doing it already. that is definitely a tangible benefit for a lot of people right there. host: helen on the independent line. caller: i wanted to know do you have a handle on how many new bureaucratic agencies are created by this bill? guest: good question. the main agencies that are going to be implementing it really are the ones we have now, our health and human services department, medicare and medicaid department, the actual exchanges that i keep referring to, these marketplaces where you're going to go to buy insurance if you don't get it through your employer, they're going to be sent up on a state by state basis or regional basis. it will be up to the states to set these things up which could be a problem in states that the political leadership doesn't like the bill and it won't be moabts straighted to make it work. in massachusetts, which really

passed a model of this bill back in 2006, it took a lot of effort to get their version of the exchange working. that was the state where you had bipartisan political support around the bill including the then governor mitt romney, are republican, who signed the bill, this real consensus around it and everyone was onboard to make it work. now you're going to try to do it in states like texas, arkansas, alabama, georgia, states that, a, just don't have much insurance regulation right now at all. that's just not something that they do very much of and don't have much capacity for, but also where there will be a real political resistance for doing this. that will be more of a bureaucratic concern than the bureaucratic load at the federal level. host: this viewer is asking do you think insurance companies will offer multi-family discounts since there is a mandate to have insurance? will this create a new market?

guest: well, yes, that's sort of the premise that you're requiring people to have insurance, you're going to get more people into the pool. that is really the idea here. right now, the problem somebody that people who try to buy insurance on their own have a really hard time of it, a, because in some states insurance companies can reject someone with a preexisting condition or charge for their time. and b, the rates are very high because the pool is not big enough. you only have people in the pool who really think they need insurance, so it doesn't really work the way that insurance is supposed to would work, so the s that you will create this healthy, busy thriving private sector marketplace, and eventually if it works, the long-term hope is that you will get more of us going into these exchanges over are time. they might become the base of our insurance system, not employer had-based coverage. host: shirley on the republican line. caller: good morning, everywhere

i go and i go to a lot of the tea parties, i hear a lot of senior citizens complaining that they paid into this system all their life and now they have to worry about medicare, are we going to lose our medicare? they keep saying how much money is going to be taken out of medicare. people are upset about this. host: what are the facts? guest: it is more complicated than that. the impact that a medicare recipient is going to see, negative impact is, if they are people who are in medicare advantage plan, which are the plans that are run by hmo's by private insurers who get money from the government to provide medicare-like product to seniors. these plans are getting their subsidies cut, so the companies that offer these plans are getting less money from the federal government to offer the plan, so they might stop offering the plans or might make the plans less appealing by cutting out some of the benefits that come with theme like free

gym memberships, that kind of stuff. people with medicare advantage plans might feel the pinch. the real hope is for medicare generally that possibly doctors are getting slightly lower reimbursements over time than they would have, but they will have to find ways to deal with that and some of the other reforms in the bill that are meant to change the way we deliver care and change the ways we deliver care that is more inefficient, the hope is that the reforms will help them deal with the medicare services. finally, i'm not sure if you have to deal with the doughnut hole problem. a lot of people do. that problem is going to go away with this bill over the next few years. that will shrink not to nothing but almost nothing. host: democratic line from richmond, virginia. go ahead, sir. caller: my comment is more in line for being a question, and i

understand that the states want to sue the government on that they don't have to be mandated or not to be mandated. my question is if the citizens of that state want to participate, can the citizens sue the state? guest: good question. in a sense, the best response for a citizen of one of these states where the political leadership is not being cooperative with this law is basically pure political pressure. i mean, it's really a matter of trying to change the political leadership in your state if you don't like the way that it is acting on this, and we'll just have to see how that plays out. it's possible that the leadership of these states keeps being uncooperative they might start to hear from their constituents people saying hey, we need help, we can't get insurance, it's not going to

make any sense if these benefits are going to our neighbors in the next state over. we want these benefits, too, so stop doing this. it is also worth noting that it is possible that these legal challenges of the mandate of the main provisions of the law will have to see if they actually go anywhere. there is a lot of constitutional law folks who don't think these challenges will go very far. you can never say for sure but it is possible they might fade away as legal challenges. i think the real more pressing concern is that the states where the political leadership is not onboard is not going to be dock enough to sort of make sure that the law works, not being encouraging people to observe the mandate and it is possible that the new system isn't going to work well in their state. that is more of a concern than the actual legal challenges in my view. host: rayon the independent line. guest: i enjoy your show. i have a question about

workman's compensation. businesses are required to furnish that for employees ysm not let the employee pay half the cost and go ahead and extend workman's compensation to the entire family and they get 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? >> well, once i finished this book and read the law, i don't think worker's comp is included in the law. there is a lot in the law i should add that is intended to help employers, especially small employers. one of the first provisions that that is it is going to affect is a fairly substantial credit that that is going out to small businesses to help them buy insurance, businesses of, i believe, under 25 employees or it might be -6b 0. i will have to double-check, but they're going to be getting credits, businesses that have employees making under $50,000 a year on of average. this he will get fairly large

cred its to help them buy insurance. there is a lot in the bill for going beyond that and try to ease the burden on employers. the employers will be rieshed to provide coverage, employers of a certain size, of 100 employees or more will be rieshed to provide coverage. it is worth noting that most employers of that size do provide coverage. it is in the small business sector that you see a lot of non-coverage, and those smaller businesses are not going to have to provide coverage. they're going to get help to do so but they don't actually have to. host: don on the republican line. caller: good morning. could you sort of explain specifically what it is that the attorney generals are actually suing for? i think there is a misconception and perhaps maybe you can clear it up that they're suing to reform the healthcare bill. host: to overturn it, you mean?

caller: correct. but what they're actually dealing with are specifics of the bill that actually mandate that the state is going to have to pick up certain medicare or medicate patients as well as the fact that the national government, the federal government is trying to mandate or tell individuals that they have to have healthcare. guest: good point. they're raising several different claims and some states are raising some claims and others are raisings others. some are just objecting to the mandate saying that the mandate that we all obtain insurance is unconstitutional. some are coming it from a states' rights standpoint saying it is unconstitutional for the federal government to require states to set up these new marketplaces, and also, you know, not right for the federal government to take on more medicaid patients. a big part is that we will expand medicaid by a lot, by about 15 million people, expand it up to 133% of the poverty

level. anyone below that level is going to qualify for medicaid. it is worth noting and this has gotten lost a lot in the discussion that a lot of states that right now have stringent medicaid threshholds, basically the states that don't let a lot of people in to medicaid, they are going to have to be sened a whole lot more people into medicaid which they're very worried about but they're going to get massive help from the federal government to do so. right now the federal government picks up only about 50, 60, 70% of medicaid costs on average. under this new law, all these new people coming into the medicaid system will be covered at 100%, the federal government will pick up the first couple of years and that's going to go down to 95% or so over the next two years so states are going to be getting just tremendous surge of federal dollars, and in a way it is the states that have the most stringent medicaid eligibility until now that are

going to be making out the best because they're going to get all this federal help to pay for people who noth ore states, states that have been more generous, those states will be getting lower reimbursements from the feds to keep covering those people. host: brenda on our democratic like in north carolina. caller: good morning. i've got a couple of questions i would like to ask you. i went on-line on the internet checking insurance companies to see what was available and the companies that i talked to were more like discount insurance rather than insurance with major medical. i do have preexisting conditions, and i need to know is the state going to set it up with the major medicals along with everything else so i can get insurance? guest: you're really a classic example of someone that this law

is meant to help. come 2014 -- i know you're dealing right now in the present, but 2014, the whole idea is that you are going to have a much more sort of easy to use and easily understandable marketplace to go buy insurance. you're not going to be out there alone on-line going around looking to see, gosh, is this what i need? what does this provide? right now, as you know, it's very difficult to figure out this marketplace on your own, especially if you're in a state that is not well regulated. come 2014, it's going to be like really kind of easy comparison shopping. your state will have this new marketplace where it will be all transparent. you will have cheer price levels -- clear price levels, clear explanations of what each product gives you. that's how that works. in the interim, your best bet will be the high-risk pool that will be set up to service a bridge. as i said, there is real

concerns of how that's going to work but hopefully it's going to work ok for most people in your situation with preexisting conditions. host: david in clinton township, michigan on the independent line. caller: good morning, america. i heard a woman call in and said she was attending tea bag parties and then she started to say she was complaining about her medicare coverage. now, if i'm not wrong, these tea party conventions rally against socialism, and medicare, social security, farm subsidies, those are all little bits of socialism that america has had all along, so i know that -- how can you suck on a socialist tit and complain about socialism but then most tea party members fell off the republican bandwagon so hypocrisy is in their playbook. host: former republican donna in

augusta, georgia. guest: good morning. first thing i would like to ask you a question about, i'm on medicare and medicaid. it's hard for me to find doctors now. some of them won't even accept my medicare. also, the doughnut hole, it doesn't start until ten years, right, and the other insurance doesn't go into effect until four years, and another segment of my statement i would like to say is i'm losing my cardiac thoracic surgeon, the one that has saved my life from cancer four times. i also have other doctors that are retiring because of the healthcare bill. could you comment on that, please? guest: the -- you're right. there is a concern about doctors , access to doctors and doctors accepting medicare and medicaid. right now, as you know, it is more of a problem with medicaid. medicaid rates are lower than

medicare reimbursement rates. you are seeing doctors stopping accepting medicaid patients. the law does try to deal with this by increasing substantially the medicaid reimbursement rate for primary care visits to doctors who get paid more. basically they will be brought up to the medicare level from what had been the lower medicaid level. as far as medicare goes, there are some doctors who are no longer accepting medicare patients but it's been somewhat overstated as a problem. it is with medicaid it is more of an an issue. as far as the doughnut hole, you may have misunderstood what i said earlier. it phases in the closing of the doughnut hole phases in over the coming decade but it's ramped up quickly. you will get a $250 check in the coming weeks to help with that if you're in the doughnut hole and then it starts closing.

the window starts closing right away, in the next few years, so i have to double-check, but i'm pretty sure that within four years or so, it's going to be down to, you know, much, much smaller window. >> alec m mcgillis, co-author oç live coverage for you when it begins. the associated press reporting on the latest. in fact, reporting on president obama's comments about the case

today. this way, the f.b.i.'s investigating the suspect in last weekend's failed times square car bombing for possible ties to terrorist groups. president obama said today. speaking hours after a suspect was pulled off a plane about to depart for the middle east. mr. obama said justice will be done in the incident. the president also said hundreds of lives may have been saved through quick action by ordinary citizens and local, state and federal authorities on saturday night. law enforcement officials say the suspect recently returned from a trip to pakistan and bought the 1993 pathfinder three weeks ago and paid cash for that vehicle. again, from an a.p. story on the president's comments on that case. again, we are waiting for eric holder, the attorney general, and other officials on the arrest and the investigation into the new york city attempted car bombing.

we'll bring this event when it gets started, eric holder on the attempted car bombing in new york city over the weekend. obviously running just a little bit late but we'll have live coverage here on c-span when it begins. again, a portion of today's "washington journal." when we have the latest on key races and primaries held in indiana, ohio and north carolina. up the financial regulation bill. we will talk about that next. first an update on politics. it is primary day in three states. caller a >>

. >> we started to see movement within conservatives. a little bit of dissatisfaction with dan coats. he is a registered lobbyist. there are a couple of conservatives. that is a three-way race. one has a comfortable lead going into primary day. gov. mitch daniels is not openly supporting him. he is giving his tacit support to him. we have to watch closely the actual numbers tonight. if close wins by a narrow . . nominee, the current congressman.

in the house, some interesting races. a longtime congressman, republican, a safe seat in indiana, faces a tough renomination battle in two dozen aid. he barely won. his opponent is running again. so are a lot of other republicans trying to defeat him. there are a couple of other big names. one is a former indiana republican executive director. mike murphy, a state rep. we will watch very closely to see if dan burton can survive that anti-incumbency wave which is sweeping the country. the third district, marks daughter. he has never -- marked soldk so. bob thomas has put in a lot of

his own money. we will see if he can defeat souder. host: is the tea party movement a factor? caller: it remains to be seen. we have to see what impact the tea party movement will have. i think they will have a lot of i think they will have a lot of support in the senate races going to certain people such as tea party activist that have organized long before them. it will be interesting to see how successful they are in getting their candida's across the finish line.

the democratic success has guven republicans an extra measure as they try to rebuild and regroup before 2012. john, your thoughts? >> i think that's why you're seeing all three of these races, not so much indiana and north carolina and ohio, not so much about the primaries today but both parties focused very closely on what's going to happen in november. especially democrats in north carolina are optimistic that they can win the seat that republican incumbent richard burr has never polled particularly strongly. they have three candidates competing in the democratic -- they have six, but there are three major candidates -- >> we leave this recorded program now. take you to the justice department live. attorney general eric holder. >> as many of you know, fayal shazad was arrested late last night in connection with his

alleged role with the attempted car bombing in time's scare last saturday. shazad a naturalized u.s. citizen important in pack zahn is in federal custody today. he has been and continues to be questioned by federal agents. as a result of those communications, shazad has provided useful information to authorities. we anticipate charging him with an act of frism transcending national borders. -- terrorism transcending national borders. attempted use of a destruckive device during the commission of another crime as well as assorted explosive charges. i want to emphasize this investigation is ongoing and we continue to pursue a number of leads as we gather useful intelligence related to the terrorist attack. based on what we know so far, it is clear that this was a terrorist plot aimed at murdering americans in one of the busiest places in our country.

we believe this suspected terrorist fashioned a bomb from rudimentry ingredients, placed it in a rusty s.u.v., and drove it into time's square with the intent to kill as many innocent tourists and theater goers as possible. make no mistake, although this car bomb failed to properly detonate, this plot was a very serious attempt. if successful, it could have resulted in a lethal terrorist attack causing death and destruction in the heart of new york city. it is a stark reminder of the reality that we face today in this country. reality that there is a constant threat from those who wish to do us harm simply because of our way of life. there are organized terrorist networks that are targeting us. there are lone terrorists here at home and abroad who are targeting us. as months even years go by, we have had a successful terrorist

attack, the most dangerous lesson we can draw is a false impression that this threat no longer exists. it does. and the department of justice and our partners in the national security community have no higher priority than disrupting those attempts and bringing those who brought them to justice. in this case that is exactly what the dedicated agents and prosecutors from the department and various law enforcement agencies have achieved through exemplary investigative efforts. over the last two days, men and women from the f.b.i., the departments of national security division, and u.s. attorneys offices worked with nypd, d.h.s., and state and local partners to coggedly track the evidence in this -- doingedly track the evidence in this case. the quick reaction of the f.b.i. agents was critical in alerting customs and border patrols agents who arrested him last night at j.f.k. airport as he was attempting to flee. f.b.i. agents have gleaned agigsal evidence searching his car and home and they continue

to work this their state and local counterparts in new york, connecticut, and other jurisdictions to gather evidence and intelligence related to this case. they are also coordinating with other members of the president's national security team to ensure that we use every resource available to bring everyone responsible to justice. these agents and prosecutors are the backbone of our national security efforts. many of them doing their jobs outside the spotlight of the media. i want to commend them for their results in this case and their unwavering commitment to their jobs. we owe them our gratitude and respect. finally i want to take this opportunity to remind all americans how important it is to remain vigilant. the s.u.v. in time's square was first noted by an alert bystander who report it to authorities. by being aware of his surroundings and thinking quickly, he helped save lives and thwarted a potentially devastating attack. as always anyone who notices any

suspicious activity should report it to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. i would like to turn it over to secretary napolitano. >> thank you, attorney general holder. as you know late last night u.s. customs and border patrol agents at new york's j.f.k. airport apprehended and detained faisal shazad, a nationalized u.s. citizens with the attempting bombing in time's square. due to p.d. officers working with all law enforcement officers and relying on enhanced security measures, c.d.p. was able to identify, apprehend the suspect. i want to express my gratitude to all of the federal, state, local law enforcement personnel whose cooperation and hard work on this case led to the swift identification and apprehension of shahzad.

