take on the industry. >> the department yesterday had announced its analysis of this merger, the proposed merger of osm and blm. it generated a fair amount of controversy with the energy committee when that was announced. i do appreciate what the interior has done to avoid the statutory responsibilities. but the analysis as i understand it fails to quantify how this merger is actually going to generate any savings or efficiencies. and we had asked for an assessment of the costs and the benefits of t s of the proposal. but from what i can tell, the department has failed to include any of that. i'm of the mind that the interior department needs to go back and actually calculate whether the consolidation of

administrative functions is really worth pursuing. i know that you evolved in this probably more so than most others out there. what can you tell us about this new proposal versus what was originally laid out there? and about the fact that we haven't been able to demonstrate that we're going to see any cost savings here? >> again, i think the jury is out relative to how much cost savings there actually will be. >> you do agree that's an important part of what this was all about? >> it is. but we also believe that there will be efficiencies gained based upon the actions that the secretary approved yesterday. and by that, and what you read is that the bureau of land management will be providing administrative support the office of surface management, where they were required to hire similar skills and positions that we already have in place right now. they would no longer need those

types of positions because those services would be provided by the bureau of land management. some of the revenue collections functions would then be transferred to the office of natural resource revenue. the office of surface management for a while would remain an entity in the department of interior, forming their mandated functions. what we're trying to achieve is administrative efficiencieefficd to allow the office of surface management to focus their limited dollars on the important work that they doe perform on behalf of this nation. >> so are you suggesting then that the cost benefit analysis will still be coming to us? that, in fact, there is an ongoing assessment in terms of what cost savings might be achieved that we might be able to learn that later?

now, that's not what i'm implying. we're going to learn how much cost savings there are going forward and implementing the actions that were approved. >> i'm going to be inquiring with the secretary of the air force where they're going to achieve certain cost savings. our social security count me a bit of a skeptic if we're waiting to see where efficiencies are going to be gained. there's a lot of consternation about this specific merger. so i would hope that we would be focussing on how we see those savings, how we gain those efficiencies. >> again, i think there will be some savings. i just could not give you the exact amount of savings at this point in time.

there will be less people that would be employed. the systems would be consistent, or at least the systems that we would have in place in the bureau of land management that would allow us to provide the support that osm would require are already in place that wouldn't require us to do much adjustments or to increase that type of capacity. and again, we would be benchmarking against what osm is currently doing and improving our own performance and operations within the blm. >> mr. chairman, thank you. >> thank you, senator. >> and thank you, gentlemen, for your testimony. >> just a very quick follow-up on what senator murkowski was talking about. there will be less duplication? >> there will be.

>> and where does the box sto-- buck stops? >> you have my phone number. >> i'm not talking about your department necessarily. but there's duplication of work being done and when it comes to a problem that arises, there's, well, too many cooks in the kitchen. so you can't nail anybody down. would this from your perspective, would this help with accountability? >> i do. again, there's a lot of opportunities for us to improve our performance. in these lean times that we're all in, we need to be looking at every opportunity we have to improve our performance, create the efficiencies that the american tax pair are demanding a tone reduce costs because there is no new dollars coming our way. >> all right. well, thank you. that was just brought up and i'm glad senator murkowski brought it up because i think ultimately in the end, i think money is

important but for us, what's equally important in my opinion, is if something goes upside down and there's more than one agency dealing with it, people slip through the cracks. that's not what i want to talk about. in your budget, the agency has a goal of 10,000 mega watts at the end oof the year. the department sent a request for leasing on public lands. a proposal similar to a bill that i have. 1775 which directs the agency to pilot competitive leasing. the blm request is a bit different. it does not include revenue sharing for states or communities or ekro systems. which are most impacted by the development and has minimal side boards for mitigation avoid dance. and doesn't streamline the process as 1775 does.

i believe it's because blm does not have the authority to do so today. i am optimistic to see the agency move forward, but leasing is only part of the equation. you would like to have you expand on how your agency plans to address the broader issue of impact to communities and natural resource if the permitting is expanded. >> first and foremntrued by you legislation. the return some of the revenues to mitigate some of the development. we look forward to working with you, started in, and otherings in this congress to pass common sense legislation that would allow us to meet our common goals. as we go forward with using public landso achieve that goal we are quite confident that by 2013, we will have approved

11,000 megawatts of renewable energy generated from public lands that would include wind, solar, and geothermal primarily. we are also moving for process nepa process to designate solar energy zones where we would steer development to areas that have already been screened, analyzed, cleared for such development. in the near future we would steer the development to the best place where is the development can go forward and actually achieve our mutual goal of diversifying our nation's energy portfolio. at the same time, we understand that these are large scale projects. they're large footprints on these public lands. therefore, we need to make sure there's appropriate mitigation

to offset the lands that are being dedicated for that particular type of use. we work very closely with the communities, with we're working very closely with all public land stakeholders, with the industry itself, as well as environmental groups to come up with an appropriate mitigation for such a large scale commercial development. and i think we're seeing some successes. >> power is very costly at this point in time. senator murkowski and i have a bill which would expand our knowledge about geothermal energy and its potential. can you speak on your efforts to expand geothermal production and thear this point in time to employing this technology? >> well, quite honestly, the footprint associated with

