>> discussions between that city and the governor about what to do. looking at the papers and talking about the role of tax cuts. in the "new york times," a story

looking at some critical tax cuts calling it a poor stimulus. i want to get your thought this is morning about the role of tax cuts in the economy especially being maybe a poor stimulus. here is your chance toway in. host: you can join us off email at journal c-span.org. on twitter, go to c-span wj. we are taking your thought this is morning from the "new york times" business section. it says inside, the current is so appealing that many embrace

them as an economic cure all. suggesting that tax cuts have limited ability to bolster a flagging economy. the non-partisan budget office analyze the affect of the policy and found that extending the tax cuts would reduce that employment.

host: we'd like to hear from you tax cuts may be poor stimulus. a lot of discussions around tax cuts center around the cuts placed under george w. bush's administration that are set to expire in 2011. there's a large section at least giving advice on how to prepare. how is how tax rates would change. in 2011, if congress fails to act on this measure about the cuts expiring. the top income tax rate goes to 39.6%. top dividend tax rate goes to 39.6%. capital gains goes to 20% from

15%. no top estate tax rate now, that would rise to 55%. those are some of the options at play right now. we'll look at the aspects of this and get your input as well. go ahead on the democratic line first. caller: i think the stimulus is a good idea. we should look at what president clinton did and go back to those changes. i remember that gas was around $1 a gallon. how did president clinton get that done? the difference between 39.6 and 35% for a million is about

$40,000. the net on that would be around $604,000. i think a millionaire could get along real well on $604,000 net. if we went to the clinton policy, i think this would turn around. host: what specific about the clinton policy? caller: i think we should go back to the 39.6% rate. i think millionaires could get by on $604,000 net. i think that's about $50,000 a month. host: how do you think tax cuts factor into all of this about whether the cuts should expire or not? caller: i think president bush

did not give too much thought on how it would affect the overall economy with these tax cuts. host: going to new york for the republican line. good morning. caller: i wanted to let everyone know that the more spendable capital, the income people have, the more they will save and spend. it doesn't matter if they are rich, poor or in between. it is funds in the consumer letting them spend the money. once they start doing that, then businesses will see money is flowing. capital coming into the system? they will make adjustments,

advances into the products and costs. what we really need to do is to get the spendable money back into the hands of the general people. not just tax cuts or some sort of a tax incentive for the businesses. i really do feel a lot of those tax cuts are already there. now it is time for the people to get the money into their hands so that they can spend it, start creating jobs. that will be the way that it will lift this economy out. >> how will you in specific make claims on this show and others have made about tax cuts that are quote, unquote wealthy?

caller: they will all spend income. this is the same thing with the flat rate tax debate we are having. we should have a flat rate tax starting at the so-called poverty level and moving up from there. if you want to put a percent or two on those making $100 million, so be it. but for the rest of them so that it is absolutely fair, let's have the same tax base for everyone throughout the country. host: florida on the democrat line. caller: that sounds all fun and dannedy what the other guy said but first remember like on msmbc, when the democrats are in office, you have tax cuts for

everyone. everyone seems to strive, when the republicans get in office, we have a tax percent for the rich and poor. there's no change. from 0-200, let that stay the same, from 200 to 500, let's change that so the country can get back on force. these are the people that have the money. the poor people don't have the money. look around, if they did, we wouldn't have this problem.

everybody would be happier. host: off twitter this morning, the viewer identifies himself as super tone says we want good roads, schools, clean water, strong military, they cost money. so we need taxes. the lines remain on the screen. just after 9:00 we'll have a chance to talk about this ninth anniversary of 9/11 today. we'll be covering some sermonies. just after 9:00, we'll go to these live events.

but for now, tax cuts are our subject. the assist and treasury secretary from obama's administration will be with us to talk. >> since we were getting from the hill that it is a pretty tight schedule and there might not be a lot of appetite for this right now, is it still worth doing if congress can't address it until next year and would waiting it until then reduce these proposals? >> good question. congress does have a lot on their plate right now.

>> the full interview is available tomorrow right after this program at 10:00, you can see it again at 6:00. back to our discussion on tax cuts. scott on the republican line. caller: good morning. by reducing tax rates, you increase economic activity and increase revenue to the

government. the progressive income tax is an

marxist idea. the taxes now are used for more social engineering than they are to raise revenue. if you want to increase the revenue to the government, reduce tax rates. it works every time. host: how does spending factor into that then? caller: the democrats, when reagan increased the revenue, the democrats wound up spending $2 for every $1 of every revenue. you have to reign in spending also. that's part of the equation. host: sorry to cut you off. georgia, earl on the democrat line. caller: good morning. i think a vast majority of americans are missing the whole

concept as far as those taxes would help the exiting business businesses. i'm concerned about those thousands of people that lost their jobs and want to come back into businesses. the poorer class people in this country that run the back of this economy. we look at if we are going to cut taxes, these existing businesses there right now. i was a small business owner. i'm out of business right now. if you was to cut taxes for me and i was in business, based on

the current conditions right now. i would not hire no more people on the existing payroll. i would not do it based on i don't know where the country is going. my main point is that -- the point i'm trying to make is that -- now with china. the thing with china, all of the manufacturing jobs that went to china. we have to bring those jobs back. those jobs are the backbone of the society. host: from twitter, talking about tax cuts as well. no tax cut that's cost 3 trillion. we need jobs.

this one is highlighting the work of the tax policy center. looking at various levels of income for a family to see how taxes will change. a family earning $75,000, on average, they average that in 2010, they will pay about $4,000 in taxes. if the tax cuts expire, they will pay $6, 175. if they consider the proposals for taxes that he has, that family would then end up paying $3, 918. it looks at those in higher tax brackets as well. in 2010, they would pay $63,000,

if the cuts expire, they'll pay $64, 510, with the obama budget, they would pay $58, 969. you can go to their website for the tax foundation to learn more. it gives you an idea to what happens dollar wise to various changes in tax rates. looking at more calls. on the independent line, go ahead. caller: good morning. i've watched and been around during ronald reagan. i've had two small businesses in my life. these people -- ronald reagan put the whole surplus of social

security. that is what is all gone. it is easy enough -- you can't run a business that way. the only people. i don't know what's wrong with them that they can't understand that. maybe they've never run a business. >> next call is phoenix, arizona on the republican line. caller: good morning. the figures you had for the budget that we looked at, they are interesting but just like the household, i have to have a budget every year. it doesn't matter if they can put in print, 2011 obama budget. congress is partly to blame for that. nancy pelosi and harry reid are

responsible for that. host: it looks at various proposals but go ahead. caller: if it is george bush they like to complain about all the time. i don't see any supporters of barack obama out there complaining about it. host: what is the role of tax cuts in the economy right now? caller: we need tax cuts. we have to stop the spending. i have no idea -- if the stimulus is so great, why isn't unemployment going down? it is not. the gentleman that said the poor people are the backbone of the country, really? i don't remember a poor person ever giving me a job. host: off twitter, studies show that tax cuts for the rich does

not spur economic growth the middle class will spend. in light of the hard times occurring across the nation. it says officials are considering options including a short-term bank loan.

