is live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c- >> president obama is in new orleans on monday. he will speak at xavier university. live coverage of the president's remarks tomorrow at 3:10 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> coming up, a couple of town hall meetings with republican representative phil gingrey of georgia followed by representative mike ross of arkansas. after that, and alaska senate republican primary debate between li's of rakowski and challenger joe miller. >> now, a town hall meeting with rep phil gingrey, a republican representing georgia's 11th district. he talks about health care, immigration, the budget and partisanship in washington. following his remarks, he takes

questions from local residents. this is about one hour 35 minutes. >> first of all, let me welcome all of you to our town hall meeting. as you know, this is a little bit unique. i have been doing town hall meetings for eight years now, this being my fourth term, but this is the first time ever that we have had the privilege of having c-span actually televise the entire town hall meeting. from the very start the -- from the opening remarks to the wonderful invocation that my good friend just offered and that overly kind introduction from center bill keefe. ultimately, what this is all about is me getting to your questions and trying to answer your concerns and it will be televised at some date in the

future. i think it will not be months and months, but i think it will be maybe weeks rather than months. we will try to let everyone in the community know so that you can tune in and watched that on c-span. when we are being televised like that, we tend to be a little cautious and careful about each and every word that we under and that sort of thing that -- that we other and that sort of thing. but let's not worry about that. we can exchange ideas and thoughts in the way that we normally do and i think, that way, we will get the most of this opportunity with this live home town town hall meeting. we also do telephone town hall meetings. maybe some of you have had the opportunity to be on those phone calls and participate in that

dialogue of q&a. i do not think that there is anything quite like a live town hall meeting and i am deeply appreciative of the full in the area for being here today. before we get started, i will make some opening remarks and i will tell you something that is special that we are doing for washington. in the republican minority party came up with this idea. it is a non-partisan deal. i want to take just a moment to thank all of the elected officials who are with us today. of course, you have already met your state senator. the city commissioner is here and jeff ellis is the city

manager. the chief of police is here in cedartown. eric mcdonald of the chamber of commerce is here. sandra galloway, the county commissioner and john a. barrett, a city commissioner. please recognize yourself at this time so that we can express our appreciation for you being here. thank you all very much. what i wanted to mention is about this program called america speaking out. some of you may have already familiarize yourself with this. we do have fliers that we will pass out.

you can pick one up on the way out. america speaking out website is www. americaspeakingout.com. had this feeling that maybe some people in this great nation of ours were really frustrated with washington. this is in regard to the approval rating of congress. the majority party and my minority party have approval ratings in the tank. people feel that this top-down approach of washington knowing everything and main street may be does not know as much. do i need this microphone? is that better? america speaking out gives us an

opportunity to get input from you. we will do that today in this live session. as i said at the outset, nothing is more viable than that. the website give you an opportunity, americaspeakingout.com, to log on and see what other people are thinking. some of the ideas that have been suggested for a contract with america. that would be a little redundant going back to 1994, but going through this august recess, we will be in our districts, all 435 members of the house, for the next four weeks. we will be doing town hall meetings and trying to get as much information's as we can.

not just from my republican party, but also from independents and democrats. those ideas can be posted on this website. we will then develop a pledge to america in going forward into the 111th congress in january. we will make sure we get this country back on the right track and do what the people want us to do, not what the folks in washington think you want us to do. what i want to describe to you in a slide presentation is this program called america speaking out. we will go ahead and show you a video clip and then we have a power point presentation and that will be fairly brief. john, let's go ahead and get

that started. >> i am what bishop, representing utah's first district. a year ago, americans across the country began speaking out and some of those clips on the internet say that congressman did not like what their constituents have to say. politicians should not hide it from constituents. they should know what matters to the people and they should openly to their business. unfortunately, the current congressional schedule makes it far too easy to hide. here is what i am proposing. first, members in d.c. and the district need to do their job well. right now, that has not happened. the house averages about three days per working week nbc and the rest is traveling back and forth. this would give more quality time in both places.

particularly with the constituents and with the cost of government travel, it would cut in half. members should be present in hearings and on the floor so they can hear debates and make informed decisions. with members expected to be present at each to participate. everything is jumbled together and it forces members to miss a lot. a simple time reform would allow them to be available to you. please share your thoughts right here on americaspeakingout.com to make your members of congress more accountable to you. >> and that is just one excellent idea that my colleague from yukon, who i happen to go into congress with in 2003, i think it is a fantastic idea. we are in washington all lot. we go back and forth every week

, and someone like robert bishop from utah, is a much heavier list to do that than someone like phil gingrey from atlanta. it is much easier for me. we waste so much time in washington. i can see some heads nodding already. you know that we do. there is a lot of that travel time and we would get up there on monday night or tuesday morning and work real hard on tuesday, wednesday and thursday and rushed to the airport and fly home to -- and rushed to the airport -- rush to the airport. we will then work in the district on monday, but what he was talking about is just staying in washington and some have even suggested staying up there not two weeks that time,

but maybe even three and then come home for two. that would be a lot better and we would get a lot more done and the a lot more efficient and cut down on a lot of travel expense. as you know, we were called back to washington since we came home for this august recess and every member that could possibly get back have to go back and lord knows what the expense for that was. this is the kind of thing that we are talking about in regard to america speaking out ideas. we want to hear from you, the people and not just 435 members of the house of representatives. john, let's go ahead and go with the powerpoint. i am going to go through this pretty quickly. i do not know if anybody can see this too well. i am standing very close to the

screen and i cannot see it that well. when you go to that website, americaspeakingout.com, the first page gives you the opportunity to understand how it works. select a category. no. 2, submit an idea. .ote on other people's ideas either thumbs-up or thumbs down whether you like it or do not like it. no. 4 is submit your own idea or request. the last one is a little gimmicky. quite honestly, the more times you go to americaspeakingout.com and the more times that you input your thoughts, either to comment on

somebody else's suggestions or to input one of your own, then you earn points. the people that earn the most points would be a star scout and a light scout and then finally a eagle scout. the idea is to encourage people to go to the website often. the more ideas that we did it and if we compile those to present to the american people, sometime after labor day, the focus will be on what you want and not necessarily what the democratic leadership for the republican leadership will happen to think is the best idea of the day. some of the categories of suggestions -- john, if you'll tell me those and i will repeat them. >> american prosperity. >> american prosperity. this has to do with fiscal

responsibility that people are concerned about in regard to the economy. we have an almost 11% unemployment rate here in northwest georgia. it is about the same for the rest of the country. 16 million people are out of work. we are getting plenty of suggestions under the first two categories. this also includes government spending. what ideas you may have in regards to how we can lower government spending and have a balanced budget and maybe even a balanced budget amendment that is required by the constitution's of almost every state in this union, including our own state of georgia. we need to do something about a $13 trillion national debt.

our national debt is almost 100% of our gross domestic product. we read all the time about the european union that is virtually bankrupt. i think that we are becoming economically like greece. folks are concerned, as they should be. they are concerned about fiscal responsibility for lack of the same. american values is the third choice. there are a lot of things under that category. it is an example of how you feel about the defense of marriage act. what are your thoughts about the decision that the federal judge recently made in regards to the issue in california where a californian-a group of californians still fairly strongly for a traditional

marriage definition and a federal judge has set that aside. what are your feelings about the idea of the federal government and the new health care reform, the possibility at least, of allowing your talks -- your tax dollars being allowed to pay for elective abortions. that is a huge concern as we were debating the merits of this bill and trying to amend it in certain committees. there is a democratic member that is retiring this year. he is from michigan. he is a fine gentleman who stood very strongly for the sanctity of life and insisted, as the house version of health care reform was being developed, of

insisting that the speaker of the house allow him and 40 members of the democratic majority to have an amendment to the bill that passed committee. it would absolutely assure that we continued the tradition of not allowing taxpayer dollars. a lot of people would not be ok with that. i think the congressman for submitting that amendment which did pass in the house of representatives. when that bill was passed in the senate, it was different and when it meant to the conference committee, essentially, stupack's d to p

amendment was taken out of the bill. we felt that was not going to assure us that your tax dollars would not be spent on elective abortions. these are the kind of the issues that you may want to have some input. the fourth item is national security. goodness gracious, as we picked up the newspaper every day or watch the news, what ever your favorite news source might be i know that on sunday, i believe that was on to "meet the press," they were in afghanistan interviewing the general.

he is the combat and command and a four-star general. not only of the united states troops, but international security assistance for switches nato. all of the other countries that have a commitment as well as we do. not to the level that we do, but the general is in charge of all of that. there was a special hour of discussion about the situation in afghanistan and what we need to do going forward. this has been a nine-year venture and the american people are getting weary and getting tired. if you feel as i do, if we are in it, we are in it to win it. i want to hear from you on that issue. it is very important that you let us know how you feel about that. the last choice was basically an

open microphone selection about what you have in mind in regards to what you want congress to do as we go forward. it may not necessarily fit under any of these first four or even neatly into those boxes, but that is sort of what you see when you go to america speaking out, americaspeakingout.com. let's look at the next slide. select a category, suggest an idea, vote on somebody else's idea, off four down, you like it or you do not like. put in your own idea-you like it or you do not like it. -- you like it or you do not like it. but in your own idea.

you will give your name and your rank in your serial number. you can't earn bonus points and get up to eagle scout if you come to the site often enough. john, let's go to the next one. since i cannot read that, i know that you can't. we will skip that. we will see if there is something else. that is what i was talking about in regard to earning points. as you go back, you can see where you have accumulated these points and we know that you have been talking to us and you have been submitting ideas and you are an active participant. the next slide. that is fine, john. we can go ahead and stop that, now. it is a good time for me to take a little water break.

let me just say that there are a lot of things that i am concerned about. i think there are a lot of things that you and other folks across this country have great concerns about. we mentioned some of these categories americaspeakingout.com. i truly believe that it all starts with the concern about our economic situation. not only are we not gaining jobs, but we are losing jobs and that unemployment rate, as i say, in northwest georgia is approaching 11%. some 16 million people are out of work. despite the fact that in february 2009, we borrowed a hundred $62 billion from china-

$862 billion from china. so far, we have not seen much success. all of that money has not been spent, but quite a lot of it has. quite a lot of it has gone to states and helped states balance their budgets. that has been somewhat helpful. there is no question about that. there have been certain projects right here in cedartown, as an example. even when all of that money is spent, 2000 and 11 -- 2011 is right around the corner. what happens when that money goes away and we still have not created private sector jobs. growing the economy through government jobs that are short term, kind of like census jobs, they go away. we still have a huge problem.

