this strategy has been implemented by pre positioning funding with a number of key irish ngo's and the annual contributions to the central emergency response fund of the united nations. it has provided partners with the necessary flexibility and early resource mobilization, which is vital for their initial response. in addition, since 2007, ireland these supplies have proven invaluable. earlier this week, a consignment was sent from irish aid arrived in islamabad with distribution. international organization for migration. ireland is also working with our stand by partners to provide their operation from the provisions of personnel from our rapid response corp. island has provided further responses for this emergency. we have provided funding support

to some of our partner ngo's. weeper -- i would like to commend john holmes and all of this colleagues for their excellent work today. i am pleased to be able to announce a doubling of the humanitarian assistance from the government of ireland to 2 million euros in total. i am surprised that this is our initial humanitarian response. for their funding will be provided once a comprehensive needs assessment has been carried out. we believe that this increase is warranted. mr. president, this year started with the devastating earthquake in haiti. we continue to work closely with our partners in that country to ensure the recovery is as effective and comprehensive as possible. humanitarian disasters do not respect annual calendars.

we are now faced with a further enormous challenge in pakistan. it would appeal to the united nations and toolbar partner governments represented here today to keep up -- and all of our partner governments represented here today. i will conclude by saying that it is particularly appropriate that this meeting is taking place on world humanitarian day. we now have an opportunity to save lives and relieve human suffering. that is the overarching objective of any humanitarian response. assisting in facilitating the humanitarian response to pakistan must be a key priority for us all. at the global community, we believe measured on how we respond to the enormous need of the pakistan people in this time of unprecedented crisis. thank you. >> i now give the floor to the

minister of the federal foreign office of germany. >> mr. president, secretary general, excellency, ladies and gentlemen, let me thank the president of the general assembly for convening this special u.n. general assembled meeting. -- assembly meeting. the initiative comes timely and is greatly appreciated. germany fully align themselves with the statements by the president of the council of the european union which was delivered. we have listened carefully to the secretary general, to its dramatic report on the

situation. personally, i was deeply moved by the plight of the pakistan the people -- pakistani people. they are facing a disaster which has caused tremendous loss of life. i would like to join those speakers who have expressed a sincere condolences to the people. in germany, our thoughts are with the victims and their families, with those who lost everything. after receiving the dramatic reports from pakistan and in response to the flood emergency response plans, at the german government immediately started the humanitarian assistance. we have just decided to further increase our humanitarian aid to $32 million. this on top of the contributions

to the eu's humanitarian fund, roughly $18 million. the german government humanitarian aid currently extends well beyond the 50 billet -- $50 million. i am grateful to the citizens of my country for more than $30 million contributions and private donations. i call upon my colleagues to continue this effort. it serves to distribute food, drinking water, and to provide medical care to the people in need. numerous humanitarian aid organizations in the affected

areas are already working hard to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the floods. we think the secretary-general for his leadership and express our support to for the work of the special envoy. the coordination is also paramount, of course. we commend john holmes for their tireless and efforts to coordinate international relief to reach pakistan. mr. president, today, august 19, is the world humanitarian day. it was created to highlight the role of the many dedicated humanitarian workers who, under difficult and dangerous circumstances, provide life- saving aid to the victims of humanitarian disasters. therefore, allow me to express our gratitude to the pakistani

workers who work for the suffering population. their contribution to mitigate the consequences of this crisis is invaluable. they deserve our greatest respect. mr. president, so far, our assistance is focused on the immediate relief. but we must not forget to pakistan will be confronted with challenges when the full scale of the destruction becomes visible. damage infrastructure, destroyed crops will have massive consequences on the livelihood of the people. we all agreed that the international community must stand by pakistan after the waters have receded and the television cameras have been cut

off. germany will support pakistan. we will sustain our support through our long term development corporations to overcome the structural challenges the nation faces. we have built a strong partnership to jointly insure a strong and stable pakistan. jeremy will continue to work with the government within this -- germany will continue to work with the government within this framework. we believe that pakistan plays a vital role, a stable democratic, and prosperous pakistan is paramount for peace in south asia and far beyond. the face of this tragedy is even more important. i can assure you that germany will continue to stand by pakistan in this challenging time and offer its full

assistance. thank you very much. >> i think the minister of the foreign office of germany. -- i think the minister of the foreign office of germany. i now give the floor to the secretary of foreign affairs of japan. >> i offer a sincere praise and

express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. i extend japan's sympathies as well as to all of those affected by the disaster. we express our profound respect for the relief efforts taken by the government of pakistan, the united nations, and other international organizations. we also appreciate the decision of the united nations under the initiative of secretary general and assembly president to convene the conference. the recent flooding in pakistan has caused serious damage. but civic and loss of life and property. -- would significant loss of life and property. in particular, there remain substantial humanitarian needs for emergency assistance. to address the deterioration in the situation and the shortage

of water and food among other problems. in addition, there is an urgent need to rebuild basic infrastructure, including roads, communications, agricultural infrastructure is destroyed by the disaster, as well as to meet the basic human needs. the government of pakistan should make a concerted effort to focus on emergency assistance as well as tackle the challenges of new construction to stem the vicious cycle of disaster and poverty. upon request of the government

of the pakistan emergency response to find it announced by the united nations, japan has swiftly committed its pledge of humanitarian assistance, totaling $14.4 million. japan's assistance consist of emergency grant aid and $1.2 million for emergency relief to the japanese platform. japan will continue to actively implement emergency humanitarian assistance based on locally for pakistan to promptly provide support for those affected in this context. in consideration of the need for

transportation of afflicted people, relief goods by helicopters, the government of japan began necessary preparations to dispatched helicopters to pakistan. to alleviate the vulnerabilities of the port, japan stands ready to support to the greatest extent possible pakistan efforts through the reconstruction as well as to consider the utilization. japan has decided to participate in the damage needs assessment to be conducted by the world bank. mr. president, it is one of the greatest natural disasters experience in pakistan since the

country's establishment. in may -- it may well be said that this is a time for testing for pakistan. japan has been a solid partner of pakistan since its foundation and the people of japan have always stood by the people of pakistan in times of difficulty. japan continues to exert all efforts and cooperation with the international community to support the government of pakistan prue restoring stability. japan looks forward to be early rehabilitation and reconstruction of cap -- of pakistan. it is my sincere hope that those who have suffered will overcome the current difficulties and regain their reconstruction.

>> on behalf, at thank you for having organized this meeting. we are talking about what we can expect from the general assembly in such time. i would like to present to the minister of foreign affairs of pakistan, i would like to express to him our condolences following the material and human losses that our country has

suffered from the floods. we would like to reassert our solidarity with the people and government of pakistan. we would like to reaffirm our desire to continue support for aid to save victims and to enable them to live in normal conditions as soon as possible. mr. president, the united arab emirates have longstanding links with pakistan. some of these links include development assistance from the uae to pakistan that dates back to 1975. this has been indirectly or directly through different

international organizations. the uae stood shoulder to shoulder with pakistan each time that that country has had to cope with natural disasters. also during the 2005 earthquake, we also provided emergency aid uncharted -- chartered airplanes with medicine and supplies in it and we sent them to the flood affected regions. we are going to continue to send this assistance. we will continue to provide assistance in a direct fashion incoordination would be authorities in pakistan. the contribution of the uae to

the -- include medical supplies, tents, blankets, food, three helicopters with charters as well in order to transport victims and casualty's. -- casualties. over and above the immediate assistance provided, we will undertake to allocate $5 million to the u. n fund to assist victims. we understand the enormity -- enormous magnitude of the devastation caused in the country. henceforth, we need international assistance that meets the scale of the need of rebuilding this infrastructure.

to insure that the situation is for mediated, we would like to thank the secretary general for his efforts as part of coordinating efforts. the floods in pakistan, once again, sound the alarm bell regarding climate change. we need to take this question seriously. we need to take measures that are tangible ones in order to limit the impact of this. this requires strengthening capacity, strengthening development, and measures need to be taken at the international and local levels. the different components of climate change need to be brought in mind.

such as changes in temperatures. we do not want such a thing to happen again. thank you. >> i now give to be -- the floor to the secretary of the ministry of foreign affairs of norway. >> mr. president, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, let me join other speakers and expressing our profound sympathy is with the people and government of pakistan for the human suffering and tragic loss of life caused by this devastating flood. norway enjoy is closed people to people relations with pakistan. many norwegians are now in distress over effected relatives.

the flooding in pakistan is not only an unprecedented situation in one of the greatest disasters witness in recent years, it is more than a million stories of personal tragedy. it is the story of a little girl with acute diarrhea who urgently need clean water and medical attention. and of her mother who is struggling to save her own life as well. it is the story of the father who stayed behind to save the family's livelihood who is worrying about their well-being. mr. president, the first wave of floods caused hardship to many people. they're likely lead have been hit with devastating long-term effects. -- there livelihood's have been hit. the second wave of suffering is even more deadly. we must therefore act now and

provide immediate emergency relief to minimize the deadly impact of the second wave while we can. we meet here today to support the people of pakistan and to help the government of pakistan to coordinate and provide the necessary humanitarian assistance to the affected population. our message to the flood victims must be, we will help to save your lives. we will assist -- we will continue to support to the recovery phase. i appeal to all to assure that their assistance in finding is made available immediately. the international community and humanitarian actors should align their support with the priorities of the pakistani

government. the initial flood emergency response plan is an important and we expect a plan to results an impressive response. good humanitarian coordination means ensuring that help directed for the needs and are provided in accordance with the principles of humanity, neutrality, and dependents, and impartiality. we welcome the government's constructive position to allow the u.n. humanitarian air service to deploy assets in the country. we encourage the inclusion of the education in the fourth coming of state of the response plan. mr. president, women, elderly, and children are once again hit hardest by a natural disaster.

we urge the pakistan government and all he meant -- humanitarian actors to pay special attention to the different needs of women, men, girls, boys in this dire situation. norway has already dead and $19 million. -- has already given at $19 million. our funds have been channeled through the response plan. norway's assistance is already available through the recipient organizations. to support national ownership and leadership, we have also earmarked to our contribution for the national disaster management authority in pakistan.

