liberty that so many fought for. and so many died for. and that the founders pledged their lives, their liberty, their sacred honor. there was a time during the revolution and for about 150 years after that where people were taught in school, i was taught in school in my early days, that this quote from voluntary, some say voluntary, some say -- voltaire, some say cicero some years earlier, but i disagree with what you say but i will defend it to death your right to say it. now as we come -- i'm so angry at you because you have said that you disagree with my lifestyle, therefore i'm going to get you fired, not only fired , not only am i going to fight for the death for you to say it, i'm going to see you fired, i'm going to see you lose your

assets, i'm going to see that property is taken hopefully and the government comes after you and hopefully put you in jail and you die alone and miserable. what happened to the principles that people fought and died for? i disagree with what you say, but i will defend to the death your right to say it. . there are frens across the aisle that i disagree with and i know they honestly believe that what they're saying is right. and i would fight to the death. i was in normandy active duty, willing to fight and die for their right to say. now we come full circle. those pilgrims depicted in the scene down in the rotunda,

having a big prayer meeting, praying to god for his protection and guidance and lo and be hold they ended up in massachusetts. i don't know if that's where they intended, but they came to this land to get away from discrimination because of their christian beliefs. and now we have come full circle to where christian beliefs are the only ones it's ok to discriminate against. sad time in america. you know, we had a recent survey that indicated that 70% of american adults believe their children will not have it as good as they have had it, will not have the opportunities, the liberties that we have had. and the fact is, if we got back to a national morality and i'm

sure not pointing the finger across the aisle, because there's plenty of finger pointing to go around, but we need to do it. it's wrong, no matter which side of the aisle. and we need not to be afraid to stand up and say it, say the im morality needs to be addressed and we need to protect this country, its liberties, its prosperity, its opportunities and that can only be done if we do as george washington suggested. there is another country around the world, halfway around the world called israel that is under threat. iran has made clear through its

leader ahmadinejad that it needs to be wiped off the map. that leader has also made clear that the great satan, america in his mind, also needs to be completely destroyed. how do we ignore that? you ignore those kind of threats by people who are pursuing the means to carry them out at your own peril. and they seem to be getting ignored. i was at a dinner recently where i heard senator schumer from new york and he was pointing all the things that i agreed with about how iran was running amuck, trying to develop nuclear weapons and must not be allowed

and must be stopped. and i was thrilled that he wa taking that strong position. and he got to the end and he basically said, so, we need sanctions. sanctions? been trying to have sanctions for years. and while sanction talk continues to go around this administration and russia and china and others in the u.n. who despise israel and would also like to see it wiped off the map, the centrifuges in iran continue to spin. they continue to enrich uranium -- oh and now we hear that they may be cutting a deal with turkey to trade to enriched uranium. i mean there's plenty of bad news to go around, but that has to be stopped. when you have an enemy who is

sworn to wipe you off the map as iran's leaders have us and israel together and he is working as fast as he can to develop the weaponry to do that, then you sit by twiddling your thumbs, talking about sanctions at your own peril. now, it is true that toward the enof last year, began working on a resolution that basically would run through a small fraction some of the comments that ahmadinejad has made. apparently, he has indicated that he believes the mighty is coming and will rule over the world, but that he can speed his return if he simply utilizes nuclear weapons and that then

the end and the mighty's rule comes that much quicker. and yet, we have so-called journalists who have interviewed him and the man has talked about wiping out this country, including the journalists asking him questions, and yet, they don't have the nerve or the sense to ask him what about your comments about wiping us off the map? what about your comments about bringing about the end of the world as we know it? what about those things? the journalists have become lap dogs. how sad is that? not all of them. there are some excellent journalists. and apparently, they are the ones that this administration is pursuing vendettas against, but

somebody needs to do the work because we are at risk as is our friend, dear israel, on the other side of the world. not just israel, not just the united states. but our muslim friends who are moderate muslims that jihad means to destroy all your enemies. they believe that jihad is within. those are the very same people that will be wiped out if ahmadinejad gets his way and nuclear weaponry, because he has no use for moderate muslims because he will kill those he considers as infidels. how can we continue those centrifuges to spin. i have been reluctant to come to the floor and talk about this because i wanted to make it a bipartisan thing. it has gone on for six months,

hoping we would be able to have democrats take the lead -- because i didn't care who took the lead -- but it is time to step up and stop iran from developing and acquiring nuclear weapons that pose a threat to israel, to moderate muslims and to the existence of this country. time to step up. and sanctions are not doing it. we know from the iraq sanctions when saddam hussein was in charge that we had dear friends, france, germany, russia treating on the sanctions. france's friend joseph wilson, not congressman wilson, but joseph wilson started throwing around allegations at the bush administration as his wife said, he has dear friends in france. well, france was about to come

under fire for cheating on the oil-for-food program scandal. but mr.âwilson was able to turn the discussion and focus away from france and their cheating on those sanctions and the mainstream media went with him. but there was cheating that went on and there are people willing to cheat with iran as long as they're willing to pay money to get what they want. i think it's actually to china and russia's credit that they haven't said, ok, sure, we'll agree to sanctions knowing that they're going to cheat and sell things to iran and not have competition because sanctions are in place. it's to their credit that they have been up front and honest to say we don't think sanctions are a good idea. and all the while the

centrifuges continue to spin. and uranium continues to be enriched. and they move fward -- toward a bigger and bigger and bigger bomb that poses such a threat to israel, to our way of life, to our liberties, because even though our liberties have allowed what the jihaddists, the radical islamists see as nothing but corruption, that our liberties have allowed us to move to complete immorality and therefore need to be destroyed, the fact is that our liberties also allow us to move forward and progress and become what has shown the world the greatest nation in the history of mankind right here in the united states of america. greatest ever in the history of the world continues to move

forward and advance because of the liberties and encouragement to entrepreneurialism. but what are we doing now? we are moving more and more and more of the entrepreneurialship into the federal government and towards the federal government is going to take over and take care of things. but the truth is if we allow someone like a modern-day hitler and ahmadinejad to develop a nuclear weapon -- well, apparently, he may have enough fuel to make a small bomb, but he would want a much bigger one, we allow him to get a bomb, israel's at risk, we're at risk, and it would take a miracle of god to protect us because we have pulled down our own

defenses and never seek to push my religious beliefs on others, but it is my belief and since people have fought and died so i can express my opinion, it is my belief that god does allow us to have freedom of choice. and when we turn from god and our freedom of choice and we walk away from his teachings and become the moral nation we have moved into where greed and avirice take over, then eventually god takes over and you go back to history. it has happened over and over. and now we seem to be moving ever so quickly in that direction. well, the great news is is that

this great new experiment in liberty and democracy does not have to go away, but it's going to have to take a recommitment to the morals and of course george washington i read, you can't have morality that will sustain this nation, as he said, in exclusion of religious principle. we know that benjamin franklin and i have said it so many times because many people are saying he was a dieist and that a diety created the universe, it's important for people to know his own words because he said at the constitutional convention in 1787, i have lived a long time and the longer i live, the more

convincing proof i see of this truth that god governed in the affairs of man and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice as possible and impact, franklin said we are assured in the say credit wroig that in the lord, the labor of love has built in. he said, i also firmly believe that without his, the lord's concurring aid we shall succeed in this and be confounded by our local, partial interests and we ourselves will become a word down to future ages and that is what scares me now in america. we, as frankly -- franklin said,

we have forgotten our powerful friend. have we now forgotten our powerful friend? if he were here in this body today asking this question, we would have to answer him yes. a judge in wisconsin said that you couldn't call upon your powerful friend as a nation and a national day of prayer. we have had the supreme court say previously that despite the fact that the constitution came about after franklin moved that we began to have daily prayer in congress, we had supreme court that was so miseducated that they felt like it was improper to have prayer in public places. . . we have had people that were

miseducated and there was a lady in mount pleasant where i grew up, she got into her 90's and she could still cook. and she would call my mother sometimes and say, tell louie i got some rolls and i would head over there and her daughter was my mother's best friend and one day she was talking about a man in mount pleasant and she said, he's a fool. ema lo usaid, mother, he's got his ph.d. and she said, i don't care. he's still a p-h-u-l. we have a lot of ph.d.'s and other degrees who are still p-h-u-l's because they have been educated beyond their means

where they become as scripture refers to them, wise in their own eyes. as a result we have people in this country that think that while a mad man is spinning centrifuges, developing uranium and saying that he's going to use it to destroy israel and america and of course that will also include destroying moderate muslims, we're just talking about it over here about sanctions and can't even agree on them. we took an oath in this body to support and defend the constitution. we are supposed to provide for the common defense against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and we have a self-announced enemy to this country that wants to wipe us off the map and he stands there taunting us, developing nuclear weapons and

we are not living up to our oath to provide for the common defense. and i was in west africa with mercy shifts, wonderful charitable institution that helps the lame to walk, the blind to see, provides surgeries for those who do not have health care in africa, in a country of togo with around six million people, two hospitals. this mercy ship is truly a ship of mercy. but west africans on to the ship wanted to meet with me. the last night i was there. i don't know how well educated those folks were, they had hearts of gold and there were people of prayer.

they were christian brothers and sisters and the oldest gentleman there, ebenezer, said, in essence, it is so important that you understand what america means to the rest of the world. and could christians around the world and those -- and to christians around the world and those who want to be free, who had freedom, those who want to be free. if you let your country fall, there is no one else in this world other than god to help us. you must keep your country strong in order for the rest of us to have hope of protection. there were so many words of

wisdom from that group. one from a young man who said, yes, but we must not only pray for their leaders. in fact, they said, we're excited that you have a black president, we're concerned about some of his policies. we're concerned some of them will weaken america. and if you become weak we have no protection from the forces of evil. our protection of this country means so much to so many. as this young man said, we need to also pray for the people around their leaders in america because they all have people whispering and giving them advice and giving them information. we need to play for them, too. i was struck by the wisdom of that young man.

