components. there are good antibiotics. a amoxicillin that you just mentioned is the classic antibiotic for a job with an infection. pneumococcuss a common cause of middle ear infections in children and pneumonias in children and adults, particularly elderly adults. we have a very good vaccine agait pneumococcus that we give to children and the elderly. what we really need to do is to get more children vaccinated with the pneumococcal vaccine so they do not end up with these your infections that are so troublesome. -- ear infections that are so troublesom host: i know someone who gave their infant as acipro for an

infection. guest: that is not good for children. physicians generally universally say you should not do that with children under 13 years old. host: with the recent scarce at we've had, acipro became a familiar word to all of us. has it been overused? guest: probably, it has. whenever you get an antibiotic that is commonly thought of as a really good antibiotic, you would almost certainly see some inappropriate use of that. i cannot give you the numbers of how badly it is overused, but i cann imagine that it is not used in circumstances where it probably should not be used. it is a very good antibiotic.

host: michigan. caller: doctor, i've liked to have more appropriate use of kordel mirals -- colloidal minerals in the water rates, for example and i would like to see them on a national scale. host: any reaction to that call? guest: there is no scientific basis to do that at all. host: teresa, go ahead. caller: if i have an autoimmune system, such as diabetes, does that mean my system more susceptible to bacterial and anti- and viral infections?

you had mentioned the intestines allow for more absorption of nutrients, but doesn't it also allows for more absorptions of toxins? guest: two entirely separate questions. the first, if you haven't -- if you have diabetes, there is a greater susceptibility mostly to a certain bacterial infections among people with diabetes, particularly poorlyontrolled diabetes. that is a well-known observation since we have recognized diabetes as a disease. getting dr. the question regarding -- getting back to the question regardinthe changing the flora of the gut, you do not

change the lining of the debt. you change the bacterial composition of theolonies of the gut. that wou allow for more efficient absorption of certain nutrients. theris no indication when you do that that there are more toxins released. because the animals, if anytng, are much healthier, rather than getting sick. if yowere observing toxins, you would see the effect on the animals, and you do not see that. host: last fall in virginia. -- last call in virginia. caller: a couple of years ago, about seven years ago, i was treated for non-hodgkin's lymphoma. a treatment with other chemotherapy agents. the very soon after, my thyroid

decreased significantly and my levels -- might t h c levels went up. is there any link here? guest: you hve four powerful side of toxic and immunosuppressive agents. the is no one directly between an decressin function and the use of those, butt is not surprising -- between endocrine function and the use of those, but it is not surprising that when people undergo treatment for something like hodgkin's disease, there would be some of new melik -- abnormalities. it grows to be something related, but since you had such a reaction, i would not be surprised that there is a relationship between that and

your subsequent function. host: how much money is spent on research for antibiotics? guest:y institute does the invest majority of that. i would not say, all of it is done by us, but we spent a short of $800 million per year on antibiotic research. of that, about to enter million dollars is specifically to study antibiotic resistance. -- about $200 million in specifically to study antibiotic resistance. host: if you, wanted to say anything to the people of the country that are listening about the use of antibiotics, what would you say? guest: there are many life- threatening things that needed antibiotics, but do not pressure your physian or yourselfo go on antibiotics unless you have a bacterial infection that is proven or bear very -- or very,

very highlyuspected of being in you. and you will not do your body any good by creating g a resistance. >> this weekend, john paul stevens and the was supposed -- u.s. solicitor general on the justice's life and legacy. she has been interviewed for a potential replacement for the justice. >> the president got on the phone and said to me, judge, i would like to announce your this might selection to begin next associate justice of the united states supreme court. i said to him, i caught my

breath and started to cry and said, thank you, mr. president. >> see the supreme court to the eyes of the people who serve there. "the supreme court" has interviews with justices active and retired. it is available now in hardcover and as an ebook. >> a bipartisan congressional ballot prussian to the -- of bipartisan delegation was led to the gulf of mexico for the cleanup efforts under way. he is cosponsoring a bill that would create a commission to study the leak and defects on the region. after meeting with residents and interior officials, he and other members of the house, energy and commerce committee held a 10 minute news conference in louisiana.

>> thank you for being here. we are part of the delegation that came on the ground this morning. we did a flyover of the spill area and a flight over of the site where boats are working. i will introduce you to congressman ed marky who chairs the subcommittee on energy and he can take it with their -- he can take it from there. >> @ thank you. charlie wanted us to come down here to see what is going on. and to help us determine what it is we can do to help all of the people of down here in the gulf region. what we saw this morning gave us some reason to be hopeful.

it is obvious that they are in the process of trying to put a dome over the major leaks and we all have our fingers crossed and we are praying for success. we are here to see what is going on with the booms and their ability to aggregate the oil so they can engage in some controlled burns so that they can remove some of this oil from potentially catastrophic conditions being created. i think that the trip here has been very worthwhile for our committee. i think it is going to give this a real sense of what is going on here and what needs to be done. it was combined with a visit to be able to talk to the coast guard and bp officials who are

in a command and control center, working to bring this catastrophic event to a close as quickly as possible. we know that the more loyal that stayed in the ground and the lower it this is the higher our hopes can become. that is really what is happening today. we are cautiously optimistic but we're very cognizant of the technological difficulties that are going to be confronted by all of the communities along the gulf coast. we have a very distinguished delegation which was with us today. let me introduce to you congressman purchase -- burgess. >> i am the ranking republican

on the oversight committee for an for setting this up. two things that i took away is the magnitude of the problem that faces the people on the ground. flying over this bill, there is no way you can capture that from a newspaper article or a picture. the other was the degree of cooperation occurring between the coast guard and bp at the unified command center. we have all heard stories and things but i was impressed today with the level of cooperation and degree of candor and anecdotal stories we have heard about the facility which -- with which things get done. it does not seem to be the bureaucratic type that you would expect within operation this large. our job is to make sure the men

and women fighting on our behalf have everything they need in a timely fashion. there will be plenty of time for hearings about what caused the disaster afterward. cooks with us is congressman peter welch from vermont, also a member of the energy committee. >> i want to think the congressman for urging us to come down. the congressmen have aptly described the effort that is being pursued here in a very progressive and cooperative manner. what has been made very clear to us is there is going to be a lot of heartache for people in the oil industry and fishing industry. that is life down here on the gulf coast. he wanted to be known to us and impress upon us that we have to be here for those folks so they can put their livelihoods back together as soon as possible. there is immediate work that has to be done to try to end this

week. there is work that needs to be done in the future when the press goes away to get people back into their fishing boats and to help people get back into their jobs and livelihoods. we want to thank you for bringing that to the attention of us and congress. >> any questions? >> [inaudible] >> obviously, going forward, we are going to have to establish what went wrong, why it went wrong, and bp is going to have to shoulder much of the responsibility for what happened. there are other parties involved but bp was the overarching corporate entity that had given assurances that an accident of this mac -- of this magnitude

could not happen. if there was an accident, it could never reach this magnitude. we are impressed with the level of cooperation going on to deal with the consequences of this catastrophe but there will still have to be an assessment made of the culpability and responsibility for what went wrong and clearly, bp will be at the top of that list. >> if i could add, part of our job will be to ensure that all parties involved are participants in the hearings that we have. bp has significant culpability. but federal agencies responsible for the inspections that occurred, they have some questions to answer, as well. we have to be fair minded and pharaoh. people in this area deserve answers. the american people at large to serve answers and we need to get them a timely fashion.

>> if i could interject, one of the things i have told people, when you look at what happened with the exxon valdez, instead of saying you do not haul oil by ships any more, they looked at what happened, what caused the problem, remedies for the problem, and moved forward. you do not shut down oil and gas, especially when you are looking for " energy independence, without trying to figure out what it is we need to do and do it better. in the future, we should not expect this to ever happen again and that can be done as was pointed out, making sure that minerals management is doing what it is supposed to be doing and not just allowing things to move forward with a wink and nod and making sure that the oil companies know they have responsibilities and obligations to do it safely, not only for their employees but for the environment in which they are operating.

that is what i hope we will get done. >> as the congressman said, we will begin a comprehensive set of hearings and the energy and commerce committee beginning next week. we intend bond and -- on ensuring that people know everything that happens. why it happens. and what is going to happen in the future. lives were lost, livelihoods have been ruined. we have a responsibility to ensure that this never happens again and our hearts go out to the people whose livelihoods are being harmed by this. the lessons that will be learned will become alws so that -- will become laws so that nobody else has to endure what is occurring right now. thank you for coming out.

>> thank you. >> this weekend, retiring supreme court justice john paul stevens and u.s. solicitor general on the justice's life and legacy. ms. kagan has been interviewed as a potential replacement for justice stevens. >> the president got on the phone and said to me, " judge, i would like to announce you as my selection to be the next associate justice of the united states supreme court." i caught my breath and started to cry and said "thank you, mr. president." >> learn more about the nation's highest court to the eyes of those who served there through the latest book "the supreme court." it has interviews with justices,

active and retired. available now at hardcover -- in hardcover and as in ebook. with the midterm elections are just six months away and could change the balance of power in washington. watch the debates that have already taken place in key races across the country. online at the new c-span to deal library. -- video library. cables gift to america. " the bureau of labor statistics reported that the unemployment rate for april increased to 9.9%. 290,000 jobs were created, the most in four years. the chairman testified about the latest employment figures for the joint economic committee chaired by representative maloney. this is about one hour.

>> today's report from the bureau of labor statistics provides fresh evidence that the labor market is strengthening and we are on the path to economic recovery. in april, we add it to hundred 90,000 jobs, including 231,000 in the private sector. we have added over 520,000 jobs with 8% and the private sector. although the unemployment rate rose to 9.9%, the increase is due to reentrant into the labor force, a sign of increased optimism about job prospects. we have come a great distance in the past 15 months since the lows of the great recession. but getting back the jobs lost in the past decade is going to take some time. by moving quickly and taking

bold action, the obama administration and congress slowed the decline and restore the economy to growth in the second half of 2009. the recovery act, which president obama signed into law in february 2009, provided tax relief to 95 percent side of american working families. it extended unemployment benefits and created jobs while investing in clean energy technologies, infrastructure, and education. action since then to create jobs and help small businesses include the worker home ownership and business assistance act which extended the first time homebuyers tax credit and enhanced small business tax relief. the higher act which provides tax relief for businesses that hire out-of-work americans.

