following the crash that resulted in more than 20 deaths. keith lang available on the hill.com. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> you're listening to washington today. other news on wall street the dow fell 53 closing at 12,952. nasdaq was down 15. the s&p down 6. legislation to repeal cost control board also known as the ipab, the independent payment advisory board. legislation repealing that went through the house committee today. the energy and commerce health subcommittee voting 17-5 to repeal this. no amendments attached. the ranking member frank palone, democrat from new jersey and adolphos town crossing the aisle. votes not scheduled but are expected to happen by the end of the month and next month in

conjunction with the supreme court. franklin graham apologized to president obama for questioning his christian faith during an interview vm graham saying i regret statements which may have cast doubt on the faith of president obama. graham is the son of billy graham. he said, i apologize to the president and any i have offended for not articulating why i am not supporting him in this election. members of the naacp accused him of racial dischord. the number of mosques increased in the last decade according to a new study researchers found that the national count was

2,106 islamic centers compared to 1,209 back in the year 2000. and under a thousand back in 1994. the report was released today. the title is the american -- 2011 based on mailing lists, websites and interviews with community leaders and surveyed 500 mosque leaders. former senator bob perry,. vacated. democrat as well. kerry was also a presidential candidate back in 1992 and a former nebraska governor. finally the smithsonian institution plans a four-day festival with nasa to welcome space shuttle discovery to the discussion in april. national air and space museum announcing plans for more than

25 special exhibits, programs and activities to highlight the history of the space shuttle program and the future of space exploration. discovery is scheduled to leave kennedy space center in florida on the back of a jet on april 17th, fly over parts of the washington area. the smithsonian is planning spot the shuttle gatherings. the formal ceremony planned for april 19 at the sent isser next to dulles airport in virginia where it will be displayed. back in a minute with more "washington today." >> get regular updates about what's on c-span radio with twitter. including which events are live. and links to help you listen. go to twitter.com/cspan radio and click follow. there are twitter feeds for c-span television, book tv, american history tv, road to the

white house and washington journal. >> the headline from the new york times, north korea agrees to curb nuclear works. in exchange the u.s. is offering aid. the story broke this morning. here are details courtesy of the new york times website. north korea announcing that it would suspend a nuclear weapons test and uranium enrichment as well as allowing international inspectors to monitor activities at the main nuclear complex. this is a step that raised the possibility of ending a diplomatic impasse that allowed north korea's nuclear program to continue with no international oversight for years. the obama white house calling the steps important if limited. nonetheless they signal that the new leader kim jong eun is at least willing to engage with the united states. the u.s. is pledging to exchange tons of food aid to help the isolated nation. the issue came up in statements

earlier. secretary of state hillary clinton testifying on the budget. getting questions on the developing story from representative ed royce, republican from california. >> this morning it was announced that north korea has agreed to suspend uranium enrichment. that was announced in tandem with the obama administration's finalizing details on food aid to north korea. 240,000 metric tons of food aid. i had legislation passed last year that prohibited food aid to any country that diverted for unauthorized use. the french ngos told us of monitoring food aid which ended up on the food exchange in north korea's capital. we have numerous examples of how

food aid went to the military in north korea. the law now would indicate we have to verify that. we have been duped a number of times by north korea on the agreements. what i'm most concerned about is when they sell it on the food exchange for hard currency it goes into the weapons program. so i would ask you about that and get your response. >> well, first of all, i think you're right to be cautious with the provision of humanitarian si assistance because of the concern for welfare and well-being of people including those starving in north korea. we have done a series of assessments and concluded that a targeteded 240,000 metric ton nutritional assistance package that targets vulnerable groups,

mostly women and children, is merited but before a program can begin we have to reach agreement on monitoring mechanisms to ensure the food is reaching the people that we intend it for. and that would be your responsibility to set up mechanisms and to be sure as we can be that it will be put to the right use. >> thank you. within the confines of the new law. we have to verify this. i have suggested a crack down on north korea's illicit activities. we have sanctions on the bank. they were using that to run their illicit activities through drug smuggling and cigarettes and other activities when you cut off that kind of currency you force the regime to come to

the table. one of my great frustrations was although we shut that down for a number of months and he couldn't pay his generals and the word from defectors was they couldn't get parts. there was a piece for a satellite they needed. this was for a missile program. they were trying to buy a gyroscope on the black market. they didn't have the money because we have done that with sanctions and then the sanctions were lifted. my hope is that the administration would approach this from the standpoint that that could be effective. i want to ask about whether the administration is going to follow through on the elicit activities. >> thank you. >> the comments earlier today of congressman royce who was asking questions to secretary of state hillary clinton as she testified before the house foreign affairs committee with questions about north korea's nuclear program.

