of uncontrolled oil release off the gulf of louisiana have caused me and other council members some concern. there are likely affects to the ecosystem. during the spring and early summer months, many commercial and recreational species such as groupers and red snappers spawning in the area are connolly suggested the oil release. eggs are released and they are fertilized and blood near the surface for 40 hours depending on the species. these newly hatched fish live as large a at or near the surface another 20 days. subsequent to the larval stage, they become bottom dwelling inhabitants of sea grass beds, coral reefs, and other monitors. .

through tourism. we have done this -- this through our own marketing efforts. we have a precise understanding as a result of that where our business comes from. [unintelligible] hospitality in florida represents a lot and it is one

of the largest employers in the state of florida. tourism is more important than the benefits of offshore drilling, at least in florida. we need to have a voice in this. i appreciate your comments as it relates to what are the measures that are taking place. visions of a vacation to florida have been consistent and the unique experiences can be found all around our state create warm sunshine, blue water, natural resources, fresh seafood, and many attractions at theme parks for those that visit. it changes that fantastic imagery.

many legislators in tallahassee that continue to push to exploit resources at the risk of devastating it largest economic driver. it is unfortunate that that risk has become a reality. we did a study in 2008. the result of that is very indicative when it comes to the desire ability to come to florida and visit the beach. we have over 2,300 miles of coastline and the top five most influential factors in choosing these destinations are beautiful beaches, safe destination, the ability to relax and get a suntan. these things are at risk today. the report indicates that a beautiful scenery is also in the

top five of american travelers. for the stands to have this affected as oil pours into the gulf of mexico. there have been cuts in spending among all market segments due to the economy. the disaster in our goldwater's is affecting the hospitality of florida for 2010. a 10% or small reduction in florida tourism dollars could force some of our businesses out of business. many of our hotels and restaurants are at risk. i fear the effects of this oil spill is just as devastating as some of the hurricanes we saw in

2004. many parts of of state where florida was open for business. we had a few tree limbs fall. when you watch the national media and read the newspaper, florida was under water. i am very concerned that this effect is going to happen. we have seen cancellations in abundance. one present only that all reservations have stopped completely. imagine for a minute -- >> can you sum it up given the time. i have a 7:00 that i have to be at. >> i apologize. i will do that. >> i think we are getting the message loud and clear, and it is a good message, so some it up. >> we no hurricanes occurred in 20 04 -- 2004.

we had a total of $50 million to offset some of the concerns. it was not enough. we still cannot it's the hotel occupancies up. $100 million is partly not enough to offset this devastation in our markets. thanks. >> thanks. we have eric joining us from a university. we want to make sure this appears in the record. we look forward to your comment. >> thanks. i appreciate the opportunity. i hope you can use this information in your deliberations.

thousands of scientists are directly involved in the research or have a working knowledge about oil spills and the long-term consequences. i do not think any of us could give you an exact accounting of all the effect and consequences that will happen as a result of this close bill. there will be effect and consequence. we have thousands of gallons of crude oil every day it leaking out. it will begin to approach the exxon valdez, the prestige that 20 million gallons. the thought is staggering. all of these have had a significant effect in the aftermath, not just short-term but also long-term.

fish were still having a cole's first source and tumors and other problems even four years and tumors and other problems even quarter years after the incident. the projection of cost of cleanup is not going to be immediate. a major spill occurred in april. this is the perfect environmental storm. an uncontrolled leak, coastal waters, unfavorable weather

conditions started it out. spawning, a litany of events is going on right now. fisheries are being affected. we have some of the biological processes that will come into play. all of this will occur to some degree. the full extent will depend on how much more oil leaks into the system. the consequences will be loss of species diversity upon which other species depend. toxic compounds will increase. individuals and communities that depend on the fisheries are factors.

i think we will see effect even on a global level. we are all going to be impacted by this. look at some of the things that happened with the exxon about this. -- exxon valdez. it effects the entire environment. a serious significant environmental risk is at stake and is a socioeconomic risk. zero risk does not exist. no matter how many safeguards you put, it will always be an accident and it will always come

with ramifications. it is a tragedy in every sense of the word. science can give you an idea, but it is far from perfect from its ability to forget the impact. ecological impacts are closely watched. we want to better understand the consequences. that the benefits that may derive are keeping with the environmental and cinema risks. i thank you for your time. >> thanks. i am proud of our next panelists. she directs a policy program. she serves as an executive director for ocean solutions.

when i first heard about this, there is a town called venice. we have one in california. that word gave me the shivers to think if this could happen to our state. it is a frightening thought. >> thanks. dedicated staff, thanks for the opportunity to look at the connections between healthy potions and how oil spills affect these human and natural systems. 2.3 million people are affected. $138 billion is pumped into our gdp.

the ecological hot spots are the gulf of mexico and the pacific waters of our western states. they are locally valuable and globally significant excess systems help about 90% of the wild commercial fisheries in this nation. the gulf state's economy was 29,000,000,040 3 billion for the western area. jobs in dollar value is reflected highly in this industry. it relies on clean, healthy, and coastal environments. the greatest expense of wetlands, over 5 million acres. we have nesting habitat for many seabirds as well as fisheries in this system.

75% of the migrating water depends on the habitats of the gulf. a professor has made certain estimates s sixth -- $26 trillion a year. the gulf is home to different marine mammals and is the only breeding ground for the endangered to national western hemisphere. one person tracks these animals in the nose they spawn at this -- and knows they spawn this time of year in that area. onlyulf is the world's nesting population for the most endangered sea turtle.

they are in the peak of their nesting season. dispossesses a substantial abundance of shrimp and crabs. they are particularly the hon. to the effect of oil -- vulnerable to the effects of oil that can last in the sediment for decades after the spill. tuna, snapper, grouper begin their life cycle in this area of migrating from spawning ground. drift seaweed also forms on the current providing a mobile nursery for the young sea turtles and other marine wildlife.

containing the oil spill is a priority for the species of the gulf but also important for the florida keys. this is where the current passes through on its way to the atlantic. the history of atlantic production and transportation has some serious accidents that are notable it with serious consequences. hydrocarbons can affect the growth and survival of the marine life. the exxon valdez spill and the impact is still not fully known. many key species still have not recovered from it.

others were smaller but resulted in millions of dollars of economic damage. we still do not know the full extent of this current spell. because the gulf functions as a major engine of ecological importance it is important for us to do what we can to take care of it. thanks. >> we have a retired member of the united states air force. he worked as a coordinator during the exxon of these oil spill.

>> it is a privilege to appear to testify. [unintelligible] a quick reflection may be useful. the unseen co-starred coordination was provided by a group called oasis. in addition to the u.s. navy providing ships, they used other

resources and to house 11,000 workers on barges that were to be constructive. northern command should be part of this. the joined -- [unintelligible] they need to the knowledge to provide systems and technology such as imagery from satellite to aid them. these new technologies should be deployed to give the appropriate agencies involved situational awareness that will lead to

swift identification of the clan of objectives. i cannot emphasize this enough. the responsibility of the oil companies and the government with cleanup efforts make it paramount that soldiers not be used for this operation. i do not object to navy ships being used. this disaster should -- these disasters impact the local community so much that they should benefit from temporary job creation. i mentioned earlier the commences -- center was immediately established for clean-up operations. this was of great value for all, especially certain people. once exxon lawyers discovered that it was funding this

information told, they terminated this for fear that the u.s. government would have too much information. we should not have let this happen. there were too many other battles to fight. with reference to the current oil spill, i would only say that the protocols were changed and in forced today with certain leaders to have been working effectively with bp. there is no question that this oil spill as far more challenging as it is 5,000 feet below sea level. this is an important factor. we have not used all of our latest imagery assets.

i would do a test immediately to demonstrate the value that will show the coordinators the exact position of the oil slick and its location. this real-time digital picture will be of immense value. it should be considered for use in the disaster areas. we need to keep the social awareness. satellites are helpful, but not continuously real time. i believe most of the lessons learned have been incorporated today with the exception of real-time imagery. >> thanks.

i wanted to say that you have been a fantastic witnesses. you took a little sleight -- slice of the issues we are facing. if there is some way we could work with you and give janet a pullen, some of your information. would you be willing to do that? >> absolutely. i am available for any assistance that you may need. >> great. i have asked the white house a few questions. i just want to say again, thank you for your patience. what a day. i did not anticipate that it would take so long to move. i think your point that you heard about them paying the full

cost, i think it would be important to white him a letter -- write him a letter. when you said that already there are cancellations, my heart stopped. as we try to get out of this recession, this is not what we want or need. we need to stop the oil from getting over there and make sure people know they should still go to florida. thank you. i need to send it over to the senator. >> thanks. i will not be long. the witnesses have been grateful for your testimony in your travel here. we are looking into this extraordinary occurrence. the first pass to deal with one

factor. can you describe for me more clearly if you would how it is said to this works and what the environmental advantage is to an oil spill, particularly one of this magnitude? >> it is a chemical that, it surrounds small droplets of oil and makes them repulse one another and sank to the bottom of the ocean. the application is considered controversial. this is a great idea to some and others say it is a biological risk associated with it. they break apart, fall to the

bottom, prevailing current can bring it back up on shore. there is by a degradation that does occur. it can affect bottom dwelling organisms, some that live a little bit off the bottom. >> they can be divided into various sections of the water column. it can minimize the effect or harm at the surface of the water column, but increase the harm at the bottom of the water column by accelerating the oil through. .