we will have a discussion about a double dip recession. i hope that this does not happen. but stay tuned, because, so far, it is pretty scary out there. talking about the national defence issue. we feel that the surge in iraq has been a success. the troops, at the end of august, in large measure, will be coming home. this is something that was negotiated with the sovereign nation of iraq. i think that we refer to that in military terms as a status of forces agreement. when you are in this nation, you are then there at their

invitation. at a snap of a finger, their parliament can't decide that they do not want to there. we can come home tomorrow if that happens. this agreement has been worked out and i think that we have been successful in iraq. it is not a perfect democracy as we know and enjoy here in the united states, but i feel that it has been a success, despite the fact that there will continue to be violence. we are not completely removing our troops. there will be those there to continue to respond. a special forces type troopers and also our men and women that are continuing to train iraqi defense force both military and. is becoming more challenging

there is corruption in the government's and the resurrection of the caliban. does that country, in the southern province, where the initial al qaeda training of the 9/11 terrorist occured, that is where we have huge challenges. i think we have the right person on the ground in our general. i think that obama made the correct decision in making that change. those of you that remember back when president truman made a similar decision in regards to korea, we can understand what

challenges the commander in chief has to protect the nation both internally and externally. the issue of immigration is one that i am sure we will have some discussion on today and i look forward to your questions regarding that. there are 16 million people out of work in this country and there may be 16 million illegal immigrants in this country, including about 450,000 in the state of georgia. we actually have more illegal immigrants in the state of georgia than they have in arizona. i bet that surprises you a little bit. we are the sixth highest state in the nation for the number of illegal immigrants. there has been some discussion i have been honored and pleased to have the opportunity to appear on msnbc, cnn and fox news

recently about the policy that has existed for some time in our country to say that if you are born in the united states, even if your parents are illegal immigrants, even if they slipped in through the southern border for the sole purpose of may be having a child born in this country, a sort of an anchor with automatic citizenship, it would entitle all of them, parents and child, to what ever this great country has to offer in regards to temporary assistance to needy families.

medicaid health care coverage, health care in our emergency rooms despite whether or not someone is here legally or not, education in our public school systems, i can go on and on. that policy is really a misinterpretation. i want to hear from you on the 14th amendment. the 14th amendment was passed when? it was ratified by the states in 1868, shortly after the 13th amendment. it was a couple of years before the 15th amendment. the 13th amendment abolished slavery, thank god. the 15th amendment gave former slaves the right to vote. they were not property, they were people. with all rights of dignity and respect and liberty and freedom and the 14th amendment granted

them citizenship. citizenship for all former slaves. it had nothing to do with immigration. ever no immigration laws in 1868. our first -- there were no immigration laws in 1868. our first immigration laws in 1875. i think that congress should address this. we welcome legal immigrants. our parents and grandparents -- is about the rules law. it is about what this country can afford to do and what is right. i hope that there will be some questions in regard to that. i promised to that take up all the time, but i wanted to make those remarks to you concerning several issues.

now, it is time to turn it over to we the people. i am going to introduce, real butkly, i won't name names, you can see them. andrew has a microphone in the back and janet is our district director has a microphone. we will take you as you raise your hand and try to get to as many questions as we can. we are ready for the first question. >> what we are going to do -- if you can turn the border around, these topics will be put on the america speaking out website. if you make a comment, please give us your name and they will summarize it and they will be writing that down for you. just raise your hand and we will come to you and we will go that

way. >> my name is david miller. it is an honor to be here with you. i am an immigrant. i have only been an american citizen for four years and this is the first time i have participated in something like this for it is a tremendous honor. i have lived in latin america almost all of my life. my parents were missionaries since i was 2 years old. i have been amazed, shocked and horrified at the number of illegal immigrants and that we have here. i just received a letter this morning from americans for legal immigration. this shows that 22 states have begun making a law trying to

back up what arizona is doing. georgia is not one of those. our neighbors are. alabama, florida, tennessee, and there are 22 in all. my question is, why is georgia off the radar in this case? >> david, thank you for your kind words and thank you for your question. georgia, as you know, is not in session. the general assembly's session begins in january and it is a 40 day session. some states actually have longer sessions and some states actually have to separate suggestions. in regard to your concern that georgia has not done anything, it does not mean that georgia of will not do anything nor does it

mean that georgia does not intend to do anything. your state senator is with us and this is something that maybe after we finished the town hall meeting, bill will be kind enough to stay around as i will and we will answer those questions individually in regards to what the general assembly members may have in mind for the return. the former congressman in washington representative nathan deal says that he would be very much in favor of legislation almost identical to the law that was supposed to go into effect july 29 in arizona before the

federal district judge, bulletin i believe it was, put a restraining order on that long going into affect. -- on that law going into affect. i would think that they would probably be in favor of what you appear to be in favor of. i want to make sure that everyone in the room understands that the arizona law is fine. i would be totally opposed to racial profiling, but to basically assist the federal government in doing their job in regard to securing our borders and making folks that are here illegally go home and come in the right way. come back on a temporary worker program or get in the line.

not push their way to the front. we would not like that very much on saturday night at the movie theater if somebody did that. let's have them do with the right way. as i understand the arizona law, it is saying to the federal government that if you do not have the manpower and you do not have the financial resources to enforce federal law, then we will be glad to be your deputy. we will be happy to assist you in doing that. there is a provision in federal law called 287-g. the sheriff in cobb county where i live said that they train their deputy sheriffs in regard to federal law and we will help you. it has been a tremendous help. thank you very much for your question, david. we will not go to the next question. >> my name is martha mitchell

and my question is along those general line spirit of what can washington do to encourage the obama administration to allow arizona to address their problem with illegal immigrants? in the federal government is just ignoring the problem. i think you for -- >> i thank you for your question. we need to be fair. at the federal government is not completely ignoring them. there have been a lot of deportations in the last couple of years. it does not keep up with the number of illegal immigrants that have been coming in on an annual basis. many are, and -- many are caught and immediately sent

back. on an annualized basis, the number has been about 400,000 a year. when president reagan passed in the amnesty bill back in 1986, i believe there were 4 million immigrants that were granted amnesty. unfortunately, not much was done to secure the border, so 400,000 times 24 years leads you to about 24 million. the immigration and customs enforcement department is doing a good job with the resources that they have. they just cannot keep up with

it. we passed a bill only went back to washington that would put an additional 5000 boots on the ground on the southern border and spend more on unmanned aerial vehicles to patrol parts of the border where you literally camped there it is not practical to put up a fence. -- literally can't. it is at not practical to put up a fence. i was a proud co-sponsor of that. there are some things that are being done, but not enough. we put a man on the moon when we have to do it in about seven years because but seven years. because we have the determination and willpower. -- we put a man on the moon when we had to do it in about seven years.

because we had the determination and willpower. we have to do more. >> my name is joseph johnson. being a perspective medical student who is pro-life, one of my chief concerns has to do with the reversal that the obama administration is currently pursuing. can you shed some light on where we currently stand with this issue and what the prognosis is? >> thank you for your question. having practiced medicine for 31 years, 26 as an ob/gyn specialist, i do not know how many children i delivered, and i commend you and wish you the very best and i would love to sit down and talk to you about the future of medicine. not just that issue, the conscience clause that you brought up, but the effects of

patient protection and the act of 2010 as it flew matures if we allow it to fully mature in 2014 or 2016. there are so many provisions in that bill that calls me a lot of heartburn -- that cost me a lot of heartburn. -- cause me a lot of heartburn. if a pharmacist does not want to prescribe a drug that causes and abortion, a so-called medical abortion rather than a surgical procedure, but it accomplishes the same thing. it aborts an unwanted pregnancy. in fact, not only is it a safety of life issue, but it is dangerous.

-- a sanctity of life issue, but it is dangerous. many pharmacists, in good conscience, hear 24 have been allowed to say that they were not going to prescribe that drug. it is available at another pharmacy that is only two blocks from here. the pharmacist is going to release me in six hours, and will be on duty for the next 12. i know that he does filled prescriptions and you can come back-fill those prescriptions, and you can come back. we do not need a reprisal because some -- because of something they are doing out of conscience.

i really appreciate that question. >> can i just say that i told the young man that he was right. i am in my teacher mode today and state employees have gone into furlough days and that hurts. what i am not saying -- seeing is that our congressional leaders are not doing the same thing. i think that you make a lot more money than i do and i would like to see congress and the senate take a furlough day. >> i am waiting for the applause. [applause] >> i knew it was coming and i did not want to stomp on the applause because i knew it was coming. absolutely, not only congress, because you are only talking about 435 people, but how about

the several million federal employees. governors across 49 other states, almost all of which have a constitutional requirement to balance their budget, have had to do this. with these kind of unemployment numbers, the revenue is just not there. whether it is income tax or sales taxes or fees, it is just not there. it has been a tough several years, not only for the state of georgia but for the country. when teachers are asked to take furlough days, as they have them, and we all know that we have never paid our teachers

adequately for what they do for our young people and for the future of this nation, the federal employees should gladly do the same thing. in regard to the decision about furlough days, that would be a decision for the leadership of the house of representatives and the senate would have to make. of course, i am talking about the speaker of the house and the majority leader of the senate. i think it is an excellent idea. i hope he will go to americaspeakingout.com. if it is not already in there, you put it in and i bet she will get plenty of thumbs-up. by the way, i want you to know that i have always voted to

exclude members of the house of representatives from the automatic pay raise the other federal employees get each year based on the cost of living. i am proud to say that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle voted with me the last couple of years. our salary has been basically frozen in congress. i think that what you are talking about is taking it a step further and let us feel the same pain that main street is feeling and that the heartland is feeling. absolutely. >> i came over here to talk about something else, but i want to come back to what he talked about today. -- what you talked about today. i voted for you before. but every 20 years, people forget about speaking out for

america. i think that should be on the same lines. we talk about the iraq war, and yesterday, 60 people got blown up. about the illegals, there were no problems with illegals until the economy turned bad and suddenly it was their fault. i am not for them. i think that arizona is on the right track. the problem is, we have a product over here. we employ them. the people that employ them are the ones that should get in trouble, not so much the

illegals. go back to the 14th amendment. it was put in there to free the slaves. in 1964, they were digging people out of graves because they were afraid to vote. it took 100 years for it to take full effect. the constitution is not a problem. the people or the problem. >> let me try to respond to some of your comments. you obviously have a pretty broad knowledge on a number of issues. in regard to what we come up

with with your suggestions, you say it is just another contract with america and these things are not worth the paper they are printed on if you do not take action on them. the contract with america was about content items. i do not know that we will have that many after we roll this out, but many of those were accomplished and some were not. like a balanced budget amendment. unfortunately, we need it a balanced budget amendment. if we can not hold our feet to the fire, then we need to be forced to do it. that is what a balanced budget amendment would do for us. your point of being all charged up at first and getting a lot done and then kind of forgetting about it and going back to the

sloppy habits of spending and building up a deficit each year, the interest on debt has to be repaid. we borrow that money from countries that could call that debt due anytime 3 would be insolvent. -- any time. we would be insolvent. your point is well made and well received. i think you for that. we will go ahead to the next question. >> my name is larry. if i voted for you as well, and i will do so the next time. i have a comment and a question. you talked about the lowest in the congress is held by the american people. i happen to be one of those

people. i am sick and tired of the ming but -- the name calling and the blame game in washington. my question for you is, when did washington get to the point when being a democrat or republican became more important than being an american. -- being an american? [applause] >> you have got a nice round of applause on your question. i hate all of the partisanship and bickering that goes on. all of the gridlock because people truly do care and they get the blame. we are not accomplishing as much as we could for the american

people. unfortunately, we do not have any ability at the federal level, unless we make some changes and i think we should, to share power. whoever wins a majority, and is up for grabs every two years in the house of representatives and the senate as well. all of the house members stand for reelection every two years and one-third of the senate. if the democrats get 51 senators and republicans have 49, if the republicans 218 house members and the house members of 217, in the house, the republicans in that situation with a one-vote majority control everything.

