second, according to the arithmetic i went through, 2% of gdp is 10 years normal growth in health care costs, which shows why i am putting so much emphasis on health care as important. .

but it is a challenge that we as a country can achieved. this is not an and soluble or profoundly difficult problem in the way that other public policy problems are involving. this is a problem of finding the best way to do something that is irresponsible and ultimately important. let me stress again something else i remarked early on, and i used to teach this deastuff, if

people only remember that couple of things, one of the things i wanted them to remember is that deficits were not an exception. they were not an alternative to raising taxes or cutting spending. they were a means for postponing those things. the amounts of them you had to do increased because of the power of compound interest. this is a case with the adjustments are going to take place, and it is advantageous for the adjustments to take place sooner in the context of economic recovery than later. that does not mean without regard to economic recovery and a way that endangers economic recovery, but it does not mean simply hoping for the best either. yes? >> [inaudible]

thank you, larry, for a superb exposition as always. the crisis in europe poses a great risk to global recovery. the question is whether one can really expect a recovery when both of the country's are affected by the markets, but also germany, at the u.k., france have announced major fiscal consolidation plans. how can you recover in 2010 and to the as and 11 against that background, and does that create a big risk for the global economy? >> i am probably not going to surprise you by choosing to answer your question in relatively general terms.

perhaps with less specificity then i would answer if i were not in government. a crucial question for the global economy always i ones wht one might call that adding up constraint. wanting they know for sure is that on a global basis the level of exports have to equal the level of imports. and that' it is not a very distant step from that proposition to the proposition that all countries can enjoy expert-let -- export-led growth.

the global pattern has involved the united states injuring import-led growth so that others could enjoy export alongside others enjoying an export-led growth. and that growth was enjoyed in asia. europe was in rough balance with a substantial surplus and parts of northern europe offset by a a substantial deficit in other parts of europe. clearly if the united states is to have less import dominance growth, than there has to be adjustments. as your question suggests, it every place in europe is for different reasons moving away from surplus, that compounds the

problem. obviously the question has to be addressed so how you find a pattern, which and ticketimplice question of the rate of change for the countries and the behavior of the surplus countries. one of the the things that i suspect -- if i ask people in this room what happened last year that was economically important, and you guys would all get some set of answers, and then if we tried to ask the question would people write history questions 30 years from now, what happened last year? my guess is that most of you, unless prompted, would not

mention the move from a g7 towards the g20 as one of the most important things that happened last year, but i suspect when historians look back at this time after the precise details of this economic fluctuation have been forgotten, the establishment of a global forum that does embody all of the major economies in the world will be remembered as an important asset of this moment. i think the establishment of the cheag20 as a group will be very much a source of energy for the kind of global economic monitor train that the imf has sought to do in recent years and will enhance both the quality of the discussion, but more

importantly, the impact of the discussion as to how to achieve a balanced global growth in the years ahead. there are many questions that that indicates. yes? >> my name is michelle learner. last week with the senate was debating manager reform you mentioned that if the measure had been in place before the collapse, before the crash, we could've avoided the crash. and many people have been arguing that one of the key factors in causing this collapse was actually the repeal of glass-steagall, and there was an amendment put forward by maria cantwell that had a tremendous amount of support, but was never actually voted on.

i am curious, and then know you were involved in the repeal when it came up, i am curious what is the administration's position on the reform of the glass-steagall legislation? >> i' have said it, but i beliee this legislation would break the chain that led to the financial accident in four important ways. first, the presence of a consumer financial regulator would have substantially reduced or eliminated and the predatory subprime lending that blew up the housing bubble that was at the center of the crisis.

it also would have inhibited the transmission of that global drew a requirement that what was securitized be attained in part and rating agency reform. second, if that first line of defense had not been affected. second, it would have provided for the comprehensive regulation of systemically important financial institutions. there was no one who accepted as their mandate, making sure that lehman's capital or aig's capital or liquidity was in a satisfactory situation. this legislation changes that.

there, even if the bubble has existed, it institutions had gone into serious trouble, central to the transmission of the crisis, what brought us to the point where the government had to put huge sums of money into aig, can work companies like ge worried about it they could borrow money on an overnight basis was the transmission through the derivatives market. this, as this bill provides, derivatives were -- if , as this bill provides, derivatives were traded with carper. transparency in joint liability, there would not have been the possibility of resolution. there would not have been the possibility of runs of the kind

that we saw. the obligations would have been met, and while there might have been failures of an institution, there would not have been the kind of breakdown in the market that brought us to the brink of systemic collapse. four, if all of those mechanisms had failed, public policy was in a way and was without a tool for addressing the failure of a non-based financial institution. we had tools in use those tools -- and used those tools with respect to wamu and indimac. there were no tools to enable resolution. leaving no trace but the lehman results of chaos and confusion

or massive taxpayer fund in houston. in all four of those ways i believe the bill offers a very strong set of safeguards against the crisis of this kind. with respect to glass-steagall, the bill does provide for important safeguards of what one might think of as a modern glglass-steagall type. it does not, as you say, repeal the 1998 repeal of glass-

steagall, but i would suggest to you that if one looks at the decade after 1998, there were no transactions that took place that would not have been legal under pre-1998 law until the combination of bear stearns in to jpmorgan and of merrill lynch into bank of america, both of which were seen at the time of having important benefits in terms of crisis resolution. in the approach that is taken is one of trying to look debt every part. look at an airline accident. look at what is happening with the oil spill. you look at any catastrophe, and there were always multiple places at which the catastrophe could have been averted.

the approach the bill takes is to try as thoughtfully as one can to bring about what all of those places are and fouto fortify each of the crucial junctures. yes? >> i am currently with the center for advanced studies. this the administration has inherited two wards, which are not a small part of the fiscal picture right now. you mentioned secretary gates has started to think about the way the d.o.t. does business with regards to procurement. if this were your administration, where would the fiscal consideration come in when thinking about future foreign engagements? >> i am going to leave the

national security policy to the president and to his national security spokesman, but i think anyone who reads the record of public debate knows that in formulating its policy, both with respect to iraq and afghanistan, the president has been extraordinarily mindful for the need to do what is necessary for the national security, and at the same time of all of the various costs of which i would argue are associated with the commitment to send soldiers into battle. >> the last question. >> [inaudible]

i am wondering how serious we should consider the prospect that the give and budget deficits will increasingly move been away from dollar- denominated assets? >> i have enormous confidence in the basic economic strength of this country. certainly if you look at the experience of the last couple of years, whenever thglobal risk assertion has increased, there has been the substantial flow of assets towards the flow of purchasing towards the united states, suggesting we're seen as a source of strength, rather than as a source of weakness.

on the other hand, at whatever moments -- if there were ever a moment that turned out not to be the case, that would probably be a moment when we had taken things too far. and we need to be prepared, as i suggested, as part of the strategy for strengthening recovery and increasing confidence to assure that once recovery comes the nation's finances will be on a sustained and sustainable basis. i will take one more question. >> [inaudible] in your speech you mentioned the power of the combined interests.

is there any way you could break the magic of the power because of my sense is [unintelligible] . it would bar a $1 million to buy a house, for 30 years, by the end of the term you have paid $3 million because of compound interest. [unintelligible] wants to borrow the money will be liable for your whole life -- once you barrow the money, you will be liable for your whole life. [unintelligible]

is it possible to go back to the symbol interest rates each year to fix it? this would give the working family and people some -- >> i got it. economists lead to " einstein as saying the compound interest is the most potent force in the universe. i am rather skeptical of whether einstein lowered himself from the series of relatively to actually say that or not. i sent a lot of compound interest is really a corollary of basic mathematics. i sang one of the things that is

actually terribly, terribly important -- i think one of the things that is actually terribly, terribly important in economic policy in many areas of policy is to recognize that there are certain laws, laws of arithmetic, laws of human behavior that are just there. and that you cannot wish that a car will go if you put water in the gas tank. you could wish it, but it will not happen. you could not wish -- let me give an example that does that have real revolutiorelevance hef you finance a budget by printing money in huge quantities that you will lymphoavoid inflation.

it cannot wiyou cannot wish thau barrow the money the size of the debt will not increase. i think one of the important things and making economic policy and the political process is recognizing that while choices about politics and choices about spending versus taxing, incentives versus fairness really are the proper province of politics and democratic debate. that power of will cannot change laws of arithmetic, and so just as the laws of physics constrain discussion of the

construction of bridges and airplanes, certain laws of arithmetic have to constrain economic debates, and the when they don't, you can sometimes have trouble. think you very much. -- thank you very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

the bilson mission of this forum with white house economic policy adviser, larry summers. -- >> finishing up this forum with white house in economic policy adviser, larry summers.

they will be meeting with community and industry leaders. they are planning a news conference that will air in just a couple of moments. it will be on c-span3. you can also see that on our website at c-span.org. here in washington the u.s. house will consider 13 measures under suspension of the rules, including anti-trust criminal penalties. the house also expected to consider a bill this week that would extend certain tax breaks and programs. the house convenes for general topics speeches in just a couple of minutes. we will have the house live here

on c-span. legislative business getting under way it 2:00 eastern. the house gaveling and live at 12:30 here on c-span. >> 99% of the attacks can be prevented. >> tonight, dan lungren on how congress and the federal government work on private security networks. >> just weeks after the british elections which produced a new prime minister and coalition government, queen elizabeth the second will formally announce the legislative agenda for the new session. we will travel from buckingham palace to parliament and inside the house of lords for one of britain's most celebrated occasions. live at tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m. on cspan2. >> questions even over three

days are not going to tell you much about a prospective judge. you have to look at their life work. that will be a clear reflection of who they are and how they think and what they will do. >> with the new supreme court nominee heading into the nomination process, learn more about the supreme court in the new book. this provides you need insight about the court. it is available now and hard cover and as an ebook. >> once again, the house is about to a gravel ain at 12:30 p.m. they will talk about anti-trust

criminal programs. the house is expected to consider a bill this week expanding certain tax breaks and federal programs. the house convening at 12:30. legislative business getting under way at 2:00 eastern. see the house live now on c- span. . the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. may 24, 2010. i hereby appoint the honorable maisy k. hirono to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of

representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 6, 2009, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to 30 minutes and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and minority whip limited to five minutes. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until 2:00 p.m. today.

"the communicators" on c- span2. >> queen elizabeth the second will formally announce her legislative agenda for the new

session. we will travel from buckingham palace to parliament and inside the house of lords for one of britain's most celebrated occasions, the state opening of parliament. live tuesday morning at 5:30 a.m. on c-span2. >> the white house chief of deputy of staff answered questions in kansas. this is about 20 minutes. >> good afternoon. i think you will see that this year we may have saved the best for last. i think all of you for your patience. as many of you know, we

historians are terrible predictors of the future. i cannot tell you how many people in my profession will write positively about the current administration in five years and 10 years and 50 years, but i do know the circumstances in which president obama and staff work truly historic by any measure. the legacies of the generation of deregulation and maintenance on infrastructure. let's compare that to hal either bush entered the white house or even president clinton who inherited an economy already emerging from recession. you have to go back to president truman who has acd to deal with ending the war to find more dire circumstances. the decision the president and staff have made have ranged

from historic to ensign -- inconsequential to popular to not so popular. what strikes me as a supportive observer is the scope of the powers of his office. at the center is the belief that public service and government can and must help people. from this idea comes many of the big decisions we witnessed over breathtaking year-and-a-half. how do you alter the course of a nation? how does the new administration make its mark on foreign policy? how do we solve the very real problems facing our country? these are some of the questions that they face on a daily basis. as deputy chief of staff to the president, mona stussen is close to the oval office. she is part of the inner circle of advisers on policy matters. she has worked alongside the most influential members of the foreign-policy establishment but

as a respected foreign policy thinker and a drop according president obama staff domestic policy agenda. she embodies the with the current administration blurs the line between the two, believing that issues such as public education, and economic recovery in no longer stop at the water's edge. what experiences that she bring? her parents were married when it was still be legal for international -- interracial marriages. her father worked for the national labor board. one of only three in her high- school class to go to college at

stake. by her senior year she was working as a research assistant. after college she headed for the u.s. embassy entitlement, where to our great fortune, she served with one of our great friends, ambassador david lambert sincso. she went on to win as i'm helping implement a course that ended the war in bosnia. she met her husband in the white house situation room. not pachisi will splintethe cher "situation room." [laughter]

tony lake and susan rice brought her on to the core group of the obama campaign early. she was a key member of the transition and she later joined the new administration in her current post, where like her boss, rahm emanuel, herb white house experience brings intangibles. interviewing the deputy chief this afternoon is the man who has been my boss for the past 16 years. i have one other boss and that happens that we received a message from him earlier today, please welcome mona on my behalf. i appreciate her visiting the university of kansas. let her know i will try to be helpful when i can. please welcome to the dole institute, mona sesta andustain.

-- mona sustain. >> what attracted you to public- service? what got you involved in the first place? >> it is interesting because i do not know that i ever thought i would go into public service growing up or even necessarily in college, but when i look back i think it is the fact that my parents were both active. they both worked for government, but there were also very active in the community. they were involved in training workers and they were always involved in local politics, helping with elections and local judges racist. we have always had this family that was involved in activities in the community. i think the subtext was that continued on.

the issues that interested me in college i who ended up getting involved early. i really wanted to see the world. i had this defining moment when i graduated from college and worked for an advertising agency in chicago. i was sitting there one night and i thought to myself it is 2:00 in the morning and i am worried about sales of pert plus shampoo. i thought if i am going to work until 2:00 in the morning maybe it should be for something like world peace. i thought about going into government. the next opportunity that rose to jump into the government, i took it. >> what would you say your most meaningful and satisfying job is now? >> that is a hard one. i would say my most satisfying

job up until this one, i think this one is most satisfying, but before that is when i worked in sarajevo right after the war. in the spring time we were working on a variety of issues dealing with prisoners of war that were left over from the war. we got into a deep negotiation from the party's of people who had been held the and picked up during the war as held for ransom. i remember there was a late night and we drove our cars out to this middle of the road and two other cars drove up with us is behind them and we had an exchange of prisoners so that people could go back to their families. i remember thinking to myself that i feel incredibly proud that we were able to pull this off. i had a level of satisfaction in

my job that i didn't think i have had because you see somebody who has been held in difficult circumstances for many years been reunited with their family. it is a very powerful moment. it was compelling. >> describe your current job at the white house. what specific responsibilities do you keri? >> i am deputy chief of staff for policy. i work on a range of the issue pites as we all do. it is mainly domestic policy. i do some foreign-policy work, but is everything from questions on education policy. right now i am issue involved we

oil spill and oversight of that. i might be working on guantanamo-related issues. it is just a range of different issues. we have a piece of small business legislation we're trying to moves. it is really a diverse mix of issues. a lot of it is regulatory. i work on a lot of issues related to the other agencies and what their priorities are. typically we get issues when they are either very complicated or messy or there is a big dispute. we're working to try to resolve them, advance the president's agenda, making sure we're working through the different challenges. a lot of it is cleanup of problems in dealing with unforeseen issues. a lot of it is trying to push the agenda. >> how did you meet and get involved in this campaign? >> i first heard about him from

a friend of mine who i worked with in the clinton administration. he called me one day at the blue and said there is this guy, barack obama's, who is writing course senatrun in for senate i. he said i and i am going to quit my job and their run for him. i said, are you insane? that makes no sense whatsoever. he said at he is so compelling. he went on to quit his job and work for him awhile. that was the first i ever heard of him. i met him first after he won and he was doing a series at get to know you a sense. for a variety of different reasons he hired a fair number of people that work for tom-0.

we work closely with the- operation. -- the daschle operation. i remember then the endinhinkins compelling, smart, and got a call. -- and thoughtful. he was picking -- speaking to the issues on my mind, and i had not really seen that yet. informal chatting, but not anything particularly serious. i really did not think he would run for president. >> what was your role in the campaign? >> i ended up getting involved pinafore in policy core group.

at the beginning it was maybe 12 of us. -- i ended up getting involved in the corn poliforeign policy . group. i was definitely torn, but on the other hand i felt that this is a guide -- i always say that compelling people do not go into politics. ani thought the least i can do s take my three time on the weekends to volunteer to help out wherever i can with the assumption that he still had different issues that he wanted to explore and maybe my advice might be helpful in some way, shape, or form. i knew that hillary clinton had pretty subtle cues when the

games to -- views when it came to a foreign-policy. we put together at tea team. we had a little group, three or four of us. it was very nice and cozy. we dealt with everything that came our way. we would pretty much take a guess and do what we thought was the right thing to do. that helped build his profile on the foreign-policy issues. as the candidacy continued and it look more and more promising, the group grew and grew to the point it became 150 people working on different issues. and at a certain point it turns into the campaign mechanism itself. a lot of people who were originally foreign-policy

advisers are getting on the phone to do so and bankinphone . >> you have a really interesting challenge in your personal life because your husband worked for senator clinton will you were working for the president's campaign. you have two small children. how do you balance all of that? >> very hard. it is very challenging. i will not lie. i did not think i would go back into government because i served in the government for 10 years before, and i thought even during the transition i just want to help out, helped get settled in any way that i can, and i thought i have a young children and i am not sure i can manage going back into government.