>> depending on how close you are, 5,000 feet, 1 mile within the aquatics zone. maybe 100 feet, you have biologically active -- have floating clave -- larvae, the phytoplankton. it is a pretty dynamic system. the argument is having a

floating oil is worse than the risk of having its dispersed. i have mixed emotions about it. >> is there an argument to be made that dispersants have a cosmetic effect? >> i don't think that we really fully understand the risks associated with it. >> but there is some value in accelerating the biodegrading of the oil on that basis? set aside the question of where it takes place, where the most productive areas are. all other things being equal, there would be some enhanced by a degrading a fact with the use

of dispersants? >> yes, and you have to consider the consequence of the other side. if it gets to some of the marshlands, some of the wetlands, those are like sponges. it will absorb it. as it floats on the surface, when it gets on shore, it will pose a significant risk. >> those are a rich and productive areas? >> they are very rich. you're going to have a look at the risk versus the benefits. you may find that the benefits outweigh the risks. >> you talked about the various fisheries and the impact. i don't know if you are an expert in this area, but i found it difficult in your testimony in my mind to sort out which of those fisheries would be recoverable as regulator

as well as a teacher in this area. what conclusions do you draw about the risks that offshore drilling presents, and what policy would recommend with respect to further drilling exploration. >> thank you for that question. it is not an easy one answer, but let me share with you and

experience when i served as chair with 36 oil leases. we actually came up before the coastal commission for review. it gave them the opportunity to look at what kinds of risks, not perfectly analogous, but the nature of the risks for offshore oil exploration and ultimately production. in that case, we found there was insufficient information provided to us to actually fully characterized the risk. and on that basis, we denied the review. it goes to the very heart of the problem that we have before us here, were the risks appropriately characterized

before deep water horizon was put into place? could we have done a better job of evaluations? based on my review of the environmental document, i would say yes. i think attention really needs to be paid to better characterization of the risks and a degree of harm that is possible, especially intolerable areas like the gulf that we know are highly sensitive to this kind of [unintelligible] >> we have had oil spills in rhode island, we had the world prodigy oil spill. in both of those cases, like the exxon valdez oil spill, there is a vessel with a limited amount

of oil in it, and you knew from the beginning, at least in one dimension, what the worst-case scenario is going to be, and you had the ability to plan a timing horizon around the result knowing what the exposure was. this is a different problem, because without successful efforts to cap or close the week, it can be going on as far as we know, and definitely. that creates an entirely different set of concerns for somebody in charge of responding. could you address how you see the continuing nature of this threat creating differences, or other types of spills? donohue >> your spot on,

senator. we knew exactly what we had almost immediately, 11 million gallons. what we don't know here is how long this will go, and clearly, it is far more technologically difficult than any oil spill in history. we went into iraq in a desert storm, said on hussain -- sddam hus -- saddam hussein torched those wells. because of this depth, it will be enormously difficult. it could go on as some of the previous speakers mentioned, it could exceed exxon valdez. you have a continuous source,

and you've got to be able to minimize the impact of the spill and the damage. there is no question that the outrage really hasn't come yet until you see it on the beaches like we saw at on the beaches of prince william's sound. frankly, it has been rather muted. wanted starts rolling up on those beaches in panama city and those white beaches and alabama, mississippi, and a new orleans, the outrage is going to go on political pressure to get something done. that is why i feel that having a much better visibility and exactly where that oil is going, dispersants we found out there and the scientists we work with -- it mitigates the

problem. instead of having this huge block hit the beaches, it helps mitigate, but there are still problems. i think we ought to research what the scientists found, discover the impact of the dispersants. in any case, it is better than having a huge block hit the shore. water temperatures are warmer so you can burn it off there. there are more positive factors to mitigate this impact, but you hit it. this source is gushing at 5,000 barrels a day. none of us will fully understand the impact, we just hope to get it terminated. you have the continuing source, and as it moves closer to the

shores, how much they're able to contain, burn off, all the different techniques, how they're able to clean this up. this is going to be a very demanding, i believe, situation with months and years to come. >> there is the storm season in the gulf for the hurricane generated swept through, and that would severely compromise any kind of activities outside the water or nearby. >> another complication, the intense wave action intends to break it up. but it can come up, so they do have that problem that they will

be facing very shortly, the hurricane season. they have a lot of challenges out there. that is why i believe that there ought to be a digital picture so that those coordinators' can see the new technology of where this oil spill is going and get in front of the problem. and when it is coming to sensitive areas, what they can do. i don't think they have the tools with the satellite to get an optical. it comes back every four or six hours, not in the same place. i they need a continuous picture of what is going on, so that is why we certainly test what they can do to help us. >> there is a 75 million-dollar cap on economic damages, how does the lodging association

feel about the adequacy of $75 million to make cold the business of florida that may be struck by this, assuming it was all to go to florida, which is a hypothetical. >> by echoed his comments that the 75 million-dollar cap doesn't exist anymore because he just took it away. we're looking to fund whatever it takes to get tourism back on track. it is already struggling, and this is just the nail in the coffin for us, so to speak. if we don't get this under control, >> let's assume we can take his word for that. in the spirit of president reagan, trust, but verify, it might be better to get that in writing before you rely on it

too much. it might be sponge year than it seems right now. $75 million, does it take a big bite out of the consequential damages? >> it doesn't touch it. in 2005 when we spent $50 million on tourism, the legislation that you put forth today will help a long way in that regard. i appreciate you championing that initiative. it is going to help in that regard. >> i appreciate you mentioning that. [unintelligible] i am delighted that the two of them joined in that. i appreciate the bill put forward by chairman leahy.

they chose to protect exxon, and also to improve civil and criminal penalties under the continental shelf lands act. i hope that trio of bills will help irresponsive to this. you have all been here much longer than you expected to be. i just want to close by reiterating chairman boxer's appreciation for all of you suffering to a long day you have had, sharing with us your experience and your expertise, it has been very valuable. the record will stay open for an additional week if anyone chooses add anything to the record. this particular hearing is now adjourned. change it to two weeks.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> in response to the gulf of mexico oil spill, secretary ken salazar says the regulating body

will be split into. the division that collects oil company royalties will be separate from the one that monitor safety. this is about 40 minutes. >> are your ready? -- you ready? good afternoon. we are now in the twenty first day of what is a relentless and non-stop response to the bp spill in the gulf coast. we are battling one of the largest environmental disasters in decades. public servants from many agencies are putting in long hours with little sleep as they work alongside other federal, state, and local partners to address this crisis.

altogether, 13,000 personnel are working to address the issue. we have four missions on which we have been focused on since day one. first, we're putting all hands on deck. second, we are protecting with everything that we have, the natural resources of the gulf coast including 24 national wildlife refuge is in seven national park units that could be affected. third, we're working to get to the bottom of what happened, and to hold those responsible accountable. and we are evaluating what can be done differently to prevent this type of incident from ever happening again. the many questions that arise from deep water horizon in this incident will take time to answer.

the joint investigation that the u.s. coast guard is leading will help us get to the bottom of what happened on april 20 if. the 30 day review the president asked just -- asked us to undertake will be beneficial. we will of violate the broader questions this incident raises about management, oversight, and safety of the oilfields. today, because it is important that there is confidence in the review, we are putting press set of lies on the event -- a press set of eyes on the event. they will help us, the independent and a science based.

