history teaches us that i don't care who's in charge, a conservative, a liberal, a democrat, republican, if you let politicians spend money that they don't have, they will do it. if the choice is between spending money they don't have or cutting spending, they will raise money they don't have. they will spend money they don't have. and that's why we need spending caps on the balanced budget amendment. all but one state in this country has that. . .

compromise has to be a solution. if a compromise is not a solution, you are wasting people's time. we are not deciding whether we will have six judges or 12 judges were named in post office after this guy instead of that guy. this is a fundamental difference of opinion about what kind of government we want to have. the answer that question would determine what kind of country we have for this generation and beyond. we want a government that is

very involved and our economic lives. this is an accurate assessment. much of the world has chosen to have a government very active in their active lives, a government that guarantees to all sorts of things. in exchange, there are things you have to give up, primarily your economic freedom. literally, your ability to open up a business, the ability to draw up a business plan on the back of an afghan -- on the back of a napkin. people seemed happy when even your figured out that their high taxes and regulations could not sustain what they had created. what you give up is the vibrancy of the american economy. i think what reagan had our view and what we should argue today is that that is fine for the rest of the world to choose that and if that is the kind of

country want to live in, a place where the government guarantees you certain economic results, there are some of places you can move to. there should at least the one country on earth where you can open a business in the spare bedroom. there should be one country where you can open up a business after drawing a business plan out on the back of a business napkin -- cocktail napkin. there should be at least one nation on earth for these things are possible. for the last 230 years, the country has been the u.s. we should not change that now. [applause] behind the noise of the debt debate, that is what we're arguing about. as the flooded as washington is,

so is america. this generation of americans would like it both ways. we have to choose, do we want to continue to be the country that our parents knew, this singular exceptional place, or are we prepared to become just another country, still rich, still powerful, still important, but no longer exceptional. that is the choice. i know sometimes it is scary to think, why not become like everyone else. what we have to become the leader? my question -- my answer to you is that i am not sure we want to live in a world where america is not the america you know. i'm not sure where i am raising my children have in a world where the light is extinguished.

who would live and speak out on behalf of the values of liberties and freedom? these are largely the exception rather than the rule in human history. the idea that people can govern themselves is almost up heard of up until 200 some odd years ago. people still scoff at it in much of the world now. who would speak out about it? the idea that somehow you don't have to be born to the right family. the same businesses and individuals should come to dominate the economy generation after generation. the rejection of an economic caste system. who would serve as a living and breathing example that it does not have to be that way? even people that don't like america admire americans because

there is someone just like them who was able to do here what they were not able to do there. that is what sets us apart. that is what america has meant. you see these other countries emerging around the world and pulling their people out of poverty. they're not doing that by embracing socialism, they are doing it by embracing the market. the more they embrace the principles we stood for, the more prosperity they find. if america stops being america, what nation is prepared to take our place? there is no one. there is no other country. there is nowhere else to go. the debate we're having is about whether we will continue to be that kind of country or are we prepared to be the first americans to allow our nation to diminish? the workweek to and the stuff you are involved in politically is really about that.

this is no longer an ideological or intellectual government about the government versus small government. this is literally a decision about our identity as a people and a nation. that is what we are deciding. we will have to make a choice faster than any generation has had to make. that is the great challenge of our time and i find it to be exciting and here is why. i believe that if we embrace the things that made us great in the past, our future will be greater than our history. there are more people on earth than ever before that will be able to afford the things that you invented and built. there are more people that will be able to do the things economically and culturally. there are more opportunities for people than ever to sell our goods and services.

if only we stopped heading in the wrong direction and embrace what has brought us forward. i encourage you to remain politically involved because the decisions we're making will determine what america will look like forever. that is how dramatic the choices are. i hope that in the next months that lie ahead, the american people will speak with a very simple and clear voice. we have seen the two choices. we understand the hard choices that lie ahead and we still choose to be great. we still choose to be special. we choose to stand apart, we choose to inspire the world. i hope you will be a part of that. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. i have a few minutes to take questions. >> hello, senator. i would like to thank you. my question is, recently i have been doing a lot of journalism and writing and a lot of things for my school that has called people to call me some terrible things. how do you in the midst of being called all kinds of things and accusations thrown against you keep your center and know what you're doing is right?