the house of representatives passed the summer jobs act of 2010 which supports an additional 300,000 summer jobs for our young people. in addition to the job numbers, we are seeing more and more evidence that the actions taken are working. after four straight quarters of negative growth, the economy has now grown for three straight quarters. retail sales has increased for three straight months. sales of increase -- sales of homes increased. it is encouraging to see the signs of progress and the return of job growth, we will need stronger growth to get unemployed americans back to work. as we focus on getting our national economy going, families all over are grappling with their failing economies. working mothers are key contributions to both and on monday, we will be releasing a

report that listed how working mothers have faired during this great recession. for the overall work force, unemployment remains at unacceptable high levels. almost half of the unemployed have been out of work for more than six months. almost one-third have been unemployed for over one year. african americans and hispanic workers face unemployment rates of 16.5% and 12% respectively, well above the overall unemployment rate of 9.9%. the jec began a series of reports to a better -- to better understand implement challenges among different demographic groups. we released a report on long- term unemployment in the african-american community. earlier this week, we put out a report on unemployment among hispanic workers. later this spring, we will examine the challenges facing

younger members of the labor force. hiring has started to increase but it is uneven. just two days ago, the chief economist at the treasury department testified before this committee that hiring among smaller companies remains weak. he testified that small businesses. generally the drivers of new jobs. larger establishments have been the ones to expand hiring during the recession. he testified that access to credit for small businesses is a large part of keeping them from. keeping them from hiring. i know that my republican colleagues share my commitment to do everything we can to help small businesses get the loans they need so that they can expand their operations and hire more people. we need to identify new policies that all leashed the job trading power of small businesses and support the sound proposals which have bn put

forward by the obama administration. i am particularly supportive of the 30 billion small businesses lending fund pposed by the administration because it targets small and mid-sized community banks at the cente of small business lending. while they represent 20% of all bank asset they account for more than half of allmall business loans. by transferring funds from turkey to create this fund, we can get new loans to the community, growing businesses and adding jobs. we could raise the cap on small business administration loans from $2 million to five millions. raising the cap on loans could have a powerful and positive impact on small businesses and is something we should move throughongress as quickly as possible.

while today's report on the april unemployment situation shows improvement, we still need to concentrate on creating jobs, jobs, jobs. i look forward to hearing information about the april unemployment numbers from dr. keith hall. now i will recognize my colleague. >> i am pleased in joining you in welcoming dr. hall. today's report is mixed news for american workers and their families. on the one hand, apparel implement increased by two and a 24,000 jobs, excluding -- unemployment -- overall employment increased by 224,000 .obs

the unemployed long-term have increased. a painfully slow recovery is better than a recovery, but for those out of work and waiting for washington democrats to finally focus on jobs, this report is this morning. at this slow pace, it will take a long time to return to normal employment levels. consumers and businesses are increasingly concerned that runaway government spending a the dangers web of debt couldn't send america dow the path that greece is finding itself. small businesses are reluctant to hire workers while government is demanding new taxes and more expensive health care costs. washington is standing firmly in the way of america's recovery. although real gnp grew at an annual rate of 3.2% -- although

real gdp grew at an annual rate of 3.2%, some of it wasrom restocking inventories. in line with this modest growth trend, the most recent blue-chip consensus forecast predicts that gdp will grow by 1.1% in 2010 while peril employment will gw by an average of 117,000 per month this year. unfortunately, such slow growth in payroll employment means that the unemployment rate will remain elevated. the bl chip consensus forecast predicts that it wl stille 9.4% in the fourth quarter of this year. at the same point, the reagan recovery of 99 -- of 1981-1992

was twice as strong as g growth from the current recovery these have vastly different economic picies. they could either have a tail wind with accelerating gdp growth. combined with the disinflationary monetary policies under paul volcker, reagan laid the foundation for two decades of prosperity. in contrast, presidentbama and congressional democrats have pursued largely anti-growth policies that will hinder this policy. based on cost and mandate, premium increases, and higher taxes, the cap and trade and

financial services reform and other regulatory initiatives. instead of providing encouragement, president obama and this congress have given entrepreneurs a reason to worry. yesterday, the.s. stock market fell by more than 3.2% and widespread fears that the greek debt crisis would spread to ireland, lee, portugal, and spain, n.j. ireland, italy, portugal, and spain. -- would spread to ireland, italy, portugal, and spain. after use -- after years of reckless spending, the greek government must slash spending.

there is another country whose government budget deficit and debt could readi reached alarming levels found in europe. unfortunately for the american people, that country is the united states. according to our own congressional budget office, the federal budget deficit will be over 10% of gdp this year and the publicly held federal debt will be 6.2% by the end of fiscal year 2010. if the congress adopts obama's budget, the budget deficit will exceed 4% of the fiscal year during the nt decade and a drill it held public debt will be 9% of our economy. president obama -- they are following fiscal policy that is clearly unsustainable.

reverse,t is quickly resol the u.s. could find its own deb crisis. unlike degrees, there will be no one to bail us out. >> thank you very much for holding this important hearing. like congressman raheem devaughn, i am also concerned about the debt. that is why i am a strong supporter of the bipartisan debt commission. at the same time, i think that we need to be honest about what has happened here. when president obama took office from president bush, we were in a major financial crisis. we lost the sam number of jobs in t first month when president obama inherited this

mess as the number of people living in vermont. this month, while we have the 9.9% unemployment, which is clearly traveling and not good news, this month we have added 290,000 jobs, which is the largest gain since march 2006 and the fastest growth in the st four years. clearly, it is still much goo enough. i hear time and time again in my state from people who do not have jobs. even though our unemployment rate in minnesota is 7.4%, which is significantly lower than the national average, they say that in their household it is 100% grand mayas working an extra job at night to get christmas presents for their -- is 100%. granma is working an extra job at night to get christmas presents for her grandchildren. these are real people

experiencing these real problems and that is why having a 60 net in place and makin sure that we have adequate -- having a safety net in place and making sure that we have adequate programs is important. i am looking for -- i am looking for to delving in that with you. e money went to wall street. most of it has come back. but there are still so many problems on main street. at one of our past hearings, it was like wall street got a cold bu main street gotneumonia. we also need to get the tax cuts, the standards, for our important -- the extenders, for

our important businesses. if we do not stem the tide of some of these problems and plug some of these loopholes, we will run into the same problem. yesterday's decline in the stock market was one example. it is an example of what can happen with volatility in the financial markets. i view that as part of the solution as well, to really move ahead with this economy we can get that wall street reform done. i did note that you were featured in a profile recently. i thought you were sort of under the radar screen. was that in "the washington post?" he will might even say yes because he is still under the radar screen. it was a nice profile of you and

the importance of gathering the statistics. we look forward to asking you about that today. thank you very much. >> i guess the time is the new status, the new celebrity. [laughter] madame chair, i do thank you for calling this hearing. first, we know that the consequences of unemployment are severe. the unemployed are not only vulnerable to conditions like depression, but are also at higher risk for heart attacks and other stress-related events. studies show that the

unemployed experience a shorter life span just from being employed. let me say that again. the unemployed experience a shorter life span. basicnemployment is a virus and an epidemic and requires the attention that we would give to any public health concern. for many employed workers, substantial reach training is now necessary. this retraining often requires a return to the classroom, which requires a significant financial commitment. we are asking workers to commit to serious change. as a result, we owe them a serious return in this investment in education. therefore, we need to learn it

and build on successful programs that we highlighted last week. they successfully get the unemployed into training and cked out to work. however, the record investments in education do not end with worker retraining programs in higher education. one program is in dire straits itself. the recovery act provided over $100 billion to state and local governments to ward off future layoffs. as we had hoped, the stimulus money did prevent these losses. however, we are far from out of the woods on this issue. the american assiation of school administrators issued the results in which they predict that two hundred 75,000 education jobs across the nation

are at risk for the 2010-2011 school year. george miller told the washington post yesterday that the hardest hit by layoffs or the youngest. teachers, exactly the people we need to keep teaching their kids, are affected. not only with the job losses be a tragic blow, but it is estimated that it would lead to 82,000 additional job losses from lost spending by the schools and the employees that were laid off. that is why we cannot reject focused policy. the money in this bill will love only help local economies grow, allow state and local governments to avoid a tax

increases, and keeps sufficient police and fire personnel on the streets, but will provide crucial on the job training in the private sector and give -- and keep teachers in america's classrooms. i am prone to add my name to this bill because it makes investments in educati that will help us thrived in the long run. with that, i look forward t hear the commissioner's report and i yield back. >> thank you. i would like to introduce commissioner hall. he is the commissioner of labor statistics for the u.s. department of labour. it is an independent national statistical agency that collects, processes, and analyzes the central statistical data to the american public, the u.s. congress, state and local governments, business and labor.

dr. hall also served as chief economist for the white house counsel for economic advisor for two years underresident bush. prior to that, he was the chief economist for the u.s. department of commerce. we welcome you and look forward to your testimony. >> thank you for the opportunity to discuss the employment and unemployment data fm this morning. growth -- the employment rate edged up to 9.8%. job growth is faiy widespread with gains in manufacturing, professional, and leisure and hospitality.

non-farm -- non-farm employment has grown since december and 483,000 jobs were added in the private sector. manufacturing continue to add jobs in april. three industries -- three industriesave accounted factory job gains so far this year. elsewhere, mining employment continue to trend up.

the industry has added 39,000 jobs since october. in construction, nonresidential building and heavy construction each added 9000 jobs in april. employment in professional and business services increased by 80,000 over the month. within the industry, job growth continued in temporary help services, where employment increased by three and a 30,000 since september. it also rose in services to buildings -- by 330,000 since september. it also rose in services to buildings. it is in line with average growth over the prior 12 months. itlso continued to grow in leisure and hospitality. the industry added 121,000 jobs since december, led by gains in food services. federal government employment rose in april, reflecting the hiring of the 66,000 workers for the census 27. employment in state and local governments was essentially unchanged. within traportation, employment fell in career and message and -- messenger services. turning now to measures on the survey of households -- the unemployment rate edged up to 9.9% in april and the number of unemployed persons was 15.3 million. those who re-entered the work force rose to 7 million. 6 million people had been jobless for 27 weeks or more.

they made up 49.5% of all unemployed persons, a record high. the labor force increased by 805,000 inpril. the labor force participation rate rose by 0.3 percentage points to 65.2%, an increase of 0.6% since december. the employment to population ratio incread in april and rose by 0.6 percentage point since december. among the employed, there were 9.2 million individuals working part-time in april who prefer full-time work. that is about the same as march. in summary, employment rose by 21 90,000 in april, with gains in several major industries. by 291,000 in april, with gains in sever major industries. we would be happy to answer questions. >> what are the brightest spots in this month's report?