because he understands and in this country, whether the at the white house, here in the halls of congress, we all have people who we rely on for information and to help us work through and summarize and get information in a nut shell so it can be absorbed and utilized and if the wrong information is provided then our leaders have no hope of doing the right thing. that's what happened with the tarp bailout. we had a good leader in president george w. bush. he's a good man, he's smarter than people give him credit for. he's witty, one of the wittiest guys to talk with, just a delight to visit with. but the man who was his secretary of the treasurer was acting in the best interests of goldman sachs and his friends on wall street and not for the

people across america and i'll give hem the -- him the benefit of the doubt and say, ok, through his wall street lens he thought, if my friends get rich again and they don't go bankrupt, then everybody in america will do well. well, we saw that's not the case. but that's what we got going on now. apparently our president, our great president is getting some very bad advice, just like president bush did on the tarp bailout. he's got a secretary of the treasury that we were told worked with paulson in the plan so he'll keep the same things going. i thought that was a good reason not to confirm him. but he was confirmed and there he is giving the president advice. and the jobs still are not being created and as we move toward the end of the year and we see the tax rates are going to go up in every way, capital gains are going to go up, estate tax is

coming back with a vengeance. some people are beginning to make their moves financially and as art laugh earth said, it's going to make this, the rest of the year, look like we may be moving into a recovery but it's a false recovery. it's people preparing for the end of the year when the taxes skyrocket in every area and that's when the bottom will fall out. so, it's not surprising that there are some economic indicators that are going up. makes sense. but we've got people giving the president bad advice, we have people in this congress, leaders here, who are getting bad advice and we're hurting the country and those wonderful west africans that i met with who warned me, don't let your country fall, don't let your country get hurt, you're the

hope we have in this world because the way god's used america in the past. we owe it to so many. who will come rushing in to the haitis, to the international disasters once we're too broke? you know, the democrats took the majority in november of 2006. i think largely on the promise that we're going to correct as democrats what the republicans have done in running up the deficit. and unfortunately republicans had done that. when republicans got the white house, had both houses of congress, they got giddy and they could run up a couple hundred billion in deficit. my first two years we were still in the majority and i couldn't believe some of the things that we were doing. that was not republican.

that's not what we were supposed to do. but the new majority over the last, well, since january of 2007, have run up deficits, this administration, run up deficits like never before in history. and i was embarrassed when bush was talking about $160 billion deficit one year and here we're talking about a $1.6 trillion deficit in one year. 10 times what the burn administration -- bush administration was pushing. and yet no outrage from the same people that were so upset about $160 billion. what happened to that? our country is in trouble. morally and because morally then economically and because we're economically in trouble people are allowing their liberties to be taken and now we find out that 53% of americans are going

to carry all of the income tax burden for the whole country? now, there are some in this country who want to work and they're not able to work. there are others in this country who are able to work and they're not. there are those who could do more but they're moving to up 47% that are not going to pay any income tax and we know historically that when one more than 50% of the voters in a country get more benefits from the federal government then they put in, you are very close to the end of your nation's history. you are very close to the end of your nation as you knew it. and we are moving far too quickly in that direction. it's got to stop.

we need morality in the department of interior, in the m.m.s., so they don't just wink and nod on the blowout preventers, that they will step up and do what is morally correct to protect the environment. we need people who will step up and say, we are not going to destroy this economy, we're going to use the energy we've got but we will make sure that it's being used environmentally responsibly. but apparently my time has expired so i must yield back with a prayer for america that we will regain our morality, our economic stability and keep our liberties and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. is there a motion to adjourn?

mr. gohmert: mr. speaker, at this time i move that we do hereby adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. later this week the house is expected to debate a bill to extend tax benefits and prevent cuts in medicare payments to doctors. the chamber will also resume work on the science and technology program built or from the floor earlier this month. live coverage of the u.s. house when members return always hear on c-span. president obama hosted a state dinner for president -- mexican president tomorrow evening. our coverage begins at 6:00 p.m.

tomorrow with his arrival at the white house followed by tests of from the two presidents. >> supreme court justice clarence thomas on the confirmation process. >> i did not have upon the experience up there and i do not wish that on anyone. and also something justice white said when i first got here has stuck with me, that it does not matter how you got here, it matters what you do after you have gotten here. a large with the new supreme court nominee heading into the confirmation process, learn more about the nation's highest court in c-span's the latest book, of and what the supreme court." providing unique insight about the court. available now in hardcover and also as an e-book.

>> several primary elections around the country today. we're watching results, and then from kentucky, and arkansas. we will hear victory and concession speeches and take your calls for it right now we join our primary coverage in process. >> and nationally televised speech and it was beautiful, just a wonderful example. how confident people can be even while they are serving in office. >> thank you for the call, a second term in the u.s. house of representatives. now the democratic senate nominee in pennsylvania. we will have more on tomorrow morning on "washington journal," with the editor of hotline keeping a close eye on the results for these four primaries including oregon, where ron white is the

democratic candidate. a lot of attention over the last couple of weeks in arkansas, kentucky, and pennsylvania. up next we will listen to speeches from the kentucky race is. we will begin with trade grayson's concession speech and then ran paul, who received almost 60% of the vote. >> when we began this campaign, i told the voters of kentucky that i was running because i wanted more kentucky and washington, d.c. and all little less washington, d.c. in kentucky. and i still believe that. but in order to do that we must unite and we must unite behind dr. paul. we had a spirited debate and a

lot of things said by s but we have more things that unite us. fiscal sanity, hold in washington accountable, repealing and fixing health care the right way, and handing our chaldron the future like it ought to be. and we need to work together to let rand paul. tonight my campaign comes to a close and i pledge my simple -- my full support for him in the coming election. please stay involved. we need you. we need to come together. last week someone asked me what i plan to do in the future. i still adopted to in frankfurt. i was actually working pretty hard to date. -- today. [applause] and one of the most gratifying things about this campaign is traveling across kentucky and having voters coming up and saying you are doing a great job

as secretary of state. you help me with an adoption are you help improve our election laws. there are a lot of who -- a lot of you who are part of that team making that a success and i am very proud of them. let's have our round of applause for the people who worked with me to make that a reality. [applause] beyond that, i look forward to sitting at home for a change in spending more time with nancy and the girls. i have better way a lot for the last several weeks, and we figured out what was coined happen. i looked at the pearls and said europe would have your daddy around a little bit more. so thank you for standing by me. [applause] there were the ones that inspired me to do this in the first place and i will never forget that my first job is as a husband and father. just over a century and a half ago, another native kentucky and

sat down and wrote a letter three he said that during one of his previous campaigns, he told anyone that listen that they should stand with anyone who stands right. and now after its own laws he said he was perfectly willing to stand by the other. a lot like the borrow the words of our 16th president abraham lincoln by telling everyone who supported me in this campaign to stand with anybody who stands right. unite behind dr. paul. he needs our help. no candidate ever enjoys coming up short. but it is clear to me that there is much more at stake. i want to thank all the volunteers, many of you in the audience tonight and watching at home, and everyone who supported us, thank you for being such loyal supporters all along. i will never forget each and every one of the. one i'm most -- i most want to

mention is a dear friend and mentor. he had done kentucky proud by leading the republican party to great heights here in kentucky as well as washington. we need to give him more soldiers for his army. but campaign manager and staff -- done an amazing job. i want to thank each and every one of them from the bottom of my heart. [applause] and i want to assure them [inaudible] i also want to thank those to give me the opportunity to get here, my mom and dad, my family, and i mentioned last week at our rallies the words of wisdom given to me by my former basketball coach upon finding out -- when i was ready to go

off to harvard for college, he said, go up there and learn as much as you can and come back here and start making kentucky a better place to live. and that is exactly what i have done. and that is exactly what i plan on doing in the future. thank you, good night, may god bless america and the commonwealth of kentucky. thank you all very much. [applause] ♪ [applause]

>> thank you, thank you all for coming. what a great night. [applause] i could not do anything or any of this without my best friend and confidant, my wife, kelly. [applause] allowed to introduce my boys, robert and duncan, who made phone calls and also went door to door and ashley cave-in introductions and speeches, and my son william who put up hundreds of signs for me. [applause] for teaching me to respect the constitution, for teaching me individual responsibility as well as what individual freedom is about, for raising make and i hope doing a great job learning what is right and what is wrong,

i want to thank mike parents, carol and ron paul. [applause] and i want to thank my brothers and sisters and their kids for being here today and i would introduce all of them. i like to thank my staff and all the volunteers, ryan, candy, jesse, matt, kristin, spencer, david, and all the others who have helped me. it has been a marvelous right. we are year into this and tonight is a great victory and i thank you all. [applause] i have a message, a message from the tea party, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words, we have come to take our government back. [applause]

will come to take our government back from the special interests who think that the federal government is their own personal atm. from the politicians to bring us state checks emblazoned with their signatures as if it was their money to give. washington is horribly broken. i think we stand on a process, we are encountering a day of reckoning, and this movement, this tea party movement, is a message to washington that we run happy and that we want things done differently. -- we are unhappy and that we want things done differently. [applause] the tea party movement is huge. the mandate of our victory

tonight is huge. what you have done and what we are doing can transform america. i think america's greatness hinges on us doing something to save the country. the tea party movement is about saving the country from a mountain of debt. host: rand paul earlier tonight. we're going to take you live to arkansas where center blanche lincoln as about to speak to reporters -- supporters and what will be a runoff race in arkansas next month.