>> largely, the people that say stuff that you from a political step -- standpoint, they will not like you. people talk about the rhetoric in modern politics today, it has always been heeded, it is just that we have more places for people to scream at you from. there are people that when not like you no matter what you stand for. the important thing is that you ask yourself why you are doing this. this is a tough decision to make. i would say to you that you look to your face a lot on those things. ultimately in politics and life, you have to ask yourself, in my doing this just to be loved by people or am i doing this to make a difference? it is important that you accurately represent and listen to the people that you surf. ultimately, you have an obligation to do what is right

even though that might not be popular in the eyes of some. no one likes to be disliked, i don't think. if you are comfortable with your decisions, your principal about it, you have been upfront about where you stand, that will give you some peace. i encourage you to speak. i say this to people whose principals i don't share. >> good evening, senator. my name is roger and i am from south carolina. i don't believe in infighting in the party. at the same time, if the tea party backed candidates like yourself are not part of congress now, congress would look a lot different and the debt ceiling debate would have been a lot farther left.

what are you doing for 2012? >> i have not thought a lot about 2012. i know that senator dement is always on the lookout for good candidate to a spouse the principles of limited government. let me say the whole thing about the infighting argument. i would say that the republican party is extremely diverse. there are many political viewpoints. there are people that agree with me on economic policies but disagreed me on libya. i think the republican party has a lot more ideological diversity than the democratic party does on any of these issues. the second thing i would say is that the 2010 election was a

very clear referendum. barack obama and others were elected on a promise of hope and change and transforming the culture of politics but then they came into office and the first thing they did was try to pass the stimulus package and health care bill. there was a rejection to that. people did not believe the stimulus package work. we spent $800 billion and we have no jobs to show forward. then we went on to the health care bill. americans went with a very clear mandate and that is to stop this. almost like a restraining order. i think that those of us that were elected in 2010 who campaigned on a clear principles have an obligation to live up to those principles. i ran a very clear platform, i don't like what is happening in washington. i intend to fight against it and offer a clear alternative.

i think it is silly to criticize people for carrying out what they said they would do if they got elected. if more people did that, the republic would be better off. >> over the last two days, we have been passing around a binder. people would support you for president or vice president. i will not put you in an awkward situation, but we have 100 founding members and you are not campaigning and you are not focusing on that but what do we do with the energy that we have and the excitement that we have about your message? >> first of all, i intend to win my nobel peace prize. [applause]

i am flattered and honored that you would sign that and that you would put something like that forward. this is really flattering. what i would say to you is that this is not about me. i am just a person who shares your principles and through a handful of blessings and opportunities have had the chance to surf and the political process. there is no reason why any number of you cannot be standing behind this podium or on the floor of the u.s. senate. this is not about people, this is about principles. the principles are timeless. some of us get a chance to advocate for them. i will ask you to turn your energy and not behind individuals but the principles that we share. we probably don't agree on her% of the issues that we share a certain set of principles that are true and have worked.

that is what i ask you to get excited and encouraged and look for candidates that stand for those things to to reward people with your vote and your work. that is what i would encourage you to do. in this audience today, there are people that will serve in public office from school boards to the u.s. senate and you can make a difference and i encourage you to be involved and to take that enthusiasm and put it on my principles. the reason we are talking about ronald reagan is because he stood for timeless principles that have served our nation. >> you can see all of this at c- span.org. we are going live to president obama who is in chicago for some campaign fund-raisers. the proceeds will go to the

obama victory fund 2012. right now, the mayor of chicago is speaking. you're watching c-span. >> to see through the change this country needs. two years ago, the automobile industry was on its back and its back was broken. some people said, let it go. let it go. let chrysler go, let general motors go, let those workers be treated like scrap metal. i saw a president reject all of the ideas of conventional risen -- wisdom coming out of washington and new york city and he said when it comes to the american workers, we will double down on the american worker. in two years, general motors has paid back to taxpayers what they borrowed.