they elect a speaker. the speaker then decides who will chair each committee. the speaker, in consultation with that chair person will decide each subcommittee chair person and is the same thing in the senate. -- is the same thing in the senate. it would be better if you just sharelook, let's just this proportionately and we will decide with committees minority party can share. but to totally control everything and to have the ability and forced to totally shut the minority out and not let him be in the room when any legislation is being developed,

whether it is a massive energy bill or a massive education reform bill for a massive health care reform bill, as a position , if they are not a part of the majority, it is a issue where you hardly ever see an -- a member of the minority party have the opportunity for an up or down vote. it might not win, but it does not even have the opportunity to be discussed and voted on. this is why, every two years, it is a virtual bloodbath and certainly, for six months leading up to the election.

i am saddened by that. sometimes i think that the parliamentary government such as other countries that are running candidates, it is very hard to get a simple majority and a half to form coalitions to have a working government. they have to work together. you can call for new elections and get rid of them and start over again. larry, i appreciate that point. everybody in the room agrees with you. i hope that we live long enough to see some changes there because i am tired of it as well. >> congressman, i have a question about the health care legislation. my parents have put in, as seniors, and to social security

all their lives. we hear different opinions on how this law is more to affect everyone. president obama spoke this morning in a town hall meeting that he had televised about how people in medicare will benefit from this legislation and then you hear republicans talk about how their benefits are going to be cut. can you explain to us the details that will help our seniors? >> thank you for that question. i, too, saw the president's town hall meeting. it was kind of a nice setting. it was a neat way of doing that. it was in someone's back yard like an afternoon picnic. i think this was coming from ohio. he was doing these town hall meetings across the nation to talk about -- and naturally he feels very strongly that obamacare -- it was his idea at

his signature issue, if he wants to explain it. even though the american people were opposed to it. they were concerned with the federal government taking over, almost a lot of stock and barrel, the health care of this country. when you talk about medicare and medicaid and the children's health insurance program and veterans health care and health care for our military, you can see that it is a huge chunk of the american economy. i think that the american people, and this is just not me saying this, the people said this. they really do not feel comfortable having the federal government, which runs the post office and amtrak, taking that

much control over health care. the sanctity of the doctor patient relationship. this particular point that you make in regard to medicare, if you, to pay for this bill, it would be 1.2 trillion dollars -- $1.20 trillion. that would be in order to provide health coverage for some 15 million people in this country that do not have health insurance. their income is not low enough that they are melt-eligible for medicaid, and they have not reached that senior citizen status that many of us in this room have.

they literally cannot afford to do it as individuals and go out in the marketplace and pay for a monthly premium that could be as much as $800 a month. they cannot afford to do that. the original intent of this bill was to do something to reform the health care system and to bring down the cost. i would suggest to the president that it has been a dismal failure in that regard. it is, in fact, causing an increase in the premiums of the people that are already paying, and their employer that pays a significant part of their premium. if you take $550 billion out of the medicare program to help pay for this new health care program that does not have anything to do with the health care for our

seniors, how in the world can that improve and strengthen medicare and make it better? if i say to you that we're going to cut your income by 12% per year for the next few years, and you will -- you need dr. but not an ob/gyn -- doctor, but not an ob/gyn. i would say to our seniors, a 550 volume -- this 17% cut over the next 10 years -- $120 billion out of the program. medicare advantage will go away. a 11 million -- maybe 25% of our seniors to get coverage through medicare advantage because they

do not have to buy supplemental health policies, as much as $150 per month, annual physicals, fee-for-service -- traditional medicare does not cover that. a lot of screenings are offered under medicare advantage which traditional medicare does not offer. there are other cuts to physician reimbursement, hospital reimbursement, folks that provide medical equipment, durable medical equipment. they are taking deep cuts. even the hospice program is being cut significantly. we all understand the compassionate work of a hospice program for people who are terminally ill. to care for them in those last six months. to me, it is almost an insult as a medicare participants,

because i am past age 60 -- age 65 to get some glossy print out f, telling me how much better my program is going to be because of this cut. this brochure is paid for with my tax dollars it is a bit of an insult. thank you for your question. >> i would like to ask you a question. do you feel that you are dealing -- the republican party or yourself, that we're dealing with the democratic leadership and an administration that has a political ideology that cares about the well-being of the american people, or do you feel that they are currently trying to break down the constitutional form of government we have an

established some type of provincial government under which our rights and liberties would be what they grant? how do you feel? do you stand with the majority or minority of republican people? >> that is a very good question. a sensitive question. it is a little difficult to answer. let me cut to the chase in regard to that. this two-party system that we have -- i mentioned this a little while ago when you raise the question about needing more bipartisanship and less biting and bickering -- fighting and bickering. in the system that we have, i would say the republican party stands for a more limited federal government, lower taxes, less spending, more powers to

the state, if you will -- federalism. the democratic party, in my humble opinion, seems to feel that more federal government is better. you pay for that by raising taxes. that is a big difference between the two parties. if you agree that the federal government should be more in kroll -- more in control of our lives and provide cradle-to- grave protection -- retirement benefits, whatever program, subsidies for this program and that program.

i stand solidly with my republican colleagues in regard to limited government, less spending, more personal responsibility and lead to the federal government that which the states cannot do or which individuals cannot do for themselves. [applause] >> i am with the tea party. it is good to see you again and good to be with you. my question involves the restoration of trust. we have trust in all levels of government at a low ebb. there is a lot of cynicism. there is a lot of mistrust of government. it is really dangerous in a republic to have this level of mistrust.

i want to commend the republican government for the speaking out towards that you are conducting and the effort to develop a new contract. i would suggest that it not be called "a contract" but the combat. it has the meaning of a sacred trust. it means we will stick by it. it is not something with a flowing language, but something that we will actually stand by. how do we restore the public trust? if we do not have trust in our government, we are setting of a situation where we have anarchy and chaos -- setting up a situation where we have anarchy and chaos. >> i like that suggestion --

"compact." i think that does have the connotation, more so than contract. a compact with america -- i like that. i like the patriots across the country -- not just the tea party, but the spirit of the american people. i love to see people marched on washington and stand on those capitol steps with a bullhorn in a respectful way. they let the members, as they walk across the steppes, going to go to -- steps going to vote, let them know what is on their minds and how they want them to vote. that makes our country great. they're not shooting each other or throwing things at one another. occasionally an ugly son will come up, but they do not stay up

very long -- and ugly sign will come up, but they do not stay up very long. it is the wind beneath our wings that is getting the attention of every elected official, republican, democrat, independentba. in this election cycle, every member is running scared, as well they should. this business of making promises and campaign speeches and learning sound bites -- whether you write them on your hand or you have a card that you can look at. maybe your memory is so good that you have it down pat. if you do not deliver on those promises -- that is why there is a lack of trust. cynicism, if you will. it is earned and deserved. i think, if my party is

privileged to regain the majority -- if we do not deliver on this compact that will come from america speaking out, then we do not deserve the keys to the car, as the president has raised it, and it should be taken away from us and we should never get it back. i should resign before you throw me out of office. >> we have about 15 minutes and a lot of people who want to ask questions. we want to get to as many people as we can. be patient. if you have a question, raise your hand. we will try to get around to you. >> it is great to be here with you. i do not have a question. it is more of a statement. this is something that i received from my insurance company. the year's renewal rate includes

changes to the standard medical plan to ensure compliance with the requirements of the recently-enacted federal health care reform legislation. what that means is that my company -- i am a small businessmen here. i employ about 25 people. i feed 25 families in this town. my rates are going up 27%. the dollar value is more than lastmy company profit was year. my question is, how is a small businessmen to prosper in the face of this legislation? >> that is a good -- an excellent question. that is really what it is all about in regard to what our priorities should have been --

that is to doing things for small businessmen and businesswomen like yourself and your 25 employees here in georgia. instead, we spent 1 1/2 years trying to, in any way maneuverable -- i do not want to say by hook or by crook, because i do not want to imply any ookedness.-- crop did th there is a way to pass something even when the american people do not want it. i am talking about the process called "reconciliation." i will not bore you with trying to explain it, because i do not fully understand it myself. i think all of you know that, if

you continue to put one burden after another, more rules and regulations that make no sense, on small businessmen and businesswomen, they cannot survive. someone who is maybe out of work and has accumulated $25,000 worth of savings during the time that they were employed -- there are no jobs to be had. they always thought, i have this idea of manufacturing a widget. i have always wanted to go into the restaurant business. i would love to have the opportunity to get together with some good friends and pool our resources to form a small company. maybe not employ anybody for a couple of years, but just blood, sweat, and tears today are not

going to do that and create those jobs, like the 25 that you that greeted -- created. if they see that they have to provide health insurance for the employees at what the government requires -- i cannot offer a health savings account in combination with an insurance policy to cover their health. there is a very low, affordable monthly premium, with a high deductible. it offers catastrophic coverage. they would have production and reimbursement for their healthcare needs. -- protection and reimbursement for their healthcare needs. it is just one thing after another. it is counterproductive. it is counterintuitive.

i agree with you. as i said one 1/2 years ago - 1 1/2 years ago, we can debate this until the cows come home. medical liability reform, fair and balanced, a great idea and a saver of billions of dollars. not allowing health insurance companies to rescind a policy after the fact because of some technicality and putting the burden on an individual. do not think for one minute that because i was opposed to this 2400 page omnibus government takeover of health care that i do not think that we need reform that will lower the cost and make health insurance more affordable to our employees and our employers. i do. but that is just one aspect. that is where we should have

spent all of our time. renewing america, putting people back to work. 16 million people out of work. 40% of them out of work for more than six months. if you said to that 40%, look, your employer is going to rehire you. because of these tough economic times, your salary is not going to be quite as high, maybe 80% of what you used to make, and it will take a year or more before they can provide health insurance, would you take the job back? i will guarantee you every one of them would say give me that job. i will exercise. i would stop smoking. i will lose weight. i will lay off the booze. i will take care of myself. maybe i will go out and purchase one of these high- deductible, low-premium,

catastrophic-coverage policies that i can afford as an individual. that is really what it is all about. >> i, too, congressman have always voted for you. i have more of a comment than a question. however, it seems like when cuts are made, it is always the people or the firm' or the facilities that need it the most -- the firms or the facilities that need it most. it is the working class who gets hit the hardest. my example is my granddaughter. because her parents choose to work, she is not qualified to get any assistance from the government -- not and that her parents want -- not at her

parents want it. she receives a very small check every month which pays for her prescriptions. recently, we were just overcome with paperwork. this was going to be taken away from her. you are talking about $200 per month. these are the people that it always of sex -- the one that need it the most -- always affects -- the ones that need it most. i contacted your office. i want to know you have a bulldog in there, and i wanted to know how much i appreciate her. she did not have to go the extra mile that she did. genet was also there to help. because of your staff, my granddaughter receives that check -- which would not make or

break them. they are middle-class people. i wish she would go back to washington -- you would go back to washington and work for those people -- the ones that keep the wheels moving. we are the spokes that turn those wheels. don't forget us. i will vote for you again. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you so much. if i were a resident here, i would be voting for you as well. i thank you for your kind words and the description of that program. without going into a lot of detail, this is a program where people who, because of their income, make a little bit too much to be eligible for one of our safety-net programs like medicaid, but they have a situation in their families, like a child was 0 policy --

cerebral palsy that is so costly to take care of. this program is what she was talking about. i understand that program well. let me just say one more thing about our staff. you for yourthank kind words about my staff. i was out there to their farm. she does a great job, as you know. i have a great staff. you know, all 435 members -- republican and democrat -- have the same kinds of staff, some better than others. that is the reason -- just what you expressed -- why, when you

ask somebody what they think of members of congress -- we haven't 11% approval rating, whether we're republicans -- we have an 11% approval rating, whether we are republicans or democrats. it is so much about constituent services and responding to the needs of the people in your community. even when it seems like absolute gridlock and nothing is getting done in washington, this work is going on in the district, on behalf of the constituent. it is the staff. they deserve great credit. i thank you for mentioning them. >> i vote for you and will continue to do so. i think we all have a lot of concerns about the obama care program.

