we can expand with passenger rail. what actions has tsa taken to meet the recommendations? >> there are a number of issues that we are addressing. the key is how do we best ingate state and local still have that first response and prevention irresponsibility? we can do it through the grants that we can allocate. one is through training. is the actual hiring -- the only officers there were hired

for new york city's subways. these of the type of things we are doing. >> the department recently completed an assessment of the nation's passenger rail mass transit system found significant security risks and yet surface transportation security has traditionally made up a small percentage of tsa's overall budget. agencies are reviewing their budget needs for the fiscal year 2012 budget. will the budget request for tsa reflect more sensitivity to the need for rail and transit security? >> absolutely. >> when we looked at the number

of people travelling by rail and see how inviting a target it was in other blaze of the to notwe can't continue focus more attention. >> i agree. tsa budget does not reflect the large multiples of that in terms of transportation security grant money. it goes through fema and it does not show up in the tsa budget by you are absolutely right. >> mr. director, under what circumstances would a passenger be subjected to both advanced imagin and law-enforcement- style pat down.

people can opt out of the advanced imaging. >> we actually deployed the first ait in the fall of 2007. >> let me clarify my question. let's assume the passenger goes through the advanced imaging and does not objec and says fang and does that. under what circumstances would you dense object that passenger to the pat down? >> if an alarm goes off or there is something that needs to be addressed, they may have an opportunity to go through a second time. if it still alarms, that's when they would be apt to submit to a pat down. >> if a passenger were subjected to both and no alarm went off and there were no suspicions, would that be arbitrary on the

part of your people? >> yes it would be a very rare instance for someone to have a pat down if there was no alarm them i wonder why i got both a few weeks ago. >> i used my senate id and was subjected to both. i did not object to going through the advanced imaging. some do and some don't. . how would you enter the question? >> i would have to look into that. if you went through the events imaging and there was no alarms , in almost all instances, you would not be subject to wait pat down. there is safe small percentage that is done in a random way. that is a very, very small number.

i will look into it and get back with you. >> i have often wondered as this has developed over time, at what point there is a tipping point with the american public. take up your belt, take up your shows, take up your liquids, etc and no advanced imaging and very intrusive pat down. does that worry you that maybe this is not a vocal minority. maybe people think you have overstaffed? >> i am sensitive to that. the threats are real so how do we balance? i believe that reasonable people can disagree as to the balance between privacy and security. we all agree that everybody wants to be secure on that flight. we don't necessarily agree what the proper balance is between

proper security and privacy. to do all those things that address their concerns, given the highest level of confidence that everybody on every flight has been screened in a way they feel comfortable that everybody else is safe ballots examine that. >> as i think about cargo in the belly of the airplane, if you were to follow the same approach, you would send it through advanced imaging of some kind for packages. hif you saw some thing suspicious or an alarm went off in that package, you would open up the package and you would examine that. do we do that today? >> with cargo? >> yes. >> yes, we use x-ray, advanced technology, canines, physical

inspections and we do all that on cargo. we do about half and there is about 1140 certified sick -- cargo security partners, a private businesses that do that at the airport and they deliver that cargo in a secure fashion to the airport for delivery. >> every package? >> benigno as i passed it -- if it goes i pastor played in the u.s., yes. >> what is your next step? i get the impression you're expressing understanding and i think nothing will change. >> to understand the sensitivity? yes. am i going to change the policies? now. . we are informed by latest intelligence to kill our people in the air, no i will not change the policy. >> for all of those listening

in, it will still be the same. it will be the interests of pat down for the advanced imaging or both? >> people have the option to opt out of the ait and then they would have pat down. >> do you think this will lead the ait to give you stick generations instead of full body scans? >> that is what it is leading to but we're not there yet. >> how far away is that? >> i would like to say months but it is all technology-driven. there is a huge incentive to private businesses to get this out as best as they can perfect nothing is perfect in that regard so there is a huge and then -- incentive for that to do that.

