but if i had an easy answer -- i do not. >> next question right here. >> david dixon. "the washington times." goldmansachs received $12.90 billion from the credit defaults swaps with aig. should they have taken a hair cut? if so, how much? i do not know. . .

>> new rules for fuel efficiency and overall energy policy. he is introduced by the interior secretary -- secretary of the interior. this is 30 minutes.

providence -- precedents have promised to deliver on that goal. america and their families are still falling cars with fuel from desert half a world away. our economy still rides the highs and lows of world oil prices and our children are asking, will be in the behind the same old energy policy that has failed us for the last 40 years or is now the time for change? president obama has made it clear that we are not here to do what is easy. we are here to do what is right. to make the hard choices. to succeed, where others have failed, by finally cutting our dependence on foreign oil, building a clean energy economy which is more secure and more prosperous and protecting our

children from the dangers of pollution. since president obama took office, we have made great progress toward this goal. we are standing up wind turbines on our planes and putting solar panels and our desserts. we are making the next generation of nuclear power safer. we made the largest investment in renewable energy in our history and we are fighting to put the u.s. back on top to shape the next century. it is a race we cannot afford to lose to china or india or anybody else. all of the things we're doing will help us cut our dependence on foreign oil. no single energy source is enough. oil, gas, coal, nuclear, wind, geothermal, biofuel, hydropower, they all need to be on the table. today, as part of our comprehensive energy plan for

the country, we are announcing how we will expand oil and gas exploration responsibly on the outer continental shelf. our strategy calls for expanded development and production in new areas such as the eastern gulf of mexico where we can develop resources that are more than 125 miles off the florida coast. we are also moving forward with a significant new oil and gas exploration in frontier -- in frontier areas such as the arctic ocean and areas in the atlantic ocean where we must first determine if there exists reserves and secondly, determine if we can develop them appropriately. we are protecting areas off of our coast that are simply too important for us to develop. bristol bay has some of the world's most and foreign fisheries, including one of the largest sockeye salmon runs in the world.

people come from across the globe to see its bears, wales, and bald eagles. it is a national treasure that we must protect. together, our efforts to protect represent a new direction from the past, a change from the past on the outer continental shelf. after years of lawsuits and political battles, which are bringing much-needed order and certainty to our offshore leasing programs. this will come from our commitment to ensuring the development occurs in the right places and in the right ways and in a manner that protects our precious environment. we are making decisions based on sound information and sound science, much of which still needs to be developed. we are listening to the communities that are most affected by development. we're following the law and have an orderly process for

exploration and development. finally, the american taxpayers are getting a fair return on the use of their resources. these are the principles that will guide our offshore energy future. as the secretary of interior, the responsibility is to balance many values, needs, and uses on the outer continental shelf. i know full well the decisions we make will affect our prosperity and the availability of affordable domestic energy supplies for years to come. i also make these decisions making -- know when these responsibilities. preserve the land, water, and wildlife that has allowed our country to flourish generation to generation. in 1907, president teddy roosevelt reminded congress that though we are blessed with a rich natural bounty in america, we must develop our resources with an eye for future generations. he said that optimism is a good

characteristic but if carried to excess, it becomes foolishness. we are prone to speak of the resources as inexhaustible. this is not so. that is what president padded bras about said over 100 years ago. the strategy -- that is what president roosevelt said over 100 years ago. we have to responsibly expand exploration and development on the offshore while protecting the places we are fortunate that in these times of this 21st century as we face these issues across the world, that we have president obama in place as our leader on all of these efforts. president obama understands that what to do is -- to do what is right for the country, we must rise above the political battles

of the country for the moment. energy security is not a democratic or republican issue. it is an american issue. it is an issue whose time has come. ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states of america, barack obama. [applause]

>> thank you. i think that by the end of this, we will note that he is one of the finest interior secretary's that we have ever had. please give him a big round of applause. [applause] >> other members of our green team are here. stephen shcu, our secretary of energy. the administrator for the gsa and the ceq chair. we have the white house energy and climate change director. please give them a big round of applause. they put in a big amount of work. [applause] governor martin o'malley is here, the governor of maryland. [applause] ray mavis, the secretary of the

navy is here. [applause] the chief of naval operations is here and we appreciate his outstanding service. [applause] >> i want to thank the base commander here at andrews and the leadership that is present from the air force, marine corps and the coast guard. ken and i were colleagues in the senate. i appointed him because i knew that he would be a faithful and pragmatics the word of our natural resources. as secretary, he is changing the way the interior department does business so that we are responsibly developing traditional sources of energy and renewable sources of energy. from the wind on the high plains to the sun in the desert to the waves off of our coast.

i am very grateful for the work he has done, dating and the one announcement -- and one of the announcements we are making today. andrews air force base is the home of the air force one. i appreciate everything that you do for me and my family. i should point out that you have a 100% on time departure record. you did not charge for luggage -- you do not charge for luggage so it is a pretty good deal. i want to thank you for the support you provide me but also for the service that you perform to keep our country save each and every day. i am very grateful to all of you. we are here to talk about america's energy situation. this has been a priority for my administration since i took office. already, we have reached the -- made the largest investment in energy in our nation's history. it is an investment that is expected to create or save more

than 700,000 jobs in north america. job manufacturing for more efficient vehicles. upgrading the power grid so it is smarter and stronger. doubling our nation paused capacity to generate grenoble electricity. just a few -- generate grenoble electricity. >> just a few years ago, i met with several officials in different capacities to reach a historic agreement to raise fuel economy standards in cars and trucks. tomorrow, after decades where we have done little to increase auto efficiency, those new standards will be finalized which will reduce our dependence on oil while helping people spend less at the pump. my administration is up holding its and of the deal. we expect all parties to do the same. i point out that this rule we

are announcing about increased mileage standards will save $1.8 billion overall. it will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil. that is like taking 68 million years off the cart -- 68 million cars off the road for one year. in order to save energy and taxpayer dollars, my administration is doubling the number of hybrid vehicles in the hybrid fleet. even as we seek to reduce the number of cars and trucks used by our government overall. we are going to lead by example. we are going to practice what we preach. we're saving energy, cutting waste, and reducing our reliance on foreign oil. we have to do more. we need to make continued investments in clean coal technology and advanced biofuels. a few weeks ago, i announced loan guarantees to break ground

on america's first new nuclear facility in three decades. this is a project that will create thousands of jobs. in the short term, as we transition to cleaner energy resources, which still have to make some tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for new oil and gas development in ways that protect communities and coastlines. this is not a decision that i take lightly. it is one that my administration look that closely for more than one year. the bottom line is this, given our energy needs, in order to sustain economic growth and produce jobs and keep our business competitive, we are going to need to harvest traditional sources of fuel even as we ramp up production of new sources of renewable energy. today, we are announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration.

this is in ways that balance the hardest domestic energy resources and the need to protect america's natural resources. under the leadership of the secretary of the interior, we will employ new technology to reduce the impact of oil exploration. we will protect areas of vital to tourism, the environment, and our national security. we will be guided not by political ideologies but by [inaudible] we will look for areas of development in the mid and south atlantic and the gulf of mexico while studying and protecting sensitive areas in the arctic. we will continue to support development of the north slope of alaska while protecting bristol bay. there will be those who strongly disagree with this decision including those who will say we should not open any new areas to drilling. what i want to emphasize is that this is part of a broader strategy that will move us from

an economy that runs on fossil fuel and foreign oil to one that relies on homegrown fuels and clean energy. the only way this transition will be complete as if it strengthens our economy in the short term and long run. failure to recognize this reality would be a mistake. on the other side, some will argue that we did not go far enough. we should open all of the waters to energy exploration without any regard for the broader environmental and economic impact. to those people, i say this -- we have less than 2% of the world's oil reserves. we consume more than 20% of the world's oil. what that means is drilling alone cannot come close to meeting our long-term energy needs. for the sake of our planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to freer

-- to cleaner fuels now. the energy -- the answer is not a drilling ever all the time but it is also about for us to ignore the fact that we will need a vital energy sources for economic growth and security. we ultimately need to move beyond the tired debate of the left and right, business leaders and a garment lists, those who say drilling is a cure all and those who say it has no place. this issue is too important to just fight the same battle over and over again. for decades, we talked about how our dependence on foreign oil threatens our economy. our will to act rises and falls with the price of a barrel of oil, when gas is expensive at the pumps. when it goes back down, everybody is back to their old habits. for decades, we talked about the threat to future generations posed by the current system of

energy. even as we can see the mounting evidence of climate change from the arctic circle to the gulf coast, and this is particularly relevant to all of you who are serving in uniform, for decades we talked about the risks to our security created by dependence on foreign oil. that dependence has actually grown year after year after year after year. while our politics have remained entrenched along these worn divides, the ground has shifted beneath our feet. around the world, companies are seeking an edge in the global marketplace by investing in new ways of producing energy. from china to germany, these nations recognize that the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the country that leaves the global economy. meanwhile, at home, as politicians debate endlessly about whether to act, our military has determined that we could no longer afford not to. some of the press may be wondering why we are announcing

offshore drilling in a hangar at andrews air force base. if there is any doubt about the leadership that the leader -- that the military issue when, you just need to look at this fighter and the vehicle behind me. the army and marine corps have been testing this vehicle on a mixture of biofuel. this navy fighter jet, appropriately called the green hornet, will be flown for the first time in just a few days on earth day. if tests go as planned, it will be the first plane ever to fly faster than the speed of sound on a field next that is half biomass. the air force is also investing in jet engines using biofuels and have the first successful biofuel-powered test flight last week. i do not want to drum up any kind of rivalry.

