and there are those children from the ukraine that are suffering even worse conditions. when the discuss this important issue? >> -- will he discuss this important issue? >> he has brought this up before. there has been a debate on this matter. i suggest that he may ask for a meeting with the home secretary, and i am sure he will be happy to meet this delegation. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. i have three of the five biggest users, and there are very concerned about the increasing situation. what are they doing to protect against excessive profits, which has happened before, by these energy companies? >> well, mr. speaker, i think everyone is concerned by the 50%

rise in oil prices we have seen in the last weeks. up to $70. that means is very typical for energy companies in this country but also difficult for consumers and difficult when we look at future gas and electricity bills. i believe the world has got to look at what it can do to make sure that supply and demand in oil is far more in balance, and that way, we can keep these prices under control. >> order. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> each week the house of commons is in session, we air prime minister's questions live on c-span2 again on sunday evening on c-span at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific after originally on c-span2 at 7:00 a.m. you can also find links on our website.

>> next, the hispanic prayer breakfast. after that, and reporters roundtable on the political news of the week, and then a house hearing on the policies of health insurance companies. >> iran's former crown prince, an advocate for civil disobedience against the clerical regime, discuss the secular, parliamentary, and political systems in iran. live coverage from the national press club begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> the s e c should be an motto for transparency, openness, and fairness. -- the sec should be a model. >> "the communicators" on c-

span2. monday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern. on friday, hundreds of hispanic clergy and community leaders gathered for the annual prayer breakfast. among the speakers, house minority whip eric cantor, pennsylvania gov. ed rendell, and homeland security secretary janet napolitano. this is about 30 minutes. [applause] >> good morning. reverend, thank you very much. i think all of you at esperanza for the great work that you do to strengthen our community and enrich the lives of so many in america. esperanza, hope. you do not merely represent this

principle in name or in words. you live by it and live by example. the faith-based community in this country, throughout our land, sheds light we're all too often, there is darkness. ever the proud virginian, i stand here and join you as heirs of the tradition set forth by the people who came aboard at james down and began its settlement in 1607. through an unfailing commitment to faith, and a concern for one another, these colonists banded together and work hard towards a better future. they planted the seeds of tolerance that have inspired millions to come to our shores

in search of the american dream. 400 years later, that dream is alive and well. the evidence is all around us. for we are all the products of some uniquely american story. at the corner of st. james and charity streets in downtown richmond, va., and may historically -- in a historical african-american neighborhood, there is a widowed jewish immigrant from russia. she fled the anti-semitism and bloody pogroms of her native lands just before the bolshevik revolution. in american -- in america, she sought religious freedom, opportunity, and a better life. in richmond, she did not have much money. but she did have remarkable drive and determination. she raised her two children in

tight quarters above a tiny grocery store she owned and operated. she worked day and night and sacrificed tremendously to secure a better future for her and her two children. sure enough, this young woman who had the courage to journey to a distant land with hope as our only possession listed herself into the ranks of the middle-class. through hard work, thrift, and face, she was even able to send her two children to college. before making her way to virginia, this young woman had passed through ellis island, peering out from the boat at the mouth of the hudson river, she saw the statue of liberty. the most powerful symbol of freedom and opportunity america represents. all she wanted was chance, but

never did she dare dream that her grandson would someday, this day, the this member of the u.s. congress standing before you. [applause] when i think of my grandmother, i reminded in its pure says that america is about looking forward. -- in its pure sense of america's about looking for. it is about persevering, to pass on something better for your children than you inherited. the narrative of this country's promise resides within us all. all of us here came from somewhere. we or our ancestors came to this country for the same reason -- for hope, opportunity, and a better life.

this is the time that has always bound us as a nation. this is a tie that continually strengthens us as a people. above all, america is a nation of inclusion. a country nourished by its rich tradition of diversity and its tradition of immigration. this is a nation unapologetic of its deep faith in god. like you, i treasure my face. -- i treasure my face. it has sustained my grandparents when they entered this country as poor immigrants. it sustains me as i go about my duties as a member of congress, as it has been, and a father, and an american. i grew up in a jewish community in richmond -- in richmond va.. we valued charity, justice, and

acts of loving kindness. i have seen how much good a religious community can achieve when it extends a welcoming hand and resolves to lift people up. for those who still doubt the faith based communities that ability to lift our society to a higher plane than would exist without these groups, just ask the students at asper runs the academy charter high-school. at a school district with a 43% latino dropout rate, the high- school graduated 628 of its six honored 30 students. [applause] -- 630 students. make no mistakes -- america is a stronger place where it's safe

