the assurance i can give her is that we are going to increase the number of university places by 10,000 in the coming year, because we want to see higher education expand. the other assurance i can give her is that we are committed to the browne review that the last government set up, on an all- party s, to look at hown make sr education is affordable both for the young people going into higher education and for our country as a whole. >> harriett baldwin. >> thank you, mr. speaker. and can i praise the prime minister's staunch support of the nhs -- [unintelliggble] and its budget, and use this opportunity to invite him to malvern to open our brand new community hospital some time at his convenience this autumn? >> can i thank the honorable lady? don't be -- don't be so --

>> order. it is not against the rules of the house for a government back bencher to support the government. it is not that odd. [laughter] mr. prime minister. >> mr. speaker, we all remember you doing that very well. [laughter] the honorable lady makes a very kind invitation. and i would say that the commitment that we have made to maintain health spending is very important. i want to see community hospitals and district general hospitals thrive under this government. >> mr. david lammy. >> can i invite the prime minister next season to take a trip with me from seven sisters tube station up to the spurs ground at white hart lane? on that journey he will see a proliferation of betting shops.

will he give local authorities the power to deal with the saturation of betting shops, which are preying on working and poor people? >> that is another great invitation that i've received this afternoon. i say to the honorable gentleman that there is a balance to strike. on the one hand, we do want to see -- some of the deregulation that took place was necessary in order not to have over- regulation of these sectors, but, yes, i think that there is a case for allowing local authorities greater latitude to decide over some of these things. we made that point in opposition, particularly on the issue of lap-dancing clubs, where we think local authorities should be given more power and influence. and it seems to be an issue being taken up more broadly on the other side. >> order. >> each week the house of

commons is in session, we air prime minister's questions. live on c-span2 and then again on sunday nights on c-span at 9:00 eastern. you can find the video archive of past prime minister questions and linked to the house of commons and prime minister website. >> up next, the chancellor to the exchequer talk about changes to the british banking system. after that q&a" and then another chance to see david cameron at the house of commons. the commission on wartime contract and hears from defense department officials on the role of support -- and oversight of security contractors. live coverage starts at 9:30 a.m. eastern on c-span2.

sec commissioner talks about reclassifying broadband and the use of public broadway airwaves for emergency purposes. this press wednesday, george osborne announced that the bank of england would oversee financial regulation in britain as a departure from the previous system. mr. osborn laid out a plan to restructure the financial system in a speech to the financial community in london. he is joined by the lord mayor of the city of london. he will formally release the new budget this week. this is about 40 minutes. >> the right honorable lord mayor. [applause] >> mr. chancellor, the governor, my lords, ministers, fellow alderman, ladies and

gentleman. welcome to mansion house and a special welcome to you, counselor, on this occasion, your first mansion house speech to the financial-services sector and the wider economy. we are always happy to welcome chancellors, especially british chancellors, to this house. chancellor, i hope you have already detected this evening all large measure of good will from the bankers and merchants, and an equally large measure of expectation. you've already begun to address the financial realities of our nation and italy the odds in the head out about the workability of the coalition. but as your knowledge, you all on -- you alone cannot solve our problem. we are all in this together.

i hope that the call for the city to be cut down to five has ceased. we understand the sentiments that gained but we must not forget that this is the lifeblood british manufacturing. without funding, machines are not made, products are not produced, there is no budget for innovation, and services: provided. after all, one successful specter of the economy -- sector of the economy does not have to be diminished to encourage another. a strong british economy is strong buy a strong british financial center. this is been the case since at least the late 17th century and is true today than ever before. the financial-services sector and the rest of the economy are inextricably linked. break one and you wound the

other. chancellor, if you want to work on rebalancing the u.k. economy by growing other sectors, then it will take support of the capital markets, private equity, and venture capital to make it happen. that is why we have been particularly pleased that since your election, you, the prime minister, and your ministerial colleagues have said time and time again that you are determined to support private sector recovery, promote inward investment, and ensure that the city remains a valuable cluster of expertise. this evening i would like to say that we hear from the financial sectors and the mercantile side are determined to help make the national recovery become reality. we need the government to create an environment for this to flourish. but we also need a strong and

vibrant city, by which i mean all uk-based professional services, all giving us our leading place in the commercial world. chancellor, you in the governor know how easily we are and must continue to be in aiding the recovery. last year, u.k. financial services contributed 12.1% of the u.k.'s total, a man to 61.4 billion pounds, which is 142% of the interest costs of the current public sector debt. if we in this city are to pay our part in the nation's recovery, then together we must do nothing to stop the war from beating a path to our door. what can we do to keep that door open? first, we need the commitment to create, maintain, and enhance

our competitiveness within are readily understandable, long- term framework. when i came in office last november, i called for a business environment, predictability, stability. i would therefore delighted to hear a similar message in your recent speech. if you can advance this, then you will empower business all over the u.k. this was the point made in the recent debate on competitiveness in the house of lords initiated by a lord. i was delighted to hear such an important subject addressed. in the news session, and congratulations again on your labor speech last week. [applause]

taxation and regulation. we need taxation which is demonstrably fair. consistent and predictable. and it sends up the right signal to overseas investors. with your capital gains tax proposal, it will help recover. what your plan for a levy on banks be unilateral? and what will happen with another jurisdiction imposing apparel customer will our banks be paying taxes abroad? we also welcome the announcement that the bank of england is destined to strengthen the links between financial stability and macro economic policy. it seems logical that the measure of last resort should ever greater authority and macroprudential regulation for the sake of the economy, every business in this land need sound and appropriate speculation.