they have great expertise and are highly respected around the world. all of these investigations including the investigation by the national engineering academy will provide us important information that will help insure that what has happened will never happen again. as we conduct these reviews, that can bring about change and reform now. in january 2009, we have been implementing reforms aimed at changing how the department of interior is. i became the secretary in part because it was foremost in my mind and in the present imposing mind. we have done a lot to change the department in the last year. we have issued new ethics

standards, we have terminated the highly controversial royalty program against many who opposed its termination. we have ushered in a new sense of missions to the mms to stand up -- send a renewable energy in the offshore, and all the regulatory renewable energy from being part of the nation's energy portfolio. we aggressively implement this recommendation that has been made by our own inspector general as well as the committee chaired by senator kerry and garne. the prior administration had proposed in the arctic areas because the concerns relative to spell response and other safety

measures. will also taken steps to ensure that there are areas protected that are too special to develop, and that included crystal bay in alaska. we have established a science based process for determining which areas may or may not be ok for oil and gas development. it must and will continue. i am announcing that we are making additional leaps forward. we're making additional reforms to make this department have more tools, more resources, more independence, and greater authority to enforce laws and regulations that apply to oil and gas companies. first, i intend to establish the separate and independent safety and environmental enforcement entity that will require a

restructuring of mms. to ensure that companies follow the law. to ensure that workers and the environment should be independent from mms's leasing and permitting functions. it proposes restructuring, and we will ensure the american people that they have a strong and independent organization holding in and companies accountable and in compliance with the law of the land. second, i am announcing today that we will be submitting the congress the proposal to provide an additional $29 million to strengthen and increase inspection of offshore oil, conduct independent investigations, environmental studies, and develop recommendations that will follow-up on the report on may 28.

we will increase the authority of mms to review expiration plans the companies said that. it is required by law, the exploration plans will make decisions within 30 days from the times is submitted. we want to increase the review time to 90 days. they will determine that the time is needed for adequate review. these important changes in the law will help us have the additional time to ensure it is connected on the exploration plans. they will supplement the environmental -- in several

stages of the leasing process. again, these reforms will not be the last that we will undertake. we will continue to work tirelessly to change how the department of the interior does business and make sure that we're holding energy companies accountable and that the american people are getting a fair return for their resources. and that the safety of workers and the environment are protected. i would be happy to take questions. >> what of the issues that came up today at the hearing is whether in a mass actually gave bp permission to replace the mud with seawater before installing the final concrete plug. it came up repeatedly, and are you trying to find out whether that tradition was -- whether that permission was granted? >> there are massive

investigations under way, and we will get to the bottom of what happened. no one is exempt from that review, and so we will find out what happened. it will not be appropriate for me to conjecture what happened. >> on the separating of mms -- >> let me take a couple of other questions and i will come back to you. >> if this is such an important reform, why did you wait until now to propose it? >> all of the that have followed what we have done with the department, we have made significant changes, whether it is working on renewable energy, whether it is moving forward moving the changes with respect

to offshore leasing and categorical exclusions. there has been a very robust reform agenda. part of it has been to take a hard look at in a mass and figure out how best to structure its for the future. i spoke about this back in january of 2009. we released public statements in support of the creation of the organic act way back in september of 2009. these efforts have been ongoing. we have not gotten to climate change legislation -- getting to the point where we have substantive issues relative to the governance of energy production addressed, but we have been clear, i have been clear that this department -- i

believe management service needed to have organic legislation that -- there would be a presidential appointment of the director of the agency that would be confirmed by the united states senate. that has been my position, it is my position today, and i would hope that one of the things that does happen is that we do see both kinds of legislative initiatives. >> mr. secretary, some people calling for reform say that this is a good first step. but the permit process is still attached to the royalty revenue collection. can you speak to why you decided to keep those functions together? and why didn't you go for

complete independence? >> in creating what would be a new office of safety and environmental enforcement, which is what this will be called, we will be moving significant resources into that initial review. i expect that office will have some 300 personnel. that would include moving inspectors that are far away and will get the regions into a more centralized function. . .

there is a lot of money that

does come in. and that is part of the function of mms. it seems to me that separate and apart from that function, we ought to then have the environmental and safety enforcement functions, so that there is no conflict real or perceived with respect to those functions. allowing oil and gas companies to come and take of the american natural resources on the one hand, because that is beneficial to the national security of the united states and the treasury of the united states, and on the other side, making sure those functions in place that they are being conducted in the most safeway and the most informally responsible way. yes. >> mr. secretary, what is the

time table that you had? when does the -- or -- reorganization can? -- ken? >> we will move forward with all deliberate haste to get this done quickly. their parts of it which we may be able to execute with administrative authorities that the secretary has. there could be a pilot which requires congressional direction. there are members of united states congress have been conversations including senator ron wyden and a congressman who has proposed organic legislation for mms. i felt that that is a good idea

and said that in hearings as well as in public statements that i have made. some of this will depend on the congressional actions from the legislative package which is being worked on. there will be other components of legislative packages sent to the hill that can be responsive to this issue. we await some of those actions to take place as we move forward with this. >> what can you move ahead with administratively? >> administratively? the mms was created back in the early 1980's with secretarial orders that were amended several times. since then there have been numerous references to mms and its functions and almost every

iteration of the energy acts enacted by congress. what we're doing and we had been doing this even before this incident occurred, is to determine which secretarial order with respect to the reorganization. that is what my deputy secretary and the assistant secretary for minerals are working -- have been working on and we will get back to it as soon as we can. someone said i should take calls. anyone here who is not ask a question that was to ask a question? >> why did you follow the approach of lumping mms with others as one big energy agency? >> i will answer that, too. >> can you explain to us how

will work with an environmental review, with one-half in charge of policing and the other half in charge of review? does that mean that the agency can blocked the lease? who has the ultimate authority? >> first on the concept called a clear act legislation which was proposed last year, it is my view that we need organic legislation with a thoughtfully considered piece of legislation. as i said in response earlier, to me from day one it has seemed that you needed to have a congressional enactment for this agency to have such massive responsibilities. the exact contours of what that legislation will take is something that i would hope comes out of this incident that we deal with, this matter in

congress. certainly dealing with the mms revenue collection functions and putting in a statute that is an and granite piece of legislation for mms is important. -- an organic piece of legislation for mms is important. there are other places outside of mms that can be looked at in connection with the question of how we collect revenues from american natural resources for the united states. so we will look at that issue as we work with the congress on this issue. on how the functions ultimately will work, yes, you will have one part of this office that will be in charge of the leasing and oil collection and essentially dealing with the money part and the fund-raising

part. the other part of it will be the branch that essentially makes sure that both safety as well as environmental laws and regulations are being enforced. but me take a couple of questions. and then there is a phone. >> our first question on the fun comes from mr. jeff young 3 your line is open. >> thank you for taking questions from the phone as well. your deepwater rise in rig was exempted from a review. -- horizon raid was exempted from a review. but that still happened with that practice of exemption? i was wondering how are it -- and wondering how the exploration drilling and in alaska might be affected by the changes they are proposing?

>> was it tom? >> pardon me? >> jeff young, public radio, "living on our." >> with respect to the legislative effort for 90-day, that reform is important because there is no way within the agency and frankly to do and in iraq -- and inadequate assessment within the 90-day time frame. it is important to remember, though, that this additional change would simply allow mms to supplement what it already does in terms of its environmental assessment with respect to oil and gas leasing. it is first of all important to note that before a five-year plan is put into place, an informal impact statement is in fact required. second of all, when a lease sale is held, and you will note from

the different five-year plans, but for the sale is actually held, there is the second environmental impact statement that is required and then thirdly, before the expiration moves ford, there is an opportunity for additional environmental assessment 3 having that time frame not be required by law to essentially move a whole word with a 30-day decision on the exploration plan, that will allow us to buttress the environmental assessment that i think are important and should be required of exploration plans. with respect to your second question on the other seas, let me respond in two ways. we were very careful to move

forward with the new five-year plan to deal with the alaskan waters because of the fact that we were concerned that there was not enough informations concerning whole range of matters, including oil response, will spill response capacity and other science information related to the arctic. that is why the proposed five leases that were in 2007, 2012 plan were canceled. we said that we would take a look at the issue of exploration in those areas over the next few years and then make our decision which which are due on june 30, 2012, about whether or not it is safe to move forward with oil and gas -- with additional oil and gas exploration activities in the arctic. that is about -- how we

approached those issues. how will it affect those exploration plans at this point in time, we will have more to say about that. part of it will be pending the report which we are compiling to deliver to the president before the end of the month. i will take a couple more questions from the phone. the board our next question is from "energy washington week." >> secretary salazar, thank you for taking my call. i wanted to get at some other regulatory structuring that this will mean and enforcement. when are we looking at as far as being able to respond to violations? and also, the industry is simultaneously announcing that they just met their own review

boards or special task force to review this bill -- spell and they are saying that they want to work with you in reviewing the spell and also increased regulatory issues. >> what was your first question? public what does this mean for -- >> what does this mean for enforcement, rigorous penalties for violations? and how are you going to work with industry on this? >> let me say that mms is an enforcer and they have been enforcing and giving out violation notices that have been -- i number of several hundred, perhaps 2000 of those have been

given in the recent period of time. there have been violations companies have been cited with, numerous violations, something that mms has been doing and will be doing on an ongoing basis. what we will do with the additional enforcement effort that we will be putting into this overall effort is that there will be additional inspections. there probably will be more robust inspections of the rigs and drilling activity, and we will be learning all lot from these reviews that are taking place. we expect to review under way now to go up to the president and will give us additional guidance on what we ought to be doing that will insure that this kind of problem does not happen again. with respect your second question on the industry's own

involvement in this effort, let me just say two face with respect to that issue. right now be p is the responsible party. they've been taking on the responsibility of plugging this well, the entire response, and have very publicly and privately confirmed to me on many occasions that they will be responsible for every penny that is -- is spent in response in the natural resources recovery and in paying out damage claims to people who were affected by it. that is something which they have said repeatedly and i hope they repeated that again today as they testify in the congress. in terms of going forward and developing the rules on safety

issues, there will be independence for the oil and gas industry has tremendous technology and information which they can bring to bear to this problem. we welcome that because the energy security of the nation requires us to make the best decisions as we move forward. but that does not mean that the oil and gas companies essentially should be in the driver's seat of the right thing in any of these rules and regulations. that is a government function, a police function of the government. we will make sure that we will listen to them and take their input as we develop input from experts. and we shall have fresh eyes on how we move forward with this. one more question on the phone. >> our next question comes from the associated press.

