minute left. the gentleman from texas has 2 1/2 minutes and the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas to use his 2 1/2 minutes as he deems fit. mr. culberson: i do support mr. altmire's amendment and certainly we are all committed to our military doctors who have done an extremely good job of saving these members wounded in combat and i'm glad we're giving them all the support they need and i'm graduate mr. altmire brought this amendment to us. i reserve my time. i understand he's on his way to the floor because he'd like to speak on his amendment. and i'll reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. bishop: i'm prepared to yield back our time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: i will yield back at this time, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman yields back.

on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. hearing all ayes and no noes, the opinion of the chair is the eyes have it, the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. culberson: mr. chairman, in an effort to expedite in consideration of this bill and ensure all the men and women in uniform get all the help they need as soon as possible, i do move the committee now rise. the chair: the motion is on the committee to rise. those in favor say aye purchase those opposed, no. the combries have it. -- those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the house rises.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. mr. chairman? the chair: mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on the state of the union having had under consideration h.r. 2055 directs me to report it has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chairman of the committee of the whole house of the united states -- of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has under consideration h.r. 2055 and has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the

chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of absence requests for mr. frelinghuysen of nune for noon today and noon tomorrow and mr. cicilline for today and 3:00 p.m. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. culberson: to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. bull better -- mr. culberson: i want to address the bill passed on homeland security. in addition to funding our military, the military construction bill we've done for veterans' affairs, we also have a fundamental obligation to secure our borders and the homeland security bill we just passed does that in a number of important ways. most importantly for the people of texas, i want to reassure

everyone listening tonight the texas delegation of this congress, the majority will not rest until the southern border is secure, until we with the full support of the people that live along the border secure the border with zero tolerance using existing law which means six months in jail for crossing the border illegally as we are doing in del rio with the full support of the local community, arresting everybody that crosses the border and throwing them in jail for up to six months with obvious exception to women and children. but we are enforcing the law in texas, in del rio and with the help of my friend henry cuellar and the local community and we're working in this community to expand the zero tolerance program from brownsville to san diego, and i want to thank the homeland security committee, mr. aderholt, allowing us, through language in the bill, to expand rapidly the use of available empty bed space for illegal aliens so no more police officers like -- we just lost another police officer in houston, texas, to an illegal

alien and we're not going to rest until the border is secure, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. culberson: thank you.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> mr. speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 294, resolution providing for consideration of the resolution, house resolution 292, declaring that the president shall not deploy, establish, or maintain the presence of units and members of the united states armed forces on the ground in libya, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the concurrent resolution, house concurrent resolution 51 directing the president pursuant to section 5-c of the war powers resolution to remove the united states armed forces from libya. the speaker pro tempore: the title is referred to the house calendar and ordered printed.

the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from new york, mr. tonko, is recognized for 20 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. the gentleman is recognized. mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. i look forward to the next 20 minutes where we can discuss the future of medicare. it is being addressed in this house during this 112th session of congress. we have seen many statements made about medicare in the last weeks. i can tell you, a sign like this is greeting many colleagues as they return to their districts every weekend

or during the recess that we have, the district work periods that we might have, signs such as this, hands off my medicare greeting us as we return to our districts. and rightfully so. medicare has been a program that's served our senior population for quite some time. seniors and those living with disabilities have really found life to be far more doable with medicare assistance. it was in the 1960's when the debate began, and it was president lyndon johnson who had been thereo -- there to sign the measure into law. and at that point in time, our senior population, our senior community across these great united states had a great concern. they were finding it unaffordable and inaccessible to search for health care

insurance coverage. and there was cherry picking going on, there were those with pre-existing conditions that were denied any opportunity. and i think it's fair to state that the economic stability of those who had retired, at that point of retirement, they usually found that that stability had dwindled, had gone south, simply because the medical expenses that they required, and oftentimes with underinsurance or no insurance as a scenario, they were seeing their lifetime worth of savings dwindle. because of that dynamic in their lives. now in the 4 1/2 decade stretch forward, many have suggested that their economic consequences have stayed fairly stable, that they've enjoyed a better retirement because of the addition of medicare to their outcome. however, this medicare program

has been under attack. it's been under attack. there's been a republican budget that's come forth and been produced in this house by the majority party and they've voted on that measure to end medicare, and medicare that would shift risk from government to the pockets of seniors in this country. it would take a given situation where they would be asked to shop, shop in the private sector. this could be a 70-year-old, it could be an 80-year-old, 85-year-old that might be asked to shop in that private sector market. well, the egregious notion is that the value of that coupon that they're given to go shop for new insurance holds the value of about 32 cents for every $1 of premium that would be paid on insurance costs. that means that they are tremendously drained economically. it means that $6,000 more would

come out of the pockets of our senior citizens individually for the cost of this insurance coverage. well, that is an unacceptable outcome. it's one that really makes it difficult for our senior community to be covered for health care purposes and to remain somewhat economically stable in their retirement years. and by the year 2030, it's suggested that the costs would triple for our seniors. by the year 2022, it would at least double. these are frightening statistics. these are unacceptable notions for our senior community, all of whom need to be responded to with respect and sensitivity. and with utmost compassion. this does not show compassion. this shows disinterest. it shows a insensitivity to the struggle many would make and the correlation for the need for health care services with age as a factor is an understandable partnership.

it's one that would mimic and trace each other's curbs, because as you grow older the propensity to require services of health care delivery would naturally grow. so we do not want to put at risk our senior population. and i think what is quite interesting is that as we talk about the doubling and the tripling to seniors for this program, just recently a study came out that said that those who are of age 55 today should have to save about $185,000, $182,000 additional for their medical expenses, you know, without the efforts made by medicare as it exists today. . and then the numbers simply escalate, i believe it's in the $400,000 realm if you're in your

30's. so this is going to put a huge hardship onto our american working families, onto our senior community of today and certainly of tomorrow. what i found most generous is the statements made by seniors who are eligible for medicare today speaking in a way that is not self-centered but really speaks to the future and they have said that they have enjoyed medicare as a program. it has provided economic stability, it has provided health care, quality of services and they want that to be preserved for the next generation and the generation to follow. they want their children and grandchildren to enjoy the same order of benefits that they have enjoyed. so while there might have been this idea that if we safetynet somehow a certain give in population currently enjoying medicare and suggest that most of that could maybe be kept in tact, well, our seniors show that they're not -- that there is a far broader sense of concern expressed by our senior community.

it was not a selfish order of self-centered reflection that some might have anticipated but rather the seniors showed that they're truly concerned about generations to come. which i think is a magnanimous statement for our senior population in this country. when it comes to messaging it's important i think to note, to take lessons from the most recent congressional district election that was held just about a week ago. last week the voters of the 26th congressional district in the state of new york, in a rather republican area, in fact, the ninth most difficult district in this nation for a democrat to win in, and it was there that a democrat by the name of kathy hochul was running and she was successful in that she was able to bring to the attention of the electorate in that district the facts as to the republican plan, the republican budget, and it

was more than just medicare. she talked about the end of medicare, but then related it to the dollars, the savings accrued from that elimination going toward other spending. and just what was and what is that other spending proposed. and it would be handouts, mindless handouts to the oil industry. sitting on a profit-rich situation, perhaps the most profitable situation that they have known in their history. and to date this calendar year the industry is sitting on a $36 billion profit margin. $36 billion. and what they're asking here is that some $44 billion worth of handouts, mindless handouts that have continued through the decades, nearly a century now, be continued. and how do we pay for that but by ending medicare. ending medicare to take care of

the profit-rich oil industry, the same is true of millionaire, billionaire tax cuts. you see, the savings that can accrue by ending medicare would then be slid over to provide for billionaire tax cuts. well, you know, middle class america is not ready for that sort of assault. they are going to let their feelings be known and that's whies like this, hands off my medicare, are greeting myself and colleagues across this country who are concerned, they're concerned, they're letting their legislatures -- legislators now that this is not an acceptable thing to do. look at the track record where with medicare we have avoided administrative costs to the nth degree, we have avoided marketing budgets, we have avoided all sort it's of, term costs that don't go -- sorts of external costs that don't go to the deliver of patients but are

the externals. those dollars have kept down, avoiding those dollars has kept down the price tag on medicare. when we look at that same stretch from the beginning of medicare to today, it's been in excess of 5,000% increase in premiums that have risen from that point in 1965 to today. so it tells us one thing. it tells us that there is this tremendous growth from the private sector in comparison to what the medicare track record has been. and we have spent time with affordable care act to strengthen medicare. we have made certain that where there were overpayments to the insurance industry for certain services, those dollars were reduced. we made a major effort to go after fraud and abuse and inefficiency. that strengthens the program. we provide for more dollars for primary care physicians who can

be networked into the medicare formula so that we can provide contact for administering the services. all of this as a growth factor so as to strengthen the medicare concept as we know it. but people are concerned, they're -- their health care situation has been addressed in very magnanimous terms by the medicare program. people fought for years to get this developed and they have maintained and strengthened it over the decades and for people to come in and assume that they are going to end medicare program simply to pay for oil handouts and millionaire and billionaire tax cuts is just not going to be well received by america's working families, by her middle class that has, you know, has seen this assault where it's their turn now to get better treatment, not worse treatment from the halls of government here in washington. the medicare situation is one that has really defined a

stronger sense of quality of life for our senior community and has enabled them to have good coverage. what we also did in the affordable care act is begin to close and will close completely by the year 2020 the doughnut hole that existed for pharmaceutical purposes, for those on medicare part d. well, again we saw what happened, that we needed to comforward with an improvement in a program that would assist people and so we closed that doughnut hole. i can tell you of so many seniors who have approached my office, who have seen me in the district telling me of how difficult it is for them to absorb the doughnut hole concept . within any few months, within any given calendar year, they'll fall into the doughnut hole where they need to dig into their own pocket to pay for the cost of many pharmaceutical requirements that they have in their medical agenda to stay

well or to be healed. and so it's a very pricey situation for them. and we want to make certain that those improvements stay in tact. we've also removed co-payments and deductibles for the annual checkups and for various medical screenings that are available to our senior population. these are the source of responses that are compassionate, that are speaking to the quality of services and certainly to the dignity factor for our senior population. these are improvements, these are ways to stretch the budget and enable our senior communities to be all the more in tact and connected with community. and while we had worked with the medicare issue in the affordable care act, we wanted to make certain we also strengthened the trust fund. so there are things that have been done along the way and now it's just come in and say, look, this is more business for the private sector, this is a way to drive all the accounts of

individuals who are enjoying a medicare program, a concept that has worked well for 4 1/2 decades, it's now deemed to be ended simply now because of the desire of those who are in the majority in this house to pay for benefits to the oil industry and to continue millionaire and billionaire tax cuts. you know, just on the heels of this victory, in a congressional district i mentioned earlier, in the 26th district in new york, just on the heels of that victory we took yet another vote in this house to deem the republican budget, a budget from which we'll work, that includes the end to medicare. so just this week another vote right in the shadows of that victorious democratic win in the 26th congressional district in new york, we're again added, putting a close to the medicare concept in this country.

