. . hh will be there beginning at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. live coverage on c-span 3. we will talk today about the announcement by the white house and bp yesterday that bp will set aside a $20 billion fund for gulf oil spill victims. we would like to know what you think about that.

well, good thursday morning. there is lots of good detail in our newspapers about the discussions between bp officials and the white house. mechanics of the $20 billion set aside that they agreed to make. we will share that with you as we listen to your comments. let me tell you a little bit about the reporting from "the washington post." they write --

we will hear from you in just a couple of minutes about what you think about this. but let me tell you the little bit more about the mechanics of this, or how it happened yesterday from "the new york times." they set the stage in a lead story. they write --

let's begin telephone calls to get your reaction to this decision by bp. alabama. danny on the democrats' line. caller: i wonder how many of the people who were calling in yesterday-in -- yesterday bashing the president, thinking this man had not reached out to everybody to try to stop this bleak. i don't know what the american people are thinking. they have stopped thinking for themselves and start listening to talking heads. that is what is wrong with this country right today. you need to stop and think for yourself. this man is doing a great job. host: next is susie, a democrat

in jackson, mississippi, as we talk about bp's $20 billion fund. caller: how are you doing? the thing about it is this. i'm from new orleans. on cnn -- host: go ahead. we can hear you. caller: you see them on tv and cnn, and everybody is being duped by them, they are republicans. when you see them say i can do this or that, when is he doing anything? he's always got a tie on. one pair of boots. they are collecting oil and different things. we are going to find out a lot of these people -- it is

strange, if you look at it, they keep showing the same bird. not showing the skimmers you have shown from the dutch people. host: thank you for your call. on twitter -- >> is a call from mark, republican line. -- next is a call from mark, republican line. , from detroit. caller: to put things into perspective, the $20 billion fund that was established for cleanup is a pittance when you compare it to the amount of money wasted covering the toxic spill on wall street'. tarp was $700 billion. how much money went to meet aig?

you are talking about $20 billion like it is a panacea. it shows where the priority is right now. host: "the financial times" leads with a color photograph of the negotiations. bp officials over here, tony hayward. carl-henric svanberg. the labor secretary. here is the attorney general along with the president. the next couple of -- telephone call is clearwater, florida. arlene on the democrats' line. caller: hi. i am shaking right now. i have not called in months. this whole bp gusher disaster just got be dead inside. i don't understand why it is so unpopular to speak of this by an environmental point of view. what british petroleum has done is beyond comprehension. and this thing is still gushing

and it is going to four months. they don't even know how to stop it. $20 billion, what are you talking about? it could be $3 trillion. the gulf is dead. i read some figures that as of june 7, over 80,000 square miles of the fishing area in the gulf has been closed. that is over one-third of the fissionable -- fishable gulf. that was 10 days ago. this is going to gush for months? i cursed and damn british petroleum for what they have done. a higher marine life is done. the oxygen content is forever diminished. these people who think they will go back to their fishing industry in a year or two, four get it. it is gone. try a lifetime.

it is over. i am just so angry at british petroleum. this has killed me. i am glad i never brought life into this world. this is the future. this is corporate america are running everything into the ground, whether you like it not, while the super rich laugh at us the great unwashed. what we should be screaming about is the horrible laws the supreme court has made that put corporations stronger than persons. i don't know what else to say. i damn british petroleum to and i'm so angry at human beings, why are we letting it happen? host: is the de carl-henric svanberg de then interviewed to "the financial times" -- yester dday.

our next telephone call is from tallahassee, florida. this is mcchrystal, also on the democrats' line. -- this is crystal. caller: i would like to have barack obama address, with the british petroleum, to cover a change in the actual way the oil rigs are made. i believe that all of the 33, i believe, oil rigs in the gulf of

mexico need to be altered and changed forever more so that the error or defect that broke open will never happen again. the other 33 oil rigs are all altered and changed, and british petroleum covers of that and now of what ever it takes to change all of the oil rigs -- covers that end what ever it takes to change of the oil rigs. i want to make sure it never, ever happens again. this has not been addressed by barack obama and anyone else. the oil rigs, the entire process needs to be changed. and all of the mechanisms, whenever the defect, it all needs to be changed and all 33 oil rigs, to come out with a new process, possibly all underneath

the ground. thank you very much. host: anthony, republican line. massachusetts. caller: thank you for having me. i think this is horrible what is happening obviously, and i think the whole conclusion that we need to change everything -- all the oil rigs, we need to change all of them. i understand that, it is a great idea. the only problem is, we are not the only ones drilling down there. the russians are all over the world in deep sea rigging, and they have -- there technology -- vera technology adding dates back to the 1960's and 1970's. -- their technology dates back to the 1960's and 1970's. but where is the outrage at the government for waiting 55 days? we want to point the finger -- fine -- find where the evil capitalists are hiding and say

those are the moneymakers and they are evil and evil. but at the same time, we don't want to hold our own government accountable? how many days after katrina did george bush jump right on that where he was out there making a speech about that and fema was already on the way -- i believe it was less than a week or a few days. i knew it was a lot shorter than 55 days. to just come out and say, whose ass i am going to get, i think that is appalling and i think we need to stop just listening to whatever person on tv says, point to this person, he is evil, point to that person. host: "the wall street journal" have a big article this morning you might be interested in specifically following up on anthony's comments on the+ government response. the headline -- slipped restart -- slippery start. hobbled by confusion and disagreements among federal,

state, and local officials. we are going to go back to your calls on the $20 billion bp said aside funds for the gulf, but also happening in washington is the continuing house and senate conference committee on financial reform legislation. phil mattingly from bloomberg business week has been covering this. what of the big issues ahead of the negotiators today? guest: the big issues today are really kind of the core issues of the crisis, if you will. the large, systemic risk issues. what they will be looking at are two things. one is a creation of council of regulators to oversee, to fill in some of the gaps that were exploited and led to the crisis. they are also looking at the creation of a mechanism for the government to wind down financial institutions that are not banks.

aig, bear stearns, the institutions that need it to be bailed out because there was no mechanism to do so. host: what is the source of disagreement between democrats and republicans on the mechanism? guest: the big thing is how it will be paid for. probably the primary flash point. during the senate negotiations they dropped a fund, and industry prepaids fund of $50 billion that republicans in general teems as a bailout fund, a fund that the government can use almost at its own will and desire. that was dropped in the senate. the house will reintroduce that today. a very political issue. from an ideological issue, house and senate republicans really have a preference toward bankruptcy rather than creating a new bankruptcy provision to wind down the large firms. the concern for them is you give the federal government another

mechanism to take down these firms, and the chance that it might be used when it is not necessary. host: what do you say the tone and tenor is in the room? guest: it is a long, hard slog. people are tired. if you watch this, it is very clear the way everybody is talking and acting, this is not something that has happened often in the last few years, certainly not on financial- services issues. people are almost troubling to get through the end of the day, eight or nine hours. but at the same time, unlike a lot of the debates you have seen in the past, a lot of this is happening in front of everybody. lawmakers are conferring with staff and bringing issues to the table. people are tired. there is still another week to go. but people do think they are getting substantive work done. host: c-span cameras, we committed to have cameras into every minute of the session that is open to the public. you can see coverage on our network and website.

phil mattingly has been covering this for bloomberg, and thank you for telling us what is ahead today. guest: thank you. host: deliberations so far aren't kudos to chairman bernard frank from "the wall street journal" -- earned kudos for chairman barry frank.

house and senate negotiators get underway today. our cameras will be there for this for those of you interested in the details. we're talking to you this morning about the negotiations that ended up with thete house%- announcement bp will have a $20 billion claims fund. our phone lines are open.

you can also send an e-mail and a message by twitter. veronica, democrats learned that caller: i think finally i guess by 59 or 60 days i am hearing all of these callers call in. we can take a moment and just say thank you, whether it is thank you to president obama. you have to look at it. the previous guys who were in charge, they did not get a $20 billion but they gave out $20 billion to the rich people. and all of the callers who have been calling in and saying what you should say, and all of this, the problem is steal, kill, destroy. still his character, killed integrity and destroy his future. let us all just stop and say thank you, president obama. host: chris is on our independent line. caller: good morning.

i have a degree in geology. i hate to be the bearer of bad news, but i think there are a lot of things bp is not telling you about. that the whole structure of that area where they drilled into, i believe they structured the well pretty bad and they are going to find out it is going to be a lot how it -- harder. there could be more than one or two areas that have been fractured down there. just killing the well is not going to kill this bill. let's hope they have not actually done that. i am trying to find out more information, but of course you cannot find anything from bp. and i don't think noaa is doing a very good survey. but i believe they are going to find a lot of fractures down there at the bottom of the ocean that is just blowing out as much oil assthat well.