the pentagon is not seeking these alternative fuels just to protect the environment. they are pursuing homegrown energy sources to protect our national security. military leaders recognize the security benefits of decreasing energy use, reducing our reliance on imported oil, making ourselves more energy efficient. that is why the navy, led by secretary davis, has set a goal of using 50% alternative fuels and all planes, vehicles, and ships in the next 10 years. that is why the defense department has invested $2.70 billion this year alone to improve energy efficiency. moving toward a clean energy is about our security. it is also about our economy. it is about the future of our planet. i hope that the policies we have laid out form hybrid fleets to offshore drilling underscores

the seriousness with which might administration takes this challenge. the challenge requires us to break out of the old ways of thinking, and to think and act anew. it requires each of us, regardless of we are in the public sector or private sector, whether we are in the military or the civilian side of government, to think about how we could be doing things better. how could we be doing things smarter? we are no longer tethered to the winds of what happened somewhere in the middle east or in other major oil producing nations. i am open to proposals from my democratic friends and my republican friends. i think that we can break out of the politics of the past when it comes to energy policy. i know we can come together to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation that is going to foster new industry,

create millions of new jobs, protect our planet, and help us become more energy independent. that is what we can do, that is what we must do. i am confident that is what we will do. thank you very much and thank you again for serving in our armed services. you are making an enormous contribution. this is just one example your leadership. thank you, very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

x coming up, the u.n. host a conference on relief efforts in haiti. the afghan ambassador to the u.s. and our interview with the national drug, -- national drug control policy head. >> flexible policies actually make employees more, not less, productive. as you all know, instead of spending time what is worrying -- worrying about what is open on at home, your employees have the peace of mind needed to concentrate on work. >> watch something on c-span you would like to share with friends questioned at the new library, you can turgid, watch it, clip it, and share it. over 160,000 hours of video. the c-span video library, cable 's latest gift to america.

>> c-span, for public affairs content is available on radio, television and on-line. you can also connect to twitter about this book, youtube, -- facebook, youtube. >> the wind held a conference on foreign aid for haiti. we will hear from secretary of state clinton and former clinton -- former president clinton who serves as special envoy to haiti. this is about one hour. >> excellence iies, distinguishd delegates, ladies and gentlemen, i declare open the conference about a new future

for haiti. president preval, secretary of state clinton, distinguished and ministers, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to welcome all of you at the united nations headquarters for this important event which is aimed at mobilizing international support for the development needs of haiti and to lay the foundation for haiti's recovery. president preval, secretary clinton, former president bill clinton, distinguished ministers,

[speaking foreign language] [speaking foreign language]

experts have been assessing the needs and costs of the disaster. in tandem, the president and prime minister the government have worked out the blueprint for national strategic plans, a plan to guide him the's recovery and reconstruction. we will present that vision in a moment. i am sure that you will agree that it deserves our full and generous support. as a plan for action, it is concrete, specific, and above all, ambitious. it is not just to rebuild. it is to build a back bencher. -- build back better. it does create a new haiti. the majority of people no longer will live in deep poverty.

they can go into school and enjoy better health. they have options for jobs. under this plan, the haiti recovery commission will channel $3.90 billion into specific programs and project during the next 18 months, over the next 10 years, haiti's reconstruction needs and total are an estimated $11.50 billion. clearly, this assistance was the well invested and well coordinated. it must provide for continuing emergence of food sanitation, health care and most urgently, shelter. you are all aware of dire the

situation is right now. the rainy season is fast approaching. tents for displaced persons are at first -- are at risk for flooding. we are very concerned about the current situation in some camps, especially for women and children. i appeal for the support for $1.40 billion hoppe. as we move from emergency to long-term reconstruction, but as recognize that we cannot accept a business as usual. what we envision today a wholesale or the wall, a sweeping exercise in nation- building not seen in generations.

haiti's leaders are committing to new social contract with the people. [speaking french] [speaking french]

[speaking french] >> it requires to all problems. among them, creating jobs and cash for work programs as well as incentives for people to relocate elsewhere in the country. today, we will rise in solidarity with the haitians. with the end of this day, i am confident that we will truly have helped haiti along the road for new and better futures. thank you. [applause]

>> i have the great honor to invite secretary hillary clinton to address us. >> thank you, very much, secretary general. thank you for your leadership and your personal commitments to this international endeavor. president preval, to do and the members of your government, we thank you for your extraordinary work that you have done leading up to this point. to former president clinton, with whom i first went to hit the many years ago, about two months after we were married, thank you for taking on another assignment from the secretary general and to all of the countries and international institutions represented here, thank you.

thank you for the immediate response to the overwhelming catastrophe that afflicted the haitian people and thank you for your continued commitment. we have had over 140 nations working to support the nation of haiti and delivered food, temporary shelter, and medical care to thousands of survivors. the emergency relief is only the beginning of what will be a long road to recovery as the secretary general just pointed out. one that will require global support. some people wonder why haiti? why this great outpouring of international law humanitarian concern and commitment to haiti's feature? why is haiti's fate of such consequence to the region and the world that it deserves sustained help? why should we hope that this

time with our collective assistance, haiti can achieve a better future? these are questions that deserve answers and i believe that this conference will begin to do so. the humanitarian need we know is great. therefore, as fellow the human beings, we respond from a position of conscience and morality to help those who but for the grace of god, could be. and a world where natural disasters are often unpredictable and inflicted great costs. haiti was a country of 9 million people before the earthquake. today, more than a quarter of a million of those people have died. more than 1 million are homeless. hundreds of thousands live in temporary camps without enough food or sufficient access to sanitation.

nearly every demint agency has been destroyed along with universities, hospitals, and primary schools. we know they are the foundations to a nation's long- term progress. close to 1 million young people were preparing to enter the job market within five years. now, their opportunities have crumbled what the need for jobs has multiplied. before the earthquake, haiti was on a path to progress. the government led by the president had started enacting critical reform. the economy grew by nearly 3%. international chains launched hotels, a sign of a rising tourism industry. new factories were opening where others had been contacted -- and others had been contracted to begin production.

with the earthquake, much of these efforts were wiped away. but the people of haiti never gave up. as they mourned their losses, they gathered the resources they had left and began working around the clock to put their lives and their country back together. they relied on the strength and spirit that has carried them through tough times before. they need our help. they cannot succeed without the support of the global community. we need to haiti to succeed. what happens there has repercussions far beyond its borders. there are two paths that lie before us. if they can build six homes, citizens can escape many of the dangers they now face a return to more normal lives. if they can realize broadbased sustainable economic growth, it can create opportunity across the country beyond port-au-

prince. patients do not have to move to the capital or leave their country to find work. if they can build strong health and education systems, they can give their people the tools they need to contribute to their nation's progress and fill their own god-given potential. if they can create strong transparent accountable institutions, they can establish the credibility, trust, and stability the people have long deserved. if haiti can do all of those things with our help, as will become an engine for progress and prosperity generating opportunity and fostering greater stability for itself and for countries throughout the hemisphere and beyond. there is another path that he could take. a path that demands for less of haiti and far less of us. if the effort to rebuild is slow or insufficient, if it is

marked by conflict, lack of coordination or lack of transparency, the challenges that have plagued them for years could erupt with global consequences. before the earthquake, migration trained heydey of many talented citizens, many of whom live in our country. if new jobs and opportunities to not emerge, even more people will leave. before the earthquake, quality health care was a challenge for haiti. it is now needed even more urgently. haiti has the highest rate of tuberculosis and the hemisphere. the highest rate thehiv, the highest rate of infant, a child, and maternal fatality. one of the highest rates for child nutrition -- now attrition. with the public health system now shattered, those numbers will climb. a lack of sanitation services could cause outbreaks of lethal

elvises and the lack of reliable medical services could give rise to new drug resistance -- drug resistant strains of disease that could cross borders. before the earthquake, hunter was a problem for haiti. years of deforestation had stripped the land of its rich topsoil and people struggled to grow or purchase enough food to feed their families. the riots over food that broke out in 2008 toppled the government. food is now even more scarce. people are more desperate. before the earthquake, security was a challenge for haiti. in a peacekeeping mission helped promote the rule of law. the dedicated you and workers in haiti have suffered terrible losses. so have the haitian national police which were building their ranks and their capacity. with so much destruction and this location, security is even

more tenuous. drug trafficking is a half a billion dollar per year industry in haiti. it thrives on political and social instability. trafficking cumin beings is also rampant. tens of thousands of children are trafficked in haiti every year and now even more vulnerable. each of these problems directly affects the people of haiti. they and directly affect us all. if they worsen, it is not only the people of haiti who will suffer. i have great confidence in the resilience of the people of haiti. their history has tested them and now they're being tested again. so are heady's leaders, and whom i also have great confidence. we are called to do better than we have done in the past. many countries here have helped

haiti in the past. many ngo's have helped haiti in the past. we cannot do what we have done in the past. they must make the tough decisions that guide a strong and accountable and transparent recovery. that is what they are starting to do with the creation of a new mechanism that provides coordination and consultation so aid can be directed where it is most needed. we in the global community must also do things differently. it will be tempting to fall back on old habits, to work around the government rather than to work with them as partners. or to fund a scattered array of well meaning projects rather than making the deeper long-term investment that haiti needs now. we cannot retreat to failed strategies.