>> hello, democrats. [applause] hello, blanche lincoln fans. [applause] how about that? you know, the crowd is so loud i could not tell the microphone was honor not. it was not bought for a few months ago that the national media wrote my senior senator off. and you know what? they were wrong. [applause]

arkansas has been home to more than one comeback kid. [applause] and tonight's we get to be here to welcome and cheer on our comeback lady. [applause] anybody that knows our senior united states senator knows that she is every bit of lady and she is a great mom, and she is a great human being, and she is a great american, and i am proud to be here with my senior senator. anybody that decided they were going to write this off has made a serious mistake, because we've got someone who is leading this ticket and is going to lead us to victory in three short weeks.

and when we do -- and when we do, we're going to have the same lady from eastern arkansas who has proven over and over and over again that she is the right people -- the right person to beat the republicans in the fall. [applause] i know that blanche lincoln is the right person to bring in our party back together as a family, to bring us back together regardless of whether we stand, whether rural or urban, labor, small business, black, white, gay or straight, this is the family that brought us here and this is the family that is going to win again this property this fall. and i am proud to introduce to you our friend, the person who got the most votes, which still

matters in elections in arkansas, blanche lincoln! [applause] congratulations. >> thank you. thank you, thank you, thank you. i cannot thank you and out. he and bobby have been so wonderful during this campaign season all across the state. do we have one rock-solid attorney general or what? [applause] oh, i am looking across this room and i see people from northwest arkansas back there, i seek folks from east arkansas, north, central, allover and i am so proud that you are here tonight. folks, that is exactly right. if you got people were going to

write a sock, and guess what? they got another think coming. they've got another think coming. my humble appreciation goes out first to the democratic voters of arkansas who are rarely recognized that this campaign is not -- it is not, polk, about the outside people who are trying desperately to exert their influence here. this night is about us. it is about you and me and it is not about these outside groups and what they think and who they are. it is about us as our kansas -- as arkansasans the people of arkansas have spoken. we want to control our own destiny and we will.

that is right. just one month ago, they said they were writing us off. but tonight we have proved by winning the popular vote that we cannot be written off and we will not be. tonight we began our countdown to victory, folks. that is exactly what we're going to do. i especially thank you. i do want to thank all of you that are here tonight. i also want to thank my opponent for running a respectable and honorable campaign. i also want to congratulate bill halter for earning a position in the upcoming runoff, and i certainly look forward to competing with him over the next three weeks, for the next three weeks are going to prove us right. yes. [applause]

and i know that you and your families have been subjected to the same thing that me and my family have been secured to to -- subjected to, we have seen way too many negative ads here in arkansas. but for newt -- move into the next phase of this campaign, i want to call on bill halter to it and all of his negative ads, and i well, too. this should be a race about the issues and not all of this mudslinging. we also need to call on every one of these outside groups to take their negative ads down and go home! [applause] we need to make this campaign about arkansas and the people of arkansas and who we are and what we believe them. there are millions of >> -- millions of dollars bid by outsiders and this is turning

into something that is not about arkansas. we want to get back to what it means to be an arkansasan. i had been working as your united states senator to get our country back on track and it is time to get our campaign back on track. be who we are. i have to say a special place because my mother is out there in the crowd. i am very proud of her. everybody knows her. [applause] but my parents raised me to stand up for what i believe him, not to run from a fight. and most importantly, to listen to all the sides and that is exactly what we have done in this campaign and it is what i have done as you're in the united states senator. i effort from all of you that it made me for standing up for farmers and for fighting for

small businesses, for saying yes to health care that was much needed in this great country of ours, yetah. and saying no to those bailouts to auto companies and not to the health insurance companies, that of wanted so hard to get into this race and set the stage with all of those millions of dollars they have put on the ads. i have heard arkansasans when you say you are frustrated with washington. i am, too. i have heard your voices for change and i agree -- washington is not working. but i believe i am part of the solution to what is now working in washington. i have not been a part of the problem and i am going to continue the fight to go back to washington and fight on your behalf.

[applause] my job is to listen to all arkansasans and to listen to you. i have one vote in the united states senate and night treated as if it were your vote and that is the important thing. you like to me to be your voice and i try to do that. it is safe to say that the d.c. unions are run happy maybe -- with me because i do not agree with them all the time for the wall street banks are run happy with me because i am fighting to make -- start making the -- stop making those risky trades that happen in the dark night. together we can get this economy moving again. it takes hard work. it takes on this decision making. and that is exactly what we are about. i have earned a position in the senate that can truly be an asset to our great state and i want you all to think of that

senate committee on agriculture and forestry as your committee. that is why i am there, for you. [applause] as the first arkansasan ever to chaired that committee in its 184-year history, i am committed to make it our pipeline for jobs and more opportunity for our great state, and working together, we can do that. all we need -- that is all we need, it is tonight to move forward. tonight is the celebration of all the things that we love. love and cherish and our great state of arkansas. it as our outdoor way of life, our faith, our small towns, our families, the heart and soul of who we are in arkansas. and tonight we celebrated and the next three weeks we are going to fight for it. [applause]

>> you go get them. >> let me tell you. [applause] >> well, i know each and every one of you all out there. this is what we did three you cherish this place we call, as much as i did. you cherish its greatest asset side and that is what is in this room right now, the people of arkansas. we have got it in us to stand up to all of these outside groups to come in here and flash their money around to tell us to we are. let me tell you -- we are proud arkansasans and we're going to work hard in the next three weeks to make sure that people all around this country know who we are and they know what we stand for.

rock-solid arkansas values. now before i leave the stage, i'm going to come out there and had every one of your next because i am so excited to see everyone in this regard i was say a few special thanks. i could not be here tonight, i could not do what i'd do if it were not for my wonderful husband. he is my rock. and these two very fine man standing next to me who you have watched grow up. they know how much i love them and i am so grateful to them for all that they do for me. i was fayette -- say a special thanks to my mom, my brother, my sister, all of my cousins, i am

related to 67 percent of the state and you may be right. all of my family that is here tonight, i am so grateful to each and every one of them. they do so much for me. they are more rock, they are what make me look around and count my blessings in some many ways. each of you do that for me. i want to say a special thanks to our campaign staff. they have done an unbelievable job. oh, they have been great. if i could, i would name each one of them by name because they have just done a remarkable job on this campaign to rid the have fought uphill battles, they have been out there with the kind of enthusiasm and desire to really make things work for our great state, and i am so grateful to them. i see some of them that had been

with me since 1991, others cents around the corner, but everyone has given 150% in this campaign, and let me tell you, in the next three weeks, we're going to give 200%. i want to say of very special thanks to my senate staff who are just remarkable individuals. they work as wonderful -- i see them all out there, most of them. i am grateful to them for their professionalism, for their hard work, the incredible job that they do day in and day out serving as great state that they love as much as you do when i did. i want to thank them from the bottom of my heart. there are hundreds of volunteers that have been out there working and -- day in and day

out. they could not be with us tonight. i want to thank them. they are so devoted to this race and who we are in arkansas and what we can accomplish through a special thanks to our regional headquarters and all of what they have been doing, but on banking, and giving out potluck dinners and a host of other things, mommies' for blanche night and the whole works. getting involved in this campaign, that is what this year is about. this year, as people have seen, this is become a national campaign. it is been nationalized because people believed that americans are frustrated, and i are. but we as a arkansasans to show that we do not give up with frustration. we come together to solve all problems and make our world a better place. arkansas is going to lead the way and we're going to do it

together. thank you, thank you, thank you, and god bless all of the y'all. go get them! three weeks! [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] ♪ host: blanche lincoln in little rock, ark., but late what mack and the theme song of the clinton campaign in 1992. bill clinton has endorsed her candidacy. it will be a three-week campaign for runoff. let's look at the results for the arkansas democrat senate primary permitted as a virtual dead even race.

blanche lincoln with the lead of about 50,000 votes. -- as you can see, 42.92%, compared to 42.62% for bill halter, with about 58% of the vote reported. we had to leave rand paul and bowling green, ky. we want to go back to that and listen to the rest of his comments. we will then is that with jack conway, who is the democratic senate candidate in kentucky. >> i have a message from the tea party, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words, we have come to take our government back.

we have come to take our government back from the politicians to think that washington is their personal atm. they send us checks emblazoned with their signature as it were their money to give. washington is hardly broken. i think we stand on a press of this -- precipice, and this tea party movement is a message to washington that we are unhappy and we want things done differently. the tea party movement is huge. the mandate of our victory tonight is huge. what you have done and what we are doing can transform america.

i think america's greatness hinges on us doing something to save the country. the tea party movement is about saving the country from a mountain of debt that is that our in our country, and i think could lead to chaos. we now have a president, though, who apologizes for america's greatness. we have a president who went to copenhagen and appeared with robert mondavi, hugo chavez, and others to apologize for the industrial revolution. they say, these petty dictators say that to stop climate change, it is about ending capitalism. they are explicit and the president by an attending copenhagen gives credibility and

credence to these folks and he should not go. [applause] america is a great country. it is a great country because of our system and our system is capitalism. capitalism is freedom, the freedom to voluntarily exchange goods and retrain the fruits of your labor. -- retain the efforts of your labor. profit is a system that we should be proud of. private property is a system we should be proud of. but we should not apologize to the rest of the world for our system. in order to preserve our great nation, tough choices will have to occur. so many republicans have been elected and they say we will cut your taxes but then we will bring you home the pork.

it is coming to an end because we cannot manage this debt. the debt of nearly $2 trillion has interests. one of the largest items in our budget now is the interest on the debt. this cannot go on forever. we're reaching a crisis point. in europe, there is a crisis. what do we say? instead of saying socialism is failed and their system should reform and become capitalism, we say that we will bail them out. what lesson does that teach greece and europe if we simply billed amount? we do not want that crisis to come to our country. there is a crisis looming. there is a debt bomb out there taking, and unless we make tough decisions and say that you want government that will protect your freedom but not a government that gives you something for free or give you something for nothing, then we

can get back to what the constitution meant and what it intended in the beginning. jefferson said that in questions of power, let no more be heard of confidence demand, but bind him from his mischief with the chains of the constitution. the constitution was to restrain government and protect our freedoms and we have lost that message. it should be enough that the constitution if we rebalance our budget every year. but you have seen how untrustworthy they have become, out even when one man like senator bunning stood up and said obey your own rules, pay as you go, no one defended him. when we stood up and defended him, people in kentucky heard it

and rallied to our cause. what is great about the constitution and about freedom is that it is a wonderful way to live, but also as a consequence, it is an incredibly prosperous system. about two months ago, a local attorney organized of benefit for haiti. i tell people -- it is not a miracle of having people who are charitable, but we have this incredible wealth because of our system. we need to be proud of capitalism. you don't have cuba having the immense wealth that we have. they cannot help people in need. we can because of our system. we have to understand this -- when we have a crisis recently and things were teetering in the balance, people blamed capitalism, wrongly so. it was the government -- is the

government that needs to be regulated. it is the federal reserve that needs to be restrained. people say to me, what can one man do? what can one senator do? what i say is that it is more than just me, is you. it is a nationwide movement and what i say to washington is, why to out, here we come. -- watch out, here we come. people are saying that now you need to weave and dodge and switch and give up your conservative message, and you need to become a moderate and give up that tea party and distance yourself.

the tea party message is not a radical message. it is not an extreme message 3 what is extreme is that $2 trillion deficit. that is what is extreme. the tea party message calls for things that are widely popular among republicans, democrats, an independent term limits -- go out and take a poll. 70% of people are for term limits. forcing congress to balance the budget by law -- take a poll. everyone is for but it never happens. we can do it and it can be popular. reading the bills -- who as opposed to them reading the bells? is that an extreme idea, to have them read the bills? they tell me they need time --

they need to wait to buy guns? i tell them they need to wait to pass legislation. i propose that they wait one day for every 20 pages. that would keep them busy for a while. some people say, other incumbents will lose tonight, the other establishment figures may lose tonight, but they -- it was not a tea party that did it. what is going on is there a movement -- there is a movement among the country that people do not like the arrogance of power. congress, we think and it party, shall pass no law they do not make applicable to themselves. i am still unclear -- did they

exempt themselves? i know that they want to exempt themselves from a health-care bill. they exempt themselves from social security. it goes down the line -- that is an arrogance that people are tired of. and finally, the tea party message says that every bill should enumerate where it gets his party -- its authority from the constitution. i am humbled by this victory tonight. i'm humbled by your support. i hope will you will fight on with us till november and i thank you very much for coming out tonight. let's have a party! [applause]

♪ ♪ [applause] >> jack!