as for the financial sector, the search to better regulate has triggered the natural the fault of defending reams of regulations and regiment of regulators. as we all know, that approach has not worked so far. why should we expected to do so now? is that a correct response when rules of overwhelmed circumstances? or should we instead conclude that we should have more scope to exercise judgment, better judgment? we need to welcome skilled financial workers for the global pool of talent. they are the lifeblood of our international finance center. over 20 years ago, the banks would merely have all been british. now we enjoy a huge diversity of

interest in the modern city, with more than 250 foreign financial institutions. we're grateful for the vibrancy, the competitiveness that they bring to london. we must do nothing to drive them away. beyond the british government, there are other players on the field. i will offer -- i refer to the g-20 in the european union. the g-20 meeting in toronto cannot come soon enough. its expediency and arbitrage will help with the global cornyn strategy. are we expecting too much from the g-20? of britain's political, economic, and moral clarity to press other countries to press the agreements that they have made, including a drive against

protectionism. we need to be pragmatic about the g-20. i run marathons, and you need a strong sense of patients as well as perseverance and stamina. patience is a virtue but we must keep up the pressure for progress. the other institutions which have been increasing say and all we do is the european union. chancellor, we welcome the public statement in your coalition agreement that the new government will bring a fresh approach to britain's engagement with brussels. this is very good news. we must begin engaging earlier and influencing the debate at the outset. too late we defended the hedge funds in the private industries. now we will pay the price of a new and unnecessary regulation.

regulation which will make it harder for europeans to invest outside of the you and making it harder for us to make the best investment to secure our pensions and our savings or the future. fortunately, we appear to have learned our lesson, with early engagement in the process of the derivatives directives. we have more work to do if we're to influence the tsunami of financial legislation set to come from brussels. legislation which could damage our competitors. i take some comfort in recent developments. i believe in a strong city. i do not want to undermine that city. i fully understand its importance and i want to be an even more vibrant powerhouse for the u.k. and for europe. the way ahead for us in the city is clear. we have to work with europe, shape the g-20 agenda, engage in

constructive dialogue with governments to ensure london remained the economic powerhouse of europe, and contributed leadership on banking and financial services to the benefit of the whole you -- eu. you will not be surprised to hear that i have some observations. we need to move away from singling out banks to blame, and by implication, the city. based on my visit to some 13 countries as ambassador for the fans in mental services industry, i can tell you that the city is filled -- still the envy of the world. but that reputation is not god- given and there remains more to be done. financial-services are more mobile than most other sectors of the economy. if we tear down what we spent

generations building up, the winds will howl and are hungry rich competitors in the far east will marvel at our shortsightedness. i know from our recent conversations with the haitian and handsome minister would said that london would retain most of its global appeal if it avoids taxation or regulatory overkill. a number of them also said that the direction of current policy in london is scary. we must not forget that there is a special role for london in the global economy. we must help set the standards worldwide and we must carry on our position gives authority but also announce sectional this possibility in shaping the global banking system. we must aim toward the right balance between regulation and economic impact.

i trust the independent banking commission will take a long term strategic view when looking at banking reform and will not just focus on the possible separation of retail from wholesale banking. but it will look at all the options for addressing the challenges of banks being too big to fail and the moral hazard arising from public insurance. after all, it was not the integrated banks that failed. from what i hear, other major countries have no intentions of picking up their bags. the unique position of the city makes it a duty for us to protect our competitiveness by welcoming diverse business models. but no matter how it shakes out, we must reform banks that are not only big enough to cope with the stress of uncertainty but can put capitalism back into the heart of capitalism. and that means yet again competition and the freedom for

individual institutions to fail. furthermore, we need employers and the sectors to pay considerable more attention to the ethics with which their employees are imbued. we do not want them to follow just the letter but the spirit of a lot as well. trust has broken down between the british public and the banks. and not all banks have failed, and this crisis from which we suffer is not the responsibility of banks along. the industry must not forget that its license to operate depends on being socially useful as well as being economically and physically desirable, and being seen to make a fair contribution to -psociety. this is exactly what most of the city already does, by applying

its wealth and talent to the service of others. the lord mayor's appeal this year is a program for disadvantaged young people called pitch perfect, combining several programs. helping young londoners acquire skills and self-esteem through the thrill of learning music and sport, i am very grateful for the generous support we of already received. the banks and their employees play a major part in this philanthropy, as as much of the hedge fund industry, for millions in to charity each year. yet the man on the omnibus believed to things about our industry. they've shown little, if any, contrition and they are not limited to small or medium-sized industries who should be driving our recovery. the question should be, how many

businesses are looking at taking extra borrowing at a time when they reducing liability? no matter how that question is answered, it's questions about social usefulness and lending reform and up to the banks and the allies to like the glass clean. now, chancellor, at the outset of my remarks, offered you in the governor our commitment to work in partnership with you. and to that end, the city corp., working with the treasury, the mayor of london, and others have facilitated the creation of a new body, the city uk, an independent organization which will support u.k. financial services abroad as well as address the widespread lack of understanding of the role of finance in the u.k. economy. i wish it well.

so in conclusion, the city is resilience, the city takes change in its stride, a financial crisis produced challenges but we are determined to continue to generate business and international influence, bringing wealth for the good of the nation in europe, and we hope all of this will help draw line against the protested -- a persistent hostility toward the industry. we look forward to working with you and wish you well. now may i ask everyone here to stand as i propose a toast? prosperity for the public first, and the help of the chancellor of the exchequer. [applause]

>> the chancellor of the exchequer, the right honorable george osborne. [applause] >> my lord mayor, ladies and gentlemen, it is truly, link to speak here tonight conscious of the long line of distinguished chancellors who have preceded me.

and i have been looking back at some of their speeches for inspiration, and i was particularly struck by what austen chamberlain said here at the mansion house, "low near -- lord mayor, a lot of the chancellor of the exchequer is not altogether a happy one. he has few friends, and that few he has are those of whom he should most beware, for their approach is the most insidious, and their indignation if he refused their claims is the most marked and the most violent." and then i realized he was the lord chancellor and -- he was the chancellor in the last liberal conservative coalition. [laughter] some of made comparisons with another former chancellor, lord randolph churchill, who took office in 1986 when he was 37 years old. even i think that is a bit young. [laughter] but he offered his resignation to his prime minister just four months into the job.