we are working very closely. if you go to regular airport, there is an integration facility where we test our equipment before we deploy it. i invite you to come out there and see what we do with the advance target recognition software. from a budgetary standpoint, it is really a software modification to the present software so it is not all new hardware. they can be used in software modifications. to enter your question more fully, itc us in an usperiod where we are -- i see us in an interim period enabled by the best technology. my hope is that technology will improve. perhaps some day, not only will we have the stick figures but people will not have to take their shoes off and i won't have

to take their computers out and things like that i would like to build to that recognizing that we have seen terrorists with toner cartridges and they can put explosives in many places. >> thank you very much. >> following up on those comments, this is the automated imaging recognition picture. this is a little small which was given to me which is clearly addresses the issue in its entirety. you are saying the square or the red outlined area is an area of concern which would be subject pat down and you are having a number of false positives? >> correct. >> is that has worked out, then people would be going through this string without worry about privacy whether they are a child

or adult if they see a stick figure and i would not be subjected to eight pat down unless there was recognition by the machine? >> it will show up on that part of the body where there is an anomaly. the pat down would be just that area. >> > technology is not a solution to one issue and that is good communication with the public. i think tsa and the department of a homeland security need to pay attention to because of some of the outrage has been to some of the comment being made. i want you submit to the record a three-page statement by miss pamela robinson of atlanta georgia. she is a businesswoman, a diamond traveler, and this

testimony illustrates how in secretary and a polish town of's statements," if you don't like to go through it, you don't need to travel which was in sensitive. she was going to a meeting in san francisco and there was no other way to get there. air travel is essential and sensitivity by irrational person by ms. robinson is to be looked at to understand what senator johann and the other senators are dealing with on a regular basis. the traveling public is significantly of said. -- of saddam. the nine --upset. there was a flight pass that was develops of the flight crews could go through a statewide rate in columbia, south carolina

and pittsburgh, pa. you had two areas where you have been testing that for two years. >> and bwi. >> what has taken so long to implement that around the country? that is the first thing i asked when i came on in july. >> i think we have made good progress recently to the point where i am hoping to be able to announce something in the very near future as to significant improvements in that regard using a crew pass. >> i went by crewmembers othe two of the three frights -- flights recently and it was important to the crew members. anything you can do to expedite that process would be appreciated. >my last comment or question is this -- other than a pat them, the biggest amount of feedback i

get our young children. typically of they are subjected to a pad down but if they go throughhe x-ray machine, one is the sensitivity of privacy of the other is sensitivity of the amount of radiation they are exposed to. has tsa done sufficient testing to make sure exposure to that radiation overtime is not a problem? >> one thing that i did not do a good job of communicating is that children 12 and other are exempted from the pack down. --pat down. as far as the radiation exposure, i would defer to what the independent studies did looking at all types of populations including children, pregnant women, elderly which found that the exposure is well within the safety standards.

>> thank you, mr. administrator. thank you for the job you do. >> following up on senator question, we had a bill to expand the use of the technology and i mentioned in my opening that i think this is a good option as senator isaacson had stated that we keep improving the technology. where are we in terms of the rollout? how many airports are they in? what is the maximum amount we tend to put in the airports? >> we have approximately 385 of the machines deployed in approximately 70 airports' right now. we have been authorized and funded for about 490 by the end of the year, so another 100 or so by the end of the year. and then another 500 to get us up to 1000 by the end of next year. >> is the plan to have them in

all the major airports and will you get to smaller airports? >> that is done on an airport by airport basis. it is based on the airport to physically install the machines, as well. >> could you describe the the decision making process that went down to the pat down process? >> i look at what we were doing to address the threat posed by the 12/25 incident, the underwear bomber, and was informed by several gao reports and our own office of inspection and covert testing

was done. one of the details of that was found as a common denominator was when they were able to get through the covert -- get through the security, it was largely because we were not being far enough in our pat downs. the intelligence coupled with the repeated covert testing lead me to conclude that we needed to be more thorough and more consistent with partners are round the world, recognizing that we are an interdependent system -- as we saw on 1225 -- 12/25. >> do you believe these will be permanent, these changes? is this something you adjust? >> i like to evolve our techniques and technology as informed by intelligence and am

