congress needs amending. in the recent crisis, the fed was overly opaque and not receptive to providing information to congress and the public. the fed is always interested in seeking additional power and authority, even though it failed to use its current authorities in the run-up of the crisis. despite his recent failures, the fed soon could be rewarded with expanded authorities and powers under the dodd-franc bill. with that in mind, i would like to hear what lessons have been learned and how the nominee is intend to use those lessons as members of the board. -- how the nominee s intend to use those lessons as members of the board. i would be interested to learn where the nominees would draw the line between monetary and fiscal policy. that is a distinction blurred by the fed during the recent

crisis. finally, use nominees should share their views on credit channelling by the federal reserve to preferred and specific segments of the financial markets, which amounts to the fed picking winners and losers. while we welcome this nomination, i would like to point out that nearly two years after passage of a gmc legislation, we still have not received -- of gse legislation, we still have not received a nomination for the housing finance administration. taxpayers have already lost a lot and counting. two years would be much too long under normal

circumstances. but in the current circumstances, it is unacceptable. to accomplish this goal, the federal finance -- a federal housing finance division works with -- i look forward to hearing from mr. lake on his plan for providing the committee and the american people with lower the oversight of fhfa. >> thank you very much. >> how want to welcome the nominee is that the president has chosen a very well and very wisely. dr. yellen, of course, is a

brown graduate. we have to say no more. [laughter] mr. diamond is an expert from the university. could not into brown? [laughter] and miss bloom raskin, i like to see that you, like me, have found a job. we are here at a critical moment. there are those who suggest that things are coming along and we have to focus on the great pivot away from the support of the economy. but for many, nothing has changed much. we have to keep our eyes focused on unemployment. the fed is the most significant actor in this situation, continuing to support policies that will put people back to work. this was encouraging news today. claims seem to have fallen much

more than expected. that is a good sign. we have been increasing jobs over the last several months. but until we have solid growth in employment, that is sustainable and recognized by people not here or wall street but on main street, we have done our job. there are also some areas of innovation that might be embraced. there is suggestion of a work share plan to help business maintain partial employment. several states recently, including oklahoma, have adopted it. as we have all discussed, with the new dog-franc -- dodd-frank

bill, for the first time, there will be a super minister -- a supervisor. as one of the chief voice is on the proposed oversight council, this person and the board in toto will be extraordinarily important. you're coming on to the federal reserve board at a critical moment. i am very confident because of your skill and your dedication. i think these confirmation proceedings are interesting. i am sure you find them interesting. it sends a pretty strong message that, through the senate, you are ultimately accountable to the people of the united states. i would like to send that same message to the individuals who operated as president of the federal reserve bank of new york. that position is one of the most

significant regulatory positions in the country. any confusion about who he or she may work for is a mistake. i will continue to pursue that effort. >> thank you. i presume there is someone from the administration in the audience. the idea -- was to have the head of fao to head that. >> thank you, mr. chairman. it is good to be here to to stay in this hearing with three people who i think are exceptional. i appreciate the president's choices. i appreciate your willingness to serve. it is nice to have folks with your talent and ability coming into the responsibility of the job of the federal reserve.

as we look florida over the next few years, the federal reserve's role will be even more incredible. the debt which we are adding, the only stabilizing force is the federal reserve because the congress is totally irresponsible. your role is going to become more and more important. you cannot correct failures, but you can point them out. hopefully, you can maintain the stability of the currency as we try to sort out the pulp -- the problems of domestic fiscal policy. this is one to be one of the most critical times of the federal reserve are the next 10 years. i appreciate the fact that talented people like yourself are going to be there. thank you. >> very good. i am going to us all three witnesses to rise.

>> mr. chairman. >> i am sorry. i am not the the new still. >> your new enough. [laughter] >> padilla have that much to share. i want to briefly mentioned two things that are not necessarily historic leap and well-defined -- not necessarily a starkhistoy well-defined. about a third of our gdp was manufacturing. 11%, a swiss financial services. those numbers have flipped. we know what happened in the financial crisis. we also know what happened to

particularly small town and medium-sized industrial america. the devastation to the town is long-lasting. the people that get educations leave those communities because we do not offer them the job opportunities in so many ways. if you look at a historical context, when a country turns to financial services and away from making things, agriculture and transportation, look what happens to the middle class. look what happens to the long- term prosperity of the nation. i hope you'll consider that in your deliberations. i also wanted to mention that i have noticed during a debate of the unemployment insurance bill, i get to the senate floor almost every day and read letters from

constituents, many of whom have been employed for 25 years and paid into unemployment for years, have been laid off for a year-and-a-half and losing their job skills. i mention that because i think that many people in your position and my position talky lot about numbers. 90,000 ohioans will lose their unemployment if we do not act next week. we find all the numbers we do, but we do not often put a human face on what we do. i hope you find a way in the generally insulated judge you will have and the insulated jobs that we have of putting a face on the human suffering that you seized cup -- that used to come across your desk. that is a challenge sometimes. i know that the president gets to and letters every day that he

reads from people around the country. -- gets letters every day that he reads from people around the country. i think he will serve our country well. i know that you have that include nation anyway. i hope you will find a way to drive it home. i wish you well as u.s. junior jobs. >> my apologies again -- i wish you well as you assume your jobs. >> my apologies again. we please all stand? will you swear that the testimony you're about to give the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? do agree to testify before the united states senate?

i thank all three of you. let me start with you dr. yellen. you have any family members here that you would like to recognize? >> [inaudible] >> and you? >> [unintelligible] >> dr. raskin? >> [unintelligible] >> very smart bringing in those kinetic events -- connected -- ans.ecte-- connecticut's i hope you have not mention anyone. [laughter]

-- i hope you have not forgotten to mention anyone. [laughter] we will begin with you dr. yellen. normally, i ask that the people try to restrain their remarks to five minutes a piece. but having read your statements, i would urge you to speak five minutes apiece. there were very short perio. for the purposes of the record, let me say that any statements that members of this committee will have will be added to the record. any additional questions they will like to ask this morning will also be included for the -- to be answered by the nominees. we have a relatively short amount of time left in this congress.

i believe the desire to move these nominations along, we ask you to be as responsive as you can and as quickly as you can. with that, dr. young, thank you once again. it is part -- dr. gallon, thank you once again. -- dr. yellen, thank you once again. >> i am honored to appear before you with president obama is nominated to serve as a member and vice chair on the board of governors of the federal reserve system. if i am conferred -- if i am confirmed in these positions, and look forward to working with the committee in the coming years.

i am dedicated to strengthening our system. we have learned a harsh lesson about the dire consequences of financial -- the curren crisis has been lost jobs, lost homes, lost wealth, and lost businesses. those charged with overseeing

the financial system must have this in mind. from 1994 through 1997, i was a member of the federal reserve board. i have gained experience in every one of the federal reserve areas of responsibility, including monetary policy, banking supervision and regulation, consumer and community affairs, and the operation payment system. we strive to carry out the mission that congress has assigned as. over the next few years, the fed must craft a policy that ensures our economy, if so its promise long the recovery path that it has begun to trace. with unemployment still

painfully high, job creation must be a high priority of monetary policy. we must also avoid any threat to price stability. that means that, when the appropriate time comes, we must monetary dictionary polic policy now in place. my challenge will be to bring a thoughtful and pleasant voice to the deliberations on monetary policy, drawing on the inside the business and community leaders throughout the country and thoroughly analyzing macroeconomic trends that have risks to our forecast. congress has wisely granted the federal reserve the freedom to make independent monetary policy decisions in pursuit of

congressionally mandated goals based on a 4-looking perspective and the best judgments -- forward-looking perspective and the best judgments. central bank independence in monetary policy produces clear societal benefits. when central banks are independent, economies perform better, inflation is lower and more stable, and long-term interest rates are lower and less volatile. in other words, an independent central bank is best equipped to promote both price stability and high levels of growth and employment. i should stress that independence brings with it responsibility and accountabity. the federal reserve is fully accountable to congress. that is the way it should be. that means the fed must explain

its actions, outlook, and strategy and provide the information necessary for congress and the public to understand and evaluate its policy decisions. i fully support fed independence in monetary policy and then committed in enforcing the transparency that is central to accountability and democratic legitimacy. >> to be nominated by the president obama, to be nominated to the federal reserve system, i am grateful to this committee for scheduling this hearing. if i'm confirmed by the senate, i will work to the best of my abilities to fulfill their

responsibilities of this office. those responsibilities have always been significant. the experience of the recent financial crisis and the financial reform legislation have underlined the multiple jobs the fed has been working to fulfill the dual mandate of high employment and price stability. the fed will have major work to do to implement the task of the legislation that will be placed at the fed. i will be honored and pleased to be able to be part of the process of responding to this challenge. i studied both mathematics and economics as an undergraduate at yale university. i received my ph.d. in economics from the massachusetts institute of technology in june 1963. since then, i have been a faculty member, first at the university of california berkeley and, since 1966, at mit

the line through all this time, -- at mit. through all this time, i have taught economics. my primary focus has been economic theory, particularly general equilibrium theory, macroeconomics, search theory, and public finance. within public finance, my primary focus has been on taxes, pensions, and social insurance, particularly social security. i have the antiradical analyses and policy analyses. i have also done research in other areas, including behavioral economics and law and economics. i took lessons at harvard law school as part of my preparation for doing research in law and economics. i believe in being well grounded in the subject while being a search. in addition to micro -- in addition to macroeconomics, i

have also taught money in banking. being a member of two economics departments with great collegial it interactions, i have gained a wide knowledge of a variety of economic topics as well as detailed knowledge in my area of expertise. as a consequence, i have considerable awareness of the development of economic analysis of monetary policy and its impact on both inflation and employment as well as studies of the determinants of financial crises. a central theme in my research career has been how the economy deals with risk, both risk of the individual and risk that affects the entire economy. in all of my central research areas, i have thought about and written about the risks in the economy and how markets and government can combine to make

the economy function better for the people there. if confirmed, this background should be very helpful at the federal reserve as part of the process of addressing our heightened awareness of the dangers of systemic risk. my background in behavioral economics and lot in economics disney a high awareness of the law in economicsl gives me a high awareness of the issues. i am bringing my research experience and expert terence to bear on these difficult and important issues. thank you. >> as a former banking counsel

to your committee, i cannot quite express what an honor it is to appear before you today. i never dreamed one day i would be here as a nominee for the federal reserve board. maybe i did dream it at some point, but i never believed it. i must thank senator sarbanes who has been an extraordinary mentor to me and my career and showed me that one can be passionately committed to the public address and to one's family. it is an honor to be nominated by president obama to the federal reserve board and i am very grateful. if confirmed, i will dissipate in the essential and difficult work of restraining inflation and maintaining price stability, maximizing sustainable employment and economic growth, and trying to continually reconciled and

harmonize these goals. this is a challenging moment for the federal reserve. every member of this committee knows that, even though the worst of the crisis is over, it remains a precarious time for far too many of our families and business. the fed must do its part to restore the underlying strength and vibrancy of the american economy. as maryland's commissioner of financial regulation over the last four years, i worked day and night to cover the devastating effects on our committee of the banking liquidity crisis and high unemployment and underemployment. at the same time, as a front- line bank regulator, i worked to revise and replacing effectual and counterproductive state regulation.

if i am confirmed, my experience will deeply informs my actions at the federal reserve board. over the course of the last generation, the federal reserve has achieved price stability and successfully anchored long-term inflationary expectations. this achievement is critical to our economic strength and it remains a central institutional objective that i subscribe to wholeheartedly. it is only a partial victory when many american households continue to face the perils of unemployment and many small businesses struggle with weakened consumer demand and reduced access to credit. we need to strengthen this recovery by expanding its foundation.

this means that, in addition to maintaining stable inflationary expectation and keeping a vigilant eye on the emergence of new bubbles, the fed must seek to fulfill the other part of its statutory mandate by addressing unemployment which has pervasive social costs. in my state, i have seen these costs in a lot of productive capacity, a weakened housing market, increased strain on state and local resources and services, and a nervous reluctance on the part of many businesses and banks to invest and make loans. the fed must work for a broad and sustained recovery that not only controls inflation, but facilitate growth and more robust business lending by banks. in sum, i know that there's a lot of hard work to do at the fed. if you choose to confirm me, i will bring all of the experience, knowledge, and

commitment i have gained over the course of my career to the task of fulfilling the congress statutory expectations. i will maintain the standards of professionalism, independence, and probity which i have always tried to uphold and my career and better exemplified by the work of this committee. thank you for the honor of hearing me today. i would be happy to respond to any and all questions you may have, verbally or promptly in writing, throughout this process and throughout my tenure at the that if i am fortunate enough to be confirmed. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i have a number of questions for the record, but i have a

question for each one of you. the fed's 12th district, which is your responsibility, has experienced a large number of bank failures, 65 institutions at an estimated loss of around $28 billion since 2004. your district has experienced failures of important firms with national implications. further, the housing sector in your district displayed excesses' in the run-up to the crisis. regarding your tenure as president of the 12th district, i have two questions. what role do you believe a breakdown in regulatory oversight played in the failure of the institutions in your district? secondly, were you raising any warning flags with respect to excesses' were lax monetary policy during that time? >> the first question was --