mr. president, what is unfolding in pakistan is a reminder that we may be facing a world of disasters made worse by climate change will drive millions of people from their homes, and destroy ecosystems. behind every loss of life extends a grieving family. let our efforts be intensified by the plea of the parents who have lost their livelihood and now risk losing what is dearest to them, their children. let this meeting be a call for concerted action, a call for us to act immediately and resolute leak in line with our universal humanitarian believes.

to save lives, alleviate suffering, and insure the human dignity of the people of pakistan. thank you. >> i now give the floor to the general for international cooperation a porn affairs of the netherlands. -- and international cooperation of foreign affairs of the netherlands. >> mr. president, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. i will keep my intervention short and focus on three points. i would like to thank you for convening this important meeting. as others have already pointed out, there is no room for complacency.

the gravity of the human it -- humanitarian crisis and the continuing stress of further flooding in many areas requires energy response and a continued engagement from all of us. the netherlands is no stranger to the high cost that water can wreak. we sympathize with the pakistan people and the affected -- affected families to have suffered the loss of loved ones. the impact of this disaster is the unprecedented and almost beyond imagination. the netherlands, like others, stand ready to help a friend in such dire need. secondly, the netherlands and pakistan maintain a longstanding relationship, which is also reflected in a structural development partnership. in response to this disaster, the netherlands decides a

special contribution to the european union and contributed 3 million euros for emergency aid. 1 million euros channel to the international federation of the red cross. 2 million euro through the initial flood response plan. i am pleased to be able to announce that the netherlands will contribute another the 3.6 million euros to the response plan to be channeled through the world food program and unicef. this brings the total dutch contribution to 5.6 million euros and a total contribution to 6.6 million euros. almost $9 million. additionally, a consortium of are raising funds our republic.

-- throughout the public. 2.5 million euros have been contributed by the dutch public. finally, a disaster of this magnitude requires coordination and cooperation among all other -- all organizations and institutions involved. the netherlands calls upon all stakeholders to work with the government of pakistan in a concerted efforts to ensure maximum effectiveness of the emergency operations. as we have seen, the coordinating role of the united nations and the role of the un are crucial for an effective response. this afternoon, with been made aware of the daunting challenges ahead of us. now we must also show resolve and commitment to ensure that assistance reaches of the people of pakistan as quickly and as effectively as possible. thank you. >> thank you.

i now give the floor to the special envoy for pakistan and the minister of foreign affairs of italy. >> thank you, mr. president. italy's fully endorses the statement delivered by the the minister of foreign affairs of belgium on behalf of the european union. weour nation's capacity, wish to express our deepest condolences for the victims and

the solidarity of the italian people to the people of pakistan in this moments. italy has acted promptly to provide the immediate assistance to the victim's -- to the victims did -- these items were immediately distributed to the people of pakistan with the assistance of the nation of disaster management authority. italy immediately made a 1 million zero contribution -- 1

million euro contribution. to support the humanitarian activity. we are in the process of donating money to unicef to support activities in the area of health and sanitation and provide a framework of the initial response plan. italy is also preparing a 1.5 million euros initiative. local authorities would be consulted to ensure that the initiative fully meets the needs of the effective -- affected communities. in general, [inaudible]

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>> the united nations general assembly meeting today urging the united nations to help the flood victims in pakistan. the un is urging countries to be more generous. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton spoke today, saying that the u.s. would contribute an additional $50 million, bringing its total to more than when under $50 million. from the united nations, to the state department briefing today. the u.s. is getting closer to starting direct talks between the palestinians and israelis. this is almost 50 minutes. >> good afternoon and welcome to

the department of states. as zeno, secretary clinton has landed in new york, or shortly she will have meetings with the pakistan and foreign minister and the united nations secretary general, head of this afternoon's general assembly meeting where she will discuss the humanitarian situation resulting from the floods in pakistan. she will announce increased u.s. aid to pakistan as well as

encouraging other nations as a stick -- to step up and help reach the u.n. goal of $460 million for emergency fund relief for pakistan. as you heard this morning from ambassador richard holbrooke, at usaid administrator, and secretary mchale, we believe our efforts to date have then very aggressive. we were first and most -- the secretary's announcement this afternoon and will continue to reflect the partnership that the united states and pakistan have together and that this partnership will endure longer after the floodwaters recede. obviously, we have a great deal of assistance, up to 7 bling $5 billion, identified for pakistan

over the next five years -- $7.5 billion. we will be reviewing, in light of the devastation and pakistan, which the country's most critical infrastructure needs are. we were together with pakistan to address basic needs and we will be reprogramming resources to deal with both the immediate and intermediates need that pakistan has in light of this disaster. the secretary, in her remarks, will also announce the establishment of the pakistan relief fund that the united states government will organize a the department of state for all americans to join in this tremendous relief recovery and reconstruction efforts. through the release of funds, -- for pretty relief fund, we will be able to encourage americans

to provide contributions, but small and large, to help shore covenant to the people of pakistan. turning to iraq, assistant secretary is on his way back from iraq. he has been there for the past week. he welcomed the new u.s. ambassador to iraq yesterday trade ambassador jeffrey has presented his credentials today to the president and foreign minister, but they have that today with the president and prime minister following the assistant secretary's departure. the ambassador has also met

with -- to discuss the ongoing efforts to form an inclusive government in iraq. also, we are saddened to learn about the attack on u.n. peacekeepers in the condo. this attack resulted in a loss of three indian soldiers, with seven wounded. we all -- we convey our sympathies to the family and friends of those killed, as well as to the government of india. we are grateful for the ongoing support that idea is showing to this u.n. peacekeeping operation. we condemn these attacks and called the government of the congo for a complete investigation. the secretary did have calls today with the foreign minister of jordan as part of for ongoing

consultations on moving the parties towards direct -- direct negotiations. last evening, she also had a call with prime minister as part of our ongoing efforts to demonstrate support for the palestinian authority and to help provide -- to make sure the resources are in there. -- are there. today, we remain in touch with the parties and our international partners. we believe we're getting very close to agreements. we're well positioned to get there, but we continue to work on the details of this process. i do not have anything at this plan to announce.

>> you are well-positioned to get there? can you explain what that means? >> we think we are very close to a decision by the parties to enter into direct negotiations. there are details that are still being worked out. it is not over till it's over. we are happy where we are. we think we are very, very close to an agreement, but there is still work that is ongoing. >> can you wrote share with us these details? what are they? can you give us three or four?

>> we will keep those details to ourself. >> what can you say about the report that the united states will issue a statement for parameters of the negotiations? does this mean that the idea of a quartet statement is diminishing? >> no. we believe that if we reached the point we hope to arrive at, that members of the quartet will demonstrate their support for the process, we will demonstrate our support for the process. and we will outline specifics of where we go from here. we are not at that point yet. there are still details they're working through. we will not do the negotiation in public. we want to make sure that the parties have the right understanding of what they are agreeing to and are able to move

this process forward with the appropriateness expectations. there is work being done as be speak. i am not here to forecast when we will get to this point. we are confident that we are moving ever closer to getting the party is in direct negotiations. >> can you talk about the details of how we move forward? what the details be something that the u.s. would unilaterally speak up about? >> those are not mutually exclusive. >> mr. netanyahu request a statement from the u.s.. how would you combine the two? >> as it i said for the last few days, as part of the quartets, we are prepared to demonstrate our support for the party is as they move toward this decision.

we have always played a special role when then this effort to -- within this effort and we will be prepared to assist the parties going forward to in moving toward a successful negotiation. we can do both. >> have you chosen a venue? >> we are working -- there is work being done today. there have been some conjectured that we are poised to make a statement. we think we are very close, but there's still work being done. there are details being worked out should the parties come to an agreement. when will that happen? will that happen? what will the agenda for the first meeting be? there are still things we're working through. >> and said the secretary --

with the secretary of state spoke with tony blair, bitchy discuss options other than the cortex or unilateral statement by the u.s. -- bandied quartets or unilateral statement? >> the work that has been done with our partners in the region, including members of the quartet to make sure that the leaders know that they have the international support to make this difficult decision. we are working with our international partners. the secretary may have additional calls to make today. we want to make sure that the political support is there. when the leaders feel that the time is right to enter into

direct negotiations. >> when the secretary speaks with the prime minister, at did they give her different messages? >> and her calls today, -- in her calls today, it is on the current state of our efforts to move the parties to direct negotiations. she has a regular conversations with the prime minister. her discussion with the minister yesterday was more about the ongoing efforts to institution building within the palestinian authority, making sure that the resources are there to continue this effort, to improve security forces on the ground, continue to take the initiative to build an effective palestinian economy. obviously, the reality on the ground in the palestinian area

does have a direct bearing on the confidence palestinians feel in this process. but her conversations yesterday was not about negotiations%. >> -- per say. >> it is -- it will be under the department of state. how will the defense fund [unintelligible] >> direct assessment of the floods and it will be up to the international committee to help.

why are they not sending money to countrymen who are in trouble? the u.s. really must address those issues and leave a clear message. corruption is a concern. it will be in charge of the millions and millions of dollars? >> add who is in charge of the relief effort? it is the government of pakistan. we are working closely with the national disaster authority in pakistan. we are following pakistan's lead. as they go forward, -- as we go forward, we will be guided by what pakistan feels is its most significant needs.

who is ultimately responsible? it is the government of pakistan to support and respond to the needs of its people. we are here to help pakistan did that. >> have you learned from the last earthquake? still people are asking, where is the money? having learned anything from the past? >> -- have you learned anything from the past? >> we have experienced based on the earthquake. we are working directly with officials who were involved in the earthquake. that helps us with the kind of cooperation and seamless support the we're looking for. in terms of assistance, there's all kinds of assistance. some of it is direct support.