>> i wanted to go back a little bit -- could you clarify what is going to be in the legislation and what can you do one year- round administrative side? there seemed to be some confusion about that. >> with respect to legislative passage, we're looking at what our authority is in terms to accomplish some of the reorganization that needs to take place. we will be working on that in the days ahead. let me finally say one last thing. from april 20 it until today we

of been working very hard on this matter -- we have been working very hard on this matter. there had been a blow up in the gulf and there was a rig on fire -- without giving them an opportunity to go to their place to get a suitcase, i dispatch that deputy secretary david hayes and the communications director to the gulf of mexico, and to that date david has been involved in leading the effort nonstop, probably 19-20 hours a day, making sure that as we deal with issues on 20 different battlefronts that we have the best effort under way. in addition to that. we've had tom strickland from

that same day who spent the weekend there with admiral landrieu. we have been working on this and have been in houston twice at the command center making sure that the work streams that are moving forward are the ones that are the best, the best global scientists bringing their minds to bear on what is happening there at the command center as the decisions are being made with respect to leak containment, to lead the stoppage, with respect to the response and the shore protection. i've been with the director of the u.s. geological survey at that command. and tom strickland has set up an array of involvement with the

department of interior in each of the command centers, in cooperation with the national park service to make sure that we're protecting the very special coastline of the gulf coast along with the great fish and wildlife resources which we have a responsibility to protect. and we will unless the secretary for minerals involved with us as we move forward, both in the investigations as well as other administrative matters that we are dealing with. she served as the inspector general of the department of interior. she served as a united states attorney for the district of columbia. so with the team that we have working on this issue, what i am very confident about is that we're going to see our way through this and i am very resolute and very confident that this issue ultimately will be

one in which we learned a lot about the energy resources, but that we are also able to move forward with a comprehensive energy plans president obama asked me to work on when i came here for the secretary of the interior and to move forward with it in its broad portfolio, including renewable energy resources as well as oil and gas and the other aspects of the energy security needs of the nation. thank you all very much. >> in a few moments, bbc newsnight coverage of the resignation of gordon brown. after that, health care

reporters from the washington post on their new book about the president's health-care plan. and later, the senate energy committee looks at the gulf of mexico oil spill and offshore drilling with the executives of the oil company bp america. on all the washington journal" tomorrow morning, more about the economy of greece with representative cathy rodgers. jeff merkley discusses the financial regulation bill. and we will look at a report on the state of metropolitan america. "washington journal" is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> c-span -- our public affairs content is available on television, radio, and online. you can also connect with us on twitter, facebook, and youtube. sign up for schedule alert e- mails at c-span.org.

>> british prime minister gordon brown resigned tuesday and conservative party leader david cameron accepted the queens invitation to become prime minister. bbc newsnight coverage of this event is an hour. >> i aim to form a proper and full coalition between the conservatives and the liberal democrats. ♪ >> tonight britain has a new prime minister. david cameron it entered downing street with what he hopes will be a coalition of conservative and liberal democrats. >> we can provide that strong and stable government that our country needs. >> a crucial statement from nick clegg during the next half-hour.

what could it mean for the country? we have been falling every twist and turn. >> here is our new prime minister, david cameron for it falwells is packed with the devil -- liberal democrats deliver stable government? >> we will be talking to party members. how will the grass roots from both parties react to the new political deal? we talk to two prominent activists. is this really what the voters wanted? call last pilgrimage. gordon brown and his family leave downing street. we will ask his former cabinet members where that leaves the labour party. and what is for store -- what is in store for us now? we will ask our three why is panelists. good evening.

after a momentous day, we have a new prime minister, david cameron, the young the since 1812. a new chancellor and a new conservative foreign secretary. the rest is still to come but it is thought that nick clegg will be deputy prime minister and that there will be a series of liberal democrat post in the house. they are still meeting to ratify the deal. tory in mp's are also meeting in parliament. here is michael creek. -- crick. >> tonight five days after the election, our political parties finally ended a stalemate and collected in their ways and come up with a new government. subareas, david william donald cameron, having just been appointed that 12th prime minister of the queen's reign. and the youngest prime minister that this country has had for

almost 200 years. >> her majesty the queen has asked me to form a new government and i have accepted. before i talk about that new government, let me say something about the one that has just passed. a decade ago, this country is more out open at home and more compassionate abroad, and that is something we should all be grateful all -- 4. on behalf of the whole country, i like to pay tribute to the outgoing prime minister for his long record of dedicated public service. >> it became clear that his deal with the liberal democrats was not yet complete. >> i aim to form a proper and full coalition between the conservatives and the liberal democrats. i believe that it is the right way to provide this country with a strong, the stable, the good and decent government that i think we need so badly. nick clegg and i are both political leaders who want to

put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest. i believe that is the best way to get the strong government that we need, decisive government that we need to date. this is going to be hard and difficult work. a coalition will throw up all sorts of challenges, but i believe together we can provide that strong and stable government that our country needs based on those values -- rebuilding family, rebuilding community, above all, rebuilding responsibility in our country. those are the things i care about. those are the things that this government will now start work on doing. thank you very much. >> this morning westminster was abuzz with speculation. no one knew what would happen. while and liberal democrats were negotiating, it was clear talking to of both parties that

the pact was unlikely to work. >> all the momentum seems to be in favor of a conservative- liberal democrat coalition. the striking thing is the number of labour mp's who feel that a coalition with the liberal democrats is just crazy. but there are left-leaning liberal democrats who said that the best option for them is to go in with the conservatives. one said to me this morning that the conservatives have their -- rubbed out their manifesto and taken hours. more concessions to make them? seems thing to be moving in the conservative direction. it seemed to be confirmed around 2:00 when after a break of more than 24 hours the tories were walking back along whitehall with talks again with

the global democrats at the cabinet office. we've been in sight almost four hours now, and rumors swirling that there has been a deal, that the liberal democrats will get six cabinet posts, and kent clark will be the treasury ministry for the new cabinet. but we still do not officially know that there has been a deal. then suddenly gordon brown forced the pace of events by suddenly are merging into downing street to announce he was resigning as the prime minister and as labour party leader. >> i've informed the queen's private secretary that it is my intention to tender my resignation to the queen. in the event that the queen except, i will ask her to invite the leader of the conservative party to form a government toward i wish him well as he makes decisions for the future.

only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of this responsibility and it's great capacity for good. >> and so gordon brown walked down the street with his wife and two young sons to a waiting car. >> array. [applause] >> there after 13 years of labour government, gordon brown leaves downing street to tender his resignation to the queen. it was only then around the time gordon brown was meeting between that liberal democrats and conservative negotiators emerged to say that talks had gone well. but there was still no sign of any actual completed deal between the parties. >> we have completed our discussions in a very positive atmosphere, and we now have some recommendations to take back to

david cameron and to our colleagues. thank you very much indeed. the board then william hague and his colleague had to walk along what was becoming an extremely crowded whitehall by now, running the gauntlet of reporters and the general public. around 8:00, david cameron followed for brown to the palace and the queen asked him to form the latest government. but as he arrived back in downing street, still no details of the deal. and when liberal democrats and conservatives met tonight, one of the negotiators suggested all was not yet quite in place. >> they need to look very carefully to what has been discussed and it will make a decision about what happens next. >> ultimately there seem to be little doubt that the liberal democrat bodies would except the conservative proposal. >> michael crick is in downing

street now. you thought that nick clegg would be deputy prime minister. >> that has been confirmed. nick clegg will be the deputy prime minister. we're also being told that there will be four other cabinet posts for liberal democrats. now we can guess at his they might be. all the speculation that one would be george osborn's deputy as chief secretary to the treasury has been firmly denied. others likely to be in line for cabinet positions are able walls -- david and alexander and chris sims, people involved in the negotiations. there it like to be a fair sprinkling of liberal democrats in the junior governments position. most will have a liberal democrat minister in them. perhaps as interesting as the names of the minister's