host: to the phones. reagan, texas on the republican line. caller: this is reagan, tennessee. at 100% tax rate on things people buy to grow their business, it looks like republicans would be happy with this. if you go back to the great depression, tax rates were up like 90% for the top 2%. now, they would be going back to the clinton rates at, what, like 3 35%. that would give small businesses and people in poverty and poor

people a chance to start up the business. that would make it like the republicans say or like people would say, the poor people are the backbone -- or the middle class are. i really believe if they stick with this, we could come out of this thing. host: minnesota on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. i think if we start this off right, we should look at the individuals that are actually in question today. the poor people. i know a lot of them out there have enough money to afford certain items but not enough to afford a home or security like the upper class would. i would think that the stimulus would look at those things.

you know, if a person needed to maintain a home, the government would give them a stimulus toward that. the money that they keep using to waste on things to keep them going. on top of that, they would receive a credit and gain things in life. host: looking at treasury bonds, which is a way that the united states handles the situation. the headlines say, a 10-day skid shave 2.5% off treasury.

richmond, indiana on the republican line. caller: i agree with that. but you got to cut spending too. why they can't learn from history goes beyond my

understanding. if he passes the cap and trades, we are done. he'll put us into depression if he passes cap and trade. i don't see how they can look at these other countries that tried these programs and found they failed miserably. we need a fair tax. we need to be fair to everybody. the democrats have turned into a communist, socialist party. host: in the 1950's, the gdp, increas increases 80%. top tax rate was 91%. in the 1960's, gdp increased 97%. the tap intoxication rate was 70%. in the 2000, the gdp increased

47%. the top tax rate was 35%. back on the phone. go ahead. caller: i'm trying to understand if these republicans are just being dishonest. look what the bush administration did for the economy and the deficit.

we look at bill clinton, he actually increased taxes on the top wage earners. we had record surpluses. we go back to reagan, he gave massive tax cuts. he had historical deficits and debts. they often will fight john kennedy decreasing taxes and the economy taking off because of it. that was when the top tax bracket was at 70%. we are long past the point of diminishing returns. that's something we don't understand. revenues start to diminish. we pass that point long ago. i don't know whether they are ignorant or just dishonest.

host: "new york times" headline discussioning g. m. chief to make $9 million. and in the "washington post" this morning, this story about eric prince, president of black stone approved of his most sensitive operations. sources close to the company said.

host: los angeles, california. caller: the last caller had it right. the guy that called from texas is an idiot. when reagan tried this in the 1980s, revenues went down. bush try it had and revenues went down. it's ridiculous to say this. the people have been sold a bill of goods. the way to stimulate the economy is give people cash. give cash directly to the people either in the form of unemployment insurance or direct cash grants. that's what we need. host: didn't president bush do

that in the first stimulus in direct payment? caller: not much, that was like $250. you need something more substantial than that. ideally, you need about $10,000. maybe start off slow with $1,000 a year to everybody. that's everybody. congress right now hassan aversion to giving money to anybody that doesn't work. all your tax credits go to people that already have some income. the people that need this and would spend it immediately are people that don't work. people like the homeless or women at home taking care of their kids. we should give a direct cash grant to everybody in the country who is hand american citizen who has lived here more than five years. host: let me show you another

clip from the talk about president obama's proposal to keep president bush's tax cuts for the middle class and for the rich. >> one of the questions how you define middle class. the president had defined that as the threshold of $200,000 or less or for married couples $250,000 or less. some think that is too low. in urban centers, the middle class might be broader than a family making $250,000 a year. are you rethinking that at all to raising that to $500,000 or even $1 million. >> the president has been clear making that $250,000.

that cover many americans. it is 98% of americans. the president has been clear, that's where we think the tax relief should be delivered. it is based on a number of different factors and analysis the president laid out. the middle class up to $250,000 did not see their income increase as it did in the past. we need to lock in the tax rates for 98% of americans and allow the top two to expire on schedule. host: coming up tomorrow right after the program. 10 a.m. or 6 p.m. in the evening. a couple more calls on the tax

cuts. chicago, illinois, on the independent line. caller: good morning. you will listen to the republican politicians, they never mention the middle class tax cuts or buy american. ronald reagan gave tax cuts to the richest 2% and raised taxes on the middle class. he raised taxes 11 times. he raised taxes on working people by increasing the fica tax. the middle class worker took home less pay. look at the job production for democrats and republicans. 24 years of republicans. they created 23.3 jobs.

12 years under carter and clinton and they created 26 million jobs. democrats have always created more jobs and kept more money in the middle class. thank you. host: the republican line from ohio. thank you for waiting. caller: i have never heard a more ignorant bunch of democrats than today. if they want to look at the social security funds, all they have to do is look at the social security web page. stating that the social security tax funds go into the general fund. there are no type of fund was your name on it.

the people that have been in power have been stealing this money all along. if you take a look at the reports, the u.s. treasury, the irs, they all state to the point that when you cut taxes, you get more money into the treasury. when you raise taxes, you get less money. please don't use bill clinton. even his own words state he was trying to use tax breaks for 10 years past his administration for some form of a surplus that did not exist according to the internal revenue service. since they do this for a living. i'll trust their word. host: a photo in the "new york

times" today from houston, texas. the warehouse there caught fire around 4:00 in the morning. i show you that photo of what it might do for the upcoming elections.

this goes on. can you read it for yourself in the "new york times" this morning. from new york on the independent line. caller: good morning. all these democrats calling in. what i would like to know, the bush tax cuts that are in affect now, what positive affect is it having on the economy. that's what i would like to know. host: why don't you answer your own question. caller: i see none. host: one more call. caller: the bush tax cuts c

would still be working if obama and the democrats would stop working. to reagan, they keep talking about reagan raised the deficit. reagan cut taxes for everybody including my middle class family. we thrived under reagan. it was the democrat that's held congress for six or seven of reagan's eight years in office. it was the democrats that raised deficits. he submited budgets that were less. it was the democrats that raised spending, not reagan. host: thank you. right after 9:00 today, we'll start taking calls today as we

remember the anniversary of 9/11. we'll be covering live ceremonies. featuring michelle obama, laura bush and the interior secretaries as well. at 2 p.m., the aviation's response on 9/11. and later today, from the pentagon with president obama and defense secretary gates. again, after 9:00 today, we'll take your calls on that as we lead up to coverage of the events.

we'll be right back with more and joining us with our guest. stay with us.

