close captioning and the sign language on a proportion of programs. where those news programs are being simulcast by the bbc >> the current government has announced that the bbc's money is frozen for six years? >> what does that say about your income for the next six years? >> this is also a requirement for the bbc to take on the cost. other services as well. it is more significant than the freeze. the settlement has just been robbed at. it is extremely cheap to run and

it would be quite difficult i would be [unintelligible] hopeful for further efficiencies if it comes around every year. >> it is tough for us to understand what it means for the world service having to be paid for by the bbc. how big is the world service? >> up until present time, the world service that is providing radio and internet services is principally a real sensation and it has been funded by the government foreign offices. if you are paying your tv

licensee, part of that fee will be spent on international broadcasts. do you think that will change anything for the listener or the viewer? >> i think that the people are quite proud of the world service and what it does in the world. they will work with the international and domestic services. at the moment, there is a tremendous bit of who is paying for what. it will get a lot easier to operate in an efficient way. >> in the nine years that you have been the comptroller of the bbc channel, have you noticed a big change in europe in the number of channels that have been created to do their parliaments? >> there are in use not just in europe. all sorts of channels are springing up. it is about half and half between those run directly by the parliaments and those by

broadcasters. quite a lot of them are not really trying to hard to reach an audience. they go off air when the parliament session is over. quite a number of them are an expansion of the parliament, sort of an internal information service rather than what you are i would recognize as a network. every one of them is different. >> do you have an example of one that is doing pretty well that you are aware of? >> in audience terms, i believe the bbc parliament is only one of the channels that is part of the regular daily rating system that actually knows what its audience is. they will take part in surveys occasionally.

i am not sure where and good example would be. two networks running side-by- side for the assembly and the senate, but it is a much more costly model and any of the others in europe. >> what is the biggest worry you have for the future? >> i am really not worried. i am very excited. the audience for the tv channel is phenomenal. i do not know what the ceiling will be, but we have hit a few million for several months this year. we have gotten much more flexibility than we had before. >> what is the favorite part of your job? >> i look at the mix of all my responsibilities that you could imagine and that is so much fun.

>> thank you very much for your time and your hospitality. >> thank you. >> with the house of commons now in recess, prime minister's questions will not be seen live this wednesday. it will return live off on wednesday, january 12 at 7:00 a.m. on c-span2. >> now, bbc parliament tv -- now, bbc parliament tv takes a look back at the major events in parliament since september. that includes the election of the new labor party leader, the republican spending cuts, and the hike in university tuition fees. this is a one hour program. ♪

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> hello, and welcome to the record review. it is a freezing cold winter here. coming up, the coalition faces its biggest challenge yet, the increase of tuition for english university students. and, cuts, cuts, cuts. the coalition reveals what slashing the budget means for all of us -- all of us. let's begin with the decision to raise tuition fees. they currently stand at 3,290 pounds per year. they will be raised to 6,000 pounds per year. students would not repay until they were earning over 9,000 pounds per year. for the first time, a part-time student would not have to pay up

front. it was a difficult decision for liberal democrats, who during the election campaign said they would not support any rise in fees. the debate began back in october, with a liberal democrats being reminded that all parties can change their views. >> such as the member on the right side and the new chancellor, those opposed to change, to the current leadership you have embraced attacks. the conservatives campaigned against graduate contributions. my own party consistently opposed graduate contributions, but in this current economic climate, we accept the policy is no longer feasible. [shouting]

and that is why i intend, on behalf of the coalition, to put specific proposals to implement radical and progressive reforms to higher education. >> he reminded the house that there had been a pledge signed opposing fees. >> promises were made which should not be lightly thrown away. the trust of politicians is not just a matter for the liberal democrats. it is the integrity of this house as a whole. >> a couple of weeks later, thousands of angry students converged in westminster. the huge demonstration filled the streets around parliament. the crowd, the sizable, was good-natured and peaceable in the early part of the day. later in the day, ed they attacked the building housing -- they attacked the building housing the party headquarters. nick clegg was standing in for david cameron did they accused him of signing up for

conservative policies. >> the chancellor said the data set will be dealt with by 2014, when -- the deficit will be dealt with by 2014, when this new system will hardly have begun. this is about him and going along the with a tory planet to -- him going along with a tory plan to shove the cost of higher education on to students. is it not true? isn't that the truth of it? >> i know she now thinks that

she can sort of reposition the labor party as a champion of students. let's remember -- [shouting] let's remember the labor party record against tuition fee increases, then introducing them in 1997. they set up the brown review which they are now trashing. they now have a policy which have the front bench doesn't even believe. maybe she will go out to the students who are protesting outside right now and explain what on earth where policy is. -- her policy is. >> as the vote drew near, the students protesting continued.

there was a clash on the issues. >> i was a student politician. [laughter] but i was not hanging around with people who were throwing a brick and wrecking things. [shouting] is it not the truth that you have better had it so good on planet cameron? he has taken away the child trust fund. he is scrapping funds and abolishing the education, and now he is or tripling tuition fees. is it the truth not that he is pulling out of the latter but he does not understand the lives of ordinary people. you are going to be taxing

people on 6,000 pounds, 7,000 pounds, 9,000 pounds. where is the fairness in that? the truth of the matter is, we tried to graduate? we know it does not work. the liberal democrats -- we tried a graduate tax. we know it does not work. the liberal democrats tried it. they know it does not work. this is a political opportunity. you will never be a party of government. >> the most violent demonstrations took place on the day of the load. inside, the liberal democrats found themselves in disarray. it became increasingly clear that somewhere in a tent on voting against it. -- that some were intent on

voting against it. >> under the scheme proposed, all universities start at the highest rate. one of the worries is that they might all be allowed to charge the highest rate. what rules, what guarantees that 6000 will be the limit for most universities? we must have a policy that provides a strong base for university funding, which makes a major contribution to reducing the deficit, and introduced as significantly more progressive system then what we inherited. i am proud to but for it of that measure.

-- to put forth that measure. [shouting] >> hors d'oeuvre, order, order. -- order, order, order. >> i would say to those ministers in back benches who are considering their position today, i do know what you're going through. it is hard to stand beside friends and colleagues with him you have shared many a battle. but i will say this, after you have done it, you will realize it is not have as bad as you thought it would be before you did it. it outweighs any temporary loss of position of power or income. mine is not the only political party in this house. there is usually a way back.

mr. speaker, this decision masters so much too many people -- matters so much to so many people. do not vote for it if you do not believe in it. >> being asked to vote to increase fees to 9,000 pounds and is not a compromise. it is not something that liberal backbenchers should be asked to consider. when a student is going to university, well, we have had tuition fees for over a decade. the numbers have gone up by 44%. 44%. >> maybe no one in your immediate family has stayed in school past the age of 16. but the bad debts you would --

it must be off-putting. >> 414,000 people have higher education in this country. is now 1.3 million. when you look at changes of that magnitude, you do have to think about how you pay for those things. >> raise the fees to 5,000 pounds per year. that will eliminate half of those from deprived backgrounds. raising it to 9000 would cut the number into thirds. -- into two thirds. >>323-302.

>> the government to london by 21 votes, one quarter of its usual majority -- government one by 21 votes -- won by 21 votes, a quarter of its usual majority. >> ed miller band was the surprise winner of his party's leadership -- milliband was the surprise winner of his party's leadership of the road. -- to vote. >> by my reckoning, there are hundreds of thousands of families -- >> [shouting] >> and the question they are asking is this.

why should a family on 45,000 pounds where one person stays at home lose their child benefits, but the family on 80,000 pounds should keep their benefits? that does not strike people as fair. it does not strike the prime minister is there. what i believe is fair and is asking better-off people to make a contribution. let me try putting it this way. think about it like this. there are thousands of people in his constituency earning 1/6 of what he earns. through their taxes, they will pay for his job benefit. is that really fair? the truth is that the prime minister has no defense of this policy. he cannot explain to families

up and down the country why they will sustain. let's be honest. this party has been a shambles from day one. the rest of the cabinet do nothing about it. the local sector city government found out from the media that it was being announced. i bet the prime minister wishes the bbc [inaudible] on child benefit, isn't it time the prime minister had the sense to it meant this? he has got it wrong. he has made the wrong decision. he should tell middle income families up and down britain he will think again. >> the right honorable

gentleman has discovered middle- income families. we are now hearing about the squeeze metal. who is it to squeeze the the middle? who is it to double the tax? "put out taxes one of the 22 times? who cut the pensions? suddenly, having done this, they want to stand up for middle-income earners. it is a completely transparent political strategy to cover-up the inconvenient truth that he was put where he was by the trade union movement. >> david cameron debating just one of the budget cuts. britain was straining under an enormous the visit. the chancellor came to the commons in october to announce results of the spending review and the biggest cuts sent to world war ii -- since world war ii. labour called it reckless. >> they have forecast a reduction in headcount of 490,000 over the review time. that is over four years.

much of it will be achieved through natural turnover by leaving posts unfilled. there is a turnover rate of over 8% in the public sector. there will be redundancies. the pension age for men and women will reach 66 by the year 2020. this will involve a gradual increase in the state pension age from 65 up to 66 starting in 2018. the pension secretary is setting out proposals with my support to replace all working- age benefits and tax credits with a single, simple and universal trigger. the guiding rule will be best. it will always pay to work. those who get work will be better off than those who don't. it represents the greatest perform to our well for -- welfare state for a generation. i have taken the decision to remove job benefit from families with a higher-rate tax.

