summers on the plans to expand spectrum for wireless devices. in about an hour, tributes to robert byrd who died on monday at the age of 92. after that, far short portion of the confirmation hearing of elena kagan to be on the supreme court. and later, house majority leader steny hoyer says the federal debt is that threat to national security. .

it is great to see a full house. it looks like stan e--- standing-room-only. there are larger numbers watching on our web cast from newamerica.net. we will be viewing this on c-

span, which is among the cameras recording here today. that means this is on the record. at the end, larry summers will take questions. what i will do, and i will remind you, who is have you stand and identify yourself. wait for the microphone. there is a hand-held microphone. we want to make sure that everything gets onto all of these video feeds. we're very pleased to host larry summers today, who will describe how the government can facilitate the evolution of broadband connectivity to create jobs and assist it -- kansas -- and sustain economic growth. is a testament to the growing economic importance of broadband and mobile internet access that the president would send his chief economic adviser to explain to the administration -- to explain the

administration's initiative to redistribute large portions of the public airwaves for broadband. here a new america, our program, are open technology initiative, and our economic growth programs, have all argued that universal and ubiquitous broadbent connectivity is essential infrastructure for the 21st century economy. broadband will be the diffusion of high-capacity and mobile broadband that will prove critical to improvements in productivity in every other sector. the mission of the program has been to open the vast wasteland on used spectrum capacity for broadband innovation. spectrum is the oil the information economy, and the air waves are publicly-owned resource that need to be allocated to maximize the public interest. we therefore applaud the administration and the s.e.c. for taking up this challenge and for setting such an ambitious goal -- the fcc for taking up

this challenge and for setting such an ambitious goal. the and this is on reallocating a federal bans for shared -- the emphasis on a reallocation of the federal bands holds promise. we know the military, the faa, and other agencies will continue to require priority access to many of the most valuable portions of the public airwaves. since most of this capacity is not used, we strongly support the administration's efforts to develop the policies and resources that can take it vantage of smart radio technologies and open these bands the private sector for shared use in the future. finally, i would like to thank not only larry summers for his attention to this issue, but also the leadership of the commerce department. i would like to thank the white

house office of science and technology policy. i thank them for supporting the fcc's national broadband plan. i know julius genachowski had wanted to be here. some of his key staff is. it is gone to take a team effort to move these issues to the top of the nation's economic and technology agenda. larry summers hardly needs an introduction. for the record, he serves as assistant to the president for economic policy and as director of the president's national economic council. previously, he has served as secretary of the treasury under president clinton, as chief economist at the world bank, and as president of harvard university from 2001 till 2006, where he continues as a tenured professor. let me turn this over to you. [applause]

>> thank you. i am glad to have this opportunity. the story of the subject that i'm going to talk about is that -- is one that should give inspiration to researchers and academia. this idea started, at least to my knowledge, with work that ronald did in the late 1950's. in the aftermath of his work suggesting that spectrum be auctioned or allocated by the market, two fcc commissioners declared that he was as likely to get his policies adopted as the easter bunny was to win the preakness.

[laughter] hundreds of billions dollars later, around the world he is looking good and those two fcc commissioners are not looking so forward-looking. he was inspired by his work in this area to invent the theorum, which the nobel prize committee was inspired by and awarded him the nobel prize. those of you with ideas that have not caught fire, i implore you to persevere. [laughter] the lags are long and and variable, but there is the potential that today's crackbrained idea is the centerpiece of tomorrow's policy. that is certainly the case here. i come here today to announce the president's plan to nearly double the amount of commercial spectrum available in order to unleash the innovative potential of wireless broadband.

this initiative will catalyze private sector investment, contribute to economic growth, make revenue available to the federal government, and help to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. it was developed by a team that includes the office of science and technology policy, represented here today by the president's chief technology officer aneesh chopra; the department of commerce, represented here today by ntia administrator larry strickling; and the office of management and budget. i want to thank them and the rest of the team for their hard work. at the outset, i want to acknowledge the hard work and leadership of fcc chairman julius genachowski and his team, which put together the national broadband plan and proposed a set of steps that contributed to the initiative i am announcing today.

but first, let's put this all in perspective. the president's economic strategy is grounded in the idea of building a stronger foundation for future prosperity and growth. yes, when the president took office, he inherited a financial crisis of once in every 75-year magnitude. the first priority had to be lifting the economy out of that route. even as he did so, it was essential to lay a foundation for future prosperity. that is why the recovery act included more than $100 billion in innovative investments to help americans use energy more efficiently, high-speed rail to connect our cities, and health information technology to create jobs while transforming our health system. that is why the recovery act also made a substantial investment in bringing broadband to unserved and underserved areas across the country.

and that is why the president has undertaken a range of private-sector initiatives from the national export initiative to double exports in five years to the innovation strategy aimed at fostering and catalyzing private sector innovation. at their root, these initiatives involve the government acting as a catalyst for private sector investments and growth. to be sure, this is not a new idea. the story of american economic growth is often told as a story of entrepreneurs. thomas edison, henry ford. and so it is. but it is also a story of government actions to assure the necessary foundational investments for economic growth. in the 1860s, as war raged between north and south, abraham lincoln worked to realize another vision that would unify america from east to

west. how did lincoln and congress, immersed in civil war, manage to build a railroad spanning the american continent? performance-based government bonds, extensive grants of government-owned land, and competition among the major rail companies. traveling across the united states used to require a journey of several months. after the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, it could be done in a single week. public action, private investment. same principle. -- this same principle motivated one of the great educational achievements in our history -- the establishment of land grant colleges and universities. again, public-private the -- public property. the morrill act of 1862 transferred a total of 11.5 million acres of federal land

to the states to establish educational institutions. together with an expansion of this effort in 1890, these land grants broadened access to higher education just as the demands of a rapidly industrializing society called for more highly skilled workers. today, 3 million students are enrolled each year at the 104 land-grant institutions across the country. the research that takes place at those universities transformed american agriculture and spurred the transportation -- transformation of the american economy over the course of the 21st century. public action, private investment. today, i'm here to discuss a new avenue. to president's initiative unleash the potential of wireless spectrum. opening up spectrum will -- i will veto this later. it will create the foundation

for new private sector investment activity. it has a range of other high- value uses that would not have been possible without coordinating an organizing role of government. public action, private investment. there is another reason why reforming our spectrum policy is so important. it is something that goes deep into political economy. mancur olson famously wrote about the tendency of stable societies to become sclerotic as entrenched interests blocked process.

in a similar vein, alexander gerschenkron commented on the advantages of what he termed "economic backwardness" -- countries that were late to industrialize could bypass many of the dead ends and outdated practices that encumbered the early industrializers. these countries could start with an open canvas, free from what john stuart mill once called "the slavery of antecedent circumstances." spectrum policy reform is especially important because it addresses a cutting-edge area where we would otherwise be at a -- otherwise act oa disadvantage because our early lead in developing and disseminating technologies of yesterday leave us ill-equipped for the technological

challenges of tomorrow. the most important innovations so much more spectrum has been spoken for here than in the emerging nations that we're competing with. the most important innovations, economic history suggests, are not those that simply enable an existing task to be done more cheaply or more rapidly, but, rather, are those that create possibilities that could not have previously been imagined, and with them create the industries of the future and millions of new jobs. the steam engine, electricity, the automobile -- these were technologies that did not just permit existing products to be produced better or more cheaply, but opened whole new economic vistas. we are in the middle of another

one of those revolutions right now. the information technology revolution is redefining infrastructure. for millennia, progress in infrastructure came from the more effective movement of the commerce in goods and services. but in the digital world, we are concerned with the movements of images and ideas, bits rather than mass. we are now in the midst of the third wave of the internet's development: mobile broadband. and we have only begun to glimpse the benefits of that revolution, exemplified by smartphones, netbooks, and the applications that run on them. a major threat to this vision is what can be called a "spectrum crunch." today we are able to use smartphones and cellular

internet connections because of actions that started in the early 1990s and now leave us with just over 500 mhz of spectrum for mobile communications. but this spectrum is becoming increasingly crowded. yes, it is true. the technological innovation can greatly expand what can be done with the given quantum of spectrum. but there is a limit to how quickly we can invest and innovate. in recent years, the amount of information flowing over some wireless networks has grown at over 250% per year. by some estimates, the next five years will see an increase in wireless data of 20 to 45 times relative to 2009 levels. many other countries have less- incumbered spectrum than the united states and continue to move aggressively in the wireless arena.

chinese and indian mobile phone companies are gaining between 8,000,010 million subscribers per month. to be sure, the united states has the edge in the ecosystem of networks, technologies, products, and applications -- but we can only keep that edge if we continue to develop our digital infrastructure. these issues are fundamentally important for our competitiveness. we live in a world where skilled workers are increasingly mobile, where ideas are readily transmitted across international boundaries, where capital is ever more mobile, where the ability of corporations to maintain their networks across international borders is continually enhanced. in such an integrating and ever- more integrated world,as debates over everything from buy america provisions to outsourcing to

intellectual property illustrate, we have an ever- increasing stake in ensuring that even as the global economy becomes more integrated, the american government must pursue policies that are focused on american prosperity and whose benefits flow to american workers. strengthening our infrastructure is such a policy. infrastructure is constructed here in the united states by american workers; it cannot be relocated; and it draws mobile factors of production towards our country. we can take advantage of the benefits it brings. if transportation infrastructure was and remains a key source of competitive advantage in the industrial economy, digital infrastructure will be a key source of competitive advantage in the knowledge economy.

