should not ask about judgment. a member of this commission, these all -- these charges are linked to president karzai. so how do you think this looks to the american people who sacrificed money and lives to have this person or this government conduct an election that's supposed to be an example to the world? >> i also look at it another way, too. that afghan authorities were able to conduct an election where millions of afghans were able to freely express their will. there obviously are allegations of impropriety and outright fraud, these need to be addressed. but they are being addressed. they're being addressed by the afghan authorities. by structures put in place and run by the afghan authorities. so, you know, we just need to

show patience and let this whole thing play out. we're not going to prejudge how it comes out or prejudge what kind of measures they might take to address these problems. >> following up on your theme and i don't quibble with it or argue with you, besides this needs to have a show of confidence to the afghan people that their election results -- it's the same culture of the american people, following up on what he said, the ultimate results after it plays out, -- >> yeah -- >> does it need to show credibility? >> of course we have a stake in this, too. we have committed american service men and women to the job out there, to supporting the afghan government. we've committed u.s. taxpayer money. of course we have a stake in this. and of course we want to see an

election that is reflective of the afghan -- of the will of the afghan people and have a partner in place that we can work with that enjoyed the support of the people. that's why this process needs to be rigorously followed. >> the question is, why did this have to happen in the first place? why did these fraud, fake sections have to be there when supposedly this was a government we supported for years and it wasn't supposed to do things like that in a democracy that the americans fought to -- >> afghanistan is a challenging environment. one could argue that it is one of the most challenging environments to conduct an election in terms of lack of access and lack of transport connecttivity within the

country. and of course you've got the -- you have many areas of the country where there's a military conflict. so nobody expected this to go smoothly. i mean, we have -- some of our elections of course have had some difficulties as well. our environment is -- but i'm just saying it's important that we have a transparent process here and everything's thoroughly, thoroughly investigated. >> -- fraud could take weeks and months. in the meantime, what's the u.s. position towards president karzai? is he considered legitimate? is his government legitimate? >> absolutely. we worked with president karzai every day. i know personnel have been

interviewed. this is among the contractors there, the guards and we plan to reinterview some of them as well. we are reviewing the information that we obtained in these interviews. as of this morning it's my understanding that 11 people have left the country. i think i said 10 on friday. and again the bottom line in this case is that we do not believe that any time was embassy security significantly breached or compromised. and these guards continue to -- the vast majority of them continue to do a good job and protect our embassy. >> so, one additional person has been fired. >> that's my understanding. i'll see if we can confirm that before i came down that's what

i was told. >> removed from the country. >> removed from the contract. asked to be removed from the contract. >> you can check if they were a manager or a guard? >> yeah. >> what does deputy secretary lou doing about this? >> well, obviously he's talking to embassy management there and getting a complete brief on the status of the investigation. as i said before, deputy secretary lou was out there, he had planned this travel before this incident broke. and he's out there primarily to look at the state department involvement in development issues. >> has there been any discussion of personnel changes in washington? >> i'm not aware of any discussions of personnel changes here. >> you can check to see if this was at all subject of the

secretary's conversation with ambassador? >> i'm not sure i can get you that information. >> what his awareness of this was. >> ok. >> before it came out. >> yeah. >> what about the impact on public opinion, not just in afghanistan, but in germany and europe, of this air strike that hit the two tankers, killed many civilians? how much concern do you have for the impact? especially since you need the allies in europe to contribute more troops and help the military effort. >> well, you know, as you know, it is a multinational effort in afghanistan. i think that it's one of -- and in terms of contributions of countries, one of the biggest international efforts. germany is the third largest troop contributor and they have an important leadership role in

what we call rc-north, regional command north, they have the command of that. this was obviously an incident that needs to be, again, thoroughly investigated. you may have heard that the general has appointed a canadian general, general sullivan, to lead a joint investigation board and they're going to conduct this formal investigation and the investigation board has been -- will take several weeks to completity work and obviously we're very concerned by reports of civilians being killed

anywhere and these reports are serious and they need to be thoroughly investigated. >> conduct a strike such as this one based on a single source asserting that all of the people there were taliban or taliban supporters. >> with all due respect, i don't think it's my place to determine whether or not the judgment was made by the commander on the ground was appropriate or not. so i'll decline to comment on that. >> a has there been any conduct with the secretary or anyone else with the germans in office? >> well, i'm sure at the diplomatic level in berlin and here there has been. but i'm not aware of secretary clinton, for example, having any calkt.

-- contact. >> you're sure there has been? >> i'm sure there has been, yeah. >> you can elaborate a little bit? >> through the embassy, yeah. i know there's been contact in berlin. >> in light, isn't it important for the u.s. to do more public diplomacy in europe, to convince the europeans of the need for these operations given and reassure them that efforts are being -- [inaudible] ? >> well, this is actually, that is an issue that i was very much involved with back when i was at the u.s. mission to nato. this is -- i don't think it's really for us to cajole our allies to do things. this is a -- it's a mission that all nato allies support in one way or another, through trip contributions, through development aid, through financial contributions to the

military effort, the germans do all three. and as i said, they are a key -- they're a key contributor to the overall effort and we very much appreciate everything that they do. but, again, it's not for us to tell the germans what to do. i think the more that we have to focus on our common mission, that we may need to do more public diplomacy in terms of the nato and the isaf mission. but i appreciate the question. yeah, joe. >> i just wanted -- wondered, did you see the proposal by chanceler americale, president sarkozy and prime minister brown for another big conference on afghanistan, to redefine the mission or see what exactly the security -- >> yeah, we did see that and of course we look forward to more

details. if there is such a conference we look forward to more details on it. >> there are reports that the obama administration is interested in appointing a chief executive in afghanistan to tackle corruption-related matters. can you tell us more about it? >> no, i'm afraid i don't know what you're referring to. >> you can shed any lights on these media reports, allegations that a russian freighter that was apparently hijacked was carrying s-300 missiles for iran? >> no, i can't shed any light on that. i haven't seen that. i've seen some reports of speculation on what the ship may have been carrying but i haven't seen anything specifically like that. i'm not going to speculate on the speculation. but, yeah, i've seen the media reports and beyond that i have nothing to add really. and i see you're russian colleague in the back has a question probably related to

this same question. >> previously it was announced that secretary clinton will be going to moscow very soon. any days or plans? >> yeah, i don't think that we have concrete dates ready to announce but she does plan to go to co-chair the first meeting of the binational commission to discuss a number of issues of mutual interests. i think that's going to happen sometime in midoctober but i don't think we have any specific details. >> next weekend -- [inaudible] >> those are most certainly incorrect. >> ok. thank you. >> let's take michelle. settlements issues? i don't have anything to add on that. but i think the president -- the white house was very clear about what our position is.

>> the defense minister has said that the decision of building new houses in the west bank was a part of the discussion with the u.s. were you aware of -- >> i'm not aware of that. i wouldn't comment on it anyway. thank you. come on up. >> the house debated nearly a dozen bills this afternoon. members return 59 6:30 eastern to vote on a number of them. this is the first day back for the house and senate after the month-long august recess. tomorrow the u.s. house will consider energy legislation and on thursday continuing a program to protect the chesapeake bay. live coverage when the house returns at 6:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span. tomorrow the house and senate meet in the joint session to hear president obama on health care. ests invited to speak by the democratic leaders of both body. we'll have live coverage here on c-span at 8:00 p.m. eastern, also on c-span radio and c-span.org.