is it constitutional? >> peggy, that is a very timely question. the constitutionality issue is primarily raised in regard to this section of the bill that says, by date certain, 2014, everybody will have to have health insurance. if they do not have health insurance -- not only do they have to have it, but the government will decide what type of policy. it will be first-dollar coverage. many people will not be able to afford that. there are some provisions for wavering out of that -- waivering out of that. if you cannot get a policy that is less than 10% of your adjusted gross income or

something like that, you can get a government waiver. if you do not, and you -- supposedly, according to a government, you're making enough money -- the provision of the law says that if you do not have the two are subject to being fined. -- says that you are subject to being fined. if you do not pay the fine, you're subject to going to jail. president obama has called it a tax, not a fine. he also said nobody making less than $200,000 per year would see a tax increase. we're talking about the people that sandra was just talking about -- middle america, middle- income people who can least afford that. this challenge to the law, on the basis of its constitutionality, is over that

provision. they are saying that the commerce clause of the constitution allows that. the commerce clause is all about the regulation of interstate commerce, is it not? it is not the enforcement of commerce -- to make someone, maybe against their will -- to buy something, to participate in commerce. the constitution does not say that. it regulates interstate commerce. the federal government can set rules and regulations in regards to commerce. this is the constitutionality question that the commonwealth of virginia is challenging. there are 20 other states which have their own suits. georgia is part of that.

quite honestly, i believe that the supreme court will rule that aspect of patient protection affordable care act of 2010 and constitutional. a lot of damage-- could occur before then. >> we have time for three more questions. >> good evening. we spoke this morning on the radio appeared once again, i appreciate you coming down here. i have a comment and a question. a year-and-a-half ago i sat in a senior high school government class where a quarter of the students knew who the vice president was. a majority knew who the president was. no one knew who the vice president was, the secretary of

state. i believe the younger generation has a lack of respect for the united states, a lack of patriotism, a lack of pride for the flag that stands behind you. does washington -- does congress have any sort of idea or plan to get into high schools and colleges to educate young voters? not only do you get into the polls, but when they go, they know what they are voting for, not just to -- who. >> thank you. i enjoyed being on the radio with you guys earlier. thank you for promoting this town hall meeting. i do not think the attendance would be what it is today had he not help us in that way. we do appreciate it. your point about young people is right on target, unfortunately. in the state of georgia, we

require passing a test on georgia history and the constitution and state government before the georgia student can graduate. we need to do more. i will tell you this -- in 1960, when i was 18-years-old, a freshman at georgia tech, and i had the opportunity to votes for the first time, i voted for the individual that my mother -- who is 92-years-old today, just as sharp as she was then. in 1960, she gave me some bad advice. i followed her suggestion. i really did not know. i was too busy trying to figure out how i was going to pass those 21 hours of georgia tech in chemistry, physics, populous, all that stuff. it is concerning that our young

people know more about "american idol," "dancing with the stars," then they do about our government appeared to was responsible, who is accountable -- our government. who is responsible? who is accountable? they should know who the secretary of state is. who is the speaker of the house? who is the majority leader? they should know these things. they might not know the minority leaders, but it is important. our schools are offering things that are good -- advanced placement courses in government and civics, as we used to college. these things are available. we need to encourage students to not to go the easy way and not just close their way through

their senior year and into college. -- coast their way through their senior year and into college. do not just take an easy major that will not get you a job four years later just so that you can have fun and go to parties. we need to speak to our young people, from our homes, from our pulpits. i know that the pastor does this. i know you have been so active there. volunteerism, making sure that our people get that message. thank you for your questions and comments. >> we will let you make your questions and comments and let you finish it up. >> i am retired military. my question is, do you believe

that when the obama health care plan goes into effect, that he will try to do anything to eliminate the try care for life -- tricare for life? if so, thousands of veterans who read served this country will be without insurance -- who have served this country will be without insurance, especially those who have not reached the magic age of 64. what is being done to prevent obama from taking the health care from life out of the plan? >> i will quickly respond. president obama has no intention of doing that. i truly do not see anything in the bill that threatens that program or our commitment to our veterans and military in regard to health care. there are a -- is a lot of bickering that goes on.

i served six years on the house armed services committee. the current chairman, ike skelton, from missouri, a democrat, is one of the finest human beings i have ever met. i think that commitment to our troops and veterans is there across the aisle. you do not need to worry about that, but i am glad you asked. >> i have a question regarding the health care policy. it was forced upon us. it seems the issue has been obscured by deficit spending, immigration, a mosque at ground zero, and all of these other issues. at the time it was passed, the republican said, if they gain control of the house and senate, they would repeal the act. studies have shown that may not be realistic commitment. a more realistic approach would

be to dismantle sections that are not good. is that still are realistic commitment from the republican party? can we assume that they will address this issue if they do gain control? willoughby piecemeal -- will it be piecemeal? >> thank you for question. it will not be piecemeal. there have been members who have introduced legislation to remove certain sections of the bill. the better approach would be to repeal and start over. [applause] there is just too much bad in this. a lot more than there is good. we need to repeal it. i will show my georgia and south carolina roots and say, kill

that sucker dead. [laughter] we need to start over. there are some things that i would be in agreement with. quickly, people will say, accurately, even if republicans take control on -- we would not take control until january -- but in this election, if we regain control of the house and senate, that any bill to repeal obama care will be vetoed by the author. president obama is elected to a four-year term, and he will be our president until he stands for reelection in 2012. we would have the power of the

majority to not appropriate certain sections of that bill like the salaries of the 15,000 additional irs agents that would go over everybody's tax return to make sure they had a health insurance policy prescribed by the government so that if they did not, they could be fined. we will not pay for that. we will not pay for this. we will not pay for that other thing here that is the way we would approach it. as president clinton did in 1994 -- he said he would change rates. some of his dances move towards the middle, maybe even a little right of center, where most of the country is philosophically, in regard to the government.

i would hope -- hope springs eternal. >> this is the last one. we will wrap it up. >> i have your real problem. i would like to see action taken relative to tort reform and pork-barrel politics. >> thank you. those are great final comments in regard to tort reform. i mention that a little bit -- mentioned that a little bit. the president has made a commitment to the american medical association who supported the bill based on the promise of tort reform and solving the reimbursement system. each year you calculate it calls for a cut in physician reimbursement.

now, we keep kicking the can down the road and mitigating the the reimbursement cuts. when they finally come due, you are talking about cutting, particularly, our primary care physicians, family practitioners, a general internist, pediatricians -- 25% of what is already not enough reimbursement to cover expenses. they make up for at -- it by the fee-for-service private patients. i practiced 31 years. i saw the best part of the medical practice. i do not see our best and brightest. he has to have compassion for treating people in the healing arts. a lot of young people look at

medicine and say, you know, i'm going to be 34-years-old before i came out my shingle and i'm going to owe the federal government -- they have taken over another aspect of our lives -- student loans. lock stock and barrel. maybe i will just go to lost -- wall street or become a lawyer or an accountant or a schoolteacher, even. it is getting that bad as far as the medical profession is concerned. that is a great concern. pork barrel spending -- i probably do not have enough time to talk about that. you know that the republican minority took a pledge this year -- a compact, if you will -- to not ask for any year -- earmarks, even though some are

worried. it was to make a statement and show that the american people are tired of the spending. earmarks are only 1.5% of the federal budget, but you need to tighten the belt. it is time for federal employees to take a furlough. we took a furlough from port- barrel spending for this year -- pork-barrel spending for this year until we can eliminate the process. thank you very much. do you remember "the gong show"? i think it is my turn to get gonged. thank you for being here. god bless you. >> thank you so much for coming. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> next, another town hall meeting with mike ross. then, a debate between lisa murkowski and her challenger, joe miller. then, another chance to see the town hall meeting with congressman phil gingrey. tomorrow, president obama delivers remarks on the fifth anniversary of hurricane katrina at xavier university in new orleans. that is live at 3:10 p.m. here

at c-span. >> yesterday i signed the declaration for the louisiana, today for misses a beat. -- mississippi. >> look back at how the federal garments handled the crisis -- the government handled the crisis on line at c-span.org. >> the c-span network -- we provide coverage of american history, public affairs, nonfiction books. it is all available online. find our company -- content any time. we bring our resources to your community. it is washington your way. the c-span networks -- now available in more than 100 million homes. created by cable, provided as a public service.