geothermal is a lotless than with wind and solar. it also has probably the highest potential for future development than probably solar or wind as it relat to the amount of public lands that would be dedicated or made available for that type of particular use. when you're kpooting against coal and other energy sources at this point in time, but we do believe that geothermal will be a major part of our nation's portfolio in the years to come. >> are you facing any barriers at this point in time other than money? >> no, we're not. >> thank you, mr. chairman, i think a three-member committee with a three-member board, this works out pretty damn nice. thank you all for your time. >> thank you. senator tester, i want to thank the witnesses for their excellent testimony and for your skillful leadership for your agencies.

i want to thank my colleagues for a very productive and very houghtful hearing. questions. i would ask all of my colleagues to submit them within a week, by march 21, and the gentlemen to respond as quickly as possible to any wen if there are any of my colleagues that wish to have statements commit submitted for the record, they will be ce for the record. once again, thank you and we are adjourned. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> our government hasn't caught

up with the new facts of american family life. families have changed so why can't washington? new facts, moms working. nearly 65% of all mothers are working. part time, full time, all of time, keeping the family together, making ends meet, making america more prosperous. working mothers need affordable daycare and the pay they deserve. too often they can't get ooit p dth oo either. >> with nearly 13,000 days in congress, mikulski will surpass edith rogers who served in the house from 1935 to 1960. >> in a few moments, former

representatives patrick kennedy and jim ramstad an mental health insurance. and then the agency's impleme implementation of the dodd/frank financial regulations la uh. law. now, former representatives patrick kennedy and jim ramstad in a bill they co-sponsored in 2008 which requires most insurers to provide covere four years after the bill passed, they discuss how it's being implemented and the challenges for those seeking mental health insurance. this is an hour. >> good afternoon, and welcome to the national press club.

we are the world's leading organization for journalists and are committed through our programming events such as these while fostering a free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club, please visit our website at www.press.org. ease visit www.press.org/institute. on behalf of our members worldwide, i would like to welcome our speakers and those of you attending today's event. we welcome guests of the speakers. and if you hear applaud, members

of the public are also attending so it's not necessarily a lack of journalistic objectivity. our luncheon is also featured on our podcast from the national press club, available on itunes. you can also follow the action on twitter, using the hashtag npc lunch. after our guest speech concludes, we'll have an answer and question segment. i will answer as many questions as time permits. now it's time to introduce our head table guest and i would ask each of you to stand up briefly as your name is announced. from your right, noel waghorn, associated press. keith hill, bloomberg bna. pam hyde, administrator, substance abuse and mental health services administration and guest of our speakers. angela king, the reporter from bloomberg news. i'm going to skip our guests. we have allison fitzgerald,

freelancer and speaker's committee chair. and again, i'm skipping our guest. robert carden, speaker committee member who organized today's event. sherry gleed, assistant secretary for planning andevalt health and human services. ed eisley, editor "the hill." john mulligan, providence journal. and tracy jann, "boston globe." bipartisanship is rare in washington these days, but it can work. just ask your guest can today, former congressman patrick kennedy, a democrat from rhode island and his friend and one-time colleague jim ramstad, the former republican representative from minnesota. in to 2008, these two co-sponsored the mental health

act to treat mental illnesses as they wouldts.at the legislation is considered a landmark achievement in the arena of mental health. and its passage is also a tribute to patrick's late fatp r father, senator edward kennedy, long a champion of those with mental disabilities. this was a personal crusade for pat kennedy and mr. ramstad. mr. ramstad has struggled with alcoholism and mr. kennedy has been open about his past struggles with addiction. in 1996, a weak version passed then but the insurance companies used loopholes to get around the legislations. the legislation effectively closes those loopholes. both men are making sure all provisions of the act are fully implemented under the administration's new health care law. both ramstad and kennedy retired from congress. mr. ramstad continues to work on mental health issues and is a board member on the national

center on addiction and drug abuse at columbia university. mr. kennedy is currently living in new jersey and is recently married and expecting a child. congratulations. >> thank you very much for that kind introduction. i didn't know you were a democrat, kennedy. i want to thank all of you for being here own behalf of the parity coalition. and especially thanks to all of you who have worked so hard, some of you since 1996 in the very begin on the mental health and chemical addiction treatment parity act. i want to point out one individual. if i started thanking individuals for their contributions, we would be here all week. but i want to point out one

national hero who has helped so much in this effort, who has helped so many people in so many ways. he's one of patrick's best friends, one of my best friends, one of america's best friends, max cleeland. max, thank you. [ applause ] the reality of this effort is we're not there yet. we're not there for millions of americans suffering the ravages of chemical addiction and mental illness. i remember when paul wellstone first got me involved in this effort in in 1996. i remember paul saying we have a

