later i practiced law for two decades. i know when i started i had little understanding of what life and the law would really be like. my career took twists and turns i could not have predicted. i certainly had no grand plan for political career. i did however try to lead my life so that i would be in a position to take advantage of opportunities. this starts of course by living the faith we profess. it's hard to imagine how much better i could be if i were a more perfect servant of the lord. but this i can say, i would be nothing without my faith to sustain me. life can take us in many places. it often winds up surprising us.

presents opportunities we couldn't have conceived of upon graduation. my advice is focus on excellence at the task at hand and don't worry if everything doesn't turn out exactly as you planned. there's an old yiddish saying that serves as a reminder of this importance of flexibility and humility. god -- excuse me, man makes plans, god laughs. obviously, planning is useful, but god may well have other ideas. and our ability to deal with his plans means we need to be well grounded in effect prepared for every eventuality. it's a matter of putting yourself in a position to take advantage of opportunity when the time comes. your education here is just the start of this preparation. a degree like yours whether it's in bible studies, education,

business administration, prelaw, or christian ministries it helps put you in a position to seize the opportunities that present themselves and to put them to good use. and here's the point. success occurs when opportunity meets preparation. the essential ingredient in this equation i have found is old fashioned hard work. as the drivers on the nascar -- i happen to be a big nascar fan. i confess that right up front. the drivers on the nascar circuit say you make your own luck. you make your own luck. in other words, we're hard to put yourself in a position to win. you may not win, if you're not close to the front with two laps to go, you're probably not going to finish first. so get yourself positioned. thomas jefferson actually said

it this way, he said, i'm a great believer in luck and i find the harder i work the more of it i have. well, i've won my share of legal and political arguments because i was better prepared than my opponent and you can too. this leads to my second point. most of you have a minor in bible studies so you know that an important principal in scripture is that humility comes before honor. our religious and moral sense make us aware that as human beings we have limitations. flesh and blood can never attain perfection. raul matthew, whoever exalts himself will be humbled. whoever humbles himself will be exalted. thus humility is in order. and it helps us learn important

lessons in life. that build on my first point about preparation. hue brus causes carelessness, but humility creates caution. caution breeds thoughtfulness. and thoughtfulness stimulates preparation. humility stresses the importance of humility. humility should never be accused with key essence. it would be wrong to shy away from responsibility using humility as an skugs. you each have talents which you have ability to max my miez. god instructed him to have faith in what god would provide.

god told jeremiah call on me, and i will show you great and mighty things which you do not know. as human beings, as children of god we appreciate our lemgss. we shouldn't have any difficult being humbled. we also know when we try to do god's will there is no limit to the empowerment he can provide. this verse from jeremiah answered very hard questions for me after 9/11 and it's been an inspiration for me ever since. each of you will be called in different ways. you leave acu with a base of knowledge, but also with your own unique interests and capacities as individuals. you all have the potential to make a unique contribution in the years ahead because you're one of the kind and individual

you can and do things unlike anyone else. >> we're going to leave the last few minutes of this commencement address and take you live to the u.s. capital and a house overnight hearing examining the obama administration's domestic energy production. >> it's one of the keys to turning our economy around and putting americans back to work. it's no coincidence that states with low unemployment rates are high in emergency production. technology has increased the way to find new oil and gas, this morning we learned about the many ways the administration stood in the way of emergency energy ince dend by slowing down the production of coal, oil and natural gas. under the obama administration the red tape and endless government studies have discouraged the new federal

permit. the energy renaissance is taking place almost exclusively on private lands. we have charts to be able to note how 96% of the new production is occurring on private land rather than on public land. that is a loss of royalties and a loss of fees to the american tax payers. based on a study last month, it appears this underutilization of federal lands may continue. the department of the interior through the bureau of land management just proposed sweeping regulations of hydraulic fracturing on federal and indian lands to duplicate state regulations and threaten the privacy relationship of state regulations. in proposing the rules they did not assert the federal government is in a better position to regulate tracking than the states and did not claim the states are not doing a good job. the president's bill asserts they're proposing regulation on the basis of public concern.

ironically this public concern has been fostered by the epa. on an attack on the industry epa has lambasted producers for problems. later the epa has only whispered corrections when the assertion was invalid. this all happened with a stream of regulations with fracturing before the current study has been come pleaded md epa administrator jackson stated under oath there's not a single documented case for hydraulic fracturing has contaminated ground water. that has not stopped the epa for a seeshz of federal regulations. this positive report in this record is due in part to the physics, there's another chart i want to put out there to show and put in the record as well. tracking activity takes place a mile and sometimes well more than a mile below the awe kwafor

line. regulators in oklahoma, my state, pennsylvania, utah, north dakota, texas work closely with all interested parties alike to develop a regulatory regime that is responsive to advancements in industry while protecting the environment at the same time. no one, i repeat no one cares more about the water resources of oklahoma than okay o.k.ians and the people who live there. the assumption that federal regular rate lohrs from another state understand the energy process better than the state enforcement is beyond incredible. i do not accept the assumption that local regulators cannot be trusted because they have pressure that will diskurng enforcement. look no further than the former

epa region six administrator who stepped down after it was revealed he trained the staff to keep the industry in line. this astonishing statement reveals that some in the epa see people in my district as the enemy and they assume their job is to control them instead of to serve the public. state regulators work closely with the ground water protection counsel for a website. which enables disclosure of tracking fluids while protecting trade secrets. it conducts exhaustive review of state regulation of hydraulic fracturing. if a state falls short, they work stro get them back up to code.