tonight, there is also the policy developments. the policy deal that is being done. the conservatives have showed -- shelved their most talked-about inheritance tax cut, and a conservative policy of 6 billion pounds worth of spending cuts in the current penitential year will go ahead -- financial year, even though the liberal democrats decried that during the campaign, saying that it was in danger ring. but there will also be money made available to enable the liberal democrat policy of increasing the income tax threshold to go through. there will be a lot of liberal democrats thinking they have and our model matters. a very interesting issue which we do not yet know about for sure is whether there is a

commitment to fix terms of parliament. that is an important issue, particularly in the current parliament, because what worry the liberal democrats about the possible coalition with both labour and the conservatives is that there was not a fixed term limit, then the danger was that an election could be called at any moment, perhaps at the moment when they were at their weakest. >> more questions about that. we think this is a done deal. they are still meeting. what is the percentage of ratifying this? >> i think the liberal democrats will end up ratifying this. they are surprised at just how much they have been offered by the conservative party. most of them seemed to think that the conservative party has been pretty generous. were there would be difficulty is in the federal executive, only about five mp's on the

federal executive, and secondly there needs to be a three- quarters majority in both of those parties. there is a special party conference in the next few days to be ratified by them, although constitutionally in of 75% has gone through. my feeling is that that this will go through. >> we are hearing that david cameron has been called by president obama tonight. of course that is right. there was a phone call. they talked about the metal is, iran, afghanistan, as you might expect, and president obama -- invited david cameron and his wife to visit washington in the summer. he is also had a phone call from chancellor merkel tonight. >> we're getting back to you later on for it joining me now as alistair campbell, an advisor to gordon brown, and then a

liberal democrat front bencher. we hope to talk to others when their meeting breaks up, and we hope to hear from nick clegg within the next 15 minutes. first of all, what do you make of the deal? four cabinet ministers all sock -- apart from nick clegg as deputy prime minister. fixed terms. >> it does look like a very good deal for liberal democrat policies. this is policy-based. it is quite clear that liberal democrats, whatever they chose in this difficult position, would get that tax. it would not be to the short term party advantage but that was always known by us. knowing that in the short term, we get the tax unfairly. but that tw choices were a coalition with the conservatives diluting an amending their worst

policies. or a minority conservative government on stable but untrammeled. there was no labour alternative. people will see that the liberal democrats have not only been statesmanlike, but it is not the chaos that people said it was out there. the wars if you wanted the thing to be hong, that is what you are aiming for. the was aiming for the liberal democrat majority. this is what we wanted in order to get policy changes. the significant thing is that not only that this will be significant, with liberal democrats in there to do with the financial deficit, which is essential. but political reform from the conservative the administration. the bourse let's talk to an alternative. one quick point on that departure, the timing of it. it was all this sudden that a

deal would not done. if that would be the will of the people, he was in that position. of course he had a number conversations with nick clegg. you realize that nick clegg opening the possibility of some sort of formal arrangement, that was not going to happen. gordon took that judgment that he owed it to the country to set out where he was. he had to go see the queen and now you have the new prime minister in place. the board talk about the deal making and a minute. you had a part to play this afternoon to tell the nation for prosperity. you're going over to the red tide. >> that is true. >> u.s. spare one in the water. of course he said that he wanted to go there. >> liberal democrats say that labour was never serious about

forming a progressive politics. >> that is a load of nonsense. while the labor negotiating team go through the discussions that they did? i think the liberal democrats are in a difficult position three that have lots of people vote for them and a lot of those people voted because they did not want a conservative government that me finish. and now those people are seeing david cameron block into downing street. they have to say that there would to temper the excesses. let's see how they get to the european issue, for example there is one truly progressive party left in britain. that is not ridiculous. >> you already have liberal democrats growing the labour party. the was a lot campaign for and voted for the liberal democrat to stop david cameron from getting into power. >> my constituency alone, let's

be clear about what happened here 3.47% of people voted conservative, that meant that david cameron was going to be prime minister on the arithmetic. [unintelligible] let me finish the point. the choice is it turns out -- [unintelligible] >> let's deal with the point about the fact that liberal democrats regarded their policies to be to the left of labor. the worst i answer better than used since he directed it to me. let's say. liberal democrat voters cannot, once the conservatives get 30% of the rainbows and 306 seats, 20 short of a majority, do anything other -- especially with a labour party saying that they want nothing to do with the coalition, it is time for opposition. there is no way that that was of

viable labour alternative. the only choice thaen who will e concerned that every effort was made to see if there was an alternative. i do not blame the labour party. it is not a hostile point that i am making three but they do need time in opposition. >> what you say you're grassroots members? the board that is not the point clearly this is quinn to be difficult for some short term. >> let me answer the question. what we said during the campaign is that he promised ability to do with the financial crisis. it is not to our short-term advantage. the country will benefit from having stable government and we've just seen on the tax proposals that we will have a progressive tax shield instead of a regressive one that we get under a conservative government. those who can forget when nick

clegg attack david cameron on the european allies and said he was in a bed with a bunch of nutters and anti-semites? has that been swept under the common? >> liberal democratic groups and the conservative group -- there is no treaty coming down the line in europe. >> you have a new government will take a new approach, but it is a conservative government. i think nick clegg has already made one big mistake. deputy prime minister, let's see what the choices. [unintelligible] he should have gotten a big department from sell. >> the idea of a fixed term parliament will go away. when you lick your wounds? >> a lot of that depends on the elections. but that is the only true

progressive party and the liberal democrats have made a strategic error, of diet and historic proportions. >> we will be judged by that $3 you will be. let's just see if we are not fighting an election prescind. -- pretty soon. >> are you going to publish a diary on the real relationship between tony blair and gordon brown? >> let's see. if you have been on amazon, the prelude to power, volume one is probably next month. [unintelligible] >> and we are hoping to hear from a senior tory later in the show. the deal apparently gives liberal democrats more power than they have had in 17 years. world where that -- where will the tensions be in a coalition government? we've been talking to conservative mp's.

>> moving back into government. conservative mp's are writing back to westminster are adjusting to a different world. they have to unpack and jettison of whole lot of hostility toward the liberal democrats. >> are they going to be able to put their arms around each other? >> we may have to hold our noises -- noses from time to time, but that is what politics is all about. we clearly will not get everything that we won and the liberal democrats are not going to get everything that 13 david cameron came into committee room 14 and ask the conservative mp's that this shadow cabinet think we need all for a referendum on p r three will be back as? and the party did $3 that was the process that had to be paid in order for his coalition to be

formed. i don't think any of us are happy about the idea of it. we're certainly opposed in large part to that. i will be campaigning for the postal system but we have conceded that there should be a referendum. >> if there is a new rift in the government to support a referendum, you will support that? >> that is part of the package that is being signed up to prove that is what david cameron told us last night and i accept that if we sign it deal with the liberals, that is part of the bill. that does not mean that we will support that. >> there will be tension about how to bring the deficit down and about europe? >> i am sure that there will be. david has cameron has announced some things and liberals seem willing to accept it. >> these things will be tested. >> the coalition will not be easy. what would be even worse to be in a situation where we do not have any stable government for

the next three years. >> when david cameron got up to speed, conservatives were shouting at him. your side is going to have to stop doing that. >> a change in politics and that is what politics does. the country did not know what it wanted for certain. so parliament has to work to make it work. they're going to have to behave in a different way because we have a duty to try and solve the country's problems. they are assuming office for the first time had a national level for a century. that is something they are going have to come to terms with in the same way we're. have to come to terms with being less instinctively anti- any party other than us. and i think this could herald

quite enlightening period of parliamentary relations. it is not all difficulty. public next you'll be telling me you quite like some of them. >> i always have, actually. >> this deal could only be formed because the negotiations were shielded from the microphones. if this coalition is to survive, it will have to learn to live in this monster. >> i am joined by the editor of the influential web site and one who once advised the conservatives' third how one happy are you about this? >> we will wait and see. i work closely with nick clegg for many years on various issues. when i took to the streets, my constituency to actively support a liberal democrat candidate, a very good candidate, i did not do so to get a conservative

government for it for a lot of people there will be very deep concern. we not seen all the details. let's wait and see the details. delors you are seeing a conservative government. >> i switched on my telephone this evening. i have a photograph of david cameron in to bring down the street as prime minister prove that was a gut wrenching photographs. >> for most? >> when i went around the street to my constituency, they said that they would vote liberal democrat to stop the conservative. very troubling. >> you must be happy. >> it's an extraordinary moment. conservative members of this loop on of the majority. conservative government, and we did not get one and last week's general legend. david cameron decided that we