always aware that we don't want to just focus on yesterday's threat. with theking closely intelligence communityies -- out in that inform our actions today? that is part of that process. >> you talked about the crow issue. in terms of education, what could be done especially with the holidays coming up? >> i would make an appeal to the american people to go to the tsa web site to see what the latest protocols and procedures are and to be the best-informed travelers possible especially once a year travelers and those going home just for the holidays. the better informed they are, the better partnership we can have to improve security. >> do you feel that 2013 is a

reasonable deadline for the 100% screening? can you talk about the present alternative, the risk-based approach? >> international air cargo coming to the u.s., we divided into two categories, known and unknown and shippers. we have a very close relationship with the major cargo shippers and they are working very closely with us to identify high-risk packages. 2013 is a challenge but that is what we are working toward. >> very good, thank you very much. >> senator mccaskill. >> i want to talk all about cargo and the capability of

airports around the world to screen appropriately. what is the plan for high risk cargo inspections for countries that don't have screening capabilities? unfortunately, the people who want to harm our country are not operating under a flag or sovereign nation. they are everywhere in the world. they move continually which is why we have to have the investment in intelligence. it seems to me that they will begin to pinpoint those countries that have no capability of screening other than visual. what is the plan on how we deal with those and there are a number of those countries, is that correct? >> there are, senator. when i was in yemen two weeks ago to look at what they were doing in terms of car -- card a screaming, they used x-ray

machines explosively and it is not a modern machine. there was no ax blows of traced detection and no canines. you are correct, it is uneven around the world. the best way for is what we do in the u.s. in terms of using the private sector to work in terms of a trusted screening facilities of a cert cargo screening program we have here with private companies doing over 50% of the screening of cargo going on u.s. passenger flights, i think that is one of the models. we are working with two organizations in terms of the capacity developed for the very countries that you allude to that don't have the ability right now to do that type of screening. in yemen, we sent a team there to work with them and train and equip in terms of practices and protocols. we also took explosive traced

detection equipment and left it with them in terms of building capacity to do the things you describe them i love the notion that we have to buy screening equipment for other countries. >> i am very worried about the preponderance of countries out there that are not taking this seriously and have not this man -- made this a priority. that is the weakest link. >> i agree and i think what we will see from a private sector business risk model is that they may not likely to pick up packages that they assess as being high risk from certain areas of the world. that will be the fallout, i think, from this. that is an extreme measure of risk management but it is affected. >> what about the other cargo measures? we spent a lot of time in this hearing talking about air but

what are the security measures we are increasing in other cargo menus, particularly maritime. when you have the room of the ability to detonate, the damage that could be done, rail, maritime, any of that, can you give the committee reassurances that we are making progress on those fronts? >> we are making some progress but i would also want to manage expectations that there are clearly some gaps and vulnerabilities. customs border protection as the lead in terms of maritime and the 24-hour notification and a coast guard has the lead in terms of port security. tsa has a role but it is a secondary or tertiary role to c ba and coastguard. >> it has to be frustrating.

you move in one direction to fill any gaps we have and then there is another one that opens up and you move there and you have taken your eye off the first one. i think we have to be sophisticated about the weakest links that we have and clearly, non-air cargo is another place we need to be all hands on deck. >> thank you very much. >> good to be with you again during a want to talk about a subject we have spoken about which is the apt down and what americans are dealing with iran in the country. you and i spoke before you were confirmed about may be relying more on the gabriel of valuations and doing more of what other countries like israel do. i am by it -- i am bothered by

the level of these pat downs. i have seen them in florida and i would not want my wife to be touched about whether or myself. i think we have to be focused on safety but there is a balance. you are going forward with more of the advanced imaging technology machines which is appropriate but although they are in days of, there is not a physical touching and you have procedures in place to have the person looking at the images in another room and there are protections. i also understand you would like to do everything possible to keep america safe but there are limits. there has to be a balance. what can we do to correct this balance. i think we have gone too far. >> there are a number of issues here and one is that people "would receive this pat down would be a result of some alarm through the metal detector or

the advanced imaging technology. it is a very, very small number of people who would receive this in a random way. the second is simply being informed by the intelligence that we have talked about, teh gao, the ig covert testing which we can't talk about in a classified setting. we know there are additional things we could be doing to detect things and based on pat downs and ait, we have detected dozens and dozens of artfully concealed objects that could pose a risk to aviation. to me, it comes down to bad balance and the fact that everybody wants to be secure on that flight knowing that we have all been screened properly and we have a high level of confidence and yet we want to ensure the best possible privacy. how can we do that?