>> with midterm elections about 50 days away, follow the races. all freon your computer, follow the candidates and issues any time. >> this weekend, recommending september 11, the looming tower. lawrence wright talks about the clean up and efforts leading up

to it. for all of this weekend's programs and air times go to book tv.org. washington journal continues. host: joining us now on the screen, mr. fuentes from the brookings institute. guest: we have transit systems bursting at the seems. we have gasoline pipelines bursting at the seems. we need to think of the kind of

infa structure we need to compete. we look around to germany, china. we wonder how are we going to be able to compete with these power houses if we don't have the kind of structure to compete. part of the problem is that we don't make the key decisions for those infau structures. we spread the money around the country thin and don't prioritize. host: the president did mention the bank. let's listen to what he had to say. this is from milwaukee earlier

in the week where president obama discusses the idea of an infa structure bank. >> this is a plan that will be fully paid for. we want to set up an ina fa structure bank to leverage dollars and look at a strategy to build a high-speed rail network to reduce harmful emissions. we want to cut waste and consolidate and collapse 100 different program that's too often duplicate each other. we want to change and reform the haphazard patch work way of doing business. we want to focus on less wasteful approaches than we have right now. we want competition and innovation that gives us the

best bang for the buck. this will not only create jobs immediately, it will make economy hum over the long haul. it is a plan that can and should attract by partisan support. pi host: when we heard the word "bank" how does that go along with the idea. guest: what we are talking about here is a special federal entity that would package some funding and financing proposals. base those projects on merit, so

we are really choosing the best projects we need today. there would be a board that would package some public money, some private money. they would focus on those p projects that would lead to these issues. host: grants pertaining to some 150,000 miles of roads, maintaining 4,000 miles of rail line and rehab ill tating 150 miles of airport run way. guest: we'll be in charge of maintaining the stuff on the ground. what we are talking about here is looking at the new

investments. the $50 billion the president talked about will probably jump start a bigger program. there have been proposals for an infa structure bank. there is a proposal of $5 billion over five years leveraging some additional money, some private money could be more depending on how the response is. host: how would that work? guest: they say now, if you've seen one funding package, you've seen one funding package. it's a mix between public-private money. we need to think about new ways to do that. we know that there is private money ready to invest. we need some kind of mechanism.

these aren't straight forward things. they are hard to do and kind of risky. we need the government there to take the next step and make this easier. >> the investment will be based on the proposal then and the various states. guest: right these would bubble up. these aren't thing that's would come top down. this isn't china. we make this as the partnership. host: would it favor larger cities? ifrment it doesn't necessarily have to do that. when people hear of this, they think of megaprojects. our economy is really rooted. this isn't just an urban or

excludeing ruring rural program this shouldn't just be thought about as a metropolitan program. host: our guest here to talk about the proposal for a metropolitan bank. give us a call. email us at c-span.org and follow us on twitter, c-span wj.

guest: the big multibillion dollar, multiyear program passes with 90 plus percent of the vote. people drove more, paid more in gasoline tax. they had a lot of money to go around. those days are over. even before the recession, people started driving less. throwing off less gas tax revenue. there are real problems with how to fund the legislation to begin with. we have to deal with that immediate problem. all of those things bundled together. >> if the bank is set up, does the money go out in the form of

a loan or grant? guest: the bank could issue bonds or loan or grants. if you really want to focus on those project that's may not generates that's may not generate revenue may not generate revenue may not generate revenue. host: the president said that it creates jobs and makes the economy hum. is it as simple as that? guest: probably. it will take some time to set this thing up. we have to talk about the economy structure and make this as depoliticized as possible.

host: politics need to take as little a role as possible? can that happen? guest: i believe so. host: has it happened in the past? guest: looking at the premise that it matters to the people in the northeast that there were interstates running through parts of the west. it made sense to folks across the country that this was something the federal government needed to do. we have lost that. we have lost the role of the federal government making these kinds of decisions. we need to get back to that. host: our guest until 8:20.

north carolina, you are first. john on the democrat line. go ahead. caller: good morning. right quick, mr. robert. tell me the last time you bought something made in america, right quick. guest: that's a good question. host: why is it important to this conversion? caller: you need to stimulate jobs. host: what do you mean? caller: general motors, aig or whoever. guest: the question about need is critical. what kind of infa structure do

we need? it made us look hard about what is on the ground. the tragedy in san francisco makes people thing. you had the bridge fall down in minneapolis. it makes us think. we see potholes and conditions of our networks and water infa structure. we need to focus on priorities and what we need to do. host: north carolina, republican line. good morning. caller: my question is, is it true that unions will get most of the contracts? my understanding is that the contract has to be $25 million

or more for each project and the unions automatically get it as part of the bill. is that true? guest: there are a lot of different ways they could set this up. we have remarkable consistencies between the unions. we can retain jobs and grow the economy. it will take more strategic decisions than we are doing right now. host: is it up to the legislation fighting to bring projects back home? can they work together? guest: they have to.

the states and metropolitan areas continue to make decisions about the projects we need. we know some of the problems are that we need to do better job at maintenance, project selection and long-term planning. those are really the dominion of the larger program. the bank is sitting on top of some of the other stuff that needs to be reformed. host: would this be run out of the treasury? guest: ideally. maybe starting off smaller with the department of transportation. we think that would be a mistake because we need to think of more projects than transportation. the tennessee valley reform which was started up in the 1930's. there's discussion about what will happen to fanny and

freddie. i think treasury is a good place to start. host: the next call from tennessee on the republican line. go ahead. caller: this is setting up a new area for a czar and more concentration in the federal government leaving out the aspect of different states making decisions on how to use monies for rebuilding the interstructure. my whole concept is that the states, not the federal government, should play the major role of deciding where these monies go. you are setting up a whole system in the federal government as being czars of everything. it's time to stop. thank you. host: our guest.

guest: that's a great question. this really isn't something we are talking about where the projects are talked about here in washington. this needs to be something that is a partnership between the federal government and the states and private sector. it all needs to be done together with each other. we think of this as a layer cake all mixed together more like a marble cake. we need a mechanism that can relate to those kind of complexities. host: would it be a g. o. c. thing? like fanny or freddie? guest: i don't think so. it would be something else that

would house this. host: atlanta, georgia to the democrat line. caller: how will the $50 billion affect the high-speed rail system. will this system be as the interer state system? will it connect in that manner? host: there's a lot of enthusiasm around high-speed rail. fixing the run ways and the interstates that we need. guest: these are all tangible things people understand. the high-speed rail, we have been surprised about the enthusiasm around the country.

everybody understands what this is. they get it and want these kinds of investments. we see it internationally. we know we don't have that here. the government is starting work on california, florida and in chicago. keep in mind, this is going to be really, really expensive. we need to build off the investments we've made so far and put that together as part of a larger package. where a second interstate system, maybe it's an idea for looking at this. host: are you only talking about

transportation projects that would be funded out of this bank? guest: i hope not but transportation has been a driver. the projects are across the board. it is energy, water, freight. we need to think much more broadly than highways, transit and rail but that's probably going to be the push. host: and there are things along the line of broadband and computer lines and so on. guest: that's why this stuff will take some time. we don't do well integrating a lot of these components. we are starting to. we are starting to make some decisions and more of these

connections. the connections between housing, energy, environment. even within the department of transportation, we have the federal highway, transit and rail administration. it's tough to break these down that have been in place so long. the idea is to look at this for the economy's sak through the lense of infa structure. thelen of infa structure. s through the of infa structurea through thelense of infa structure. c t thelense of infa structurek thr thelense of infa structure. th thelense of infa structure. k t thelense of infa structuree thr thelense of infa structurethe lense of infa structure. host: to the phone lines from new orleans. caller: we have submerged roads program, which is basically