i felt the country was really at a crossroad, and the country that make kids would inherit, that it was important to contribute a little bit that i could to turn things and a positive direction because we were at such a pivotal moment and that meant more to the quality of my children's life than being there 100% of the time. my husband is an incredible support mechanism. he is a huge supporter of this job and everything it takes. he fills in a lot. we have a lot of help from family and friends. when i am home, one thing that i would say we are quite good about is people take time to spend time with their families, particularly when people are getting close to burnout. the president, all the way down, a lot of people have kids and

people understand when you need to leave to go to the parent teacher conference. we just make do. it is a challenge, but we have managed to pull it off so far. >> you said something i found fascinating. you said -- you gave advice to all of the young women there. one of the pieces of advice you did was follow the people, not the job description. what did you mean by that? >> i mean that particularly when you're starting out in your career. you have a lot of young people who get excited about the todtitle of the drop and what they think that will convey, but you learn an incredible amount by working for someone that is really good, even if you're not in the most senior jobs you can get, it even if you do not make as much money as you possibly can make, but you learn an incredible amount from those

people, and it is worth it to take that risk to work for somebody that is really great. you will end up learning an incredible amount about whatever field it is in. you meet a lot of people and you see what great leadership is all about if you work for people like that. i have been lucky in that regard. i think a lot of young people get attracted to either a fantastic salary or the us title they could possibly get and find themselves pretty miserable pretty quickly. >> let's talk about the problems that the president deals with. let's talk about the tensions with afghan government. seeing president karzai and president obama on the tv last night, there did not seem to be many tensions. >> it is interesting, as they said, the press corps does not

necessarily want to listen to, but it is a complicated situation and a complex relationship, and while we do not see eye to eye on a lot of things, we share the same strategic objectives. i think the visit was helpful in that it is always good to have people come and spend time, not with the president one-on-one, although that is important, but the team's getting together and have everybody talks through where we think things are headed. i deeply need to do that every time to reset things -- i think we need to do that to reset things. >> is the administration still confident that we achieve our objectives over their? >> one of the challenges we

inherited, in which people are well aware of, is that the very strong view that before we came into office this wassa neglected and underfunded and undermanned effort internally to national security, which is why the president has made the decisions he has, because we cannot afford to fail in this endeavor. i sing with some important test coming ahead in terms of the efforts in kandahar and elsewhere in the country, the notion of the plan and what general mcchrystal has laid out in terms of his plan, we feel confident that we can prevail and that we can ultimately achieve the objective and afghanistan. obviously there will be ups and downs along the way, but so far things have been going -- i

think we're spending more time focused on this as a priority -- national priority with the resources and attention it needs in order to be successful. >> president has nominated ms. kagan. tell us what was behind the nomination and how you see the confirmation process playing out over the next few weeks. >> i think the president was looking for somebody who is brilliant, which she is. i think she has proven and her job as solicitor general she is an incredibly thoughtful person. i simply was obviously looking course somebody who could help shape the direction of the court. she is pragmatic. she is a since this bill there. i think with a lot of the difficult issues that come before the court, someone who can shape the dynamic within the supreme court, really shape and lead the direction of the court.

i think that was a compelling factor. obviously i work closely with her because she has been the solicitor general for a year- and-a-half. at the end sonia sotomayor had done 92 office visits. at a certain point everyone wanted to meet with her. i am not sure that will be the same with elena. i think everybody is expecting, and we certainly expect we will have the hearings before the end of august recess. i do not expect to have any major issues. people will question her quite directly, and we are expecting that and that is the way it should go. >> the headlines today are

focusing on the crisis in greece, the challenges that britain faces with such a huge debt. i am sure a lot of our guests are wondering what is the president's attitude about the growing in fiscal deficit? >> obviously we are very concerned, which certainly in the europe situation we're watching that very closely because although the direct relationship between what happens between greece and the united states is somewhat distant, at the economic recovery here is still quite fragile so to the extent that the european situation slows european growth that could become a drag on our recovery. we're watching that closely. in terms of the debt is set rigid deficit this is something we grapple with quite a bit. -- in terms of the deficit this is something we grapple with

quite a bit. we do have a profound issue that we have to grapple with as americans which is that everybody wants to cut the deficit and cut spending until it comes to their issues that they do not necessarily want cut. thus far we have been in a situation where everybody agreed that the immediate priority was to avoid an economic meltdown, which we were on the cusp of having, and that we had to throw a lot at that in order to keep us who are going over the brink. i think that was not popular from a variety of quarters. we felt it was something we had to do. there is a time when the economy is clearly rebound in where we have to step back and say, what are we going to do to deal with the long term issues.

they have to do with spending on entitlements and revenue -- all of those are issues we will have to work through. we're hoping the deficit commission will come up with issues and start a dialogue so we can start to have the debate about what we want the government to do, how do we want to pay for it and if we want to cut things, how do we want to cut them. quite a daunting task. >> there are lots of things going on in politics that is amazing right now. it looks like senator specter could very well lose its primary next week. we had senator bennett. how do you read all this and what is your assessment? >> i think it is very clear that the mood is anti-incumbent.

i think a lot of the frustration and anger you are seeing is some of the same impulses that propelled obama into office, which are people are feeling frustrated that the government and congress are maybe not -- do not have the same priorities or are not focus on the issues that americans want them to focus on, and so we do have a really strong anti-income the mood. a lot of people like to make parallels to 1994, and i am not sure it is the same parallel. it is hard to know how things will work out. traditionally the party in power has lost seats, and i am sure that is the case, but i'd think there is a mood out there that is very strong against people who have been serving in congress for a very long time. the things that made people -- i was listening to an interview

with senate the other night and he was saying traditionally the things that people write to their elected officials is you were able to bring home the bacon for projects in the districts, that s least in utah they were against that. that has become a negative. i think it will be a tumultuous period. the economy will have a lot to do with it as well. the economy looks like it is headed in the right direction. we certainly hope that is the case. it is certainly fragile at this point. that could have a lot to do with how the mood shifts. it is a long time between now and november, so it is hard to predict, but there is a stirring out there. it is tough to predict what it will be like when november rolls around. . .

i would argue he has already accomplished a lot. this is a historic time. we have taken some historic action beyond just healthcare. we have done a variety of legislative accomplishments over the last year and a half. we are on the cusp of a really profound perform -- reform for banking regulation. we have done children health care, a lands a bill.

there have been a series of elements that have changed the direction of the country, we think, for the better. we are obviously getting ready for the treaty. i think that history will be history. it will judge everyone. the notion that to the extent that reagan had a vision for how he saw the country, what he wanted for the country, and really pursued that doggedly, in that sense there are the similar characteristics. he has a vision for what he thinks the promise of the country is and its potential. it is really optimistic. that is why it was appealing to people. i think obama has a similar characteristics, always seeing what is possible and with the opportunity is even when the country is going through a difficult period. >> he mentioned he was very disciplined.

>> i was saying earlier he was very disciplined. i worked for president clinton, too. he was not always on time, as many people know. he is disciplined in that he is a very good, very thoughtful decision maker. his disciplined about he uses his time. he is disciplined personally. he is very conscious of what kinds of decisions and their import. he is very thoughtful of how he wants to get the input from others. he is a really clever to tinker. if he feels like a conversation he comes into, he wants to have a collaborative discussion, but if it becomes clear in the beginning that the issue has not been thought through very well

and it is not clear what we are talking about, he made say that it is not ready for him to make a decision. why do mean come back when your ready to have a more focused -- why don't we come ack? it is an important quality. you can get swamp on every single issue that we touched on. you can spend your entire day on it if he wanted to. you have to be very miserly and laser focused on how you use your time every day so you are getting the maximum bang for your buck, the information is getting to him in a way that he can digest it come and give guidance back, have that been clear, and then make it clear what it needs to be done. he is very clear about what he wants. he is very good about making

decisions. he is very flexible if it turns out the decision has changed. he is flexible with new information and changing course. it is a good mix of qualities for someone who needs to oversee a vast array of issues. >> this an idea of how many hours of work do you do in a week? when do you get home? >> our first meetings are usually in around 7:30 a.m. and then i am in back-to-back meetings i would say every 20 minutes to half an hour until about 8:00 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. and then i go home and put the kids lunches together. i am back on a blackberry around 10:00 p.m. and then i do another hour and half or so. that is monday through friday. on sunday we usually have a two

hour or three our planning meeting. that is looking further ahead than the calendar to see what is a looming several months ahead. i have not even counted at how many hours that is, but it is a lot. it is quite a grind. the hardest part is not the time so much because you get used to that. the issue is difficult -- the issue that is difficult is it our colleagues are working on such a share range of issues and you have to get very deep into those issues to understand what it is you are dealing with. to go from questions on at nasa, rocket design, how that affects the long-term budget, and what that might mean for the work force or technology and budget decisions.

go from that to the counter- narcotics mission within the department of common security and the drug cartel violence in mexico and how that goes into the housing program and what programs we may be working on. it is that because you have to dig really deeply into an issue. immediately you have to hop to something else which is as complicated and as detailed. that is what is so hard during the day. by the end of the day, i am usually quite exhausted. friday morning 7:30 a.m., it is a little tough. people are at that point very dragging. anything have anything to add? nope. we just tried to make it through the next 45 minutes. >> i will open this up to questions and answers. technically we can pull this off and we will take some questions as well.

i want to pose one final question to you. even though we are during finals way, i am glad some the students have joined us. what advice would you have for our students here who want to go out and make a difference and want to leave where you are in 20 years? >> do not hesitate to jump in to the fray. i have met so many young people who are interested in public service and politics of. they have great job lined up of. i tell them to go work on campaigns and get their hands dirty. this is the time in your life when you are young. if you want to work overseas, joined the peace corps and work in a refugee camp. the work on a campaign. get out there and see what this is about. it is hard to go through your whole life without really

rolling up your sleeves and seeing what this is all about. sometimes you learn things and the fine now you are really interested in african public health issues. you realize that you are not interested and that is great to learn that early on and then -- than realizing that later in life. these days it is hard because young people are so focused on what they're going to do next to really take the time when you have the ability to do so before you have that families and lots of things that you are tethered to to get out there and do whenever it is you think interests you. that your life take you on the path that will lead you. -- let your life taking on the pack. and is compelling to do that stuff early in your career. >> perfect. we are ready for some questions and answers. tyler?

ok. we have one right here. >> is a great honor to have you here today. i have been following the financial regulation package. i wanted to know more about the process going especially about the derivatives and have the bipartisan negotiation is going on that. >> we are laughing because i said, "i wonder if i will get a derivatives question"? i would say what is going on right now is one of the most intensive lobbying efforts that i have seen, that we have witnessed a. it is kind of going on behind the scenes but not so much. there are various elements of wall street desperately trying to weaken this bill. at the same time you have -- you have lots of people trying to strengthen the bill.

derivatives are everywhere. i think the architecture is said. the question is really that people are attempting to carve things out and do things where it looks like it is a strong amendment but in really it carves out a bunch of people or weakens in fact what would otherwise be a strong regulatory system. we are watching every move that people are trying to make, assessing the amendments coming down. on derivatives in the particular, the big issue for us strategically is that we want to make sure that if the financial industry, whoever it is -- it does not matter who you are, it matters what it is that you are doing.

if you are controlling and managing a significant chunk of change in an area that is not regulated, we want to get that out of the shadows. that is what the derivatives fight is about. whether or not the current package, whether or not that pushes a lot of the derivatives trading back into the shadows or brings it fully and to regulatory scrutiny. we do not want to leave the big elements of the industry outside of the regulatory umbrella. that's what got us into trouble in the first place. there is debate about the the current derivatives language whether or not, in fact, it pushes things out of the regulatory oversight or brings it further in. there has been a lot of back- and-forth and there will continue to be. there will be a flood of more amendments in the next several days. you will see a lot of this ramping up as we get towards the end of this line. expect more activity.

>> jenn? >> he said the part of your portfolio was the british part -- british petroleum issue. >> i am working on one element of that. >> i have been following it. it just breaks my heart to see an entire industry pretty much wiped out. it looks like on the news that british petroleum cannot be held liable for as much as maybe they should be held liable for. i am wondering if there is anything going on a you cannot talk about that we do not know to mitigate the damage that is being done down there. >> i will comment that i am one of many in the white house that is a touching the oil spill. i think all of the issues we of work done so far, it is the one touching the most elements.

we have our science team who is focused on the engineering of how to stop the leak to the people who work on the environmental type issues, domestic policy people working on the economic impact of the fishermen and small businesses. we have the economic people working on the impact of the markets. we have our legal counsel, the coast guard is a bold some national security is involved. and as literally touching several parts. -- it is literally touching several parts. when bp has said is that they will pay all legitimate claims. after the exxon bell does spill, it made it very clear that they are responsible -- after the exxon valdez spill, it made it very clear that they are responsible. that is an unlimited amount of damages. after the coast guard is done and we are doing the chemical dispersants and cleaning, we will hand a bill to bp. whatever that is, that is when

they will pay. the question of liability gets to the economic damages to the fishermen and any other industries that may be in -- may be affected in the tertiary. the ceo of the bp testified and when pressed on this question they said they would pay all legitimate claims and recognize that it may be beyond the 7 $5 billion. -- beyond the $75 billion. we expect that to be the case. since they said it, people will hold them accountable to that. we certainly hope there will not be a reason to believe they are not being honest. obviously, we will continue to push that. thank you. >> go ahead, julia. >> thank you so much for coming today. it is an honor to have you here, especially those of us who are

young and when to go into politics. my question is about what inspired you to go into foreign service. do you feel the time you worked in embassies abroad helped you and in your job today? >> i studied international relations, studied chinese, went abroad in my junior year, and when i came back i was torn between advertising, which i have worked in, and foreign policy which is a weird mix. [laughter] i worked for tony lake who is a professor and became the national security adviser under president clinton. i remember him saying to me, the civil war with all salvador was going on. i had taken a foreign service exam at the behest of him and

other professors. i said, i could not join the foreign service is because i do not agree with what is going on in el salvador. they told me, "well, i do not go to el salvador." i have always been interested in international issues. i was surprised i passed the exam. i was serious about it but not that serious. once i got the written exam, i said maybe this could be a future. what a stunner. i decided to do it. i thought i would do it for two years and see how it goes. two led to four and the next thing you know and was almost 10 years. along the way it was the best job for someone like me who loved to learn in different issues all the time and work on the range of topics. i did east africa policy, human

rights, balkans, things in the u.s., so it was great. i could double in an organized career. did it preparing for this job? absolutely. one of the central issues that we do at the white house is navigate the equities of the government. unlike the private sector which usually has a bottom line, making money or selling a product, everyone is going in the same direction. in government, it is different. you realize quickly that there are legitimate equities that everyone has on an issue. there is no perfect answer. you are always assessing the downside. nowhere is that clearer in the policy-making than in foreign policy. nowhere is the inter-agency process and all interests across the broad government as a strong

and palpable than in the foreign-policy arena. it really shaped my views about how government works. and gave me access to a really broad range of issues. i got used to the pace. i knew how the work would flow this time around. you know what will be controversial, what will be easy, who will care. that early experience was instrumental. otherwise it would be a very daunting task to learn the whole federal government. >> we have a question right here. >> hello. how are you? thank you for coming. i may long time lawrence, kan., resident. plan to have you here. and this theme question i have is that i am a semi-retired.

i am drawing full social security and medicare. the thing the obama administration has done is it will cost me a lot of money. you are costing money by taking my medicare advantage away from me with this health care bill. i think that is the wrong path. you will cost me money for these social security -- not the social security but the medicare part b. you will costing more than what i was paying before. >> i do not wish to get into the details of medicare advantage because i cannot know how the plan is being rolled out. my understanding of how the implementation is working is that they are working on ways to make sure that manicured changes phased in and people are not on the hook. we have an increased amount going to seniors to help offset the increase in costs.

for every place in the medical system there were lots of places where we were paying extra subsidies to companies and lots of places in the system that were inefficient. we have tried to even up those expenses. places where people may be paying more they will be saving money elsewhere. all i will say is that i think you need to wait and see how in islam -- it is implemented. i think there is a lot of misinformation about how this will affect people independently and have stage was set up their insurance pools. things get rolled out over the next six or seven years. in of a long time before everything kicks in. -- it will be a long time. i want you to have an open mind as to work on implementation. overall, our view is that this was a medical system, are health

care system, which won six of the economy was on an unstable track on a variety of ways. -- which was off 1/6 of our economy which was on an unstainable track. we had announced that -- unsustainable system. your bearing the cost of people who do not have insurance. people are paying for procedures they do not need. expenses ran out of control we feel the health-care bill will bring down costs over the long haul. the implementation will take many, many months. i do not much of the pre-judge how this will affect you until we are towards the end of that line. -- i do not want you to pre- judge how this will affect you. >> any more questions? >> i would like to thank you for coming.

needless to say, the highest government ranking official i have ever spoken to. [laughter] i was wondering, do you think there are any viable options other than the sanctions package that the obama administration has been working on to a country that is so seemingly unresponsive to any sort of outside influence? they have been pushing forward, forcing had trying to get a nuclear weapon. i was just wondering if you think americans need to start pouring -- preparing themselves for a word in which iran has nuclear capability in the next five or 10 years? >> this is a top priority to make sure that that is not the case. the thing that has been laid bare in the last however many months is where we took office, i think it was unclear in a strange way and we have become -- we did not have the support

of these other countries to realize that this is, in fact, a serious threat. the internal factors in our run is even greater. -- the internal factors in miron is even greater. the encouraging thing is that for the first time we're getting more cooperation from the other countries which we need in order to have a long-term solution. it is a huge risk, obviously, to the stability of our region and our interests in the middle east. people are spending an incredible amount of time trying to move a run -- move iran in the right direction. that is not to say there are not other parts to do not have influence. they are not totally impervious to outside influence. that really has been our task, to make sure that whenever we end up with that everyone imposes in together. if we do this by ourselves and have limited impact.