another are a number of bright spots. -- >> there are a number of bright spots. the private sector gain was a large gain -- the biggest gain in about four years. the trend has been encouraging. every month this year, we have had job gains. we have had 573,000 jobs added so far this year. growth was also defused -- it was widespread. we have something called the diffusion industry, looking of the industries they gained and lost jobs. it looks a very detailed industries. nearly 2/3 gained jobs this month period to give you a perspective on that, in march, 2009, only about 15% of those industries gained jobs, so that is a significant improvement. manufacturing has been an

encouraging sign. it has grown for four strait months. manufacturing is around 25% of the job losses so far. nonresidential construction is showing signs of life. that had been a consistent job loser. for the last two months, we've had job growth. there have been about 260,000 jobs added there. hopefully, that is a turnaround in that industry average weekly hours have risen. this is an indicator that the labor market is tightening in improving, both in terms of the title -- tightening and improving, both in terms of the manufacturing processes. the increase in the labor force was a sharp increase. it is probably a sign of increasing confidence in the labor market by workers. i will pull out one more data point, which ihink is particularly important to look

at. the employment to population ratio. the basic logic here is, our jobs growing faster than the population is growing? it had only grown cigna valiantly -- it has been growing significantly all year. i consider that to be a good sign. >> are there signs that any additional sectors will start expanding in the near future? >> the fact that the job growth was widespread is a good sign. it means there is overall strength. that is in correcting that the job growth will -- that is encouraging that the job growth will hopefully continue to be broad. the health services at the job. that is an indicator of future job growth. the weekly hours worked continues to be a good sign. the weekly hours in construction went up a good amount. that is a good sign in an industry that has borne the

brunt of the job ls. >>re there for their -- are there re indicators that job gains will continue in the coming months? >> the encouraging thing here is that it is a trend. we have jobs -- we have had job growth for four months. the last two months, it has been solid growth. that is a good sign. >> i think the chart here -- we're not going to call a ctory, but is certification -- it is certainly stepping in the right direction. when president bush took office, we lost jobs. in the last month that president obama took office -- when he took office in the last month of president bush's terms, we lost over 700,000 jobs. we have now put in place many programs that have moved us in the right direction. the chart is becoming atep

art, as we step up towards more job growth. it is not success, but trending in the right direction, as you aptly id, commissioner hall. thk you so much for your testimony. i now recognize mr. brady. >> tha you, madam chairman. i would just caution with the all-time record high of long- term unemployment, no one in congress is raising an open " mission accomplished" banner just yet. there are 6000 -- hospitality, manufacturing, federal government, construction, mining employment, building services, temporary help works, health care -- the federal government is hiring more than each of those sectors.

how many federal goverent workers have been hired since december? do you know? >> i think i can pull that appear quickly. -- pull that up quickly here. >> i would like to know the comparison on the government side. >> let's see. i have to do a really quick calculation on that. the last couple months, we have added about 120,000 jobs. for the year so far, it has been 155,000 in the federal government. thank you. >> thank you very much. that, too, continues to outpace manufacturing, health caree and other sectors. at the initial unemployment claims have remained -- of the initial unemployment claims have remained stubbornly high -- the initial unemployment claims have remained stbornly high.

should we not expecthem to slow down? >> historically, the unemployment claims -- they are more volatile, but they will track the payroll jobs pretty well. >> why is the number stating so high, month after month? >> i am not sure it has been inconsistent with the payroll job loss we have had. the job loss has been significant up until a few months ago. even as the -- >> even as the job recovery is painfully slow, it is headed in the right direction. should not those who are entering -- filing those initial claims -- be decreasing? >> yes it should -- yes, it should. >> does is reflect layoffs of workers to a managed to hold on to their jobs and are now being laid off for the first te?

or does it include people who have been laid off before, found a job, and then were laid off again? >> i believe it is the latter, people who are beingaid off again. they could have been laid off before. >> on the census bureau, they expect to hire how many rkers? they have hired 100,000 and they expect to hire about 600,000? >> may be in excess of that. ey may have as many as 900,000, even 1 million. >> that will boost the numbers for the next few months, and then decrease them later this summer. >> believe that is right predictor temporary jobs. -- i believe that is right. they are temporary jobs. he presented findis at a hearing based on unofficial be zero as -- bos data. i guess i am troubled by the

thought that our main street, versus wall street, companies, are not hiring. they're not creating job openings. why is that? why are not small and medium businesses confident enough yet to hire? >> i do not know. i do not have a good theory for that. >> but that is your data that he based his findings on? >> that is correct. >> small and medium businesses are not hiring at this moment. >> that is correct. >> thank you, commissioner. >> thank you very much. thank you, commissioner paul producing but explain why we add nearly -- thank you, commissioner -- commissioner

hall. >> it is the number of people o are unemployed but actively looking for work. we did big increase in the number of people actively looking for work. >> before, they were not even looking. they had just given up. is that how you see it? >> yes, that is correct. >> you have told me before the changes in temporary employment are a sign of good things to come. what do those numbers look like now? >> we grew another 26,000 jobs in the temporary health. they are somewhere over -- there are somewhere over 3,000 jobs added in that industry sincdember. >> what about the people who are under-employed? they would like to be working full-time, but they are not. i am always struck by that. they have part-time work, but they're not where they used to be or where they want to be.

>> we have a large number of people who are part-time for economic reasons -- 9.1 million people. >> how has that changed over timm? can you measure if they want to work more, as opposed to doing it by choice? >> that one is hard for us to measure monthly. it is not a large sample. i can tell you that our broadest measure of labor under utilization -- u6 -- people who are actively looking or people who are under-employed byeing part time or who are discouraged, that increased as well. it went up about 2/10% -- 0.2% as well. >> one thing i have heard for recentraduates -- i got a letter from a woman who is from st. paul, minnesota, a college

honors graduates -- monza she is stuck under a desk job and sinking under -- her mom told me she is stuck under a desk job and sinking under a pile of debt. what is happening to these young workers who marched recent college graduates? canyon -- who are recent college graduates? can you get that to me? >> we can get that to you. the numbers have not been encouraging. the young graduates ha more share of the brunt of this. we can get you more precise numbers. >> as we look at policies and what we can do to work with small businesses -- i am a big fan of doing more with exports and those kinds things, to being private partners with industry -- the recent graduate issue is one we have talked about. we talked about the difference between some with a college degree, and mr. gregg, high school degree. do you have those numbers?

have they changed? we have always been struck by the great difference between the unemployment rates with someone with a high school degree and someone with a college degree. >> those numbers are like they always are. >> can you go through them quickly so we're reminded of the shocking indifference? >> the unemployment rate for those with less than a high school diploma was 14.7%. for those with a bachelor degree, it is 4.9%. it is almost 10 percennage point difference in the unemployment rate between the two groups. >> that ratio -- i was wondering as manufacturing and other tax increase -- you have still not seen any change. it contains to be the case at an advanced degree or college degree is one path to jobs. >> i would agree. it is hard to track the impact for manufacturin

>> how about the veteran employment numbers? soldiers that have returned in the last -- from the iraq and afghanistan wars? >> the goal for -- gulf war ii is 13.3% -- it is significantly higher. we have been -- >> we have been working on a bill for the spirit we want to provide more opportunities. it seems out -- on a bill for this. we want to provide more opportunities. it seems outrageous. what are you seeing across the country? you talk about the improvement in the diffusion rate, but how this has been a recession this time that is not just east coast or midwest. what are we seeing in regards to individual states? who is still a top or the

bottom? are there any trends by region? >> sure. the states with the highest unemployment rate continued to be states that have had the highest rates for most of this recession. michigan topsail list at 14.1%. -- michigan tops the list at 14.1%. nevada, south carolina, florida, the district of illinois -- the district of columbia, illinois -- they have double digit unemployment. there are others, as well. there is no real regional pattern there. it does seem like stat that have been harder h than other states -- it is hard to see such a simplregional pattern or a simple pattern of any kind. >> one last thing. i will have to do floor speech.

i had a tourism subcommittee. you said there has been some increase in travel and leisure. >> yes. >> thank you. >> one more question and we will move on. >> the leisure and hospitality industry had a significant increase of 45,000 jobs. >> thank you, very good. >> mr. cummings. >> thank you very much. i want to drill do on something miss klobuchar said. sometimes as i am sitting here and watching the press, i can imagine them putting up a headline -- "the unemployment te has gone up 0.2%." people who came back into the system. is that right? >> that is correct. >> do you call those reentrants?

>> i talked about the increase in the labor force, which includes new and re-entrants. >> how many were there? >> about 800,000. >> that is a huge number. so, if we did not have these reentrants and new entrants, you would have our rate that would be lower than 9.7%. -- you would have a rate that would be lower than 9% -- 9.7%, is that correct? >> that is correct. >> i was listening very carefully to my good friend, mr. brady, who was talking about the government jobs. but then i looked and saw that

manufacturing added 44,000 -- private jobs? >> they are. >> factory employment was up 101,000. with those beep private jobs? >> they are. >>onstruction. is that federal or private? 14,000 jobs is a lot of jobs. >> they are all private. >> nonresidential and other mining -- private? >> yes. >> let me ask you this. it is my understanding that the gdp aboot 60% to 7s about people spendinmoney. is that, to your knowledge, accurate? >> yes, that is correct. >> when i look at manufacturing, 44,000 jobs, factory employment 101,000 jobs, construction -- somebody must be buying something.

is that lot -- is that a logical conclusion. is that allow the inclusion -- is that a logical conclusion? >> yes. >> let's go back to the census jobs. how many of these jobs are census jobs? the ones that had -- how many did we increase this month? >> 66,000. >> the total jobs that were picked up? >> 290,000. >> approximately 1/3 -- about 1/4 of them were for the census? >> yes. >> basically you are talking about a lot of other types of jobs coming to play. so, when the headlines are written, you have to take all of those kinds of things into

consideration, would you not? >> yes. >> one thing that was very interesting is that my good friend, mr. brady, talked about this the other day, the fact that -- a lot of times, small businesses were nottdoing as much hiring as we would like to see them do. one thing that he talked about -- and it really makes these numbers even more interesting -- isn't a lot of small-business is not even able to get loans. -- is that all lot of small businesses are not even able to get loans. there are businesses who cannot even get lines of credit. they would not be able to do the contract. the connected the credit, so therefore they're not able to do contrast -- whom they cannot get the credit, so therefore they are not able to do the contracts.

it is a very significant factor, when credit is a problem, we do not agree? >> yes. -- would you not agree? >> yes. >> i agree with miss " which are -- miss klobuchar that we cannot conclude that everying is rosy and that you're still going in a positive direction. is it an accurate statement? >> it is. >> thank you. >> thank you. i would ke to go back to a point that was raised by my colleagues. it was raised by the chief economist at treasury who said that the rebound forhe hiring was very uneven between the size of companies, between a large and small. from t bls data that you have, of the hiring patterns

between large and small and -- are the hiring patterns different between large and small firms from the recession's you have seen? >> large fms experienced more jobs lost in the 2001 recession. they hadob loss well into 2003. the last recession was centered in large firms. the 1990 recession, it was the reverse. there were more net job losses in the small firms, rather than larger firms. it does vary. this recession, police threw the beginning of the recession, the job loss was -- at least through theeginning of the recession, the job loss was both in small and large firms. >> many people believe that small firms are unable to expand because of lack of capital. in your opinion, what are the

reasons why small firms aren't hiring? >> i do not think i know enough about ito offer an opinion about that. i can tell you that collective small businesses had trouble getting loans, but -- i can tell you that, if small businesses had trouble getting loans, that would be a concern. >> have you seenny change in the small and mid-sized firms in recent months? are they picking up some what now? >> the data that was discussed crow a little bit -- discussed does show a little bit of a pickup in large firms, but not small and mid-zed firms. >> with mother's day just around the corner, it seems like a good time to ask you about mothers -- working women. it seems like they were hit in

hard sectors, suffering signifant job losses. in recent months, these sectors have begun to recover and add workers. are women gaining jobs in those male-dominated sectors? but not so much. they are underrepresented in those particular sectors. >> what has happened to employment in female-dominated secttrs in recent months, such as education, local and federal states government work? >> the education sector did not experience theame amount of job loss, but the job growth has slowed in education. state and local garment have seen no job growth. >> what is the unemployment rate for working mothers? have working mothers -- how have they done in this great recession, compared with other women? >> the unemployment rate for woing motheris 8.3%.

