit. but i think everyone is interested in new drilling that's done in wells. the number on that is 14. and as the secretary points out, we couldn't really grant deepwater drilling permits until there was containment capabilities.

that didn't happen until the latter part of february. if you do the math, we've actually given -- we permitted unique deepwater wells on the average of about once every four to five business days since containment capabilities were available. that's not a significantly slower pace than has historically been the case. the notion that it's taken us a very long time to permit deep water applications is really not true. there are currently 14 deepwater permit application that is are pending. there are 25 that have been returned for various reasons. usually quite incomplete applications, they may not have certified they have met all of the safety require manies that are now required. they may not have submitted any information relating to containment. those are among the main reasons why permit applications maybe returned. in terms of shallow water, 53

has been approved since last june when tougher requirements for put into effect. there are only fife shallow water permits pending. there are six that have been returned. so since october when our new tougher safety rules went into effect, the pace of shallow water permitting has been roughly six per month. the historical level has been roughly eight per month. so that's not a huge difference. if you think about the additional safety requirements that are required of the operators and the additional reviews that are required of our people, it's not a major discrepancy. >> let me just be clear that you say there are five applications in the shallow waters that are currently pending? >> correct. >> and there are 14 applications in the deep water that currently pending. >> correct. >> and then there are others that have been returned to the

companies asking them to give -- provide additional assurances or additional information? >> that's right. >> okay. all right. let me ask about apis role in this. as i understand it, they develop consensus safety rules or standard -- there are standard setting body that does that. to what extent are we -- is your department and your agent si relying on those? on those consensus standards? is it appropriate that we do it that way. maybe you could elaborate on that. >> let me -- chairman bingaman, let me first say we have a constructive rich -- constructive relationship and a very good relationship with

industry and api as well. that does not mean we should be dictated at the department of interior with respect to what the standards are. so that's why we obviously there is tremendous expertise there that we listen to. but at the end of the day, it is the independent judgment that has to come to bear on the regulations. i'll ask director to elaborate as well. >> historically we have relied to a specific degree that have been developed by api in a different world and perfect world. we had our own technical resources we would not do that. we haven't demand that position. we have, in fact, as the secretary suggests, look at the recommends that api has put together and incorporated those by reference. i think that's the best and maybe the only way to proceed at this time. >> senator murkowski. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, thank you for

being here. mr. bromwich, mr. hayes, thank you. and i thank you for the efforts that you have made. i think the president's announcement this week as it related to alaska and the efforts on the annual lease sales up in pra, the permitting, i think these are positive signals. obviously, we want to make sure that they translate into action and reality. so we will be working with you on that. mr. hayes, i want to single you out here and thank you for your efforts to try to reach or resolve on cd5 in the npra. i think we recognize this is politically important. it speaks to what senator hutchinson and bingaman were talking about earlier. i think we recognize that we have a lot to do. but we've got to find a path forward there. so i want to continue working with you on that. secretary, i want to ask you

just for a little bit of clarification here because you have you have -- you have discussed the various incentives that you wish to put in place to advance increased oil and gas. when i think of things, i think of encouraging you. to allow for a shorter period of time than the ten years, in order to prompt the reducers to move more quickly. as we have discussed in alaska, we've got some pretty specific issue that don't allow for prompt -- prompting is not going to get us any further. we have 60 day exploration period per year. 60 days is it. if what this does is it

restricts the abilities of the producers in terms of gaining any certainly and what their lease maybe, that concerns me. i understand what your proposal is, you want the discussion -- the secretary wants the discussion to shorten the release period. i guess the question would be would you also seek to give the secretary discussion to lengthen that in a situation as we're talking in alaska where you have not only the environment that limits your opportunities to let in there and explore and reduce, but you also have regulatory issues as we have been dealing with shells permit, for instance. can you speak just very quickly to whether the incentives could go to lengthen that proposed lease as well as what you are seeking to do, which is to shorten it. >> thank you, senator murkowski. first of all, with respect to