as the debate over health care continues, c-span's health care hub is a key resource. go online, follow the latest tweets, video blogs. share your thoughts on the issue with your own citizen video. including video from any town halls you've gone to. and there's more. at c-span.org/healthcare. now an update on the h1n1 flu and access to vaccines. we'll hear from the director of the c.b.c.'s national center for immunization and respiratory diseases. the a 35-minute briefing. ituation and new guidance on viral medicines we issued today on our website and also on our website. the 2009 h1n1 influenza virus never went away this summer. it is starting to cause increased dice in the fall. we are seeing increases in the southeastern states in

particular. those are states that began school a bit earlier than other parts of the country. and it is not really that surprising we are seeing this uptick in cases in several southeastern states. in particular, we have widespread disease in georgia, alabama, mississippi, florida. among the southeastern states. we are aware of 24 schools that dismiss students on friday because of influenza and and more than -- about 25,000 students that were dismissed because of the flu. so it's still around, it's causing increased disease and it is time to pay attention. we do expect there to be a lot of variability with influenza this fall. we have a few states that are affected right now and we need to wait and see what happens elsewhere but there's a lot that each of us can do to prepare be a and be ready when

the influenza appears in our own communities. we saw a lot of variability last spring and so expect more going into the fall. we wish we could predict exactly hass going to happen but unfortunately we can't. we do know that the virus is unchanged from what we saw in the spring and what circulated in the southern hemisphere and that's good news because it means that the vaccines that we're working on right now should be very good matches with the h1n1 virus that circumstance -- that's circulating. so that is good news. there hasn't been a major change in the virus, the 2009 h1n1 virus. we are changing some of the ways that states report to us influenza and so we'll be asking states now to report hospitalization information and deaths to us and those reports will be available on our website and starting next week we're going to start the flu season again. so we'll be beginning this new season so you'll see the spring and summer data archived on the website but going forward we're looking onward. rd. i want to talk briefly about any viral guidance. it is important to remember that any viral any viral medicines are a critical part of our tool kit

in countering influenza, both the 2009 h1n1 influenza virus and seasonal flu strains. important to know that most people won't know what type of flu they have because testing is not going to div. us those answers and so our new guidance really addresses the clinical symptoms of influenzalike illness and suspect influenza without having to differentiate with exactly which straight a person has. a key point of the anti-viral guidance is that hospitalized patients who are suspected to have influenza need prompt treatment with anti-viral medicines. we think that can be a very important way to reduce the very neverity of illness and help that -- those patients out. we don't want people to wait, the prousers to wait, until the test result is available but the important to start those anti-virals in hospital iced patients when you suspect influenza. treatment is also generally recommended for people with chronic conditions that

increase their chances of having a severe time with influenza, the very young and the very old, people with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women in general ought to be treated with an tie viral when is they have an influenzalike illness. the guidance also provides an option for a watchful waiting approach to preventive use of an tie viral medicines when -- and wait and see when fever symptoms develop b develop thes or. the anti-virals then. in guide nance general, for people with influenza-like illness at risk for we strongly recommend prompt treatment and so the guidance goes through many steps that clinicians and patients can

take to reduce the time between when influenza illness begins and when anti-viral medicines are taken. we think a that that window is very important in trying to keep it short is going to be helpful. so we want patients it to know the warning sipes of influenza where symptoms, where severe presentation is occurring, difficulty breathing in a child, a bluish color of the skin, difficulty taking feeding, vomiting that just doesn't stop or difficulty waking up the child. those are some of the warning signs that influenzalike illness is very veer and treatment is necessary promptly. a very important feature of our guidance is that clinical judgment is still important. this isn't something where we can take clinical judgment out of the equation. every patient is different. and we want clinicians to have that opportunity to customize care for each patient and so

whether a person is able to be seen in the doctor's office or needs to call for assistance, we want people to know that clinical judgment's still important. a key point from our guidance is that most children, adolescents and adults who have influenzalike illness do not need anti-viral medicines. in fact, if all of those people take anti-viral medicines, things may actually get worse. we have seen a bit of anti-viral resistance already with the 2009 h1n1 strain and we're optimistic that this won't take off, but so far a critical feature is to use these anti-virals very carefully so they can have benefit and not lead to problems. so the majority of adolescents and adults an most children won't need anti-virals if they develop an influenzalike illness, they can be cared for with moms, -- mom's chick soup at home, rest and lots of fluids. people who have complications

like pregnancy, as ma, chronic heart disease, chronic lung disease, the very old and the very young, if they develop influenzalike illness, the important that they consult with the health care provider because anti-viral medicines may be very important to them. just to wrap up, it's really important to recognize that anti-virals are one important part of our arsenal against influenza but there are other things that can also help. we constantly need to keep an eye on the situation, continue to understand the patterns of anti-viral resistance and the patterns of influenzaa strains that are circulating. we want to use the anti-virals we have effectively as possible so they will help with mitigating the challenges of influenza this year and our goal is really to strike a balance in how they're used to benefit people and not to lead to resistance or shortages. we can't control exactly what

happens with influenza much we wish that we could predict and we really wish we could control the whole course of this outbreak. but the important to say that there's a lot that we're doing, that we are working with schools, with communities, with public health officials, to mitigate the challenges of influenza and be as ready as possible. vaccines are being developed and of course the seasonal flu vaccines are available really right now and can be one way that we prevent seasonal flu strains from causing illness and suffering. but while we're waiting for the h1n1 vaccine to be available, those other steps of prevention are still important. hand washing, staying home quh you're sick, covering your cough or cold and making sure you don't spread the infection that you have. so i think at this point i'd like to answer questions that may be available about the anti-viral guidance or the general situation. so we can start in the room here. >> thank you. [inaudible] i had a couple of questions.

we're getting some reports that parents are having a very difficult time finding anti-viral medications at their local pharmacies. do you anticipate that's going to be an issue? and also you said several times, if you're in the high risk group, use these drugs promptly. you can kind of reiterate why it is necessary in those first maybe 48 hours to get the best benefit from these drugs? >> right. for people who do need anti-viral medicines, timing is important. that beginning treatment within the first 48 hours of symptoms can really help with the outcomes. people can do better with the influenza illness. the issue of availability of the anti-virals are very important. we're monitoring this at a national level and we're working with the commercial sector to understand the supply chains and working with the public health community to use the resources we have, the anti-viral strategic national symptom pile and the state stockpiles of anti-virals to really address these short ands. we think that the supply of anti-virals in the system is

adequate for any viral use for treatment. it's very important that people know most children, adolescents and adults with influenzalike illness do not need an tie viral medicine. it's just those people with risk continues where the influenza illness might get worse or people who have severe presentations like those who were hospitalized or who have signs of lower respiratory infection or other severe warning signs that need anti-vie rals. so we think by working together with the private sector and public sector we can have a good supply available where you need it. and it we want the public to know most people won't need anti-viral medicines goat through the influenza this year. let's take a question from the phones. >> star one if you would like to ask a question from the phone. the first question is from helen. please state your affiliation. >> caller: hi. i'm with the canadian press. thank you for taking my question. if i could ask a couple. first would be -- i'm sorry.

i'm in the clear what is new about the guidance today. what is different about this versus the guidance the cdc would have issued previously? >> great. there are some key things that are not new. the people that need anti-viral medicines for treatment are the same as what we recommended in may. people with underlying conditions and people who people with underlie conditions an people with worse representations. the drugs are not new. that's just what we issued in may. the new guidance emphasizes a few points. they emphasize the importance of prompt treatment for those who are recommended to receive medicines. and the guidance goes into more details about how to shorten that time period. not just raising the suspicion on hospitalized patients or patients in the office, but also up front work that a doctor and patient can have, a discussion about what the warning signs are so you know how to promptly seek care.

advice for clinics -- clinicians about how to set up your office so phone access is available or appointments are available so people who really need to get medicines quickly can get them and also a discussion that may involve considering providing a prescription to people who have underlying conditions that put them at risk for a worse time with influenza so they may just need to call you and really talk things over and not come into the office in order to be able to fill that prescription. so a little bit more manufacture sizz on how to shorten the time on treatment -- emphasis on how to shorten the time on treatment. the other big change is that in our main guidance we talked about circumstances where preventive use of anti-virals might be appropriate. this was generally when a person who had a risk factor to suggest they might have a harder time with influenza had a close contact with someone with the virus, we recommended it be considered. in the new guidance we actually add an option that in those same circumstances, instead of preventive use of anti-virals,

providers might want to consider watchful waiting where they don't necessarily begin preventive anti-virals but instead wait to see whether fever develops or respiratory systems -- symptoms occur. most of those people expose ready not going to get influenza so. watchful waiting was a new addition to this. then the third point i want to suppress is that this new guidance takes advantage of the whole experience of the spring, the whow experience of the southern hemisphere, and the circulation of influenza viruses, both the 2009 h1n1 a understand seasonal ones and we were able to make specific recommendations for influenza, the impeeric influenza, the influenza that might be any different type and say that these medicines are the first line regardless. as you know, helen, we've had a lot of h1n1 seasonal strains the past year that were resistant to stuff. we're not seeing those strains in the southern hemisphere

here. so the fear of that resistance that influenced some of our guidance last year, we didn't have to incorporate into the new guidance. so those are the principle updates. did you have a follow-up question? >> i did. it relates to the issue that you raised just a few minutes ago about maybe doing some advance work. could you flush that out a bit? are you talking about people -- pregnant women, for instance, or people with copd or whatever, having essentially a script in waiting and all they have to do is phone the doctor and say, look, i've got these symptoms, the doctor says, yeah, it's time to start -- get the drug and that's activated in some way? >> yes, that's right. that's one example where a prompter anti-viral medicines might be possible. you know, many people with chronic conditions and certainly pregnant women see their health care provider frequently. and so we think at some of those regular appointments it's reasonable to have a conversation about what to do if flu symptoms occur and many providers may want to discuss