>> do you think a breakdown in -- what role do you believe that a breakdown in regulatory oversight played in the failure of the institutions in your district? >> working with those regulators, i think that regulatory oversight was careful and appropriate. but i believe that -- >> you say that it was careful and appropriate? many people believe that it was lax and inappropriate. >> well, in the institutions that have failed in my district, there were mainly community banks with high exposure to commercial real estate. when i say careful and appropriate, i mean that, as early as 2001, people in the federal reserve system, particularly in my bank, were at the forefront of focusing on

high concentrations that existed in the banks we supervised in commercial real estate. .

it was hard for the regulators to take away the punch bowl in a timely way. the supervisors in the field, we did not have the time to limit concentrations or demand higher capital against these concentrations.

this was the pitfall. going forward, one thing we have learned is that there is a need for all of us to back in a timely way to take away the punch bowls and to have more stringent capital requirement. >> in testimony, you said in the run-up to the financial crisis. -- run-up to the financial crisis, regulators were too scared to take away the punch bowl. at what point would you change course?

what have you learned? >> i think there is a number of lessons learned. in terms of the federal reserve, i think that it has been subject to a substantial and justified criticism regarding the run-up to the failure. from the regulatory perspective, i think there was not a sufficient focus given to the importance of capital and the importance of building on capitol. we now know how hard it is to find capital when times are not

so good. there was an inappropriate regulatory treatment given to off-balance sheet assets. i think there was quite a bit of this judgment regarding the asset quality. i think there are a lot of lessons there that are worth repeating and correcting. from the monetary policy side, i think the extent of the housing bubble that was developing was not appropriately monitored. for those of us on the ground level, we saw quite a number of disturbing trends including

sometimes weak regulation of the mortgage side of origination. clearly, there were signs, also signs of predatory behavior. it would have been good if the reserve for would have been able to see the determinants. >> professor diamond, in an interview with the macro economic dynamics, you stated fed you are a card-carrying behavioral economist. do you believe that this can be applied to the regulatory functions of the federal reserve. >> yes, it is the very

important. something i learned in the background information that the fed has given me in preparation for the hearings, there was a discussion of the treatment of disclosure with financial contracts. they told me that their attitude towards disclosure had been to make sure that everything was disclosed in a sense that a lawyer conceded was accurate. they have learned the lesson and now they are focusing on disclosure in a way of the person engaging in the contract could understand what it was going to do. this draws heavily on cognitive psychology. this is very aware of the difficulty for inexperienced

people in interpreting complicated elements. this is one of the things i also studied when i was taking classes at harvard law school, the issue of contracts that are hard to understand and not available for modification. >> i have a number of questions that i would like to submit to the record. >> what can do you believe will be the biggest challenge for the fed? >> we have enormous

responsibilities that will be given to us under this legislation. the first challenge will be to improve our supervision, particularly of the most complex bank holding companies based on what happens in this crisis and the lessons we have learnt. that is something that is already taking place partly building on what we learned from the very successful stress test that were conducted of the 19 largest banking organizations last spring. taking an approach to bank supervision that involves horizontal simultaneous reviews of large organizations using

multi disciplinary teens including economists, we learned a great deal about the situation in large banking organizations. this is a strategy and tool that we are employing on a systemwide basis to ramp up our supervision of these institutions. going forward, we are being asked in this bill appropriately so to raise capital standards and liquidity standards for these institutions to take account of a their impact on financial stability as well as improving our understandings of

the risks in the financial system. we are working very hard to make that improvement. the bill creates an oversight council in which the federal reserve is expected to work collaborative with other regulators to assess and monitor the potential threats to financial stability that might occur anywhere in the financial system. this will be a challenge for us. these are among the challenges i see for us coming from this agenda. >> do you have any other insights? >> we have seen an astonishing change in the financial environment.

engineering has produced a vast array of new instruments. we have seen growth in hedge funds and institutions in gauging in using the new instruments. the financial engineering we have seen has done a great deal of good but in a crisis has done a great deal of harm. part of the problem was not just the regulators but the financial institutions themselves did not understand the risks they were taking on. going forward, you will see more change, that is the way the world goes. it is important that we not ask the simple question, how low could we have prevented the

last crisis? we are monitoring how things are evolving and there is consultation and discussion with financial players that can adapt to the changing circumstance. this is a brand new and equally horrible crisis. >> i would add a bit. i think said as you point out and observed, implementing the legislation will be a huge challenge. what in essence the federal reserve will have to step up to the plate to do is to really put in place and enhanced and consolidated supervisory plan for our largest institutions and

those that are deemed to be systemically significant. when we talk about enhanced, this is really something quite robust. this is a set of regulatory measures that include corporate governance, internal control, the proper risk management systems. these are all items that are extremely complicated for even the most complicated institutions. i think the work cannot be underestimated. there will be quite a bit of organizational work that one need to be done. >> thank you to the panel. i want to start with the general issue and see if any of you have thoughts you would like to

share. there is an ongoing debate about the reduction verses monetary and fiscal stimulus. in essence, it could be reduced a little bit. how old do you steer on one side to make sure that you don't have a debt crisis? also, how do you avoid a recession like in japan? >> i think we have an outlook at this point where we seem to be in recovery but the recovery is not proceeding at a pace that is sufficient to bring down unemployment so rapidly.

it is clear that it is appropriate long-term unemployment. this is appropriate for us to be asking what to do. as congress considers the options for further fiscal stimulus now which is natural given the outlook, i would insist that it is very important and congress will have more flexibility to move in the short run to support the economy if simultaneously it can put in place and show credibility on taking the measures that are necessary to attack the long-term deficit which i think is widely understood to be an unsustainable situation that requires painful policy action. if simultaneously congress was able to put in place meaningful

measures, it would phase in over time to address medium and longer-term deficit issues, i believe that would create a greater scope in the short term for congress to also contemplate if he considered it inappropriate action to redress short-term weakness in the economy. >> thank you. >> i think your reference to japan is noteworthy because there are a couple of lessons there that we need to keep in mind. one has to do with the fact that japan's recovery was probably slower than they would have liked. it has something to do with not having a strong robust resurgence as bank lending. the banking sector's stayed weak for a couple of years.

that is something that we want to keep in mind here as we have not seen an uptick in bank lending. with think that that is one possible lesson of japan. the other is the general nature of that recovery, the importance to try to think through a more sustained way of moving forward. >> let me use that as a segue. i think many of my colleagues have the same experience i have had of going home and every set of small business owners, how difficult it is to obtain lending. just this morning, i had a group copy and the small business owners were talking about the difficulty of accessing this kind of business.

in the small business jobs bill, we have the recapitalization of community banks to help the system and lending more but it feels like we need to find a more aggressive way to make funds available for businesses to operate these opportunities. what should we be doing? >> clearly, that is a challenge. there are a number of obstacles now to bank lending and we have to work carefully to try to figure out what they are. what you're hearing is not at all the similar to what i have heard. the regulators and commissioners are hearing this across the country. part of this has to do with the lack of robust demand. you will hear a lot of anecdotes about there being not enough people seeking loans. that is not the whole story. we also hear stories of people

who have the ability to repay and have credible cash flow. the bankers did not have to be dependent on collateral coming from real estate. these are people who can sustain loans. why say are not able to get them is a challenge. i think we need to do some work on that. also, bank lending to small businesses is a critical factor in the unemployment. the notion of getting this right will also have some consequences for employment. >> does anyone else want to jump in? >> i would just say that the federal reserve is just concluding on tuesday, 40 sessions we have had around the

country in which we have tried to bring together lenders, small-business owners to understand exactly what the problems are and all of the various items that were mentioned. this is a complex situation. one of the things we are aware of is the supervisors need to be very careful not to be discouraging and that this will be carefully underwritten and will be profitable. we frequently hear the complaint that banks are afraid that they will be criticized for loans that they make. the regulators have jointly issued a guidance to supervisors emphasizing that small-business lending is safe and sound is not

only important to our community and growing out of this recession but is also important for profitability and the health of the institution and we have institutions -- emphasized training. these are tough situation where they have to make judgment calls. we don't want to a indifferently stifle small business lending that would be very important to an economic recovery. >> thank-you all very much. i appreciate your engagement. >> thank you for your leadership and for coming by the office to talk with us personally. i wish you well. i am one of the people that things that the fed needs to function at a very high level for our country.

i know you bring a lot of experience to the fed. the fed has a number of people who already do that. each of us must figure out how we will make our mark and what we will bring to a body like the senate to hopefully make a stronger institution. there is obviously a number of people who do what you do already. as you move to the board, there are people that have similar backgrounds. what is it that you plan to do at the fed to make the mark on the said governance. >> i don't know if i will make a mark but this is a very thoughtful question and i do agree that the staff at the fed is really exemplary as far as i have been able to interact with them. they are a very interactive group of professionals.

what i would like at to the mix i think is a perspective that really comes out of the work and have been doing at a very local level as the state banking commissioner. i have been able to see a lot of the spillover affect having to do with the crisis and also problems related to the run-up to the crisis. i am not sure that all of those perspectives have been sufficiently incorporated into both the monetary policy and the regulatory side. one thing that we needed to do in maryland was to act very quickly to reform our laws. some of them were not at all fit for what the situation was.

i think the ability to react quickly is important. then the ability to move these into a more maximum picture would be critical. >> we are getting ready to pass some legislation in the next 35 minutes regardless of what your testimony is. in any 2300 page bill, there will be provisions in it. i will not say that this is the worst bill that has ever been created but this is a tremendous missed opportunity. i wonder if there are things that you would have liked to have seen in the legislation that will be passed regardless of what you say.

you think this might have caused our country to deal with some of those things that were in the run-up to the crisis. >> the legislation is of is it the product of a lot of hard work. there has been a lot of good mines put to the tass of trying to put it in place a system of reforms that can almost insure that we don't have a situation like this crisis. to be completely candid, i think that there is one piece that we still need and the congress needs which is gst reform. this is a piece that was not addressed in the legislation. this is something that still needs to be on the forefront of the congress.

>> that is very steep. thank you for your testimony. when we met, i looked over your resmaume and it looks like you have written more books and then i have read. i actually wish i knew as much as you did on those topics. prime wondering what the hook was. the head of the social security, great at treasury, but going to the fed.

what is it that those of us who look to your credentials is the contribution that you will make on the board of governors? >> in my opening remarks, i talked about working with the economy and the regulatory guidance and handling risk for of the economy. i have written on how pension systems deal with risk. the questions raised by this crisis, questions that the existing knowledge of the regulators and the academic community has done some on but not a great deal. we are aware of issues of how

risks get generated. how they affect all kinds of other places. my background is to think about those things. what i have started doing it is reading the parts of the academic literature, some that goes back decades, on how interactions can happen. what i hope to be able to do is exploring how the regulatory structure will pay more attention to the interactions which ago from an individual risk to systemic risk. i think facts requires the kind of background in the nature of economic equilibrium that i bring because of the structure of the regulations and much of the economic analysis does not engage with this and we know how

important this is a and b & t to work on something that important an environment as good for learning about the economy which is the said. -- the fed. >> i was out of the room for a moment. senator shelby asked you about supervision. and no that she saw a lot of problems and felt that the fed should have responded or could have responded more quickly and talked a little bit about that a minute ago. you were the head of the said in san francisco any of the sea had a pretty large calamity out there. it seems to me that there is a huge bubble out there in commercial real estate.

do you wish there was actions that you could have taken as a relates to the residential side. you are still focused on commercial. i agree that that is a problem in our system. do you wish there was actions that could have been taken in housing especially in your part of the country? >> i think we were monitoring the housing prices very carefully and became concerned certainly by 2005 that there might well be a bubble in the housing market. personally, i gave speeches in 2005 warning of that possibility. this is something that we were attempting to end and to evaluate what the risks would be coming out of that, i think we

failed to understand the complexity of what to the impact of the national decline in housing prices would be in the financial system. we saw a number of different things and we failed to connect the dots to where we started with the risk coming from the housing price decline. i think we failed to understand just how serious the mortgage standards had declined, what had happened with the complexity of securitization and the risks that were building in the system. i think that we missed critical elements. this caused the crisis to be as

severe as it was. looking back, certainly i wish that regulators had taken more significant steps earlier to appreciate what the risks were to understand as i saw in this provision that we were doing in san francisco, mortgages that were being originated and packaged and sold into the market whether it was a clear deterioration of war underwriting standards. we should have focused more on the systemic risks that were causing problems as much as we were focused on what was causing the safety and soundness of banks.

on the underwriting side, we should have taken more significant steps. >> my time is up. >> the second panel is coming up and and we must be out of here by 11:00 to vote. >> i would just say -- let me

just ask one simple question, i tried -- the first of all, unlike the year war about gse's. we are trying to understand the is and hopefully there will be a climate for these down the road. on the underwriting, i am trying to pass an amendment that would of required every person who purchased a home to had a minimum 5% down payment. many countries have not had the problems that we have had had a 50% down payment. i wonder if that one requirement, that one simple requirement, would have kept us from having the kind of bauble

that you had out in the california. >> i have not had a chance to think through the details carefully. >> a 5% down payment. >> i would say that there were more glitches that created problems. we had mortgages that became problematic. i think this is an interesting proposal and i think underwriting standards should have been tougher but there was a range of practices there and no documentation lending and so forth that rarely graded problems. >> thank you.