long, hard road to hoe because we're going to run into very powerful special interests. in fact, it reminded me -- i was thinking the other day of my first campaign in 1990 for congress. and on election night, i got a little bouquet of flowers with a card that says may you rest in peace. that's the same reaction i had. may you rest in peace. so in my puzzlement i called the florist the next morning and expressed the fact that i was a little bit confused over this message. and she said well, let me check my records. so the florist went and checked her records and came back a few minutes later and said ramstad, if you think you're puzzled, how do you think the guy at the cemetery feels who got the card that said congratulations on your new position. you have a long, hard road to hoe. well, i want to thank you for the parity implement coalition for hoeing that long, hard road

for being there night and day. some of you that i sa beginning. it's about time we treat the diseases of the brain the same as diseases of the body. noo more discrimination against people with mental illness or addiction. no more higher deductibles, no more inflated co-payments, no more limited treatment stays decided by bureaucrats instead of health care providers. it's about time we have a final rule that ends this discrimination for once and for all against people with dpzs of the brain. we need to stop this d discriminatory treatment. remember our field hearings back in 2007 when patrick and i went on the ro ed to 14 states to drum up grassroots support? how many of you attended or

participated in one of those hearings? well thank you. thank you very much. we're back. we're back. our strategy worked then and we're back for another round. the parity bill passed congress, largely as a result of your efforts. the people at the grassroots level who called, who e-mailed, who visited town meetings of their members and urged them to vote for parity. you changed vote, you changed minds, you educated members and you made it happen. and we're going to do the same thing with respect to the rule. the parity bill is, as you mentioned, theresa, passed the congress, was signed into law by president bush in 2008. and this is 2012 and we still don't have a final rule. still don't have a final rule. so we need to rekindle a new torch to spark a final rule that ends discrimination against people suffering from mental

illness and addiction. as i said, for once and for all. with members of the parity implementation coalition, aim mee kennedy's husband and i are launching the patriots for parity tour. somebody suggested we call it the parity reunion tour, but we said we're no rock band, believe me. we're just trying to fight for a worthy cause and get the ball over the goal line. this is going to be a nationwide tour to save and strengthen mental health and addiction treatment parity. and i'm pleased to announce today, very pleased to announce that the first confirmed hearing will be in my home state of minnesota july 17 in st. paul at the minnesota recovery connection. we also tentatively have three such hearings scheduled prior to july, but they have not yet been

finalized. the arrangements have not yet been finalized, so it would be premature to make those announcements. but we're going to every corner of this great country to mobilize the grassroots once again, to prove once again that the people are more powerful than the insurance company lobbyists who are working overtime to kill parity. friends, 54 million americans with mental disorders deserve nothing less. 26 million americans with doctoring and alcohol addiction deserve nothing less. but patrick and i cannot do it alone. we need you to help us to get the job finished. please, if you're not a member, if you're not active, please join the parity implementation coalition today. attend and participate in our patriots for parity tour.

we need you. with eneed you to save and strengthen the mental health and addiction treatment equity act. we also need to work together to keep the treatment equity act in the affordable care law. we still have to hoe. but working together, i know in my heart and whatever norwegian intellect i have left, that we can get the job done. thank you very, very, very much. now it's my pleasure to introduce our next speaker who truly needs no introduction. this guy truly needs no introduction. but i'm just going to say this about our next speaker. if president kennedy were still alive, and were president kennedy to write a sequel to his

famous book courage" there's no question whatsoever that his nephew patrick kennedy would occupy a full chapter of that book. please welcome our profile in courage, patrick kennedy. >> thank you, catherine's husband. my great friend, jim ramstad. let me just say this about your kind comments about being courageous. i was only able to do what i did because i had my fellows help me. and you were among them. i want to say you have compassion. if there was a profile in compassion award, jim ramstad

would be the recipient of it. thank you, theresa, for welcoming us. and i notice you were born in newport, rhode island, my congressional district. and to john mulligan reporting from the providence journal, we're going to beat minnesota to the bunch. we have craig stening, mike fein and we're going to make rhode island the first hearing that pam hyde attends when she comes up and visits our state. so the rivalry doesn't change. i, too, want to say what an honor it is to have a true inspiration for our country and for my personally, max cleeland here, and i also want to thank jim moran, a great friend and former colleague for also being here.

on october 3, 2008, the act was named in honor of two senators, both of whom knew the personal toll of mental illness, one of whom didn't live to see it signed. the task now falls on all of us, regulators here today, advocates, citizens to complete the unfinished work that this set out to do. to cement in our statutes the rights of the mentally ill and to banish discrimination in health care wherever we find it. i know there's some concern in this room about our role here, jim's and mine, that we're either speaking too much for the administration or too much for

the advocacy community. but i see our roles as champions for people who need help who don't want to wait a someday longer than they have to to get the needed treatment. led by sherry gleed and pam hyde we've started down the path to parity. these two dynamic terrific leaders have been forceful advocates for the mental health community. their staffs in the department of health and human services and sampsa are working to translate the law into strong, sensible regulations. they have been both energetic and they've been empathetic. and we thank them for their leadership. pam and sherry, thank you for your great work. [ applause ] already one third of affected employers have modified their benefits with a vast majority expanding mental health coverage. we