to his complete shock and surprise, it was accepted. and that is not a mistake i am planning to repeat. [laughter] so rather than quoting randolph churchill, i would like to begin with the words of his rather more successful son winston. for it was here at the mansion house that he delivered one of his most famous ones, "now this is not the end, it is not even the beginning of the end, but it is perhaps the end of the beginning." and he was talking to a country weary from three long years of war. but his words could be said of the current situation as we approach the third anniversary of the beginning of the financial crisis. so difficult has the economic situation been, so sharp has been the fall in output, so large has been the bailouts, that the cry has gone out -- this time is different. if only it were as simple as

that. where there is a well trodden path that has led in different times of history and different places in the world from a banking crisis to a sovereign debt crisis. and i am determined that britain does not follow that path. and that requires conscious, determined action. for the rapid and unsustainable increase in private sector debt that precipitated our current problems has not, for the large part, been eliminated. instead, much of it has been shifted from private sector balance sheets to the public sector. and that is why we see now with countries like greece that what began as a crisis of liquidity and then solvency in banking systems, has been succeeded by market fears about the solvency of some of the governments that stand behind them. i do not want that question ever to be asked of britain.

our country has the highest budget deficit of any country in europe, with the exception of ireland. dealing with this inheritance from our predecessor is the single greatest economic challenge the new government faces. for what business will invest with confidence if they fear ever higher deficits will lead to ever higher taxes? what family will spend with confidence if they fear ever higher debt meaning ever higher interest rates? that is why we have moved at a brisk pace in the six weeks since the general election. we announced, conducted, and completed a review of this year's spending and identified over 6 billion pounds of savings. we announced, established, and received the report of the independent office for refund -- office for budget responsibility. and we should thank him for the hard work over the recent weeks to do that.

[applause] the power that the chancellor has enjoyed for decades to determine the growth and fiscal forecasts now resides with an independent body immune to the temptations of the political cycle. budget making in britain has been changed forever. no longer will we fix the figures to fit the budget. from now on, we will fix the budget to fit the figures. and we saw those third years earlier this week. lower growth than forecast. higher structural deficit. that set to rise even at the end of this five-year parliament. annual debt interest paipayments that will soon exceed what we spend on schools and are almost double what we spend on defense. and today's labor market figures remind us that unemployment is still rising.

my budget next week, held within 50 days of our coming to office, will deal decisively with these problems. it will set out a credible plan to accelerate the debt -- the reduction in the structural deficit. it will determine the overall envelope for spending which our review this autumn will then allocate between departments. will the most far reaching and open-minded exercise in public engagement on spending priorities that this country has ever seen. the budget will also create a fairer tax system. and next week will lay the foundation for a sustainable private sector recovery with measures to boost enterprise and job creation. and i am confident that it will resolve beyond doubt the question that britain can live within her means. but britain's budget deficit is not the only issue that needs resolving. the future of our banking and financial services has to be settled too. and a legacy of the crisis as a

cloud of uncertainty hanging over your industry. and i believe that that uncertainty has to be dispelled if we are to achieve our broader goals for the economy. uncertainty about how you will be regulated, who will do the regulating, and what the institutions that of the subject of those regulations will look like. that uncertainty is contributing to the other -- the other major concern i have about the british economy, alongside the deficit and the situation in the eurozone, and that is the contraction of credit. i and -- uncertainty is leading to a hoarding of excessive capital instead of more lending to businesses. it is making it more difficult for companies to plan for the future. and it is undermining your efforts to go out there and succeed in the world, financing the businesses that need finance, garnering higher returns for savings, and -- given that i am replying to the lord mayor's toast -- breeding

or -- bringing prosperity to the public purse. so how do we resolve these uncertainties? not by wishing them away. when a system of regulation fails so spectacularly, people are going ask what replaces it. when the failure of certain banks have cost the country so much, people are rightly going to ask how to stop it happening again. these debates are real. they are not simply going to disappear. they are happening in workplaces and in homes across the country. they are aired on television, written about in newspapers, brought up in parliament. and these debates at their root involve complicated and profound trade-offs between safety and risk-taking, between protection for the taxpayer and returns for the economy. .

it is now accepted that the centrepiece of the new global standards for bank regulation will involve higher capital and liquidity requirements, and that bank capital requirements should respond to the cycle. this is what the g20 agreed to last year, but the actual standards have not yet been agreed. the markets are already anticipating what they might be, and the banks are building up larger reserves to prepare themselves.

i believe we need to get on and resolve the uncertainty. the g20 finance ministers and central bank governors committed ten days ago to providing the details of the new capital, liquidity and leverage requirements by the meeting in seoul in november. we should honour that commitment and to my mind demand rigorous standards, even if that means an appropriate transition to those standards. we should also demand the highest levels of transparency from banks, and encourage published stress tests where they have not taken place, for we know that concealing the truth is merely delaying the necessary adjustment.+ i would also like to pay tribute to the work that adair turner is doing on our behalf in the international debate. we also face uncertainty about the new framework for financial supervision in europe, that

needs to be resolved in the next few weeks. as europe's cross-border financial centre, the city has an interest in strong mechanisms to underpin the single market, including better procedures in a crisis, stronger arrangements for mediation between supervisors and strict enforcement of the law. but we must have safeguards in place to ensure that supervisory decisions that have an impact on national budgets remain at the national level. my team are already playing an active and constructive role in europe on all of these issues. lord mayor, that brings me on to the uncertainty that hangs over the future of our domestic regulators. that now needs to be resolved too, so that people and the institutions they work for can plan for the future. as many of you know, i have my profound doubts about the tripartite system. this is not a commentary on the quality or dedication of the staff of the financial services

