constantly battling, manipulating, and micromanaging our economy, we will not see lasting job growth in our country. i realize that president obama and vice president biden are probably never going to agree with that statement. it is probably going to take a different administration to do the things that i truly think are needed to turn our economy around. but that does not at all costs of our obligation to work together to do what we can do -- that does not absolving us of our obligation to work together to do what we can do to find common ground. we can make a difference in the crisis our economy faces. i want to highlight three bipartisan bills that are opportunities to begin the process of finding got -- common ground, and building on the bipartisan efforts that have come about in the last month or two. the first bill was introduced by one of my colleagues in the

house, bob gibso. it is designed to eliminate costly and duplicative permit applications. pesticide use is already heavily regulated and all this does is create new burdens and requirements for farmers, ranchers, and job creators. this bill temporarily stops it. 57 of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle voted for it, that is nearly one-third of the democratic office. -- caucus. today, the court order goes into effect. it should have been stopped months ago. it is disappointing that the deadline has arrived and that this bipartisan bill has not

been enacted. but the senate still can act and it is a clear opportunity for common ground on jobs. october 6, the house passed the house resolution 2681, it regulatory act. we have some strange names for these bills. nearly 20% of our nation's cement plants will have to shut down if these new cement regulations her go into effect. literally eliminating thousands of american jobs. this bill gives federal regulators additional time and guidelines to develop a achievable governing emissions from manufacturing facilities. the extended time line is to ensure that we do not have should -- do not have plants shutting down and putting people out of work. when president obama came to a bridge over the ohio river

between ohio and kentucky, he did this at a -- an event at a concrete plant called hilltop concrete. and the jobs of the workers at the plant may end up being in jeopardy because of the rules that we intended to stop with this bill. 25 democrats voted for it, including one of their leaders. i am certain that president obama wants to protect the jobs of those people at hilltop concrete. and if there are differences, let's work through them, because i do not believe there is any reason we cannot get it done. another one of these bills is the epa regulatory relief act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by a democrat and republican. it gives federal regulators additional time and guidelines to develop achievable governing emissions from industrial,

commercial, and institutional boilers and incinerators. it is pretty arcane. but as the rules were being implemented, it is pretty clear that if you are operating a boiler, you have huge new requirements that you have to meet. we have 41 of our democratic colleagues in voting for it. it is a bill that will protect millions of americans jobs. both sides worked together on this. there was no reason to compromise. we found common ground and we were able to get this done. the danger is that the overlap will end up in some political pawn game in washington d.c., held hostage to a broader debate while the two parties clashed over their various philosophies. listen c'mon -- listen, there's too much that we agree on to

allow this to happen. and i believe it is up to you, the young people entering the workforce at the end of the school year, to get this done. the current generation of students that will graduate from schools like this one at a time when our country faces questions about its role in the world, our competitiveness is declining while our debt is increasing. if you are a student here at the university right now, or at another university, there is no one who has more at stake than you do. as a consequence of the that the united states faces, there's the possibility of a downgrading of our credit rating, thereby, increasing the interest cost on the nearly $15 trillion that we have added up.

we must deal decisively with the spending epidemic in our government, and specifically our failure to deal with entitlements that have caused spending trillions more over the next decade than what we bring in. we have caught a glimpse of how disruptive this can be in response to what happened over the summer. we were pushing up against the deadline to increase our debt limit. the stock market plunged, and frankly, i think it rattled many americans. but here again, a place where we need to search for common ground. the super committee is tasked with finding at least $one. true trillion in savings -- $1.2 trillion in savings to reduce the deficit. nobody thought the committee's job would be easy, and clearly,

i have not been. i do not think anyone is at all surprised. but our hopes here in the days ahead is that we can find common ground. everyone knows that we cannot solve the debt crisis without making structural changes to entitlement programs. you know it. i know it. president obama knows it. if we do not make these changes, the programs will not be there for your generation when your -- when you need them accurate i think everybody understands this. the fact of the matter is, strengthening these programs will be good for our country, and nothing would send a more reassuring message to the markets than by taking bipartisan steps to fix structural problems with medicare and medicaid and social security. judge handling of texas, and patty murray, a democrat from

the state of washington -- jeb handling of texas and patty murray, a democrat for the state of washington could not be more different in their ideals. but they will work together and find areas of overlap between the parties in getting this job done. common ground without, -- without compromising on principles is the recipe for some of the greatest milestones in recent memory. the 1986 welfare reform law is probie the most important domestic -- is probably the most important domestic reform law of this past century. it happened because both sides knew it had to be done. they locked arms and got it done. the same kind of effort can lead to success on jobs now, and on

our debt. i know this is personal for me, and for senator mcconnell as well. we want these things to happen. i did not take this job to preside over some partisan screaming match. i took this job to be speaker of the whole house, so we can truly listen to the people of our country, those who truly hold power in this country, listen to their priorities, and get step down. -- get stuff done. as i said earlier, faith in government has never been high. it does not have to be this low, though. i think it is natural to have doubts about the government. americans have had a healthy skepticism of the government since our founding. but we should never lose faith in our country or the system the founding fathers designed for us. it has worked and kept the nation's strong for two centuries and i believe it will do so for centuries in the

future. i want to thank all of you for the honor of being here with you today and i look forward to your questions. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, speaker boehner. in the same spirit of common ground, i should note that we have a number of dignitaries in the audience today, and i cannot name them all, but at least we should acknowledge that our yarmouth is, john your mus with us today, and our mayor, greg fisher. [applause] no use of the cards coming down of questions. let's begin.

dash,l call on john weber the first question from the audience. >> thank you, speaker banner. the first question i have deals with president's jobs bill and his recent actions. i would like you to comment on how he is doing and how congress would respond, as well as how you might pass some of the legislation in pieces. of >> as i made clear in my speech, i think is our job to find common ground. about a month ago, the majority leader, eric cantor, and i sent the letter to president obama outlining the similarities between our jobs bill and his jobs bill where i thought there was common ground. i expect the we will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to address the issues where you can find common ground.