there is no policy step more importann for the digital infrastructure than assuring that scarce spectrum is efficiently allocated. president obama is signing a presidential memorandum committing the federal government to the ambitious goal of makkng available another 500 mhz of spectrum by the end of the decade -- nearly doubling the total amount available for wireless technologies. the substantial proceeds realized from this process will be invested in strengthening our public safety and investing in job-creating infrastructure. the president's plan has two

components. -- four components. first, identify and plan for the release of 500 mmz of spectrum. in order to achieve this, we need a two-pronged strategy that focuses on the opportunities to use both federal and commercial spectrum more efficiently and to free up spectrum for new uses such as wireless broadband. first, the government will examine how we are currently using spectrum and identify areas for improvement, consolidation, or sharing. to that end, we are pursuing a separate fast-track process to identify a down payment of specific bands of spectrum that could be freed up. second, we will encourage commercial spectrum holders to avail themselves of opportunities to transition

their uses if there are more efficient possible uses of their spectrum. while we go forward with this planning process, the department of commerce and the fcc are also conducting an inventory of spectrum use that will help inform potential end- users of the spectrum and improve transactions in secondary markets. the second part of the president's plan is to provide new tools and new incentives to free up spectrum. for commercial spectrum, the most important tool we need is incentive auctions, as the fcc has proposed. to that end, we will work with the congress to develop legislation that provides the fcc with the necessary authority to conduct these auctions and enable current spectrum holders who participate in them to realize a portion of the proceeds. because of recent advances in

technology, a local television station in a major city -- with annual revenues measured in the hundreds of thousands of dollars -- may hold a spectrum band valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. new technologies can now support more than one high- quality signal in a space that previously could only fit one, enabling multiple stations to share a band of spectrum and free up an equal amount for other purposes. realizing these scenes where we the cost the in south where the a in a these auctions. -- realizing these and gains

would be the goal of these options. to be sure, our plan would allow all stations the right to continue to broadcast as they have before. citizen based on the principle of all interests. -- it is based on all -- the principle of all interests. but if a station decides to share its spectrum or give up its license to broadcast over- the-air -- and it is a choice -- there is tremendous potential for new and highly beneficial uses. there is incentive for the stations. stations that volunteer to participate would receive a portion of the auction proceeds, and business and consumers would gain from faster and more diverse networks. ultimately, government will not make these decisions. our role is simply to set up a mechanism to help shift spectrum to its highest value

uses -- ause. another opportunity to free up spectrum arises through more efficient use by the federal government. that is why the president is seeking broader tools to give federal agencies upfront planning and research funds and allow agencies to use a portion of the proceeds to adopt state- of-the-art communications. third, redeploy the spectrum to high-value uses. most of the freed-up spectrum will be auctioned off for use by mobile broadband providers. as the great law and economics scholar ronald coase originally pointed out, auctions ensure that spectrum is devoted to its most productive uses because it

is determined by investors' willingness to pay for it. today, the use of spectrum most in demand is for wireless broadband, which is growing at an exponential rate with the spread of smartphones, netbooks, anddwireless-enabled devices. in the most recent auction held by the fcc, carriers were eager to snap up the available spectrum for this purpose, purchasing the right to use 50 mhz of spectrum for almost $20 -- 1/10 of the quantity of spectrum that we contemplate freeing up -- or almost $20 billion. we also recognize that providing unlicensed spectrum -- free for anyone to use -- has spurred considerable innovation, from wi-fi to cordless phones. consequently, that's why we are

-- ours is not a market fundamentalist approach based only on allocations to those who are willing to pay the most. we're committed to making spectrum committed to making spectrum available for unlicensed uses by technology startups, end users, and others that benefit from the low barriers to entry and quick time to market. at the same time, we are encouraging the government's r&d agencies to catalyze further innovations, such as spectrum-sharing technologies that enable more efficient use of this scarce resource. fourth and finally, use the -- the government will use the auction proceeds to promote public safety and job-creating infrastructure investment. spectrum is different from the typical washington "offsets"

which raise revenue. you do them only because the revenue, otherwise they would -- it would be something that often have a neutral or even slightly negative impact on the economy. unlike many measures that raise revenues for government, this is the rare instance where the same act that raises revenue -- auctioning off the spectrum to the highest bidder -- also makes the economy function better. this is policy is a win three times over. it creates prosperity and jobs, enhances our ability to compete internationally, and, at the same time, raises revenue for public purposes like improving public safety.

at this point,the administration has no official estimate on the auction revenues from this plan. the actual amount will depend on effective implementation and additional design details, but based on past auctions, many analysts believe the revenue potential could well reach into the tens of billions of dollars. we propose reinvesting these revenues in making americans safer and in fostering additional economic growth. the same measures can enhance our national security and promote economic growth. that is not a new idea. remember that the highway program presiddnt eisenhower established in 1956 was originally known as the "national system of interstate and defense highways" to serve as an infrastructure both for

commerce and defense. in this same spirit, the first claim on auction revenues from the freed-up spectrum is to support the creation of a nationwide, interoperable, broadband network for public safety -- originally recommended by the 9/11 commission. the long-overdue shift to modern cellular systems for voice and data will both strengthen public safety and, over time, may actually save money. even after this critical investment, we expect to have substantial remaining funds that can be used for deficit reduction and reinvested in strengthening america's infrastructure. take just one example. today our air traffic control system is based on the decades- old concept of radar, while our

cars have state-of-the-art gps systems. leftover proceeds from spectrum auctions could be used to enhance our effort to bring our air traffic control system 21st century.he twenty-firs it could promote air safety. what is at stake in all of this? broadband and wireless communications make a critical contribution to the economy. consider what wireless has already contributed to our economy? before the first spectrum

auctions in 1993, 54,000 people were employed in the wireless industry. today, that number is 268,000. the industry association estimates that another 2.4 million american jobs are directly or indirectly dependent on the u.s. wireless industry. and just about every job benefits from mobile technologies through increased productivity and living standards. economic studies have found that the introduction of 1g and 2g cell phones have generated $80 billion to $150 billion a year in lower prices and better products. funds that translate into increased buying power and increased demand by the time when our economy continues to suffer from high unemployment and excess capacity.

4g wireless technology promises to bring significant economic benefits in two broad categories. first, the substantial capital expenditures associated with developing 4g networks will generate significant job creation. each dollar invested in wireless deployment is estimated to result in as much as $7 to $10 higher gdp. with major american wireless firms spending $10 billion and rising on these efforts, the -- and the figure is rising on these efforts, the benefits for job creation and job improvement are likely to be substantial. second, the effects on the larger economy. bees will probably be more important. -- these will probably be more important. the number of mobile broadband users in the united states is expected to increase by 75% from 2009 to 2013. combined with increases in speed and functionality, the economic implications ahead are

likely to be profound. we cannot really imagine what those implications will be. even as people started to anticipate that there would be and in their debt, that the internet would be transformative, few would have annicipated the 800,000 jobs that would be created by ebay. those who know about smartphones would never have predicted the thriving industry in the creation of apps. as quality improves and prices fall, mobile broadband has the potential to help bridge the "digital divide" -- reducing geographic and socioeconomic differences in broadband access to the levels we now see with television, landline phones, and mobile phones.

because wireless broadband is more cost effective than terrestrial broadband in some rural areas, freeing up spectrum will enlarge markets and reduce costs, creating opportunities to expand broadband access to unserved areas. we will, as a country, only prospered in the years ahead if we have a strong ppivate sector that is flourishing in the most important economic sectors. that is why this product of renewal in which president obama is engaged is so important. it has many aspects --

education, health care, energy, financial reform. it also as a crucial aspect -- has a crucial aspect around infrastructure investment. each generation in the united states as bequeathedd-- has bequeathed to the next something fundamental, something that was new and almost unimaginable when it was launched, but was taken for granted 30 years later. a one-week crossing time from the atlantic to the pacific. a waterway connecting the atlantic ocean and the pacific

ocean. the pervasive availability of electricity. the ability to drive rapidly between major american cities. the ability to communicate with a hand-held device. it is a continuing american project. our generation has its part to play. that is why we are committed to doing what government has always done -- using that property, which it is a stewardthe wireless revolution is an -- using that property which it

is a steward of, to drive the american economy forward with spectrum auctions. there will be debates about the proceeds and how the auctions are best carried on. there will be debate about who is entitled to what. there will be debate about what the definitions of the property rights are. those are very important debates. they are not debates and that should't take us away -- take us away from the fundamental product of american renewal, were the proper management of this generation's crucial resources -- the spectrum -- is so profoundly important. thank you very much. [applause]

>> if i can ask you -- i am sorry -- it is warm in here. i think the air-conditioning is just coming back on. we seem to have maxed it out. as we go to questions, i would like to ask you to please stand and give your affiliation and name. wait for the microphone. while that comes into the room, i will try to leave it off with one of my questions. that was a terrific speech. i enjoyed the historical context. could ask you one thing -- you talked about the tv band and how the incentive options may work to allow us to reorganize and three purpose -- repurpose as

many as 20 more bands. we have open an unlicensed access to the vacant tv channels today, which is the majority of channels. that will tend to be disrupted if we move to auction. thewondering if administration can give any assurances that, as we reallocate tv spectrum, that a substantial portion will be on licensed, so that the high-tech community is not deterred in the meantime from research and development, investment and deployment on the vacant channels. google calls it wi-fi on steroids. >> one of the challenges --

there are an enormous number of things that are very different about my current job as economic advisor to the president, and my previous job as a university president. most things are very different. there is one thing that is the same. it was a very -- with very considerable frequency, i am called on to speak to an audience about subjects where the vast majority of the people in the audience know great deal more about the subject than you do. this is one of those times. [laughter] there is a reason we had all that stuff about history. some of it was -- a think it is very important to provide perspective on what we're doing. some of it is that it was something i knew something about. [laughter] i am lecturing you about the

intricacies of spectrum -- that would be bringing coals to newcastle. the best i can do for you is to tell you that, as i think i indicated in my speech, we are very aware that, what you might think of as frontier spectrumm that serves an enormously important progress in catalyzing innovation. we would not want to do anything that would inappropriately impaired that process -- impair that process. there'll be a judgment as to the pace and scale of what is allocated, so as to make sure that the respective equities are respected and loved legitimate -- and the legitimate uses that

generate market value are respected. i tried to organize my speech in a way that made clear that, while we are mindful of the fact that there is revenue potential here, and that revenue potential is, frankly, given the catalog of national needs and the scale of federal deficits, not something insignificant or an important. we do not think of this as, primarily, being the cash cow policy. yes, people pay tuition to the land grant colleges. yes, people pay to take the train across the country. that is not why those things were important. what is most important here is not some effort to grab revenue. what is most important here is to free up our resources so

that second -- so that it can find its way to our best use. i can promise ou that, while no doubt there will be participants in the debate who will mostly be looking for a source of cash, that is not perspective of the administration. >> there is a microphone coming right behind you. >> thank you. mr. summers, thank you on behalf of dish network'. we're thrilled the administration is taking this action today. we also believe that some very four-looking person -- policy has helped spur investment-very forward-looking policy has helped spur investment. it included nondiscrimination

principles. on the technology side, we think that is the kind of thing that spurs investment and create jobs. do you anticipate that the issuance of these new licenses will include such things? thank you. >> i am looking at a member of my staff before i speak. [laughter] >> it will be the fcc's call. >> he gave me my out. the fcc sets the policy. we are mindful of the benefits in such nondiscrimination policies. yes. >> hi. jeff murvis with "science" magazine. i want ask you something about higher education.