>> [laughter] thank you, thank you, thank you. [applause] >> here is my understanding that the eyes of the national media have descended upon our beloved commonwealth of kentucky tonight. i've got news for them. jack conway had my opponent got more votes tonight and rand paul. -- than rand paul. [applause] and while the national media may be interested in this

phenomenon and its other candidate, let me say this -- this race is not about me. this race is not about rand paul. this raises about you, the people of the commonwealth of kentucky. you are hurting right now. we have 11% unemployment, families are being ripped apart, parents are losing their jobs, our young people are wondering whether or not they can educate themselves. and there's a lot of frustration out there. there is a lot of anger. there is a lot of passion. i am running in part because i am angry and frustrating, but kentucky and the people of the nation, we have a fundamental decision to make in this most important of u.s. senate races. how are we going to use this passion, to build a building or burn it down?

are we as a people going to be constructive with our highest ideas or are we going to let this passion take as the destruction? if you share with me the dream of a campaign and the future for kentucky that chooses hope over fear, i ask you tonight, go to jackconway.org, kickstart us, because we're going to beat grand ball. -- rand paul. and if you go to our website, you're going to see that we've been very specific with our policy positions. we propose to hometown tax credits that experts say it will create 750,000 jobs across the

country. we have a program to get our small and community banks lending once again to small and medium-size businesses, which are the engines of job growth in our great country. we're getting banned -- behind financial reform that says never again, never again will we bail out wall street the way that we have done here recently. and you will find out on our website that i stand for fiscal responsibility and i'm a fiscally responsible democrat, ladies and gentlemen. yes, yes, i am not fiscally responsible democrat. i want the government -- i say this to you, i know that we cannot afford rand paul. if you are a democrat, independent, or republican, and

you care about preserving the department of education, then you cannot opt for rand paul because he wants to do away with all of that. if you or a democrat, independent, or republican and our great commonwealth of kentucky and you care about the american with disabilities act, then you cannot afford rand paul because he wants to do away with that. if you or a democrat, independent, or republican in this country -- [laughter] if you are a democrat, independent, or republican who cares about the civil rights act, then you cannot afford rand paul because he does not think it has a place in our society. if you are a farmer in our

beloved commonwealth of kentucky, then you cannot afford rand paul because he thinks that we need to do away with agricultural programs. and if you finally want these bridges belt -- built all over our great commonwealth, bridges littered still lead and figuratively, then you cannot afford rand paul because he will not want to build them, ladies and gentlemen. rand paul is tapping into a lot of anti-washington sentiment. but i am not a washington politician. all kentucky politicians are not made a light. look at my record as attorney general. we have taken child pornography off of the internet and created a task force to work with our counterparts to bring about the biggest drug bust in the state's history. medicaid fraud collections are

up. elder abuse prosecutions are route 300% three ladies and gentlemen, that as a record of taking a public office and treating it as a public trust in that is just what i will do as the united states senator. don't start that music get. -- just yet. i want to stop here for a second and thank some very special people. it all starts with my beautiful wife, elizabeth, and our daughter. i want to thank the wonderful parents, tom and barbara conway, my brother my sisters and their families. i want to thank my campaign manager who is here tonight. and mark, our general consultant.

other consultants. i want to take a moment to say to trade grayson, you're a good and decent public servant and i think the world of you. i want to thank the special kentucky woman named chris to i think is a fantastic public servant. i want to thank john and jerry and banned channel are and grace who were there from the get go 14 months ago when we announced our candidacy. and i want to thank are sent to be 86-year-old warhorse, thank you for putting us over the top.

i just got off the phone with the senator. he said to tell all of you that he is ready for the fall. and he said, soon to be aged 86, he may not be up for 24-7, but he is out for 24/6. and i want to thank daniel and his wife for being a worthy opponent, for giving me a classy phone call just now and for campaigning hard for the polks of the commonwealth of kentucky. i want to wish him well. we're going to unite his party and be strong in november, because folks, we're going run a campaign that appeals to your hopes, not your fears. our best days are ahead of us. we're going to become a constructive, not destructive, and we're going to say to the

people of this great commonwealth that we're all in this. we're not going to divide the state because it ended the day we are all in this together, whether a coal miner just a displaced for worker. we are all in this together. and to my beloved commonwealth of kentucky, i say i am running for the united states senate. i hope that you will run with me. thank you and god bless. ♪

host: jack conway, the democratic senate nominee in kentucky with his wife and family from louisville. thank you to louisville education television for allowing us to share coverage. jack conway defeating lieutenant governor and republican candidate is rand paul, the son of congressman ron paul. our phones are open from pennsylvania in which jos sestet is the winner over arlen specter. 98% of the boy -- but is reporting. the results from the 12th congressional district in pennsylvania where more critz is the candidate in a seat long held by john murtha.

he defeated ken burns in that southwestern pennsylvania district. in arkansas, there will be a runoff between bill halter and blanche lincoln. that will take place in three weeks. tomorrow morning, reporters from the hot line joining us to get their perspective on what happened tonight. also, politics from connecticut with that "new york times" story about richard blumenthal and his military record coming into question. up next from pennsylvania, we began with a concession speech by arlen specter. it runs about five minutes. we will follow that with joe sestak. >> good evening, my supporters.

and most of the media in the western hemisphere. [applause] i f just called congressmen sestak to congratulate him and tell him it is vital that we keep this safe with the democratic party, and i will support him in the election. i thanked the extraordinary team but in my senate office and on this campaign staff. my wife always at my side.

a city councilwoman, if she had been a candidate, she could make a victory speech now. i thank my son, shannon. he ran a perfect campaign, and i think tracy -- i thank tracey who has organized and been in the trenches and four powerful campaigners who have traveled the state. here they come on cue. they like to be introduced separately.

[laughter] i think the president for his support and the vice-president biden and governor rendell and senator casiney an extraordinary staff helping me to run the senate office, the chief of staff -- [applause] i don't know why he got more applause than i did but he deserves it. [laughter] oscar in philadelphia and andy in scranton and stand in pittsburgh -- tremendous,

tremendous operation. and i thank my campaign workers would done an extraordinary job, chris, nicholas and a cast of thousands behind this in the campaign. it has been a great privilege to serve the people of pennsylvania. >> thank you, arlen! >> thank you. >> and it has been a great privilege to be in the united states senate.

i will be working hard for the people of the commonwealth in the coming months. thank you all. [applause] >> arlen! arlen! [applause] >> thank you for many years of public service. [applause]

♪ [applause] >> ok, you came to see alex. thank you, pa.! and thank you to everyone here tonight. this election is about you -- you and everyone in this great commonwealth.

who stood up and wanted their voices heard. this is what democracy looks like. a win for the people. over the establishment, over the status quo, even over washington, dc! i will never forget that it was the people of pennsylvania that made it happen tonight. and i will work so hard to earn their trust and their confidence.

it should come to no surprise to anyone that people wanted change. when i went to congress just a few years ago, after 31 years in the wonderful united states navy, i found too many career politicians a bit too concerned about keeping their jobs rather than serving the public, rather than helping the people. in the navy we are held accountable for our actions. and we should expect no less -- no less from our politicians in washington, d.c. that accountability has been missing for far too long and i want to help bring it back and that is why i am running for the united states senate. .

there are some who want to go backward to to the failed policies of george bush and the cheney. and letting wall street do what ever that they want.

or just saying no, to progress. i think that we know that we are in difficult times. and we know that we must go forward. and to do this, we do not need a politician. we have to have someone who was wanting to do what is right for the working families of pennsylvania. it's time. it is just time for a new generation of leadership that we will be able to count on to leave behind politics. and to remember about the

working families of pennsylvania who are right here. and to stand up to your own party, when that party does not get this right. this is what people are looking for. the republicans and the independence and democrats. there are a lot of people but i want to thank. before anyone else, i would ask

everyone to join me in a moment of science -- silence. we have the service members, overseas. and now i want to say something about someone who was very courageous. he has devoted his entire life to public service. and he and his lovely wife

deserve our thanks. [applause] >> we have disagreed about a number of things, but we are americans. he has done good things for pennsylvania. his finding of the national institutes of health, there are americans who are alive who would not have survived without arlen specter. this is a legacy to be proud of.

i want to also thank my staff. [applause] i was asking a lot of them and they gave a lot more than i have asked. [applause] i would serve with them anywhere. anywhere. and then, to my volunteers. [applause]

those volunteers, 5000 strong, coming in every day, because they cared. to these volunteers. and there are others who were helping, from the young man named j.j. and many others, from the days passed. i want to talk about something that is very special.

my family, richard, my brother. [applause] elisabeth, my sister. there is only one perfect child in the world, and every parent has this. margaret, -- she led this campaign, and i am ed turley devoted along with the rest of my sisters. and i cannot thank them all enough. and then, to the silver fox, my

mother. we love her, and she taught high school math in -- we were all trying to avoid her. in his child got hurt. and then, to my father. as everyone knows, we laid him to rest in arlington cemetery this october. and i will tell you, right until the very end, the greatest man i have ever met. and we know that when he met his new friend up there, he said, but that hand -- put that hand on the ship and take it to that

safe harbor. [applause] and then, yes, some people -- i do not know how we do things. and i say, persistence. tenacity. -- and iropose proposed to someone two days after i met her, and eight years later, she said yes. this is to my wife. how blessed can one be?