i wish it were otherwise. i cannot ask of those watching this earning 15,000 or 30,000 pounds a year to go on paying the child benefit of those earning 50,000 or 100,000 pounds per year. health spending will rise each year over inflation. this year, we're spending 104 billion pounds on health care capitols and current combined. by the end of four years, we will see 114 billion pounds. we can afford this because of the decisions of welfare i have announced. there will be an increase in the money to schools, not just next year or the year after, but for each of the next four years. the rush to cut the deficit endangers the recovery and reduces the prospect for employment in the short term and for prosperity in the longer term. >> we believe we can and should

have a more gradual reduction, securing growth. i don't believe the chancellor or the prime minister sufficiently understands the worries and concerns of families up and down this country. i think those worries will have multiplied considerably as a result of his statement today. >> how does he possibly imagine, after its statement, that a direct cut of our own 4 billion pounds can do anything other than weaken the ability of scotland in difficult economic times? >> open the next few weeks, the implications of those cuts became clear. it was a change to the housing benefit that promoted some of the fiercest anger.

they want to 400 pounds a week. the leader and deputy prime minister reacted angrily to one claim that the change would amount to social spending. >> it is estimated 200,000 people will be forced out of major metropolitan areas as a result of the government's proposals on welfare reforms, which will turn london to paris. the poor will be confined to the outer ring. would it not be iniquitous if, on top of being socially engineered and social logically cleanse out of london, the poor were disenfranchised by this bill? how does he propose to make provision for these displaced people? >> we all indulge in a bit of hyperbole. i have to say, quite seriously, the cleansing would be deeply offensive to people who have witnessed ethnic cleansing in other parts of the world. it is an outrageous way of describing it. i will tell you exactly what

we're doing. what we're doing is saying to people who receive housing benefits, it is perfectly reasonable for the government to say that it won't hand out more in housing benefits then people will go out to work, pay their taxes, played by the rules, and look for housing themselves. we are suggesting there should be capped for family homes of four bedrooms or 400 pounds per week. does he really think it is wrong? does he think it is wrong for people who cannot afford to live privately in those areas that the state to subsidize people to the tune of more than 21,000 pounds? i don't think so. >> there was the impact on

council services. town halls across england face cuts in 2011 of almost 10%. it is the biggest reduction for generations. unions have warned that will mean thousands of job losses, including among staff. the minister says cuts should be made in faculty staff, and the deal is progressively fair. >> the secretary state has spoken on a progressive proposal. he must be using a very different dictionary from the one i have. this will be devastating to my deprived constituency, with 40% of the budget being spent on the elderly and children scare, can he not see these cuts in everything else? won't he admits his agenda is shrinking the state and shifting the blame? >> you'll be pleased to know that there is a drop in spending of 6.5% this year and 4.3% the following year. that does not strike me as being draconian in any sense of the imagination. i have to say the honorable

lady has made a reputation on the shroud-waving in this chamber. she should be frankly addressing the needs of the people, who will continue to receive a high level of support from the central state to ensure reasonable provision. >> another controversial item, david cameron said 17,000 jobs -- 17,000 jobs will go over the next five years, and 25,000 civilian jobs would be cut. the nimrod aircraft program is being cancelled and all carrier jets will be retired. the replacement for the new clear system will be delayed until after the next general election. things went down badly when the plans were discussed in the house of lords. >> can i say to the leader of the house, i know a strategic review. i have done a strategic review.

this is not a strategic review. instead, it does not seem true that the country as a whole, this has been cobbled together on the back of a letter from the treasury calling for deep and random cuts in the defense budget? as such, [inaudible] >> what we have to do is get resources in place for the best estimates we can make up the risks we face, and the changes, if the unexpected happens, be ready to change, as well. >> i cannot say i welcome the statement on this defense review, but i cannot dignify it with the word "strategic." it will be reviewed with dismay by our hard-working sailors, marines, soldiers, and airmen. >> with students being expected

to pay more, and cuts in almost every area of public spending, how is this going down with the general public? i asked andrew, the chairman of the opinion poll. as the public think the cuts are too deep? >> i think the argument that it is too much, too fast, has a great deal of resonance. people, they do have, without wishing to sound patronizing, i think people do have the capacity to hold two opposing opinions' intention of the same time. the recognized the need for cuts. they recognize that sound finances what is needed, but they don't want that to affect their own quality of life and

standard of living. what has happened over the last two or three months, there has been talk of cutting public service, cutting local authority spending, and cutting forces like the police. that is when public opinion has suddenly -- it has taken a deep breath. they have said they are not really sure whether they like the way this is being executed. government will turn around and say there is no alternative. it does not make it easier for the public to hear. >> andrew hawkins. we will have more from him later. we have come here to the commons committee corridor. in these rooms, mp's take evidence and build into the with the government works. the way the commons is elected looks to be about to be changed. there's a string of constitutional reforms. first, a conservative plan to redraw the constituency map of the u.k., reducing the number of m p's and equalizing the number of voters. mp's are members of the boundary commission. >> if this passes, you will be

under the obligation. if across rivers, we cross mountains, we divide communities, you have an obligation to do that. it does not actually come into it, if that is divisive of traditional communities or identities. >> there are almost always two ways of doing it. two or more options. you start with the requirement that the electorate much -- must fit within a target range. you will have one option that crosses the river and another that doesn't. you went up -- you end up waiting two solutions to different degrees in different ways. you make a judgment on which of those as preferable. part of that is provisional proposals. listen to people's responses. there is an alternative the commission has already deliberate upon.

finally, are you in charge of the naming of constituencies? constituencies have remained northeast, southeast, very boring, they do not promote anything among people. you do not create a geographical affection. >> i will take that as a plea. >> also on the agenda, a plan for six-term parliament. ministers say the move will bring greater stability. the opposition calls it gerrymandering the system. >> this has a thing go purpose -- this has a single purpose, to remove the right of the prime minister suit -- to seek a solution of parliament for pure political gain. this innovation will have a very profound affect. the timing of general elections will not be a placing of government. there will be no feverish

speculation of the date of the next election instead, everyone will know how parliament can be expected to last, bringing greater stability to our system. if, for some reason, there is a need for parliament to dissolve burleigh, that will be up to the house of commons to decide. >> these proposals, whatever the merits of six-term may be, and i personally do not support the proposal, smack of gerrymandering the constitution in favor of a particular coalition. that is a bad thing. it is a subjective judgment, giving power to parliament. doesn't this smack of constitution-making on the hoof? what we need is a proper

convention of some kind. >> democrats put forward one of their key pledges, a referendum on changing the voting system of general elections. the government wants to hold the referendum on whether we should switch to the alternate to vote on may 5, 2011. if there is a victory for the yes campaign, it will mean the sitting candidates are on the one, two, and three. many don't want the referendum to take place on the same day as elections for the scottish parliament, welch assembly. >> the referendum will probably receive very little attention. those of us involved will not be wasting any time in discussing for or against this referendum. we will have greater priorities that affect many things, not a voting system that comes along every four or five years. >> thank you very much. which is it to be?

will the referendum arrau's no interest whatsoever in scotland? will it drowns out other voices -- willett drown out other voices? >> the honorable lady is missing the point. why does the media broadcast? everybody except that it will dominate. >> thank you very much. giving way. it was not clear to me whether his position is that there should be a referendum on another day, or whether this issue is so irrelevant to people, it should be held on noted. is it on no date or a different date? >> the gentleman and his but the next point. i will remind him of what i said. it is not to save the system is not important. it is low on the hierarchy needs.

>> away from the constitutional change, there was plenty more change afoot. the health secretary unveiled plans to put people in charge of commissioning care and managing budgets. it means abolishing the primary care trust and strategic health authorities. at the same time, it is asked to make 20 billion pounds of savings of the next four years. mp's wanted details. >> we were here last and we said two things, firstly, we know there are certain costs associated not least with redundancy and the reduction of management. nearly 900 million pounds. for the current savings, they are such that that cost is more than recouped within two years. there are subsequent savings that flow from that. we have made that clear. beyond that, there will be for

the costs, but there will be affected at the time of the publication of the bill. >> [inaudible] give me a figure. people put it between 2 billion pounds and 3 billion pounds. >> i don't recognize that. as i said, we will publish it at that time the bill was published. >> surely you must know now. >> we will not publish a single figure now on the basis of -- >> you must have a clear idea. >> i do have a clear idea. i will publish it when the bill was published. >> how do you respond to the fear that this is going to result in some awful catastrophe that is about to happen as a result of having saved this money? you've achieved efficiencies. >> i never expected that when we make changes, in particular that involve a reduction of 45% in

the number of managers and primary care trust that the senior care managers would express themselves delighted by this prospect. it would be unreasonable to expect that to be the case. >> the news was upbeat among mp's. >> he has been far in excess of the energy generated in the primary care trust. there is a world of difference between true leadership and a focus upon how we can better improve care for patients, and the enthusiasm generated by people being given the freedom to do that, as distinct from people going through what is essentially more of the

bureaucratic process. >> andrew explaining his plans to change the way these nhs in england as done. a committee of mp's talked about of the work. 13 civilians were shot by british soldiers on january 30, 1972. the inquiry was into the events which was known as bloody sunday. it took 12 years at a cost of 200 million pounds. in the end, it concluded the soldiers' actions were wrong and none of those killed were posing a threat. the lord was asked about the cost. >> if you look at the appendix at the end of the report, you

will see why they allowed the legal representation to do it. putting it in general terms, [inaudible] you must protect your family's interest. they chose to callously murder people on the streets. shouldn't you have a lawyer to protect your interests? in the face where people have died as a result of state agencies, it is our law in article two that you should have legal representation. what is fair? what is just for the soldiers, civilians, or anybody else? unfortunately, lawyers are expensive. very expensive. >> presumably, they did not tell you what they charge and you paid it.