need stability and we need a coalition. >> does that mean that there is calls for a minority conservative government, you pull that 83% on a minority government, 40% for coalition for not reflecting the will of the people? >> it is true when we poll conservative numbers that they preferred a minority government. they do not have that, but conservative members want to give the new prime minister the benefit of the doubt. clearly the decision has been taken. my hope is to see this work and give them the benefit of the doubt rather than prejudge this crown-breaking coalition. >> you're saying that this is ashley advertises a tory government. will that mean that liberal democrats that you know and support? >> a lot of people will move

back as they did from the labour to the liberal democrats. i know cleat -- nick clegg and trust him. i am not quick to jump the judgment, but it will have to be a question of looking at the detail and working out what are the liberal threats -- liberal democrats getting? the wars here we have the issue of inherited taxes which the conservatives gave away in order to get the deal. that issue was close to a lot of voters hearts. presumably they will get that at the end of the year he will get that in the constituency. >> we're going to see the detail of the agreement. i am worried and disappointed that we're losing the commitment on the inheritance tax. i'm disappointed that we may lose the marriage tax as well. but one liberal democrat policy i always love was to take most out of the income tax altogether. i think we need to see the whole

package. >> the liberal democrats will have to except that when there is a referendum, a lot of conservatives -- >> this is the crucial danger. the tories will campaign against that and so well labour. they find themselves as the only party supporting it. and the british public will say, we do not like what happened. >> that danger is that you will lose the referendum. >> that is the danger. >> thank you very much indeed gordon brown made a sharper exit than was expected just after 7:00 tonight, catching the tories and liberal democrats on the wear and crucially before a deal was finished. he went to thank labour party staff and said the responsibility for the election losses for his part -- his fault. here is the moment that he resign after 13 years of new labour.

>> only those who have held the office of prime minister can understand the full weight of this responsibility and it's great capacity for good. i have been privileged to learn much about the very best in human nature and a fair amount too about its frailties, including my own. it was a privilege to serve, and yes, i love the job not for its prestige, its titles, and a ceremony which i do not love of all. i love the job for its potential to make this country of a lot fairer, more tolerant, more green, more democratic, more prosperous, and more just. truly a greater burden. my resignation at the leader of the labour party will take effect immediately. i want to thank all my colleagues, ministers, members of parliament, and above all my staff who have been friends as well as brilliant servants of the country. above all, i wanted to thank sarah for unwavering support as

well as her love. and for her own service to our country. i thank my son's for the love and joy they bring to our lives. and now as i leave the second most important job i could never will, i cherish even more the first as a husband and father. thank you and goodbye. >> and with that he and his family headed off to scotland. i am joined by the former cabinet minister, by columnists and the guardian, and also by diane. was the labour deal impossible? >> i think it was possible in that what labour put on the table was really terrific. the same deal on av, doing away with things the liberals a like that dna data base, all whole

string of things. what they were doing with their manifesto in the first place, they might be yes. but they said by then the liberal democrats decided it was not doable. one of the reason they decided that was on a large chunk of the labour party, a whole string of people saying up with this we will not but third we do want any liberal -- electorates form. >> i think it was about assessment. even with the liberal democrats we did not have an absolute majority. the numbers were not there, simple as that. but the numbers -- [unintelligible] >> that is what you wrote in the guardian. the board below -- the numbers were not there for the rainbow coalition. [unintelligible]

do you think that is there for the party? >> that is what you wrote in the guardian. >> then bradshaw, in the end, they had to put up and get rid of tribal politics. published i think they're working very hard. i think the ball is in the liberal democrat court and i have not had an explanation from them as why they should -- i do not accept that a ball. we have a cabinet meeting last night which was unanimous in support of negotiations. those negotiations and not succeed. i regret that. i think it is interesting that the liberal democrats delivered a lot of policies that the left wingers would rather light on civil liberties and things like tried and, but they walk away from that. i think that that is their mistaken they will live up to the consequences but they have to explain it.

>> labour how do you think > reinvents itself? >> the tragedy is that what we needed to happen was bringing together the two liberal party. they're now further apart than ever. the enmity between the two party is is not permanent and that is a terrible thing. .

those people who think it is fine, they say it is going to do great. it just regroup. >> my constituents will suffer more than those who have the tory government. i worked very hard. i think it is very important that to have a proper the there she -- proper leadership of action and then we can make up our mind. >> the campaign and the aftermath, the labour party has never been more disciplined. >> we saw the cabinet want to

make this deal. i plead passionate that keeping a conservative party is always good. >> i am afraid i have to stop you there. some of the voters think about the recent chaos we have some more developments. >> david cameron returned to numbers 10, his new home, only a few minutes ago. we know that he is the new chancellor. william hayes is the new foreign secretary. the queen has a confirmed the appointment tonight of nick like as the new deputy prime minister. liam box will be the new defense

secretary. there will be for other the. democrats -- four other liberal democrats. we do not know the names. we are probably talking about danny alexander and david laws. there are reports that david will be the new education secretary would be quite interesting. that means that michael will not get that job. he offered to sit down in favor of the theyliberal democrats. it looks like this is going to beat -- we are going to see an agreement on five years of this government. we have got to see the rest of the shape of the cabinet tomorrow. it took quite interesting david

cameron will have to get rid of a lot of his shadow cabinet in order to accommodate these liberal democrats. it will keep the right wing of his party happy. >> our guests are still sitting here. there are a lot of problems coming their way in the next five years. david cameron said it was not going to be easy. one of the dangers of liberal cabinet.s are the canad >> traditionally, what often happens is the smaller parties gets crowded out by political events. that is why it is again that the liberal democrats are of five cabinet members. nick clegg knees to make sure he is not crowded out brita nick like will no longer be able to ask the prime minister questions

on the country. he will have to be offering them every now and then. we will no longer be having a three-way discussion. the danger is the liberal de arquette may find it difficult. what happens if they want to develop new policy that is different from government coalitions? how did they go out and campaign on that? how did the conservatives stand against each other? there are all sorts of issues that we have not had to consider in this country for almost a century. we are not had to consider in the broad television age. we are entering some fascinating new territory. >> thank you. during the campaign, every politician was promising change. change is certainly what we got. is it the kind of change that

voters wanted? we chased him down to get his opinion of motorway man. >> away from the division of the spoils, it is a different story here on skid rope. a mammal who dared to take on a leading public figure and lost. >> it could be a gay. -- gig. >> is this stephen smith the? >> that is me. that is for me. hello? hello. if disney. i'm still here. where is it? ♪

♪ >> hello. i know you are thinking. a different car. here we are again. we spend the election here. the expert said people who live near places like this would be influential. we got to know this one. the and phaistos but do they surprised us most of all, they sympathize does. -- they surprised us. most of all, and they sympathized us. >> nick clegg will be the one that will be more open about it.

>> are you back again? i could not wait. >> be prepared to tell how you voted? >> labour. >> he voted for cameron but he approves of a coalition with leg. >> i have a positive attitude. he is a bit like cameron. he is not thinking of later on. that is what we need. if they can decide tbetween policies, that will work in favor. >> motorway man. we make no apology on motorway man for our friends and political analysis.

♪ i am a passenger >> i think you are making a mess. >> i really do. >> who did you vote for? i voted conservative. >> are you crying out for reform? >> i think there needs to be a more fair game. it has been on the card for a number of elections. it seemed quite curable. >> i came face to face with this ethologist. >> he made me a prisoner of this theory. tell me it was all worthwhile somehow. >> we have devaney seen evidence of motorway man making a difference. if you have a high level of more to way -- order way-- motoway

women, they all have turned blue. >> there should be plenty of work. [whistling] >> [unintelligible] >> that is something different. conservatives are still meeting at westminster . you hear from our resident panel to discuss the future and predict some fault lines. cameron moves them. -- in.

>> they are going to have to find a whole new way. it was rubbish from the liberal democrats today. >> i am sorry we appeared to give the telegraph yesterday. we will have cameron there. as you predicted or not -- >> i am very impressed an eclectic has put the membership behind this. they have not been found. there are two figures burge. five years has not done. secondly, reshape the left. the conservative party has been in danger. >> they say it has enhanced the conservatives. >> i am talking about the

conservative party. it has changed the shape. there have been hearing of an anti conservative majority. they are no longer anti conservative. to nick >>'s credit, he is the country first. >> he had to do something. he had to make a decision. it is a critical and physical -- difficult decision. in the end, what he had to do was do it on a policy platform. it had to be a strong policy platform. >> it is a total reprinting. >> was said labour's to lose? they were not making enough.

>> the labour people i spoke to said that there'd be no legitimacy to it. it might have been a reality. it is a good team to pursue. there is not going to be the stability in the numbers. the next major leader who would have needed a mandate of their own was going to be locked in for at least two years. that is never going to work. labour knew that would not work. >> there were a lot of labour supporters. >> the problem is about an

electoral system where people who wanted to vote labour boded liberal democrats in order to achieve something. >> the sap trend that has come out from labour is a lot of conservative was very unhappy. where do you go next? there are policy platforms that they are really interested in. there are talks from the tiny bits of information. it is difficult to get information. things have been very productive. i am fascinated. my the verot heart is kind of aching.