unacceptable outcomes, people will not tolerate that outcome. in a cnn poll of recent measurement there was a huge response to the negative, to the republican plan. 74% of americans saying, leave the medicare situation alone or improve it. build upon it, strengthen it, prepare it to have even stronger values and concepts and to also provide for the trust fund that will be all the more secure, to give it the stability, the underpinnings of support, not to end it. people have seen what it meant to them. they've seen what it meant to be able to enjoy the economic relief that is so important, especially as we age as a population. the life ex peng tennessee growing higher -- expectancy growing higher with time, it's an important fact that are really responds to the need for

medicare as a model, as a concept in this nation. you know, there are many who have been speaking out against this proposal, there are many who understand that it's provided a great deal of stability. it has provided families, working families with the relief knowing that their senior members of their family are in good hands with a medicare program that enables them to have more independence, to have more preventive services, to have more acute care delivery with an affordable outcome for their given family situation. this is an important measurement that needs to be kept in mind. it's an important effort to keep our economic situation in this country all the more doable and all the more viable. there's an opportunity for many seniors to be involved, invested in community. medicare enables them to be that more vibrant citizen, to respond to the economy in positive, contributory terms and i think that that is very important.

you know, with the medicare situation in this country, we have watched the quality of life of our senior population grow and grow exponentially. and for those forces to come here before this house, to express this desire to end a concept for which people fought for many years where there was a documented need for this sort of advice and this sort of concept and now to watch it at risk where it could fold and not continue, where we could have a situation where the concept is ended is unacceptable. you know, there are those selling this package that they would suggest that the legislators here in washington have the same sort of opportunity. it's akin to what we're offering the senior community. nothing could be farther from the truth. on average the benefit for a congressional representative is about 72 cents on the dollar. meaning that any 28 cents --

every 28 cents worth of coverage would be absorbed by the individual legislator. for the senior population we're looking at 32 cents, a 40-cent difference, meaning that the gross majority that have premium would be paid for by senior citizens. that is where the economic consequences become very, very real. that is where the shifting of risk from government to the senior citizen would be a real dynamic. it would be an unbelievable, painful outcome for those who perhaps would struggle to find insurance. we would be asking people to shop in a marketplace, asking them to deal with a profit-rich industry, to deal with situations that might return cherry picking and that might return inaccessible, unaffordable notions when it comes to health care coverage. we saw it, we've seen it repeatedly, we know that there were populations that were underserved as we began the debate on affordable care that

was completed in the 111th session of congress and we certainly don't want that to come back and be the issue for the most senior elements in our society again. this was a victory that was hard-fought, it's been a concept that has been only strengthened through the years and like any good program it gets adjusted as we move with time. fix medicare is the message, strengthen medicare is the appeal, not end it. and the advice for those who want to end it is very basic, hands off my medicare. that's the advice that's given, it's the chant that's repeated over and over again across this nation and has been such for quite some time. this is part of a plan that the republican budget introduced by the budget committee in this house has dubbed itself as a path to prosperity. my friends, it is so obvious that this is the road to ruin, not the path to prosperity. you are taking the vulnerable, you're taking the vulnerable and

making them pay more. this is about tough choices, we've seen what people don't have insurance, they have to make tough choices. there is nothing tough, people have said, oh, this is a tough choice that people have made, they've gone forward and take an situation that they think is -- take an situation that they think is not affordable and they're going to make a tough choice and remove it. there's nothing tough about asking the weak or the poorer to pay more so that oil as an industry can get more benefits and millionaires and billionaires can draw down a larger tax cut. there's nothing tough about that. it's incensive, it's immoral to have such an outcome after so much success with the program that it's proven itself time and time again to be a great friend to the senior community. there are those who spent countless hours, countless efforts to put together a plan

that would respond to this nation's seniors with respect and dignity, and we can simply not afford to walk away from this concept in a very callous manner that we're asked to. and i was proud when i saw so many people stand up and say no to this vote. unfortunately, it passed in the house. and if this budget had its way to the finish line, it would end medicare. at the expense of so many of our nation's seniors. they have enjoyed this benefit, they have prospered from this benefit, they have realized a great sense of dignity with this effort, and we must maintain it. we must continue the fight to preserve a program that has served this nation very well. with that, mr. speaker, i will offer back the remaining portion of my time and thank you for the opportunity here this evening. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. pursuant to the speaker's

announced policy of january 8, 2011, the chair recognizes the gentleman from louisiana, mr. richmond, for 30 minutes. mr. richmond: thank you, mr. speaker, for recognizing me and presiding over these affairs tonight. i will yield five minutes to my colleagues. really, i will yield as much time as he may consume. >> i thank the gentleman for yielding his time. and earlier this afternoon and into the evening, this house considered an appropriations

bill related to the veterans' affairs and military construction. mr. altmire: and at that point i asked my colleagues to support an amendment that i offered for the f.y. 2012 military construction veterans affairs appropriations bill. and that amendment, i'm thankful to say, was accepted. it was bipartisan acceptance, both the majority and minority agreed it should be added to the bill, and i just wanted to tell the gentleman and my colleagues that that amendment is very straightforward. it moves $22 million from the v.a. general administration to solve a dramatic cut in medical and prosthetic research, and this bill that we're talking about, the v.a. military construction account was written -- as it was written, it funds medical and prosthetic research at $509 million in f.y. 2012 but that's a $72 million cut over last year. but the amendment that i offered restores funding to an

account that directly impacts treatment of amputees and other wounded veterans. and like all of my colleagues, i want to do everything i possibly can to support our veterans and promote these programs. and like many of us, i have visited the facilities for amputees at walter reed medical center right here in washington and i've spoken with those disabled, wounded warriors who have lost limbs in the lines of duty. through technological and medical improvements at that facility, the d.o.d. has demonstrated its ability to improve world class health care to amputees and other wounded service members. the v.a. must have the funding necessary to carry on that mission after veterans leave for service. just last week the senate committee on veterans' affairs held a hearing entitled seamless transition, making the needs of service members and veterans. during the hearing, multiple wounded warriors testified about the difficulty of

transferring between d.o.d. and v.a. care. in particular, one witness, lance corporal tim horton of oklahoma highlighted the disparity between health care he received as he sought out prosthetics that helped him go about his everyday life. lance corporal horton said, i know other veterans who live in close proximity to walter reed who are able to walk in and out with the services and equipment they need within the same day, all without ever needing to go through their local v.a. while waiting weeks for an appointment might seem like a minor inconvenience, lance corporal horton said for a warrior like myself spending weeks without necessary prosthetics equipment or sometimes even worse equipment that causes extreme discomfort and other medical issues can be wholly disruptive to our daily lives. the timeliness and consistency of care should not be a function of where warriors happen to live. now, i've spoken with amputees with similar stories from my

district in western pennsylvania who have expressed their dissatisfaction with the medical care they've received after retiring from the military. and i'm sure all my colleagues would agree, we can never repay america's veterans for the sacrifice they've made for our country. what amount of money could replace an arm or a leg lost in the line of duty? i firmly believe, as i'm sure we all believe, we need to get our fiscal house in order, but in this extreme time of fiscal restraint and prioritization of appropriations, i believe that no one should stand ahead of our nation's veterans when making these difficult funding decisions. i believe that medical and prosthetic research is a higher priority than bureaucratic administration. c.b.o. has scored my amendment as having no impact on budget authority and it would actually reduce f.y. 2012 outlays by $5 million. this amendment helps direct the priorities of the v.a. toward

the veterans that deserve its funding and support, and i want to thank the american legion for its support in helping craft this amendment because it's good for veterans, and i am so happy that my colleagues have agreed to accept this amendment as part of the bill. hopefully it will survive in the senate and become law, and i greatly appreciate the gentleman from louisiana yielding me some time to allow me to discuss that. and i would yield back to my good friend, mr. rich mond from louisiana. mr. richmond: thank you so much. mr. speaker, several weeks ago, i had the opportunity to come down to the floor of the house and start something i think is very significant, and that, mr. speaker, i can't directly talk to the american people, and i have to address you, but if i could talk to the american people, i would remind them that a couple weeks ago when i came down here, i was inviting

them to participate in what i am now calling the people's house so that ordinary people can have a say in what we do and make sure that their opinions are heard. so again, i would invite anyone and everyone to join me in this conversation to make sure that everyday people have a voice and have a way to contact me. so, again, you can reach me at myidea@mail.house.gov, or you can find me on facebook or you can find me on twitter. and what i want to remind everyone of is the fact that it's very clear that many of us know a lot of things, but the most important thing we need to know is that we don't know it all. and that's why i'm soliciting, mr. speaker, the help of the american people so they can give us their ideas. and when i started this the last time, i was asking them to send me their ideas on ways to

cut spending, ways to save money. i also was asking them for ideas in how to raise some revenue, how to make this country the great country that it used to be. well, the good thing, mr. speaker, is that we had people to take me up on this idea and to say that they thought this was a good idea and that they wanted to participate, they wanted to make sure that people heard their voice, and they sent me a number of ideas. and we're going to talk about some of those ideas and those comments today. so my goal here is to again have and initiate a conversation with the american people because this is truly the people's house. the united states house of representatives, you can't be appointed, you have to be elected. and the history behind it is we are the closest to the american people. so now in this day of new technology and all of the outlets and social media that