the national academy began a study looking at the challenges facing research universities. i want to know, what is your perspective as a former university president? do you think universities are prepared to take advantage of this increase in productivity that would come from this new opportunity for broadband? if not, what do they need to do to better take advantage of what is coming? >> i would make two points. one is that i highlighted -- i highlighted in my speech the idea that, in a world where so much as mobile, competitive advantage cannot really reside in an individual. it has to reside in something collective. that is why, if you look at

american university's and the top -- universities and the top 10 companies today compared to a century ago, there has been a complete turnover. the top 10 universities today and a century ago -- the list is very close. why is that? strength, for university, is the faculty who come there because of the students who come there because of the faculty, the place. it attracts good students and has successful alumni. it benefits from its successful alumni. it tracks grade students in the future. it is enormously difficult to dislodge. the strength of our universities is an asset for the united states that is going to be much more difficult for other countries to dislodge than an asset that depends on a

particular factory or particular skill, precisely because it' resides in something collective. it is something that is also true with respect to other universities. precisely because our universities have the advantage i just described and are natural leaders with staying power, the greatest threat to them is complacency and a failure to innovate -- a tendency to stay with traditional, organizational forms, traditional ways of doing

teaching, traditional ways of doing research. my hope would be that, over time, the whole i.t. revolution would do more to change educational practice, pedagogy, research methods. my guess is that when someone looks back and sees who the leading american universities are in 2050, the changes between today and 2050 will have a great deal to do with which universities were facile and bold in taking account of information technology. the challenge for universities will be to maintain a bias

toward innovation. when i was at harvard, the one thing i was certain of was that if we did not try anything that failed, that would be the biggest failure of all, because it would mean that we had not taken enough chances and made enough the thames and innovation. that kind of philosophy -- made enough attempts at innovation. that kind of philosophy is important to universities. >> and the co-founder of the wireless future program here. will the administration committed itself to transparency in this? there is a strong commitment to transparency. the new york times wrote about

how officials are going to avoid the disclosure rules. chairman genachowski was alledg edly meeting on net neutrality in private. the biggest problem was the ntia, which takes the case. they are directly in charge of this spectrum. they have a long tradition of accommodating lobbyists in secret. he has committed to transparency, but there is a long tradition of secrecy at that organization. they have not delivered the goods. i would be happy to provide details in private. [laughter] >> i tell you what. i have a suggestion. after i leave and go back to the white house, i think the new

america foundation should convene with the tv cameras here a summit of anyone here who is representing a company with you and those who share your views to discuss approaches to transparency. it ought to be on television so that discussion itself will be something that is transparent. in all seriousness, i have learned that the correct annwer to all questions -- will you write here make a commitment on behalf of the administration to a sentence that i have parsed -- the right answer is to not agree with the solicitor. i am absolutely -- on non -- on general principle, i will not make a commitment on behalf of

the general -- on behalf of the administration. as to the value, i could not agree with you more on the importance of working to promote openness and transparency in government. that is something that president obama has made clear as something he expects from all of those who are here. i believe i am the first of the people who have held my position -- was in a position where anyone who comes to the white house to visit me -- that news is made available to the world within three months. to strengthenest in to enhance -- and to enhance transparency. that is a commitment that president obama expects from all of those who work in the administration.

i do not know the details well enough to address anything that goes on at the department of commerce. i want to express my strong, muttons in my colleagues who have worked on this. -- strong confidence in my colleagues who have worked on this. >> thank you, sir. mr. summers, being the secretary of the treasury and now economic adviser to obama, 20 major economies including emerging markets met in toronto. president of india met three times with president obama. where do we go? what role will india play with

the united states as far as this emerging technology? >> i think if you say the words "information technology, democracy, english-language, modernizing and renewing economy." just say those words and you realize how much the united states and india have in common. you realize the generation from now -- they will be to of the three largest economies in the world. -- two of the three largest economies in the world. my hope is our relationship will be one of the deepening flow of everything -- telecommunications, student exchanges, tourism, foreign

investment, international trade, diplomatic contact to discuss the architecture of an evolving global system. i do not think there is any question about the relationship being one of the most important relationships for the united states over the next generation. that is why we have invested heavily in that relationship. certainly, it is president obama's intention to continue investing in that relationship. >> thank you. i'm with georgetown university. the federal communications commission and the federal trade

commission are thinking about what the proper role of government is to respond to the economic crisis in the production of news and public affairs. one of their ideas is an increase in the flow of federal funds to local, public media, for the production of news and local news and public affairs. is this not an idea that should be part of the mix of what to do with this spectrum as congress considers legislation to authorize spectrum auctions? >> i think it is an idea that needs to be thought through and assessed in terms of the need to support as vibrant marketplace of ideas as possible on the one hand, and the need to be extremely careful about government involvement with media and its implications for

press freedom. it seems to me that one wants to assess the right policy in those areas before getting into the question of what might or might not be an appropriate form. it is important discussion and debate. i do not have any great experience with that. i think the debate on what is necessary should probably proceed -- precede any discussion of what possible funding sources would be if funding was decided to be in the general interest. yes? >> thank you. i right in the way of the camera. right in the way of the camera. how soon after allowing the spectrum auction would jobs

go online? what are the prospects of congress moving quickly to authorize the spectrum auctions? >> i think of it as a stronger economic meesure. a stronger economy has the effect of creating jobs. second, well before congress legislates and certainly before legislation goes into effect, the knowledge that spectrum is going to be available on a larger scale will spur all kinds of innovation activity, will spur all kinds of production, will spur all kinds of thinking about applications. i think of this kind of things as a support for confidence in a key sector of our economy at the earliest possible moment.

i expect the benefits to start today. this is complex. those parts of the programs require legislation. it will certainly take time. i hope it will take place as quickly as possible, but it will not be a brief process. again, there are benefits. i think we can expect people will see those quite soon. >> this will be the last question. we have to wrap it up. mr. summers needs to get back to the white house. >> first of all, thank you for coming here to make this speech on the administration's policc which we have all advocated that there needs to be a mix of approaches in. .

while i know you say there should not be a cash cow, and you think fcc in making its determination -- do you think fcc in making its determination should look at how strong policy may impact revenue? >> i will take one more question. i certainly believe, and while i

would not want to speak for the fcc, expect that questions on competition policy will certainly enter into the design of auctions that take place. questioned into competition of how it functions, questions for competition policy as to how they affect what the market policies structure will be after the auction has taken place, questions of competition policy to affect concentration, questions of competition policy insofar as they affect the competitive benefits that come from the possible expansion of the activities into new sectors. it is a complex area and a complex set of balances and one that i know the fcc is

determined to weigh very carefully in the signing it. one more question. -- in designing it. one more question. >> [unintelligible] director summers, first thank you for coming. there is news with the fcc going to propose to have 500 megawatts available next year, and for between 225 and 3.7 over the next few years. you mentioned this today. what does internet ecosystem mean? thank you.

>> i am not sure i -- i think the fact sheet does refer to the announcement the president made today. >> that is his time line? >> yes. >> what does the internet ecosystem mean? >> i am not sure i am understanding your reagan perhaps you can pursue that with one of my colleagues sitting right in front. in thank you very much for the chance to be with you. [applause] we look forward to receiving your input and advice as this policy process goes forward. thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> in a few moments, a tribute to the late senator robert byrd, who died at the age of 92. in about an hour and a half, a short portion of the confirmation hearing for elena kagan. after that, steny hoyer, and later we hear larry summers on plans to expand the commercial spectrum for wireless devices. tomorrow morning, we will look at the oil industry with the

american petroleum institute. the confirmation hearing for general petraeus to be the new commander in afghanistan. >> tomorrow, bill bennett, live on "in depth." he is the author of more than 20 books for adults and children. join us for three hours with bill bennett on c-span 2. >> robert byrd became the longest serving member in the history of congress. he began his service in 1953. he died monday morning at age of

92. his colleagues also paid tribute. >> mr. president -- mr. president, our senate family grieves today over one of the most dedicated americans to serve this country, one of the most distinguished senators to have served in the u.s. senate. united states senate. robert byrd's mind was one of the greatest the world's ever seen. as a boy, he was called upon when he was in elementary school to stand before the class and recite not paragraphs from the assignment of the night before but pages of the night before. he did this with memory. from his graduation as valedictorian of his high school class at the age of 16 to his death this morning as the senate's pro tempore at age 92, he mastered everything he touched with great thoughtfulness and skill. mr. president, this good man

could drive from his home here in washington to west virginia and back -- it takes eight hours -- he could recite poetry for eight hours and never recite the same poem twice. i was asked by senator byrd to travel to west virginia to do an exchange with the british parliament, and there were a number of us there, eight or nine senators, and an elect number of british parliamentarians. and i can remember that night so well. we had the music up there, music he liked the best, a bluegrass music. and they played. it was a festive evening. and then it came time for the program. the program, senator byrd said i'm going to say a few things, and he passed out little

notebooks, had notebooks passed out to everyone there with a little pencil to it. he wanted to make sure everything was just right, that they had something to write on and write with. and he proceeded, standing there without a note, to pronounce the rein of the british monarchs from the beginning to the end. he would give the dates that they served, some of the more difficult spellings, he would spell the name, and he would, as i indicated, if it was something that really he wanted to talk about that they had accomplished that he thought was noteworthy, he would tell us about that. that took about an hour and a half to do that. the british parliamentarians were stunned. they had never heard anyone could do anything like that. an american talking about the reign of the british monarchs. those of us who were senators, nothing surprised us that he could do from memory.

i can remember, mr. president, that when he decided he was no longer going to be the democratic leader, that senator dole did an event for him and they -- in the russell building and all senators were there, democrat and republican senato senators, and he told us a number of things he didn't do. he told us a number of things he did do. for example, he read the "encyclopedia britannica" from cover to cover twice. he was bored one break, he didn't really have something he wanted to work on, so he studied the dictionary. he read that from cover to cover during one of our breaks. i've told this story on an occasion or two but to give the depth of this man's memory, i had been to nevada and, and he asked me when i came back, what did do you?