with regard to the president's activities over the past week where he has decided that maybe the constitution does not matter, it is the president who taught constitutional law, if i am correct, so he understands article one, section 1 of the constitution gives congress the power of the purse. we will make sure that we are not violating the constitution while we are trying to find common ground to get the economy going again and get the people back to work. >> catherine? >> thank you, mr. speaker. we have a question from a young woman in the audience wanting to know what your favorite part of being the speaker is. >> well, probably doing events like this. anything outside of washington is a lot more fun than being inside washington. i think mitch will agree with

this probably. it is where america has its big debate. and regardless where people are on the ideological spectrum, their representatives come to washington, 535 of us, and we have a battle of ideas. and yes, we argue and, yes, we fight. but 95% of my colleagues, i think, are doing exactly what their constituents want. democrats or republicans. you know, the other 5%, we will not talk about them, all right. but most of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle are honest, sincere, and fighting for what they believe in. but that does not mean it will be real pretty every day. being outside of washington, you are not in the middle of the

pressure cooker. it is a lot more fun. a day like this is a lot more fun than sitting in my office looking at mitch -- [laughter] trying to figure out how we are going to solve the problem of the day when no one wants to do anything. >> thank you, mr. speaker. a member of our audience asks what your opinion is on the wall street movement. >> i understand the frustration with the economy and it is not producing jobs like they want. and frankly, under the first amendment, people have the right to speak out and to protest. but that does not mean they have the permission to violate the law. beyond that, you know, i lived through the riots over the vietnam war in the late '60s and early '70s. you can see how some of those

activities get out of control. some of us have lived through the race riots of 1968. that was clearly out of control. i would hope that these demonstrations will continue to be peaceful. >> thank you again for being with us today. it means a lot to all of us in the room. what you think is the future of the health care bill? >> the affordable health care act, or at least, i think that is what the title was. i call it obama care, and now apparently the president wants to call it obama care. in my view, i think it will deliver the worst health care system in the world and bankrupt are comour country. i think it is doomed for three reasons. it could be the courts that decide the individual mandate

for every american to buy health insurance, they may rule it unconstitutional. secondly, there will be an election coming up in a year. it is pretty clear that republicans and some number of democrats will have to go. and thirdly, it will just fall under its own way. over the course of this past year, you have seen various parts of this bill kind of fall away because it was not thought out very well, or it cost a lot more than people think it should have. there was one provision in the the long term provisions in obama care that the administration has decided not to go forward there. the provision was an amendment offered by a republican senator, during the debate, and it said they could not proceed with this long-term care program unless it was actuarially sound for the next 75 years.

that is kind of the basis for how we look at big entitlement programs. and because of that one provision, they could never see where this was going to be viable. frankly, i think we ought to take the same provision and apply it to the rest of obama care. if it is not economically viable and affordable over the long term of the program, then we probably should not proceed. [applause] >> john? >> mr. speaker, another member of the audience refers to the tax policy under both presidents clinton and bush, and the respective economic boom and recession and wondered what the gop's evidence for tax cuts as an economic stimulus would be. i believe the more money will

allow the american people told, whether they be families or small businesses, is money that will either be spent, save, or invested, all of which is good for the economy. while there is a role for government to play, money that goes to the government does not have the kind of a multiplier effect that it does when left in the private sector. and i am a big believer that the government should only take what it needs. the problem we have in washington is a spending problem. i have watched it for 20 years. mitch has watched it. we have spending that has been out of control and needs to be brought under control. what i was a first-time candidate in 1990, i said this. i said, the sooner we tackle our entitlement spending, the easier it will be to make changers -- changes necessary to insure those programs are around for

the long term. that was about 21 years ago. what have we done over the last 21 years? at best, and that around the edges. now what is happening is that we are chasing a runaway train. there are 10,000 baby boomers retire in every single day, people like me. 10,000 people on social security and on medicare. people are living longer and accessing medicaid benefits. this is not sustainable in any way, shape, or form. and the changes that need to be made, we are not talking about horrendous changes in the system, but small changes that will have a big impact over the next 10, 20, 30 years. that is where senator mcconnell and i are focused as we look at this debt commission, the super committee, and the job that it has to do.

but we have a spending problem, the big one. -- a big one. >> we have another question from the audience. someone wants to know about what your plans are for educational reform. >> when it comes to education reform, the secretary has been in conversations with both democrats and republicans trying to find a way forward. just like any big job that you might have around a house, breaking it down into smaller pieces gives you a chance to get the job done. the chairman of the educational work force committee, john klein from arizona, has taken the elementary and secondary education act and broken it down into about five pieces. i think we have passed about four of the pieces. and frankly, all of them will pass -- passed with bipartisan

support. the fifth piece will be more difficult because we are into the accountability part of the law. but i think it is time we take a very serious look at our education system. the facts are this, about half of america's kids get an education. maybe a bit more than half will get a diploma, but only about half of them are actually getting an education. i do not think we can compete long-term only educating half of america's kids. the current educational system, the structure that we have was designed over 100 years ago when most families had two parents there. the kinds of distractions in the evening were not as prevalent and people did their homework. we have different needs today and bigger challenges in trying to find ways to educate today's children.

