in iraq i can build awe plan. how many air wings i another what it takes. tell me following that regime change you want knee restore ord order, do nation building, stability operations and i know what that looks like. so you know, anything at this point vis-a-vis syria would be hypothetical in the extreme and i can't build that plan unless i understand the outcome. >> please? >> thank you. with china news agency. a follow j-up question on china. the 2012 pac held in hawaii, july 29th. 22 countries will join, but no china. i'm wondering if it's because china was not invited or china reap fused the invitation? and how could china be included's in these kinds of mutual tracts, military mechanisms like green pac so

that the two countries could avoid -- thaw mentionedmentione mentioned in [ inaudible ]. >> i don't know if they were invited, but they did come to shangri-la but did send a delegate. in this calendar year there's a political transition of our own. that's probably the reason. i don't think it was in any way intended to make a statement about the shangri-la dialogue, and i can find out if they were invited to rimpac. i just don't know. >> a follow-up on your trip top manila. does the military want to increase its military presence in the philippines, particularly subic bay and --

>> i wouldn't say specifically subic and clark, but they are obvious locations were we to increase our exercise and rotational presence. we did talk about that with my counterpart. not pt political side but with my filipino chief of defense counterpart. i think the way to think about this, though, is to let me answer the rest of the question. i would we want to do that? for the last ten years -- let me put it this way. we have the finest military in the world today. maybe of all times. partly because of the equipment we have and the organizational design, and the level of training that we're able to achieve. but also because of our people. and what we've done over the past, really, decades, but it's manifested itself in the last ten years, is we've seen that investment in people pay off. so we have the most adaptable leaders in uniform on the planet. the reason we're so interested in engaging after iraq and

afghanistan is i don't want to take these incredible young men and women hoop have had responsibilities that are beyond belief at a very young age and bring them back to places like camp lejeune or a fort in louisiana and have them sit there two or three years at at time. i want them out and about into environments that are new and different and unpredictable and uncertain so that they learn how to adapt to unfamiliar circumstances. because it's the investment in our people that ultimately make us who we are and this strategy is built on that. that's why we're doing it. >> one more, guys. >> one more. >> sir? >> i am with nhk. to my understanding it's against the constitution in the philippines for them top have foreign military presence in the country, but you just mentioned rotation of presence in the philippines? >> well, i think -- i'm not a

constitutional scholar, even in my own constitution, to tell you the truth, but it wouldnsurpris your constitution says that but i will tell you we would never do anything -- wouldn't even recommend anything that would violate your law. i suspect what your constitution probably says is permanent basing of foreign troops in the country, and that's never our intent. our intent is rotational. it's exercise. it's exchanges. and those are -- those are episodic and they're temporal. they last for a period of time and then they, we move on to another exercise. okay. thanks very much. i've got to go. thanks very much. defense secretary panetta has been visiting india, vietnam, philippines most recently pakistan meeting with defense and military officials

there. general dempsey had been joining him for some of that trip. president obama wraps up a two-day west coast trip today, this afternoon the president heads to nevada for a speech at the university of nevada, las vegas. the white house says the president will push congress to pass legislation to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling at the end of this month. we'll have live coverage of his remarks at 3:50 eastern time. and the annual radio television congressional core spoernts din sir tomorrow night. house speaker john boehner and emmy award winnering comedian wayne brady, keynote speaker. tomorrow at 9:00 eastern on c-span. the b-52, everyone thinks back to vietnam, think linebacker operations. they think of the history of the b-52. cold war. so there's a different kind of power associated with the oppo

bombers. >> two friends, union and confederate, who knew each other prior to the civil war, who fought against each other at the battle of pea ridge in 1862 and here they are at age 100 sitting on the porch talking about the old days. >> we have one to the east. marked 901. the date to the west marked 903 and they really reflect, or reference the moment of the bomb, which was at 9:02. >> watch for the travels of c-span's local consent vehicles the first weekend of every month on book tv and american history tv and look for the history and literary culture of our next stop in jefferson city, missouri, the weekend of june 30th and july 1st on c-span2 and c-span3. attorney general eric holder testified this morning before the house judiciary committee. it was the annual oversight hearing where members questions the attorney general about a

number of department operations. here's a shorte ten-minute portion of the hearing. it can be viewed anytime at c-span.org. -- the chair authorized to declare recesses of the committee at any time. i'll recognize myself and then the ranking me ining member for opening statement. welcome to the department of justice. regrettably the obama administration has shown a disregard for the constitution and rule of law in an effort to impose their agenda on the american people. and there are many examples. efforts to block congressional inquiries about the administration's actions undermine the balance of power on which our nation is founded. the department of justice still has not provided enough information about operation