through our military directly to the pakistani people. in some cases, it is true non- governmental organizations. we will not tolerate corruption. the assistance we are providing this for the people of pakistan. we want to see this assistance directly to the people of pakistan. >> this is a follow-up on the relief fund. can you give us an update of how much you have raised so far? >> the ongoing campaign will continue. that campaign is geared toward helping one element of the broader national relief effort. we are setting up a new text in the -- texting campaign.

if they go to state.gov and dial "flood" they can contribute to this relief fund. this will be part of the larger effort and i think we will be seeking $10 contributions. we're grateful for whatever people are prepared to give. we're also looking for a more substantial donation because we understand fully that pakistan's immediate long-term needs are going to be very profound. >> is a going directly to the government of pakistan? >> those are some of the details we will be working out. it will be through the united states government.

it will be a combination of recipients. >> [inaudible] is the money you are giving enough? >> senator kerrey was in pakistan. he has not returned to kabul. while he was there, this would be a first effort to of making sure that the money that we have set aside for pakistan meets what we would anticipate to be a changing set of priorities in light of this disaster. we will also be looking adds -- looking at what pakistan's long-

term needs are. it will be a combination. as we said yesterday, we understand that there will be immediate needs. pakistan has lost its crop for this year. we understand that. how we rebuild infrastructure, we are already planning to update. this is a process will be working through with pakistan once the floodwaters recede. >> that is the purpose of these general assembly meetings this afternoon that the secretary will be addressing. we want to see pakistan up d coe significantly. >> are you somewhat dismayed about that? it is a dividend lower than what was donated to the eight taxing

--haiti texting campaign. >> we're going to do everything to generate the same kind of private support. >> why aren't people contributing, do you think? >> accessibility is one issue. there has been coverage of the story and i think there will be ongoing coverage of the story. pakistan is some distance away from the united states. haiti is a country that is in our immediate neighborhood. i think it is a little unfair to directly compare the two. we will do everything we can to demonstrate our support for the

people of pakistan. we are committed to the future of pakistan. we think that as they go on, we will be able to generate significant resources to be used for the people. >> turn that around a little bit. the u.s. taxpayer has always it -- already provided $90 million. is that correct? >> give retake. >> plus an additional $50,000 they have done in a privately. i presume they're mostly u.s. citizens. now you want them to give more to a government that was unable to collect taxes from its own people, its government that the secretary has said knows where osama bin laden is. i do not understand why they should be asked to be contributing -- contribute more. >> the same reason why we are

encouraging a significant u.s. investment and pakistan's future. the future of pakistan is directly in the national interest of the united states. our future and pakistan's future are definitely tied together. there is a threat within the borders of pakistan that directly impacts the united states. it is in our best national interest to help pakistan developed in a way that reduces extremism to the region. >> why should the american taxpayer who just this morning got more economic news be asked to contribute more than a party have to this? this is a country that has difficulty and is unable to collect tax money from its own people and has not been entirely

cooperative in going after people that attack us. >> i am not arguing the point. we are in the midst of transforming our relationship with pakistan, the strategic dialogue we have under way is part of that effort. we expect pakistan to do many things for itself. we're committed to help pakistan build the kind of institutions of government, establish the kind of relationship between its government and its own people. as the secretary said, but we do have expectations that pakistan will deal with the threat inside its borders. we do expect pakistan to reform its governance system. it does need to increase its tax revenue. pakistan has taken some steps in that direction. it clearly needs to do more.

over time, they will need to stand on its 2 feet. we are willing to help them along that journey. as we provide help, there are clearly things we expect them to do for themselves. >> may i? >> let's stay with pakistan. >> there were reports saying there were absence of enthusiasm by donors. there is a good deal of frustration caused by -- are you concerned about that? is that part of your strategy? how'd you regenerate interest and enthusiasm in donating to pakistan? >> i would not call $90 million a trickle. within 24 hours of pakistan the

request for assistance, we had american helicopters in the skies over pakistan providing direct assistance. we are very proud of what we have done so far. we are demonstrating today our ongoing commitment to pakistan. we are going to be looking at ways in which we can assure that given what has happened in the last couple of weeks, we continue to provide support for pakistan need it most. other countries in the region and around the world also have a similar stake in pakistan's future. as richard holbrooke said this morning, many countries are concerned about the threats of extremism that emanates from the tribal areas between pakistan and afghanistan. we are not alone in taking that risk. we have to be working collaborative lee -- collaborative lee to make sure

we support pakistan. today's speech by secretary clinton and the meeting in new york is a step in that direction. >> no amount of money given to pakistan [unintelligible] the you agree that -- why americans are not giving is because they think that pakistan is supporting terrorism. >> this is a two-way street.

pakistanis have questions about the u.s.. we are working to build the kind of long-term strategic partnership for both countries. >> with turkey, the first time in history that the presidential nominee [inaudible] has been blocked by a senator. my question is what is the current situation. has there been any meeting arranged? >> unfortunately, the ambassador is not the only nominee who is being held by the senate. we are in touch with those senators who have questions about his nomination as well as others. he remains our nominee to be the ambassador. we think he is well qualified to assume that post.

he has worked in that country before and in that region. we will be aggressively answering the questions that the senators have during this recess period. we hope the senate will agree to place him as the ambassador to turkey as soon as possible. could i meant first time to turkey. has the secretary [inaudible] >> i am not sure she has placed a call. she is in contact with senate offices. i think we received a letter from one senator who has raised certain questions. she will answer those questions. we are certainly in touch with a number of members of the foreign relations committee and we remain committed to that nomination and will do everything in our power to have it confirmed as soon as possible.

senator brownback has written to senator -- secretary clinton. right now, i know that senator brown back has raised questions about the nomination. i believe there might be others. >> she will be answering his letter very soon. >> [inaudible] >> i can not validate that statement one way or the other. we will have the opportunity as we come up toward the un general assembly, will have the opportunity to direct -- consult

directly with many of our partners in this effort. we will continue in the meantime to make clear to north korea that there are steps that north korea has to take to create the right environment for progress. >> i just want to ask you about the u.s. government's conditions to start the talks. do you want any specific actions for north korea 41 them to wait silently until other countries are comfortable? >> there are specific things that north korea can do to demonstrate serious purpose and to create an environment where future talks could be productive. i will not specify them here. there are specific obligations that north korea has undertaken. we obviously remain concerned about provocations that north

korea has made both recently and over many months. we want to see a change in north korea's behavior and should we see it, that would give us indication that north korea is serious about moving ahead. >> what progress is being made against al qaeda in yemen? >> all i can say is we continue to support the government and of their efforts to deal with al qaeda on the arabian peninsula. it is an important effort and that includes dealing with a range of people who have identified themselves. >> can i switched over to iraq? with the military forces pulling

out, the state department has said that october 2011, they will be taking over trending for the iraqi police force. are they on target to pull this off? >> we are nearing the point at which all combat forces will be removed from iraq. there still will be 50,000 military forces in iraq supported ongoing training efforts and working with the iraqi government on counter- terrorism efforts. we will be stepping up and taking responsibility for police training in iraq. we are on course to do that and we will be ramping up our civilian effort to take that over a little over one year from now. we still have a lot of work to

do a rock on the civilian side. you have heard this term many times. this is a full government effort. we are significantly and gauge. our other agencies of government, we continue to be mindful of the immediate challenge of helping iraq form a new government. that is the reason jeff feldman was in iraq for the past week and had the opportunity to meet with a variety of leaders on that subject. we are fully prepared to assume our responsibilities as we move through this transition from a military-led effort to a civilian-led effort. this will require resources to accomplish making sure we have the resources to do the police training but also the resources to establish our civilian presence around the country through the consulate's we have

and the branch offices and our conversation to make sure the resources are there. that is an ongoing conversation. >> the new york times said the state department is going to more than double the number of security contractors it has following this withdrawal. >> yes. >when you have 150,000 troops in iraq, the have security in key areas around the country. when you reduce that number, the iraqi security forces stepped up and accomplished much of this but we will still have our own security needs to make sure our development experts and diplomats are well protected wherever they're moving around in the country or where there are posted. we will have consulates and branch offices. the level of violence in iraq

has been reduced significantly but it is still a dangerous place. with the military has provided security in the past, this is a case where contractors are a transitory requirement. this is where contractors are fruitful. we can ramp up an effort for a temporary period of time and reduce it as the security situation improves. we have very specific plans to increase our security as the military is leaving. this will be expensive. this is not a cheap proposition even though when you compare what we will need to spend in iraq, a couple of billion dollars a year for the next few years. there will be a significant savings from the peak spending

that we had with a large number of u.s. military forces. >> is it providing personal security or beyond that? we have contracts guarding the embassy and contractors as they are today, helping with our mobility and with personal security as diplomats moved around the country. >> efforts will be accorded a closely with the iraqi government? >> absolutely. i did not talk to jeff altman before he left. >> what is the latest that you had contact with the thai authorities on his place? >> we have been in contact with them this week to continue to emphasize that this is of the highest priority of the u.s..

>> the response? we have seen the same reports that you have, the extradition process is reaching its potential conclusion and we await for judgment from the thai government. we believe that we presented significant evidence to justify the extradition to the u.s. and we think we have made our case. we will see the judgment of the course -- of the court. >> one senator said he was distressed to find out that the state department found out about this hearing only because of reading russian media. >> know. we have maintained regular contact with the thai government and we have been supporting the department of justice effort to present the necessary evidence to justify his extradition.

we called and the thai ambassador. >> similar contact has been going on in bangkok? >> yes. with the ambassador has been to the foreign ministry? >> yes. >> one thing about the role of the contractors. will they help train the rocky forces as well? >> yes. we will take over detraining. alan -- hours will have a different focus to provide basic security for iraqi citizens.

we have great experience in many places from the world. >> to clarify, for dollar billion, is this for contractors only? >> i said to dollar billion to $3 billion is what we are seeking from congress to provide from our total program that will include the police training program. >> what they -- >> it was earlier this week. i can get to that. >> an indian television station reported that the national security adviser sent an e-mail to the chairman of the planning

commission and he said that they are hearing a lot of noise about dow chemical and the gas tragedy and the u.s. should cut down on that. do you have any comments? >> we do not usually comment about internal e-mails. i believe the indian official involved has himself indicated but the sense of the e-mail was not an issue of importance to india and there was no connection to any of other e- mail. we have interacted with the indian government on the issue. bill have expressed our sympathy and concern about the impact this had on the people of india. the link that was suggested is not there.