authority, the bank of england or indeed the treasury. it is instead a reflection on what has gone wrong and what may continue to go wrong unless there is change. i should also take this opportunity to pay tribute to my predecessor alistair darling, who is here tonight. alistair, you worked very hard in difficult circumstances and, although we didn't agree on everything, on behalf of everyone here i commend the service you gave this country. at the heart of the crisis was a rapid and unsustainable increase in debt that our macroeconomic and regulatory system utterly failed to identify let alone prevent. inflation targeting succeeded in anchoring inflation

expectations, but the very design of the policy framework meant that responding to an explosion in balance sheets, asset prices and macro imbalances was impossible. the bank of england was mandated to focus on consumer price inflation to the exclusion of other things. the treasury saw its financial policy division drift into a backwater. the fsa became a narrow regulator, almost entirely focussed on rules based regulation. no-one was controlling levels of debt, and when the crunch came no one knew who was in charge. some lessons have been learnt and some changes made, and i commend those who have led this process. but despite the changes that have been made, i am still not confident that the fundamental problems of culture and regulatory structure have been confronted. how do we ensure less box-

ticking and more exercise of judgement? what are the tools of macroprudential regulation and who should exercise them? can the macroprudential regulator do their job if they don't have an intimate knowledge of what is happening in individual firms? our thinking is informed by this insight: only independent central banks have the broad macroeconomic understanding, the authority and the knowledge required to make the kind of macro-prudential judgments that are required now and in the future. and, because central banks are the lenders of last resort, the experience of the crisis has also shown that they need to be familiar with every aspect of the institutions that they may have to support. so they must also be responsible for day-to-day micro-prudential regulation as well. that case is particularly strong where the banking system is highly concentrated as it is in

the uk, where the boundary between micro and macro- prudential regulation is not easy to define. in the agreement that forms the basis of this coalition government, we stated our intention to give the bank of england control of macro- prudential regulation and oversiiht of microprudential regulation. we have now decided how we will give effect to that intention, and the financial secretary mark hoban will set out the details to parliament tomorrow. what we are proposing is a new system of regulation that learns the lessons of the greatest banking crisis in our lifetime. i can confirm that the government will abolish the tripartite regime, and the financial services authority will cease to exist in its current form. we will create a new prudential regulator, which will operate as a subsidiary of the bank of england. it will carry out the prudential regulation of financial firms, including banks, investment

banks, building societies and insurance companies. we will create an independent financial policy committee at the bank, which will have the tools and the responsibility to look across the economy at the macro issues that may threaten economic and financial stability and take effective action in response. we will also establish a powerful new consumer protection and markets authority. it will regulate the conduct of every authorised financial firm providing services to consumers. it will also be responsible for ensuring the good conduct of business in the uk's retail and wholesale financial services, in order to preserve our reputation for transparency and efficiency as well as our position as one of the world's leading global financial centres. i can also confirm that we will fulfil the commitment in the coalition agreement to create a single agency to take on the work of ackling serious

economic crime that is currently dispersed across a number of government departments and agencies. we take white collar crime as seriously as other crime and we are determined to simplify the confusing and overlapping responsibilities in this area in order to improve detection and enforcement. i have thought longer and harder and spoken to more people about all these issues than almost any other issue to have crossed my desk. we do not undertake these reforms lightly, and we do so only because we believe they are absolutely necessary. we will handle the transition carefully, consult widely and get this right. the process will be completed in 2012. and i have asked hector sants to remain at the fsa to oversee the transition and become the first new deputy governor and chief executive of the new prudential regulator. i am delighted that he has agreed. [applause] he will be supported by andrew

bailey from the bank of england as his deputy in the new regulator. this is a strong team to ensure a smooth transition. let me turn now to a final area of uncertainty that hangs over the financial services industry, and that is the very structure of the banking industry and the question: how can britain be home to the most successful and global banks in the world, without the british taxpayer being exposed to the most unacceptable of risks? should we restrict or split the activities of banks? has our banking industry become too concentrated and uncompetitive? now i know there are some who are frustrated that these questions are even asked. but how can they not be when so

many millions of people are paying the price for what went wrong? there are real issues of fairness. and that is why we will introduce a bank levy and demand further restraint on pay and bonuses. but there are also fundamental issues of protection for an economy still reeling from a crisis that in britain saw the biggest bank bail out in the world. there are passionately held views on all sides of informed opinion. some of the most fervent believers in free markets are the most ardent proponents of structural separation, including the man who more than almost anyone created the modern city of london - nigel lawson. i have sat at this dinner in past and listened to the then chancellor express one view, the governor express another, while everyone knew the prime minister held a third and the regulator held a fourth. this cannot go on. we need to resolve these issues

and end the uncertainty in way in which everyone feels that they have had a chance to make their case. that is why the new government is establishing an independent commission on the banking industry. it will look at the structure of banking in the uk, the state of competition in the industry and how customers and taxpayers can be sure of the best deal. the commission will come to a view. and the government will decide on the right course of action. sir john vickers has agreed to chair the commission. as a former chief economist at the bank of england, member of the mpc and chair of the office of fair trading, i believe he is someone of unquestioned ability, experience and integrity who approaches this issue with an open mind.