i know that we have heard these imperatives before, coordinating aid, hold yourself accountable, share knowledge, track results. we cannot now just declare our intentions. we have to follow through and put them into practice. therefore, this is not only a conference about what financially we pledge to haiti, we also have to pledge our best efforts to do better ourselves. to offer our support in a smarter way, a more effective way that produces real results for the people of haiti. let us say here with one voice that we will pass this test. to that end, the u.s. pledges $1.15 billion for haiti's long- term recovery and reconstruction. this money will go toward supporting the government of haiti's plan to strengthen agriculture, energy, health, security, and government. we are committed to working with

the people and organizations throughout haiti including private businesses and citizens. i am very glad to see so many of them represented here today. we will also be looking for ways to engage our haitian diaspora. a haitian americans have much to contribute to this effort and we will seek specifically to empower the women of haiti. i said this so many times that i know i sound like a broken record. investing in a women is the best investment we can make in any country. investing in the haitian women will fuel the long term economic recovery and progress not only for them but for their families. over the years, all of our countries have learned many lessons, particularly from the tsunami that the un was instrumental in leading the

response to. we must now put those lessons to work in haiti. i am very excited and very committed on behalf of president obama, the government of the u.s. and the people of the u.s. to help haiti and to help the leaders of haiti lead a recovery effort were they of their highest hopes. thank you, secretary-general. [applause] >> thank you, mr. secretary general. we are a bit behind schedule. i will try to help us catch up. the purpose of this section is to remind us all that there are people beyond those of us representing countries in this room who are involved in this process. about one year ago, the secretary general asked me to do

the special envoy to do essentially two things. to harass the donors to see that they honor their commitments. i was a failure at that, only 30% of the money committed to haiti before the earthquake has actually been disbursed. the second thing i was asked to do was to ensure maximum involvement of the haitian diaspora, the international community, investors, from all over the world and elements of haitian society. i have met many times with the haitian government and i think the prime minister -- i think the governor and president and prime minister.

members of the private sector, with whom i have met many times. they were working together to implement their own plan with the help of their supporters and multinational institutions and the national government. i want to especially thank their neighbors. this is the first time in my lifetime of dealing with haiti where all of haiti's neighbors have been committed to its success first and after the earthquake, to its recovery. this is extraordinarily significant. we have all done this together. brazilians, argentinians, the u.s., canada, mexico, all of the caribbean, venezuela, kubla. it is the only thing we all agree on.

this is a happy thing. this is a good thing. we were making progress. then the earthquake hit. since then, my office has largely been involved in helping them deal with the emergency. i want to say a brief word about that. until the haitians can live instead of day-to-day, month to month, it is going to be very difficult for us to implement the long term plan which the president, prime minister and government had given us today. they are doing remarkably well under the circumstances but we still need to move 20,000 to 40,000 people before the rainy season so they are not at risk for drowning. some of the tented in cans are exposed to very heavy winds and they will blow down if the wind blows a certain amount. we still have to build the

lowest cost possible permanent shelters we can so people can run their if they are subject to a hurricane. we still to not have adequate sanitation for the concentrated living we have of their. this is a very dangerous for the children. let me remind you that waterborne diseases, diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, a% of the victims are children under 5. we still need help there. otherwise, we have to begin on these long term projects. i want to thank the president' for asking the prime minister and me to cochair this interim commission. i would like to explain it to all of you. it is an interim commission. i hope to continue my work for the un and the secretary general

will have me -- if the secretary general will have me. this is what was done in indonesia after the tsunami. it was devastated but just a small part of a large country. it still took back the government one year to stand of the recovery agency and that is what we are doing. we are just trying to provide a forum where all the legitimate stakeholders' can be heard and come together and then implement the haitian government plan. while he is developing and redeveloping a capacity of its own government to operate this and we support that. my job in the next 18 months is to be going to connect the inside and the outside forces in a way that maximizes the input and the impact of all of the players, minimizes the friction

and the transaction costs. that is the purpose of the multi-donor fund that will be on behalf of the world bank and the imf will be trustees of. we ask for your support. i want you to hear from some of these remarkable people about what they are doing. and, how we are all going to work together. and i want to particularly thank the ngo's for their efforts and the investors from around the world. i also want to say one final thing. there has been a lot of talk about transparency. the haitians have not objected to transparency. they just do not want it to interfere with empowerment. what we have done and settled on a model that is more or less what we did during the summer.

you can go to haitispecialenvoy.org, and you can see what we did in the aftermath and what the haitians want to do this time. in reporting and tracking system of pledging commitments and disbursements both from government and multinationals and the private sector. all transparency and accountability is a two-way street. it will also show the commitments made and the money disbursed to the government of haiti. it will be an open process. one that i think will work very well. >> thank you, secretary general. president preval, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, this is a vision to build haiti i knew. the un development system is

very committed to helping them achieve that goal. since the earthquake, our agencies have been among the many providing humanitarian support to patients under extremely difficult circumstances. much obviously remains to be done. as the rains began and the hurricane season approaches, the shelter need is especially pressing. as the urgent humanitarian needs are met, and sharing that smooth transition we all want to recovery and development becomes more difficult. the un together with other partners has been supporting kidee's government to quantify the recovery needs through that post disaster assessment to which the prime minister referred. that is provided strategic contributions for the government action plan. it is critical that the pledges made toward $3.86 billion over

these next 18 months to get recovery going to our quickly fulfilled and our additional -- and are additional to the emergency response. as we mobilized and support the recovery, they make five points on behalf of the development group. the government and the people of haiti must be in the driver's seat of the recovery. our international resources must be lined up with priorities. the u.n. agencies will strengthen the capacity of haitian institutions at the national and some national level and support and good governance. we will also support the full engagement of civil society and the recovery and private-sector and include the haitian diaspora. we believe the inclusion of women at the decision-making table is absolutely vital for lasting progress.

we will be supporting short-term job creation, development of small and medium-sized enterprise and the creation of that enabling environment which is needed for investors to come and help generate sustainable employment growth over the long term. we will certainly support the spread development across the country so that all haitians have a chance to benefit from this recovery. our support will be in educational training and cash and food for work programs and support for agricultural rehabilitation and support. we will actively support the haitian government's commitment to give more authority to local levels. we see restoration of ecosystems and disaster reduction measures as being part of building haiti and do.

new. . .

the un has helped establish an information management system which will be publicly accessible to attract a disbursement and results in haiti, and that will strengthen the national aid coordination efforts. the u.n. is working closely with the world bank and others to support the establishment of a reconstruction fund. we have finalized the un component of the fund and we are ready to help priority activities now. what this conference pave the way for building back of better haiti with sufficient resources, and this can truly become a reality for haiti and its people. thank you. [applause] >> i think the chair person of

the u.n. development program for her statement. and now the president of the world bank. >> all like to thank you, secretary general, secretary clinton for hosting the conference, and a special thanks for president clinton and others, and i want to thank the prime minister for his very excellent presentation. we have a chance to do things differently this time. and to do so, we will partnership over the long haul. i'll make five suggestions. first, we need to combine compete -- capable haitian ownership with an effective partnership. haiti had a modest capacity before the earthquake, and the earthquake set it back further. this will also require a strong political will on the part of

haitians to overcome divisive politics of the past. the donors in turn need to work through haiti's budget to avoid the fragmentation and to assist in developing haiti's capacity. i know budget support is very difficult for donors, but we at the world bank and others can help by serving as trustees for the haiti reconstruction fund, a multi donor trust fund that can help supply controls and produce responsibility. your countries, a partner agencies, will provide guidance to the sri construction funds. so please use it. avoided feel-good, flag-waving projects that will not be sustainable, because in an island of development in a sea of deprivation will not get us where we need to go. second, we need the best anti- corruption tools possible to strengthen the case for working through haiti's budget.

president preval's has already taken an important step, but we have learned some important lessons that we can learn here. internal audits, a special anti- corruption unit, higher salaries with higher performance standards, publicizing cases of corruption, and all staffs taking an ethical pledges. we can use this reconciliation -- this reconstruction agency to back a reconstruction fund. third, as already mentioned, we will need tangible benefits on the ground right away, particularly for shelter. we need did newt -- we need to move fast to head off another tragedy. in the near term this will require emerge as a relocation

of those most at risk of flooding. i understand parcels of land should be ready, too, and and get the shelter to those places that appeared in the medium term, we need to combine roots with community development for water, schools, sanitation, food, and we hope jobs. fourth, supply the sectors absolutely essential to create these jobs. there is a great possibility for some jobs. we need -- even after the destruction of the earthquake, there are 20,000 people still at work in factories. we can help them build more by backing them with power and logistics' and help with additional land for facilities to create more jobs. there is possibility for agriculture, for tourism, for women-owned businesses, but to do so we will need government support on policy and regulatory reform.

i've seen the private-sector arm at the bank already giving additional financial support to clients and looking to invest up to $200 million in microfinance and other logistics, manufacturing, small enterprises, and infrastructure. we can use that money to leverage and other private investment. fifth, the international agencies need to cooperate, not cooperate. i'm very proud of the contributions the world bank staff made in the immediate aftermath of 500,000 contributions. the world bank will provide over $5 million, $479 million -- $250 million of new funds, $39 million that will cancel the remaining debt. i believe that we can effectively use considerably more, and this is the key point for the ministers in the room.