i think we can do that with a it. reasonable people can disagree as to what that proper balance is. if we have the two flights a mentioned earlier, you have the option of being screened and you know everybody else has been and on another flight there may be no screening, i think almost everybody will get on the flight that has been properly screened. my job is to find that balance. i recognize the invasive as of that and iealize the threats are real and the stakes are high and we must prevail. >> i appreciate the work you are doing. what i would hope for in the investment in technology without getting into anything confidential, when you see little kids are senior citizens who are traveling domestically in this country or maybe have

never been outside the country, the chance that they are a terrorist is very slim. no one wants to talk about profiling because that is a scary word but we know that if you are a man who is 18-40 and you have been traveling around the world, there's a much higher chance that you would fall within the group of folks who could be a danger to this country. i would love to see a world. we had some kind of identification. if they checked my driver's license, they would know my travel history and you could scream people based on the likelihood that they are a terrorist, not just because they are walking onto an airplane. somebody who is traveling between minneapolis and four laudable -- lauderdale -- for lauderdale and has never left the country, there is very little chance they are concealing a plastic explosive in their underwear. >> because we are trying to be a

risk-based intelligence driven organization, children 12 and under will not be subject to these pat downs and we are working with pilots on those issues. we are trying to be as best informed about each individual travelers similar to the israeli model. we are using behavior detection 6 -- extensively and picking up clues there. how do we do that without profiling? there is a dynamic tension there between safety security and privacy. how do we resolve that dynamic tension while ensuring the bottom line? >> i appreciate your comments and good work. >> senator demint. >> i appreciate the professionalism you are showing today. i have heard most of the questions that i wanted to ask.

are we going to continue to evolve this and use common sense? i want to make sure that we are not overly concerned with being so politically correct that we would ignore high-risk targets. you mentioned the israeli model. we particularly appreciate your looking at ways to transition this technology that allows you to see things you need to seek an things you don't into something that is more animated. that will give people more comfort. looking at the irrational age thing -- i think americans know that we're not just setting up roles. most of what the government tends to do is your job is to keep people safe, not to keep them comfortable and that can get out of control over time. we need to make sure that travel

by air and other ways continues to be a good experience. you seem to be trying to draw the best balance of there. that is very important. your devolving the technology as well as the personnel and they behavioral part of this. if you can keep us up to date on what you are doing, not just in hearings by periodically, a memo or something, asking that americans partner with tsa and stay more informed. if they have not traveled in one year, and they run into this, it is a stunning thing. we are getting hundreds of calls. they want us to be on top of this. apparently, you are doing what you can to try to modify this in a way that seems reasonable to people and keep them safe. you have a very tough job but i mostly want to thank you for

what you are doing. >> thank you, i appreciate that. >> one final question -- we have had four events that have been defining events since we began much more intense screening after 9/11. one dealt with issues, one dealt with underwear, one dealt with liquids, one adult with cartridge toners. in each event, it reflects an offense by someone trying to commit murder. they want to get a bomb on an airplane. you are involved in defense. we are involved in defense. we have ramped up the defense a lot. that is what this discussion is about today. tell me about the threat level. it appears the threat level continues to increase. you increase our defensive capabilities, where are we relative to where we were a few years ago? is the offense ahead of the

defense? what is your sense? >> yes, i think the operational tempo of al-qaida has increased as you have indicated. there are other groups around the world that are also interested in committing attacks not only in the u.s. but in europe. the germans have increased their level of security in response to a current threat strea . we are on a continue on for national security mission in the united states. we have the offensive actions of the military on the one hand in afghanistan and work with other countries wherever it may be. hopefully, there is some intelligence because of somebody is detained on the battlefield. that may not work and so we look at the other agencies like the

cia and nsa and those things that hopefully will inform us about plots that ma be taking place in the u.s. that may not happen and so my former colleagues in the fbi, hopefully today or the 8000 police officers and sheriff's deputies would be in for because bait hear something and say something or there is a threat. that may not be the case. when it comes down to tsa, we are the last lines of defense for the u.s. government. whether it is a behavior detection officer for the swabbing of hands to pick up trace residue or the pat down, if someone gets through all that and is able to get on that plane, we are down to the federal air marshals to be the last line of defense or maybe army pilots on board.