funding since hurricane katrinaa. we took a lot of damage obviously from katrina. how is that money going to be dispersed and once those projects are completed throughout the country and that $50 billion is spent, where are those jobs going to go? it seems like we had a big push in job creation when they had the census. there was a big push here because they wanted to know how many homes were left and how many people were here. once those areas were counted, those jobs were gone. my question is, where is the

money going and going to be distributed? and how long will these jobs affect the economy and grow the economy for the long term. host: one more question off twitter asking who are the main borrow ors? is it local government? what level? guest: those are great questions. $50 billion sounds like a lot of money and it is. but we are talking about a national program that is in need of $2.1 trillion. we have to understand that this is not going to solve all the problems around the country. the idea was to front load a larger investment package and put people back to work today. we can start to deal with the economic problems we are facing

right now. the caller is right. we need to focus on job creation today. we need to make sure we are not creating jobs in the return. you may not have created long-lasting value. with a little bit of innovation and thinking, we can look at creating jobs, there are jobs related to these projects. this is going to support other kind of jobs that will support the economy and things like exporters. there are lots of ways to connect to the health of the country and moving away to the things we need. host: going to new york on the independent line. good morning. caller: good morning. i would say let's go back to

prior years like the 1800s and open up our steal mills and foundries and the interstructure and take the government out of the picture and put it in a private sector. that would create your jobs right from the bottom on up. and keep this country afloat. guest: that's what we are trying to do here. we are thinking about these projects not just as the federal government running the entire thing. picking the project, staffing the project. this is really a partnership. we have a long way to go. there's very few company that's

manufacture rail cars. if we are thinking about how we are going to outset the areas in a range of complexes. building coast to coast, we should be able to buy and manufacture those cars here and use that in the united states. we have invested in infa structure for so long, a lot of those jobs has gone overseas. >> georgia, you are next on the republican line. shelby. caller: good morning. i thought you said the word "china." and the government would like private investment. i just wondered how much we have invested in in other countries.

c-span said there are municipal water systems that have been taken over by another country and a tol road in indiana is owned by another countrylownedo owned by another country. host: that's a great question. guest: there's a little bit of a misunderstandi misunderstanding. what they are talking about -- look at it like your house. you can own your house and live

in it and rent it to somebody else. you still make money off of it and you still maintain ownership. it is really more like the private sector coming in and leasing that infa structure for a long time. the toll road, private factors may come in but it is still really owned by the state or the area. the airport in orlando owned but maintained and operated by private sector companies. it is not just this straight black and white issue of some things that are public but getting into this real complex partnership. host: the governor in california

and new york have all weighted in favor on this. guest: yes. correct. we push about the long-term issues. we have been successful in pushing that ball forward. host: on the democrat line, go ahead. caller: it's a great idea and about time but politically, i just don't think it will happen. you have the gop and tea party demonizing everything with the government. i don't know how you will be able to convince anybody that this is a good idea. that's basically my comment. thanks. >> these are tough questions. the good thing is that it is not really a political issue. surface transportation bill

passes with support. guest: these should be non-political but we have things coming up we have to deal with. there's a transportation bill that expires at the end of the year. when are we going to do with that? i don't think anybody thinks that is a good idea. we need to be thinking -- again not in these political terms but in the short term, we need to make sure we are not laying off these workers and how we are going to put together a sustainable issue. host: addressing it from twitter, saying if we are investing only $50 billion, that

seems like sort of a gas tax holiday sort of gimmick. guest: the state governments are investing their own money and have their own gas taxes. we have metropolitan areas particularly in intermountain west, phoenix, denver that want to raise sales taxes to pay for things. that said, we still note there's a gap between all the stuff we are doing and the things we need. it is not a gimmick in that way but we need to make sure we understand this is not the only solution. we have a have a long way to go. host: maybe people driving down the road will see the need to invest in this.

guest: there are tragic reminders -- we know when the bridge fell down in minneapolis, we did a scan of bridges that are defishent. there is a maintenance backloge there is a maintenance backloge there is a maintenance backlogc there is a maintenance backlogi there is a maintenance backlog there really are real tangible impacts to everyday consumers. energy problems, we know this better than anybody. there are real time, direct impacts people are feeling everyday. host: idaho on the republican line. caller: in the 1930's, the w.

p. a. built side walks and gutters that are all crumbling right now. how about starting to replace all those? guest: that's what we need to be doing. high-speed rail gets a lot of attention. but one priority needs to be maintaining the structures in place today. there's a life cycle and it needs to be dealt with. side walks, parks, all kinds of thing that's need to be maintained. those aren't the sexiest projects. you may or may not be able to cut a ribbon along a side walk repair.

the people living with this right now, rehab ill tating or repairing will be big today. host: looking at how much money we have to replace it come 2020, from twitter. guest: that's where things like the bank come in if we are going to do something new, big and complex, it has to be done right. we can't afford to make mista s mistakes. i'm wandering why they haven't taxed food yet.

everybody eats. that's really all i had. thank you. guest: they still recognized they will have quality, safe

structure. host: who ultimately decides if a project is green or not? guest: there will be a board put together. you have to have some kind of board that would look at the merit of these projects and some real standards set up based on all kinds of impacts. maybe how much private sector involvements, how they relate to planning. there are a lot of things you could put into this. it has to be transparent and again as free from pork and politics as we can get. i know that's heavy but i think we are ready to do that. host: from missouri on the democrat line. caller: good morning. c-span. great show. one statement. one comment.

whatever we do, we need to make sure those materials and supplies come from manufactures inside the united states, that we don't import our materials. another statement, i set an idea outlining an idea to the white house. i asked somebody to contact me. it saves our farm land and provides fresh water. it is a job that we don't have people already employed in. host: have you gotten a response yet? guest: just day before yesterday, i mailed it off. i would like to get a response. we'll pump that flood water out west where they need that for

irrigation and supplies. guest: this is the conference we need to be having. energy is a great example. as it relates to water infa structure. if we know where the fast growing parts of the country are or the slow growing parts of the country are. putting together the plan and we need the guts to stick to it.

guest: this isn't something can you do in one part of the government. they did what they did with what they can. if you want to do this right, we have to take the lessons we learned taking it from decades and generations ago, this is something we need to do all together from both parts of washington. it can't be something with one small born. host: thank you to our guest for your time this morning. guest: thank you for having me. host: next, what is coming for north korea. potential change in leadership in the near future. we'll have that discussion.

host: our current guest with the heritage foundation. before that, you were with the cia. guest: i was the deputy division chief for the korean analysis. host: what is important to note about the workers' party in

korea? guest: this is the first time they've had one of these conferences in 40 years. clearly, it's important. they may formally announce kim's son as the next leader or it may be more subtle than that. host: mainly how? guest: the last several years or decades, the military has presumed a dominant role. the national defense is really the first part of the government. now what they may be doing is trying to bring a greater importance to the worker's party to perhaps level out the playing field. host: what do we know about

korea's leader? guest: there's a mad investigation trying to find out. host: some reports say we don't even know his age guest: that's right. they have changed his birth date. they will make him a year older so that during the important 2012 year, his 30th birthday will line up with his father's 70 th birthday which lines up with his grandfather's 100 th birthday. in korea, it's the men that lie

about their age. there were rumors before that he had travelled to china. it shows the low level of information we have on north korea. one of the things a lot of folks have indicated is to get china's blessing. that would not be the case. it would be more of apre brief before them announcing it publicly. host: our guest until 9:00 to talk about north korea. clear . for those in north korea, how do

they view this process? guest: some concern. it's sort of like an xerox of an xerox. his father was seen as not as good as his father and this son is seen as not as good as his father. the general public doesn't know a lot about him. there are questions about whether senior leaders would go along with him. host: one thing that has to happen soon is the consolidation of power. what does that mean? guest: if there are

challengeerses to the throne, there wouldn't be an outright challenge as long as his father is in power but once he dies, you could have a con seftful, and failed succession.