-- it would have limited impact. >> thank you. in the state of the union speech, he mentioned that he will keep america second to none. what he is thinking, talking, and discussing a plan for? congratulations to election -- to his election as president. i think it is one of the greatest decisions the american people have made. personally, i support him. one reason is when i saw him with his old friend -- he should mediate between mainstream society and these

activist groups. >> i am sorry. >> i forgot the question. >> it just ask one question. i am sorry. you ask the question you want her to answer, sir. just one. >> why is he reluctant about south korea, panama, and columbia? >> are you talking about the free trade agreement? part of the issue with the free trade agreement is that we have been in negotiation with all three countries to work on various elements of the package. we want to be able to get those ready to support our free trade. the question is whether or not, with koreans, we are in an ongoing discussion about the nature of the package. with columbia, there are some issues that we and the colombians have been issued -- have been discussing with human

rights issues. i would not say that there is a holdup, per say, that the discussion is ongoing. i think it is fair to say that in the multilateral trade regime, we think it is an important element because that is where we have options for the american exporters and multilateral trade negotiations taking a long time. various countries are more enthusiastic or less enthusiastic, particularly with the recession. it would just take some time in order to get them ready in order to pursue them. he is a supporter of free trade. >> tyler, you did a good job of negotiating your way through the crowd. >> i was wondering, do you think passage of health care will help or hurt the democrats in the

upcoming elections? >> i think it will help. in part, i think to the extent that people were worried that somehow everything was going to change overnight and that everyone was going to lose their doctor and that the "sky would be falling down" was not going to happen. it was obviously a very intense time in the lead up to the passage of the bill itself. i think there are a lot of other issues that are pressing on other people's minds. the economy is getting better. this has to do it factors that are different. the conversation will be different by the time fall comes around. with a study to see that a little bit in the polling. people are worried about the things that are happening right now whether it is the oil spill, the recession, small business

credit, and that kind of thing. those of the issues that will be on people's mind. >> here we go. >> the economic recovery act or stimulus bill has gotten a bad rap. we have politicians in this state going around saying it is -- it has created no jobs or maybe even reduced the number of jobs. i guess they do not think that teachers, farming, and policemen are jobs, too. there are things on this campus that people do realize are a result of this bill. that includes a new engineering building that was funded by 80% of the stimulus bill. it was not mentioned by the paper or at the ceremony. what happened? this bill that a tremendous amount of good for our economy.

this so-called""called that the republicans have pursued -- this so-called "narrative" the republicans have pursued is -- >> americans do not generally know what is in the stimulus. one-third of the stimulus was in tax cuts, homebuyer tax credits. they were in cutting tuition. 95% of working americans got a tax cut. one-third of it was things like support for keeping teachers laid off and to help with food stamps, unemployment insurance, allowing people to stay on their health insurance. the last third were the kind of projects that you are referring to, infrastructure, construction projects. we see this a lot where

lawmakers to were vehemently opposed to the recovery act will show up for the ribbon cutting. they both claim all kinds of credit for the very projects they presumably did not want to have happen. so goes the nature of american politics. it has been a message challenge. i think the recovery act, in many ways, no one wants to write a huge check like that to keep the economy to stop from going off at a cliff. it would now say it is the very thing to keep the economy bouncing back. we very forcefully and very quickly in a strong way so that the people still liked -- people felt like the market wouldn't unravel before us. over time people are already,

and they will continue to come see the benefits of the recovery act both small and large. i think there will be ongoing press coverage about how some of the investments in the recovery act have transformed entire industries in the united states. i think it may take awhile. over time, the wave we see this, and the way the president sees this, is that we made a decision investing and hopefully leapfrogged businesses that were having problem. the proof is in the pudding. hopefully it worked. >> on a similar note to the bp debacle, what are obama's near and midterm plans for climate policy and legislation? >> i think just yesterday, if i

am not mistaken, chairman of lieberman introduced his comprehensive energy bill which both creates a carbon credit -- and has a lot of balance with clean energy. we are supportive and hope it passes. senator lindsey graham who was really in trouble with coming with the free market dropped off of the bill. it is unclear its prospects for passage. it remains a top priority because we believe our energy independence in transforming our use of energy is both essential to our national security and to our long-term economy. lots of other countries are out there moving in a green direction a lot faster than we are. we need to catch up with want to be competitive. it is a high priority for us.

i hope it can still get past this year. >> do you have a question? >> i am no historian, but i try to keep up with what is going along. it just seems to me like this administration has taken on more big issues in such a short period of time than any other administration that i am aware of. how many more big issues do we have? [laughter] how many more can we handle? how much can converse struggle at the same time? -- how much can congress juggle? >> these big issues were not one of our choosing. it is true that we have a big agenda because the country has a lot of big issues that we are grappling with the. some of which just cannot wait to be dealt with. things like afghanistan which we

felt really needed to be a central focus, we are spending a lot of time and attention on that. obviously, the economy is first and foremost. the country has a lot of challenges and some of them really cannot wait. some of them are by our own choosing. in some ways, whether it is the oil spill, hait, the coal mine, big things just happen. -- whether it is the oil spill, haiti, the coal mine, things happen. the president feels strongly that we need to manage this issues as they come along that there is an obligation to move the country forward and not always be in a reactive mode so that 20, 30, 40 years from now on our children and grandchildren are inheriting a more stable economy, good paying

jobs come and prosperity. we have waited a long time to grapple with a lot of these hard problems. the time has come to try to solve them. >> we have time for one last question. ok. >> thanks again for coming. to piggyback on that last question, i guess you could offer an example about all those things come up unexpectedly but at the same time continuing on. i am interested in the reorganization of. how does that not get in the way of the very important work and allow it to continue in a timely manner? >> that is the reauthorization of the education bill. d. no trash left behind and the core education funding bill. -- the no child left behind and

the core educatino funding bill. we have a great cabinet with talented people like kathleen civilians -- kathleen sibelius, who is fabulous. and great leadership skills. they are inspiring and can really drive elements of the agenda. one of the things that i really am have enjoyed about this time in government is how collaborative everyone is. people are working with each other in ways that is not the norm in the executive branch, i think. we rely on them a lot to keep moving the ball forward it on issues. part of the central challenge of this is that there is always

urgent. you can of the urgent to outweigh the important every time. managing that balance is the essential quality of what we do every day. just because it is not on the front page does not mean it is not an urgent pressing issue for the country. as -- if that is the case, we need to summon the ability and time in order to sell it or try to solve and to help figure out who should solve it. that is an essential element of our job. yes, sometimes it is daunting. i tried to think about how many issues we have on our plate. i do not know how the president does this every day and something else happens. when this will spill happened, you know, it is like we really cannot get a break. that is just wife. you have to dig in and hope you can navigate it to the best outcome. that is basically the job. we manage it somehow.

>> i want to thank you so much for coming. [applause] >> at today in the house, legislative work includes criminal penalties and veteran's health-care programs. this week, they hope to work on extending deadlines for tax breaks and jobless benefits including held for health insurance coverage and medicare payments to physicians. life has coverage is at 2:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. -- live house coverage is at 2:00 p.m. eastern. bridge in's new chancellor, george osborne, with his first major speech on the economy. their deficit is projected to be

12% of their gross domestic product which is greater than greece. hosted by the federation of british industry which is the primary lobbying group. this is 25 minutes. [applause] >> ladies and gentleman, helen, thank you very much for that introduction. when you invited the chancellor to attend this dinner one week. , i do not know if you knew who would turn up, nor did i. it is good to be here. it is a pretty historic occasion. this is an event where liberal democrats and conservatives are sitting side-by-side in the first coalition this country has seen

this is my first major speech. thank you for the early invitation. it is no coincidence that the first person i called after getting the job was richard lambert. that is, i hope you will see, a reflection of the importance that i attached to britain's community and to the in cbi as a representative of the business community. the last conservative chancellor, kenneth clarke. [applause] he is positively beaming in the role of lord chancellor of the country.

we are here to show our support and commitment to the cbi. i went to begin a speech by thinking so many of the businesses represented here today who normally stay out of being political frame and are independent, quite rightly, of a political party, but who came together in a newspaper writing campaign during the election to make the case for enterprise. but your help, we fought and won. there was an argument about the best way to build a sustainable, private sector recovery. instead of more wasteful government spending and more taxes on job creation, we said we would start immediately identifying saving so that we could stop the jobs tax. that is exactly what we have

done. i can confirm we will deliver on our promise to stop most of the increase in the insurance and contribution in the coming budget to help save jobs and support the recovery. [applause] the results of that will mean employing someone will be less expensive than it would have been regardless of income. it will encourage employers to create jobs and protect existing jobs, especially for those on low and middle incomes. this argument that government needs to do everything it can to support a private sector recovery will be my guiding principle as chancellor. i believe that when you succeed, britain succeeds. back in the late 1990's, this seemed a rather obvious argument

to make. all politicians, left and right, hated disservice to the call for enterprise. -- paid this service to the call for enterprise. we can never assume that the argument is one. today, public spending has risen to almost 50% of our economy. over 5 million people are out of work and on benefits. record numbers are economically and active. even now, there are still those who argue seriously that yet more increases in public spending are the answers to our problems. it is no wonder too many people around the world thought that britain had put up a sign that said, "closed for business." we need to start making the case for enterprise all over again. this is something every generation age to do in its own

way. that me tell you about my generation. we were shaken by the collapse of communism and the fall of the berlin wall. this new government is comprised of people bought -- whose views were formed by those experiences. for conservatives, we felt was a vindication of our economic arguments. perhaps we were too slow to understand that the free market and smaller government need to go hand in hand with a bigger society. we understand that now. it brought to the fore a new breed of liberal. democrats -- liberal democrats to understand that you need a free markets. just as conservatives have looked to the future and reached backed to our one nation tradition, so my liberal democrat colleagues have looked to the future by reaching back

to the inspiration of liberalism. together, we use the opportunity provided by this new coalition government to send the signal that britain once again is open for business. i want people around the country and over the world to know that if you want to come here, investor, a trade jobs here, that we will be on your side. we will back enterprise not just as an end to itself but as a way to build a stronger and fairer society. i believe that is what this coalition is all about. on the subject of coalition, let me be absolutely frank. as a member of the conservative negotiating team, we did consider whether we could try and bluff our way into being a minority government. it was david cameron's vision and clegg's foresight that song before anyone else that it would

be the greatest compromise of all. the week, and stable government risking defeat night after night in parliament, struggling to take the tough decisions that have been put off for too long. how much better to try and for a stable government with a majority of around 80 and will to govern in the national interest? in the heart of the agreement that we reached in the room in the cabinet office is a firm commitment to tackle britain's debt and create a space for the private sector recovery. the very first item on the very first page of the agreement we signed says, "deficit reduction, continuing to ensure economic recovery, is the most urgent issue facing britain." of course. the question i get asked already

all the time is, "where is the growth going to come from"? i was asked that in my very first press conference as chancellor. certainly we can no longer rely on an ever increasing public expenditure. over the past decade, over half of all jobs created were associated with public spending. over the past decade, business investment grew at about 1% each year, only one-quarter of what it was in the 1990 proxy. of course we were not the only country affected by the financial crisis. are consumers became the most indebted, our banks the most leverage, and are the government are more to support its economy than any other country of a similar size. britain does need a whole new model of economic growth where we save and invest for the future, where we export instead of building our economy on that,

an economy where but we sell our goods and services to china and the rest of asia instead of borrowing from them in order to make and by the things they make for us. let's be clear. when you ask the chancellor of the question, "where will the growth come from," there is no lever to pull that will automatically give you the answer. in will come from you, the businesses of britain. i want to explain briefly how this government will make the case for enterprise and how we will help you to succeed. i want to explain how we will do that while building a fairer society and an economy that works for everyone. i believe that enterprise means three things above all. first, the sunlight of confidence and stability and instead of living in the shadow of debt and uncertainty.

you need to know that the government is controlling spending, dealing with its debt so that you are not hit by ever higher taxes and ever higher interest rates. second, the freedom to compete. you might have the best product in the world, but how can you win the order when the taxes you pay and the regulation you face prices you out of the market? third, the raw materials to succeed. i do not just need iron ore, copper, and will, as important as they are. i mean the raw materials of the new economy like an educated workforce, energy, transport networks. tackling the deep underlying problems in our economy and society that have been holding us back for too long. let me take your each. first, controlling public

spending and delivering economic stability. the situation we inherited it is the worst any modern government has bequeathed to its successor. we are borrowing to one count for every four we spend. -- we are borrowing one pound for every four we spend. i was conscious we represent the country' with the biggest debt including greece and ireland. that is a heavy responsibility. and is a challenge that we are determined to me. having mentioned it, and since helen mentioned this as well, let me tell you might approach -- engaged, understand, seek agreements, do not be afraid to disagree, and never forget to do what is right for our country. i hope people know that i

arrived early, stated to the end, unlike some of my predecessors, and i hope people know that david cameron's first trip abroad is tamara to paris and then to berlin. in -- is it tomorrow to paris and to berlin. we will engage in europe but we should also take heed to the euro zone because it is a vivid demonstration what finances posed to the recovery. we must tackle our record deficit. otherwise there will be no recovery at all. it would be undermined by rising interest rates, falling confidence, and the fear of ever higher taxes. we simply have to do this. let me be blunt. do not rely on me to make this argument alone. we need to do it together so that we can take the whole country with us. we need to explain by what seems that the easier option in the

short term will actually lead to rising unemployment and decline. the case for early and accelerated action is already supported by the conservative party, the liberal democrats, the governor of the bank of england, and by the analysis of the treasury. i'm with the business community to join us in actively making that case. -- i want the business community to join us in making that case. you can explain how a higher budget deficit will mean higher interest rates and rising costs. you can explain how out of control that will mean ever- higher taxes. let us make the argument together against all of the vested interests that exist to defend every single line item of government spending. we have already started to take action. let me tell you what we have done in just one week. we have launched a program to identify 6 billion pounds of and

year savings -- of end year savings. we will do what you have done over the next two years, renegotiate contracts, control recruitment, and reduce overheads. 6 billion pounds represents one in every 100 that we spend. show me the business that has not cut its cost of more than that in the last two years. in addition, we have started a review of all the spending decisions taken since the beginning of the year. it is increasingly clear that the last government went on a reckless spending spree of to the election. their attitude was summed up in the letter that the former labor chief secretary left on the desk for his successor. >> i am afraid there is no money." let that letter stand is a hand written testament to that office.

i have already announced a complete change in the way the budget is made by giving away the power the chancellor has had to make forecasts to an independent office. we will do something completely radical. we need to fix the budget to fix the figures, not fixed the figures to fit the budget. i have set ambitious timetable for an emergency budget on june 22. we need to get on with this. the 6 billion in cuts will be announced next monday. the budget will set the bar for the coming years and the mandate for public finances against which the independent office will judge us and hold us accountable through you. over the summer we will conduct a far reaching spending review to allocates spending to the different departments within the overall envelope set out in the budget. britain will then have what it has been lacking, a

comprehensive and credible plan to deal with our debt and live within our means. by turning the tide of debt threatening our economy, we will help businesses up and down this country. we will create the space for the independence bank of england to keep interest rates lower for logger while maintaining low and stable inflation. safeguarding britain's credit rating, boosting confidence, promoting stability, and attracting foreign investment in our country. that is our first and most urgent task. the second thing that enterprise needs to succeed is the ability to compete. this presents us with a huge agenda -- reducing in a proper regulation and red tape, ensuring that businesses have a sufficient supply of affordable credit, something that dense and i will make a priority. we will also be a working together to reform our banking system, a subject i will return

to next month. in particular, i believe we have an opportunity to boost our economy and improve our society with radical tax reform. i believe we can make our tax system more competitive and more fair. the tax system has become hugely complex of the last 13 years. since 1997, the legislation has more than doubled in length. is now 11,000 pages long. this spider web is holding back people who want to set up a business. our corporate tax rates are increasingly uncompetitive. in world economic forum reports the u.k. 84 out of 133 countries in terms of the competitiveness of our tax system. we need hold still reform. i want to focus on corporate taxes. i want corporate tax reform to be a prairie for this government.