ocf. we have those authorities and have been implementing those authorities as well as shorter lease terms and royalty rates. our proposal on the mineral leasing act will address the on shore areas of oil and gas leases. i think the statistics themselves are very important for all of us to keep in mind. we have 41 million acres of your land and america's land that have been leased for oil and gas production. yet only 12 million of those acres are currently producing. so 41 million acres leased, only 12 million acres producing. and we continued to hold lease sales in 2009, 2010, 2011, and we have more planned for 2012. in our view if we are able to shorten the lease time from ten years to a lesser amount of time, some of the area that is just being held out there that is leased would be a greater

incentive from the companies to know they would have to move forward. >> would you agree the facts in the lower 45 are different in terms of advancing those laces? >> indeed. in alaska, as you and i have often spoken, senator murkowski, is a world on to itself. we need to recognize that the realities, whether it's in the arctic on on shore or off shore require us not to impose, if you will, some of the same requirements we might say if we are talking about the on shore in the state of new mexico. >> very, very briefly. i think my colleagues will pick up on this as well. there's been discussion about the length of time and why it takes as long as it does for the permit. your proposal, the proposal in is 917 is to allow for

additional time for these drilling permits. increasing from 90 -- excuse me, 30 days to 90 days with the ability of the secretary to expand to an additional 180 days. in view of the concern that has clearly been expressed, at least in this committee about the length of time that it takes to issue the permits, by allowing for even more additional time, does this not just add to the uncertainly and continuation in the delay of advancing the permits. i'm over my time and in respect to my colleagues that i know i'll want to ask questions, i would ask you two to address that and we brief. i know other colleagues have raised the same concern. >> thank you, mr. chairman. senator murkowski, the reality is 30 days is simply not enough. right now under the statue, you up it or down it in terms of an

exploration plan within the 30 day time period. part of the reality that should be wasn't lessoned learned from deep water horizon and national crisis would be the agency didn't have the capacity, the resources, or really the time to do the effective job that it should be doing. so when we're talking about having a 90 day time frame, it seems to me that's the kind of time that is required to be able to make that the best of the science and safety measures are being brought into play to review the exploration plan. i don't think it will have an impact in terms of having delays ultimately to oil and gas production in the nation's oceans. >> senator wyden. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it's good to have my old seat mates in the committee here. and i'm going to ask you a couple of questions about offshore practices. but i want to start with a

matter that involves energy production onshore because as you know, mr. secretary, there is enormous interest today in more natural gas production and certainly the events in japan and a whole host of issues that generated tremendous interest there. and clearly what we always face in these kinds of issues is how you go about striking a balance. a balance between natural gas production and there is enormous and growing concern about the environmental practice of fracking. my question to you is you would have a real opportunity using the bom leasing and development process to work through these kind of issues and help us come up with some very sensible models, models that can allow us to strike the balance between producing more natural gas and dealing with the legitimate

environmental concerns. and i've come to the conclusion they are legitimate. and you all would have a chance to have us come up with the model and get out in front of what could otherwise be years and years of litigation. as you know from serving on the committee, that what we deal with all the time. is we find the polarized kinds of debates. here's there's something very exciting. natural gas production. what are you all doing at the department of interior, particularly with the bom leasing and development process to give us a chance to get out in front of the issue, strike the balance that i'm talking about. >> senator wyden, you are spot on on the issue of the president's energy future very much envisions natural gas being a significant part of what we do. i have often said unless we deal with the fracking issue in the right way, it can become the achilles heel. we've held a forum with industry

and other stakeholders a the department of interior, holding hearings, and i would ask deputy secretary to respond very briefly on what it is that we are doing with the blm. >> briefly, i want to get into one other issue. you can do additional comments and writing. yes, your thoughts on the leasing and development process. >> i'll be very brief, senator. within the last three weeks, we had three public forums in arkansas, colorado, and wyoming. on the fracking and how bom should address it. we do do hydraulic fracking on public lands. we are scheduled to be meeting with secretary chu's subcommittee on the recommendations on the hydraulic fracking. we'll be in a dialogue with them and under the president's plan we'll be coming out with recommendations in the short term. so we are fully engaged. >> i hope that you'll do more than work with just the