host: chris, thanks. from "the wall street journal" on this story. they go on to offer ooher examples as well. fort worth, texas. terry, republican michael caller: i would like to agree with the last two callers. i did not think they are telling us anywhere near what is going

on in the deep well that they have. and the fact that they really did mr. reed the people in and ask us so bad, because they are not -- they really did mysteries the people in alaska -- mistreat the people in alaska so bad. in alaska there was a small oil spill -- they are having problems with the salmon and the fisheries. the poison coming from the earth, they are not telling you about that. i know for a fact, i watched a program about that specifically. the materials that far deep down in the earth is a lot worse, 5,000 feet down drilling into the earth. i am -- i just think we are grateful for the $20 billion fund but i do not think it will

come close to cover the cost of the damage it would do to the gulf -- texas, all along the gulf, even mexico. host: jeff, democrats line. you are on. caller: good morning. this -- this bill down there -- this spill down there is devastating, i know. i believe in god, but i am not the type of person who goes around and lays my religion on my sleeve. but the evil that has been going on in this country, i think people should stop and think. those people down there, those southern states, they hate obama, i don't care what he

does, he will never get credit for anything. this thing is just going to destroy the gulf down there. host: again, "the financial times," first of all they tell there is a new sentry down there to sniff for oil. an undersea robot -- that is a reuters report. long wait before bp knows the total bill. analysts predict final bill of $49 billion. they write --

move on to westwood, new jersey. this is herald, republican line. caller: this is westward, new jersey. i also believe in god. to me, god is a god of mercy but also a little bit of justice -- or let's say a lot of justice. when it comes to this, we certainly cannot hold president obama responsible for the leak. however, we can hold him responsible for a lot of other things. when he was a candidate, he wanted to spread the wealth around. however, when it came time, he could have said yes to norway,

yes to holland and 12 other countries who have the equipment ready to roll and help us, but he said, no. it seems that what really happened -- i am not going to say he, but maybe somebody in the white house said let us let the oil get to the shores of galveston, louisiana, then we can hire maybe the people from a corner and so on and then really the spread the wealth -- maybe the people from acorn. i think the $17 billion to start would be like bp -- the british people have not treated the world very well. and they are suffering, but a lot of people in india -- to me, mahatma gandhi existed because the british were so bad. i go back to, i believe in god

very, very much. god is a god of mercy and forgiveness, but the previous caller referred to the evil -- how about abortion? how about what we do? never what we would do to a puppy or kitten what we do to babies? host: >> it is oregon -- next is oregon, you are on the air. caller: i was fishing 20 miles off when the exxon valdez struck the rock. i have had many, many friends, loved ones that i worked with. exxon waited until they died, no responsibility. look at their track record up in canada, up in alberta, what we

had done down in peru and colombia. multinational corporations. why don't we nationalize the as ?bies -- sob's it is just like band-aids. part of the frustration of being an american here, it is absolutely hopeless. the whole system should be thrown down the toilet. you can't repair it. host: from "the washington post" is this notation about the fund. enough money to cover nasa's annual budget. the next phone caller is from columbia, maryland, david on our democrats line. david, and it is columbia, missouri.

i can hear everybody talking about all kinds of problems and stuff like that but nobody is trying to look for the solution. a simple solution would be to get a big casing made of steel and bring it out and set the casing on top of the oil leak with the hose coming off of the back so that all of the oil that is running free can be collected and place on the oil tankers such as the valdez and i'm wondering why nobody thought of doing that? why not captured the oil that is running free into the ocean instead of just letting it keeps running crazy? host: "the washington post" has -- yesterday there was disclosure and -- a lot of disclosure on capitol hill. looking at the connections

between members of congress and their holdings in oil companies. let me move over to the chart next to it.

back to telephone calls. texas, michelle, a republican line. caller: good morning. the $20 billion, i think that is great. i think the people in that region deserve to be compensated as fast as possible. why i don't understand is bp didn't try to capture more of the oil when it first happened, and allowing it to get to shore?

why they weren't calling for all hands on deck when it first started. and now louisiana is a mess. i live right down the street from exxon. the ship channel. i can only imagine -- i am less than 100 miles away from the louisiana border. you know, this is going to affect everybody on the gulf coast. if we get a hurricane, god only knows where it is going to carry this oil. also i have a question about tony hayward. we are supposed to be able to watch the senate -- or a thim

testifying on c-span. can you tell me what channel? host: live on c-span 3 because the house and senate are in today. and it will also be streamed live on our website at c- span.org. for those who don't have access to either, it will be recorded and shown later on the networks. going back to money and bp, an article in "the new york times" this morning looks at the civil aspects.

back to phones. georgette is up next. yusef, independent line -- georgia is up next. caller: it looks like we are rewarding the corporations. anyone who calls it a crisis, our government is rewarding them. the american people should recognize that. it is only dealings that are being made to set up a future agenda. i want to make a statement on the people saying we are approaching 57 days at the least.

it will have to -- the number 60 -- reach the number 60, because when you deal with individuals. it is all written scripture. the count -- count the number up with -- count the number of the beast, 666. anything of the lead but these powers have to be done with the no. 6. whether it be six weeks, 16 days, or what ever. host: a theory on how this will proceed. it still takes a heavy role on gulf oil workers psyches. stress and other symptoms. the next telephone call is from greenbelt, maryland. caller: good morning, c-span. . m a ph.d. scientists

what you've got is a one-mile below the surface of the ocean, and below the surface of the ocean you have another 3.4 miles of pipe until you reach the oil reservoir. that pipe is about 22 inches in diameter. to take the inner diameter of the pipe, you have another 3.4 miles down to the reservoir. if you calculate based on the density of oil, you've got about 1,000 tons of liquid flow would moving approximately 1 meter per second. that is a lot of kinetic energy. that is equivalent to a freight train moving at 1 meter per second. you will not stop that with a shut off valve. you will break in two. you have to gradually shift the oil flow down. what you can do with robots, which is what the department

navy has, you can go down to that type and insert an expandable torpedo that can go faster than one or two meters per second against buffalo, and when it gets to the pipe in mechanism can expand, thereby closing the gap and thereby reducing the area gradually, slowing down the oil flow, and without explosives, explain it -- expand again and gradually close the flow until it comes to a stop. there is a fluid that is quickly drying on top of it, and you can go into it. host: lots of detail. you are not one of many thousands of americans thinking about -- you are one of many thousands of americans thinking about solutions. there are called lines and areas on bp's web site.

they have put some of the suggestions into practice. aking a toll on workers' psyches. catholic charities reported this week --

back to your phone calls. this is a phone call from texas. travis, a republican line. caller: thank you. thank you very much. i am not trying to be smart, not trying to be intelligent garet -- intelligent. i have worked in the oilfield for 39 years. and i would like to try to explain, in oklahoma there is not i well, not a well in ttxas, making any kind of production that does well is -- i heard everything -- a barrel is only 42 gallons, to start with. you have a certain size casing in that hole right there, and that is only 7,720 feet deep.

the rest of it is laying on top of the ocean. the thing about it is, you can only get so much production out of a whole -- hole. that is -- there is not a refinery in the world anywhere that would not love to have it just drove me nuts, and since they started -- i was born on april 20, which does not make any difference. but the thing i am trying to say is, they overestimated the oil that is coming out of this wholhole. there is not a well anywhere that has any kind of production like that. i don't understand. i know it is a horrible, horrible things. i worked on the drilling rigs, been on the rigs, it caught

fire. i ran casing for years. you can only get so much fluid in a pipe. it is blown out of proportion. host: i want to stop the at this point. we have five minutes left and lots of people who want to talk. a tweet in reaction to the story about holdings by members of congress and oil and gas -- also, from "the new york times ," 32 million viewers from press -- for president obama'')s address. down 21% from his last prime-

time speech in december about the war in afghanistan. speaking about the war in afghanistan, in a few minutes we will have congressman joe wilson from south carolina to talk about the progress of the war. nexx is a call from new orleans, michael on the democrats' line. caller: how are you today? i live in louisiana and new word means. i have been to the gulf coast a t. o you all keep shelling -- you don't do it, but the media keep showing the same things over and over again. it appears that nothing has been done. oil is just gushing -- which it is. but the amount, you are looking at pictures probably taken on day one. and our local politicians are running around all sympathetic. i recall in the white house when the president swat a fly and

animal rights people are all over it. but a republican standing there watching a baby crane in the oil, why did he reach and pick up and where was the outcry? we have a situation in the country where it will drag it down and the biggest thing we have the country is not the oil, ii is the republican party and what will happen is if we do not get our heads out of our back pockets and work together as a nation, we are not going to have anything. host: our last call is from florida, mike, republican line. caller: good morning. thank you for having me. i have been a republican all my life -- i don't have any proceeds coming from the oil mess that is going on. it is an accident. it is a tragic accident but it is a large accident. i think with the oil blooms, we

have a boat going out of st. petersburg doing research underneath the water and this is probably going to rival 9/11, and 9/11 was large and broke everybody's heart. it just seems that democrats think that republicans don't have a heart, that they believe that this does not bother anybody, like it is no big deal. potentially the gulf of mexico can be a dead sea in the near future. if they don't get this stopped within 30 or 60 days, we are looking at major, major strategf mexico, down into the florida keys, up into the caribbean. let's just hope and pray that they can get something establish a better. thank you. host: mike from florida. we have a couple of more guests on this topic in different

aspects. at 8:30 eastern time, kathy castor will make her first visit, representing the tampa area in florida. she will talk about her thoughts on oil drilling. and also on what has been happening to the coastline in her part of the state. david michael is our guest at 9:00, assistant labor secretary for osha, we will talk about the clinic workers and what their responsibility is in the area. and then live coverage of tony hayward's testimony with our last segment. we will be back with the topic of the u.s. role in afghanistan with congressman joe wilson of south carolina. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> he was a volatile, emotional, very complicated kind of depressive young man, and very adventuress. when he was in america he was 25 and having an adventure. >> a new look at the alexis de tocqueville and his 1881 tour of america. sunday, on c-span's "q&a." >> this weekend on c-span2's "book tv," growing up between arabs and israelis. he chronicles -- and then chronicling one of the most vile places on earth. and a novel that took an author 30 years to polish, "matter turned -- matterhorn."