york governments decide something called the allocation to buy them. i suggested to the finance minister that next june we could include a special allocation for haiti and afghanistan. the finance ministers were interested, so at the foreign ministers will also push, we can make it so. so please write a note to your chief of staff for someone in your office, because my experience is that ministers like the ideas, but when we work with the deputies of the deputies, they do not like change. [laughter] for the international agencies to be most effective, divide up the responsibilities under the haitian framework instead of tripping over one another. and let's hold everyone's feet to the fire. i heard the suggestion of a review after five years. why don't we agreed to meet in six months, about the time of the u.n. general assembly, identify what is working, what

needs to be improved, and how we can move further ahead. this can be our accountability report to the people of haiti and to the world. thank you. >> the president -- i thank the president of the world bank for his statement. and now the president of the enter development bank. >> thank you very much, mr. secretary general. ambassadors and delegations, ladies and gentlemen -- allow me to add my words of thanks to the co-sponsors of the donors conference, and let me also congratulate the prime minister for his clear position on haiti. we all hope that from the destruction of the earthquake will rise to 21st century haiti. a society based on the principles of equity, justice,

inclusiveness, and the rule of law. an economy that is dynamic and grounded on a broad territorial base and within a democratic institution. as president clinton said here before, and as many have also, we are part of a regional institution and this hemisphere has done a lot for haiti. we together with the oas had been working for many years, in our case providing resources for haiti of rely 60 years. we have been there in good times and in bad. we have seen the country suffer from any natural disasters and also some man-made crises. we have witnessed close-up ability of the people of haiti to overcome difficult challenges and get back on their feet quickly.

this is a testament to their perseverance, their patients, and their determination. we have every confidence that such characteristics will serve them well once again. with the assistance of those of us in this room and those outside as well, we can help turn the vision of a new haiti into in reality. we're happy to see the government development plan for the future. and it is shared by many stakeholders, as we have just heard. the idb sponsored this, and it was a very productive dialogue. it left no doubt in our mind that there is a shared strategy in order to reduce poverty, protect the environment, create a large middle class, and achieve sustainable development. the private sector must play a vital role in in order to attract investment, both sides

also understand the measures that need to be put in place to create an appropriate, enabling environment for it let me point out some of the more critical measures. a lack of character -- clarity surrounding land ownership. inadequate housing and infrastructure. insufficient credit. especially for the small and medium enterprises. weak institutions, poor schooling and health services, and a tax base that cannot support the needs of the government did idb have been working with the government and most of these areas. we have an active portfolio of $700 million of which $300 million are still on dispersed. about 40% of that is an infrastructure, working with other partners like the spanish government, with their fund for water and sanitation 320% is in agriculture and environment, and 25% in basic services, and 50% in governance and institution

building. this year, we have used this project to help meet emergency needs. for example, a multilateral investment arm supported a leading institution to obtain liquidity and continue operation into rural areas. in addition, we are about to send two about board of directors to provide semipermanent shelter. we're working with that government supervise and -- supervision to make -- to give the public sector of the capacity to monitor and improve the quality of public education and fund new school construction. we will also help haiti in their budget support. this is a critical need and we will be providing $50 million,

pending approval by our board. paris also trying to help the government meet its development goals. there will be 700,000 people who are homeless after the earthquake. they needed technical training and agricultural assistance, and reforestation. and will participate with the world bank with the trust fund, and we will engage with the government in haiti and help in setting up interim reconstruction commissions. the bank has been discussing with the government the establishment of an information technology to help the flow of government assistance to make sure the government plan is being implemented in a timely and transparent manner. it is critically important for effective implementation of the development plan that there be coordination both on the waterside but also on the ground in haiti, through the interim commission, and eventually

through the haiti development agencies. last week at the just-concluded meeting of the idb, our governors agreed to take the necessary step as part of the capital increase, a historic one, for the bank to provide $479 million to cancel a deep thoughts remaining debt with the bank, including the conversion of outstanding balances and the amount of $186 million in the grand prix it should be recalled that last year when 80 reach the completion. with the imf and paper gave at that time thought under 7 $5 million of haiti's debt as part of the multilateral debt facility. at the meeting, the shareholders of the bank also agreed to take the necessary steps to implement a transfer of $200 million per year through 2020 to coordinate

capital coming into the finance reconstruction efforts. so for the next two years, the idb is pledging full hundred million >> third we hope that the collaborative efforts will be met and we are ages to do our part. thank you. -- we are anxious to do our part. >> i thank him for the statement and the support. i not get the floor to the managing director of the international monetary fund. >> i like to start by thanking the united nations and the secretary-general for convening this meeting, and also president pro ball preval p ballresident preval and prime minister bellerive and president clinton.

obviously everyone agrees this is a unique occasion to try to help the haitian economy. it needs accountability, and for all this the proposed trust fund is certainly the right way to move forward. but i would like to say one important point that has already been emphasized which is that all of this will work if we really have haitian authorities in the driver's seat. for this program to work, you need a real ownership by the country, and that is the first point i wanted to make. this could lead to something which could add to a growth of 8%, over five years, which will

lead the capital of gdp to grow to at thousand >>, compared to 33% of that before the earthquake. there's a real possibility of improving the situation, but it relies upon the haitian authorities themselves, and i trust that you will be able to do it through the second point is that it is right to talk about the minister and the reconstruction has to do with the medium term. but there will be no medium term if we are unable to manage the short term. and the short-term is a question of the support for it but to support this year is absolutely essential. the balancing gap following the forecast of the imf is about $320 million. i know that many of you have made pledges on budget support, and i want to thank you, but

there is more to do. and there will be no way to do all that we've said this morning if the haitian authorities need to balance their budgets -- monetary support will lead to huge inflation and this would destroy all the forecasts we may have today. this is absolutely critical another point is very important, which is to monitor carefully, and we will do that for the central bank, the fact that all of the pledges will represent a huge flow of capital for a country like haiti. it will make up for pressure on the currency, and that has to be taken into account, but that can be monitored. the main problem is to bridge the gap, which we are now. and to do this, and another point is as important, which is

the private sector. to resume credit to the private sector, we're working closely with the haitian authorities, and when this trend will be really working, not the public side but the private side of the system will work again. so my second point was that one -- urgent support, please think about that in these pledges. and the last one of course has to do with debt relief. that debt relief is obviously necessary, and as far as the imf is concerned, the current level of outstanding debt is $271 million, including the $40 million that we have disbursed immediately after the earthquake. i am happy and proud to say that the imf was able to disperse in days after the earthquake three

that was support the was absolutely necessary. now we need to deal with that debt and other institutions have done with that. the u.n. will do it too. we're in a situation in the imf that a special, because whenever we do, there's no payment due from the haitians until 2012. but nevertheless, we're going to go -- we're prepared to go to the board of the i am not -- the imf rather rapidly. being very short, the president, prime minister, at the imf really believes that there are some bright futures possible. it relies on growth -- mainly on growth, and we're absolutely ready to help you but we need your total involvement, and i

note that you all for this. nike. -- and i know that you offer this. thank you. >> i thank the managing director for his statement. i now give the floor to the vice-president of the caribbean development bank. >> thank you, secretary general. other members of the head table. i need to apologize for the absence of my president. it was unavoidably detained. haiti's a session to the caribbean development bank, we have been actively involved and that has been in collaboration

with other multilateral development bank, and so all of the interventions have been an education -- and education and others have been with the imf. as chief -- we have available $50 million available for 80. [unintelligible] of this $50 million, there are dispersed balances on essentially three projects. our current assessment will determine whether that will be used for those projects or for some other projects. we have $36 million available in

new commitment, which we anticipate the subject to the approval of my board, that it will be contributed to the reconstruction fund that has been set out. we're doing this because we believe this is one of the most appropriate mechanisms for restoring the government of haiti, a point repeated this morning, and we provide for the critical uses of resources. as part [unintelligible] in essence, the caribbean development bank is prepared to provide in new commitments $36 million, and perhaps $13.5

million more to the reconstruction efforts in haiti. thank you. >> i thank the vice president of the caribbean development bank for his statement. i now give to the final speaker on my left, to the most honorable james patterson, special representative for the heads of government on haiti. >> secretary general, prime minister bellerive, secretary of state, distinguished ladies and gentlemen -- the earthquake of january 12 ranks as being among the worst catastrophes to befall a single nation. the loss of life, the total of severe injuries, the destruction

of physical infrastructure, the demolition of public buildings, and its consequent damage to the apparatus of government, all designed -- combined to make a natural disaster one of the worst ever in reported history. the initial response of the international community has been tremendous, and as a representative of the caribbean community to which haiti belongs, we want to say a grateful thanks. but our work has just begun to lift haiti from the rubble. in every forum which has met since the earthquake, it has been acknowledged, and today's donor conference will no doubt a firm, that we must go about recovery for the people of haiti, providing the quality of

life for its citizens of future generations of which it's amazing history and culture truly deserve. the haiti of the future must be completely different and significantly better than the haiti of the recent past. in years to come, the result of this auguste gathering will not be measured by the eloquence of today's fine rhetoric, but by the honoring of the general pledges that we make and by the timely delivery of tangible results. we support the creation of a new development model, which which identifies the recipients of the engine of sustainable development and which capital needs are identified by the recipient for the selection of projects and the disbursement of

funds. the prime minister of haiti has presented an action plan in the form of a post-disaster needs assessment. the needs identified are enormous but well within our reach. the management of dispers ement will call for a a tremendous exercise in governance by haiti. with the devastation of port-au- prince, building must ensure that no future catastrophe can have a similar devastating impact, and therefore such national significance as the recent earthquake. decentralization will help to ensure that this will not happen again.