we have in order to strike up conversations in different ways, we should do that. this is not the day when the only thing we have is the united states postal service or we had slower means of communication. today we can communicate in seconds, if not nano seconds. so i want to make sure we use all of this new medium to make sure that we expand this conversation to everyone who's concerned. so these are some of the people who responded last week and some of the people we will talk about, their ideas. and, mr. speaker, i was very happy to get such a large response, but these are some of the people i wanted to point out. we had sheila baker who responded, robert becker from new orleans who also responded, mary anne lawrence cazaubon responded several times through

several different media outlets and had some very interesting things to say as well as milcah hill as well as barbara olinger, freddy vazquez jr., and through facebook we had adam haney, anthony sadler from tennessee, phil schlittler and delores wilson, all who participated and gave me some of their thoughts about what they thought should be going on. so i want to make sure at least the people back in the second congressional district of louisiana understand that they are more than welcome to participate in this conversation. but this conversation is open to the american people. there's no monopoly on good ideas, although i respect and value the opinion of the people from louisiana and the second congressional district, we want to hear from everybody. so let's just start talking about some of the ideas, and i will tell you before i start that i may or may not agree

with all of the ideas, and some of my colleagues from the republican side or the democratic side may or may not agree. but the one thing i think both sides will agree on is that this is america, and this is what makes america the great place that it is. this is the place where we can provide kids with a free quality public education which will prepare them for the future. this is a place where we strive to get the sick the health care they need, even if they can't afford it. this is the great country where we take care of our seniors and our disabled with medicare, medicaid, and social security. this is the country where we care for our fellow man and strive to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and shelter the homeless. tonight i'm sharing recommendations on how we as americans get back to that great place of humanity, of sacrifice, and of prosperity. now, milcah hill, his comments

were very, very interesting. and his frustration was the fact that congress should address underachievement in our grade schools and he wanted us to address that underachievement by holding parents accountable for their children's performance. i'll give you an excerpt from his letter. his response was, children that are not doing well in their studies or children that are constantly in trouble, their parents should be investigated. the students' homes should be investigated to see if the parents are abusing substances or anything else. if young students like grade school, freshmen in high school are having problems, then the parents should be investigated. that will help educate our children that are not getting their educational needs because of their home front. find out the child's educational strengths and find out what's lacking in the home. now, that is a very creative idea, and i think that that conversation has started

numerous times back in my state collect you are, a conversation we should be having on a federal level because when we talk about our children's success and we talk about their education, the one thing that everyone agrees on is the fact that parental responsibility and parental involvement is the single biggest indicator in that child's success. so we as government, if we can help do anything to make sure that home life is safe and secure and that child can succeed, we absolutely should do it and i look forward to continuing that conversation with you. now, i'll touch for a second on mary anne lawrence cazaubon, who is 72 and she's a retired teacher. but she says before her teaching career she worked more than the required quarters in order to draw social security. so between the two lives that she lived and the two jobs that she worked, she now lives on

less than $1,150 per month. and she says that if there was a flat tax of 10%, of only 10%, it would cost her roughly $115 per month. and she says even though she has to spend every dime of her check every month, she would just have to do that. and she also mentioned that some months she has to go without food but she always makes sure she gets her medicine for her heart and her osteoporosis. . that's the type of sacrifice a lot of our families are in. but she went further. she went further to say that as she talked about tax and fiscal issues, she was very clear to write this and it's a statement that i absolutely agree with. she said, congressman, i hope you appreciate the fact that many of your constituents do support limited government and fiscal sanity.

our country is in a real danger of economic collapse. please don't just toe the party line and reject solutions to this crucial issue. our nation's fate depends on it. well, i want to say, mr. speaker, that i think she's absolutely right. i think that everyone in the country is calling for a limited government and fiscal sanity. also i think that we have to recognize at the same time that as we cut and make very prudent decisions to restore our fiscal sanity that we have to invest in this next generation, we have to invest in the future, we have to invest in those things that spur our entrepreneurial spirit, our innovation and that are going to continue to make sure that we're the leader in every industry and every category that we used to be the leader in. but after mrs. mary anne talked about the limited government and fiscal sanity, she also volunteered that she would like to see an indexed income tax without any exceptions for individuals or families.

and no incentives or exemptions to any industry, company, large or small. so here's the recommendation that ms. mary anne came up with. she recommended a 0% tax for anyone with income less than $20,000. 5% with anyone with income from $20,000 to $40,000, 10% for any of those from $40,000 to 60,000 -- $60,000, 15% for those from $60,000 to $80,000, 20% for those from $80,000 to $100,000, 25% for those from $100,000 to $150,000, 30% for those from $150,000 to $200,000 and 35% for all incomes over $200,000. i think, mr. speaker, that this is very interesting because we are talking about a 72-year-old lady who survives on $1,150 a month.

and she's taking the time not only to watch c-span but to join the conversation with me and the people's house to say that she understands that people who make more should pay a little bit more. and on that note i'll go to sheila baker who i think her quote is directly applicable to what ms. mary anne was saying. ms. baker said that, i pay my taxes responsibly, with the understanding that i must pay more than those who earn an income less than mine. so, ms. baker's clearly saying that she makes a little bit and she understands that she pays more than the person who does not make what she makes and ises no knot as fortunate as she is. but her next sentence is the most important one. she says she also expects and demands that those who earn more than her should do the same. so that those who make more than ms. baker should also pay their fair share and she says hence

the concept, a fair shared burden of taxes. so, i want to thank ms. baker, one, for acknowledging that she's doing better than other people and she has to pay a little bit more and thank her for participating in the people's house and expressing her concerns and her opinion about where she thinks we should be as a country. the next person i want to talk about, mr. speaker, is freddie vasquez jr. and he has concerns about our spending. he has concerns about foreign aid and he has concerns about the war that we're fighting. and he writes, we spend billions on helping others and that's fine. when we have the mean. libya, pakistan, iraq and afghanistan, they take our money then they stab us in the back. america can and will go bankrupt, our government is acting like a teenager who just received a credit card.

he then goes on to quote tupac where tupac said, they got the money for war but they can't feed the poor. and he closes with, that's not right, that's not america. and i will just say that the frustration that mr. vasquez is expressing here is a frustration that we're hearing all across the country. the fact that we're fighting so many wars on foreign soil, the fact that our humanity goes far out immediately. people are wondering, does humanity start at home? do we have obligations to take care of on the home front before we go across the globe doing the same? mr. speaker, i would just chime in here and add my personal opinion that we're america, we can do both. we can provide here at home and we can continue to be the world leader, spread democracy around this world to make sure that the world is just as great as the free country that we live in.

now, what is it going to take to do that? it's going to take a shared sacrifice. and the last people's house, we talked about that the american people give what you can give, if you're a high school student, mentor an elementary school kid. if you're a college student, help out at a senior citizen home. if you're a millionaire, then contribute to a charity. what makes america great is the fact that we are willing to give what we have to give. so i would just implore everyone again, mr. speaker, to give what it is you have the ability to give because that's what made this country what it is today and allowed us to achieve what we were able to achieve. mr. speaker, i also add that anthony sadler, he wrote in to say that he believes we should buy more products from local businesses, especially minority businesses. anthony, i just want you to know that down here today i don't have our minority whip, mr.

steny hoyer, but i will tell that you you and steny hoyer are a match made in heaven. steny and our democratic caucus is pushing what we call make it in america and if steny was down here today he would go on and on and really get excited about the fact that we will make it in america, that's what we do, we make it in everything we do. another part of that make it in america, we need to make more products in america. that's what we do, we manufacture things, we build things, we have the best innovation, but we need to make sure that we have a focus, a commitment and an investment in the american people so that they can make it here in america. so that goes right with what you're saying, mr. vasquez, because as steny will push that we make it in america, you're pushing that we buy american products and those two things go hand in hand so, mr. vasquez, i just want to thank you for chiming in and i'm sure that my

minority whip, steny hoyer, somewhere right now is very appreciative of the fact that you also recognize the importance of making it in america. i'm sorry, that was anthony sadler. now, we have ms. dolores wilson who posted on my facebook and both of them didn't post very long messages, they both posted the same thing at different times and they simply said that they agree with the president's rationale not to release the pictures of osama bin laden's body. and i just want to say to ms. rosen and to phil that i agree with both of you. i think the president made the right decision. but it's very comforting to know that we have citizens like you all that are at home paying attention and simply are not voicing an opinion to get attention but simply a heartfelt belief and it just so happens that i agree with your opinion.

but even when we don't agree, i want to hear from you, i want to make sure that we keep this conversation going. now, the next person is adam haynie who i did not know before the first time i did the people's house. but he was watching and this is what he wrote. saw you on c-span, good job. those republicans want to kill my hopes for class mobility. save the safety nets republicans use to get into congress for those of us who want to benefit from those same programs that they did. and i would just add, adam, that, you know, there are a bunch of programs out there and those programs are what makes this country great. and i don't have to talk about the obvious, social security, medicare, medicaid, we can talk about head start, that gives our toddlers the ability to start school and give them a head start on their future. well, as a country, and we invest in things, we should look

at what return do we get on our dollar? when we invest in early childhood education we get a 9-1 return. for every dollar we invest in that child we get $9 back. and those are the types of programs that adam is referring to when he said that the majority now would prefer to cut all of those programs now that they have received it and they've been the beneficiary of it. let's also, we can go back to free and reduced lunch in our public schools, we can talk about public school education period. the fact that many of us that are lucky enough and honored enough to be members of the united states congress in this 112th congress came from public schools, with public school teachers funded by the american people, we should hold that very high, the privilege that we were able to do that, but at the same time we should recognize that that was a sacrifice by generations before us to make sure that it was fully funded, we had the quality teachers that we needed so that we could be

prepared, so that we could prosper and that we could be successful. it would be a sin and shameful for us not to invest that same energy, same money, same commitment into our next generation and i'm afraid that that's the route that we're taking. so, adam, i just want to say i agree with you wholeheartedly. the last one, the second to last one is robert becker from new orleans who wrote me with an idea about social security and retirement security. he said, we should increase the amount that is deducted from paychecks to pay into the trust fund and increase the amount employers contribute to the fund. it is in america's best interest not to have a great portion of elderly americans living on the edge of poverty. not only is it in america's interest, robert, i will tell you, it's the right thing to do. and at some point we have to remember that why we're here on earth is for a purpose.