was their agreement as to what they were allowed to charge? >> these are a bit of a mystery. it is generally regarded as a going rate. that is for appearing in councils and inquiries and so on. >> that is what we paid. >> what does the hourly rate? >> it would depend on the council concerned and the amount of time employed. i could say here, there is criticism of my -- mr. justice christopher clark.

there were determining how many millions of pounds here on this inquiry. that is grossly unfair. he was at the very top of the commercial bar in 1998 when i asked him if he would be counseled to the inquiry. he accepted that assignment as a matter of public duty. if he had not done so as top of the commercial bar, he would have earned two or three times as much as he earned as a barrister for the inquiry. >> here in the house of lords, it was a time of change, but the attrit -- with the introduction of a cornucopia of meat.

the house has a membership topping 800. in these new times, the coalition actually does. if ministers were hoping that would mean the government would get things its own way, they were in for some nasty shocks. the government suffered a defeat over part of its plans to hold a referendum on electing mp's. ministers want a referendum to be taking place on may 5, 2011. the former minister questioned whether the referendum should be held on any date before october. the government was defeated over the scrapping of identity cards. it would make it possible for those who already bought one to make a refund. around 12,000 people purchased the car that a cost of 30 pounds. lord hunt said the government had every right to get rid of the cards, but -- >> what is not fair is the decision by the government to refuse to refund the 30 pounds to those people who purchased those i.d. cards.

i must say that i have been disappointed by the somewhat unsympathetic attitude of the number baroness minister, who said that, we recognize that some people who spent 30 pounds on the card will be disappointed that it will be canceled later this year without any refund. she went on to say, those who chose to buy a card did so in the full knowledge of the unambiguous statement by the coalition parties that the scheme would be scrapped if needed. she said to those card holders, they cannot expect taxpayers to bail them out. she then went on to say that citizens have to be aware of what is going on around them. it was clear this scheme would have a risky future ahead of it. she then dismissed the potential refund of 30 pounds as being rather less than most people pay for a monthly subscription

to "sky tv." >> the cost of the scheme has already been paid out, which is over 290 million pounds. another half million may not seem significant. it is the attitude the coalition government takes to public spending. we demonstrated we have a commitment to ensuring the and just public expenditure is stopped. >> there where the plant to abolish hundreds of non- department zero bodies. the amendment to restrict the government's power to get rid of them, and later, there was another speech on the same bill, this time as the government plans to abolish -- it was rejected by a vote of 122. there were smiles all around

with the announcement that prince william is to marry his longtime girlfriend kate middleton. they're both 28 and became engaged during a secret holiday in kenya. it will take place on april 29, a date which has been declared a public holiday. congratulations were offered on behalf of mp's. >> i would like to make an announcement regarding the engagement of prince william to miss katherine middleton. i'm sure that members from all sides of the house will join me in congratulating the couple on this most happy occasion, and will wish them all the very best for their future together. >> the level of immigration into the u.k. surfaced in the election campaign. the promise was made by

conservatives. the coalition introduced a cap on the number of skilled workers from outside the european economic area. the new limit is to be put to 1700 per year from april. >> in the 1990's, net migration to britain was consistently in the tens of thousands each year. under labour, it was close to 200,000 per year for most years since 2000. as a result, net migration totaled more than 2.2 million people, more than double the population of birmingham. we cannot go on like this. we must tighten up our immigration system, focusing on tackling abuse and supporting only the most economically beneficial migrants. >> the chance are not that britain contributes around 7 billion pounds in support to ireland. it was said ireland was a friend in need and it was overwhelmingly in britain's national interest to provide funds. in the commons, it was said britain would offer a loan and

contribute to a biggereu and imf bailout fund. >> when this government came into office, britain was in the financial danger zone. we have taken actions to put our own house in order. we were once seen as part of the problem. we are now part of the solution. ireland is a friend in need. it is in our national interest that cheap -- that we should be prepared to help at this difficult time. >> the start of december saw an unusually early cold snap in britain with much of the u.k. covered in snow. there was arctic weather and the ensuing chaos. there were traffic jams on the roads, trains canceled, and the

airport was shut for two days. >> let me be clear. the question i am asking david to address is not whether we expect there to be disruption when we have and whether of this severity. it is whether there's anything that could or should have been done that has not been done. >> the scandal rocked the last parliament to its very foundation, the revelation that mp's claimed public moneys for everything from mortgages to houses. it brought shame on the house of commons. a new system was rapidly introduced, the standards authority. ever since it was set up to process expense allowances, many have argued it is expensive and bureaucratic. one called it -- one said it was time for re rethink. >> we have handed over the control to an unaccountable body. it is both judge and jury, regulator and regulate it. mp's are rightly couple to the people who elect them. this body is accountable to nobody. they control the way mp's work. they control the amount of time

they have available to conduct duties. >> many were not given what they were entitled to. >> we have members who have for calls from friends. they're sleeping on floors of offices, which they are not supposed to do, because they are not claiming what they rightly should be to claim. i am not moaning on behalf of the existingmp's. -- existing mp's. i am not complaining on your behalf. i love all of you. what i'm concerned about is actually the function in the parliament for the next 100 years. where will we be in 30 years if we continue down this route where only the wealthy can serve? i thought we had moved on from there. >> and those who are mothers

with teenage children, you are not allowed to have children in london with members at any time. we are not allowed to have our children stay with us for overnight accommodations. ifyou're a single mother, your child is sick or ill, you're told to collect her child, what are you supposed to do? under the regulations, they are not allowed to be with you. we have to be here to carry out duties. the regulations are particularly difficult. >> whether we have done something more not, we were all considered to be -- during my campaign,

[unintelligible] i would have run after him and punch him in the face. i speak on behalf of other members of this house. >> one argued the call for a changeable system was a backward step. >> do we or do we not seek authority to the body? it is an independent body to determine these matters, or not? that is the principle and that is the basis on which we legislate it. this resolution, which would have been improved, i would suggest, by my amendment that was not taken, but this amendment, which i will oppose

and vote against, breaks that principle. what it does is it says that mp's should have the power to be determining such matters, and that principle was the fundamental weakness in the previous expenses system. >> in the end, they voted to give the body until april to make its systems a lot simpler. the change in the expenses system has not made this parliament entirely scandal- free. mp's support of sanctions against three former officials. the three words seemed to be representing a fictitious company. all three men stood down in the last election. the committee on standards and privileges ruled that two have brought parliament into disrepute. the chairman of the committee began with a few words about the media. >> if it was not entrapment, it was something close to entrapment. while i do not -- i think the whole house will feel sympathy

for them because of the way they were deceived. >> it was said that stephen, who likened himself to account for higher, have apologized. >> unfortunately, the seriousness of his offense means that "sorry" is not enough. >> the committee recommended he have his parliamentary pass with a drawn to two years. >> the committee concluded mr. hu was given a session that he could reclines on defense policies on the basis of his inside knowledge. this was a particularly serious breach of the code. it brought the house and its members generally into this for spooked -- disrepute. >> his pass was withdrawn to five years, after which he could not bring parliament into disrepute. his pass was withdrawn for six months.

someone but that was disproportionate. >> to bring these things to the floor of this house, i think there is something wrong about this. >> in the end, they backed the sanctions would come and support. in the house of lords, three pairs were given lengthy suspensions after wrongly claiming thousands of pounds in expenses. one person was suspended until april, 2012, and told to repay more than 125,000 pounds. another person was suspended for eight months and has repaid more than 27,000 pounds. another person was suspended for four months and has returned 41,000 pounds. the initial findings were sent out by the committee. >> in the three cases, the subcommittee concluded in each case that the lords concerned

wrongly designated the property in question as his or her maine resident. they wrongly claimed from 7,000 pounds up to 125,000 pounds. in each case, the supplement critiques of committee concluded made these claims in bad faith. >> all three appealed to the conduct committee. >> we found the main residence designated or not appropriately designated. there were properties outside london designated as maine residents who before, during, and after the parents and the question were found inside london. they did not reflect any natural interpretation of the term "maine residents." public money should have a prediction not been claimed on such cases. as a member of the committee, i believe that all three appears concerned fell short of the standard of conduct the house and public are entitled to expect. we must act appropriately.

the public expects us to react with firmness and unity to demonstrate our abhorrent of wrongdoing. >> there were concerns about the way the internal investigation was carried out, giving too much weight to the original investigation. now we turn to the subject of race. >> let me say from the outset, i do not in any way wish to accuse any member of the committee or the subcommittee of racism. that would be quite improper and wrong. but it cannot escape your attention that the only three members of your house referred to the committee for privileges and are being investigated under these procedures were all asian. i reviewed the list of members, 20 in total, who have had complaints referred to parliament.

i cannot find any consistent patterns for the referrals. combined, the inconsistency in approach, the this proportionality of the sanctions, my concerns are deepened. >> i don't except that somebody cannot understand that if they never stayed somewhere, it is not their main residence. i am very disappointed and very distressed. i am sat there here. there's something to be said about indian culture. i'm not sure which indian culture he is speaking of. the only indian culture i know of his honor. that is the indian culture. >> someone was stripped of his seat after a court ruled he made false statements about his opponent during a's general election campaign. the decision means he will return there will be an election in january. a hectic few months with the government facing its first

really tough test. before the election, we were told people liked the idea of the coalition. how was it going down? we asked andrew hawkins from the opinion polls what people make of this new style of government. >> it has been a difficult honeymoon, i think, for the coalition. it has been difficult to talk about how the coalition is doing in isolation from the two partner parties. when you look of the previous honeymoons, it has been a new prime minister, tony blair's honeymoon was an extraordinary blip. it is different from anything that has been before or since. this is a little bit more like john major's. this far into his premiership, we were beginning to feel the impact of black wednesday. david cameron will be hoping that the slide in support in his experience will be matched by what happened to margaret

thatcher. she had a similar slide in the support. by 1983, by her first general election as prime minister, she pulled things around again.