>> it is campaign 2010 your way with the c-spannvideo library. it -- we make it easy to follow the prairie season, campaign trail, debates, victory and concession speeches, all free online anytime. >> "washington journal" continues. host: congressman joe wilson of south carolina serves as a member of the armed services committee in the house of representatives and he also has sons serving in the army and knows about the roles and responsibilities of america's military firsthand. you heard general petraeus' testimony urging patients. do you agree? guest: i do. i have the opportunity to visit the country nine times. i indeed have had -- i have fears sick -- i have four sonss

in the military. and i have a nephew who just completed his service in iraq with the air force. in afghanistan, i have been there nine times. i have been there in particular visiting my former national guard unit, 218th brigade, so i know from personal serving their, led by general bob livingston, we have 1500 troops from south carolina who helped train the afghan police and army units. so, i'm very, very optimistic. host: what specifically makes you optimistic? senators yesterday were questioning all the press reports about, that being more intense than we anticipated and taking longer in some regions. guest: those are all legitimate concerns. i followed testimony and concerns expressed. but specifically, we are training the afghan police and army units. we are ahead -- for the army,

105,000 -- actually 125,000 troops. we are on the way this year to have 135,000 troops. this is the testimony of the under secretary yesterday. in training the police, there are 105,000, and by the end of this year, we will have 109,000. what we are doing is enabling the people of afghanistan to defend themselves, and the level of conflict -- general petraeus made that clear, too -- it confirms we are facing a very deadly enemy, a very deadly enemy that we must face to defend america. it we are dealing with transnational extremists, as he identified than yesterday. and the best way to protect the american people is to defeat them, particularly in southern afghanistan. and it was in a candy bar, and that region -- in kandahar

where osama bin laden planned the attacks. host: do you believe he could still be there? guest: i believe if he is still alive, then sadly he is in the waziristan region of pakistan. i did nottthink he is in afghanistan. i am confident working together with our pakistani partners that if he is alive, he will be found. host: you mentioned pakistani partners but increasingly we see reports of money and corruption and other means being funneled the money by corruption and other means being funneled to the taliban. guest: there is no question it is a problem. the taliban itself was established by security forces of pakistan. but i am confident that particularly with the incident -- not incident, but the attempt

by the taliban to take over portions of pakistan, such as the swat valley, that the people of pakistan, certainly the government of pakistan, understands that the taliban is a threat and al qaeda is a threat and let, it terrorist organization, is a threat to the existence of pakissan. host: the international partners have the same resolve? guest: not all, but many are really coming forward. i met with the ambassador from romania and they have over 1000 troops now in afghanistan. our great allies of bulgaria has over 500 troops. these are new allies. poland has 3500 troops. in fact, 45 other countries have troops in the country. our traditional allies of the u.k., australia, we can count

on, i believe, germany. and they are truly making a difference. host: since you spent time on the ground with the soldiers who are fighting, the -- an issue this country has been fighting about for the past 67 years is troop fatigue. what can you tell us about in terms of reinforcements and continue deployments? guest: rotations are extremely deport g-8 important. we should be very mindful about persons being rotated at such an level, whether it is iraq or afghanistan, that there is time back home with their families. fatigue can be with the troops, but also a threat to stable families. i, as a parent of two sons who served in iraq, i know the sacrifices and dedication of families. so, we need to be mindful of the troops and their families.

host: an issue that really took front and center yesterday and captured headlines was the promised year end the war review, and on the july 2011 date for beginning the process for troop pull out. there was much discussion as to whether the process was just beginning with the examination was just beginning. how firm in your mind and how important is the year and review and the july 2011 date? guest: i would tell you that the year and review that was promised by the president in his speech december 1 of last year, is important. but yet, it was explained yesterday -- and it is correct -- general petreaus, general mcchrystal, they are reviewing every day. so, the year-end review will be significant but it really will be a culmination of what is being done for the planning that is ongoing. then, the withdrawal of troops, it was very clear it is

conditions-based. we will not abandon the people of afghanistan who, by analyzing what the coalition forces, have put their lives on the line. just this week another governor was assassinated by the taliban, that associated with the isaf forces. i have faith in the present that we will not abandon the people of -- i have faith in the president that we will not abandon the people of afghanistan. enabling the afghan army and the afghan police to provide security, and then we will be mentoring, we will be backed up, we will be out of the actual combat itself because of the capabilities. i had the extraordinary opportunity to meet several times with the minister of defence of afghanistan. he is a former mujahedin

himself and anti-soviet guerrilla. we are talking about people who are really capable. host: our guest will be with us until the bottom of the hour. you can call us -- you can send us a twitter message at c-spanwj. the south, democratic primary is getting a lot of attention. allegations that the republican party was involved in shenanigans. tell us what you think question the guest: line of republicans were focused on the republican primary. two years ago with the same opponent, received 44,000

groups, -- votes, and now i received 65,000. we have 425,000 people both in the republican primary and only 188,000 in the democrat primary. so, we republicans were focused on our primaries. i had a double focus. my oldest son is running for attorney general of south carolina and he came in first in the primary and he will be in a runoff this coming tuesday. so, our family has been focused on republican primaries. ec any -- but d.c. any validity- to the claims? guest: know, and the whole focus -- we had an extraordinary day -- race for governor. the leading candidate is a long- term friend of mine. there were four candidates -- but the leading candidate could be the first female governor of south carolina. she will be the second indian-

american governor of the united states. i campaigned for bobby jindal in louisiana. and now we have a real opportunity in south carolina. but that runoff is on tuesday and a very capable person is also running. of the focus has been on republican primaries. i respect certainly other people's view of this, but it is wrong. republicans are focused on our primaries and that is why i was so grateful for the huge vote of confidence that i got last week. the largest vote total of any republican congressional primary candidate in the history of south carolina. so, our focus has been fully on republican primaries, not democratic. host: let me follow up on the message voters sent you. this is your first visit since the state of the union. lots of discussion about this. because i know people will call and ask -- tell us about what

that experience has been for you and what your political life has changed. guest: it really has. it was the health care speech of 9/9/09, and the next day my son called and i of course called that night to rahm emanuel and i said, i apologize, i would never interrupt a president, that was a spontaneous event. my son allen called the next day and said, dad, i know what happened. i said, what was it? he said it was a town hall moment. i went around the district in parades, at festivals, and even spirited i received extraordinary support and encouragement. and i received over half a million e-mails, letters, from people all over the united states and actually americans abroad -- i am the co-chair of the americans abroad called the so i received letters from all

over the world, understanding that i am a gentleman, that i apologized and we went on to discuss the issue, which was the health care takeover. but the ultimate is what i told you last tuesday -- in the privacy of the booth, the people of south carolina spoke. i had virtually a 50% increase in support from 44,000, up to 65,000 with the same opponent. the largest vote ever of a republican congressional candidate in the history of south carolina, and we are in the middle, in our state, of a revolt against incumbents. and i understand that. but i still prevailed with 83% of the vote. host: one last issue before we go to calls on afghanistan. we will be spending most of our mourning today talk about the gulf oil disaster. guest: and i represent hilton head island -- the coast of south carolina, beaufort county -- i've got a beautiful island locations. i grew up in charleston adjacent

to the beautiful beaches of charleston just south of myrtle beach, the grand strand. so, i know how important our beaches -- beach is, hospitality. i also know the environment and the marsh is very important. i grew up in the marshes of south carolina. the oil has a catastrophic effect on the fiddler crabs, on the small life there. it just breaks your heart. host: any reconsideration of drilling policy? guest: not reconsideration but certainly, i believe there should be a cut off valve on any drilling facility, whether it be in the ocean, or on the ground, on land. there must be a failsafe cut of system with a valve. this is not rocket science.

we know -- in fact, i working with people promoting a cut off system for homes that would have sensors where, if there is an unusual discharge of water, the water intake of a home or government or apartment building, it would automatically cut off through a cut off valve. i know the technology is there. so, before any well should be approved, it must have a cut off system. but we need to be drilling. we cannot continue to be depended on the rest of the world for our oil.

i was wondering, when duva of representatives have planned for us in terms of jobs, and people employed around here? guest: seth the, -- said the, the death toll has surpassed one belsen. on the issue of drugs, -- jobs, i have been doing in jobs -- ajobs tour.

i worked with the agm counter top company. promoting jobs. i am also working closely with the marine corps air station, paris and london -- island. i met with the marine corps commandant to create jobs in our community. military service is an opportunity. i know it was for me. those locations are helping to produce young, wonderful people to protect our country. host: next phone call.

nikki on the independent line. caller: i have a comment and question. and and amazed that c-span and the republican party are proud to have you represent the armed services committee. my question is, how do you believe your comments to our president in the state of the union are perceived around the world, and how do you believe, that for the first time ever, and this to send -- this dissent?