he will be supported by four other commissioners, martin taylor, claire spottiswoode, martin wolf and bill winters. the government looks forward to receiving their report next year. lord mayor, i have arrived in office with debates raging about all of these questions on regulation and the future of banking. my job is to help our country resolve them. they cannot be resolved overnight, but resolve them we must in a reasonable period of time and in a reasonable way. the plan i have set out tonight represents a new settlement between our banks and the rest of our society. a fairer settlement in which the banks support the people, instead of the people bailing out the banks. and it constitutes a solid foundation on which you can plan for the future. i believe that is what you need most of all in order to succeed and play your role in supporting the recovery. because you have a vital role to play. the experience of the last three years means that fundamental reform is an absolute requirement. we simply cannot afford to continue as we did before. but at its best the city of london embodies the entrepreneurial energy,

constant quest for innovation and global outlook that our economy needs in the years ahead. as an economy we need to invest more, innovate more and export more if we are to build a more balanced and sustainable recovery. and whether it is in insurance, legal services, accountancy, banking or any of the hundreds of other industries that make up this extraordinary global financial centre, you are perfectly placed to do all of those things. that is one reason why, for all the difficulties we face, i am profoundly optimistic about the future of our economy and our financial services industry. my very first foreign visit as chancellor was to china, within three weeks of taking office. there and throughout the developing world, nations of manufacturers are becoming nations of consumers, just as we did after our industrial revolution. and they will want to buy savings products, mortgages, insurance services, fund management, shipping finance, accountancy and legal expertise. they will need broking services, investment banking, private equity, venture capital,

trading platforms and all of the financial services that go to support an advanced economy. i want to help you to market british financial services around the world so that we are the first place they turn to. and by resolving the raging debates that hang over your industry, i want to free you up so that you can focus your energies on what you should be doing: building your businesses, winning new clients and helping to create the prosperity that our country deserves. thank you. >> to more of, of "," therefore

and talks about her recent oracle. arthur vs talks to the american enterprise institute. we will talk about elections and michael kinsley will join us. he is editor at large. >> sees them, our hub of terrorist content is available online, and you can connect with us on twitter, facebook and you ttupebe, our cameras when to look at plymouth after her the this is about 35 minutes. -- >> i am under the weather.

how are you doing? >> i got a bug or something. >> you should get some rest. >> take care of him. >> let's go upstairs. i will show you what we are doing. >> i knew i was going to shut down soon. i have not had a day off. >> you are not too young. >> i have gained 90 pounds. >> we are still young.

>> do you know jackie cole? >> yes. >> and danielle. >> and danielle. they're beautiful pr people. [laughter] >> were you expecting that many people? it was unbelievle. >> i wanted it to be nice. they need to know what they need. they knew. -- they note i knew. >> we went to high school together. he went off to be a movie star and left us here on the west bank. [laughter]

>> are you feeling better today? >> better. i am dragging. i'm not going to stay long. i wanted to tell you so you could stay with us. early on, we saw right after the accident, we knew that we were going to have problems. they said that the dispersants would make it sink and it is not coming ashore. so we had asked for, because businesses right here, and we knew we had to stop the oil here. we have asked that jacked up votes -- we have asked that jack-up boats, the president did not hear about a plan so he said put that in the plan. we've gotten one placed here. one on this side. and at the or kamen, we send additional boats.

they sent does no more additional boats. we go by the coast every morning and ght looking for oil. the first oil that came ashore came ashore in a storm. the next morning at 6:00 it was there. it was over in this area. three weeks later, it still has not been cleaned up. it killed everything in the marsh. >> what took so long? whose call was that? as i was saying, everyone was worried about was coming out of the ground. we were worried about what was hitting the ground. isn't that as important as what was coming up as going out? >> offshore, we've seen some tendencies, but most of those can swim away. hear, when it comes in, it blankets and smothers everything. >> and you can get it out of the wetlands. >> it is really heartbreaking to

see what is goong into the area that is it for three weeks later, they still did not have a plan. the governor and a lot of local leaders came in, we went out and suck it out. and we embarrassed them into acting. today at 2:00, i will not there because i am under the weather, he called last night to find out they will finally put in a machine. unlike what we have which states that everything, his machine takes the oil and water but puts the water back with less than 1% of the oil. >> how many boats of kevin's did they -- >> i think they're doing 20 of the bignits. we are asking for 18 of the small units in here, for the smaller boats. the larger units are going out to the barrier islands and try the sake of -- soak up the big

stuff. we're losing the battle once again we embarrass them into doing the right thing by putting these -- >> whoa kevin be here? >> yes, they're going to where they are depying the first ones. >> i just got a call and they said it where were going to do it today. >> i cannot believe it. >> if only eliot ness were here. >> he comes back 25 years later. >> he's hysterical. >> but we've gotten everyone of these blue dots where they've got oil. >> it's staggering. >> the wave and the wind blows

it one way or the otr. our big fear is that all of florida, we get a hurricane or a small tropical storm, it will blow it up into the bayou. it devastates the west side and then the east side. >> if they get these machines, does he had 18 machines? >> he's got 30 of the big ones. that ishat they're talking about today. and they're going to take them into what they call the blue water. the one that we had asked for, they just tested them for brown water, which is in those tests where they're supposed to give us 18 of them. think the pressure of bps today shutting them -- the bp yesterday shutting them down. >> you heard about that. shedding non those barges

because of life preservers? -- shutting down those barges because of life preservers? me on. >> and the ast guard agreed with that? >> i am not after the guy. he is shown no leadership in thiswhole thing. you get comments like consider, maybe, mike. that is not a leader. let's go do it. you don't and singer -- nsider bringing in vessels from other part of the world. >> you just have to do. >> you pull out all the stops and make all the things -- anyone in the world that can pick up this oil should have already been deployed. in a discussion yesterday, they said that it would take two weeks. do we think this iso be gone into weeks? >> what i said when it first happened, if you're the only one on the scene at that time and you are already predicting what

could have been done and what should have been done immediately and was coined happened and what they could do to prevent. i said, listen to him. circle the wagons. i told this to the us secretary of the commerce. i told him again publicly the other night. we told you all to listen to the local parish presidents, don't get every ship you can get your hands on, circle the wagons, get a big circle around the well and don't let it pass there. that is what you do in war, for g's sake. >> in nooth found washington, where are all the boats, where is it? >> every military budget that we young -- every military boat that we own. >> even the numbers that they're puttingut there, 26,000 people on the ground, i still do not

believe that. i have asked them with my guys in a helicopter, start counting what they have coming in. they said that there are going to do it but it still was not been done. >> they say that it is empty. indeed one animal preserve, he said people should be put out on the beaches collecting it at 6:00 a.m. and nobody was there. judy when she called me, she was crying because she saw brown pelicans. when she first call me. >> they've got them tried to crawl back up. and what has happened, we had been meeting here yesterday because the person that bp hired to be over the animal thing refused entrance to one person. we were one and ago to the lsu tigers, and i was dropping the chain, and they said, hey how are you doing. in a nice to see. nice to see it.