and i said, senator byrd, i pulled something out of my library for when i came back, and i read "the adventures of robinson ca carusso." he said, "robinson carusso," and he proceeded to tell me -- i had just read the book -- how long he had been on that island -- 28 years, 3 months, a week and two days, or whatever it was. i was stunned. i didn't know. i went back and pulled the book out to see if he was right, and he was right. he probably hadn't read that book in 35, 40 years but he knew that. what a -- what a mind. it was really stunning, the man's memory. the head of the political science department, andy tuttle, university of nevada at las vegas, taught a course, a graduate course, based on senator byrd's lectures on the roman empire. he gave two lectures here on the

senate floor on the roman empire, the fall of the roman empire. he gave the lecture because he was conccrned because of the line-item veto. and he felt that the line-item veto would be the beginning of the end of the united states senate and he proceeded to give ten lectures on that on the senate floor. every one of them from memory. every one of them from memory. timed jjst perfect. they ended in one hour. that's how much time he had been given -- how much he had been given. now, mr. president, the original roman emperors served for one year. he could do it from memory. he knew how -- who they were, how long they served, knew how to spell their names. truly, truly a n unbelievably -n unbelievably brilliant man. he was the only person to have ever earned his law degree while he was a member of congress. what he accomplished is really very, very long. but his thirst for knowledge was

simply without equal. senator byrd once observed that the longer he lifd, th -- livede better he understood how precious the gift was of our time on earth. i quote senator byrd: "as you get older, you see time running out. it's irretrieveable, it's irreversible. but one should never retire from learning and growth." that was his quote. robert byrd never retired from anything. he served in the senate for more than half a century, in the house of representatives for six more years, and dedicated every one of those days to strengthening the state and the nation that he loved so dearly. he never once stopped fighting for the good people of west virginia and for the principles in our founding documents. he was forever faithful to his constituenns, his constitution and his country. he fought for what he thought was right and when he was wrong, he was wise enough to admit it. and he did admit it a few times. senator byrd's ambition was legendary. he took his oath in this chamber

on january 3, 1959, the same date alaska became our 49th state. he told the "charleston gazette" newspaper in that freshman year -- quote -- "if i live long enough, i'd like to be chairman of the senate appropriations committee." 30 years later, he was and then lived and served for 21 more years. his legislative accomplishments are many and those achievements fortify his incomparable legacy. but he's perhaps best known in this chamber as the foremost guardian of the senate's complex rules, procedures and customs. he didn't concern himself with such precision as a past time or a mere hobby. he did so because of his unyielding respect he had for the united states senate, a a reverence the senate always returned to him and now with his memory. with robert byrd's passing, america has lost its most

-trongest defender of its most precious traditions and it now falls to each of us to keep that flame burning. throughout one of the longest political careers in history, no one in west virginia ever defeated robert byrd in a single election. in washington, his fellow democrats twice elected him to lead us when we were in the majority and once more when we were in the minority. having seen both sides, he knew better than most that legislation is the art of compromise. many years ago, in this chamber where he served longer than any other united states senator, senator byrd taught a heartfelt history lesson to guide our future. it was a lesson about both the constitution and this institution where he said, and i quote -- "this very charter of government under which we live was created in a spirit of compromise and mutual concessions and it is only in that spirit that continuance of this charter of government can be prolonged and sustained." aa quote from robert c. byrd.

in his tenure, he saw partisanship and bipartisanship. war and peace, rescission and something that we have learned to appreciate, reeession. he has seen recovery. the rescissions he always fought. he department want anyone messing with his appropriations. his perspective and legacy are invaluable to the way we carry ourselves as united states senators. so it's instructive that the man who served the longest and saw the most, conclude we must work together as partners, not partisans for the good of our states and our country. in 1966, robert byrd spoke to a meeting of incoming senators and reminded them that the united states senate is still the anchor of the republic. senator byrd was the anchor of the senate. there will never be another like senator byrd. he was a member of this nation's congress for more than 25% of the time that we have existed as

a country and longer than a quarter of today's sitting senators and the president of the united states have been alive. his political career spanned countless american advances and achievements. a dozen men called the oval office his own while senator byrd called the capitol building his own. and he would be the first to remind you that those two branches are equal in the eyes of the constitution, and i heard him say so many times, that we work with the president, not under the president. the nine times the people of his state sent him to the senate and the more than 18,500 votes he cast will never be matched. mr. president, as you and i and each of us are fortunate enough to be here, we have the privilege of knowing firsthand it was an incomparable honor to serve with and learn from this giant. by virtue of his endurance, robert byrd knew and worked with many of the greats of the united states senate. because of his enduring virtue,

he dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i, too, would like to say a few words aboutur departed colleague. the first thing to say is that we're sorry. first and foremost to theamily and also to the staff of senator byrdor their loss. and the nexthing to say is that it's a sad day for the united states senate. mr. president, everybody who has been here for a while has got a few robert byrd stories. a couple couple to mind i thought i would share. along with senator reid and senator dodd who were here on the floor earlier, senat byrd in the early part of the decade responded to my request to come down to the university of louisville, my ma mater, and to speak to the students and to a broader audience. at his age and parcularly given the fact that i was a member of the opposition party, there was frankly no particular reason for him to do that, but

he did and made an extraordinary imprsion on the students and inconvenienced himself on my behalf, which i always appreciated. my second and really my favorite recollection of senator byrd, i found myself a few years ago in a curious position, at viance with virtually everybody on my side of the aisle. i had reflexively, like i think many members had,esponded negatively to a decision of the united states supreme court in the late 1980's, essentially lding that flag burning was a permissible first amendment expression of political speech, and the first time that amendment came before the senate, i voted for it, and then i began to have some pangs of discomfort about my position. and having spent a good portion

of my political career focusing on political speech and the first amendment, i, frankly, decided i was wrong. in subsequunt votes, i have opposed it. a few years ago, it became clear that this was going to be defeated, if it was going to be defeated in the senate, by the narrowest of margins. i remembered that senat byrd was always crying around a constitution in his pocket and had a feeling that upon reflection, he might reach the same conclusion i did. and so i lobbied senator byrd. i thought initially it would be a futile act, but he re-examined his position, and as a result of that, he, too, changed his position, and as it turns out, there was not a vote to spare the last time the senate considered whether it would be

appropriate to amend the first amendment for the first time in the history of the country t kind of carve a niche out of it to make it possible to punish an -ct we all i think find despicable but nevertheless the most unfortunate of speech is probably what the first amendment was all about initially. and so senator byrd did change his position. there was not a vote to spare and the amendment was defeated. for my point of view, the first amendment was saved on that important occasion. so we will all remember senator byrd for a variety of different things. as the majority leader pointed out, he was a unique individual in so many different ways. those are two ofy favorite stories about robert byrd. more than anyone else in our lifetime, robert byrd embodied the senate. he not only wrote the book on it, he was a living repository of its rules, its customs and

its prerogatives. so it would be a mistake to think that senator byrd became synonymous with the senate simply because he served in it longer than anyone else. rather, it was a fitting coincidence that the man who cherished and knew this place so well would become its longest serving member. and yet, it's probably through that he will be remembered above l for his longevity. everyone seems to have a different way of communicating just how long a time he spent here. for me, it's enough to know that robert byrd had already spent nearly 20 years serving in elted office in west virginia and in the house of representatives before he was elected to t u.s. senate during the eisenhower administration. and over the years, he would walk the floor with four future presidents, four of the 12 he would serve alongside in a

57-year career in congress. i won't enumerate all the legislative records senator byrd held, but i would venture to say that the figure that probably made him the proudest of all was the nearly 70 years of marriage he spent with a coal miner's daughteramed erma. if he was synonymous with the senate, he was no less synonymous with west virginia. here's how popular robert byrd was in his home state. the year product liability byrd was first elected to the u.s. senate, 1958, he won with 59% of the vote, a margin that most people around here would consider a landslide. in a record nine senate elections, it was the smallest margin of victory he would ever get. members will offer tributes of their own in the coming days. i'll just close with this. last year in becoming the longest serving member of congress in history, senator

byrd surpassed another legendary figure, carl hayden of arizona. hayden was known to many as the silent senator, a phrase few would use to describe senator byrd. but what the two men shared was a devotion to the united states and in parcular to the legislative branch of our government, which the founders envisioned and established as co-equal with the other two. a few years ago, senator byrd's official portrait was unveiled at an event in the old senate chamber, and i think that portrait pretty well sums up the image senator byrd wanted to leave of himself. it's the image of a dignified man, in the classical mold, supported by three things -- the bible, the.s. constitution and his wife. a lot of people looked at senator byrd's record in

congress, his emens knowledge of poetry and history in the senate and wondered where he got the strength. with this painting, he gave us the answer. he showed us the anchors. as i noted at that ceremony, senator byrd once wrote that if the question was whether to be loved or respected, he always chose to be respected. yet, his real accomplishment is that in the end, he managed to be both. so i join my colleagues, my fellow americans, the people of west virginia and the byrd family today in remembering our colleague. we will surely miss him. mr. president, i yieldhe floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. rockefeller: mr. president on this day, west virginia has lost probably its most prominent son, and the senate has lost

probably its most able statesman. for myself, i have lost an admired colleague and a treasured friend. more than nine decades of remarkable life and five decades of an accomplished public servant in the senate only serve as one form of proof that robert c. byrd was and always will be an icon, particularly in his own state, a man of great character, faith, intellect, who rose to the heights of power yet never forgot where he came from. his story holds such a profoundly significant place in both west virginia and american history, b it was inhe coal fields of southern west virgia, mr. president, where a young robert c. byrd first

gained the skills, the moral character, the toughness, the shrewdness that would make him a truly great man. after his mother passed away, he was raised by his aunt and uncle a coal miner he movingly called -- quote -- "the most remarkable man i have ever been privileged to know." close quote. from them, senator byrd learned early in life what it meant to be loyal, to have a ferocious work ethic, really almost beyond imagination, and possess a deep faith in god, and it was these values, these innately west virginia values, i would argue, that guarded -- that guided his offer action, made him such a unique and strong fighter for our state and who got such joy

in doing that fight. he was proud of west virginia. he was proud of his ideals. he was proud of the service he could render to the people from whom he came. he believed with all of his heart that our breathtaking mountains, our rivers and our deep valleys and especially our well-rooted people who face adversity always and face it with strength and courage make our state a place like none quite other in the world. he loved the music of the mountains and played his fiddle, in fact, very brilliantly. he was a master violin player. he loved to quote the ancients

lending deptsd to his a -- depth to his analysis. just as easily as he could quote cicero from memory, he could sing every verse of amazing grace and often did. everything about senator byrd was a testament to his faith in god. this man who wrote and debated countless laws lived with 10 clear commandments in his heart. his aunt and uncle kept theing james bible in his home and instilled in him a reverence he never forgot. there was always a higher law that took precedence. he started his career humbly by