with their patients the idea of providing a prescription that upon a phone consultation might be filled. this is going to vary by practice, by individual patient and by state because there are different laws about predictions and how they work in different states. but we think it's important for these risk groups, for patients to be counseled by the signs and symptoms to be watching for and for providers to think through how they can really reach their patients quickly during the busy season and the months ahead. so certainly for pregnant women, for people with as ma, liver disease, neurological disease, as we were hear being last week with the tragic pediatric deaths. in these patient populations, a conversation between the provider and the caregiver or patient will be very helpful. there are lots of ways that things will vary by practice and by state and by patient population. but we do feel that prompt

treatment is important and that the doctors' offices may get relatively busy and it may be reasonable in some circumstances for a phone conversation to be sufficient for a prescription to be filled. next question from the phone. >> the next question is from betsy mckay. please state your affiliation. >> hi, i'm with "the wall street journal." i had a question about the general situation. i wondered if you could talk about how much of an increase we're seeing in cases compared to your ex peck dayses or scenarios you may have laid out. we've all seen lots of reports of cases, you know, particularly on college campuses, like washington state university has over 2,000 cases of flulike symptoms so i wonder if, you know, look the at the scenarios you've laid out at the expectations -- predictions you may have made over the summer, is this fulfilling any worst case scenarios or any

fears you may have about having widespread illness or a peak of infection before the vaccine is ready as a report suggests it could happen? >> thank you. the observations that we're making about disease occurrence are very consistent with what we were expecting based on what we learned from the spring, based on the southern hemisphere experience and based on what we know about influenza. we did expect that increased influenza would start to be evident earlier than usual and that it might be most evident in school-aged or young adult populations because that's where we really saw a lot of decide in the spring and in the sorp hemisphere. so these reports about outbreaks in colleges and the reports about the increases in some of the southeastern states are quite consistent with what we were expecting. the good news is that the spectrum of illness doesn't seem to have changed. it's this range where most people have illness that gets better with home care for a few days.

some people need to be hospitalized and tragically some people die. but what i can say is that while this is within the range of what we're expecting, we really don't know what the trajectory will be. we know that some colleges have already seen upticks but the majority of colleges have haven't. we know that some states are seeing an increase but it's not at a level that we would think of as peak as all and that we have a big country. so i know there are many, many communities that haven't seen much flu yet this year. i think our principle prediction right now is that it's going to be a busy and long season. and we need to be prepared for the next several months and also the spring. the good news is that we've been working hard with -- across government and with the private sector, to ready the schools and universities and businesses and child care centers and so forth to have time for planning. some of the schools and universities that have had these outbreaks appear to have been well prepared to be able to address the challenges that they have and we really congratulate them for that.

next question from the phone. >> the next question is from maryann falco. >> thank you for taking my questions and i've got to -- number one, about the cases that we have, you mentioned the 21, i think, reported so far, 25,000 messages, are these actually all h1n1 cases or were these more people feeling ill and there's just a higher uptick in people trying to help them? know, in a typical year, we don't do test with everyone with influenza-like illness. we don't expect the vast majority of people with influenza-like illness to have a diagnostic test that tells them whether it is flu or not and if it is flu, whether it is h1n1. the important to say that the

intervention, the anti-viral medicines for the high-risk people or staying home and staying away from others with a little bit of tlc and fluids will be important whatever type of influenza it is. and so that the testing is not so important right now. i don't know what number of the college students that have been reported to have influenza in the past couple of weeks clearly have the 2009 h1n1 virus. what i can tell you is that we are doing viral odgic surveillance right now, testing viral strains from some people who have influenza-like illness and all the influenza that's circulating right now in the united states is the 2009 h1n1 strain. now, that is not going to persist for the whole fall and spring. that's the case right now. it's something that we'll be monitoring. right now if a person has influenza-like illness, it's good it's the h1n1 virus.

next question from the phone. let's do next question from the room. >> the next question is from mike. please state your affiliation. >> the associated press. thank you for taking the questioning. first, you said earlier, let's see, 24 schools dismissed students on friday, 25,000 students. were those -- were you talking about colleges or other types of schools and what states are they in? then i have a second question. >> right. the 25,000 students is from the schools, not universities or colleges but schools. the department of education is working with c.d.c. on surveillance for schools and for school dismissals. so that is the source of that data. the states that -- i think i may not actually have with me

-- oh, i do. ok, states were school students had been dismissed include georgia, indiana, missouri and tennessee. i think, though, that these may not be complete, this is the information that was available as of friday. and really this is just situational awareness that helps us put in perspective the impact that the virus is having right now. we don't expect school dismissals to be the main way that we handle influenza. there are many other things that can be done for influenza illness in the school population. but it's one marker for us that local groups are having challenges with the virus and these are steps that they're taking. recall also that we had a lot more school students dismissed in the spring than the numbers are today. the university data that one of the reporters mentioned is through the american college health association which has set up a nice surveillance system of a number of universities and colleges and they're providing that information to the media and we are really delighted that they're doing that.

next question from the room, i think. >> i'm trying to remember what my question was. can i wait? >> absolutely. let's see if there's another question from the phone. next. >> the next question from the phones is from alice. please state your afill yeas. >> hi, with "time" mas. i just wanted to pick up on something that you mentioned which was the fact that right now the most common form of influenza is the h1n1. but if the anti-virals are really, if we know that the anti-virals, the seasonal influenza is now resist ept to tamiflu, if for people who are hospitalized are showing these severe symptoms, would those people be recommended to get some kind of testing or how would you know that they have, as the season goes on, that you won't be seeing more of that

seasonal resistance flu versus the novel h1n1? >> we do recommend testing for hospital iced patients but we recommend treatment before the testing results are available. because early treatment is important. important to say that many seasonal influenza viruses are susceptible to tamiflu. the just the seasonal h1n1 viruses that were circulating the past few years that had developed the tamiflu resistance. we haven't been seeing the seasonal h1n1 viruses in the southern hemisphere and we don't know whether there will be a problem here in the northern hemisphere going through the fall and winter. so a key message for clinicians right now is that we believe that tamiflu will be first great line treatment. we do think diagnosic testing for hospitalized patients is helpful and we recommend that. but we think that for the seasonal h3n2's, and the 2009

h1n1's, that the it tamiflu would be fine first line drug. now we have a question from the room. >> i remembered it. if you think that you have the flu this summer, if you're pretty certain you have the flu this spring or summer, do you have any cross protection or are you ok going into the fall? do you still need the flu vaccine when it becomes available? >> this is such a common question that we have and the a really important one and i wish i had a better answer. we i think that if you're in a recommended group that you do still need the h1n1 vaccine going forward and if you're in a recommended group do you still need the seasonal flu vaccine. t of the influenza-like illness circulating does not get a diagnostic test. so we don't know for sure whether what the cough or cold people had this summer exactly what that was. we had a lot of attention to h1n1 but you know, in the southern hemisphere is where

they were testing and they saw a lot of other respiratory viruses. not everything that sounded like influenza was influenza. when i mentioned the virus was essentially the only influenza virus we are seeing, it is true but it is not the only respiratory virus that is circulating. so the key thing for people is that we do think that you will need an h1n1 vaccine if you are in one of the recommended groups. and to remind folks we recommend -- recommending h1n1 vaccine when it becomes available for health care workers and those with emergency medical service personnel. pregnant women and for parents or other close contacts and caregivers of children under six months of age. and for all children between the ages of 6 months and young adults, 24 years of age. and for 25-year-olds through age 64 who have chronic medical conditions that increase the risk of a bad outcome from influenza. that's a lot of people and we

know that many people did have a respiratory illness this summer but we still have those -- think those people should go ahead and seek the influenza vaccine. >> do you have any evidence they have some cross-protection or maybe if they get sick in geneva worse time of it? less severe time of it. >> we don't have information about that right now. so i think that it is -- it is a big challenge. but we think that the vast majority of the country has not yet had h1n1 disease and the vast majority of people are at risk for seasonal influenza viruses as well. our vaccination recommendations are based on those principles. >> next question from david brown. please state your affiliation. >> caller: yes. i'm with "the washington post." thanks for doing this. ing doctor, could you say a little something about where current shortages of the anti-virals are? and how the -- what cdc is going

to do should they develop, given the importance of immediate treatment, how you are going to get anti-virals to a region? last spring, you know, in the washington area, it was completely sold out. some pharmacy has 100 prescriptions waiting to be filled. the disease hadn't spread very much. >> our strategy for dealing with an thank you viral supply issues and spot shortages issues has two prongs. one about demand and one is about supply. the demand side of the story is to really promote appropriate use of anti-virals. they can be lifesaving for treatment of people hospitalized or people who had underlying conditions that increased the risk of a bad complication from flu. and really are not necessary in the vast majority of children, ad lessents and adults, that have the influenza illness and don't have a bad presentation or

one of the risk conditions. addressing supply with both the commercial sector and to understand where products are and how quickly they can be restocked in pharmacies and public sector with the strategic national stockpile asset to get anti-viral medicine to where they are needed. so in many of the health departments, we are learning the lessons from the springs, best practices some of the states have in making sure their anti-viral stockpiles were out there in their farm sighs, grocery stores, or accessible to local health departments so that when there weren't assets in the commercial sector, the public sector assets were acceptable. i think that this is a question both supply and demand and a critical issue is to just remind people that the vast majority ofs that have an influenza-like illness don't need the anti-viral medicine. next question from the phone. >> shannon. please state your affiliation. >> caller: hi.