that is an increase from 3.7 percentage points during the recession. that is actually fairly comparable to women who are not mothers. their unemployment rate is about 8%. the more shocking number is probably the actual job loss. we have some issues with labor force paicipation. working mothers have lost about 6.1% of their jobs during this recession, compared to women who are not mothers who actually lost 0.1 percentage points -- essentially no job loss. >> is it different for working mothers who are sole breadwinners for their families? and i guess, actually, that is much higher. it is 13.6%. >> how have minority working mothers cared? >> that one has also been much

higher. african american -- 13.4%. hispanicorking mothers, 11.8%. both higher. >> giv the economic challenges facing families during this recession, have more mothers ent the workforce a searched for work. -- and searched for work? >> the answer is yes. labor force participation has gonn down during the recession. it has actually gone up for women with children -- foremothers. >> how has the experience of working mothers compared to prior recessions? >> in prior recessions, working mothers havead a higher than average increase in their unemployment rate. in the 1990 recession, the unemployment rate increased by

1.6 percentage points, compared to 1.3 percentage boat " for women without children. -- percentage point for a woman without children. this time, it is almost double that. >> my time has eired. mr. brady. >> thank you, madam chairman. normally, amera bounces back quickly. it is not happening this time. we do not have a v-shaped recovery. it is a very gradual recovery. it ia third as low as that 1981 and 1982 recovery. i'm convinced it is partly because businesses do not have the confidence to make investments. there are anxious to get back on their feet. -- they are anxious to get back on their feet. i know we like to be our chests and proclaim our programs that have spurred the enomy. when i run our programs passed a small businesses in southeast

texas,hey say the gimmicks to not work, the small inducements -- i will not bring on workers until i see the customers and clients. retail is moving a little, but not much. it added 12,000 jobs last mont there are 15 million people unemployed. is just a bit to eat. -- it is just a blip on the screen. people are concerned about their own jobs and by the financial crisis here in america. with our budget, the are very concerned. every poll shows that americans are increasingly concerned that this runaway spending, the dangerous levels of debt, will hold back economic growth. i walooking at the numbers. greece was so the news yesterday. the news continues to be -- you

can see people gathered around the tv set ask -- tv set watching what was going on. if you look at countries that are the most troubled and their defits, the most troubled countries have deficits between 4.1%, the lowest is in italy, and over 16% in greece. america will be toward the high end of that at 10% annual debt for this year. if you look at the growth of the central government debt, again, the five p.i.i.g. countries -- they allow government range of 45% to 125%. we are already in the middle of that at 60%. the cbsays if we adopt a budget, we will be at 90% of our gdp by the end of this decade. we will be toward thatigh-end

of the troubled, financially- suspect countries in europe that are causing trading panic and riots in the street, which is not going to happen here, by the way. it is a real concern everywhere i go back home. average people are not just worried about their chkbook. there are worried about america's checkbook. in your household survey, seeing that retail, which is the best sign of what they're doing is again painfully slow on the uptick, do you measure consumer confidence? are there other indicators within your numbers that tell us what people are doing? it seems to me they are holding tight. they're worri about their

jobs. we do not see that bounceback that normally would after this kind of recession. >> ourata is a step removed from actual consumer confidence. we're looking at employment levels. we're looking at for reactions to things. >> what do you see on the auto side? cash for clunkers accelerated some spending and it has now gone back to a more normal aspect. what do you say on that side, for example? >>n motor vehicle production, we have modest growth of about 4000 jobs. in the automobile dealers retailing, we added about 2000 jobs for the month. >> pretty flat. >> it has not been strong, but modest. >> are there any other retail indicators? >> just the retail trade is the most directly connected to somethinlike consumer

spending. >> in past recoveries and recessions, what have you seen in retail? what types of growth month- over-month would we be expecting to see >> i do not know with respect to employment. i do not know what that is going to look like. i can tell you a little bit abt what i know aboutther data. consumer spending and gdp over the long-run will sort of trapped together. in the short term, they do not necessarily do that. gdp does rely veryuchn consumer spending. >> on 2/3 of it. i'm out of time. i do apologize. will that change over time? will we be less consumer- dependent when we reach a full recovery? >> that is an interesting question about this recession. consumer spending was not always that large a percentage of gdp.

>> thank you. >> thank you, mr. cummings. >> thank you very much, madam chair. mr. hall -- we have the summer months coming up. we have young people graduating. -- graduating from college and high school. tell me, what is the unemployment rate for our teens -- the teen unemployment rate? i would like to know what it is for rican-americans, whites, and hispanics. ok. the unemployment rate for teenagers is very high -- 25%. >> do you have a breakdown for african-americans, whites, and

hispanics? would you have that? and i do not for teenagers. i have those gups overall. we can get to the teenager ones. do you want me to tell you the unemployment rate for african- americans? 16.5%. >> is that pretty much what it was last time? >> iis unchanged over the last month. four respects, it is 12.5%, also little changed. -- for hispanics, it is 12.5%, also little changed. >> for african-american teenager the rate was 37.3%. that is a little lower than it has been in recent months. that is a small group. it really jumps around from montto month. the white rate is 23.5% from a fairly stable inhe recent

months. is 23 -- the white rate is 23.5%, fairly stable in the recent months. >> i take it that is pretty high to what he might consider a pretty -- what you might consider pretty stable economic situation. >> that is correct. >> i want to go back to the reentrts and new folks. that will temper any dent we can make in the unemployment rate. .

>> how do you know they are looking? >> we actually conduct a household survey. weo a telephone survey of households and ask people, essentially. >> 7 commons -- so, wha kind of inease can we expect in the labour force? this is kind of a tough situation. as the economyet better, i would imagine people look up there d say, you know what, i have been unemployed for a while, but now i am going to get back out there, because i think i have a chance to get a job. so the entrance will continue to

increase. i have not even counted theew people like the folks coming out ofollege right now. so, we have a steady increase if the onomy get better. is that a asonable assumption? >> do you mean the increase in the unemployment rate? >> right, right. in other words, you have more people to deal with, because you have more people looking. >> is not at all uncommon in th early stages of a recovery to add jobs and have the unemployment rate go up because people are re-entering the labour force, as you said. >> said you cann anticipate what might happen, as you just said. >> can you estimathow many expect toeturn? >> sure.

>> does historic data suggest anything with regard to that? >> it is actually one of the reasons why pointed out the emoyment to population ratio. that cuts through whether people are looking or not. it is how many people are employed versus how many people live in the country. that is sort of a nice way of cutting through all of that. we have had a significant drop in the employment to population ratio. in this recession, it has dropped 3.9 points. th is pretty significant. thisast year, it increased 0.6 points, which is a sign of recovery. >> thank you very much. this is good news today. this is the second positive amount of employment gain.

after weathering the harsh storms of to the 9 and 2008, it is good to see some rays of -- of 2009 and 2008, it is good to see some rays of sunshine. we're not out of the woods, but we are glad to see some progress. we will continue working on policies that will help to create jobs so that we can continue this progress. we press is very much, commissioner, for your testament -- we thank you very much, commisoner, for your tesmony today. we are adjourned. thank you.

>> now, more on the april unemployment numbers. president obama said the increased jobless rate is a reflection of the fact that workers that dropped out of the work force are now seeking jobs again. his statement is about 10 minutes. minutes. >> good morning, everybody. what seems like on a daily basis, we are bras with statistics, forecasts, and data. from the first days of this

administration amidst the worst economic crisis since the great depression, i have said that the truest measure of progress will be whether or not we are creating jobs. that is what matters and people's lives. whether people can provide for their families, say, for the future and achieve some measure of economic security. everything we have done in has been with this goal in mind. we have received some very encouraging news. in april, the economy added 290,000 jobs, with the vast majority, approximately 230,000, coming from the private sector. this is the largest increase in four years. we created 121,000 more jobs in january and march than previously estimated. these numbers are particularly heartening when you consider

where we were a year ago -- with the economy in free fall. we were losing an average of 750,000 jobs. this news comes on the heels of a reporter -- the steady growth has started to give businesses the confidence to expand and hire new people. it picked up a little bit from 9.7% to 9.9% at. this increase sounds like a contradiction, but it is probably largely because the workers had dropped out of the work force entirely are now seeking jobs again, encouraged by more prospekt. -- prospects. the crisis has inflicted a lot of damage across our country.

it is time to repair and rebuild. more than 8 million jobs were lost because of this recession. a lot of people out there are experiencing real hardship. today's numbers leave us with a lot of work to do. we have a strong and sustained job growth that is necessary. long before this recession hit, for a decade, middle-class families have been experiencing a sense of declining economic security. we have a ways to go, but we have also come a very long way. we have seen the dismal and, at times, unpopular steps we have taken are making a difference. productivity is up, our people are working are up. we saw the largest increase in manufacturing since 1998. we can see the benefits of our

recovery act in the strong employment reports from construction and other sectors where we have made a key investment in creating in saving jobs. there are limits to what the government can do. the true engine of job growth will always be the private sector, that is why we're very pleased to see the strong employment growth on the private sector side. what government can do is help create the conditions for government -- for companies to hire again. we can build the infrastructure and offer the incentives for businesses to add workers and take a chance on an idea that will lead manufacturing not overseas, but right here in the united states of america. right now, a series of tax incentives to promote hiring are taking effect. because of a bill by side in the law, businesses are eligible for tax cuts for hiring unemployed workers. and companies can write off more of their investment into

equipment. the road construction will create jobs while creating lasting growth. 4 million small businesses recently received a postcard in their mailbox telling them that they are eligible for health care tax cut this year. it was worth perhaps tens of thousands of dollars to each of these companies and will provide welcome relief to small business owners that too often have to choose between health care and hiring. that is what has gone on line, but we have more work to do. i called for a $30 billion small-business lending fund that would help increase the flow of credit to small companies that were hit hard with the financial crisis. small businesses are a major source of job creation. which now includes a new state small business credit initiative.

the state initiative that was designed with help of governors and members of both the house and the senate -- at a time when budget shortfalls cut lending programs. in addition, state and local government received a huge budget gaps. . .

y >> building wind turbines and solar panels. even as we take these steps to increase hiring, we're also mindful of other economic factors that can emerge. so i want to speak to the unusual market activity that took place yesterday on wall street. the authorities are evaluating this closely with concern if protecting investors and preventing this from happening again. they'll make findings of the rehave you public along with appropriate action. and i also spoke this morning with chancellor merkel, regarding economic and financial developments in europe. we agreed on the importance of a strong policy response by the respective countries and the

financial response from the international community. i made clear that the united states supports these efforts and will continue to cooperate with european authorities and the i.m.f. during this critical period. and so, this week's job numbers come as are -- as a relief to americans but it offers little comfort to those that are still out of work. so those out there still looking, i give you my word that i'm going to keep fighting every single day to create jobs and opportunities for people. and every one of my team that is standing alongside me here has the same sense of mission. we're not going to rest until we put this difficult chapter behind us and i won't rest until you and millions of your neighbors caught up in these storms are able to find a good job and -- reach a brighter day. thank you so much. >> president, supreme court?