>> next, remarks from congressman mike ross, a democrat river is a big arkansas's fourth district. this is one of a number of meetings he is holding. he talks about immigration, taxes, and unemployment. this is a little bit over one hour. >> good morning. >> morning. >> welcome to this town hall meeting with congressman mike ross. he has several of these each year. it comes back twice a year to visit with us in this area. we're really glad to see him this morning. we're glad to see some of our residents. i'll ask our representative to come up to introduce the congressman. >> my pleasure. i have a big district compared to the other residents.

i cannot imagine having the territory that congressman ross has. he has to be the hardest working guy in washington. he has half of our state, you might say. he does this on a regular basis. he comes here twice a year. we have access to him year- round. we get to talk to him. i called his office all the time. they have been very helpful in solving my problems. when my constituents have a problem with the federal government, i go to them to get help on solving those problems. they have always been really good to do that. it is my honor to introduce probably the hardest-working guy i know. he will tell you what he is doing and how he is getting around the state. this is his recess from

congress. he is not a navigation. he is working. -- not taking a vacation. he is working. he is not afraid answer your questions. even the hard questions. i have some for him today. it is my pleasure to introduce congressman mike ross. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. >> thank you, thank y'all. y'all can sit down. randy, thank you for that kind introduction and for all you do for us at the state level. i really do appreciate it. mayor, thank you for opening up your facilities again for me to come back and to spend some time in glenwood here today. i also want to thank kwxi. it's my understanding that

they're broadcasting this town hall meeting live over the airwaves for folks who are at work or shut in at home that, for whatever reason, can't come. and i want to thank them for doing that, so everybody can participate in this town hall meeting. and i want to thank c-span for coming today. there was an article a while back in washington about how most members of congress have either stopped doing town hall meetings, or they're doing a lot fewer of them. i didn't even realize it at the time until they did their research. apparently, unlike one of the top two members of congress unlike a number of town hall meetings that i hold -- i held 34 town hall meetings -- 34 or 35 town hall meetings back in the spring. i did a series this summer of 12 telephone town hall meetings, where we had anywhere from 6,000 to 12,000 people on each call and i could usually answer about 15 questions in an hour. and now this month i'm doing 35

more town hall meetings. so no one can accuse me of hiding from the public, because the reason i do this is i think it's an important part of the job. if you're really going to represent folks, i think it's important to get out among them, to listen to them and take their issues and concerns back to our nation's capital. traditionally august is a month when congress is not in session. for some members of congress, maybe it means take a four or five-week vacation. for me it means get out and see the peel. i've been to myrrh fees bro this morning. i'll be in mount ida and hot springs later today hosting forum like this throughout the 29 counties that make up our congressional district. i think one of the problems with washington today is too many members of congress get elected. they move to washington, they stop coming home and stop listening to the people.

and i promised to never let that happen to me and that's why i never moved to washington. after the last vote each week i'm always on the very next plane to get back to arkansas to get out among the people and to listen to you. i still live in prescott. i wake up in prescott, arkansas, just as many mornings a week as i do in washington, d.c. in fact, i was at home in prescott mowing my yard last evening. i thought instead of boring y'all with a long speech, i thought we would spend this hour just taking questions and comments. that's why i'm here is to listen, and i'll do my best to answer any questions you might have. one housekeeping note. if you'll fill out the postcard. if you have an email address and will share it with us, we'll send you a weekly update. a lot of you already get it. we'll send you a weekly update of what's going on. we have a poll question where we want to get your input each week. and we will shot share your email address with anyone else. then it's yours to keep. it has my contact information

on it and let me know any time i can have of any help. they're not expensive pens. if they stop writing, shake them a few times and they'll normally start writing again. [laughter] with that, i'll just throw it open for any questions anyone might have. >> mike, the scra funding, can you explain that to the crowd and your position on that? >> s-r -- >> the revenue in lieu of taxes . >> oh, absolutely. all these acronyms sometimes get me. in the washington national forest and the ozark national forest we have a lot of forest land, which means the federal government is not paying property taxes. so that our schools are not penalized. the government provides those school districts that fall in those areas with a payment in lieu of taxes. i've always supported that and i always will, as every few years we have to reauthorize it

and deal with it. i've always supported it and always will, because obviously, as you well know, just because we have a natural forest here your students shouldn't have to suffer in your local school. so payment in lieu of taxes helps your local school, it helps your county government for those acres where property taxes are not being paid because the land is owned by the federal government. you receive payment in liu of taxes. i always -- in lieu of taxes. i'll always continue to support it. i've got a number of counties, montgomery and logan and scott that are also very heavily affected. whether they fall in the washington national forest or ozark national forest. we have both of those areas in our area. >> arkansas is one of the fastest-growing states for

immigration. what is your stance on immigration and what do you feel needs to be done to work this -- i hate to call it a problem, but to work out what is mass immigration. >> i'm opposed to illegal immigration and i'm also' posted to the federal government suing the state of arizona. arizona is doing what they're doing because the government, in my opinion, hasn't done their job. so i'm opposed to the federal lawsuit against arizona. i'm opposed to illegal immigration. and i believe that, number one, we need to secure our border. we passed legislation in the house of representatives last week to provide additional funds for that purpose, to secure our border. the other thing that i think we need to do is we need to provide employers the ability to know -- and i'm going to be able to do this, too. we need to provide employers the ability to know whether or not the people they're hiring

are legal or not. and then go after those employers who are knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. you cut off the work, the majority of them will go home or stop coming here. look, we're a nation of immigrants. we all came here from somewhere, unless you're a native american. i think those who wait their turn, come here legally, respect our laws, respect our flag and learn english, we should welcome them with open arms. and those who come illegally not only are breaking our laws, but they're also breaking in line ahead of those that are trying to play by the rules. i'm opposed to amnesty. we tried that under president reagan. i think it was 1986. president reagan in 1986 said if you're here illegally raise your hand and we'll make you a u.s. citizen. some four million did. what has it gotten us? we have 10 million to 12 million more. and if we continue to do that, it will encourage folks to come here illegally, knowing if they wait long enough there will be

another round of amnesty. for those reasons i'm opposed to amnesty. >> i spoke with an attorney in montgomery county and he said that the laws against contributing to the delinquentcy of minors and indecent exposure are still in the books. and with the problems that are going on and just crime in general, i'm asking why the sheriffs are not allowed to uphold that law. i talked to one of the sheriffs and i kind of winked at him. i knew what the responses were going to be. he says, well, we can't uphold the law because the public schools are funded by both the state and federal government. and so i said, well, i believe the teaching of evolution in the school and the teaching of

pre-marital sex and also legalized abortion, i said all these things are contribute together the delinquency of minors. and i believe we should be able to stand up and hold up for traditional christian values in this nation, because this is what it was founded on. so anyway, i'm just leading up to a question, how do you stand on upholding the principles in 97-280? it's a little too long to go in to, but the need to uphold what the bible says. i don't know if you're familiar with it, but i can get a copy to anyone who would like to see one. >> if you can get me a copy of it, i'll be glad to review that. i can tell you that i stand for common sense arkansas values. i was raised in prescott, emmett and hope and it's those values i was brought up with in a christian home that i take with me to our nation's capital

each week to represent you. in terms of your local schools, they do receive some federal funding. but the standards and the things that are taught in the schools is dictated by state law, not federal law. so that would be a good question for your state representative, randy stewart, over here. [laughter] and i think it needs to remain that way, because i really do believe that we don't need the federal government telling us what to teach in our schools. that's an issue that should be left to the states and to your local school board. i think i see at least one local school board member that's here in the room today. >> i spoke to the local school board a year ago june and they were all in favor of incorporating a bible course in the school system, but this was the superintendent and all the board representatives. but they didn't find time to

implement it. in other words, there was no room because the schedules were too compressed. but that doesn't answer the question. evolution is still being taught as a fact and premarital sex and abortion. anyway, you know -- i spoke to david bogart over the phone. he's the one who struck down the statute a few years ago and i'd rather not repeat what he told me. not that he wasn't a gentleman, but the subject matter is a little too vulgar to bring up here. >> got it. i appreciate that. yes, ma'am. >> i am interested in, what are we going to do about [inaudible] and the supreme court ruling? where do we stand on that, about getting rid of corporations having power as individuals? >> in the election process -- are you talking about being able to fund elections? >> well, whatever it grants

them. >> right. you're talking about the recent supreme court ruling? >> it's changed somewhere along the way, you know. >> i'm not exactly sure what your -- >> the corporations grew and grew and grew. suddenly they became -- >> there was a recent supreme court ruling that basically -- see, individuals can't contribute more than $2,400 to an election. and corporations can't donate anything to a candidate in an election. the supreme court recently ruled, however, that a big corporation or a corporation of any size can create what's called a 527 under the i.r.s. rules, make up a name -- i guess it can be called arkansas yans for good -- contribute to a fund and then spend that money promoting or ripping a

candidate. i've helped pass legislation in the house to stop that. i believe that is bad government and should not be allowed. i'm not sure if that's what you're speaking to or not. >> well, any influence because they have the money. it isn't fair and it's corrupted. and i've heard that this was all folks that -- >> we addressed that in the legislation we passed in the house a few weeks ago. it's now pending, i believe, in the u.s. senate. >> i have a question about unemployment. i'm in a small business, the transportation business. and it seems that a trucking company went out of business last year and now having trouble finding employment. i had a girl quit out of my office because her husband was drawing unemployment and if she

drew a salary, a very small salary, added with her husband's unemployment, she said -- she had to quit her job. i have several drivers that are drawing unemployment that quit because they didn't want to work. and even though our trucking company went out of business in fort smith about a month ago, out of 300 drivers, i have yet to hear from one of those drivers. i guess my question is -- i think mr. clinton said that the way to get people off welfare was to put them to work, so maybe they should come up with a work program for people. >> to answer your question, extending unemployment, does it help people? it helps people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own who can't find work. you're looking for specialized folks. not everybody has commercial

driver's license and are able to do what you need them to do. look, i know people that are out of work for the first time in their lives. most of us in this room know good, decent, hard-working folks that are out of work for the first time in their lives. most of them would rather have a job than sit at home or collect unemployment, which pays $300 or $400 a week at best. in arkansas we've been fortunate in that the unemployment rate in arkansas is 7.5%. there are a lot of cities in this country where unemployment is 10%, 15%, even 25% today. and there are a lot of folks that lost their job through no fault of their own that cannot find work. now, are there abuses in the system? absolutely. and those abuses need to be cleaned up. if you're going to draw unemployment, you ought to be required to look for a job, and if you're offered a job you ought to take it. so certainly there's -- just as there's abuses with social security disability -- we all know somebody that probably shouldn't be on it that is and we all know somebody that

should be on it that's not. and there's always going to be those abuses. but for the people out there who are not abusing the system, who have lost their job through no fault of their own, earnestly looking for work, that's why we have a safety net program. the fact is, we still have about 15 million people out of work in this country today. i'd getting better. you know, remember that in the last quarter of 2008 we were losing 3/4 of a million jobs a month. 3/4 of a million jobs a month. we've actually grown 600,000 new jobs in the private sector this year, in the first six months of this year. we all remember the stock market being down close to 600 points. it's now bumping between 10,000 and 11,000 points. every economist will tell you that we're coming out of this recession, but it's going to be very slow and it's going to be very painful for many. but the fact is this -- unemployment in arkansas is 7.5%, but less than 4% are drawing an unemployment check

in arkansas. so while there's stories of abuse out there -- and i certainly understand that -- i don't think it's being abused too badly, because there's 7.5% out of work and less than 4% are drawing an unemployment check today. and by the way, that was totally -- well -- >> the veterans medical is the best treatment in the world. ain't got no complaint, but we need a dental plan. us older americans -- they don't pay for it. even if you retired from the military. we'd like to see a dental plan. >> one, thank you for your service to our country. >> well, thank you. [applause] >> thank you. our military has a pledge, leave no soldier behind on the battlefield.

i think when they return home as veterans we as a nation should have a pledge, leave no veteran behind in this country. i'm proud to have helped pass the single largest investment in the history of the v.a. in veterans health care. hopefully you're going to start . . so veterans don't have to wait a year or two to get a hearing on their v.a. claim. we've modernized the g.i. bill so this new generation of veterans coming back from iraq and afghanistan will help them go to college. and if they have already been to college or want to go for the first time ever, they're able to pass it on to a spouse or to a child. and as a father who moved and enrolled two students up at the university of arkansas yesterday, i can tell you that's a huge benefit for our veterans there. we can't do enough for our veterans, and i think it's my job to make sure that our country keeps its promises to our veterans.