the public functions of the state and of its public servants must be reinforced as a matter of urgency and priority to provide the government of haiti with the institutional capacity to play the lead role in guiding and in managing the recovery and reconstruction of the country. it should also ensure that the public needs and the provision of public goods and basic services, which unquestionably is the responsibility of haiti, it is sustainable. as you recognize, government is of paramount importance to the process. we are firmly committed to assisting haiti and the reinforcement with transparency, compassion, efficiency, predominating.

the caribbean communities have a vital interest in the welfare and the development of haiti. a strong caribbean community means a strop -- needs a strong haiti. as the most populous state in the group of 14 sovereign nations, the community sees the rebuilding of haiti as a priority issue for all caribbean states. and therefore, the entire capacity of our government has been placed at the disposal of 80 as it seeks to rebuild its own national capacity with regard to rebuilding technical capacity, we believe we can make a tremendous difference and bring to bear in the areas of human resource development and institutional capacity building.

the committee therefore stands ready to make available of its capacities and administrative reform, in education and training, including vocational training and certification, in engineering and construction for earthquake and hurricane resistance, and providing solutions for low and middle and come, and that trip -- in agriculture, tourism, research, and development. this is absolutely essential in finding the way forward and how the process of rebuilding will be achieved. it provides an exponential opportunity for the international community to put into practice some of the principles it has been advocating recently to enhance aid effectiveness. cchog welcomes the fun.

all foreigners must not commit to that fund and its joint management. the arrangements for the pond and more generally for support to haiti must encourage and recognize a collaborative approach. this donors' meeting is a good place to begin to recognize that all donors and the nation's big and small, in kind or in cash, are important and welcome. but we must all be wary that what the gradual withdrawal of the haitian story from the major pages of international media, the enthusiasm of downers and facilitators does not we can and/or dissipate. the action of this group will go a far away in sending a signal that the international

community will stand with haiti all the way to the very end. nothing less than a revitalized haiti that is sustainable, that is just and equitable, will be accepted as a litmus test of our success. every delegation in attendance and every individual at this conference is, i believe, fully committed to the rehabilitation. the consensus is also clear on the imperative to build a new haiti, to create a haitian renaissance. the challenge to this international meeting is to create that blueprint, to approve that action plan and organizational arrangement which will ensure maximum effectiveness of all the resources that are necessary to facilitate the reconstruction of haiti.

even as we do so, there are urgent needs as the rainy and hurricane seasons approach, but the potential to increase distress which should not be overlooked. a sense of urgency must be maintained. in this regard, the interim haiti reconstruction committee must begin this work immediately. if we can as an international community help rebuild haiti into a modern, sustainable state, we will have advance the cause of humanity everywhere. [applause] >> coming up tonight on c-span,

afghanistan's ambassador to u.s.. in an interview at that national drug control policy director for it later, president obama announces a proposal to allow more drilling for oil off the atlantic coast. on tomorrows "washington journal," a discussion about the economy with newsweek contributing editor robert samuelson. we will discuss the u.s. postal service and budget problems. an elected changes to the federal loan program whip david bain -- with david baime. "washington journal" is live every morning at 7:00 a.m. on c- span. >> "the moral life of henry at

the lack madrid of henry adams -- of henrietta lacks." and other authors. find the entire weekend schedule at booktv.org. >> throughout april, see the winners of our student cam competition. they submitted videos on our country's greatest strengths. watch the top winning videos every morning at 6:50 eastern just before "washington journal." and then meet the students that made them, and for preview of all winners, visit the web site. >> afghanistan's ambassador to the united states and the john

hopkins student for advanced international studies announced a new initiatives to train future afghan leaders. following the announcement, the afghan ambassador to questions from the audience. this is 50 minutes. enumerated. the floor is open. . >> i learned a lot by going to graduate school. "the new york times" today to which the ambassador is sure to a taken a look at today, the front-page story is about president karzai's brother, who everyone feels as a drug dealer. and in an op-ed piece laid out the things that we have done

wrong in dealing with this afghanistan. how does that strike you, when you read stuff like that? is it just plain wrong, or is it just emphasize strong? -- emphasized wrong? >> these are politically motivated, partisan articles. you can read that a majority of the afghans and a number of u.s. institutions regard the u.s. presence to be social stability there. when these results come up by up missiles that are nameless without providing any evidence except political motivation, there is nothing that we can do about that. in canada far, there is a strong presence of the military, both

the military and the intelligence. if there was evidence of wrongdoing, they would have brought it forward. for seven years these allegations have been circulating. they play an important role. >> can you say something about the second part of the question? corruption in general? >> it is a serious challenge that we face. that is why we have a seat in the past the assistance -- seeked in the past the assistance of generals. we are aware of the corruption and are building institutions. we just enhanced the mandate of the high office of fighting corruption. it is going to be a while to

overcome the challenge. a lot of money is flowing into afghanistan from outside from legitimate sources. unless we build the necessary institutions, we will not be able by a moving one individual to fight this. it is a serious challenge. it is serious that the afghan government be strong in fighting this. corruption takes place by the police force. it affects the daily life of the afghans. we are working on it. we will be dealing with it by building the necessary institutions, by profit-taking -- prosecuting high ranking

officials and improving the police force and others. >> i wonder if i could call on general fields to reintroduce the inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction and the pentagon. sir? >> thank you, sir. thank you, ambassador, for your speech. congratulations on the progress. we applaud all of the element of the intent for which this foundation has been put in place. if i may have about two minutes to give a little bit of background on what it is that i do. -- in support of ambassador jawad and afghanistan as we carry out our strategic interests.

the united states has invested quite a bit of money in afghanistan over the course of the past eight years. we first began to be significantly invested in afghanistan away back in 2002. that investment multiplied in many dimensions since then. right now, for this fiscal year, a figure on reconstruction alone in afghanistan is about $51 billion. this is in addition to billions of dollars that we spend in support of the military operations. when i say $51 billion, that is exclusively the reconstruction -- of which $26 billion has gone to the security sector, standing

up the afghanistan national army and the afghanistan national police. there is about $15 billion in development across the board. then there are crosscutting issues such as the narcotics issue in afghanistan that we also addressed. all of that is rolled up into this $51 million. my job is to, in line with the comments made by the ambassador in reference to corruption, as i reported directly to the congress of the united states, to ensure that the $51 billion that the united states has invested is being used for the purposes for which is made available by the american taxpayer so that we can help ambassador jawad and others to

carry out what the field needs to be done. -- to advance afghanistan and the people . i have thus far been privileged to work with ambassador jawad, president karzai, leaders of the afghanistan, and with our own government of the united states, and the other contributing nations. this is a partnership that we are in support of. we are going to continue our mission and do the best that we can to ensure that every taxpayer dollar from the standpoint of the americans and every dollar that is being put forth collectively by the international community is being used for the benefit of the people of afghanistan. thank you. >> thank you very much. [applause]

someone over there? >> i just arrived from afghanistan two yk@ @ @ @ @ @ @) you give emphasis to the issue of education. if you look at the scholarship programs like the fulbright scholarship, they bring people from other places to the states.

that is a sea change. apart from that, you also mentioned it seems there's a huge misunderstanding what happens in afghanistan. on the other hand, there are regulations within the united states and no u.s. government money can be spent on education. they cannot benefit from the americans. there is a lot to talk about it. nothing changed. , to be affected that -- how much will be affected?

there are problems like interferences. where can these two things meet together? thank you. >> thank you very much. i agree with you. there is a need to enhance the number of of the fulbright scholarships for afghans. afghans will tremendously benefit if we increase the number. our intention is to progress long term, for your scholarships. -- four-year scholarships. the number of the afghan student is significant. there is room to either bring more afghans through the program or other programs. what the foundation and 10 -- intend to do is bring more in.

we have a mechanism to make sure of this. if they do not want to go back, they should pay for the amount of tuition they have received by the foundation or by any other institution. unfortunately, the issue a security constraints on americans visiting of guinness -- afghans, there are large number of them in the country. they go to see what is happening. they are reporting that we get from the media, and i have talked with my friends at the congress. they get a briefing.

they fly today from provinces and the challenges they face. i would really like the congress to go and sit down with the students. i would like them to sit down with the chamber of commerce. they can hear from a different type of problem. they can see the real afghanistan. if you sit down at the chamber of commerce, there will be complaining about dumping of products. all you hear is security and how many people are killed. the objective is to broaden the spectrum and for people to be able to see the rule afghanistan that is out there. it will need some time.

it'll take some changes on the procedures to allow americans to have more exposure to the afghan society. >> thank you. yes, sir? >> in your wonderful speech, you mentioned that the goal of afghanistan is building democracy and civil society. if you read articles in newspapers and analysis from the united states and other countries, they expressed some doubt about these goals being achievable. what do you think about this? how realistic is it to build this kind of complicated

democratic society? >> thank you. very good question. i do not expect the international community to come to afghanistan to build democracy in afghanistan. that is the part of the mission. the mission is to defeat terror and tieyranny. by its nature, if you want to prevent the return of the terror, you have to build a prolific society in afghanistan. that is what the afghan people demand and deserve. democracy may seem to be a fancy word now, but if an ordinary citizen in afghanistan or any country wanted to go to bed with the police and had a chance for

his wife to give birth without dying, this is what every human being demands and deserves. it could even be suggested that i can do not demand this sense of human security and a sense of having some basic services available to them by the government instead of hearing the government. therefore, -- fearing the government. therefore, we have no option but to allow the people of afghanistan to express their views and ideas in their own way. >> thank you. over on the left. >> my name is doug jackson. thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts this evening. you mentioned the need for dialogue. along those lines, is lineskarzai coming to -- is

president karzai coming in may and what can we expect? >> yes, he is coming to washington in may. it is scheduled for may 12 or around that date. it'll be a crucial visit. there will be new military operations taking place in afghanistan. we have a number of important conferences such as a couple conference -- a ckabul conference. that trip will be crucial. we look forward to that trip by our president. >> yes? >> from pakistan?