i can confirm that the pharma coalition agreement that we will -- the final coalition agreement will lead to lower corporate tax rates. of what it will say. "we will reform the corporate tax system by simplifying release and allowances and tackling avoidance in order to reduce headline rates." our aim is to create the most competitive tax regime in the of g-20 law protecting manufacturing'. i would to set out a five-year road map for corporation taxes. as well as lower rates in a simpler system, i want to reform the rules that have driven businesses overseas. i want multinational's coming to the u.k., not leading it. i am under no illusions. achieving all this will be hard and it will not happen overnight. let us work together for the

long term because ultimately all of britain's businesses will be winners if we succeed in this agenda. of course, reforming corporation tax is not the only goal. i want britain to be the easiest place in the work to start a business. i want to do everything we can to support small companies. i went to help the businesses by abolishing contributions on the first 10 jobs they create. as well as making the tax system more competitive, we need to make it more fair. when times are difficult, we need to give people more of a stake in this economy. i'm believe is right that the people in low and middle income should be helped to the tax system. that is why the budget i will be announcing, there will be a substantial increase in the personal allowance. our longer-term goal is to raise the allowance to 10,000 pounds with a realtor steps in that direction every year. this will insure that millions

of people pay less tax. it will send the message that if you put the effort in you get a job, you turn yourself in income, and he will keep more of your money. i also believe that the same principles apply to those who invest in new businesses and create jobs. . >> we will love the last few minutes of this recorded program -- will leave the last few

minutes of this, available anytime on our website, c- span.org. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] this is live house coverage. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father coughlin. chaplain coughlin: lord god, help us in our weakness. send forth your spirit for we do not know how to pray for what we really need.

your spirit within us will make intercessions through longings that cannot always be expressed in speech. because you alone search human hearts, you know how easily we are distracted or drawn toward false desires. help us to fine what is true and meaningful by seeking to do your holy will. show us how we can follow your inspiration and accomplish what you want us to do both now and for ages to come. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from california, congresswoman napolitano.

mrs. napolitano: hand over your hearts. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: madam speaker, i ask permission to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: withouobjection. mr. wilson: madam speaker, it's clear the american people are tired of business as usual in washington. particularly when it comes to out-of-control spending. the images of the riots in greece caused in part by overspending that led to an economic collapse should concern every single american. between the trillion dollar government health care takeover, the $789 billion so-called stimulus, and the

bankrupt cash for clunkers programs, america could be headed down the same path. there is clearly no better time to get serious about the spending spree in washington. i applaud republican whip, eric cantor, fo launching youcut, an interactive way for all americans to vote both online and via cell phone on spending cuts they want congress to enact. in the first week of this program, over80,0 people cast their votes to cut new nonreformed welfare program that cost $2 billion a year. please visit joewilson.house.r-l gov or republicanwhip.house.gov to see this week's options. in conclusion god bless our troops and we'll never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. some the gentleman's time has expired. are there further one-minute requests? pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , the chair will postpone first degree murderings proceedings today on motions to -- will

postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules or on which the yeas and nays are ordered. recorded votes on postponed questions will be taken after 6:30 p.m. today. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? mrs. napolitano: i move the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1258, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1258, resolution expressing support for designation of may, 2010, as mental health month. the speaker pro tempor pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. matsui, and the gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the the gentlewoman from california. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five

legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i rise today in strong support of house resolution 1258. this resolution expresses support for the designation of this month, the month of may, as mental health month. we all know it but sometimes we forget that mental health is absolutely essential to the overall health of every single person in this country. mental health is an important contributor to the health of our communities, our families, and even to our economy. mental illness affects 57 million people in the united states, madam speaker. the people impacted by mental illness are workers, their bosses, their employees, their mothers, and fathers, sisters, and brothers, and close friends. and increasingly they are

children. one in every five children and adolescents may have a diagnoseable mental disorder. they are clinical indicated and they range from bipolar disorder to bulimia and other eating disorders to anxiety related conditions by posttraumatic stress disorder. these illnesses affect all racial, ethnic, and social economic groups. they can strike at any place and at any time. however certain groups in our country appear to be more vulnerable to mental illness than others. for example, latina adolescents had a higher suicide rate than any other demographic. and one quarter of the members of our armed forces suffer from psychological or neurological injuries sustained during combat. this is a problem that we cannot and we must not ignore. madam speaker, we know that mental illness is becoming more and more common in the united states and around the world. we know that mental illnesses

have biological causes and we know that the vast majority of mental illnesses can be treated. and yet people with mental illness continue to live under stigma that surrounds those who fight diseases of the mind. today's resolution gives this house a valuable opportunity to help our constituents understand the biological basis for many mental disorders. it salutes the important work of national and community organizations who promote public awareness and mental illness and help fight the unfair stigma associated with mental disease. house resolution 1258 also encourages providers and organizations to promote mental well-being and ensure that people with mental illness have access to the services that can larlely save their lives. -- literally save their lives. this and previous congresses have taken important and necessary steps to improve

access to mental health services. personally i look forward to working with my colleagues to increase access to community-based mental health services. in my hometown of sacramento, the community-based mental health system is crumbling under the weight of severe budget cuts and ever-increasing demand for services. we here in washington cannot sit idly by as vital community services are slashed. those whose very lives depend on a trained and understanding health provider are counting on us and this resolution honors those who have dedicated their lives to treating others with mental illness. i want to commend representative napolitano, the sponsor of this resolution, and co-chair of the congressional mental health caucus, for her leadership on the important health issue. i'd also like to commend my energy and commerce committe colleague, representative tim murphy of pennsylvania, for working so closely with mrs. napolitano on the mental health caucus. i urge my colleagues to support

this resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from south carolina. mr. wilson: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of house resolution 1258, acknowledging the month of may as national mental health month because it has helped raise awareness in our communities which is contributed to removing the stigma associated with mental illness. i would like to express my thanks to the organizations working to promote awareness of mental health and to educate families affected by mental illness. as a former president myself of the mid carolina mental health association, i know firsthand of its success and significance. i also appreciate my older son, alan wilson, has served on the mental health association state board. your work is critical to increasing the quality of life for those with mental illness. i am grateful to also work with hidden wounds, founded by ann

bigam, a volunteer organization in columbia, south carolina, which provides service for our military and veterans who are successfully defeating terroris overseas. i would like to thank the author of the resolution, congresswoman grace napolitano of california, for her leadership in helping americans' well-being and addressing mental disorders. i encoure all of my colleagues to vote in vor of this resolution. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. matsui: madam speaker, i yield as much time as she may consume to the gentleman from california, the sponsor of this resolution, mrs. napolitano. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. mrs. napolitano: thank you, madam speaker. and i'd like to thank both congresswoman from california, ms. matsui, and congressman from south carolina, mr. wilson, for talking about h.r.

1258, recognizing may as a mental health month. as you have heard there are many instances ere we ignore this fact and we are currently tryi to erase the stigma, that's the biggest issue that we have in the united states. today we must continue to shed light on those who suffer in silence with mental illness. it knows no boundaries, as you have heard. it goes into any race, gender, religion, any political party, everywhere. it does not discriminate. every kay our -- day our children, soldiers, veterans, our family members, co-workers, and friends carry their wounds and pain on the inside. it is an invisible illness that often goes unseen and unmentioned. even if it leaves a trail of devaation in its wake. recent reports show that military suicide has claimed more lives of our service men

and women an the afghan war and that approximately one in five service members suffer from major depression or posttraumatic syndrome. it is now recognized by military leaders that there is a great big issue and they are trying to provide services to those men and women so that they can return to seminormal life when they return to their respective residences. also findings that national alliance ever mental illness, show that most are highly treatable, yet only one in three individuals suffering from mental illness seek or receive treatment. we must protect our soldiers and their families' right to effective mental health services they have earned at providing our freedom. today sue -- protecting our freedom. today suicide is a third leading cause of death for youth ages 15 to 24. again third leading cause of death on youth ages 15 to 24. with each young life lost to

suicide, we lose some of our nation's future. we must continue to destigtize mental illness so that all individuals, including our youth, know that it is ok. it's not shameful to ask for help and receive the treatment needed because no child should ever feel this world would be a better place without them. the mental health and well-being of all americans are critical issues that affect not only the quality of life and heal of our communities, but as importantly our national economic stability. according to the national institute of mental health, serious illnesses cost americans ateast $193 billion, with a b, billion a year in lost earngs alone, never mind what businesses lose in over $0 billion a year. mental illness is also the leading cause of absenteeism and lost productivity in the workplace. we need to learn how to prevent suicide. we must take those classes and

we must learn what those signs are so we can begin to at least address those issues with our own if not with those near us. i respectfully encourage all my cleans to support this resolution and thereby recognize may as mental health month. knowledge and prevention are the key to continue eradicating the massive stigma behind mental illness. if ignored and untreated, this will only pass on to our future generations. we must unite on this critical issue and recognize the scientific facts and findings of mental illness to ensure access to professional health, including early detection, and intervention. . i leave you in losing, i leave you words from patty, 15 years old. thank god we have this program because if i didn't have this treatment i would be dead at

this time. from ophelia, 17 years old, after my mom and dad died in an accident, i wanted to die. this program and my therapist helped me. these are just more reminders of who we must represent and who we must continue to try to help and why we were elected to serve everybody. with that i yield back to ms. matsui. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back her time. the chair will receive a message. the mesnger: madam speaker, a message from the president of the united state the secretary: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: mr. secretary. the secretary: i am directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from soutcarolina is recognized. mr. wilson: madam speaker, as we're recognizing mental health month, i'd also like to commend the national alliance for the mentally ill.

i was honored earlier this month to participate in the mental health walk at the river walk in west columbia. the walk itself was organized by buddy weir. it's amazing to see hundreds of persons to participate. there was competition between different businesses and the businesses participating. it was just really heartwarming to see such an outpouring of community support. i look forward in october, the mental health walk by the nomi, will be on the beaches of hilton head island. i look forward to participating , again, raising awareness of mental health and how individuals can help person with mental health issues. at this time, then, i'd reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from california. ms. matsui: madam speaker, i'm prepared to close and will

reserve my time at had point. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. mr. wilson: there being no further speakers, i at this time turn the issue back over. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman yield back his time? mr. wilson: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. ms. matsui: i want to thank representative napolitano and representative murphy on mental health issues. i want to thank congressman wilson from south carolina. this resolution represents one small step toward a future where the serious burden of mental illness is but a thing of the past. i urge my colagues to support this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 1258, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution -- ms. matsui: madam speaker, i request thyeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california. the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for

what purpose does the gentleman from american soa seek recognition? mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to resolution, house resolution 1382. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1382, resolution expressing sympathy to the families of those killed by north korea in the sinking of the republic of korea ship cheonan, and solidarity with the republic of korea in the aftermath of this tragic incident. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from ameran samoa, mr. faleomavaega, and the gentleman from californ, mr. royce, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from american samoa. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous matials on the resolution under consideration.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, on march 26, 2010, a south korean naval ship, the she in an, was on a routine -- the cheonan, was on a routine mission in south korea. at 9:22 p.m., an explosion ripped through the cheonan. it sank. of the 104 members of the crew onboard, 46 sailors died that evening. madam speaker, our hearts go out for the 46 brave korean soldiers who lost their lives in this tragedy. again, we express our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families and loved ones of these 46 brave sailors. may their families be comforted

with the fact that my colleagues here in this chamber share their pain and sorrow, and we remember well what the lord said in hissermon on the mount, blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted. madam speaker, despite the immediate suspicion at north korea was responsible for the attack and the shocking loss of life, the republic of south korea reacted calmly and deliberately. as the country mourn its dead, the government formed a joint civilian military investigation group to assist the cause of the explosion. the 74-member team, which included 24 experts from the united states, from sweden, the united kingdom and australia, spending several weeks examining the evidence as objectively and scientifically as possible. on may 20, 2010, madam speaker, the group released its final report concluding unanimously that, and i quote, the cheonan

was attacked and sunk by a torpedo that was launched from a small north korean submarine. on the day of the report's release, the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee, congressman howard berman, and the committee's ranking member, congresswoman ilyaina ros-lehtinen, congressman -- congressman done manzullo and i introduced -- don manzullo introduced house resolution 1382, the resolution now before us. we did so to demonstrate america's strong solidarity with the republic of korea and to call for an appropriate and coordinated international responsibility to north korea's unprovoked and deadly attack. we also sought to express our

condolences to the families and loved ones of those killed, to reaffirm our enduring commitment to the u.s.-republic of korea alliance and to the security of all the good people of the republic of korea. in addition, madam speaker, o resolution calls for an apology from north korea for its actions and a commitment by pyongyang never to violate the korean war armistice agreement ever again. it urges the international community to fully implement all united nations security council resolutions pertaining to security on the korean peninsula. including resolutions 1695, 1718, and 1874. finally, the resolution calls for the united states in coordination with its allies and partners to take appropriate steps in response to other hostile acts perpetrated by north korea. the sinking of the cheonan was

one of the worse violations of the korean war armistice since the end of the korean war. it took place in the wake of other recent north korean provocations such as an attempted sale of weapons to the hamas and hezbollah late last year. fortunately, our close friend and strong ally, thailand, seized the plane containing the armed shipment to the middle east. last month, south korea also arrested two north korean agents sent to sowell to assassinate -- seoul to assassinate the highest ranking north korean official. today, south korea's president said in an address to his nation that in responding to the sinking of the cheonan, and i quote, the overriding goal of the republic of korea is not military confrontation. our goal has always been the attainment of real peace and stability of the korean peninsula, end of quote.

the president went on to say that, and i quote again, north korea will pay a price corresponding to its provocative act. that price will include stopping all trade and most investments from north korea as well as closing south korea's rings to north korean ships. madam speaker, house resolution 1382 shares president lee's goals and a calibrated response to north korea. north korea must understand that its actions have consequences, that it cannot violate the armistice, break international law and kill innocent people with impunity. that is why my colleagues and i introduced the resolution and why we now call on all members of this body in supporting it. madam speaker, i strongly

support this resolution, and i urge my colleagues to do the same and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. roistroist madam speaker, i yield -- mr. royce: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. royce: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of this legislation which expresses condolences to the families of the 46 south korean sailors who recently lost their lives to a north korea torpedo attack, and this resolution appropriately stands in solidarity with our south korea ally in the wake of this assault. last week, south korea unveiled the results of an international investigation, a quite methodcal one, into the cause of the sinking of this south

korea naval vessel, and the evidence overwhelmingly showed what many but all were certain occurred on that march 26, it showed that the ship was indeed sunk by a north korean torpedo attack, in clear violation of the north korean war armistice. madam speaker, this incident is offering long lasting clarity across asia after years of delusions about north korea. reality is now setting in. in seoul it is offering clarity about the brutal nature of the stalinist regime that operate in the north. earlier today, the south korean president addressed the nation and he announced that north korean vessels will belocked from south korean waters. he announced, also, the resumption of radio broadcast

into the north, and he announced that cooperative activity with north korea is meaningless. importantly, he recognized that now is the time for the north korean regime to change. seoul is coming to grips with years of a failed sunshine policy of previous administrations that hoped against hope that north korea could be dealt with as a normal state. in tokyo, the attack is offering claty about the role of u.s. forces in the region. largely because of north korea's provocation, japan's new government seems poised to accept a relocation of u.s. forces on okinawa. this just isn't an issue for north korea and japan. the u.s. provides breathing space for others in the region including south korea, which has been alarmed by the

dispute. this crisis is also offering clarity about beijing's role in northeast asia and beyond. because despite an international investigation, which included cooperation from australian and british and swedish and u.s. investigators working with their south korean counterparts, china has now announced that it will complete its own assessment of the sinking of the ship. . beijing nearly called the murder of these 46 sailors unfortunate. beijing's unique reply came days after it rolled out the red carpet for kim juning ill and reportedly sowered him with 100,000 tons of food and 100 million in other aid. today with senior u.s. officials in china, there are reports that china and the u.s. still are not on the same page with respect to u.n. sanctions

on iran. so much for a responsible china. the u.s. should support the efforts of south korea to take their evidence to the u.n. security council. that should be the next step. i have had the opportunity to read accounts in which some have said, well, this might be futile given the fact that beijing could veto such an act. well, why not press and make them show the world where beijing stands? does beijing stand with kim underill and his recklessness or with order and peace not to mention standing with a grieving famili of the victims of kim jung il in this case? this house is right to stand in solidarity with our south korean ally.