this was a great team effort and hormente work in this days was truly exemplary. in particular i'd like to thank the dedicated men and women of the department of homeland security whose work on the case was instrumental in apprehending this suspect. customs and border protections successfully a3re herseth sandlinned -- apprehended the suspect after its agents and analysts had been tracking out of bound flights for potential suspect for the past three days. immigration and customs enforcement agents served an important role in the joint terrorism task force in new york as the lead law enforcement agency on the international aspects of the investigation. interviewing witnesses and running down leads. the transportation security administration was conducting targeted operations at regional and international airports designed to identify and apprehend a potential suspect. i'd also like to give special thanks to the alert citizens in

new york city whose crucial tips helped authorities prevent what could have been a deadly explosion. what happened on saturday shows the critical role that the american people play in the security of our country. if anybody ever had any doubt about it, this failed bombing attempt clearly shows the value of the saying, if you see something, say something. thank you. now i'd like to turn it over to assistant director john histal. >> good afternoon, i want to also commend the men and women who worked around the clock literally since saturday to find those responsible for what could have been a deadly attack. a host of agencies, departments, and individuals working together toward a single goal. our collective success unraveling this plot comes down to using traditional law enforcement techniques such as federal court authorized search

warrants, along with intelligence-based authorities to maximize our evidence and intelligence gathering. using these techniques, we were collectively able to identify mr. shahzad as the person who purchased the 1993 path finder depicted in the back of the room. c.d.p. identified his extensive overseas travel which led to expanded investigative steps enabling us to fully identify then locate and eventually arrest shahzada key step in this process occurred yesterday when he was placed on the no-fly list and c.d.p. did an outstanding job of identifying him on the j.f.k. flight last night. joint terrorism task force agents and officers from nypd interviewed him last night and early this morning under the public safety exception to the miranda ruling. he was cooperative and provided valuable intelligence and evidence. he was eventually transported to

another location, myrrh randized -- myrrh ran diesed and continued talking. we in the f.b.i. with our law enforcement and intelligence partners here at home and around the world continue to investigate this matter. we are conducting a forensic investigation of all the evidence collected. much of this evidence has witness transferred to the f.b.i. laboratory in quantico, virginia, so we can test the individual chemical composition, material, and explosive device. we also want to test the potential impact of the device to ascertain what would have happened had it worked as intended. we of course are working with our law enforcement intelligence partners to uncover all possible ties this particular individual has or may have had to radical extremism or terrorist organizations both at home and overseas. we are pursuing every lead in that regard. as always and as always we are seeking out those who would orchestrate these kind of

attacks. prevention will continue to be our end game so i, too, would like to add our thanks to the vigilant citizens who first noticed this suspicious vehicle. this investigation like others we have handled in the past year once again reminds us that our work is not finished and we will continue to work with our partners and our citizens across the country to find and stop those who do us harm. thank you. i turn it over to commissioner kelly. >> thank you, john. i think new yorkers can rest a little easier today and that's due in no small measure to the investigative muscle of f.b.i. agents and new york police detectives, not to mention the eagle eye work of the customs officials on duty last evening at j.f.k. airport. particularly also want to commend the u.s. attorney for the southern district of new york in all his very abled assistance who worked very closely with the u.s. attorney, not just on this case but every

day to make sure criminals in the southern district of new york are brought to justice. this nissan path finder in times square had a license plate from another vehicle. the vin number on the dashboard had been removed. the break in this case took place when the new york city detective was able to go under the vehicle and get the hidden vin number. this identified the owner of record who in turn as we know sold it to the suspect who drove it right into the heart of time's square. this is deja vu because the world trade center attack in 1993 had similar set of facts where a detective was able to get the vin number off the ryder truck that had exploded there. if you recall the bombers were arrested when they returned to get their deposit.

but they would have been no engine block to examine if it wasn't for the heroic work of the new york city bomb squad detective. it was a very hot evening. they suited up in very oppressive gear which i'm sure everyone saw and they worked tirelessly through that evening, all through the next day. so if you look at the components, the timer, the gasoline cans, the m-88's, the propane tank, the gun box, put all of that together, that lethal assembly really made a very big hurt locker. it wasn't until all of the parts of the bomb were taken down that we were able to tow that vehicle to a forensic garage. by my calculation from the time faisal sha --hzad drove across

broadway and parked that vehicle to when he was apprehended last evening at j.f.k. airport, it was 53 hours and 20 minutes. we know that jack bauer can do it in 24 minutes. in the real world 53 is a pretty good number. so i want to congratulate everyone who had a role in this very important investigation. really the fact it was done in record time. in truth we can breathe easier but we always have to be vigilant because in the eyes of the terrorists, new york is america and they want to come back to kill us. thank you. >> any questions you might have? >> attorney general, you said the suspects provided useful information. can you say whether he's provided any clarity whether he acted alone or with others? >> the investigation is ongoing and i wouldn't want to reveal at this point any information we gleaned from him other than to

say he has been talking to us and providing us with useful information. > who has he admitted involvement in this this? >> he has done that. >> there are reports that there have been arrests in pakistan related to this incident, is that correct? if so how many? do you anticipate further arrests in this country? >> as i said the investigation is ongoing and we -- our aim is to determine who is -- who exactly was involved in this matter, to bring all those people involved to justice. i'm not aware of what the exact situation is with regard to the facts you talked about in pakistan. >> no, are you not aware of any arrests in pakistan at this point? >> i have heard reports. i am not in a position to confirm it. a -- >> theories still on the tabling or is that gone? >> the investigation's ongoing. i wouldn't want to talk about what -- with regard to that.

>> are we able to still get on the plane and have the plane depart from the gate when he was placed on the no-fly list? >> i want to get into details of timing and no-fly. but the way he was apprehended was that since -- particularly since christmas c.d.p. has been instituting a number of rules that enable us check against new data or information that is provided, even very recent information against passenger man fests on planes. and -- manny fests on planes. -- manifests on planes. they have been working around the clock on this one. as new data is supplied with the course of the investigation yesterday, they were able to match it once the plane manifest was complete, go on the plane and arrest him. >> madam secretary, are you saying if this happened before

christmas that that plane may have taken off? >> no, i'm not saying that, mike. what i'm saying that in this particular case some of the new rules were particularly useful in allowing us to arrest him before the plane took off. >> there are some local reports suggesting that this case may be related to the zazi case. have you found any of that? there was talk about his extensive travel overseas. are you guys looking into whether he may have had some sort of military training or contacts with known terrorists? >> we are examining a whole variety of things in connection with the questions that are being put to him and the questions that he is answering. we want to know as much as we can about his background, where he's gone, what he's done. and so all of those things are being explored. i don't have any basis to believe there is any connection. >> do you believe the suspect came into the u.s. with the intent of doing this?

>> i wouldn't want to comment on that. as i said the investigation is ongoing. and we'll need to continue our interaction with him. >> was the suspect under surveillance? did there come a point when he got off the radar? >> the number of individuals have come up in this investigation, and mr. shahzad was one that we identified as one we would like to find out more information about. so during the course of the investigation from saturday night we identified him as a person that we would like to talk to. we were able to locate him. away from his house which you saw the news bridge port -- bridgeport, connecticut there. we were able to provide that information as the secretary mentioned to c.b.p. for proper handling and other viggetcies in case he was stopped in another context. the bottom line was we were able

to identify, locate, and then detain mr. shahzad. >> in terms of the travel of people to pakistan and other areas where known terrorists are known to congregate, can someone talk about how the u.s. government is attempting to track those types of people? and what more can be done in that regard when they return to the united states? >> i can just comment from the f.b.i.'s perspective and part of the interagency. there are a number of steps taken to identify fonings terrorists. whether that's the country from which they originate in terms of terrorist training camps, or the individuals they associate with. obviously to go into detail which might get into sources of methods of how those individuals might be identified would not be appropriate. >> you returned from pack he underwent a secondary screening after his last trip and that contributed in some way to his arrest. why was he screened when he came back? and what was learned?

>> without getting into a lot of detail, he was screened when he came back because soft of the targeting rules applied. he was subjected to secondary screening. he is a naturalized u.s. citizen. and i'm just going to leave it at that. >> you have given us a diagram of the bomb itself. looking at this what is your professional assessment? is this an example of somebody who has had training? or is this kind of winging it? >> there are a number of opinions on that. you have heard most of them i think. it does not a-- appear from our opinion to be the most sophisticated device. there are a number of opportunities for the device to fail. there are actually three different components that could have been operational but as was noted certain portions such as the m-88's ignited but not the

main charges of either the gasoline or the propane tank. >> operational and aspirational? >> he clearly had the intent to do harm. it's a question whether his training and knowledge and material he had to the point of the fertilizer, the additional assessment it was properly not sufficient grade to cause the type of explosion such as we saw immoan yum nitrate in oklahoma city. -- ammonium nitrate in oklahoma city. >> maybe the attorney general or somebody can walk us through the decision to terminate the miranda and who made that decision and why? >> from the f.b.i. perspective we won't go into detail in terms of how long. that's obviously a significant issue right now. suffice it to say he provided valuable information and intelligence and evidence during that time and then as the attorney general noted, he was myrrh ran diesed later and continued to cooperate and

provide valuable information. >> attorney general, how close were you to lose ig him last night? -- losing him last night? >> obviously there's high confidence in c.b.p. to do the job. they have gone beyond -- >> how close were you to losing him? i think you mentioned earlier you had identified him by saturday night, is that correct? >> no. sunday night. >> attorney general holder -- >> could you answer the question about how close you were to losing him? >> i'm not sure to what you're referring. >> how close were you to losing him when he was on that flight? >> they pulled him off -- they pulled the flight back as you know to the gate. they also had the authority if the flight had actually taken off to order the plane to turn around and come back. >> i was here yesterday and through much of last night and

was aware of the tracking going on. i was never in any fear that we were in danger of losing him. >> could you tell us whether or not new york is still under consideration for holding the k.s.m. and other terrorist trials? and if so, does this incident give you pause in that respect? >> i think unfortunately new york and washington, d.c., remain targets of people who would do this nation harm. regardless of where a particular trial is, where a particular event is going to occur i think that is going to remain true and why we have to be especially vigilant in new york as well as in washington. we are considering a number of options with regard to where that trial might be held. i'll leave it at that. >> new york is among those you are considering? >> commissioner kelly, could you address whether this incident highlights any additional vulnerabilities in midtown?

should there be nor cameras? additional resources? >> we had a lot of police officers and have today certainly on patrol in time's square. this individual drove his vehicle up very quickly and left very quickly, but police officers are right immediately on the scene there. so to that extent we were present. would we like more cameras there? yes. as a matter of fact we have a program that we hope to have funded where we will take our low mat security initiative which consists about 3,000 cameras and migrate that program up to midtown manhattan from 30th street to 60th street. that's our goal. we have plans to do that. but, sure, we'd like more cameras. >> are you giving any more credibility to the claims of responsibility by the taliban? >> i would refer that to other people in the panel here.

>> attorney general, are we in a heightened state now? we have the underwear bomber case. we have the subway system. for eight years it didn't slige we had this pace of terrorist attempts that were in sort of the final stages. is it your sense we are in -- >> in new york city we have had now 11 plots directed at the city since september 11. so we always see ourselves in a fairly high pace. to a certain extent nothing has changed in that regard. people coming to new york or planning to come to new york and try to kill new yorkers. >> you talked about the cooperation between the f.b.i. and the new york police department? >> seamless. people asked that question a lot and the answer is the same. it's true. we were working extremely well

together. >> attorney general, you refer to this as a terrorist plot. can you give us any idea whether we are talking about three people or more? or, for example, internationally known terrorist group being part of this? >> at this point i think i'm going to say no more than what i have said in that regard. thank you all very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> house lawmakers are holding a hearing today on the qualities of teachers and leaders, witness to include school superintendents and the president of the american federation of teachers. live coverage at 2:00 eastern time on our companion network c-span3. here at c-span on 2:00 eastern today's legislative work begins

in the house. the house returns to work on a number of bills, including one to rename the department of the navy as the department of the navy and marine corps. also commemorative resolutions today on math and science. live house coverage starts at 2:00 eastern with votes coming up at 6:30 p.m. live here on c-span. until the house comes in in about 15 minutes, the latest on the oil spill in the gulf of mexico from this morning's washington journal. . ll street journal." he is here to talk about the latest on the oil spill. can you give us the latest on the clean-up? guest: sure. first, to minimize the damage. there's a twisted pipes leaking in three different places. they are trying to contain it and fix the leaks. on the containment site, they're

trying to inject the water with chemicals that can reduce the brilliancy of the petroleum that is leaking and make it less likely to rise toward the surface. they are also trying to create the containment domes that can be lowered on to the leaks. on fixing it, they're trying to install a new shot off valve -- shut-off valve. the time period on doing this is extensive. the process of fixing the leak may take much longer. it may take as many as 90 days to drill a new relief well. host: how many more days, weeks, more months are we talking about that oil keeps coming out of this leak? guest: the interior secretary said it could be as long as 90 days.

host: and what about the impact of the oil spill? what are they finding out as of right now on the coast line, the fisheries, and the wildlife there? guest: in some ways, they have caught a bit of a break on that point because the winds have kept a lot of the oil from reaching the shore. the concern is that it will hit the islands off of louisiana, and the alabama coast, and the florida coast. so far, most of the oil has yet to hit the shoreline. in that sense, they have caught a bit of a break. host: what is the effort like on the government side? what is the effort like on bp's side? guest: the white housthe obama n keeps saying that bp is the responsible party, but the obama administration has put many

resources in place to try to help bp. they have put -- the navy and the air force have deployed some of their resources. the epa is at the scene. they're monitoring the impact on air quality. the governor of louisiana has declared a state of emergency secretary. gates has mobilized the national guard to also assist in the efforts as well. there are a number of efforts going on. the federal government is a lead body. in the end, it is bp's responsibility. host: what happens to the oil that they are able to capture?

what happens to that oil? guest: they hope to bring it slowly to the surface and dispose of it safely on shore. it is not clear how successful they will be. the waters have been very choppy. that has complicated some of the efforts. host: front page of "the wall street journal" as your story -- has your story. what is a story about? guest: they're starting to be more scrutiny about some of the regulations that were in place at the time of this action, and specifically, the agency in charge of regulating the nation's offshore oil and gas operators. that agency is called the minerals management service. they're part of the interior department. they said the regulations for safety.

they're also in charge of collecting royalties from the oil and gas industry for drawing oil off of federal lands. the story discusses the concern or criticism of rep issa of california, who is one of the law makers starting to question whether or not the mms have the adequate safety regulations in place. he is asking the secretary of interior to look into that. that is something that the interior secretary has already pledged to do. host: there was some back-and- forth yesterday between reporters and bp about where they were drilling, how deep they were drilling, and whether or not they were doing it within the law. guest: there seems to be a disputed point on whether or not they were operating within the law. there has been litigation filed by some claim that worked on the oil rig that claimed at the time of the accident it was really at

a level that was beyond what the regulations said it could do. the company has disputed that so far and said they were operating within the law. host: there's also some dispute about whether or not bp actually had a blowout. what is a blowout? guest: an unexpected surge in pressure that can lead to a rupture. one of the issues here is -- one of the mysteries it in this case is why the blowout preventer did not work. this is a control system that is supposed to activate automatically in the event of one of these surges. for some reason, this piece of equipment did not work automatically and it did not respond to manuel attempts to activate it. that's one of the mysteries of this calamity. host: does it have to do with how deep they were?