>> a person has arrived to do his tour. will he be speaking with the media? >> he will be involved in direct discussions and he will be visiting the mosques and he will be involved in direct discussions to help people in the country's help understand the role of religion in our society and how american muslims celebrate ramadan and how we emphasize religious tolerance and our society will i

believe -- i have seen his schedule for by rain and he will do some lectures that will appear on television. i am not aware he will be doing any specific local media beyond those appearances. he will have similar types of public and private engagements. the only schedule i have seen so far is the schedule in bahrain where he will be doing many lectures. for those of you who have been to that region, people watch a lot of television during ramadan. it is a great opportunity to reach significant portion of the regional population and he will be talking through television

about his experiences being a muslim in america. >> [inaudible] >> as we have said many times, this is his fourth trip as part of the speakers program within the international information program. this was scheduled before the issue came up. he volunteered to participate in this program and we've found -- and we value his participation. we are grateful for him beginning his program tomorrow. >> did -- who he specifically be meeting with? but i do not know. >> how will you monitor him

from looking for funding for the mosque? >> he is familiar with the program. we briefed him on the conditions of his program. this is what we tell anybody who participates and one of our expert trips. there are there to provide perspective on behalf of the u.s. they're not to engage in personal business. he has agreed to that. he will be supported by our post in each country and i would not be surprised if he talks about the ongoing debate within the u.s. as an example of our emphasis on religious tolerance

and resolving questions that come up within the rule of law in our country. he is not there in any way to promote his religious center. >> can you clarify the number of combat forces still left in iraq. their reports it was complete but now there are 6000 and of course i will defer to my colleagues at the pentagon. >> [inaudible] >> i am not aware that we are into have you received any requests? >> in recent years, military cooperation between the u.s. and india but for specifics, i will defer to my colleagues at the pentagon. >> i have three lives and.

[inaudible] >> restricting people from getting together. >> it reinforces our perspective that given how burma has outlined plans for its elections, it will not be credible. >> do you have a readout on the meeting with [inaudible] >> i did not. >> three things very quickly. what was the situation and what happened yesterday?

why does this communication between the state department over whether you will support this u.n. commission? i am not sure -- there is not a miscommunication between the state department and the white house. we have had internal meetings on our burma policy. we arrived at adjustments on how to proceed but we are not in a position where we will announce what we are going to do. i did check, there was not a formal statements from the white house. >> they're people talking about it. i understand that. they're giving us great complement for the issues that we have discussed. we're just not prepared to bring the issue out and make any announcements at this point. >> how is that review of lebanese military aid? >> it is ongoing. the other thing is cuba.

travel restrictions. like with burma caught even though everybody knows it is happening, you are pretending it is not. " no. i acknowledge that we have had internal meetings. we have reached some judgments but we are not prepared to talk about them publicly at this point. >> book tv continues and from time with a look a presidential cabinet members. one author recalls the life of the first female cabinet secretary. then, the core members of george bush lost work cabinet. next, henry kissinger and his views on foreign policy.

finally, the life and career of the second defense secretary of the country. all this week on c-span2. >> throughout this week, washington journal has been taking a look at the impact of new financial regulations. you can see the interviews online on c-span's video library. tomorrow, provisions aimed at preventing a future financial crisis. that is it 9:15 a.m. eastern on c-span. tomorrow, admiral thad allen will give a review to the response on the gulf of mexico oil spill. they will talk about the response and what tasks remain. this is live friday starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. on c-span2 we will hear from the

former international development secretary of britain. watch the full testimony friday at 5:15 eastern on c-span2. >> one of the things i regretted about political and rhetorical life in washington is that every major figure from the president on down is merely reading what somebody else in some committee has produced. >> he wrote speeches for the carter administration. he wrote about presidents and architects of power. sunday night, he will share his insight on washington. >> new orleans mayor mitch landrieu spoke to reporters five

years after katrina. he also addressed the bp oil rig explosion and urged administration officials to monitor the situation in the gulf. this is about one hour. >> the afternoon and welcome to the national press club. i am a reporter for bloomberg news and the president of the national press club. we are the world's leading professional organization for journalists and are committed to the future of the profession. for more information about the press club, visit our web site at www.press.or.g to donate, please visit the same website. on behalf of our members worldwide, i would like to welcome our speaker and attendees which include guests of our speaker as well as working journalists. i would also like to welcome the c-span and public radio audience. after the speech, i will ask as

many audience questions as time permits. i would now like to introduce our head table guests. from your right, frank snelix, a realtor and special guest. larry-3, a librarian and a member of the national press club. glenn marcus, an independent writer and producer for public television. emily arrata, deputy director for affairs of new orleans. and energy reporter. another editor. senator mary landreua, . we have anjou schneider -- andrew schneider. a reporter for usa today and a past president of the press club.

jane campbell, chief of staff for senator land true. the washington bureau chief of the salt lake tribune. and the executive vice president of external affairs for volunteers of america and a member of the national press club. [applause] on this day five years ago, a storm was forming in the atlantic ocean that would first report new orleans and then drown it. hurricane katrina's devastation was immense. neighborhoods and towns disappeared. much of the area's population fled to batten ruche -- baton rouge never to return. five years later, new orleans still grapples with this, with each success tempered by looming

challenges. our speaker, a two-time lieutenant governor, took office as mayor to lead the city out of the muck. he inherited a $67 million budget deficit, a police investigation for civil rights and -- is civil rights issue, the murder rate 10 times the average u.s. number. he says he will not gloss over the problems of the city. he has asked the department of justice to reform the trouble police department. he has asked bp for a $75 million grant to promote tourism and he has cut $30 million from the city budget. questions remain about new orleans. can it recover from katrina and tackle the underlying problems? the mayor is here to talk about his plan. please welcome new orleans

mayor mitch landrieu. [applause] >> thank you all so much. the people were wrong. if your telephone is on, the only forgiveness you get is if it rings when the saints go marching in. thank you so much for having me. we meet in difficult times. the national economy continues to struggle. millions are out of work. after three long months, the well in the gulf is capped but the die has been cast. over 200 million gallons of oil need to be cleaned up to save one of the most delicate and important ecosystems in the world.

next week, we will commemorate the fifth anniversary of katrina. five years after, i stand here to thank all of you who helped us survive and recover and to rebuild. to the first responders and the millions of volunteers, the faith based organizations and taxpayers, the cities that took us in, to the many nations of the world who came to our aid, the people of new orleans thank you and offer our eternal gratitude. but for both katrina and the bp oil catastrophe, our future is not just about survival. it is about resurrection. it is about redemption. it is about getting things right. we are not rebuilding the city we were but we are trying to create a city that we want to become. the world and we deserved a better new orleans. it has been five years since katrina stormed to the gulf of mexico.

five years since the levees broke. five years since floodwaters from the mid-may disaster devastated an area nine times the size of washington d.c. and displaced more than 1.3 american citizens. five years and we still grieve for the 1800 people who lost their lives. however, we come to remember and we must never forget that in the fifth year of the 21st century, for four horrific days, there was anarchy on the streets of america. the government failed to do its job and the people suffered. it is a moment we should never forget and it is one we should never repeat. we have had a and high water. pain and salvation. we have survived katrina, read

it cannot fight, gustave, the great recession and bp. the message is clear. we are still standing unbroken and ready to face whatever challenges come our way. not because we want to but because we have to. horrific as they were, and now that -- they did not create our problems but they made them worse. they made them more visible. for example, crime has been unacceptably high for a generation. we are grappling with an education system that was failing prior to hurricane katrina. our health care statistics have always been bleak. we continued to lack of affordable housing. when taking office, we were left with a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. we have huge infrastructure problems and the number of our on paved roads hour battle for

the heart and soul and the future of new orleans is being waged on many fronts been the case with these awesome challenges, one could easily turn and walk away. we do not have this luxury. even if we did, it would not be in our nature. ironically, it and the depth of our problems that new orleans that we are uniquely poised to be the city that the fund's 21st century america. grounduilding from the up and setting the standard for true community renewal. we are the most immediate laboratory for innovation and change and our success or failure will be the symbol for america's ability to accomplish great things, or not. crating a 21st century begins with making our cities safe. upon entering office, we entered

into a partnership of the department of justice and we have the full weight of the federal their hobert bridging of the federal government behind her reforms. the long-term solution to crime buster with providing an excellent education to the next generation of leaders. we have been on the cutting edge of education reform. there is no longer a school system but a system of schools that are held accountable, have high standards, focus on results and engage families. parents and students choose where to attend schools and schools that fail to live up to high standards are not allowed to stay open. the extraordinary thing about new orleans public schools is the results. after decades of stagnation, test scores have risen markedly for the past three years. one of the primary goals of primary health care reform is the usher in a new primary care network exactly like the one

currently operating in the city of new orleans. today, with an 87 never had health clinics provide primary care to 290,000 residents. this access to care is unparalleled. it is affordable and focuses on preventative care and is rooted in the community and best of all, it is readily scalable. this is not an unrealized plans for a distant future. this is health care in new orleans today. the system is still in peril. we are so far ahead of the curve that the funding is not available without further federal or state support. our network of neighborhood based health clinics is a small part of another bold idea taking root, community development. this is where different public and private entities work together to cluster amenities in close connection to multi income housing.