and that's to make the world a better place and what you're advocating for absolutely is the right thing to do, it makes this country the special country that it is. and our last person is barbara olinger. she's from louisiana, not in my district, but she wrote urging congress to act on social security and related issues. specifically she was requesting that we as congress reconsider the social security fairness act of 2009. which would repeal rules related to the government pinching offset and the windfall elimination provision. she says this reduces her income during tough times. she wrote, quote, saddest of all is i am a retired social studies teacher, american history, civics, i am so distraught. we only ask for what is right and just. if i had not ever paid a dime, i would not be asking for a dime. well, ms. barbara, you're absolutely right, you paid in it, you should get it, you

shouldn't be penalized. i'm not too big, to arrogant enough to say sometimes government gets it wrong and government has it dead wrong on this issue and it's something that we should address. so i want to thank those people for writing in and now i just want to turn to a second to something that is absolutely the climax of foolishness. see, i have a ship yard in my district called avendale ship yard. it used to be north of grumin. then they sprinted off, got a credit for the aset and they sprinted off to a new company they made, huntington ship yard. well, huntington-engels in just first quarter of this year made $45 million. but they decided that they're going to close that ship yard in my district. now, that's almost 5,000 workers , direct workers that work for huntington-engels. 6,000 indirect jobs.

well, if every -- it's every american's right, it's every american company's right to decide when they want to close a business. they can decide it's just not profitable, they can decide that the heat in louisiana and the humidity and the mosquitoes are too much for them that they can quit, that they're going to shut their plant down. that is their right and that's what we fight for in this country, to give people the right to do what they want to do. doesn't mean i have to like it. but government should not be a co-conspirator in that company's quitting on the american people. so what i have here today, i have all of these petitions and they're not signed by the workers, it would have been far too easy to come in here with a big box of 5,000 signatures from people who depend on them for a paycheck. this is from businesses in the community that are saying that it's just not right for

huntington-engels to just abandon the community. now, here's the part that rises to the level of the climax of foolishness. now that huntington-engels has decided to close, they have applied for the federal government to reimburse them the cost of closing. so the federal government is contemplating giving huntington-engels $310 million to pay for their cost of ramping down and laying off almost 5,000 people. to me, that doesn't make good sense. we can take that $310 million and put it in an economic development for almost any other business that wants to come along and create thousands of jobs. we can put it in education for those 5,000 employees so they can be competitive in another occupation. we can take that $310 million and pay down the debt.

we can take that $310 million and do a number of things but i would submit to you that we don't take that $310 million and reward a company for closing. now i offered that amendment on a bill just a few days ago and some of my colleagues, some of my republican colleagues supported the idea that we should not reward a company for quitting on 5,000 employees. and my democratic colleagues overwhelmingly supported the same amendment. i would just tell you that in these tough economic times, that it is unconscionable to reward a company for quitting. now, for those people who voted against that amendment, i would hate to have to go back to montana, minnesota, somewhere, and say, not only did i have an opportunity to take $310 million and give it to paying down the debt or doing

something productive with it or even doing something in my district. i decided to give $310 million to a company that is going to make $180 million this year. and why are we giving them $310 million? because they're closing. they're still -- i'll start to wrap up, mr. speaker. they're still going to own the property, still going to have the asset, they won't have the employees. mr. speaker, in closing, i just wanted to quickly touch on one thing and that is, on the last district work week, i had the opportunity to go to the second harvest food bank of greater new orleans. they are leading the fight in eradicating hunger. so last year, they served $262,000 -- 262,800 people, including 80,000 children and 40,000 seniors. i want want everyone to know

that the problem of hunger, homelessness and all those things in our community is real. so as we cut, we need to remember to invest. i look forward to continuing this conversation on the next people's house and email us at myidea.mail.house.gov. the chair: the gentleman is recognize -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for a motion. mr. richmond: mr. speaker, i move that the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question son the motion to ad journ. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted.

jobs continue to be scarce and frankly the rebound in the economy has failed to materialize. yesterday, we told the president what many americans are thinking that the economy isn't creating enough private sector job and washington continues to be a big reason why.

listen, this issue has been and continues to be the focus of our majority. last week we put forward a job creation plan that builds in america and we asked the president to take a look at it. and this blueprint explains the spending, borrowing our way to prosperity, it hasn't worked and it won't work. yesterday, 150 economists commeed that any debt limit increase must be met with an even larger spending decrease because increasing the debt limit without spending cuts and reforms would send a message to our job creators that we're just not serious about stopping the spending addiction going on here in washington.

which the majority leader mr. cantor i think is doing a great job representing us have been productive. but the fact is we haven't seen enough progress from the white house. if the white house wants to get this done, it's time for them to step up the plate and get serious about it. we told the president and i think we've demonstrated to the american people that we're ready to deal with the big challenges that face our country. i hope our president will join us soon. >> you're talking about libya here for just a moment. was there concern by republicans that this resolution by congressman kucinich would have been the original plan? and number two was there concern that or mindful that is going on in libya but you didn't want to handcuff the

president, and that's why there was consideration of the plan. >> we're going to meet with members to talk about libya. we'll see what our members have to say but i expect that this issue will be resolved tomorrow.

>> that was house speaker john boehner. tomorrow republicans will bring a resolution to the house floor asking president obama to explain the u.s. involvement in libya. now we'll here from house democrats on the u.s. debt creating. they spoke to reporters after that meeting. earlier, the house rejected a bill that would raise the debt

ceiling without cutting spending.

>> good afternoon. we are very pleased that we just had a very productive meeting with the president of the united states. we had an honest exchange of ideas and i think that there is an official one. it demonstrated the determination we all have to reduce the deficit without preserving medicare with benefits is what i would say is strengthening our class and making sure that we do it with fairness and opportunity and with creating jobs by making it in america. that was the special message of our democratic with mr. hoyer and i want to yield to him. >> thank you very much, madam leader. this is a very productive meeting. our president responded very positively with a clear objective that we need to address the debt, the deficit,

bring those down while at the same time strengthening the security of the american people by making sure that medicare is strengthened and preserved for seniors. in addition to that, obviously, the american public was focused on jobs. we have a jobs agenda. we call it, make it in america. not only make it in terms of succeeding but make it in terms of manufacturing, growing it, and sending it around the world. america can compete with anybody in the world given the proper incentives and environment. we intend to work with the president to create that and to continue to create jobs for this economy which has flowed will get back providing the jobs that our people need. i'm now pleased to yield to the assistant leader jim clyburn. >> thank you, mr. whip. i was very pleased today to share with the president of the

united states my feelings about the talks that we're having regarding the biden group. i said to him as i've said to many of you in the past, i think we're making significant progress. and i do believe that the attitude is there amongst all the members of both sides to get something done for the american people. and we want to do it in such a way that we preserve the principles of our forefathers, the principles that say we must protect medicare, we must protect medicaid and we must have revenue raising that's fair and equitable and with that i will yield to the -- oh. >> thank you, jim. the first member of our caucus to speak to the president was our newest member.

kathy underscored what is so vitally important to all americans. she said in her race she reached out to republicans and independents who supported her in the ongoing protection of seniors by the preservation of medicare. she appealed to small businesses and the need for job creation and underscored the importance of making it in america, something that resonates all across the station and clearly with our caucus as well. this was a great exchange with our president. we left united. we left together. and we intend to pursue these goals to make it in america by investing in manufacturing and to preserve medicare and to make sure in this discussion as kathy said that revenues are placed on the table in terms of

balancing our budget. i now yield to our vice chair javier becerra. >> i think the president made two points very clear in my mind. he said clearly, failure is not an option when it comes to america paying its bills. and secondly, he made it clear that seniors will not get stiff-armed. i believe every single democrat in this room is ready to fight for americans. and with that let me yield now to the ranking democrat on the budget committee and one of the negotiators, chris van han. >> mr. clyburn i congratulated mr. president on the tone of the talks. the vice president wasn't

there. but we let him know that the vice president was conducting these discussions in a very serious tone and we laid out the principles with which we come to the table. number one that nothing that we do to upset the fragile economy. we know that the american people are struggling with that fragile economy. we need to make sure that we focus on jobs and nothing should interfere with that. secondly you need to have a balanced approach. you need to make sure that as we put together a plan to reduce the deficit, we do not adopt the lopsided approach that the 34ru7bs did in their budget. what did they do? they essentially said we're going to terminate the medicare. we're going to slash medicare benefits. we're going to cut medicare benefits that help seniors in nurses homes while they allow to stay in place big subsidies

for the oil economies and -- oil companies and while they have not asked the wealthiest americans in addressing this issue. we made it clear that we supported the president's approach that he laid out a number of weeks ago in sing that you need to take a balanced approach. yes, we need to come up with a plan today to reduce the president. but let's make sure we do it th without hurting jobs, in fact, invest in the future and in a balanced way. [inaudible] >> well, the president has a budget that he put forth but i'm going yield to you to talk about our democratic budget that we took up a vote in the house which is the basis in which they go to the bipartisan meetings.

our members are very encouraged. we're briefed by mr. von hollen. the partisan nay -- bipartisan nature of those talks and that working together if we are determined to reduce the deficit, we will, and we will have that message in a timely fashion so that we cannot default on our debt in a timely fashion and hopefully that will be soon. so i'm going to yield to mr. van hollen. that is not the issue. the issue is how do we work together to reduce the deficit, to have fairness in our taxes and to preserve medicare, to create jobs, to make it in america and i'm going to yield. >> the point of these meetings as both parties come out and talking to the president and hope for the same position. >> well, the fact as the vice president has said as mr.