except one more. this 22 trouble-maker. this young, beautiful. she hates when i say that. this is the love of my life. [applause] i try to steal a kiss. i never make it. thank you, lord, for her. as i end, to the families of pennsylvania. how i owe you and want to be your servant. and do things out of principle.

i want to work with others and a principle compromise. i want my daughter to be proud. i want every day for you, if i can earn your trust, to be proud of me. [applause] i will end with this story. there was a sign on my door. it said, "daddy, do all politicians talk so much?" so i will end.

it is great, going home. as i end, with my father up above, one of my fondest memories was 1962, the army-navy game in philadelphia. they named it after john f. kennedy. i saw him that day. he crossed from one side to the other. a rivarly from the army, who thinks they are almost as good as the navy. as he went from one side to the other, i was watching. what i remember more than that

was at the end. , about to wear the cloth of this nation, came together. they shook one another's hands. and that's us democrats. [applause] >> at the end of the day. we have shared principles, the graciousness of specter as he called to say, i am supporting you. [applause] let's come together and know we don't vote for change, we

fight for change. our president needs somebody down there. kennedy did not have it quite right. it takes a number of men and women to try. let's come together and let's prevail in november. and let's have a public servant who will always be beholden and accountable to you. ♪ >> in a few moments, an update on the issues between russia,

china, and the u.s. over the sanctions of iran. and a little more than 40 minutes away, more on the gulf of mexico oil spill. now, secretary clinton, on the iran sanctions deal. she was before the senate foreign relations committee. then, details from the state department. this is a pleasure to testify because we believe that the new treaty will make this country more secure. this also reflects the growing cooperation with russia on matters of mutual interest. and this will help us in advancing the broader, non- proliferation agenda. we have been working closely with our partners on the draft

of a new sanctions resolution and i am happy to announce to this committee, we have reached an agreement on a strong draft with the cooperation of russia and china. we will circulate this to the entire security council today. and let me say that this announcement, is as convincing of an answer to the efforts that are undertaken in tehran as any that we could provide. there are a number of unanswered questions, regarding the announcements that are coming from there, and although we have spoken about the severe efforts to find a solution, regarding the standoff with the

international community over the nuclear -- the nuclear program, the p5 and one, with the uk, france, germany, russia, united states, with the european union are working to rally the international community with a strong sanctions resolution, and this will send an unmistakable message about what is to be expected from iran. >> when was this agreement reached? >> this was in beijing. >> this is hard to put up. in the last 24 hours, we have reached an agreement on the consensus draft, as the

secretary has indicated. we will be presenting this draft, to the full council later on this afternoon. there will be a meeting at 4:00. and i believe that susan will have immediate availability after this. >> in the last 24 hours, the basics of the resolution -- these were in place last week. and this was a question about how long that he wanted to late -- he wanted to wait for this. >> i would not necessarily agree with you. we have been getting closer and closer after the intense dialogue over several weeks. and as we have indicated to you, what the various meetings in new york. the calls between the secretary, and the president, and -- we

have come to the place where we are at, over this time. we have narrowed differences, and we have come down in recent days to a couple of specific details about the resolution. and in some cases, the president is talking, and the secretary is talking to the counterparts, and further instructions have been given. this was given to the people in new york and we have reached a consensus. >> any reached this consensus over the weekend? >> i believe that we came to the place where the secretary felt confident with the support of her counterparts that she could make the announcement that she did this morning.

>> what was the last high-level conversation that you have had? i wonder who was talking to who else? >> in terms of china, you will recall that the secretary had a conversation with the counselor, and i believe that there were further discussions in new york. and over the weekend -- they were clarifying the details of that particular country. this is what they felt were appropriate. and the secretary was on the phone this morning, and everyone felt comfortable that there was a consensus. >> for this resolution, you have the consensus and there were a lot of elements that you want. this does not go as far as where the united states was wanting to go.

and i wonder if you think that this deal -- that they can show that they are not serious and you do not have optimism that this will go forward in iran, and they will continue to show that they are not serious about their ambitions. you may be able to get a tougher resolution and presumably, they would be voting for this because they were humiliated. >> as we have always said, we have two tracks to the strategy. we have the diplomatic track and the pressure track. and with the serbs -- subject of the meeting over the weekend, we will see what they come forward with, over the next several days. i believe that one of the aspects of how we reached consensus was the fact that

there was a bold declaration over the weekend, something that was heard at dinner, before the foreign minister in new york, that notwithstanding any prospective deal on the research reactor, they will continue to enrich uranium, and this is a clear -- this is in defiance of the three security council resolutions. this demonstrates the unwillingness of them to come forward and constructively engage the international community. this has helped us to achieve the consensus of the secretary. >> when asked about this deal, you were a little bit skeptical. to what extent does introducing

this today represent a possibility? >> i do not see this as connected. this was envisioned as a step to build confidence between iran and the international community. the issue of the resolution is about the defiance of the iran with the u.s. security council resolutions, and this is about the unwillingness to engage them seriously, and the unwillingness to answer the questions that we have about the nuclear program. we are looking at the primary issue, with the ongoing enrichment of the uranium against the security council resolution. >> this was supposed to build

confidence. how was pursuing the sanctions, with a major step. how system -- going to help that aspect? >> they continue to avoid the will of the international community. we have to make clear that there is a confidence. >> they are trying to prove that they are not doing this. they are trying to build confidence. >> we have made it clear what is expected of them. they have indicated their declaration with turkey and brazil. we see this in the next six days. this is something that we have called upon them to do, going

back many months. we know that they will be prepared to engage constructively. this is regardless of the arrangement. >> what does this mean for the agreement that was found yesterday? >> the resolution is focused on iran and the unwillingness to abide by the security council resolutions. and the fact that the draft resolutions are held across the security council, building upon the previous resolutions. this will add further pressure, supported by the whole council, and it will increase them, with

-- the clear message of what we expect for them to do. >> this will send a message that we will still impose sanctions? >> we are not moving the goalposts. this has always been their failure. >> they say that they are going to do something. and this may be positive. why did you just not wait? >> they have made it public declarations, but have failed to follow through. we will be watching what they do, in the coming days. and their formal response and what this is going to be. and at the same time, the international community has not been swayed by what they were promising over the weekend. they were promising a lot but they have failed to deliver,

going back over months and years. the concern is that they continue to enrich uranium in defiance of the security council resolution. they have tripped over their own shoelaces. they have this expressly because of the concerns about the reactor. and now they are willing to agree to this arrangement, but at the same time, they say that this does not matter and that they will still be enriching uranium. this is in defiance of will and -- what we have called upon them to do. this was an important means to an end, to build confidence, but ultimately, this is about their failure to live up to their international obligations. >> when do you expect to put this to the vote?

>> there is no particular timetable. we are guided by the desire to get this done as quickly as possible, in a matter of weeks. and in tabling this resolution, others will have some ideas. and there will be further changes to anticipate as we go through this. we believe that this is an important step in the process. >> is this going to happen before the end of this month? >> you will wait for the president of the council? >> i think he laid out a goal of having this done by the end of the spring, and we think that this is a great goal. >> one more question about turkey and brazil. you must be walking a fine line to be against this agreement, without offending turkey or brazil. you have introduced -- you may

not think that the diplomatic efforts are going to lead to much, but at the same time, have you not handicapped their efforts? >> we have said, and the secretary has repeated, we value the intervention by turkey and brazil. the issue with this declaration is what this would really mean, and what is iran actually prepared to do? is there anything beneath this piece of paper? . .

>> did you give both turkey and brazil a heads up that this resolution would be passed around this afternoon? >> the secretary talked yesterday afternoon with both foreign minister amorim and foreign minister davutoglu. she listened attentively to their descriptions of what took place over the weekend in tehran and she indicated that this morning, assuming that we had reached consensus with the p-5+1, we would be sharing the resolution with the full council. >> and what has she told them about their efforts to bring iran to the table over the weekend leading to this deal? how does she characterize it in -- based on -- >> well, i'm not sure it's about how she characterizes it. i mean, they described what happened and what they were

able to accomplish, what they had hoped to accomplish, but weren't able to do so in the time that was available. the secretary reiterated to both foreign minister amorim and to foreign minister davutoglu exactly what she said before the congress this morning, that notwithstanding the significant effort by turkey and brazil, there are still questions about this declaration, there are still very specific concerns about whether iran would seriously engage the iaea and whether it was willing to suspend enrichment as demanded by previous un security council resolutions. >> well, i guess to follow on elise's point, did she indicate to them that washington appreciated, in the positive sense of the word, what they were trying to achieve this weekend or not? >> yes, we -- i mean, we have been understanding and supportive of what brazil and turkey attempted to do this

weekend. and as the secretary said, we remain skeptical that notwithstanding this joint declaration that iran is actually going to fulfill its international obligations. >> but you say that you're supportive and appreciative, but you don't think you handicapped it in any way? i mean, now by introducing the resolution the day after the agreement, you almost guarantee that iran is going to react in a negative way. >> that's up to iran. iran has specific international obligations. >> certainly not creating an atmosphere for diplomacy, are you? >> oh please, we have attempted for many, many months to attempt a constructive engagement with iran. that was the whole purpose of the meeting in geneva on october 1st. and at that meeting, you'll recall iran initially said it would accept the deal and then immediately backed away from it. and it has failed to respond significantly since. it's iran that is unwilling to

come back to the p-5+1 specifically to talk about its nuclear program. it's iran that has failed to engage the iaea. it's iran that has failed to live up to the demands of previous un security council resolutions. so we have bent over backwards to have constructive engagement with iran. it's been iran that has failed to meet us half way. >> so are you in disagreement now with turkey and brazil because of this agreement? >> no, we are tabling, this afternoon, a draft resolution. it has consensus within the p- 5+1, and we trust that with further dialogue within the council that we think at the end of this process it will gain the support of the council. >> do you expect them to support the resolution, the security council? >> well, ultimately, that is up to turkey and brazil. we will continue our dialogue with all of the countries within the security council and