some have said that technology only works if you are 1,000 feet below, and bp was around 5,000 feet below. guest: there were questions about whether or not some of these control systems werorked t these depths. although this was the bill, it was not as deep as others. host: i'm sure our viewers have a lot of questions. dennis, you are first. caller: in the course of the people you have talked with in the investigations you have done so far, what is your sense about how confident people are that they're actually going to really and truly be able to determine a cause?

are they just going to come up with what they think it is, or are they going to nail down the exact cause? guest: there's a high degree of confidence that they will be able to find out what happened. the frustrating thing for a lot of people in the oil and gas industry right now, and certainly for the obama administration is trying to figure out how to deal with this problem when you do not know what caused it in the first place. i was talking to someone who participated in a meeting last week with secretary salazar. they were trying to figure out solutions that the industry could offer to help bp. the meeting had eight problem of fumbling in the dark -- had a feeling of fumbling in the dark. the general statements that have been made by the oil and gas industry officials that i've spoken to is that, in all

likelihood, this is probably the result of a cascade of failures. possibly some that were human errors and probably some that were mechanical. host: loretta on the line from cleveland, ohio. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: stephen, this is not a good situation. it looks again like a mothanothr company is too big to fail. by that i mean that the taxpayers have to come behind them to make sure they do what ever is supposed to be done initially. president obama said he would spare no avenues of help in order to contain all of this, but that is our money. that is taxpayer money. we can see that this could

certainly bank drorupt bp. the death of 11 employees, the cost of cleanup first three states, and the costs to multiple industries -- the people whose lives depend on the fisheries. and then i heard they were supposed to have deep sea drilling safety caps, which they did not have. host: did you read that is an insurance issue then? caller: what does that mean? how much is that policy, and how come they did not have the safety precautions in place? host: stephen power. caller: there are a lot of questions there. the mineral management service

does require various control systems, various back the plans in place in case of the equipment does not work. they do tend to give the industry a certain degree of discretion as to the precise types of control systems that they need to have. with regard to how much this will cost, the estimates vary. it depends on a lot of unknowns, including what the weather will be like, and whether it pushes the oil out to sea. it ranges from $2.5 billion to $8 billion. it's not clear what the cost will be at this point. host: the loss following the oil spill -- this company has to repay for a loss -- economic loss for the fishermen at a cap of $75 million. there are three senators who

want to raise that. guest: a group of senator are now pushing that legislation. there's a cap on certain types of damages. the law also stipulates that can be exceeded if it is found that the responsible party violated a lot in a willful way or was really negligent in its handling of safety. there is a possibility of going beyond that cap. host: there's another story here in "the financial times." .

with attentive listening, a child enjoys good judgment and lea ble can be avoided. . from the bottom of this sea comes oil and can stowedial wisdom. within one conversation, one member is affirmed, another ignored, another offended. for a moment, a hospital bed holds good news. while some fields are flooded, the sun scorches life out of some others. lord, in this complex world, give us discernment in all circumstances that we may find you present both now and forever. amen. .6 c16 c13

the speaker: pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from illinois, mr. jackson. mr. jackson: plan and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain requests for one minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york, mr. hall, rise? mr. hall: to address the house for one minute. without objection. mr. hall: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to discuss the extreme weather events that have occurred over the last several months. from the massive rains and flooding this week in tennessee to the historic tornado in

mississippi, this spring's flooding in new england and connecticut and rhode island to the february mudslides in maderia, to the freak march that killed 40 people on the coast of france. it is clear that storms are getting more intense and are changing ns consistent with computer models of climate change. in orange county, new york, my farmers have had to cope with so-called 50-year floods that now seem to occur every year. rivers may truly be the canary in the coal mine of global climate change. what more evidence do we need? it's time to stop denying this change is happening and work together to stop the pollution that causes it. acted and we have now it's time for the senate to take up and pass an energy and also by the hich way is a big jobs bill. madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the from illinois rise? >> to address the house for one minute. e speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute.

mrs. biggert: i rise today to honor our nation's teachers. this week we celebrate teacher's -- national teachers appreciation week and today, may 4, is national teachers day. as a former p.t.a. president and former school board i want to pay tribute to our nation's teachers for the hard work, dedication, and selfless sacrifice they make every day to educate our young people. one teacher i think can make in a child's ence life. for me that one person was mrs. ochre, my fourth grade teacher. she taught me how to think beyond the box. i remember trying to calculate how many christmas teas it to take end to end to go from the earth to the moon. i did calculate that. i can't remember how much -- how many there were, but she taught me i could do most anything i set my mind to. and that was really outside the

box. today's an opportunity not only to thank her but to thank all of the teachers of the 13th district of illinois and the nation for following their calling and light -- next tening the generation ever leaders. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? wilson: permission to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. wilson: mr. speaker, long time county resident, miss elise, is a leader throughout her community and state, particularly in the capital of columbia. it was on washington street she opened a thriving beauty salon. it was south carolina state university that she furthered her education by taking teacher training courses. this eventually led to her at booker t. on washington high school where she enriched the lives of many young students. ms. martin has many passions, teaching, politics.

her contributions in each of these areas are extensive. but it was ms. martin's lifetime dedication that recently culminated in the elise john martin place. this housing community carries ms. martin's name because of her work to improve neighborhoods by establishing solid foundation for america's young citizens. it's my honor to celebrate the contributions of elise martin today and thank her for making a stronger city and inspiring people of all ages to get back to their communities. in conclusion, god bless our troops. and we will never forget global war and the on terrorism. god bless dwayne jackson for stopping the terrorist attack new york city. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 4 of rule 1, e following enrolled bills were signed by the speaker on friday, april 30, 2010. the clerk: h.r. 5146 to provide that members of congress shall not receive a cost of living

adjustment and pay during fiscal year 2011. for eaker pro tempore: what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. remarks. extend my the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, arizona's immigration enforcement law mirrors what is already in federal law. so why are some special interest groups in an uproar? it shouldn't be surprising. the very same people who want out arizona's new immigration law also want congress to throw out america's immigration laws. open borders advocates want of illegal millions immigrants so they find fault with any law that tries to illegal immigration. arizona has every right to protect its residents and secure the border. a message from arizona is not to pass an amnesty bill in washington but to enforce

immigration laws and strengthen border security. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. on postponed questions will be taken after 6:30 p.m. today. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1307, honoring science foundation for 60 years of service to the nation. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1307. resolution honoring the science foundation for 60 years of service to the nation. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge, and the gentleman from mr. hall, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: thank you, mr.

speaker. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous h.res. 1307, the resolution now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. . . fudge: thank you mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the entlelady is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the national foundation for 60 years of service in promoting the discoveries and innovations made this country great. as the federal agency charged ing u.s. excellence in science, engineering, and mathematics through basic research and education, the foundation efforts have been critical to maintaining our in a competitive world. in addition to its primary mission to support fundamental research in all science and engineering disciplines, the foundation supports many crosscutting and transformative research and education programs that should serve as models for

other agencies and other nations. cite just a few examples here. first, the foundation supports engineering research centers which serve as models for public, private partnerships in areas of national need. today the foundation is funding e.r.c.'s in such areas as smart lighting, nanotechnology, and robotics. supports foundation much of the basic climate science and model development that will enable scientists and policymakers to understand and predict changes to the climate on a regional scale. finally, the foundation supports the teacher scholarship program, a central case of the stem education initiative included in the 2007 america competes act. the program provides scholarships to undergraduates who major in a stem field while become certified or licensed to teach in a k-12

classroom. while this program is about providing more than scholarships, it's about reform how k-12 stem teachers are prepared and no agency is better positioned to do this than the national science foundation. keeping america competitive jobs and a strong growing economy. that process began with a high quality educational system and continues with investments in new ideas and skilled people. the national science foundation's capable leadership its staff meet these national needs with expertise and enthusiasm. and i commend them for the continued high caliber of their performance. i want to thank the chair and ranking member of the committee on science and technology, mr. gordon and mr. hall, for introducing this resolution and i urge my colleagues to support its passage. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from hoif reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i

may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the for as is recognized much time as he may consume. mr. hall: i rise in support and as original co-sponsor of h.r. 1307, honoring the 60th nniversary of the national science foundation. we are proud of the work of independent agency that focuses on basic research in the frontiers of knowledge and is a very vital asset to our nation. it's the only federal agency supports all fields of fundamental science and engineering and makes sure that research is integrated with education so that one generation, our next generation of scientists and engineers, are also world class. n.s.f. the the basic research is "for discoveries again." i could not agree more. than 10,000 more new awardees a year. from those awards have come have eries that revolutionized the way every american lives in one way or another.

it was the n.s.f. funded research that led us to the internet. and to the web browsers that we use today. fundamental research supported by n.s.f. is responsible for what we now know as magnetic resonance imaging, m.r.i. technology. bar codes appeared on nearly everything we purchased today from toys to shoes to boxes of with , helping industries a range of activities from inventory to marketing to pricing. this is yet another technology where the national science as crucial ay role. the american sign language digsary speech recognition technology, fiber optics, doppler radar, all end results of n.s.f.-sponsored research. n.s.f. funded researchers have won more than 180 nobel prizes in numerous disciplines and leads a robust international research program in the polar regions including

mounting u.s. interest in antarctica. i would be remiss if i didn't current he role of the director of the foundation and its recent accomplishments. has led the agency with distinction for the past six years. he'll be returning to purdue university in june and this congress and nation owe him a debt of gratitude for his service. likewise to those national science board members whose term is up next week including phen g. bearing. we also appreciate his hard work and dedication in ensuring our scientific enterprise remains unsurpassed. i encourage our colleagues to join chairman gordon and me in supporting this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from florida. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from florida is recognized for two minutes.

ms. wasserman schultz: thank ou, mr. speaker. i appreciate the indulgence of my colleague from ohio. mr. speaker, i rise a little off topic to honor two extraordinary young women who are here with us today in the and taylor for receiving the credential spirit of community award. at age 12, taylor found out that due to budget constraints her school was considering canceling art education. so she gent hand written letters to 45 art supply in the united states and europe securing 30,000 dollars worth of donated art splice. now 13 she has start add nonprofit called the traveling canvas to provide art education around the world. at age 14 when lauren saw her father struggling, she took action spearheading the first psoriasis fundraising walk. her vision spread nationally raising more than $750,000 for the national psoriasis foundation and in the spirit of this legislation and promoting i know we are all proud of her accomplishments. when lauren herself was diagnosed with psoriasis, she

said the following, i now understand and remember that she's 14 years old, i now understand if anyone on earth should have been diagnosed it was me. so that i could use all of my abilities to make a difference for the millions of sufferers around the world. lauren, taylor's actions remind us our capacity to help others is truly limitless. congratulations. you are both truly the pride of the sunshine state. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida yields back the balance of her time. the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i inquire of ms. fudge, do you have other speakers? ms. fudge: no, i do not. mr. hall: then i might yield my time if you needed it? ms. fudge: no, sir. mr. hall: then i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: all time having been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1307. those in favor say aye. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: yes, mr. speaker. i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor, say aye yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio rise? ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i above to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1213, recognizing the need to improve the participation and performance of america's students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, better known as stem, and supporting the ideals of national lab day, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution.

the clerk: house resolution 1213, resolution recognizing the need to improve the participation and performance of americas students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, stem, fields, supporting the ideals of national lab day, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge, and the gentleman from texas, mr. hall, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. on house resolution 1213, the resolution now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. fudge: h.r. 1213 recognizes the need to improve america's students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. this resolution supports the ideals of national lab day, a nationwide effort to connect students, stem educators and

volunteers in building the stem community. all children have an innate curiousity about the world around them. research shows that children lose this inquiz tifness as early as middle school. students participate on hands on scoon tific educational projects to be part of real-life stem fields. a teacher in my district requested a scientist to illustrate how chemistry is used in real-world applications and careers. the national lab day website will connect this teacher with a professional scientist to perform experiments and talk to students about careers in chemistry. these activity keep students interested and engaged in math and science throughout primary and secondary schools. we hope that by keeping children interested early in

life more american students will enter stem fields. america has a rich history as a leader in technology and innovation. however, we are at serious risk of losing our world status if we don't train and encourage and engage our youth. research shows that the united states is graduating significantly lower percentages of students in stem fields than other nations. in 2006, for example, a little over % of american students received under-- 4% of american students received undergraduate degrees in engineering compared to 33% in china. we can change this trend. last week i was visited by a constituent named sherry rice. sherry is a full-time engineer working toward a ph.d at cleveland state university in my district. she is a strong, powerful role model for female minority students and said that she would be thrilled to volunteer for national lab day. people like sherry will make

this initiative successful and teach our children that careers such as hers are within their reach. there are sherries in every district, and i hope my colleagues will join me in reaching out to these role models. tell them they can visit www.nationallabday.org to sign up for projects in their communities. i look forward to seeing successful lab days all around the nation and eventually in more technologically competitive america. mr. speaker, i yield the -- i yield the balance of my time. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume and i -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as she may consume. mr. hall: i rise in support of h.res. 1213, supporting the ideals of national lab day and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hall: h.res. 1213

recognizes the need to improve the participation and performance of america's students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields or stem fields. in order for america to continue its competitive edge in technology and innovation, a solid foundation in stem education for our students is very vital. without early exposure to science in the classrooms, students will early lack the interest to pursue a career in stem fields or will lack preparation and skills required to be successful. h.res. 12 is but one -- h.res. 1213 is but one step to have students the well-rounded education they need to become part of america's future. national lab day is to raise awareness of creating a, quote, nationwide initiative to build local communities of support that will foster ongoing collaboration among volunteers,

students and educators. volunteers. and certainly all types of scientists. other stem professionals and more broadly members of the community are working together with educators and students to bring discovery-based science experiences to students in grades k-12. i applaud those efforts that do not rely on the federal government but engage our communities to become more involved in improving lab experiences for students in kindergarten through high school and hope my colleagues will join me today in recognizing the importance of what national lab day presents. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time and at this time and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from california, ms. harman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for three minutes. ms. harman: i thank the

gentlewoman's time has expired for yield and commend -- i thank the gentlewoman for yielding and i commend her for her leadership. this is a very important resolution which highlights an issue that directly impacts, not just national security, but employment in my district and many others . science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the backbone of california's 36th district's economy. we are the home to the los angeles air force base and missile system center and to large facilities of all the major aerospace firms as well as second and third tier suppliers. as i am fond of saying, my district is the aerospace center of the universe. l.a. county's unemployment rate is over 13%, but the 36th district's unemployment is half of that because of the aerospace industry. but the industry -- some 60% of workers are over age 50 and almost 26% are already eligible

for retirement. not enough young scientists and engineers are coming out of college to fill their ranks. mr. chairman -- mr. speaker, we can't build rockets without rocket scientists and other countries know that. the united states graduates about 70,000 engineers annually, a mere 15%. china graduates over half a million engineers every year. we mott only need the next generation of spacecraft to reach mars and beyond, we need the next generation of space engineers to get us there. and if we are to maintain space dominance when others, especially china, challenge us, we need more engineers. while we are struggling to educate enough engineers to assume the torch from those retiring, we're also losing many of them to the sexy new world of internet technology. building rocket is losing luster to facebook, ebay, google and other i.t. firms. if we want to be the world's

leader in space, we have to get our young people dreaming bigger, literally dreaming out of this world. we need to inspire our young people the same way president kennedy did 50 years ago when he dedicated the united states for winning the space race. stem education is the key, mr. speaker. i urge our colleagues to support this worthy resolution and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california yields back the balance of her time. the gentlelady from ohio reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia, dr. gingrey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for three minutes. mr. gingrey: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of house resolution 1213, a resolution supporting the ideals of national lab day. i'd also like to commend the two principle sponsors of this legislation, ms. fudge of ohio and mr. ehlers of michigan for their promotion of stem education. i want to join my colleague from california, representative

harman. i, too, am a former member of the science committee. i agree completely with her remarks on this issue. science, tech nothing, engineering and math -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics, better known as stem education, is instrumental to our ability to stay on the cutting edge of the global economy. yet, the united states is indeed falling behind the rest of the world in the number of students that are graduating from stem fields. mr. speaker, according to a 2006 association of american universities study that is noted in the findings of h. resolution 1213, 33.3% of students in china received their undergraduate degrees in engineering. in sing apour, that number -- in singapore, that number is 31.9% and 29 kp 5% of south korea's graduates fall in those fields. the united states is lagging so far behind with a staggering