i think each of you for your testimony. i look forward to working with you. mr. chairman, i understand the time constraints you are working on. >> i would like to congratulate you all on your nominations. i will now call up our second panel.

has served as the adviser in the proposal to the inspector general to the united states agency for international development. he has experience in the private sector and he has worked as a promotional officer for motorola.

the committee created the position of inspector general as part of a economic reform act of 2008. the second nominee has been nominated to serve in this role. is a prosecutor who serves in two roles as the director of the national procurement taskforce and the deputy chief of the criminal division of the department of justice. as the death of the chief mensches' and supervises, the

prosecution of white-collar criminal cases involving procurement fraud, a public fraud, money laundering among others. in october 2008, -- received a service award for his efforts in serving the department. previously, was an assistant u.s. attorney. before joining the federal government, he was an associate in philadelphia and then was in washington from 1990 until 1992.

will the witnesses please stand and raise your right hand? do you swear or affirm that the testimony you are about to give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? do you agree and testify before any constituted committee? thank you and please take your seats. before you began, please be assured that were written statements will be part of the record. please note that members of this committee may submit written questions to you for the record and you need to respond

promptly said that the committee may proceed on your nomination. thank you for joining us today. i would advise you to introduce your family and loved ones in attendance before proceeding with your statements. >> >> i would like to introduce my wife who is here. my father is here from pr. also some former colleagues. >> welcome.

i would like to introduce my wife and my two teenage children who are sitting in the front row. welcome. >> thank you. good morning. it is a great honor to come before you as president obama is nominee to become the second inspector general. i like to thank you for this opportunity. also a group of career public servants to make the work possible in preventing fraud, waste, and bruce. as the first person hired by the inspector general, after spending almost a year, the

extra was established in 2007. i was hired as a legal counsel and worked until october 2009. i had the honor of serving the american people. i have met a number of milestones. specifically, 14 reports and 40 recommendations and improving bank programs and operations and our efforts have resulted in a number of law enforcement actions including 24 relating to complaints, 17 pending indictments, one conviction and over $8 million in savings.

we are currently investigating 35 open matters and the claims. all of this has been accomplished with a very modest budget. as a recent -- of will work to continue to build. to roll the work, we would like to help meet the missions. these are vital to protecting and creating american jobs. this is a number one service provider. today, there's an increase in american exports and also

helpful an american recovery. in fiscal year 09, we reached $21 million and has reported levels of 13.7 billion for the first 8 months. the banks are coupled with these gross levels and this is a valuable opportunity. there is only three year since its inception and we have reached the current staff levels. there is a noticeable impact. the bank continues to provide this as part of the current agency function. we would like to enhance the role in order to improve the operation as well as the effort and preventing waste and abuse. i look forward to facing the

challenges and i will carry out the duties with a high standard of independence. mr. chairman, thank you for confirming my nomination. >> thank you for this opportunity to appear before you and provide testimony. i am honored to be the president's nominee for the inspector general. almost my entire professional career has been dedicated to public service. i've served in a number of leadership positions. currently, the executive director of the national fraud task force and also the deputy chief of the criminal division. i have almost 16 years experience as a federal prosecutor with supervisory experience.

i unmanaged and coordinated grand jury investigations, health care fraud, public corruption, mortgage fraud, and other financial fraud. as a result of having investigated a wife variety of fraud, i had the experience and ability to develop strategies to prevent fraud, waste, and it use. i look forward to the prospect of serving as inspector general at the federal housing and finance agency at this critical time. this is a relatively new agency that has not had an inspector general. fannie mae and freddie mac were placed under conservatorship. since then, the department of treasury has provided billions of dollars to the enterprises. under these circumstances, the

inspector general play a critical role in safeguarding taxpayer dollars and avoiding fraud, waste, and abuse. i intend to be pro-active in overseeing the operations and programs of the federal housing and financing agency. i intend to exercise complete independence, then i will make it party to maintain a good working relationships. thank you for your consideration. i look forward to answering your questions. >> thank you. the were you provided enough resources to the inspector general's office to provide

strong independent oversight. are there other tools that would help you to do your job? >> thank you for that question. in terms of resources, because i'm the nominee, i have not had a chance to probe into my budget for the number of individuals who would be on my staff. that being said, i think the resources will need to be significant. this is an agency faces some challenges and some responsibility. the agency has never had any oversight before and it's from a tour role has not been tested. this is regulating itself and it is overseeing billions of dollars that have been given by treasury. i intend to hit the ground running.

i will be creative in trying to recruit from other agencies and higher contract employees. i will work with this committee and i will also work with the agency to staff immediately from the first day. >> the bank has experienced great difficulty with its programs. you have been part of at least 12 risks, numerous indictments, and other evidence of people trying to defraud the u.s. government. what is your opinion on this program is experiencing difficulty and not allowing individuals to commit fraud? is this enough to deter fraud

going forward? what steps need to be taken? >> ever since we started, this has been one of the programs that has been exposed to fraud. a lot of the cases come out of the -- program. part of that reflects the fact there was no oversight. since then, the bank has taken a number of steps to improve. part of that has been a response to some of the recommendations that we made. for example, where you just issued a review of the initial recommendations. we're glad to report that steps have been taken forward for implementing a number of recommendations that we have

including the creation of the review and compliance division requiring payments for transactions. there are still some open recommendations and steps the bank would take. the bank is in the process of reorganization internally that would allow the programs to merge some of the components. we also think that there should be more monitors and performance of this program and we think there is a way to go in terms of protecting taxpayer money. >> thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman.

i'm going to focus primarily on questions to you because of my interest in the challenge is with housing, particularly in the future of fannie and freddie. one of the aspects of the bill that we just passed is that it has three retail mortgage reforms. one was to end wire loans, require full underwriting. the second was to end the steering payments in which the loan originators interest was out of sync with the interest of the customer and the third was to ban prepayment penalties on subprime loans which were used to lock people into exploding interest rates. one of those is about direct misrepresentation or fraud.

the other a key play into the structure of the subprime market and this led to many other issues how loans for packaged and how they were represented and how they were sold. can you give us any insights on how those different retail issues might reverberate through the industry and affect the issues you will face? >> thank you, senator. i don't have particular information. those three issues are going to be important to several goals and objectives, underwriting is obviously a control that fhsa

needs to make sure it is part of their operations and programs. one of the goals is to limit risk exposure in the future and as the expected general, i will make sure that i will take a look at internal controls to make sure that underwriting is adequately accomplished. as far as the conflict of interest, those are obviously undermining the institution and the conflict of interest. one of my tasks will be to make sure that those types of issues are transparent and there are corrective actions taken to prevent them. >> so, in the news, it must've been about 10 days ago, there

was this story about a firm that had allegedly misrepresented the type of mortgages that had been sold. is that the type of abuse that you will be focusing on? what do you see as the top three issues there really need to be scrutinized to bring integrity to the process of writing mortgages? >> senator, i think the top three issues, they don't buy it mortgage-backed securities that are derived from fraud. the underwriting standards are going to be very important in assuring that does not happen. the second issue is a conservatorship. this is a situation where the fha is regulating and operating the company. this will be critical to ensure

that they are acting independently in their regulatory role and that there is a strong and credible regulator as a conservative. the third issue is how are they mention the billions of dollars that treasury is providing. conserving assets is one of the goals, conserving and mitigating risks. how are they conserving assets? is there some kind of exit strategy? this is not meant to be permanent. also, how are they dealing with foreclosure prevention. >> i will yield back to the chair.

>> thank you, senator. today, we have a set of nominees before us, they all play an important role as the nation moves forward from our financial crisis and implementation of the wall street consumer protection act. as far as helping equally to create jobs and spur economic growth and reduce our nation's deficit, please note that members of this committee may submit written questions to you. you need to respond to these questions properly in order that the committee may proceed with the examinations. i thank you for being here today and this hearing is

adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] th>> tonight, the announcement f who will fill key senate seat of the late kim robert byrd. then, president obama on the oil spill. then john boehner and gop leaders talk about their opposition to the democratic policies. . .

>> senator rockefeller, mr. president, firstly the third day off first lady, a first imamam..

sign it to make this announcement official. robert c. byrd was a giant. he can never be replaced. the only hope we can follow in his footsteps. admitted to make this appointment because it is important to do this right. i want to thank the white house. i want to thank majority leader is senator harry reid for making this procedure and process work so flawlessly, for allowing west virginia to go through the process we have. they have been most gracious. the time has come to appoint someone to the senate who will look out for west regina, who won't work hard -- four west

virginia, who will work hard. i am very proud to appoint him to the united states senate. [applause] regardless of whoever occupies this seat now and in the future, it will always be known as west virginia is united states senate seat that was occupied for nearly 52 years by our beloved some. i am truly confident that he

will look out for west virginians. i know he will make it. . i have for children to shoulder with him for four years. i know the man. west virginia is better off because he has been part of landmark legislation. i know the president will attest to that. he is fiercely independent. he would not back down. we made our decision. i had nobody that would carry out the duties and wishes of the people of western virginia more than him. he has not only gained my trust, but yet gained my respect. he is someone who understands the importance of bringing all sides together.

we do not have to be coming down the same highway. he have to respect for people are coming from. they have a right. he has done that as well as anyone i have ever seen but see, the disaster was something that is still at in our minds. i will never forget that. knowing gave me a book and said you had this horrible disaster and here is the procedure you go through.

i have lived it before. i knew what the families were going through. i tried to comfort them. it was a horrible situation. we lost 12 wonderful people. not more than three weeks after that, i get a call. they send me -- have another exact situation. no one really knew what you are dealing with. we had more than 60 rescuers tried to find two men. could have been in a horrible situation. friday night i said, i do not know what the exact situation is and what is when to be the end. i do not think it will be good. i want you to get your team together and start writing legislation. this was friday night late when i called. he left. he kept his team around the clock friday night, saturday, sunday.

the speaker and the president brought the legislators in. we have legislation prepared. we changed the safety in mind around the country because of the commitment and dedication. i appreciate that some of. the good when family has long had a proud tradition in west virginia. some people look that different people and families and they think this is a tremendous honor. often do not see the sacrifices that the wife, children, holidays they give up, of the house ways they might not have ever been able to take labeouf. there is sit -- take up.

there is so much that goes into public service. i could not be more proud of my friend. as i introduce carte, i would like to note that he would join the united states senate at the youngest senator serving. it is only fitting that is replacing the most beloved, historic figure that the senate has ever known and you happen to be the oldest in the good lord took him. what a tremendous signal i think it shows of west virginia. what a tremendous opportunity that we have to pass this to another generation. i have been encouraging young people to get involved in public service. now we are able to pass the torch to someone to a generation that will have the opportunity to lead west virginia in the

future. i want to lojas thank and everyone of you for being -- to thank each and every one of the for being here pr. i think we have honored robert c. byrd as we showed our respect. i think the nation honored him. i know that washington and senator rockefeller honored him by coming here during his memorial. i now today the we honor him in choosing a worthy replacement. by the senate has just finished its business. we will have a proper way of how we hold an election. the people will make the selection. that is exactly what robert c.

byrd would want. we are doing it because of that. out further ado, but to be introduced to you officially the newest member of the united states said it, carte goodwin. [applause] beheading>> thank you. thank you. thank you very but. needless to say, it is an honor to be standing here today to and

accept an appointment to the united states senate. i want to thank my friends for interestingly with this very enormous responsibility. my responsibility now becomes to work hard every day to maintain the trust of the people of west virginia. i have a deep passion for this state and her people. in the days, weeks, and months ahead, my objective will be to make west virginia proud. i will have no agenda other than to work and fight hard everyday for west virginia families. as the governor alluded to, senator robert c. byrd is perhaps the greatest venture that this country will ever know. no one can begin to replace him or hope to fill his shoes. what i can do and will do is try my best to give you his work ethic and his commitment to the

law, the constitution, and this great state. [applause] in doing so, i will rely heavily on the guidance of our signature -- our senior senator, rockefeller. i will draw my experience, having spent four years working so closely with governor manchin. i was able to see the level of commitment, passion, and dedication it takes. it is that level of dedication and passion but i will take with me to washington. it will not be easy. there will be lots of challenges ahead. i am confident that i am up to

the challenge. i know i can support my family. my dad will be looking down. senator rockefeller and the entire delegation, my friend governor manchin, and the support and prayers of the people of west virginia. i am excited about the challenge. [applause] >> i am not sure if you all know this. if he noticed the pins that i have gone and carte on are the constitution. i do not have to tell you why we have them on. the last thing senator byrd did