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captions performed by the national captioning institute] tomorrow remarks by utah republican senator robert -pbennett at his party's new mexico nation convention. he'll traci the 3,500 delegates along with seven other candidates vying for his seat. watch coverage here on c-span.

mid term elections are six months away and could changal balance of power in washington. watch debates that have taken place in governor's race as cross the country online at the new c-span video library. search it and flip it and share it, all free. it is the latest gift to america. >> good afternoon, welcome to

the state department. it is foreign affairs day. happy foreign affairs day. and the secretary celebrated foreign affairs day with the men and women of the state department and thanked them for their service while delivering a general state of the department's overview, as she approaches her 500th day on the job. and she also delivered remarks at the -- the american foreign services association memorial plaque ceremony to honor state department koll he's who lost their lives in the line of duty or under heroic circumstances while serving their country overseas and -- tragically we added three main -- two of the plaque, of the victoria and the long who lost her life in the aftermassachusetts of the earthquake in haiti, dale agreed her, when was serving in kazakhstan who lost his life in january and terrence who was

killed by a roadside bomb last memorial day in iraq. the secretary had a 22-minute conversation with her european counter part, foreign minister bernard kushner and german foreign minister and u.k. political director jeffrey adams and u.n., i am sorry, e.u. katherine ashton. this is the kind of regular interaction that the secretary and other leaders in the governments have with their european counter parts and they talk about multiple subjects but the predominant discussion was just a -- to update themselves on the current status on -- of negotiations and new york toward the u.n. security council resolutions. and you know, had a schar vein last night our deputy firm rep in new york participated along with other representatives from

the security council nations in a dinner hosted by -- the iranian foreign minister. and it was a frank and professional exchange and members of the security council pressed the government to meet international organizations and several members of the council including the u.s. pointed out significant flaws and short cudges in iran's approach. during it, the foreign minister mat tacky focused on the iranian counter proposal to the tehran research reactors, which -- deebiates in a significant way from the balance to the proposal that iran agreed to and then walked away from last october. but we see this as yet another missed opportunity by iran to meet it international obligations.

regarding the rest, we could report two additional nations have come forward with proposals to of assistance of those being vietnam and japan and bringing the total number of countries offering it united states to 15. we continue to evaluate you know the offers that we have received and will make decisions very soon. and let me skip through a couple of things. kurt campbell remains in manila today, he participated in the lower u.s. senior officials meeting and in the next few hours, he'll participate in the 23rd u.s. dialogue. scott congratulations is -- is on route to ethiopia and participates in the meetings on sudan and discusses regional strategies about international

coordination in support of the comprehensive peace agreement and george mitchell just started a tinner meeting with president aqabq and he met with perez and we we expect to have additional meetings tomorrow and we expect late tomorrow night and early sunday morning-to-a statement that -- as he prepares to leave for the united states that summarizes where we are following his meetings. and finally then i'll get back to your question. we're pleased it announce the appointment and arrival of -- today of barbara shaler as the department's representative of international labor affairs and part of our be all drill and representative shaler comes to us from the afl-cio where she served as the international affairs department and served as international affairs and leads the department's efforts to work

with the labor movement and focus on strengthen the officer function. now back to your questions. >> i was, vietnam? vietnam. >> okay. and as -- as a -- right now, nothing has been fixed. >> correct. >> and on the -- the iran, the secretary's call, you said they updated them -- themselves on the status of the situation? what is it? >> we consider the specifics of a u.n. resolution and there's still work to do. and we will we will move that forward in the coming -- weeks. >> and -- i presume or it

appears that the people you spoke to are all -- she and the people she spoke to are all agreed on what should be done. so, just curious, -- >> there is -- this conversation does not get in the specifics but -- you know option, ab, cd it was more where do we stand on the specific works of building a resolution, but mostly -- you know comparing notes on various consultations of the united states. and -- other countries that have had -- with those who will nobody a position to evaluate the resolution once it is formally presented to the security council. >> the members, with the nonpermanent members. >> and chien this and russia on the call or not? >> no. >> why not? >> this was a quad muss one call. and this was just, this was, this was -- this was a call with

our european counterports and we have these calls on a regular basis or contacts on a regular basis. and china and russia are not part of that component. and as i said last night, all of the countries in the security council including russia and china joined in pressing iran to change its course. so, we're very comfortable with where we are in terms of our interaction with -- with the -- within the formula. >> and hold that. all of that begs the question that you should consult without your chinese and russian partners. >> as matt sutted we have a lot of different groupings depending on the issue. and this is -- >> and quad-plus one, it was already taken. >> you're really getting desperate. [laughter] >> i'll write that down. >> and i think, i -- we're not,

we're not excluding anyone. this was a case where you know, we i -- as i say, there were other top picks of discussion, folks in europe as well and i'm not kidding you, this was the primary focus of discussion and you know, our countries have -- have touched base with a -- with others when sit on the council and will and just, just to some extent, perhaps i would describe it as doing a bit of a whip test. >> one other thing. there's a represent that that the -- your plan is to put forward the resolution to the full security council next week. is that correct? have you sat -- do you plan -- >> that report is not correct. >> thank you. >> and the resolution. and another resolution that acould work against iran in the past.

and that iran is buying mare and more time. this is precisely something that does concern us. this week iran has had an opportunity to we president ahmadinejad here and the prime minister here, and we literally heard nothing new. and they, they are in the in compliance with their aeea and they have not come up with something in the d.r.r., something we offered last fall to build confidence. and that is what wolf and others made cheer to iran last night that they, they have had the opportunity to build confidence and their actions and words since then have done exactly the opposite. so, we are in a position to work closely with others and we're working on the resolution. we look forward to a strong and

united international statement that tells iran it has to change course and meet its fundamental obligation. david? >> could you comment on any possible interaction that wolf had with others? >> on the margins of the meeting, he did -- both stress that the united states, you know, continues to have concerns about the welfare of -- of our citizen who is are in iranian custody and he shared with foreign minister mataki letters from family members. and -- but -- and stressed again that we would like to see these individuals released. sarah? >> and did he -- i can't characterize the reaction. that the letters were from survivors.

>> i think they were beyond. >> and you have heard something new from him this week. ahmadinejad -- oumedoum talked a lot this week, apparently for the first time about how, if -- if this sanctions -- sanction resolution will come forward and ties are cut with iran and obama is going to regret it. i mean, he seems to have this very -- strong message that -- this week of threats saying, that -- that you know the united states would actually -- or our efforts in afghanistan and iraq and in the palestinian territories would be destroyed if we pass this resolution and he had pretty strong words about that. i mean, does the administration, what is the reaction? is it -- you know, is it giving anybody pause? >> no. it is our view that actions, a

strong and safe and significant pressure. iran is not going to engage significantly. we have offered clearly, a path of engagement a -- as i said, iran that -- has failed to reciprocate. and -- so, you know, iran is isolated and -- and unless it comes forward and answers the question that the national community has, it will face pressure and isolation. >> and this is the only subject that he brought up on the margins? or -- >> i'm not aware of another one. >> and you don't expect the revolution this month. >> i didn't say that. i -- i said in response to a particular question. do we expect a -- to table the resolution next week. i think that was the report. >> and you said it is going to take weeks, and -- right?

>> it will take as long as it takes. we're working hard on this and -- i would expect -- there's still work to be done and -- you know, we'll work hard until it is completed. >> and -- i mean, we -- we face, we have a sense of urgency about this and we're working as fast as we can and there's no particular, there's no specific timetable. >> and any further exouncations between the united states and pakistan on the investigation, anything that the pakistanis are saying in return? >> and the pakistanis are saying in return or any more on the u.s. side of what it wants? >> and we have had -- a range of contacts with the government of pakistan, both at post and here in the united states. and we continue to develop information hoor here as the

investigation continues and the know of information to pakistan has begun. and -- with that throw, you know, would come specific steps that we expect pack to take. >> and the international issue now. and because i think it went beyond the borders here and the investigation -- and one -- >> that's true. and this is connected in any way, and through -- being held this chicago and when had provided much information as far as bombing and india and elsewhere. do you think -- >> well, there have been + multiple plots that have involved the united states, you know, and pakistan, and citizens on both side. who have chosen to -- to take these actions. and i'm not aware that there's any specific connection but clearly, we're looking to see you know, you know while this individual was in pakistan who

he met with. what sporte was provided and that's the reason why we're in the -- working so closely with pakistan on this investigation. >> and when we said -- the pool of information has begun, we knew that yesterday naturally a couple of days before that. is there anything specifically today more information, is it -- is it -- significantly more information or is it -- >> jill, i can't -- more, yes, significant, hard to judge. i mean, you know, the investigation is in the fifth or sixth day depending on how you count it. we knew more today than yesterday and so on. redevelop information that has a link to pakistan, we're doing exactly what would be expected, we're sharing the information that we can with pakistan and they're thrrd also taking their own actions. and so, you know, the kind of dialogue that we need, both to

understand what happened here and what happened this and eventually put these pieces together and that's exactly what we're doing. >> [unintelligible] to washington. [unintelligible] and also what pakistanis are saying now. >> well, on -- we have regular dialogue within -- with india including on counter-terrorism issues. and i can't say at this point that there's -- there's an indian leak to -- link to this case but you know, we, we do have -- dialogue with -- with them on a regular basis on terrorism issues. >> does -- dove legislation on this? >> as the secretary said, we're -- we're taking a hard look at it. and you know, we, we do have --

you know, constitutional, yet, you know, what is being from posed has constitutional implications including the 14th amendment citizenship clause and -- you know, the bill is focused on amending what is called the loss of nationalality statutes updating a list of ex-patriating acts to add terrorism related activities as a new ex-patriating act and we have seven specific circumstances under which citizenship can be -- can be forfeited, so we're studying it. and -- across the administration. >> and yesterday, about who found a you wouldn't want to see suspects on -- or convicts? >> yes, there are -- you know, and as the secretary pledged yesterday, we're going to take a hard look at it. it is -- you know, it is something that we have to -- to you know, to evaluate. and as she indicated that -- that, you know, these people

that -- are -- associate themselves with terrorism groups those terrorism groups that are, at war with the united states and -- it is, it is, a serious matter. and you know, we're looking klosely that the. >> and find out the last time that the state department actually used this power. and -- as i understand it, the law would expand the category that -- that basically, removed the -- revoked citizenship for people that -- who join foreign army's. and -- >> that's one of the criteria. >> that's the criteria that lieberman -- continues that off of. that's specifically the one he backs off of and will be the last time we revoked someone's citizenship. >> can we find out? >> and the army's that are at war with the u.s. and i, i can go through this. and among the -- the current