president's task force. i think that's productive. i think you have an opportunity because we know that public lands that there is activity going on there, it's a perfect place to see if we can get some real models. i'm for it. it's productive. i'd like us to go further by literally going to the real world where we're going to see production and we have a chance to address environmental issues and secretary let's hold the record open for any other spots that you have on it. one issue that i want to talk with you about with respect to the issue of markup that we're going to have involves, you know, the drilling contractors. as you know, mr. secretary, bp has largely been the public face of the oil spill. as the joint interior coast guard and spill commission investigation made clear, there certainly were problems with respect to the bp contractors. we are talking about transocean and halliburton. halliburton never reported that the cement for the deepwater

horizon was faulty even as it was being pumped into the well. transocean went to federal court to claim indemnitity that went back to the 1800s, gave themselves bonuses. what are your recommendations because we are going to be dealing with this starting tomorrow and over this week. what are your recommendations, mr. secretary, for holding the drilling contractors, not just the leaseholders responsible so that we don't get into another one of these finger pointing, you know, routines, what would be your recommendation with respect to the holding the drilling contractors responsible? >> director bromwich and i have have had a series of conversation and meetings and public pronouncements on this. i will have him deal with the contractor accountability issue. >> senator, traditionally, we have held the operational responsible and not held contractors responsible for clarity and simplicity.

it hasn't worked as well as it should have. i announced that we were going to extend the authority to include contractors, the transocean and halliburtons of this world. we have the legal authority to do it, and certainly in certain egregious cases we ought to exercise. i'm not saying we are going to exercise it in every case, because there is a virtue to the clarity. i think we have it, we should use it. >> my time is up. the alternative, mr. bromwich, i'm not prepared to go there yet. if we don't have a way to hold the contractors accountable, clearly, people are going to start talking about separate and bonding requirements and the like. so the ball is in your court to do this in a hurry. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator holden. >> thank you, mr. chairman. secretary, good to see you

again. thank you for being here today. my first question relating to how do you explain the difference in terms of the perception that the companies that the drilling has as far as the process and getting permitted and moving forward and the perception that you have in the agency to expediting and getting the permits done. the shallow water versus deepwater. they brought up that issue. i think you were here for the comment. and the others if you can reject a permit application in 30 days and continue to do that, is there any defactor timeline on the process for getting approval? >> senator holden, thank you. thank you very much. for the question. first on the perception,

washington and these issues are an interesting place. we have tried to move forward with upholding the policy which the president's and i have articulated. we are supportive of oil and gas in the government of new york and other places in america's oceans. we also have said and we will not retrench the position. we will do it in a way that is is safe and protects the environment. and i think director bromwich is a statistics in terms of how we will move forward in the shallow water and deep water will indicate to you that we are not just about talk, but we are walking the talk and staying in terms of the drilling and production in our country. now i will tell you that multiple meetings in oil and gas executives, the top companies, they understand what they are doing. they understand they did not have the subsea containment able

for february. and they understand there's still a lot of work to go because it's a dynamic kind of issue in terms of getting us to the safe position that we want with respect to oil and gas drilling. so i account for the noise that goes around this issue was simply the kind of noise that you end up seeing here in washington, d.c. with respect to the shallow water, with respect to the timelines from 30-90 days. i don't think that's significant amount of time extension because we do need to have that kind of time to adequately review these exploration plans and make sure the decisions that are being made are, in fact, sound. >> is there another piece to that equation that we need if the approve process is 30 or 90 days, but you can continue to reject the applications? is there another piece to make sure the process is done in a

timely and fair manner? if so, what would that be? obviously, that's some the things we're trying to get at with legislation. what's your recommendation? >> you know, senator holden, i think that there maybe some -- we'll be happy to work with you on the language. it seems to me one the things that you don't want to have the company do is to enter into an endless process that doesn't get anywhere. i think timelines are important. many of the times when the permits are returned or exploration are returns, it is because they are incomplete. i think having a timeline as support in the legislation on 90 days is correct. and having clarity from us in terms of what it is that's required which is part of what director bromwich has been doing with all of the regulations is important. but i understand your point that we ought not to have industry essentially coming in with applications that are held in endless expenses.