this torpedo attack should offer clarity for u.s. policy toward north korea as well. it should wake us up to the nature of the north korean regime and the possibility of dealing diplomatically with that government in north korea. this morning, secretary of state clinton offered a statement that, quote, reasked north korea to stop its provocative behavior. take irreversible steps to fulfill its denuclearization commitments and comply with international law. well, madam speaker, anyone who has been watching north korea over the last two months or the last two years knows that statement has no bearing on reality. u.s. officials have said that it can no longer be disas usual with respect to north korea. but that statement is business as usual. north korea won't take such steps until there is a

fundamental change in the government there. and those who have pushed fruitless nuclear negotiations with nth korea in this administration and in the last administration and ignored the type of regime we are dealing with have to ask themselves why north korea's only definitive response to that engagement has come on top of a torpedo? madam speaker, today we rightly condemn this attack and show solidarity with our south korean ally, but we can and should be doing more in the days and weeks ahead to show resolve in the face of north korean aggression. there is a long list of steps that washington and seoul can and should take in lockstep to strengthen deterrence in the region and show that 46 deaths will not go unanswered. we could be relisting north korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. we could be speeding defense sales and targeting north

korea's illicit activities like counterfeiting of $100 u.s. bills and drug running. congress could also pass the u.s.-korea agreement demonstrating that there will be no retreat by the u.s. from northeast asia. i look forward to working with my colleagues to strengthen the u.s.-south korean alliance, which has been a vital anchor for security in asia fomore than 50 years. and i look forward to hopefuy doing that in the immediate weeks to come. i'm going to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from american samoa. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i do want to compliment my good friend from california for his most eloquent statement. most insightful. i could not agree better with the gentleman from's suggestion we should take this matter directly to the security council of the united nations with such evidence to show,

this isn't to embarrass anybody, but show the facts that this is an act -- it's an act of war, madam speaker. there is no other way you can look at this. and i want to commend my good friend from california for making the suggestion. it should be brought before the security council. it should be full delibetions and the nations of the world see and witness for themselves what this conduct has become. the killing of 46 sailors just unbelievable. i'm glad to yield. mr. royce: i can curn and with add lie stevenson -- adali stevenson we took that attack during the time of the cuban missile crisis. he was able to show hard evidence. south korea can take the same steps. i am in agreement and i yield back the balance of my time. i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. faleomavaegai just want to note also, madam speaker, that how much time -- how much

time do i have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 12 minutes. mr. faleomavaega: just want to note also that over the years it has been my privilege and dealing and working with the good people and leaders of south korea, and i for one over the years have always said that the principles underlining the sunshine policy as it was enunciated and tried i believe fatefully by the late president in his efforts to see about bettering relations between north and south korea. i know there were flaws and shortcomings of the sunshine policy, and it's to the point now how much further do we need to show our friendship and good will to the people and to the leaders of north korea? this act, conduct on the part of north korea is no question without excuse. and with that, i gladly thank my good friend from california for his statement. i yield back the balance of my

time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yield back the balance of my time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to you house resolution 1382. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the-- mr. faleomavaega: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not esent. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move that e shows suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, house resolution 584. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 584, resolution recognizing the importance of manufactured and modular housing in the united states. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from indiana, mr. donnelly, and the gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana. mr. donnelly: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may ve five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. donnelly: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. donnelly: today i rise in strong support of house resolution 584, a resolution honoring the importance of manufactured housing to our

country. as we celebrate homeownership during the month of june, we also honor the third week of june as manufactured housing week. this recognizes that manufactured homes offer hardworking american families the option to purchase quality homes at an affordable price. this $8 billion-a-year industry provides jobs for people not only in the second district of indiana, which i'm proud to present, but throughout the country. more than 18 million people live in over 10.5 million manufactured homes. i have seen firsthand how these homes have continued a tradition of quality and safe construction over the years. they present a high quality, affordable housing option for all families. madam speaker, manufactured housing has come a long way over the years, and people can often not tell a difference between a modular home and a site built home.

manufactured homes have a factory production process which provides technological advantages, value, and customization options for consumers seeking quality housing and sustainable homeownership. additionally, manufactured homes are built to a national standard under the h.u.d. code which governs the construction, engineering, quality, safety, and systems perfect -- performance. it supports innovation, consumer safety, efficiency, and quality while preserving manufactured housing affordability and customization. we have all witnessed the ongoing turmoil in the housing market. i believe it is essential that we look to affordable manufactured housing as a viable solution to this problem. creating affordable homeownership is one of the building blocks of our society and it plays a fundamental role in achieving the american dream.

it helps to provide families with economic security and builds strong communes. i urge -- communities. i urge my colleagues to support this resolution today and pass house resolution 584. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from south carolina. mr. wilson: madam speaker, today i rise in support of house resolution 584, which is recognizing the importance of manufactured and modular housing in the united states. manufactured housing is a good source of affordable housing in this country, not only for homeownership, but for rental housing as well. currently the manufactured housing and modular housing industry generates over $6 billion in annual revenues and employ over 70,000 people. as a result of this extensive industry, approximately 18 million people in the united states representing all segments of the population live in manufactured or modular

homes. i was educated on the importance of manufactured housing in south carolina by tom lloyd of the manufactured housing association. i know firsthand of the housing opportunities made possible in orangeberg, south carolina. manufactured and modular housing provides a critical solution to our country's supply of affordable housing and due to the factory production process involved, manufactured and modular housing brings technological advances, value, and customization options for consumers seeking quality housing and sustainable homeownership. the legislation before us recognizes and fully supports the goals and ideals of manufactured housing week and i urge my colleagues to support the resolution. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from indiana. mr. donnelly: madam speaker, i have no further requests for time. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. wilson: madam speaker, with no further mr. speakerers i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 584. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules -- mr. donnelly: i to be to the -- i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? mr. donnelly: madam speaker, the gentleman from new york -- madam speaker, i move the house suspend the rules andgree to the concurrent resolution, house concurrent resolution 137. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution.

the clerk: house concurrent resolution 137, concurrent resolution expressing the sense of the congress that the lack of adequate housing must be addressed as a barrier to effective h.i.v. prevention, treatment, and care, and that the united states should make a commitment to providing adequate funding for developing housing as a response to the aids pandemic. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from indiana, mr. donnelly, and the gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana. mr. donnelly: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. donnelly: madam speaker, i yield time to the sponsor of this concurrent resolution, mr. nadler, such time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentman from new york is recognized. mr. nadlerthank you, madam speaker. and i thank the gentleman from indiana. madam speaker, i rise today in

support of my resolution, h.con.res. 137. which expresses the sense of congress that housing is a key component of combatting the war against h.i.v. and aids. i want to thank chairman frank and my colleagues of both parties on the financial services committee for bringing this resolution to the floor. . and i ask my colleagues join me in supporting this resolution. it's remarkable how far we've come to the understanding of the h.i.v. virus. in the 1980's and 1990's an h.i.v. diagnosis was seen as a death sentence. but nearly three decades after a global launch of a campaign to study the disease, to develop and disseminate treatments and prevention, those who contact h.i.v. have a natural reality of living productive lives for decades. today, we have an entire medical organizational and legislative foundation from

which wean provide information, medication and health care to those who have contracted the disease. yet, just as advances are being made to extend and enhance the live being treated with h.i.v. and aids, we have a long way to go to make sure everyone benefits. while we have effective h.i.v. medications, there are many complications to make sure that people can get and successfully use those medications. these drugs can be very expensive, forcing people to choose between life-savin drugs and other essentials such as food and clothing and housing. in addition, these complex medications often require refrigeration and precise daily routines and meal times for their administration. successfully integrating these drugs into anyone's life has its complications. for those who are homeless or who don't know where they will be sleeping day-to-day or month to month, the situation is extremely difficult and often sadly life threatening. study after study has confirmed

the connection between the ability to remain healthy after being diagnosed with h.i.v. and access to stable housing. here with just a few statistics. according to a 2007 study in the american journal of public health, housing status is a more significant predictor of health care access and outcomes than individual characteristics, insurance status, substance abuse and mental health or service utilizations. up to 70% of all people living with h.i.v. report a lifetime experience of homelsness or housing instability. rates of h.i.v. infection are 16 times higher, 16 times higher among those who are homeless or unstablely housing compared to situately -- compared to other individuals. 10 times the rate in the general population is h.i.v. positive. the death rate due to h.i.v. or aids among homeless people living with h.i.v. is seven to

nine times the death rate due to hiv-aids among t general populatn. the studies are equally clear that ensuring access to stable housing is cost-effective. according to economic evaluation studies done by johns hopkins bloomberg school of public health, providing housing to those who are h.i.v. positive either helps to save cost associated to those being treated than those being screened for breast and colon cancer. if we want to tackle the spread of h.i.v. and aids in our society, we must absolutely address the need for stable housing for people with h.i.v. and aids. housing is not a lucksry, it's a necessity -- luxury, it's a necessity. it has healthier habits, especially those living with hiv-aids. so i ask my colleagues in both parties to support this resolution so that we can move toward a sound and comprehensive policy for the prevention and treatment of

hiv-aids. i thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana. >> madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speer pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina. mr. wilson: madam speaker, house concurrent resolution 137 expressing the sense of congress regarding adequate and housing options for persons with hiv-aids. studies show that the rates of h.i.v. infection are three to 16 titles higher among persons who are homeless or unstablely housed. and 70% of all persons living with hiv-aids report a lifetime experience of homelessness. currently, the u.s. department of housing and urban development, through its housing opportunities for persons with aids, hopwa, provides grants to eligible states and cities to provide housing assistance and related supported services to meet the housing needs of low-income

persons with hiv-aids and their families. i have no further requests for time, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from indiana. >> madam speaker, i have no further requests for time, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 137. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the concurrent resolution is agreed to and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5330, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5330, a bill to

amend the antitrust criminal penalty enhancement and reform act of 2004 to extend the operation of such act for a five-year period ending june 22, 2015, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler, and the gentleman from california, mr. lungren, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. nadler: thank you, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nadler: madam speaker, h.r. 5330 extends by 10 years the antitrust criminal penalty enhancement and reform act of 2004. an important tool in combating illegal cartel behavior. set to expire next month, the 2004 act promotes the detection and prosecution of illegal

cartel behavior by giving participants in a price fixing cartel powerful incentives to report the cartel to the justice dertment's antitrust division and to cooperate in the investigation and prosecution. criminal cartel enforcement targets some of the worst crimes perpetrated on the american consumers, but these crimes are not easily detected because the actual criminal activity takes place in secret meetings, in -- behind closed doors. so with the hard work of the antitrust division, price fixing can go undetected. with billions of dollars of unlawful profits at stake, these criminals work hard to keep their actions secret. in august, 2003, the antitrust division revised its existing program by giving cartel participants a strong incentive to break the code of silence and report the cartel. this program offers amnesty

from criminal prosecution for the first company to report the cartel. the company cannot have been the ringleader and has to continue working properly with the investigations and prosecution. the company's executives also receive amnesty if they give full cooperation. but there is still incentives for participants to come forward because they remain to liability in a company's civil litigation. six years ago, this congress gave the antitrust division a new weapon to attack this business head on. as para, the bill we're talking about, addressed the shortcoming in the criminal leniency program by limiting the partner's civil liability. as it limits the cooperating party to single damages, the rest are liable for all damages. in this way, the act strikes a

carefully crafted balance, encouraging the cartels to turn on each other while ensuring full compensation to the victims. the positive impact of this law cannot be overstated. as it aided the antitrust division in on mustang $-- obtaining $1 billion in fines alone. last year, confronted with the expiration of the act, we passed a one-year extension of the statute. we've heard from academics and representatives of civil lit gants, -- litigants and company whistleblowers. i want them to continue their excellent work of protecting consumers from price fixing cartels. the law before us today extends the law for 10 years and incorporates small things based

on other things made. such as it makes minor changes to the law to make sure that companies provide timely cooperation to the victims of the cartel in the related civil action in order to receive the reduced damages liability. it also ensures that no one in the amnesty process in the future will be adversely affected if this law were to sunset in the future. finally, it commissions the government accountability office, the g.a.o., to perform one-year study to examine several other suggestions that have been made to further improve the law. i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and i reservehe balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. lungren: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lungren: madam speaker, i'm pleased to support h.r. 5330, a bill to extend the antitrust criminal penalty enhancement and reform extension act for 10 years. the act of 2004 called acpra,

it's the acronym for this law, are set to expire on the 22nd of june. the expiring dates relate to incentives for companies to participate in the antitrust division's corporate leniency program. specifically, the expiring provisions request that it be held liable for the compensatory damages in a civil suit. as been mentioned by the gentleman from new york, defendants are required to pay troubled damages in an antitrust action. this has been successful in allowing the antitrust division to help price fixing cases in recent years. last year congress approved a one-year extension of acpera. after months of discussions

with the stakeholders, we have made some changes to the bill to require fendants to disclose more important to plaintiffs in the follow-on class action suits. these additional cooperation requirements apply only if, one, the defendant has plead guilty to a price fixing and, two, seek penalties. most importantly, the changes of this bill will not affect the justice department's ability to prosecute these cases. so with this reason, the department does not oppose these additional disclosure requirements. this bill provides a 10-year extension of acpera, a 10-year extension appears to be quite appropriate. it is crucial that we continue to provide the justice department the tools it needs to ensure that it can protect consumers against price fixing schemes with that in mind, i'm

happy to support this legislation. i hope my colleagues will support this legislation and the senate will take it up in a timely manner so that this does not expire next month. and if the gentleman has no other speakers, i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: madam speaker, i have no further speakers, and i urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5330 as amended. those in favor say aye. >> madam speaker. the speaker pro mpore: those opposed, no. in the opion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative. mr. nadler: madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be stponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1017 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the cler union calendar number 27 -- 276, h.r. 1017, a bill to amend the department of veterans

affairs health care programs enhancement act of 2001 and title 38 united states code, to require the provision of chiropractic care and services to veterans at all department of veterans affairs medical centers and to expand access to such care and services. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. filner, and the gentleman from indiana, mr. buyer, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. filner: thank you, madam speaker. i would ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include traneous material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. filner: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's recognized. mr. filner: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in strong support of the die practical tick care available to all -- chiropractic care available to all veterans act which emphasizes the critical need for robust chiropractic services within the department of veterans affairs. in the theater today, madam

speaker, service members may carry up to 55 pounds of combat equipment and armor, consistently supporting such a heavy load places a seous strain on the back and joints of our service members thereby causing muscular skeletal injuries in fact, the v.a. reports that muscular skeletal disorders are the single most common ailment facing returning veterans and among veterans of operation enduring freedom and operation iraqi freedom who have received treatment from the v.a., over 52% have been diagnosed with such a disorder. however, the v.a. is not presently equipped to serve this clear need. current law spissfice that the v.a. must have at least one chiropractic care program in each of the 21 veterans. today in-house chiropractic care is available at 32 major v.a. facilityless. this leaves veterans at the remaining centers without access to chiropractic care at a v.a. facility. madam speaker, h.r. 1017 would make chiropractic care available

to all veterans at all v.a. medical centers by phasing in the establishment of such chiropractic care programs. the v.a. would be required to offer chiropractic care at 75 medical centers by the end of 2011 and that all v.a. medical septemberers by the a end -- end of 2013. this bill provides an opportunity to significantly expand access to chiropractic care for one of the most prevalent disorders facing veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan. i urge the support of my colleagues and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mr. buyer: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's recognized. mr. buyer: i rise in support of h.r. 1017 as amended, the chiropractic care available to our veterans act. to amend the department of veterans affairs health care programs enhancement act, to require the provision of chiropractic care and services to veterans of all department of veterans affairs medical centers

and to expand such care and services. the muscular skeletal injuries caused problems not only for veterans from past conflicts but also one of the leading health concerns for veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan. this committee has a long history of taking action to ensure the v.a. provides quality and accessible chiropractic care and i want to thank the chairman for introducing legislation once again. i note that my good friend and colleague from kansas, jerry moran, and i want to thank him for his strong advocacy for the need for providing quality chiropractic care within the v.a. it's legislation that he introduced in the 108th congress that provides v.a. with the authority to hire and employ kire practical ters. it -- cairo practical ters. they useired or contracted staff. they're also available to veterans who live in areas distant from facilities through its fee-basis program which uses local nonv.a. providers. given the prevalence of back,

neck and joint pain in the veteran population, there is a need to expand access to chiropractic care within the v.a. medical facilities. this bill would do that by mandating such care to 75 v.a. medical centers by the end of next year and each v.a. medical center by the end of 2013. however i want to point out that it also is important that the v.a. continues to ensure chiropractic care remains available as an option through the v.a.'s fee-basis program. often times the fee basis program is needed or would benefit the health status of an eligible veteran. for instance, multiple treatments with some frequency may be required to receive the full benefits of chiropractic care. if a veteran lives some distance from a v.a. medical center, requiring that veteran to make multiple trips, it creates an undue travel burden. in such cases the use of v.a.'s fee basis program is in the best interest of the veteran. therefore it must always remain a mechanism for accessing care to ensure system-wide

availability regardless of whether t v.a. medical center has a chiropractor on staff. i believe it's my duty to do all we can to help our veteran warriors heal from the injuries incurred through the service tower -- to our nation. providing them with widely available and highly skilled chiropractic care, i believe, will go a long way toward incrsing the health and well-being of our veteran population. as such i encourage all my colleagues to join with me in supporting h.r. 1017 as amended and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: madam speaker, i have no further speakers and would await the gentleman's giving back his time. i would reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? the gentleman reserves. mr. buyer: i would also like to -- i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's recognized. mr. buyer: i'd also like to

extend special recognition to chairman michaud and ranking member brown of the health subcommittee for their work on this bill and that of the staff and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: madam speaker, i just want to point out that we are approaching the memorial day recess, probably all of us will be at veterans affairs -- at veterans memorials and parades, saluting them on memorial day and we will all say, of course that we support our veterans. what we are doing today, as we've done throughout the year, is to say, we have a series of legislation, of bills that will in fact add to the benefits and well-being of our veterans and that's the best way to celebrate memorial day. as i have no further requests for time i will yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1017 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3

of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- mr. filner: on that i would demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcemt, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. filner: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to house concurrent resolution 278. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 278. concurrent resolution expressing the sense of congress that a grateful nation supports and absolutes sons a daughters in touch on its 20th anniversary that is being held on father's day, 2010, at the vietnam

veterans memorial in washington, the district of columbia. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. filner, and the gentleman from indiana, mr. buyer, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. filner: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on house concurrent resolution 2 78. thank you, madam speaker, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's recognized. mr. filner: madam speaker, this is a resolution expressing the sense of congress that a grateful nation supports and salutes the suns and daughters in touch on its 20th anniversary, being held on father's day at the vietnam memorial in washington, d.c. the sponsor of this resolution is one of our new members, mrs. halvorson from illinois, who has taken such a very die nam part in our deliberations on the veterans affairs committee and veterans' affairs committee

and i would yield to her for an explanation on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. mrs. halvorson: thank you, madam chair. madam speaker, i rise today in support of h.con.resolution 278, a resolution honoring the 20th anniversary of the founding of the sons and daughters in touch. for the last two decades, this organization has provided support to those sons and daughters who lost a parent fighting during the vietnam war. during the war in southeast asia, we lost over 58,000 men and women in uniform. of those it is estimated that more than 1/3 were fathers. that means that more than 20,000 children were left without a father to help raise them the. this means that thousands of

children raised outman the memories of growing up with a parent or in some cases even the opportunity to meet them. founded by a son who helped bury his father after being shot down over vietnam, sons and daughters in touch was founded by tony who simply wanted to find others like him who had lost a parent in battle. working with members of other organizations that connected and supported those left behd at home, tony worked to create an organization that continues to benefit 3,000 people every day. next monday, those of us here will return home to honor the lives of those who sacrificed everything to keep our country safe. today we can honor those who were left waiting. today we can honor those who fought the battle of moving on without that loved one by their

side and i ask my colleagues to stand here with me as we stand up for our military families. i ask my colleagues to stand with me and with those who have joined us today as we honor those and who have ac -- sacrificed, what they have endured. i ask that my colleagues join me in supporting h.con.res. 278 honoring the 20th anniversary of the founding of the sons and daughters in touch. i'd also like to take a moment to recognize chairman filner for his dedication and hard work on behalf of our veterans as well as for his help in bringing thi resolution to the floor in such a timely manner. thank you, madam speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from indiana.