"washington journal" continues. host: a retired colonel in the air force and joins us now. this year it will be 10 years since 9/11. are we more secure than we were a decade ago?

guest: in some areas we are, and in others, we are not. we have taken away their sanctuary in afghanistan and made it more difficult for them to transport money and travel, or do their training. we have made some successes. in other areas, i was the executive director that issued a report card several years ago. senator bob gramm and others and when it came to being prepared to respond to a biological attack, we gave america a failing grade. host: i want to put the phone numbers on the bottom of our

screen as we talk about the state of homeland security. he studies at the center of weapons for mass destruction. as our guest pointed out, he is the director of an important commission. one of the headlines we wake up to this morning is officials pointed to al qaeda after an attack of christians in egypt. when you wake up and see headlines like this, what goes through your mind? guest: there has been an evolution of al qaeda in this decade. they have fractured into small, independent organizations. a lot of training is done over the internet.

they provide some funds and inspiration to their writing. there is a monthly magazine out for al qaeda in english. some people say it is more difficult to prevent those. some say they cannot pull off a big attack like 9/11. in some cases, it would be difficult. on the other hand, we are concerned about the biological warfare. even these small cells do damage. host: what is the process of

"?ving it to up toa an "a guest: this is going to take a commitment over a while. we think it is one of the greatest threats we will face. we have the areas where we need to focus efforts. one of the problems is a speaking to a senator from zero iowa and we were talking about the cleanup. the british-tested and rex weapons off an island in north in 43. it took them four decades to clean up that small island. that is why we are concerned. something very small could shut

us down for a year as in the new york subway. the question i asked a senator is how much money did congress appropriate for the research of the epa in 2010? half of what they prayed for marine corps marching bands. is that the right priority that congress should have? priorities is one of the issues. any week leak and the chain can lead to failure. the good news about that -- i used to be a chairman and i understand we have to provide nuclear power to aircraft

carriers, but when you buy one of those, that is all you get. we are talking about improvements in rapid diagnosis and disease. that is good for more america whether we have filed terrorism or not. this is small potatoes that could have a big impact on national security. host: here is a report that came out a year ago. our first call is from akron, ohio. caller: a want to ask about the

powers of 9/11 seem to have been brought down by explosives. one tower that got hit by no lane -- who put the bombs in there? guest: many top engineers and scientists did a lot of research. i looked at these studies and talked to people that know a lot more than what i know. people like to talk about class. to enter your question, the commission did not include chemical weapons.

that could be a real mess and the problem in a local area. it is not in the same class as a nuclear weapon or biological weapons. i have seen certain bonds used. they are very effective. when we talk about weapons of mass destruction, we talk about the things that can change the course of history. host: virginia. caller: my question is you are a professional warrior so can you explain what national security means? i hear some many descriptions of it.

and where do i fall into the scheme of national security? what are you trying to do to protect me. what is your definition of national security? >> that is a wonderful question guest:. n. guest: it includes all of the elements that makes america safe and secure. i heard the former deputy secretary recently give a speech. he said our economy is the greatest threat we face because we are borrowing every day from china. how people view us from around the world.

how strong a solitary. there are many elements to that. we cannot depend on the government to do everything for us. a hurricane hit florida in number of years ago. i was watching it on cable news. many tv crews went up to one of set woman. she had a couple of days of advance warning a hurricane was coming. why was she out of drinking water? a few days later, i spoke with a mayor of the city and she was embarrassed by the news report.

she said walmart was down the road, 1 mile, and they had water. we cannot depend on the government to do everything. one of the biggest terms we talk about in all homeland security is resilience. whether we are talking about tornadoes or hurricanes or earthquakes for possible terrorism, we have a responsibility to have everything we need to have in our home as a citizen. host: our guest has a long military career. he is also author of a book.

remind us of what your message is in your book. guest: chapter 9 is all about what you should do for your family and what they need. too many people asked the wrong questions. in the past couple of years, they asked the wrong questions. what do we need to do to prevent al qaeda from smuggling a nuclear weapon into the united states. that is the wrong question. that is why we waste a lot of money. if they had a nuclear weapon, our detectors will not seek it. if you had a nuclear weapon and you were a terrorist, would you risk it in a shipping container?

you will charter an airplane can bring your own boat. if you set it off mid ocean or afghanistan, that is a game changer so that is the wrong question. the right question is how do we prevent al qaeda from becoming a nuclear power. this is simple, not easy. they cannot make plutonium. so we have to walk down that loose material out there. there is a threat reduction program. we want to get control of that

loosed, nuclear material. if we do that, there'll be no nuclear terrorists. we need to ask the right questions. as i walked in the door of a building, there was a radiological detector outside of the door. iten a nuclear weapon close is too late to the tactics. host: maryland. caller: [unintelligible]

building seven was a 47 story building with minor damage. it was a couple of hundreds of yards away from the twin towers. why was the mastermind of 9/11 at a sit-down dinner with bigwigs several months after 9/11? guest: we still have a group of people of their debt believe that the u.s. government was behind 9/11. i think that is tragic to the people that died that day. that is part of the result of the internet. i have taken the time to read the material to look at the

website and movies that have been produced, and they are garbage. this bothers me, because there are people that listen to this garbage. it is not the truth. do the time to do the research. there is interesting speculation. there are all kinds of conspiracy theories about jfk. there should be no conspiracy theories about 9/11. i have seen all kinds of video tape and yet, there is still all of this stuff out there. 9/11 was not done by the u.s. government.

host: next caller. caller: i think obama lost the election because of national security, but eric holder trying to soothe arizona. i think they were trying to put muslims that did the ninth session 11 stuff, they put them right down there. guest: let us address the issue of border security in maryland. i did my research and nothing much has changed since then. you cannot have a secure nation unless you have secure borders.

part of the issue is that the american people cannot decide what they want. go to fast food restaurants in the d.c. area. america cannot seem to decide what they want. it is virtually impossible to enforce the border at the border. they said it would take. we cannot afford to do that. people come from mexico and other countries because they want a better standard of living.

if we had means to identify you when you tried to get a job for a welfare check or required some sort of identification, but we -- if we enforce the border, that would stop the flow, because if people could not hit a job or a welfare check, they would not come here. we have to deal with that at the place of them women. host: democrats line. are you there? let us try massachusetts. caller: i would like to ask why

are we utilizing our army reservists and national guard to go to these other countries when we can have them for homeland security? we are paying the mining and dell and extra agency is involved and the country is going broke using and we are not utilizing our army like we should be. guest: i cannot agree with you more. i have complained about this for a long time. they sang one of the former chief of staff of the armor -- army is fine some. i think this has been a problem.

we have abused our reserve component. that is more than a decade. we were calling on our national guard far too much. a lot of the louisiana national guard was deployed overseas for katrina. this is the perfect organization to have in response for disasters. we have abused them. we cannot continue with that. host: homeland security to add staff in afghanistan. some two-day visits. adding as many as 54 agents to

the current contingent. what does that mean to you? guest: an interagency effort. it has the largest budget in town. the president's and members of congress have been trying to get other agencies involved. that border between afghanistan and pakistan is virtually and defensible. another was about these new air force vehicles. i have been following this story for a while. are we going to be using them for homeland security?

there is one camera that is a very limited view. these new ones have nine cameras and use a different system where they can look at an entire city at once. they send the information down to all kinds of sensors and people looking at it. if we had a major disaster in america along a fault line for some market -- some large terrorist activity, widom 3 use these vehicles to provide the situational awareness that we need? the answer i received was that is for military stuff. homeland security is my first priority.

technology should play a huge role in protecting america after disasters. host: republican line. caller: i have a comment about the previous callers regarding theories of 9/11. these people are morons. i wish they would just stop. having said that, i find it amazing about what has not happened about how the we liggett the borders. i have had different opinions on its. i think we can secure the border, and we should.

i could be wrong, we need to do a better job. i find it amazing that the worst has not happened. i have been a hands on worker all my life. i do my normal job around a lot of different chemicals. my common knowledge of the things i could do if i were a crazy person makes me stop and wonder how has this not happened already? i find it amazing. there must be a lot more going on within the homeland security and the intelligence community that we just do not hear about. thanks. guest: are we more secure or less secure? in some areas, we are more secure.