any definition. as a butcher, as a welder, other things too, than campaigned by playiig his foot-stomping music, the fiddle, to get elected to the legislature. the very sameody that decades later would deem him the west virginiaian of the 20th century. it was a mark -- it was at mark twain high school where a lifetime of love first began for robert c. byrd and his first wife, erma ora james calling her the wind beneath this byrd's wings, he put it. senator byrd was never shy to tell you, erma, a beloved coal miner's daughter was the reason he reached all of his goals. he believed that with all of his

heart. so from the fiddle-playing young man, to a history-making american icon, she loved and supported him every step of the way until her passing in 2006. i know and i observed maybe earlier than some that senator byrd lost just a bit when erma died. watching him hurting was painful. his wife died from the same disease that my mother died from, and that is alzheimer's. and we talked about it. especially a few years ago when he was talking more frequently. i always felt badly that i couldn't give him comfort, that i couldn't say something to him

that would relinquish his pain, which was evident an obvious -- and obvious, very obvious, in privacy. but i couldn't do that because you couldn't do that for diseases like that one. there were not words to describe the difficulty at such a -- that such a devastating loss can bring. and i commend my friend for continuing on so strongly a he did for so long. erma was his soul mate, his best friend and trusted counselor. their marriage was something to behold. my wife, sharon, and i loved watching them together. he became a different person. they radiated an extraordinary faith in god, in each other, and the beautiful family they built

with each other which, in the end, he loved the must. inde, it was the time that roberrobert c. byrd spent with s daughters and their husnd and children and grandchildren and great grandchildren that brought great joy to his life. with sadness in my heart, i also have joy at the thought of my friend united with his precious erma, with his dear grandson that he lost at a young age, and we all know, those off us who have been here for several years, the agony that he went through at the death of that young man, setting up a shrine in his office. it affected him deeply. it was interesting that a man who could be so oriented toward policy and sometimes almost

remote from personal matters as a professional self-definiti could be so utterly moved by sadness in his own life and i think in the lives of others. it was in the halls of the united states senate where robert c. byrd became known as the soul of the senate, a fierce defender of the constitution, respected historian, and an absolutely fearless legislato he held, as has been said many times before, more leadership posts than any other senator, cast more votes than any other senator, served longer than any other senatoo. and one can go on in many i was in that theme. he literally wrote the you a ate procedures of the senate. taught all of us about that in classes which he would conduct

in the -- you would see him standing in the well of the senate. he loved and he revered this institution. everybody says that. it's true. some people pass through this institution. they experience this institution. he lived this institution. yet, still his entire career was fundamentally an act of commitment to the state of west virginia and its people. a day in and day o effort to do the best he possibly could for the people of the mountain state. always put upon, often looked down upon, even de disdained by others who didn't understand what their life was like and what it was like to be a coal miner. people don't understand west virginia well. most people don't go there.

senator byrd sprung from west virginia. yes, he was an intensely devoted statesman and he put himself through law school while also serving in congress. now i know a few others have done that. i sort of deny that. i think it's amazing that senator byrd did that, therefore, any other who did it, don't get my attention. he understood that people with the fortitude to ask questions and to debate and to dissent one from another make america stronger. he had that courage himself standing up time and time again to defend his ideals upon which our nation was found and often those ideas were very different from those of others. no matter with senator byrd. he always spoke for what he felt was correct. as the minority leader pointed out, the senator always had the

constitution in his pocket, close to his heart. and et outlasted -- and he outlasted presidents and supreme court justices, served with an absolute insistence on the equality of the three branches of goverent as envisioned by our founding fathers, and, therefore, helped us as a body be more than our separate par. and he spread the words of our constituon to young children and to his colleagues alike. his patriotism was strong and he was confident infusing his every action with deep devotion for our nation and its people. a senator from a state that sent leaninlegions of sons and daugho war out of love of country,

sometimes out of a need to get work. he supported our troops whether he agreed with their cause or not. fought for our veterans and worked hard to make sure that those who served our country got the respect, the support, the supplies that they needed and that they deserved. he also earned the loyalty of west virginiaians with a record of support for education an economic opportuty that few senators at any time in any state, in my judgment, could ever match. to him every school building or education grant was a chance for a better life for some west virginia child or maybe quite a lot of children. and he cared about that. and he helped that become true. every overpass, every road represented an opportunity for a more dynamic for our cities and

towns that could be taken for granted in some places, but not west virginia. unless there's a road or a bridge, you can't build anything anywhere or virtually do anything anywhere. every business partner or government office meant the possibility of a better job for west virginiaians trying to raise their families. people he fought for all of his life. senator byrd also believed that health care is one of the most important ways to strengthen a community and his support for medical research resulted in breakthrough medical opportities. he spread this research all across west virginia, to west rginia the university, to marshall, to institutions of all kinds. he believed in medical research and did more than most of our colleagues even know. and so in a state with rugged

terrain full of pple like the family who raised him, doing their best for their family, for their country, for their god, robert c. byrd decided that somebody needed to do the best for them. and he did so each and every day of his life. to me he was a perfect colleague and a reliable friend, a walking example of the kind of american that i believe in and a living testament to the values that made west virginia my own home forever. it has been my greatest privilege to serve with robert c. byrd in the united states senate. i respected him. and i fought side by side with hi for causes we both believed in. and obviously i'm profoundly saddened that he is gone. so i'm closingg mr. esident, -- so in closing, mr.

president, i think he leaves a void that probably cannot be filled, but i'm lifted by the knowledge of his deep and abiding faith and that he is in the hands of the one who inspired these words in amazing grace, yae, when this -- yea when this heart and flesh shall fail, i shall possess within the veil a life of joy and peace. that gives all of us som mfort. so peace and godspeed, senator byrd. peace to your family, your loyal staff and to the loving people of west virginia who have held you high for so long and will continue to do so. i thank the chair and yield my time. the presiding officer: under the

previous order, the leadership ti is reserve. under the previous order there will now be a period of morning business until 30 p.m. with senators permitted to speak therein up to 10 minutes each. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: i see my fend from tennessee. i presume we're going back and forth. you're in the leadership. i don't want to -- i would le to lead by three, but i'll be glad to defer to the -- mr. alexander: i will be glad to defer to senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: i thank you. i won't be long. are we in morning business, is that correct? the presiding officer: that is correct. mr. dodd: mr. president, let me -- let me begin by expressing my deep sorrow and my condolences to robert c. byrd's family. and that family includes, obviously, not only his direct and immediate family, but obviously the literally leanin s

of people who worked for robert c. byrd, worked with him, in both the house of representatives and this body for the more than five decades that he served in the united states congress. i suspect i'm one of a handful of people left who remembers the day when i was 7 years old in e gallery of the house of representatives watching my father be sworn in as a new congressman. watching my father and a young 34-year-old west virgiaian med robert c. byrd to be sworn in as a member of the hou on january 3, 1953. seven years later, at the age of 14i was in the galleries of this chamber when i watched my father adds his gre -- and his great friend be sworn in together on january 3, 1959, as members of the united stas senate. and two years later, as a

14-year-old sitting on the veryú steps where these young pages sit today, in the summer of 1961, i worked with robert c. byrd. with his departure and death, he is now the only -- the last reining member of the senate that was there that day wh i first arrived at a page in the sum of 1961 when all of these chairs were filled by 100 uted states senators. for the last 25 years i have sat next to him at this very seat to be the recipient of his good counsel, his good advice, his humor, in so manyays, to me as he was to others, as he served here throughout his tenure in the united states congress. and so this is a very poignant day, one that begins in a sense a sense of bookmarks for me and a sense of public life and it won't be the same for the remaining seven -- six or seven

months of my tenure ear to have this won diserful hymn -- tenure re to have this wonderful human being herr as my seatmate. i rise to celebrate the prolific life of robert c. byrd of west virginia. as i said to his family, to his sphastaff, and tophic of urse te people of west virginia for whom he has been such a champion throughout his public life, robert byrd loved three things above everything else. in the 30 years that i spent with him in this chamber, he loved his wife erma, he loved the state of west virginia, and he loved deeply the united states senate. and would say that each in turn loved him back. our sadness at his passing is tempered by our joy that he now joins his beloved erma. what a love story it was. they met in grade school. married in 1937, well before i was even born.

they spent nearly 70 years on an incredible journey together. and even-her -- and even after her passing, his love for her was apparent in everything he did. when i first ran for office, west virginia ranked near the bottom in nearly every economic indicator you could think of. the bleak landscape marked by mining, the people struggling to make ends mtt and then a grocer, a young grocer from the town of sophia arrived on the scene asking his neighbors in those communities around sophia for their votes in his race for the west virginia house of delegates. as "the washington post" noted in its obituary this morning, robert c. byrd met nearly every person -- i would suspect every person -- in his district, campaigning alone, with no one

else, talking about the issues he cared about and these would affect the people he wanted to represent, and with all else failed, wowing potential voters with his fiddling prowess. he won every single election he ever ran. the people of west virginia never could say "no" to robert c. byrd and he cld never say "no" to them. as a state legislator, a congressman, as a united states senator, robert c. byrd fought for west virginians and our nation, i mig add at every single turn. if you traveled the state of west virginia today, you'll see his name on roads and bridges and highway signs. you'll see the buildings and laboratories that he brought to the state, investments that contributed both to the state and to our national economy and nation. but don't just playbook for his

name on the sides of building oú overpasses; listen to it in the appreciative wds of his constituentconstituents. to state has ever haduch deep appreciation for the senate appropriatns committee because no ste has ever had such an appropriate fighter. robert c. byrd came to congre with my father in january of 1 1953. they the both arrived in januarf 1959 in the senate. i was page in 1961. i still remember the eloquent speeches of the senator from west virginia. it is incredible to imagine that he was once a freshman senator. even then he had the same gentlemanly manner, kind to &-ges, as i recall, the name knack for triumphant oratory, and the same respect for the rules and traditions of the united states senate.