guest: that is why i apologize to within one hour. i am a gentleman. that is why i can be here today to talk about the health care takeover, which i believe is a threat to the senior citizens of the country, young people, and bankrupting our country. this could eliminate millions of jobs. iiwill speak a note on what to think is wrong. on national defense, i served 31 years in the national guard. i have two sons who have served. and i am very proud of the military, and i grew up with this. my father was a flying tiger in china. i know what the military has done.

he had a broader spread of democracy, -- we have a broader spread of democracy, more countries liberated, due to the american military. host: michael on the republican line. good morning. caller: i do not agree with the congressman. i think he is off base. there are priorities that are more important to people in his district. we have a good congressman in our district. he voted to reprimand mr. wilson for his comments which were of

of place and made us a laughingstock of the states. i remember seeing a group of iraqi veterans, and these people over there, and they do not want us there. host: we are going to stop you there. you brought up the issue of war veterans with traumatic injuries. we have seen injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, such that we have not seen before. guest: we are working and making phenomenal progress with wounded

warriors. i have helped young people who have lost limbs to get back on duty. in fort jackson, there is quite a lot going on. an umbrella of our military. the chairman of the armed services committee, ike skelton of missouri, says that we have the best counterinsurgency force in history. to me, it is clear, we need to stop the bombings in afghanistan, or we will continue to see the potential of the tax, whether in is in times square or detroit. i would much prefer this young generation fight the terrorists overseas, not in the continental united states. host: from twitter --

guest: i would refer you to the pentagon. that is a legitimate concern. i know this. just this week we have an improvised explosive device which killed a governor of a district in afghanistan. i am confident that we do keep count of acts of terrorism, barbarism, that they are conducting amongst the people of afghanistan. we know that the terrorists attacked mosques, mumbai. it is not just on america. these islamic extremists will

kill people, whoever they are, wherever they are. i was in amman, jordan, and the building next to us blow up. i was in pakistan and then a couple of months later, the hotel was targeted. i had lunch with benazir bhutto one month before she was assassinated. this is not just america. they are going after all people who want peace and security in the world. host: next phone call from maryland. ann, democrat line. caller: i agree with you, but here is what i do not understand. in testimony before the congress, homeland security, international relations, foreign relations, from the cia, fbi,

time and time again, they have testified that the islamic terrorist financing is coming from countries such as saudi arabia, kuwait, united arab emirates countries. what i do not understand and cannot figure of it is why do not we'd insist that the islamic arab countries send troops in, and we go after terrorism financing. all these countries thaa we go into, somalia, yemen, sudan, these countries have the most to lose because they will be the first countries that will be overthrown.

i would appreciate an answer. it is nine years after the attacks of 9/11. guest: thank you. you are very prospect -- perceptive. the financing simply does not make sense. when i visited qatar, dubai, uae -- and i represent hilton head island -- i tell these people that they look like hilton head island on steroids. these people want to live in the 21st century. you are right. usama bin laden's first target was the royal family of saudi arabia. we should expect more from them and work to stop the financing of terrorism. what is frustrating, everywhere you go, you see islamic

charities. the vast majority of these charities are working to alleviate poverty in the region, but some are fronts for terrorism. we must depend on our allies for their own self-interest, self preservation, they need to be working with us to uncover the level of terrorist financing. host: we are talking about the state of terrorism. let's listen to an exchange between general petraeus and john mccain. >> could you clarify the difference between what you said and what is quoted in the book? "i am confident we can train and handle the ana in that timeframe. if you cannot do those things that you say we can, no one will suggest that you stay, right?

?" that is a direct quotation from the president. >> i do not know if it is productive to comment and conversations that took place that long ago -- >> understand that. >> death what i would come back to is what the press -- what i would come back to is what the president said at west point. july 2011 is not the date where we raise for the exodus. it is the day where, having done an assessment, we begin a transition of tasks to afghan security forces based on conditions and begin a process of "response will -- responsible drawdown of our forces." host: what should the american public take from that about the

state of armed forces? that was his first question. the secretary representing the administration made it very clear that everything is conditions-based. they explained what transition means. it is not an abandonment. the afghan national police, afghan national army, will be in the lead on combat operations. we will not abandon the people of afghanistan. if we do, we will put every city in our nation at risk. general petraeus testified yesterday that transnational terrorists will regroup in that country to attack the united

states, india, europe. this is clear. what we are doing is taking action to protect the american people. host: south carolina. ray on the independent line. caller: good morning, mr. wilson. i question all of this now that we have discovered these precious metals and afghanistan. the only country doing any mining of it is china. how come china is always on top? we have a governor from south carolina expounding how great joy and is, how great their workers are, and you have hundreds of thousands of unemployed textile workers in south carolina. why not develop more on minerals? why does afghanistan have to

depend on poppy? i do not understand. he talked about these other things. you mean to tell me you cannot concentrate on these minerals, giving people jobs? i would like to hear what you have to say about that. host: first of all, comments on the announcement by the pentagon on perhaps trillions of dollars in precious minerals. guest: i think this is a very positive. threw the geological survey, we have helped the people of afghanistan discover they have lithium. lithium is in only one other country on earth. my prior visits to afghanistan have been some of heartbreaking

as we fly over by helicopter. the country looks like the far side of the moon. it may look that way, but there are resources that will help the people of afghanistan. you are correct. somehow, china has started the development of the recovery of copper, and are investing billions of dollars and creating jobs in afghanistan. it should be all countries participating in this. this should help the people of afghanistan. host: next phone call from sylvania, ohio. larry on the democratic line. are you there? we are going to move on. bristow, va.

go ahead. caller: good morning to both of you. my question for mr. wilson, on what to -- i want to harp on what the other person was saying. and i know that the chinese are starting a compromise over there -- copper mine over there. american companies should be the one over there. we should be mining. the other country with lithium is bolivia. american companies should be extracting any resources that are there, not the chinese. they should not be there. they did not want to help us. they should not benefit from the resources.

thank you. guest: what we have is a sovereign country. we are working with afghanistan, particularly with this startling and positive discovery of their resources. we are helping them establish a mining department so that they can properly set up local companies or international companies to bid and provide royalties to the people of the afghanistan. we have been accused of liberating kuwait to steal their oil, iraq to steal their oil. this is not true. it will not be true in afghanistan. we are working to create stability in that region to protect the people of america. there can be economic benefits, but it should be for the people

of that country. host: a skeptic sends this twitter -- guest: again, it is a southern country. there should be competitive bid and then royalties showed benefit the people. u.s. companies that are involved, this should be international. host: john on the independent line. new york city. caller: thank you, c-span. my question has to do with stanley mcchrystal's policy, once they defeated the taliban.

we defeated them but the reports are that they are creeping back in and people trust the taliban more than they do the karzai government. how are we going to make that strategy work in kandahar, when it is not working, by all reports coming in to color -- reports, -- guest: again, and believe we

have the best counterinsurgency forces in the world, but it will take time. the resources can be helpful to the country. it will take time. i have had the opportunity to visit nine times. i have seen from all progress. when i first arrived in 2002, the rubble was feet around the room to. there was devastation during the occupation from the soviet union. for the first time, roads were paved. the last time i visited, in little shops, the beginning of an economic recovery. now there are sidewalks. to see children going to school, little boys with

baseball caps going to school. little girls with white scarves. i have seen it with my own eyes. i know a civil society is being developed. one time, when we read their come on all levels of electricity was 60% of the population. this is a primitive country. -- 6% of the population. we are working closely to establish their and the culture and divert them from poppy production. pomegranates. i did not realize what a market there is for pomegranates. at one time, they were famous

for that. wheat production. farmers can actually make more money from that than poppy production. and i will give credit to the u.s., international developpent. there are working with the farmers to establish a civil country. host: texas. hank on the republican line. caller: i have a comment that i know that a number of people share. unconcerned about this announcement of a date for a pullout. when you tell the enemy when we are leaving, they are going to set up. it is great. if you could comment on that. guest: as a fellow republican, that was the first question that we asked our ranking member.

we were assured over and over again that there would not be an abandonment of the people of afghanistan, that what the president was doing -- and when he is right, i am happy to support him. he was right to call for a troop surge. we are ahead of schedule in the number of troops being deployed. that is how you bring security. it worked in iraq. 95% reduction of violence in iraq. anbar province it is safe today. is it perfect in iraq? absolutely not. but it does qualify as a free- market democracy with free elections. i believe the same thing can be

a reality in afghanistan. this is stopping terrorism where it originates. >> so your bottom line message is to stay the course? >> trust in general petraeus, stanley mcchrystal. we need to be trusting the military leaders. >host: thank you for being here. we appreciate it. you mentioned the south carolina governor's runoff. we will be back to talk about that and with kathy castor as well as the oil spill and its affect on the tampa area. >> one week before south carolina voters will choose their governor. tonight, the two will square off in a debate at 8:00 eastern time. joining me on the phone is a

reporter for "politico." ms. hunt, the republicans in south carolina are breaking ranks with nikki haley, even though she came in ahead of her opponent. >> they are concerned that she will follow in the footsteps of the current governor mark sanford. it is not the entire establishment, but a good portion of it. in the legislature, there is concern that the governor stymied every piece of legislation down there. he does not have a good relationship with many of the members down there. he is generally considered as a stumbling block to progress.