"fast and furious" so that the american public and congress can judge who in the department bears responsibility for the decisions that led to agent brian terry's death. the justice department refuses to comply with congressional subpoenas that may shed light on why this program was authorized and who had knowledge of the inappropriate tactics. the department of justice also has failed to provide relevant information that would have revealed the extent of justice kagan's involvement in the development of the affordable care act when she was solicitor general. if she did give counsel on the health care bill, which was her job, then she should recuse herself rather than evaluating the law as a member of the supreme court. the justice department has refused to let us interview her former assistants. neglecting to enforce or defend the laws enacted by congress is another violation of the

administration's constitutional obligation to the american people. under this president, the just it department has engaged in a pattern of selective enforcement of the law in order to advance its own partisan agenda. for instance, the obama administration has sought to prevent state and local authorities from enforcing immigration laws. at the same time, the justice department has refused to bring cases against sanctuary cities that violate federal law by prohibiting their officials from communicating with the department of homeland security about illegal immigrants they encounter. such sanctuary cities directly challenge the federal government's authority to enforce immigration laws. the administration's unwillingness to uphold immigration laws has led to injuries and even death. the administration refuses to defend, the defense of marriage act, a law enacted by congress and signed by then president

bill clinton. this was a significant piece of legislation that was approved by a vote of 342-67 in the house and 85-14 in the senate. regardless of how one feels about the substance of the bill, the department of justice has an obligation to defend the laws of the land. efforts by the administration to override election laws enacted by states also raise constitutional concerns. instead of acting to prevent voter fraud, the department of justice has challenged common sense voter i.d. laws that require voters to identify themselves before they are allowed to vote. the department of justice recently moved to block implementation of voter i.d. laws enacted by legislatures in texas and south carolina. the texas proposal was based on a similar law passed by the indiana legislature which was upheld by the supreme court in 2008.

the justice department's challenge to the law ignores supreme court precedent that affirms a state's right to enact laws to protect the integrity of its elections. the department of justice even threatened to sue florida for trying to remove ineligible non-citizens from its voter rolls. why would the department of justice not want states to remove ineligible felons, ineligible non-citizens and the dead from their voter rolls? the administration's actions aren't just wrong, they're arrogant, undemocratic and an n insult to the rule of law. the disregard for the constitution of law not only undermines or democracy, it threatens our national security. the justice department has not taken the initiative to prosecute leaks of national security secrets. recent leaks about a foiled bomb

plot out of yemen in the words of senate intelligence chair worm dianne feinstein "very detrimental, have concerning and hurt our country." for the past 3.5 years this add min installation engaged in a pattern of ob jukzism, unaccountability and partisanship. the american people should have confidence that the department of justice fairly enforces laws. that confidence is lacking today. this hearing will explore how that confidence can be restored. that concludes my opening statement and the gentleman from michigan, the ranking member of the judiciary committee is recognized for his. >> thank you, chairman smith. and welcome, attorney general holder. the opening statement is an opportunity for both of us here

to set the tone for this hearing, but never in the career of chairman smith as the chair of this committee have i heard so many erroneous statements, and having never heard them before, i can assure him and you that i will be going over his statements and help him arrive at a more factual and impartial conclusion. now, having said that, we welcome you once again to the house judiciary committee. this, by my count, is the eightble time this congress -- eighth time that the congress, the attorney general has made himself available for questioning, and this level of

access is extraordinary, particularly when we compare your record to that of your immediate predecessors. now, with respect to the continuing investigation into "operation fast and furious," i want to thank you for your patience and diligence. to date, the department of justice has provided over 7,600 pages of documents to the congress. you made additional law enforcement, sensitive materials available to us in dozens of briefings. you're permitted us to question senior department officials in hearing and transcribed interviews and you, yourself, have appeared before this committee once every six months since the controversy became public. i hope that the tone of today's

discussion reflects the many courtesies that you and the department of justice have shown us in the past months, and i also want to commend you and the department of justice on a series of important accomplishments in the field of civil rights and voting rights. a couple of issues that i've paid special attention since i first became a member of the house judiciary committee. enforcing seconds 5 of the voting rights act. the department has aggressively enforced section 5, which ensures that states with a history of discrimination can't create additional barriers to minority access to the ballot box. the department has already blocked discriminatory voter i.d.s laws in texas, in south

carolina, and i would encourage you to look at other similar troubling laws taking affect across the country. stopping voting ruling. last week the voting section wrote to the state of florida demanding that they cease and desist from purging voters from the rolls. the practice was not submitted through the department under section 5, and would not have been approved if it had been. protecting the rights of members of the armed service in terms of their voting. the department has secured court orders and consent decrees in 14 jurisdictions to better enforce the military and overseas voter empowerment act, move.