>> i think that's an analysis that we should try to do between interior, between the congress, between the private sector, how do we do this in a way where you have perhaps a certain period and obviously you have that opportunity to reject an incomplete application. we still need to find some way to make sure there's some reasonable timeline for the permits. because i think what's happening is a lot of them are getting rejected. so they don't sit in the cue. the permitting process goes on for a lengthy period. that's what we are trying to get at. so it's a fair process, certainly protects the environment, but that empowers private investment and empowers more energy production for this country. >> i agree with you. and i think that right now, the 30 day time frame doesn't work to advance that particular objective because applications, expirations plans end up getting returned because there's not enough time to work through them. i think if we had the 90 day

time frame, it would frankly allow us to streamline the process. if i may comment, one the thing that's happened over the last year, senator and members of the committee, is the holes. yes, there are 14 deepwater wells and 50 shallow worlds. we have changed the world and regulatory regime. what's happening is that industry as well as our agency is understanding what the new template is moving forward. we will always be looking at ways in which we can approve what we do. >> mr. chairman, i understand my time is up. that's where the legislation is trying to go. i think if we can be interactive with you in developing those concepts, that might be helpful. i hope there's a second round. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. senator franken?

>> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you. mr. secretary, the house passed a bill last week and we're considering a bill with a similar provision this week in the senate that would set a 60 day limit for processing off shore drilling permit approvals. after that the permit would be deemed automatically approved. to me, i think this ignores the number one lesson from the golf oil spill. can you also -- if you can't get it done in 60 days, instead of being approved, you just say no. it's probably also a bad idea. can you talk about the impacts of such a policy on the agencies ability to ensure safety of

offshore drilling operations? >> i think what it would do, senator franken, it would pull out the rug that we are trying to do here and that is have a safe development of oil and gas in america's oceans and you can't do that when you have essentially the physician where you have forced to do approvals in 60 day time frame. that would be good. it's good to talk about the permit process so that we can any the 60 day period and how it would work. >> i agree with the secretary and you, senator, that would be a bad idea to have arbitrary time limits within which you have to approve permits or they would be deemed to be approved. an operator, i'm not saying there are any or many of these, submit the permit that didn't have containment resources and didn't meet all of the new requirements that we put in place and that i think have significantly raised the bar on safety. and they would run out the clock

and have their permit applications deemed approved. so 2 would be a substandard applications. it would not satisfy the requirements if we had that system. >> the purpose is to expedite the permitting process. we have the numbers. you've issued 66 since the temporary moratorium was lifted in october 2010. what is better option to sometimeline and expedite without compromising queue diligence on safety. >> we can do several things. we are looking to see if the improvement in clarity. one the things we do is they don't know where the permit fits in the system. we are working ways to be more

transparent about communicating to them where the permit applications sits in the system. we're also looking to develop templates and checklists so operators know exactly what's expected of them in advance. we eliminate the questions up front. we are working on templates and checklists to expedite the process. i think those are the ways that we can do that. one of our historic problems has been simply a lack of resources. which includes not only a lack of work force to do inspections but lack of adequate work force to process permits. we finally last month got additional money which we are allocating to bring on board more personnel. some of those will be permitting. i hope that will exme side the process as well. >> thank you. >> one of the most concerning

findings in the report of the that oil well operators would quote, shop around for someone within the interior respect that would improve. i know they would say the service was in dire need of the service and we are glad to see they have taken response. in the spree separate entities, the new bureau is in charge of leasing activity and environmental and economically responsible way and evaluating lease applications, how will the office balance the two priorities and environmental concerns versus keeping costs down? >> well, we have focused not only because the president's report to the commission, but failures to take environmental concerns adequately into account. we have now focused on it and we

are working on some specific structural steps to make sure that there is balance between the development of the resource and environmental conversations. one the specific things we're doing is we are creating the position of clear environmental officer to make sure the voices are heard and factors into the balance. >> thank you. my time is up. >> senator portland. >> thank you. good to have you back before the committee again. i appreciate that today. you were last year, i think it was on march 2, which was a couple of months ago. we talked about the same issues. at that time, we had a conversation about the concern that the claims were out there that rigs were leaving the golf and had left the gulf to go to

other countries and other offshore drilling. at the time, you said you did not belief it happened. and that you have provide information about it. we have since followed up with your office twice and we have yet to receive that data. i want like to reiterate my question that you provide us the data on the rigs. i think it's important, at least, to have is it historically now to see what the impact was the moratorium. in your testimony today, you state that last year america produced more oil than any time since 2003. you also talked about the oral testimony today, we are producing more. i guess i would ask, where in the united states were these increases in oil production? on shore, off shore, what day did you have to tell us about where it has occurred since 2003? >> senator portman, thank you