i'm with bloomberg news. i have two questions. one was why is it that you are seeing ain't increase in the south? i know you said some schools go back earlier there than elsewhere. i wonder if there's anything else having to do with climate that may also explain that. may other question was about the anti-resistance and if you could explain more of where you are seeing that. and you know, number of cases or areas that you have seen that in. >> right. the reason for the early increase in disease in the southeastern united states isn't known. we have two possibilities. one possibility that we are exploring is that schools reopened a bit earlier in southern states than they did in the northern part of the country. and perhaps that gave more of a chance for things to occur in earlier disease. another possibility is that the southeastern states were not that heavily hit in the spring and so they may just be getting their spring wave right now as

opposed to new york city or chicago or seattle that saw a of disleast spring. it could be either of those or both of those or something else. your other question was about anti-viral medicines like trying to remember. could you remind me -- >> yeah. you said you saw -- >> resistance, right. so far there has been a handful of anti-viral resistance around the world really caused by the 2009 h1n1 strain. the vast majority of the resy tent occurrences have been in people that were on anti-virals at the time. for preventative reasons. and so and so far this hasn't been widespread. we continue to look and it's important for people to know it might become widespread. one of the reasons we're looking is that we have that fear. but so far it's really just a handful. i don't have data on the state's specific anti-viral resistance tonight d today. i think i have time for at most two more questions if there are

any left on the phone. >> the next question from the phones is from diane. please state your affiliation. >> i'm a parents d magazine. you pointed out that most children don't need anti-viral treatment and will do fine at home. i'm wondering if you could give some more specific guidance about when parents should call the pediatrician, if their child has -- [inaudible] it seems very flulike, do they home need to call if their child, a, falls into a risk category, or, b, has one of those symptoms of a more severe infection, otherwise should they just treat their child at home on their own or is it worth a call to check in with the pediatrician? >> you know, every family's different and each provider may have a different preference. but let me tell you some warning signs that parents need to know about so that they can be on the alert with their children and their children's health. warning signs in children

include fast breathing or trouble breathing. a bluish skin color. not drinking enough fluids. not waking up or not interacting in their normal way. being so irritable that the child doesn't want to be held and flu-like symptoms getting better and then getting worse. that can be a warning sign for a second infection on top of the flu. those are key warning signs that parents should be aware of. we also think that the youngest children, children under 2, are at risk for influenza complications and it may be harder to spot those warning signs in the youngest kids. so consulting with a provider and the youngest kids is important. children over 5 do pretty well with influenza-like illness and children 2 to 5 are pretty in between. clinical judgment is still important and parental judgment is important but those warning signs are clues that patients should be on the alert and keep an eye out for those.

>> one more quick question, if a child has flu-like symptoms and had a rapid flu test that showed it was influenza a, is that a sign they would not in fact need the h1n1 vaccine or should they still go ahead and have it? >> our recommendation at this point is this they go ahead with the h1n1 vaccine this spring. so the tests aren't perfect, either positives or negatives. so we do actually represent that -- recommend that. i think we have time for one last question on the phone. >> the next question is from tom fudge. please state your affiliation. >> tom fudge, with kcbs public radio in san diego. i have a question about something that you touched on. i think you said at the beginning that because h1n1 has been quite stable, the vaccine will be a good match. you can -- you can expand on that a little bit?

how sure can you be, can we be that the vaccine will hit it right between the eyes? >> the influenza viruses that have been tested as recently as a couple weeks ago are ect treatment -- extremely close matches. essentially the same as the viruses that were used to prepare the vaccine. that doesn't mean that a couple months from now or a couple weeks from now the virus won't change. and that's really one of the frustrating things about influenza. it can change. but based on everything we know today, we're expecting a really good match between the h1n1 vaccine and the strains that are circulating and that's very good news because the better the match, the higher the efficacy of the vaccine. so thanks, everyone, for participating and we'll be back soon, i think. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp 2009] >> and a live picture of capitol hill where lawmakers

have returned today and promptly resumed their discussions on health care legislation. earlier we spoke to a capitol hill reporter about it. >> steven of roll call's d congress. lawmakers are back on capitol hill. what are they talking about, who's talking and who's saying what? >> well, i think at this point the main focus is on senate finance and you their ability to come to some sort of bipartisan agreement. and there's a by the of a question about that right now. bachus has come forward with an 18-page summary of what he'd like to do with health care. but at this point, the reaction lawmakers. from the gang of six, the bipartisan members who are negotiated in the finance committee, but within the activist community it's been much more vocal. >> you're talking about senator bachus with his finance committee plan. why does that not have a public option or the so-called public option in it?

>> well, it's more contention issues. it's an issue that the key republican lawmakers within finance say they simply will grassley and olivia snow. if you can't get snow to support, if she has a problem, you won't be getting any other republicans because she has singly gone as far as any of them to reach a sort of agreement. >> over on the house side, though, steny hoyer, majority leader, he talked about the public option and what's he saying? >> what he's saying is that a public option is a wonderful idea that should be in the bill, but essentially he said it's not a deal breaker if it's not there but he'd like it to be there. so there's some eequivalentcation on the part of the houses of what they will and will not accept. >> with congress being back, is there any sense, particularly from majority leader hoyer, about a time line as we move

forward? >> well, hoyer says there is no set time line but there are interested in seeing what the senate does. however, he made the point of noting that the fact that they really don't wait for the senate to do anything before they act but they're curious to see what the senate comes up with. >> tomorrow night, president joint session, his speech. what effect, if any, is that expected to have on this process and on these lawmakers? >> well, it's supposed to be a real driving force in terms of what's going to happen in either chamber because if the president speaks with some authority about what he wants, what needs to be in, what must be in, that's going to have a real impact on what lawmakers are willing to do. they've been waiting for this kind of guidance from him and it will be invaluable. >> is there anything in particular you think he has to say to move some of these reluctant democrats along a little bit? >> i guess he might be making the point that you can't scuttle the entire bill --

[inaudible] because the provision, if there's an alternative, such as a trigger, or some sort of -- the cooperative plan, you have nonprofit cooperatives that provide coverage. he might try to send the major that it's not do or die with that issue. >> finally, as we move forward both tomorrow night and as the days go by, what are you watching for most closely? >> i'm really watching for some indications from the republicans on finance. if they're ready to go along with what democrats have done or if they have enough concerns that they want to lead. at this point i've heard of it's a bit of a staring match between who wants to lead first and take the blame. can republicans lead and be seen as the problem? or will democrats be seen as pushing them out the door? >> stephen langel, thank you as always for your time. >> no problem. >> the house debated nearly a

dozen bills this afternoon. members return at 6:30 eastern to vote on a number of them. this is the first day back for the house and senate after the month-long august recess. tomorrow the u.s. house will consider energy legislation and on thursday continuing the program to protect the chesapeake bay. live coverage when the house returns at 6:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span. tomorrow the house an senate meet in the joint session to hear president obama on health care. he was invited to speak by the democratic leaders of both bodies. we'll have live coverage here on c-span at 8:00 p.m. eastern, also on c-span radio and c-span.org. the supreme court has a rare special session tomorrow hearing oral argument on a campaign finance case. listen to it same day on c-span 3, c-span radio and at c-span.org. tomorrow, also marks the first appearance on the bench for justice sonia sotomayor.

here's justice clarence thomas on what it means to add a new justice. >> as far as the composition of the court, you're bringing in basically, and this word can be overused, you're bringing in a family member. and it changes the whole family. it's different. it's different today than what it was when i first got here. and i have to admit, you grow very fond of the court that you spent a long time on. there was a period there with chief justice rehnquist and justice o'connor when we had gone, we had a long run together. and you get comfortable with that and then it changes. so the institution, the nine is different. your reaction is different. you get to learn each other. you have to start all over. people -- the chemistry's different. >> hear from other justices during supreme court week as

c-span looks at the home to america's highest court starting october 4. >> justice sonia sotomayor has taken her seat at the u.s. supreme court. here she is getting her picture taken, one of many events surrounding her taking office today. last month justice sotomayor became the first hispanic and third woman to be a justice. she took the oath again today in a ceremony by which the court formally welcomed its newest member. >> ellen hunter from my office and this is deborah pennant, she's a producer at nbc news. ranl is on camera. >> hello. how are you? >> and scott applewhite, a.p. photography. >> i've seen you before. i was going it to say, you were right over here. >> bless your heart. >> i have a memory for space. and hello, how are you again? what do you need? >> we need you.