the headline today in agreement between pyongyang in washington in which the u.s. will provide food assistance to north korea in exchange for north korea's agreement to allow monitors inside north korea also scaling back its nuclear program. this is "washington today" on c-span radio. construction funding or maybe more specifically the lack of it, is a major concern in the department of veterans affairs and the proposed 2013 budget which includes a 10.5% increase in construction project but underfunds facility maintenance and other construction projects for the third consecutive year the budget process reductions in construction and maintenance programs raising concerns by senator murray from washington, democrat, and chair of the veterans affairs committee. also with automatic budget cuts in place with congress's inability to reach agreement on spending programs. that issue comes up with the veteran affairs secretary as he

testified earlier in the day. here is a portion. >> like i said in my opening remarks i believe all v.a. programs including medical care are exempt from guts but there is ambiguity between the act and the existing law. when i asked the acting o.m.b. director to address this during a budget committee hearing two weeks ago he said o.m.b. is yet to make a final determination. i'm concerned that by not settling the issue now we are failing to provide veterans with the clarity they deserve to have. i want to ask you, do you believe all v.a. programs including medical care are exempt from future cuts? >> i think the answer that the o.m.b. director provided you is the same one that i understand they are still addressing the issue. for my purposes i would tell you i'm not planning on is

sequestration. i think in part or in whole it is not necessarily good policy. i think the president would argue that the best approach is about deficit reduction. he believes the budget he's presented does that and asks that the congress look at the budget and favorably consider it. >> i think we all hope that is the outcome. we want to provide clarity to the veterans. they are concerned about the issue. secretary, last year we talked a lot about mental health care and i think we together uncovered a lot of serious issues. best summed up by a veteran i heard from who uses the ann arbor medical center. had to wait months to get into counseling.

veterans seeking mental health care and also to bring down the unacceptably long wait time. over the course of the last fiscal year the number of iraq and afghanistan veterans looking for mental health care went up by about 5%. that's about 18,000 veterans every quarter. i wanted to ask if you believe the increase in mental health funding in the budget request is sufficient to accomplish the goals and keep up with the increasing demand. >> i believe that the budget, if you look at the 13 budget requests, i think it's adequate for us to meet what we understand the requirements are.

are there issues that we'll discover between now and execution of budget? i would say if we do i would be the first to tell you. now, you asked us to do a survey and we did. it was hastily done. senator bird referred to conclusions out of the survey. out of 20,000 of our health care mental health providers, 319 were surveyed. the results were as described. my question of vha was did you go to the places we thought there would be problems and the answer is yes. i would say we got a pretty pure spops. i think we need to make sure we'll take a broader look to understand what our issues are and where there are

opportunities for reallocation and if it becomes clear to hire more people. i took a look at what we have done in mental health over the last four budgets. if we look at it, it's unimpressive. between 9 and 13 our increase is 39% in mental health. if you include the 14 advanced approach, that goes 45%. >> that's because of the soldiers coming home from war which is dramatically increasing. >> true. we are trying to determine even if we don't have clarity. we want to see a larger survey

as i indicated and then see what the outcomes are. >> the veterans affairs secretary testifying on capitol hill with patty murray. on the hill, leon panetta saying the pentagon would be planning for the potential of automatic spending cuts. you heard from senator murray. the spending cuts that come with sequestration. as a way of background if congress fails to raise a certain amount of money part of the budget control act put in place last year the automatic cuts would take place beginning in january of 2013. that would include $500 billion in cuts from the department of defense. you heard from patty murray the impact it would have on veterans affairs and the veterans returning from the wars in iraq, afghanistan and elsewhere in sur ves outside the united states.