for your question. i will direct my department to get that information to you on the number of rigs. on the question of where we are in terms of incomed production, in the last two years, just from the outer shelf were the increase has been from 446 to over 600 million. that's an increase about 1/3 just from the outer shelf on the on shore where we have had 41 million acres under lease. the increase has been 5% during that same time period. >> so it's mostly outer intercontinental shelf. i think she indicated that drilling is off by 50% since the moratorium. i think she even said there's not any deepwater permits producing. you indicated that you've approved some of those perms

now. i know we'll hear more from her on that. but i guess what you are hearing today, both from senator hutchinson and begich and others who are concerned as i am about our energy independence and need to produce more oil and gas is in the context of the moratorium, we need to look back and see what the impacts were to avoid in my view some of the steps backwards. i think the president made some good comments other the weekend. i was encouraged by what he said about extending leases into the gulf. we also called for annual lease sales and the national me toll -- petroleum reserve. i would hope that we will see the expedited processes moving both on the alaska front and also in the outer continental shelf. there's frustration and that's where the limitation comes from. the notion that bureaucracy

should be given a certain and appropriate amount of time. at that point, that the companies that have submitted legitimate applications need to know one way or the other. and the burden in a sense, should be on the government, at that that point to say why we aren't moving forward. i know the begich/hutchinson bill would help. i think senator bingaman's legislation two bills that we are looking at today would help. i would hope that you would work with us on that. let me just switch if i could another comment that you made in your opening statement up. indicated that there were three buckets that the administration was looking at oil, gas, renewables and alternative and efficiency. as you may know, last week, legislation was introduced by senator shaheen and myself, it's s1,000. and it's basically leverages

deployment of energy efficiency technologies in the home building, commercial separation, and industrial space with respect to the federal government. we would love to get your input on the legislation and hope to get your support on it. i wonder if you had any thoughts on the legislation today? >> senator portman, i have not reviewed the legislation s1,000. i would be happy along with my colleague secretary chu and the energy administration. he's a huge part of the bucket to get us to the energy future. part of the reason that we are importanting less than 50% of the oil as opposed to 60% a few years ago is because of the fact that we are becoming much more fuel efficient. the energy efficiency goes

beyond cars into buildings and so forth. those are addressed in the blueprints. we would be happy to look at legislation and get back to you. >> we are working with dod on it. given the interest in the area and the relationship that it has to your responsibilities, we'd love to get your input. my time is up. i appreciate getting back to us on the intercontinental shelf and the golf -- gulf issues and also on s1000. >> senator landrieu. >> thank you, mr. secretary. let me begin by commending you and the president for getting us back to where we were before the deepwater horizon gulf spill, in terms of domestic drilling. it was the right step to take. now it's just the details of how we actually accomplish what the president laid out. and i can only say that speak -- you know, using words, actions speak louder than words. so that's where we are right

now. it's not just about saying we want to expand drilling, but actually doing it. so i want to just clarity just a couple of things that i think are very important for the hearing, mr. chairman, as we try to push a bill through, or several bills to actually accomplish opening up drilling. i want to clear for the record that -- and this is from the eia, short term energy outlook, it's not mary landrieu, not a democratic or republican chart. this clearly says that today production of oil is highest level. but you can clearly see it's going down. if we don't start issuing permits more quickly for new drilling, if we don't start exploring in areas that really deserve to be exploded, in the no going to be reserved.

even if we made the changes today, i'm not sure that we can reverse the chart. i want the record to be clear. we maybe at high levels today. but we're not going up. we're going down. number two, mr. bromwich, i need to clarify for the report, you said that you have 14 deepwater wells. are any of those new or are all of those reviced? >> i believe all of them had been previously permitted. >> that is credit. so i just want to say for the record these 14 deepwater wells that have received permits are not new wells. they are revised. they had been drilling prior to the deepwater horizon. and i understand that not all 14 of these are actually drilling. some of them are water injection wells. do you know how many? >> that's not correct. >> okay. they are all drilling? but they are all revised permits. there's not a new deepwater permit.