4.5% of graduates in engineering. 4.5%. in order for us to remain competitive in a demrobal marketplace, it's so imperative that we find ways to increase the number of students coming out of college with a degree in stem-related fields, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. that means we need to build the interest level within stem education for students at all levels. mr. speaker, as a graduate of georgia tech with a degree in chemistry, stem education is an issue that is near and dear to me and i am very happy to see that this body considers in a bipartisan way a resolution that supports national laboratory day. this is a nationwide initiative that provides a form for scientists to work directly with students or the hands on learning experience by allowing our students the opportunity to collaborate with scientists in this way, national lab day can provide them with the tools they need to engauge in stem

fields with the hope that those students pursue high-education opportunities and careers in these cutting edge fields. during the 110th congress i believe our nation took a very crucial step due in large part to the leadership of chairman bart gordon and ranking member ralph hall of the science committee to address this issue in the america competes act, and that was passed in a bipartisan way in 2007 and signed into law by former president bush. as the former ranking member of science committee and subcommittee i was proud to support that legislation that will make stem education a priority, both now and in the future. as we consider, mr. chairman, if you'll allow me 30 additional skeds, i'd appreciate it. mr. hall: i yield the gentleman for an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional one minute. mr. gingrey: mr. speaker, thank you. i'll wrap up in a shorter time than that. as we are likely to reconsider

the america competes act next week, i hope this body will approach this legislation in the same manner. i want to urge all of my colleagues to support this great resolution, h.res. 1213, and, mr. speaker, i do now yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: i yield five minutes to the gentlelady from california, ms. woolsey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for five minutes. ms. woolsey: mr. speaker, i want to compliment our chairman, bart gordon, and i'd like to compliment congresswoman fudge and our ranking member, mr. hall, for this resolution because it is greatly important. and i support h.res. 1213, a resolution in support of improving participation in the stem field, stem, science,

technology, engineering and mathematics. as a member of the house education and labor committee and the house science and technology committee, it is absolutely clear to me that our country's ability to develop, prosper and compete among -- will depend upon investing in our children's education and in the scientific community. . a central piece of this effort must be to encourage girls and underrepresented minorities to be involved in stem at the k through 12 undergraduate, and graduate levels so they can, if they choose, turn their education into a career. they don't have to take the careers of stem, but they have to make that choice by the time they get to college. so that's why i sponsored the patsy t. mink scholarship which into law ush signed in 2008 as part of the higher

act. ion re-authorization the patsy t. mink scol alreadieship -- scholarship provides encouragement for wement and minorities to go into -- for women and minorities to go into the graduate program where they are represented such as the stem then move into teaching in these fields. i'm also preparing to reintroduce a bill that i have called for and titled for the many years i have been here, go girl, which will provide grants to schools to promote stem education for girls and we have included underrepresented minorities for k through 12 tudents. mr. speaker, helping young women and minorities go into these stem fields is an investment in our future as a country. so i urge my colleagues join me in voting for h.res. 1213. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentlewoman from california yields yields back the balance

of her time. gentlelady from ohio reserves the balance of her time. mr. hall: i yield back the time. of my the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back the balance of his time of the the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: thank you, mr. speaker. i would just at this time ask that my cloogs support h.res. 1213. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time having been yielded back, the question is the house and agree to es house resolution 1213. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. ms. fudge: on that i ask the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio seek recognition? ms. fudge: mr. speaker, morph to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1310, recognizing the 50th

anniversary of the laser. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1310. resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of the laser. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. fudge, and the gentleman from will mr. hall, each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.res. 1310, the resolution now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i rise of house resolution 1310, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of the creation of the first laser. the world's first laser was 16, 1960. may it was constructed by theodore hughs research laboratories in mall due, california. this was a significant

engineering and scientific feat . his work was preceded by theoretical work by charles towns, james gordon, herbert, and alexander. they won the 1964 nobel prize for their work. the peculiars of the achievement of the laser is that for many years after its creation the laser was an invention without many practical applications. however as time went on, scientists and engineers recognized the incredible potential of the laser. today the laser is almost ubiquitous. it can be found in almost every home, office, and automobile in america. lasers are also big business. with annual laser sales approaching $6 billion per year and growing. the story of the laser is illustrative of how investments

in basic r&d can have you huge and scientific implications down the road. it's a story to remember well as this congress prepares to take up the america competes re-authorization act in coming weeks. i'd like to take a moment to recognize the sponsor of this resolution, dr. verne ehlers. my understanding that in a prior life dr. ehlers knew one of the persons cited in this resolution, dr. towns. so it is especially fitting he is the sponsor. i urge my colleagues to support the resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the entlelady from hoif reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. hall: h.res. 1310, sell brates, mr. speaker, the 50th of the construction of the laser. marking a major milestone in scientific discovery. in 1953 charles towns produced what would become a precursor to the laser, the first

microwave amplifier. towns and his colleagues teamed up with bell laboratories in 1957 to begin extensive research on the application devices. their focus shifted only to those amplifiers which produced visible light. in 1958 bell laboratories submitted a patent for op particularal laser. however such a device had yet to be successfully created. charles towns and gordon goode met in 1958 the fundamentals of the laser and open resonator design were first discussed. theodore mayman in 1960 constructed the first laser.onal he used theories and plans published by bell labs, goode, and towns to construct this remarkable device. charles towns was later awarded the nobel prize for physics, along with scientists nick lie

-- nicko lie and alexanderer in quantum rk electronics which had laided groudwork for the construction of lasers. we rely on lasers in our daily lives and they are found in everyday products such as bar code scanners, and numerous medical devices. are sales of lasers estimated at well over $5 billion to date. we realize that great success stories such as the construction of lasers are in a large part due to american ingenuity which stems directly from investment in basic research and our outstanding institutions of higher learning. the laser is the prime example of basic research that ended up having multiple applications well beyond what its creators could have conceived. the construction of the laser is one example that leaves me confident in america's place at the top of the scientific word. i applaud these great scientists for their contributions to our community

do urge my colleagues to the same. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves time.lance of his the gentlelady from ohio reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields time. e balance of his the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i would just ask that my colleagues support this resolution, h.res. 1310. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all having been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1310. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the from ohio seek recognition? ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1231, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the united states television infrared observation satellite.

the world's first meteorologistal satellite launched by the national aeronautic and space administration on april 1, 1960 and fulfilling the promise -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady will suspend. the clerk will report the tile of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1231. celebrating the 50th anniversary of the united states television infrared observation satellite, the world's first meteorlogical satellite launched by the national aeronautics and space administration on april 1, 1960, and fulfilling the promise of president eisenhower to all nations of the world to promote the peaceful use of for the benefit of all mankind. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the ms. woman from ohio, fudge, and the gentleman from texas, mr. hall, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.res. 1231, the resolution now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection. s. fudge: thank you. mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the entlelady is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. fudge: i rise today in support of h.res. 1231, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the united states television infrared satellite. launched by the national aeronautics and space 1, istration on april 1960, the united states television infrared observation satellite, better known as trial i, demonstrated the beginning of the new american capability, the ability to examine weather patterns from space and enable early warnings of storms. the spacecraft gave the united states crucial experience related to satellite technology and applications. over the past 50 years nasa has develop to increasingly capable weather satellites for operation by the national oceanic and atmospheric administration.

mr. speaker, because of the technology pioneered, meteorologists have access to nformation that helps save lives and property around the world. today american earth observation satellites track everything from the movement of volcanic ash over europe to the spread of petroleum over the gulf of mexico. shining r, it is a example of peaceful use of outer space and the benefits space program provides for the united states and the world. i want to thank my colleague from new jersey, mr. holt, for introducing this resolution and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.res. 1231, marking the 50th anniversary of trius i. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the entlelady from hoif reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as time as he may consume. mr. hall: i rise in support of house resolution 1231,

50th ting the anniversary of united states tell vation infrared observation satellite, the first meteorlogical satellite launched by the national aeronautics and space on april 1, 1960. the launching of sputnik in 1957 signaled the soviet union's advance in the space race with the united states. this event caused the creation of nasa and preexcept tated the u.s. push to gain a technological advantage in space. it was during this time that nasa launched a television infrared observation satellite or tiros, to determine if satellites could be useful in the study of the earth. it was unknown whether or not satellite observations would be an effective means to determine mereo logical condition on the earth surface. scientists postulated that observations would be highly useful for weather forecasting. tiros was equipped with two television cameras, a magnetic tape recorder, and antennas.

this simple configuration relayed thousands of pictures of earth's cloud cover, giving scientists the first real insight into the complexity of earth's atmosphere. when the first accurate weather forecast based on data collected from tiros were completed, it became obvious this technology would revolutionize meteorology and have long lasting impacts on society. to demonstrate its usefulness to the world and fulfill president eisenhower's pledge to promote the peaceful use of space for the benefit of all mankind, massa and the u.s. weather bureau invited scientists from 21 different to participate in the analysis from weather data. it was due to this information the weather bureau issued its first advisories on air over the otential eastern united states. today weather forecasting is used in every part of our society. it's used to help protect human

welfare, guard against property amage. it's used in enhance commerce and used in farm officials of dangerous environmental conditions like hurricanes and blizzards. the technological advance we have -- we have made since then in satellite technology have been astronomical and the commercialization of this technology has brought us even more clarity about the world we live in than has ever been known or appreciated before. only operational for 78 days, but those short weeks and trated the power usefulness of space-based observation. it's been 50 years since the u.s. launched the first meteorlogical satellite into space, but as with other groundbreaking advances, it's appropriate to look back and appreciate the momentum that this earth into the space age. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support house resolution 1231. with that i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time.

the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: i yield five minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. holt. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. holt: i rise in support of h.res. 1231. let's review the technological, scientific and political accomplishment that the tiros i satellite represents. in october of 1957, the launch by the soviet union of the sputnik satellite struck fear in the hearts of americans. stut pick ii went into -- sputnik ii went into space carrying a dog. and america was experiencing troubles and public setbacks. on december 6, 1957, a vanguard rocket failed to launch a u.s. satellite into space when it exploded on national television. in january, 1958, the u.s. successfully launched a

31-pound explorer i satellite, but even this victory was followed by the loss of another vanguard satellite in february. as the early space race continued through 1958 and 1959, the soviet union always seemed to be a step ahead of the united states. the shock of sputnik and the fear the united states was losing its competitive edge inspired a national effort to prove and improve american leadership in the fields of science, math and engineering. the u.s. poured energy into basic research and development as well as science, tech -- technology and mathematics education. these investments were beginning to pay off. the usefulness of satellites to observe the earth remained unproven, and by 1960 u.s. scientists and engineers had

designed and built a new series of satellites to test the proposition and to demonstrate american dominance. the first launch of tiros in april of 1960 was a clear u.s. victory in the space race. and it was the world's first meet rowlogical satellite and the first to rely video images from above. tiros represented a scientific milestone and a clear message to our rivals and to ourselves that we had an eye in the sky and we could watch the planet. during the 78 days it was in operation, tiros i sent home almost 23,000 images, including those of a tropical storm, the cloud system of a large tropical cyclone in the gulf of alaska, an ice pack in the gulf of st. lawrence. they made the first accurate weather forecast based on data gathered from space. the tiros i program initiated a

revolution and meet rowlogical science and was the first in satellite storm tracking and warning systems that subsequently saved countless lives. it proved that satellites could be useful tools for studying the planet and acquiring information to be used immediately for predictions and decisionmaking. the decision, the construction, the launch, the operation of tiros i was carried out a team from nassarkse the u.s. army signal corps, fort monmouth, the u.s. naval photo interpretation center, the defense project agency, lockheed, douglas, martin-marietta. i'm proud that central new jersey can rightly claim a large share of the credit for tiros i way was engineered and manufactured in central new jersey by r.c.a., astroelectronics. one of the two command and data acquisition centers was located at camp evans. many of the scientists and

technician who worked and engineers who worked on this have recently gathered to celebrate this accomplishment. but five decades later, it's really -- it's too easy to take for granted the u.s. victory in the space race and the technological developments that were pioneered by tiros and its successors. most of us give little thought -- little thought to the satellites that bring us our daily weather images. there's the story, perhaps, of the politician who said we don't need weather satellites when we have the weather channel. well, we do. from solar cells and tape recorders to cell phone cameras and g.p.s. systems, the contributions that derive from the tiros program are not confined to outer space. tiros is a reminder of what we can achieve when we apply sufficient energy and resources, to research and development in pursuit of a national goal. the story of tiros should be a

guide to rebuilding our economy. it's a blueprint for how we can create not just jobs but whole new industries. it's a story of how america remains competitive. let us honor this legacy by maintaining the urgent spirit of discovery and innovation embodied by the tiros i team. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey's time has expired. the gentlelady from ohio reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i'd ask my colleagues support house resolution 1231, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio yields back the balance of her time. all time having been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1231. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentlelady from ohio rise? ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 1269, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope for astronomical observation by the italian scientist galileo galilei. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1269, resolution commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope for astronomical observation by the italian scientist galileo galilei. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from ohio, ms. fudge, and the gentleman will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.res. 1269, the resolution now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. fudge: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i

may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for as much time as she may consume. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.res. 1269, a resolution commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope for astronomical observation by the italian scientist galileo galilei. i want to congratulate the gentleman from ohio, mr. tiberi, for introducing this important resolution, recognizing the work of a true renaissance man, galileo. he is known as the father of science. his numerous contributions in the areas of astronomy, mathematics lay the foundation of modern science. in fact, galileo was the first scientist to apply the use of mathematics to the study of motion. in 1609, within months of learning about the telescope, galileo constructed his own more powerful version and began observing the night's sky. with his telescope, galileo

discovered sunspots, examined the surface of the moon, observed a supernovembera and disproved the -- supernova and disproving the theory that the earth was the center of the universe, instead that the earth reinvolved around the sun. galileo's life and his many contributions to science made his name synonymous with discovery. i want to once again commend mr. tiberi and his co-sponsors in introducing this resolution and ask my colleagues to join me in voting in support of house resolution 1269. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.res. 1269, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the first use of the telescope for astronomical observation by the italian

scientist galileo galilei. to appear in the galileo's brilliant refinements of existing telescope design allowed human for the first time to discern earth's closest neighbors to a level of detail that was breathtaking. such as the valleys of the moon, fellow planets in our solar system and the moons of jupiter. most importantly, unlike his peers who trained their telescopes to look across earth's terrain, galileo instead aimed his telescopes to look out into the heavens. 400 years later, who could have imagined the transformations unleashed by galileo and his search of the night skies both in terms of design and capabilities of informing earth's inhabitants their genius and their place in the universe? today, ground-based telescopes sitting high atop mountain peaks are collecting immense amounts of data.

enabling astronomers to discover new details about our solar system, our galaxies and our universe. this is important. findings raise new questions leading to follow research campaigns all across the globe. special based telescopes which have only been launched in the last several decades have been equally spectacular. virtually every citizen on earth have seen pictures produced by the hubble, compton, spitzer, all-space telescope and the future of space-based and ground-based promises to be exciting. to cite one example, nasa is hard at work completing the completion of the james webb space telescoped scheduled to be launched in 2014. it's designed to look at the infrared spectrum and will have a mirror 21 feet across, far larger than the newest one.