>> you're listening to c span radio's washington today. we are heard in the washington, d.c. area. >> at the white house tonight the president will be honoring more than a million american troops who served in iraq by welcoming a small cross section to a formal white house dinner. among those in attendance, a colonel in the u.s. marine corps, todd rosier. thanks for being with us. >> thank you. >> what do you expect this evening? >> well, i was invited to attend a dinner at the white house by the president of the united states. what i was told by the sergeant major in charge of organizing the event we would be representative of all the servicemen and women who served in iraq. it is an honor to be selected for that and representative them. i'm expecting to uphold the

legacy of honor and courage that's been demonstrated in the war in iraq. >> when did you get word of your invite? >> it was a couple weeks ago they contacted us. then it was a process of submitting information for it. >> you are the recipient of a silver star medal. what happened and when? >> the event happened in december of 2004. after about eight hours we ended up taking care of the problem. at the end of the day the actions that i took that day ended up with this medal. >> in the past there have been parades welcoming home troops who served in battle. richard nixon holding a gala at the white house to honor vietnam p.o.w.s. is this an appropriate way to say thank you to troops who served in iraq? >> i think it is.

i think the president has said it's the initial recognition of the success we have had in iraq, understanding that we are still fighting. or in afghanistan. i'm fairly certain at some point when that's over that they will recognize everybody who served across both iraq and afghanistan. >> as you look at the developments in iraq what do you think the u.s. legacy is and will be? >> well, the legacy we see in iraq depends on what the iraqis do now. we have given them the opportunity to enjoy freedom and liberty. now they need to decide what sort of form that will take for them and their children and grandchildren. >> colonel, you were on the front lines in iraq. what did you see? what were your impressions about your involvement in this conflict? >> well, it was a long process.

the marine corps was largely in anbar province. so my experience is largely from what happened there and fallugia and ramadi. we have an adaptive and professional force that's able to figure out the war and come out victorious. >> how are you preparing for tonight's dinner? what will you be wearing and is this your first time at the white house? >> definitely my first time at the white house. wearing evening dress which is the equivalent to a tuxedo for civilians. >> and your wife? >> my wife is dressed up in an evening dress that would go alongside a tuxedo. >> is there a sense of excitement? what are your thoughts? >> we're very excited. the people i have seen today doing interviews with various

media outlets are excited about going. it's a wonderful opportunity, a unique experience to sit down and have dinner with the president of the united states and a great certainly a great h represent all the men and women that have served in iraq. and just, contributed o'tremendously to the success we saw over there. >> a veteran of the war in iraq. he's a colonel in the u.s. marine corps joining us here in washington. thanks for be with us. >> thanks. >> this is "washington today" on c-span radio. as indicated, richard nixon threw a huge gal la for former p.o.w. veterans. that took place in may of 1973 so we're wondering how that event will compare to tonight's event. we learned from the associated press, richard nixon holding a lavish dinner for about 1300 guests in a huge, red, white and yellow striped tent on the south lane in may of '7. the entertainers? bob hope, john wayne, sammy dachs jr., irving berlin and

other celebrities and this toast, from president richard nixon. >> and now i do come to the in a moment and i propose the toast and it is traditional on occasion to propose the toast to a lady rather than to a man. and on this occasion, i think of a first lady and of many first ladies. of course, traditionally, the wife of the president is the first lady of this country. i can tell you as i look back over those months and years, that we have met with the wives and mothers of those of you who were prisoners of war. they were and are the bravest, most magnificent women i have ever met in my life. [ applause ]

[ extended applause ] >> now if they will give me my official toasting glass, i will propose the toast. if all the gentlemen will please rise. tonight, as president of the united states, i designate every one of the women here, the wives, the mothers, and others who are guests of our p.o.w.s as first ladies. gentlemen, to the first ladies of america! >> president richard nixon, may of 1973, a dinner that took place on the south lawn at the white house honoring those former p.o.w.s returning from vietnam and the tribute to family members who had dealt

with the separation of their loved ones. and we've showed that or listened to that because it's tonight where the president is hosting a similar dinner, with a smaller gathering of about 120, representative of those that served in the war in iraq. a nine-year conflict and the president with members of the military from all 50 states, u.s. territories and the district of colombia. and by the way we'll have live coverage of the president's toast this evening on c-span networks. let's turn to presidential politics. mitt romney may have won ugly in michigan, by reporting of politico, but his narrow victory will be tempered by mounting criticism of his candidacy even though his resilience is about to be tested against some bigger prizes next tuesday's super tuesday. michigan a must-win state for mitt romney. the state where he was born and raised and he won by three or four percentage points although when you look at the delegate count it will be split seven shashlly down the middle between mitt romney and rics.