>> -- my liberal heart is kind of aching. >> [unintelligible] >> whatever they did, there will be propagated by one side or another. people were voting. they will be horrified tonight. it was an intimate coalition. >> we predicted it was on the minority. they are trying to achieve.

it is it time for any political party to get a share of government. >> how would it operated then? think it will work between david cameron and [unintelligible] >> it is difficult to tell. to what extent they collected this. i welcome the loosening of conventions. i suspect the critical thing is however but they managed to write everything down, an awful lot to have to be developed i think the trust will be stronger between them then they would have anticipated. >> certainly in the cabinet.

>> he spoke to me in detail about this. when he thought was absolutely critical was in order not to repeat the 1977 era. it is to have people in government department to drive forward and to work it with each department. the people appointed to negotiate have thought through all of this. i am sure there will be rough edges. they are putting this up. it is something they are offering you. they are putting all their money. >> it is an incredibly generous

offer. what about the fact [unintelligible] that will not go down well. they have to compromise. there are a very big advantages. when it does is that one of assessing a very large cut. in the end, the liberal democrat will get squeezed. >> that is the scenario you get. >> right now it is the government i am talking about. >> i am sure we are willing to

come back. >> the conservatives say that we have to cut now. we can now because it cannot afford to wait. the liberal democrats and the labour say if you can now you will cut off the recovery. they have got what they wanted. it is an inheritance tax. there are loads more things i am sure to come out. >> they have squeezed on positioning. the labour field is strong in being the progress of party. labour has to let someone who will look at this -- >> how amazing a day has this

been in british history? >> it is the first time and many years for a coalition of this sort. i think for the tories, they can do a lot of modernization in at one go. in the end, labour overtime may benefit. >> i think it is the only way the bill. democrats will survive a bumpy start for them. >> it is 1924. it is like this with the conservative party. it is like the whole change of the anti-conservative party. it will change the way british politics is practiced. >> no sign and nick clegg yet. that is all tonight.

david cameron is the new prime minister. here are some of the most memorable moments. good night. >> and goodbye. ♪ >> take me to the place where you go. where nobody knows if it is not ok please, do not put your life and my hands of a rock-and-roll band or throw it all away ♪ ♪ i'm gonna start a revolution >> la done ♪ step outside the summertime.

stand up beside the up swiped a look for modern playce you ain't never going to burn my heart the operative >> education, education, education. >> i made by den and not a collector -- i am a fighter not a quitter ♪ do not look back in anger i heard you say. ♪

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> there is a debate about revamping financial regulation. >> it is going slowly. we are seeing quite a bit of tension between democrats about how long this debate should go. harry reid said he would like to wrap it up this week. that will not happen for the m. so far they have kept the bill pretty much intact. this was successful in his bid to to an amendment to expand transparency at the federal

reserve. he had modified that amendment. it was narrower than what to russia propose. -- what he originally proposed. >> how many more amendments are expected? >> it is hard to tell. more than 200 have been filed. they cannot consider all of those. there are leaders about how many amendments will be offered . things are going so slowly. it is taking a long time to get votes on amendments. there have not been that many senator dodd is also working on a manager's amendment.

>> you mentioned the debate going slowly couple of different times. why is that happening? >> some would say that is the way the senate should operate. i spoke with senator susan collins today who said this is good. we are debating the amendment. part of it has been just scheduling. senators did not and to vote on mondays and fridays. to vote on mondays and fridays. there was some time spent on compromise on the language on the too big to fail section. really, this is just the usual kind of back and forth that happens with a really big bill. it is taking more time than

democratic leaders want to spend on the bill. they have a lot of other issues they need to attend to. >> thank you. a couple of live events to tell you about tomorrow on our companion network c-span3. the head of bp america returned to capitol hill to testify on offshore drilling. the house energy subcommittee talks about the oil spill in the gulf of mexico, by that o'clock a.m. eastern. we will examine the role of the emergency management agency in disaster recovery at to 30 p.m. eastern. -- 2:30pm easter. >> during the last year, my long standing appreciation for the supreme court role and our constitution has become richer.

>> the next steps for elena kagan. find it on line at the c-span video library. every video since 1987. what what you want when you want it. >> they have a citizenship and immigration told the senate judiciary committee that more secure green cards will be issued soon. he also suggested that the accused time square bomber could lose his citizenship. this is a little more than an hour. >> i am glad to have the director with us today. this is his first appearance

before the judiciary committee. i appreciate your being here. he made it very clear that you would appear. i appreciate that. the u.s. citizenship and immigration services is a principal administrator of our immigration policy. they are determining you is eligible and ensures that those who are deemed eligible for immigration benefits do not file a fraudulent claim or wish to do us harm. it allows students and investors to enrich our economy and enrich our culture. most significantly, it makes it possible for democrats -- immigrants like my grandparents to realize their dreams of u.s. citizenship.

it is crucial to keeping our system strong and viable. they have tremendous responsibilities as all the men and women who adjudicate these positions. you make sure they have high quality service. it is one of four visa process in centers brita they carry out their duties with tremendous care. i want to recognize their excellent record. i have visited them many times. i have invited you to come and visit. i have long supported the emigrant visa, typically the eb- 5 program.

i think the eb-5 program bring significant amount of capital to regions of our country that face economic challenges. it creates jobs for americans. people in vermont have used this to revitalize businesses. dad had economic benefits -- they have seen economic benefit. i will introduce legislation to modernize the program. i want to make the program permanent. my bill will assure that as the program grows it remains free from fraud or abuse. i commend your swift action to implement secretary and peloton

o.palitoan's i have worked with senator lugar on an act to allow unlawful residents to return to their home countries to assist with reconstruction following a national disaster and did not seem right that we tell them they cannot leave and how about a devastated country. if enacted, i think this legislation would have a terrific help to haiti's recovery. i have recently introduced two bills.

they would strengthen the united states form refugees. i now a center sessions -- center sessions is supposed to be in five places at once. i yelled to him. >> thank you. the oil spill is threatening our gulf coast and in committee. thank you for being with us. you bring a good spirit and hard work to this job. you oversee all the immigration into america. lester, we admitted 1.1 million people into the united states. we approve each one of those. we are when it the most generous nations in the world with regard to immigration. we want to continue to be

welcoming to those who abide by our laws and to will have the ability to contribute positively to our country. unfortunately, as we have seen twice in the last month, the united states continues to be a target of terrorist activity. many of them are getting more sophisticated in their efforts. visa fraud has%been rampant in the student marriage and religious worker categories. we must ensure the integrity of the background check are not sacrifice for the expediency of reducing the backlog. we have to be a backlog. i know you are working at that. we also have to maintain integrity of the system.

mr. shahzad that was arrested, though we are still gathering information on him, we know that he was sworn in as a united states citizen april 9 of last year. even though he had previously appeared on the traveler enforcement compliance system and that come under scrutiny of a local joint terrorism task force in 2004. he was able to obtain citizenship because he married a u.s. citizen who petitioned on his behalf. in a report released may 2002, the director of research for the center for immigration found between 1993 and 2001, 48 terrorists had been charged, pled guilty, or admitted to plotting terrorism in the united states. at the time they committed their

crimes, 16 work inside the united states on temporary visas. 12 for illegal aliens . three have applications for asylum pending. it appears that he may have gained the seascitizenship. it is certainly one of the major dots that was not connected prior to the attacks. it remained a dot that is not really address the way it needs to in order to secure our nation. we would like to inquire about that. i will not be able to say there the whole -- stayed to the whole hearing. i will be submitting questions.

i'm interested how it is that it seems your agency has limited the verification integrity to the civil rights division. i am not sure that makes sense to mean as a way to manage the system. i think you should be in charge of it. they should be investigated. ibert fight its work. it does help. it is something we should be supporting. thank you. >> thank you. he is the director of the net state citizenship and immigration services. -- united states citizenship and

immigration services. he proved daisy -- prius research as the district of california. prior to that, was assistant u.s. attorney in the private sector and the government tax sector. we welcome him here today. >> thank you very much. i am privileged to appear before you today to testify about the state of the u.s. immigration services. it has been nearly 11 months since i appeared before this committee for my confirmation hearing. i spoke of a deep understanding of the gravity inability of the to administer our laws sufficiently.