mr. buyer: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's recognized. mr. buyer: i rise in support of h.con.res. 278 and i want to thank the committee for introducing the legislation. this expresses a sense of the congress that a grateful nation supports and salutes the suns and daughters -- sons and daughters in touch that's being ld on fathers' day, 2010, here in washington, d.c., the district of columbia. during the conflict in vietnam, more than 20,000 children lost a parent. these children suffered a profound loss and deserve the gratitude and appreciation of a nation that a sacrifice made by their families. the sons and daughters in touch worked to locate, unite and provide support to other sons and daughters and other family members wraffered to those who died and remain missing as a result of the vietnam war.

the organization works to promote healing through networking and special projects and addresses high schools, college classes in hoping of providing education on the historical and emotional legacy of war. today through local chapters events, this organization has reunions and partnerships with veterans community, the sons and daughters have become examples of america's resilience. as we commemorate memorial day next week and father's day in the coming month, it is fitting that we remember the contributions and the legacy left behind by those who serve and made the ultimate sacrifice for their nation. these young men and women left their homeland to fight on foreign soil, answering their nation's call to duty. they served honorably and often with merit and honor. this father's day, the sons and daughters in touch will be honoring their fathers on their 20th year reunion. with a new generation of children who recently suffered the loss of a parent in current conflicts, the members of the

sons and daughters in touch will be able to provide them with support and encouragement for year years to come. in honoring the children of those lost during the vietnam war, we honor the men and women who served during that conflict and remember their sacrifice to a grateful nation. it is always very, very important to tell the story. so not only by those who have served at war but also with regard to those who kept the watch fires burning and remain home. not only to the wives but also the widows and that of the children. it is important to tell the story, to actually convey their story. at times those of us who have served this nation in war, we can come back home and we can get upset with individuals who may not share the same dinsion of our experiee, and we can get upset with them just as easily as they can get upset with regard to whatever conflict we participated in.

sometimes we judge the world through our own prism and our n dimension and we have our own value systems. and unless we are able to convey the story, how can we even hope that someone would be able to understand? and so when the widows and in fact the orphans of those of whom lost their lives in service to their country, when they tell the story, it helps others understand the sacrifice. with that, again, madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: i'd continue to reserve but i'm prepared to close. mr. buyer: i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. filner: madam speaker, when i ask for general leave at the beginning of this debate, i apparently misspoke. i meant to ask for general leave for h.con.res 278. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. filner: thank you, madam speaker. i thank, again, congresswoman

halvorson from illinois who put together this important resolution that we are considering, and i urge my colleagues to unimously support h.con.res 278 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the house concurrent resolution 278, as introduced. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the concurrent resolution is -- the gentleman from california. mr. filner: on that i'd demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. filner: madam speaker, i to have to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3885. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 278, h.r. 3885, a bill to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to carry out a pilot program on dog training therapy. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. filner, and the gentleman from indiana, mr. buyer, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. filner: thank you, madam speaker. and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 3885. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. filner: thank you, madam speaker. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. filner: i rise today in support of h.r. 3885, the veterans dog traing therapy act, and i want to thank the ranking member of the health committee, congressman brown from sou carolina, for bringing us this legislation.

madam speaker, we all recognize how damaging the invisible wounds of war can be. the need for effective treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder and other conditions, such as depression and substance abuse, is apparent, i think, to all americans. this act recognizes and meets this need by exploring an innovative and promising new form of treatment using the training of service dogs as a therapeutic medium. the bill would require v.a. to establish a pilot program where veterans with ptsd or other mental health conditions to help train service dogs. through this pilot program, we can test the potential therapeutic benefits to participating veterans. similar programs are already existing within the palaalityo v.a. system and at walter reed army medical center. there is participanting reporting regular sleep pattern feelings of personal safety and reduced anxiety and reduced -- and also

socialization. madam speaker, this bill would allow us to further study this innovative new treatment beyond the existing anecdotal evidence and help assess its place in the v.a. system. i urge support of all my colleagues and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from indiana. mr. buyer: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. buyer: i rise in support of h.r. 3885, to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to carry out a dog training pilot program. it would assess the effectiveness of treating postdeployment mental illness such as ptsd, through assistance dog training. the pilot would allow veterans

battling these invisible wounds by training assistance animals. the veterans will work with the dog in its care. the trainer who is guiding the curriculum and train dogs to become valuable therapy animals, learning some 90 different commands. at the same time, the veteran learns valuable lessons about themselves and the world in which they need to learn so they can recover and reintegrate into society. one strain the therapy dogs will be provided to another disabled veteran to aid them in daily activity like opening doors, retrieving fallen items,est. as an added -- items, etc. as an added benefit, they are provided vocational benefits should they have service dog training as a career path. as chairman filner said, there are programs that are successful at palaalityo and at

walter reed. the veterans who are participating have seen great improvements, not only in their sleep but social interaction, emotional regulation, patience, trust, sense of trust. all of these are important for a veteran to reintegrate into society. some of them may be able to reduce their medication when they reduce their age sdemrite levels, which i think is -- anxiety levels, which i think this is important. i think this bill goes a long way in assuring the necessary assurances to these veterans. madam speaker, i know there are things we take as serious as our commitment to serving those who served us in combat, especially when they return home with physical and mental scars. so if there's anything we can do to be helpful to them we'd like to do that. you know, sometimes the obvious can be right in front of us.

we know the feeling of a pet. we know if anyone can touch the heart of that veteran that can help them in the healing process it is a good thing. and so i want to thank -- i want to thank my colleague, chairman -- former chairman and now ranking member brown for bringing this bill. this pilot will provide much-needed scientific grounding into these dynamics and advocacy of a therapeutic model that would help these veterans. i think this is a wonderful bill and i want to thank chairman filner and subcommtee chair michaud for their assistance and moving this bill forward. once again, i know henry brown is going to be retiring and we are going to miss his leadership on the veterans' affairs committee. it's only fitting that henry would bring a bill such as this. his own daughter was diagnosed with systemic lupeis -- lupeas.

so he understands the needs of not only people but also animals and how it can touch people in their need for healing. henry's deep commitment to helping others in need and in particular our veterans is unparalleled. and so i want to thank henry brown for bringing this bill into consideration today. i encourage all my colleagues to support the bill. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: madam speaker, i have no further requests for time. iould urge unanimous support for the bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3885. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rule is suspended -- mr. filner: madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. filner: on that i'd demand the yeas and nays.

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until unted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcent, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. filner: madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5145 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5145, a bill to amend title 38, united states code, to improve the continuing professional education reimbursement provided to health professionals employed by the department of veterans affairs. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. filner, and the gentleman from indiana, mr. buyer, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. filner: thank you, madam speaker. and i ask unanimous consent

that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 5145 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. filner: and i'd yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. filner: i rise today in support of h.r. 5145, the assuring quality care for veterans act. and i thank my colleague from california, mr. mcnerney, f his diligent advocacy on behalf of our veterans. his talent and hard work have culminated in this important piece of legislation. many key health care professionals require continuing professional education in order to maintain their licensure. such can be costly and the v.a. has long reimbursed up to $1,000 annually to physicians and dentists. this reimbursement program has been an important part of the v.a.'s efforts to recruit and retain high-quality health care personnel. moreover, it ensures that they are well informed and informed about new -- well informed in

their field. the improvement to access has been able to improve job satisfaction. since the inception, this program has been only opened to physicians and dentists. it excludes many key health care providers who face licensing requirements. this would expand the program to such key health care personnel such as nurses, pharmacists and physical therapists. this legislation would recognize that the maximum reimbursement rate of $1,000 is outdated. having been unchanged for nearly two decades. h.r. 5145 would reflect inflationary increases since the last update by increasing the cap to $1,600 annually. madam speaker, i'm proud to support this legislation, not only recognizing the hard work of health care providers in the v.a. system, but it also empowers the v.a. to hire and retain talented health care personnel. and to offer them the tools to

remain knowledgeable. i urge support of my colleagues and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from indiana. mr. buyer: madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. buyer: today i rise in support of h.r. 5145, as amended, the assuring quality of care for veterans act would amend title 38, united states code, to improve continuing professional education reimbursement provided to health care professionals employed at the department of veterans affairs. it increases by $600, the professional education reimbursement for v.a. health care professionals. it would include health professionals from a wide range of medical specialties and clarify that reimbursements may only be provided for such continued education expenses that the v.a. does not offer itself. while we can all be proud of the quality of care provided to veterans at v.a. facilities, we should always be looking for

ways to improve v.a.'s provision of medical services, ensuring the v.a. health professionals are continually kept at the cutting edge of modern medical advances. it's important to ensure high-quality medical care continues to thrive at the v.a. h.r. 5145, as amended, would provide v.a. employees with more opportunities to improve their knowledge base and skill sets and provide veterans with superiority when it comes to the care, i believe, that they deserve. with that i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the geleman reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: madam speaker, i have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from indiana.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana. mr. buyer: thank you. i yield such time as the gentleman may consume, the gentleman from louisiana. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized. >> i thank t gentleman from indiana for yielding. mr. boustany: madam speaker, i rise in support of this bill dealing with professional education. but i just arrived from new orleans and landed in d.c. a little while ago. and i'm angry. the people back in my state are very angry right now about what's happening in the gulf of mexico. we've got a crisis right now that's probably the largest environmental disaster in this nation's history and we're not getting the adequate response we need from this federal government. now, our governor over two weeks ago has been askinfor the federal government to approve a barrier plane to protect our

marsh from the oil and we're not getting an answer from the federal government. all we're get something excuses. week of got letters from the corps of engineers and others that have said they need to do studies, they need to look at the environmental impact. the environmental impact is right there in our marsh. here's a dead pelican from just the other day. we've got oil coming up in our marshes in globs, globs every single day. we don't have one ounce of action from the president. the law is very clear. the president shall ensure effective and immediate removal of discharge. instead he's pointing fingers at everybody. we know b.p.'s responsible for this. and, madam speaker, i understand we're talking about veterans issues, but right now we're talking about the livelihood of the people of the gulf coast right now whose livelihood right now is threatened. and all we're asking is the president to fulfill his duties under the law which he is not doing. we don't need a fingerpointer in chief. beed -- we need somebody who's going to step up to the plate

and follow the law and take charge and stop the oil from flowing but let our local leaders do what they said they need to do and they've gotten no response from the white house. they're not getting the help they need. the president's paid a lot of lip service. but we've got oil coming into our marsh every day now for days. it's been going on for a month now. and all we see is ceding of power to b.p. we know they're going to pay the cost. but the president under the law is responsible for actually taking charge. we need a quarterback on the field like the law says the president's supposed to be. he's not supposed to be the commentater in the booth. we're tired of the excuses, mr. president. it's time to live up to your obligation under the law. help us protect our marsh. if you don't have a plan, we do, but you're not letting us implement our plan. get out of our way and approve our plan otherwise you come up with your own. but this is inexcusable. and i yield back. mr. buyer: i'd like to reclaim my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana. mr. buyer: i want to thank the

gentleman for coming to the floor today. shoot before us deals with increasing the reimbursement on professional education with regard to v.a.'s health professionalless. i understand the gentleman has every reason to be -- professionals. i understand the gentleman has every reason to be upset with regard to the oil spill. this oil should be treated as an invasion of our country. i understand why he's upset. the legislation before us deals with veterans issues, it deals with making sure that the professionals that work in the v.a. are able to be reimbursed for their continuing professional education. i want to thank chairman filner right now for his patience. i could sense -- and i want to thank you for that, i think we could feel from mr. scalise, as he's just returning from louisiana, how upset -- how high the emotions are in new orleans

and louisiana. so not only from katrina but also the oil spill and i can understand where he's coming from. but i want to bring us back to the issues of the bill itself. so i want to thank mr. filner for being very patient with our colleague from louisiana. one point that we probably haven't talked about with regard to this is the challenge that we have in front of us with regard to nursing and the nursing shortage. so, as so many of the nurses are going to be retiring now over the next 12 years, and we look at the ability for us to replenish that hole that is going to be created, there's going to be a dynamic shift within our health professions, a lot of jobs and responsibilities that the nurse corps would be providing today, they're not going to be providing 10 years from now. actually, there will be a dynamic shift within health care itself and their profession and their skill sets are actually going to get higher and even

better and more improved and jobs for which they're doing today are going to have to be back filled by nursing assistants. so for to us step forward and do this type of reimbursement to increase the quality of what they're about to provide, this is extremely important. and so i nt to thank the majority for bringing this type of bill because we're only going to have to help them increase the standards, the only way we're going to actually be able to deal with this hole that we're going to have in our health system and the increased demand that it's going to be placing upon the health system itself. we just don't have all the nursing slots in the education systems to be able to do this. i want to thank you for stepping into the breach. this is the right thing for us to do. especially when i look back in the years in ich i served as a legal advisor for a hospital with regard to quality insurance and risk management. these are always extremely important issues. so i want to thank the chairman. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves.

mr. filner: i'm prepared to close if the gentleman will yield back. mr. buyer: i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. filner: madam speaker, i do urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5145 as amended and like the gentleman from indiana, i understand the outrange and anger from the gentleman from louisiana as were facing probably the biggest environmental disaster of this century. and yet, moism, i find it -- madam speaker, i find it a more than ironic, i found it -- i find it irresponsible that the same very same people who say drill, baby, drill, the very same people who are always against government sbeerches, the very same people who are always against big government l of a sudden when it's their district, they want big government and they want regulation and they're afraid of the environmental disaster. well, we all have to get in there and b.p. better recognize itcorporate responsibility for this.

but, madam speaker, when these people are screaming about big government, they want big government to come in and save them. soccer let us understand the irony of this and i think the irresponsibility of those who keep yelling about government regulationgovernment interference, but when it effects their district, they want it. -- affects their district, they want i. i ask unanimous consent on this measure. the speak pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5145 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed -- the gentleman from california. mr. filner: i would ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays wi rise and remain standing until counted.

a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clauselele of rule 20 and the chair's -- clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. the chair lays before the house a message. the clerk: to the congress of the united states, today i am pleased to submit to the congress the enclosed legislative proposal, the reduce unnecessary spending act of 2010, along with a section by section analysis of the legislation. this proposal will be another important step in restoring fiscal discipline and making sure that washington spends taxpayer dollars responsibly. it will provide a new tool to streamline government programs and operations, cut wasteful government spending and enhance transparency and accountability to the american people.