but he soon became a fixture a d a mentor to new senators as well. i suspect that over the next few days many senators will take the floor with a constitution in theirockets, as i am, senator, they received from crob robert . byrd. here is my cop copy. i've carried this with me every day of my life for the last quarter of a century, given to me by m colleague in this chamber. along, i might add, with a stern but kind electric touche about senate -- bu -- with a stern but kind lecture about senate protocol. in the past quarter after strirks i've occupied some prime real estate on the floor of the united states senate. this desk right next to me today, the won with these

flowers and black cape, is the one sat in by senator byrd for years. he have been awed business his commitment to preserving the senate's place in our legislative system. in many ways robert byrd's story is one of constancy, of preservation, and of tradition. you could he define his life by longevity, i suppose, his 69 years of marriage, 52 years of service in the united states senate, his 64 years of public service to the people of west virginia. but he wouldn't have wanted it that way. this country has changed over the many years in which robert c. byrd helped to lead it and to shape it. he grew and changed with it i might add. historians so many ways parallel the american story. the story of a nation on a long and difficult journey, ever trying to seek that more perfect union that our founders

described more than two centuries ago. he wouldn't have wanted us to forget about the positions and affiliations that marked the early part of his life and career. and he did not as well. we should learn from our mistakes, he would say, as he did, draw inspiration from his journey and credit him i might add, by admitting wrong and embracing right when h he would the opportunity to do so. robert c. byrd grew wiser as he grew older. so we can remember him not only as a tremendously effective legislator, not only as a powerful speaker, not only as a parliamentary wizard, but also as a human being who fought for equality with a true sense of urgency of a convert. he was a man unafraid of reflection, a man who voted to make martin luther king jr.'s birthday a federal holidays, because as he put it, "i'm the only one who must vote for this

bill." here was a man unafraid of progress, a man who in one of his final acts as a united states senator, voted to overturn the don't ask, don't tell rule in our military. here was a man unafraid of conscience, a man who as the guns of war prepared to fire in 2003 delivered one of history's most couraous and memorable pleas for peace. let us not remember robert c. byrd phos ho for how long he stt us remember how he changed america fo the better p let us remember him as west virginia's greatest champion, the senate's gentlemay scholar and erma's husband and, above all, a true friend to each and every one of us who knew and loved him so well. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: i see the senator from pennsylvania. i would ask through the chair,

is -- i plan to spheek for about fiv-- i plan to spheek for about five minutes. -- i plan to spheek for about five minutes z that leave him enough time? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: thank you. in 1980, the republican leader, howard baker, became the majority leader of the united states senate, and robert c. byrd became the minority leader. according to senator baker, he went -- walked to senator byrd's office and said to him, bob, i'll never know the senate rules as well as you do. so i'll make you an offer. iecall a n surprise you if you'll -- i'll not surprise you if you'll never surprise me. senator byrd looked at senator baker and said, let me think about it. and the next morning senator byrd called senator baker and said, it' a deal. and that's the way they operated

the senate in those four years when senator baker was the majority leader and senator byrd was the minority leader. they operated the senate during that time under an agreement where senator byrd was careful to try to give every senator the right of amendment. he thought that was very important. in return, he got back from senators who had amendments that many senators thought were frivolous or unnecessary, not germane, senator byrd was able to get an unanimous consent agreement that permitted him toy have a -- permitted him to have a fairly orderly management of the senate, he and senator baker during that time. senator mcconnell a few minutes ago talked about the time senator byrd reexamined the constitution, changed his mind on the first amendment and flag burning. senator byrd and senator baker during that time both read david

mccullough's book on the one hand changed they are minds -- and changed their minds on the panama canal treaty. i never saw senator byrd after i was elected to the senate a few years ago when he did not ask me about howard baker. we will miss senator byrd's milding and his love of mountain music. he campaigned in tennessee a long time ago for albert gore sr. who was running for the senate, who also played the fiddle. senator byrd played the fiddle on the grand ole opry in nashville, came back to nashville in 2008 and sank along with a group of fiddlers. a few days later i came to him on the senate floor and talked to him about an old mountain song called "wreck on the highway" made famous in the 1940's, i guess, 1930's.

and senator byrd began to sing the song. he knew all the words -- so loudly -- that the staff was afraid the galleries would all tice it. we will miss his loveeof the united states history, but traditional american history. he was the superior o sponsor oe teaching american history program which is part of the elementary and secondary education act. he has provided nearly $600 million to school districts to imriewft professional development of american history teachers. he and the late-senato kennedy and i were work on a piece of legislation which we introduced consolidating all the federal programs that support the teaching of united states history, hoping that our chhldren can grow up learning whatit means to be an american. senator byrd is also responsible for the celebration of september 17 as constitution day a citizenship day.

senator byrd had no time for revisionists who didn't believe america was exceptional. he believed this i one country unified by a common language and a few principles. he did not want our country to become a united nations but always to be the united states of america. he wanted us to be proud of where we came from, but prouder to be an american. we will especially miss senator byrd's love of and understanding of the unitedtates senate. one of the most special occasions i ever experienced was the opportunity as a freshman senator in 2003 to attend an indoctrination, one might say, or orientation would be the proper description of what it means to be a united states senar. senator byrd began by saying that you are presently occupying what i consider to be hallowed

ground. and i would like to ask unanimous consent to include in the record following my remarks the remarkk of senator byrd at the orientation of new senators on december 3 of 1996. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: senator byrd has hrefrbd long enough to know that, as he put it "as long as the senate retains the power to amend and the power of unlimited debate, the liberties of the people will remain secure." he believed that when he was lecturing republicans in 2005 who were trying to change the rules when there was a controversy about president bush's appointees to the federal judiciary, and he said the same thing to young democrats who were impatient this year trying to change the rule that would limit unlimited amendment and unlimited debate. his last appearance, perhaps his last appearance in the senate was before the rules committee on may 29, 2010, for his opening

statement on the filibuster and the consequences warned against a rules change. i'd like to ask unanimous consent to place that statement in the record following my remarks. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. alexander: i was 12 years old when senator robert byrd was elected to the senate. wh i came here aa an aide 42 ars ago he had been reelected to his second term and was working his way up the party leadership. he was an imposing man, had a wonderful photographic memory. but after one got to know him, especially he was a kind man. all of us can be replaced, but it is fair to say the senate will never be the same place without robert c. byrd. i thank the president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from pnsylvania. mr. specter: since hearing this morning about the passing

of senator byrd who died shortly after 5:00 a.m., i have been reflecting on the man i knew, and those who have the great privilege to serve in the united states senate have occasion to meet and interactith great people. the expression "giant" is used not too frequently about senators; certainly would apply to senator byrd. but i believe it's insufficient. searching my mind for a more apt term, i thought that "colossus" might better fit robert byrd. take a look at his career in the congress of the united states is extraordinary, really astounding. to think that he was elected ii

1952 and was sworn in while harry truman was still president of the united states and has served since that time with many things which have happened during the administrations of president eisenhower and kennedy and johnson and nixon and carter and president george h.w. bush and ronaldeagan before president bush and president george w. bush, president clinton and now president obama and one of the distinctions that he made early on was the fact that in the senate we serve with presidents. we do not serve under

presidents. i think that was a calng card by senator byrd as a constitutionalist on the separation of power. and he was a fierce fighter for that separation of power. and when the le-item veto was passed, he took uphe battle to have it declared unconstitutional as an encroachment on article 1 powers in the united states congress on appropriations. and the bills which we present to the president have a great many provisions, and senator byrd was looking upon the factor of a president perhaps taking some provision he didn't like too well in order to take the whole bill. and i'm sure that on senator byrd's mind was the largess

which came to the state of west virginia. the and that part of our federal system, part of our democracy, part of our constitution of the advantage of seniority, where senator byrd and then elected and reelected on so many, many occasions. i recall senator byrd and his swift action shortly after that 1986 election. i was on t intelligence committee at that time, and senator byrd stepped in to the picture to see to it that the witnesses who testified on what was later knowns the iran contra controversy were placed under oath. he had a sense that there was a problem, that it had to be investigated by congress, again,

under the doctrine of separation of powers. i recollect his position on the impeachment proceeding as he stood at this chair and recited the provisions of the constitution about impeachment for high crimes of misdemeanors and then started to talk about the action of the respondent in the case -- president clinton -- and the charges the, the charges which were levied. and he came to the conclusion that the constitution standard had been met and then voted not guilty. and with a sweep on a conclusion, a judgment of a higher principle involved. president clinton had not lost the capacity to govern and he ought to stay in office. i recall in october of 2002

debating the resolution authorizing the use of force for president bush. and the resolution did not say force would be used, but gave the president the authority to use force as he decided it appropriate. and i was concerned about that. the scholars who had written on the subct, for the most part said that it would be an inappropriate delegation of constitutional authority for the president to -- for the congress to say to the president you may start a war at some future date. the starting of a war depended really upon the facts and circumstances at hand when the decision was made. senator byrd and i discussed that at some length and finally

concluded that there ought to be some flexility if both of us voted for that resolution on the ground that empowering the president with that authority, we might have the realistic chance of avoiding a war. serving with senator byrd on the appropriations committee, i recall one year when he chaired the appropriations comttee, i think in the late 1980's, the allocations made were not in accordance with the budget resolution which had been passed. some of us on the appropriations committee thought that we ought to have those allocations in accordance with what congress set on the budget resolution. senator d'amato and senator kasten and i staged a minor revolution. it didn't last too long. the vote was 26-3, but we

expressed ourselves. i recall hearing senator byrd participated in a discussion with him on the senate floor about the right to retain the floor, whether you could yield to someone or whether you had to have an order of consent before you retained your right to the floor. discussing or debating senator byrd or procedural issues was indeed an education and always regard him as a foremost expert on senate procedure and the rules of this body. his service most recently, in coming in ill, in a wheelchair

for a series of cloture votes at 1:00 a.m., historians i think will write about the passage of the comprehensive health care bill and the cloture votes and the passage in the senate on christmas eve early in the morning, finally had a concession that we wouldn't vote at 11:59 on christmas eve but would vote earlier in the day. even the objectors wanted to leave town. but senator byrd came here, performing his duty, although he certainly was not well. it was a trendous strain on him, but he came and made the 60th vote. so it is a sad occasion to see a black draping on senator byrd's desk and the flowers.

and i'm sure in days to come there will be many cments, many eulogies about senator byrd. he leaves a great void, but in reflecting upon the experiences i have had with him, he -- there is much to celebrate in his life. a great american, a great >> west virginia senator robert byrd served more than 50 years in the u.s. senate, more than anyone in history. he appeared on c-span more than 1200 times. watch our 1988 profile with the senator and his book in an interview on the history of the senate, all on line on the c- span video library. >> in a few moments, a short portion of the confirmation hearing f the land taken. -- elena kaga.

after that, white house economic advisor glory -- larry summers. and then, at about 3:30 a.m. eastern, we will hear the late occasion -- the elena kagan confirmation hearing in its entirety. >> you can connect with us on twitter, facebook and you to that and sign up for our scheduled e-mail's at skeet -- at c-span.org. now, from the first day of the senate confirmation hearing for elena kagan be on the supreme court, senate leaders and the nominee. this is a little more than half hour. -- a half-hour.