criteria, you know, someone who is naturalizing in a foreign state after the age of 18, the -- declaring allegiance to a frn state after the age of 18, serving as an officer in the -- in a frn state's military or entering a -- or serving therein, if the fooeign state is engaged in hostilities with the united states after the age of 18, and accepting a foreign government office by a national of that state or -- allegiance is required. we announcing citizenship abroad or renouncing domestic my when the u.s. is, in a state of war. and some of those authorities rest with the department of homeland security as well as to the state department and the last one is -- i think it may be the one that is being thought of, is committing the act of treason against the united states, but if convicted, in a court -- so there are -- there are constitutional implications

of the law, where the earliest proposal and we're going to you know, to studdy it. i would also say that some of the assumptions behind the proposal are also, subject to court case that is are in -- in the courts right now and -- you know, there may be questions about the constitutionalality of what is proposed. >> can we find out last time this was used? the reason i'm asking is the law basically would require the state department to have a whole process set up and lieberman is acting like that process is here and those people are already here work thong stuff. as the secretary did say yesterday, we have -- we, -- ex-pate ration authority already under statute and -- you know, this proposal by lieberman would potentially add to the authority. and so, you know, we do already have within our a-- affairs bureau, lawyers that evaluate

these issues and do take action to -- to you know remove the citizenship of individuals. and there are some, there are some, many legal questions to this. >> all of the things you mentioned i believe have to do with, dealing with other states and certainly other state taliban and al qaeda and they fall in that category. and what do the lawyers tell you about working on it? >> and working on behalf. >> one of the questions is, one of the assumptions behind these actions which -- can be taken under the immigration and nationalality act involve action that is are assumed to -- to, where the individual taking the actions -- is you know, is -- the actions are -- are taken with the -- with the voluntary assumption that -- that, you know, citizenship will be relinquished. so there's, there are very set legal issues in -- inherent in

not only the proposal but in cases that touch on the proposal. we're studying all of this. >> one thing about the bill it only speaks of terrorist organizations. people, the organizes on the terrorist list, which the taliban, if i'm not mistaken is not. it wouldn't have even applied to the time quare bomber anyway. >> all the more reason to look hard at it and -- so. >> another question, the leches in the u.k., any observations, commentt? reaction? >> we are watching it chosely. and we look forward to -- to continuing our close cooperation with -- with whatever government emerges. >> and -- [laughter] i moan, look if -- this is a great day for a political junky. and -- you foe, i mean, it is a testimony to the -- to the

vibrancy of the u.k.'s democratic system. and -- but, you know, the united kingdom is our strongest international partner and shared values and shared world view. and you know, you know, shared responsibilities on many, many key fronts a that's notting for to change. >> as a practical merit. that's why on the phone call, the secretary had, there was a career -- >> [unintelligible] >> word "special relationship". >> it is special. i know my counterports in other partses of the government have different views. this is our strongest partner. >> counterparts have different views. >> with regard to the word

special relationships. >> who would those be? >> and -- president car >> i is coming here next week. >> yes, he is. >> could you give a sense of the the meeting he would have at the state department sf >> and that's a good question. we probably, i think, -- you know, let me take that, i mean, we're working on a complete agenda, and he's going to be with us for a much -- much of a day next week. and let's see if we're about to release kind of a schedule. i'll take that question. >> and -- jeffrey, it'll be in the next year and we're embassy to iraq and [unintelligible] and the u.s. embassy and turkey, do you have comment on this? yao i defer and whenever we're announcing nominating ambassadors, that would be done at the white house. >> what is your response? [unintelligible] ja i don't have

a comment on -- i have a team, you know, specifically what he has said. . . >> [inaudible] >> again, what we want to see is

north korea live up to its commitments. we want to see north korea seized provocative actions. that is our focus. >> is the meeting of the state department official for the first time today? you know what they will be discussing? >> i will take that question. i don't know. >> [inaudible] [unintelligible] >> it is my understanding that the chinese government has given the readout -- sure. >> does that include north korea's position? >> we received a readout of the meeting. i can't characterize what china

provided to us, but i assume that it would be a welcome indication of what china told north korea and what north korea told china. >> we keep asking, and you keep answering, but is that something to do -- maintaining policy advocates? >> the national league for democracy decided back in march not to seek registration on the deeply flawed election laws. and the terms of these unfair laws, as of today, it is subject to be registration. for more than 20 years, the leader has served as beacons of hope in burma, and as an inspiration to all who strive

for democracy and justice around the world. we applaud the resolve of the nld to continue to work for the people of burma. we will continue to work with all of those that are dedicated to building a better future for their country. it is highly regrettable that the regime has, you know, create circumstances where they felt like they had to take these actions. >> do you still consider -- >> hold on. they are still evaluating what the travel plans will be. >> [unintelligible] >> we obviously see the nld as part of a legitimate democratic opposition, and as we have

indicated to burma through the meetings that we have had, ultimately, they have to open up greater political space and have a meaningful dialogue with the political opposition as well as with the rest of greece. >> the favorable conditions for six party talks. >>. kim jong -- if kim jong il wants to create favorable conditions for six-party talks, he can do exactly what we have outlined for months and years. pursue the commitments they have made in the joint communique, sees provocative actions that destabilize the regions. it will be guided by those actions. >> first, a little bit of housekeeping. can we put the statement out at 2:00 with -- can we not put the

statement out at 2:00 in the morning like last time? that would help those of us that sleep. >> right now, it is scheduled for 2:00 in the morning, but i will see what i can do. [laughter] >> put it out someplace in the world where it is actually daylight. >> we will see what we can do. >> do you expect that the statement will be announced at the start of proximity talks? is that your hope? >> we expect to have meetings tomorrow in addition to what is going on now. we will tell you exactly where we are at the end of those meetings. >> is the position that the proximity talks could begin in march? you were on the record at the time as saying --

>> yes. then there was the hold. >> this should be their presumptions. >> let's -- may be at 2:00 in the morning we will have a dramatic reading of the statement. [laughter] >> in your home phone number is what? >> is listed. >> if he is already having a meeting with the president, can one logically conclude that the proximity talks are back on? >> there are meetings taken place. and when the meetings conclude, we will tell you what they mean. i don't want this to ourselves, either.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> this weekend, retiring justice supreme court john paul stevens and -- on the life and legacy. she has been interviewed as a potential replacement for justice stevens. america and the courts, on c- span. >> this weekend, the book "on the business of happiness. his documentary about the massacre and what it means to on a professional sports team, sunday night on c-span's q&a. >> the outcome of the british elections is still up in the air. conservatives have won 306 seats, labor 258, and liberal democrats 57 seats. next, we'll show you this morning's statement from the

three party leaders. first, we will hear from nick clegg, that, gordon brown. that later, david cameron. this is a little over 15 minutes. [applause] >> thank you for coming in such small numbers this morning. last night, it was a disappointment for the liberal democrats. even the or more people voted for us that never before, even though we had a higher proportion of the votes than ever before. it is a source of great resentment that we have lost friends and colleagues and we have returned to parliament with

your indies. many people during the election campaign were excited about the prospect of doing something different. it seems that when they came to vote, many of them, in the end, decided to stick with what they knew best. and at a time of great economic uncertainty, i totally understand those feelings. but that is not going to stop me from redoubling my effort and our effort to show that real change is the best reassurance that things can get better for people and their families, it should not be something to unsettle people. we are in a very fluid political situation, no party enjoyed absolute majority. as i have said before, it seems in a situation like this, it is vital that all political parties and leaders act in the

national interest and not out of narrow party political advances. i have also said that whichever party gets the most votes and the most seats, if not an absolute majority, as the first right to speak to government on its own or by reaching out to other parties. and i stick to that review. it seems this morning that is the conservative party that has more votes and more seats. they are not an absolute majority. that is why i think it is now, for the conservative party, to prove that it is capable of speaking to government in a national interest. at the same time, this election campaign has made it abundantly clear that our electoral system is broken. it simply doesn't reflect the hopes and aspirations of the british people.

so i repeat again my assurance that whatever happens in the coming hours, days, weeks, i will continue to argue not only for the greater fairness in british society, not only the greater responsibility and economic policy-making, but also for the extensive real reforms that we need to fix our broken political system. thank you very much. >> with the outcome of the general election, we find ourselves in a position on known to this generation of political leaders with no single party able to have a common majority and therefore have a majority government. i have never felt that i should give you the country, my assessment of where we are. i do so as prime minister with a constitutional duty to speak to resolve the situation for the good of the country, not as a

labor of the labor party less than a day after the election. what we have seen are no ordinary election results. people have been talking for some time inside and outside government about the possibility of a hung parliament. that possibility has become very wheel -- and very real and pressing. the question for all political parties now is whether a parliamentary it europe -- majority can be established to reflect what you, the people, have just told us. it is well understood that we face in the economic challenges that must be met. a meeting of the euro group is meeting tonight to discuss greece and other issues. and the finance ministers are meeting by conference call to discuss the deteriorating situation in the euro area. alistair darling is participating for the uk.

our economic priorities are to support economic recovery this year, and that the recovery stabilizes, to move swiftly to implement our deficit reduction plan. i have, of course, seen the statements of other party leaders. i understand it completely respect the position of mr. clegg, that he wishes us to make contact with the leader of the conservative party. we have placed mechanisms and securities that will give political parties any civil service support that they need. mr. cameron and mr. clegg take any time they deem necessary. i would be willing to see any of the party leaders. should the discussions between

mr. cameron and mr. clegg come to nothing, i would be prepared to discuss with mr. clegg the areas where there be agreement between the parties. there are areas in particular where such discussion would be likely to focus. the first is the plan to ensure continuing economic stability whether it is substantial common ground, -- including paint -- changes to the voting system. we have made clear this commitment to our manifestoes, and the electorate hasn't as a very strong message that must be heard. my view is clear, there needs to be legislation on this to begin to restore the public trust in politics and improve parliament standing and reputation. the voting system is central, and i believe that the british people should be able to decide

what the system should be. what all of us need to be mindful of is the imperative for strong and stable government. and with the authority to tackle the challenges ahead, one which can command support of parliament. it is with this in mind that all of us should be facing the times ahead. i understand as i know my party leaders do that people not like the uncertainty or wanted to be prolonged. we live in a parliamentary democracy, the outcome has been delivered by the electorate. it is my responsibility to make it work for the national good. i am sure that you will understand that this is all that i have this day -- say at this stage today. the jewel, very much.