clyburn i have said as our republican counter parts have said we have made progress on the issue. have we agreed on the politically nuclear issues? the reality is no. we have made progress. and we're going to have to find a way to address this issue going forward. but again true to the principles that i just outlined and that is -- and that is why we're continuing at that effort and the president has put a proposal on the table. he did so a number of weeks ago where he laid out quite a clear proposal. >> i think mr. van hollen is correct. this is a thousand-mile journey that we're on here. and we are taking some first steps. and i do believe that everybody will agree that you cannot do anything unless you create an

atmosphere within which you can have productive talks. that atmosphere has been creative with having productive talks. we are not where we want to be and we'll be some time getting there. but i would hope that by the time we celebrate independence day we will demonstrate that we have shown our patriotism to the american people in a very positive way. >> dade down grade come up? >> the down grade did not come up. but it was interesting -- we learned that when we came out. it was interesting to some of us who were in new york talking to the new york partner -- meeting with the new york partnership that the head of moody's said to us at that time that they would probably not down grade. so this is interesting news today. but the fact is, we cannot default. we all agree to that.

and if the message that we have to send -- i think what was interesting in the meeting was how our members came together around the idea that the not defaulting on the debt was a pivotal moment to enable us to do deficit reduction in a real way in a balanced way. and in a way that will give confidence to the markets as we do not default -- [inaudible] >> they're not necessarily linked but i agree that it's a pivotal moment. it's a pivotal moment. do you want to speak? >> every democratic leader agrees that defaulting on our debt is not an american value. americans believe in paying their bills. americans believe that if we make a promise and we borrow money and we make a promise, we're going to pay it back. holding hostage the credit

worthiness of america is not a worthy bargaining chip. this week, the republicans frankly offered a debt extension which they announced they offered to have it fail and in fact, it failed. but i think we're prepared to work with the republicans in a bipartisan way to make sure that american's credit worthiness is not put at risk. i think what moody's has done has made that even more clear that it needs to be an objective of us all, not just one party but all of us. republicans and democrats have a responsibility. and i think the american public expect us to perform that responsibility. i welcome mr. baner's comments that we ought to do it by the end of the month. you may recall ha when we met to the president, i indicated we should get it done by june 8. that's when mr. geithner said july 8 was going be the deadline. we've extended that because our cash flow has been better until

august second. if we're going to be responsible people if we're going to be in speaker baner's -- boehners words adults, we need get this done. >> not to speak for the people that are at the meeting but we learned on our trip there that if we would to default on our debt which we have no intention of doing, it would really cause a real mess in the mortgage >> perhaps that had an impact on the decision. you would have to ask them.

we are going to use this to go on a path of deficit reduction. creating jobs and growth would be one way to reduce the deficit. again, making cuts that we need to make which we are fully prepared to do and determined to do to reduce the deficit. >> the market ought to know we are going to get it done. i will work with them, the leader will work with them in making sure that we get this done. we clearly are going to have to have some very serious negotiations that they have talked about. but we are going to get this done.

i believe john boehner when naysay the fault is not an option. it would have catastrophic consequences which i think as americans we will not let happen. >> you have to deal -- what is the formula as you all see fit to create a new manufacturing jobs? this is not the new job and of the new generation as we were told the science and technology. you're going back and pushing manufacturing. what is the formula? >> they are not in opposition to each other. we are telling you that new technologies -- the president when he became president put forth a budget that would lower the deficit and create jobs around three principles. that is affordable quality health care to lower the costs

and in energy and the green infrastructure. those investments in science and technology as well as credit and the rest would be used to make us number one. the president said it best, we were out innovate and out bill. so we are going to do it in a new way that creates new industries for our country to be competitive and that number one in the world. he reiterated that today. this is not a country diction in terms. it is very important, all of these point to making it in america. >> the president tomorrow will be going to toledo. they are not created jobs, we

are seeing upwards of 1 million jobs in the automobile industry. we have saved an industry and opportunities for our people. so that was a specific example of the kinds of investments. but we need to invest in infrastructure. we need to invest in the innovation. he spoke on that, and that is the type of thing we are born to be doing so people can make it in america. >> a using he will produce a budget by july 4? >> >> i was not saying that either. we are going to get the budget debt limit resolved. people have confidence in that. they will no that republican and democrat, they will get that done. >> what is necessary for us to

be able to do it in increasing the debt limit. all that stuff will be worked out by others. let me say this. one of the things i thought was very important, the president made it very clear. a few others have said to him, we can in 5 to 10 years create an automobile that its 300 miles to the gallon because of the technology. if i drive a hybrid myself. -- i have a hybrid myself. there is an age old concern that we talked about, that is rebuilding our infrastructure. that does not require a whole lot of new technology. with that requires is getting

roads and bridges that are deteriorating rebuild. we can do that in a tried and true way. >> that was part of it. >> that was part of it. >> let me just say this. we began the meeting, i did, by thanking the president for his inspirational message. as we gather here across our country, people in the south still staggering from the natural disasters that came their way. we have had some older natural disasters that are not finished yet to be it in the gulf states or iowa. as we come together, we have to recognize that people in our

country and other parts are suffering in a greater weight. as we help them, we hope we can do so anyway that will help their economy as well. we can use the terrible experience to build their economy. whether we are talking about infrastructure, the underlying the manufacturing base of our country, these places are crying out for help. yes, we started this in a recovery package. there were men with a set things in there. but the prospect of more to come. we went from people on the basis of survival to take them to success. now, what the president is talking about this transformation we talk about being no. 1 in the auto industry. when you do that, you can only succeed if you do not cut these investments in science and technology and the tax credits and the rest to encourage the

private sector to do its job. this is a public/private thing. we are determined to work together, democrats and republicans, white house and congress to remove all doubt that there is no default on the debt and how we go forward. we will send a message of confidence to the markets that we can have a budget arrangement that is balanced by preserving medicare. >> they would not likely downgrade -- from the u.s. capitol, this is

under five minutes.

>> good evening, we will be very brief. my name is austin scott. i will then turn it over to dianne black, other elected leaders. i just want to think secretary diner for meeting with us. we have a very serious economic situation that we are in right now. we are here to solve it. as far as we are concerned, everything that we have in hear from him is a step in the right direction. we are having an open and honest dialogue in how we move forward. >> one of the most important things we heard in the room is we are looking for in equilibrium. we have to have a plan that makes sense to both sides. from my perspective, one of the things i heard that was a big concern, any plan that includes

tax increases. finally, we need these buses that the tea and the details from the other side -- the spasticity in the details from the other side. >> we had a very good conversation, the president does not have a plan that we can support. that is truly what we want to do. we cannot compare plans of the president does not give us one. i have been waiting for this president to lead on this debt ceiling issue. it is something he asked us to give a clean debt ceiling bill. he did not. we did not pass that of the house floor. we are born to continue to ask for that. we need to have the american people in the discussion. only 11% of americans say that they would approve of a clean debt ceiling but which is what the president originally asked for. we recognize we have to have reform, we have to have a plant

and the president. we have to do the right thing for our country. >> i am diane black from tennessee. i want to follow what was she just said. we asked specifically in this meeting as we ask in the meeting yesterday for a specific plan that could be scored by cbo. the republicans did put out a plan. we know what is in that plan, it has been scored. it is difficult to talk and have a conversation about what we are able to negotiate between the two if there is not a plan. therefore, i have drafted a letter. a number of my colleagues are willing to sign that letter and we will send it to the president. we will ask specifically for a plan that can be scored by cbo. secondary to that, a plan that if by some chance the debt limit issue is not solved by august 2, what is their next plan on how we handle it from that point

forward. thank you. >> how fast do you think congress in the white house can come to some sort of agreement on the debt limit? ski-doo by august to kodak's what would a consequence be if you do not raise it by august 2? >> that is not up to me. i would hope that we would have it by then. this is a very serious issue for the country. i would hope we would get to that point. again, if you do not have a plan, one side has a plan and the other does not, you cannot talk about what you are going to be able to come to a con -- consensus on. >> we have votes. we have to get to the floor. i will tell you that we are perfectly willing to stay here day and night to get the job done. thank you.

>> on 2 mar's washington and journal, we will talk torandy forbes about the mission in libya. then in new york congressman and charlie rangel joins us. "washington journal", 7:00 eastern. live coverage from the house oversight subcommittee begins at 10:00 a.m. eastern. >> he was known in the day as c scar reid. >> republican thomas reid changed the power structure of

the house. >> he was in tune as a tyrant because he overturned a longstanding that the minority would be on equal footing with the majority. >> james grant on his biography. you can download this and canq &a podcast at cspan.org/podcasts. >> of former massachusetts governor, mitt romney, kicked off his bid for the republican nomination. he lost to senator john mccain in 2008. in 2008. [applause] >> there are a lot of people out there that we know and love. we appreciate you coming here

and sharing it with us. we believe it is a significant moment with this country. we have known each other since we were kids. we started dating in high school. we have been married for 42 years. a lot of you know this story. we have five sons, five daughters and law, and 16 grandchildren now. i have seen met in a lot of situations. -- i have seen mitt in a lot of situations. i would not have made it to without his encouragement to keep pushing and fighting. the same happened when i was diagnosed with breast cancer. he was there with me and encouraged me and helped me and gave me the strength to fight the disease as well. i have seen him in situations in business, in the family, as a husband and so many situations.

there is nobody i would rather turn to when there is a crisis moment to please fix what is going on that is wrong. right now, america is broken. america needs a turnaround. the need somebody who knows how to do it but has the confidence and the experience to do that. that is why i have all the confidence in the world that this man standing next to me will be the next nominee for the republican party. [applause] he will be the next president of the united states. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> she is mike champion and life. what an extraordinary person. this is really what new

hampshire is all about, a day like this. this is what america is about as well, do you not think? >> thank you so much for opening your farm. how he opened a farm? opening it so we can come out and enjoy this time with you. i see a lot of friends here. some of whom are retired. i saw some college students, i am sure you are glad that exist and are over. calls are here with their kids as you see from the front. i spoke to a single mom who was taking some time off from work today. do not caught -- do not worry, we will not tell anybody. must guess is that everybody here can tell a different story. we have different backgrounds, we go to different jobs, or look for different jobs. we go to churches -- or maybe do not go to church that much. i bet some of you have families that have lived in new hampshire for 200 years or more.