we are better off today because the president said no to conventional wisdom. this president never takes the short course. he never takes the easy road. if he thinks is right, he will pay any political price. i was telling him to take the easy road. making easier on us. get this over with. not if it came to what was right for the country. he was willing to put all of the political capital to put this country first. when it comes to saying to people who are trying to tear this country down and call it politics, he was willing to do

was right for our kids and our future. what you want is the honesty, the determination, the judgment to see what is right into what is right for this country regardless of the politics. he has shown that time and time again for the economy, for the auto industry, for our foreign policy, for our reputation are around the world. it is great to have someone who would like to come be with friends and family. i know that you are all hot, i can see that going. i want to go back to the great artists the are performing. ok. go. also jennifer hudson, herbie hancock.

the lesson in that i did was a long bar mitzvah. please join the professionals in the happy birthday song to our president, president obama. >> are you ready to sing? >> [singing] happy birthday to you

happy birthday to you happy birthday, mr. president happy birthday to you [applause] she could always go back up in size, no biggie >> solo, chicago. it is good to be with some good

friends. -- hello, chicago. this is a warm welcome right here. let me say thank you to the extraordinary talent that is on stage. one of the great musicians of our time, herbie hancock. ok, go band, give it up. dj brett gardner, give it up. the lovely and talented jennifer gardner -- jennifer hudson, given up. the not as lovely or talented but a very determined, the very

brilliant, very vocal, very tough mayor of the city of chicago, rahm emanuel. [applause] i am watching from washington but it looks to me like he is doing a pretty good job. [applause] as far as i can tell, he has not cursed in public yet. he has come close, he says. what he has done is providing extraordinary energy and vision to a jump that he has wanted for a long time and i don't know too

many people who love the city of chicago more than your mayor and i cannot be more proud of him. we have a great governor of the state of illinois in the house. we have one of the finest senators in the united states of america, dick durbin is in the house. we have one of the greatest members of congress in the house --

we have the ageless jesse white, the secretary of state in the house. a great friend of mine, someone who i would not have been elected to the u.s. senate without them, the former head of the senate, -- i know we have a lot of other important people like you in the house. [applause] it is warm, hot, and you listened to some good music and you don't want to have a long political speech. [cheering]

i want to say, i could not have a better early birthday present then standing with all of you. i love you back. [applause] it is drpic that i turn 50 tomorrow. -- it is true that i turn 50 tomorrow. that means that by the time a wake-up i will have an e-mail from aarp asking me to call president obama and tell him to protect medicare. [applause] when i look out at this crowd, i think back to a bit -- to the incredible night in november in

2008. it was the culmination of this incredible journey, this long journey that we to together. the campaign that drew on the hard work and support of all of you and people all across the country, men and women who believe that change is possible in the face of long odds, and the face of frustration, in the face of setbacks who said, we don't have to except politics as usual and we can once again have a country that is living up to our finest ideals and aspirations. that was a lovely night but remember what i told you, i said, yes, we can, but i said that this would not be easy. i said, that was not the end of the journey, that was the

beginning. the economy was already hammering things. the decisions that had been deferred for too long in washington were catching up with us. all of these problems we are gathering all at once. we knew the road ahead would be difficult we did not realize, we just found out a week ago that the economy from the last few months was even worse than we realized. the economy contracted by 8%. this was the worst economy will have ever seen before our economic policies had even had to go into effect. we lost 8 million jobs like that.

we have not seen anything like it in most of our lifetimes. here is what i knew, you did not let me present to dodge the tough issues. you elected me to do the right thing even if it took time. [applause] you elected me to make sure that the economy was working much as for those of the from the machinists on the line to the ceo in the boardroom. i believe that our success is a fine not buy gas prices or corporate profits but whether ordinary people can find a good job to support the family,

whether they can send their families to college and retire with dignity and respect. they have a little left over for a ball game or vacation. what we did was we took a series of emergency measures to save the economy from collapse. not all of them are comfortable. we did what we needed to do to start getting the economy growing again. it has been growing. not as fast as we once. we wanted to help families get back on their feet. we went in. we said, i did not sign it to be the ceo of an automobile company. i would not let a million jobs

here go away. we're going to intervene and ask that they restructure themselves. we have now say in all of them making progress. they are making a profit selling cars and during said. they thought it cannot be done any more. there are still some issues out there. i do not want melia and sasha getting paid less than anybody for doing a good job. we are going to make sure that in this country that we love that nobody is discriminated