-- think you all, very much. >> david cameron acceded by members of his shadow cabinet. >> i am incredibly proud, not only with the strong results that we have achieved, but with the strong and positive campaign that we have been forced. we campaigned for hope, not fear, and people responded to that giving us more votes than labor. we campaigned for change, not more of the same. people responded giving as a higher share of the vote when they want a majority. there are many conservative members of parliament that will be coming to the house of commons, and i am very proud that this will be a new conservative party in parliament. it will make a huge difference to our politics, to all those

members and activists that fought so hard not just in the last few weeks, but in the last few years. i want to say a huge thank-you, and to remind you how proud you can be of the result of a bigger increase in seats that even margaret thatcher achieved in 1979. the worst loss of seats that any general election and a share of the vote far off what -- however much pride we can take and that enormous advance, we have to accept that we fell short of an overall majority. as i said last night, britain needs strong, stable, decisive -- strong, stable, the size of government. and we need to get that on a secured basis. we are at war in afghanistan with troops putting their lives at risk for us every day.

we are facing a financial and economic situation of great seriousness as a result of our dangerous debts and our deficit. we need a government that reassures the international markets. we need policy that bring economic recovery. we need a government that understands that great changes needed in order to restore faith in our political system. britain voted for change yesterday, but it also voted for new policies. it did not vote for bickering, and grandstanding. they are too urgent for that. we must all rise to this occasion, we must show leadership. we must sort things out as quickly as possible for the good of the country. because the conservative party won the most votes, we should

have a chance to form a government. we will now begin talks with other parties to see how that can be done. one option would be to give up the party's right reassurances about certain policy areas they will continue in office without a country facing the government falling. this is known as a confidence and supply arrangement. it has been done before, and we can try to do it again. i am prepared to consider alternative options. it may be possible to have stronger, more stable, more collaborative government than that. there is a case for going further than an arrangement that keeps a minority conservative government in office. i want to make a big, open, and comprehensive opera -- offer for the liberal democrats.

i want to work together to tackle the debt crisis, our deep social problems, and there are broken political system. let me explain my thinking. first, it is right and reasonable to acknowledge that of course there are policy disagreements between us. many of which were highlighted in the television debates. to fellow conservatives that fought, campaigned, and worked so hard to achieve the massive advance we have made in this campaign, i want to make it clear that i do not believe any government should give more powers to the european union. i do not believe that any government can be weak or soft on the issue of immigration which needs to be controlled properly. in the country opposing defenses must be kept strong. i also believe that on the basis of the election results that we achieved, it is reasonable to expect that the bulk of the policies and our manifesto should be implemented.

across our manifestoes, there are many areas of common ground. there are areas i believe that we as a conservative pprty could given the national interest and in the interest in. open and trusting partnership. ray strong desirewe share a strong desire to make opportunity more equal in this country. i recognize the high priority the liberal democrats have given to the proposal. we agree with this idea. it is an hour a manifesto. i am sure we can develop a common approach that recognizes the urgency that the liberal democrats have attached to this. they made the achievement of a low carbonite. -- low carbon economy a priority. we support to this aim. i am sure we can agree on a common ground. they have also made proposals to reform our tax system. but both agree that labour's job act is a damaging tax on jobs.

we would seek to reverse it. it has always been an aspiration to the conservative party to reduce taxes, especially on those who earn the least. we are happy to give this a much higher priority and it to work together to determine how to move forward. we share common commitment. we agree with the liberal democrats that reform is urgent thing needed to restore trust. that reform must include the electoral system. the liberal democrats have their ideas. we have our ideas. all seeds should be of equal size so that puts it have an equal value. other parties have constructive proposals to put forward as well. i believe we will be an all party committee. the negotiations would involve compromise.

that is why we are working together in the national interest. no government will be in the national interest and messages of the biggest threat to our national interest. that is the deficit. we remain completely convinced that starting to do with the deficit this year is essential. this has been more than confirmed by recent events and other european countries, recent instability in the markets, in recent conversations that liptak with both the treasury and the bank of england. the national interest is clear. the world is looking to britain for decisive action. we will find further ways in which liberal democrats can be involved in making this happen the of left this country with

terrible problems. an economic and financial crisis, deep social problems, its political system in which people have lost faith. the new government will face the worst inheritance of any incoming government. it had the support of the government that are needed. we will put it on the right track for a stronger future. there is one further point i want to make. i believe is not just important

for the public to have a strong government. it is important to get that government honestly. -- quickly. i hope we can reach an agreement quickly. as i argue in this campaign, i think this is a great country. we could be doing so much better. we do not have to settle for the debt and taxes left. we can put behind this economic social breakdown and the mistrust that has evolved from 30 years of labour. we could have started today making the changes that i believe our country needs. i know how much the conservative party itself, all my colleagues in parliament and activists, what did that, too. -- wanted that, too.

i also know they wanted something more than that. they'd want the best for britain. the conservative party has been a party that put the national interest first. the best thing, the best thing for britain now, is a new government that works together in that national interest. i hope with all my heart that is this something we can achieve. that is all i have to say for now. i hope you understand. i will not be taking questions. urgent work must begin produce the seabed. -- must begin. >> tomorrow, robert bennett and his party posing nomination convention. he will address the delegates along with seven other candidates vying for his seat. watch coverage at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> this weekend, retiring

supreme court justice john paul stevens and u.s. solicitor general elena kagan, who has been interviewed as a potential replacement for justice stevens. "america and the courts," on c- span. >> ed markey to lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to new orleans to investigate the causes of the oil spill in the gulf of mexico and the cleanup efforts under way. congressman markey is cosponsoring a bill that will create a commission to study the leak and its effects on the region. after meeting with area residents, coast guard, and interior officials, he and other members of the commerce committee held a news conference in louisiana. >> thank you all for being here, i am the third louis -- from the third louisiana congressional district. we're part of a congressional delegation that came on the ground this morning, went out to

be briefed, did a fly over the spill area, a flyover of the site where the boats are working, and i will introduce you to congressman markey from massachusetts who chairs the subcommittee on energy and -- in the house of representatives. ed, please. >> thank you, very much. charlie wanted us to come down here to see what is going on. and to help us determine what it is that we can do to help him and toohelp all the people down here in the region. what we saw this morning, gave us some reason to be hopeful. it is obvious now that they are in the process of trying to put a dome over the major leagues,

and we all have our fingers crossed, and we are praying for success. we're here to see what is going on with the ability to aggregate the oil so that they could engage in controlled burns so that they can remove some of the oil from the potentially catastrophic conditions being created. i think that the trick here has been very worthwhile for our committee. it is going to give us a real sense of what is going on here, what needs to be done, and it was combined with a bit -- visit to be able to talk to the coast guard and bp officials that are in command, working to bring this catastrophic event to a close as quickly as possible.

we know that the more oil that stays in the ground, the lower if it is an -- is the higher that hope can become. i hope that is what is happening today. we are very cognizant of the technological difficulties that are still going to be confronted by all of the communities along the gulf coast in their efforts to be able to deal with the long term continuing environmental disaster which has hit them. we have a distinguished delegation that is with us today. let me introduce to you congressman burgess from the state of texas, he is a physician and a member of the energy committee as well. >> i am the ranking republican on the committee of oversight investigations on the committee of energy and commerce. we're grateful for having us down here.

a couple of things that i took away, add just a magnitude of the problem that faces the people on the ground flying over this bill, there is no way you can capture that from a newspaper article or a picture and the magazine. the other thing was the degree of cooperation that is occurring between the coast guard and the bp inside the command center. we all heard stories at all heard things. but i was impressed with the level of cooperation, the degree of candor, the anecdotal facilities in which things get done. there doesn't seem to be the bureaucratic tie up that you would expect with an operation this large. our job is to make sure that the men and women that are fighting on our behalf for this effort have everything that they need in a timely fashion. and there'll be plenty of time for hearings as to what caused >> with us as well was

congressman peter welch, a member of the energy committee. >> want to thank the congressman for urging us to come down. i think congressman markey and congressman burgess' have aptly described the coordinated effort that is being pursued here in a very aggressive and very cooperative manner. what the congressman has also made very clear to us, there will be a lot of heartache for the oil industry and the folks in the fishing industry. he wants it to be known to us, make an impression on us that we have to be here for those folks because they can put their livelihood's back together as soon as possible. there is immediate work that needs to be done to try to add this week, but there is work to be done in the future when all the press goes away help folks get back in their fishing boats and help folks get back into

their jobs and their livelihoods. congressman, i really want to thank you for bringing that to the attention of us in the congress. >> any questions? >> [inaudible] >> obviously, going forward, we were going to have to establish what went wrong, why it went wrong, and obviously, bp is going to have to shoulder much of the responsibility for what happened. there are other parties involved, but bp was the overarching corporate entity. if there was an accident, it could never reach this magnitude. i think i was impressed with the level of cooperation that is now

going on to deal with the consequences. they will still have the have an investment -- a responsibility for what went wrong. bp is going to be at the top of that list. >> part of our job will be to ensure that all parties involved are participants. they have significant -- they have questions to answer as well. we need to be fair minded about this and faro. people in this area deserve answers, and people at large deserve answers. >> one of the things, and i have told people, when you look at what happened with valdez in alaska, you don't hold oil by

ships anymore, they looked at what happened, remedies, and move forward. you don't shut down oil and gas, especially when you're looking for energy independence without trying to look at what we need to do, do it better, so that going forward, we shouldn't have to expect this to ever happen again. it can be done as rep burgess' pointed out, making sure that management is doing what it is supposed to be doing and not just allowing things to move forward with just a wink and nod, making sure that the oil companies know that they have responsibilities and obligations to do it safely for their employees and for the environment that they are operating in. i hope that that is what we will get done starting next week. >> as the congressman said, we will begin a comprehensive set of hearings in the energy and

commerce hearing next week. we intend to ensure that the american public, those that live down in the gulf know everything that happens. why it happens, and what is going to happen in the future. lives lost, livelihoods have been ruined, and we have a responsibility to ensure that this never happens again. our hearts go out to the people whose livelihoods are being harmed by this. the lessons that will be learned will become laws so that no one else ever has to endure what is going on in the gulf region. we thank you for coming out. >> thank you all. >> this weekend, on to print your ted leonsis on his

documentary about the 1937 nanking massacre and what it means to own a professional sports team on c-span's q&a. >> the midterm elections are six months away and could change the balance of power in washington. watch the candidate debates that have already taken place in a key house, said it, and governor's races across the country on the new c-span video library. watch it, click it, and share it for free. it is cable's latest gift to america. >> to look at the increasing number of diseases that are becoming resistant to antibiotic drugs. this is 45 minutes. hington journal" continues. host: joining us from the campus of the national institutes of health is dr. anthony fauci, the director of natural diseases. today we are talkingbout

antibiotic resistance. do americans use too many antibiotics? >> unfortunately the answer to that is yes. there certainly is aot of appropriate use of antibiotics but very often a patnt will come in to a doctor's office really with not a bacterial infection or not an infection at all and would really almost demandf thehysician to be put on antibiotics. that is what is referred to as inappropriate use of antibiotics. that one that leads to the bacteria ultimately developing resistance to antibiotics so at when you really do need them for a serious infection in some cases you start to develop a certain percentage of those microbes that are resistant to the antibiotics. we are facing aery challenging situation because this is an increasing problem. host: but it is also increasing worldwide, isn't it? because in traveli around the world i have seen penicillin.