undersecretary came to new orleans, he went to a mixed development. the plan for the neighborhood includes middle schools and high schools and early childhood learning center, in preparation facility, libraries, retail and green space. all serves one neighborhood. at columbia park is just one of the community developments under way. new orleans today is the largest urban planning effort in american history. together, we will build and revitalize communities that are safe, healthy, and strong. we can do more. we can do so much more. in order to get this done, we need to bring down the silas' that exist across federal, state, and local agencies both horizontal and vertical we cannot think of housing and health care is separate and unrelated health care policies to be addressed separately. initiatives must be integrated and coordinated so all the money

can go at the same time and same place to produce something that is worthwhile. as it begins to stand tall, the people have rallied around our progress to find common ground. as we continue to struggle, 77% of the residents believe we are heading in the right direction. at the end of the day, we have the same hopes. six streets, excellent schools and good jobs. the people of new orleans walk together, or an arm, to make the city a better place to live. it is the coolest place in america. passionate young people are streaming into the city. there has been a revival of volunteerism and the vibrant spirit is on display. last year, we have the biggest mardi gras in history and it is just getting better. in the next four years, we are

hosting the final four, the b.c. has championship and the 2014 super bowl where i predict the saints will win their fourth consecutive championship. [applause] since the bp oil catastrophe, president obama has visited new orleans twice and will join us for the fifth anniversary commemoration of katrina. from our first day in office, he and his administration have been key parts. 11 of the 15 cabinet secretaries have traveled to new orleans in the past few months, most more than once. we are deeply appreciative of his support. he believes in new orleans. after every challenge we face, the opportunity exists to change cannot improve, and grow. there is no more pressing issue than the crisis off of our coast. on april 19, the bp read

exploded and 11 men lost their lives. we still grieve for them today. for nearly three months, bp could not find a way to tap that well which spewed the equivalent of the exxon valdez disaster every four days. over 200 million gallons of oil flooded into the gulf and the effect will be felt for years to come. in the coming months and years, but the $6 billion in economic output, 24,000 jobs could be lost not to mention the cost to the suffering families. everyone is affected. from shrimpers to boat dock operators, hotel workers to waiters, crane operators to tour bus operators, it just keeps

going and going. the bad economy has hurt local government with the bp disaster for their impact in revenue. this is a cascading and far reaching crisis. our way of life is threatened and everyone of us knows what is at stake. it is true that bp has finally capped the whole and the immediate mission is clear, capture the soil, clean the coast, compensate those that have been impacted. hear this, bp and others are acting like this is the beginning of the end. it is not. a study said that 70% of the oil remains in the ecosystem. this is the beginning of the beginning. this it is after another

defining moment for the country and for new orleans. we must reflect on the past and chart a new course for work. before the bp oil catastrophe, the wetlands, america's wetlands, or already disappearing. for almost 100 years, the louisiana coast has been slashed and burned. since 1930, over 1900 square miles of wetlands have been lost. the area lost this the same size as the metro area of washington d.c., houston, n.y., atlanta, denver, and los angeles combined. every year, 15,300 acres of coast evaporate into the gulf. that is the same as losing the national mall 100 times.

by the time i finished the speech, another acre of america will have disappeared. we are committing coastal suicide while weakening our country. the destruction of louisiana wetlands is a direct result of human action, not mother nature. over the past 70 years, levy and dam construction has stopped the national flow of -- natural flow of river. fertilizer runoff from forming in iowa and illinois create innoxious clouds that kill everything in its path as it traverses down the mississippi river. a dead zone is credited in the gulf that is an astounding 7000 square miles, larger than the side of the state of connecticut. the most damaging are the oil companies 10,000 miles of canals and pipelines that snake through the marshes and bring oil and gas to onshore refineries to provide energy to all of the

people in this country. the dredging for pipeline and canals allows salt water from the gulf to flood and poison the wetlands. when our children go fission, even they concede the land that has disappeared. islands vanish. rows of trees are submerged. waves like close to our homes and are committed these. it seems to have happened so quickly but really, it was generations in the making. the bp catastrophe has accelerated the destruction and heighten the awareness of how close to the brink we really are. a coastal expert says with 200 million gallons of oil in the gulf, the coast is like a cancer patient who has come down with pneumonia. the ammonia is serious but after the fever breaks, you will still have cancer. if all we do is clean up the oil, we will have cured the

pneumonia, not the cancer. we will have missed the bigger point and squander the opportunity to make lasting changes to save our home and make our country strong again. the people of the gulf coast face this reality every day and the rest of the nation is to support projects that can protect what it is that we have left. americans have a stake in louisiana's coast. the strength of the nation's economy depends upon it. the u.s. economy is intimately linked to the gulf coast. for decades, we have been the tip of the sphere. every year, louisiana provides america with more oil and gas then this nation imports from saudi arabia. americans consume 21 million barrels of oil per day. only 8 million is produced domestically. 25% of that comes from the gulf of mexico. not to mention that louisiana is

also the home to five of the nation's top 15 busiest ports. we are the gateway to the nation's goods. with 460 million tons of cargo annually shipped down the mississippi and moved up the river, let us not take for granted but the coast is the home to the second largest fishing industry in america annually accounted for 30% of all seafood consumed in this country. whether it is food, clothing, metal, oil, the rest of america can rely on us to put food on the table, keep the lights on and keep the gas in the tank. contrary to popular belief,-this not come from the gas pump. by focusing on higher short-term profits, instead of long-term sustainability. we are greedily robbing resources from future

generations. decades of bad deals have left the decade -- had left the coast defiled. the federal government is taking billions of dollars of revenue from our shores and register bidding to other parts of the country. national environmental groups cluster on the east and west coast leaving local environmental groups on the gulf coast to fend for themselves. at the same time, bp has been incredibly irresponsible and negligent. they are -- to have arguably the worst safety record and the country. they had no plans for capturing oil of a blowout preventer failed. bp consistently attract its feet to cleanup and compensate and seemed to treat the crisis with disdain. they just wanted to have their life back as if it was our fault. once bp is finished pillaging the coast, shirking their responsibility, they are poised

to cut and run. to run a $50 million advertising campaign, they vowed to make it right but their words did not match their actions. if they really wanted to restore the reputation and invest in the gulf committed the, they would act quickly, not slowly. they would move their regional headquarters to new orleans, lay down roots in the committed the cannot compensate everybody that has been impacted. that would fund seafood testing and make substantial investments and restoring the coast and it would not have taken them over 100 days to grudgingly and only partially funding health initiatives for community suffering. they have still not responded to urgent requests for food and economic aid. their actions are of a company that is not truly sorry and not willing to forge a new path. these decisions are made by a company whose corporate culture today seems to be focused on share price and the bidding liability, not by corporate morality.

that is a shame. bp can redeem themselves and to truly make things right but they must act now. we welcome and encourage them to do so. louisiana refuses to be used, to be abused, and to be thrown away any longer. it is time to change course, innovate, adapt, and hope for a better future. hope is no substitute for a plan. in the short term, we must lift the moratorium on deep well drilling. it is possible to drill safely and to protect our environment. energy consumption continues to rise. americans did not want to drill in alaska. off the coast of florida, off of the east coast for california or buy from foreign dictators. as we aggressively pursue viable alternative forms of energy, we

cannot rely on wind sales or biofuels for solar alone. renewable energy sources can only fill 7% of our daily demand. we must drill safely and securely in a way that sustains our energy needs, restores our coast and provides us a bridge to the future. just this past week, blake dynamics announced the creation of a wind turbine factory that will create 600 new green jobs in new orleans. we are in the business of providing every type of energy. this is perfectly reasonable. it is not a zero sum game. we are not limited to drill, baby, drill. we can do better. we must drill and restore. we know how to restore. we note the importance of land building divergence and sediment pumping systems. some of the best minds are dedicated to solving this problem. we have a way. we now need the will and now we

need the resources. according to the clean water act, the federal government can find the government up to -- find bp up to $21 billion dollars. the lion's share of that should go to restore the land. a fair share of the royal -- royalties must be dedicated to restoring the coast. that does not go into effect until 2017. congress should pass legislation to enact it immediately. the entire industry has had an impact on the coast. an ethic of conservation and stewardship is as old as the country itself and should be renewed. it is up to oil companies to step up the great a conservation fund to protect and conserve the coast. the other oil-producing nations

have already said -- set this precedent. how ironic that the corporate home of bp takes 50% of revenue of the top from oil and gas profits. brazil, 60%. china, 75% put the federal government should take -- pales in comparison to these other countries. oil and gas companies pay far less to drill here and have fewer restrictions on restoring the land were destroyed. increasing rates by slight margin would produce billions of dollars of restoration funding. last year alone, while maintaining global competitive advantages, -- . fast tracking respond revenue sharing and an increase and will to payments, the gulf coast would finally have the funds necessary to start restoring the wetlands and unable another generation to benefit from our national -- natural resources. this is not a partisan issue

that divides us. our way of life depends on sustainable drilling. we must preserve and protect what it is that we have left. setident theodore roosevelt' the course when he wrote it is not what we have that will make is of great nation, it is the way in which we use it. it is time to stop exploiting our resources in a way that is economically hypocritical, environmentally ignorant and morally wrong. we all need the gulf of mexico. its resources, its food and recreation, its culture, now and forever. this is about preserving a way of life. now, we have come full circle. katrina and the bp oil catastrophe, two sides of the coin.

they're both man-made disasters. they both could've been avoided. they both brought the gulf coast -- the gulf coast to its knees. they both cost people their lives. they both have responsible parties ignoring their obligations to solve the problem. we can change. the legacy of katrina and the bp oil catastrophe will be defined by our actions now. new orleans is the best laboratory for change in the u.s. the restoration of our coast will show the world of the government, businesses and people acting in concert and protect the gulf coast and turn crisis into opportunity, frustration into motivation, tragedy into triumph. as we protect our coast, we will simultaneously protect all that they have built and hold dear inside our city and revitalize the urban landscape, create better schools, preventive care

clinics, housing opportunities and new economic initiatives to promote sustainable energy. we will do even better. imagine a new orleans that is the vanguard of a diversified and independent 21st century knowledge based economy creating thousands of jobs and billions in economic revenue. our children and grandchildren who work in the gulf will design turbines for hydroelectric power. there are new ways to restore tidal flow to restore estuaries and experiment with cutting edge ways to produce biofuel from algae. this moment will define the 21st century and we cannot afford to fail. the challenge has been laid before us. it will test our resolve.

the world is watching to see if america can still do great and things. we have faced challenges and have overcome. our will has been tested again and again and if god is willing, and the creek does not rise, we will find a way or we will make one. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to come up and address the national press club. we have no shortage of questions for you. some of them deal with reports of state tourism. what is the status of tourism in your city and have you seen any drop-off since the bp oil spill?