-- and he wrote in this book to me. i am passing this book to the united states center who will be seated in his honor -- senator who will be seated in his honor. [applause] with that, i cannot tell you what a pleasure it is to have our senior cesenator here with us today. i have worked extremely close with this man. he has been a tremendous partner. in life we have partners, and you are so fortunate if you have a good partner. i have been blessed. every day he gets up and he is thinking about was virginia. every time i call, he is telling us how we can help west virginia . he has never let us down.

we are pleased to have them with this at this historical, momentous occasion. history is being made today. with that, let me introduce to you the senior senator from the great state of west virginia, jay rockefeller. [applause] >> thank you all. first ball, i want to thank the governor and say that he has shown extraordinary courage, fought with was in the way he has carried out to the making of this appointment. it had to be done right. it had to be dead in a way that he was truly representing the rights of the people of west

virginia to make decisions. he did that. if it took a week, it did not make a difference. he did it right. governor, i think there are a lot of tests of leadership. this one was not a grand one in the annals of rescuing someone or some company, but it was extraordinarily important. i think your show to qualities of leadership in the way you have handled the making of this appointment. also want to thank mr. tomlin and rick thompson and the entire state legislature for their part in making this come about. we honor senator byrd. one thing that senator byrd would say very strongly "there

is no such thing as an interim senator." it may be that the month who are appointed to work have a limitation. there is no such thing. let me tell you what will happen. on tuesday at 2:00 the democrats will have a caucus that to have every tuesday to discuss policy. it gives everybody a chance to speak. add to 3:00 p.m., the new senator from west virginia -- at to 3:00 p.m., the new senator from west virginia will be sworn in in front of the united states senate in the world. right after that, because he

will make the 60th vote in what is a very necessary piece of legislation, we will take up and pass the unemployment compensation. [applause] i think it is a remarkable symbol of who carte is, how important the senate is, how unimportant the word "in te int" is. carte is our most recent one. he will be and have all of the powersw o of any other enator

signature. he will probably not have the biggest home base at the beginning. he may have to walk up one floor to get to the next four. in the senate, that is the word senior slashing has never meant anything -- senior/jr. has never meant anything. it is what you know, are you a genuine, are you tough in the rules of engagement but fair, it can you reach across the aisle, can you bring others with you, and most importantly, how much do you know? that is how senators are judged. there is a seniority system that i have grown to like but more. [laughter] it is superficial, really.

sinister carte goodwin -- senate term carcarte goodwin will havel the powers of the other senators. he is the united states senator. robert c. byrd want that to be well- known. i am thrilled that he is appointed. i will start out by saying i am so happy that he is a goodwin. my life has been blessed in so many ways by the work and present and friendship and co. and advice by various members of the goodwin family.

i respect their work ethic. i respect their automatic cents public responsibility. they seek out what needs to be done and go about doing it. they do it in various fields. they always do it in the interest of west virginia. carte has a lot of experience. the governor has covered some of that. i have an inside source in that family. he has an absolute commitment to the people of west virginia. you can have all the qualities that i mentioned before, but if you do not have that sense when the cadets in the morning, what can i do? so do i have to get it? what compromise to have to make?

washington is not a beautiful place right now. ask any of your neighbors. it is doing the work that will make this country recover and the strong. criticism is easy. the work of doing the right job for american and west virginia is very important. it is interesting. they call us united states senators from west virginia. that would appear to set up a conflict. there are times when that conflict has to lean woman more particularly when you are discussing battle a peace and intelligence. i find that what motivates me

tomorwhen i was a volunteer is t it is west virginia that get me out of bed every day. the people are often underestimated by the rest of the world who is often very callous. those that no less, and a treasure us. we treasure ourselves. we have enormous pride in who we are och. carte has the highest of professional standards. it is immediately recognize by other senators. senators are fairly quick to make up their minds. they listen to you. they look at you. they see if you are looking at them straight in their eye. they are fairly quick to make up their minds. carte will pass that quickly.

he is a professional. he is of disciplined mind. can work and will work to whatever link is required to accomplish something for the people he and i will represent. i cannot tell you how proud i am personally and professionally to know that in three or four days carte goodwin and i are going to be colleagues. no senior for junior -- colleagues working together. i think he is absolutely first- class as a person and a professional.. i think the people of west virginia are very lucky. i know the senate is. i know that i am .

caret, you start to the support of everybody -- carte, you start with the support of everybody. i look forward to what we can do together to keep pushing forward for west virginia, west virginia workers, west virginia miners, all of those things that help working families. we are at work on a very thorough piece of mine safety legislation. it is coming out of the ubb experience. we have learned a lot since then. we will turn out further legislation. everything we do there is

important, because it effects somebody somewhere. when it affects people in west virginia, we will be standing side by side fighting for west virginia. governor, i am grateful to you. carte, i look forward to you. you stand out on the right side of history. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. thank you so much. i would also like to thank my dear friend for being here. he is the last appointment that senator robert c. byrd had made.

you will make a great judge. we are so proud of you. we are hoping that maybe that will speed things up a little bit. it could not hurt. thank you for being here. i want all of you to look around the room. every walk of life of west virginia are here. hard-working people are here. from our business people from the large to the smallest businesses, our most wisest of all the people in west virginia. thank you. to all of you who represent the children that do not always have a voice and cannot always depend for themselves -- defend for themselves. with that come where point to

move forward for all of west virginia. -- with that, we are going to move forward for all of west virginia. we are going to open it up for questions. we will start to write down the line. >-- right down the line. >> [inaudible] >> welcome to the senate. [laughter] needless to say, there are a host of issues facing our country right now. there are scores of legislation pending. though i've followed public affairs as close as anyone, and anxious to roll my sleeves and delve into it. i am reluctant to get into extensive policy discussions. that being said, with regard to cap and trade, from what i have

seen in proposals pending, they are simply not tried for west virginia -- not right for west virginia. [applause] i would submit that the legislation being championed by senator rockefeller is recognized as practical for our economy. i will not support any piece of legislation that prevents any west virginia job, family, or jeopardize a long-term economic security of this state. >> i will go right down the side there. >> that is much easier than the first question.

no. >> i know you want to say something. >> what do you want to accomplish? [inaudible] >> as the governor alluded to, i do try to maintain a sense of independence. what is important to me are the issues that are important to me. i will only thebe there for a brief time, but i will make the most of it. >> [inaudible]

>> who said that? [applause] >> [inaudible] >> i would submit there is no such thing there is an elite from west virginia -- there is no such thing as an elite from west virginia. i have a big family in what is a relatively small stadial. state. but i am proud of every single one. [applause] >> [inaudible]

>> can i speak first? there is no litmus test. when you know it person -- we can shake your hand and look at your eyes and see yourselves. when you work for someone and you break bread with them, you really get to know them. that is what i knew. that is where i started making my decisions where i knew a person that to be impeccable in the decisionmaking process, and cover any stones, do of the research that it would take. i know he would do it even more so for himself. he is fiercely independent.

it is not like a litmus test had to be taken. i have a love of this state. he is fighting a great fight for our people. we are fighting the good fight here. he would research things. there was no litmus test being given. >> the only thing i would add is our first policy discussion on cap and trade -- it happened in response to the previous question a couple of minutes ago.

you do that have to live too far from a radio to know how strongly west virginians feel about the issue and how important it is that we protect our economy and jobs and make sure the voices are heard in washington. >> as we go round the room, you have been so kind. we appreciate it. thank you, senator. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> he writes for the charleston gazette in the west virginia state capital.

you is he? -- who is he? >> i think you'll only be 36 years old. in the past, he was general counsel for the governor of our state. after that, he joins the goodwin firm here. i think his wife is a director for senator jay rockefeller. is a well-known family. it is an interesting choice. >> given the experience of the late senator byrd, he is a very young choice, too. what does this do for him politically by being appointed as a temporary senator? >> i am sure he sees it as a great honor. it appears to only the center

until shortly after the november 2 election. >> there have been rumblings that your governor is interested in the seat. is he the front-runner? >> he is likely to run for the seat. there is no question about it that he will. he is probably by far the front- runner. there is no one in the democratic party that would oppose him. they have come to no decision. >> what can you tell us about the governors mansion as governor and what he might bring to the role as a u.s. senator? >> it would be interesting. he is a very personable person

for a politician. he is not quite as liberal as senator byrd was. he is been quite critical of some of the coal industry policies. senator manchin -- governor mansion has always been a very strong advocate for the coal industry positions. that may be one difference between the two. i think you'd vote with the democratic majority most of the time. >> carted goodwin, the word is that he'll be sworn in early next week in time for some key votes. was this expedited to your understanding? >> probably. one of the key vote is on unemployment insurance. i believe governor manchin had get the democrats one more vote

for that. >> paul nyden , thanks for your time. >> coming up, president obama on the gulf of mexico oil spill. after that, john boehner and the gop members talk about their opposition to the opposition parties -- to the democrats' policies. >> and arizona senate primary debates among senator john mccain, hayworth, and jim deakin. the state primary is august 24. that is here on c-span. >> for a snapshot of washington and the 111 congress, and

reference guide to every member of the house and senate, supreme court justices, and state governors. order online at c- span.org/store. >> c-span is now available in 100 million homes, bringing you a direct link to public affairs, politics, and history. it is created by america's cable companies. >> president obama warned americans to not make too much of the fact that oil has stopped flowing from the well in the gulf. they may have to be reopened. the president says the new cap will allow up to 80,000 barrels of oil to be capped every day. he spoke to reporters briefly before leaving for the weekend.

>> good morning, everybody. a new cap was fitted over the wheel well earlier this week. it is larger and more sophisticated. it is designed to give us greater control over the oil flow as a complete the relief wells that are necessary to stop them. our scientists and outside experts have met through the night and continued this morning to analyze the data from the well integrity test. they are working to determine whether we can safely shut in the well using the new cap with out creating new problems, including countless new oil leaks in the sea floor. even if a shot in is not possible, this new cap will be able to contain up to 80,000

barrels a day. it should allow us to capture nearly all the oil until the well is killed. it is important to remember that prior to the installation, we work collecting on average of about 25,000 barrels a day. for almost 90 days of this disaster, all of us have taken hold in the image of clean water into the oil spewing in the gulf. it is our responsibility to make sure we are taking a prudent course of action and not looking for a short-term solution that lead to even greater problems down the road. to summarize, the new cap is good news. either we will able to stop the flow or we will be able to capture almost all of the oil until the relief will is done. we will not know for certain

which approach makes sense until additional that it is finished. americans should rest assured that all of these decisions will be based on the science of what is best for the people of the gulf. i will take just one or two questions. >> did you fill the earthquake? >> i did not. >> do you think this means that we are turning the corner from the gulf? tell the american people what you anticipate. they are still very anxious. >> it is important that we do not get ahead of ourselves. one of the problems with having the camera down there is that when the oil stopped gushing, everybody feels like we are down. we are not. the new cap is containing the oil right now. scientists are doing a number of tests. they want to make sure that by

putting a cap on the oil is not seeking out elsewhere in ways that could be even more catastrophic. that involves measuring pressures while the cap is on. the data has to be interpreted by scientists. here is the good news that i think everybody needs to understand. even if it turns out the we cannot maintain this cap and completely shut off the flow of oil. what it allows us to do is essentially a tattach more mechanism so we are able to take more oil up to the surface, put it on ships. it will not be spilling in the gulf. the final solution to this problem is one to be the relief wells and getting back complete. -- is going to be the relief wells and getting that complete.

even if it turns out the with cannot keep the contain a cap on to completely stop the oil, it will allow us to capture much more oil. in the meantime, we still have got a big job to do. there is still a lot of oil out there. that is why we have got more skimmers out ther.e there is better coordination on the shore line. there is still one to be an enormous clean-up job to do and a set of issues surrounding making sure people are compensated properly. there is a $20 million fund set up. week had an enormous amount of work to do it -- we have an enormous amount of work to do. we are making steady procgress. the american people to take some heart in knowing that we are making some progress.

so far, it is slightly ahead of target. the problem on the relief well is not drilling all the way down. it is also connecting it. that is a delicate operation that could take some time. >> what is ahead of target? >> when does bp a campaign finds? -- beging paying finds according to how much is billed? >> we will continue to refinebp will be paying for the damage that it has caused. that will involve not only paying for the environmental disaster in cleanup but also compensate the people who have been affected. it will be a component of the calculations. >> what do you want to say to the people for when you expect

to go down next? >> i would expect within the next several weeks i will be down. what we are trying to do is make sure that folks on the grounds are making the best possible decision to shut it down as quickly as possible. i am staying in touch each and every day, monitoring the progress, and getting briefed by the scientist. the key here and now is for us to make decisions based on science, what is best for the people of the gulf, not based on pr or politics. that is part of the reason why i wanted to speak this morning. i know there were a lot of reports coming out to the media that seemed to indicate maybe this thing is done. we will not be done until we actually know that we have killed the well and we have a permanent solution in place. we are moving in that direction. i do not want this to get too far ahead of ourselves. thank you very much, everybody.

>> a journalist recently attended an expo in mississippi for people seeking assistance from government agencies and non-profit as a result of the gulf oil spill. this is almost 10 minutes.

