september 11th but back in 1994 three firefighters the first when i was mayor and since then they've had losses. so this firehouse has paid its fair share and i'm really glad that governor romney selected this particular firehouse as a place to pay tribute to our firefighters who after all were the first respond toelee respon war we have to still be vigilant about. governor romney certainly understands that and has from the very beginning been a leader in the effort to make certain america remains safe. it's a great pleasure to welcome him here. we had a wonderful time with the firefighters. very candid. wonderful advice how to conduct his campaign what to do and i think they really enjoined the pizza the governor brought for them from the pizzeria right here at joe's on carmine street.

>> yes. >> so i think they had a very good time and i hope the governor did. thank you. >> thank you, mayor. thank you so much. good to be here with mayor giuliani. obviously he's a man who is respected and admired by the members of this station, the mayor indicated some 11 men lost their lives on 9/11 from this station. this is a place of significance for the people of new york but also for the people of our country. and i wanted to come here today and was happy to be here with the mayor and express our appreciation to the men and women who serve in the firefighters and among first responders here in new york and to acknowledge the special place that this is. i also remember well being with the mayor on december 24th, chris meese eve in 2001, just a few months after 9/11. the olympic torch on its way from greece, actually, and then through atlanta and then coming to new york was brought into the city. we brought it in by boat, and the families of some of the

victims of the 9/11 tragedy firefighters and police families joined us on that boat. we took the olympic flame and went out into the harbor. we stopped in front of the statue of liberty. we all sang "god bless america" together, and there were hugs and tears that were shed there and then we brought the boat back to the harbor, or back to the dock, and took the torch and the mayor actually ran the torch that day, ran the torch across the ice at rock seefeller cente of, and those who rushed to danger, as opposed to rushed from it, we honor them and on the anniversary when osama bin laden was finally taken out and we respect and admire the many people who were a part of that,

from the president who authorized that attack to the intelligence community that worked on it for so many years to identify where he was and, of course, to the members of our armed services particularly s.e.a.l. team 6 that took the extraordinary risk of going into pakistan and removing one of the world's worst characters. with that we're happy to take any question us may have. >> [ inaudible ]. >> of course i would have ordered taking out osama bin laden. of course. this is a person who had done terrible harm to america, and who represented a continuing threat to a civilized people throughout the world, and had i been president of the united states i would have made the same decision the president made which was to remove him, and i acknowledged actually a year ago when this was announced the president deserved credit for the decision he made, believed that and certainly would have

taken that action myself. >> i'm sorry? pardon? >> how do you reckion >> how do you reckiocile in 2007 -- [ inaudible ]. >> no. i think i said the same thing as vice president, not vice president then, joe biden. it was naive of the president to announce he would go into pakistan. we always reserve the right to go anywhere. i said that clearly in the response i made. many people believed, as i did, it was naive on the part of the president, the candidate to say he would go into pakistan. it was a very, if you will, fragile and flammable time in pakistan, and i thought it mistake of him as the candidate for the presidency of the dwrund states to go in. we reserve the right to feel where we feel appropriate to preserve america and certainly to track osama bin laden lfr he could be found.

>> mitt romney you're a racist. mitt romney, you're a racist! mitt romney you're a racist! >> [ inaudible ]. >> mitt romney you're a racist! >> mitt romney you're a racist. >> you know, i think it's totally appropriate for the president to -- express to the american people the view that he has, that he an important role in taking out bin laden. i think politicizing it and trying to draw distinction between himself and myself was an inappropriate use of the very important event that brought america together, which was the elimination of osama bin laden. the mayor and i had a very nice chat this morning. we talked about the progress the city is making. really quite and extraordinary city about the number of murders that are down in the city. the economic revitalization of the city. you have to look at what new york has done under this mayor and under mayor bloomberg and say the city is just a

remarkable place, doing a superb job from everything he reported. i men, there were numbers surprising to me. he described the fact that the life expectancy of a new yorker is three years longer than the life expectancy of an average american. that's -- that's not something most people would recognize, but this is a great city. >> thank you very much, governor. >> pardon? i did not. thanks, you guys. >> thank you. >> [ inaudible ]. >> go ahead? ask me one question. >> do you think president obama is -- [ inaudible ]. >> as you know, i appeared with president obama when he came here last year to honor his decision. i respect his decision very much and give him great credit for it. i would wish he would just if he wants to take credit for it i have no problem with that at all. i wish he wouldn't use it as a source of negative campaigning. i think that's a big mistake and i think he's mischaracterizing what mitt romney said. mitt romney basically said that