the other senior leaders may create a crisis to rally around the flag fact. host: the hartford line for democrats. you are on. go ahead. caller: my question is they've been predicting that north korea would collapse in like 25 years. what is next in that regard? guest: people have been predicting north korea's collapse in the next few years

for the last decade. it's troubled by rough economics. it depends on not only the pressure other nations put on them but also the decree provided in aid and assistance. right now, this is a growing donor fatigue. there's less leading to give them assistance. host: what is the status of kim jong-il's health? guest: he did have a stroke.

there hasn't been photos of him since then. he's not as bad as he was in early 2009. host: a quick question as to his overall health and how much time do we think he has left in power? guest: it's difficult to predict. he has a number of health problems. most estimates are that he may only have three years to live. with a stroke victim, a change can occur quickly. that's another reason for concern is that right now, there's no formal plan in a country that has nuclear weapons. if he dies, will the country go along? there's a lot of uncertainty and

concern. host: will there be people placed around him? guest: there's been a several year process of bringing him up to speed and aboving his resume but there have been changes at the top, people given greater responsibilities and power and others weaned out. there have been a series of car crashes involving members of the senior leadership. host: indiana on the independent line. caller: how likely do you think -- host: next call is richmond, virginia. go ahead. caller: what does your guest think china's preference would

be? what would china like to see happen? guest: they have been relatively quiet. they are hesitant to press north korea. they see that as an internal development. china's greater concern is north korea's behavior. they continue to play like north korea's lawyer in the u.n. council. they are trying to be on both sides of the fence at the same time. they are trying to say they are behaving as a responsibly stake holder at the same time, they undermine the affect of the u.n. sanctions to get north korea to abide by the sanctions and give

up weapons. host: north texas on the republican line. caller: good morning. they had a nuclear test in some cave up north. are they really a nreally a power? guest: they did have an unsuccessful test but they have unsuccessful test but they have had a successful test. we know they are able to test a device. there's uncertainty to the degree to which they've weaponized. most don't think they have

miniaturized any warhead so it would still have to be delivered by air plane or ship. host: does that change in leadership mean a change for the people in north korea? guest: not likely. leadership has shown a discontain for the people of the country. the government spends 25% of the budget on military and memorials for leaders. people are sent to political prison along with two generations of their family for criticizing leadership. host: any sign that him being younger would think any differently? guest: not really. he's a product of the system.

he sees that any loosening of control would lead to a popular up rising. there's no indication that he would be any different from his father. host: back to the line from florida. caller: last week, something was said about the sinking of the korean sub that the facts don't add up to the sub being sunk by the north korean body. there was no fact that north korea did sink that submarine. guest: the evidence that north korea sank the south korean

naval vessel are complee, compelling and comprehensive. on monday, south koreans will release a larger report that will add to the level of details. there are people in south korea who find it inconvenience to admit north korea was behind it. they want to reach out and create a large ly unconventiona idea. it is really a smoking gun that they sank a south korean naval vessel in south korean waters.

host: if the younger kim was placed on the military commission, what do you think about that? guest: there are a number of positions he could be given that would indicate he is going to be the successor. the central committee of the korea's workers' party, it is likely he could be announced in that position, probably not yet the ten or so real leaders. it's likely that will be announced. host: good morning from the republican line. caller: good morning. calling from harrisburg. go to talk to you. watch you everyday. my question to this gentleman is, don't we have any indel

against in north korea -- are you there? that tells us anything that we would have an idea that this young man has travelled to china? don't our people have anyway of knowing any movements of anybody over there? guest: north korea has been described as the hardest of the hard targets for intelligence. there's limits from what we can get in images and human intelligence. i disagree with those who say we know nothing about north korea. i know when i was in the intelligence committee, i would read article that's had

incorrect information. this was classified within the u.s. government. the government knows more than the outside world. it is a very difficult problem to work. it is frustrating in that it is hard to know what we don't know. host: in terms of engagement, how does this play with this administration? guest: it will likely pick up with where the bush administration left off. the last four years, there was this overreaching engagement. largely offering things without getting sufficient guarantee of

north korean responses. the president obama's administration is trying to reach out. north korea has rejected. they did a series of provocative actions, threatening civilian airlines flying into south korea. the obama administration is emphasizing pressure over engagement. host: the current engagement of pressure is that a good one? guest: i think it is. you need a two-track policy of pressure and willingness to engage. right now, the obama administration has not really sought to reach out to north

korea. there's this uncomfortable level. we may see a willingness. this has been misinterpreted by the softening of the policy. it is the pressure that will continue until north korea's pressure changes. you do have to sit in the same room with north korea. that's not a problem. what is important is how you do it and that you don't go back to offering them concessions in the hope that you have to buy them out of this position. host: with us the next 20 minutes or so. wisconsin the independent line. caller: i know there's a lot of emotional desire for reun

ification in the south. guest: there is sort of divisions of generations. the older generation who may have been born in when is now north korea, they have a stronger desire of the reunifying. they have seen all of north korea's acts. the younger generation see north korea more as another country that they have little in common with.

>> i've heard it said that the relationship is the one of suffering i was wandering what our ideas are on that. guest: the north korea-chinese relationship see it as a phrase.

even the heyday was never that close. kim il perceived. they will be demanding of china and million of dollars in aid returning negotiations we'll use

both a threat in action. raising the fear of an implosion it is a strained relationship. the only one who decides he is the new leader are the ones who have to deal with it. they would see that as too dangerously destable ieszing. host: texas on the independent line. go ahead. caller: i i had a question.

the korean war never really end ended. there was no peace treaty in that war. i don't know what everybody's problems seem to be but if the war never really ended, how could anybody blame north korea. they've never been dealt with in a peace treaty of any kind. i agree that there is no forth

al peace treat y. all the nations are still at war. i do disa grgree that the u.s. behind in depicting north korea as the a greeceor. it has vie lated five agreements in which it promised never police officer pursue in 1968, it tried to assassinate the president in 1976, they asked two u.s. soldiers to death, unprovoked. and in 1987, they blew up a

south korean airliner carrying over 100 people. they acted against u.n. resolutions time and time again they have acted in an unprovoked manner that vie lates the most basic precepts host: is that different from how we are setting policy toward no korea vs iran? that comes from twitter. guest: you are trying to get them back to the behavior. after engagement doesn't work you have to try a bit of pressure as well. just as you don't engage for the

sak of talking. you don't engage just for the sak of hurting them. sanctions have had an impact in that it is sending a signal that if you vie late u.n. resolutions and international law, it sends a price. those who vie late the treat y. it has a series of ways you measure whether they are effective. it has enforced host: virginia on the republican line. caller: the question i'd like to ask how did north korea,

about a year ago on the history channel, the japanese were developing weapons in north korea. is that the skill of this again operation and facilities? . are those weapons basically north korean?