-- or maybe arm pilots on board. >> the passenger that is taking a flight in this country today, they know by reading the newspapers and seeing your actions that the threats have increased but also your activities have increased in response. should they feel there is slightly less brisk, the same risk, or more arrests? >> hopefully they will see these actions were taken as a deterrent. people would see these actions as a way of moving them to a softer target. they have done these type of attacks and i hope this is a deterrent. that is the bottom line. >> this rather a high-profile person, mr. tiner who left san

diego airport after refusing to undertake a full body scan, it is now being reported that he is being investigated and that he may face up to a $10,000 fine. is that the procedure? are you investigating him? >> i have learned that tsa has the administrative authority to investigate people to try to smuggle items on planes. that has been fairly common several thousand times or that has happened. i am not aware of any instance where somebody who has refused screening has been fined. i don't want to prejudge anything. i do not anticipate anything coming from that other than working with the public to tell them where the safety and security is and this is a

partnership. >> i agree that it should be considered a partnership. in general, i have found and mostly i hear that beat tsa employees -- that the gsa employees are very aware of the privacy issues and sympathetic and are handling it very well. is it the policy of the agency not to find someone who decides they don't want to be screened and therefore they leave? >> it comes up for a decision very when all the facts are made public, make a decision on that them. >> i would hope that we would not go overboard if someone decides that they have the right to their privacy and therefore they walk out without injury to anyone. i can't see that that would be a

fine. >> no, try not to produce too much and i agree completely with you on that. fines historically hav been for people to try to smuggle things on brd. >> thank you very much for your testimony. thank you for the work that you do enter agency does. we will talk to the chairman and i expect that he would agree and want to have a classified briefing by you and the agency in the near future. this hearing is adjourned. >> thank you, senator. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

cam videoar's student documentary is in full swing. make a five-eight minute video on a washington, d.c., "through might lends." y lens." there is $50,000 in total prize and the competition is open to

middle and high school students grades the six best 12. go on line to studentcam.org for more information. >> yesterday, house members elected their leaders for the 100th congress which convenes in january. republicans chose john boehner as the next speaker, eric cantor, majority leader, kevin mccarthy majority whip, jeb hensarling republican conference chairman, and cathy mcmorris rodgers as conference vice chair. democrats elected currency financing policy as minority leader, steny hoyer minority whip, john larson democratic caucus chairman, and hottie are becerra, vice chair. asera, vice chair. nancy pelosi talked to reporters after her vote.

>> i am proud to announce that we have just come from the democratic organization colchis and have a lot of the leadership for the 112th congress. i want to recognize nancy pelosi, steny hoyer, jim clyburn, javier basera and chris van hollen. this extraordinary caucus has been come together on behalf of the american people whose members, several of home we met with yesterday's vote won't be returning to this caucus or uplifting in their encouragement in arabis suit on behalf of jobs in this economy and the fighting on behalf of the american

people. is what brings us together and unifies us behind our great leader, nancy pelosi >> thank you very much. i wish all of america could have seen our caucus today. and yesterday. to hear the commitment they have to fighting for the middle class, saving social security, for honoring our men and women in uniform and building a future were the of their sacrifice for our great country. we will speak briefly each of us but i am proud to be part of his leadership team. our consensus is that we go out there for the american people. is about jobs and reducing the deficit and fighting for the middle class. i look forward to doing that with this great leadership team. i want to make one special mention. we have a new position for chris van hollen who was nominated -- chosen to be the ranking member