restoring the integrity of the civil rights division after the office of the inspector general and the office of professional responsibility completed their review of illegal partisan and -- partisan hiring practices under another administration, their final report included recommendations for improved transparent hiring process at the civil rights division itself. and under the leadership of assistant attorney general tom perez, the division has fully adopted each of those recommendations and is now predominantly staffed by attorneys with actual experience in the field of civil rights law. enforcing the fair housing act, and the equal credit opportunity act. the department's 335 million

dollar settlement with countrywide financial last december compensated family whose were charged higher fees and interest rates because of their race or national origin. this enforcement action makes clear the department will not hesitate to hold financial institutions accountable for lending discrimination. there are, of course, areas of which we hope the department will improve. but today, four years after the worst economic upheaval since the great depression, we are still looking to hold some of those wall street barons accountable and according to one -- well, let me conclude. my time has ended and i thank the chairman, and yet -- what we

want to do here today is have a thorough and fair discussion, and i'm going to ask that our colleagues on this committee conduct themselves in a manner that is worthy of the attorney general's present appearance here. i thank the chair. i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you, mr. conyers. our own witness today is attorney general eric h. holder jr. on february 3, 2009, attorney general holder was sworn in as the 82nd attorney general of the united states. attorney general holder has enjoyed a long career in both the public and private sectors. first joining the department of justice through the attorney generals honors program in 1976 he became one of the department's first attorneys to serve in the newly formed public integrity section.

he went on to search as a judge of the subpoena court of the district of columbia and the u.s. attorney for the district of columbia. in 1987 nameded by president clinton to be the deputy attorney general. prior to becoming attorney general, mr. holder was a litigation partner at covington and burlen llp in washington, d.c. mr. holder, a native of new york city is a graduate of columbia university and columbia law school. mr. holder, we appreciate your presence today. look forward to your testimony, and, please begin. >> well, good morning, chairman smith, ranking member conyers and distinguished members of this committee. i appreciate the chance to discuss some of the key accomplishments that have distinguished the department's work throughout this administration, and to outline our plans to build upon this particular record of achievement. prime ministerially i'm proud of the work done by the department's 116,000 employees as well as our government and law enforcement partners worldwide to help fulfill the

promises that i made before this very same committee about three years ago. shortly after i became attorney general i pledged to strengthen the department's efforts to protect the american people from terrorism and other national security threats to ensure that every decision and every investigation and every prosecution would be guided by the facts. by the law. by nothing else. i also reaffirmed my commitment to move aggressively to prevent and combat violent prime and financial fraud, seek justice for victim, protect the most vulnerable among us, safeguard the environment and uphold the civil rights of all of our citizens. in each of areas the department made tremendous and many many case historic progress. nowhere is this more evident in the national security efforts. the in last three years, convictions of scores of terrorists, identified and stopped multiple plots by foreign terrorist groups as well as homegrown extremists and

strengthen the essential surveillance and intelligence capabilities in a matter consistent with the rule of law and our most treasured values. just last month we secured our seventh conviction in our article 3 civilian courts, in one of the most serious terrorism cases that our nation has faced since 9/11. an al qaeda sponsored plot to conduct coordinated suicide bomb attacks in the new york subway is system and roughly two weeks ago obtained a guilty verdict of one who intended to bomb a restaurant in texas. on the same day another texas man was sentenced for two years for attempting to become a part of al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. the department made meaningful and measurable strides in protecting americans from violent crime through innovative programs such as defending childhood initiative and national forum of youth, we've developed approaches to addressing causes and remedying