we'll continue to watch closely and see what iran's response is in the coming days to the iaea. >> what sorts of accommodations were given to both russia and china as you were reaching a consensus on this draft? >> i think we are working with russia and china and others. we think that we have produced a draft resolution that is tough, it's comprehensive, it's broad-based. we think it sends a very strong message to iran. >> but what specifically did the u.s. say it would back away from in order to address russian and chinese concerns? >> i'm not going to get into the particulars of the negotiation. >> is it fair to say that you made the judgment that, having agreed on the resolution, that announcing that agreement and

circulating it today (a) would not harm the turkish or brazilian efforts to coax the iranians into some kind of a fuel swap deal, and/or (b) might, in fact. strengthen the chances of iran responding to their ideas because it would see that the sanctions train continued to move down the track? >> well, i think first and foremost, arshad, i would say that we are actually moving down a process that we have been following for some months. this was a priority of the obama administration coming in from october 1st. we had a genuine offer of constructive engagement with iran. we put on the table the trr arrangement as a confidence- building measure. but at the turn of the year, as the president outlined, we assessed that iran would not be more forthcoming absent pressure that made a clear

statement to iran. and we are now moving down that process that we envisioned several months ago. the president has outlined an approach that would have this process lead to a resolution by the end of spring, and that's exactly what we're doing. now, the fact that we understood completely what brazil and turkey hoped to accomplish in its intervention this weekend in tehran, but we've always envisioned that these were parallel and mutually supporting tracks. >> p.j., recently russia, china, and france have welcomed iran (inaudible). today, you were talking about an agreement with china and russia on a draft resolution. >> well, first of all, i mean, i'll leave it to the countries that you mentioned to characterize how they viewed what happened over the weekend.

i think everyone is struck by the iranian statement that, notwithstanding any arrangement on the trr, that iran would continue to enrich uranium. that remains the fundamental international concern, and it's ultimately -- poses the greatest danger in terms of the true nature of iran's nuclear program. so i think, as the secretary said during her testimony, this is a very compelling response to that iranian declaration over the weekend that, regardless of the views of the international community, it plans to keep enriching and it cannot offer at this point any valid basis for that enrichment activity. >> why brazil and turkey announce an agreement and they knew in advance that this will not be acceptable? >> well, the -- i mean, let's understand that what you have

coming out of tehran this weekend is a significant diplomatic effort by brazil and turkey, but you have a piece of paper that no one knows whether iran will actually follow through on. so there is a piece of paper, and it says that iran will respond to the iaea within a week's time. okay, let's see what the nature of that response is. it says that iran is willing to engage the p-5+1. if iran is willing to do that, it knows catherine ashton's phone number. it can pick up and say let's talk. we have said for many, many months since october 1st we're willing to engage iran any time, any place, provided the top issue on the list is iran's nuclear program. if iran wants to talk to the p- 5+1 about its nuclear program, that meeting can be arranged. but -- and if iran wants to suspend its enrichment activity

as called for in un security council resolutions, then that would actually be a very significant step that could open the door for further negotiations. but again, the burden is on iran. you've got some ideas on a piece of paper here. the real question is what will iran be willing to do in the coming days. >> we're getting reports now -- i think washington post saying that south korea is blaming north korea for the torpedo attack and will be announcing that shortly. >> they already announced it. >> they did announce that? >> and we will continue to work with south korea as it completes the investigation. and when there's an announcement, we will work with south korea and other countries in the region on the next steps regarding what happens in light of that investigation. >> going off of that? >> sure. >> on the secretary's schedule today, she's actually supposed

to be meeting right now with bosworth. can you give us some kind of a -- >> that's about right. [laughter] >> can you give us an agenda of what they were expecting to talk about -- cheonan incident? >> well, she -- i mean, the secretary is updated by ambassador steve bosworth and ambassador sung kim on a regular basis. they are also keeping her up to date on developments as she prepares for her trip, where clearly, both in tokyo and in seoul and probably in china as well, the issue of north korea will be discussed. >> will ambassador bosworth be on the trip with her? >> not to my knowledge. >> two questions -- >> right. >> related to brazil. >> well, let's stay on north korea and then we'll come back to brazil. >> so how do you get a consensus and cooperation from china on the matter? >> well, we've enjoyed a strong consensus with china, going back to last summer when there

was a resolution passed, 1874, and there -- which has been aggressively implemented across the international community ever since. we will obviously be guided by the results of this investigation. clearly, any provocative act taken against any country in the region is a matter of concern. if north korea wishes to have a different relationship with the international community and other countries in the region, it has to stop the kinds of provocative actions that we have seen over the past few years. so we will be talking to china and japan and korea in light of the anticipated results of the cheonon investigation and we'll collectively chart a path forward. yeah.

same subject. go ahead. >> so do you support south korea's position to bring the case to the security council? >> we will be talking to south korea about that issue, i would expect. >> back to iran, are you concerned that this move on the sanction resolution is going to affect any way the outcome of the npt review conference? because iran is a member of the npt and requires consensus to reach an agreement on many -- >> the npt review conference is about the global efforts to restrict the proliferation of nuclear material. the conference is about that -- global efforts. it is not about any one country

in particular. but certainly, as a subtext of the ongoing npt review conference, you have pledges by all of the countries of the world to abide by their international obligations. as the secretary said in new york, conspicuously there was one country represented in the room that had failed to live up to its international obligations. so i think we will all be guided by what is happening on the sanctions resolution, but we want to strengthen the npt. we want to reaffirm all countries have to live up to their obligations. we want to see the iaea strengthen its capabilities so it can work constructively with countries around the world. and we want to develop a better

mechanism so countries can develop civilian nuclear capabilities while limiting the possibility of a nuclear breakout. >> but do you still believe that consensus agreement is possible in this npt revcon? >> we certainly hope so. >> p.j., turkish officials seem to be taken away by the secretary's announcement as an absolute surprise. i mean, the question that we do face today is what happened. so how do we have u.s. and russians and the chinese agreeing on a resolution? and i -- and they also claim that they have worked through every single step of the way when they were reaching the agreement with the iranians. this is what they do claim, at least. can you just talk to us at least about the level of coordination that they had with you as they were trying to reach

the deal with the iranians? and why do you think that they are taken by surprise by the secretary's statement today? >> i'm not sure that they should be taken by surprise. in her conversation yesterday afternoon with foreign minister davutoglu, she indicated that we would be sharing the text of the resolution today. the secretary talked to the foreign minister both yesterday and prior to his trip to tehran. we've been significantly engaged with turkey, going back many weeks and months. and we, again, genuinely appreciate the efforts of turkey to try to mediate this. but this is not about turkey and brazil. this is about iran. and i think that everyone agrees that the focus should remain on iran and what actions it will take in light of this joint declaration. and we may well have a difference of opinion as to the likely outcome of this.

i think our colleagues in brazil and turkey may well still be hopeful that iran is going to live up to the specific steps outlined in the declaration. we remain very skeptical. >> so are you suggesting that even before the prime minister went to tehran that the u.s. had informed the turkish side that they will be coming up with a resolution in the next day or two? >> well, as i indicated, we -- certainly, all countries have been aware that we've been working intensively within the p-5+1 and that we were getting closer and closer to agreement on consensus regarding a draft resolution. so the idea that we would be getting very, very close should not be a surprise to any country on the un security council. but the fact is, as you outlined, that we -- this was not keyed off of the meeting in tehran. it was, in fact, just the fact that through the intensive

efforts of the past few weeks we arrived at consensus just in the last 24 hours. >> it wasn't -- >> can i just follow up on that? >> no, no, no -- >> wait, wait. the timing question is important, going around it. i mean, the secretary herself said this morning on the hill in response to a question that, with all due respect to her turkish and brazilian friends, the reason that iran signed off on this was because they knew that the resolution was going to be presented this week. and then she said, quote, "namely today." >> i'm just simply saying that -- did we circle today on the calendar and says this is the day that we're going to drop a resolution before -- >> no. in fact, wasn't the plan originally -- >> the security council, the answer is no. >> wasn't the -- wasn't it originally the plan to do it over the weekend? and then the decision was made to wait until monday, wait to see what the -- >> we have -- as we've outlined to you going back a number of days, we have been getting very close.

we've had high-level conversations between u.s. officials, including the secretary and others, and we arrived at consensus just in the last 24 hours. >> p.j., it really doesn't make any sense. if you had conveyed this message to the turkish side that no matter what happens in tehran you will be coming up with a sanctions resolution, then why did you allow them to even give it a try to have a deal with the iranians? >> well, i mean, the decision to go to tehran was a decision made by president lula and prime minister erdogan, supported by their foreign ministers. we've been very clear in multiple conversations with turkey and brazil, going back to a number of meetings that we've had in the margins in new york, here in washington, and we've been very clear on what we are doing on the so-called pressure track.

so nothing that's happening here is a surprise to anyone. nor -- as we've said, it was very clear when the secretary met with foreign minister amorim in new york at the start of the npt revcon, he outlined what president lula's goals were going to tehran this past weekend. so we knew exactly what was happening on the brazil and turkey front. brazil and turkey knew exactly what was happening on the other track. and i don't think -- there's been very, very close intensive collaboration both prior to the trip and just in the past 24 hours where the foreign minister of turkey and brazil outlined what they think they had accomplished. and the secretary made clear that we still have concerns. >> so before they left to tehran, they were perfectly aware that you were about to announce a resolution? >> i think that -- no, no, again, the timing here i would

say is just where we felt we had reached consensus with the p-5+1. now -- >> it just happened to be the day after. >> well, i'm just -- i'm simply -- i mean, look, what is remarkable here is not withstanding the activities of the weekend, you still have consensus within the p-5+1, which means we share the same concern that notwithstanding iran's agreement to the trr -- which of course, is caveated; it remains to be seen exactly what they are agreeing to or not. but you still have consensus within the p-5+1, including china, including russia, that this is a resolution that should be tabled and will be tabled this afternoon. that sends a very strong message to iran that its efforts over the past many weeks to duck and dodge and evade and avoid

their international obligations, that strategy has failed. >> but you can see where turkey and brazil might feel that you just didn't give their diplomatic efforts any consideration at all. >> i think that we have made clear to a number of countries, including turkey, including brazil, including russia, including china that absent additional pressure from the international community that iran was unlikely to change course. and in fact, i think we feel, given the public statements of iran over the past 48 hours, that notwithstanding a trr arrangement, they are still going to enrich, which is a contravention of un security council resolutions, tells us that our skepticism is well founded. that does not mean that we don't appreciate the efforts of turkey and brazil. and we will be watching to see exactly what iran is prepared to

do in the coming days when it presents its response to the iaea. but we -- >> but they specifically undertook this mission in the hopes of, at least temporarily, avoiding a sanctions resolution. so you told them that that's -- >> i will defer to turkey and brazil to describe the purposes of their trip to tehran this weekend. we have made clear that we remain open to engagement, but the ball remains in iran's court. >> the impression left, though, p.j., is that the message here -- sure there is a message to iran, but there's also a message to turkey and brazil and that is, basically get out of the sandbox, that the big boys and girls are playing here and we don't need your meddling. do you not -- you don't accept that? >> that's -- i mean, i just simply said -- i can repeat it again, that we appreciate the efforts of turkey and brazil and will be watching to see if major -- major if -- if iran follows up on what is on that joint declaration.