originally predict. >> thank you for your excellent presentation. let me state that i have a large number of younger then and when and -- men and women. we are very much in touch. the brief me about the political and other situations in afghanistan. what we were curious about was the processes of the liberalization. my students come from all groups in afghanistan. despite their different backgrounds, they come together.

we are very close. during one of our conversations, one said that the very term of afghanistan is now [inaudible] the gentlemen who argued said that the identity -- despite all of these things, which are the most important ingredients in the nation building? what else?

thank you. >> thank you very much. we are not building a nation in afghanistan. the afghan nation is 2000 years old. the afghan nation has been around for many years. a lot of our neighboring countries are younger than i am. the fact is that despite the fact that afghans live as refugees in neighboring countries, in the sense of nationhood becomes much stronger. i can tell you my personal experience. i know you are talking about one student. when we were drafting the new conditions of afghanistan, many ideas were debated. people from the countryside in afghanistan were very much against it. they saw it as a way of possibly splitting the country.

they were so adamant to make sure that we have a strong and unified government. the since the nation -- sense of nation is strong in afghanistan. we do not have a strong army like pakistan. -- to keep the country together. if the state of nationhood was weak, afghanistan would have been disintegrated way before the taliban came to the power. the ability to deliver services is limited. on the countryside, there is a lot of talk of an powering the local communities. on the countryside, those who hold the power are holding the power from legitimate sources. guns, violence, oppositions with

neighboring countries. there is a tendency in afghanistan to really stick together. to my surprise, to look into the central government, there were some disillusionment that the government was not there all the time. in the mind of the afghan people, they would like to have a strong sense of system. we have to change that gradually to empower the committees to do some in the development work. -- communities to do some of the development work. >> it is striking that no one proposed to suecede during the civil war fighting. it was a bloody civil war following the invasion. a large portion of the population was killed. there was no secession. the first minute they could come 5 million people chose voluntarily to go back home. there is obviously a strong

sense sense of nation. i do not believe they are proposing to leave again. whatever we read on the problems, there are obviously pretty they are obviously committed to something. -- problems, and they are obviously committed to something. >> thank you. we have nine hours of broadcast in that area. thank you very much. thank you for sharing or thoughts. would you elaborate in a broader sense of the message of president obama and his surprise visit to kabul? we are hearing from the people of afghanistan that they are not comfortable with the military engagement of the united states. what to they would like now -- what they would like now is to

be engaged. what are you hearing on this side from the united states and the international community? ultimately, this would decide the future of afghanistan. >> thank you very much. the president@@@@@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ; but also to exchange views and ideas about the development and

afghanistan. the military engagement -- and it -- the objective is to increase the responsibility for the afghan security forces. we think this is the more sustainable solution. . for the price of one -- there is no shortage of courage in afghanistan. there is a shortage of skills and resources. trainers are coming to afghans already. in the area of development, security without development is not sustainable. we would like to invest in building the capacity of the afghan government to sustain itself.

we are working with neighboring countries to develop afghanistan mining resources and others to generate large amounts others to generate large amounts of revenue for the to be able to sustain the fiscal responsibility of the development in afghanistan. thank you. >> yes, please. >> i am from afghanistan. i have been raised in kansas. thank the ambassador for being here this evening and everyone who made this evening possible. a year-and-a-half ago, and moved to virginia. i have been very thirsty for any afghan projects here. unfortunately, i have not found too many. there are to poetry clubs -- two poetry clubs that afghans

have made that i am a part of. do you have any focus on the afghans that are here, uniting them and giving them projects to do here? >> thank you. yes, one thing that we are benefiting from is afghan center serving the embassy. -- that are serving the embassy. we do work with a number of afghan organizations such as sports and cultural events. we know that the potential for these afghans to do more is enormous. some of them have formed their own groups, smaller groups, involved in business development and other areas. as i mentioned, and the services

of the foundation is to really bring -- one of the purposes of the foundation is to really bring all these people together and bring a synergy and enhance these so the afghans to have a place to go. >> yes, please. in the front. >> i am an independent consultant. i have two questions with regard to the implications and goals of the foundation. the first is with regard to the taliban. there is a lot in the news about reconciliation. there is also a bu lot about wih whom. where is the television in the future of the afghan government? when president obama announced the afghanistan surge in the

withdrawal beginning in 2011, i see a lot of the news about concern among afghans about the u.s. leading. this is treating a lot of concern about fear they cannot depend on us. what are the implications of that? >> i suppose you could extend that to the whole region. >> certainly, therere after -- the afghan people demand peace. people are fed up. if you can imagine living in kabul and going about your normal life without worrying about a suicide bomber for a roadside bomb -- or a roadside bomb. it has been going on for too long. people do want an end to violence. more work needs to be done to

develop a national consensus on what is the price, to what extent. you have a conference coming up in may where it to be the primary focus on building a stronger national consensus and drawing lines on the limits of the concession that needs to be made. it should be in the frame work of afghanistan. i agree with you. i have been in touch with women's groups and others. they are concerned, especially women's groups. they are worried, because so much has been achieved there. the people do not want it to have a u-turn to what it was

before. >> in the far back. >> hello, i wanted to thank ambassador jawad for making himself available today. my question relates to a specific industry in afghanistan, which i think has the potential to be transformative. i ask you to comment brawly on what i view to be a revolution in communication and i want you to be the second order of fact for do -- of effects on different elements. >> would this fall within the purview of the foundation for afghanistan? >> i look forward to learning more about the foundation. >> the first license we issued

for communication went for half a million dollars. the first one the license 14 $40 billion. -- for $40 billion. some are almost worth almost $1 billion. there is a tremendous appreciation of value. they are using more telephone and mobile phones for this. they are pulling a number and diving. it gives me a picture of a new afghanistan bor.

it is old and trusted. >> you are not worried who he is calling. >> no, but the fact that he is using it. there is tremendous progress. what we tried to do and what we have established as a backbone of the internet and communication in afghanistan by laying fiber optics. there are playing down to make the internet more accessible and affordable. >> yes, please. >> hello, everyone. i think i am one of the rare afghans here who has grown up there. this is my third day in the

united states. i will definitely go back home. my question is mainly focused on the issue of reconciliation, which is now the burning question back home and even here. you kindly described the official standing of the government of afghanistan on whothe identity of taliban with whom you are going to reconcile or negotiate. could you kindly give a very clear andefinition of how your government defines taliban? secondly, you also mentioned some very important concerns of afghan citizens, particularly about the constitution of afghanistan.

up until now, what i can understand is that the constitution of afghanistan would remain unchanged under any situation between reconciliation talks. what would it mean if the taliban does not accept this? thank you very much. >> thank you. both of our speakers from afghanistan have just arrived. welcome. >> i am so proud to see young, cable afghans on this job. nothing makes you more proud of me see your own afghans. i have spoken at many universities. the afghan students in kabul challenge me about my outreach

program. i love it. this is the new afghanistan. there is the proficiency of english language. that is a very good question. it will be hard to know what to do with it. i think we are dealing with three types of taliban. first is the taliban with the capital "t." those are the members that have been affiliated with al qaeda and terrorist networks in the region for a long time. smucker, 5%, probably. 10% maximum. with this group, what we should do is try to split them from al qaeda and from the intelligence

agencies in the region that are supporting it. or we can eliminate it. there is no middle ground. the engagement should be two natured. you split them and bring them into the fold or fight them. if they do not split, it goes against everything they afghanistan for. you have another 30% of the taliban that are basically a paycheck taliban, melissa. they do. -- militia. they do a lot of fighting because they get paid or because they have been antagonized by our own government. they have complained about a government or police of the chief staff. the government does not deliver the services in the area the way

they should. or they have been antagonized by military operations. we lost these people. the engagement we need to do is both political and financial. this is a hard thing to do with limited resources. sometimes seasonal unemployment in the winter is close to 80% of the countryside. there is nothing to do. >> if you give them a job, if

you restore their vineyard an orchard and their fields, the have no reason to fight. that is the so-called integration, how we can create jobs, how we can gather them into the fold by giving them a sense of hope, since up tomorrow. depending on what category we are talking about, the engagement difference. there's a lot of focus politically on that 10%, but there is also focus on the 90%. that is what the integration and reconciliation have two parallel tracks. initially there was a lot of reintegration talks and more reconciliation talks our government, but it came together and somehow to let's do both of them. banks will have time for just a couple more questions. we will start over here.

>> thank you for your good an outstanding speech. i have a couple of questions. first, i do appreciate and i think the world embraces the idea of the establishment based foundation. government pays very much attention on education. there is the importance of educating around 1000 students. it is around 50 million u.s. dollars. it is good. it is very good. i think education is one of the best ways to reconstruct and revive the economy and bring the

nation more stable. my question is here. what are the efforts of the acting - >> thank you very much. we appreciate your questions from he is a very good friend of mine.

we are very grateful. pakistan recently increased the number of the scholarships from 1000 to 2000. it is important for the stability of the region. we need to have more afghans at pakistani universities for these two nations to come together. these are very crucial. we will live in peace and prosperity. we will all pay a price for it. we are spending 6% of our revenue on education. that is the -- 60% of our revenue on education. that is the highest. that is much larger than is spent on defense or anything else.