and regardless of what kind of household a child might be born in, i think our society owes every child a chance at a decent education. that is not happening today, and it should happen. >> rose? >>, mr. speaker, how you feel about the president's promise to with fruit -- withdraw troops from iraq by chrichristmas? >> we all want our soldiers to come home. we have sacrificed hundreds of billions of dollars in treasure and thousands of american lives to try to help free the iraqi people from the grips of saddam hussein and to help those people fight for freedom and democracy. we have nearly 10 years' worth of effort. all of those lives and all that

money and my concern is that if we just walked out of iraq, we are risking everything that we have spent. the iraqis clearly are not capable of defending their borders. they have no ability to secure their space. they do not have the types of logistical things they need in place. they do not have the infrastructure in place that is needed for a country of its size. and right now they have the iranian regime just continuing -- the iranian regime just continuing to foment the discourse throughout the middle east. nothing would see them happier than to see us go because the iranians would attempt to fill the void quicker than you could blink your eyes. there is some discussion about the state department for filling a lot of these missions rather

than our military. i'm not sure the state department is capable of this because they've never done it, but we will continue to monitor this very closely. [applause] >> tyler? >> mr. speaker, a member of the audience today tells us she has historically allied herself with the republican party, but being fiscally conservative, she feels more more -- more and more alienated from a party every day precaution does the republican party plan to bring her back into the fold? courtney their party is what i would call pure. -- >> and neither party is what i would call pierre. and you will not get pure when you have a two-party system. but we need to focus on what brings us together as opposed to

those things that divide us. by focusing on what unites us, i think that helps. secondly, i would say this. if we are listening to the american people and following their will, it will bring our party closer together, and i think both parties closer together if we will listen to the american people and act on their desires, not our own. [applause] >> we have time for one more question. >> the last question we have before you today -- thank you again for coming on behalf of the mcconnell scholars and the rest of the global community. the last question i have for you today revolves around a bridges project that is central year in louisville, kentucky, and in cincinnati. how do you feel about infrastructure spending in those cases of the areas?

>> it is one of those areas that was contained in the letter that majority leader mcconnell and i sent to the president about a month ago because there was area for common ground. more needs to be spent to repair, replace, and in some places, build a new infrastructure. the problem is, nobody wants to pay for it. as a result, we have been looking through the last four years or so with most of this being contained in the highway bill, and reauthorize in this for three months, four months. i spent the last 10 weeks focusing on where we find the revenue to do something significant for our infrastructure. the second part of this is, we will find a new source of revenue for infrastructure. and we need to look at what we are doing with it.

it may not surprise some of you that there are 116 federal programs financed out of the highway bill. if you look back over the years at what we have done with highway funds, we have built some highways and some bridges, and we have built some sports stadiums and we have beautified everything under the sun. we have frittered away more highway tax dollars than you could ever imagine. if we're going to apply the revenue, we will clean up this mess so the money tree does get to the kind of projects that we all expect. and why do we need to spend five, 10 years going through all of the regulatory nightmares that it takes to build a new bridge, for example? why can't we streamline this process? [applause] we have to streamline this

process so we can get the project's start and end done. lengthening all of this, all it does is drive the cost up more and allows us to do that much less when it comes to rebuilding the nation's infrastructure. i want to say thanks for the opportunity to be here. as you can tell, senator mcconnell and i are great friends, kreag partners, and we work at this. it does not happen -- great partners, and we work at this. it does not happen by accident. i really appreciate the opportunity to be here with all of view. i am just a regular guy with a big job. thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> mr. speaker, this has been a great honor for us. and we would like t

small token of our appreciation join me one more time in thanking speaker of the house, john boehner. [applause] >> thank you. [applause] >> coming up in a few moments prime minister's question time from parliament in london. ..

>> successful move. and i will make those representations to my right hon. friend that we are generally the most open government there has ever been.

we lead the world in transparency, and the kid done much further than the government of which he was a distinguished member ever even dreamt of going. >> jason mccartney. >> thank you, mr. speaker. having had the excellent news this week on the increase in apprenticeships places up 15% to order the 43,000 codes my right hon. friend agree with me that the national service and service can play a key role in helping our young people into work. >> yes. divert the skills that employers need. >> grateful to the minister. questions to the prime minister. mr. marcus jones. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i had meetings with ministers and others, and in addition to my duties and will have further such meetings that today. >> the average 60 year-old living ten years longer than the

1970 public sector pension reform is essential. will the prime minister ensure my constituents but in terms of the text pair and public-sector workers. >> an important point. the two sectors of the treasury will make a full statement to the house. it seems to be absolutely vital that we do something is both fair to taxpayers and also affect the public sector workers the cost of our public sector pension system is up by one-third in the last decade. it is not fair to go on as we are, but the new arrangement must be fair to people who work hard in the public sector and on whom we all rely, and i can tell the house the low and middle-income earners will actually be getting more from their public sector pensions. everyone will keep would have built up so far. anyone within ten years of retirement will be no change in their pension, and at the end of all this people and the public sector will actually still get far, far better pensions than people in the private sector.

i really think it is time that the party opposite was clear that they do not support strikes made of this month. [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> mr. speaker, mr. speaker, does the prime minister believe that growth of half a percent over last year and unemployment at a 17 year high points as a success or failure of his economic plan? >> obviously everybody wants the british economy to grow faster. that's what everybody wants. but i have to say to the hon. to chairman, yes to this figure which was better than many people expected, isn't it noticeable but he cannot even bring himself to welcome news like that? the key issue, i think we all have to address is this. there is a global storm in the world economy today.

it is in our interest to help others confront the coal storm that we have also got to keep the british economy stave. we will keep a safe if we add to our deficit, add to our debt and put into stricter risk. >> blame the labor government, and then he blends -- [inaudible conversations] first you when the labor government, then europe. yesterday he was apparently blaming his cabinet colleague for a lack of growth in our economy. the true that this prime minister is on things go wrong it's never anything to do with them. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] now, let's ask about another one of his flagship policies, the business growth fund launched nine months ago with the bank. can he tell us the number of businesses in the business growth fund and made investments to track.