and today, a democrat from michigan and former governor jennifer grandhome, also from michigan, people are wondering whether or not it might have been better for rick santorum to win michigan in terms of democrats looking at this race from the outside? >> you have a question on the line from abc news. >> caller: can you hear me? >> yes. >> caller: thanks for taking my question. i'm just wondering, for the governor and senator, mitt romney's win last night, is that at all frustrating or disappointing to you in state democrats, given the protests that democrats organized somethe ad campaigns, the money spent? the organizing by some state democrats to get dems to vote yesterday. was that at all frustrating or

disappointing given your efforts? >> i would say -- i'm certainly not too disappointed because i don't think there was an official organized effort there. there were random pockets of democrats that wanted to create operation hilarious. romney should be disappointed by the margin of his victory when it should have been a much -- should have been a slam-dunk. it should have been a margin like what he saw in 2008. and instead, he ended up expanding a huge amount of money and resources and a huge amount of his personal capital mt. state that should have been easy for him and i do think that he should be very disappointed that he has blown his general election chances in michigan. >> i would say, i was surprised how narrow the victory was. i thought, given the amount of money he spent there and given the fact that his family name is still familiar there and his dad was governor, he would have won by a larger amount and, so, that's the only thing that

surprised me is -- his win didn't surprise me and it does disappoint me but i think the comments that he made during the campaign were very disappointing to the people of michigan. >> senator carl levin and former governor jennifer grand homofrom michigan, a democratic spin on the from a michigan and rick santorum on the trail in tennessee and later in ohio, he points out that he's actually the winner in michigan with the wind at his back. the former pennsylvania senator also argued that because he captured 15 of the state's 30 delegates, it was essentially in terms of the all-important delegate count, a tie. mitt romney however, did win the popular vote. now the focus is on key states like tennessee, massachusetts, georgia and ohio. a couple of polls showing that rick santorum is ahead in tennessee and ohio.

we'll, of course, continue to have these events covered. john, the senior adviser to the santorum campaign and taking questions from reporters about strategy for next tuesday. >> hey, john. >> caller: can you give us little outlook on super tuesday, what is your strategy and your organization outlook in ohio? especially in the south, where you're trying to compete with gingrich? >> well, my first goal is to get automat all of you folks that get it right that michigan is different than it was when you went to bed last night. it's not a win for mitt romney, but it's a tie for mitt romney and his home state. so number one, that's one of my most immediate goals. the second thing is, if you've looked at the super tuesday states you find that we're doing very well in many of those states and we believe we can play in almost every single super tuesday state. we're on tv right now in all but

i think two or three of those states. we've made trips to almost all of them and we'll be back to many of them between now and super tuesday. in the last week, i believe, there's been polls that show us ahead in tennessee, oklahoma, washington state and ohio. it will likely shows us that we are second place in georgia, behind newt gingrich, ahead of mitt romney, so i think our ability to play in many of those states is already there with empir cal data. we tend to be very aggressive in doing that. we're hopeful, also, that if we can beat this well well in romney's home state, we clearly think this bodes well for super tuesday. and i should mention, one other thing is that we are being outspent by romney and his super pac and we have no -- we have no false hopes that that won't continue to be the case.

however, we're finding that we are raising enough money that we can effectively get our message out there. in the month of february, so far, and today being the last day, thanks to leap year, we've had over 115,000 contributors to our campaign in the month of february, alone. and we believe that we'll wrn today, surpass what president obama averages on a monthly basis. and i think that's a spectacular statistic that shows this campaign is growing exponenti exponentially and people are being supporters by writing checks and that should help significantly to be able to compete on super tuesday. >> that's a teleconference earlier in the day, a senior adviser to the rick santorum campaign with an eye on next tuesday's super tuesday. c-span crews traveling to ohio and keeping an eye on other key primary states next week