communities are strong and its charities active and vibrant. faced can serve to remind us -- faith can serve to remind us of [unintelligible] a major theme of the hebrew bible is to welcome a stranger. we are commanded not to press a stranger for you know the heart of the stranger. seeing you, we are strangers in the land of egypt. or consider deuteronomy -- love you there for the stranger for you were strangers in the land of egypt. the torah, the five books of moses, commands us to leave the corners of the fields for the poor and foreigners. these injunctions are repeated in our prayers. as we look for a fair and just solution to the emigration issue in america, let us all combined

this biblical instructions with the fact that we are a nation of laws and borders in america. it is unfortunate that at times during the immigration debate that the rhetoric hasotten overheated. the undertones and certain circumstances have alienated many communities. we must do everything in our power to remember the scriptures and insure immigrants in this debate are always treated with dignity and respect. [applause] the public discussion should reflect gratitude for the enormous contributions made by your community and the many others that make up the patchwork of our nation. the fabric of america is strengthened by your, and work

ethics, by our determinations, by our faith in god, by our devotion to family and cultural roots, and by your willingness to serve in our military and thank you to those wounded warriors who are here. [applause] [applause] [applause] every day we serve in this town and serve for the people, we know we are only able to do that because of your service. thank all those military men and women who are here today.

this is the land of opportunity. perhaps the only place where people from humble and modest roots like andrew jackson, abraham lincoln, ronald reagan, bill clinton, and president barack obama can rise to become president. america remains the same beacon of hope for the world that was when my grandmother -- ellis island, the place for her story is renewed with each new generation of immigrants. reward for hard work, free enterprise, fairness, self- reliance, community and faith. these are the values that have sustained this for over two hundred years. may we never forget these values as we work together to build a better tomorrow for our children.

thank you very much for having me. [applause] >> thank you very much. i has been in elective office for 31 years. that's a long time. among the things i'm proudest of is the relationship i have had with the hispanic community both in philadelphia and the route the commonwealth. the latino coalition was extraordinarily helpful in getting me elected governor. we have made so much political progress. the councilman ran at large in philadelphia which only has 7% registered hispanics. very often would come in number one of all the candidates on the ballot. we've just elected in the last election in philadelphia a wonderful councilwoman who won in a district was not 50%

latino. she won because she was the best candidate and ran the best campaign. campaign. we have a secretary of state he has risen to be president of the natural secretary of states association, and he has supervised two presidential elections, in 2004 and 2008, when pennsylvania was the center of the universe, and there was not one hint of any problem in either of those elections, and remarkable feat by a remarkable man. [applause] and we made great progress politically and some progress with groups like esperanza on social and other fronts, but that progress is challenged by two things, and i just want to take a minute to talk about those two things that are challenging the progress. first is education. i am so pleased that we have

made so much today in pennsylvania in six years in education. 36 percent more of our children are more proficient in math and science, math and english, than six years ago. we are one of only nine states to make some of the in progress in both reading and mathematics on the national tests. we are doing very well in every area. the gap between minority achievement, latino and african- american achievement, and a majority achievement is narrowing in pennsylvania. latino american kids have made significant strides in progress. that has happened because we have invested real money in education, not just dumping it into black holes but into real programs that work like prekindergarten, after-school tutoring, full day kindergarten, things where the educational science shows work to improve achievement all the way from prekindergarten to 12 grade. smaller high-school, good programs in high schools, opportunities for children to

grow, all sorts of good and innovative programs. but in state capitals like to harrisburg and sacramento across this country, education is being challenged by the current economic crisis. we have to decide as americans whether we will continue educational progress or are we going to use this recession as an excuse for bringing it to a halt? are we going to give up because times are tough? are we going to mortgage our future because education is our future. it's the future or hispanic, african-american kids, but it's e future for all american kids. if this is not the time to give up on education. this is the time to stand strong. this is the time to stand strong. if that means raising revenue, as difficult as that is in this political climate, revenue must be raised to preserve education

because it's the only way we will end the our jails, is the only way we will have fairness in our of -- our economic system. it's the only way everyone will have opportunity to get the cutting edge jobs that need high-technology educations. all of us have to make sure that we way in and stand up for education, however difficult time is, don't mortgage the future to avoid short run pain. the second message, and i don't know if the congressman is still here, but we need to have the rational immigration policy soon. [applause] because the cost for not having that policy is great in some many different ways. did you ever think when you first heard about swine flu that would be an issue that would be impacted by immigration?