as i said in my opening answer is that we have done a lot of things. because we are a free and open society, we will remain vulnerable. you said, we can secure the border. you are right. we cannot afford it. the cost of securing it is more than what we can pay. the last time i flew on a specific helicopter, we have a route that went straight through the capital here. capitol here. the last time i was a passenger?

clear, with your background. guest: i tell you, i understand the frustration. i have a problem with the pat downs. what what my daughters to go through that new procedure? on the other hand, i do not have a better answer. and i and have not heard anyone come up with one. there was a man in his underwear had enough explosives to bring down an airliner there was only 13 ounces of explosives to bringing down pan am 103. al qaeda seems to have a fascination with airlines. they have for decades, they understand how critical it is to our economy. it is very difficult. i am a frequent traveler. i think that the gsa does a pretty good job.

i have spent a lot of time with the former administrator. i appreciate the job. i understand a compromise between convenience and security. when you fly airplanes around the world as a united states of america on the side, you start to understand security. taking off your shoes in your coat seems annoying, but if it was your responsibility to protect the airlines of america and the people flying on them every day, you would understand that it is not simply something for late night comedians to make jokes about. host: there was a headline from "the washington post" talking about the nation's biggest airports hiring private firms.

orlando has approved the change and are looking for a contractor. the question, some say, this would be more efficient approach. should the government be in charge? guest: the government should be in charge of standards, but sometimes the private sector can do better than the government. in indiana they turned over the private -- turned over the department of motor vehicles to the private sector. but -- they haven't 8 minute wait time and are saving money. that is not the same in virginia. the government sets standards in some time as the private sector can operate more efficiently. host: the airways were shut down for a brief time yesterday in the capital, there was a 30

minute shutdown of the house and senate because there was not improper frequency used by the pilot secured you hear stories like that with the mindset and reaction here in tel. guest: absolutely. there are a lot of people on alert around here for things like that. this is not an area that a private pilot should be flying in unless they know exactly what they're doing. host: texas, carol, a democrat. good morning. caller: terms like national security, the government allowing passengers and people from other countries traveling back and forth, have they

secured our nation with other countries? frequently flying in and out of the country. why can our government not do this? would that not secure our homeland? host: did you get that? guest: i had a hard time hearing, but one thing i did get, other countries trust you to leave the country on time. it is a serious problem and i know the folks at homeland security and looking at that. people come here and student visas and stay here forever. we have to have a better system. we have made improvements on screening who comes into the country, but we do not have a very good system for finding out

how long they have overstayed their visit. host: alabama, diane, good morning. caller: i have a comment about the 9/11 conspiracy. i do not think that the government had anything to do with promoting or allowing that, but they stood by and knew that there was something. destruction comes in all forms. low manufacturing got -- jobs, lower manufacturing jobs. in the united states we cannot feed, clothe, or protect ourselves. now the government wants to put our troops on the mexican side of the border? financially that is a reason. if you are going to put our money and people on the border, they need to be on this side.

promoting economic wealth. our military is over there supporting housing, food, clothing. we need our borders protected, gentlemen. we are an independent nation. people, from all over the world because we are an independent nation of laws. guest: you make some very good points. jobs are a very important part of national security. we cannot have a powerful military or be a nation that does good things around the world without having a strong economy here. you said that we knew about not -- that we knew about 9/11. george tenet said that all the lights were blinking red in the summer of 2001. we knew that something was going happen, but we did not know where or when. it is not like television or hollywood during if you do not

know where or when something will happen, the borders -- i agree about the southern border. even though i say that we cannot afford to simply build a wall. but talking to the head of homeland security for the state of texas, it was very interesting. he was a retired agent. i cannot think of his name right now, but he said they did not worry very much about al qaeda, they worry more about the dumping -- the drug gangs. they have gunfights with fully automated weapons that outgunned local law enforcement. i am very worried about how this drug money along the borders is corrupting state and local officials. there is a term they use down there called silver or lead. you either take the bribe or you are killed. we are very concerned about

that along the border. a critical homeland security issue. i do know anything about putting u.s. troops on the mexican side of the border. i have heard no talk of putting u.s. troops in mexico. host: republican line, pennsylvania. caller: good morning, colonel. i have spent some time waiting for a top-secret clearance to go to alaska. my question is a two-part question. the first is the second amendment and national security and how new governors fit into that. mr. cuomo tried to run the united states out of business. how will that tie together?

guest: second amendment? that is a hot button issue this morning. i love talking about the constitution but i will not be getting into a debate about the second amendment. i will say that in chapter 9 of my book i have in their everything that she should have in your home to make your family ready and everything. one thing that you will not find in my book -- i have guns at home. i was raised around them. i also say that if you have not been trained in how to properly use a gun, you should not go out and buy one here you are more of a threat to your family. when you see how many guns -- in washington, d.c. it is illegal to own one and only criminals have them. we used to have the highest murder rate in town. a properly prepare home has a

gun in my mind. host: many congressional leaders called for a 100% change in the initiative. your thoughts? guest: i am hoping that the new congress will fix the issue. . what we have to use his intelligence information to determine which containers we should be looking at. we know what country it is coming from. we know who has touched it. big countries sending to wal- mart. we know how they are all monitored. as opposed to something coming out of yemen on a small ship that we do not know anything about. it is supposed to be called risk-management. 100% inspection takes the risk management out of the. i hope that we move away from that. it will cause a problem with

industry, slowing things delicate. others call it security theater, wasting money on things that could keep us safer. that scanner outside the building over there does nothing for you to. -- nothing for you. host: what is your take on wikileaks? guest: i hope somebody leaks the book that he is writing. but we saw on 9/11 and in the commission report there were all of these pillow fights. all of these different departments did not want to share. so, we miss things. men learning how to fly airplanes and flying -- paying only cash. we did not connect the dots. sometimes in government we overreact. put them in a big system.

what we did not look out for was who could go in to look at it. there are private sector companies where if you went into one of their servers and started to download large volumes of information, it would set off a warning. maybe you would have a good reason to do with, but at least someone would be checking. now we have to find a happy medium. i hope we do not start to stovepipe everything again, but this information needs to be in a common database. we need to have a common thread available. there are systems in the private sector that will allow that. host: to the big picture, this question comes from twitter. guest: they spent about $400,000 pulling off 9/11. how many trillion have we spent

since then democrats -- since then? if we overreact and do stupid things we will be no more secure and they will secure in their strategy. host: david, l.i.. caller: with all due respect, i have to challenge you on the 9/11 conspiracy theories. i think that if you follow the money, you will find the true for. i am not saying that the military had anything to do with destruction of towers, but i think that there were special interests behind the scene that did not want to see the demise of the military-industrial complex. there was supposed to be a peace dividend during the collapse of the soviet union. you have the recession of military spending or the need for such because there is no need for at. they needed a new enemy.

look at the people who have profited. halliburton, lockheed martin. all of these defense contractors in the lurch because of the collapse of the soviet union. they needed a new enemy. this is what we allowed as american people. we allowed dick cheney, george bush, and all of the baggage that they carried into office to take over our government and the biggest military industrial complex and destroy an innocent society. i do not think that the investigation that took place -- the 9/11 commission, and regionally headed by henry kissinger. because of a conflict of interest he was taken off the commission. if you look at fred fielding and the white house counsel, he took the place of harry admirers, who was not appointed. he sat on the commission, as

well as his law firm representing a gentleman that embezzled in my community here on long island. all of the records pertaining to the case were in building #7, which happened to be farther away from the twin towers. host: that is a lot to respond to. guest: as far as the 9/11 conspiracy, it is clear that 19 hijackers were the people behind it. he talked about eisenhower and the military-industrial complex, he was spot on when he talked about that in his speech. i have borrowed from that and referred to the homeland security industrial index. some of the crazy ideas that they come up with in that building, some of the people

that work on k street are very profit motivated by an funding their projects. what happens is a lot of money gets wasted in your family is not any more secure because they wind up asking the wrong questions. it is definitely a problem since eisenhower talked about it. but 9/11 was done by al qaeda and 19 men that flew airplanes into those buildings and killed americans. host: joseph, welcome. caller: first of all, colonel, i would like to thank you for the service to the country. guest: thank you. it was an honor. caller: virgil -- earlier you mentioned the use uav's in the

case of a natural disaster. do you think that would cause alarm in the public? d think that they would perhaps in the future be used for police work on a city to city basis? are we looking forward to them flying over the country? guest: that is a wonderful question. it is a serious issue. when we talk about homeland security there are many of issues of privacy that we are used to hearing about in the united states. what we created after 9/11, in states like california we had federal agents with state and local coming together to share that information. there are great stories about how that has worked. they prevented a serious attack in los angeles because the information came in to the fusion center.

they talked about using the assets for gang violence. drugs. serious problems. deadbeat dads? where do you draw the line? it is the kind of thing that should be debated by believe, from my military background, not looking at the privacy issues and that kind of stuff, those new vehicles would be fabulous in providing such aware -- says a note -- situational awareness, saving lives and profit. but your question is very good, what will the american public think? where do we draw the line? it must be presented as a life- saving issue. host: richard, md., you get the last word.