few men and women all across the globe probably no field of science is more captivating and more exciting than astronomy. galileo and his early telescopes provided the foundation and this resolution rightly acknowledges his genius. thank you, mr. speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: i reserve, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. mr. hall: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from ohio. ms. fudge: mr. speaker, i urge support of h.res. 1269, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from yields back the balance of her time. all time having been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1269. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are

suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new mexico seek recognition? mr. heinrich: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 24 as introduced. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 24, a bill to redesignate the department of the navy as the department of the navy and marine corps. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new mexico, mr. heinrich, and the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jones, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume and ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks

on the legislation under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he might consume. mr. heinrich: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 24, to redesignate the department of the navy as the department of the navy and marine corps. i want to thank my colleagues for bringing this important measure before the house. this bill has the co-sponsorship of an overwhelming majority of this house. it has been part of the house passed national defense authorization act for the last eight years. if is time this change was made and i want to thank representative jones for his tireless efforts in this regard. the national security act of 1947 defines the marine corps, army, navy and air force as separate services, each with distinct statutory mission. by designating each service's commanding officer as an equal member of the joint chiefs of staff, the goldwater-nichols

act reinforced the idea that we have four separate services. this bill supports that notion. mr. speaker, the purpose of this bill is to provide the marine corps equal recognition among the services that it deserves, even while it preserves the historical relationship that the navy and the marine corps have enjoyed for over 200 years. i urge my colleagues to support this important measure and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he might consume. >> i want to take this time to think chairman ike skeleton, ranking meck muck mckeon, who have been supportive of this legislation for the last eight years and it's because of the leadership of both that this bill is on the floor today, for

which i'm very grateful. mr. jones: as mr. heinrich said, it's interesting that the marine corps has such a history, that they are so revered by so many americans, just like those who serve in the army, the navy and the air force. yet when it comes to the fact that the marine corps is somewhat like a child at the family reunion, meaning they are part of the family but they just aren't seen as the family. i make that mention for this reason. a few years ago this cap was given to me by the secretary of the navy. this cap says navy-marine corps, one fighting team. yet this one fighting team doesn't carry the name of both services. i'd also like to mention, and again i want to thank the 426 co-sponsors, we got 11 names

today so they could be part of this effort. many people would say, why did you and others want so badly to build that type of support? it's because, as mr. hinrich said, the senate -- as mr. heinrich said, the senate has been the down fall of this effort. i can say, mr. speaker, that in the past eight years, there have been so many comments by people who support this legislation and groups that i'd like to name a few in the time that i have. first of all, this year alone, h.r. 74 has these associations that support it. the fleet reserve association, marine corps league, national defense action committee, national association of uniformed services, veterans of foreign wars and marine parents. in addition to this, years ago

in this effort that mr. heinrich made reference to, eight years, i want to read just one statement from the honorable wade sanders, deputy assistant secretary of the navy for reserve affairs. this is what he said, and i read verbatim. as a combat veteran and former naval officer, i understand the importance of the team dynamic and the importance of recognizing the contributions of team component. the navy and ha marine corps team is just that a dynamic partnership. it is important to symbolically recognize the balance of that partnership. mr. speaker, in addition to that, i'd like to share with the debate today, it was -- it caught me by surprise back in 2005 from your home state, i was notified that the "chicago tribune" editorially supported this bill in 2006.

and i just want to read a paragraph. step up for the marines. the marines have not asked for complete autonomy, nothing structurally needs to change in their relationship with -- relationship with the navy, which has served both branches well. the corps only asks for recognition, having served their nation proudly and courageously since the colonial day, the leathernecks have earned a promotion. i want to thank the house again, all they're saying is the marine corps deserves recognition. mr. speaker, if i could make a couple of other points, then i would reserve my time. one of the opponents to this legislation is in the senate, and at that point, i looked up the history. he was a member of the class of 1958. in 1958, the football field at annapolis was known as the navy

memorial football stadium. after that distinguished gentleman graduated in 1959, they changed the name of the football stadium at annapolis to be the navy-marine corps memorial football stadium. and this year, when we're here on the weekend, i was watching the notre dame-navy football game and i noticed a jersey that the -- that annapolis was wearing. i know you probably can't see this, but i can make my point. mr. speaker, on the front it says navy. on the left sleeve is the marine corps anchor and globe. on the right sleeve is the navy anchor. they understand teamwork. they understand one fighting team. and the house understands one fighting team. and that's why it's so important today that we're having this debate and again, i thank each and every one that's been part of this.

i want to reserve the balance of my time, i've got one close and then i'll finish this debate. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new mexico. mr. heinrich: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. schiff. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. schiff: i thank the gentleman for yielding. thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in strong support of h.r. 24. the proud history of the united states marine corps began with the founding of the continue neble marines in 1775 to conduct ship-to-ship fighting to provide ship security and discipline and assist in landing forces. today the marine corps is an elite light rapid deployment fighting force which includes over 1,000 active personnel. the men and women of of the marine corps served a vital role in protecting the united

states and americans around the world. they edeserve equality with the other branches of our armed services. after world war ii, the war department was designated the department of defense as a means to update paradecision. in 1947 -- to update tradition. the mayne marines are not seeking separation if the navy. the long and proud tradition of our marine corps and navy working side-by-side would be codified by passing h.r. 24 and officially recognize the marine corps as equal partners in protecting our nation. in his speech at a recent news conference supporting this name change, retired gunnery sergeant and a familiar face to all of us who enjoy the history channel, r. lee armey said, we don't want a uniform change, we just want the future marines

who shed blood nor hair gsh -- for their country receive respect and distinction in the department they fall under. this doesn't create another department or change the internal budget process for the navy or marine corps nor does the change diminish their proud traditions this change strengthens their relationship and shows the world they stand together through a formal recognition of this partnership. i urge all members to support h.r. 24 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. jones: i want to thank mr. schiff for those excellent remarks about this bill and the need for proper recognition. again, it is no more and no less than recognizing the marine corps as part of the one fighting team, navy and marine corps. mr. speaker, i want to thank mr. schiff also mentioning the gunnery sergeant lee armey

whose become the national spokesman. there's a website, marinecause.com, that anybody who would like to see this issue and maybe join with the petition they could do that. but we did a news conference about five weeks ago and the marine corps league, and i want to thank mike bloom and the league for hosting this news conference in the canon building. lee armey came, he's quite an interesting american, he's quite a patriot as well. but at the news conference, the speakers were that day, i made the opening remarks and then pat roberts, senator roberts who has put a companion bill in on the senate side, 504, he himself is a retired marine officer he spoke. then we had a young man named eddie wright. i never will forget him. eddie wright lost both hands in iraq for this country. he came and at the news

conference he told the story of how much he loved the navy. he said, here i am, a marine, i would have died without the coremen saving my life. he said, we are one family. that's why i think this legislation is so important. and again, eddie wright laz lost both hands. in addition, there was a father , dick lynne from richmond, virginia, and he was telling the story that when he received his condolence letter, when his son died, died in iraq for this country, this is the condolence letter. we've taken the names out of it. it's not the one mr. lynne received. but it's just so ironic that the marine family, whose son died for this country, that they receive a letter that says, the secretary of the navy , washington, d.c., with the

navy flag. it says, on behalf of the department of the navy, please accept our very sincere condolences. you know, a condolence letter certainly is important but if this should become the law, mr. speaker, mr. lynn and every other family would receive a condolence letter that would say, the secretary of the navy and marine corps. with the navy flag and the marine flag. the department of the navy and marine corps, please accept my sincere condolence on the loss of your loved one. mr. lynn gave one example about the importance of team he said my father was a world war ii navy veteran. he is buried in virginia. next to my father is buried my

son. he's united states marine corps. on both headstones, the father, united states navy, the son, united states marine corps, that's why i want to thank again, as i begin to close, i want to thank mr. heinrich for being on the floor today, mr. schiff for being on the floor today, i want to thank the chairman of the committee, ike skeleton, for being a supporter of this for over eight years. i want to thank buck mckeon for being a supporter of this for over eight years. it's time that the senate, i hope, will look at the fairness of this issue that will be sent to the senate, united states senate, and that's all it is, recognition and fairness to the united states marine corps who are loved and endeared by the american people. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina yields back the balance of his

time. the gentleman from new mexico. mr. heinrich: i have no further requests for time and i yield back the balance of my time as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. all time having been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 24. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new mexico seek recognition? mr. heinrich: i move to suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1132 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of theres. collusion. the clerk: resolution honoring the u.s.s. new mexico as the sixth virginia class submarine commissioned by the u.s. navy to protect and defend the

united states. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new mexico, mr. heinrich and the gentleman from north carolina, mr. jones, each will control 20 minutes. mr. heinrich: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he might consume. mr. heinrich: i rise today to support house resolution 1132, honoring the u.s.s. new mexico as the sixth virginia class submarine commissioned by the u.s. navy to protect and defend the united states. i want to mank think colleagues mr. teague and mr. lujan for their work in bringing this resolution to the floor. the u.s.s. new mexico is commissioned on march 27 of this year as the newest virginia class fast attack submarine in the united states navy. i was incredibly proud to be at norfolk naval base that day to commission the submarine and

salute the officers and crew as they set out to protect our nation at sea. 6 constructed nearly four months ahead of schedule this world class platform contains some of the most advanced technologies in the entire force. among its many capabilities, this nuclear submarine will be able to attack target to shore with highly accurate tomahawk missiles while also conducting surveillance missions in deep waters. it will move at 25 knots while submerged and remain under water for extended periods of time. advances in technology allowed the submarine to no longer require periscopes and instead use high resolution cameras incorporated with light and infrared sent soars to guide the ship the new mexico will provide important battle group and joint task force support, ensuring agility under the sea. as a proud new mexicoian i

would like to -- new mexican, i would like to thank the commissioning committee of the council for leading a five-year initialtive to name the sixth virginia class submarine after the land of enchantment. they have played a tremendous role in preparing construction milestone ceremonies and supporting crew activities throughout the entire construction of this ship. i'd also wish to congratulate ms. emilee sena of albuquerque for submitting the winning design for the crest of the u.s.s. new mexico. finally, i'd like to recognize commander mark prokopius, commanding officer of the u.s.s. new mexico and his crew for working to incorporate a sense of new mexican culture within the ship, including naming the ship's gallery, la posta, after a famous restaurant we all know in mesilla, new mexico. mr. speaker, i hope my colleagues will join me in

supporting h.res. 1132 and thanking the shipbuilders. i'd reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new mexico reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume -- mr. jones: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. jones: i'd like to thank representative martin heinrich, honoring the united states u.s.s. new mexico as the sixth submarine of the virginia class. the virginia-class submarine program is the first-class of u.s. navy attack submarines to be designed by the variety of post-cold war missions. these vessels are capable of operating in the ocean as well as the literals can travel at speeds in excess of 25 knots

and stay submerged for extended periods at sea. they named the nuclear powered submarine designated ssn-779 the u.s.s. new mexico in honor of the state of new mexico. in addition, these -- this name honors the legacy of the battleship u.s.s. new mexico, the battleship new mexico was the first turbo electric-driven battleship serving in the pacific and atlantic theaters during world war ii and earning six battle stars. although the submarine u.s.s. new mexico has only just been commissioned in march of this year, it is well on its way to living up to its name's state's legacy. she was built by general dynamic, electric boat and constructed four months ahead of schedule. achieving the shortest construction period of any

virginia-class submarine to date. the naming of this latest submarine is also appropriate because the state of new mexico and its two national security laboratories, san dia national laboratories and los alamos national laboratory have met significant contributions to the nuclear development including the advancement of nuclear powered submarines. for its own part, the state of new mexico and its residents have embraced this vessel. in fact, in response to a contest, ms. emilee sena of albuquerque designed a crest for the u.s.s. new mexico as a senior in 2007. mr. speaker, i'm pleased to join my colleague in honoring the u.s.s. new mexico as one of the most advanced submarines in the history of the united states navy and in commending all of the vuds and organizations who worked tirelessly to ensure that the

latest virginia-class submarine would bear the proud name of the state of new mexico. and with that, mr. speaker, i'll yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. speaker, at this time i have no further requests for time and i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new mexico yields back the balance of his time. all time having been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1132 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the gentleman from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. speaker, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in support of this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

the chair lays before the house an enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 3714, an act to amend the foreign assistance act of 1961, to include in the annual country reports on human rights practices and information about freedom of the press in foreign countries and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately

>> this is the daily briefing from the state department. >> what have we got, 10 minutes before the professor gets -- good afternoon and welcome to the department of state.h we are working closely with the government of pakistan regarding the ongoing investigation of the bomber in times square, and we appreciate pakistan's pledge of full cooperation and beyond that, i will defer questions to the department of justice. i think the attorney general is about to walk out and give an update on the ongoing investigation.

turning to the oil spill, we have received a number of offers of assistance from countries, international organizations. we are very grateful for those offers of assistance and we will continue to work closely with our colleagues at the department of homeland security and the lead agency with one of the coe component the united states coast guard, regarding which of these offers is ultimately accepted. but 12 nations, international organizations, have offered assistance so far, ranging from expertise to equipment. senator george mitchell is in the region for talks with the israelis on wednesday and thursday of this week and with palestinian leaders, including president abbas and prime minister faiad on friday and saturday. we certainly appreciate the arab league's support for our efforts and we hope to formally

move forward with talks later this week. assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, arturo valezuala will lead a delegation to the third u.s. sica on security on may 6 and 7 in panama city, panama. assistant secretary valenzuela is in el salvador today where he'll have a meeting with the president and he was in guatemala yesterday where he met with president colon. assistant secretary bob lake is on his way back to washington having completed -- having led a u.s. delegation to the u.s.-china subdialogue on south asia discussing regional issues with government officials and collars, he'll be completing a

lengthy trip to number of countries including nepal and bhutan. finally today, a little the potistic about this, -- a little nepotistic, we want to give a shout out to the latest numbers which cover korea from 1979 -- 1969 to 1972. it provides valuable insight into numbers on the korean peninsula in vietnam and the cold war. >> can we go back to the first thing on pakistan? >> sure. >> first of all a couple of questions about the suspect in custody, he was a nationalized citizen. can you tell me when he got a visa to get to the states in the first place before he became a naturalized citizen?

can you tell us when that was issued and what kind of visa it was? >> i think i've heard information about that. >> you've heard reporting on this? >> i think i was watching nbc. >> ok. if you've heard reporting on it, then you surely know. >> i'm not disputing that we know. i have to go sort through legal questions as to whether we're allowed to release that. >> he's been charged with a crime. >> i understand that. >> i don't think the privacy act applies here. >> i'm not sure if -- i can see a situation where if you're convicted of a crime you forfeit certain privacy acts. i've agreed to take the question. >> but i'm a little surprised you don't have the information ready to go. you clearly would have known this is a matter of interest. >> i think there's a difference between whether we are provided

full information on this individual's travel to the united states prior to becoming a citizen, that you can rest assured we have provided to the ongoing investigation, whether we're in a position to ensconce this public sli a separate issue. >> when did he apply and re-- apply for and receive a u.s. passport? >> again, well -- wait a second. again, all of these issues are subject to the privacy act. i pledge -- >> this guy tried to blow up a car in times square. >> as to his visa history, and as to whether or not -- as to his passport information, i'll take those questions, if we can release them publicly, i'll do so. >> no, no, hold on a second. you do know, it's not as if you -- the problem is, it sounds like you don't know. >> hang on a second. does the united states state department know if it has issued a visa to this

individual in the past? yes, we know. does the united states department of state know if we've issued a passport to this individual? yes, we know. again whether i can share that information publicly, i've got to consult before i can release that. >> on the cooperation with pakistan, what is it so far you're aware of, the pakistanis have done? >> i'll defer the pakistanis to announce what they've done. >> in recent months and over the last year, more and more pakistanis have become u.s. citizens, hearing that while while holding u.s. passport, they will have easy travel and access around the globe are you hearing more about this. original u.s. citizens are now more and more -- [inaudible]