>> thank you very much. i appreciate so much being invited to be with you. a couple of comments. to put into context, post september 11, because new orleans is a tourism economy, the tourism industry dropped dramatically. it got back up to full speed, then the trend ahead and it went to the bottom. it was just getting back to where it needed to be before the bp oil spill. regionally because the with the storm came in from the trinity, much of the infrastructure for tourism is not damaged but a lot of people did not book conventions. you book them three or four or five years out. all of the pictures on television, cnn, the whole 9 yards, made people think that treat board was still under water for a long period of time. it is in the north part of the state and never got hit by the

storm. hence the power of television. what happened after the oil spill is a lot of people stopped traveling and there are many people who stopped booking conventions. on the national level because of what you saw in florida and mississippi, many people and businesses were hurt badly. we are in the process of identifying what that was. we expect at this point to have numbers next year that reflect tourism went down between 12% and 16%. that is as close as we can get now. we will not know exactly until next year. we are tracking them carefully. having said that, it is important for the country to know as president obama show this, the seafood is safe, and edible and you can have a wonderful time anywhere on the gulf coast today and you should come down and enjoy yourself. >> in general, how badly has the bp will spill affected the economy of new orleans? >> when i speak about new

orleans, i want to speak carefully about the parish is better south of new orleans. the city is a coastal city. some of you live in coastal cities although you did not know it yet. as a reiterated during the speech, if an oyster bed is closed, because the water is closed, the person who harvests those oysters cannot bring them to a dock. if the dock is not open, the trucker who comes to get them cannot get them. they cannot go to the processing plant and deliver oysters to the 86 restaurants, commander's palace, etc., the restaurant closes, the waiters and waitresses can work. simultaneously the fundamental issue of real or not drill, the families that work in this economic change the oil and fish at the same time.

the consequence has been dramatic and a double win a. that is why the senator and governor all feel like they have been pushing hard to identify specific ways of how to drill safely and to fish at the same time. the consequences are dramatic. ken feinberg will take over the claims process on monday and you will begin to see the direct effect of how long this really is. it lasted very long time. as i said in the speech, this is not the beginning of the end, the beginning of the beginning. >> when we connect the meeting with president obama and what issues will you raise regarding the drilling moratorium? >> now that the president has announced he is coming to new orleans, we are thrilled by that. as i said during the speech, president obama and his entire top levels that and the entire federal government has been fantastic.

he and i have a difference about the moratorium. everybody in louisiana supports the concept that you should deal with that with a scalpel, not a hammer. we believe you can get back to drilling safely put it is critically important for the rest of the country to know they can be done safely and we believe that it >> i will continue to ask can to work with us. we will discuss the moratorium issue when he is there. >> this questionnaire takes note of the delicious gulf coast trip served at the national press club today. but we appreciate that comment. how safe is seafood from the gulf? >> first of all, the shrimp was great.

we have a number of proprietress that serve louisiana seafood. the seafood is safe. it is the most tested seafood in the world. ironically, people are imported from other places that do not have seafood testing at all. that is why we continue to push on bp to fund a very robust testing program because notwithstanding how many times you say it, you have to prove it over and over again. if you do not have a complete and total base line, people will not believe you. hence the power of marketing. government cannot compete with what you put in your paper and on your video streams. if you open up every show with a picture of the oil bubbling out of the gulf, that is what people see and hear. seafood testing, financing it and having a robust testing

program on a federal, state and local level is critically important and marketing is important. the seafood is safe and edible and warrants is a wonderful place to come and visit. -- and new orleans is a wonderful place to come and visit. >> we have questions about political relations in louisiana. given your resistance to government aid and intervention, how does that affect new orleans? >> [laughter] >> are you serious? [laughter] >> i served as lieutenant governor and we have a wonderful working relationship, but we do not think alike in every issue. we have talked a lot about when we disagree, we are hard on the problem and soft on the person. i have a strenuous disagreement with the governor and his unwillingness to receive funds for high-speed rail.

i felt that was a mistake. i also thought it was a mistake not to create stimulus' dollars. i think it was a good idea to pass it. second, i want more of it. not less. as mayor of the city of new orleans, we are concerned about the relationship with washington d.c.. as you can see, there are policy situations when governors do not agree. this is a major issue for mayors across the country. you can understand how it complicates matters if the governor wants or does not want and the mayor feels differently. it is an interesting dance that you have to do. as far as the state is concerned, that may be true, but as far as the city is concerned,

we love the fact that the government is beginning to invest in new orleans. at the country has to stop seeing this as an individual entity that does not have anything to do with the entire body of politics. cities are not competitive with each other. they compete with china and india and other places. when you stop seeing new orleans as a place to visit and hide a little bit, this is an enormous engine. the rest of the international community sees this as well. for those of us that travel internationally, you have heard people that are our friends and allies. i want you to think about that. has an impact on our moral authority to speak across national and international issues as well. infrastructure projects, a major

funding issues to help cities stand up always make american strong. >> given that you are a two- time lieutenant governor and mayor of the state's largest city, at any point would you have any interest in being governor? [laughter] >> i love my job. i just got here for goodness sakes. [laughter] >> if oil pipelines are such a large reason for coastal degradation, wine is the louisiana political establishment so supportive of oil companies? what's that is an excellent point. -- >> that is an excellent point. this is hard for the nation to understand. it is not just us. as i said in my speech, all of us are guilty in terms of how we have taken resources out of the ground and not restore the

ground. a lot of it has to do with being able to eat. not having the wisdom and restraint to say that you can drill, but you have to restore. over the years, we have gotten better at food regulation and every kind of regulation that has been in the book. so, too, have we gotten to the point that it has become family obvious that if you continue to degrade the land and not restore it, then you are on an unsustainable path to move forward. we have to change course on the federal side and on the state side and on the local side. by the way, national environmental groups, in my opinion, have skirted past louisiana because they say that we deserve what we got. does not work anymore. we have to change. the good part is that this

happens all over the world. to the extent that we are in imminent and -- in an international market, we cannot require all companies to drill and restore. until we find a new way, we do not have much choice because fossil fuels provide most of what we do now. again, we cannot get into these zero sum game of drill, they drill. -- baby drill. >> some urban planners say that some areas of the city are so under a sea level that they should not be rebuilt. is there too much risk in rebuilding those neighborhoods? >> i hate to tell you all this, because people think that you get your gas from the pond, but we are not the only ones that live under sea level in this country we hiller -- we hear

that argument all the time it is interesting to us that people start off with that. in the netherlands, if you actually look at most of the studies that are done and you ask which cities in total almost war will to storms, miami gets right up there. new york is right next to it. we are actually sit. we do not want to invite the debate about everything below sea level does not have the right to be there, because we know the answer. from that perspective, is it possible to design a protection system that actually protects culturally significant places in america. shame on us if we cannot do that. we should. we think that question should be

taken in a fairly matured of way. ive way.ity not a congressman or senator from anyplace else stood up and said that you should not rebuild those condos on the beaches of florida. it is a curious question to us if i might be a little defensive. go ahead, girl. [laughter] [applause] the answer to the question is this. to protect our own selfish national security and energy concerns, you will rebuild the coast and did you rebuild the coast, the new satisfy your own selfish concerns by making the mississippi were the right way, which is why it is there. it is why thomas jefferson

bought the joint, as we say. if we do those two things and make the levees the way we are supposed to make them and design and we are supposed to design them and engineered in the way we were supposed to engineer them and we do our job, the new orleans is as safe as any place in the world. i do not know if i have said this or not, but new orleans is a wonderful place to visit. >> how would you grade the corps of engineers efforts to rebuild and improve the levy is since katrina? is there more that they should be doing? >> this is an excellent question. i want to answer it in two dimensions. it is important to mention that the corps of engineers is a military organization. as such, they will only answer the question that is asked of them. so, the commander in chief,

whoever they might be, you have to ask how much it will cost to build back love is -- levies, they will not answer the question. they answered that question and after a lot of tugging and yelling and screaming and bureaucratic inertia, they finally got up and got on it and did a really good job of fortifying the levees in and around new orleans consistent with what was funded. is that a fair statement? all right. now, it is not fair to say that the city of new orleans and the levees that protect this country are sufficient to protect us from what we already know is coming our way. let's be clear about this. for whatever reason, and everybody has their own story about why this is happening, the storms are coming more frequently. they are moving slower. they are bigger and they are

more vicious. it is more likely than not been more -- that more category five storms are coming. the country has done its job in providing the resources necessary for the court to execute what it is that they should have been asked, which is what is it going to take, how much money will it cost to build category five level protection, including rebuilding the coast and getting the levies to the height that they need to ?e and the until we do that, new orleans is not as protected as she should be. >> what do you need to do to facilitate bringing more people back to new orleans? >> well, there was a young man here from utah and i was telling him how much i really loved

utah. when you look at all of the statistics, they are fabulous. if you want to live a really long live, go to utah. if you one good health statistics, go to utah. the way you start is an important point. norland is starting in a difficult place. -- new orleans is starting in a difficult place. the issue is safety. that is the most important issue. we just talked about security about man-made and natural disasters. rebuilding the coast, fortifying the levees, making the building codes ride. but citizens feeling safe is incredibly important. we have two wonderful people here that have joined us today that have been helping us a lot with that. a police department in new orleans has lost its way.