of course, there are others who have come here and more recently from seeking over the border from massachusetts. you know, the taxes are better over here. we are here on this a beautiful june day. we come here to begin a process that we often take for granted. it is really one of the great achievements in the history of the world. for all of our country's wealth and influence in the world, the true source of our greatness is america's cell phone will. a government answers to a free -- america's self-rule. we live in the greatest country that has ever existed. it all goes back to men and women who were willing to stand and die in their belief of freedom and equality for humankind. because of their vision, the

united states in -- the united states of america is not ruled by a monarchies. sometimes the people in washington might act otherwise, we do not have a house of lords. we do not have a ruling class that inherits their power. as the red sox like to announce the new york -- as the red sox like to remind the new york yankees regularly, there are no dynasties in america. who is it that ruled this great nation? you do. every four years, and you decide who is that is going to give the state of the union address. who will set the course for the country. who will be the commander in chief. what is true on this farm has always been true in america. although each of us comes from different backgrounds, although each of us have chosen to walk a different path, we are united

by one, great overwhelming passion. we love america. we believe in america. [applause] today we are united not only by our faith and belief in america, we are also united by our concern for america. this country without love is in peril. -- this country that we love is in peril. we get somebody new a chance to lead the country. somebody that we had not known for very long. somebody who did not have a long record. somebody who promised to lead us to a better place. at the time, we did not know what kind of president he would make. it was a moment of crisis for our economy. when barack obama came to office, we wished him well and

hope for the basket. now, in the third year of his four year term, we have more than slogans and promises to judge him by. barack obama has failed america. [applause] when he took office, the economy was in recession. he made it worse. he made it last longer. three years later, over 16 million americans are out of work or just quit looking for jobs. and millions more are unemployed. three years later, unemployment is at 8% which is what he said he would keep from happening. three years later, foreclosures are still at record levels. three years later, the prices of homes continue to fall. three years later, our national debt has grown nearly as large as our economy and families are

burdened by higher prices for food and gasoline. it breaks my heart to see what has happened to the great country. the scaling hopes make president obama's own misery index. it has never been higher. what is his answer? he says this. i am just getting started. no, mr. president, you have had your chance. we, the people on this farm, and citizens across the country, are the ones who are just getting started. [applause] >> i visited with a family who live in a suburb of las vegas, nevada. you probably know families just like them here. they are in their early '40's, it is a couple who have worked hard, sacrifice to buy a home in

a good neighborhood, the sort of place they wanted their daughter to brought in. now, that neighborhood is being crushed by the obama economy. first the neighbor started losing their jobs, now lost their homes. their homes. now, their abandoned homes in the band address. when the tylers wake up and the born-again they get their daughter ready to go to school and do everything they can to make it to the end of the month, it does not matter to them if they are republican or democrat, independent or libertarian, they are just americans. an american family. across the bridges and greatest country across the earth, there are billions of american families just like the tylers. folks that grow up believing that if they play by the rules, work hard, they have a chance to build a good life. there is always the possibility that with a little harder work, they might be able to get a head.

in that america, you do not wonder if your children will have a better life. you know that they will. you know it the same way that we know the sun is going to rise to the east on this farm. the confidence of a better to borrow the funds as as americans. when generations of immigrants stood up and saw the statue of liberty for the first time, is surely had a lot of questions about before them. one thing the new without a doubt is that they were coming to a place where anything was possible. in america, their children would have a better life. i believe in that america. i believe that you believe in that america. it is an america of freedom and opportunity. a nation where innovation and hard work propel the most greatest economy in the world. the greatest military the world has ever seen. president obama sees a different america. he has taken us in a different

direction. a few months into office he traveled around the globe to apologize for america. at a time of historic change and great opportunity in the arab world, he is hesitant and uncertain. he hesitated to speak out about the dissidents in iran that. he is leading from behind in libya. he speaks with firmness and clarity when it comes to israel. he seems firmly and clearly determined to undermine our longtime friend and ally. he is speaking them the same way so many european countries have with suspicion and distrust and suspicion that is real. to his credit, he ordered the raid to kill osama bin laden. in afghanistan, the search was right. but announcing the withdrawal right, that was wrong. the taliban and may not have

watches, but they have calendars. here at home the president seems to take inspiration not from the small towns and villages of new hampshire, but from the capitals of europe. with the economy in crisis, his answer was to borrow more money. just like europe. instead of encouraging a entrepreneur is innovators and employers, he raises their taxes. he gives more power to a union bosses. he does not recognize the state rights of authority to solve their own problems, he brands through a disastrous national health-care plan. his president was the first answer to every problem is to take power from you. power from you, your local government, in your state so so- called experts in washington can make decisions for you. with each of those decisions, we lose more of our freedom.

you and i understand that. we look at our country and we know in our hearts that things are not right. they are not getting better. president obama's european enters are not the solutions to america's interests -- america's problems. we need a clear and unapologetic defense. i intend to make it because i have lived it. [applause] [applause] 27 years ago i left my job and went to join with some friends a small business. like many of you, it had been a dream of mine to try to build the business from the ground up. which started in a little office a couple of hours from here. over the years we were able to grow from our first and employs 200. i work let me to become very deeply involved in helping other

businesses from start-ups to large companies that were going to tough times. sometimes i was successful and we were able to help create jobs, other times i was not. i learned how america compete with other pennies in other countries and what works in the real world and what does not. i left that business in 1999 to help with the salt lake city olympics. and when the dance or over, i came back to massachusetts to serve as governor. i had never are -- i had never held public office before, but i went at it like i ran businesses in the olympics. when i took office, we had a nearly $3 billion budget gap. my legislature was over 85% democrat. the expectation was that we would have to raise taxes. i refused. i ordered, instead, a complete

review of all state spending, make tough choices, and balance the budget without raising taxes. that sent a message that business as usual was over. over the next four years, with consolidated agencies, which cut programs, was sold state property, and we cut taxes 19 times. [applause] [applause] i also they were giving away free health care. you cannot be surprised that a lot that we should get more. i hammered out a solution. it made it better. it is a state solution to our state problem. at the end of the year, it took

over 800 vetoes. we balanced every budget, restored a $2 billion rainy day fund in kept the school's first. i am proud of their record. -- of that record. all those experiences, turning around their olympics, governing a state, it helped shape to i am. if iran through my mistakes i would find it hilarious. would find it hilarious. turning something around takes experience and bold action.

for millions of americans, the economy is in crisis today paren. it will be in crisis for all of us tomorrow. did gino federal government has grown to consume almost 40% of our economy? we are only inches away from being an economy. i will capet at 20% or less. -- i will cap it at 20% or less and balance the budget. my generation, your generation, will pass the torch to the next. i am going to insist that washington learned how to respect the constitution including the 10th amendment.

including the 10th amendment. we are going to return the irresponsibility to the states for dozens of government programs. that will begin with the repeal of obama care. from my first day and office, my number one job will be to see that america is number one in job creation. if you want to create jobs, it helps to have actually had a job. job. i am going to make the business

taxes competitive. it to promote america's trade interest. it is time for a president who cares more about the workers then they do about this. over the last 30 years herself, i heard that a situation is hopeless. hopeless. they enjoy a prima them wrong. he apprenticed as a carpenter parent. he spit nickels out with the pointy end forward. the job across the country. he sold aluminum paint.

there are lots of reasons that my father could have given up. that always believed in america. he is working a little car company. he could end up as governor as the state where he sold aluminum paint. this was the land of opportunity. it is no barrier to achieving their dreams. they were respected. the spirit of enterprise pass this. i refuse to believe that america is another place on the applied. we stand for freedom and opportunity and hope.

these have not been the best of times. we have not lost our way. there are principles that made this nation a great and powerful leader. they have not lost their meaning. they never will. we know we can bring this country back. i believe in america. i am running for president. i am running for president. these are two of our grandson's.

hello. he is too far to get up here. you guys are the best. thank you so much. we love you. >> this is the first time when we have in our entirety. this is what our government and our country does. this is not a historic occasion. this week's 25 years of the u.s. senate. c-span was carrying a little more than 61 5 million homes.

today it is available. what this thursday or any of the 29,000 hours. it is all searchable and free. it is washington, your way. >> met romney will be joined by other presidential hopefuls including congressmen ron paul. other speakers include glenn beck and donald trump. they also will have live coverage during the day. the internet company google says that hackers try to still the

passwords of hundred of account holders including a senior u.s. government official. coming up, at a couple of hearings of data security. in just a moment, an executive testified about his company's security practices. but is also a loss of personal data. after that, at the head of the internal revenue service apologizes to taxpayers for the e file program. >> now available, as c-span's congressional directory. it is a complete guide to the 101 congress. there is contact informations. you can order online.

>> and now a sony official defended the company's. the playstation anetwork was packed. mary f. conner wrote shares the house energy and congress subcommittee hearing. it is a little over an hour. >> good afternoon. if the rumor please come to order. thank you. the afternoon. -- good afternoon. in the wake of massive debts have breeches, we are now more aware that information can be used to falsify your identity. the time has come for congress

to take action. the chair recognizes himself for an opening statement. >> with nearly 1.5 billion credit cards in use, and more american shopping online, they have a treasure chest of opportunity to get rich quick. the trade commission estimates that 9 million americans fall victim to identity theft every year. it cost them billions of dollars annually. in recent years, carefully orchestrated cyber attacks designed to obtain a personal informations about consumers has become one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises here in the west and across the world. the justice department shutdown a cyber crime ring. it was responsible for the online theft of $100 million.

in some ways, has become ground zero in the war to protect consumers online information. the initial attack put 100 million customer accounts at risk. it was quickly followed by attacks. they have taken future cyber attacks. there are new firewalls. it is enhancing their capabilities. these are all important. with millions of american consumers in harm's way, why would they already be in place? one of the most troubling issues is how long it took sonny to

notify consumers. the and now sit on their blog. -- they announced it on their block. this cannot happen again. it is clear that the company has been targeting the hackers who are constantly probing the systems to infiltrate the network. today i'm not here to point fingers. let's point the way. you should not have to cross your fingers and whisper a prayer when ever you type in a credit-card number. the commerce is a growing part of the economy. this is a robust cyber committee. i believe this can be

instructive. how does this occur? what steps are being taken? what policy should be in place to better protect american consumers? consumers have a right to know when their personal information has been compromised. these only reinforced this. much more needs to be done to protect consumer information. americans say additional safeguards. my legislation will be around three guiding principles. companies and entities that held personal affirmation must establish and maintain security policies to prevent the unauthorized acquisition. information considered especially sensitive should have even more robust security safeguards in place.