we remain skeptical that iran will, in fact, respond to the international community. and we would call, as exhibit a, its statement over the weekend which reiterates what foreign minister mottaki told the ambassadors at dinner in new york that regardless of what happens on the trr front, that it will continue to enrich and it will continue to live up -- to avoid living up to its un security council resolution obligations. >> just to follow up real quick, what -- how long are you willing to wait to see how iran carries out any obligations it has under this new deal before you'll put the resolution to a vote? and are there any other steps that you need to see taken before a vote -- to avoid a vote? is that -- do they agree to suspend the enrichment before they do that? >> well, again, we will share the draft resolution with the security council this afternoon. that will begin a process where

all of the countries involved will weigh in. some of them may offer suggestions in terms of the particulars in the resolution. that process will take as long as it takes. but all we're saying is we -- just as we will watch to see if iran responds to the iaea, if it calls the p-5+1 and expresses a willingness to engage on the nuclear issue, if it is willing to suspend its enrichment program, we will watch to see if those steps are taken and followed through by iran. but at the same time, we -- >> before you vote? >> will continue to work within the council on a draft resolution and we hope to get support for that resolution in the coming weeks. >> but -- >> hold on a second. i understand you're going to wait -- that you're going to continue working on it, but how long are you willing to wait before you'll actually put this to a vote, before you say they haven't don't it and we're going to put this to a vote? >> well, again, all i can say is we -- the president has indicated he'd like to see this

done by the end of spring, and that remains the timeline that we are following. >> so even if they -- >> and then just the last thing on it. are there any other steps beyond responding -- beyond responding to the iaea officially that they need to take in order to avoid sanctions? do they to stop enrichment? >> well, again, let me go back to where i was a while ago. our major concern remains the enrichment activity that iran continues to state it's going to continue regardless of what the international community does. that is at the core of our concerns about iran. the international community, going back a number of years, has expressed a willingness to engage iran on the issues provided iran suspends its enrichment activity. iran has failed to do that. the un security council resolutions have called upon iran clearly to do that. that is -- that's the bottom line. if iran is willing to respond to the iaea, engage the p-5+1 on nuclear issues, those would

be constructive steps. but the real key is iran has to suspend its uranium enrichment. >> so you're going to put this to a vote, no matter whatever they say in this declaration -- >> well, no, as we said yesterday, we will be guided by what iran does. there's lot of things that iran has said. iran has tried to create the impression that it's reasonable. but every encounter that we've seen where iran has engaged a variety of countries, they talk a good game, but they actually do very little. >> but back to kirit's -- >> how long are you willing to wait? are you willing to give them a chance to implement everything that they said? if they hand in a glowing declaration to the iaea and are ready to implement everything in that agreement, are you still going to vote? >> i think that -- well, obviously, there will be further discussion within the security council. all of the countries represented in the security council will take note as we go through this that -- of what iran does.

but we're not going to stop a process just because iran talks a good game. >> would you say that what happened over the weekend helped reached a final consensus within the p-5+1? >> i've been saying that we reached consensus in the last 24 hours. others have -- you have put it over the weekend. >> no, i'm saying -- would you say that the events that took place over the weekend helped in the last 24 hours to reach that consensus? >> without question. clearly, iran's statement that regardless of the joint declaration that it would continue to enrich, that is in direct violation of un security council resolutions. i think that had to have an impact on our deliberations. >> thank you. >> thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> a couple of live events to

tell you about on our companion network, c-span3. at 10:00 a.m. eastern the house transportation and infrastructure committee holds a hearing on the gulf of medical oil spill in a -- the of mexico oil spill. it includes the president of bp america. president obama host a state dinner for president calderon. our coverage begins said 6:00 p.m. easter with his arrival at the white house followed by toast's up from the two presidents. >> this weekend on c-span2, 1 "after words" a defense of the tea party about -- against accusations from the left wall making accusations of his own. find the entire schedule at our web site and follow was on twitter.

>> now senate commerce committee hearing on the gulf of mexico oil spill. if witnesses include the coast guard commandant in charge of the government cleanup efforts and bp chairman lamar mckay. this is three hours. >> the hearing will come to order. members will be arriving 3 now will give the opening statement and i believe senator hutchison is on her way and we will have some opening statements. you will hopefully be patient. because i know you have never had to answer any questions on this subject before, right? on april 20 at an explosion occurred on the deep water horizon offshore drilling unit

off the coast of the gulf of mexico. 11 were killed and 17 injured, setting into motion an environmental disaster of virtually unprecedented proportions. it is estimated that millions of gallons of oil have leaked to date, and who really knows? causing irreparable harm to our economy, coastal communities, fragile wetlands, and livelihoods. our goal at today's hearing is to learn more about why bp, transocean, and federal regulators were so unprepared for this action, why did they not -- why did they rely on a single type technology that might prevent a blowout and research is being done on more than one and i want to find out. and what in the world happened? why were they not ready to respond? and to be honest i am curious

about what of the companies took short cuts. i'm familiar with shortcuts because i come from west virginia where there are lots of coal mines and lots of times people take shortcuts, profits before safety. it is just the way the world works. a lot of pressure on workers, pressures for profits and so on, and that disturbs me. it seems to me that drilling has always come first and that safety and disaster planning came only second. it has been four weeks since the accident. bp has finally figured out how to capture just a very small portion of the thousands of barrels of oil that continue to pour into the gulf each day. it will be many more days, many more weeks, many more months, who knows at this point, before the devastation can be brought fully to a halt.

safety and responsibility are enormously important in every industry, and when workers lives and fragile echoes systems are at stake, safety and best practices must never comes second to production or profit. under the coast guard's exceptional leadership and coordination, a widespread search and rescue response involved numerous helicopters, airplanes, ships, saving crew members after the explosion. 1 and 10,000 personnel -- and it may be well more than that, i am not quite sure -- are responding to this crisis, deploying miles upon miles of oil boons. in some cases they are working to dilute the oil and they are draining off the surface of the water. a joint investigation from the coast guard and the minerals management service into the

cause of the explosion and the subsequent spill is under way. i want to be very clear about my views on this oil spill. the people who created this terrible mess must be fully responsible for cleaning it up. the american taxpayer should not be asked to foot the bill. on that, i see no compromise. in the days and months ahead, the american people expect full and honest answers from h -- from bp, transocean, and halliburton. it is no secret that drilling on the outer continental shelf has been the subject of heated debate for several decades. to date there are approximately 278 active offshore drilling pieces at work. the administration's proposal to increase energy energy and

exploration on the outer connell self will lead to more in the future and that does concern me. if left unchecked and uncorrected we may see another terrible disaster of this magnitude, and if they happen once every 10 years, it takes 20 years to recover from the last one, so saying it does not happen very often does not carry a lot of water with me. if it happens at all, that matters. and until we can fully investigate this incident, i will have a hard time supporting any future offshore drilling. i want to welcome our witnesses today. tw of them on the first panel, and then the admiral, a common data of the coast guard for whom i have enormous respect, and the national incident commander for the gulf oil spill.

he is meant to retire and i hope he is going to stay on a little bit longer. with only one week left as commandant, admiral allen, you are combatant commanders. you are facing this with the same strength that have been the hallmark of your service to our nation. it is a very military effort in some ways and a very scientific and others. the suburban minister ayrshire of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration is our own look -- are other witness on the first panel and we're very proud of her. mr. lamar mckay, chairman and president of bp american, and mr. steven newman, president and ceo of transocean, and as

zoologists and biological oceanographer by training with extensive expertise on the effects of oil and other pollutants on of their ocean and coastal act assistance. that will be our second panel. thank you all for coming, and i turn now to my partner on this committee, senator hutchison. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i certainly appreciate that we're holding this hearing today because this is a story that is continuing to grip the american public and all members of congress as well. as we expect -- examine the responses to this bill, i want to make sure that we do not forget the 11 individuals who lost their lives in this accident as well. this hearing is an important step in sorting through the lessons from the accident that we have learned since april 20

it, and to insure that all corporate accidents -- steps are being taken to respond to the ongoing spilled three equally important, it is important that everyone involved in the industry learned from this tragedy so that we can prevent any such activity in the future. naturally we are all concerned about the potential anbar mall and economic impact caused by the oil spill. -- potential environmental and economic impact caused by the oil spill. we expect you to provide -- we expect the oil companies to stand by their agreements. taxpayers should not be asked to spend any part of the treasury of the united states in this cleanup. we also cannot be shortsighted three offshore oil and gas development is vital to both our current and future economic and national security. the drilling operations off our nation's shores currently account for 27% of america's

total oil production and 50% of our domestic natural gas production. not only does this generate billions of dollars of economic activity and thousands of jobs for americans, it is significantly reduces our dependence on foreign oil. this oil spill should alert as a clarion call for safer drilling but not as a reason to halt development of this critical energy source that helps us reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy. according to the congressional research service, the outer continental shelf is rich in natural resources, containing over 85 billion barrels of undiscovered, recoverable oil. this represents over half of the nation's entire balance of recoverable oil. it contains 420 of the 1400 trillion cubic feet of