against on the basis of sexual orientation. we're going to make sure they're going to serve in our military and protect the country that they love. we are going to invest and clean energy. we're tired of being dependent on foreign oil. we want to wind turbines and a lecture cars made right here in the united states of america -- and electric cars made right here in the united states of america. we're going to invest in basic research to find cures for alzheimer's and cancer. we're going to revamp our education system to start working for every child and not just some children. we're going to go ahead and make sure that every family in america can find affordable

health care and that they're not losing their homes and going bankrupt. it is hard. because of you, we got it done. it has been a long journey. we have made some incredible strides together. yes, we have. the thing that we all ought to remember is that as much as good as we have done, precisely because the challenges were so daunting and because we were inheriting some any challenges, that we're not even halfway there yet. when i said change we can

believe and i did not mean tomorrow. not change we can believe in next week. we knew this would take time. messy, itthis big, have democracy. that is a great thing about america. there are all these contentious ideas that are out there. we have to make our case. we knew that these challenges are not made overnight. they were not going to be solved overnight. we still have a lot of work to do on the economy. i hope we can avoid another self-inflicted will let we saw of the past couple of weeks.

we do not have time to place these -- played these partisan games. we have too much work to do appear in over the next several months, or did we do not have too much work to do. and the next several months, i hope congress is focused on what the american people is focused on. making sure that businesses are getting financing, making sure young people in getting trained for the jobs of the future. making sure we're getting all those is structure workers that got laid off and putting them to work. rebuilding chicago. rebuilding detroit. rebuilding rural committees all over the country. sending people back to work. i want to make sure that these

are the exports. we have the best from the technology. i want to focus on how we can revamp old buildings and buildings to be energy sufficient. we can start cutting down on our electricity bills. we can start cutting down on our carbon emissions appear to be conveyed stop dependent on foreign oil. this is what we need to focus on. we've got more work to do to make sure that we have an immigration system to make sense. we are a nation of laws. we are a nation of a mammogram. we what still welcome

extraordinary talents and have a legal immigration system that works for everybody. we've got to make that happen. a lot of the stuff we've already done, we need to make sure it is implemented. we finally put some common sense rules so that banks are not taking the same kind of birds that led to an economic meltdown. frankly, there are some folks in congress that tried to block us from a game that congress. we stand up and we say that we wanted financial system that is fair for everybody. there's nothing wrong with that.

on the foreign-policy front, you elected me on part based on a promise that we would end the war in iraq. we have ended combat operations. by the end of year, we will have our troops out of iraq as i promise and i committed. in afghanistan, we have al qaeda on the run. we will begin transitioning to give them more responsibility. also to start bringing our troops home. we have a lot to do. our farm policy cannot just be about war. it has to be about peace -- our foreign policy cannot just be about war. it has to be about peace and helping countries feed the

country. it has to be about them respecting human rights all around the world and making sure that america continues to be a beacon of hope. this is part of why you elected me. this is part of the business. and as we think about this world, we understand that it shrunk. there's going predict it is going to be more competitive. -- it is going to be more competitive. we have work to do. we have to get our fiscal house in order. to all the progressives, we cannot just ignore this deficit. we have to do something about it. economic growth and making ourselves more competitive is not about cutting programs. it is also about making

investments in our people. is making sure that we have the best education system in the world. we of the best science and engineers in the world. making sure that we pride our diversity. making sure that we have a social safety nets. this is part of what makes as a great nation. in chicago, we have more work to do. we've got more work to do. let me just say this. it is going to continue to be challenging every step of the way. we can do it.

i am always amused when the plantains and washington say obama has not gotten past this. the campaign was so smooth. i am thinking, what campaign were they watching? they're saying that you can now win. they were part of this crew are that status. what they did not understand was that for all the mistakes they make, for all the bone had it moves i made, for all the frustrations and the challenges and resistance we had to bring when i have gothat i

the american people behind me, when i listen to them and i am reminded of your decency, they say i am my brother's keeper. great naturef the gray is not the size of skyscrapers we look at onehat we've of deb another and we take responsibility. we are working together. we are joining hands. black and white and hispanic and asian and native american and gave. we cannot be stopped. it does not matter how tough a week i have in washington, i

know you got my back. when i travel across the country, i know we cannot be stopped. i know america is the greatest nation on earth. i know we will bring about the change at all of us believe in. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. ♪ staring at the bakeries in the rearview mirror the looking at the promise of