even so epa is working forward with confusing diesel fuels guidance which turns the safe drinking water act on its head. in 2005 congress specifically exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulations under safe drinking water because of ill fitted framework. congress gave the epa to regulate water in a very narrow circumstances when diesel fuel was used. that statement seems simple and clear. the epa appears to redefine diesel fuels to include any petroleum product. this overreach threatens the entire system of state safe drinking water act. we can have safe energy exploration and production overseen by states and local authorities. there sa role for the epa. but i'm very skeptical that thousands of wells and many different types of rock and soil condition can be overseen from washington better than state

leaders who know the people and the land. we are so close to energy independence. this is a moment when we will finally solve the decades old problem when the federal government will get in the way and slow or halt our economic future. today is the pursuit of answers and clarity of the direction of the epa and bureau of land management to determine the gel of administration who has stated there are for energy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i note the votes are occurring now. i assume after my at the same time -- >> that's correct. >> i thank the chair. i respect the chair and i thank you for holding this hearing. our philosophies could not be more different. i disagree with almost everything the chairman has just said. frankly, we're -- the republican rhetoric in this body has been the old government regulation

has stifled the ability for the united states to achieve energy independence. despite the fact that with epa regulation and other regulation our production of oil and gas is possibly going up not down. we're on a trajectory to match saudi production the world's number one producer in the world. we are on a trajectory to come close to eliminating our depends on foreign oil entirely. somehow that happened in a regulatory, a robust regulatory environment. somehow that happened with this president and his support having everything on the table including tracking. that doesn't mean there aren't legitimate questions to be answered so that we can say environmentally safe in a safe way. those questions are not to be dismissed and the idea that we're going to pit state regulators against federal regulators and one is good and one is bad is to me to invite

serious regression in america. the truth of the matter is federal regulation was -- seemed to be required by republicans and democrats not so long ago. the local lack of resource. lack of will. sometimes political interference and yes, gas and oil producing stat stat state sometimes skirted regulation. understandab understandable. and so i say, we need reasonable regulation. we can all debate what reasonable is.

we have evidence of toxic chemicals that are involved in the grab fracturing process. we have evidence of skies mick events that may have been triggered by some of that process. nost not a reason to say absolutely no to fracturing. it is a reason to ensure the public that its interest are protected as we try to accelerate u.s. independence when it comes to fossil fuels. soy look forward to hearing your testimony. but i want to make very clear on my sharp difference the statements made by the chairman today there couldn't be a more profound philosophical difference in our approach in this congress to the subject. with that, i thank the chair. >> i will allow seven days to admit for the record. i like the evidence of contamination of water sources

on that. i would like to have any evidence that you have. the epa has told us that she was not aware of any containment of ground water at this point. >> certainly. i would remind the chairman the energy and commerce staff conducted a study found 29 tox toxins including carcinogens. i will submit the study for the record would not have a problem with that. the issue is it gets in drinking water. >> we'll introduce the panel. >> i thank you mr. chairman. apparently you've had one speech for, one speech against. do i get to do the tie breaking

vote here? that's okay, you win anyway. he's the county chairman many my state of utah. he's been that way, the chairman since 2002. hopefully he's the chairman of the commission at this time. okay. close enough. the importance of the county is a% of all the jobs in that particular county are tried up with the extraction industry. 56% of all the natural gas produced in utah comes from this particular county. this is somebody that can give you expert testimony from somebody who lives it and knows who's on there. so he can testify that even though regulations are established to solve the problem. sometimes when you actually establish regulation when there is no problem the usual result is some kind of overreach in

coming up with an abstract that doesn't fit the reality that happens to be there at the time. so i'm appreciative of you giving him close attention to his testimony because he can tell you about this particular issue of tracking from somebody who does not have to take a four-hour airplane flight through three time zones to see the situation, but someone who lives it every day with his constituency. with that i welcome him here and i appreciate this committee taking on this torrent topic because tracking is a significant issue for the state. and it's a significant issue for our future of the federal government. i appreciate you bringing expert witnesses like the commissioner here as well. >> thank you, mr. bishop. let me introduce the other three panelists. oklahoma since the 1. this is not new. we are very, very familiar with

over 100,000 fraks in oklahoma alone. so it's something we're very, very familiar with. the director of the agent energy and fraking program at cornell university. thank you for being here as well. thank you for staying over. he's the secretary of pennsylvania department of environmental protection. there's a lot going on. this is a new thing in pennsylvania compared to oklahoma. with that introduction, we will start into the testimony as soon as we get back. we have three votes in this series. we will get them done as quickly as we can and we will be right back and reconvene at that time.