based on the soviet provider. they have gotten assistance in the past and had access to information from china and pakistan and others. it is largely a north korean development. they've used technology from others and traded it. miss i'll technology largely the development.

caller: good morning. i see this is quite unacceptable to any civilized person. i'm listening to you. i see the same type of things happening. if we can find some accommodation with israel, can we not find some accommodation with north korea? must we always be engaging with sending young men and women to deal with? this is my main concern. israel has been a country that has been attacked repeatedly how

israel responds that has been many times used in diplomacy. they broke all five of those. so far they have not done that. we tried engagement. south koreans tried 10 years giving them many, many benefits that didn't work either. north korea is frustrating.

i put the owness firmly on north korea, not china's policy host: do the phone lines. caller: thank you. i'm a korean veteran. i am disturbed of the breaking up of a country that has been in existence for 3,000 years and then the country is divided i'm referring to a situation that happened here in america. you wonder why things like virginia tech happens. americans talk about hate. they might have a reason for going crazy for having someone like the cia come into the country and break it up. can you answer that?

what is the purpose of the cia? thank you. guest: thank you for your service in the military, sir. north korea is actually 5,000 years old. it has been invaded over 1,000 tim times. the division of north korea was a result of the end of world war ii. they decided to take the surrender of japanese forces. north korea would accept the surrender, u.s. would accept south of that. it had nothing do with the cia.

you have had attempts to reconcile. but that has been unsuccessful. it has been invaded and attacked. the division is political. it had nothing to do with the cia. host: one more call from the republican line. go ahead. caller: the question i had was, what was the purpose for the war games between south korea and america? i'm trying to get some information and i just fell out of the news cycle. thank you. guest: there are a series ofpre planned exercises that u.s. and south korea do set in august and

april. beyond those, there have been a new series of exercises desig d designed. these have been largely naval exercises it is a little confusing. we've had a new series of naval exercises bracketing the usual exercises largely ground based. it's a confusing series of ground and naval exercises. there has been the emphasis to have washington show a strong determination to defend and detour any acts of aggression. host: thank you, bruce for your

time today. guest: my pleasure. thank you. host: in about a half hour, events starting. we are going to take our time from 9:00 until the start of our coverage of those events recommending 9/11. we'll do that when we come right back. >> we want to be clear about who the enemy is here. it is a handful of tiny, minority people engaging in horrific acts and have killed muslims more than anybody else. the other reason it is important to remember that is because we have millions of muslim money americans, our fellow citizens in this country, they are going to school with our kids. they are our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers.

when we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them? i've got muslims who are fighting in afghanistan in the uniform of the united states armed services. they are out there putting their lives on the line for us. we have to make sure we are crystal clear for our saks and their saks that they are americans. we honor their service. part of honoring their service is making sure they understand that we don't different yat between them and us. . . .

shanksvi host: at 2 o'clock. featuring the tabloids.

this is the daily news. they're lead editorial said this is to be different from all those before. the year when americans argued and demonstrated in the division rather than unity and yet some will appropriate the cause. so let the partisans yell and the protest others squabble. today does not belong to the bickering a motions. it involves. births and joys and so rows. the "new york post". beyond mourning is how the editors put their remembrance of 9/11. the bottom of the first column. america is not at war with islam. may be true but it means

absolutely nothing if elements of islam are at war with america. tony blair gets it and says the west is under attack by an ideology. it's roots are deep and tentacles long and it stretches far further than we think. and a lot of people don't understand this is a generational struggle and are we prepareed the west for that. the post says that truly is the question. from the "new york times," this is how they remember september 11, 2010. the right way to remember and builds an argument but the last argument i want to highlight. editors write that's good time to remember what president barack obama said yesterday echoing george w. bush after the as. we're not at war with islam but with terrorist organizations. first call is from pennsylvania. republican line. john? caller: yes, i seen the program

on cnn where the president got on the air and he started talking about defending muslim americans and i don't understand. there is, this unsympathetic to most americans that do not want a muslim center at the trade center bombing site. i just can't wrap my behind around that. and i've been - host: new york. cliff on the democrat line? caller: good morning. thanks for having me this morning. i just want to say i'm 5.25% years old and i look to see the vietnam, bill of rights and ground zero and i just think it's just a reminder that it's very sad, but it's all the

events that are sad but just a reminder that at this time. we as americans need to really do what we can to pull together and go forward to reach a common goal in this country. host: normal, illinois. jim, republican line? caller: good morning. my comment is i think we need to continue to be vigilant. we must always be individual lapt. it's as real at this as it was nine years ago. you have radical islamists fascists that will try to find ways in and we must always remain vigilant to honor those people slaughtered by the cowards 10-yearsing a. i might add too, if these muslims want to show that they are apart of america, why not put the mosque somewhere else in new york?

that's not there at ground zero. host: anthony, democrat line? caller: thanks for the forum. i know laterer today. c-span will have a meeting of pilots and air traffic controllers on duty on 9/11. host: dallas at 2 o'clock. guest: i wonder if you can beat a question to them. i knew an air traffic controller that worked at the icon center and he stated that the airplanes, as soon as wheels lifted off the tarmac, that they knew that the plain had been hijacked and contacted norad repeatedly and norad did not respond as would have normally been standard procedures. if a by hot so much as has the hiccups they're usually out of sheer practice would be right on the case. in this instance, they did not arise to the occasion.

but more importantly, he had stated that two weeks prior to this event. 9/11. i believe it was august 24th there was a gentlemen that had flown a hang glider into the statue of liberty and he stated they had already ready been on the highest level of threat alert because of the fact there was an impending a on 911. so why were the cockpit doors not secured and why were there not air marshalls in place and why did 9/11 occur with no account built to the safeguards that were supposed to be in place. host: dean from shanksville, pennsylvania. thomas on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. how you doing? host: fine, thank you. guest: that's good. hey, i can agree with president barack obama's assessment. this is not about islam but the

location of the mosque and the families of the 9/11 victims. that's from the case of the people there actually protesting it. if he intended to address that in his speech, yesterday? he was completely off the mark. this is not about who we're at war with. it's about the feelings of the family and i can't believe he completely missed it. host: papers this morning have several photographs at ground zero and the current construction work going on. this is the presentation of the "new york post". other papers as well giving pictures to tell us a little bit about the update of construction going on there from the "new york times". david done lap is joining us from new york. if someone were to go to ground ground, what would they see as far as construction? guest: two towers.