>> the afterroon and welcome. everyone knows the procedure. we have discussed this and we are going to recognize senators in order of seniority, doing the usual back-and-forth. center sessions and i will each give way of opening statement and following the opening statement, we will take turns back and forth. i urged senators to stay -- we are going to have to stay within 10 minutes to keep on schedule. general kagan, welcome to our

committee room. there are more people here than usual. one of the things that will change our schedule this week is the death of senator byrd. all of us, both republicans and democrats are saddened by his death. no senator came to care more about the constitution or was a bigger defender of our government and the senior citizen -- a senior senator from west virginia. he was the fiercest defenders of the constitutional role. i not know how many times we saw senator byrd hold up his copy of the constitution. the difference between him holding it up and anyone of us holding it up, he could put it back in his pocket and recited verbatim, the whole constitution. -- resize it verbatim, the whole constitution.

recite it ververbatim, the whole constitution. i know him as a mentor and a friend. he served for a time on this committee. i was honored to sit near him on the senate floor and engage in many a discussion of the senate rules or about our families, it was a privilege to stand with him against the constitution. in what the two of us felt was an un-necessary and costly war in iraq. he learned he had much to teach us all. senator biyrd was an extraordinary man who loved his family and drew strength from his faith and took to heart his

xhi commitment to defend the constitution. now on the issue before us today, there have been 111 justices on the supreme court of the united states. only three have been women. if she is confirmed, solicitor general kagan will bring the supreme court to a historical high water mark. elena kagan earned her place at the top of the legal profession. her qualitycatifications are untouchable. as a student she accelled. she was a law clerk to justice marshal. and i appreciate seeing justice

marshal's son in the audience here today. she worked in private prac and taught law to the nation's most respected law schools. she counseled president clinton on a wide variety of issues. sometimes referred to as the 10th justice. i believe we are a better country because of the path that elena kagan has taken in her career. chief justice marshal wrote, our constitution is intended to endure for ages and to be adapted to the various crises of human affairs. subsequently, our constitution

has withstood the test of time. %-r founders were to establish the constitution firm enough toto enection in bush

versus gore was so jarring and why it shook in many people's minds the credibility of the court. five conservative justices rejected the court's own precedent, and the bipartisan law enacted by congress. rejected 100 years of legal development in order to open the door for massive corporate spending. the american people live in a real world of great challenges. the supreme court needs to function in that real world

within the constraints of our constitution. in my own state of vermont the 14th state of the june yunion d vote to join the union until the bill of rights was ratified. we are cautious in vermont. we understand the importance that the amendments have had in expanding individual liberties have had over the past 20 years. it should be the kind of independent justice who keep faith with these principles and keep faith with the words that are enscribed over the front doors to the supreme court. "equal justice under law". i'll put the rest of my statement in the record. senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i would like to join you in

recognizing the special moment of the loss of senator byrd who is such an institution here. he believed they were two great senates, the roman and american he wanted ours to be the greatest eve. and i remember one day he gave a speech on friday morning in which he complained about the text books and the failure to stin distinguish between a republic and a democracy. he called them touchy feely twaddle but he loved the constitution and loved our country and loved clarity of thought and we will certainly miss him. miss kagan, let me welcome you here today. this nomination is certainly a proud day for you and your family and friends and rightfully so. i enjoyed very much our meeting a few weeks ago and appreciated

the chance to talk with you then. mr. chairman, thank you for your work on this nomination. republicans are committeed to conducting this hearing in a respectful manner. serious questions will be asked, miss kagan will be given ample opportunity to respond. she certainly has numerous talents and good qualities but there are concerns about this nomination. she has less real legal experience of any nominee in at least 50 years. it is not just that the nominee has not been a judge. she has barely practiced law and not with the intensity and duration from which i think real legal understanding occurs. miss kagan has never tried a case before the jury. while academia has value there is no substitute i think for

being in the harness of the law, handling real cases over a period of years and what the record does reveal is a more extensive background mixed with law. her college thesetithesis affir activists tendencies of the court but complained that they could have done a better job of justifies their act varieivism. she took leave from teaching at law school to work for this committee. under then chairman joe biden to help secure the nomination of ruth bader-ginsberg. and now one of the most active members of the supreme court. i know you will join with me in

expressing our sympathy to justice ginsberg on the loss of her husband. work i working in the clinton white house, doing as she described it, mostly policy work. policy is quite difference than intense legal work. for example, in the office of legal council or some of the divisions in the department of justice. during her white house years the nominee was the central figure in the clinton-gore effort to restrict gun rights and as a dramatic 5-4 decision today in the mcdonald case shows the personal right of every american who own a gun hangs by a single vote on the supreme court. miss kagan was also the point person for the clinton administration's effort to bl k block -- abortions.

perhaps she was the key person who convinced president obama to cha who convinced president clinton to change his mind on that precedure.clinton to change his mind on that precedure. her actions punished the military and defeened our soldiers as they fought in two wars over seas. as someone who feels the burden of sending young men and women into harm's way, to ensure military resucruiters were tread fairly, i can't take this issue lightly. dean kagan also joined with three over law school deans to write a letter in opposition to senator graham's legislation for determining who was an enemy

combatant for the war on terror. she most recently, the nominee served as solicitor general for little over a year. but her shortenure there has not been without controversy. in her first appellate argument, miss kagan told the court that the first amendment would allow the federal government of banniban banning pam plephlets -- thomas pain's common sense. to suggest that the government now has the power to spuppress that kind of speech is breath taking. miss kagan approved a filing of a brief to the supreme court asking that it strike down the

provisions of the arizona act which limits companies from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. she did this after the 9th circuit had up held the law. this is an important legal issue which the court will resolve during the next term. despite comments to the committee that she would vigorousry ly defend the don't don't tell policy if challenged in court, the action she has taken as solicitor general to place that law in jeopardy. throughout her career she has associated herself with well-known activist judges who have used their power to redefine the meaning of our constitution and have

the result of advancing that judge's preferred social policies. and agendas. she clerked for justice marshall, at least well-known activists and she has called israeli judge who has been described as the most activist judge in the world as her hero. these judges really don't deny their activist ideas, they advocate it. and they openly criticize the idea that a judge is merely that neutral umpire. this record tells us much about the nominee. in many respects, ms. kagan's career has been consumed more by politics than law. and this does worry many americans. in the wake of one of the largest expansions of government power in history, many americans are worried about washington's disregard for limits on its power. americans know that our exceptional constitution was written to ensure our federal

government is one of limited, separated powers and part of a federal state system with individual rights referred to our free people. but we've watched as the president and congress have purchased ownership shares in banks, nationalized car companies, seized control of the student loan industry, taken over large sectors of our nation's health care system, and burdened generations of americans with crippling debt. so this all sounds a lot like the progressive philosophy which became fashionable among elite intellectuals a century ago and which is now seeing a revival. they saw the constitution as an outdated impediment to their expansive vision to a new social and political order in america. even today president obama advocates a judicial philosophy that calls on judges to base

their decisions on empathy and their broader vision of what america should be. he suggests that his nominee shares those views. our legal system does not allow such an approach. americans want a judge that will be a check on government overreach not a rubber stamp. no individual nominated by a president of either party should be confirmed as a judge if he or she does not understand that the judge's role is to fairly settle disputes of law and not set policy for the nation. broad affirmations of fidelity to law during these hearings will not settle the question. one's record also speaks loudly. it's easy to pledge fidelity to law when you believe you can change its meaning later if you become a judge. ms. kagan has called previous

confirmation hearings vapid and hollow. some probably have been. and hazarded that nominees for a lifetime position owe a someone to the supreme court and that person will affect 300 million americans, but only 100 of us get to vote. that process willegin now. solicitor general, police please stand and raise your right hand. do you solemnly swear that the testimony you are about to give in this matter shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing, but the truth so help you god? >> i do. >> thank you. please be seated. solicitor general kagan, i know you have an opening statement and now the floor is yours. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman, senator sessions and members of the committee. i would like to thank senators kerry and brown for those

generous introductions. i also want to thank the president again for nominating me to this position. i'm honored and humbled by his confidence. . let me also thank all the members of the committee as well as many other senators for meeting with me in these last several weeks. i've discovered that they call these courtesy visits for a reason. each of you has been unfailingly gracious and considerate. i know that we gather here on a day of sorrow for all of you, for this body and for our nation with the passing of senator byrd. i did not knowhim personally as all of you did, but i certainly knew of his great love for this institution, his faithful service to the people of his state and his abiding reverence for our constitution, a copy of

which he carried with him every day. a moving reminder to each of us who serves in government of the ideals we must seek to fulfill. allf you and all of senator rd's family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers at this time. i would like to begin by thanking my family, friends and students who are here with me today. i thank them for all the support they've given me during this process and throughout my life. it's really wonderful to have so many of them behind me. i said when the president nominated me that the two people missing were my parents, and i feel that deeply again today. my father was as generous and public spirited a person as i've ever known, and mother sets a

standard for determination, courage and commitment to learning. my parents lived the american dream. they grew up in immigrant communities. my mother didn't speak a word of english until she went to school, but she became a legendary teacher and my father, a valued lawyer, and they taught me and my two brothers, both high school teachers, that this is the greatest of all countries because of the freedoms and opportunities it offers its people. i know that they would have felt that today, and i pray that they would have been proud of what they did in raising me and my brothe brothers. to be nominated to the supreme court is an honor of a lifetime. i'm only sorry that if confirmed

i won't have the privilege of serving there with justice john paul stephens. his integrity, humility and independence, his deep devotion to the court and his profound commitment to the rule of law, all these qualities are models for everyone who wears or hopes to wear a judge's robe. if given this honor, i hope i will apoach each case with his trademark care and consideration. that means listening to each party with a mind as open as his to learning and persuasion and striving as conscientiously as he has to render impartial justice. i owe a debt of gratitude to two other living justices. sandra day o'connor and ruth bader ginsburg paved the way for me and so many other women in my

generation. their pioneering lives have created boundless possibilities for women in the law. i thank them for their inspiration, and also for the personal kindnesses they have shown me and my heart goes out justice ginsburg and her family today. everyone who ever met marty ginsburg was enriched by his incredible warmth and humor and generosity, and i'm deeply saddened by his passing. mr. chairman, in law school i had the good fortune to lead has a kind of motto spoken each year at graduation. we tell the new graduates that they are ready to enter a profession devoted to those wise restraints that make us free. that phrase has always captured for me he way law and the rule

of law mattered. what the rule of law does is nothing less than to secure for each of us what our constitution calls the blessings of liberty, those rights and freedoms, that promise of equality that have defined this nation since its founding and what the supreme court does is to safeguard the rule of law through a commitment to even handedness, principle and restraint. my first real exposure to the court came almost a quarter century ago when i began my clerkip with justice thurgood marshall. justic marshall reveered the court and for a simple reason. in his life, in his great struggle for racial justice, the

supreme crt stood as a part of government that was most open to every american and that most often fulfilled our constitution's promise of treating all persons with equal respect, equal care and equal attention. the idea is engraved on the very face of the supreme court's building. equal justice under law. it means that everyone who comes before the court, regardless of wealth or power or station receives the same process and the same protections. what this commands of justice is even handedness and impartiality. what it promises is nothing less than a fair shake for every american.