>> i just arrived here from the embassy. welcome. you are very active on the first week here. >> i just completed two years of contract work. one of the challenges is that there are no certified accounting programs in afghanistan. you see the position to assist in locating funding for establishing accreditation. >> i know that it is costing afghan businesses. they cannot get it. we have worked with accounting firms even in florida to seek assistance. that is an area that is very crucial. unless we developed that, they are way too expensive for

actions to be able to pay. he established an accounting academy to build this capacity. >> ladies and gentlemen, i want to ask you to join me in thanking ambassador jawad forgiving as this report on establishing a foundation for afghanistan -- for giving us this report on establishing a foundation for afghanistan. also, particularly, the board of trustees and general field. if i may offer a quick comment. general fields made a point about the amount of expenditure there.

it is a very substantial sum. there is a presumption that i sense in the country the we have never done anything on this scale. this is somehow leading a strike. it is too much. -- belieleeding us dry. it is too much. if you take 2001 through 2010, in no year did it otherwise equal the amount that we were spending non-military expenditure. it was a long time. i was not speaking about taiwan. i am not speaking about japan. i am not speaking about germany. i wonder if we are not deluding ourselves, having convinced ourselves that this is some reckless and unprecedented

expenditure that our culture has changed. something that we considered a normal expenditure if you want to do the job right. the what is done on the quick and cheap. -- we want it done on the quick and cheap. i want to suggest that the money that this foundation for afghanistan is going to command, no matter how energetic the trustees are, it is going to have limited resources. you might reasonably ask, after hearing the ambassador go on, can an entity which is only dealing in millions and hundreds of millions -- can it had a real impact on the ground? i want to say the green

revolution in india in the 1950's and 1960's, before the foundation had a lot of people there and was spending a lot of money, in relation to the scale of india it was a drop in the bucket what they were doing. in the long run, the foundation brought about the green revolution, transforming life. why? they were strategic. they did not just read the money around. -- sprouted the money around. it does not take vast amount of money. it is clever people who are looking deeper and broader. let me add one further issue. running through this entire conversation and everything you

hear in washington this week or in the national press this month is one big word of corruption. nothing will work there. they do not get it. you are throwing money down a well. we have heard citations of very recent statements of high officials if you have a pretty officials. if you have a few hundred dollars a month, -- high officials. if you had a few hundred dollars

a month, forget about the officials that have much less. you happen to have a wife and three kids. you have to eat. meanwhile, it turns out, and this is the entire international community, focused entirely on government organizations outside the government who did not focus at all on building effective local institutions o. it is an emphasis in haiti, working outside organs the government. -- on not working outside or against the government. it seems to me that we helped

build this corruption by our neglected government institutions. we should not be the ones leading the complaint. we need a longer view. that is my final point. he is talking way beyond strategy. i did not hear about any exit strategy with regard to the foundation for a cannon -- with in regard to the foundation for afghanistan. this is like breathing pure oxygen. this is exciting. this creates hope. hope to create positive realities. they do not want a foundation

for afghanistan that has an exit strategy. they want a foundation for afghanistan that will be supported worldwide that will be there 10 years from now and 100 years from now. i want to join all of you in wishing this entire enterprise enormous success. >> thank you very much. one final remark. i apologize for the time. i have tremendous respect for the work they are doing in afghanistan. they are listening to the afghans. we have issues. we have to work together. it is a good example of the excellent work they are developing. on the issue of correakorea, its state building. the difference of the approach that relate exactly to the ideals of the foundation is that

the way you do it in correa -- korea, is that he the united states and a lot of money on building the leadership first. in korea, bill the corner office and then the army. -- you first build the corner office and then you build the army. if you trained, there is not enough incentive. they need to make these functional otherwise the money will be wasted. on the salary, if you are an ethical person, you will not be corrupt. if the offer $70 to a police officer, you expect to find al qaeda criminals. who's going to show up?

he is going to be using that uniform to make money. he could make $500. it recently increased to $240. they make $5 per hour. we have to pay better in order to attract better people. otherwise, they have other options. he is looking forward to working with the afghan people. they should be treated as such. the investment to make in korea is important to the stability of the region. the region. the afghan people have the if you look at the position of some of these countries, the

lack of resources is worse than what afghanistan was, but there was a determination by the korean people and the international. >> thank you, ambassador jawad. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> on c-span tonight, our interview with the white house national drug control policy director. president obama announces a proposal to allow more oil drilling off the atlantic and gulf coasts. later, secretary of state clinton and former president clinton speaking at a united nations conference on haiti. >> tomorrow morning, the carnegie endowment for international peace posted a discussion about u.s. security relations with russia. the two countries recently negotiated a revised start treaty on reducing nuclear weapons stockpiles. our live coverage of this event

begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern time here on c-span. the pact between russia and the u.s. is expected to be signed next week in prague and then await senate approval. >> this weekend, john dean is our guest on book tv's "in- depth." we will take your phone calls, emailed, and tweets, sunday live at noon eastern. >> now are in review with the white house national drug control -- also known as the drug czar. this is 45 minutes. >> "washington journal" continues. host: with us is gil kerlikowske, director of office of drug control strategy. what is the big problem these days? reisch guest: now we are

watching closely prescription drugs. there are not coming across the border but coming out of medicine cabinets. we see an initiation rite of young people through prescription drugs. in fact, seven out of the 10 drug abuse by children right now are prescription drugs. we are looking at that closely. it is also driving the spike of overdoses an overdose deaths. host: how you tackle that? guest: one thing about the prescription drug issue is it can be prevented. if we educate parents and adults about what is in the medicine cabinets and how to be more aware of what is in the medics -- medicine cabinet, that is important. and also educating kids to think that prescription drugs are safe because they say, gee, it is a prescription, i'm not buying it from behind a gas station, out of a piece of tinfoil, yet the drugs are very, very dangerous. host: take a step back and talk more about drug control strategy.

your report is imminent and a couple of weeks. can you give us a preview? guest: the obama administration is looking at treating addiction as a disease, recognizing that the drug problem is not just a public safety problem but also very clearly a public health problem. if we really wrap public health and other entities into this issue and deal with this in a balanced way, we have the potential to be much more effective on the drug problem. host: what does it mean treating it as a disease when you get down to the states and localities? guest: prevention programs. we learned a lot in the past 10 years that prevention programs work but they can't be dictated by washington, d.c., and not developed in the beltway. they have to be localized and regionalize. we have a proposal and the 2011 budget, working with federally qualified health centers, to much more engaged local communities and prevention

programs. host: phone numbers at the bottom of the screen as we talk about the obama administration's drug control strategy. a separate lines for democrats, republicans, and independence. a little bit about our guest who has been in office since may. the first trip to "washington journal." gil kerlikowske is from florida, educated at the university of south florida. served in u.s. army, say. as burke, florida, police department, chief of police at port st. lucie, and fort pierce, was police commissioner in buffalo, new york, and just under 10 years in seattle as chief of police before taking this job. what is the biggest myth out there as we talk about the drug issue? guest: i think the biggest myth is people can recover. because it is not talked about widely. but i have meant literally dozens of people, particularly people addicted to

methamphetamines, that have fully recovered, are back with their families -- they are in their neighborhoods back working, back paying taxes. treatment is about one-half of the cost of incarceration. host: does the new health-care law address and cover that area? guest: it helps a lot. substance abuse is talked about in this legislation. about 32 million people will be brought into the fold. more importantly, it grabs treatment and addiction to primary health instead of some separate standalone issue. also it covers young people up to the age of 26. we know that age group can be very vulnerable. the more important part of it is, if people get help, intervention earlier -- early, it is more effective and far less expensive. i think that talk of a lot about prevention. host: what are your tools and the office? what is the budget and how much

money? guest: the request is 13% increase in prevention. we have a very small office. we are just a policy shop. what we actually do is court made all the federal agencies involved. department of justice, health and human services, etc. -- so they can all be brought together in a coordinated, synchronized way to deal with the drug problem. host: ron, democrat, eagle river, wisconsin. caller: i would like to know what the administration's policy will be a -- if the state of california goes ahead and legalize marijuana -- marijuana for the use of adults in their own personal homes. and with other states getting in line with the same policies, what will the administration do and what will the federal government's policy be as far as

legalization of marijuana? guest: it is a little premature to talk about what the federal government will do if california action the passes their ballot initiative. certainly marijuana by lights the controlled substances act, the federal regulations, and the department of justice, the federal government is committed to enforcing the controlled substances act, particularly against significant traffickers, given the finite resources within law enforcement. but they add to speculate then about what the federal government would do if in fact california passed that. it is just a bit too early. host: how widespread is marijuana use and what is the impact? guest: it is the number one cash crop from the cartels. we know also when we look at voluntary calls for hot lines, people will say, look, i'm

having a problem with a drug -- in my own state in washington, back in seattle, the number one called for substance abuse was marijuana dependency. host: new york. tyrone, independent. welcome. caller: it is about time someone recognizes the problem of the drug problem we have pared 13% going for cretan it -- treatment is a start. but i think you will be pushing it up a little higher in the near future. these people are sick. it is an illness. anybody who has anybody who has a drug problem knows that it is a sickness. you can't lock them up. you have to treat them. thank you very much, and have a great day. guest: the caller made a very good statement. looking at the drug problem as both public health and public safety. most of my colleagues, police chiefs around the country, have talked a lot about saying, look, we cannot rest are way out of the problem.