hey, how are you. >> good to see. >> he just said -- they do not want you out here. it's a contractor talking about the bird flies down the highway. the state and local people met, but to find out that they said it was the federal while white people, it is a contractor of bp. what is happening, they are making up their own rules. right. i was out there with anderson cooper the other night. they let him on the ground. when i knew he was coming, they letus send. it is my land. they cannot stop us. they are making up rules that you can take these pelicans and say, we leave them for five days with the also that they calmed down. show me were that as a role. that is not true. you might one believed them overnight if they're really upset, but five days --

>> that is what this mess is. there are hundreds of people waiting to come and help. wildlife expts waiting to come to our shores. why are they not here? >> one group from australia was told to come. they walked up there and they said, don't need you, you can go back home. from australia. and the guy came to see me, a here is what they're doing -- they are expanding because they need to. we asked them to add another bird place because you can transfer the board -- transcript the birds within 40 minutes. i think they're trying to keep their mouths of work spread out. like, we will get an area inundated with 100 birds. if they clean it up with volunteers as quickly as possible, they are out of work for three or four days. or they do not want to work them long hours.

they will keep them up for a week, that is on excusable. and that is what they're doing. if that -- you can see the pelicans that have not -- should and covered with goals for days -- >> covered with oil for days? who made that decision? that is a bp decision. that is not a wildle expert. what about the young man on the national show, i cannot remember hi name, but he was saying that there were plenty of people waiting. >> there putting the state and federal wildlife over. >> you remember this. we have one of our best experts, they were performing better than most of the state probably put more into their hands when it

was mixed at mobilize them. -- miche that mobilized them. >> the problem as. >> bp is controlling it. >> they are not trusting them. and there's nobody on the ground with bp saying, no, that is the wrong way. we're going to do it this way. >> how you actually get someone to finally move bp out of the way. >> yesterday's with the meeting with state wildlife, we got them control.ze that they are not in >> can all of us make that official, that bp no longer has control of your parish? >> is the coast guard supposed to be in control right now. i will love to be sitting around the table working for every issue with them. i would much rather be cleaning up the old been yelling and

screaming. and i have done that for a couple of weeks in between, and just like right now, and there are a lot of coast guard people here and local bp people are great, but we have got to get to a point where when something needs to be done, i can grab that person by the arm and say, let's fix it. and it is not to that point right now. >> you got four states being affected directly right now. why is there not a single point person with coast guard, bp, for each of the four states so that when you as a parish their resident -- as a paris president has an issue, there's one single person that can clear all of this. whether a wildlife issue or a boat issue, or clean up the issue, anything that we're dealing with. it doesn't seem to be that difficult the process to create. >> i appreciate -- is sam here today?

sam is a great guy. but you ng, sam could pick up the phone and call, let me check with that. sam does not have the card is on that -- sam does not have the authority that thad allen says that he does. it sds up the chain of authority and never gets an answer back. i think a lot of the bp people on the ground do not have the experience or rely on contractors that to me are more interested in putting bodies out there to make money than they are cleaning up the oil. >> from the bp and coast guard standpoint, whoever is local, state wide not only needs to be named but have authority and deciion making power so that they can make some calls so that you do not have to go to that person and they have to wait for

coast guard and bp. there needs to be more of a controlled decision making process created here to get things moving faster. >> last saturday, we said this is alan is to be done, pull every shipn the war will -- in the world with a separate group, we need vacuum trucks along the edge, skimmers on the outer edge, and a crew on that beach. when the oil comes up, when it comes up, you better get it or it goes back out the city. people stationed onhe beach 24/7, and it s covering the territory. the skimmers are not going to do it. 500 ft. of boom, you boomlets' swly and it goes back and forth that cover the whole bay. it can be done with four or five teams in a day's time. you circle it a lot.

but you have to do it first light, late in the evening when the water is calm. you skim along the edge, you get the heavy march out, and the last part of that team is going to be -- and it better be doing it now -- one of three things. something to spray 1 marks to give it a chance to come back, secondly, something to get the sticky blackness of, for third to absorb all like peat moss and blowing in there. they need to test all three, but once we get all the oil out, we ne to be ready to spray. i am not an expert, i don't know which is the best, but someone should be testing something so that when it is time to do that, we can have the best chance of saving the marsh. all those teams need to be deployed by area.