caller: good morning, general. guest: kernel. caller: sorry, colonel. thank you for your service, definitely. people talking about the government being to blame for 9/11, first of all it takes time to get the white house staff in there to do the job. clinton was warned many times about the plot. p said it was his job for five years during the clinton administration. the democrats stephanie want to holler that it is a conspiracy, yet they do not want a border patrol or minutemen on the border or anyone doing anything to protect this country. if we are invaded by china tomorrow, they are our enemy but any other time we do not need the military.

guest: this is why homeland security is such a difficult challenge. it is one of the most difficult faced by the nation because of all of these issues. fighting wars overseas is different. now we have all these issues about privacy and civil liberties. if we caught osama bin laden, should he be read his rights? we have not solve that issue. the public health today is an important national security organization. the food and drug administration, today the fda is as important to national security as the u.s. army. there are many new challenges that we have and hopefully in the new year we will figure it out. host: remind us, when does the next one come out? guest: the third week of october of 2011, the 10th anniversary of

when that building was closed because of anthrax contamination. we are going to look at those things here on this chart. we are not going to look all of the issues from the report. we are going to focus on america's preparedness to respond to attack from a biological weapon. we are going to have some very distinguished academics working on this and we will issue that report card and i am sure that the senators will be sitting here in the third week to tell the nation how it came out. host: our gueuest has been to

the gentleman is recognized. mr. klein: madam speaker, i rise today to thank all my colleagues here in the house and especially my constituents back home in south florida. the opportunity to serve in this body has been the privilege and honor of a

lifetime. i truly have been honored and feel honored to have been entrusted with the responsibility of fighting for families, businesses, seniors and veterans in our community every single day. and fight we did. when i came in four years ago we were challenged with a war. we were challenged with a lot of oer things. as those years have passed there have been new challenges, the economy and others. together we fought to take on skyrocketing homeowners insurance costs in florida and other places. we wrote a commonsense solution that makes insurance look and work like itsupposed to. it wasn't easy bute brought together every single member of florida's delegation, republican and democrat alike, as well as allies from around the country and passed the homeowners defense act in a bipartisan way. and i'm very proud of that. we also fought to deliver on a campaign promise when i first -- in my first race to close the medicare part d doughnut hole, something that's so

significant to so many seniors in our community. our seniors never should make the choice between food and medicine. and because we shall and bring down the cost of prescription drugs, many in our community will no longer have to. we stand up for our nation's veterans, something that is a prize responsibility that every american shares in. because i believe it is our responsibility to fight for those who have fought for us. we passed the biggest increase in the v.a. history to make sure that our service members have access to everything they need, and we turned local ideas from our palm beach and broward county advisory boards into the law of the land. buit didn't stop there. we took on energy and the recognition that there is a national security threat of an energy policy that continues to support middle east gue countries. in particular, iran. i helped work with others in writing and passing the toughest sanctions in history because we cannot allow iran to acquire a nuclr weapon.

not on our watch and certainly not on our dime. we tackled health care and equal pay for women. we expended pell grants so every child and every student has a write to go to college and help create a work force that will compete worldwide. we passed an innovative and forward-looking energy plan to end our dependence on foreign oil. but most of all, many of us worked together to do what is best for our community. some might disagree with any one policy, but i think at the end each of us ithis chamber knows we have a responsibility to our country, we believe in our country and we try to do thright things. madam speaker, my colleagues and south floridians watching today, i want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for this privilege. choosings public service isn't always easy. there are bad headlines and tough attacks and long weeks away from your family. our families truly make the greatest sacrifice. but it is worth every one of

those sacrifices for the opportunity to make our country better for our children and our grandchildren than it was for us. this is the american dream, and that is what i fought for and many of us fight for every single day at home and here. when i first came to this historic u.s. capitol building, a very wise colleague said to me, and it stuck with me until this very moment, look up at the capitol dome at nighttime. look at it when we're working late you see the light at the top in a beautifulome. i look up and see that every time we are here in the evening and i see that magnificent dome against the dark sky and i think of the great figures that have passed in time here. st we may never know. whether they were here for two years or 10 years or 20 years and everyone had the same goal, to make this country is a little better place. and my colleague said to me if you look up at that dome and

you aren't inspired, it's time to go home. i continue to be inspired. and he was right. the opportunity to serve our community in that's hallowed halls does inspire me. i hope it continues to inspire every single person and the next generation of leaders who come into this chamber. so i want to thank all of you. thank you for allowing us to be here. thank you for the privilege of serving. and i look forward to being part of our community and

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[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> as china has become a political force in the world, it has become politically competent. but the confidence should saturday start from bottom up. that's why the chinese leadership started to get online, to listen, to talk, to hear the pulse of the nation. >> chinese people have a lot on their minds -- housing,

inflation, employment, health care, food safety, and much more. these issues also concern the country's top leaders. and before the people's congress met in march, the premiere went online to hear what the people think. >> i may not answer the squezz completely nor solve the problems of everybody, but it gives me a chance to get help from the people. >> the website of china's largest news agency set up the chat in this room. >> the premiere started by with him a whole heart. he didn't even bring with him a piece of paper. the answers were all in his mind. >> in a little over two hours,

internet uses -- users submitted 400,000 questions. submissions were also made by fex message -- text message. there were 13 million hits. nearly a third of china's population uses the internet, making it the largest online community in the world. many of them go online to voice their views. >> when the central or local governments circulated, they are more and more willing to listen to what residents have to say. for many draft bills, the government solicits public opinion first. they analyze these suggestions to make changes to the draft. there have been many such examples. >> he says the premiere's online exchange is seen by many as an example to lower-level officials. about a quarter officials surf

online, and about half use the internet occasionly. >> online communications between the government and internet users is providing a screent channel for decision makers to hear people's voices. on the other hand, it shows people's growing sense of participation in national and regional developments. the decision-makers can therefore use people's will to formulate policies in a more scientific way to reduce cost and increase eefficiency. >> over the years, they have organized many online chats. the premiere promised to come back this year. he joked, we link our pinkies to

complete a deal. that means the dialogue is far from over. >> more and more chinese officials are using the internet to explain policies to an increasingly vocal and broader public. it is part of efforts by the government to be more responsive and accessible. this greater transparancy means their inclusiveness of people's voices. cctv, beijing. >> and joining us for this program is vice chairman of chinese strategy, mr. wi jing wu. many chinese leaders say they get online to listen to the public. how much do you think it affected their decision-making? >> i think it affects a lot the

way the chinese government governs the chinese people. you know, internet is changing the world not only in the way of the government, but the way people get information. people communicate with one another. so certainly the way the chinese government is getting information from the people is much more direct. i think in two ways -- from people, the government is able to get the information much more easily. on the other side, the people also is getting information from governments much more easily. certainly it is changing the ways of the government. >> many are wondering which paths china will pursue in the will we be economically better off or will we have reform? what are your thoughts? >> two things are very

important. first, the rule of law. china has a long history of a futile regime, more than 2,000 years. futile regime means the rule of men, not the rule of law. we adopt so many laws -- so many , i mean, regulations. so we want the rule of law. that means democracy. democracy is china's goal. they like to make china prosperous p. civilized. a harmonious society. above all we need changes in the party. in that way, they will make headway. >> thank you. >> thank you.

>> this is where 150 men were dug out alive in march. they were among the coal miners who were trapped underground. the remaining 38 did not make it. mining industry is still a big

business here. from here, the entire industry has started to review its regulations to get things right. >> this is the rescue that captured the heart of a nation. surviving eight days and eight nights drinking dirty water and eating coal, miners held on until rescuers finally arrived. sh fung li was among the most -- the first group of those rescued. he meets us in his village. he tells us it was the thought

of his family that helped him get through the grueling ordeal. >> he is a loving father and a down-to-earth person. we learned the drama has taken a toll. he said now and then he has nightmares of being trapped in the cave. in the daytime, he is often depressed. the acute injuries to his body might be gone, but chronic pain remains.

>> 500 miles away the worst nightmare of his life remains largely sealed off. a ventilation system is the only item under construction. we're told after the incident nine people, including a project manager, and a chief engineer, were arrested for negligence of duty. perhaps the biggest legacy is that it forced the federal government to put in place stricter regulations. for example, an accountability system has been set up that says if you are in a mine, you have to go down the shaft with your miners, or you will be severely punished. they have ordered all staff mebbeds to review regulations over the past month. the only recourse is to wait for state approval from state authorities to reopen the site. >> we fired those who were responsible for the incident in march and ordered everybody in

the country to study new safety rules. we also tried to identify new safety loopholes. we did a lot of soul-searching in the past few months. throughout the mining industry couldn't be more timely. in spite of recent safety improvements in recent years, china's coal mine still ranked among the most dangerous in recent years. most miners have been without jobs, and he doesn't know if he will ever be able to work again because his injuries do not allow him to perform manual labor. he said he is not sure what the rest of his life holds in store. there is one thing he is sure of, that is, that he will never set foot in another coal mine. >> on that topic, we are joined by my colleague. 150 men were saved.