>> you need me? ok. they lost my family, you know that? literally. >> she's an expert. >> perfect, all right. we'll do this all day until your family gets here. >> hurry, find them. >> great. one more. >> keep your attention on him. >> ok, here we go. right here. right here, one more. great. all those are good. i hear people in the hall, though. >> that's my brother. hello. they finally found you. i said you were awol in the building. >> i went shopping. >> oh.

you just put it on my tab. i said, what are you doing? she looks scared over there. >> first we're going to get -- you're going to be first. >> you look great. i didn't see you dressed this morning. >> there's chairs. >> i'm the foing to of this event -- photog of this event. great, great.

>> get as close as you can to her. that's good. all right. as close as you can. that looks good, all right. that's a good shoot shot. right here. look right in the lens. great. >> smile, mom. >> nice smile. good. >> i'm making her laugh. >> scoot that way a little bit more. >> this way? >> yeah. back to where the chair was. perfect. you guys look great. see, this could be fun, you know? some people have to work for a live, you know? that's great. couple more. you guys are great.

>> move this way a little more. we have to put tape on the floor. >> i know, i know, i was told where to stand. >> great. great. right here, big smile.

we can bring up -- >> who should we bring up? >> it's a lawyer approach. >> ok. >> that's great. right here. maybe you could step forward like this. very nice.

>> you get to just stand and watch. >> on the side. >> i'm going to get everybody as close as possible. >> do you understand spanish in >> the tall guy is always in the back. you know that. >> we can always crop and redo and all that stauf. >> do you have any idea what three months of this would do to everybody? >> very nice.

very nice. now we need to add your sister, tracy. >> then i'd like one with my brother. >> you stand over there. tracy, you stand over here. >> you're fine where you are. >> that's good. >> does that look ok? >> good. >> you're tall, you're always in the back. >> i don't mind being in the back.

>> look right here. >> beautiful. >> do you want to do -- get one with your brother? >> right here? >> every time we take pictures, i'm in the same suit. >> we can always change the color in photo shop. look right here.

>> i have a feeling my sister will make me pay. >> you're right. >> let's get tracy on this one. >> trace. don't tell me your shoes hurt. >> get you in the middle. >> you're in the middle here too. but upstairs -- >> good, good. one more, great. >> get one of you with your mother and brother together.

>> you won't see another photographer here for five years. >> that's all right with me. >> i'm learning the routine. i'm a fast learner. >> step forward a little bit, you guys. a little further. all right. look right here. what a shot. all right. great. there's no big -- >> we have a little played here. >> that's it. >> that's it? i don't know where i go next. >> you have some down time.

>> i think we're done. >> you were -- when we were here last time, you talked about a c.d., getting the pictures. >> i can get you anything. >> i'll have theresa get them. >> you can get your picture too. >> mama, when we go back upstair, remind me. steve did a book for you. i'll show it to you. thanks, guys, i'll see you all later. >> we'll take you downstairs. >> i'm glad somebody knows where we're going.

>> they promise us everything. >> on your screen, chief justice roberts escorts the supreme court's newest member, justice sotomayor, down the steps. earlier, she participated in a ceremonial swearing in. she was officially sworn in on august 4 so she could begin working. from earlier today this is about six minutes.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009]

[speaking spanish] >> can you say a few words for us, please? >> tell me when you've had enough. >> never enough. never enough. >> never?

>> we're over here. there we go. right over here.

>> lots of photo shop. >> bye, guys. >> bye, thank you.

>> the supreme court has a rare special session tomorrow hearing oral argument on a campaign finance case. listen to it same day on c-span3, c-span radio and at c-span.org. tomorrow also marks the first appearance on the bench for justice sotomayor.

here's justice clarence thomas on what it means to add a new justice. >> as far as the composition of the court, you're bringing in basically, and this word can be overused, you're bringing in a family member. it changes the whole family. it's different today than what it was when i first got here. and i have to admit, you grow very fond of the court that you spent a long time on. there was a period there with chief justice rehnquist and justice o'connor. when we were gone we had a long run together. you get comfortable with that and then it changes. now it's changing again. so the institution the nine is different, your reactions are different. your chemistry is different. >> hear from other justices on

supreme court week as we look at the home of america's highest court, starting october 4. >> the house debated nearly a dozen bill this is afternoon. they return at 6:30 eastern to vote on a number of them. this is the first day back after a month-long august recess. tomorrow they consider energy legislation and on wednesday, continuing a program to protect the chesapeake bay, live coverage when the house returns at 6:30 p.m. eastern. tomorrow the house and senate meet in a joint session to hear president obama on health care. he was invited to speak by the democratic leaders of both bodies. we'll have live coverage here at 8:00 p.m. eastern, also on c-span radio and c-span.org. >> next, house speaker nancy pelosi and senate majority leader harry reid met with

president obama at the white house today. they discussed congress' fall agenda and health care reform. both leaders expressed their continued support for a public option from outside the white house, this is about eight means -- eight minutes. >> we had a productive meeting with the president and vice president. the main subject was of course the health insurance reform, but we talked about other issues that relate to the fall agenda. and other issues. we come together at a time where three bills have been passed out of committee in the house and one in the senate. hopefully soon the house committee will act and we have plenty to work from to pass comprehensive, affordable, excessive health care. the month of august, our members have heard from constituents, they communicated with them, they bring back the benefit of that thinking. they also had a chance to

explain to their constituents the opportunity that is in the bill that again we have legislation that will lower cost, improve quality, expand coverage and retain choice. if you like what you have, you can keep it. if you have something you'd like to improve upon, that can happen, if you're not insured, you'll have that opportunity. this will be done in a fiscally sound way, it's necessary for us to act. the present situation is unsustainable. as the president said, health care reform is intiletment reform. in order for us to reduce the deficit, it's essential we have real health care reform. we go forward welcoming our members back in a series of cause cuses and meetings, we're prepared to bring our three bills together to prepare to meet the senate in conference. senator reid? mr. leader? >> the president and vice president were very positive. it's in keeping with the

conversation i've had with my members the past week, that is, we're re-energized, we're ready to do health care reform. keeping in mind that even before the august recess, 80% of health care is already done. it was prior to recess, the 20% that we still had to work on. in our conversations today we think we're up to 90% of things that are agreed upon. we have 10% that we need to work on and we can do that. as far as the speech tomorrow, the president didn't give us a dress rehearsal of the speech, but he did tell us that he's going to be outlined -- outlining to the american people and the congress the health care reform bill that he contemplates that we will do. and we're in agreement with him in that regard. he -- i have every belief that when he finishes his speech tomorrow, the american people will be able to put aside some

of the ridiculous falsehoods that have been perpetrated these past few weeks and focus on what we're going to do that's positive for this country. we have a lot of work to do. we understand that. but we're still approaching this in the form of bipartisanship. we still, after all these months, have a place at the table for the republicans and we're going to do everything we can to work with them. we want a bipartisan bill. we do not want to do reconciliation unless we have no alternative. >> thing i personally am in favor of public option. in my mind there's no question that the majority of, i can't speak for the house caucus, but if i were betting, sade say the majority of them also believe in public option. we'll do our best to have a public option of something like a public option before we finish this. >> why was there no place for republicans at the table today.