consumers should be promptly informed when the information has been jeopardized. the time has come for congress to take action. we need a national standard. we need it now. i remain hopeful that they will determine the extent. they serve as a reminder that all companies have a responsibility to protect personnel information and contact consumers when the affirmation has been put at risk. i would predict when the information has been put at risk -- and contact consumers when the information has been put at risk. you are 5 minute opening statement? >> thank you. thank you for your indulgence. i have been in my office with 28 constituents.

many are veterans. they wanted to take pictures. you know that joe. i have to accommodate them as best i could. thank you for convening this hearing today. i think the two witnesses for your presence. thank you for holding this hearing. last month, 100 million consumer records had been compromised as a result. that included full names, e- mail, emailing addresses. maybe even credit card numbers. no company is safe from attack. we must always operate at a high level of security. no company wants the data compromise. sony and absalom -- epsilon pi no exception. to them several days to know

there is an intrusion -- it took them several days to know there was an intrusion. the breach at epsilon was very large. 50 client high conservative estimate of 60 million records stolen. no sensitive information was stolen. it easily could have. it is important that businesses do all they can do to protect consumers from having their information fallen to the wrong hands. for many americans, refilling prescriptions and communicating with friends and family can be done on-line. as people share more information, it can be compromised. it increases exponentially. names and dates of birth are just a few of the types of information that hackers are able to exploit.

what about consumer notification? there is no federal standard to address this. there is no federal law requiring companies to have reasonable safeguards in place to protect this information. i am concerned that american consumers remain largely exposed online. during the 109th congress, members of this committee were to make that a profession to develop the accountability and trust act to address the issue of data security. they would have required entities holding data containing personal and affirmation to adopt appropriate security measures to safeguard it. they can identify affected

individuals. it passed the house and the 111th congress. the senate did not act. this is something that is good for consumers and businesses. if we give american consumers more peace of mind about on line -- it would give american consumers more peace of mind about online transactions. we have learned a lot from the breach at sony and epsilon. i stand ready to work with you and our colleagues to pass a strong bipartisan that his security bill that the one that we saw in the last session. i think today's witnesses. i look forward to each of you. i yield back. >> he yielded his opening statement. i now recognize ms. blackburn.

>> thank you. i will submit my full statement. i think the sony and epsilon of breaches of reraise a lot of questions. howdy minimize identity theft? -- how do you minimize identity that? they want proper notification from the vendors they are doing business with. they want to see better coordination with the law enforcement. they feel as if this is missing. as we address this, what we will have to look at is better government coordination incentives for industry cooperation, a stricter penalties deterrent against hackers and a flexible framework. as we do this, i hope that we will continue to look at the threat of digital protection and

intellectual property. they are interrelated. they both deserve attention. with the new music services, my that we hold everybody accountable and secure the integrity. on the issue of illegal downloads, tennessee has just signed into law a bill that put in place penalties for this. they have made this a crime in our state. i am glad they did. looping a content to the websites not only becomes an issue for the entertainment industry but it exposes consumers to viruses, and dangerous products and increases the likelihood of data that.

i thank you very much for being here. i yield back my time. >> thank you. it is mentioned by the chairwoman -- the recently reported 9 million americans have fallen victim to identity theft. i think it is puzzling. incorporation is strong and comprehensive. -- a corporation as strong and comprehensive as sony you think would have the ability to certify that their data is secure. over 45 states have independently adopted data requirements. it is no law on a federal basis. it is good that you were here so we can ask you some questions. what was the requirements that he set up in the corporation? do you think it should be

prosecuted? there are lots of questions. the present data to establish necessary security policies. both of our witnesses today certainly have within their power to provide the software and the data security provisions. it is necessary why this happened to them. it had the opportunity to talk to them. it is very appreciative that he took the time to talk to us paired with a forward to your testimony. >> thank you.

-- talk to us. we look forward to your testimony. >> thank you for calling this time the hearing. overseas hackers from china hacked into google accounts. my home state of texas has experienced a massive data breach in april. almost 3.5 million texans have their personal information, their names, mailing addresses, and social security numbers compromised from the office of the texas comptroller. it was posted to a public server. there is a clear need for businesses and citizens to work together to protect the personal information. i think the witnesses for coming. i yield back the balance of my

time. we would appreciate it. we have the general counsel for epsilon data management. also testifying is the president of sony network entertainment international. thank you for coming. you will each be recognized for five minutes to help you keep track of time. there is a device implanted tube -- a device in front of you. we are recognized for five minutes. >> if you can pull the microphone close to your mouth. >> would you pull the microphone up?

>> good morning gain -- again. in the general counsel for epsilon management. thank you for inviting me. i hope i can provide information going for it that will act as a helpful resources as you consider legislation that is in the best interest of consumers and business. my testimony has been submitted. i will hope to begin with three main points. who is epsilon? how do we provide important data management services? how the attack of march 30 occurred. what we are doing to apprehend the perpetrators. why we think national data breached notification legislation is important.

epsilon is the leading provider of female marketing services. our client, some of the world's largest, count on as to send their e-mail messages to their customers. as we all know, major brands whose e-mail messages provide them with timely information about new products and sales and events. epsilon ensures that these e- mail messages apply -- comply with legal requirements. to keep our client trust, epsilon became the first in 2006 to certify that the information security program complied with the standard issued by the international association of standardization. it is recognized by 160 companies around the world.

they identified best practices for information security management. the standards are demanding. we are proud that they lead the industry and that we have achieved yearly recertification which requires proof that they are improving the security program each year. notwithstanding our procedures, as you know, epsilon was the victim of a criminal hacking incident at the end of march. since our program was designed to rectify and respond to attacks and threats, we were quickly able to detect the activity. our investigations internal and with an independent third party coordinated closely. it is still ongoing. we can say that the initial investigation confirms that only e-mail addresses and in some

cases first and last names were affected. only e-mail addresses and in some cases first and last names were affected. the details of what happened after the attack are in my written statement that has been submitted for the record. we are greatly troubled that this has called into question our commitment to data security. i want to leave the with four main points about what happened and how they responded. our internal response to the criminal attack was immediate. we isolated computers. our forensics investigation began within hours. we reached up to law enforcement. it occurred on the same day. we read based -- released a public statement. going forward, we reiterate our

commitment to working with the secret service. they have an important role to play. they fully support legislation that would create a uniform a ud provide predictability and equitable protection for consumers, regardless of their state of residence. we look forward to working with you as a legislative process moves forward. i sincerely hope the information i am able to provide is helpful to the subcommittee as it considers this issue.

>> thank you. mr. schaaff will be represented a very good >> thank you for this opportunity to testify. and my name innocents richard -- is tim schaaff. i am responsible for the business of sony and an online division. millions of our customers were recently the victim of an increasingly common digital-age crime -- cyber attacks. we have been reminded no one is immune from cyber attacks. businesses, government entities, and individuals can

become victims. the attack we believe was unprecedented in size and scope. initially anonymous, the group now connected with wikileaks cyber attacks openly carried out massive attacks against sony in retaliation for sony is bringing action in federal court to protect individual property. during those attacks, one are more highly skilled hackers infiltrated the network now and sony entertainment. we have always made a concerted effort to maintain and approve the data security systems. we hired a well-respected securities firm to enhance our protection, but no one can foresee every possible cyber threat. we have detailed a timeline from when we first discovered a breach, but to briefly

summarize, the first indication of of breach occurred on tuesday, april 19. on april 20, we started an investigation and immediately shut down to prevent illegal activity. we assisted in the time- consuming investigation. on april 22, we notified playstation customers and intrusion had occurred. on april 25, we were able to confirm the scope of the personal-so we believe had been accessed, and we could not rule out the possibility of credit card information being stolen. we released a notice that while there was no evidence credit card data was taken, since we could not rule out the

possibility, we had to acknowledge it was possible. we began to e-mail each of our account holders directly. if we did not merely make statements on our blog. on may 1, sony entertainment also discovered saddam may have been taken. on may 2, -- also discovered data may have been taken. on may 2, we made another notification. sense ofa si responsibility. we notified our customers promptly. we thank our customers for their y.tience and loyaltie we had a welcome back service,

and we worked to have stronger security to protect our customers' interests. let me address the specific issues today. notification of consumers when data breach has occurred. laws require a soon notified promptly. if you reverse that, you can either send false alarms or so many warnings that these may be ignored. we support federal breach legislation and look forward to working on particulars of the bill. as frustrating as the loss of networks was, asa consequence against financial or defense institutions convene devastating for our security. consider that lockheed martin was also cyber attacks in the past two months. by working together to enact

legislation, we can limit the threat posed to us all. we look forward to this initiative to ensure consumers are empowered with information and tools they need to protect themselves from cyber criminals. thank you very much. >> i would like to thank both of you for your opening statement as well as your unique insight. i am confident the lessons learned will assist in our efforts to develop on-line safeguards for american consumers. i am going to recognize myself for the first five minutes of questioning. given the extreme makeover of sony's online security protocols, it begs the question, why weren't any of these safeguards in place before the april data breeches and? >> and we believe that the security we had in place was very strong, and we felt we were in good shape.

however, as the attacks indicated, the intensity and sophistication of the attack -- now of the hack was such that even with measures we had taken, it was not sufficient, and as we recognized the scrutiny we are likely to be under from hackers will continue, we have made additional commitments to enhance the security of our networks. all we have been working for more than 18 months to expand the capacity and security of our network. we are a new business, but we are a very fast-growing business. >> you indicated in the may 3 letter that you contacted the fbi on april 22, today's after the reach had occurred. -- two days after the breach had occurred. why did you wait two days? >> my understanding is we notified them as soon as we have

anything we could report that indicated an external intrusion that would be illegal. >> you indicate four servers were taken off line on april 19, 1919. before you pulled them off line, can you tell us what information was different now? >> this was part of a network of new machines, and we believe this was part of the network a hacker may have used to get into the network, and we immediately shut them down. we were also attacked by the hackers. >> media reports indicated the servers may not have had fire walls prior to the attack. is that true? >> that is false. the servers were up to date, and we have several layers of fire walls in place, contrary to many things you may have read on the internet. the internet is not always a reliable source of information.