it shouldn't be our only priority. i seem to recall candidate obama said the same thing back then. and almost everybody else did. of course not our only priority. that would be a mistake. >> i didn't know you were still here. >> we're going in different directions. >> we'll keep battling. >> we'll get him. >> all right. thanks. >> as i said, i believe the preside president -- i believe. some disagree. he has a right to take credit and i give him credit. not a source of negative campaigning and the negative part is inaccurate. it's quite clear that mitt romney, anyone else would have made the right decision president obama made. now he gets credit for it because he would have gotten blamed if it went wrong but shouldn't incline that mitt romney wouldn't have made the right decision. thank you. >> [ inaudible ]. [ sirens ] >> i have no idea. i repeat what i said before. i think president obama is

entitled to credit for it but not use it as a source of negative campaign. thank you. former new york city mayor rudy giuliani along with mitt romney today on the one-year anniversary of the death of osama bin laden. you can watch coverage of that event and this event which we've just shown you, in the c-span video library. up now, some of today's programming on the c-span's networks. c-span live at 5:00 eastern the discussion of role of the courts in a constitutional democracy hosted by the wilson center. again, that's live at, on c-span at 5:00 eastern. c-span2 live now with a day-long look at the u.s. economy. panels throughout date focusing on government spending, the housing market, federal banks, impact of free markets, tax rates, the dollar and number of other topics. again that is live right now on c-spa c-span2. tonight here on c-span3, american history tv in primetime. all this week while congress son break. tonight historians talk about the history and fight against

slavery. join american history tv and book tv this weekend as we feature the history and literary culture of oklahoma's capital city. on american history tv we visit the. he more site of the 1995 oklahoma city bombing and delve into the history of the city's land runs from the 1890s and native american tribes of the area. this weekend leer on c-span3. you're watching c-span2 with politics and public affairs weekdays. on weeknights, key public policy events and every weekend the latest nonfiction authors and books on book tv. you can see past programs and get schedules at our websites and join in the conversation on social media sites. the 2012 senate farm bill was passed out of the agriculture committee last week. the senators president, the final tally 12-4. three republicans, one democrat

voted against moving the proposal out of committee. the farm bill includes more thanes itthan $23 billion in saving, consolidated and streamlined programs and strengthen jobs and the last legislation pass fed i 2008 and set to expire later this year. >> i call to order the legislation agriculture and organize straighting committee. this committee is unique. our hearing room doesn't have a raised desk. instead we sit around a table not unlike the tables that american families, american farm sit around every day after a long day's work. the work we do around this table is hard. farm bills are never easy, and a farm bill like this especially when we're making serious needed reforms while also cutting the deficit by $23 billion isn't easy. and i am very appreciative of

all of the hard work of everyone sitting around this table. we've examined every program in the farm bill. we have reformed, streamlined and consolidated to get perhaps the most significant reforms in agriculture policy in any farm bill in recent memory. we've listened to farmers. we've strengthen the crop insurance and made that the centerpiece of risk management. we have a risk management tool that supments crop insurance that will work for farmers and save money. some of our members wanted and individual system. some wanted a county system, so we are giving farmers flexibility to decide what's the best for their farm and the risks that they face. we have the tightest payment limits of. ever. a and i want to thank senator grassley for his tireless work on this issue. we now have one simplified limit on income of $750,000.

we will give farmers the assistant they need when there are losses. it will be based on what's actually planted. in other words, the era of direct payments is over. we are working to strike a balance among the different regions and commodities. we will now have a permanent baseline for livestock disaster assistance, and i wanted to say a special thank you to senator baucus for his add voe cases and hard work on that issue. in short, we have put together a bipartisan farm bill that's focused on farmers and that gives them simplicity, flexibility and real accountability. we're continuing the incredible work that gets done every single day, because of the conservation title, we're reducing complexity and refocusing programs to better support farmers and land owners who protect our land and water and wildlife. we're increasing flexibility and

transparency toy make sure every dollar does the most good. we're continuing our nation's commitment to those most in need. everywhere i go in michigan i hear from people who never before in their lives imagined they would need help putting food on the table for their families. we need every dollar going to those people who need it. and not to waste, fraud or abuse. we're expanding export opportunities investing in critical agriculture research and supporting innovative bioenergy and bio-based manufacturing companies who are creating jobs across the country. we recognize the diversity of american agriculture with a renewed commitment to specialty crops and organic farms as well as support for farmers markets and food opes. we streamlined the world development title ended 16 authorizations that either never received funding or one

duplicative of other efforts to extend and simplify world loans that have proven effective for job kraecreators. this farm bill is a jobs bill we all know. you can see it in every title and on every page. 16 million people work in this country because of agriculture. i would call that a jobs bill. america is the world leader in agriculture exports and that success is not only critically important for our economy and the 16 million whose jobs rely on agriculture but also for our national security. that's why we're so committed to getting this done this year. and this markup is the first step in that process. i want to thank all of our wonderful staff who have worked so hard to get us to this point. i want to thank the department of agriculture for all of their

hard work and help as we've gone through the process, and i want to thank every single member of this committee who have brought very important ideas to the table, and worked very hard in good faith to get us to today's markup. and finally, i want if a thank my great partner senator roberts for all of the long hours and hard work we have done together to write a farm bill that makes sense for farmers, ranchers, rural communities and american taxpayers and consumers. this has been a long and winding road with more to come, and i greatly appreciate our partnership. i now would like to recognize senator roberts. >> it is a privilege to be here today as we markup the agriculture reform and restore reform. food and jobs act of 2012.