>> you know, the dental plan -- they've got some good programs. i just went through a 12-week program, and i lost 90 pounds. i started in january. it's been two or three pounds a week, but it's been consistent. it's a great program. for medical, it's great. but we need a dental plan, and if we can get that, we'd appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you. thank you. i agree with you. our veterans, they deserve dental care and i'll continue to support that. >> thank you, sir. >> hi, i'm kathy, and i am the clark county representative for the west arkansas workforce board that works through our workforce centers in a 10-county area. we do a lot of work with displaced workers, providing funds for education, to further their education or to get them

education for new jobs, if they lose their jobs. we have summer benefit jobs for children of working ages that work with the local county when they're not in school. our workforce centers do a wonderful job in helping these people and providing jobs and helping them try to find jobs. but as you very well know, we are a very rural area and our main problem is some of our jobs are here in the county on lumber, chicken, agriculture, the timber industry and we are such an economically depressed area. how can we get in our area some of the new grain jobs possibly sent to our area that would help people in clark county and the surrounding areas? [applause] >> one, thanks for the work you

do, the workforce development. it's very important, because, you know, it wasn't too long ago when my parents were growing up, basically you got whatever education level you were going to get and you got a job, and that was the job you worked until you either fell dead or retired. and my generation is expected to have at least three jobs. my daughter, who's a senior at the university of arkansas this year, is estimated her generation will have 10 jobs throughout their lifetime. and so it's always going to be important for us to be able to train and retrain. that's a very important component. to answer your question, i think several things. one, i think it starts with education. and that's why i think we've got to invest in education and ensure our young people get a world class education. we're competing with asia, africa and europe. and the truth is we used to lead the world in turning out

college graduates. and today we're ranked 12th or 13th in the world. 12 or 13 other countries turn out more college graduates than we do. we're never going to compete with the rest of the world with our muscles, because the fact is half the world gets up every day and lives on less than $2 a day. and i don't think we want to join them. but we've always been the innovators of the world, and that's why i believe education is so important, because it's absolutely critical to our future that we remain the innovators of the world. having said that in terms of grain jobs you mentioned, i've got a bill to do that. this so-called cap and trade business, i voted against that. a study tells us that 1.5% of the jobs in arkansas will lose them. there's winners and losers in cap and trade. arkansas would lose 1.5% of its jobs in cap and trade.

everybody would see their energy practice go up. but i do think we need to reduce our carbon emissions and we need to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. i've got a bill to do that that i wrote. the american made energy act, which could help us realize an economic revival here in arkansas. and here's how it works. i believe we need to drill more here at home off the coast, not using b.p. standards, by the way, but using new 21st century technology, you know, and also in anwr. there's 19 million acres up there. we only have to touch 2,000 acres. the bottom line is this -- we're sending half a trillion dollars overseas to buy energy. and too much of that money is ending up in the hands of the terrorists who want to come here and destroy us. that's a half a trillion dollar annual payroll that should be kept right here in the good old united states of america. here's how i'd do it. drill more here at home. the revenue from the lease and royalty payments to our

government would total $80 billion, with a b. i propose to use that to make the single largest investment in america in alternative nrk. we need oil and natural gas certainly short term, but we're also drk there's no silver bullet. we need hydrogen fuel cell cars. they're out there. but they're still being designed. they're not in the marketplace. forget ethanol. they're actually now taking the scraps from pine trees and turning it into gasoline. i mean -- and batteries and natural bass-powered cars and wind and hydro, and more nuclear, by the way. it's going to take it all to meet our energy needs of the future. so my idea is take the revenue from the lease and royalty payments by drilling more here at home, make the single largest investment in this country in alternative forms of energy and have more energy innovators. a lot of the jobs could be located here in arkansas.

it's like going to the moon. some folks think that washington is spending too much money today -- and i happen to be one of them that feel that way. but the fact is in today's dollars we invested $90 billion to put a man on the moon. $90 billion with a b. we did a lot more than that. we grew a new generation of innovators that created a lot of the technology we have today. it's time to do that all over again in the area of energy. my plan does it. it's totally paid for. we don't borrow any money from china to fund it. so that's the direction we need to go. having said that, in terms of local jobs, i can tell you that whether an industry comes here, it's got more to do with your local leadership. when they come to arkansas, it's the arkansas department of economic development, which is under the purview of the governor. they usually go there first and they want to see three or four sites. so it's important that y'all are communicating with the arkansas department of economic development and doing all the things with them to ensure that

you're on a list, so that when industry is looking at arkansas and they say you've got -- put me on a plane and show me four towns you want to be on that list. when they get here they want to see education, health care, they want to see that the folks in this community get along, what kind of infrastructure do you have. do you have an available workforce? that's the biggest challenge we have. people are leaving euroleague arkansas and people are not going to come here and invest in you don't have an available workforce. in a lot of instances we don't have an available workforce because they've moved to find work. so that's a challenge that we're always going to have in rural america, but those are some of the ideas i have on how i think we can hopefully begin somewhat of an economic revival in places like arkansas. and the key is education. i know you've got great community colleges within driving distance of here. embrace those. that's one of the things they look at is not just your public

schools, but they also look at your public, too, and your colleges and where they're able to train employees for whatever type of jobs they're looking to bring here. there's no magic wand. there's no silver bullet. but those are some of the things that i think we've got to do to secure our economic future. hi, bill. >> 100 years old. >> look pretty good there, bill. >> my wife and i have timber land and i'm surprised the first question you got about the lumber company. the lumber company is glenwood. they have contributed more than any other company to glenwood, to south arkansas, to half of the state. they are stressed financially.

you know that. it's a critical thing. that's a world-class mill. it's running. it's supporting people in college, it's supporting every politician in this state. why are we in a panic mode and trying to do something to save that mill? can you believe that we're not more involved in it? we're going to sit here and watch this beautiful mill go extinct possibly? i mean, to me it's unreal. i it won't affect me, i'm going to be dead. but now, if we lose that, we'll never get another mill like that here. it will be impossible. it will cots $52 million to replace that mill. >> we've been involved in a number of meetings -- a lot of meetings with the lumber

company and trying to secure their economic future so they can keep people working here. this is a tough time for the lumber industry, not just here, but all over the country. if you look at a map of the united states and have a dot on it for every mill that's closed in the last 10 years, it would surprise you. i know this probably better than anybody in the room because i'm from prescott. we lost potlatch in my hometown. people i go to church with, people i deer hunt with are finding themselves out of work for the first time in their life and they're honestly looking for work and can't find it. so we felt the impact in my hometown and that's why i'm working so hard to try and help the timber industry. >> and the governor, i mean, maybe they are, but it's not obvious. >> i can tell you that your congressional delegation, your governor and the arkansas department of economic development and my district director back here, jeff weaver, have spent many hours

in many meetings to try and ensure that they're here for the future. you may not see it. they may not be jumping up and down the front page about it of the local newspaper, but -- which tells me they're not show horses or workhorses, they're out there behind the scenes trying to make a difference. >> it is a major, major thing. >> i support bean longer in its future here and we have and will continue to do wall we can. the biggest challenge they're going to have -- all the signs are that we're coming out of this recession but it's going to be slow and it's going to be painful. my biggest concern is the housing market right now. that's what's killing the lumber mills is the housing market. we have a record number of forecloshes and there's a bunch more on the bubble and very close to foreclosure. if the housing industry is not handled correctly and if it falls the wrong way, then we could very well fall back into

a recession, which would be absolutely devastating to our saw mills, our lumber mills. so hopefully that's not going to happen. right now we're headed in the right direction. the fact that they've weathered the storm -- for the lumber industry this storm started in 2006 and 2007 and we're coming out of it now. the fact they're still there and operating and have weathered this storm is a very positive sign. >> hopefully. but you just wonder if people are concerned, if they really realize how important that mill is. i mean, if somebody would offer to come in here just -- i mean hypothetically and say we're going to put in a mill that would employ 200 people and turn these billions of dollars every year, we would be over there -- i mean, jumping through hoops to get those people in here. the mill is here. why aren't we jumping through hoops to keep it here?

you know, it's a real contrast there. you've got something. you don't put the effort that you would get. why not put the effort in to keep it? you can't believe it's even a possibility that they would lose that. >> that's something -- by the way, lee stewart is here. wave your hand, lee. lee has recently graduated from law school about a year ago. has been on my staff in washington about a year. is one of my legislative assistants. and i'm pleased to report to you that he grew up and was educated just down the road in kirby. and right here in this county. and so not only do i take the common-sense values that i was raised on with me to washington each week, i also take people that are raised in places like kirby with me. lee is involved in issues up

there, and i coach the tree caucus and the congress are working on ways to try to stabilize and help the timber industry through these tough times. thank you. >> thank you. >> back on the forest service. already brought it up. we had the flood, and you were there. of course, you came in. what has the forest service done to help mitigate something like that happening in the future? >> i've been in a number of meetings with the usda, the secretary, as well as the chief of the u.s. forest service. one, they're in the process of cleanup. i think they've now tagged all the personal items they found after the flood, and family members can come back and claim them. the cleanup process is close to being completed. now they've got to rebuild some

of the areas so they can be reopened. and they're also reviewing a warning system. kinds of like we have tornado sirens and warning systems. we're looking at the forest service, who are looking at some type of warning system where maybe there would be a float up the river somewhere and once it reaches a certain level, those sirens would go off to weak people up to tell them to move to higher ground. what happened there was just absolutely devastating. there's a lot of families hurting as a result of it. i see my job as making sure we get some type of warning system in place and because of the terrain, it will happen again. but i also feel very strongly that we need to get that campground back into the condition where it can be reopened, because people enjoy going there, people want to go there, and i think it would be a mistake to close it. i don't think that's going to

happen. however, i do support the idea of some type of warning system and i think we're going to see that. they're making progress literally every day up there. >> as you know, i contacted y'all about the warning system for over two years. they told me the end of july, end of august, we'd be back up and running. i donald think we've even got close to -- don't think we've even got close to back up and running. do you know the time frame? early warning is the key to this. then on the weekends and the holidays, we could have had the exact sale thing down here. >> we contacted the national weather service back when this thing blew down and you're one of the ones that brought it to our attention. they informed us that it will be back up this month. now, having said that, it probably still won't work at albert pike because of the terrain, just like cell phones don't work at albert pike. it's my understanding before

the tower blew over two years ago it didn't work at albert pike. and this new tower they're putting up this month -- or they've told us they're going to put up -- >> it actually worked in langley. >> it probably would in langley. if you get down in the campground area between those mountains -- >> it wouldn't work down here. but we're still concerned about the other areas, too. the early warning on the slope -- on the river and stuff -- >> the national weather service committed to me that it will be back this month. we'll follow up on that and get an update and make sure that it is back up this month. i'm just telling you that even if it is, it may work in langley, but because of the terrain around camp albert pike, it's my understanding it didn't work before and it probably won't work now. but we still need it up for everybody else in this region, and i appreciate you saying you support the idea of some type of warning that, based on river stage or river levels, and i hope that's something we'll get accomplished there.