there are some people who are nervous that nikki haley, whom he mentored, would be a repeat of that. >> what are they saying about haley? >> they are referring to her as the sanford candidate. there's also the traditional message behind it. >> the former republican gov. this week endorsed haley. what impact has that had on the race? >> both were looking for the endorsement of mr. masters. he is the attorney general, the

definition of south carolina establishment, as some have to find him. it makes it more certain that once the republican party chooses a nominee, everyone will line up behind haley. right now, she has a pretty commanding lead. she will be in charleston and hilton head on friday, campaigning with mitt romney, as well as with jenny snaford. -- sanford. that should give her a bump. >> we want to take a look at some of the campaign ads. >> we said no to bailouts in

washington. we said no to inside dealmaking in the back room politics. most importantly, we said yes to south carolina not just being republican but becoming conservative and reminding elected officials who is they work for. i am a woman of god who understand that threw him all things are possible. >> it is a rough time. of course, you are a military man, small businessman. you are honest, conservatives. you've created jobs. you made south carolina from again. ok, now go get them. >> you mean for governor? >> what kind of impact are these ads have been? then jeff -- >> i think what

they learned from the initial primary, there is quite a lot of outreach for nikki haley. instead of being a backlash, at the end of the day, she came home with 49% of the vote. one of the bear campaign focuses has been to remain positive, claiming that he is a man of character. for haley, the ad includes many of the messages that she has been talking about this whole time. the electorate is not

particularly happy with leadership. that is something that is reenforcing in her message. >> the two will be square and on tonight. we will have live coverage. thank you for your time. host: let me introduce you to representative kathy castor, member of the energy commerce committee. this is her first visit to "washington journal." you will be in the room, unable to question tony hayward today. what do you most want to ask him? guest: what we heard from the big oil company ceo's earlier in the week is that they put profits over safety. i think there will be a great deal of discussions over the

fact that the oil industry as a whole, and especially bp, try to maximize profits without considering safety. frankly, the disaster to the state of florida come into the country coming he has got to answer for it. host: what is it like in the tampa area? guest: the west coast is clean. the water is beautiful. but we are still suffering from an economic hit. many tourists see the beaches around pensacola and there are canceling their trips. bookings are down. this is a busy season heading into the fourth of july. also, our fishermen. they have had to close about one-third of the gulf to

fishermen. many of our fishermen cannot go on into deep water to catch. even though we do not have oil on our shores, we are suffering a severe economic impact. we were just coming of of the recession. we also had the coldest winter in decade, and now this. it is a disaster for our hard- working folks. host: what do you think of the agreement for bp's victims' fund, entered the people of florida and be able to access that money? >guest: it is a step in the right direction. there was an economist that estimated the impact to be upwards of $10 billion, just for the state of florida. we have a very robust tourism

industry. the fishing industry is a multi- billion dollar industry. i am skeptical that $20 billion ultimately will be fair compensation across the board. host: they have done from a local newspaper, "and bp give to universities $10 billion to analyze the oil spill >> guest: to analyze the impact of this oil spill, government does not have the tools to do it alone. largely, this will have to fall on our researchers, academics. in the tampa bay area, we have formed a consortium of private colleges and public universities and have made a request of $100 million to bp.

you may have seen in early on the university of south florida said of a message that they had vessels ready to go, that they were analyzing the loop current. we need them in the field. we are also able to go out and confirmed there are hydrocarbons in the water column. a lot of this oil is not rising to the surface. in his in droplets to route the water column -- it is in droplets throughout the water column. they will be giving a goodsize f

money for research, but this will take a long-term data analysis. we will be living with this disaster for decades, i am afraid. this is a good step, but there is much more to go. host: first phone call from houston. dick on the republican line. caller: i am hoping to talk to some way, not just america. you are going to be asking bp a lot of questions. one thing i want to know is why they are not using the oil- eating microbes in the sea. and they have been there for millions of years.+ why not bring in some of these super tankers, like the one that we have in saudi arabia? i also hear that there are oil-

soaking fibers. it seems like they want the government to pay for it. it is not going to happen like that. you'd better help those people in louisiana. guest: thank you. from the get go, bp has been slow to respond. on your first question about microbes in the sea that could bring down the oil and petroleum, and i have asked that question directly. typically, if there is an oil spill on the ground war and gas station with an oil spill, and they will use bacteria to break down the site. they do not have the same technology in the ocean. there are some naturally- occurring bacteria that will bring down hydrocarbons over time, but there is no technology

to expand that natural process. host: next question comes from riverside, rhode island. allen on the independent line. caller: when they take a will in louisiana, do they have a royalty per barrell? how does that work? guest: if you are a few miles offshore, that is waters that when an american company applies for a lease, they have to pay certain royalties to the u.s. taxpayers. unfortunately, which is why i say this disaster is a decade in the making, in the past, there

has been a slow motion decline in the oversight of oil companies and drilling especially in deep water. there has been a loosening in the amount of royalties being paid to the american taxpayer. one of the items involved in our legislative agenda is to increase the amount of royalties that big oil paid to the american people for drilling in our oceans. host: in support of bp, duncan tweets -- guest: gee, had a heart -- have a heart out there. these are fishing vote

captains, small mom-and-pop restaurant owners. in florida, we have chosen not to industrialized our coastline. we rely on tourism, clean water, clean beaches. folks are angry that safety matters, that they merely cut corners. it is apparent based on the evidence i have received in the energy and commerce committee, that they put process over safety. they will have to pay a price under the oil pollution act of 1990 that says the responsible party must pay for cleanup. we all know there will be impacts of this disaster that will not be contained in that law. right now, there is a 75 million-dollar cap on damages. that is a drop in the bucket on total damages. i would like to put you in touch

with someone like patti hubbard, who owns a restaurant in clearwater, florida. there are 20 people in her family. she said, we made it through the recession, the coldest winter ever. they are hard-working folks. why should they be on the hook for bp's criminal actions? host: what about oversight from mms, other federal regulators? guest: there is plenty to go around. like i said, there has been a slow motion decline of oversight from all companies. let's face it, big oil has expended a lot of money here in washington lobbying, political contributions, convincing folks that this is a safe proposition.

even off the coast of mexico, that was a disaster. we should have learned something. talking about the mineral management service, they were literally sleeping with the industry. lately, thh secretary of the interior showed a report, the one that had direct oversight for oil companies in the gulf of mexico, they were going on trips together, went to football games. it is a terrible revolving door. in is not right to have an agency who has oversight, as well as having the direction to collect money from these oil companies. that is part of the reason we

have this disaster. host: donald, democratic line. minnesota. caller: why isn't halliburton and being involved? they built a shot off the owl that did not work. guest: i think that they will be. -- shut-off valve that did not work. bp is the responsible party here. i think what will happen, over time, it is that there will be a lot of litigation. the guild, responsibility will be divided.

insurance payments will come into play. but you are right. all of these companies have some responsibility in what happened in this disaster. host: trenton, florida. wanda, republican line. guest: don't you realize the government is responsible for this? you have put the land off of limits, shallow water off limits for drilling. you are forcing the oil to come from deep water but we need oil. why not open up where we can drill safely instead of impacting us here? guest: thank you. there is a lot of shallow water drilling going on. folks across the country need to

realize this is a dwindling resources. we will not be able to rely in the long term on the oil drilling. domestic or foreign. we have to make a transition to a clean energy economy. i would be very opposed to bringing those oil rigs closer to the state of florida. right now, under the 2006 gulf of mexico security act, florida gave up 10 million acres along the coast for drilling. in exchange, we have buffers on the west and east coast and along the panhandle. that is because we have chosen not to industrialize and our coastline. we rely on tourism, fishing. think about the small businesses in your community and welcome people from of of town.

we do not have an income tax, we do not want an income tax because we have a lot of tourists coming to foot the bill. it would be a risky proposition to allow those oil rigs to come closer to the shoreline. it is unsightly, unsafe, and we cannot stand the risk. host: ron on the democrat's line. caller: i am a retired teacher from new jersey. are you aware of any experiments being done where a smelting facility could be mounted on the deck of a cargo ship to create liquid metal or alloy, and bring that pipe down to the leak and lower the

smelted material down and have some sort of mechanism open it. have you heard of any plans using melted l.i., melted steel? guest: i have not, but there are people around the country with terrific ideas. i would encourage you to get in contact with our committee. there are places where you can submit ideas. i welcome you to contact my office. host: bp officials yesterday saw assurances from the government that they wanted a healthy and viable bp. what are your thoughts about stressing the company enough for it could possibly go into bankruptcy? guest: i am not to worry about that.

they are in big company with huge assets around the world. it is something to be mindful of. down the road, they could be looking at criminal penalties, and we will need them to pay. the taxpayer cannot be on the hook. we have devoted enormous resources of the government to monitor the health impacts of this disaster, to the environmental impacts, noaa, homeland security, coast guard developing enormous resources. bp and other parties will need to reimburse the taxpayer of what we are doing. host: scott on the republican line. caller: good morning. i am a resident of florida. i was watching the huckabee

show. they were showing a lot of creations from scientists, things like that, ways to clean up the oil spill. they used all sorts of different products. wouldn't it be advantageous to use those products to clean up the oil spill? guest: yes, i believe we need everything available. one of the disasters on top of this disaster is that it is very apparent that the cleanup technology has not kept pace with the technology of the drilling deeper into our oceans. in the energy and commerce committee this week we had the ceo's of the major oil

companies, and what an embarrassment for them, in damning proposition, that each had a similar spill response plan. it mentioned the impact on animals such as walruses, which do not exist in the gulf of mexico. that is just one example. host: here is what allen levin writes -- some experts believe the plan to

recycle is the best option but it has not worked in previous spills and it is not profitable . guest: another disaster on top of another disaster. this was not required by regulators, so they are at fault. ultimate responsibility has to go to bp for where these toxic materials go. the taxpayer should not be on the hook for this. it really plays into the fact that now we know the amount spewing from the bottom montgolfier how much harder when a previously thought. host: next phone call on the independent line.