is that excellent >> that's my understanding. >> okay. there might be a lot of noise in washington, but it's necessary for this to be clear. in order for us to move forward. while your staff is getting that because it's my understanding based on the chart that i got from your web site. this is not my web site. it has 00000 for deepwater in 2011. doesn't say, 1, 2, 14. it does 0 from your web site. this is new wells approved in 2009, 2010, 2011. mr. chairman and ranking remember, the fact that are despite our efforts, the moratorium has been lifted there's not a deepwater. there is one. there is one in the deepwater 14. my information is that there are

100 exploration plans that are spending at boem. before you can get a drilling permit, you need to have the exploration plans. how many are pending now? 100? do you know? >> far less than that. can your staff tell us? >> my understanding is deepwater plans. >> the others maybe shallow water. i'd like you to submit that to the committee. we need to understand how many plans deep and shallow are pending, how many permits for drilling are pending. the bottom line is we need to step it up or these numbers are going to get worse, not better -- >> number two -- >> go ahead. mr. secretary. >> frankly at the end of the day, i'll call the shots within the secretary of interior. what i will say is that with respect to your chart, the fact

is that we are doing a lot to try to move forward with deepwater oil and gas production as well as shallow water and you live through the nightmare just like i live through the nightmare of the deepwater horizon. i will remind the members of the committee that we have 38 million acres in the outer continental shelf. we want to figure out a way, we want to figure out a way of moving forward with the production of oil and gas in these areas. and we talk about 14 deepwater wells, those are rigs where you actually have the people who are out there on those rigs working. i was actually on one of those rigs, the rig visiting them as they started moving forward. they had 14 rigs that are now working under permits that have been approved -- >> right. but they were working before they got shut down, mr. secretary. i know my time has expired. but it is very important for us

to recognize that unless we get some new exploration plans approved and new deepwater plans and so you can understand the reaction by some of us when you are asking to expand the time for review. and the time for 30 days is, i understand, could be 50 days. under the new proposal, it could be up to 170 days. i want to conclude with one chart, because i have 100 other questions and comments but five minutes. mr. secretary, this is what the gulf of mexico looks like. and i wish that you all could see what i just saw yesterday when i got back from morgan city, which has flood waters now lapping up at these communities. this is what the gulf of mexico looks like. these are pipelines, this is what our state does to support

the industry. you can see, texas, louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. we do not get one single solitary penny from a lease, bonus, or severance from any of the wells accept three miles off of the shore. no matter what we pass, the senator will not vote for anything unless there's some recognition of the platform that our state, you know, serves from the industry or nobody would be getting any money, any energy, any oil, any gas. i'm going to end there. but i have 100 other questions and commit that is i'll submit for the record. >> may i make a comment and respond? >> go right ahead. >> i think for the last two and a half years and you know we well, senator landrieu, from my time in the u.s. senate working on the committee and working on so many issues there has -- i have a jurisdiction that takes me from see to shining see into the oceans and all of alaska and

many other places. i have probably been in louisiana and the gulf of mexico more than any other single other state. and our efforts that you rightly point out need to focus in on the restoration of the gulf coast. and i know there are bills that you are working on to try to get that done. i know you were pleased with $1 billion early restoration on the gulf of mexico from bp that you are moving ahead with. it'll be at least 200, probably more. okay? but here's what i wanted to say. because i think you raise a very legitimate question. and that is that we expractice all of this oil and gas from the gulf of mexico about 1/3 of the nation's supply. and yet because of the hand of man over the last 100 years, you have what is one the most degraded ecosystems and degraded in which you and i and senator

bingaman and murkowski has been over several times. : not to do a variety of his things and a number of individual permits under the plans. right now there's a statutory 30

day limit on the time within which my agency has to be review and exploration plans. there is currently no time limit with respect to reviewing individual permit applications. islamic permit is 60-day i think that is the limit. >> i don't know if you were here that is the question senator frank and asked even if an operator submitted permit application the totally failed to comply with all of the new safety requirements it failed to show the ability to contain a subsidy blow out the statute would require that we would approve that permit. >> i don't think that's the way i understanding. you have the right to approve it or disapprove it but you have to act on it and the frustration is the bureaucracy is not getting accurate on. it's not just in the gas and oil. it's in cold, every permit people are so frustrated because the time element is so long they have no certainty whatsoever and they can't plan