>> this is an open house. it is from to 12:00 8:00. it is open to the public. it is about providing information to anyone who is interested in general and permission about what we are doing in mississippi, our response, and our efforts. people here specialize in complaints and opportunities. there are a number of organizations here that provide different services across the coast. this is when the biggest event at the coliseum. -- one of the biggest advanevent the coliseum. we know people have questions. it is a stressful time. we are definitely sorry that this happened at all. we want to be here to say we are here for the long term and have

responses to their questions and concerns. ♪ >> what are you doing here? >> we are filling out applications. many people do not realize they could be eligible even if they have some income. it is a low-income program. people that have been affected because they are no longer working could possibly be eligible for assistance to help them make it through this time while they are waiting for a new job to come up are waiting to get funding for some complaints. >> have you seen an uptick in

the services that you have been offering? >> yes, we have seen quite a few. we actually had assistance from our state office. they came down to help us with the additional people applying. we have gotten such large numbers. >> i do construction on the gulf coast. i've been here all my life. we had a lot of work windup. -- lined up. the oil spill came along, they shouted down. the economy is so bad. we tried to do what we can. we are not doing no hiring right now. we are looking for legal help

are public resources. -- or public resources. there is no work happening. >> have you filed in a complaint? >> no, certification. that is what we are doing now. they need to get smaller vessels and herin here. >> are you worried about the long-term? >> i more about my kids. i want them to go down there and play. the fishing is no good. it is depressing. >> what you guys doing here? >> we are providing low interest

loans by the businesses that were impacted by the oil spill. >> have you seen a lot of folks come by here? >> we as seen quite a few. we of all this is located in five of the county's -- we have offices located in five of the counties. >> what are the amount of loans that you are able to offer? >> the maximum rate is $2 million. the rates vary. 4% is the basic that we offer. what we do is we have a sheet here we can use. it has all the information we can look at t. we encourage people to come back so they can get more

affirmation. -- information. >> what had been talking about the most? >> fishermen, restaurant owners, anyone who had a business that woulas affected. they are welcome to come in. >> be part is offering our services for any kind of assistance that folks may need. we have several in-house programs that might help them with food or business. if we do not have a program, we refer them out. >> what do we need to do to be eligible? >> [inaudible] there are different criteria for different programs.

it to be different for different programs. >> what are you doing at the fair? >> we are one of the few business organizations here that survey -- hear that helped during hurricane katrina. the majority of our job is to get the right information to the community to get accurate information and help them file claims and the best -- and find

the best programs. the majority of the business lives in the gulf coast. it is the fishing industry preven. 5000 are engaged in this industry. since the oil spill, many have lost their job. economically, they are taking a very big hit. >> with the close of assets, has been a hiccup. -- with the claims process, there has been a hiccup. that is when we step in. a small percentage has been activated. we are trying to help them find

a system. [unintelligible] >> what's the latest briefings and other videos like huge assault on c-span.org. tonight, john boehner and other house republicans talk about their opposition to the democrats' economic policies. also, a forum on the state of the u.s./israeli security relationship. later, a discussion on conservative activism. >> this weekend, the harlem book

fair with panels on religion, union rights, diversity and publishing and american history. it is live starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern. also, the impact of author 9 rand -- ayn rand. in weekend filled with non- fiction books on c-span2. for the complete schedule go to booktv.org. >> for a snapshot of washington and the congress, the c-span congressional directory, and reference guide to every member of the house and senate and supreme court justices at your fingertips. order online at c- span.org/sotre. -- c-span.org/store.

>> are content is available on television, radio, and online. >> house republicans met a group of business owners to discuss their economic agenda. afterward, john boehner and others spoke with reporters about their opposition to the democrats' economic policy. this is about eight minutes. >> good morning, everyone. >> it morning. - good morning. the american people are asking, where are the jobs?

this morning, my colleagues and i met with organizations that represent for a 5 billion american employers who hire about 46 million americans. were there to listen to them and their ideas about how to get our economy going again. there are a lot of barriers. there is the uncertainty that we see coming out of washington. they are concerned about what the future will look like. yesterday, we sent a letter to the president asking him to listen to private sector employees about their ideas to get our economy going again. it is clear the path we have been on has not worked and is not working. the american people want to go back to work. they will not get there if the government continues to put

impediments in front of employers. >> i think we have seen the administration continue on a spiral of the non- productivity. the are bound by an orthodoxy saying he can spend into prosperity than. it is a pathway to underperformance. we heard from private sector job preachers who did two things. they articulated obstacles not just substances obstacles, but the dow talking of the private sector, the rhetoric that they see coming out of washington. . .

not bureaucrats, but the entrepreneurs. they gave us a list of ideas we can move forward has a conference here. i am looking forward to working with our readership, with our web site, of which is how this dialogue continues.

those who watched it and viewers can continue to log on to our website, register their ideas about the things that are impediments to them creating jobs, and vote for the idea is that we see. we will push these ford in congress. >> any questions? >> what about the oil well being capped? >> thank goodness. let's keep it that way. >> [inaudible] >> it has been 87 days. i am glad we finally got it stopped. let's make sure we understand what happened so it cannot happen again. >> [inaudible] if so, what? >> as i go around the country i hear a lot of what was said in

the room tonight. all of the uncertainty from wall street scares' employers, and they are afraid to invest in new employees because they don't know what the rules are. they don't know what tax rates will be. they don't know what new regulations will be with healthcare. the cap and trade bill hangs out there that has new regulations. you cannot get employers to move with the uncertainty that exists from washington. >> you have made the argument before, what is the argument against a modest jobs bill that gives aid to the jobless and has other stimuli? >> the stimulus spending washington proposes does nothing

to get the private sector moving. it just funds more government. the american people want to work and are not looking for unemployment. everyone has concerns about those who are unemployed. if washington is going to spend that money, we ought to find of sets and other spending. >> one of the suggestions is to have a ban on all new federal regulations. is that something you support? >> having a moratorium is a great idea. it sends a wonderful signal to the private sector. if the american people knew there would be a moratorium for

a year that the federal government was not going to issue more regulations, it would give them breathing room. >> [inaudible] >> is there said -- something to be said for meeting in a forum like this reverses a different way? is there any difference in hearing those ideas than any other type of forum? >> the interaction among the employers is helpful to us. what is helpful is to see how much unanimity from the is different segments about what the barriers were in order to get job creation moving. how about mr. happy in the back? are you asleep?

[laughter] >> tonight, an arizona senate public here primary debates -- republican primary debate with john mccain. it is brought to you courtesy of phoenix. the primary is august 24.

that is at 11:30 eastern on c- span. >> the michigan governor's republican primary debate tomorrow with tom george, mike cox, pete hokstra. they are seeking to replace the democratic governor who is term limited. that is at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> for a snapshot of washington, d.c.'s ban congressional directory. order online at c-span.org /store. c-span is now available in over 100 million homes, bringing you a direct link to public affairs and nonfiction books created by america's cable companies.

>> assistant secretary of state for political affairs talks on the state of the u.s.-israeli security relationship and the efforts to make the relationship stronger. this is a little over an hour. >> good morning, welcome to the middle east policy at the brookings institution. i am the director of the center here. i am delighted to have you here for what will be an important session. let me begin by doing my most important duty, which is asking everyone to silence their cell phones, or what ever electronic paraphernalia you may have. we are pleased to have an old friend.

andrew shapiro has been a friend since its inception, a friend of mine for many years i think -- for years. he has been a fixture for many years. he took over as assistant secretary of state at the beginning of the obama administration. prior to that he was one of hillary clinton's key staffers. he served as her senior defense adviser, a position in which she was her primary policy adviser. andrew got to spend many nights in baghdad, as well as other exotic locales.

before coming on board, he served as the international competition policy advisory. please join me in welcoming andrew shapiro. [applause] >> thank you for that introduction and your friendship and the work you are doing. i want to thank the director of foreign policy. they gave me my first paying job over 20 years ago. i was just graduating college unemployed and i read an article written by him. i thought it was very good and i asked if he needed anyone. i was hired part-time and i was just out of school and it did

not set the world on fire, but i pleaded in the finally got hired full time. i was there in august of 1990 in the days before iraq invaded kuwait. i remember he predicted iraq would take aggressive action against kuwait. that experience working for him taught me about washington policy-making and the importance of well-written analysis. martin has brought those same qualities to the brookings institution. i am pleased to be here to address the obama administration's commitment to israeli security. i am proud to say that our security relationship is

broader and more intense than ever before. last week president obama met with prime minister netanyahu and said israel has unique security requirements. president obama in short they recognize those requirements. nsured they recognize those requirements. i would like to tell you how we are preserving this through an unprecedented increase in u.s. security systems. support for the defensive system and other initiatives. we recognize israel is facing some of the toughest challenges. this administration is focused

on the security because of the increasingly complex threats it faces. israel is a vital ally and cornerstone of our commitments. when talking about the threat assessment, one must guard with the iranian nuclear program. for israel, there is no greater threat than the prospect of nuclear iran. if it is in one of many serious security threats and iran posts conventional security challenges. these intersect with the threats posed by hezbollah and hamas. their extensive arms smuggling operations weekend regional

security and disrupt efforts to establish peace between israel and neighbors. we must recognize the technology of war is making it harder to guarantee israeli security. advances in technology require new levels. rockets would better guidance systems are power -- are spreading across the region. hamas has a substantial number in gaza. these all pose a serious danger. these and other threats are real. they must be addressed. we are standing shoulder to

show -- shoulder to shoulder to do them. i can attest to the deep sense of pride of being a strong voice of israel. i traveled with senator clinton in 2005 to attend a conference and joined her on her first visit to israel in 2009. when it comes to the relationship the policy secretary clinton gave me is no different from the guidance she gave me in the senate. she asked me coming from this experience to make the management of our relationship with israel among my top priorities.

the unique relationship is rooted on mutual interests. u.s. support for the jewish homeland dates back to john quincy adams. when israel was founded the u.s. was ready to embrace its new partner. america's commitment has extended over many decades. our leaders have long understood this relationship is good for us. president nixon paid the first official visit to help bring peace in the region.

this began a long effort towards peace and -- president nixon's effort was continued by president carter. [unintelligible] president obama has also made achieving peace a top administration priority. there is an imperative of pushing the peace process forward. it is under threat from the dynamics of ideology and technology. the administration is working

with the party is to restore direct negotiations as soon as possible. with recognized borders and to meet israeli security requirements. hand in hand with the commitment to peace has been the administration's dedication to ensuring israel is prepared to defend itself against threats. as the president said, the u.s. is committed to israeli security. since day one president obama

and secretary clinton have reenergize the commitment to israeli security and have taken action to expand it to an unprecedented level. our work is rooted in knowledge shared by policy makers on both sides of the aisle. it is critical to the interests of israeli is, but also to america's interests. secretary clinton said the status quo is unsafe. this poses serious challenges. regional peace must begin with the recognition that the u.s.

will always stand by israeli security. know which will be driven between us. israel's right to exist is not negotiable. no lasting peace will be possible unless that is accepted. it is our hope that the commitment to security will advance the process to take tough decisions necessary for peace. the cornerstone of our commitment has been an assurance that the u.s. will help israel attain its military edge. this is their ability to counter and defeat credible threats from any individual state.

the obama administration imitated the commitment by not only sustaining -- undertaking new initiatives. each every request is evaluated in light of our policy. at the same time, consideration to extend with other governments in the region. we will not proceed with the release of -- contribute to instability in the middle east. the primary tool the u.s. uses to ensure the military edge is security systems.

israel receives almost $3 billion per year for training and equipment. the total account is $5 billion annually and distributed among 70 countries. that accounts for 50% of the funding distributed. the obama administration is proud to carry on the legacy of robust security systems. we are carrying this legacy to new heights at a time when israel needs our support. for 2010 the administration requested 2.7 $5 billion in assistance funding for israel.

the largest such request in u.s. history. we requested even more for 2011. these requests have filled the idea to implement the memorandum of understanding with israel to provide $30 billion assistance. this supports israel's security as it allows them to support sophisticated equipment. i can assure you that even in challenging budget times this administration will continue to honor this $30 billion commitment to future fiscal years. our unique relationship with israel extends beyond raw

numbers. this provides a significant boost and is one of many ways we demonstrate our commitment to meeting israel's procured a -- security requirements. he also have training and military exercises. more than 1000 u.s. troops participated which was the largest u.s.-is really exercise in history.

focus on urban terrain and counter-terrorism options. militarynce israel's capabilities and improve our own ability with the israeli defense forces. the u.s. supports the defense needs through government sales programs and through direct commercial sales, including the closest of allies and partners. we have notified congress of a number of significant sales, most notably teh strike

fighter. this will prove a key contribution for many years to come. israel benefits from a war reserve stockpile and used to boost israeli defenses in case there is something -- in case there is an emergency. the u.s. and israel have cooperated in research and development. israel air and missile defense systems are an area of particular focus.