the legislation will create an expedited procedure to rescind unnecessary spending and to broadly scale back funding levels if warranted. the legislation would require the congress to vote up or down on legislation proposed by the president to rescind funding. this new enhanced rescission authority will not only empower the president and the congress to eliminate unnecessary spending, but also discourage waste in the first place. now more than ever it's critical that taxpayer dollars are not wasted on programs that are infective, duplicative or outdated. in a time when american families and small business owners are conscious of every dollar and make sure that they manage their budgets wisely, the federal government can do no less. the american people expect and demand that we spend their money with the same discipline. allowing taxpayer dollars to be wasted is both an irresponsible use of taxpayer funds and an

insupport -- irresponsible abuse of the public trust. recently the congress has taken welcome steps to curb wasteful spending. in 2007 when i served in the senate, a bipartisan group worked together to eliminate a unanimous earmarks and brought new measures of transparency to the process so amecans can better follow how their tax dollars are being spent. consequently we have seen progress with earmarks declining since these reforms were passed, including during this past fiscal year. in addition my administration undertook a line by line review of the budget and put forward approximately $20 billion of terminations, reductions and savings both for fiscal year 2010 and 2011. while recent administrations have seen between 15% to 20% of their proposed discretionary cuts approved by the congress for fiscal year 2010, we worked with the congress to enact 60% of proposed cuts. despite the progress we have

made to reduce earmarks and other unnecessary spending, there is still more work to be done. the legislation i am sending to you today provides an important tool. the legislation allows the president to target spending policies that do not have a legitimate and worthy public purpose, by providing the president with an additional authority to propose the elimination of wasteful or excessive funding. these proposals then receive expedited consideration in the congress and a guaranteed up or down vote. this legislation would also allow the president to delay funding for these projects until the congress has had the chance to consider the changes. in addition, this proposal has been craft to preserve the constitutional balance of power between the president and the congress. overall, the reduce unnecessary spending act of 2010 provides a new way for the congress and the president to manage taxpayer dollars wisely. that is why i urge the prompt and favorable consideration of

this proposal and look forward to working with the congress on this matter in the coming weeks. signed, barack obama, the white house. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on rules and the committee on the budget and ordered printed. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, madam, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on may 24, 2010, at 9:38 a.m. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 5139. appointments, congressional oversight panel, with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, lorraine c. miller, clerk of the house. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house

in recess until 6:30 >> tonight, preparing course cyber attacks. -- for cyber attacks. t could just weeks after the british election, which produced a new prime minister and

coalition government, queen elizabeth ii will formally announce her government agenda. we will travel from there to parliament. this will be live at 5:30 eastern on c-span2. >> c-span, our public affairs content is available on television, radio, and on mine. you could connect with us on twitter, facebook, and youtube. >> of the general said the federal government is moving too slowly on approving a plan aimed at preventing more oil from hitting the shores of louisiana. he joined janet napolitano, ken salazar, and a bipartisan group of senators at this news conference. it is just under 45 minutes.

>> good morning. i am janet napolitano. we came to fly over the side of this bispill. we came to see for ourselves what bp has done and not done. we came to listen to the people of this area. they are directly impacted by the fact that the spill occurred weeks ago is still ongoing, is still not solved, although now there are things happening in of forward motion in terms of solving this bill, but in the meantime we are fighting this on the sea.

the goal is either to disperse it, burn it, to keep it from reaching landfall, to do everything possible that needs to be done to make sure that bp protect this valuable area. if it should happen to reach landfall, the beach or march, to have the wherewithal to clean it up, and make sure that claims are paid. it is not until this well is sealed in the ocean is cleaned up and the claims are paid that this incident will be deemed over. this is the largest incident response to an oil spill ever in the history of the united states. we had over 22,000 personnel working this bill. literally hundreds of thousands of feet of boom had been laid. there are over 1000 vessels that are on the water to skim, laid them, pick up oil, to do what needs to be done to keep the

ocean as free as possible from the oil. in addition, we have formed an independent estimate group with the best scientists available within the federal government, with peer review by others to estimate how much overall oil bp has spilled into the gulf of mexico out of the deep horizons bill. that work is ongoing. we continue to hold thebp as the responsible party. we know the value of the lands and parishes. we know, for example, grand isle that has a large population were heartsick that it is now at risk. we will do everything we can to protect these lands, parishes,

and to make sure that claims are paid, at the oilwell is sealethd and that it is cleaned up. this is my fourth time to the area, the area of the spill. secretary salazar it has been here as well. we will stay on this and stay on bp until it gets done and it's done the right way. with that, let me turn it over to bobby dingell, the louisiana governor. -- bobby jindell. >> i want to thank the secretary for coming to louisiana again. we had a very frank talks. i have visited each of the different parishes and cities and met with local officials. we met often to discuss resources that we will need to

protect our coasts. our visits have now included on the ground assessments of the damage caused by this spill. this oil threatens not only our coast and wetlands, at this oil fundamentally threaten our way of life here in south the louisiana. yesterday i went out on a boat whose small islands covered in oil. we saw multiple birds that were covered in oil and cannot even live. the brown pelicans are the state bird. they work only recently removed from the endangered species list. -- they were only recently removed from the endangered species list. a few days ago we took a boat at an assault kit, a black oil covering up the perimeter of the

marsh. biologists say the marsh may begin dying as soon as five to seven days. it is clear we do not have the resources we need to protect the coast. we need more vacuums and barges better still in short supply. let's be clear, every day that the oil sits and waits for cleanup is one more day that more of the marsh and dies. boom and workers sat for days waiting for the orders to be deployed. we know we have to take action. we have to take matters into our own hands if we're going to wind the fight to protect the coast. -- if we are going to win the fight to protect the coast. our top goal must be to keep the oil at the wetlands, marshes and out of the fragile ecosystem.

it will be difficult to clean up. environmental experts say tried to clean it up may do more harm than good. we have to do everything we can before it comes to our marsh. we have initiated a number of strategies. fresh water diversions. and a proposal by the dredging plans. a working with paris leaders yesterday we came up with new, additional strategies. we develop a strategy for state and ofofficials to have more awareness. well like industry had divided up the sections. they will control -- patrol continuously. their efforts will be supported by the national guard. we will communicate our findings to bp and the coast guard on a daily basis. we will also reported these

findings publicly so the media and the public can keep updated and make sure that bp is held accountable for their cleanup efforts. we have asked the coast guard to refocus their efforts of they have greater control on the ground, where action needs to be taken quickly to preserve our coast. we need to -- we need decision makers from the coast guard there on the ground. it is too often too little too late. we need people in each of the vulnerable basis. -- we need people in each of the hon. houggrumbl vulnerable area. our way of life depends on this. it will determine the future of our state. we have identified additional

equipment and people available that have helped us take our own pro-active measures to keep the oil out of the marshes. we plan to use the equipment to support ongoing efforts by the national guard. we have identified 40 -- 14 of those. we will work to expedite efforts wherever we can with equipment from the state and parishes. we have positive responses from other states. on may 2 we requested a large amount of resources that the parish's would need under a worst-case scenario in response to this spill. we formally requested 3 million feet of an assortmenabsorbent b. we have not even received 1 million feet.

135,000 to under 20 feet tohard of hard boom weeks to be deployed. we need more resources. we need the materials that we requested. i will close by saying we continue to wait on the decision on dredging from the u.s. army corps of engineers. we have made the modifications suggested. we have answered every question in the same day they have asked the question. we note this strategy works. that is why we are taking matters into our own hands. to date a total of just under 70 miles of our coast has been hit by oil. that is more than the seat shoreline of maryland and delaware combined. we only have a few options. there are only two options.

we can either fight the oil off of oil 15 to 20 miles away where it will do much less damage to the marine life and the fragile ecosystem, but every day we do not fight the oil and are not judging stand means one more day this oil has a chance to come into the ecosystem. 30% of the nation's oil and gas comes off of this coast. these are america's wetlands. let's make no mistake about this what is at stake is our way of life. this is about a way of life for our people and for our state. we need to get this plan approved as quickly as possible. every day that it is not approved is another day that forces us to fight this battle. we would rather fight this. we do not want a drop of oil to hit our coasts. thank you all very much.

>> from day one president obama has made it very clear that the united states of america will not rest for 1 minute until this problem gets resolved, and that is why secretary to paul litani is here today on her fourth visit. i have been at houston and this is my fourth visit here to louisiana. we will not rest until this job gets done. it is also important to note that with us today is the leadership of the united states senate. when we think about the majority leader of the united states senator, dick durbin is here because the eyes of the united states senate is on the eyes of the gulf coast. i want to make it very clear, under the law, bp is the responsible party. bp is charged with tapping the leaking oil well and paint for the response and recovery

without limitation. they will be held accountable. -- bp is charged with preparing the leaking oil well -- repai ring the leaking oil well and paying for the response and recovery without limitation. i also have made it clear that we are not standing on the sidelines and letting bp do what bp wants to do. the federal government has mounted the largest response to fight this oil and all of the history of this country. we have deployed more than 1000 vessels, 20,000 park people, we have burned oil off the surface.

we have deployed miles and miles of protective boom. we are diggi getting independent numbers from the best scientists and the world that will tell the united states how much of the bp oil has already spilled into the gulf coast. the administration has done everything we can possible to make sure we push bp to stop the spill and contain the impact. we have also been very clear that there are areas where bp and the private sector are the ones that must continue to lead the effort with government oversight. bp and the private sector, with the help of a federal scientist, are the ones who must get the problem solved, and we have the oversight capacity and administration to make sure they are doing that. the fact of the matter is this

is a bp mess. it is a horrible mess. it is a massive, environmental mess. the accountability here as the investigation unfolds will hold them accountable in whatever way necessary, and we will not rest until the job is done. that is why we're sending the amount of time that we're spending on this matter. we're resolute and competent as we move forward that there are better days ahead, but in the meantime as we go through this very difficult time, our job zero collectively under the president's direction is to not rest a single day but to keep pushing with everything we have to make sure the very best is done under the difficult circumstances. it is my job to introduce the united states senator from

illinois. >> think you. -- thank you. i want to thank our hosts as well. we put this trip together on short notice. i contacted my colleagues late last week and said we would like you to come and see firsthand what is going on in the goal of mexico. the turnout was amazing. we ended up with those in louisiana and jeff bingaman, lisa murkowski, and senator white house from rhode island. we came here to see firsthand what was happening. i have come away with a new feeling about bp. bp, in my mind, it no longer

stands for british petroleum, it stands for beyond patients. people had been waiting 34 days for british petroleum to cap this well and stop the damage that is happening across the gulf of mexico. . .

that is what is wrong with this situation. we never should have been where we are today. the in ministers and look continue to put pressure on bp -- the administration will continue to put pressure on bp to do what they should. bp is who should foot the bill here for their mistake and they're accident, and the damage they have caused. it is my honor to introduce my colleague and friend, senator mary landrieu. >> senator durbin is going to be a strong ally to all of us in louisiana and the gulf coast as we fight for justice and fairness in this situation. secretary salazar has been an extraordinary leader. secretary napolitano, as the commander of this situation. they are both explained that

this is unprecedented. they're putting the full force of their offices and apartments and the assets of the federal government on tackling this problem. secretary salazar recognizes that bp is responsible. i recognize that the federal government is in charge of this situation. he is pressing the peak, at posal, andl, with e dve every engineer available to him to get this well shot at the earliest possible date. they are doing that. i hope it could be done today. if not, in the next few days. secondly, we need to do a better job of processing these claims. there was a very emotional -- there were some very emotional pleas today. i have been here have a dozen times and spoken on the phone

with hundreds of people from around the gulf coast. i want to say again, if you make $50,000 last year -- made $50,000 last year and cannot work this year, bp will have to write you a check for $50,000. if you cannot make that $1 million, bp is going to make your business whole. there is no question in my mind or the minds of these senators appear about who will pay this bill. -- up here about who will pay this bill to individuals, states, and the federal government resources that have been spent to date. i want to clear that up. there is still some uncertainty. we're working the details out. those bills will be paid in full. finally, i just want to say that i could not expect more from secretary salazar, who is running this department, to have

a balance of prosecuting -- that is a good word -- prosecuting this incident, but preparing the right way for the future, for our state, for the gold coast, and for the nation, that needs to mine these resources safely. as we clean up this mess, handle the thing right before us, he also has his eye on the future and how we manage the fisheries industry, the oil and gas industry, and all of the industry's the call this working coast home, in a way that protect us and our nation. i thank you for that balance and i thank you, secretary napolitano, for your leadership. i call on senator bidder from louisiana -- vitter from louisiana. >> thank you very much. i want to thank the governor and the cabinet secretaries as well as our senate colleagues for being here. we appreciate it. i agree with all of the statements that have been made about bp. i have spent my time today with

these federal government officials, focusing on what i think millions of louisiana and feel and know is the greatest ians,ccuracy -- louisiana feel and know is the greatest inadequacy in this response. the language has been going on for more than two weeks. i wrote president obama on friday a very clear but respectful letter. i said, mr. president, we appreciate you coming to louisiana, we appreciated the clear commitment made to act in a timely manner and do whatever it takes, that commitment is now being broken, but his three becauseget a timely -- we cannot get a timely action.

a more bom -- we need more boom. we need to block oil. i ask the president again respectfully, we need that immediate answer. i will follow up again with admiral allen today. i will follow up with the leadership and work with this state until we get that po sitive response. thank you. >> senator bingaman. >> it is great to be here with my colleagues and with secretary napolitano and secretary salazar. i am persuaded, after the meetings we have had today and what we have seen, that this is the nation's problem, not just louisiana's problem. the nation is pulling together and moving aggressively to solve it. i am persuaded that the president as the solving of the

problem as his top priority. of course, he has delegated these two secretaries to get that job done. they are working night and day to get it done. we're anxious to help in the u.s. senate. i'm glad to be here to learn about and continue with the effort to come to the aid of the gulf region of louisiana. thank you. >> senator murkowski. >> we had the opportunity to fly over this area before we came here. i looked down at the ocean with great sadness. your ocean is warm and loving, and it looks just like my ocean up north, except my ocean is a little bit colder. we experienced a similar tragedy a little over 20 years ago. it is the devastation that lives with you forever.

to listen this afternoon to your fishermen, to your shrimpers, to your charter boat men, to your oysterman, and to hear their fears and concerns -- it is like deja vu for those of us from alaska. if there is one thing that we learned from the tragedy of the exxon valdez, it is to not repeat the mistakes of history. it is to not treat the plaintiffs in that case -- the fishermen and their families, who waited decades for compensation from exxon -- we want to work together to make sure that this claims process works fairly and efficiently, and in a manner that has been promised. we need to make sure that those that are accountable -- bp -- are held accountable to the fullest extent. it is going to take a commitment to make sure that the

people of louisiana and the fishermen and their families are not treated in a similar manner as we saw played out some 20 years ago. know that we are committed to working with you so that the mistakes that were made in alaska are not repeated here in the gulf of mexico. >> thank you. we're here to represent the senate, particularly the energy committee and the environment committee, which will have a lot to do with overseeing this and making sure the restoration continues effectively and that an incident like this does not happen again. we are here from a variety of states, including the largest coastal state in america and the smallest coastal state in america, in solidarity with the coastal economy and the coastal way of life of this part of louisiana and the gulf.

many of us are here because we know firsthand what a relentless and formidable advocate for louisiana mary landrieu is in our caucus. we want to make sure that we do not get in trouble with her. is a powerful advocate for louisiana -- she is a powerful advocate for louisiana. we want to make sure the work continues. we are impressed by the unprecedented nature of the involvement of the administration in getting this done. more people, more boats, more action than ever before. there is a continuing need for further action. we need to bring this home to where the people of louisiana can say the water is clear, the leak is capped, and we are made whole. thank you all very much. >> thank you. well said. we're happy to take questions.

i want to reiterate one more time, bp is the responsible party. we're going to make sure that bp does what is necessary. if we need to put more supervisors from the coast guard in the field to get it done, we have already said we are going to do that. boom -- it is an issue. we're dealing with that. senator vitter mentioned the issue about a special kind of dredging and boom. admiral mullen -- allen has already said that is on an expedited review process, looking at whether are some options that would be as effective or even more effective and less environmentally sensitive. we hope to have some direct response on that within the next few days. we move forward and understand

the urgency and the uniqueness of this situation and the importance of holding bp responsible. let's take a few questions. do you want to lead that? >> you expressed some optimism about the topkill procedure. how prominent are you that it can work? >> secretary salazar was in houston yesterday. let me just say this. we hope it works, but we do not want to hope unrealistically. our work is in terms of preparation, cleanup, booming, skimming, manpower -- it continues unabated until they get this cap. if it happens this week, all the better. if it does not, we keep moving with the same or greater levels of intensity. dow we're always hopeful that this thing is going to get -- >>

we are always hopeful that this thing is going to get stopped. until we contain the source, it is difficult. the highest levels of the federal government are involved in the oversight. some of our members have canceled their trips to china. they're on their way to houston where they will be joined by personnel from the federal laboratories, so that we can be confident that the best science mines and the entire world are focused on this issue and focus on stopping a the pollution from flowing into the gulf. -- stopping the pollution from flowing into the gulf. >> secretary napolitano, when you say the pressure is on bp, the bottom line is still the bottom line. the governor [inaudible]

people in this area do not see light at the end of the tunnel. what would you say to those people? >> we are 30 days in. restoration, agn -- frustration, anger, disappointment -- i understand all of those stains. those buildings will need to be channeled in a way that recognizes that we are doing everything and will do everything we need to do to get bp to stop this week, claimed the ocean, and pay the claims -- clean the ocean, and pay the claims. bp is going to apply another method this week. they have some of the things that are looking at. the best engineers and the world are overseeing that. the coast guard -- there are more than 1000 vessels on the sea dealing with this.