>> today what are you talking about? >> why were there no republicans at the table today in this meeting. >> i think that it's -- we've had a large table on the finance committee, health committee in the senate, there's always a place for them. so i think today it was, again a very positive meeting and that's how i feel. >> the president was meeting with the speaker of the house and the democratic leader of the senate. he has other meetings that we're not inviolated to that republicans are at. i don't know what the point of the question is. but the point is also in our committees in the house, three committees have passed a bill out. all of them have strong numbers of republicans on those committees. i saw to that when we did our ratio. so they have had a place at the table as our bills have come through the legislative process

and that's what we're engaged in now, the legislative process. >> is there a potential for house passage? can you discuss any kind of schedule that would have for the passage of the bill? >> on the public option, i believe the public option will be essential tour passing the bill in the house of representatives. as the president has said and i listened to him very carefully, we he believes the public option is the best way to keep the insurance companies honest and to increase competition. in order to lower costs, improve quality, retain choice, like if you like what you have you can keep it, and expand coverage in a fiscally sound way, that saves money. that's why -- but he said if you have a better idea, put it on the table. and so, if somebody has a better idea how to do that, put it on the table.

for the moment, however, as far as our house members are concerned, the overwhelming majority of them support a public option. this, as i say is the legislative process. right now, we will have a public option in our -- >> [inaudible] >> we're very pleased as leader reid mentioned that the president will be making his address this evening. i think we have been on schedule we continue to be on schedule, but the speech tonight will be a very important -- excuse me, tomorrow, will be a very important factor in how we go forward. >> madam speaker, congressman clyburn said a craiger -- trig own a public option was a doable alternative because it saved the public option. is that a fair assessment? >> well, i'm sorry out of context i can't really speak to

mr. clyburn's remarks. i do know that mr. clyburn is a strong supporter of a public option, where we go seeing what the senate puts forth and the rest is another place. but i've said it before and i'll say it again, the health insurance industry, which is out there fighting the public option tooth and nail because it does increase competition which they don't want. they'd be better getting a public option now than one that is triggered because if you have a triggered public option it's because the insurance industry has demonstrated that they're not cooperating, they're not doing the right thing and i think they'll have a tougher public option to deal with. >> leader reid can you talk about -- >> snaublesnauble -- [inaudible] >> as the debate over health

care continues, c-span's health care hub is a key resource. go online, follow the latest tweets, video ads, and links. watch the latest events, including town hall meetings and share your thoughts on the issue including your own citizen video, including video from any town hall you've gone to. and there's more at c-span.org. >> president obama spoke with ninth grade students before his national address at wakefield high school earlier today. here are some of his comments. practical tips. first of all, i want everybody here to be careful about what you post on facebook. whatever you do, it will be pulled up again later somewhere in your life. and when you're young, you know, you make mistakes and you

do some stupid stuff. i've been hearing a lot about young people who, you know, they're posting stuff on facebook, then suddenly they go apply for a job, somebody's done a search and you know -- so that's some practical political advice for you right there that's number one. number two look, obviously, doing well in school is hugely important. especially if you don't come from a political family where they've got hooked up. if you're going to succeed it's because people are going to think they have confidence you can do the job. really exceling in education is important. number three, find something you're passionate about and do that well. there are a lot of people who decide to go into politics just because they want to be important or they like the idea of very their -- having their name up in lights or what have you. the truth is that i think the people who are the best elected

officials are the people who, they've found something they're good at, they get really -- whether it's -- they're a really good lawyer, really good teacher, good businessperson, they've built a career and learned something about how to organize people and motivate people and then they go into politics because they think they can take those skills to do some more good. as opposed to just wanting to elected. owl they're thinking about is, how do i get re-elected? so they never get anything done. that's not just true in politics, that's true in life. even if you didn't want to be president if you wanted to be a successful in business, most of the most successful business people i know are people who,

they were passionate about some idea about product or service and they really got into that and the money was a by product. the money came later. he did something like that, he became successful as well, but his focus was, how do i create something that actually helps people are or is useful to them. i think you should have that same attitude, whatever it is you decide to do. >> my name is shaun, my question is, currently 36 countries have universal health coverage which have been paid

for by the united states, why can't the united states have universal health coverage? >> i think that's the question i've been asking congress. i think we need it. i think we can do it. i'm going to be making a speech tomorrow night, talking about my plan to make sure that everybody has access to affordable health care. part of what happened is that back in the 1940's and 1950's, a lot of -- most of the wealthy countries around the world decided to set up health care systems that covered everybody. the united states for a number of different reasons, organized their health care around employer-based health insurance. what happened was is that you basically got your health insurance through your job. and you can see some problems with that.

number one is if you lose your job then you don't have health insurance. the other thing is some employers may not want to do right by their employees by giving them health insurance. then they're kind of out of luck. 10 what happened was is that the majority of americans still have health insurance through their job, and you know, most of them are happy with it. but a lot of people fall through the cracks. if you're self-employed, if you start your own business, if you are working in a job that doesn't offer health insurance, then you have real problems. what we're trying to do is set up system where people who have health insurance on the jobs, they can keep it. but if you don't have health insurance for the job if you're self-employed, if you're unemployed, you're able to get health insurance through another way. and we can afford to do it. it will actually, i think, over time, save us money, if we set

that up. all right? listen, guys, these have been terrific questions, i can tell you guys are going to excel in high school. you guys are going to do great. your teachers are lucky to have you. just remember that my only other piece of advice is stay focused, do well, apply yourself in school but also understand you're going to make some mistakes during your teenage years. you can recover from them. just make sure if you do make a mistake you learn from it and you'll be fine. thank you guys for taking the time. [applause] >> have a great school year.

>> a live picture coming to you from capitol hill as we wait for the house of representatives to come back in. three votes scheduled. the house back from their recess today, house and senate both back. we have three votes debated earlier under suspension of the rule, we should get to those momentarily. the senate in as well, today they were working on a travel promotion bill. we do expect the house to work on suspension votes starting in just a minute or so. tomorrow evening at 8:00, both the house and senate come together on -- in the capitol building. we'll watch as president obama gives a joint address on health care, we'll have coverage for you on this network. we're just waiting for you now, it should be just a moment before the house comes back for their votes.

granted on the motion to

affirmative, the rules are not suspended and the bill is not passed. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. will all members please remove their conversations off the floor.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. members, please remove your conversations off the floor.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. all members, please remove your conversations from the floor and take a seat. members, please clear the well. the gentleman from illinois deserves to be heard.

without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. mr. quigley: thank you. welcome back. i rise today to your knowledge my colleagues to act swiftly to reauthorize the ryan white hiv-aids act before it sunsets at the end of this month. 19 years ago, ryan white, a young man who contracted h.i.v. from a routine blood transfusion, died from aids. out of ryan's death came life in the form of the hiv-aids treatment modernization act, which now provides care to 500,000 victims of aids and their families each year. the ryan white act is considered the payer of last resort, providing assistance to those who other wise go without care.

the speaker pro tempore: the house is not in order. i ask all members to please have a seat and remove their conversations from the house floor. the gentleman may proceed. mr. quigley: thank you, madam speaker. reauthorizing the ryan white treatment modernization act is imperative and so is passing health care reform. while ryan white is gone, we owe it to work together to swiftly pass the ryan white act and health care reform. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: i ask permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the house is not in order. the gentleman from south carolina deserves to be heard.

members, remove your conversations from the house floor. mr. wilson: thank you, madam speaker. during august, people all across america stood up to have their voices heard on the issue of health care. in south carolina, i was grateful to host four town halls with the largest turnout in the history of our state. we had 1,700 at a high school in columbia, 1,500 at another high school and hilton head high school. the discussions were lively, but respectful with 95% of constituents opposed to the government takeover of the health care system. they want to see health insurance reform. every quarter during my 25-year service in the state senate and congress, i have hosted town halls, but this august, the turnout was historic. it is important to share with the american people that there is another choice for reform. republicans offered positive reforms, including the empowering patients first act,

h.r. 3400. this will fix our failing health care system while protecting the doctor-patient relationship. we want to expand affordability and accessibility without adding to our's nation debt and eliminating jobs as cited by the nfib. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? mr. bishop: address the house for one minute. we remember the americans whose lives were taken eight years ago as well as those in the recovery effort. in the wake of that horrific crime, america's first responders did not back down or turn away. we have not honored them with the same care and commitment and have yet to repay their sacrifice ises. i call my colleagues' attention to the firefighter john

mcnamara. he assisted in the rescue efforts following september 11 and answered the call again for the citizens of louisiana during the aftermath of hurricane katrina. john fought for the passage of legislation even as he himself was dying from colon cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2006. he was 44 when he passed away earlier this year leaving behind his wife jennifer and son jack. many of the brave first responders who served at ground zero are struggling with diseases as a result of their courageous efforts. too many people have moved on from 9/11. but the first responders and their families cannot move on and neither should we unless we keep our promise. we must take care of these heroes. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? without objection. mr. paulsen: madam speaker, i