if he is in charge of this area, and we see that there, we call a month, he brings the team there. >> exactly. >> if this team has no oil, they can come over and help this team. we know more is coming. we know the wind and the waves are going to pick where it goes. we best start having attained, like, i start with one team and i took to others out. so that they know what to do. they go out and do it. today, we're not supposed to, but we started looking up the oil boom because it is not getting picked up. we brought 20 garbage cans with bags, put them in and tied them up. we went and got a shot back and pickp 110 gallons in 15 minutes. we've got some word about the

electrical components. we got an air compressor run in the vacuum so that it is going out today. tomorrow, if it works, we bring in four teams. >> engineering. >> if bp does not put the vote out to circle all, we will then put three teams togeer to d that and then go out with these machines. >> those are ready to go back up. we know we had that delay in jefferson, but they are back and ready to go now? >> are they not out? [inaudible] >> if i am not in my boat and%- the coast guard pulls up, they want to know if i'd been drinking, if i have my life jacket on, my registration, and many of those, they write me a

ticket or they take min. they do not shut me down that is what i did not understand. i have been on offshore vessels, where they pull up and get on board and they go through whole vessel, and then they get off and leave. why would they shut them down? [inaudible] it is frustrating. it is hard. >> they have a book that they go by. if it deviates from the plan, it is not on the book. they do not know how to do it. >> if they are not flexible, then you need someone out there who is flexible. >> a lot of people are o there watching i was glad the president approve that when he came down the first time.

we would like to add addition boa to be more on top of it. we had eight boats on standby. the president thought it was a pretty good idea. and i have done emergency response. >> i think obama should make you in charge of everything. >> no. >> i think you should be running it. >> he knows you much. >> is a lot of simple things that can be put in place. >> i know patricia was saying that in jest, i think, but to take that point, why not if it is not been done, why not have a daily capt. meeting, two or three times a day a cabinet meeting where you and chris roberts and some of the other leaders from all of the affected parishes -- the mayors, all on

the phone, at least once or twice a day, directly with washington so that they can make those calls right there in that conference room. >> we were in a conference call with the white house, but it is pretty much, we will take that under consideration and mbeki. >> i'm talking to someone literally right under the president that can make the call. >> wherever the command centers are, the person -- there should be one coast guard, one bp, sitting there and i should be able to go down and get an answer. >> you should be in charge. people elected you. you know your areas. we had a resolution yesterday that said it emulated the regional planning commissiin that said that for every parish, the president is in charge. do was the president needs.

if it is a berm, if it is a rock side, if it is a barge, don't question. we got a resolution saying give you all the power. you know your area, you know what is best, and it will be different in the sherry. why they trying to figure it out globally? that is not going to work. >> just like the berms. some of the naysayers have been because they did not want to spend the money to do it. the question was not -- you know if you get something out here, is going to catch the 00. the one and the governor changed from the coastal plan, if you go look at the oil, it is this that that is washed up on the beach. it is kept out of the marshland. just that 15000-foot area. >> and when we brought this resolution of, one of our council members was a word about the scientific criticism of the berms. she weighed in on that but i came right back, we both came right back and made the

statement that, that is not true for every area. the berms will work somewhere. that criticism has been because they are doing everything globally. it will work somewhere. >> when the president said we're going to have a roundtable discussion in the next three days, hancock and within 24 hours i will give you my aner. i said, that is fine, mr. president. what we heard was a bunch of naysayers halfway through. i one up and said, this is a dog and pony show. i am one to call the white house. i left the meeting and went outside and had an interview with somebody. i went back and, he called interrission, he said, we're going to give thearish presidents and the governor a chance to speak right after this hearing so that we can hear their side. i said, i am ok with that. we all spoke. at the end of that, the secretary stood up and she is giving her points of view, and i

said, let me cut to the chase. are you for or against the rms? she said, well. no, i'm ok with them. i will take that as a yes. now to the rest of the panel, you of all ledger of his -- you have all had your peace. are you for or against them? everybody against it, raise your hand. you're all for it. we need to go back to the president say we're in favor of ending could ago. no one here is against it. and i was on conference call for weeks leading up to this. they all had the water flowing over there 20 years ago, we had an islander. it did not look so bad then. let's put the island back. at the end of the call, and i asked everybody, anybody on their wants to say don't do the berms, because the alternative is oil in march. nobody would say no.

but they would say why we should not do it all along, b at the end of the call, to this day, i cannot find one person that will say in a yes or no question, note, do not do it. >> i said that they are not scientifically unacceptable. there were scientifically not preferred, but that was in a perfect world. the alternative to oil in the marshes brings a whole different picture. and that is what they are not taking into consiration >> fimian the governor flew over yesterday. the land is actually coming out of the marshall rig. i got goosebumps flying over it. the federal wdlife said, if you don't know what you've done done. we would never live to see those islands bill back. and they should be billed back.

we will lead to this as we go forward. but because of the challenges of naysayers, and this of the federal wildlife people that have that taken care of, we have been trying for 20 years to add dirt out there. when we hear from the ocn current experts and florida, it is going to take more beach awful florida beaches. wait a minute. they were there 20 years ago. now that they are there, adding to them will note as difficult. so this will be something historical for the whole region. as long as we can get through this hurricane season, we're going to on them. we've already started a foundation for people who have donated money to help on them. we will put in trees that will keep them growing in salt water. >> i go back 16 years.

from family diffent. -- 60 years, blue water fishing. he is simple water. >> i caught a king mackerel. it weighed more than i did. >> we know you're talking about. we saw those island. we watched him disappear with the layman's eye. whatever you can do to restore em is where we have to go. it ishere we had to go before katrina and before that oil spill. it is worse now. >> you kill two birds with one stone here. this is almost a no-brainer because you were helping the oil spill but you are helping -- especially we get past this year and on them -- your help in for years to come. that was one of the most encouraging thing about the president's speech. he started really focusing on the coast restoration which we have all been working on but

now there is more and nional spotlight. >> we have to be a very aware of this. i had a hundred or oystermen going crazy with a national people talking about, we let the levees go and that's what we need to do. there's a $200 million diversion being looked at with moral growth started many years and in the planning stages. my thought has always been, our coastal plant is putting a berm on the levee to protect the parish, then to come out and build a natural riches the way they were befor pump them up 6 feet with trees, and in the barrier islands. in total, it would add 15-18 feet to our parish. the important thing and all that every time we get a 10-