i thank you for your comments, and i return the compliment. this legislation represents the final product of numerous hearings, many hearings and months of discussions as we've worked to write a new farm during the most difficult budget dlimt our nation's history. i am proud to say we have put together a bipartisan bill that strengthens and preserves the safety net for our farmers and ranchers and truly it was an effort in a bipartisan way. still, i want to underscore what the chairwoman has said. we are still providing $24.7 billion in deficit reduction under this mark as drafted. i don't know of any other committee that's done this. we did this previously with the supercommittee, and now we're doing it again. so in terms of deficit reduction, i think we're standing up to our responsibilities. let me repeat it. the senate ad committee draft

add bill that voluntarily provided $24.7 billion in deficit reduction. we've eliminated four commodity programs, rolled them into one while saving approximateliy $15t disturbing the safety net. 23 streamline into 13 taving $6.4 billion. $4 billion saved in the nutrition title. 15 program authorizations are eliminated in the rural eliminating over $1 billion of spending ober ten years. two programs combined and yore two eliminated in special pi crops. $1.2 billion in mandatory money to discretionary and the energy title. five programs eliminated in forestry redicing authorizations by at leasts 20ds million and over 60 authorizations are eliminated from the research title reducing authorizations by at least $770 million over five years.

madam chairman that is $24.7 billion. writing it in the press almost $25 billion and mandatory savings, at least $1.8 billion in reduced discretionary authorizations and at least 96 programs or authorizations eliminated. that's the speech i think we're going to probably have to give on the floor of the senate when we get the bill to the floor of the senate to prove to the critics this is a reform bill. no other committee in the house or senate has voluntarily undertaken programmatic and funding reforms in this level in this budget climate. this is not a reform bill. it strengthens and preserves farm risk management, conservation, research and rural community programs, strengthened and prevd the crop insurance program that is the number one priority of virtually every producer that testified before our committee. number one. without question. any reach than we went to.

every hearing we've had. crop insurance on behalf of farmers and ranchers and the ag community, number one. we've streamlined the programs reducing the complexity for the producer. updated the acreage upon which support based to reflect nor recent crop patterns and that's a point i want to discuss more. 's in recent days it's seems there's been a little confusion leer in the capital region that seems some think we should write farm safety net programs and allocate funding by commodity group organization. if all you did was listen to these groups you'd think we're robbing peter to pay paul. i understand that the elimination of direct payments is a big deal to many commodities. well, i originally authorized that program. back in 1996. one of the biggest beneficiaries of the program has been wheat. especially in kansas. but the taxpayers have been clear in this budget climate,

why should congress defend a program based on planting acreages established over 25 years ago? yes, the elimination of direct payments means the end of many wheat payments in kansas. and other compete-producers areas. that does not mean they won't have a farm safety net. quite the contrary. a strong risk management program. it will just be for different crops. why am i saying that? because when they were established 25 years ago kansas planted 2.8 million acres of corn, 4.2 million acres of soy and 1.6 acres of soybeans 12.1 acres of wheat. in the most recent three-year period, the reality period in which we live, kansas farmers and other states similarly planted 4.6 million acres of corn, 2.6 million acres of sorghum, 4 million of soybeans and 8.8 of wheat. that's 4.9 acres of wheat and

more acres of corn and soybeans. these acreage shift oes kurd because farmers made those decisions. not washington. producers planted for the producers's international market. money is shifting among many commodities because farmers are farming differently throughout the states on this committee. it is not shift baug because se r picking winners and losers. i am very proud of this legislation we worked hard to put together not the best possible bill but the best bill possible under difficult circumstances. we've performed our duty to taxpayers by cutting deficit spending at the same time strengthening and preserving the program so important to agriculture and rural america and we've done it, again, madam chairman, in a bipartisan fashion. thank you for bringing us to this point today, and let's pass this farm bill. >> why thank you very, very much for your comments and now we want to hear from members and as we do with a markup, we'll