for our part, we were working with israel to upgrade its system that was first deployed in the gulf war and has advanced radar systems to provide early warning of upcoming missiles. they are protecting troops every day. is specifically designed dressing he treated -- widely used by our men and women in iraq and afghanistan. it includes sensors, surveillance equipment and detections for ied's. they had yielded important crown

breaking innovations that ultimately make us all safer. what i have laid out represents the pillars of the corporation. given the breadth of our relationship, i have only begun to scratch the surface. the u.s. and israel are working closely to enhance our shared security. counting and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related military materials. a prime example can be found at -- the paulison tracking -- illicit trafficking and weapons into gossip. the u.s. and israel began ideas

to address this threat. these efforts have expanded into a international effort under the smuggling of initiative. under this partnership the u.s. joined canada denmark, , and the u.k. to employ a broad range of diplomatic and law-enforcement tools to block the shipment of arms. what i really want to emphasize this the commitment to israel security is more than a continuation of policies. we have been cultivating new ways to get -- enhanced our

political relationships. during the past year there has been an unprecedented invigoration of [unintelligible] through continuous high level discussions. i lead the discussions within the joint political group which includes representatives from the state department and foreign and defense ministry. the policy advisory group provides -- this only reflects what we have been doing publicly with our israeli partners.

our regular meetings have recently been supplemented by an unprecedented numbers of -- these small sessions allow us to discuss a wide range of security concerns. these consultations provide an opportunity for governments to share perspectives on policies, and identify areas of cooperation. let me turn to another area we are deepening our relationship. the rocket threats from hezbollah represent the immediate challenge.

this is a daily concern for israelis living in border towns and know a rocket can come crashing down every minute. senator obama met with families whose homes were destroyed by rockets. the president understands this threat. that is why this prank the president asked congress to authorize $205 million to support the production of a short-range rocket system. this has been authorized in the house and is above the $3 billion that the administration requested for israel. one of my colleagues had a chance to see this and was able

to witness the new capabilities. it will be a part of a defense against the threat of a short- range rockets fired at the population. this will allow israel to accelerate production and provide timely improvements. this demonstrates the strenth and show how serious we are this translates in actions. israel has conducted thorough tests and and and valuation. we are confident this will provide improved defense. helping to make the population more secure is not only the

right thing to do, but is teh step that is good for israel's security. bolstering the security will not facilitate a solution to the conflict. aid to state solution will not bring an end to these threats -- a two-state solution. u.s. support for security is much more than a simple act. we are committed to their security because it enhances our own security. we cannot entrust israel's future to the status quo.

we will continue to support our words with concrete actions. the relationship is too important to be anything less than a top priority. our commitment to the military edge has never been greater. under the leadership of president obama, our relationship will always receive the time and focus it deserves. thank you for your time and attention. [applause] >> thank you. it is a pleasure to see you here in your new position. it makes me feel very old.

[inaudible] i don't think anybody would it met you referenced twice the tough decisions israel will make. that this it sounds like the presumption of your approach is that you make israel a strong in order to take risks of peace. there are others recently who have made the argument that israel is not a strategic asset of the u.s., they call them a liability. all the support we give israel

does not take those tough decisions and engages in activities that create problems through some strategic level. i wonder how you respond to that counter argument. >> i think the administration projects that you. we think our relationship is important not just because they share our values but they are a strategic benefit. i think that type of argument is a zero some argument. i don't think it is a zero sum for us. we have relationship with allies in the gulf. a lot of the threats they are

concerned about are the same once israel is concerned about. the notion that there is zero some nature to our relationship with israel and mrs. our dynamics in the region and the possibility that common interests can bring this together. it does not have to be either or. >> you also talked about commitment to maintaining the military edge. that is clear in the conventional area. to insure that it [unintelligible] there is a potential for a

nuclear challenged to israeli security that comes from iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons. i wonder how you -- what the commitment means in this nonconventional context. >> i think the potential for iran to develop nuclear weapons is not just a threat to israel, but the u.s.. there are important reasons for i s to address the nuclear program -- reasons for us to address the nuclear program. our policy has been designed to put pressure on them through sanctions and diplomatic efforts to choose their security

calculus so they understand their security does not benefit by developing nuclear weapons. we have had success in building consensus through security council resolutions. there is a consensus it would not be desirable for iran to develop nuclear weapons. the issue is broader. all efforts have been geared towards putting pressure on them. >> one other aspect of maintaining teh qme relates to armster sales -- arms sales.

this was a delicate balancing act. we have commitment to the security of our arab allies in the region. that also requires arms sales and security cooperation. how do you balance those competing demands in the current environment in the middle east? we have not seen the arms sales battles on the hill in a 1980's when we battled the reagan administration. we are not seen major arms sales to the aerospace, or is it

because israel understands there is a real commitment to maintaining the military edge, but there is a more common interest between israel and these arab states, then used to be the case. >> we want to make sure our partners in the gulf and the region -- in another region have the resources they need and the ability to defend themselves. there are not susceptible to iranian pressure -- they are not susceptible. there is a commonality when i had these discussions with israel and they are concerned

about threats to the region. they can deter aggressive action by iran or counter threats. there is a development of commonality of interests. by law locke, we have to take you up -- take the military edge into account. that is part of our consultation with our partners is to try to fully understand what are the threats that they face andy what are the best means to be able to address them? >> israel is more sensitive to our needs? >> i don't want to get too much into this, but the proof is in

the pudding. we have been able to provide our partners with what they need. and we are continuing to engage in discussions to ensure we know what future needs will be. >> one last question. that relates to your remarks about the thousands of rockets that are built up by hezbollah. they confirmed that being provided to them, which crosses some kind of pink line, in terms of israel's security concerns. how do you view that rocket build up?

is there another conflict in lebanon? is it stirring up tensions? >> we are very worried about that. they were concerned about the transfer of weapons from syria to 11 on. the transfer -- from syria to let non -- labanon. and we very much think it is not in either nation's interest to add fuel to the fire. we raise this in our diplomatic discussions with both governments. >> let's go to the audience.

please identify yourself and actually ask a question, which means you actually have to have a question. >> [unintelligible] >> identify yourself. >> [unintelligible] 4 these strategic interests of the u.s. in a strong relationship with israel, you also referred to the [unintelligible] i would like to emphasize -- would like you to emphasize of the thinking of the u.s. in the two-state solution. can you give the complete assurance given to israel [unintelligible] the painful concession that --

will it make it easy for israel to not make those tanks -- make those? . this administration from the beginning has -- the very first day secretary clinton was at the state department they announced george mitchell as special envoy for mideast peace. we have made a commitment to reenergize the middle east peace process and go towards a two- state solution. we believe it is good for parties and regional partners. senator mitchell is at the region right now. in terms of the way you

characterized our assistance, it is not an inducement in my view. israel's security is important for u.s. interests, but it is also important for -- if we are to engage in a peace process if they feel confident in their security they can make tough decisions that will be required in any peace agreement. it is not either or. >> [unintelligible] >> thank you very much. congratulations. i wonder if i could build on martin's first question, asset

liability and ask you if you could clarify your view on whether the u.s.'s relationship has any negative impact for what the u.s. tries to do in iraq, afghanistan or other security interests elsewhere. >> i think that in a certain sense -- it does not matter because there are commitments to -- our commitment to israel is rock-solid. part of our effort is to try to get the parties to understand that peace is in everyone's interests. it will enable us to make progress towards building a better future for all people. from our perspective, to other

countries talk to us about it? yes, but we also make clear that our commitment to israel is unshakable. that is a fact that it is a reality of our engagement. it does come up in discussions. there are a number of nations eager to make progress. we point out that we are here to make progress as well. >> george. >> i have a request and question. can we get [unintelligible] h[unintelligible]

sensed our initiative with israel is so generous and effective, [unintelligible] do you have an explanation for that? [laughter] >> on the first one, i have talked in other contexts about what we have done in the gulf dialogue, the relationship with our gulf partners, but it is a good idea for a speech. i may have to give another one about what we are doing. one of the things -- we are providing a lot of assistance for security forces which is an important building block for a palestinian state.

we do a lot with our gulf partners to provide weapons systems and consultations, so i will take that under advisement. i am not a student of israeli politics. martin is probably better able to answer questions. the president was asked about it himself. no one could speak better on channel 2. i would leave it to the president to describe his own views and not to second-guess what the president said. >> i would just say it is more about love and substance of the strategic relationship. they feel they have been abandoned after 16 years of

unrequited love by american presidents. >> we had a good business between the president and prime minister netanyahu. there were positive comments back and forth. whenever the secretary has gone from let israel has been warmly received. -- secretary has gone, israel has been warmly received. those types of feelings may be emotionally-based, but the strength of relationship is quite strong. >> let's take one down the back. >> i am with radio free europe. i saw a report saying if israel did a pre-emptive strike against

iran that it would lead to a long war. would the united states support such actions if israel were to strike against iran? >> i will not get into hypothetical. the bulk of our strategy is to avoid going down any path that requires military action. our hope is our pressure and sanctions will enable the iranians to understand it is not in their own interests to pursue nuclear weapons. we have worked with the europeans on additional sanctions. they hope is that that will work and we will see the results of that strategy true. >> we are very glad to have the

syrian ambassador in the audience. >> i have two questions. why is it that whenever [unintelligible] and the cutting edge of technology that they never discussed the israel nuclear arsenal that exists. they never mention this. everybody in the world knows israel possesses the world's largest arsenal in the whole world. what is your position on when israel uses the same weapons you have described to kill civilians in palestine? thank you. >> just a quick answer, i will not be the first u.s. official to discuss israeli nuclear

capacity. [laughter] on the second point, i would say that when we sell weapons to any country we require any assurances that they will be used properly. we take seriously any suggestion they have not been used properly. i will just leave it at that. we require commitments to not miss use them with all our partners. >> i am with the group code pink that has been trying to push for a real peace process. it pains me to hear you sound

more like an agent of the israeli government then a u.s. rep. you see the special relationship in dangerous us and makes us more hated are around the world. -- it endangers us. i will if you would be willing to go to gaza and see the results of the israeli invasion, talk to people in gaza, at talk to the elected government, which is hamas. i also wonder if you have spent any time with people in the west bank and east jerusalem to feel -- see what it feels like for these people? given the financial crisis here at home and the needs of the impoverished nations, couldn't you think of it better use of $3 billion and giving it to a wealthy country like israel that is abusing human rights of palestinians on a daily basis?

[applause] >> you raised a number of issues. the u.s. from the very beginning has been committed to a peace process between israelis and palestinians which will lead to a two-state solution. we have provided a great deal of economic and security support in the west bank and for palestinians in gaza. if it is very much on our minds the human plight of those who are currently in gaza. the u.s. has made commitments to provide resources to that plate. the administration has taken

seriously its desire to invest in the building blocks that will be necessary for the creation of a palestinian state. we will continue to do so. >> he did not answer. >> thanks, gary mitchell. there is probably no element of american foreign policy that is more like groundhog day and the israeli-palestinian situation. you come to these meetings and you listen and you have a hard time remembering whether you have been there before. in looking at the history of the

relationship, it seems there is one thing that is clear. that is that the only times when there have been genuine breakthroughs in israeli-arab relationships is when a strong leader broke from old. i am thinking specifically of king hussein. i think if it is an understatement to say we don't enjoy that situation today in the middle much to deal breakers or

elements that could change the valence. if the united states agrees that iran is the last -- that iran the nuclear is the last thing we want to see, in exchange for iran agreeing to halt all of its efforts on the nuclear weapon range, we will do two things, finally admit that

we got them and that we are willing to disarm if we have the same agreement from the arab states in the region. >> the second one is a hypothetical that i am not in the position to respond to. from our perspective, you never know when the opportunity is going to rise. that is where you have to keep in gauging and working at it. it can take a long while. he was able to make progress.

the secretary, when she was in her confirmation hearing, she talked about how effort is tremendously important. it can enable you to opportunities that may arise. general mitchell is out there, trying to take steps to talks, and who knows where it will lead. we hope it will lead to good things in the peace process. we will continue to work at it. >> i want to come back to something you talked about in your speech. it is a strategic dialogue is taking place between the united states and israel. you talk about the committee, the defense bill dialogue. at the beginning of the clinton administration and then

in the bush administration, there was what was referred to as a strategic error log. strategic -- a dialogue. >> there is still strategic dialogue. we went to israel for a strategic dialogue talks. the talk about security. it is talking about energy, water, other issues that encompassed the whole range of issues in the region that the united states and israel want to exchange views on. the dialogues are referred to are more security, military and assistance-focused. obviously, there is some overlap, but it still exists.

the conversations that i attended in israel were quite robust and useful. >> what is the point of all of this dialogue? the chairman of the joint chiefs and the army and the national security advisor talked with the defense secretary and the defense minister. there was an awful lot of talking. >> the u.s. government is big. we have a lot of people who are involved in this. there is no substitute for talking with your counterparts on the other side, understanding their concerns, and understanding their challenges. by the same token, there is a lot of decision-makers and their government. the israelis find value to be able to interact with that number of decision-makers. there are a lot of challenges in the region right now.