on the budget committee. many expect the budget to be a statement of our national values. chris van hollen will make that flight based on values, based on reducing the deficit, based on fighting for the middle class. i want to congratulate him on his new position. >> steny hoyer. >> thank you very much. this was a difficult election to say the least. the american public reflected their anxiety and their desire that the congress of the united states' focus on creating jobs, growing our economy, and ensuring fiscal balance for the long term. we are committed to that objective. i talked about it and the speaker talked about it and others talked about the agenda of make it in america. we want to make sure that

americans understand that they and their children can make it in america but also that we can make it in america, manufacture it and grow it in america and sell it around the world so we grow good jobs for our people. we are going to participate as a minority in this congress. but we will be ever vigilant to keep the republicans as they did to us to their rhetoric on fiscal balance and on growing jobs. that is what the american people have asked us to do. that is what we think we have been doing which is why we have created 1 million jobs this year alone. in the private sector. we will continue to focus on the agenda that we have listened to the american people and we are going to respond to their needs, to the needs of their families, and to the needs of their children for a better america, a

prosperous america, and in america that has a job for everyone who wants to work. thank you very much and next, i am pleased to yield to my dear friend who i have known for 45 years, who iave worked with much of that period of time on behalf of making an america that all this can be proud of, jim cliburn of south carolina, the assistant to the leader. -- excuse me, the assistant leader. >> thank you very much. thank you for your friendship. madam speaker, you are still speaker, thank you so much for what you have done for this caucus and i know what you will do. this is a tremendous leadership team. i want to thank all of you.

the last two days, our caucus has been very introspective. i have enjoyed sitting down yesterday for about five or six hours listening to our members, listening to those who won't be with us next time. today, we went through a process that i think will lay a foundation for us to be prospective as we go forward. i'm looking forward to working with this team. as i said earlier, we have been up as -- these crossroads before. we know what it takes. to get us back where we need to be on behalf of the american people and we will do it with

enthusiasm and i look forward to the new session. with that, i will yield -- yielded to our vice chair, javier basrea. >> thank you mr. cliburn. as i learned a long time ago from my friend in elected office, then it was then and now is now we have a job in front of us. we know it and we are ready to get back to work and to continue to build on the successes of over 150,000 jobs created last month, more than 1 million created in the last 10 months building on the fact that we just got word that 14% more small businesses are offering health insurance to their employees as a result of the health care bill that we passed. we are ready to go to work because we know job one for us is jobs for americans.

as we look out at the landscape working with this president, he knows this very well and i think it sounds better in spanish when people ask can we do it, i would like to ask our ranking member on the budget committee to say a few words. >> thank you don't javier. i want to thank the members of the democratic caucus to elect me to be the ranking member of the budget committee in the next congress. we all know that that will be a central front in the great national debate that we will have about the best way to kick our economy into high gear and to put more americans back to work and for the first time now, our republican colleagues will share in the responsibility for trying to get the economy back on its feet. as my colleagues have said, we

have made substantial progress over the last 20 months but we all acknowledge that people are still hurting and we have a long way to go. i hope we can find common ground in doing that. we will work together. where we have differences, we will make our differences known it is important that the whole nation engages in this debate over our values and priorities as we seek to get the economy in full gear and make sure that we put this country on a path of fiscal responsibility and fiscal discipline. i am looking forward to that great debate. i thank the speaker and our leadership team and i think the members of our caucus for supporting me as we take on these responsibilities in the new congress. >> madam speaker, americans may look at this and say it is the same leadership as it was before the recession.

what do you say to those of voters? >> the message we receive from the american people is that they want jobs. 9.5% unemployment is a very tough screen to get through with any other message. what we want to say to the american people is that we want them to make it in america, to manufacture in our country so that their families can make it in america. this is an experienced and diverse leadership team that a strong and it took this to victory in 2005 and 2006 and will take us to victory again. we extend a hand of friendship to the republicans to hearing their ideas on job creation and deficit reduction. i hearken back to a president in my view to inspired me, john f. kennedy who said we must not seek a republican way or democratic way, we must find the right way to go forward as we take our own responsibility for

the future. i have the privilege of serving under another young inspiring presence of united states and what the american people to know that we are all striving to work together wherever possible in a bipartisan way to create jobs and reduce the deficit and i am very, very proud of our leadership team and proud that mr. event -- mr. cliburn will serve as a leader. he has worked for the middle class. he is the ranking member of the budget committee. we are sad to leave mr. spratt, a distinguished member of congress who always pushed for a budget that was a statement of our national values, what was important to our country and that was reflected there. >> over 60 house democrats lost in this cycle.