rise today to honor a great person who lost his life in the line of duty, officer richard critenden. he he dedicated his life to protecting others. he was a four-year deputy with the sheriff's department and before that, enenforcement officer for the county parks department. if that wasn't enough, he served our nation as a member of the u.s. army. unfortunately, when he responded to a domestic disturbance call, things went awry and we lost one of minnesota's best. he chose a life of service protecting and defending his friends, neighbors and the public. his life and work demonstrated public service at the highest caliber. with this tragic loss, i offer my prayers and deepest sympathies to the family and friends of officer critenden and i urge all americans who put

their lives in danger every day in order to protect us. i yield back. . mr. kucinich: i ask permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. kucinich: thank you. i want to thank the 85 members of the house who have signed on to h.r. 676, the bill which john conyers and i authored which establishes medicare for all. it's very clear that there's only one way that you can control costs and make it possible for people to have the doctor of choice, and that legislation, h.r. 676, accomplishes that. i would like to suggest that the underlying angst we have seen reflected across this country in the last couple months at town hall meetings and individual confrontations, is not simply about health care. and we ignore at our peril the

underlying economic issues that are confronting this country. the fact there are 15 million americans out of work. the fact that so many people have lost their investments, so many people have lost their pensions. this is what is moving the american people to revolt against their own government. so we need to look at this in a broader way, not only to address the health care issues, but also address the underlying economic questions. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gohmert: thank you, madam speaker. the president of the united states was addressing a group yesterday and he came after once again the critics of his health care proposal. we got the health care bill that was filed in the house and that's what we have been working from. and he has said that if you like your policy you can keep

it. obviously he hasn't read the policy and i would recommend he read page 16 and he'll find out that what he's saying is not true. but he went on and is quoted in talking about his critics as saying, you have heard all the lies, i've got a question for all those folks, what are you going to do? what is your answer? what's your solution? and you know what? they don't have one. madam speaker, i would like to encourage the president to quit talking so much and listen. there are lots of proposals out there, read human events today, you'll see. there are pent -- plenty of proposals. quit talking, start listening, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: thank you. madam speaker, it's a delight to be back with my colleagues, but more importantly it was enriching to be with my constituents some 10 town hall meetings, any number of personal appearances before

organizations to talk about changing america's health care system for the better of all americans. after 60 years, we now have an opportunity to address the question of the uninsured, but to make sure that those who have insurance can keep it. i have read page 16, what it says is that your private insurance is grandfathered in. that if your insurance in five years does not meet basic standards, we'll require your insurance to do so. there is nothing on page 16 that says anything about eliminating your insurance, but it does reform the insurance industry of america. no pre-existing disease, preventive care. we can pay for t. the congressional budget office said so. today, madam speaker, i'm here gladly to stand with the president and join him in the question, what will you do? it's time to move on health care reform with a vigorous public option. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana rise?

without objection. mr. cao: thank you very much. madam speaker, the office of the president of the united states is higher than the individual who occupies the seat. it is a symbol of freedom, respect, and enduring values of our republic. like every american the president has the right to speak freely. in fact, it is his duty to address the american people. so as i watched the event this past weekend would suggest his words would be subversive, controversial, or otherwise inappropriate, i was very disappointed. every american president has had the opportunity to speak to school children. president obama is no exception. the president's address to students this morning promoted students setting high standards, supporting our teachers and principals, and reforming our schools. he encouraged students to take advantage of educational opportunities for successful

careers and the opportunities to achieve the american dream. i ask that we as americans can learn to make the distinction between our disagreements with the man in the office and our history of respecting the office itself. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. engel: thank you, madam speaker. i would like to commend my colleague who just spoke before me because i think he hit the nail right on the head. president obama spoke to school children today. i listened to it. it was very moving. it was very good to see the president of the united states talk directly to america's youth. and disgracefully during the past week, parents and some teachers and some schools saying they weren't going to allow their children to listen to the president of the united states. what a sad day it is when people can talk that way. the president of the united states is to be respected by all. he's all of our president, not

just the people who voted for him. i voted for him. i'm proud i did. but everybody's president, every american's president. i believe that tomorrow as he did today with school children the president will make a very, very good speech on health care. highlighting health care y. we need health care reform, why it's important to have it. 40 million americans have no health insurance coverage whatsoever. 47 million. and it will soon be 60 million and 70 million. that's why we need health coverage. i welcome the president's speech tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: any further one-minute requests? for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: i ask unanimous consent that today following

legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into, the following members may be permitted to address the house, revise and extend their remarks, and include therein extraneous material. mr. jones for today, september 9, 10, 14, and 15. mr. burton for today, september 9 and 10. myself, mr. poe, for today, september 9, 10, 14, and 15. mr. mccotter for today. ms. ros-lehtinen for today. and september 14. mr. neugebauer for today and september 10. mr. solder -- souder for today. mr. inkles for today. mr. moran for today, september 10, 14, and 15, and mr. bartlett for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. woolsey: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that today following legislative business and any special orders heretofore entered into the following members may be permitted to address the house,

revise and extend their remarks, and include therein extraneous material, mr. hoyer, maryland. ms. woolsey, california, mr. mcgovern, maine. ms. kaptur, ohio. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, and under a previous order of the house, the following members are are recognized for five minutes each. mr. hoyer from maryland. mr. hoyer: revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. hoyer: madam speaker, i rise to mark the death of a good friend and a good friend of america. sven who died last month after a long struggle with cancer. he was the first vice president of the danish parliament and was a political legend in his country. i had the opportunity to meet and work closely with sven on many occasions, most recently

when he was one of mice gracious hosts on a trip to denmark this may. each time, each time i was impressed by the vitality, the sense of humor, the idealism of this man who devoted his life to public service. from the day he entered politics at the age of 28, right up to his death a few weeks ago, sven was a kind, wise, and insightful friend. i'll miss him. today i rise to offer my condolences to his wife, anne, his children and other friends and family whom he left behind. i also of course rise to pay him tribute. sven's country is home to a proud and political tradition. it stretches from the solidarity danes showed when they protected their jewish fellow citizens from the onslaught of the holocaust, to the foresight men den mark proved by becoming entirely energy independent.

he was a real humanitarian and visionary. a visionary political thinker worthy of his poud heritage. as leader of the social democrats and long serving minister for the environment and energy, sven left a powerful mark on his country and on europe. and became an inspiration to leaders around the world struggling to confront common threats such as global warming. as a leading danish paper wrote, and i quote, the country's landscape specked with the thousands of windmills that has become a symbol of denmark can be traced back to his efforts. he deserves credit for his country's secure retirement system as well. his friendship wasn't just meaningful to me on a personal level, the relationship and respect he cultivated on both sides of our political aisle helped to cement the powerful friendship between america and its key nato ally, denmark, as a danish american myself and

member of congress, i have been proud to support and nurture this key alliance. i chair the congressional friends of denmark caucus along with my friend, howard coble. and i meet frequently with visiting danish leaders whose inquisitive and analytical approach in meetings is always very notable. though sven is gone, i know that the progress he made for his country and the friendship he helped sustain with ours will be among his lasting legacies. i also know that he lived a full, committed, and creative life. as sven said when he announced his decision to continue serving despite his cancer, and i quote, the amount of time you have left to live be it short or long is life itself. and you shouldn't squander it. sven did not squander his life. i believe that sven died secure in the knowledge that he made

everything he could of the time he was given and there is no better end than that. i pay respect to a friend, a colleague, a great danish leader, a greature peaian leader, a great international citizen. sven, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of absence requested for mr. dreier of california for today. mrs. mccarthy of new york for today and the balance of the week. mr. rodriguez of texas for today. and mr. tanner of tennessee for today and september 9. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. the chair recognizes mr. jones of north carolina. mr. jones: i ask unanimous consent that i might speak at this time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. jones: madam speaker, on june 25, 2009, i joined congressman jim mcgovern and

offered an amendment to the national defense authorization act. the amendment would have required are the secretary of defense to submit a report to congress which outlines an exit strategy for our armed forces in afghanistan. during the floor debate that day, i along with other members, talked about the history of afghanistan and the difficulties that other nations have had from alexander the great to england and russia. as just one measure of the hazardous conditions facing our troops in afghanistan, 99 american service members have been killed in afghanistan since june 25 of 2009, the day we debated the amendment. while i regret that the amendment was not approved, i still believe it is critical for the current administration to clearly articulate benchmarks for success and an end point to its war strategy in afghanistan. last week on september 1, 2009, conservative columnist george