the number one trade center that's destined to arise to the original tower. it's already up to one third of that height and four world trade center about six stories. what they wouldn't see from the sidewalk but is very important to know has been constructed are 300,000 square feet of space under ground including much of the shell of the memorial museum and the two enormous pools that are cited where the original towers stood and will serve as memorial. host: as far as time, why is it taken so long to get to this point as far as construction is concerned? guest: i'm not one of those that thinks it's taken that long. i reject that idea because i think projects of this magnitude sometimes take typically decades. the time square project has been

going on now for 30-years. the thing here is that the politicians and we, ourselves, had expectations and the need to both memorialize our terrible loss and to show the world as quickly as possible that we were resilient and capable of rebuilding. in fact on an ordinary new york mega project timetable and ground zero is presented at good clip. there's been a lot of need less fighting, but there always is. host: as far as towers, how are they different now than they were then? guest: you can actually see around the base of one trade world center it's be an extraordinarily fortified building. the core of one world trade center is concrete including walls up to five feet thick and the stairways and elevators. all mechanical systems are enclosed within the concrete

walls rather than the particle board that separateed the core from the outer spaces of the overall old trade center. host: a side from towers there's memorial. how's construction doing on that and when it is expected to be completed? guest: it's said that the goal was to get the e memorial open by september 11, 2011 on the tenth anniversary and what greets my eyes is evidence that will happen. the memorial pools are almost completely clad in dark granite. the pump are installed. 16 or so trees have been planted and i think it'll make the goal. host: as far as working pace of getting this done, what are you seeing day after day as far as manpower and the hours put in the project? guest: there's some two thousand workers on the site

every day. they work typically two shifts on a day and there is also some work that goes on over night and on weekends. the pace is ramping up continually. and i must say in the course of the six or eight site visits i did to report out this story, that the site literally changed each time i went there. i saw things that i hadn't seen previously. host: david from the "new york times". senior mre troe reporter. thank you very much. greenville, tennessee. jenny on the democrats line. caller: hi. host: hi. go ahead. gues caller: we should not be separatists in the fact of religion. our fight is not with the entire islamic religion. it's with those terrorists.

and we are americans. everybody. that doesn't mean do we separate into presbyterian. catholic, methodist. that doesn't make any sense. we are americans. all of us are. - host: wes con wisconsin. republican line, peter? caller: there's one thing i can't understand about the islamic religion. it's states specificly in the koran that if we're unbelievers of the koran we're considered infidels and it also states that they should make no friends with an infidel or an unbeliever, so how can we be so friendly with

the islamic religion when they deny - they deny everything we stand for? host: we're about six minutes to coverage starting of the events taking mace today. manhattan, new york. independent line, shawn? caller: yes, i believe the program is remembering 9/11, 2001 and i would like to remember a good friend of mine. vincent cane was a fireman that passed away in the tragedy there. host: how did you meet vincent? caller: friend of mine from college. fireman up on the east side and we were out to din tear night before. me and a bunch of our buddies and it's a sad thing that he's gone. i hope - i was looking around to see the naming of the names that's currently going on downtown but i haven't been able

to see that anywhere on t.v. and that's shame. host: washington, pennsylvania. kathleen, republican line. you're on, ma'am, go ahead. caller: i think it's a shame that people are taking this as republican and democrat and it's an issue for that when it should not be. host: chicago, illinois. joanne. caller: johnny. host: sorry. go ahead. caller: i wanted to comment about ground zero. they're so set on not having mosque there. why have they not built something significant there. they have had this and all this time and have built absolutely nothing so if these people wanted to build a center there, for all people, what is the big issue? you know i don't understand why

people can't put themselves other people's shoes. you know we all wear the same shoes and put them on one foot at a time. so why can't other people understand every person in this united states, they want to talk about obama's speech. obama is presenting the entire country. which included muslims and includes white people and black people's and which includes hispanics. host: coalville, tennessee. trevor, independent line. caller: good day. i would urge people to go to ae 9/11 truth dot org. they'll see that 1284 as of today, architects and engineers have signed a petition stating it's impossible of the

government's official story to be true about how those buildings came down. there's also building number seven the sol a man building that third building that fell that day. no plane fell. it fell in it's own footprint in six seconds. this is controlled demolition. 9/11 is an inside job and wake up to the truth folks. this is where it's at. host: charleston republican line, georgia? caller: appears to me americans seem to be somewhat naive. what we see with the - the animosity doing on about the mosque, is that people are - and i believe islamic people are muslims are that type of thing that's going on. palestinians and israelis to americans and americans need to wake up and know what's doing on in this country.

host: c-span.org at 9:30 our coverage of what's going on at the pentagon. shots now are on the screen. you see that is starting at the 9:30. that will be a private ceremony presented the joint chief's of chairman. michael bowen and to present the people killed at the pentagon and the people aboard the plane. c-span coverage on c-span.org. at shanksville, pennsylvania coverage starts in just about a minute so we're told. that will feature the first ladies as far as both giving speeches and - paying tribute on the day. that's in pennsylvania. our has call is plantation, florida, democrat line, barry? caller: yes, good morning. first i'm jewish and i'm very

despaired by this them and us. this whole thing sets a dangerous precedent. now they're going after the muslims. who are they going after next? elitist college graduates. i'm disturbed and i think it's part of the - big picture. there is no social contract in this country. host: we'll leave it there. site of flight 93 where it landed on your screen right now and this will begin coverage of shanksville, pennsylvania. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

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>> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to first ladys of the united states. michelle obama and mrs. laura bush and a companied guy

governor. secretary of the interior ken salazar. [applause] >> please be seated everybody. good morning. what a good morning. it is. how wonderful it is to be able to welcome mrs. obama and mrs. bush here today. secretary, ken salazar and gore gordon felt.

thank you for allowing us to share this stage with you this morning. to the passengers and family and friends of the passengers of flight crew 93. welcome. the distinguished guest today are many. warm welcome to joyce mursa the wife of our late congressman, john mursa. [applause] judge mitch randall the vent first lady of pennsylvania. and mrs. michelle ridge the former first lady of pennsylvania. [applause] former secretary of the interior. ken thorn and national park service regional coordinator.

welcome. senators and somerset county commissioners and representatives from senator caseys and congressman shushters office. welcome. mr. neil mulholland. president and ceo of the national park down tax and chris solomon the chairman of our capital campaign. and the architects of our beautiful memorial. paul and fella any merdock and landscape architect, warrenbird. there's many students from stow any, creek, shanksville high school and also german general council, welcome today.

black applau [applause] but most of all. all of you an important. our newly formed friends of flight 93 but all of you that come and show up and support the memorial not overwhelming today, but every day. we hope our flight 93 families are comforted somehow bayou, their american family. since last year's ceremony there has been many changes and much progress all with the help of our partners. community and friends and an elected officials. it's because of you that we're here today. today is like a family reunion. we remember and we honor the past. we mourn the loss of lives. - but we also seize this moment as time as we come together to

commemorate and we look to in next year and the future with anticipation. hope, pride and with humility and most of all with thanks. we recommittee today to never forget. we are in the process of created history and our heritage. how we respond as a nation and heal and how we remain strong, will be rememberd for future generations. on this beautiful day overlooking the final resting place of the 40 passengers and crew we begin with opening remarks with secretary of the interior, ken salazar who has been instrumental and pivotal on so many successes on this product. secretary ken salazar is a fifth generation coloradon and confirmed 50th secretary of the department of interior on january 20th 2009 in a unanimous

vote by the senate. he served as colorado's 35th u.s. senator and as secretary of the interior he works to protect america's natural resources and heritage and honors cultures and tribal communities and supplies energy to power our future. but more importantly, he's caring friend of flight 93 and he's visited this site many, many times. less welcome secretary of the interior, ken salazar. [applause] >> thanks. thank you, joanne. it is my honor to welcome you all to the ninth anniversary commemoration for the heros of flight 93. i especially want to welcome the first lady of the united states. michelle obama and our first lady, laura bush and my former colleague and former secretary of the interior.