why are you the best person to lead the house democrats in the current political landscape? >> how would your ratings be of $75 million were spent against you? because i am an effective leader and we got the job done on health care and welfare reform and consumer protection, the list goes on. they know that i am the person that can attract resources and can take us to victory because i have done it before. again, you tag 9.5 percent unemployment, $75 million spent against one person and i would like to see what your ratings would be. i feel confident and i am proud of our members and so many of them have said to me that they want to keep the door open to running again and work with his leadership team. >> let me add one thing -- i

urge you to speak to the overwhelming number of our membership who elected nancy pelosi to be our leader. as each and every one of them has said, she has led us to historic sites -- heights. we are prepared to take this country to even greater heights. we spoke very loudly about the person who can do this for the democratic caucus is the woman named nancy pelosi >> they know her well. they know her heart and that is what was felt today, the heartfelt feeling of this caucus behind this great leader, thank you very much. >> time to go work, thank you all. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> earlier, nancy pelosi's main challenger talked to reporters. congressman pete shuler is a blue dog democrat from north carolina. his bid to replace nancy pelosi as party leader was defeated in a 150-43 vote by secret ballot. >> hello, everyone. today we obviously had our votes. it came up as much as we expected. it was not about winning the race but it was about having a voice within our caucus. i want to thank my members behind me and you have supported me, jim, mike have done an

unbelievable job in our blue dog caucus and lowry, an incredible number in north carolina and appreciate what you guys have done to support me. it was not about winning or losing this race, it was about making a difference in our caucus, to ensure that the moderates are heard within the caucus and that we have a seat at the table. that is what most of america would ask that our call this move in that direction. we have seen the latest data that is come out and we have to be able to come -- to indicate to the american people in order to win back the election in 2012. and with have to be a big part of that >> [inaudible] >> to get that many votes is better than we expected. we probably never expected -- we only have 20-something blue dogs and to exceed that by 43 is pretty good.

>> [inaudible] >> that was the commitment to that she has made. that was the commitment that many of the members of the caucus have come to us and said we have to have a seat of the table. that will be best for our caucus and that will be best for the democratic party throughout this country. >> [inaudible] >> it was a message from the standpoint that there are more than just the blue dogs to have the concern about what is going on and that message has been loud and clear. look what time it is. there was a lot of on rest in their room for several hours based upon extending the time for the leadership of votes. that failed. it was a substantial 68 votes i think to be able to extend the leaderships.

along with what just happened, that sends a message in a way that is constructive. >> what about 2012? [inaudible] >> it will be a challenge. it depends on how that challenge is meant both with the leadership of the democratic party but also the challenge that will be made with members who have lost or the possible candidates. it will be how they articulate their own personal message within their communities and their districts and to be able to be elected. >> [inaudible] >> no. no. >> i will be voting for heath shuler. >> [inaudible] >> we have always been in a

situation where the most important thing is whether we are in the majority or the modern state or whether we are republicans or democrats. what can we do to make sure american people in the next generation from a fiscal responsibility -- it is not just a talking point -- make sure we actually have the right policy in place which means working with both sides in order to make sure that the next generation will have the same type of advantage is that we know today and that we have learned to love in this country >> have you given consideration to switching parties? >> no, we are democrats. >> we are a very large tent. this is an order for us to be successful as a party and be successful as a country. we have to make sure that we include everyone and we all

have a seat at the table. we don't always have the same message coming out of the caucus but the most important thing is that we truly believe in the middle class and make sure we move the country forward. thank you all. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> on "washington journal cspan todaywashington" is next live with your phone calls. that is followed by live coverage of the house. they are expected to consider an extension to unemployment benefits among other bills. in 45 minutes, we will talk to the newly elected congressman mike kelly and then i look at the tsa screeningro