>> first of all, the problem -- the problem -- the problem -- the problem with prescript questions as he doesn't listen to the first answer. i didn't actually in my first answer bland the last liberal government, but if you like me to i can start right now. it was the last liberal government that left us the record debt, the record deficit, and it is this government that is having to deal with that. now, the s -- the business growth fund is one of the scheme to insure that banks are lending alongside the marlins game, which is actually seeing an increase in lending to small businesses. that is a record we can be proud of that something he did to achieve. >> mr. speaker, we all know by now with this prime minister that when he blusters like that he is either too embarrassed to answer or he doesn't know the

answer. let me help him. the business growth fund was announced nine months ago. it has five offices, 50 staff. how many investment, a grand total of two. and mr. speaker, it is becoming a passion with this prime minister. fanfare announcement and radio silence. he said in march and going to watch those banks like a hawk and make sure they deliver. so what is he going to do to get the business growth fund moving? he completely failed to regulate year after year. yes. yes. [inaudible conversations] >> order. order. order. the house is getting order. , yourself. the house is getting far too excited. it's only six minutes past. order. both the prime minister and the

leader of the opposition must be heard. it's called democracy and free expression. the prime minister. >> let me just give him the figures for what has actually happened under the bank lending schemes of this government. we have a hundred 90 billion of new credit this year up from hundred and 709 billion last year. that is a huge increase. 76 billion of this is for small and medium-sized enterprises up 15% of last year. we are seeing more bank lending under this commitment, but we're also seeing the bank will this of the people and the banker helping to pay to deal with the deficit that his government created. >> it totally helpless answer, one that his own scheme. the business growth fund does not a clue what has happened to their own scheme. now, mr. speaker, businesses are struggling, but one group in our economy is doing very well indeed. over the last year, over the

last year when many people have seen their wages frozen, director peres by 49%. the prime minister expressed concern about this last friday. the public wants to know what he's going to do about it. let me tell exactly what we are and will do. this government introduced the bank of the home more is in one year and they created. it is this government that is increasing fees. it is this demint that has had an agreement with switzerland and with liechtenstein to get ahold of people who put money overseas. it is this government that is actually lowering bank buses. where i agree with him is the arc bishop of canterbury it speaks for the whole country when he says that it is unacceptable and a time of difficulty with people at the top of our society are not showing signs of responsibility. it is this government that is

consulting to make sure we get transparency in terms of boardroom pay, proper accountability, more power for shareholders, all of those things we're doing. i have to ask him, so keen on this agenda, but did he do for the last 13 years? we produced the income-tax. gladly agree with something needs to be done. now, last conservative members, down. follow the prime ministers of vice. last march his fair pay review which he set up recommended that the government should require by january of 2012, january of next year with every top company should publish how much the highest earners get paid. now, that type of transparency, mr. speaker, is the least we

should expect. can he confirm that this will happen from january of 2012, yes or no? >> what you will note on like the last government that did absolutely nothing is we are consulting on a whole series of steps to bear responsibility to the board room. i have to tell you, we are of little bit -- we are a little bit wary about accepting lectures from a party that told us they were intensely relaxed about everyone getting filthy rich, a party that had a capital gains tax system so people in the city actually pay less tax than their cleanup. i know he has forgotten all these things. we remember them and have done something about it. mr. speaker, another report to government, another failure to act. the church this he said and will hutchins review and has done nothing about it. the recommendation is not calling to be implemented. mr. speaker, that is the truth about this prime minister.

he says we're all in it together, but even as the top 1 percent get away with it while the other 99 percent see their living standards squeeze and to lose their jobs. that is what people are increasingly saying this is a prime minister totally out of touch with their lives. >> i have to say in the liberal party, their election campaign, we have a bit of nerve to come and lecture us on that. thirteen years to regulate the bank. they did nothing. thirteen years to deal with bank bonuses and it did nothing. now in opposition the message to business is give us the money into can run our election. >> thank you, mr. speaker. cost the rail industry 43 million pounds of of the last three years. even drafted and years to control the network. meanwhile homes and churches are being killed of their legs.

in the past month one church has had a hundred and 69 memorial plaques stolen for its metal. will the prime minister join me in saying no is the time to legislate to stop these stolen metals going to merchants. >> mar will friend makes an extremely important point. a half to said the best of metals particularly for more memorials is an absolutely sickening and disgusting crime. we're working with the association of chief police officers to put in place an action plan to deal with this that involves looking at the whole regulation of scrap metal dealers. we're determined to do that to put a stop to this appalling crime. >> people in my constituency right across the country are desperately worried about the increasing cost of gas and electricity and heating oil, how lucky their homes warm. what can the prime minister tell the country that he will do to help people and the situation. in particular will he reverse the cuts the winter fuel lines

with its senior citizens? this is good enough to say that he is following the plans of the opposition to read so many things differently. why is indeed going to do something different? >> well, we have covered the plans set up by the less government, and that the does the right thing to do. on the cold weather payments we have taken the increase that was meant for one year and maintained that so that there is a particularly : to people will get that help. the other steps we're taking is making sure that energy companies to people proper information about the los that they can get. proper reform of the energy market. again, something that the party opposite has solicited to talk about. >> public-sector pension reform should be achieved through negotiation and compromise. does the prime minister agree that is totally irresponsible and downright destructive. senior politician of any

political party, strike action while negotiations are ongoing. >> the thing my right hon. friend is entirely right. a very fair offer to hardworking public servants to say that this is a strong sector of benson reforms and would give you pensions that are still better than anything available in the private sector. frankly, to have the labor front bench silent on this issue with their education spokesman actually encouraging teachers to strike is the height of irresponsibility. >> my constituents have a sun who has been serving in our nation's armed forces in afghanistan. in common with the royal british legion their regard the premises decision to abolish to be a big share. can the prime minister tell us what he thinks he's right and the royal british legion is wrong? >> a very important issue, and have discussions about it, as i

know my right hon. friend has as well. the point about the royal british legion and this issue is that the current proposal for the chief's office to be established with actually involve something like 10 million pounds of spending that we think the money would be better spent on improving all services across the country. real listening very carefully to concerns expressed in both houses of parliament but this issue. what really matters is are we going to improve the performance that is what service families want. that is what i want, and that is what we will deliver. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> public-sector workers in my constituency worked extremely hard to deliver essential public services, and another my right hon. friend will agree with me that we value the services tremendously. can my premise reassure these services and of the government's reform become necessary reforms

as they are, but ensure that these services are sustainable and remain among the very, very best. >> second certainly do that. a very important point. supporting public-sector pension says, by a third of last decade, now spending something like 32 billion pounds. a major item of public spending, and we're taking taxes of people, including in the private sector who have listed pension to pay for that pension provision. i believe it is a fair scheme. for instance, a teacher retiree on a salary of 37,000 pounds of for a full career will retire on a pension of 25,000 pounds and future, more than the 19,000 house that there would currently get. this is a fair set of changes. the less well-off are protected. the low-paid won't have to pay the increased contribution, and frankly the whole house of commons should get behind it is said the plane was strike action.