>> wait a second. you've thrown a lot in that basket. we are obviously aware that we have a threat we face on an ongoing basis of individuals in this country and elsewhere who wish to do us ill. the same is true of a number of countries around the world, including pakistan and india and others. this is a global struggle. we are cooperating with these countries. it obviously, you know, we have to continue to find ways, you know, to detect these plots before they reach a place like times square. and as a government, we have been extremely successful in

thwarting a number of plots before they materialize but in this particular case, they got very, very close and we're grateful to the law enforcement officials in new york that we're able to intercept this in time. >> one more, quickly. not all pakistanis are bad, not all muslims are bad, but also, there may not be a direct government in pakistan but in 1992, the president was about to declare pakistan a state-sponsor of terrorism. but then they gave them more time they might change. but i'm asking now if anything has changed on that now because many pakistanis are here and living here, a peaceful life and this is affecting them, their everyday family life, and what they're saying, this must come to an end. what steps is the u.s. government taking, really, as far as give manager time to

pakistan, and you're telling the pakistanis, doing better, cooperating and all that. what are what is the next step from here? >> i'd be very, very careful. certainly, we are seeing, you know, cases of individuals who have links to a range of countries around the world who for whatever reason have become involved in extremist movements and are attempting to attack the united states, whether it's here in this country or elsewhere. i'd be very careful about making a broad brush statement, you know. we value our relationship with pakistan we value the fact that there are many pakistanis who have come to this country, have links to pakistan and have become citizens of this country. we are very proud of them, they enrich us as a society. i think that we all share the same goal here, which is to

determine, you know, what's behind this movement, how people that may come here to study, come here to live, all of a sudden, take a turn in a dangerous direction. we're all trying to understand what this phenomenon is and see what we can do to prevent it from occurring in the future. there's great -- across the government, there's a great deal of interaction that's going on with a range of diaspora communities here in this country because we sense the danger, we sense the concern, but, you know, we're determined to reduce this threat to the united states and to other countries as best we can. >> p.j., can you confirm that officials in pakistan have made at least one arrest in connection with this case if not multiple? >> i'm not in position to confirm anything at this point. i've seen the reporting as you

have. >> they haven't communicated that with you? >> i'm sure they have. it hasn't come to my level yet. i'm not disputing the reports that they have taken some action, you're asking me to confirm and i've seen different reports about numbers of people who have been picked up, i'm just not able to confirm one versus more. >> can you give us any details about how you're working closely with pakistan in this regard in the investigation in the last day or two? >> we have close law enforcement and intelligence relationships, you know, with pakistan and i think you can see at least circumstantially by the reporting in the last hour or two that pakistan takes this shared threat seriously and is already taking action in response to the information that -- or what we've seen over the past four days. >> have you been informed of

any dual citizenship pakistani american who was been taken into custody in pakistan? >> i'm not able to confirm that. >> is there a suspicion that this individual didn't act alone? >> you're leaping to a conclusion. that's all part of the investigation. >> can you describe -- >> hold on. >> have you made contact with the embassy here at all? there was a statement released by the ambassador. did the secretary have conversations with the state department or anyone here asking the pakistanis or involving the pakistanis in this kind of state snment >> as i just said, we are in touch with the pakistani government here and there on a continuing basis, on a wide range of issues. i'm sure through law enforcement intelligence sources, once we unearth the plot on saturday and then began to harvest the available

evidence, you know, both sunday and monday, we've alerted our law enforcement colleagues around the world and obviously, they're taking action in response. >> did the secretary have any personal involvement in these communications? >> i'm not aware of any conversations he's had with pakistani authorities over the last 72 hours. >> once you unearthed the plot -- the unearthing of the plot was a smoking car in times square. i don't think that's unearthing the blot. what is the -- the plot. w45 is the state department's role in this? are you guys just on the sidelines? >> we have a responsibility to provide information that is in our records about -- about at least one individual that is in custody. and beyond that, through dan benjamin, our special advisor

for counterterrorism, he is linked into, and is fully engaged in evaluating what we know and working cooperatively with his counterparts around the world. >> sir, please, can you clarify your comments, your official statement on pakistan is that he's an american citizen and we have nothing to do. >> my understanding is that we're talking about an american citizen. >> have you been asked or has state been asked to look into the passport or visa information of anyone else connected to this event? you said at least one person. i was just wondering -- >> let's put it this way. we have one person in custody, again, i'll refer -- the investigation itself, i refer

to the justice department. but to the extent that, let me talk more broadly if you have an american citizen who seemingly is linked to a terrorist plot, you know, we will scour our files to understand what we know about travel to other parts of the world and of course that opens up a window in terms of contacts that the individual might have had with others, you know, in different countries. that's a fundamental aspect of trying to figure out whether this is an individual acting alone or part of something broader. so we are -- you can rest assured, we are doing our part in terms of understanding, finding out what we can find out, either in our own files or working with our counterparts around the world to try to figure out what this was about. >> have you looked at his

wife's passport, he's married to an american citizen, can you comment? >> you can rest assured, as individuals are implicated in this ongoing investigation, if we have information relevant to that investigation, we're providing it to the terrorism task force. >> you are going to reach to the root cause from the taos pakistan and elsewhere, wherever he has connections? >> certainly that's part of an ongoing effort we have in our broader effort of global engagement, to trying to understand how these kinds of plots come to pass and whether through some combination of action and outreach to communities where we can see for ourselves and other countries also afflicted by this, if we can over time reduce the threat to the mutual threat that we share.

>> why is it that you're not -- why is it that you have to take the question on the visa and passport issuance? >> for one thing, i don't have the information right in front of me. >> it just surprises me. you didn't expect people would be asking about this today? whether you have the information or not, you do have the information, someone does, in this building. it's been passed on to the justice department. >> we in the state department have specific information. >> why sit you don't know -- >> that decision may not rest -- >> why is it you're not sure you do not have -- >> matt, i am certain we have -- if the united states government has issued a visa in the paths to any individual, i am certain we know that. if the united states government has issued a passport to an individual in the past, i am certain we know that. last process by which, you're asking me if we are in a position to publicly release this information. a, there are privacy act

implications, and b there are implications in terms of the ongoing investigation. so you have asked me if i will see if i can clear the release of information relative to this investigation. i'll ask that question. >> this is on terrorism, but related to russia. >> go ahead. >> the chairman of the u.s. helsinki commission, congressman hastings, called on the state department last week to formally designate a terrorist network as a foreign terrorist organization. are you doing anything about this? is there any chance you include this organization in the new list this year? >> well, those -- those are two separate processes. we do have an annual country report on terrorism that summarizes actions that we have taken to date.

and so, you know -- but the 2009 report that we're releasing shortly does not anticipate actions we have not yet taken. obviously, on an ongoing basis, we evaluate both the links of individuals and groups to terrorism activity and when appropriate we designate certain individuals or entities as, you know, foreign terrorist organizations. so, you know, i have no announcements to make in terms of this particular case. >> just briefly back to times square, yesterday there was talk that the investigation had prompted what was called increased vigilance here at the state department. obviously in terms of security. has security been increased at u.s. state department facilities here and abroad as a

result of -- in the aftermath of the times square incident? >> i will take that question. not to my knowledge, but i wouldn't rule it out. >> he may discuss with the chinese government regarding coming back to the six-party talks. what is the u.s. position on that? if he went back to the six-party talks? >> we have talked about this many times. our position hasn't changed. we would hope that north korea will return to the six-party process. there are things that north korea has to do before we can have meaningful conversations, including taking affirmative steps on denuclearization and we would trust that, you know,

if there are meetings with high level chinese officials they will stress, as we do, that the only route forward for north korea is through the six-party process. >> have you heard from the chinese government about kim jong il's visit? >> i'm not aware we have had any contact with chinese officials about that. >> you said -- let's stick with north korea for a second. >> the six-party talks can come first because south korea being that close -- >> that investigation is ongoing. i mean, i -- i would assume that the investigation -- on fwoing investigation of south korea will be finished before,

you know, north korea makes a decision to return to the six-party process. i'm not projecting anything, i'm just saying north korea has had months and months and months to make this decision and they have failed to do so. but i would anticipate the south korean investigation being finished relatively soon and i just don't know what decision north korea is going to make. >> does the u.s. -- is the u.s. on the same page with south korea on that question? >> i think there are five countries on the same page with respect to the six-party process. there's one country that's not, north korea. >> the investigation has not gentleman come to a close, you don't have anything to say about the comments that this was a north korean torpedo? >>ible that south korea has yet

-- i believe that south korea has yet to announce the final results of the investigation. >> you said 12 nations offered help. can you be more specific? >> no. >> i'm sorry, no? how do you know there are 12 then. >> all right, one more time matt. do we know who the 12 are? we do. are we going to announce them publicly? we are not. >> why not? >> well, it -- >> is there a privacy act? >> no, there's not a privacy act. if we accept the offer of assistance from a particular country, we'll announce that. but it may be some things have been offered that we don't need and some things we've been offered we do need. as we make a decision on whether to accept the offer of assistance from any country, we'll announce that.

>> and the offer -- any offer from iran? >> let me put it this way, i can't start down that road. i'm not aware of one, but i'm not going to get into the who the 12 are. >> still on the same subject. what's being done to guard against what happened after katrina, that there was a sense that a lot of international officer of assistance were -- offers of assistance were squandered or mishandled and some donors were offended. how will you avoid a very occurrence this time? >> first of all, again, let me say that we are grateful for the offers of assistance. the ones we have received. we here at the state department are maintaining a matrix of all offers of assistance. we're maintaining dialogue with each of those countries or organizations. we're working closely with

d.h.s. and the coast guard to ascertain whether or not the offer of assistance is something that we need. and we will continue this dialogue internationally as we work through these issues. >> japanese prime minister, met with the governor, mayors and people there and he first apologized for not being able to move the stem of the island, the ock gnaw what people asked for relow -- the okinawa people asked for relocation. what can you say about that? >> we value our alliance with japan. we understand that the alliance both provides benefit to the

american people and to the japanese people. it also levies a burden on the american people, the japanese people. we do recognize this. it's one of the reasons why we've been involved in intensive and lengthy process to evaluate the best way to maintain operations that are important and viable and are politically sustainable. that process is ongoing. we've had meetings even today with u.s. and japanese officials at the ministry of defense as we continue to work through this process with our allies. >> is it possible for the government to proceed with this discussion under this case? >> well, i mean, we are going to continue to work through and continue to maintain our alliance. it's in our mutual interest to do so. and we will continue this

process until we reach a successful conclusion. >> you said you were pleased, he used the word impossible when he was describing the attempts to be able to move the entire base off okinawa. he was signaling that. >> i think we have recognized throughout the process that these are complex, difficult issues. we have been grateful for the support that we have received from the people of japan and okinawa over decades. we are committed to working on a resolution that both, you know, meets our alliance requirements while also minimizing the impact on japan and its people. >> on so-called quick

inspiration platform instead of reclamation, do you think it's a feasible operation and do you think this issue is going to be resolved by the end of may deadline? >> i think the end of may was a target the japanese government provided to us. that's why we've remained committed over many, many months. as to whether this option or that option is the most viable, we'll let the process run its course. >> can you el us more about the secretary's meeting with the visiting foreign minister yesterday. specifically, i'm wondering if they talked about the idea of brazil and turkey mediating with iran. is there any sense you're getting closer to possible consensus on the sanction? >> well, i was in that bilateral with sec the secretary yesterday and the foreign minister, the conversation lasted about 20

minutes. both the foreign minister updated what he told the iranians and how he perceived the response. the secretary went through where we are in the process within the security council. i think the foreign minister indicated that there will be a high level trip to tehran in the next couple of weeks. i'll leave it to brazil to announce. and that we also would be waiting to hear what the results of that trip were. >> does the secretary feel the brazilian efforts at mediation are bearing fruit at all? is this a useful process? did you tell them we are grateful for their efforts here? >> certainly, we we do recognize the value and importance of a variety of countries engaging iran. i think we are all sending, you know, the same message, that

iran has to answer the questions that the intercommarblenunt -- international community has. it needs to respond in a meaningful way to the offer put on the table last fall. there may be a difference of opinion as to where we are in this process. i think, you know, there is a two-track process here. engagement and pressure. and the foreign minister told the secretary that if brazil continues to see what can be achieved on this engagement process. we hope that these efforts by turkey, brazil, and others might be successful. as the secretary said yesterday, we're increasingly skeptical that the iranians will change their course absent a real significant powerful statement by the international community. >> can i ask ability the middle

east? you gave some details about the meeting senator mitchell was having in the region. are these meetings already part of the talks? last time in march, as soon as you had -- >> i know, i know. why don't we do this. we'll have the meetings over the next four days, and then we'll describe to you what we achieved. >> one more. freedom of the press. yesterday was world freedom of the press. i saw the statement from the secretary. >> it's a significant day, absolutely. >> my question is, the press is the bridge between the people and the government. but many journalists face injury and death around the globe and many governments do not like the truth and

eliminate the the truth. just like the universal declaration of human rights at the united nations, why not freedom of the press at the universal level at the united nations? i think secretaries -- the secretary should take a that step now since he's in new york in this session. >> it's an interesting statement. certainly, we see the independent media as a hallmark of democratic and civil society around the world. it's why we do things like this. where we present ourselves to you every day and are held to account. and you're right, we are concerned that in many areas of conflict around the world, journalists are specifically targeted. this is of great concern to us. we have regularly -- we regularly highlight concerns we have about efforts to silence

journalists in -- particularly in societies that are going through crisis or conflict. the role of the press is fundamental to universal system that promotes freedom of expression, freedom of information, and we will continue to support that. we obviously, yesterday, the secretaries' and presidents' state -- and president's statements were to commend you for your critical role in promoting democracy around the world. >> yesterday at the museum, she had a very straight and -- a very straightforward and clear message for all governments, including the united states. she said there's a time now that press should be honored around the globe, not just in freedom of the press.