what is behind the rescue of the operation? >> first of all, we are all very impressed of the perseverence of the miners. we know for eight days and eight nights they went through hell. first of all, to survive, they of the shaft so they wouldn't drown while sleeping. to survive they ate tree bark and eventually coal. in a sense, the miners saved themselves. and the rescue operation was very well organized. on top of the large number of rescuers we had a sateltean to which the premiere could talk directly to survivors. also, the rescue operation was ducted scientifically. finally, of course, we have the state-of-the-art fueling equipment and 100 ambulances

lined up over here. overall this is an impressive and coordinated effort. >> you visited many of the rescue operations and also natural disaster scenes. what do you think of the relief effort and the response system here in china zph -- china? >> oftentimes people here think this is still a top-down society where people think it is the superiors -- it is this system that proved to be successful. it was not only the case here it was the case in the earthquake in march, it was a case in mudsliding in august, and it was the case in numerous flooding across the southern provinces. also in all these disasters we have observed an increasing openness from the chinese government to media. we as journalists had almost complete access to all the disaster areas interviewing all the officials and the victims.

i think it would be fair to say in the past two years from the earthquake until now, china's emergency response system has come a long way. >> thank you. not just mine accidents. china has seen more than its fair shares of natural disasters. an earthquake in april changed the lives of tibetans there forever. >> hello. this april, there were two strong earthquakes. thousands were killed and even more were left homeless. after eight months i come back to this place to find out what the current situation of their lives are. >> her 9-year-old daughter is on winter vacation and helps her mother take care of business.

it is cold here. she doesn't want to recall the earthquake, and she never mentions her husband. she just says her priority is to raise her three daughters alone. in this weather, coal is expensive, and she burns everything she can in order to make the room warmer. temperatures here can reach minus 20 degrees celcius. she worries that the kids cannot bear the cold. >> this winter is tough for the tibetans living on this ravaged land. they believe the government can rebuild their homes and they believe their god can keep them safe from other disasters.

>> this temple was damaged in the earthquake but say the believers never collapsed. every day thousands of worshippers visit the site, waving spiritual wills, circling around, and praying to budia. -- buddha. >> the work will be even bigger. >> the lives of local tibetans changed dramatically after the earthquake. many lost relatives and friends. they say the only thing they have now is hope.

>> we will move into new houses that meet the new safety standard. although the reconstruction is temporarily halted, a market has sprung up among the rubble and die bree. meat, fruit, vegetables, and even cake. local residents believe their future is bright, and this is the first step.

>> you are watching "china diary." if this cannot stand for change, nothing can. this is the center of finance and idea. in the 2008 beijing olympics, it was the nage's coming out party.

this may is a full costume drama. packed houses and a massive impact. and one message above all -- china will concentrate on innovation. >> this was the hottest of destinations this summer in cla china. shanghai expo created a review of design. the world came to shanghai. one of the most visited paffon -- pavillions, the chinese pavilion received 1,000 visitors every day. for hu and his team, the design must stand the test of time. >> like an official's head, or

even a majon table. but they u.s.a. all say it is chinese. it is designed to be a permanent structure. it easily integrates with the environment. >> the chinese pavillion points toward a futuristic style. buildings that use 30% less energy through wind caps, wind towers, and hybrid cars. these towers calling us to go green and go clean. in one application they worship the future of chinese cities. >> one of the lasting legacies of the expo is what is displayed through the pavilions.

for many the new tracks for the subway system and new domestic airport was opened, and old airported renovated. shanghai is seen as a growing city, a city that has transformed itself. >> people say the expo has pushed forward shanghai's renovation by 10 years. the upgrades will benefit everyone who viferts the city. >> the 73-year-old used to divide his time between shanghai and xinj -- but continues to work here in shanghai.

>> some pavilions will stay, others will be dismantled in the months ahead. the ideas of plualism and harmony will become the most treasured aspects. the buildings left behind will encourage people to carry on and create a brighter future in a post-expo era. >> and on that topic, we are joined by robert dr. kun. what legacy is left behind and how much has it changed shanghai in china? >> one can always look at technology as improving specific things. all of that was wonderful. even beyond that, if he with look at the grand overview of expo, we have two emergent themes that come together. the first is focused on cities on bringing the world's best

technologies to cities and the second is the emergence of china. so for the first, the whole world's creativities come together to give to china on chinese soil the best way of thinking about cities, about new technologies, and the second is that these countries have recognized that china is emergent in the world as one of the great powers and one of the great responsible powers because expo shows that in deed the peace and prosperity of the 21st century will be to a large degree dependent upon china and china's continuing emergence as a great and responsible country. now, this brings burden as well as benefit to china. china now has great responsibility to do its share in the world in many different fields, and expo 2010 in shanghai was the beginning of china's contribution to the world, as well as the world's

contribution to china. that's the great legacy. >> religion and ethnicity

influence everything. this year a special economic zone was set up and a new communist took the helm. he came with a new set of policies that set the course for the western region for years to come. >> mountainous plains, asian land, traditional architecture, and a simple life are the pillars of kashgar's center. now the sprauling sprawling city is embracing progress and moving forward into a brand new era. something new does happen here with great changes. kashgar has become a pearl in western china. much of this change has been driven by a range of government policies to boost development of the region that were drafted in may where kashgar was nominated for the newest economic

development. the city was given state-level approval to establish itself as west china's first economic building. few people took this seriously. now it is a key part of china's five-year plan. local people are making their plans by reaping the benefits of kashgar's plans. >> there are more tourists visiting here. many of whom op visit my restaurant every day. i'm planning to open two more. >> mamah witnessed a growth in tourists. nobody is more aware of this growth in visitors than the secretary general of kashgar's tourism general.

>> the tourist in 2010 increased 8% while incomes are up 40% over the same period. >> tourism is not the only field stepping forward. the vice president of kashgar's bureau of business has witnessed an upsurge in business. >> investment volume has increased 25-fold over the past 25 years. the results have exceeded everyone's expectations. >> he added kashgar would stand to benefit from priffrention trade and investment policies. despite the city's rapid make-over into an economic hub, there are still problems that need to be addressed. >> the big problem is the transportation policy is not

really good for this country. but the people don't know how to use these policies. >> khan said this action must be taken in the short term to ensure growth from its economic infancy. >> shijung literally moves a new frontier and now they are pioneering with their own economic development in kashgar. if the people here would take advantage of the government support, there is no telling how far they will go in the future of their history. >> the most vibrant work force

in the world. chinese workers, hundreds of millions of them, are willing to give their all, and to provide better pay and stronger protection. this has been a challenge for the country. >> 12 people working to their death. many blame the psychological suicide. one woman told us the job was to assemble a tiny part of a mobile phone 5,200 times a day, every day. >> i can withstant stand working pressure, but it really depend

on personality. some people aren't like that. the work may be tougher for them. >> the spate of suicides for chinese working manufacturers, more people are concerned about the working conditions, their lives, and their dreams. the migrant work force moving from factory hubs. here things are changing. the new generation of manufacturing workers is different than the predecessors' with living standards improving. long hours, low-paying jobs, they are demanding rights more openly. after a spate of suicides the company offered a 30% salary increase to its workers, the biggest ever. the company is also ovepb offering psychological aid to those who need it at foxconn.

one man moved to this company, one of the biggest electronics makers less than 100 kilometers from shianjin. she recently got a raise. now she shares a rented room with her relatives who also work on different aassemblylines in this manufacturing hub of china. she said her life is happy, and she has hope to spend her spare time learning graphic design in hopes of getting a more sophisticated, better paying job in the future. she told us her plan is to save enough mome money and then go back to her hometown, a village, to build her own house, and maybe start her own business some day. >> my goal is to save 100,000

yuan. i have about a quarter of that. i hope i can make it in the future. >> it has never been more evident than in 2010, the era of low-cost labor is coming to an end. increasing labor costs in china is now a hard fact for the manufacturing industry. the change in chazz chinese workforce is expected to be a catalyst of the country's economic transformation in the years to come. >> all the way to china to cover on the country and its economy. now we are joined by abc correspondent david from new york. what difference has it made on the understanding of this country and its people? >> as you know, i traveled to china with anchorwoman diane

sawyer, who usually tits at this desk. people will notice how similar we are. i traveled from shanghai all the way down south, those parents just really want a better future for their children. many leave their children behind to raise, as you know, by their grandparents. as the parents work so hard for those wages, and they send much of that money back home so that child has a better future, and a better education further down the road. i think what the american audience here learned from that is is -- is that is a similar dream to what we call here in this country the american dream. >> both countries face challenges. let's talk about ploim. the chinese wore -- worry about their jobs, but they work longer hours and under worse conditions. what do you make of this

discrepancy? >> the factory workers make lower wages than factory workers would make here in the united states. that has been a huge concern here in america. workers wondering if they will be able to compete to get their own factory jobs back if there are people overseas making less. that is the fear or the argument that's been made here. you make an important point. one of the things we learned is that the chinese are very concerned about their jobs, just like americans are. we are dealing with unploim that's near 10% and has been for quite sometime now. i was on the streets of beijing, and i won't forget a woman that i talked to that had just come out of a job interview and she said she survived the first interview, that she would have to go back for the second one. she hoped we would wish her well, and we did. that's often what we come across in our country and interview people here.