>> you state you believe the cyber attacks was unprecedented in size and scope. can you explain why you believe it was unprecedented? >> we believe the sophistication of the attack, the time in which the hackers were carefully exploring the network and then ultimately the scope of the service but was breached makes it quite a remarkable attack, and despite the deep security efforts that were taken, it was insufficient to guard against these attacks. >> was the consumer data encryption, and why or why not? >> the credit card information was included. password log in as-so was protected using cryptographic functions -- blog in d.s.o. was protected using cryptographic functions. -- pasword login data was

protected using cryptographic functions. >> what new security are you providing? >> at the time, we had extensive security. we have continued through the investigation to evaluate additional things that may be done to strengthen our networks and any of the access points. we have also decided to hire some outside experts to evaluate the network further and see if there is anything else needs to be adjusted. >> has a consumer, i have received multiple notices of your reach. there are also indications consumers received notification of the breach. business customers have not had a customer relationship for four or five years. do you ever heard a your data, and why you hang on to do -- net two you ever -- do you ever

purge data, and why you hang onto data so long? >> exelon has a relationship with the consumer. what data we hold is determined by the client, and what we do with it in terms of sending out notices or any sorts of marketing messages is up to the client. >> the you advise them on when it would be a good time to purge data? >> it depends. there is an opt out data, because you have to contain -- maintain records of who has opted out. if you have opted out and have not had activity, that list would still be there. >> my time is expired. i will recognize mr. bader field

for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chairman. mr. schaaff, let me start with you. i understand your internal investigation has not turned up any evidence suggesting information was taken from the network, but that does not necessarily suggesting data was not taken, that you have not turned up additional fingerprints that would allow you to know with certainty it was taken. how certain are you data was not taken? >> we have been involved in an investigation since the breach was taken, and we have looked at blogs, and we found no clear evidence to -- at logs, and we

found no clear evidence there was access to credit card information, and we found plenty of access -- of evidence it was not hard says. that is the basis of the statement said we do not believe credit card information was compromised. >> you mentioned that the attack took place on april 19, that the play stations were shut down on april 20, and you did something on april 22. shed some light on that. >> on april 22, that was when we first notify consumers there have been an intrusion. we were trying to understand what happened to the network, and we were actively beginning the investigation, and at the point that we were able to determine if there had been an intrusion, we immediately notified consumers so they would be aware of what occurred, even though we were not yet able to

confirm precisely which that data may have been compromised. >> is it your testimony that on april 22, you begin the process of notifying consumers? >> we notified them on the intrusion, but we followed that out and with additional notification regarding specifics related to ben and actual data that may have been breached, -- related to the actual data that had been breached. >> april 22 announcement was simply on the internet? >> that was on the playstation blog. that is one of the most active and popular on the web. it is rated no. 20, just behind the u.s. white house blog, so it is a place for consumers to look. >> the you have any idea how many consumers read the statement? >> i do not know off the top of

my head. >> seven days after the breach was one of official notification was issued. >> -- was when official notification was issued. >> we were searching for evidence that would allow us to confirm the status of credit card information. >> the new thing seven days was a reasonable amount of time -- do you think seven days was a reasonable amount of time? >> we continued for seven weeks, and some of our conclusions with respect to credit card information have changed somewhat from our original statement, and that change has occurred because of the investigation. in the abundance of caution, we acknowledge the possibility credit cards would have been taken on the 26, but the situation changes as the investigation proceeds, and we felt it would have been irresponsible if we have notified consumers with partial

information. >> you have made some corrections and adjustments in credit card debt take you collect. -- credit card data you collect. >> additional controls have been put in place. >> how do those compared to other personal information you have? >> credit card information is the most highly protected information. it is all in corrected, so even if it is taken, it is not likely to be useful to the hacker. >> is it true that a user passwords were hashed and not increasing. >> that is true. that is not an unusual practice at all. >> industry standard. why don't you use any type of encryption in your procedures?

>> it is a form of protection that is very closely related sioux encryption, and i am not an expert -- related to encryption, and i am not an expert, so i do not think i can answer. >> what is irreversible encryption? >> that is my definition of a cryptographic nonhash. you stated that the investigation revealed the employee said data had been compromised. i assume this means that it had been hijacked to carry out the intrusion into the network and to steal e-mail addresses. can you tell me what that means? that the employee's blogging credentials were compromised. -- log-in credentials were

compromise. >> we understood the credentials were used based on the log and not necessarily by the person to download the information. that is why we immediately -- why our system kicked in two plays, and our security system kicks in, and we knew there was a problem, and we shut access down and took the computer off the system. >> thank you. my time has expired. >> i recognize the gentleman from florida for 5 minutes. >> let me be sure i understand exactly what was taken. my understanding is e-mails were taken and the name of the people whose e-mails were taken. is that correct?

what was taken? >> e-mail addresses. >> and first and last names? and that was all? >> yes. >> you said you notified all 75 customers. is that correct. >> there were about 50 clients that were affected, and we notified them. >> would you provide a complete list of those? >> the names of those clients are subject to agreements we have with them, and we are supposed to keep those confidential, so we notified them promptly. >> i know you notified him, but you cannot provide the committee with those names? >> not at this point. >> i have in our material that some of these people are jpmorgan chase, capital one, .iti they, verizon, target to 75. part of the '5050

>> i recognize those names. >> they have huge numbers of people, so the impact we cannot even comprehend. can you extrapolate -- if verizon is one of your customers, and you had a breach with e-mails and names, does that mean that perhaps millions of names from horizon have been breached? >> there could be. >> just enter yes or no. >> yes. >> with sony, as my understanding, the password was in breach. >> we believe there was a number of different types of information access, including first name, last name, address, date of birth, logging in a dress and -- log-in address.

>> what about credit cards? >> we originally stated we could not rule out the possibility of a credit card information had been a says. at this point, we do not see her -- had been accessed. at this point, we do not see any indication. >> in which all of that information, with one person have all of the breach, or is it segmented so somebody got their password, somebody got their credit card, or is all of it together? >> it is difficult to know which data is taken, but it is likely it would be together. >> what is a conservative estimate of the number of people affected by this breach? >> we announce there were 77 million accounts that could have been access. when we took the net work offline, all of our customers

were affected, but that is part of the reason we identified identity theft insurance, identity theft protection, and we appreciate and acknowledged the loss our customers how experience and who want to address their concerns. >> is it true you bought suits to protect against the attackers of playstation? >> that is true. >> why? >> the playstation business is built upon intellectual property. content providers invest millions of dollars to create titles but we help distribute, and tens of thousands of people -- >> with what has happened with this breach, would you say you would do it again?

>> this is one of the great challenges right now. how do companies protect their content, i think we made the right decision. did it have consequences? it appears to have had negative consequences for the company, but if we had not done something, i think it would play out in a different company later on. this is a big issue. >> do you think federal legislation to address security breaches would help? i understand both of you are in states where we have state legislation, and that did not seem to force you to have to get the security department, so why would federal legislation make it better than the states where we have already passed and you did not comply? >> i think the issue regarding states' rights -- i am not a lawyer, but my understanding is there are a variety of laws in a number of states, but the laws

our seemingly in conflict, and they can create complicated situations. regarding the security of the network, i think the evidence of epsilon, sony, many of the companies that have been reported in the news over the last couple weeks indicate that despite all of the best medicines known to us, our networks are not 100 and -- best methods known to us, our networks are not 100% protected. i think without additional support from the government, it is unlikely we will collectively be successful, and that will threaten the livelihood of the growing internet economy. >> the share represents -- recognizes mr. guthrie for five minutes. >> thank you for having this hearing. just to follow-up, the patchwork

of state laws -- the different state jurisdictions complicated your ability to respond? >> i was responding specifically to the issue of notification obligation. there are some conflicting obligations. >> so a federal standard would be? >> the federal standard that would preempt the states would be extremely helpful. >> epsilon is a vendor for you. did the hacker go to epsilon, or to sony now--- to sony? >> these are two completely separate events. the activity at epsilon is completely unrelated to what happened to sony. >> you are not a vendor at a salon -- at exelon -- epsilon.

but i apologize. they got through your system, and that is how about the breach and worked. >> as a vendor, our ability to send out e-mail addresses requires us to maintain those e- mail addresses for them, and that is how the hackers got that information. >> has sony been the victim before of any type of 3 shawerma -- type of the breach? >> we certainly experience a constant level of fraud, and we are under regular probing by hackers and others. i think it is standard for anyone in the internet business. i am a manufacturing background, and we did a set of standards for quality control.

they are good practices to follow, but they leave a lot of interpretation to the businesses, because otherwise, they are formed by committee, and it would be difficult to change anything. is this sufficient if you follow the standards? your industry is so fast- changing it takes awhile to innovate set the standard is out of date. it appears to me that it would now be difficult to keep up with the changes in the industry or the ability of people who have to innovate and find new ways and your system. is this sufficient? >> iso is not the only thing we do. we have lots of clients, and we have our own security program.

we are continually trying to of grade our system and make sure we make things in -- to upgrade our system and make sure we make things as tight as we can, but the hacker was sophisticated. this was not some guy in the garage coming after us. i have talked to the secret service enough to know we are not the only ones and that they are working with the fbi, and there is a concerted effort to go after these guys. parks and would concur. i think these guidelines and standards are important for the industry to move forward, but they are far from sufficient, and if they have been sufficient, epsilon would not be here, and i think we are all under attack, and without additional measures to be taken and constant renewal of our practices, it is not going to be sufficient to fight.

>> i guess one thing i am concerned about -- many times you have to spend money because somebody did something illegal. that is inefficient to everybody, but if you are a small business in kentucky that maintains client files and just having the resources to be able to respond, and to protect their clients and customers and -- the you have any estimate of how much money these events are going to cost of your firm and the economy overall? >> i believe we have made statements estimating a cost in the range of $170 million for this particular incident, and for smaller businesses, the ability to secure their networks as effectively is less because of the economics of that, and the evidence i have seen in the evidence i have seen in various