>> pretty good idea. >> the palestinian legislation council and an hour later with the ministry. it's a cloysed meeting. can you give us any information? >> if we can put one out, we will, otherwise ask me tomorrow. >> the majority of the member of the burmese government in recent days have resigned their military commissions or what have you. they've left the military. apparently in advance of the elections. this is the prime minister, most members of the cabinet. any response to that? does that improve the us a pises of their electoral process? >> it certainly -- we do encourage -- make a broader statement, not just in burma, that to the extent that figures want to take off their uniform

and pursue politics and government and civilians, that can be a constructive step, particularly in a society ruled by a military junta. that said, it's less about the die aye dentities of the individuals, depending on what uniform they wear. it's more of what they do on behalf of their country and whether in becoming civilians, they are willing to serve the interests of the entire society, in this case, burma, as opposed to the narrow constituency of -- the narrow interests of the junta. that accept by itself, you know, may create, you know, a possible positive -- may be seen as a possible positive step but we'll be guided by the actions burma takes whether it opens up whether this

represents just wolves changing the sheep's clothing or how that works out. what burma needs to do is open up real, genuine political space, not just for ex-generals but also for all people who want to participate constructively in burmese society. that's what they need to do and what they have been reluctant to do. as we said recently, we regret the election law, that it fell short of international standards. burma has to open up political space, has to have a meaningful dialogue with all of its ethnic groups in burma. if these individuals are transforming themselves in generals, the civilians can open up that space then that, we will truly eassee as a positive step. >> we live this recorded event now to take you live to the white house and today's

briefing with press secretary robert gibbs. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> yes, ma'am. >> the bomb suspect, we have a report out of law enforcement owe ferbles saying he's been connected to terror training camp in pakistan. were we now looking at someone who's not a -- someone who might have overseas ties? >> this is an ongoing investigation. part of that ongoing investigation is to examine the time that this individual spent in pakistan. but i don't have anything more to discuss on that. >> have you been able to rule out that he was acting alone? >> again, this is an ongoing investigation, and i don't have anything further on it. >> and then, one of the things that hasn't been explained very clearly is how he actually managed to get on this flight. he was on the noflse earlier

that day. -- no-fly zone. -- on not-fly list earlier that day. what happened? >> there is a process of going back looking all that happened. i think it's important to understand that the system is built with necessary and built in redundancy so that if a name is added and a carrier misses the added name that customs and border patrol, once they manifest, is locked, runs those names through a center and can identify anything that a carrier may have missed. i think secretary napolitano and others said today -- again, talked about the fact that that was built in redundancy. they caught and apprehended

that individual before the plane left, and even would have, i think she said, done so , would we have the authority to either have the plane land or turn around. so there is a series of built in redundancies, this one being the customs and border patrol checks a lock manifest to ensure that, again, if there is a mistake by a carrier it can be double checked. >> so is this a case of the mistake by the carrier? >> that is part of the investigation. >> has the president spoken to the -- spoken at -- >> b.p.? >> i tonight know. >> b.p. is now responding appropriately to the oil slick. >> see, i don't have lo to add from yesterday in terms of this. obviously, there is -- there are many different things that b.p. has expertise on and are

working on. most noticeably capping the well. we are focused on responding to the leak and ensuring minimal amount of environmental or economic disruption. that's our focus. >> and what about this oil that may or may not require or b.p. would be capped at $75 million and pay out? >> understand this. they are fully liable for cleanup and recovery costs per the pollution act of 1990. the cap is not in place. if somebody is found to either be grossly neglect, conduct willful -- involved in willful misconduct or in violation of federal regulations. there is an investigation as to the cause behind the spill.

in addition to that -- i checked on this at the conclusion of yesterday's brofinge. folks in the administration were working on legislation to lift -- lift that cap and extend it. obviously we have a situation where 75 million could easily -- we could easily top 75 million in a short period of time. we understand that. this law was passed and signed 20 years ago. so there are -- there are fail saves in that law based on the conditions that caused the spill. our administration will work with congress, democrats and republicans, to change that cap and ensure as i've said and the president has said, b.p. is the responsible party, they're the cause of this spill and they'll pay for everything involved in this spill.

>> is there another cap that you would support in this legislation? >> well, i think -- i think senator menendez's bill is at $10 billion. they are working with and thinking through various caps. again, i would -- suffice it to say, our admonition that b.p. will pay for this leak is -- they will pay for this leak. yes, sir. >> regarding reports from pakistani government that faisal shahzad had been in the training camp, did u.s. intelligence -- had the pakistanis, before this inns department took place, had the pakistani government told the u.s. government in any way about faisal shahzad having attended this camp? >> i can go back and see whether any of that came across. i will say this about the government of pakistan. obviously we're in close

contact with them and working with them on a number of issues surrounding it. >> the no-fly list, is there a difference between how airlines treat passengers on the no-fly list who are flying into the u.s. and how airlines treat passengers on the no-fly list who are flying out of the u.s.? >> i would -- i would point you to d.h.s., jake, on the specifics of that. >> the 9/11 commission recommended that there be increased security, not only on people coming into this country but people leaving this country and there are criticisms that that last part was not enacted? >> i can check with folks. again, i think it's important to stress, as i said a minute ago, the system is built with mechanisms, duplicative mechanisms, again, if a carrier

isn't picking up a change in the no-fly list, that that change can be caught when customs and border patrol go through the manifest again prior to -- prior to the flight. >> regard be abdulmutallab and the incident with shahzad, it seems both times the american people got lucky. abdulmutallab, if it had not been for the attempted terrorist's failure, we could be looking at disasters. i know the president credited innocent bystanders calling it in. according to the nypd nypd, the reason it didn't happen is because the bomb wasn't going to work. does the president -- does he just feel lucky? i mean, it feels like we dodged a bullet again. >> jake, i think as the president said today, this is a

reminder of those that seek to do tchun and its citizens -- its innocent citizens harm. it is why we must remain vigilant. it is why we are proud of the law enforcement that we have, that as you heard commissioner kelly discuss, was able to go from the scene of this possible incident on saturday night and have somebody apprehended some 53 hours later. the vigilance of, as you mentioned, citizens that are -- that notice suspicious activity. and that's why the president and this administration will continue to take all of the steps that are necessary to keep our country safe. >> does the president look at this incident and say, my god, it's just because this guy was incompetent that the bomb didn't go off, we need to take step a, b, c and d?

>> we have, jake, a very active investigation in which we'll have a course to look at all of the circumstances surrounding this and change whatever needs to be changed. >> no feeling of relief? >> no, there's -- jake, suffice it to say, each and every day the president receives information that -- of aspects of individuals that seek to do this country harm. each and every day his job is to do all that he can to ensure with his administration that that doesn't come to pass. obviously there is tremendous relief that nobody was hurt and great thanks for those that in a short period of time have done the job they needed to do to track this individual down. >> robert, i want to fullup on

that. the denver case, the christmas day case, now this case, there seems to be increase -- we've known since 9/11 -- >> there's the headley case in chicago. you mentioned the denver case which for those unfamiliar, that's zazi, an individual through -- let me make sure i'm careful here -- through methods which was apprehended. i think law enforcement continue to do a superb job in keeping us safe. >> this has been happening since 9/11 in shadows. now under the president's watch, the american people have seen this playing out a lot more and to actually being terror attacks and lives lost. do you think the terrorists are increasing of their efforts much more now than they were a

year or so ago? >> i can't speak to the patterns that they're involved in. i can speak to the patterns that this administration is involved in and the fact that we have greatly increased the -- our tempo as it relates to terrorist activities throughout the world on a number of continents. i think that's the president has been very focused on that since the time he came to office. >> the no-fly list question. you say it's being investigated now. after the christmas day terror attempt, there were all kinds of review by the white house in -- >> let me make sure i understand. there's an active and ongoing investigation that is working through a whole host of issues so, yes. >> after the christmas day attack, the president ordered reviews here of his administration about the terror watch list, etc., and then he came back to the white house

after being in hawaii january 5 and saying, quote, i want specific recommendations for corrective actions to fix what went wrong. i want those reforms implemented immediately so this doesn't happen again. here we are four months later, someone put on the no-fly list, and was able to get on a plane anyway. >> let's get the course of the facts here before we jump to any series of whies and what fors based on the -- based on the fact of how this works. customs and border patrol found and apprehended that suspect. that person was on the no-fly list and that plane didn't fly. and that individual didn't ply. -- fly. >> in the case of the christmas day terrorist, the president said he ordered reviews to sort all of this out. how can the american people have confidence in these

various terror watch list, no-fly lists, since they are able to get on planes? >> obviously you are talking about two different cases and quite frankly two different lists. you are talking about a tides list and a no-fly list. the individual was on a no-fly list and as a result of being on that no-fly list and the kutz oms and -- customs and border patrol checking the manifest once locked for a flight leaving for this country the same way they check inbound flights, that individual was pulled off a plane. >> it had left. they pulled it back. >> we're working through some of the tick to be. understand this, jake -- tick tok. understand this, jake, this individual was identified as a course of customs and border patrol and apprehended.

he didn't fly. >> the airline employees saw he paid cash at the last minute and then alerted folks. the plane did leave the gate. >> i'm checking on some of the tick tok on this. understanding again -- let me go through some of the tick tok on this. >> the car started smoking about 6:28 p.m. on saturday night. the president when he put out a release on saturday night said he was briefed on this at 10:45. is that the first time he was brofede? >> yes. >> are you concerned that there are four hours when this started -- it was times square. it was shut down. are you concerned about the time it took four hours? >> i was at -- i was sitting on the same stage as you are. and reading emails from the situation room about -- [inaudible] there were many of us being note advise. in fact, -- notified.

in fact, i was sitting -- from where i was sitting, the advantage point where i could see most squarely was the mayor of new york. so throughout the course of this, yes, i'm checking and seeing updates about a possible situation which in all honesty we get a lot of, whether it's something that might come from a flight or some passenger might say something that -- we went through this on the trip to prague. so obviously many of this were alerted. john briefed the president right after he left. roit after he left. >> you mentioned the headley case and the christmas bomber.

is the perception of the white house that there has been an increase in attempted attacks during the presidency? >> i was listed high-profile cases and i just added one to that list. i don't know, chip, in looking at statistics whether that's the case or not. >> you also said in response to that that the president is -- has increased the tempo against terrorists in continents around the world. do you think part of that is in response to that? >> i don't know. look, there are obviously people that seek to do this country harm, that are opposed to what the country outlined in afghanistan. in terms of increasing our military presence in order to ensure that the taliban and its extremist allies aren't allowed to take power in that country again and provide a safe haven for al qaeda in a situation

that they had prior to 9/11 that allowed them to train and plan the attacks that were executed on that day without disruption. so whether it's increased tempo, whether it's afghanistan, i don't know the answer to it exactly. i'm sure there are some that have cited both of those for -- cited both of those decisions for their misguided and murderous rages. >> is it the president's working assumption that there are other people out there right now planning these kinds of attacks? >> safe to say, chip, we each and every day, each and every night both the president and all of those charged at a federal, state and local level in keeping this country safe are on alert for anything that could happen. obviously we are vigilant in

all that we do. >> are there some attacks or at least plots at some form -- at some level that never become known publicly. >> if i say yes then they'd become known, wouldn't they? again, i'd simply love it at the fact that, look, the president and the team come across a lot of information every day about those that seek to do this country and its citizens harm. >> you said earlier that the administration is in close contact with pakistan and working closely with pakistan. is the president personally involved in that? has he made any calls? >> the only calls that he's made that i know of this morning or this afternoon -- well, he called the head of the customs and border patrol to thank him for the great work that they did in this case. and he spoke with the governors

of arkansas, mississippi about flooding. >> the supreme court, any rule out this weekend? >> i will say -- many of you have emailed me throughout the morning and the afternoon about -- i even got an email early afternoon about whether i could rule out all of tomorrow. so i'll just -- i will just simply say that when the president informs us that he's made that decision, we will notify you as to when that announcement will be. i'm not going to every day rule in or rule out when that might be. [laughter] sorry. you guys are giving me a calendar like, circle possible days and sort of narrow this

down. i have -- i said almost the same thing yesterday. the exact same thing yesterday that -- that did not cut down on any of my email traffic. i will not penalize all of you. anything ending in y is still applicable. >> you mentioned a series of redundancies as far as the no-fly list. can you lay out a case how this works? the airlines check the no-fly list against the passengers. >> i can see if -- i would point you to d.h.s. in terms of -- i'll say this. contact d.h.s. about what they are going to publicly give you. i don't -- i'm happy to say there are built in redundancies. i don't think it would make a ton of sense to enumerate publicly exactly what the process is in the event that somebody uses that to figure

out how -- to get around anything. >> i guess what i hear you saying essentially the system worked because c.b.p. yanked this person off the plane. did they miss any opportunity to do that or was that their first opportunity to detect this person, they availed themselves of it and it was successful? >> again, i'd point you to d.h.s. but whatever term you want to use, the no-fly list provides a list of individuals not allowed to fly. customs and border patrol identified and individual that shouldn't be allowed to fly and he wasn't. >> do you think the system worked if a person on the no-fly list was able to get on it? >> i think the system is set up

to provide, as i said, the type of redundancy which any good system would be set up to do. a suspect was identified, surveiled, apprehended, is in custody, is in -- is being questioned, is providing, as the attorney general and others said, useful and valuable information and will soon start the process, the legal process of being brought to justice. so whatever term you want to use, a suspect was identified and in a rather short period of time is providing information that is helpful and is in the process of soon formally entering the justice system. >> secretary napolitano said even if the plane had taken off, the d.h.s. has the authority to turn the plane

around. is the president concerned about a set of policies, a set of procedures that would allow that to happen? i mean, in other words, once the plane has taken off, it's not as though it's easy come, easy go, and that a person on the no-fly list could potentially cause some havoc. is there any policy change? >> i'm not entirely sure what you're alluding to. but i would say obviously each passenger and their luggage is screened as they would be for any flight. so i'm not -- i don't know if you were alluding to something, it's important to understand that both sets of that screening happens as a matter of -- as a matter of every flight. >> it wasn't extra scrutiny, was it? >> i don't know the answer to that. but he went through the process of being screened.

>> do you think the president is comfortable with the way the procedures are set up? we can do a little better. >> i think we will obviously, as we would and as we do in every situation evaluate -- evaluate everything. but, again, there was a system that provided a name on a list, intended not to have an individual fly. customs and border patrol, using that system, found that individual and he was apprehended and wasn't allowed to fly. >> who, if anyone, at the white house was consulted on the procedures used to interrogate the suspect? >> well, i would say questioning and interrogation on those aspects obviously john

brennan here. the intelligence community, including the c.i.a., the director of national intelligence, the national -- the national counterterrorism center, and the department of homeland security have all been part of those decisions. >> was the high-valued interrogation team called on? >> it draws on the expertise and the resources of them. >> it draws on the -- >> expertise and the resources. i am not going to get -- i am not going po to get not identities of who exactly is in the room. again, draws on the resources of it, yes. >> and on a much comparatively lighter note, could you talk

about why the white house will or will not get involved with the hawaii special election which looks like a division between two democrats, going to hand a democratic seat to -- >> let me get some answers for you on that. i have to admit i have -- i love hawaii but i've been focused on flights and oil today. but we will get you something on that. >> robert, in lieu of circling today on a calendar, can you say whether the president has completed the process of interviewing candidates for the nomination? >> i'm not sure. >> has he spoken to justice stevens about his replacement? >> i can check on that. i don't know the answer to that, to be honest with you. >> and on a speech today -- >> i am laughing at you, mark, but april, who started this process many weeks ago, appears to have in her head formulated a different way to ask what she asked several weeks ago.

don't worry. we'll get back there. you can try one more-time. if you'd like to follow on mark. make sure mark is done. >> in a speech to the business council, the president again today urmingd them to rein in their lobbyists. doesn't the president think that corporations have a right to express their true and try to get their, you know, wishes done in commerce? >> well, i think what the president was speaking specifically about is as those lobbying activities relate to financial reform. the president believes that financial reform is in the best interest of those on wall street, those on main street and all those who do business with both. we have to have a system in place where the rules of the road do not allow what happened almost two years ago from

happening. that -- i don't think any business believes that the economic downturn that was accelerated greatly by and in many ways caused by some of the risky decisions that were made on wall street. i don't think any of those businesses think it's been a great time for them. the president believes that the -- one of the ways to put our economy back on that strong foundation is to have strong rules for the road with financial reform. >> but if a company believes that the wall street reform that he wants is not in the company's best interest, don't they have the right to lobby against it as on any bill? >> they have the right to be wrong that it's not in the best interest of this country or that company to have strong rules. the president vehemently disagrees with that. i think, again, i don't know of

-- i don't know the business that can look back at the time dating back to 2007 and think this was a -- think this was a robust time for them to be selling what they're selling or offering what they're offering based on the fact that it's hard to sell those products when 8 1/2 million people lost their jobs. the president thinks it's in the best interest of all those involved, including business, to support strong financial reform. let me go to april. >> yeah. following up on the supreme court. just in one of your answers. it seems like he's close to, if he has not, he's close to finishing up his interview process of the potentials. is that today, tomorrow, sometime this week? seriously, the way -- >> it would narrow down the decisionmaking process if i could close down the decisions.