will wrote an op-ed titled, time to get out of afghanistan. in it he shares his insights on how our nation's current strategy in afghanistan. madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to submit the full text of this op-ed for the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. . mr. jones: he wrote and i quote, the war already is nearly 50% longer than the combined u.s. involvement in two world wars and nato is reluctant. the united states' strategy is clear hold and build, taliban forces can return knowing that the united states forces will forever will be too few to hold gains. nation building would be impossible even if we knew how and even if afghanistan were not the second worst place to try. will further states, and i

quote, counterinsurgency theory concerning the time and the ratio of forces required to protect the population indicate that nationwide afghanistan would need hundreds of thousands of coalition troops perhaps for a decade or more. that is inconceivable. madam speaker, on the same morning this was published, a retired marine general of the 31st commandant of the marine corps responded in writing an email to will and i ask unanimous consent to submit the full text of the email for the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. jones: the general concluded, there are many retired active duty and military that feel you just hit the bull's eye. the general also wrote, simply put, no desire end state has never clearly been articulated or strategy formulated for us to

achieve an ill-defined end state instead of a surge of 21,000 mccrystal would need hundreds of thousands. the military could not support such a surge. you could not defeat ideas with bullets but defeat them with better ideas. madam speaker, president obama is in the midst of reviewing a report by the u.s. commander in afghanistan. it is expected that this review will determine whether or not the president decides to alter the number of u.s. troops to afghanistan. the number of our military have served in iraq and afghanistan and have done a magnificent job. many have been deployed four and five times. the zare to serve is greater than ever, but the stress placed on our all-volunteer forces and families cannot continue forever. it is important for the current administration to articulate an end point to its war strategy

rather than ordering another surge of troops. with that, madam speaker, i ask god to please bless our men and uniform and bless the families who have given a child dying in afghanistan and iraq and god please, god please, god please continue to bless america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: mr. mcgovern of massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: permission to revise and stepped my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcgovern: i rise to express my strong concern over u.s. policy in afghanistan. i worry that we are getting sucked deeper and deeper into a war with no end. our mission continues to grow and grow with no clear sense of where we are going. it has been eight long years. we have lost too many brave men and women and we have spent billions and billions of dollars. the government of afghanistan led by president karzai is

incompetent and corrupt. the afghan president has formed alliances with war lords and drug lords who have no interest in a better afghanistan. his military is not reliable and his police are a mess. by all accounts, forces close to mr. karzai stuffed ballot boxes in the most recent elections. madam speaker, if this fraud had occurred in any other country in the world, the condemnations from congress and the administration would be loud and forceful. after all the sacrifices our troops have made, after all the financial and development assistance, after all the training and military aid, is this the best we can expect? don't we deserve better? don't the afghan people deserve better? at a very minimum, we must insist that any aid be contingent on a responsible afghan government. without that, then all our investments and good intentions can achieve very little that is sustainable. the united states has an incredible and magnificent team

assembled in afghanistan. i had the pleasure of meeting them during a brief visit to the country over the recess. both the military and state department personnel are impressive. i only wish they were in place eight years ago. but even a brilliant team can't make up for the inadequacies of the current afghan government. our troops are exceptional. i ate dinner with them. i'm in awe of their courage, commitment and patriotism. we owe them a policy that is worthy of their sacrifice. everyone, madam speaker, from the president on down, agrees that a political solution is the only path for a successful, stable afghanistan. during consideration of the department of defense authorization bill a few months ago, i along with my colleague, walter jones, offered an amendment that would have simply required the secretary of defense to report to congress by the end of the year what our exit strategy for afghanistan

was. we are not asking for a date certain. we are not advocating an immediate withdrawal, but we wanted an answer to this fundamental question, at what point has our military contribution to the political solution in afghanistan come to an end so we can bring our troops home? i don't believe that the united states should enter into a war without a clearly defined mission and that means a mission with a beginning, a middle, a transition period and an end. without that definition and clarity, we will continue to drift from year to year from administration to administration. madam speaker, we need an exit strategy for afghanistan. i believe sending thousands more troops into afghanistan has some in the administration appear to be urging is a mistake. an escalation of military forces would create the impression of occupation. and last sunday's "new york

times," a columnist cites a statement by many former u.s. intelligence officials warning that the more troops we put in, the greater the opposition. i ask unanimous consent that his article appear in the record at the conclusion of my statement. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcgovern: imnot suggesting that we walk away from afghanistan. we along with the international community should help with development aid, investments in education and school feeding, training of their police and military and strengthening their civilian institutions. i understand the threat from al qaeda. i still strongly believe we should hold those responsible for september 11 accountable. and we should be commit todd defeating them. i voted for the authorization to use military force after the terrorists' attacks. but madam speaker, al qaeda is more a problem in pakistan than in afghanistan. and those who justify our military presence in afghanistan

as a way to prevent al qaeda from ever coming back and establishing a safe haven, i would ask, are we going to send more troops to somalia and sudan and other countries that have provided safe havens for al qaeda in the past? there are no easy answers in afghanistan. it ace complicated place from its people to its geography. i don't have all the answers, but i do feel deeply that escalation of american military forces there would be a mistake and would not solve the many problems and challenges. i feel that it would only complicate matters at a very high cost to our troops and country. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. burton from jean. mr. burton: ask to address the house for five minutes and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. burton: one of the important functions of a president is to make sure that the people he puts into important positions have no real background problems

that will cause the administration to founder. this administration, this president has appoint add whole bunch of czars and special assistants to the president. and they really haven't been vetted or checked out thoroughly. one of those is a gentleman who was appointed a special environmental adviser to the president. mr. jones, which we have all heard about in the last few days, has been found to be an admitted radical communist and leader. now that does not reflect well on the administration and it does not reflect well on the entire government of the united states, because we are not supportive of the communist philosophy. now, mr. jones said that he was slandered when he resigned and that was the reason he resigned.

tonight i would like to put some things in the record that show exactly why he should not have been appointed in the first place. and i think it's important that my colleagues understand that these czars and these people that are being appointed really need to be properly vetted and we don't want people who have a radical agenda being put in positions of leadership. jones was a founder and leader of the communist revolutionary organization called standing together to organize a revolutionary movement or storm. that organization had its roots in a grouping of black people organizing to protest the first gulf what war. storm was formally found nd 1994, becoming one of the most influential and active radical groups in the san francisco bay area. the leftist blog identifies storm's influence as third world marx itch and vulgar maoism.

jones said he first became radicalized in the 1992 roddy king riots during which time he was arrested. quote, i was a rowdy nationalist on april 28 and then the verdict came down on april 29, he said. by august, i was a communist. i met all of these young radical people of color, communists and it was like, this is what i need to be a part of. i spent the next 10 years of my life working with a lot of those people i met in jail trying to be a revolutionary he said. trevor lowden, administrator of the new zeal blog identified several bay area communists who worked with storm, including elizabeth martinez who helped advise jones human rights center in which jones founded to advocate civil justice. jones and martinez attended a

challenging white supremacy work shop together challenging white supremacy. martinez was a maoist who went on to join the communist party breakaway organization committees of correspondence. that was in the 1990's. accord toing lowdennis a board member of the movement for a democratic society where she sits aside bill ehers. it featured a tribute to the late marksist revolutionary leader. the tribute is noteworthy because jones named his son after cabral and includes every email with a quote from the

communist leader. he moved on to environmentalism and that's the position he took with the administration. no question he is a radical and member of the communist party and has been for a long time and in support of their goals and approaches to government. i would like to say if i were talking to the president tonight, mr. president, please be careful who you are appointing to these positions of leadership. it is important for the country and image of the united states throughout the world as a beacon of freedom, justice and democracy. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: ms. woolsey of california. ms. woolsey: madam speaker, i rise to express my deep concern about the recent developments in afghanistan. sadly, 51 american troops were killed in august, making it the deadliest month for the united states since the conflict began eight years ago. august also was the deadliest month of the war with the

combined coalition force. manyp innocent civilians were tragically killed in the air strikes during the month of august. and there is growing evidence that the recent elections may have been marred by fraud. madam speaker, over eight years, we have relied almost exclusive ly on the military to stop violent extremism in afghanistan. this strategy isn't giving us the victory on the ground or political solutions to the problem. the american people are beginning to recognize that relying on the military option alone isn't the best way to go. the latest "washington post"/abc poll shows that 45% of the american people want to reduce our forces in afghanistan while only 24% are in favor of increasing our forces. this latest poll from the