m.p.h. wind, it comes out here. if we had this, this, this, and this, that salt water is not going to get there. it is going to come here. then all of this is going to grow. wdo not need a better one. we're going to showand we're working on a locally with the scientist, we are going to show green arrows coming out of there, and salt water pushing it back up. then we will put our model her and show that those green areas come to hear. with the present version. aftethe barrier islands and all of our ridges and islands we reestablished, if we determined we do not walsall war up here, and we want to increase the diversions, that is the time to increase it. but let's spend our money keeping the salt water out. because you're never going to fight mother nature. making a diversion without

restoring out here, it is a fight that we're not going to win. we've put more water out, a strong wind will blow it back again. that is why our focus, and sitting on the governor's board, they're letting too many scientists have their input into the plans. in needs to be more practical plan. a plant that is going to get the most bang for the buck. [inaudible] i started the foundation years ago. i gave them catering free and was emboldened to clean up the lake. it has turned into one of the most extreme groups. they were against the berms. i ask for a statement saying%- that and it would not do that. they said that everything is bad for the empowerment. they are to diversns, don't build nothing. right now, our pompous about as high as 4 feet.

i had mitigation since i was building on the airport which is absolutely ridiculous. >> from pure scientific statement, weave no maritime industry. how practical is that? there has to be a compromise and a balance. i don't know why -- again, the local parish presidents are the ones who are the boots on the ground and understand what is best for your area. i -- they do not understand the salt water -- that is not figured in when they talk about berms. they don't realize what it is preventing. they only talk aut the perfect world. >> we agreed to go toalf the barrier island out. the back side, you can have nesting and that is great and we will protect them. but it this island was not hel within a year or two, those isands are continually -- so those pelicans move further and

to other islands. the nesting grounds are all but gone anyway. this berm will give us protection that we need now to allow them to start to nest out there again. >> go back to that point. driven you want to get down to see someone? in this weather, the boats that we have, it would be risky. beacon still go out on our planned trip. but if you wanted to see kevin, we would need to leave and we need to get a bigger boat or drive. one of the other. >> i just wanted to go out. >> then we wl go for with our plan. [unintelligible] >> let me tell you.

i am sure he is coming back to new orleans tonight. i will check to see where he is going to be. >> i will track and down later. >> ok. and it is stormy out there right now. >> when i shut down, i shut down. i haven't eaten since yesterday it. if i go three more days without eating, i will be all right. >> we're ready to just boat today. where are we looking here? >> we haven't figured that one out. >> we will look there first. all right back row. >> there we go. >> all right, wonderful.

>> thank you. [captioning performed by national >> i am a biologist with the response division and i am here to answer questions that people may have about the biological effects associated with the oil. >> are you here working in the area? what do you do on a daily basis? >> my duties on a daily basis range from helping to coordinate information between the wildlife operations and a unified command broader representatives.

i also post of states to state and local officials to the internet. i do for a variety of things. i am a little bit tired. i helped coordinate safety issues. i am sort of a jack of all trades. i speak to all of those issues. >> let's just take dispersants as an example, what are the concerns with this person is and how do you keep track of how they are being used -- with dispersants, and how you keep track of how they're being used? >> we look at the biological impacts and the organisms in the

water. all the way down to microscopic animals. i tried to do literature searches to find out what the toxicity is. i also try to work to get a feel of what the concentrations of dispersed oil or dispersant might impact the animals. >> how does it work? >> i cannot speak to what is actually in the dispersant. i have to look at the ms-dos -- msds. they work by breaking the oil into very small droplets. oil disperses naturally on its own with the wind and waves driving it.

but the droplets are larger. when you apply chemical dispersant, it breaks it into small droplets with a large surface area of that is more easily degraded by microbial organisms. >> we talked to some people that were fisherman yesterday and they are concerned about their way of life. have you had people talk to you about that? what do you say to them? >> as far as having a fear that their fishery is going to end? >> yes. >> people ask about that. i fall back on historical facts. there was a well released and it went on for nine or 10 months and gushed out 140 million gallons of oil into the gulf of mexico before the belief well

was in place -- the relief well was in place. this person was applied at that site -- at that time -- a dispersants were applied at that time. this is not something that we really want to be doing, but we have to choose -- if we have to choose, it is a good thing. the havoc that is what really a speeds -- feeds of the fishery. all of the shrimp, a lot of the fish come in and the marshes are other nursery ground. if we can keep oil out to some degree, we will assist that fishery in its recovery. >> how many people are here with noaa?

how big of an operation is this? >> noaa is engaged on many fronts. i work in the emergency response division. our office is working nearly 24/7 on this. our sister division is in the same boat. they do damage assessments. we have multiple offices working. we have the national weather service and the national fisheries service and the national ocean service among others that are working in response to the spill. it is a lot of people. >> where are you from and how long do you expect to be here? >> i am from seattle washington. i have been down here for 16 days. i have small children at home, so i am out of the rotation

until august. once my husband comes back home, i expect to be down here for to weeks on and to weeks off for the duration. >> do you have any idea how long the direction will be? >> i cannot predict when the relief well will be in place. we expect to be on scene for many months. we will determine the cleanup in point. we will be here. >> thank you, very much. >> a former deputy director of the fbi and the cia offers perspectives on u.s. counterterrorism efforts. live coverage starts at 10:30 a.m. eastern it on c-span. up next on c-span, it is "q&a."

after that, david cameron in the british house of commons and in a debate between the candidates in the north carolina democratic senate primary. both chambers of congress are in session this week. of the senate returns tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. eastern for general speeches. votes start at 6:00 p.m. eastern. also, a bill to extend jobless benefits and a bill that creates a $30 billion fund to help small businesses get credit. the house is back on tuesday at 12:30 p.m. eastern and at 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. later in the week, possible consideration of a measure that would set new requirements for campaign advertising and funding from corporations and unions. expect work from a 2010 spending expect work from a 2010 spending