over 1 million feet of boom have been deployed in the the gulf coast and more is on its way. we can say that we're talking directly with governors, parish presidents, others, saying we know we have stuff in the 17 staging areas around the gulf. let's make sure we get that last couple of hundred yards to get that stuff where it needs to be. we're keep -- we keep working the problem. >> what is the situation with the federal government? bp has said on the issue of the dispersant that it will continue to use whenever it wants to despite what the epa has said. where does that stand? >> the president has been very clear to us. we have to make another announcement in the future. until then, we bring things to hold until we learn some of the

lessons, but safety measures in place, and decide how we're going to move forward. the present is thoughtful pretty what the nature we're getting it right -- the president is awful. he wants to make sure we are getting it right. the whole federal team, led by secretary napolitano, have heard loud and clear from the epa administrator, lisa jackson, who has been involved in the the matter relating to the use of the dispersant and it is a continuing dialogue. using the dispersant is better than to have the oil making landfall. >> governor jindal, can you talk about the barrier islands? why is the federal government not taking ownership? following up on what secretary salazar said. >> what are you talking about?

let me talk about the barrier islands and then the overall role of the government. in terms of the barrier islands, we need multiple lines of defense. the best visual example i can give you is the louisiana national guard, which spent four days to fill in a gap on elmer's island and the thunder by you -- bayou. they're filling in five gaps and one gap. you can see the product of their work. they're not completely done. we will provide you by the pictures. you can literally see where they have filled it in. you have a land bridge where it used to be open water. there is now hard bone, absorbent bone, pompom bones -- hard boom, absorbent boom, pompom booms.

behind the landbridge is open wetlands. look at these three critical areas -- britain sound, the area close to here near grand isle, and over by raccoon island. you can see the fragment of islands. it would be better for us to restore those islands, fight this oil on those islands away from our interior wetlands. for over two weeks, we've been asking the u.s. army corps of engineers to issue an emergency permits. the same day we ask the questions, we modified the original plans. the bottom line is that we are asking for an emergency permit because the environmental damage that is being done by not building those is being -- is

happening today. they're reporting oil here today. we're being damaged by not acting. teh sand boom -- we're doing everything we can as a state. everything we can to fill in the gaps we have identified. we can fill in 10 to 300-foot gaps. we will need barges and treasures -- dredges. we need that permit as soon as possible. the state has deployed contractors to make sure the sand is not contaminated so we can move as quickly as possible from the day we get approval to permit. -- approval of the permit. we will stop -- will start in the most sensitive areas.

we had a very good and frank conversation with secretary napolitano and the president. we pointed out at least two things we would like to see to make the response more robust. we want to see more coast guard officials with decision making authority deployed in the bay areas so that request do not have to go to bp. we do not have 24 to 48 hours. it is moving too quickly. we also made a request for additional boom and skimmers. look at this parish. we bought the it -- we brought the coast guard captain into the air to see the bay and why there was equipment sitting on the dock. the mayor commandeered resources to make sure they would be deployed. we went out to wear the brown pelicans were nesting. -- where the brown pelicans were

nesting. they put out absorbent boom. we need additional permits and resources. i got -- i am glad the secretary has agreed to deployed additional secretary -- additional coast guard authorities. we did not have to wait for decisions about the piece of contractors -- bp subcontractors. >> what does it said that you have the governor of louisiana saying that it would take local situation awareness, state situational awareness, to identify those pockets of oil that are coming ashore, because it is not being done? there are reports that the coast guard did not do its normal overflight because of a problem with the fuel. >> secretary napolitano will answer your question in more detail. i want to make a comment.

it was when secretary napolitano was here that we basically got the national guard and let -- unleashed to do what they're doing here and in other states. whenever any matter has been raised to our level, they have been there. it is not just the national guard that is out there. i have visited the not -- the national wildlife refuge, where i've seen people out there with bulldozers and doing everything they can. this is a massive effort. no resources are being scared. secretary napolitano will ask -- are being spiriteared. secretary napolitano. >> the answer is there has been no fuel budget deficiency. every federal resource that can

be deployed is being deployed. the first friday after this spill, the governor asked for a title 32 of 40. the federal government is paying for them to be out there. as any governor will tell you -- i am a former governor -- that is a great resource to have and that is how the national guard is being deployed. over 17,000 have been deployed for this region alone. as the oil moves, and i think this is an important point, which is to say, over the 30- days of this spill, the oil has not been static, nor has the issue. it is not just one big pond of oil moving in one direction. it is broken into pieces and go in different directions. the wind and the current affect where it goes. the fight is to get bp to seal the well. to burn, skim, and disperse as

much as possible. boom is put in the ocean as needed. the national incident commander is the commandant of the coast guard, who was one of the lead responders in katrina. he takes all of the request into account and moves them. with respect to louisiana, the governor and i have agreed that what we need here, now that we know that oil -- the wind, the current -- we want to make sure that the coast guard is actually on the ground, making sure that bp and its subcontractors and contractors are doing what they need to do as quickly as possible. that will happen. with respect to the overflight issue, as i began my answer with, i have commander -- i have

the admiral here, shaking her head, saying there was no issue. there are other ways of doing it. there was no fuel budget issue. there will be no fuel budget issue. the only issue is going to be making sure that british petroleum pays the taxpayers of the united states back for what we're now having to expend. thank you. >> [inaudible] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> supreme court justice sonia sotomayor on the confirmation process. >> questions, even over three

days, are not going to tell you much about a prospective judge. you have to look at their life work. that will be a clear reflection of who they are and how they think and what they will do. >> with a new supreme court nominee had into the confirmation process, learn more about the nation's highest court. it is a new book providing unique insight about the court, available now in hardcover and also as an e book -- ebook. >> our guest now is the 2009 presidential candidate and former foreign minister of his country. what brings you to washington? guest: i thought this was the right time to visit washington. because of the suation back in

afghanistan and because of the u.s. engagement. it has reached a stage where i thought washington should listen to the government voices. ho: hamid karzai was in town a couple of weeks ago. describe the condition back at home? what are things like on the ground? guest: despite the achievements, i should say, at best, it is a mixed feeling of where we are going. in some areas of life, things are not improving, like in issues of corruption, security,

governance, access of the rule of law. also, the political process is challenged because of that mistrust of people. so it is a mix to the line because of the lack of improvement. host: how would you describe political situations back at home? guest: the political process has been damaged. we should recover in it for the parliamentary elections which would be in september. we need to improve the electoral system and correct in order to have more transparency. these are the concerns of the people. host: phone numbers on the bottom of the screen. 2009 afghanistan presidential

candidate. take us back to 2009. you started running for president, and that at some point, you pulled out of the race. take us back to what you made the decisions you did. guest: first of all, there was no doubt, massive fraud had taken place. at that time, there were some transparency measures for the elections, but none of them were met. so i knew that fraud was fully intact. the election commission as well as state actors.

this would have been a big blow to the democratic process. also, from the standpoint of stability, okay, i did not like it. what happened? not just because i was not elected, but this is for the stability of the nation building. this was not the right foundation. host: what do you think of mr. karzai? guest: in the beginning, aside from all the qualifications, i knew that he believed in democracy. that was the main criteria.

when i realized he does not have that commitment, talking about democracy in afghanistan, the realization that after many years of strife, this is the way forward, the only solution for the countr when i realized his commitment to democracy was a very little or none, i did not support him, from 2004 and onward. host: who have you been meeting with in washington? guest: these meetings were scheduled long before. in the with the senate leadership and congressional leadership, members of the congress and senate. at the same time, public meetings, speaking events, think

tanks, foundations. these are the main meetings that were scribbled. host: i just wanted to point out something in the "new york times." "polical component" they write about the presidential election. and they compare the reception that the president got, compared to do. guest: i have had many friends in washgton. as i told you about my meetings

in the congress and senate -- my message, the reon for me coming to washington was not political. that is the part that they referred to. i think i have been able to get my message across to the american representatives. i am sure that they will hear it. th is the least of my concerns. my concern is when president karzai visit to washington to mend relations, that is fine, but i hope it was used as an opportunity to give serious policy flaws and differences some track, otherwise it might be a missed host:.

first phone call. -- it might be a missed opportunity. first phone call. caller: is it still illegal to evangelize priced in your country? -- christ in your country? what about your belief that israel has the right to -- you know. guest: in our country, yes, that is not legal in our country. in terms of is really right, that last part of your question i missed. perhaps being recognized as a state? yes, we believe the solution in the middle east is in two states. a palestinian one and an israeli one, living in peace

with one another, with east jerusalem as part of a palestinian state. that is my view, and seems to be the world view. and if host: next phone call -- host: net phone call. caller the war in afghanistan is about resources. no matter what the media says, it is abo the resources and maybe the poppy fields. that would mean more drugs for a big pharmaceutical companies. my question to your guest is, what is goinon i afghanistan, is it more about finding the people who were responsible for perpetrating

9/11, or is it about resources? guest: i do n think it is much about resources. it was only after september 11 that the united states got engaged in afghanistan, the international community got engaged. i think it is about the most serious challenge in the 20th- century, al-qaeda and terrorism, which will unfortunately, the us for a time to come. the point is, well your forces have focused on that -- making ultimate sacrifices. the other day i heard that you had passed the threshold of one dozen people killed.

i express my conlences to those peoe the leadership and afghanistan is building a leadership for the country, so it is not like endless engagent. perception abo it is med today. there are different analyses for the reasonor being there. host: let me read a headline. a story from ap -- speak about the strategy from the u.s. and its partners, the military part of the things? -- of things.

guest: icannot agree more with the strategy, to but when it comes to the implementation and end results, it is not just the military strategy that matters. finally, creating an environment where people can trust. the political side of the issue is not the job of the u.s. military personnel,but the afghan side. in that does not happen, it can in danger all the efforts made by the military, such as the situation in canada are. the population and there will tell you that the political

structure is the most important thing. then there is the taliban who is threatening the population. it is that part of it where i am not sure. these engagements with the government of afghanistan, how much of this has been addressed? host: next phone call. john, republican , chantilly, virginia. caller: thankou for taking my call. why did you give up so easily

when you have the international community behind you? why did you give him the opportunity? my next question is, why are you waiting for the international community to solve your differences? we are spending lots of american dollars and soldiers. when are you going to say enough is enough and this is our problem? host: you can take those points in either order. guest: on the first part of the question, i could have taken it to any step that you would have wished, but that would have led to further instability and csis, perhaps beyond recovery. that was not my undertaking at the time.

there was no point in risking the lives of the people who were providing security for the elections, so that was the basis of my decision at that time. in terms of the country, of course, yes it sounds like the are asking the international community to take all the problems in the country. that is not the case. it is international terrorism. afghanistan was turned into the capital for internation terrorism prior to the september 11. that is beyond the capacity of one or two nations to deal with. it was in that regard that we needed the support of the international community. it is in that spirit that we still need the help of the international community, but

yes, the main part of the responsibility is on us. as a leader in the opposition, i will try to push for changes, things that would help our people. at the same time, we know because of the failures of our own government, all of opportunities are being missed. one part is afghanistan, the suffering of the people, but that is linked intimately with global peace. that comes as a responsibility to the international community and u.s. leadership. host: one viewer by tiwttewitter -- guest: you cannot separate the

two. if you are talking about a secure environment, it is not just military security operations. so sue economics, the informant -- socio-economic, that is important. host: baltimore, maryland. remi on the independent line. caller: appreciate you being here. a couple of weeks ago, there was an incident -- i do not know if it was in kandahar -- but there were five people who were killed. some of them were women who were pregnant. it was talked about for a lot of

it, but then we did not hear much about it. i am wondering if you are aware of the situation, if it is being investigated, now that the facts are out. guest: in terms of civilian casualties, that is one of the main causes of present and in an angry population. it is bein repeated not as frequent as in the past, because of the new strategy which puts emphasis on the civilians. nevertheless, th incident you mentioned was in a double by -- jalalabad.

there were several civilian casualties. all of the accounts show that it s a mistake. investigations are s under way. is is not the only incident. i will emphasize, the more emphasis military planners are putting on the protection of civilians, the more appreciative that people will be and better of come. otherwise, and this can turn into a big issue because it will repeat itself every once in awhile. host: shreveport, louisiana. jacob. caller: in the attempt to rebuild the afghanistan economy, has the u.s. military made any attempt with a pharmaceutical company to find contractsor

all of the poppy being grown in afghanistan, rather than try to substitute their crops or burn the fields which has not shown much success? guest: and there is a legal problem and what you mentioned as a sort of solution, as far as poppy is concerned. this does that sound like a solution for the country. logic would beco the pop they would be given topharmaceutical companies, and it would be a problem. in afghanistan, a few years ago, there were 10 provinces that or

poppy-free, but now there are 24. unfounately, not in the areas where the talibanave influence. those people still have this as a major challenge. host: there was a story in the "new york times" -- it is a story written in kabul, talking about winning support in marja. our guest is heimdal and dollar, 2009 afghanistan presidential -- abdullah abdullah, 2009 afghanistan presidential candidate. he was afghanistan's foreign minister from 2002 to 2006. where are you spending most of

your time these days, and what are you pursuing at this point? guest: i am based in kabul. i have laid the foundation for a democratic based on the planfm of changing hope, which had widespread appeal with the people in the campaign. there are some other technil concepts in it. most of the time, we put the blame on individuals, which is right sometimes, but at the same time, our sm needs to be decentralized. this is at the core of the problem. that is why we cannot get away from this vicious cycle of bad governance creatingnteger in

our midst -- insecure environment. i am mainly based in kabul, traveling through the country, but this will hopefully be the foundation for a democratic opposition, not just for the next elections, but in the country as a healthy movement which will create hopes and bring openings for the future of the people of afghanistan. host: what is your sense of what it will take to form a strong, viable, effective opposition party? how do you go about it? guest: lots of foresight, sleepless nights.

it is new in the country, but the awareness is amazing, especially among the younger generation. they are asking for it. at this stage, i am being blamed for moving slowly in that direction. but since this is the foundation, i would take my time to lay the right foundation, and hopefully, this will allow politics to improve. host: what is the most effective way of communicating with people, do you need a lot of money? guest: first of all, people are invested in this movement. the people are ready to invest in their future. that is my biggest hhope. host: indiana.

will on the republican line. caller: i am 22 years old right now. i went to high school and then i spend a year in saudi arabia. i went to school at the embassy there, with other palestinians, aqis. what i am concerned about is the two debstate solution. i know among the palestinian people, it is a sense that what was once their land is being

occupied. it seems like -- i am sorry. when do you see, in terms of getting a real two state solution, and how does that affect the broader middle eastern security? and i know you will probably be a part of future elections. guest: in terms of a two state solutn, how realistic it is, the problem of t day, we are aware. of course, the occupation, and the eyes of palestinians, is the main problem. no matter how problematic that may seem, if you are going to have a peaceful middle east, it

cannot happen without reaching that stage. it is fothe leadership in the middle east to look at it in that way. i do not see an end in the middle east without an acceptce of the two state solution. this is the only way ahead. . caller: i am sympathetic to the people of afghanistan. a few months ago, an american reporter asked president karzai his opinion of president obama. karzai's response was short, but he did say that former president george w. bush was his friend. bush was his friend, because he never insisted that karzai clean up the corruption and his government.

now, president obama's message is very clear to karzai in tin -- in telling him to clean up his act. why should our soldiers be fighting for a country whose government is so corrupt? is karzai -- is progress being made by karzai in that direction? guest: in terms of progress being made in terms of curbing corruption, i would say no, unfortunately. in the past six months, i see no progress in that. i would not say that the previous administration was not attempting to curb corruption. i would not say so. the new administration -- we still call it new -- it is quite old already. they have been calling sometimes about curbing corruption, publicly, with some public criticism. what is more important is the

sort of policy engagement to get it right. from one side, they are fighting against corruption. it is the voice of the people of afghanistan. we do it in our own way through parliament, through civilians, through media, through democratic, civil activities. at the same time there is a responsibility from the taxpayer. apart from the public part of it i am not sure how much this has been a part of a previous engagement of official meetings and private meetings. that is the part i am most concerned about. unless progress is made the question will remain buried. bear in mind that there are

people putting a lot of pressure on the government's in order to move in that direction. host: one viewer wants to depar from the conversation a little bit. from twitter -- can you comment on the afghanistan pakistan relations and afghanistan iraqi l -- relations? guest: good, shaky, all of those descriptions are valid. in terms of the state of our relations with pakistan, they are important. the issue of taliban sanctuaries remains the main contentious issue. this has not been fully addressed.

you referred to some of the military operations. many of these activities are linked with the basis of afghanistan in the north- the taliban in the north. the palestine -- pakistani taliban is stronger. these entities working together for so long, to deal