well, it is. we in pennsylvania have cases, and the thing about swine flu is it is absolutely treatable. we don't have a vaccine for it yet, but it is treatable. there is an anti-viral course of shot you take over five days and it is recoverable. the key is to get to the doctor as soon as possible. if you delay one week, it may be too late in your lives are squandered in the loss. if you stay out in the public without getting treated, you can infect other people. while there are many workers in pennsylvania and i'm sure it's true in other parts of the state and country who come in illegally, some of them have the swine flu. they are afraid to go to the doctor. afraid to go to public health offices, afraid to go the state health offices because under

current regulations, we have to turn them in. so they stay on the outside, infecting others. they stay on the outside, limiting their chances for recovery. we have asked washington for a waiver. that has not been resolved yet. i expect it will be resolved positively. [applause] it is the right thing to do from a human standpoint and it's the smart thing to do to stop the spread of the virus. until we come to grips with this issue, and i know congress and the president doesn't want to deal with this until we have dealt with health care, i think by this time next year we have to have a rational immigration policy in this country. these issues have to be resolved. [applause] it is an issue that can be driven by face. -- be driven by faith.

i'm tired of politicians being guided by religious values and then they come to the table on crucial issues and do exactly the opposite of what their faith would dictate. [applause] so i want to see this integration dispute guided by faith. we always get criticized for saying this when we bring this up, but on the immigration issue, we know what jesus would do. thank you. [applause] >> thank you and good morning. what a wonderful, beautiful day in washington d.c. midline welcome to all that are here. thank you for that kind introduction.

i wanted to be here to say thank you. thank you for your efforts to strengthen communities and especially in this economic climate to help people and work on issues like immigration, housing, work force development, education, and health care. before i was appointed by president obama, who you will hear from later, to be the secretary of homeland security, i served two terms as governor of arizona. arizona is in the house? we will talk later. we worked hard to make sure government served as a bridge to the many communities of faith in

our state. that there was not an artificial division between people of faith and people in government recognizing we can help each other help others. that is what we worked on there and that is what we intend to do here. that's a long name for a government department that has many functions. one of our key functions is to work with people in times of disaster. been in the aftermath of hurricane katrina, we all saw that when government is not prepared to reach out to people and work with people in times of disaster, terrible things can happen. indeed, people can die. within fema, which i must say it is much improved and changed and

altered since hurricane katrina, lessons were learned and inc., and many dedicated men and women have come to work there, in the wake of that, we have thought about how we can work with different communities to be prepared for disasters even before disasters happen. they are going to occur in any state and any community, whether you like it not. you may live in a hurricane area or an area with tornadoes or earthquakes or floods or forest fires. it does not matter where you live in the united states, mother nature can wreak havoc. in that instance, in that case, it's so important that we think not just about what we do in the aftermath, but what we do now

when things are ok and peaceful. you can help us with that. the government alone cannot bear the responsibility for helping were preparing people for when disaster strikes. we want to be as a nation and the country in a constant state of readiness and preparation so that we do not have to live in a constant state of fear. if you are prepared, you are not fearful, right? so we need your help. to work with your community, to work with your communities of faith to encourage people to make sure that in their homes, have kept a couple of days of water and food. make sure they have prepared for their families a plan for housing -- for how they get back together in case there split up during a disaster or emergency.

make sure they have had some first-aid training. you can reach out to the american red cross and bring them into your nest to help with the constant state of preparation so that people don't have to live in a constant state of fear. help your individuals, help your families, help them be prepared. help some have the confidence to know that whenever strikes, they will be ready. he will be ready. if we do that across this country, everybody is not just sitting back, waiting for the government to come help. that is the wrong thing. we want everybody to be involved in these efforts. i hope you will make that commitment before you leave here today. i see some heads nodding. not enough. i'm going to ask you, will you

help get your communities prepared? [applause] will you do these common sense things? i'm not hearing it. will you do these common sense things? [applause] we will be so much more effective and when disaster does strike and it will, we will be prepared to work with you because so often, the first place they don't go is a government office. you probably know that more than most. maybe the first place they will go for help is there church because that is where they are comfortable and where their community is. that is where they feel safe. no time perhaps more in at you need of prayer than a time of disaster when maybe you cannot find your family and don't know where your children are. maybe your house is gone. the need for faith is even more

acute than on an everyday basis. our planning for how we respond to emergencies and disasters is going to take into account the faith community and build bridges there. work with groups like yours and the groups that belong within it because our goal is to reach out and make sure that whatever happens, people have a safe place to go where they feel safe. where they know and have confidence, that's an important word, confidence, that we will respond, we will bounceback with all the resilience the american people have shown for so many years. that is part of the department of homeland security. but another part of the homeland's security, it was mentioned with in the

introduction, is of course that we have primary responsibilities for enforcement of our nation's immigration laws. i know that you were on the hill yesterday in congress and i know that you recognize that the issue of immigration brings out passions on all sides. . i think everybody would agree that the current system does not work, does not work. [applause] of president has committed to opening a dialogue on immigration this year. i am committed to be a part of that dialogue. i am committed because i have seen what happens when the immigration system gets out of kilter.