they are also hoping for the same kind of well wishers as they look for work in this country, too. so again instead of pointing out stark differences we were able to find similarities between workers here in china and workers in america that want a good paying job and a good future for their families. >> obviously there is no economy closely linked like the economy in america. on one side the consumer benefits on those low-cost chinese products, but on the other hand some of the american jobs get shipped to china. so what is the feelings of the americans about the chinese economy? >> i think that's the great paradox. it is so important that you point that out. i think a lot of americans recognize that when they head to the stores and the malls in america, they are able to walk in and buy a lot of goods that are cheaper here because they are made in the dak factories in china. lower wages for workers. it costs less to buy them. they are able to buy them for a cheaper price. on the other hand, that sets up

competition for jobs in those factories, because the jobs are over in china, and some of them have left this country for china. that also sets up an imbalance in the minds of many american workers who say, well, great we can get cheep cheaper goods, but what with would rather have are the jobs back in this country. so a little more push-pull. i think in our country we are concerned about jobs, so that's the number one issue you will hear when we ask about a relationship with china sm how do we -- with china. how do we strike that balance? >> thank you for your report from new york. >> thank you for inviting us to china. >> china diary, top 10 issues of the year. policies and economies, tragedies and spectacles, told by people at the heart of these stories. "china diary" a review and reflection of 2010 only on cctv

news. >> this is an old campaign from chinese diplomats, but there is new thinking in chinese policy. some think china has become more assertive, others say it reflects the time. they say china will remain a peaceful power. >> there is no place like home, even if it is a fishing village that offers small conveniences from the modern home. he made headlines when his fishing vessel collided with a government ship. he returned home after weeks of protest to the chinese government. >> it is normal i go fishing there.

it is those who detained me that broke the law. >> this spiraled chinese- japanese relations to a low level. >> bilateral relations are experiencing a low period. that is a fact. public opinions in both countries don't favor each other. the incident was directly result of a changing national environment and was largely unavoidable. >> less than two months after the ship's collision japan pinpointed china as its main rival in the region. >> this has aroused a ridge lens and jealousy -- aroused a individual lens and jealousy. >> more os over, the us -- moreover, the u.s. remains the biggest outside flens. >> fishermen are preparing for a

peak harvest time. jiang was not among them. he's still haunted by his experience and he is afraid to head back out to sea. >> growing challenges are coming from almost all surrounding waters with complications arising from a strong u.s. well to maintain its flens in asia. >> tense relations between south korea have threatened to cast the last frontier of the cold war into conflict. washington urged threm to put pressure.

>> china has been able to exert that pressure. >> china's inakt ability to -- >> we have a lack of mutual trust between china and the united states. some say china has become arrogant in relations with the united states, but we do not agree with that. yes, china has become more confident with our economic goals, but china remains a developing country. >> a fishing boat costs a little over $4,000. it is the lifeline for these fishermen and their families. their biggest hope is for calm seas and a good harvest. >> on china's foreign diplomacy we are now joined by chinese foreign ambassador.

mr. ambassador, china has been blamed for assertiveness. there is the dispute with japan and is it that the rest of the world has become more critical or china has become more assertive? >> actually, comma's diplomacy is -- china's diplomacy is serving world peace and stability. it is true that some countries are showing muscles by conducting large-scale military maneuver, and everyone sees who are doing that. looking around the world, i do think that the world has become more critical toward china. but it is true that some people in the west are psychologically out of balance because of the quick development of china and

because of the fact that china did not use pressure, and china has done what an independent and sovereign state should do, could do, and must do. >> there are some expectations from the rest of the world that china can play a leadership in the international affairs, but we know china's diplomacy is always servicing its own domestic agenda. do you think chinese foreign policy will be more proactive and aggressive in the future? >> you say china plays a conflicting and contradicting role according to its ability. i don't think china will adjust its foreign pal to be more aggressive. i think china will be more cautious and will do everything possible in order to serve its domestic agenda and also to

serve world peace and stability. >> thank you, ambassador, for taking our interview. k k k k thu very much.

>> the millennium of household registry systems are unique around the world. it basically helps people in the city and those living in the countryside. china has to reform that system and that reform happened in this city. now people are asking, who am i and what can i be? they want the rorls to go even further and faster. >> this man comes to the local hospital twice -- this woman comes to the local hospital for dialysis. this is the only way she can survive. the large fee is far more than she and her husband's migrant worker income. >> i feel better these days both physically and mentally. >> but how can someone in her

position depeel better with a debt of several hundred thousand yuan? after working in the city for five years, they were granted urban residence a month ago. it gives them medical insurance which will cover most of the cost of treatment. >> this has solved a big problem for us. otherwise my family could never afford such a huge expense. i am quite relieved now, at least financially. >> the couple are not the only ones benefiting from medical insurance. so far hundreds of migrant workers have been brought under a medical insurance system. in the last four months more than a million people have become urban residents. most of them are migrant workers and college students from the

countryside. they will have equal opportunity of finding jobs. their dream of being urban residents has come true. the policy is not welcomed by everyone. this man has been working on his farmland for decades. he's a skeptic. >> i don't want to give up my farmland. i think this is more relyable. nowadays farmers get more government subsidy. another worry is whether the migrant workers can afford to live in the city and whether being unemployed there will be more difficult. >> whatever policy is made, especially a policy concerning the benefit of millions of people, it will definitely lead to some debate. it will keep improving the policy while it is implemented.

>> the ultimate goal of reform is 10 million farmers into urban residents by 2020. the reform in jinjing district is especially pointed out when the two have been separated for decades. the designers of the policy have described it as a wonderful future, but it is obviously too early to tell whether the result is a good or bad one. cctv.

>> the chinese ambition is not just from the ground. they have both sides -- they have their sites set on space. this october, the country launched a probe that circles hanoi. there is no doubt its endeavor will take it even further. a monday umal moment. another step closer for realizing china's dream for

flying to the moon. some 380,000 kilometers away from earth. the successful launch of the satellite marked the beginning of our work. a tiny cog in the massive project. this is one of the chief engineers in the tracking and control system. she has been working in space exploration since graduating from the university 14 years ago. she said working in the space industry needs extreme patience, hard work, and team spirit mple scientists started assembling in the year 2008. the equipment and payloads have >> the most intense moment was the satellite read at 15,000 kilometers. even the slightest damage could

result in damage. what happened was it was on the far side of the moon, outside of our tracking. we have preset the program. >> on november 8, premiere wen jiabao revealed a photo. it was taken with high-rezzluge. now colleagues are testing china's first space lbt. it is expected to be launched later this year. she explained the graphics on the big screen represent the actual three-dimensional movements. 2011 will also see the launch of the -- of a new spacecraft.

>> this will be another leap forward for china's technology. the key is to test the rendevous and docking. like all the previous space missions it will be another challenge for us. >> this will help china set up a lunar base. the country's big dream is to go beyond the moon to mars and venus. >> the state of the art aviation control and demand center has already directed china's three manned spacecraft. now this success is paving the way for a landing and eventually landing a man on the moon.

>> the red hot chinese economy is the envy of the world. this is no reason for complacency. how to maintain growth and stability will always be a challenge for china's success story to continue. >> these people rent a small apartment in beijing. the couple does not earn much.

rent takes up more than half of their monthly income. inflation makes it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. >> there is almost nothing left after wage the rent and other expenses. if the rent and other prices continue to rise, we will continue moving to a cheaper place. we have been married two years, but we don't think we can afford to raise a baby, and not buy a home. >> many ordinary chinese are feeling the pinch of the inflation. in november china's consumer price index, a major gauge of inflation, hit its highest in two years. in december, the central economic work conference, the -- made curbing inflation a key government task fors for next year. an important move to achieve this is to shift from relatively

loose to pursuedent. economists predict point finest economic growth to 9% this year. inflation post posed a serious threat. >> if inflation becomes very high, becomes -- inflation becomes very deteriorated, we have a new space. we have no way to maintain the growth to promote the change of gross model. >> the government has sought a continuation of monetary models. this year the people's bank of china has increased employment ratio six times. experts will see more monetary tightening. at the same time, this needs to be done to increase people's incomes.

inflation is making it more important to reduce the income gap. >> important is income distribution. economic problems but also social problems. so i think in the next five government will very, very seriously address the problem of income disparities by reforming the income structure, by reforming the taxes structure, by improving the social security system and many other measures. >> there -- this will help this couple, because they will be

direct beneficiaries of government support. they are allowing people to truly benefit from the country's economic miracle. experts predict china's economy will maintain robust growth over the next one or two decades. if so, this will help china adjust the disparity. cctv, beijing. >> on that topic, we are joined by a chief economist. it seems the chinese economy has done well this year, but the concern over inflation has been growing. how much of a threat is this? >> well, indeed, this year, growth is better than most people have expected. at the same time food prices have increased quite a bit and money supply in recent months have also started to increase rapidly and there are concerns

about quantity at a timive easing outside of china as well. i think at this moment, normal citizens' expectations have increased quite a bit and are rising. even though inflation is still controlable next year, i think the risk is quite high. >> people do not have enough money in their pocket or are not feeling so safe about the future so spend. what is lacking in our economic policies? >> i think the key word going forward is actually a change of economic growth models. indeed, the government has identified that as a key objective in the next five-year plan, so increase household income is the most important thing. to facilitate domestic consumption. that means more employment so that graduates from college can find jobs, so that bye migrants from the rural side can find better jobs so they have more income to spend.

secondly, i think people need to feel safer about their futures so pension systems, health care insurance, also housing prices need to be more stable. i think the government has a lot to do on that front. we have seen some progress, but i think more has to be done in the next few years. >> let's see what happens. thank you. >> thank you. >> we are about to enter the

second decade of the 21st century. it will be key for this country. china's future is built on its past. the record -- it is also full of promise. on that we will keep close watch. that closes this year's "china diary," 2010. thank you for watching. happy new year. >> next, "q & a" with columnist robert samuelson. .