>> i own a small business here in town. i really strived this year when i was making my spring orders and making my product, i really strived to buy things that was made in the u.s.a. i had several options. i found out when i stocked the things that was made in the u.s.a. i got a better product and the price wasn't much different at all. sometimes it was actually cheaper. the product that's made in the countries does not -- they don't represent u.s. values to begin with. therefore, we import and contribute billions and billions of dollars to the u.s. just like i went to a home site that was getting built and there was boards that are stammedpped "product of canada." you know, what can we do? can we get some sort of small

tax incentives that would help the small business to promote our product that's made here in the united states? i think that would be more effective than anything that i've even thought of. you know, i care about what's going on right now, and i do think there's common sense answers to these questions. i think there is a solution. and i think some of these common-sense answers, if they was applied, i think it would make a dramatic effect and it would be fast. if people like me would sell the product that's made in the u.s.a., instead of china or japan, i'm pretty sure that the small factories would add more workers. it's just common sense. i really think that it could be overturned and this thing could get back rolling really fast if

small steps were took like that. what's your thoughts? >> thank you for being a small business owner, taking the risk, making the investment and putting people here in glenwood and surrounding areas to work. i salute you for that. sometimes i think we get caught up chasing these fortune 500 companies around. when the reality is 60% to 80% of all new jobs in this country come from people like you, from small businesses. i can tell you that i think we need to have your back. we've done some things this year that hopefully will help in terms of, if you hire unemployed workers you can get a tax credit for that. because the banks are still not making the loans that a lot of small businesses need. we've increased the amount of loans coming through the small business administration to try and help get some of these small businesses back on their feet and back up and running. but the other thing that we just recently did -- you know,

there were 160,000 teachers that were going to be laid off this month. and we kept them in the classroom for all the reasons i mentioned earlier about how education is the key to our economic future. but we paid for it. we didn't borrow the money, we paid for it. one of the ways we paid for it is going after these multinational corporations that ship their jobs and money offshore to avoid paying taxes here like you have to pay. so my point is this -- we need to level the playing field. i support -- look, we can't build a wall around america. and i support trade. but we need fair trade, not free trade. i'll tell you what free trade has gotten us. it's gotten us to where every time we pass a trade agreement -- most of them i've voted against, by the the way. all we ends up doing is shipping our jobs overseas. we need trade agreements with companies that can afford to bay our products so we're shipping our products overseas instead of our jobs overseas. so that's the direction i think

we need to go that would help and we need to continue to provide tax credits, tax breaks to small businesses to help find their financial footing as we come out of this economic recession. because y'all are the real job creators, not just in glenwood and pine county, but all over america. so that's the direction i think we need to go. >> thank you. >> the war in afghanistan. in my opinion, i support what the troops are doing, but i don't support what they're being asked to do. the people don't want us there and we're trying to build them homes and stuff, a democracy, that they wouldn't have, if we can make it work. and our troops are fighting for an enemy that they can't find and it's costing us millions and millions of dollars a day

just to run this thing and we are accomplishing nothing. we have over 100,000 troops in afghanistan alone and they kill two or three terrorists and the ratio is not really very good. in my opinion if we can bring those personnel home and set up a security in the united states, then we could keep the terrorists out just as they're doing now with less cost. teas just my opinion. thank you. >> i'm go ahead and take a whack at iraq and afghanistan at the same time. in iraq we're in the process of responsible deployment out of iraq. we'll be out of iraq in about 2011. we will begin a responsible redeployment out of afghanistan in july of 2011. >> supposedly. >> in the past, i think we were so focused on iraq that our government took its eye off the

ball in afghanistan. and let's not forget the real culprits behind 9/11 that came here and attacked us was afghanistan. and i think it would be a mistake to let al qaeda retake afghanistan as a safe haven and training ground for future terrorist attacks against america. in all fairness, our government was so focused on iraq they took their eye off afghanistan and a year and a half ago we were up to about a quarter million troops in iraq. we only had 25,000 in afghanistan. we've listened to the generals. we're now increasing the number of troops in afghanistan so that we can stabilize the country, we can train their police, security and military force, just like we did in iraq and then hopefully begin a responsible re-deployment out of there in july of 2011. if we do it too fast and too carelessly, we'll end up being there and it will cost up more lives, more money long term. i think a positive sign is the fact that general petraeus is

now in charge in afghanistan and he thinks this is doable. and i hope he's right. we pretty much -- and we have captured or killed literally tens of thousands of terrorists not only in iraq, but also in afghanistan, and we've pretty much now successfully pushed al qaeda into pakistan, which creates a whole other problem for us. but i'm going to support our troops and i'm going to support general petraeus on this with the condition that he sticks to his commitment to begin a responsible redeployment out of afghanistan by july, 2011. we've already been in afghanistan longer than we've ever been in any other modern war. we can't afford to stay there forever. we're approaching $1 trillion. you want to talk about the debt and deficit. a trillion of it is from iraq and we're approaching half a trillion in afghanistan. at some point we've got to bring our men and women in uniform home, secure our

borders, protect america here and start rebuilding this country of ours. >> i agree with that, yes. >> what you said a moment ago about moving of the jobs out of this country sparse manufacturing. what is the government doing to help us with manufacturing? this has been going on for 30 years or so we've really kind of built this after world war ii, we built everybody else's economy and their taxes up. we've done nothing for our own. now we're seeing jobs go overseas. what do we need to do as a government, as a country, to stop this flow from going out? because that's where your manufacturing -- that's where a lot of our jobs have gone. >> i wasn't in congress when nafta passed. had i been, i would have voted no. i was there for cafta and i voted for that. i think we need to rethink these trade agreements. we need them with countries that can afford to buy our

products, so we're shipping our products and not our jobs, overseas. we also need to rework our tax policy in this country so we're not rewarding multi-national corporations that ship jobs overseas. we need to be rewarding small businesses, like this gentleman right here that's putting people to work in glenwood. so i think we need to look at it from a tax perspective and i think we need to look at it from a trade perspective. >> i'm going to try to relay a question that a young lady asked me this morning to ask you. she has got a young teenaged daughter, and what it is, she works for a company here in glenwood and they pay for her insurance. her husband works for another company and they pay for his insurance and they're trying to find insurance coverage for their daughter. but blue cross blue shield has, as of a couple of weeks ago, will not give an individual policy to anyone under 18 years

of age. is this something we're going to be looking at in the future? >> well, this health care reform business -- and i voted against it, as many of you know. i came home, i held meetings like this, i listened to the people and said i'd vote no, and i did. having said that, there's good parts and there's bad parts to it. it's about 20 bills, and that bill is longer than the bible. and there's about 20 bills in it. and about half of them everybody in this room could probably agree to. for example, i think most of us would agree that when our children go off to college, they ought to be able to stay on our health insurance until they graduate, or at least within a reasonable tile. by age 24, 25 or even 26 with graduate school these days. that's good. eliminating the so-called doughnut hole for our seniors is part of medicare part d. that's good. health insurance reform. that's good. telling you that you've got to buy health insurance or the i.r.s. is going to knock on your door and fine you, not

good. cutting medicare a half a trillion dollars, which is the only health insurance plan our seniors have to stay healthy and get well, not good. the health care reform bill is not even implemented till 2014. whatever problem they got is because of the problems we've had for the last 10 or 20 years in this country, not because of this bill. and i'm not defending it. i voted against it. i'm just telling you, there's a lot of misinformation out there on both sides of this, quite frankly. but, you know, blue cross is a private health insurance plan. you might check other plans. there's other competition out there. there's other private plans. depending on their income, the child may qualify for our kids first -- >> the income is more to qualify, so they're searching for -- >> so the husband has a job with insurance, but they don't cover the family. >> no. >> and the mother has a job -- >> he works for -- the company he works for pays for him and the company she works for pays for her.

>> if they wanted to put that child on, they would have to pay out of their own pocket, probably, but they would be able to do that, either through the husband or the wife. >> yes, yes. >> they should be able to do that. >> at a pretty good expense. >> i understand. and health care costs, by the way, are growing. i've worked hard to try to get us the kinds of health care reform i could support. i was very involved in slowing this thing down and trying to make it better. but at the end of the day it was too big, too costly, and the people i represent told me to vote no, and that's what i did. but i really do believe we need health care reform, but we need common-sense health care reform. we need small businesses and the self-employed to be part of a bigger group with more choices and less prices. but we don't need the government, in my opinion, getting further into the health care business. but those would be her options if thee doesn't qualify would be to go on the mom's plan or the dad's plan. >> or take a family plan, but

they won't give it to individuals. >> that's one private company. i would encourage them to check around with other companies. there's other companies that do health insurance, too. >> i just didn't know if this was something you're looking at in the future. >> well, in the future, the family will be covered through the workplace depending on the size of the business. if it's got more than 50 employees, they've got to provide it for the individual and the family once this kicks in. and if they're smaller than 50 employees, they won't have to provide it, but they as the owner, as well as their employees, will be able to go shob, what's called a state-based exchange, where you'll find all the private companies. there's like 20 companies and you pick one, like medicare part d. or you're so confused you throw a dart and then decide.

it would be similar to that in terms of there will be private choices, not government choices, but private choices and you pick one. and then you pay and the government will subsidize the cost of it up to 400% of poverty, which, by the way for a family of four is $88,000. so if the governor of arkansas has two children living at home, he would qualify. most people in arkansas would qualify. right now in arkansas we're one the least generous statements and you have to be at 27% of poverty to quality. but if you're between 1 100% and 25% of poverty and on up you can go to this exchange, shop around being pick what you want and -- the most you'll pay out of pocket is 12% of your income and that's for people at or above 4% for poverty and that's 88,200 a year and there's a sliding scale. the most you'd pay out of pocket is 2% to 12% of your annual income, not just for insurance, but deductibles, co-payments and all that. but there's no income limit.

it doesn't matter how well thee you are. if you don't have insurance at the workplace, you won't receive a subsidy for it if you live at more than 400% of poverty. that's kind of how it works. >> let's say a gentleman has got product and he's got a market to sell it. he has a decision to either build the plant in arkansas or in mexico. i'm just using glenwood as an example. he's got to worry about o'sharks he's got to worry about -- osha, he's got to worry about e.p.a. and two bus loads of different inspectors, plus the i.r.s., ok? he says, oh, my goodness. he goes down to mexico. he builds him a building and starts making product and we buy it. what are we going to do besides

pass more legislation, such as the clean air act, which initially is going to be a killer to the industries and the small businesses like me and the farmers? what are we going to do to make that guy say, i want to build my factory in glenwood? it's common sense. what are we going to do to make that happen? because that's got to happen. it's got to happen. >> i agree with you. i'm from just down the road in prescott. it didn't come blowing in here from washington. i wake up in prescott as many mornings of the week as i do in d.c. and i can tell you, i totally agree with you. i used to own a small business. i understand what you're saying. we've got to level the playing field. now, do we want a clean environment? sure, we do. >> you bet. i'm all for it. >> we all do. we want to have workplace safety. we all want that. i don't think we want to turn this country into another

china. i don't. and i don't think anyone does. but we can do these things with common sense, as you and i both refer to, and that's what we need to do. we've got to level the playing field and we've got to make it -- instead of providing disincentives to small and large businesses to locate in america, we need to be providing incentives for that and streamline some of these things. that's why i voted against cap and trade and that's why i'm co-sponsoring the bill to stop the e.p.a. from doing it on their own without a vote from congress. [inaudible] >> why aren't we charging for he can porting our goods? -- exporting our goods? if we make goods in the united states, why aren't we taxing

the heck on the other countries on those same goods? >> that's what i'm saying when we need to rethink our trade policies. those are the kind of things we need to do. . .