they look at treatment and prevention as key components. host: missouri. dan, republican. caller: my concern is, i am a baby boomers. you know, what we did was more or less became a religion. we really believed in what we were doing. what i see now is there is a lot of anger. there are a lot of people in pain out here that are getting older and they have a campaigns, and we can't even deal with that once we admitted we have had a problem in the past. and doctors are abusive parent we -- abusive. we are locking people up better nonviolent offenders. we are making billions of dollars off of it. it is not the states locking people up -- it is private concerns making big money. to me, it is so abusive to treat human beings that have real pain

and problems and are trying to deal with life on life's terms. this is a way to do it. we are just a creature appeared and that -- this is just a creature. one way to deal with life's turnips. i will let it go. i just appreciate being here. god bless you. guest: people do self medicate. and we know that in the med school, doctors cannot get a huge amount of training when it comes to either pain management or to treating addiction. so, we are working with doctors. we are working with the joint commission on hospitals and others sell more of this information can be given to those over 800,000 physicians. there is another important tool -- screening, brief, intervention, referral, treatment. people trust and like their health care professionals. and if you go in to see one of them for whatever reason, and that health care professional

asks you confidential questions about your alcohol and drug use, they can actually make a very quick assessment as to whether or not you may need some additional help. if you do need some additional help and it is done early and active low level, what a difference it could make in not only cost savings and containment, but what a difference in a person's life. host: take a deeper into the schools and what the report is likely to say about influencing their actions. guest: we worked very closely with the department of education. i met with secretary duncan and a lot of other people. when we know how important it is to keep kids in school -- whether it is through making sure that the teachers and curriculum and all of these things which the department of education is so focused on -- we also know keeping kids off drugs is important to a good education and also a prepared work force in the future. we know just trying to inoculate a child with a short class on

why they should not be involved with drugs is not effective. but if it comes from the schools, the parents of the care givers, it comes from the neighborhood and from the face based community, it is a holistic and continue on, we know it can be effective. host: what kinds of drugs are you dealing with in the schools these days? guest: certainly alcohol, and the age drinking by young people is a concern. marijuana use. but also, as i mentioned earlier in the show, prescription drug problem is the significance. host: lakeland, florida. norm. -- i do want to bash your guest here. i'm a pharmacist in florida. the police chief in st. petersburg -- your office through hundreds of young black kids and the florida prison system for drug abuse and those sort of things, and illegal

drugs. but in the meantime, i as a pharmacist, anyone can come into my place and i can fill prescriptions for what siccone, prozac -- oxycodsone, any other medication. how are you delineating what is a disease and what is criminal activity? because it seems -- when a young black kid is involved in drugs, it is a criminal problem. when a person such as -- when the police come in or a judge or a prosecutor comes in and get to their prescription filled for their xanax and zoloft and oxycodone, they just have the disease. we are dispensing ritalin

dispensingadderrol to a college student at university of south florida, where you come from. that is no problem at all. but you can go to any black neighborhood and you are rest everybody. host: pharmacist from lakeland, florida. first speak to the disease and a""$gg"gh a are you going with handcuffs on. the outcomes are pretty similar. the criminal-justice system has a lot of components that are designed, drug courts in particular are a terrific mechanism that started in florida. they have been around for 20 years. the caller brings up a good part about the pharmaceutical issues. pill mills in south florida have

made headlines for weeks and weeks. these are one after another in which these very addictive and powerful painkillers, although important when used properly, have been abused. abused their ethics an oath of office and quite frankly, of the law, but also patients that the doctor shopping. florida is one of the state's the past something called a prescription drug monitoring plan, a computerized database so health officials can take a look at who is prescribing and who is dr. shopping. host: the caller brought race into this. what can you say to that? guest: as a longtime police chief and worked here in several cities, i would not apologize for police are arresting people for violations of the criminal law. that is why we have a criminal law system. if people want to change a law,

that is certainly their prerogative. i think one of the most recent an important things going on is reducing but crack powder disparity in sentencing. it used to be 100, to one. so if a small amount of crack cocaine would vastly increase the sentencing from powdered cocaine. it was certainly a disparity in the african-american community. it the obama administration took the issue on but congress has taken it on and right now the legislation would reduce that sensing from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1. .

we need to be smarter about how we deal with the drug problem and not just try to use criminal justice, which we probably focus on with too much intensity. we have other tools. host: in all of that traveling, who is the smartest? what are the examples of what works the best? guest: community. when the community recognizes the drug problem. someone asked me, look, we have a lot going on. afghanistan, jobs, iraq, health care, etc. what i look at our foreign

relations, the southwest border, keeping kids in school, prepared work forces -- drugs runs through every one of those things. we should keep that in mind. more people are driving under the influence of drugs than are driving under the influence of alcohol. a recent survey showed that 16% of the survey -- of the people tested tested positive for illicit drugs. host: jason, nashville, tennessee. appreciate your waiting. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. could you explain to me why past presidential administrations and this current one has not learned the lesson that we learned in the 1920's when be

prohibited alcohol? we saw the violence immediately rise after that. when we realize that you can never actually take away the demand, by taking away the supply all you do is increase the price and violence follows when it stays underground. when we say we will keep drugs illegal under the guise of public safety, why do we not really look at what is actually dangerous to the public, the gang violence down on the mexican border? if you look at that as public safety, why are we not taking that into common approach? >> i think that that is an important discussion to have. i have been down to mexico several times. i think what is really important to recognize is that the cartels

are involved in kidnapping, arson, selling of stolen auto parts, very horrific crimes. there is no one in mexico that i know in my business that thinks that if drugs were suddenly legalized that all of these criminal funds would suddenly go to working for microsoft or coca-cola. they will continue to be thugs and criminals and members of organized crime. president called a run -- a president in mexico is very courageous. when you take a hard look of prohibition, no one said that crime and violence suddenly dissipated after the provision was lifted. it did not. host: secretary of state clinton was in mexico a couple of weeks ago. one of her comments was about u.s. demand. can you speak to reducing

demand? we talk about treatments, disease, but what about demand itself? >> -- guest: definitely an important component in the strategy. on this recent trip to mexico i accompanied her, she talked about the shared responsibility for the drug problem. it is just as important for us to reduce demand as it is for other countries to try to reduce the transfer of drugs or to reduce the production of drugs. there is a big change going on. the global change is that we used to point our fingers at other countries, saying we need to keep our drugs out of the hands of other people. if we were not using so many drugs, we would not have the problems in our country. afghanistan, colombia, there are growing addictive populations within those countries

themselves. even amongst the most impoverished people in the world, we are seeing addiction bulging. the first lady in mexico has made treatment her signature campaign. host: how do you focus on demand amongst americans? what kind of messages, programs, actions could you take? guest: the partnership for a drug free america does wonderful advertisements. there are websites that talk to parents, educating them on what to be aware of. we also know that if we do very hard-hitting, specific, well timed adds to young people we can have an impact on them. if we draft everyone into this issue and think about it in a comprehensive way, we can make a

difference. crime has been reduced over the years in this country. we think it is because smart police chiefs and sheriffs worked with different organizations collaborative lee. we have not put that together to deal with the drug problem. host: atlanta, brian, republican line. you are on with gil kerlikowske. good morning. caller: good morning. we all know that alcohol is the no. 1 abused drug in this country and alcohol abuse is on the rise. what is your office doing to tackle underage drinking? >> underage drinking -- guest: underage drinking is a significant problem. we talk about a lot. it is mentioned in the president's drug control policy. you cannot talk about the drug problem or focus on the drug

problem without talking about underage drinking. a significant issue. be it on college campuses or neighborhoods. we work closely with the national institutes of health and the health and human services department. we do have to talk about alcohol abuse among the underage. host: kitty hawk, north carolina. daniel, democratic line. caller: thank you for taking my call. i became aware of the underage drinking problem and of the prescription drugs because the kids -- actually, cocaine is on the rise. one of the main reasons i have found out, in talking to these

young people i have asked a bunch of them. many of them must take drug tests if they are athletic or for other reasons. this fact means that they take prescription drugs because they do not test for these drugs. they drink because alcohol is a substantive drug. cocaine, from what understand, leaves the system. i do not agree with drug tests, said is a court order. i think it is saying you are guilty before there is evidence. the effort that they are trying to do, i think it might be some of the problem.

any child that you talk to, they explain its the same way. -- they explain it the same way. guest: drug testing is an individual city issue. a number of school systems test for drugs as a part of athletic and some of them as a part of other extracurricular activities. the important part that we want to make sure that people understand, otesting is not simply to keep people out of school. you must make it part of a more comprehensive system. as a police chief in particular i would not be in favor of kids being kicked out of school when

treatment and prevention programs that work -- putting out problem back on a local citizen and the taxpayer is not always the most effective. host: what is the connection of your office to the employers around the country? guest: there are a number of programs. there are requirements for people to get commercial driver's licenses, working in certain jobs, etc.. -- jobs, etc. if you look at those tests over the last couple of years, the number of people testing positive for a variety of drugs has decreased. if it is not part of the statutory requirement, a number of private businesses and organizations have people take drug tests before they get hired.

host: anything that we should know about seniors in this area? guest: i think that the senior citizens need to talk to their pharmacist. they need to make sure that they do not see one prescription drug offsetting the costs. also, a number of extended care facilities have a number of powerful painkillers. when people no longer need them, there needs to be a safe way for the drugs to be disposed of. that does not mean flushing them down the toilet. that causes environmental damage. we are working with drug enforcement and the environmental protection agency to develop a new system.