it needs to get much better. we did a national search for a great police chief. we found a kid from new orleans who have left -- who had left and then went to nashville and he brought it home and he has helped us completely reorganize the police department. we are very aware that you cannot rest your way out of the complicated problems that are happening on the streets of american cities. at the rate of violence and the culture of death is unnatural. we act as if this is something that we need to except, but that has not always been that way. we need after-school programs. it is critical to making sure that the city of new orleans is safe. if we can do those two things, people will flock to the city of new orleans because it is a glorious place.

it is one of the great places that the world has to offer. there is no other place that has an authentic and unique culture that celebrates the joy of life, food, fun, family, faith and country of what one time. it needs to be rebuilt. >> can you update us on the federal review of the new orleans police department and one can perform without federal intervention? >> yes, i can. you do not always get to choose what you inherit. i think all of you have seen a lot of the reports about the activity in and out of the police department. i think that the justice department was coming in any

way. -- anyway. [laughter] at least they thought they were. [laughter] and the conflict that faced me was if you push that back. i am in the mayor and i do not want anybody tell me how to do my business, or do you take a real hard look at what it is an speak the truth. you have heard me say this a lot of times. i gave this speech a couple of weeks ago about eyes wide open. smart and reasonable people will do what is necessary to get out of harm's way. it is time for new orleans to see that. we have so many wonderful things that we can brag about. i made a determination that it would be far better to invite the justice department into a partnership with me and put the

full weight of the mayor's office behind this initiative rather than have a hall style notion. -- a hostile motion. i talk to mayor bloomberg and the mayor of pittsburgh who has worked on this. i talk to folks in los angeles that were there when this happened and they advised me that it is much better if the mayor really supports an incredible partnership because you can get so much more done. i had a great conversation with the attorney general and we agreed that we would fix that the apartment because if we did not do it together, we did not think it would get done. so far, the department of justice has been in new orleans every day and they are invested in the apartment -- the

department right now. they hired two new civilians to become deputy chiefs, one of which is about 4.3. she is the lawyer of the public integrity unit. i have ordered the inspector general and the police monitor into the department and ordered the chief to give them every document that they had been seeking for the past two or three years. that is the only way that you are 26 this department. there are some wonderful men and women that work there, but the department has lost its way. if you are a lawyer and you stand before a lawyer -- a judge and ask if they would give any credence to a police officer's testimony and they say no, that is when you know that you have a problem. this is one thing that i am certain is one to happen during the next couple of years. i am very appreciative of the

work and leave it is one of our first priorities. -- and believe it is one of our first priorities. i gave you some talking points, but we have 12 million more dollars in cuts that we have to make. we have come in with a hole in the budget. that is a big hole. in terms of size and scale. i know that those of you who cover national stories, you see big numbers in california and new york, and is all relative. our budget is around $460 million. if you have to cut that every year, you have to double. new orleans, white most other subdivisions, they have a

balanced budget amendment so you cannot move it into next year. you might be able to find a couple of things, but you have to look at the numbers for if we were forced -- look at the numbers. this has forced me to order 14 furlough days for city employees. it is a 10% pay cut for employees that do not make a significant amount of money. one thing that we have to do that we thought would not hurt public service so much is the usage of overtime, which evidently is used in a lot of creative ways in municipal governments these days. we think that by organizing how the police department and fire department uses over time, and we triage when people come to work and when they do not, weekend have better management practices.

-- we can have better management practices. fox were getting way too much money for the service that they were delivering and we have saved significant money while we were doing that. we think that we kind of dog stable of and it hurts when you make those kind of dramatic cuts. we will continue to do that. >> we are almost out of time. thank you again for taking the time to speak with us. before we ask the last question, and there will be a final question, we have a couple of matters to take care of. first, i would like to remind our members and guests of future speakers. our guest will address the extraordinary challenges of the first 20 months of the obama administration. on september 13, rev. david

beckman will discuss eliminating hunger. on september 30, we will have a senator john corning and center robert menendez talking about elections. second, i would like to present our guest with the traditional and coveted national press club mug.e [applause] >> now, for our final question. he made a couple of references to it a big national story in the past couple of days and it is probably one of the biggest threats to new orleans this year. i am speaking of minnesota vikings quarterback brett favor. -- brent favre. he has announced that he is not retiring, again.

he will be lining up as center against the new orleans saints. my completely unbiased question would be how the saints will handle the rebidding offense and a dominating defense of the minnesota vikings on september -- in the rematch in september? >> i will answer that question with a question. is he really want to show up and play? [laughter] [applause] secondly, i will simply say 24- 3. >> thank you for that. thank you for coming today. [applause]

>> we would also like to think the national press club's staff, including broadcast operations centers. and once again, a shout out for the gulf coast trip. for more information about joining the national press club and how to acquire a copy of today's program, please go to our web site at www.press.org. thank you once again to the mayor, to the center, and this meeting of the national press club is adjourned. >> throughout this week,

"washington journal" in taking a look at the impact of financial regulations. you can see these online at our video library. live, tomorrow, preventing a future crisis. that is at 9:15 a.m. eastern here on c-span. tomorrow, admiral that allen will speak on the gulf oil spill and answer questions about the impact of the spill, the team's response and what tasks remain. this is friday, starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern here on c- span. china ratified a u.n. protocol last year that attempts to reduce human trafficking. tomorrow, a commission made up of members of congress and executive-branch officials look at how the chinese government has followed through on the initiative. this is live friday on c-span2

in at 10:00 a.m. eastern. -- starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern. >> on c-span2, we will hear from the development secretary who testified before the british iraq war enquiry earlier this year. that is at 5:15 p.m. eastern here on c-span2. >> one of the things i regret about political and rhetorical life in washington is that every major figure from the president on down is merely reading what somebody else in some committee has produced. >> philip terzian wrote speeches and about presidents and architects of power and his literary editor of "the weekly standard." he will share his insights on c-

span is "q&a." >> and now, to a briefing on teenage attitudes toward drug use. we will hear the results of a survey on the subject by experts. this is just over 30 minutes. guest: [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> good morning, this 15th annual back-to-school survey continues the need effort of the national center of addiction and

substance abuse at columbus university, properly -- popularly known as casa, to talk to teenagers and parents. through the survey, we have an benefactors that increase or decrease the likelihood that a teenager will the blues -- abuse substances, smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs. armed with this knowledge, we believe parents, teachers, clergy, coaches come other responsible adults, are better able to help our children grow up and drug free. we regard this as a work in progress ase try each year to identify those situations and characteristics that influences that they willaens drink, smoke, were abused drugs. over the past 16 years, we have

surveyed thousands of american teenagers and their parents. we have learned how teenagers' attitudes d how their parents attitude impacts teenager behavior. we ask questions such as, if you wanted to buy marijuana right now, how fast could you get it? how many parties that you go to it is alcoholr drugs available? through those questions, we gain insight into american teenager culture. perhaps the most important finding from surveying so many teenagers and from other researchers at casa is this, a child that reaches age 21 without smoking, abusing all the hall, without using illegal drugs, is virtually certain to be home free for the rest of his or her life. and for better or worse, no one has greater power to influence a

teen-ager's decision whether to drink or use drugs, to cose not to use, and then that teenagers' parents. this year, we conducted two nationally representative surveys. the first time, we did one over the internet. as we have done in past years, we did the other one by telephone bill to create the internet service temple has -- was generated using address- based gambling which is likely to pick up individuals in cell phone-only household. in the telephone survey, we asked trend questions. questions that we have used to measure trends over time. for the first time this year, we asked teens about gangs in their schools. we sout to assess the relationship of gangs in schools to the presence of drugs in

schools, and the use of drugs by studts in schools where there are gangs. the results are deeply troubling. our nation's public schools are riddled with gangs and drugs, and schools where there are gangs are likely to be schools where there are drugs. six out of 10 schools with gangs or drug-infected, meaning drugs are kept, use, or sold on school grounds, compared to three of of 10 without gangs. 27% of public-school students 12 to 17-year-old public sdents report that their school this drug and gang-infected. that means 5.7 students -- 5.7

million public students go to school eveday where they face the menace of gangs and where drugs are sold and available. the consequences are enough to terror find any parent with a child in a drug-infected school. if you want to know one of the reasons why so many public schools are failing our children, consider the difference our survey reveals between public schools and private and religious schools. 46% of teenagers in public schools say there are gangs at their schools, compared to only 2% of teenagers at private and religious schools. think about this. compared to private and religious schools, 23 times likelier to be gang-infected. the telephone survey reveals that drug-free school gap

between public and private and religious schools is up sharply from its narrowest point in a decade. in the 2001 casa back-to-school survey, 62% of public-school students, 79% of private and religious school students said they attended drug-free schools. in this year's survey, 43% of public-school students and 70% of private and religious school students say they attend drug- free schools. why the drug-free school caps from 17.235? -- 17 points to 35? sending a 12 year old to 17- year-old to a school with drugs and hoping that he or she will

not smoke, drink, or use drugs, it is like handing the child a chichi before the test in asking them not to use it. or serving cheeseburgers and fries and ice cream and asking them not to take a bite. [inaudible] i assure you, adults face the most disturbing finding about our criminal fines is that the

percent of children in drug- affected mills schools, usually kids 12, 13 or younger is up sharply, placing our youngest teenagers and pre-enagers in the environment where drinking and drugs are common is the chance and count abuse. since we know the earlier town begins to smoke, drink, use drugs, the likelihood of that child to become addicted to ruin their lives. the steady increase in the number of 12-year-old to 17- year-old attending these types of schools is a tragedy. state require parents to send their children to school. in some states, this is a crime if parents fail to do so. these states have an obligation to provide safe and drug-free schools. let us think about this.