caller: hugo a morning fix it is always a pleasure horse as every other american, who i am heartbroken for what is going, and the gulf. my question to you is what is happening with amenities -- the manitees? guest: that is a good question. i spend one weekend at an island where they gather and it was quite cool to see them right near all of the vacationers. it is a marvelous site. and they live in the warm water so they can if we stay closer t3

of of the coast of florida, they will be all right. but the current changes over time. the appliance and wind changes. we are frightened of a tropical storm or hurricane-this area fearful. what i said, how most of the beaches in court are pristine and beautiful. we need you to keep on taking your vacations, hon done for the fourth of july and an in-house mini york business finish most of the stain is still beautiful. orbits' announced that they will make a guarantee on vacation plans. if you book your vacation and

there is some impact, you will get a refund. host: a major piece in the "macaw ahead how cahow " o cross 3 internal." fell as a member of congress,

with the water here about the response? guest: i think the response has been fair. off the bat, they acted swiftly. of the coast guard, noaa, homeland security, epa finish but the scale and is asking it is unlike any from we have known. ultimately, this is a bp's fault. they will have to bear the ultimate responsibility. like i said before, taxpayers have put up a lot of resources through our agencies, everything they are doing. it should not compound of the federal treasury. it rightfully belongs at the feet of bp. we can always do better. i think all agencies can do a lot better. i think they are on task now but the scale of this catastrophe is simply unprecedented. host: teho on the republican

line -- theo on the republican line. caller: as a human being, a christian, i think we should love each other, follow the golden rule. all of this faultfinding for bp, hanging them help to dry, everyone uses the oil and we are all responsible. let's get past blaming and plug up that hole. personally, i cannot understand why instead of capturing the oil, we just say that it is no good anymore and plug it up. get a 50-ton piece of steel and drive it in there with an explosion and seal that hole up and then more read about the

rest of it. guest: to try to explode the bottom of the ocean, many scientists have looked at that, and because -- and that could cause more problems, other polls in the bottom of the ocean, and it would be worse. i am simply reflecting the anger and frustration of folks that i represent in the state of florida. many who have been opposed to bringing rigs closer to the state of florida and feel that same frustration with the obama administration. it was the end of march where the administration proposed, notwithstanding the fact that we have a 235-mile buffer off the coast of florida, they wanted to bring them closer to our state.

we rely on tourism, fishing, all those small businesses. we cannot get away from who is at fault. somebody must pay the price. it will not be the hard-working folks who had nothing to do with it. host: the president used the second half of his oval office speech to push for energy legislation. one thing all three capitol hill newspapers agree on is that energy legislation seems stalled. your comments? guest: this is a place where we can all channel our anger. we need the american people to move the congress and senate to

help us fight for clean energy legislation. one of the areas we have to focus on is conservation. i was at the google headquarters in a couple of months ago, and they wanted to talk energy. one simple thing they showed me was being able to pull up your home energy usage on your computer, maybe something else, and keep track of the energy usage in your home. .

but caller: -- caller: they wasted no time in sending lawyers and activists to this area to start this campaign. frankly, i am pretty tired of this. you liberals constantly stand in the way of us developing our own energy sources. you push this phony green energy stuff that does not have the

capacity to take care of our needs. all i have seen me you do is use this as an excuse to destroy oil companies and take over the rest, just like the auto industry, the banking industry, and the health-care industry. guest: thank you for your comments. let's face it -- coal and oil are dwindling resources. we will be relying on them for many years to come, but it would be a very wise policy to begin to invest in that clean energy technology. things like conservation in our home -- i come from the sunshine state. we could do a lot more with solar power. wind power is being promoted. these are things we must do for

future generations. for a lot of us, there will not be significant change in our lifetime. we have to plan ahead. that is only smart. we cannot go deeper and deeper into the ocean. it is a risky proposition. we have done a lot of near-shore drilling. some of that will continue, but it is a dwindling resource spread host: -- resource. host: thank you for being on the program. david michaels is the assistant secretary for osha. he'll talk about what his agency is doing. before that, let's show you an event that took place in new orleans, where various agencies set up booths to talk to citizens about ways to find

assistance. >> we have the coast guard over here. the environmental protection agency is here to talk about how they are sampling for the spartans -- dispersants. we also have the wildlife service. back in the corner, the gentleman with the beard is a good friend of mine. he is here to collect your ideas. if you have an idea to clean up the soil, we absolutely want to hear it. -- this oil. we absolutely want to hear it. we hope this is an educational opportunity. if you are angry, concerned, we also want to hear from you from that perspective. i just want to say something. i took command over two weeks ago. i was here during to china.

i sought and helped rescue 33,000 -- i was here during katrina. i saw and helped rescue 33,000 people. i saw how tough that was. i am here to tell you that this is what this is about. it is about your way of life. i am back in a louisiana to fight for you, and for your way of life. thank you very much. [applause] >> a sandy beach is easier to clean-up and then a marsh. we're trying to figure out where we could pick up that oil. >> thinking about the hurricane

season. >> what will this have read what bearing will this have on the hurricane season? >> my name is tim davis. i am part of health and human services. >> what are you doing in the gulf area? >> we are here as a part of the medical element. we are organizing, or establishing the policies for the care of primarily the occupational workers better dealing with the clean-up. >> ok. >> i am waiting for the next class. >> if you want to sign a contract, you have to call this

number. they will tell you how to get a contract. you will sign a contract directly with bp. >> this is supposedly bp that i signed with. >> imi biologist with noaa. i am here to answer questions that people might have about the biological and pecked. >> we spoke with some fishermen yesterday. many are concerned with their wild life. >> people ask about that. i fall back on a historical spill. there was if not -- a spill in 1979. it went on for nine or 10 months, and spewed out ssmething around 140 million gallons of oil into the gulf of mexico before the relief wells was in

place. the spartans were used. over -- dispersants were used. over two 0.5 million gallons were used. >> i realize there was a get. we're not getting information to the public. we're not able to get to the services. what are we actually doing? what is our relationship with bp? the purpose of this approach is to better inform the public about oil spills, and what we are doing in the louisiana to fight the oil spill. host: we are back with our final guest. david michaels is the assistant labor secretary for occupational safety and health, osha. he is very much involved in the clean-up of the gulf for the workers that are being deployed

there. you had a speech in baltimore on monday. here is what they said you told the crowd. among the lessons learned, are that the potential for disaster were grossly underestimated and past injury rates are poor indicators of future catastrophic events. what do you think? guest: commonly, the oil industry will say our industry is safe. we know that the risk of high- consequence, low-probability event, have nothing to do with whether people are slipping or falling. it is like saying you do not want a safety because it pilot has not been injured. we had an explosion with oil

refineries. in 2005, it killed 15 people. the injury rate is quite low. we are trying to focus the oil industry and taking safety seriously in a different way. those are important, but they have to look at the process safety issues. what sort of back up do they have? what steps are they taking to ?void catastrophic events nex host: what if we take the world oil and applied to the 20,000 people already deployed to clean-up the gulf? guest: we are very concerned. we are examining what is going on to insure those workers are safe. it is a tough job. we understand the clean-up must

be done quickly. we have to make sure they're safe. 11 workers have been lost already. host: osha has a number of watchdog groups that are critics of the standards and the application of them. here is the national resources defense council -- limits do not% -- protect workers. host: the levels that are in place were adopted wholesale by osha in 1971. guest: i absolutely agree, he might be surprised. i was one of the biggest critics

of osha before asked to join the agency. ocean limits are of bridges. -- are outrageous. the things said about the standards are true. it is extremely difficult to update these exposure limits. let me be clear, in the gulf, we're not saying that bp has to protect people to those limits that have to go way below that. they have to protect people from exposure. we're trying to make sure workers are safe. host: another criticism came out yesterday. safety training might be inadequate. here is what they write.

host: the rules state that post- emergency workers must undergo 24 hours of trading -- training before working in contaminating the contaminated areas. this requirement was slated to four hours. a professor at hunter college in new york says it is probably not enough. guest: again, we agree with much of what is said there. for every specific worker protection, you have to look at the assessment of the hazard. that is what we are doing. the workers that are cleaning up oil that has lost all of its stockpile chemicals, we are very concerned.

we believe four hours of the -- for them might be adequate. more training is needed. host: people are calling in. let's begin with a call from palm beach, florida. see, i would like to say to what to c-span for allowing citizens to voice our opinions and thoughts. thank you for joining us. maybe this is not in your direction, but why are we burning this oil? we hear about the parish president's talking about skimmers that could be taking them -- picking up this oil. what about the safety of the people in the world? we're breathing the same air. we're talking about global warming. when you see these votes burning oil, and the smoke going up into

the air -- why are we not getting the extra skimmer's out there? where are the resources to find it better, if a logical way to clean this up, instead of compounding the problem? guest: i understand your question that is not part of our jurisdiction, or my expertise. we certainly are concerned about human exposure to these particles and other materials. we're concerned about that to the point where they need extra protection. the decision in terms of whether to burn the oil, before it can be picked up, it was the decision about way out those two. i think it probably makes sense in that there is so much oil. it is much more efficient.