you can purchase it over the counter as regular medicine. >> yes, it goes well beyond the patient-physician interaction. it is much more flexible, unfortunately more flexible in other countries where you can walk into a pharmacy and ask for an antibiotic and get it without the prescription of a physician, which just naturally leads to inappropriate use because patients feel they will take an antibiotic for feeling badly and it may have nothing to do wit an infection. that is a big problem. host: in the last year or so this has become a very popular product, hand sanitizer. we have it all over the office. everybody has it at home. everybody uses antibacterial washes and stuff like this. is this also creating a problem? guest: it could potentially some of the hand sanitizers, the pure alcohol ones is not a

problem because tt is directly toxic to the bacteria. so, when you heard us talk about hand hygiene during periods of time when there were a lot of infeions going around we were talking mostly about the alcohol. when you talk about an an antimicrobial substance in a hand sanitizer that potentially could ad to the development of resistance of microbes particularly those that inhabit the skin. some of the organisms that could be spread. host: we will put the numbers up on the screen if you want to talk about antiantibiotic resistance and use of theand us. host: you can also send us a

tweet or e-mail. there was a hearing this week on capitol hill on antibiotic use in animals, in meat products. what is the problem there if there is one? guest: the situation is that in the agriculture industry particularlymong livestoc if the livestock are sick with an infection it is very appropriate to give that herd or individual animal an antibiotic. and sometimes when there is spread of infection that is clear you want to use tproef lacks cyst meaning gosh prophylaxis. those are well-defined. but what is a practice that goes on widely is to put antibiotics in the feed of animals to help enhance their growth so that you have animals that are bigger, that have more meat on them, into really have very little to with them being sick with an infection. there is the potential risk there that if you give

antibiotics to those animals the noal bacterial flora that are in every living animal will ultimately evolve to have org organisms that could be resistant and be passed on to humans so if you have something that infects somebody that might be a problem getting the right antibiotic. so there is the potential risk. it is very interesting the numbers th a large percentage of all the antibiotics that are manufactured are actually used in the feed of animals so theblg have -- they can have growth enhancing capabilities. host: should they be restricted? . that is hotly debed because there's ahin line between getting it for animals that are sick versus for growth enhancing possibilities. when we as health officials g

called before a hearing, for ample, the f.d.a. is pushing towards using antibiotics appropriately for animals that are sick but gradually phasing it out of just putting it into the feedormally for growth enhancing. so, when officials from the f.d.a. were testifying at various hearings, they mad it clear that the appropriate use of antibiotics in animals is the way to go but we should be phasing out of just normally putting it into feed. buthat has created a considerable amount of controversy particularly among the animal grows, the people responsie for the an halls who feel -- animals who feel strongly that is positive even thou it has the potential danger of reducing resistance. host: what is your personal opinion? guest: well, as an infectious disease person the fundamental mechanisms that lead to resistance are giving

antibiotics in situations when they are not needed for infection. so on pure infectiousisease principles i'm concerned about that practice because even though they may not have definitive data to show the link, the scenario of giving antibiotics when the animal is not really sick is a set-up potentially for that. host: how many -- do you know how many prescriptions for penicillin have been written in the last year or how much stroer the penicillin is than it used to be because of resistance issues? guest: i can't give you an exact number. it must be in the hundreds of millions the last several years. and it is not just penicillin. we think of the prototype antibiotic aspen sillenen -- as penicillin but there are others that are widely used. that story is a very interesting story. when penicillin was first introduced widely in the 1940's

and 1950's virtually all the microbes that we used it for, all the common infections, were highly sensiti to penicillin. as we used it over the years certain organisms, particularly staph infections became resistant to penicillin. then we substituted another drug and we saw resistance to that with staph diseases which is worrisome because that means it is going in the direction of being more resistant. so the is a gradual evolution. and if you use penicillin as the prototype there are more microbes that years ago used to be highly sensitive to penicillin that are no longer sensitive to it. host: let's take some cal. first up is dr. stokes a democrat from reston, virginia. please go ahead with your question for dr. fauci. caller: i'm a ob-gyn and what i find the two biggest problems

are, one, marketing drugs, unsophisticated doctors that use high powered drugs. secondly, primary care doctors who have yet -- family practice people are taught to use high-powered drugs on simple drugs and now i can't treat gonorrhea with cypro and others are going away because too damn many doctors are having marketed high-powered drugs when the simple ones will work so you need to something about marketing drugs to doctors. you should not have people saying you should use my -- host: we got the point. let's get an answer. guest: the point is well taken. what he is referring to is it is almost like using a cannon when

you could use a pistol. if somebody comes in with an infection that is likely sensitive to an antibiotic that is not a real blockbuster that can knock virtually any microbe out, if you use your heavy weapons ainst things that don't need happy weapons, at the end of a period of time those heavy weapons will not be as effective against the microbes that you need them for. so what dr. stokes is referring to is sometimes the drug companies come in and market a really god drug, one -- a really od drug that is good for serious infections but they market it so the physicians who rely on that information might use it for something that is really what we call overkill. you don't really need that antibiotic. host: next call for dr. fauci is new york city, annette. caller: good morning, c-span, and dr. fauci. i work in a public hospitaln new york and i'm a nurse at home. the patients are swamped for

mrsa. is it true most healthcare workersarry these organisms because they are exposed? guest: i'm not sure that is the reason why they may not. it varieses from hospital to hospital. some areested particularly when there is the suspicion or history of outbreaks in a particular facility like a nursing home. but you are correct. when you have hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities, that is one of the post problematic areas in the sense that we have seen outbreaks of resistant microbes in those particular facilities. there's been a history the past couple of years of outbreaks in nursing homes of an antibiotic that can cause serious gastrointestinal problems and can be resistant to the usual antibiotic. so the point is well taken. if people don't practice the

hygiene that they should be practici practicing, they can often get the microbes on their own hands and person. health care workers, we have strict rules that you can lose accreditation if you don't do it. you have to wash your hand with a sanitize are before you go into a room with the patient and after you come out. if y do that religiously you are certain to cut down on the carriage by healtare workers of microbes. host: next call is farmingtop, maine. caller: what i wanted to know is as an individual who doesn't use antibiotic unless necessary is that any advantage to that person taking it or is it not an advantage to being healthy and not doing antibiotics? guest: when you say advantage, that means when you need it, it will work on you. is that what you aresaying? what do you mean by advantage? caller: is there any advantage to doing everything that you are

saying as a health care worker and not to prescribe antiotics if you get somebody that is health conscious and doesn't use antibiotics is, there any advantage to them as far as the diseas diseases? guest: let me answer the question quickly a in two parts. if you are a person who has not inappropriaty used antibiotics,he chances of your evolving within yourself a resistanticrobe to common antibiotics is less than someone who uses antibiotics even though it is not particularly necessary. so, there is sething that you can do by not demanding of your physician to put you on an antibiotic when you really don't need one. that is one thing. the other thing is that there is the evolution now and this is very troublesome of what is called community acquired resistant microbes. used to get staph only if you went into a hospital and got it from t environment of the hospital. we are seeing how up to 50% of

the staph are community acquired, that you might just get it being outside in the community. we see that among athletes, direction, wrestlers and football players who can get a resistant microbe by contact with somebody who has it and it has nothing to do with their on antibiotic history. dr. fauci, your next call is from vista, california, jules. caller: good morning. i was just wondering and want to health you know a little secret that has been around a long time. 1957 i made my first cruise to the pacific in the navy. at that time what they would do, there was so much gone raorrheay would put a whole big bottle of penicillin tablets on the quarter deck. the way it was posed to work was

if you had contact on the beach you were supposed to take one of these penicillin tablets when you came back off the beach. instead of doing that, what a lot of guys would do because if you got gonorrhea you got restricted so they would pick up these tablets and hang on to them. then if they came down with gone reia, they would take the tablets on their own. and that -- the next thick you hear is, well, penicillin don't work no more. guest: well, that is not a secret. that is well known that that happened. that is unfortunate. that is just an example. you don't want to fault what the navy did. there was so much -- that is another story. on some of those cruises and locations where our armed forces had to be involved there was such a high degree of gonorrhea

that it was almost a factory type of giving penicillin to individuals. if you get infected you should be treated for the intpefrpblgts you shouldn't just take it because you think you might have gotten ineffected. the best way to prevent it is to use a condom. host: where do we stand now on antibiotics? do we have the correct forlas to fight any disease? do we just keep making them stronger? guest: we mostly do. the challenge we face -- and this is wha the congressional hearing that i and tom friedan, the director of the c.d.c., we both testified a week and a half ago at a hearing that was directed exactly at your question, namel what about the pipeline of antibiotics that we have to meet this challenge of antimicrobial resistance evolution. we still have very god boots but -- very good antibiotics but we

are running out of some of the first line ones. the real challenge is how to stop it and in additi to stopping it, if it is such that you can't stop it, you have to have a pipeline of new antibiotics to replace the ones to which the microbes resistant to. and we need to develop partnerships with th farm suit companies to -- pharmaceutical companies to get new and better antibiotics. and there really isn't that incentive. if you look at the new products that have come out the past couple of decades, very, very few of them are brand-new antibiotics. so

>> giving antibiotics to livestock. even when you give antibiotics, there is always a potential for the evolution of resistance. this product is 62% ethyl alcohol.

is that good enough? >> that is good. caller: i have a question and comment. the first question is, myself, i am allergic to penicillin. i have been told this my whole life. i got real sick once and went to the hospital with cataplectic shock. is it better to not go after something that is a substitute for that, or to just not take anything at all? >> that is a very good question. there are a lot of people that are allergic to penicillin. if you have an infection and you need an antibiotic, you should be on an antibiotic, one that substitutes for penicillin. there are several different

class of antibiotics that work by mechanisms different than the what penncillin works at but they are equally as effective against the microbes that you would use penicillin for. if you get an infection just because you're allergic to penicillin, it does not mean they should not take antibiotics at all. you should take them at the advice of the physician that would be effective against the microbe that you are infected with. host: palm beach, california. your honor with anthony fauci, mih. gucaller: i have been practicing medicine for 30 years now. if there are four people in a room and one of them has a cold, the next day, two of the others have a cold, in western medicine, we would find out what the term was to try to attack the germ.

in eastern medicine, we would say, how come that other guy didn't get the cold? what is he got that the other two didn't have? we tried to raise the immune system. i wonder why there isn't more going on to teach how to raise your immune system. and for western medicine to move in that direction. guest: there is a lot of work going on about the appropriate scenarios in which you would want to boost the body's immune system. certainly, the immune system -- which he is referring to is the natural defense against different infections. the body's immune system is like the department of defense that it -- protect you against microbes. there are infections you get exposed to even though you have a good immune system that you will wind up getting infected. the person that did not get infected, that is really just

the natural distribution of what we call attack rates of infection. it is extremely unusual that you will get an infection that everybody is going to get infected and everybody is going to get sick. that is a scenario that has probably never happened. however, the ones that don't get infected, it may be variety of complicated reasons why they did not get infected. to say that if you just used up your immune system, that is the reason why. having said that, it is important to understand the mechanisms of the immune system and how appropriate to boost it. host: is this a personal decision, or can it be transferred? can penicillin resistance be carried over in your jeans? guest: it doesn't carry over any genes,