if there is asbestos in a school, parents raise hell, will not send their child there until the dust is removed from the ceilings and walls, but they are sending them to drug and gang- infested school day after day. the parents have got to raise hell about this problem and tell schools that we are not going to subject our kids to bed until you get it squared away. the combination of drugs and gangs in school is a malignant cancer that must be in the eliminated if we are to improve public education in our nation. requiring parents to send 12 to 17-year-old kids to school is an outrageous use of government power and a mandate that no parent should be forced to respect. when parents find their child is attending a drug-infected school

with gangs in it, the parents have a right to demand school authorities get their act together before requiring those parents to send their child there. for ther, we've begun first time, an effort to measure the impact of the bond between parent and teenagers, what we call family ties, related to substance abuse. we found teenagers with strong family ties are far less likely to smoke, drink, used marijuana, far less likely to move within circles of friends who smoke, drink, the abuse illegal and prescription drugs. before i go to the power point, i want to express appreciation to steve widener, the president of the company administering the survey, especially for his insightful work in looking at all the data. on casa staff, emily feinstein,

steve widener, working to analyze the data. let me go to the power point and then i will take your questions. this is our 15th survey. we have a group of survey advisors, an extraordinary experts in the field of surveying, and we have them review our survey and results every year as well as the report the right. -- we write. the telephone survey was the trends survey, about 1000 teenagers. the knowledge network survey was the internet 1, cellphone-only homes. that was half again about 1000 teenagers. and then about 5000 parents of

those teenagers. every year, we ask them what their top concern is. they can say whatever they want. every year, and drugs is their number-one concern. close behind is social pressures, including the pressure to trim, used dgs. drugs is clearly the number one problem for our teenagers. gangs and drugs in schools. what happened here was come every year before we do the survey, we do focus groups. we want to be sure the question we ask are the questions the kids will hear. ng which can change quickly. in the focus group in nashville, kids raised questions and discussion about drugs. i was in providence, rhode island doing a presentation on my book on how to raise a drug-

free kid before a group of several hundred public school parents, and the decaying question was repeatedly asked. this year, we decide to ask questions about it for the first time. here is what we found. about half of high school students, one-third of middle school students say that there are gangs in their schools. as you can see, schools that have gangs are twice as likely to be drug-infected, schools where drugs are used, kept, sold, compared to schools with no drugs. this is the difference between public and private schools. 46% of public-school kids say there are gangs in their schools. 2% of private and religious school, combined we do not have enough to brea them out

separately. 47% of public-school kids say there are drugs in their schools compared to only 6% of private and religious school. this is one of the headlines in the survey. more than a quarter of public school students, 5.7illion, attend schools tt are drug and gang infected. here is the impact of that. the blue bar, drug-free schools th no gangs. yellow is drug infected but no gangs. rennet is drug infected with gangs. as you can see with respect to usage, it is much higher in schools where there are both gangs and drugs. for example, five times likelier to smoke pot, 10 times likely to smoke, three or four times more

likely to drink alcohol. their ability to get marijuana. every year, we ask their ability how fast they can get marijuana. in the past, we have been asking how fast can you buy them? now we are asking, how fast can you get them? as you can see, in a school with gangs and drugs, 42% within one day, 16% within one hour or less. what are the kids like? what are their friends like? look at this. in a school with gangs and drugs, someone is likely to have a friend to drink regularly, smoke pot, abuse progression -- prescription drugs, and to have a classmate

to use drugs like cocne, heroin, math, ecstasy. 5 tons likely -- five times more likely than in a drug and gang infected school. this is the trend i mentioned. we had that blood in 2002, but basically, the spread has been roughly the same from 2003 through 2009. then we have the sharp difference where only 43% of public-school students said their school was drug-free. 70% of private and parochial school students and theirchool was drug-free. this is a middle school mess, but it is also affecting 12, 13- year-old children and younger.

although the survey goes down to just 12, 13-year-old. i should mention here -- i should have mentioned in earlier. whenever you are asking questions to kids about prescribed conduct, you or gore to get lower levels of involvement than you otherwise would. research shows that consistently. so all levels of prescribed conduct will be lower than the reality. secondly, because we get federal money, we have to follow tm, we have to get parental consent before we question kids. that will also tend to get your kids who are likely to be less involved. here, there is a significant increase of 232% in 2010, middle

schools where drugs are kept, used, sold again, what is the impact on these teenagers? look up the difference. the most dramatic is with respect to marijuana. not 112, 13-year-old survey in drug-free school said he smoked marijuana, compared to 10% of the 12, 13-year-old survey where drugs were kept, used, or sold. and their ability to get alcol. 40% can get all the hall in -- alcohol and one day or less. 20% in one hour or less. marijuana, remarkable. a quarter of our 12, 13-year-old where they are availle can die within -- buy within one hour.

2%. you can see the big difference in the friends that these kids have. a much larger group of friends who use marijuana, at a much larger group of friends in these middle schools who drink regularly. a much larger group who abuse prescription drugs. in these schools, incidentally, from other research, prescription drugs most likely to be abused our aderol and d ridalyn. almost four out of 10 of them in drug infected schools have

friends and classmates who use drugs like cocaine, heroin. i mention family ties. tried this year to identify factors that give a measure of a bond, strength of a family. here, we took several characteristics. we asked the kids what is your relationship with your mother, your relationship with your father, we asked them if their parents argued in front of them frequently, how often, if they thought their parents were good at listening to them, if they went to religious services with their parents at least once a month, if they had dinner five nights a week. we divided them up one-third, one-third, one-third.

strong, average, we ties. kids with strong family ties, the blue bar, average is yellow, week, the red part. again, the importance of family to raising drug-free kids and reducing the risk that they will smoke, drink, or use drugs. again, the impact on those kids and the kinds of friends that they will have, who they will be going around with. again, much less likely to have friends who drink regularly or smoke pot then kids with week family ties. -- weak family ties. we have always said to parents, know your teenager's friends.

this gave us some insight into how important that is. we asked kids, where do you get marijuana? three-fourths of them get it from a friend for a classmate. they are not going to some awful neighborhood or some guy in a trench coat or a dealer to buy their marijuana. they are buying it from someone sitting next to them in their classroom or during recess. and then one-third of those teenagers said that there person knows the person applying the marijuana for them. parent may not know that they are supplying the marijuana, but they know that friend of their son. it is important of parents to know them.

also, is a friend uses marijuana -- if a friend uses marijuana, theed bar, the percentage of kids who themselves are likely to do drugs, smoke pot, tobacco, you can see much higher. and again, if they have friends that are drinking, the increased likelihood that they themselves will be drinking, smoking, smoking pot. the point is, parents should get to know their friends, have them over, get to know them. if they think a lot of their friends are held their drinking every weekend, or smoking pot,

they better start worrying about whether their own child is smoking pot or drinking every weeken there were some other notable findings. we asked parents -- in juan island, new york, and along the connecticut coast, more communities are passing laws that make it a crime for parents to serve alcohol to underage kids, other than in their own home. we get lots of questions from parents, what do i do? my 16-year-old wants to go to a party where they are serving all gaul. not let them go, do i call? we asked them, would you support something in your community which would make it a crime for parents to serve under age kids? nine out of 10 parents said,

yes, they would. as many of you kw, certainly, parents in westchester and long island have gone to jail for doing this. it also reflects the tremendous concern parents have with drinking among their schools. alcohol is by far and away the most abused drugs by kids. this is the point about high schools. we now have a steady rise in the percentage of kidshat say drugs are used, kept, or sold at their school, now for a five- year period. for those that can get marijuana, how do you get in touch with the person you are going to buy it from? text messaging, cell phones have come to the mayor won a world. face-to-face.

14% on social networking sites. that is basically the way kids get it. we asked teenars whether the teenager is a note that drink, do drugs, are likely to engage in sex. three-quarters said yes. this was quite interesting. years ago, we learn from our surveys that kids whose first smoke was a joint, were much less likely to have a second one than those kids who were smoking and nicotine cigarettes. we noticed kid to have never tried tobacco, only 5% had tried marijuana, compared to 61% of kids who have tried tobacco.

this has been consistent every year. kids to go to religious services more frequently are much likely to smoke and use drugs. we're talking about teenagers 15 and 16 years old. they are not likely to be going to church without their parents, so does suggest some parental engagement. family dinners. again, we discovered in 1996, that family dinners were a protective factor. this has been consistent now for many years. more often kids have dinner with their parent the less likely they are to smoke, drink, or use drugs. that is why we created something called family day. it is a day to have dinner with your children. this is the 10th anniversary. it is always the fourth monday

in a september. we expect governors to proclaim this across the nation. it is like the great american smokeout. it is a reminder. this is an important tim and a convenient way to communicate, listen to your kids, and get to know them. i am happy to take questions. >> [inaudible] most of the kids are going to get marijuana from people they know, obviously. somebody has to manufacture this stuff and make the initial contact. not necessarily related to the survey, from your research as you have done in the past, this is being manufactured locally,

by the stereotype drug dealer that we see in south america? >> the federal government points out there is a lot of marijuana being grown in the country and theris a lot coming into the country. the point is, the marijuana that is now being grown, it is much stronger, 10 times stronger than the marijuana in the 1970's. it is a much different drug. the federal data shows that we have more teenagers in treatment for marijuana than for any other substance. i should note, probably any k in treatment for mayor won independence is all flow abuse and alcohol. -- marijuana dependence is

probably abusing alcohol. >> but i noticed you mentioned a second focus group consisting of high-school graduates 18-20- year olds. what more have you leaed about this second focus group? particularly those going to college or university? how would you compare drug and alcohol usage and the views currently with the recent past, how do the older teenagers compare with their younger student counterparts? >> the questions were about their activity in high school. in terms what is happening in college, we had a report comes out two years ago on substance abuse on american llege campuses, which lays out in great detail the activities on college campuses. >> do you expect information

from two years ago would be equivalent to today? >> i do not think there have been many changes. you are talking about colleges? take a look at that report. i think it is probably pretty solid. it is on the website. >> would you equate toward is, sort is, education groups, with gangs? >> i have never been in a sword or fraternity or social group. i only went to a just what llege. -- jesuit colle. any other questions? ok, thank you all very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national ctioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009]

>> cc span networks covers politics, public affairs, nonfiction books and american history to it is available to you on