undiscovered recoverable clean burning natural gas in the united states. these figures represent significant resource potential for our country. it translates into jobs and will enhance economic and national security. development of these resources can mean more revenue for cities, states, and the federal government and less reliance on foreign energy sources. these energy resources are critical for our country and it is our responsibility to ensure safe and responsible environmental pursuing of these resources. let me just say that i also agree but the chairman regarding admiral allen. you have really presided over the transformation of the coast guard. it has become a more military, more national security-based part of our defense structure,

and you have done yeoman service. i'm afraid you're going to be extended in the position -- i know. the look of resignation on your face. i know that you will answer the call of the president tuesday -- to stay as the coordinator of this particular accident, because you have done such a great job so far under grueling circumstances, but we must continue until this oil spill is stopped, and you are the one who has the experience to do it. i do hope that you will stay and see it through, even though i know will be a personal sacrifice for you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator hutchison. senator cantwell not being here, senator snowe. and my dad just inform my

colleagues that after senator snowe and senator cantwell, then everyone will have a chance to speak, but we have to exercise will recall three minute restraint. otherwise our witnesses will get up and walk out. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you for convening this hearing on this catastrophe that has tragically claimed 11 lives and it devastating of our active system for decades. it is an abundant of failure of staggering proportions. as the chairman that oversees the coastguard and noaa, is astonishing that the two key agencies, the most knowledgeable and the most expertise in a variety of areas in marine and biology, had not

had a mandatory statutory role in this process with offshore oil and gas development. unfortunately this process was relegated to two agencies which was an egregious mistake that some of -- that could ultimately averted this catastrophe. the minerals management service, the federal agency, rubber- stamp since january 2009 and claimed one for the deep water rise and well, even though they lacked and formal assessments and permits required by noaa. there was an accurate, and submitted to the future hands of the minerals management system between 2010-2015. they have gone unheeded but she stated that service had understated the environmental impact, a cherry picked data,

and blatantly ignored 12 million gallons of oil were spilled during hurricane katrina and read it. the coast guard commandant is very well versed in managing disasters and have exceptional leadership and we appreciate your willingness to continue, admiral allen, in the capacity of overseeing and managing this disaster as well. we recommend both of you because it is very difficult circumstances in trying to understand the ramifications and the dimensions of this oil spill. their reaction to bp and transocean have been severely understate it as well. they have attempted to downplay the extent of this calamity, and certainly soft pedal the the potential worse case scenario when it first filed their exploration plans. in just a few weeks ago, it they

stated that it was stable and moving farther away from the coastline. a claim that now seems preposterous as the oil is now washing ashore in louisiana and mississippi and possibly as far as key west, florida where tar balls have been found. they could potentially be a concern and worry, being brought in by the loop current that carried the oil into the gulf stream and up the away because. what is going to be required in this instance is to ensure that the coastguard and noaa have an interco role in the decisionmaking processes. i propose that they are at the table during the process and development so that minerals management service cannot turn a blind eye to the bottle and put from these critical agencies purveyor interco to this

process. we should have the best of the ocean scientists analyzing this situation, which i see that bp is trying to prevent an understanding the dimensions of this problem, the amount of oil that has been spilled. i think it is important for both of these agencies to be involved from day one but it has to be required for statute. the coast guard is the relief response agency and the federal government. but not for underwater sea operations such as this rig which is under the minerals management service. as we now know, they approved a response plan that did not provide for any mitigation or any solution to a potential problem like we have good day like a blowout preventer in the deaths that we're talking about. secretary napolitano indicated yesterday that the federal government does not even have a solution or the capability to

deal with this bill at this depth. also, i believe, the expertise that is embedded in both of these agencies is also derived in oil spill drills that are required every three years. the most recent of which occurred in portland, maine just two months ago. i happen to think that all of the information in the responses that are developed through these drills should be emptor -- inc. and brought into the regulatory from work. similarly they should apply to the industry. they should be working out the worst case scenarios so that if the worst-case scenario should arrive, we're not solving the problem by trial and error. these of the things that i will be proposing, mr. chairman, because it is critical that we have available to us all the expertise that is incorporated in our federal agencies, and certainly represented by the two

agencies before us today, so that we can immediately take any and all action necessary to literally turned the tide on an ethics bill, and then secondly to overhaul our practices and review our statutes so that we can prevent a reoccurrence in the future. and i share your position with respect to liability. absolutely, the taxpayer should not be on the line to assume the financial responsibility to out -- of this cleanup and mitigate this crisis. >> thank you, senator snowe. senator nelson. >> it took senator boxer and made several days of insisting before bp would release any additional video. ahab. i have put it -- and they have. i have put it on my website. but it is a video only of the leaks coming out of the riser, not out of the main well head.

we look forward to additional video being released so that we think that the scientific community to give us a more accurate estimate of how much is actually going in. the doctor just told me that the aerial survey showed that some of the oil is getting into the loop current periodheill know by the end of the day with a that is confirmed for not. i want to show the committee -- in five days -- this being the spill and this portion coming to the south -- this is the loop current, coming up past the yucatan pollen

scylla up into the northern gulf of mexico, -- yucatan peninsula up into the northern mexico. this is the southern tip of florida and the keys of florida. this is an estimate by the researchers at the university of south florida, some of the best in the world on currents. this is where the oil will go in only five days from now. look where is going to pay eight days from now. -- where it is going to be eight days from now. it has come all the way and is just off of -- passed this key, past key west, and it is coming up in the gulf. and look where it is in 10 days, mr. chairman. in 10 days, but coldstream here

-- the gulfstream hug the coast of florida within a mile of the beach. and it is coming right on up and it will continue north of west palm, brought about fort pierce, fla., about 10 miles offshore, and then the gulf stream continues up toward the eastern seaboard all the way to cape hatteras, north carolina, and then goes across the atlantic to scotland. mr. chairman, this is what we are looking at. it is my worst nightmare -- apparently becoming reality. >> thank you, senator nelson. >> thank you very much. two points and a brief statement. i was told three minutes. i guess that will be a warning.

you must have been flying for a long time. you think by now we would know how to prevent an airliner from crashing. but occasionally it happens. you would think -- as much as we know, we could prevent a levy from breaking or abridge from collapsing, or coal mine disaster. and yet these things continue to occur and continue to be tragic. if you think we need to shut down all offshore drilling in the united states of america, perhaps you are not as concerned about how to make offshore drilling and deep water drilling completely safe. but if you believe as senator hutchison does that it is vital for our economy, it is vital for the standard of living of americans as well as other people on the face of the earth

that we continue this, then we better learn what we can at these hearings and another man use -- venues and continued to practice to find out how to make offshore drilling as safe as humanly possible, realizing there is always going to be a human involvement and a chance of that. now the other point i want to make by way of an opening statement -- there was a lot to be said about previous hearings with industry. a lot of criticism of the finger-pointing. president obama had harsh words friday for the but dick bespectacled -- those of the words -- of oil industry finger- pointing three let me take issue with my president on that. it may be embarrassing to listen to, it may make us cringe, but i

think to the extent that congress is your -- here with different viewpoints at the table, particularly panel two, mr. chairman, i think that this is actually constructive. if indeed one party is more responsible than the other about this blowout preventer, we need to hear what the rules are and the practices are and what they have done before on that. if someone before you -- you got concrete down inside the sealed tubing, and that concrete caused extra heat which caused the problem for the people on the rig, and if a premature decision was made to put salt water down in that well rather than the mud which would've been a better predictor, then i appreciate the fact that industry has not hold

together and gotten that story straight. to that extent it is ok today from my point of view it industry continues to tell the truth and that amounts -- and if that amounts to pointing the finger at regulators, at themselves and others, i think it helps us arrive at the truth. thank you, mr. chairman. >> the chair of the ocean subcommittee is here, senator cantwell. >> it is good to see you here because there are no two more people that have dealt with the impact than these two individuals. i thank you for my service. i like to begin by recognizing the most tragic part of the accident, the 11 workers who lost their lives. i like to express my condolences to their families and friends, and while much of the media

attention has moved beyond that, it is the loss of those 11 that we cannot forget. the oil spill continues to spread and the consequences to the economy and the environment of the gulf of mexico, there's no doubt that the accident will be and is continuing to be devastating. we must work tirelessly to contain the oil spill and the damage because of the future of the coastal region depending on it. but what we have to figure out what was wrong, we should do things differently in the future. the exxon valdez taught us a great deal. and walt this is still very difficult, -- different, but warnings can be very instructive. it taught us that oil spills can be devastating to many sectors of the economy. it calls that the damage can last for decades as well can still be found on the beaches of prince william sound even today,

and it has taught us that parts of the environment may not recover it all. i have here a chart of all old rocks just given to me -- of oil rocks just given to me by a fisherman there. clearly the legacy of exxon valdez still lives with us. now bp and trans water -- is not just the one time event. they are destructive environmentally and economically and last for generations. as we tried to get her to how we will deal with that particular situation, i hope we look for is how we're going to wean ourselves off of our addiction to fossil fuels and continue to look for ways to create what we're doing now in a safer environment the real solution here is to move beyond petroleum and transition away and make

sure what we're doing today continues to be done in a safe and effective manner. the other zero -- i know we're going to continue to have other hearings and i hope we're getting solutions to the environmental impact that is going to be felt from the gulf for many years to come. i thank the chair. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for holding this year. thank you both for being here today. admiral allen, we look forward to your continued service. thank you for the good job that you have been doing for just as all of water do not mix, neither do tar balls and tourism. we are concerned in florida as this up at of this was built on an industry that brings 80 million people to florida and is responsible to $60 billion of economic impact. my colleague just shot to the chart of the loop current and what they can do to florida.

if it is true that the 20 tar balls found in key west yesterday afternoon are from this bill, then unfortunately the oil is further along than we projected. that means that what we're seeing on top of the water is not as bad as what is going on beneath the water. i am very concerned, as all my colleagues are, about what caused this problem and what could have been done three out of a lot of questions for you today about what we could have done better in our government to prevent and mitigate this problem and lessens its environmental impact. i want to make sure that we're addressing every effort possible to prevent this oil from coming ashore and to mitigate the damage that could happen to our coast. i have called upon british petroleum to set up a billion dollar fund and tha