>> mr. speaker, when the promised a gusty 20 meeting week tried to persuade his colleagues of the urgency of coming up with some detail, not at all clear, representative p.m. pence will need shoring up well for next summer. fez naturally exist the same urgency and otherwise apart from getting ahead. >> i think he is absolutely right for what he said about the urgency and necessity of its agenda. i think some progress was made of the european council meeting a week ago. for the first time they did accept the proper breakdown of crete debt which has to be part of the solution. also a proper recapitalization of europe's bank done to a

credible test rather than the incredible tests that we have had in months,. the final element which she refers to ride the which ceased to have more detail added and more substance added, and that is to make sure they're is a proper fire wall to stop contagion in the eurozone. beneath his seven greater. we can involve ourselves in greek domestic politics, but it has become even more urgent to put meat on the bones of these plans to show that we are removing one of the key obstacles to global growth which is the failure to create a proper print to deal with problems in the eurozone. >> according to the government's own protection birds population is set to increase from 602 million today to 72 million by 2027, two-thirds of this increase being driven by immigration. will the prime minister commit to stem this increase by breaking the almost automatic link between foreign nationals to come to work here being granted citizenship. >> we are committed to doing

exactly that, and i think my hon. friend is right to raise this issue. i think the proper immigration control and welfare reform are two sides of the same point, and this government is committed to controlling immigration properly in putting british people back to work. the to work together, and i can tell him, today we have announced illegal immigration that comes to the student group, more than 450 colleges will no longer be it will sponsor a new international students because there were not actually properly established to do that. these colleges could have brought in more than 11,000 students to study each year. that is one example of this government is living up to its promise to get it immigration. >> the prime minister agrees. but as the government for the tennant will bill. >> i do think it is right. a smoking ban.

i have to admit as a former smoker and someone who believes strongly as someone who did support, it has worked. i think the smoking ban is successful. a much more nervous about going into what people do in side of vehicle. i look carefully at what he said, but i think we have to have a serious think. >> thank you, mr. speaker. the prime minister will be aware of the of the report issued yesterday on green energy investment in scotland. does he agree with me that this report very ably demonstrates that the benefits of real energy are only the price delano potential of the large-scale investment made possible by the u.k. and agrees that a drawn-out independence referendum is seen as a distraction from that? >> my friend makes an important point. a major financial restitution wonder survey of the dangers of investing in scotland where there is uncertainty about the future of the constitution. i think it is very important we

keep our unit can get together and stressed that when it comes to vital industries like green technology the combination of a green investment bank sponsored by the united kingdom government and the many natural advantages there are install on can make this a great industry for people in scotland but with only do that if we keep our country together. >> dr. allen white hit. >> the prime minister says that his government will be the greatest ever, does he still take that statement seriously demand if he does willy personally intervene to sort out the appalling chaos and his resulting from this flashing a feeding tariffs and six weeks' time leading to substantial job losses, care less than the industry, and devastation for hundreds of community renewal projects. >> it is this government that set aside 3 billion pounds for green investment banks the much talked-about and never done. this government that has put in place a carbon press law, one of the first government anywhere in the world to do that.

also put aside a billion pounds for carbon capture a storage, so this is a very green government living atop promises. absolutely right. >> the prime minister join me in congratulating the staff and a foundation statement in my constituency, the former school. the impressive. and also, also the gold medalist who will be receiving the award as stays cool. >> the prime minister. very impressive list. i don't know what to put in the water, but i think you would all like to have some. i join my friend and he grabs a living.

>> the agreement. take a personal interest. >> the hon. lady makes an important point. the was the attempt has not always been successful and does not always captured that which is to be captured. also in the taken interest. i can write to the hon. lady and set out what we intend to do. following the prime minister's answer a moment ago and given the huge anchor denny give me a personal assurance that he is committed from the boardroom to the shareholders of our company? >> i do want to see that happen. the answer to this is much more transparency about the levels of pay and strengthening the hand

of shareholders. something else we need to do which is to make sure that non-executive directors and not the usual rotating list of men at each other's backs and increasing the level over the federation. i want to see more women in the boardrooms. >> order. order. order. the house must come down. what the prime minister has described as the biggest back to work programs as the 1930's. it doesn't create jobs. there are 6,500 people unemployed. 28,000 out of work benefits, and only a hundred and 50 vacancies. what is this work program going to do about that? >> the work program plays a key

role in helping prepare people for work, and that is absolutely vital. also brings employers and so that they can offer jobs to those people. i look specifically at this issue because i know when i visited his constituency within that of course there was a shortage of vacancies in the borough itself, but we have to encourage people who live in london to be prepared to travel more widely to look for work. that is absolutely vital and part of the work program should be and at addressing exactly that. >> speaker, i tend more primary and more road traffic accidents than those in urban areas and yet received less funding. this is typical across the beach where residents pay more and receive less. will the prime minister meet with me in a group of other across the house representing rural areas to get a fair deal for those in rural areas, particularly the rural poor.