we have iran, we have hezbollah a loshamas. it takes a lot of people throughout our government to make sure that we are in full sync. >> as you think about the comprehensive peace we're trying to achieve in the region, would we be prepared to play a role on the ground, guaranteeing the implementation of that agreement should it come down to it to? >> first of all, we are already involved with general dayton who is involved with training of the

palestinian forces. i think we just need to see how the process develops. hopefully, this will have to be a decision between the parties themselves. how we get to a place where each side feels comfortable that their security needs are being met, that is a discussion that takes place in this process. it is not something that has come up thus far. i think we just have to see how the process plays out. >> my question was related to what brown -- to what martin brought up. does the administration still

supports sending an ambassador back to syria? are you prepared to make what would be a significant amount of capital investment to move that border on the hill? premature, it is still with the confirmation. yes, we do support sending an ambassador. an investor is not a reward. we send them to discuss some of our shoes. we would like to build on that progress. we are interested in a regional peace. we would like an ambassador with [unintelligible] this should not be used as we

are ok with them. it is a tool to use that raises concerns that a higher level. we are encouraging the senate to act on the nomination of our ambassador nominee for this area. >> [unintelligible] i agree with the general proposition. this will have to be our last question. >> i am going to be a graduate student at george washington university. we just heard you speak about how the relationship between the u.s. and israeli security is a rock-solid.

it would not make any sense to stop that corporation and the u.s. cannot withhold a missile system for israel, for example. what other examples of carrots and sticks can you use? does it mean israelis moving out of various a and b? >> i think that is the very essence of diplomacy. senator mitchell is engaged in discussions with both parties to try to bring them closer together. ultimately, it is in the interests of both parties to make peace. i made the point in my speech, something that the administration is doing. this is a peace process and ultimately the peace agreement would benefit from both sides.

the goal of the negotiation is to try to resolve those issues and it will take dialogue and discussion. the goal right now is to move into the proximity of direct talks show that we can move forward down the road using that kind of dialogue between the parties. crushed andrew, -- >> andrew, i think i can speak on behalf of kevin pollak and say that we would love to have you back. secondly, thank you for your prepared remarks and your answers to some very tough questions. you have done very well. we're very grateful for you taking the time to share your thoughts with us. thank you. [applause]

>> and arizona senate republican primary debate tonight. the hour-long debate is being brought to you courtesy of ktvk in phoenix. that is at 11:30 p.m. eastern here on c-span. tomorrow, the michigan governor's primary debate among

mike cox, oakland county sheriff mike for sure, steve hoekstra. they are looking at replacing the current governor. but will be here on c-span. >> this other panels human rights and aframerican history, live all this saturday, starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern. also, the impact of ayn rand. on "afterwards," alan brinkley on his new book. it is a weekend filled with non- fiction books. for a complete schedule go to

booktv.org. >> now a discussion on college conservatives activism. >> i want to thank all of our speakers for staying within their term limits sure that we have time for questions. you do not know how hard that is to get speakers to reduce their

1-hour speech to 20 minutes. they'll be asked when i told them. but i thank them for doing that. also, if you would put your evaluation or your comments about our conference in that box, i will probably be sending you an e-mail asking who was your favorite speaker and other comments. i hope you will answer our e- mails when you get that. >> this section is gone to be about campus and conservative activism. we're going to hear from some young people who are really doing something on their campus who are in the movement.

if you would like to know what they're doing, maybe you would like to go to your campus and do likewise. our first speaker this afternoon is karen agnes. she was with us for several years. when she was at the university of virginia, she started something called the network of enlightened women. this is a takeoff on now, which is a radical feminist organization. she found some conservative women who would like to study some of the issues and who would like to be active in the conservative cause. she wants to expand intellectual diversity on university campuses. now she has 15 chapters of new, n.e.w.

it would be wonderful if you could start a chapter on your campus. she is a phi beta kappa graduate. she attended law school at the university of virginia. she is now a busy, hardworking, a practicing lawyer. please welcome karen agnes. [applause] >> thank you. it is great to be appear. five years ago, i was in the same position as all of you. i had just come to d.c. to intern for the first time and knows injuring for senator lugar from the great state of indiana. that was my first time involved in politics, being around political people, discussing issues. i found a lot of conservative women in d.c. and i loved hanging out with them and talking with issues -- talking

issues together. when i went back to virginia for my third year of college, i found an environment like d.c. there were smart, intelligent women who were all conservative. if your school is like my interest in, there are probably hundreds of clubs. there is archery club, belly dancing club, rugby club -- you name the activity and there is a club for it. i looked at campuses across the country, and there was nothing for what i was looking for. then i looked on a campus and founded the women's center. you would think that it would be open to all women, right? i scheduled a tour with one of their directors. she showed me around and really tried to recruit me to join a

feminist magazine and other feminist reading group and other feminist this and other feminist that. those kind of getting the impression that they were more just there for liberal women. but i decided i might as well as the question. shot asked. would you be interested in cosponsoring a group for conservative young women? she just looked at me like i was crazy, chuckled, and said, "not here." that is when i decided to do something about it. i started new as a book club for conservative college women. there are so many different clubs that you get involved in and you join and sometimes to go to these organizations and eat pizza and you leave and you wonder, " what did i just get out of its?" i did not wanted to be like that. i wanted people to leave and

feel they learned something concrete and really get something out of the hour they were there. the first track was the book club. this gives us structure every week or every two weeks. they know they accomplished something. the books provide a great springboard for discussion. some of the books we have read is "what our mothers did not tell us." "the politically incorrect guide to sex and feminism." there were a lot of great books. but when you get a group of women together, they want to do a little bit more than just read and discuss books. so we decided to expand beyond educating ourselves and our book club and trying to educate our larger compascampus community.

getting involved in philanthropy events, hosting debates -- we actually hosted a debate -- how many of you have a women's studies departments at your universities? a lot. we co-sponsored a debate with the feminist groups on campus called are women's studies departments necessary anymore? we had quite a debate. we brought in speakers and got some discussions going. one of our chapters in arizona state university, two years ago, they did this event where they called it a gentleman's showcase where they honored the top german on their campus because they felt that gentleman were not treated well and good behavior was not encouraged. so now they have these gentlemen showcases to show [unintelligible]

new is to expand intellectual diversity on college campuses. it started as a group of friends, but the idea took off. i went down to williamsburg and went down to their first meeting. within six months, more chapters were popping up. "time magazine" ran a story on us. the lead to much more interest than people just wanting to start chapters. that is how this grass roots organization began and how it has grown. now we are on over 20 college campuses and we're spreading all over the country. we have especially strong chapters in virginia, but we are always out to virginia. we can to -- we continue to spread all over. because so many women have appreciated the message of

new, we reject the mentalities' with feminism. we realize that there are natural differences between the sexes. we embrace our diversity. because this message has resonated with some many women, i encourage you to visit our website -- www.lightnen enedwomen.org. we have people, bending on issues, but pop culture and political issues and things that concern conservative young women. i encourage you to reach out and get involved in some way. if your school has a chapter, i hope you'll get involved in that chapter. if your school does not have a chapter, i hope you will start a chapter. all you need to get started is women and books. it is a simple concept that

translates very easily. after the speeches today, if you're interested, please come see me. also, i am in d.c. now i really hope that you will be involved in your campus. you have to stand up and make a difference. the most important thing you can do is to get educated on the issues and then stand up and speak out for them. as i said it's the beginning, five years ago, i was sitting in the crowd, going to a lot of different conferences in the sea and found a way to stand up and make a difference on my campus and i encourage you to do so as well. [applause] >> we will take to questions. any questions?

>> what was the main thing that just did your organization. what was your catalyst? >> it was finding a group when i was in dc, but ambitious women who were like-minded and then going back to campus and realizing that contrasts where all the women's groups were catering to moral liberal women. i realize there was a niche in there that was not being filled. i really wanted this environment so i decided to create it. >> when you started the conservative group, did you have a lot of criticism from liberal groups? >> we did.

within two weeks of us starting the group, the feminist magazine on campus put a picture on the cover of their magazine depicting what they thought conservative women look like. it was a woman with a conservative dresser and an apron holding recipes in one hand and could do better and she was connected to this machine that was popping out 12 babies. she was a baby-making machine. that is how they portrayed as because they wanted to cut us off from the beginning. but we really show them. we have grown. [applause] >> i hope that any of the young women here can do likewise and started a new chapter on your campus. our next speaker is christian hopkins.

-- kristin hawkins. she was president of was -- neman teens for life -- she was president of west virginia teens for light. now she is the executive director of students for life. it is a growing organization. please welcome kristin hawkins. [applause] >> good afternoon. thank you for being here. we have perfect weather in washington, d.c. "there may be times when your parlors to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." i love this quote.

it is by a holocaust survivor. i think it sums up a lot about what we do. i cannot do to the supreme court today and demanded that roe vs. wade be overturned. but there are a lot of things we can do on our college campuses. that is what students for life of america is doing. it is so important. if you looked at the pew forum, look at the statistics very closely. what is the issue we are winning with this generation? abortion, life -- because we see

a live, abortion as human rights, because the unborn person is a human. working in the conservative movement, youth is always the trouble spot when it comes to building. but i am here to say that times are changing on college campuses. barack obama is helping us a lot with that. thank you, mr. president. we are winning this issue of abortion. it is so vital that you are out there, not being afraid to say that you are pro-life. i hope that 99% of you in this room are for life and you understand the importance of the right to life and how it relates to our conservative issues. that is how important it is. we need you to be on your college campuses speaking for

life and defending the unborn. even if you are male, you can save the unborn. 52% of all abortions occur on high school and college-aged women. the largest abortion provider targets your mother could have terminated before $300. you could not have existed and you could not have been here today. it is pretty scary stuff if you think about it. your mother could have aborted you. many people now in the pro-life

movement are recognizing that. i was in louisiana this week. our students are making a difference. they are out there every day defending the right to the unborn. we are a national nonprofit organization. we are in arlington, that is our headquarters. we believe that the most important thing you can do on your college campus is to start a pro-life student group, to have a voice for the unborn. you can bring in people of different religions. you'd be surprised how much converting goes on when someone enters a pro-life group. to educate your peers and to tell your administration that you are not going to take their pro-abortion policies any more. there are many things that you can do. you can shut down an abortion

clinic. all the people in this room can go to one abortion clinic, abortion clinics offer -- all you have to do is hurt their business by 10%. if they are not profitable, it there will not be any clinics in america. you can sponsor school-led initiative. has anyone seen as before on campus? it is very important. a girl who is facing an unplanned pregnancy is panicking. she is saying, i cannot go to school in the mother at the same time. there is no support for me. you need to have reminders on campus that it will be

difficult, and this is not an easy step, but you can be a mother and the in school. that is very, very important. your student government association, it is very important that pro-life first get in the st a.m. -- pro-lifers get in the sga. she will be debating one of the premiere pro-life apologist. we are arranging a torrent of six schools for them to go around ventura and debate. these are high turnout of dance at your campus. -- these are high turnout events on your campus. those are very powerful images to have on campus. you need to have those images out as a constant reminder.

this is a visual society. we need to be showing people exactly what abortion means. has anyone seen the movie "juno ?" conservatives are cool, too. it will be on usa. you can take that movie and showed on your campus. we had a group this year sponsored a "drop it like it is hot" juno screening. they were be able to take a pro- life message that was still relevant in our society and turn out their entire school for the screening. there are a lot of things that you can do. the possibilities are endless.

i'd like to talk to each of you about your campus. how we can attack those groups and make sure it is known that they are not the only voice on campus. to we need you there on the college campuses to save the lives and help the mother spurted if you are not there providing that support, that voice for the unborn, no one is doing it. what is the women's center all about? they are about advancing the principles of feminism. they are about abortion. they are tied in to planned parenthood. when did your group -- we need your group supporting pregnancy centers. everybody is going to support you and love you. i was pregnant with my second son. i make it a ploy to make sure i am going undercover. i was an undercover.

i went to a federally funded planned parenthood in new jersey. i ask them, i am thinking about having an abortion. i do not know what to do. what resources can you provide? i am new to the area. i need a doctor. what does this baby look like? >> we do not have any of those resources. i told them i was 22 weeks. we're not sure if the baby feels pain. do you have any resources for a local ob/gyn in case i decide to keep the baby? we do not do that. do you have any resources that for adoption? we do not do that either. this organization is called planned parenthood. that is irony for you. the only do one thing there. contraception and abortion. stop pregnancy and and pregnancy. that is what they do. we need you on your campuses

exposing this injustice. there are times -- there must never beat times that we did not protest. there are a lot of things you can do on your college campus. you guys are here on capitol hill. a lot of you are already interested in politics. be thinking about that. every step of your career. you can make a difference. when you finally get back here on your own terms, i will be knocking on your door to make sure you do things the right way. >> thank you. [applause] >> we will take to questions. >> -- two questions. >> i looked up the word person in the dictionary and it said, a

human being. i looked up the word human being in the dictionary and it's sad person. that is our greatest hope. the personhood amendment and stressing that the baby, the human being, is that from the moment of the conception. >> certainly, an unborn baby is a person. but now you have raised a political issue. i think it is inadvisable to put those amendments on the ballot. no state in our system of government can overturn the supreme court decision. be careful about that. >> support the person had, just not the amendments. -- personhood. >> thank you for coming. st. louis univ. raised $40,000 and created this whole new program on helping pregnant women get through college.