the small business owner does not need the government to tell them how to run his business. he knows how to run his business. that and and right there could be next. it is a mistake for us to do that. we clearly saved general motors, which is a good thing. i did not agree with all of their business practices, but it would be a mistake for the government to get into the private sector's business. what we did was alone. it it every dime back with interest, five years early. we saved hundreds of thousands of jobs indirectly and directly as a result of that. i think we are -- >> let me make one more observation. sunday when you're in congress and you have some spare moments

-- someday when you're in congress and you have some spare moments, maybe you can ask people why we are in so many wars. we have fought many wars and the last seven years. [inaudible] the rest of the world has got that perspective of us. we talk peace when we are fighting wars. how do we overcome that? >> let me -- i hear you. [laughter] let me close with a couple of things. concerned about is debt and deficit. we did not get into this mess overnight and we're not going to get out of it overnight. it took george washington did

jimmy carter to put this country in $1 trillion of debt. we have added the other $12 trillion since 1981. it is becoming a sustainable for our children and our grandchildren. i'm not just -- unsustainable for our children and our grandchildren. i've been sounding the alarm for a number of years. i have a blueprint. i'm a leader in the fiscally conservative, democratic, blue dog coalition. we wrote the blueprint for fiscal reform, including calling for a constitutional amendment to balance the federal budget, which we came close to doing in the 1980's. our sixth -- arkansas has a constitutional amendment. i believe 49 states require honest budget in one form or another. i'm really proud of our governor mike beebe and our state registered -- state legislature.

just because it allows -- it is on paper does not mean you have to do it did in arkansas, we make decisions. -- does not mean you have to do it. in arkansas, we make decisions. to learn more about my blueprint for fiscal reform, you can go to my website and learn more. these are tough times. i am doing the best i can. i have come home and listened. and tired of the partisan bickering that goes on -- i am tired of the partisan bickering that goes on up in washington. i do not care if it is a democratic or republican idea. is it a common-sense idea? every year, they do this covered. they analyze our voting record, not a silly procedural votes,

but the votes that matter like cap and trade, health care, so forth and so on. every year, i have made that list. their 435 members of congress. -- there are 435 members of congress. that is the exact center of the 435 members and i am right there, about as close as you can get to the center. when i say that i do not care whose idea it is, it is not just rhetoric. my record demonstrates that i am at the center of the congress. you have folks on the extreme right and left. the majority of the people in my district, quite frankly, the majority of the people are where i am -- in the middle, looking for common sense solutions to the problems and johnses that confront this country today. thank you also -- and challenges that confront this country today. thank you all for coming. the american recovery and

reinvestment act -- it is a two- year program and we are only beginning the second year now. it is working. we had 3/4 of 1 million jobs lost per month in the last quarter of 2008. we are digging 600,000 private- sector jobs -- we have already gained 600,000 private-sector jobs this year. we're putting people back to work. we're working on highway 70 improvements. he received thousands for a new fire truck, and new -- one city received thousands for the new fire truck and a new police car. glenwood is putting local contractors back to work to make reparations -- to make repairs. it allows you to spend less of your tax money on schools and utilities and more on what we ought to be doing, which is indicating our children. the list goes on and on -- which

is educating our children. the list goes on and on. if we had not done the bank bailout -- i understand it was not popular. there were loans with 5% interest for five years and 9% after that. you take the tea party -- tarpan -- t.a.r.p. gm paid every dime back with interest, five years early. the american recovery and reinvestment act invested in your schools, your local police and fire. 1/3 of the cost was not spending, but tax cuts. everybody in this room that works for a living got the project -- who gets the pay check every week, they received a $1,000 tax cut last year and they will get the same got this year. 232,000 working families in our district have benefited from that. i supported that because i think

-- you have a better idea of what you ought to be doing than we do in washington. letting you keep your money and spend it on the things that you need or want is helping to stimulate this economy. that is why i supported it. you get another $1,000 tax break this year. everybody who works for a living qualifies. 232,000 working families and our district benefited from that last year and this year. i will not rest until everybody who wants a job has one. we made the decisions that had to be made to jump-start the economy and get us moving in the right direction. we're a long way from where we need to be. i will continue to fight. i cannot thank you enough for participating in this debate. thank you for broadcasting this. thank you to c-span for letting your viewers get a taste of one of mine 35 town hall meetings that i am hosting this month across southern and western

arkansas. anytime i can be of help to you, do not hesitate to call me. may god bless you, may god bless our troops, and may god continue to bless the united states of america. thank you and god bless. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [inaudible

>> tomorrow, indiana senator dick lugar, ranking member on the foreign relations committee talks about the u.s. with role of combat forces from iraq. that is at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. eastern. tomorrow, president obama presents remarks on the fifth anniversary of hurricane katrina at a savior university in new orleans. that is live at 3:10 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> yesterday, i signed a declaration for the state of louisiana. this morning, i signed a disaster declaration for the state of mississippi. >> as the gulf coast marks the fifth anniversary of hurricane katrina, look back and how the federal government responded to the crisis online at the c-span

video library. all free, every program since 1987. it is washington your way. >> votes are still being counted in the alaska republican senate primary election held last tuesday. incumbent senator lee some rakowski trails her opponent by fewer than 2000 votes. we will show you a debate between them from earlier this month hosted by kakm television in anchorage, this is about 15 minutes. ladies and gentleman, our nation is in crisis. we are nearing a bankrupt situation where even our foreign creditors are preparing to foreclose on this nation. we must turn this nation around. what are we at this point?

because of a crisis of leadership. we need to turn the nation back. we need to turn back over regulation. i am joe miller and i am running for the u.s. senate in order to seize the moment to ensure that we do turn this nation back and i am prepared to meet that challenge. i was trained at west point and i'm a combat veteran from desert storm. as far as judicial activism, i was trailed -- trained at yale law school and i defended the constitution. as far as economic policy goes, i received a master's degree in economics from the university of alaska and i am ready to confront those economic realities. we must not allow our children's future to be stolen. the american dream is far too important. >> thank you mr. miller. and now, mr. rakowski. >> i think you. i understand that this debate was scheduled for last evening

but out of respect to the stephens family it was moved to this evening and it has caused some scheduling issues but we appreciate that. alaska truly is at a crossroads. we are faced with an onslaught, a liberal onslaught of government regulation and intrusion into our lives were the answer is always more government as opposed to allowing the individuals and states to proceed as we all believe that they should. what we need in washington d.c. is to continually fight the intrusions that are before us, 254 what we in alaska believe is best for our people and for the livelihood and culture and that is what i am there in washington d.c. to do. >> thank you.

now for the canada question round. first, we will start with senator you have one minute to answer and then you will have one minute or bottle. >> i appreciate that. as a member of the senate, my voting record is absolutely clear. it details of every vote. i would ask you, mr. miller, why, with but guards to the democratic health care bill, you continue to assert supporting this bill. i voted to repeal this on the

24th. this was right after the president signed it. i voted against the proposed amendments to repeal all or part of the and i co-sponsored certain parts of it including a wholesale repeal of the bill. my question to you is, as recently as august the fourth, you have stated, and of what to make sure that i didn't your words right. how can you continue to make those statements when the public record is extraordinarily clear. >> thank you for joining me in this debate. i want to make it clear that we support the fact that you voted against obamacare. this is unequivocal.

even the announcer said that you saw it as a work in progress, one that needed to continue. it is not that she voted against the main bill, but it was a motion to table. it was a procedural vote and the concern that we have is that several times in the past year voted differently on a substantive motion when it came to the four -- to the floor. again, senator murkowski we respect the fact that you did that, but we want some perspective about the need for government health care. you indicated that you wanted a government health care plan to work. simple government has no role -- has no role in providing a health care plan, let all of dr. what one that has the stamp of obamacare on it.

there are many other co-sponsors that signed on. it took you until my campaign put pressure on you to actually vote for the bill. >> one minute for a bottle. thei voted to fully repeale obama health care plan the day after it was signed by the president into law. you have suggested that this vote did not count. i would direct you to the congressional record and i am sure that you sure do read congressional records. i am quoting again, mr. president, this would repeal the obama care bill. the statement from mr. box, the

democratic leader on the floor, he said that it is very transparent, very straightforward, totally honest. it is not camouflaged. it is straight repeal of health care reform. there was no doubt in anyone's mind as to what we were voting on. i am certain that you have seen that entire clip from that review for that interview that i gave. i went on to say that in fact, repeal is not the whole answer if we have not reformed health care. in fact, if you have stated in your questionnaire that that is exactly what you would do. >> march 30, 2010, you said repealing this is not the answer in my opinion. that clip is available for all

alaskans to you. they took you at your word. that is what you said. it was the pressure that my campaign put on you that forced to to vote. >> mr. miller, please keep your question brief. 30 seconds, please. >> senator, have you ever co- sponsored for a bill or can't of a bill or resolution that was unconstitutional -- bill or resolution that was unconstitutional. >> that was unconstitutional on its face, no. >> a one minute rebuttal. >> we're in the constitution is roe v. wade authorize? in 2003, there was a

constitutional provision that should not be reversed. the u.s. constitution permits federal funding for iraq research. i would also like to tell the alaskans, where in the ,nstitution is the tarp where did the constitution of the rise that? -- authorize that? >> to suggest that the political world is black and white, that we should take that constitution and take literal interpretation and it is not absolutely cleanly, clearly stated that funding should be provided for authorization should be made for, where would we be as a

nation? i will give you a very specific point. in our constitution, it specifically provides for funding for a navy and an army. but it does not specify airforce. are we to suggest that perhaps we should not be funding our air force because it is not included in the constitution? >> thank you, senator. now, it is time for me to ask a question and i will start with a question for you senator murkowski. your opponent has made remarks to the tarp. would you vote for it again? >> that is a good question. at the time, it may not have been the best option, but it was the only option that we have in front of us.

look what has happened to our housing market. look what happened to individual's retirement and pensions. look what has happened to our nation's economy and what we were told was that it was bad and it was getting worse. the information that we had at that time led a majority of us, 72 of us. this was not just a few republicans. we believed this was the best option at the time. it was the only option. it was all across the board in terms of members who looked up that and said that we must act and we must do something. senator tom coburn, one of the most ardent conservatives in the senate supported of that vote as long-as well as myself. would we all have wished we could do something different? could do something different?