>> i am very happy to meet with my right hon. friend and it is important we have a fair deal. obviously a very big differences particularly in the use of retain fire fighters, but i'm happy to meet him and discuss this issue. >> the opposition. the government business growth fund has and paste it in precisely to companies. the prime minister, is that enough? >> with this government is done has cut corporation tax for every business in the country. introduced enterprise zones to help employment, actually increase the number of apprenticeship spots to number 50,000 over the life of this parliament. they criticize the original growth fund. there was the original growth fund and the labor. that's the point. let me just remind them, we inherited an economy with the biggest budget deficit in europe, and it is this government is helping our

economy to the international storm to make sure we remain safe. >> this week marks national adoption week. agree that we must continue although we can to support children in the care system. encourage prescriptive adoptive parents to come forward. >> my right hon. friend makes it extremely important point. we really do need more parents to come forward as potential adopters and potential foster care's because they're is a huge buildup of children in the care system who will get that help unless people come forward, but i think it is important the government makes the pledge that we will make the process of adoption and fostering simpler. it has become too bureaucratic, too difficult, and as a result that is putting people off. i'm absolutely determined that we practice. this is a sense of national shame that while there are 3,660 children under the age of one in

the care system, there were only 60 adoptions last year. we are publishing malformation on every single councils of the people can see how we're doing in terms of driving this vital agenda. >> called for the reopening of the defense review and says that britain is now pressing military equipment which might be final in the future. will the prime minister finally listened to the voices of the community and reopen his deeply flawed review. >> we had a defense review for seniors and now they want to in one go. absolutely typical of the opportunism of the party opposite. i think this is a day as facilities and libya are coming to an end that we should be praising our brave armed services and all that they have done. >> largely ignored by the previous government's.

the prime minister welcomes put forward by the community as : my constituency. >> i would certainly welcome mat. it is important that the because we're protecting the funding, even at a difficult time for the economy and for public spending, that is the education budget will be rising and not falling. as ever the shadow chancellor is wrong, even when he's sitting down. in addition, more robust and he stands up. i digress. as well as the extra. as well as the extra invested in the fuel, there is also the attendee for free school, which i think will be a major reform in our country bringing more goods. so perhaps a future shuttle chancellor he will learn a few matters. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> order. order.

it's a bit of a shame and the problem. >> thank you, mr. speaker. will the prime minister listen to the campaign in the 80,000 people that have written to him and to commit becoming a leading advocate to the introduction of a robin hood tax? will he make sure the the revenue is earmarked for sustainable development. >> i think there is widespread support for the principles behind such a tax, but it has to be adopted on a global basis. let me just say this as i think quite an important warning to those who are pushing this so hard. we must be careful that we don't allow other countries, including some other european countries to use the campaign for this tax that they know is unlikely to be adopted in the short term as an excuse for getting off their a commitment. in this house in this country we can be proud of the factory are meeting our eight commitment and

don't let others use this as a way of getting of things that they promised. the world population. sydney billion this week. that's an awful lot of mouths to feed. also predicting over the next 40 years food will increase by some the%, and that also means good news. sadly since 1990 the capacities of his fallen. will the prime minister agreed that this disastrous situation, we urgently before a strategy to grow burdens farming industry defeated all of the future. >> an important point, which is it is true that we have seen our own food security decline and our own food production severely challenged of the last in years. important to remember that farmers are businesses, and they need things done as other businesses do in terms of deregulation, predictable income and all of those things. this government is committed to making that happen which will benefit people in his own contingency.

>> mr. speaker, 2010, building more homes per year did prior to the recession, building more homes is a gold standard on which we can be judged. which your years of this parliament does the prime minister expect the girls tended to be achieved? >> will we have said is that we are going to expand the building of homes were social rent by increasing and reintroducing the right to buy with the last government so scandalously ran down. that is going to help. we also going to make available government land so that builders can get on and build the that having to buy the land and only having to pay when they have actually deliver the house, so we want to see an extra 200,000 homes built in that way, and that will give us a far better record than the government which she represented. >> ordered.

notwithstanding the increasingly maniacal stipulations of the shadow chancellor. [inaudible conversations] [laughter] the is it not market bull that in the middle of the world's biggest crisis britain is able to borrow at lower rates of interest than almost any other country in the world. >> as ever it takes the father of the house to bring the west and to the table which is if we did not have a proper plan for getting on top of our debt and deficit but would not have to nappers and interest-rate which is a great stimulus to our economy. instead we would have interest rates like the greeks, the spanish and the italians, and our economy would be hit. do you know how you get

interested side that? if we adopted the plans of the party opposite. their plan is for an extra 87 billion pounds of borrowing of this parliament. you do not sell the debt crisis by adding to your debt. you can go on making a rather questionable salute, but i have to say is time to take a primer. >> order. >> statements. the chief secretary to the treasury. >> will leave the house of commons al as members of move on to other business. you have been watching prime minister's question time live from the british house of commons. next week promises questions will return at its regular time of 7:00 a.m. eastern. if you missed any of this program every year sunday night it 9:00 eastern and pacific. for more information go to c-span.org and click on c-span series. you can also watch reason video,

including crimes dealing with other international issues. >> coming up in a few moments, a preview of the election with a panel of staff members, the republican presidential candidates. the senate is back in session at 930 eastern. >> would you continue? you will receive the edge in due course who attempted to with my answer until hell freezes over >> of former governor of illinois and toys and as the democratic nominee for president and lost. adlai's stevenson featured this week on c-span series chicken tenders. clive friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern.pppppp for a preview including more ofp the speeches and other video go to our special website for the series.