ken thorn for this work on this project. when president barack obama appointed me to serve as secretary of interior he asked me to conserve as america's heritage and today we serve that custodial role for a key chapter of american history. this is my fourth visit to this memorial site since becoming secretary of interior. i have worked with family and friends of the crew of flight 93. the community of shanksville, like the rest of the nation, lives were changed on that kate, now nine years ago. the location for this year's anniversary is especially significant as we return to the western overlook in many ways where the journey began nine years ago. this is where the pennsylvania

state police lineed the ridge on horse back to salute the families as they were first brought to view the crash site. this is where the fbi, thentsb. the atf and other agencies carried out their duties. many of those that served the recovery efforts and rescue efforts are with us today and for the first responders, let's give them all a round of applause. [applause] this is also the place where the media gave the nation and the world their first glitch of lo crash site. where community and nation came together. red cross and good samaritans demonstrated great compassion and care here and the local residents of this community and county opened their homes and

hearts to the families and to this nation. in the days following september 11th, a small memorial of hay bails where you was placed so friends could leave things for their loved ones. as a way to pay their respects in many ways we're still adding to that simple hey bail memorial. the nation and the world has joined that salute. you'll here from distinguished speakers today but i want to impart that the department of the interior in our capacity in stewards of national parks and historic sites of the great nation is fully committed building a memorial to rightly commemorate the heroes. because of the work of neil mulholland and the national parks and their board, we're on the way with the friends of the family of flight 93 and so many others, to be able to dedicate

flight 93 in the tenth year anniversary of 9/11. it's my hope when our clish and grandchildren visit this memorial and when our thoughts go to this particular place, this solemn place for our country, they too will understand the selfless act of the heroes of 9/11. that they too, will walk the hallowed grounds and feel the power and the resilience of the american spirit. the next generation will remember where they were that fateful morning. they will know that our nation, like the 40 men and women on night 93, responded to those acts of terrorism with courage, actions intended to divide the nation, instead, rekindled a sense of unity. a sense of strength, and a sense of resolve. thank you for the opportunity to

speak on this solemn anniversary and for the opportunity to help build this memorial. on behalf of a grateful nation. [applause] >> thank you, mr. secretary. reverend robert way from "the good shepherd" cooperative ministries in somerset county will he'd us in the in vocation as we give thanks and ask for blessing. >> i ask you to gather your hearts and behinds as we gather together in prayer. you, who alone are holy, you who are the one true god, with love,

compassion and healing look on us. people of many fates and traditions who gather here this morning in memoriam. we ask you in your goodness to be with us as we come together. we are a broken people. we tend to separate ourselves daily by race, class, creed and politics. but we gather now with the unified purpose and goal. we're one people in this attempt to honor those who died in acts of heroism. first responders, fire fighters. emergency workers and police officers and especially those that fought hand-to-hand against the terrorists in the very skies above this freshous tract of land. bring healing to those that still deeply grieve the loss of loved ones and give them strength to continue their lives

with courage and hope. we remember as well, not only our 40 heroes but also those that suffered death, injury and loss on that day. we give tribute to those who now fight on behalf of our country information remember lands as we reflect on to the losses they and their families incur. god of peace, bring your peace to our violent world. reform with love, those who hearts and behinds are consumed with revenge and inform those that seek only to cause discord and strife. grant that we may all live in a way to on or the sacrifices made on our behalf and the behalf of those people that we have yet to meet. bless our endeavor as we continue to make progress toward a proper and lasting memorial that reflects that their sacrifice was not in vain, as this land once again gives way

to machinery. made by the scars from the mining industry, the havoc end of flight 93. by the rescue and recovery process in the weeks following the flight and now by the actual development of the memorial made those scars give way ultimately to the healing of the land and of our hearts. give us wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where peace becomes the norm. where love for one another is not merely the prayers of the religious but the realized endeavor of all people and all nations. we humbly come before you at this time, asking all of these things knowing that you already know the intent and condition of our hearts. as we acknowledge our presence. bless us and our nation and finally, bless the activities of this day thaurt strivings are in line with your will.

amen. >> less stand if you're able, for the presentation and posting of the colors by the somerset volunteer fire department. one of the first responders to the scene on september 11th, 2001. please remain standing for the national anthem performed by the laurel highlands corral. ♪ [performance of national anthem] ♪

♪ [performance of the national anthem] ♪

[posting of the colors] >> please be seated. reverend paul britain, brother of passenger, marianne britain and gloria day lutheran church, huntington, new york will lead us in a moment of silence in memory and of our heroes from

flight 93. >> rabbi motichi kaplan reminded us that god will a list it from each of us, the pest that is in us. and that god will also enable each of us to bear the worst that can be fall us. rabbi kaplan doesn't remind us of what's generally self-everythself-everyt everything that the pest usually comes out when the worst that can happen too us occurs.

before that moment, most of us cannot believe the courage, the hope sh hope, the acts. - that we can live out until the worst be falls us. in those moments, when we can't believe what god can do through us, we can close our eyes and remember the 40 faces. we can close our eyes, and remember this field. we can because and remember their deeds, for in many ways,

they didn't know the best of themselves until the worst be fell them. - and god moved through them. let us becaus because in the si and prayers of our heartprayers. amen. >> the names of the passengers and crew will be read by their loved ones the family members of

flight 93. the bells of remembrance will be rung by former students of the shanksville high school who were in class on that day in 2001, just three miles from here. >> christian adams. [bell tolls]

>> lorraine g. bay. [bell tolls] >> todd m. beamer. [bell tolls] >> alan anthony beven. [bell tolls] >> mark gerald bingham. [bell tolls] >> diora frances bodly.

[bell tolls] >> sandy wa bradshaw. [bell tolls] >> maryann r. brittan. [bell tolls] >> thomas e. burnet jr. [bell tolls] >> william joseph cashman [bell tolls] >> georgene rose corrigan.

[bell tolls] >> patricia curbinshincurshing tolls] >> jason m. dahl [bell tolls] [inaudible] >> patrick joseph driscol [bell tolls] >> and my husband, edward felt [bell tolls]

>> james c. walker [bell tolls] >> colleen frazier my hero. [bell tolls] >> andrew sonny garcia. [bell tolls] >> jeremy logan click. [bell tolls] >> kristen obsterholm whitgald. [bell tolls]

>> laura gatuzi and unborn c l chi child. wanda anita green. [bell tolls] >> donald greene. [bell tolls] >> rashard doginsau

>> leroy palmer. >> daushia gougau >> d.c. rose mayou [inaudible] >> martinez rivera. [bell tolls] >> nicole carole miller [bell tolls]