recognize members in order of seniority. alternating from one side to the other. so senator leahy? >> thank you, madam chairwoman, and also ranking member roberts. i know you and i discussed this many, many times late last night we did. i was able to go home and go to bed. i know you stayed up working. and i think of the fact that you two worked together, and i looked out the end of this room at the pictures, senator lugar and myself. we chaired -- we each chaired this committee at different times. each rank and members at different times and we are finally getting farm bills, you work together in a bipartisan fashion. i know i -- it was great work wig senator lugar on that and i've worked with senator roberts and you and it's the only way it works. you don't get it perfect, a perfect bill, but you get a bill

that can pass. and you get a bipartisan bill, and that's the way the senate used to be. that's the way the senate should be. incidentally when dick and i start wed sat down about where those paintings are. we were that junior. your mark includes an important dairy reform proposal i believe will help our producers and consumers -- excuse me -- but its dairy reform helping consumers and producers get off the dangerous roller coaster of price swings subpoena that sswi. the key to the farm bill. farmers watch as closely as i am. i hope we can find a bisaturdpa to allow farmers to have a proactive effort in their -- in their farm programs. go a long way towards easing

volatility in the dairy markets stabilization program. just like corn, wheat and soybean, sugar, cotton, the other farmers of the country. dairy farmers work hard for a living and almost want to leave them out. you make great improvements in kovati k conservation titles. i know both of you have worked consolidating, a confusing alphabet soup of programs and authorization. i continue to work with you on the new agriculture conservation easement program. i think we have to work now to slow the loss of farmland in this country. farmland is part of our national security. it is not sustainable, to lose over 1 million of farmland each year. since this is the only federal program available for farmland protection, i hope that we can opt more funding to the agriculture land easement, and as the author of the officer

ganic foods production act i'm extremely pleased the bill continues to make strong improvements for organic agriculture as well as local foods. i'm very pleased, chairwoman, agreed to accept my amendment, the national organic program gives them much needed authority to effectively protect and forest organic integrity is giving consumers confidence in the brand. the mark we're having today includes an anti-hunger program such as supplemental nutritious programs, emergency food assistance program. that's not just important in vermont it is every part of t the -- of the country and i'll continue to work with the boem of y both of you in making purchasing local foods a reality any this program and i want to applaud the work by both the chair and ranking member to improve the national quality in food aid and on and on. i'll put the rest of that in

the -- record, but this is the committee on agriculture, nutrition and forestry that both of you have recognized all three and i applaud you for it. it is not an easy job, as i know. >> thank you very much, and senator leahy, we appreciate your leadership on dairy over the years as the champion of helping us get this right as well as organics and nutrition and other areas as well. and now someone else who has been terrific leader, senator lugar, we would love to hear from you. >> well, thank you very much, madam chairwoman, and ranking member roberts. before i begin i want to thank the staff, the senate legislative counsel and congressional budget office for their assistance during this hurried process. i appreciate the work of the committee staff in particular. however, with a major revisions to the commodity title being offered only late last night, and no score made available as

of this morning, i'm concerned that members of the committee have not been given opportunity opportunity to review the proposed before us, today, in the manager's amendment, but as a previous chairman and ranking member as you pointed out, senator leahy so generously mentioned i recognize the very great challenge of writing a farm bill that meets the needs of policy reform and fiscal responsibility. as a farmer i also recognize the need for policy certainty. farmers have enough of a challenge in meeting market and weather uncertainty, so congress should not make it more difficult offering political impasses. i commend the chair and ranking member for including in the draft bill several similar policy proposals i advocated as part of my rural economic farm and ranch sustainability and hunger, the refresh act, last year. such as strengthening of the federal crop insurance programs, elimination of direct payments

and countercyclical payments, a channel of laws revenue option for producers that assist only in times of need, not every year. and reduction in the size of the conservation reserve program until the productive acres are used to produce and consolidation of several working land programs and consolidation of conservation easement programs. i note, however that while the committee draft offers savings in the area of $25 billion, much more should be done. my refresh act would say $40 billion making a substantial contribution to reducing our nation's unstable fiscal situation. so while i'm pleased to see the committee adopt some of the refresh provisions, i look forward to working with this committee in the markup and on the senate floor and with my partner congressman marla stetsman on the house agriculture committee to realize further taxpayer savings.

notably, the committee marked there's little to reduce waste and ensure the fiscal situation of our food and nutrition programs. which actually account for more than 75% of annual farm bill spending. by closing loopholes in the food stamp program that grant eligibility to some who are not truly needy, we can still meet legitimate hunger and nutrition needs and fulfill or budgetary obligations. the refresh act demonstrates the substantial savings are possible even in, as we fund vital programs, and in particular, the committee draft provided virtually no funding for energy. energy is an important growth area for rural jobs and the incomes of families, farms and small businesses. at the same time, rural americans are rightly proud. they are improving america's national security situation. by reducing the need for foreign oil. i thank senator conrad and the bipartisan majority of this