>> now a 2012 election preview hosted by the national journal. this hourlong panel included top staff members of the republican presidential candidates. we will show you as much as we can until our live coverage of the senate at 930 eastern. >> and we're back. they differ sitting up the stage. we have an interesting in the near record coming up. as many as you know the national journal covers the issues and trends impacting america and the makeup of congress in 2012 no issues are more dominant nationally than those relating to housing and the economy and the unemployed. we appreciate the partnership of the national association of home builders tunnel pilot is important issues. joining us today is jerry howard, ceo of homebuilders to mollifying advocate for home

building and housing. please welcome jerry howard. >> i wanted thank victoria and the national journal for allowing in ehp to co-sponsor this very important event. as victoria mentioned, while the economy is clearly a fundamental issue that i in the forthcoming elections, never before have we seen such a tie to the economy, and not just housing. housing has always been a significant element of our economy to make to percent of the gdp, but if you go out and travel outside the beltway right now and talk to voters, talk particularly to a highly motivated large block of voters like the bill worst, most of whom still have their jobs, most of whom own homes, they are concerned about the fundamental

asset that they have built their nastic around. they're concerned about the value of the house. even in markets where foreclosure is not a problem and understand that 70 percent of all foreclosures have taken place and only 11 states, 38 states out there where foreclosure is no problem, but declining house values is. now clearly the administration has not taken this problem had not yet. they talked about the foreclosure issue, but not about the other elements that are causing america's house values decline and keeping a stuck in recessionary times. neither has the congress unfortunately and today none of the candid it's either republican or the present have announced a plan that would tackle the overall housing problem. we believe that there cannot be fundamental economic recovery and so every american has reason to believe that the assets that they have been encouraged to build their retirement around is going to stabilize.

until they stop seeing declines in housing in markets where they're actually should be a demand for housing until policymakers bring capital back into the marketplace, until policymakers stop making it more difficult for our young people to buy homes, and until housing takes its place back as part of the fundamental fabric of our economy and the fundamental fabric of american social fabric. so i wanted thank you all for being here. i want to thank the national journal for allowing me to have this tremendous commercial, and with that would like to introduce the moderator's of this panel, abc news, political director in national journal apply correspondent. take you all very much. [applause] [applause] >> we're going to ask everybody to come up and did mike. sunland please come on up. very excited.

have a very great group. the gop primary and what's going on in the republican campaign trail. joining us this morning is mark mcintosh, director of policy for the john huntsman for president campaign. chief strategist for congresswoman michele bachmann, marc bloch, chief of staff for herman cain, jessie benton, national campaign chairman for congressman ron paul, robert walker, and pfizer for congressman newt gingrich. john bray bender, senior strategist and media consultant to senators rick santorum. adviser to governor mitt romney. thank you for joining us this morning and thank you for leading the discussion.

>> that's a lot of people. >> all right. i want to welcome our panelists. we know it is terribly inconvenient to take time of

right now from the campaign, so we appreciate your being here. sharing their innermost secrets with us today. no resiliency it. anything you wanted just, any news you want to break, won't tell anyone. so we're going to start off with mark. we feel you have not really gotten enough national attention lately and we wanted to have your turn today. obviously your candid it was the biggest maker of the last 24 hours. when you were interviewed about it he said that mr. kane had never sexually harassed anyone, case closed. in washington yesterday, said the same thing, that he knew of the sylmar. then his star seemed to change is the day went on.

the letter he didn't rumors some details about one of the settlements. my question is, how do we know that this is the end? can you guarantee that there is not more affirmation that is forthcoming about his past, or have we heard it all? >> the statement would be that mr. kane has never sexually harassed anybody in the story. as the hours go by it's interesting that we hear from a radio talk-show host in iowa that the receptionist thought that mr. keynes comments were inappropriate. if we have to spend every hour of every day responding to these ridiculous accusations, it will take us off our message in our campaign.

my statement will stand. mr. kane has never sexually harassed anybody, and a story. >> so this is the end of the story then. >> done. >> no more. >> move on. less talk to what the american people want to hear about, and thus jobs, jobs, jobs. >> do we think that we are going to -- can you guarantee 100 percent we're not going to hear from anybody else? >> what did you understand about what i just said? >> i don't know. we will go back to the second one. >> let me move for a second. the perry campaign. there is a video that is made of fire around. this weekend, very animated. a lot of people asking what was

rick perry doing to my thinking, seems to be a sight of him we have not seen before. can you explain what that was? was he just having fun with this? is there something else we should not? >> i think it was a great event. the governor was very comfortable, passionate, and very in days with the crowd in talking about his message of getting america working again. it was a great event. we have got great feedback. he's just a passionate speaker uncomfortable in his own skin. >> here open the videos more viral in mind. >> you have to have a cigarette to do that. i just set the follow-up, will he have a cigarette? >> if their perry will not have a cigarette and his nice beach. no. >> are you concerned that this on top of the debate performances leads people to the

assumption that this is the candid he gives very different sides of himself and different places, there's not really a consistent rick perry right now. he is getting offered more than embraced. >> no. unthink the mainstream media wants to make issues where there are issues, and there is no issue. the governor is a passion speaker, a strong leader, an authentic conservative, and has a consistent message ticketing america working again. i think a lot of times the press and the washington establishment try to make issue where there is no issue. this is one of those cases. >> okay. mix question of the the run the campaign of. we appreciate you being here. >> and not going to smoke a cigarette.

>> was very offended by that ad because republicans are supposed to smoke cigars. [laughter] just this past weekend, your candid it on top. give us one reason why we should not expect government to win the iowa caucus? >> because -- well, i am from a caucus state can actually kind of close to hire a lot. two factors that really dominate. when is it the logical motivation and second is our position. i have to say, i think a couple of the candid it's a very strong in the logical it but of its supporters, and that's just my job everything. we are -- governor romney is basically a 50 state campaign for the nomination, and this is a related to nakhodka 50 states, but we are prepared to give the distance a for have to. we will be competitive, not putting all the eggs in that basket, if you will, but i think it will be competitive.

we will see how it shakes out. >> as a follow-up tire of wanted to go with the santorum campaign . >> ability to dump. all-star with you because your kendis it is probably spent more time in iowa than anybody else. seventy counties. >> ninety-nine. he's in every county. >> been to 70. >> is made all the. >> is bent on 99. yet the two leaders of the iowa poll of the two people is that the least amount of time. can you explain to mac. >> i want to congratulate the romney. there were also first in the poll in october of 2007. which didn't count for much. in fact, mike huckabee was approximately 20 points behind in the october to dozens of an iowa straw poll.