the consequences of violence among and directed towards our nation's young people. by forging and strengthening partnerships between our united states attorneys offices and federal, state, local tribal and international law enforcement officials, we are combating gun, gang and drug-fumed violence more effectively than ever before. alongside key law enforcement allies and counterparts in mexico and other countries who have ork straight add series of coordinated strikes against violent drug cartels arrests thousands of cartel members and seizing billions in assets and dollars. desperately needed plans to address the shocking rates of violence that plague american indian and alaska native women through tribal communities and using every resource and tool at our disposal including the power of scientist analysis to protect our nation's law enforcement community chpt in recent years has seen an unfortunate and totally unacceptable rise in the

line of duty deaths. many work to raise awareness about the tragic fact violence against law enforcement officers is approaching the highest level until nearly two decades. at attorney general and as the brother of a retired police officer, i'm proud that the department has responded to this recent crisis with resolve and with robust action. just last week i met with a major city chiefs police association at its summer meeting to discuss the ways we've developed and implemented a host of important programs such as the landmark valor initiative which is providing our law enforcement partners with the latest in training, tools and resources as well as the bullet-proof vest partnership program which helped more than 137,000 jurisdictions purchase life-saving bullet and stab resistant equipment in order to help protect those who risk their lives to keep us safe. but simply, our commitment to officers 15i69 hey never been stronger, and as recent achievements prove, the same can

be said of our resolve to protect american consumers. since the start of this administration, the justice department has snap and unwavering commitment to preventing and combating ap wide range of financial and health care fought crimes. we have taken bold steps to address the contributing factors and consequences of the recent economic crisis, and this work is paying dividends. last year alone the department's consumer protection branch working with u.s. attorneys offices across country obtained a 95% conviction rate secured more than $900 million in criminal and civil fines restitutions and penalties and obtained sentences totaling more than 130 years of confinement of more than 30 individuals in cooperation with our partners in housing and urban development, bipartisan group of 49 states attorney general achieved a $29 billion settlement with five of the top mortgage servicers.

largest settlement in the history of the united states of america through the efforts of the president's financial fraud enforcement task force launched in 2009 we have obtained prison sentences up to 60 years in a variety of cases includy multimillion dollar ponzi schemes and the largest hedge fund insider trading case in the histories of this country and established two new working groups to enhance civil and criminal enforcement of consumer fraud and bring federal and state authorities together in investigating and prosecuting misconduct by financial institutions an the organization, securitization and servicing of mortgages that contributed to our financial crisis. and we've continued to make tremendous gains in our work to combat health care fraud. in fact, over the last fiscal year in cooperation with the department of health and human services and my partner kathleen sbe sebelius and through statutes roved nearly $4.1 billion in cases involving fraud on federal

health care programs. that is the highest amount ever recorded in a single year. and for every dollar we have spent, combating health care fraud, we have returned on average $7 to the u.s. treasury, the medicare trust fund and others. the department is also taking crucial steps forward in protecting the most vulnerable members of our society and ensuring the civil rights of all of our citizens. over the past three years filed more civil rights case, criminal than ever before including record numbers of human trafficking case ensuring in our work places and military bases, in our housing and lending markets, in our schools and places of worship in our immigrant communities and in our vote booths the rights of all americans are protected. in addition, working for the rule of law across the country and around the world beyond our borders establishing global alliances to combat transnational organized crime as

outlined in the president's strategy. this includes combating intellectual and property crime, child pornography rings organized criminal networks and criminal facilitation of criminal activities and partnered with members of congress to advance important changing in policy from landmark hate crimes legislation to the reduction of the unjust and unfair crack powder cocaine sentencing disparity. this work goes on today in our efforts to help ensure the reauthorization of the violence against women act. a critical law that has transformed our nation's response to crime against women. and enhanced our ability to achieve justice for victims while holding offenders accountable. it goes on in our strong support for the renewal of essential authority such as those included in the foreign intelligence surveillance act amendments of 2008, and it enduring in our determination to build uponed extraordinary accomplishments that defined the past three

years to take our fight against terrorism, crime, fraud and other threats to a new level. i'm proud of these and the department's many other achievements and hope to spend most of our time today discussing how we are working to build on this progress. i would like to briefly address the ongoing invest gatiens into the atf gun trafficking operations along the southwest border. as a result of the concerns raised by atf agents we now know of several arizona-based investigations that occurred under this administration and the previous one where inappropriate tactics were used in an attempt to stem the flow of illegal gun ace cross the southwest border. although these law enforcement operations were focused on the laudable goal of dismanting networks they were flawed in concept and execution. i share your concern answer how these operations were developed and implemented. that's why justice congressional leaders called for answers, i