we will not be able to get it quickly before it does more damage. host: in addition to this, i have been reading a lot about the dispersants. how much do we know scientifically about the dangers of exposures? guest: we certainly do not know enough. where the to know what the exposures currently are. -- we are looking at what the exposures currently are. we are looking at how to protect the workers. we have to make sure people are not over-exposed. they could be dangerous. some people said dispersant is just like dish soap. it is like dish soap, but it has a tremendous amount of wary. -- worry.

host: during the clinton administration, he served a couple of years as the assistant secretary for environmental safety and health. he was also the chair of george washington university's school of public health and health services department of environmental and occupational health. that was a mouthful. let's take our next call. danny, on the democrats' line. caller: good morning. i think the answer, if we have every skimming at and the -- skining about -- skimming device rally to our help, i think this is the only solution. we absolutely have to suck all of this opera. -- sa, all of this up.

i do not know if it is too expensive. it is too expensive and not to do it. i have been watching this discussion. like many of the discussions we have, i see all of these people that call in that it right when it knows, and they are hateful, and they do not want to help. i understand their leaders, it is not in their dna to help the common man. i cannot, for the life of me, understand why every day citizens will buy into this when they are being hurt, and see hard-working people in louisiana being victimized like this and losing everything. host: thank you for the call. guest: you raise a couple of important issues.

the it administration is taking been aggressive response to this. i am involved in worker safety. you read about the environmental issues. we're trying to make bp get the oil out as fast as we can. something that has not gotten press is the administration's effort to reach out to working people who are being dislocated. across the gulf state, we are trying to get money out to be essentially help people connect to jobs. there are a lot of efforts going on. we know that individual americans have been effected by this. host: would you explain your relationship with bp?

how does it work? guest: our relationship is that we tell them what to do. directly on the site, we have 25 osha compliance officers going from site to site looking at what is going on. we tell them here is a hazard, we want that fixed immediately. at the same time, we raised those same issues through the coast guard. we insure they hear about it at a higher level and that the same information goes out. when we see a hazard in one situation, it does not have to repeat our campaign -- are complete. host: we are getting a lot of questions about respirators.

guest: in each situation, we look at the hazard. we do measurements. we do temperature readings. we look at what we need to protect workers. and the coast, -- on the coast, our measurements are low, or nonexistent in terms of chemical hazards. there is a foot site to giving people a respirator -- a foot side, to giving people a recipe -- respirator. they have to be fit very well. they are hard to work in. the poll of very much of the lungs. they are a physical burden. if workers are already sick, in many cases, it would be dangerous. because of the risk of skin contact, we have insisted that they all wear chemical- resistant gloves and boots. they're working in 100 degree

temperature, high humidity, hot sunshine, which is already difficult job to do. if we put them in respirators, we could cause some serious damage. we do not believe we need to, but we have to weigh those things out. at this point, we did not see it as a risk that requires respirators. if that changes, we are out there measuring every day -- if that changes, we will put respirator's on, but it will mean that people will have to work slower. we are prepared to do that, but it is a big step to do that, and it has to be driven by a scientific assessment of the hazards. i should say that we are working closely with the national institute for occupational safety and health on examining this issue, and we hope to have

a much more firm policy out. host: the next call is carl on the republican line in lafayette, louisiana. caller: a good morning. i think there is a big difference between an effective regulator and a humiliated bureaucrat. if you look 50 etymology of the word regulator, -- at the etymology of the word regulator, it goes back to the frontier days -- the dangerous days on the frontier. there is a lot of danger going on in the gulf of mexico because we do not have the effect of regulators. we have a bunch of humiliated eurocrats, claiming expertise on a subject -- bureaucrats, claiming expertise and a subject

they do not understand. bullbat -- go back and read about the paxton boys. host: you have made your larger issue. regulators cackling projects they do not -- tackling projects they do not understand. guest: if we do not understand it, there is probably no one that understands it. we are in a situation where when we tell bp what to do, they do it. we felt they were not responding, we sent a letter to admiral thad allen, he communicated that directly, and they responded quickly. since then, they have responded quickly to everything we have asked them to do. we think the approach is working quite well. we are able to get bp to do what we need them to do in terms of worker safety.

host: joseph, independent line. caller: 3% of the world population of uses 25% of the world's oil. what is wrong with that picture? i want to know why these dispersants are banned in the u.k. and used here, since they are banned just about everywhere off in the world? guest: ipad cit the question, but it is what i do not know the answer to it -- i appreciate the question, but it is one that i do not know the answer to. host: there was an interesting comment from a woman who described herself as a female general foreman during the exxon valdez oil spill.

i am one of the 11,000 clean-up workers who is suffering from health issues without compensation from exxon. a doctor visited me and informed me that exxon's medical records had concealed from the public, making it impossible to hold exxon responsible for their actions. the oil that came off of the rocks and into the air, turned into the central nervous system problems, and neurological impairment, chronic diseases, and more. she has a web site. she talks about an ongoing claim. i turn to you with what has the federal government done to study the effect of all these and what are we going to change the effect nex?

guest: hi -- i say we have learned a lot. if we do not start keeping track of people, we have to see what their exposures are. our first priority has to be to protect workers now. the results 15 or 20 years and now will show that. agencies within the demonstration are roster rained every worker, finding out -- are starting a roster about every worker. we are going to link that with exposure monitoring. people get sick, we will be able to answer questions. who is involved? it is not just osha.

next week, the institute of medicine, which is the leading group in the country, are bringing together a group -- at panel to discuss what measurements we need to answer these questions. if people get sick down the line, we will know something about it my thought is that this is about protecting people and now. host: mitchell, democrats line. caller: good morning. half residents been put on notice that they might have to leave when the hurricanes, and, and will they be put on notice if it lands in the residence? guest: my focus is on worker

health. for every area, we have insisted that bp has an extreme weather plan. when there is a lightning storm, there has to be a plan implemented. when there is a hurricane, how will it protect those workers? in every case, there is a plan. in some cases, there are folks sitting nearby available to take people up river it immediately. there are a lot of things being done. host: there are a lot of military people involved. what is your interaction with the military personnel? guest: it is all done through the coast guard. host: the national come and

center? guest: exactly. osha has jurisdiction over private sector workers on the ground, and up to two miles out. beyond two miles, osha has no jurisdiction, but we work closely with the coast guard. closely,e're working we have said it does not matter where people are. we're going to protect them. public workers have no osha coverage. many states provide workers with osha coverage. under federal law, we cannot cover public-sector workers. right now, in the gulf, if you are looking for a parish in

louisiana, where a county in florida, if we had to move to citations, we would issue a citation against bp, but we could not sit tight the state -- site the state. that would change if congress changes the of protecting america's workers act. we support that. host: the last question is from portland, maine. john, independent line. caller: mr. secretary, i am concerned about the fact that you are offering it your advice and you are not aware of with -- about the dispersants. you cannot comment about what you will do for your own workers there. if there were an incident where it would be dangerous for those workers, would it not be who you

to be the first one to wait the flight to the american people. guest: the reason they have been banned it is because of ecological exposure. i am not an expert on ecological protection. as a scientist, i try not to answer questions that are outside of my realm. i think we are doing it the job for the workers down there. host: as we wrap up, we most want our viewers to know what about your role? guest: workers have the right to safe workplace on the gulf and everywhere else. if any worker feels their rights are being infringed or their work is unsafe, they should call us. you can go to our web site or call 1800221osha.

host: we paid for time. guest: thank you. host: we will take a break and go for -- to c-span3 deal for some news headlines. -- we'll be right back. >> it is 9:33. after agreeing to the victim's compensation fund, the bp chief executive is ready to tell congress that he was personally devastated and understands the anger americans feel toward he and his company. tony hayward says the explosion should have never happened. as we have been telling you, live coverage of tony hayward testifying starts at 10:00 a.m.

live on c-span radio, c-span3, and online at c-span.org. the naval blockade of goncalo will remain in force -- and force. foods will be allowed in. new government figures out on the economy -- consumer prices fell for the second straight month. the labor department is reporting that the consumer price index, the government's most closely watched barometer, dropped to 0.2% in may. it is the biggest decline since last december. the number of people filing new claims jumped unexpectedly last week after three straight declines. it is another sign that hiring remains weak. . it is the highest level in a month. finally, the u.s. trade deficit

rose to the highest point in more than a year, as rising global oil prices and a rebounding economy pushed up imports sharply. those are some of the latest headlines. now, "washington journal" continues. host: that picture on your screen is of a crowd gathered because the ceo of bp is scheduled to testify before the house subcommittee. we will have live coverage of it on c-span3, on our radio station and also streaming live on our website. . watching the proceedings is suzanne goldenberg. she is joining us by cell phone. you have an interesting

perspective of writing for a british audience. how do merge those varied interests guest: it is a challenge. it covers so many areas. my primary interest is looking at the impact on wildlife. you cannot ignore the fact that bp is a huge company. whatever happens to bp will have huge repercussions throughout britain. people watch the hearings, looking into the cause of the disaster. also, what can be done to ensure that such a thing does not happen again. hoss: what can you tell our viewers about tony hayward as he begins to take questions?