i've seen that promise up close during my tenure as solicitor general. in that job, i served as our government's chief lawyer before the supreme court arguing cases on issues ranging from campaign finance to criminal law to national security, and i do mean argue. in no other place i know is the strength of a person's position so tested and the quality of a person's analysis so deeply probed. no matter who the lawyer or who the client, the court relentlessly hones in on the merits of every claim in its support law and precedent, and because this is s i always come away from my arguments at the court with a renewed appreciation of the commitment of each justice for reason and principle. a commitment that defines what

it means to live in a nation under law. for these reasons the supreme court is a wondrous institution. the time i spent in the other branches of government remind me that it must also be a modest one, properly deferential to the decisions of the american people and their elected representat e representativ representatives. what i most took away is simple admiration for the democratic process. tt process is often messy and frustrating, but the people of this country have great wisdom and their representatives work hard to protect their interests. the supreme court, of course, has the responsiblility of ensuring that our government never oversteps its proper bounds or violates the rights of individuals, but the court must

also recognize the limits on itself and respect the choices made by the american people. i am grateful, i am grateful beyond measure for the time i spent in public service, but the joy of my life has been to teach thousands of students about the law and to have had the sense to realize that they had much to teach me. i've let a school whose faculty and students examine and discuss and debate every aspect of our law and legal system, and what i've learned most is that no one has a monopoly on truth or wisdom. i've learned that we make progress by listening to each other across every apparent, political or ideological divide. i've learned that we come closest to getting things right when we approach every american

and every issue with an open mind. and i've larned the value of a habit justice stephens wrote about of understanding before disagreeing. i will make no pledges this week other than this one thatif confirmed i will remember and abide by all these lessons. i will listen hard to every rtbefore the court and to each of my colleagues. i will work hard, and i will do my best to consider every case impartially, modestly with commitment to principle and in accordance with law. that is what i owe to the legacy i share with so many americans.

my grandparents came to this country in search of a freer and better life for themselves and their families. they wanted to escape bigotry and oppression, to worship as they pleased and work as hard as they were able. they found in this country and they passed on to their children and their children's children the blessings of liber. those lessons are rooted in this country's constitution and its historic commitment to the rule of law. i know that to sit on our nation's highest court is to be a trustee of that inheritance, and if i have the honor to be confirmed, i will do all i can to help preserve it

the confirmation hearings continue tomorrow morning with opening questions from members of the senate judiciary committee. that is at 9:00 a.m. eastern. >> learn more about the nation's highest court from those who served on the bench. reid c-span latest book. providing unique inside about the court. also, as an e-book. >> house majority leader stephany hoyer says that america is that is a national security threat. he spoke at the center for strategic international studies for about 45 minutes. after his speech, he took questions. >> thank you very much.

[applause] >> what an extraordinarily career that he has had. he has international relations throughout the world and i am pleased to be i am so pleased to be here as well as csis with so many distinguished scholars and leaders in international relations and thinkers in our country on very complex and difficult issues that we confront. i am also pleased to be here with a number of good friends whom i have known for half a century almost, i think. i will not out of them here, but i am pleased to be here. stephen flanagan, thank you very much for hosting this event. please give john henramery my bt

regards. he is an extraordinary leader, and i have worked closely with him. i am pleased to be here with all of you. experience shows that the values of free societies can break down the strongest walls of oppression. an american foreign policy has at its best and most creative taken advantage of the fact of that fact to keep our nation more secure. as chairman of the helsinki convention, i watched firsthand as free speech, free association, and free markets became the rallying cry for the brave dissident movement of the eastern bloc. solidarity in poland to charter said the seven in czechoslovakia, to heroes in russia. they found courage in the universal principles of free men and women. that helped usher in an era of new openness behind the iron

curtain. ultimately, they helped bring down an empire. i have never forgotten the lesson. america's military is a powerful weapon. but is it not the only one we have? today we are engaged in a new struggle, unlike any in our history. our enemy is not defined by borders are governments, and the struggles to not be defined by a surrender ceremony. we are confronting not an evil empire but a network of hate and violence, and the trends of state fell year and nuclear proliferation that amplify its danger. but now, as then, our success will be measured not only by our determination but as well by our creativity. now, as then, we cannot afford to turn our backs on any web been in our arsenal. the challenge -- we cannot turn our backs on any weapon in our

arsenal. the challenge is great. greater than other challenges our nation has faced and overcome. america has often overcome those challenges under leadership of my party. through two world wars, the containment of communism, the specter of missiles in cuba or genocide in bosnia. democratic leadership has answered the threats that endangered america's security and the world's security. today i want to discuss how we can build on that tradition and continue to keep our nation and its people safe. it is a strategy that rests on the use of four crucial tools. strength, development, democracy, and fiscal discipline. first, democrats, as i said, have aggressively stepped up the fight against terrorists. we have strengthened america's military by finding real equipment after years of war, and we have put new and better

weapons and to the battlefield. including the mine resistance ambushed protected vehicles that our troops need. as well, of course, as an increase in aerial drones. under president obama, the u.s. has killed or captured hundreds of terrorist leaders, including much of the top leadership of al qaeda and the taliban. disrupting their ability to plot an attack on our country. the attempted christmas day bombing and the attempted bombing of times where reminded us all that our enemy is still intend to do as grave harm. those plots were foiled not by chance but by the vigilance of law enforcement and intelligence, first responders, and importantly, ordinary citizens. but even a foiled plot is a lesson in our own abilities and the ways in which terrorists attempt to exploit them. that is what president obama demanded that our intelligence

community closely study and applied the lessons of those plots. president obama also demonstrated that he learned the lessons the bush administration's conduct in afghanistan, where frankly, years of neglect allowed for the taliban's resurgence. president obama listened closely to opposing views on the way forward in afghanistan. for the first time in years, we have a clear counterinsurgency strategy in afghanistan. drawing on the poor and cooperation from the pakistani government. based on the premise that if terrorists dominated states, it will once again pose a direct danger to americans and to our country. but we also have a clear time frame to measure the effectiveness of our efforts. in an -- in iraq, we are preparing for responsible redeployment that will allow the iraqi government to stand on its own feet. and to expect the iraqi

government to stand on its own feet. but protecting ourselves against terrorism does not just mean force of arms. that is why democrats, often in the face of republican opposition, have increased funding for human intelligence collection, cybersecurity, and security for our skies, ports, and our borders. unfortunately, both the fiscal year 2010 homeland security appropriation bill and the fiscal year 2011 intelligence authorization bill passed in a partisan way, over strong republican opposition. president obama is also strongly committed to nuclear non- proliferation. because the more nuclear weapons in the world, the greater the chance that one will someday fall into the wrong hands. as the president said at a nuclear summit he convened in april, it terrorists ever acquired and used nuclear- weapons, "it would be a

catastrophic catastrophe for the world, causing extraordinary loss of life and striking a major blow to global peace and stability. in short, it is increasingly clear that the danger of nuclear terrorism is one of the greatest threats to global security, to our collective security." that sun is successfully focused the world's attention on the dangers of nuclear terrorism, strengthened cooperation toward the goal of controlling all the world's vulnerable -- and vulnerable bigger materials in four years, and convinced several nations including chile, context on, mexico, and ukraine to make commitments such as giving of highly enriched uranium and eapons-grade plutonium. the start treaty signed with registered to the same goal. reducing the world's supply of nuclear material and keeping us all safer. finally, economic pressure is

part of the wisse use of strength. we all understand the danger posed by a nuclear iran. president obama's work to engage iran has not been met, as all of us i think what degree, in good faith. but a bit further isolate iran in the eyes of the world, and i believe that it helped secure russian and chinese agreement with the strong sanctions passed this month by the security council. congress is sending its own set of sanctions to the president's desk, which we passed last week. it will hit the iranian regime where it hurts, its petroleum sector. and i hope demonstrate that the cost of their nuclear pursuits are too high to bear. in all, this is a record of keeping america safe, and it is

one we can be proud of. but it embodies goals that deserve the support of both parties, and indeed, enjoyed bipartisan support during the decades of the cold war. during the cold war, a secret of success was the unity with which both parties pursued a consensus strategy to contain and bring down communism. there was fierce disagreement, of course, but there was also remarkable continuity and a reluctance to exploit threats to america's simply for political gain. that could and should be the spirit of this new struggle. but, unfortunately, months after 9/11, chose to exploit americans' legitimate fear for their safety in an unprecedented way. we see the lasting effects today on an national-securityy debate that too often dissolves

into an endless series of politically charged wage issues while the larger strategic challenges confronting us go neglected. we see the effects of a recurring partisan effort debate many of the president's moves as somehow apologetic or weak. i recall, as i know all of you do, john kennedy's observation that we must never fear to negotiate, but we must never negotiate out of fear. you will regard that james baker met with saddam hussein's days before we went into iraq in 1991. whenever the character rears its head, i look at the president's strong record in think, what president are they talking about? our founders spoke deliberately of the common defense, because the threats we face make no%% partisan distinctions. they are common to us all.

secondly, the force is at times clearly necessary, and i have supported that use. we learned from the cold war that force alone does not win ideological struggles. then it was the promise of a better life that led some need to abandon ccmmunism and its faulse promise of progress. today, there is the hatred of a modern world that seems to have left too many behind. chronic oppression of women and girls condemns nations to poverty and abandons young men to extremist ideologies. and the failure of institutions in distant states, as we have seen from somalia to afghanistan, is a direct threat to our own people.

so a strong development policy must be a pillar of our national security. enter national development reflects our moral values -- international development reflects our moral values. pour and unstable countries make unreliable trading partners and weak markets for american goods and services. and we cannot desert global leadership while neglecting hunger, disease, and human misery. some democrats have made internationally agreed to develop goals the prime focus of our foreign policy. president obama has announced major new initiatives on food security and global health. and his administration is working to strengthen them through partnerships with other donors in the private sector. data-driven analysis of the strong standards of accountability. we're working with world body's to strengthen international norms against corruption, so that foreign aid reaches the that foreign aid reaches the