>> the interviews are somewhat different than the process of the ending of the process. >> well, i said this. i think i said -- i hope i said -- bless you -- goodness. that this is a process that's not yet finished. >> so when the president went into it, he had the mindset what have he was looking for in a candidate. is he in the midst of talking to all of these potentials, has he come away with what he wants and maybe gotten more than what he expected in talking to you guys? >> april, for a lot of reasons, don't want to get into what he's told us. >> close to the end of the list -- i mean, not the list, the process, possibility. could you talk to us about the list of potential? could you tell us -- >> names. >> i would love --

>> i realize, april, you've narrowed this down for me -- poor mark was way too subtle. what about tomorrow or maybe later this week. all you want is the date in which the process of his decisionmaking will be concluded and the names with which he'll go through that decisionmaking process. >> i want information. >> i appreciate the opportunity to be more fulsom on each of those -- on each of those questions. i will come back. >> at the time of the suspect's arrest, did he have any dangerous weapons or tools in his possession? >> i would -- -- i don't offhand know that, ed. i'd refer you to the department of homeland security. >> and secretary napolitano earlier said, characterized this as a one-off event.

is that statement inoperative? >> again, as -- i think rather than getting into characterizing a lot of those things in the midst of an active investigation, i think we will just simply continue that process of the investigation and have more to say as it transpires. >> finally, can you give us any information about the suspect's path to u.s. citizenship and what he was doing in the united states? >> nothing i want to discuss, no. >> the moment of tension between the u.s. and israel has fallen after the president's lunch today. did they reach a meeting of the minds? >> i think you heard -- i think you heard him say about his lunch with the president. they had an opportunity to both talk about and agree on the need to move forward with that

peace process. i am not going to get -- i don't want to go further than he would -- in characterizing what they discussed. >> on the deep water horizeon spill. senator nelson, which is one of the people sponsoring the legislation that would raise the economic damages to $10 million also says that the president's on a hopes for expanding offshore oil drilling are dead on arrival. is the briefing today -- i think it's going on now -- >> i think there is a -- i believe there is with secretary salazar -- >> and a whole host of other officials. is that intended to maybe facilitate the passage of this legislation to deal with some of the concerns that the spill has on people who might have been prepared to support the president? >> this is a bipartisan,

bicameral briefing on the federal response thus far, as you mentioned on, on the b.p. oil spill. the actions that we've taken to date. the president has asked for secretary salazar, head of the department of the interior, and has purview over drilling issues, to investigate what happened with this inns decisions going forward on our offshore policy. >> as for critics who are calling this your katrina, is there -- president obama's katrina. >> can i say this? i watched fox yesterday. you opened both the double

doors and voila, here i am. >> fox is calling this your katrina. >> fox had a very special and unique interview with michael brown. you opened it and i had to do it. who, for those of you who weren't let in on the big secret, brown, fema director brown, intimated on fox, and it wasn't -- i will editorially say didn't appear to be pushed back on real hard -- that this spill was leaked on purpose in order for us to walk back our environmental and drilling decisions and that the leak that we did on purpose got out of control and now is too big to contain. so suffice it to say -- suffice it to -- >> mr. browns a attribution.

>> i -- mr. brown's attribution. >> i hoped that mr. brown -- >> i'm asking you -- >> you should call headquarters, my friend -- >> i'm asking you. >> and ask to put people like that -- i'm not sure, wendall, the fact it -- is going to change the notion that your network put out the former fema director to make the accusation that the well had been purposely set off in order to change an offshore drilling decision. >> nor would that affect the reporting that i should do. >> you and major should -- >> let's move on from it. >> maybe can you go on a conference call. >> are there lessons learned from -- >> from? >> from the b.p. deepwater horizeon oil spill?

>> look, i think -- >> horizon oil spill? >> look, i think first and foremost we are focused on the efforts that i discussed on capping this well and ensuring what escapes from that well doesn't do damage to the environment or to the local economy. and ensuring we have mechanisms in place to deal with that possible spread. we will have a chance to go back and look at the conditions that led to, and that's what secretary salazar is tasked to do, to look at that and to make evaluations as to anything that could have been done differently. i will say the coast guard responded immediately to a fire explosion among the b.p. deepwater horizeon with four

vessels as part of those recovery efforts. >> robert, in the list you gave us earlier about recent terrorist acts, major nadal hassan, is he on there too >> i would add him too. >> in connection to pakistan, are you looking at the apparent reversal, economic reversal that this guy has suffered recently as a possible motivation? >> again, i would say at this point in the investigation, i think any and all leads are being actively looked at in determining where this individual went and what this individual was intending to do, sure. how are you? >> i'm good. you are not always going to these this late? >> this would have overlapped with the attorney general and the secretary of homeland

security and didn't think it made a whole lot of sense for you guys. we will try to do these at a more sane hour. >> accepting your argument about the process of redundancies and i will -- >> that's pretty good. >> do you -- so accepting that, i can see how a passenger could get on a plane passed airline personnel on a no-fly list, but once they are on the plane before they leave the gate, does this mean that there is no -- i mean, it's a no-fly list, so the plane, there's not in the background these redundancies checking planes so they don't even take off before the backup regulators can attest that everyone on that plane is not on a no-fly list? and as a practical matter possible for planes to be held at gates until all the people

who can weigh in on this do weigh in? >> let me, again, let me try to get better clarity from d.h.s. because i think what you're asking -- well, let me just take a look at -- i think i know what you're saying in terms of when the redundancy happens. >> does it happen before -- >> let me get with d.h.s. and others on that. >> possibly, wouldn't that conflict -- i mean, federal regulations limit or hold airlines accountable for their taking off on time and are personalized if they too often don't take off on time, is there a conflict there between federal regulations on takeoff? >> i can check on it. that's not something that i've heard talk about today, but i can certainly check on it. >> robert, admitted low, you have all these redundancies and

backups and the rest of it. my question is the president's view of all this, is he not troubled that the first layer was a pass-through? that the suspect got on the plane -- >> mark, we are in the process of -- we're in the process of at this early hour, we will go back and see the timing which the information was added. there obviously is a carrier element to all of this in -- and we will investigate whether that carrier element was acted upon. but i -- >> [inaudible] is it not troubling that he got through? >> well, i think it's important to understand that the reason that that redundancy is built in is because you don't want to leave any and all of this complotely up to a carrier. you want -- no, no.

i understand. i just want to make the point that that's the reason the system is designed in a way that ensures that the action of, one, doesn't determine the entire outcome. so that's the reason that i think it's important to understand that even at that point there is -- there is a step beyond quite frankly this is somebody who -- this is a locked manifest. this is here is the people on our plane as part of that flight plan and can be doubled checked through customs and border patrol sending that list to a center to be checked against the no-fly list. >> it was later taken off and the plane left the gate?

>> there's still the fact that the man was on the plane and -- >> again, we're looking -- mark, we're going to look at every aspect of what happened. again, understanding that the way the system is designed is to ensure that many actions can check the actions of others. and in this case that's why the no-fly list identified this individual. yes. >> going back to the supreme court. any of the events in the last three days make the president reluctant to choose someone like janet napolitano if she's in a role that he thinks he needs her in, has her chance been decreased? >> i think he's enormously grateful for the work that she has done and the amount that just over the, as you said, over the past few days. please don't read anything into the fact that i'm laweding her

for the current job that obviously the president has a number of choices in front of him. i'd use this opportunity just to say that the president believes that she is and many people that worked throughout law enforcement and at d.h.s. are doing a terrific job. >> that -- >> i can only -- just thinking in my head what exactly are the headlines saying right now as i say nice things about -- >> janet napolitano might be picked. >> i can only -- this will be fun to watch. >> on something completely different. >> spin the wheel. i'm ready. >> tomorrow on the cinco dimaio event, is the president going -- de mayo event, is the president going to talk about immigration reform? >> i don't. >> i think he caused some confusion about where he stood and there's been a strong reaction from the hispanic community about that. i'm just wondering.

>> i'll check -- >> and is there anything else he's doing now that he's not going to new jersey? >> i have not gotten any scheduling updates. as best i know we have not added an additional event. >> speaking about immigration, the president has obviously been pretty critical of the law in arizona, calling it misguided, suggesting it may violate federal civil right laws. what is his thoughts on boycotting arizona? >> i have not heard him render an opinion on that. >> robert, senator mccain said it would be a mistake to read shahzad his rights before questioning. how do you analyze that? >> carefully. again, i think it's important to understand that these are decisions that are made in consultation with the intelligence community and with highly trained counterterrorism

officials. who have -- are no less vested in getting every last bit of information from an interview and interrogation that is best as possible. i think the insinuations that that is somehow not the case i think is somewhat an affront to law enforcement on a day on hope they -- some of the comments have been curious. to mention that -- what was one of the comments? i know he's an american citizen but still. the unique viewpoint. >> was that a factor at all on when to mirandize him? >> well, the attorney general said he originally interviewed under a national security exemption and as i understand

it the guidance was after checking with those in the intelligence community that that task was given to, again, those highly trained counterterrorism officials he waived that. at least when i was coming out, i was under the impression he was going to continue to be questioned. >> public safety -- >> do you know if the administration is considering stop drilling in the arctic? >> i'll check on that. do you have dates for -- let me -- test drilling in alaska? ok. let me check. >> is the national security exemption and the national public safety basically the same things? >> i meant to say public safety. i was in my head thinking the same thing. i have not created a new exemption. sorry. >> on the cost of the oil spill

-- >> uh-huh. >> in terms of what b.p. is liable for. is it damages or are you keeping tabs on sending the coast guard, all the federal costs, the c-130's that had to do flights? >> that has been discussed. that is part of the cleanup and recovery efforts that b.p. would be liable for, yes. >> robert, has the president thought that drilling was safe when he made his relatively safe and that there were very few accidents that happened when he made his statement five or six weeks ago? why wouldn't he say, i was obviously mistaken? >> i think there are series of things you want to examine and investigate as part of what may or may not happen. is there a -- is there a technological -- was there a technological failure? are there additional steps or -- i hate to use the word since

we've done it a lot today -- redundancies in a blowout preventer in a valve that is or is not part of a what is or may not be required by law now? again, understanding, richard, that even in the area of the gulf that we're discussing, there are lots of exactive wells. -- active wells. i heard the president say this yesterday, the president -- the president believes that domestic production has to be part of our overall compre helpsive energy strat -- comprehensive energy strategy. even though we have not invested a lot of money and helped others invest more in wind and solar power, that alone isn't going to change it. the president's decision on loan guarantees for a nuclear plant, that alone won't change

it. there are a host of things that we have to do to solve our growing dependence on foreign oil. and the president will -- is eager for -- to note the findings of this investigation and we will use those findings to make any of those decisions moving forward. >> just quickly on the 75 million, raising that cap, could that be retroactive sm >> as i understand it, the legislation introduced by senator menendez and others, does go back and do that retroactively. obviously we would be supportive of that. >> robert, a couple more questions on the spill. you talked about with great confidence that you are going to be able to recoup this money from b.p., yet, the laws currently exists requires the determination of gross negligence. should we assume that -- >> let's be clear. under that law those are the three cap lifting exemptions

that the legislation that i just talked about would seek to change and we have been working on efforts to do that. >> is it constitutional or retroactively alter a loss so that it applies to a retroactive circumstance? >> i think it's been done -- i've been asked about retroactivity as it relates to other compensation, yes. >> also, it appears from a briefing with congress today that this particular platform had been inspected shortly before the accident. >> right. >> perhaps as soon as two weeks. could you explain what you know about that? >> you know, i don't have anything beyond what assistant secretary of the interior, david hayes, in the briefing that we would have done last thursday, made mention. i forget the exact time period that he made mention of when -- of when that rig had been

inspected. i can go back and see. that's all i've seen or heard on that. >> and one quick question on the terror in the times square plot. we've been fairly lucky, as you said before, of the ineptitude of these folks. do you think the american people should be braced that we will see a successful terrorist attack? >> i can't -- i'd rather simply leave it at the fact that as i said earlier, this administration, this president is doing all that they can within their power to prevent anything from happening. i'll just leave it at that. >> did the security -- any of the security changes put into place in the wake of flight 253 bomb [inaudible] in the times square? >> i'd ask john that question and i have not been able to get something from him yet. >> just a real quick question

on the middle east peace process on the day which he met with the president. it was reported on friday that president obama had spoken to european leaders and told them that if talks between israel and the palestinians are made stalemated from october to september he'll convene an international summit on peace. can you confirm if the president is going down there? >> let me check with n.s.c. i have not heard that but let me check with them. >> well, i get the president that unlike governor schwartz nager, unlike certain -- schwarzenegger, unlike certain governors, if the damages gets greater, does he change his mind at some point? >> on the plan that he

announced in march? >> yeah. >> i certainly -- i would not rule it out. again, the reason the president asked for -- asked for secretary salazar to do this investigation whether or not there was anything that could or should have been done that would likely have prevented something like that from happening. obviously he told us very specifically that though the 30-day period does not augment any leasing or drilling activities that i'm aware of the president wants to use that investigation to inform him of anything going forward. obviously he'll take that into accord.

there are, as i've said, there are many, many wells that have been drilled and explored in that section and area of the gulf. this is a little bit more unique because it is in 5,000 feet of water, not in several hundred or a hundred feet of water. obviously that's something the president will look at today. thanks, guys. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> a live picture here from the brookings institution in washington, d.c., where homeland security secretary janet napolitano and the mexican interior secretary will be talking about u.s.-mexico

security cooperation. the event should be getting under way shortly. we do understand that homeland security secretary napolitano was delayed at the white house for a period of time, but, again, the event should start soon. and we'll have it for you live here on c-span. until it does, a portion of today's "washington journal" when we heard more about key races and primaries being held today in indiana, ohio and north carolina. financial regulation bill. we will talk about that next. first an update on politics. it is primary day in three states. caller a >> . >> we started to see movement within conservatives. a of course, he's

mike pence is supporting him. governor mitch daniels is not supporting him but jeb bush and marco rubio down in florida, he's giving his support to him. we could see a rigged turnout. we have to watch where the numbers are tonight. if coates wins, he whips into the general election against a strong democratic nominee, brad ellsworth, who, of course, is a current congressman. >> what about in the house? guest: dan burton, a lon-time republican, safe republican seat in central indiana, faced a tough renomination battle last in 2008. he barely won 52% to 45% in that republican primary. his opponent in that race is

running again. but so are a lot of republicans running to try to defeat him in his renomination battle. there are two or three very big names. luke messer, who is a former indiana executive director. also a former state representative. mike murphy is state representative. and the 2008 nominee john legoff. we'll see if john burton can survive that anti-incumbent wave. and mark souder. this is a very republican district that mark souder has not yet to lock down. he faces a republican challenge from a very wealthy auto dealer, bob thomas, who has put in about $200,000 of his own money. we'll see if bob thomas can defeat mark souder in that race. host: is the tea party movement a factor in those two races, in the burton and souder race? guest: you know, i think it will remain to be seen. that's what we're watching the

indiana and ohio races to find out is to what impact the tea party movement will have on it. i think it will have a lot of support, probably, a lot of support in the senate races going to people like john hostettler. it will remain to be seen today as to how successful they are in getting their candidates across the finish line. host: the new york times said three strategic road maps, they say the three states, indiana, north carolina and ohio share a common threat. president obama pulled them into the democratic column in 2008 that result elevated indiana and north carolina into the political battle grounds that ohio has long been. the democratic success has given republicans an extra measure of incentive for strong performances as they try to rebuild and regroup before 2012. john