let understanding has only deepened. we are in nation defines by and one whose success depends upon a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. with tremendous pride as a citizen, i workttaci alongside 18,000 men and women who give so much of themselves. together we seek to reaffirm our nation's history and embrace its future. almost 11 months ago, i promised you out conduct an overall review of the agency. i have done so. as a result, i have realigned the organizational structure to reflect our priorities and more efficiently and effectively if she'd the mission. i traded in new fraud detection and director it focused on preventing, detecting,

contacting, and deterring threats to our public safety. together with our federal partners, where the multilayers system in place to assure those applying for benefits do not pose a security threat or defraud the system we collect fingerprints, conduct background checks, and our applications for inconsistencies, security concerns, and good moral character. continuing to uphold the safeguards with the utmost vigilance is critical to ensuring the integrity of our immigration system. a newly established office is working to ensure we develop and solidify partnership with the public as we review our policies and consider needed improvements. we are institutionalizing how we keep our partners fully informed. we are dedicated to meeting our challenges.

our new customer service director is developing new ways to communicating with and served the public. we are building on best practices in the private sector so that we can become a model of service and efficiency. this week we are issuing a redesign permanent resident guard known as a green card. it contains some the most sophisticated security technology to us today. it was placed into service in 1998. only minor changes have been made since then. our new card includes additional security features, including embedded data and telegraphs and make it more difficult to counterfeit and easier for us to identify fraud. we to build a stronger and brighter future for our agency in for the public research. the demands helped define our

goals and aspirations. i look for to working with you and to answering your questions the best i can. thank you for the opportunity. >> thank you. i am drafting legislation to modernize the eb-5 program. i am a strong believer in [unintelligible] -- in eb-5. one of the issues i hear from stakeholders involves the economic aspects of the program. some stake holders have expressed frustration that when an investor petitions being adjudicated, they have a hold of the petition and the business plan attached to it. that can cause a lot of delays. i think we can promote

efficiency and predictability. investors could become involved. it would allow the agency to divided between experts who reviewed the business plan and immigration experts who would adjudicate the petition. do you agree that if you separate the business plan approval process from the petition process he could have more consistent and careful review of business plans? >> thank you for your question with respect to the eb-5 program. that program i myself have given a great deal of attention to. i recognize the economic benefits. we would welcome the opportunity to consider the possibility of pre proving

business plans and applications to establish regional centers. we understand the benefits that a regional center determination can have on future eb-5 applications. i want to say that we have taken a number of discrete steps to improve our eb-5 education process, most notably, trading expertise in one locale where all eb-5 applications are submitted for our review and consideration. we have also, in response to public concern about the time it takes to review and adjudicate the applications, with that the application process in time by approximately 50%. it used to be -- a view to take is approximately eight months to adjudicate and eb-5 application. our cycle time is now approximately four months.

>> my concern is the opposite have to the immigration question. you do not want to prod. these seven very legitimate -- have been very this in a business people who tried to raise capital through the regional center program. i just do not want the whole thing to be looked at as a one huge issue instead of breaking down the component parts. you can probably look at it in a more efficient way. when we set up the program, congress intended it to have flexibility to accommodate the realities of business including unforeseen delays. when the stock market goes up

and down, there are more capital evans and flows than we would like. -- ebbs and slows them we would like. i hate to see the investors never the denial of a green card -- suffered the denial of a green card. can you encourage your department and office to work together to find ways to make the whole process more efficient? >> we most certainly will, mr. chair. >> thank you. on another. this is somewhat parochial. [unintelligible] i am going to introduce legislation to ensure that dairy can participate in the h2a

program. i support legislation that would reform the overall program. they do not play a direct role to the workers. do you have any objection to change the statute to require it? >> we have been aware of the fact of not been available for the h2a program. their work is not defined as seasonal under the current legislation. we are aware of the articulate the need to read just the situation. >> thank you. the vermont service center -- i do hear positive things about their workers. i have gone and visited on different occasions i think --

occasions. i think it is a great partnership to do i would like a partnership. can we work together with the vermont officials to encourage the partnership? >> i would welcome the opportunity. i should note that i had the pleasure and privilege of visiting all of the employees in the vermont service center a few weeks ago. the accolades they receive are richly deserved. >> thank you. they appreciated that. let me tell you. >> thank you. >> they handle women petitions. helping women immigrants that are in a piece of situations to seek protection of the federal government. i understand uscis is in the

process of improving the training program for these ajudicators.- a duplica how is that training going? >> it is going very well. the experts do an outstanding job of educating -- adjudicat ing the cisas. we are proud of developing them in training others to share their expertise. >> thank you. finally, faisal shahzad entered the u.s. on a work visa. he applied for a green card and was eventually naturalize.

[inaudible] i realize it is one thing to look at it in hindsight. what is your review? >> i am constrained regrettably by privacy rules on commenting on the faisal shahzad file. we follow it with respect to the security and background checks that we perform. measures are extremely robust. their importance has only been elevated since the leadership of the agency. we conduct fbi fingerprint checks. we conduct checks of databases

including the tecs data base. we employed the fbi to name the background name checks. we scrub the application itself. we interviewed the applicant. we were collaborative lay with our law enforcement partners in ensuring that each application carefully scrubbed and scrutinized to ensure that fraud in our system is not affected. >> thank you very much. senator hatch. >> thank you. welcome. we appreciate having you here. i think you are an excellent public servants. diane and you are very close. >> thank you. >> my office worked closely

with federal immigration agent to break upon it the largest maritime fraud rings. as a result, operation morning glory, 24 individuals were indicted on 79 counts including marriage fraud and aggravated theft. i do not believe that all foreigners who marry americans are looking for a one-way ticket to the united states. i continue to have concerns about the prevalence of uses in the marriage based a green card program. it is the soft underbelly of our visa program. i often hear from mike in situations where i did they or someone they love has been deceived by a foreign national who is committed to the marriage only until they were able to remove their conditional status. once their temporary status is changed, some disappear, leaving

their spouses with serious financial and familial obligations. is it true uscis officials rely on documents, photographs and records with little of urgency for interviews or investigations? >> our process of detecting and deterring marriage fraught is far more robust than that. as part of the elevation one of the things that we are doing is bringing increased attention to our benefit fraught assessment program. when it the areas we will be focused upon is on the marriage fraud issue. i would be pleased to report those results to you once our study is undertaken. >> i am glad to hear that. is it true that once the

petition is approved that requires a high evidentiary standard for an officer overseas to refer a petition back to the u.s. for revocation? >> i am not equipped today to answer that. >> you will let me know. what about couples who met over the internet? are there cases where the senate but tensions -- visa approvals have been for those of only met over the internet? >> i would like to take the opportunity subsequent to this hearing to provide you with the details to report of how we address marriage fraud. >> i would appreciate that. last year, dhs secretary said "there is a perception that marriage fraud is a rampant problem in the immigration system. most marriages coming before

uscis are bonafide." does uscis maintain any cisco affirmation on foreign nationals to leave their spouses once they obtain permanent residency? >> that is one of the very questions that we will be asking in our broad compliance assessment of the marriage fraud. >> we would like to see that. i always want to be fair to people. i appreciate what you are doing. non-profit arts organizations ingate foreign guests and their theaters and opera companies. years of delays, errors, and unpredictability have forced some u.s.-based non-profit arts organizations from even trying to bring international artists into the united states.

there has been a rash of unreasonable request for evidence from the california service center to add to the delay in processing visas including omp pieces. i am concerned they do not determine the qualifications of omp applicants. a broad review is under way. in the meantime, our cultural interests are being hindered. would you care to comment on that? >> if i may, i appreciate your efforts and those of senator kerrey. the concerns you expressed with the visa process are concerns that we have heard articulated by the public that we serve. a number of weeks ago, i myself

appeared in the california service center to host an engagement session with the community nationwide to hear their concerns with respect to the request for evidence omp visa applications. we are pleased to implement procedural improvements to address those concerns. just yesterday, we published in draft form a new visa guidance memorandum to our field adjudicators said the arts community could have the opportunity to comment to us whether the guidance that the intend to promulgate addresses their concerns. the concerns that you expressed our concerns that are driving the agenda in the carina.

>> i appreciate the comments on that. comment that we have worked closely with your service. we appreciate all the help. we woant it to work well. we get enough of our constituents work in these areas. it means a great deal to me the kinds of which we are treated to and the help and cooperation that we have. i appreciate it. one last question. last year, i included an amendment in the homeland security act that extends for three years special immigration and non-religious worker programs. pursuant to be enacted legislation, detests is required to produce a report on the program. can you give us an idea when we might to see that report? i hope we can continue that. these are the people that do a good job.

they are religious workers. >> if i may have your indulgence to respond to that. i'm not aware of it this time. >> i want to thank you. for the work you are doing in the people run to. we are very appreciative i know you are sensitive to the feelings of people who have these problems. that means a great deal to me. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman for this hearing. thank you, director for coming here today. as the ranking members said, we are when it the most generous countries in the world in immigration. most but none of this. the u.s. this lee takes more refugees than most industrialized countries