and so what you see is that it is very early. probably between now and the iowa straw poll at least in debates. think you find a large part of the people are undecided. when you take the plus or minus in the survey it was to people at the top, and then you have everybody else after that. so people have to be very careful. if you look at the people still in the race, they came in third. spinning nothing. ideology does matter in a place like gile. >> being on the ground, kick the tires committed to know you. the congressman, he was sharing with somebody, supporting, and i hope he will support them as well. they turned to him and said i can't yet. i've only met them once, and that is truly have the people of i'll look at it, that's why it's important and why nighter should

be first in the kutcher that makes this decision. >> well, and follow up on that. your candidate, i think she might have won the straw poll. i heard that once it twice. and yet some media here saying the retail politics, the old-fashioned way of doing iowa or during the campaigns as we have known them are not as relevant in this day and age. there is an evolving in the way that voters are both getting and processing information and the king about candid it's. should we be thinking about iowa differently or is this still going to be michele bachmann shoe leather door knocking campaign? >> i do think violence take their responsibility very seriously. media has to read a lot of up and tell stories. i do think technology has changed things. to be in the town to talk to the

listed. the internet is a chance things quite a bit. the makers of every event we do in iowa, a lot of other people see it. it's not a media market only event, but i do think it comes down to meeting people, talking to people. really excited. i would say starting right now, so many holidays between now and the caucus. i don't think people have gotten their heads around focusing on it all. easy the fluctuation of the polls. it's no was focused, and we will have a really exciting 67 days here of people really engaging in the process, listening to these debates. there are a lot to mccourt, but you have to go meet folks with a start focusing, and i think they're starting to focus now. >> you guys are 100% committed to winning iowa? >> in iowa. >> you have to win iowa. >> we have to do well in iowa. we are positioned to.

we are a campaign that started in june. we're trying to win to the best of our ability, and that is we're doing. >> the opposition in south carolina, new hampshire, florida we are announcing today. it is kind of an odd question. we did more than others, we are positioned and all the states. planning on being in the mall. >> all right. representing nuking glitch. >> well, i think that he is certainly moving toward. the campaign has momentum. we are positioned to do quite well and i want, and i think that his campaign is also pulling strings in new hampshire and south carolina. well obviously the campaign would like to when the states,

but finishing strongly will put him in a good position. what is happening is that a lot of people in the country are beginning to take a look at this field and try to decide whether people who can make all the way through. i think about the great force secretariat someone wrote a book about and so the movie. stumbled out of the starting gate of the beginning of the triple crown but your grit and determination needed to win all three. this race is kind of a triple crown race. the media campaign that is on right now, moving to the early primaries. the primary season and then the general alexian. a lot of people are looking at the general election and sank to is it that we want on the stage with president obama defending our values. gingrich is looking like the person that people would like to have there. and so if he does well and the strongly in this of the

primaries i think he stands a very good chance of being one of the two candidates that gets in to be later going. i also agree that it is a different kind of campaign this year, social networking, twitter, a lot of these kinds of things are beginning to have an impact on voters because they feel a personal relationship with the candidates, even though they have done very shaken the hand. i think that's going to impact new hampshire, iowa, and i think it's going to play a role throughout this campaign season in a way that it never has before. >> the debates have also played a key role. >> sure. that is one of the reasons why it is now coming up. who you want standing on the stage with president obama when you get to the stage, and i think he has proven himself to be a person who is capable of being on the stage in and winning this debate.

>> i want to look to you for one second know that on the issue of debates. we know that earlier last week the perry campaign, even the governor himself using publicly about the fact that there were too many debates, may have to skip some. just a few days later you come out and say we're doing all of the november debates. many of which are really very close to each other. going to require a great deal of travel on your part, not particularly convenient. did you is spooked? is that what happened? a lot of folks are saying, well, the reason that he decided to do all those debates is the prospect that you got. people say he obviously can't really do that. he's taken. >> no. i think we are the only one on the state to estimates of five. >> is anybody else doing all five? five in november.

>> we're going to all of them. >> going to all of them. >> we're doing constant debate prep. >> call to fair play the role of herman cain. >> i don't think there are five debates. think there are for. >> was that? >> anyway. the point is you are doing all those debates, even after you talked about maybe not. >> we're going to make decisions that are best for our campaign. decided to do all the debates in november. that is the end of the story. much ado about nothing here. there is no change. the point is there are too many debates. i think everyone on this road would bet that 18 more debates between now and florida, which is january, everyone would agree there are too many. out of control from a logistical

and time standpoint. debates are an important part of this process and we will be there to participate. >> will the debate. >> will the debates. >> to think we're all happy rick perry will be there at the debates. [laughter] >> what does that mean to act can you talk about the fact that you all are doing very well and i'll attack their place. you are consistently right around ten or 12% in the national poll. do you have a feeling, is that what is happening? why can't we see more movement, even as the other candidates have gone up and down. you guys have not been able to take your vantage of the volatility here. >> i think that's pretty astute. >> at think we have been building steady support. to the growth. we are building the best organization in iowa and in

hampshire. we're also building organizations that i don't think any of a campaign except perhaps mitt romney can match in other early caucus states before to january, for harry, and up to march 6th. this is about delegates, and rare dissing ourself to do well and to win substantial delegates from the early caucus states. >> and last time you get a state in the same almost the whole way >> who will wake up and that they will have a pretty clear picture. the republican nominee or is this going to be a battle. >> so you think this thing is over by tuesday? >> it could be. it could not be. [laughter] we have seen several situations where there could be a nominee. it could be a knock down drag out fight. >> is anyone else want to weigh in on how you see the early primary states?

how that calendar is likely to be a pretty quick one? drawn-out because of the way the delegates are being allocated this time around jack and you think florida is kind of fire wall? does someone get past florida with the when the state? >> still up in the air. the winner take all. it looks like it is leading tour winner take call, but does not over yet. florida is very important, but that is still in play. >> i listened to your last panel . over sen tenderly. air campaign, we would probably like that. but i think their is a greater chance that it could go on a lot longer. we have a lot of candidates to have some rather fervent support . the republicans have not shown an interest in coalescing early behind a candidate up to this