has that been recreated in the schools? >> we have been promoting the heck out of this. they received $1,000 as the group of the year last year. they created a scholarship fund. they raised 25,000 the first year. now it is up for -- up to 40,000. we actually have gotten request in our office from women who have seen their blog. that is something we are working hard to get the other schools to commit to. the amount of money to endow is -- it is a little challenging. we're definitely going to get there. i am -- that is my goal right there. >> what other programs have you seen it that would have been the most effective? >> there had been a couple of

resources forums on college campuses in the last few years or you take a pro-abortion group, the pro-life groups, the head of ministration, and you put it together on a panel. it is really telling. normally, the pro-choice group will not even show up to the event. the administration does not know what they offer, which is very scary. those type of events are good to do. it takes a lot of work for the pro-life group. you have to do the digging. is there reduced cost to day care? can you let her take a semester off? you have to ask these questions proactively and get the information out. we have one group in miami that made it website just for pregnant women on their campus and they gathered up all the resources and they provided a lot. except no one knew which. -- except no one knew it.

there is help if you find yourself with an unplanned pregnancy. i can give you a list of all the questions to start asking. the possibilities are endless. once you start thinking about how you can help women and save babies, there are a ton of things you can do. >> thank you very much. [applause] >> our next speaker on this panel is melissa cordova. she attended george mason university. she has some fun projects that i walked kurt to tell you about. she worked diligently to bring conservative speakers to capa's -- to campus. she was named one of the top consistent -- conservative student activist in the country. please welcome her. [applause] >> thank you so much, phyllis,

for inviting me back here today. yes was so honored. and i worked for it and policy institute, unless your honor to present phyllis with our lifetime achievement award for all she is done for the conservative movement. so i would like to give her one round of applause for everything. [applause] like a six-08 the lecture director with the clare boothe luce policy institute. our mission is to prepare and promote conservative women leaders. i did that by working with college students, to help the most conservative speakers at the campus. yes was so grateful to have this job. my favorite part of college was my own conservative activism. i graduated from george mason in 2000 -- in 2009. i have been an outspoken conservative for my entire life. even though i went to a conservative high-school in the one of the most conservative towns in the country, which oddly enough is in the california, i started a conservative group at my school anyway. i always loved talking about politics and getting involved

and paying attention to current events, but it was always just a fun hobby, something i enjoy talking about. but it was not really anything more than that. it was just sort of my thing. but when i went to george mason university, my attitude did not change much at first. now if any of you know anything about george mason, you probably do not associated with one of the crazy liberal campuses like berkeley or the ivy league. in effect, you might even think of it as a conservative school. i know i did at one point. after all, it is the home of some of the greatest free-market thinkers like walter williams and brendan smyth. there is in even a free-market think tank on campus. it was easy to me to be duped into the idea that my school was different, that was open-minded to conservative ideas. but of course, i was wrong. i found this out my second year and may send when i signed up for an art class, of all things. now the class was art as social

action, which i knew was not going to be conservative necessarily, but when i found my first assignment was going to be to watch "and inconvenient truth," i knew it was going to be an interesting semester. so about halfway through the semester, the professor told us that as a class on halloween, we would be marching around campus dressed in costumes representing the earth, made only a recycled materials, and protesting global warming. i think actually laughed out loud in the middle of class because there was no way of is going to do that. i approached her after class and told her, you know, i think it is fine if that is what you guys want to do, but i do not believe in this and did not feel comfortable margin for something i do not believe in. and the look on her face was priceless. i mean, she had no idea what to say. if you do not believe in the global warming? that is what she said to me. well, not really, i told her. i mean, i would be happy to write a paper explaining why.

she said yes, yes, you better write a paper, any better his lot of scientific facts. so somehow, i was assigned a science paper in the maya art class, but i did it anyway. and i even found a statistician who had testified before congress against al gore and the intergovernmental panel on climate change and included all of his facts in my paper. i turned it in. i was so excited to just show her how wrong she was. and she turned it back and get back to me with a three-page typed response to my paper. and the crux of her response was that since the son of a scientist, i should probably avoid using scientific facts, even though she specifically demanded that i include lots of scientific facts. but it did not upset me or bother me or offend me at all when i got this back from her. it actually really excited me. because with this one statement

that i was not going to march in her parade, i had totally ruffled her father's. so much so that she called me into her office the next day because she told me she was fascinated with me because she had never met someone as conservative as i was. this was my first real experience as a conservative activist. it was no longer a hobby to me. i can understand that it was a necessity that i speak up for my views. this professor, who was probably in her mid-60s, had never in her life met someone as conservative as me. now i am extremely conservative, and even though janet napolitano might put me a lot -- might put me on the terrorist list as of the like that, i am sure i am not any more conservative than all of you in this room. but as professor did not go through rural life with a meeting someone as conservative as me because they do not exist. she went through her whole life because people like her, professions and administrators, used their positions to intimidate conservative students and to keeping quiet and not

speaking up for their beliefs. after that experience, i did everything i could to speak up for my views. i used my time in the classroom to speak up for free enterprise, a strong national defense, traditional values. and every time i did, at least one of my peers would come up to me after class and thank me and tell me how really they were that there were not the only person who felt that way. outside of the question, i helped organize several events as a vice chairman of the college republicans with the help of young america's foundation, another organization you should know about a week organize the 9/11 never forget project, freedom we, which honors veterans day, and the anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. no more che day which exposes the evils of communism. and we held conservative speakers. however, my favorite activity of all my activism was two things

all college students can appreciate. it was free, and was really easy. it did not take that much time. i created a fake petition asking the school's administration to authorize the redistribution of gray. averages. i went to all of my peers. i just went out on the quad and ask them and they would sign this petition. when i did, they looked at me like i was crazy. why should we take carter earned grades from people just because other people are lazy? so i sent them a lot of the same lines will hear from liberals when it comes to things like welfare and that sort of thing. well, some people do not have a lot of money, and have to work their way through college, and they do not have time to study, or they are discriminated against in the classroom, and it is not their fault they have low grades. but none of this matter to the students. they thought it was the most ridiculous idea they had ever heard. obviously, i agree, but i was undercover, cannot say anything but when i turned the conversation to taxes, their

attitudes completely changed. that is different. those rich people do not need that money. my friend and i recorded the whole thing, and you can find it on youtube. it was even discussed in a recent book called "obama is on the." you can check that out, too. by the time i graduated from mason, people knew me on campus as a conservative activist. i am not telling you all of this to highlight my own accomplishments. i am telling you because you need to know that your peers are not going to hear about conservative ideas and the things you heard about today from their professors or administrators. they are only going to hear them from you. being an activist on your campus is a lot of fun, and it will give you some of the most memorable experiences of our college careers. but it is not just a hobby. we have a responsibility to share the truth, the truth that is being stifled within the halls of academia by those who control it. i have a bible verse that always

encourages me, and i want to share it with you in hopes it will encourage you as well. it is from perverse timothy chapter 4, burst open and do not let anyone look down on you because you are young. but be an example to other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness, and purity. so i hope all of you will use your positions on campus to be an example to your peers and spread the truth of freedom. thank you. [applause] >> you even sound like campus activities are fun. we will take two questions. >> yes, what was the worst, like, the worst opposition you ever got? like, what was the hardest that they never pushed against you for what you're doing? >> the worst i ever got, well,

it was the funniest actually, so i will tell you about that. it was the women's studies and the lgbt, you know, the gay and lesbian group. they had a meeting to discuss what they should do about me. [laughter] because i was putting of flyers. we celebrated something and is said conservatives should come out of the closet. we did it during the gay groups out week. they did not like that. one guy posting stuff all over his facebook. he was the leader of the gay group. he was saying that we need to figure out what to do about these fires and about alyssa cordova, mr. is being mean. that is their favorite argument, by the way. you are mean. that is pretty good. a means you are winning. >> i have a quick question but i also a kind of in the the same situation. it is more advice than a question. i go to a small catholic campus, and i wanted to start a republican group on campus, and

will not allow me because this is too controversial. although we have a gay-straight alliance and had a gay senator speak in our champ bulls -- in our chapel on the altar. i kind of thing that is blasts of a mess. how would you face the kind of adversity to your administration -- a kind of thing that is blasphemous. how would you face the kind of adversity to your administration and by teachers as well? i just want to know if you have any sort of advice. >> well, if you're campus distant -- does not allow political groups, you could do a campus conservative group. but a situation like that, you have to make as much noise as possible you write articles to your school newspaper, your local newspaper. call me. this is what we do. we help students get through their schools administration's and all of the roadblocks that they put out. we can help you, you know, get an op-ed submitted.

sometimes we have town halls and events. we have a lot of students right for us. just contact me. i will be here. you can get my car. and it can sound scary, but that is the best way to fight back, just to speak up. because they did not want anyone to know that they are stifling your free speech. a lot of times the only thing you have to do is threaten to go to the media, and they will usually back down. but they just rely on you getting nervous because they use their position of authority to keep you down and to scare you. you cannot let them do that. >> all right, thank you. [applause] >> the next portion of this session of our collegiate summit is to hear from a couple of young women who have been working for eagle forum, to tell you what it is like to have a job, a fun job, working on

conservative activism in the washington, d.c. and i really took a plunge in a couple of years ago by hiring a young woman from wellesley college. i have to tell you, that is hillary clinton's college, and several years ago i was invited to give a speech there. one of our members had worked for four years to get them to be willing to invite me. and finally by her senior year, she did succeed. i went, and they picketed all afternoon before my speech. it was a very cold day, but they valiantly picketed outside the auditorium all afternoon. but the most interesting part was a pre-scheduled counseling session for after my speech. [laughter] so they could recover from the trauma of my lecture. [laughter] nevertheless, despite knowing what wellesley college was all about, i took the plunge and invited colleen holmes to be

our executive director. i took her away from the christo -- the christian legal society. she not only got her bachelor's degree at wellesley, but she got her law degree at regis university where she received the national association of women lawyers outstanding graduates award. so i assume that what ever bad stuff wellesley taught her was shaped up when she went to regent university for law school. i want to welcome our executive director of eagle forum on our capitol hill office, colleen holmes. [applause] >> i hope you do not mind my dig at wellesley. >> no, thank you so much. actually, i really appreciate wellesley because that is where i learned about phyllis. i was told how awful it was that phyllis was defending women election wanted to stay home with their children, and i was hearing all kinds of terrible

things i looked into phyllis and i thought, this woman is amazing. she is run for congress twice. she has written 20 books. she really started a national grassroots organization that proved to the grassroots can have success beyond anything that they never could have imagined or could be accomplished by something that a national party did. so it was wonderful. and they looked to her writings at wellesley to fight the feminist. so i do credit wellesley with my being here today, and i am so thankful for that. phyllis is absolutely right, and yes was so thankful because i think i have the most fun job in the washington, d.c. i want to thank those that are still here. i notice friday afternoon, but i think you're hearing from some of the best speakers today. i appreciate that. i want to take a few minutes to tell people about how fun it is working in the washington, d.c., and sure is. but to summarize what we do,

that is kind of difficult. but to put it bluntly, we want to bring more people here to washington, d.c., that you heard from yesterday and stop all the bad things that you heard about today. i hope that helps a bit of money to tell you more about eagle forum. i hope you will. we did not really have a chance to get it to out eagle forum got started at all that phyllis has contributed to this country. but i hope that you will look at our website at eagleforum.org. we also have a dvd called "is doing the impossible" the bus through the history of how bill was put together eagle forum in the wake of biting the equal rights amendment. that was a grass-roots thing that really showed america and, even more important, should washington, d.c., what can really happen when americans unite and lead their members of congress and let their representatives know what they really believe and what they're going to demand.

that is the message now that we're taking to the tea parties. i will tell you more about that. but please check out our website. i like to get a copy of the dvd to you. it is funded here in the list's own words how that meant. and in the wake of putting equal rights amendment, phyllis trained and brought together a group of really dynamic, mostly women, but grass roots -- grass- roots activist, mommsen grandmothers who were really concerned about the direction of our nation and concerned about their children's futures, mostly people of faith, and got involved politically, and it shook up the nation. phyllis taught those ladies, once the battle was over, to keep fighting, to go back, stay active. and now we have state leaders. we have leaders in every state. very active chapters in almost every state. those leaders are involved at various levels, a lobbying their state houses. we have several republican

committee when men and several people who are really involved, some in the tea party movement now. so it is very helpful to have the network of grassroots activists or plugged into what is going on in the states and who can let us know here in washington, d.c., what is going on. i will tell you what we do in our washington, d.c., office. we put out legislative alerts. you'll hear from our legislative director in a few minutes. we go to a lot of the meetings and i know what is happening. i know a lot of you are capitol hill interns. we find out what is happening in the washington, d.c., this week. i started in september 2007, so it was read before the shift happened. since president obama was elected in since our new congress came in. unfortunately, the theme as then what do we need to stop this week? how terrible is it? what do we need to let people know about this legislation coming up, and what, if