guest: p art is not one of his skills. he has made one gaffe after another. it has really made the situation more contentious. he has been undergoing media training quite extensively. bp is making that a big t.r. polish -- a big public-relations push. he is trying to show that he is contrite. that is his main challenge. host: with regards to the members of congress, what are you expecting from the democrats and republicans on the committee? guest: this has been the toughest so far on the oil companies. they have been reading -- really brutal in their drilling. they have uncovered a lot of evidence that shows that bp took

short cuts, sacrificing safety and environmental regulations so that it could save money. i think they will have to answer some tough questions about that. from republicans, i expect that we are going to see some moves to make sure that from their perspective, this terrible accident does not mean an end to offshore drilling. host: will he be testified under oath? guest: iraq imagine he would be. that has been the pattern so far. host: since the justice department has announced they are looking into a criminal investigation, how will he be restrained from answering, knowing there could be criminal penalties?

guest: that is an interesting question. i am in the second row. there is a whole team accompanied by lawyers. he will be answering things very carefully. host: what will come out of today's session in the end? guest: it is not clear how much further like he will shed on what actually happened. i think we will not get very clear answers there. unless there is a slip up from tony hayward, and he inadvertently admit something, i think he will be working hard. he will be showing that bp is committed to safety going for. he will push that very strongly.

. . >> we have 9 million readers on line in the u.s.. the majority of our readers are really angry at the peak. bp. there is a lot of back and forth about big oil be too powerful and the government not having regulations to keep them in check. >> that you. the hearing gets underway in

about 20 minutes. we appreciate your time and your background. let's open the phone lines. we are going to have your calls take us up to live coverage. we have been talking about the announcement yesterday of the $20 million reserve fund for the victims of the golf oil spill - - gulf oil spill. while we are waiting for calls, we put on screen a little bit of the bio of tony hayward. his training is as a rig geologist. he joined the company in 1982. he has a ph.d. in geology from

the university of edinburg. about the escrow deal announced yesterday, the suspended dividdnd amount is estimated to be about $10 billion. bp has been paying a dividend of 84¢ per share to its shareholders. 49% of the bp shareholders are american. independence line, you are on the air. >> i am calling about comment about what is going on in the conference -- in congress regarding the employee nondiscrimination act. there are over 120 sponsors on the bill.

there are people on the human services committee who are blocking it. and i think it is unreasonable that you can have a bill with 120 sponsors and less than 12 people can stop something from going on to an actual vote. we need to change policies in congress so that we do not have these bills is being held up by people like this. you cannot have that kind of balance. >> abilene, texas. you are on the air. >> i have a question. regarding something that bp was very vague about yesterday. they said they would not pay dividends to people other than the $2 billion. i feel like it is very vague of

them to make a decision like that because they could say that $2 billion is the bottom line and so on. another thing that i have to say it is, i wanted to know about the maritime law and if this accident is under the jurisdiction of maritime law or not? who owns the property and if the united states would be liable for any of the damages after they get through with bp? that is all i have. >> this is not an answer program, but you have given us a few more topics to explore as we continue to discuss the situation in the gulf. >> a few headlines regarding the situation on dividends. shareholders take it on

the chen." if you rely on dividends for your retirement in come, you are worth less than trip workers on the gulf. whether the federal government was right to pressure bp is a question for the ages. if you rely on dividend income to pay your daily expenses, this should serve as a reminder that rely on one stock is incredibly risky. this is a republican line. good morning. >> i am an army that. my question is, why is all this money floating around. the government is putting out all of this money. they are building a city down there for the military and a

bunch of secretaries and clerks. all this money is going iito that to pay all of these clips that no nothing about it to take care of typewriters and to sweep floors. why doesn't the admiral send a summer rain a couple of torpedoes down there and collapse it. ? when they collapse, how can the liquid to escape was the collapse the pipe? >> william, independent line. hello. >> first, we have had almost 40 years to work on new energy policy. this all goes to the state of

power. they are not willing to fight the oil companies or the banking companies. it goes on and on. until we get some leaders, this is not going to change. i hope this committee hearing goes fine, but it is probably going to be the same tone. when it comes to actually doing anything, everyone just sits and waits. i hope you have a good day. >> as we head into live coverage of this hearing, we thought it would be useful to watch the members of the house oversight committee being asked if they have taken any contributions from bp. here is what they told us. on the democratic side, three members of the subcommittee have all taken bp contributions.

the republican side of the aisle, also three members have accepted bp contributions. john sullivan of oklahoma, $1,000. marcia blackburn of tennessee, $1,000. next, is palm city, florida. go ahead, please. >> thank you for taking my call. i appreciate this. this morning, i was watching your program. you had a lady from the democratic -- >> from tampa, yes. >> she was telling the public all the things we need to do to save energy and to save money. when they are up there flying around the world in the jet planes every week, she flies her

and her crew out to san francisco. she built a brand new building with all our tax money and she is spending it like it is a bottomless pit. it is time we straighten out the parties and cut this government in the half. we cannot afford the way they live. that is all i have to say. thank you. >> this is shannon calling on our independent line. >> that you for taking my call. i am a commercial fishermen. i was wondering why there has been no rush to give us the emergency unemployment. they want to bail out everyone who is wealthy and who has made bad decisions. but people who are self-employed are not eligible for unemployment because we are self-employed. i am just wondering where that

bailout money is. >> can you tell us what your work situation has been like since the spill has occurred? have a suspended fishing in your area. ? >> the waters are close. i have been put out of business. when we met with bp and signed contracts, they informed us that they wanted the commercial fishermen first. i know people who are retired and who have not put their boats in the water in the years who are out there working right now. meanwhile, me and my crew are sitting at home. people have quit their jobs to go out there. they get no response from the vessels of opportunity. >> so you applied for your vessel to be part of that and you have not been accepted for

that? >> i have been license. d. >> how many people do you deploy -- employe on your boat? >> it is about 10. we usually fish for mullet for seafood markets locally. the thing i would like to see a little bit more of from the president is pressure on bp to use people with commercial licenses. we are out of work sitting at home. meanwhile, people are quitting their jobs who are recreational fishermen. >> according to this article,b claims can include damage to natural resources.

states and individuals can still make claims in court. fines and other penalties will be paid out of a separate fund. port huron, michigan. >> hi. i live in michigan, of course. i love the great lakes. we deregulated dumping. but we are still feeling the long-term effects. a pregnant woman cannot eat the fish.. i am concerned about the long- term environmental effects here. what are we looking at in terms of the long-term defects. ? what are they going to do about

the regulations that were in the defect that did not work? >> just about eight minutes before the hearing gets underway. tony hayward testifying before the oversight committee. you can watch the hearing on liline. arlington, virginia is up next. this is frank. >> good morning. i have a concern about the government's capability. this is like a wake-up call for our capabilities of going into the ocean.. .

only bp knows what technology will work. they have the deepest wells in the gulf. there is even one that is twice as deep and has a labyrinth of wells connected like spiders. it is scary when you look at it. the government needs the capability. unfortunately, they need a nasa agency for the undersea to develop a see crawler that can go down there and fix any problem that might arise. that is about it. thank you for listening to me. >> next is a call from lake city, california. tom, you are on the air. >> i am short end brief on this. i do not think we can exist without oil.

it does not seem that, after reviewing all of the technology havehere are people who developed ways to make engines run efficiently. it is just big oil and our society in general that has held them back. until we make that transition, we are going to have to drill, baby, drill until then. if anyone can figure it out, louisiana need your help. >> delaware, you are on the air. >> we are looking at this in too complicated a matter. the earlier pictures that they gave of the oil coming out of the pipe, the first thing below the mediation -- the mutilation was a branch.

-- flange. all they have to do is on spoke that, take a matching, get pieces of boat rod, put the nuts on it, screw the boad rod down, maybe even have the rod 6 ft. long if you have to. that would steer the crude coming out of their up the pipe under pressure where it could be captured. >> bob is one of the many callers we have had who are thinking about his own engineering solutions to the uncapped well in the gulf of

mexico. we have about five minutes left. you are seeing the media in the conference room. tony hayward is already on the scene there. upak of michigan is the chairman of the committee. next is a call from harvest alabama. this is william on our republican line. good morning. >> good morning. when you listed the bp attributions a while ago, i was wondering why you did not list the million dollars from bp to barack obama. ? contributions to the members of the subcommittee at that point.

thank you, you are on the air. >> i have a question for you. is it true that lobbyists will pay you to stand in line outside those committees and they will ppread of the hallway at the last second and they will pay you to hold their place in line. ? >> there are people who are line sitters. >> that is a job i could get in washington? that is horrible i guess it is a job. my thought on this oil hemorrhaged is, why don't we turn our backs on it and forget about it. why don't we let it bleed out and see what happens and see where it is going. i do not think i would live long

enough to see the beginning of the end of the world. it will not end tomorrow and it will not end 150 days from the beginning of this will be. i hope it smothers every surface of water all over the planet and that will be the beginning of the end of the world. >> you are on the air. >> i would like to shut bp down. company in arst long time. >> time for one last