you remember, recessing for a series of votes on the house floor. probably the last more than 30 minutes or so. we will come back to our live coverage of this hearing as soon as the committee member, subcommittee members one dack into t come back into the room following those votes. tonight, american history tv primetime. programs normally seen weekends

here on c-span3. tonight one of america's earliest settlements, jamestown, virginia. a tour of the archaeological sites along with a visit to lab where their studying the more than 1 million artifacts found so far. and now education secretary arne duncan delivering the commencement address at howard university in washington, d.c. he tells the graduating students the dreams of a postracial america have yet to be fulfilled. howard university is among the oldest historically black colleges chartered by congress in 1867. secretary duncan speaking for about 25 minutes. again, we'll return to live coverage of the hearing when it reconvenes. [ applause ] >> good morning, and thank you so much for that generous introduction. i feel so fortunate to be here today to share in something

which i think we do too little of in the field of education, and that is to celebrate success. to our graduates, to their families who have supported them along this journey, congratulations. and although i'm so pleased to be here today, this occasion is an absolutely humbling one as well. i know the rich history here and we need hour and we need all hbcus to thrive as we move forward. [ applause ] for the past 145 years ever since howard university was created by an act of congress and signed by president andrew jackson himself, howard and its proud graduates and its star faculty have been a barometer on the state of the american dream. in 1965, president lyndon johnson gave a famous commencement speech here at howard saying the graduating class here at howard university is witness to the indomitable

determination of black americans to win their way in american life. every american, he said, should be able to become whatever their qualities of mind and spirit would permit, to strive, to seek and to find happiness. this is american justice. 16 years later ronald reagan's vice president, george h.w. bush, stood on this commencement stage, and he calmed howard a crucible for ideas and for social action. jump forward 17 years to 1998, and my colleague and friend hillary clinton was the commencement speaker and the first lady at the time. she said that it was impossible for anyone to come to this campus and not feel the richness of howard's tradition, and a reverence for those who paved the way for tomorrow's leaders. so i stand here today in the shadows of giants, and i stand here fully aware that howard has been, yes, a crucible for social action and a proving ground for

american justice. and i'm humbled to be sharing the stage with such a distinguished group of honorary degree recipients. chris matthews and my good friends john legend and juliana richardson on ground breakers. passionate in equal opportunity and the power of great education. and elizabeth a storied career with the "new york times" is the first black woman in the histories of american journalism to win the pulitzer prize. [ applause ] the warmth, her epic history of the plaque migration is simply without parallel. that's mighty, mighty, impressive company, but to the honorary degree recipients i just want to the say, please, try not to let it all go to your head. previous honorary degree recipients at howard include frederic douglas, marian

anderson, eleanor roosevelt and desmond tutu. two heroes, reverend marty luther king jr. and jackie robinson, all honorary degree recipients. can you imagine that extraordinary occasion? i know it might seem hard for today's graduates to envision their peers 15 to 208 ye years now, when i graduated it never occurred to me i might one day serve at the head of education. i had a sensible plan. i was going to play in the nba. clearly, that didn't work out. but as you look to your left and to your right today, look in front of you and behind you, you will see america's future leaders. few universities can claim as many firsts as howard university. tony morrison, a howard graduate and a former member of the faculty was the first black woman to receive both the nobel prize and the pulitzer prize in liz cher. literature.

[ applause ] your extraordinary university provost dr. lasalle de fall, the first african-american president of the american council of surgeons and the american cancer society [ applause ] other howard graduates were the first african-americans to be elected to the u.s. senate, a u.s. governor, mayor of new york city and u.n. ambassador. and last, center not least, the mighty thurgood marshall. the first -- the first african-american supreme court justice was at howard law school's first graduating class. [ applause ] i have said repeatedly that education is the civil rights issue of our generation, and few can testify to that truth more powerfully than the founders of howard and their successors here today.

there's a reason as president obama says that the story of the civil rights movement was written in our schools. that reason is known to everyone here today. education must be the great equalizer in america. it doesn't matter what your race, your income or your zip code. every child, every child, is entitled to a quality education. [ applause ] and this fight is about so much more than just educational opportunity. i believe it's a daily fight for social justice. as lyndon johnson said at howard many years ago, this is a fight for american justice. howard's leaders and students have always understood this, and no institution has done more to tear down the barriers of segregation. howard law school when it opened, it's faculty create add course to show how to train in court. soon after leaving howard,

thurgood marshall became naacp's chief counsel and nine of ten lawyers who work and brown versus board of education, nine of the ten were howard law graduates. marshall argued that case before the supreme court and won and changed the course of american history forever. when i was ceo of the chicago public school ice loved sending our students here to howard. i knew twhoe get a great education and be cared for in a community that nurtured leadership, commitment and compassion. one of my students was durell bonner served on my student at visery council. he and his peers told me the truth. not what i wanted to hear, what i needed to hear and in doing so made our public school system better. in chicago he helped organize a rally to improve chicago's public schools and addressed a crowd of about thi