the promised land one dream of fame and fortune one cutie helping in one could end up going to prison one just might be president only in america dreaming in red, white and blue only in america you get everything you want to we all get a c hance everybody gets to dance only in america ♪ sun going down on an la

freeway newlyweds in the back of a limousine a welders a son and a banker's daughter al they want is everything ♪ she came o ut here to be an actress he was a singer in a band ♪ they kept my truck that i drove to oklahoma and and drove it by the stars they could have been in only in america ♪

dreamin gin red white and blue only in america every dream is what we want to we all get a chance everybody gets to dance only in america ♪ only in america where we drayman red white and blue where we dream as big as we want to we all get a chance

everybody gets to dance only in america only in america ♪ only in america where they dream in red, white, and blue only in america ♪ my heart is a blue there is no room

no space to wear in this crown you're out of luck [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> in a few moments, more about the partial set down of the aviation section. in less than an hour, a here on the drought and famine in the horn of africa. >> every waking, american history television highlights the wonder if it did the anniversary of the civil war. this week, one of the most important documents, and the emancipation proclamation, paul of the civil war.

>> congressional democrats on the partial shutdown of the partial aviation mission. they were among those who spoke to reporters for half an hour. the shutdown has led to the suspension of airport projects in the furlough of several thousand employees. >> we have a lot of employment and las vegas. we had the fortune of having a new power to be constructive. one individual contacted the office and said he worked for three days and then this happened.

the republicans are playing games with house republicans. they have 20 + extensions. this is not good enough for them last time. they tried a whole number of issues. i call upon speaker gaynor to end this. they are in the session. vicious and as a clean extension. 75,000 construction orders are allowed to work. 4000 federal employees are out of work. it is pouring salt on the wounds. we have safety inspectors. they're paying for their own hotel beers. -- hotel bills. these should the primary individuals responsible for

insuring its complies with regulation. there is no construction going on. being asked to spend their own money to do their jobs. there not being paid. this is one of the most outrageous things that i can comprehend. being told they cannot. once again, the house republicans rather than legislate the way they have done till they have the time to hurt individual people. that is what they have done. the issue here is not an essential air service.

they picked a number of democratic senators. that will be an extension for a few weeks. this is not the way to legislate. that is what they are doing. i have the understanding of desperate people are. i commend and applaud kay bailey hutcheson who has been so strong in recognizing what they did in the house was wrong. i think it is so bad.

correct as he has pointed out today, at least 4000 au employees are being held captive. they're out on the street. republicans have refused to work with us to find common ground. they give a $11 billion in construction projects. it will cost to lennar million dollars. this is the party worried about

fiscal responsibility. we need to get this done today. republicans continue to practice the politics of confrontation and hostage-taking i. it is damaging the livelihood of people across our nation. we have been for months now holding 350 million americans in the entire country hostage to the threat of taking us over the press of this into default.

75,000 people are now over the press of this. america is losing ground. this is why. every day because of republican hostage-taking.

it helps is where toward a long- term compromise. there is a bill in the house of representatives. if speaker banner would simply a agreed to a unanimous consent agreement. if you get past this within hours, i will report it. we need to act on this issue now. they demanded.

a good friend of mine, senator jay rockefeller. >> it is very easy to solve this. it is a very easy. all we have to do is have the house and us are reasons to them and we accept it. the leader talked about the fact that we're now in our 21st extension to reauthorize a four- year federal aviation administration bill. the aviation is a pretty large percentage of the gross domestic

product there. barbara boxer was down there last night. it was objected to it. i was down there the day before. i offered a clean bill of extension. it says you will talk. you're not going to be told what you're going to talk about. that is 0.1. -- point one. all the people get back in line. the other thing that needs to be made clear it is that union bargaining relationships between a private company, in this case in delta, and a union is something that they do not

discuss. the faa has that sometimes labor problems them kinds of things. it does not belong in the bill. then one further thing. why are they doing this? i think personally it is an extension of a thing the that began in the past, the anti worker kind of thing. i think they fashioned onto this. clearly they know this cannot be an faa reauthorization bill. that is all they talk about.

my counterpart in the house says, no, that is being used as a leverage on the rockefeller and whomever else to talk about the national aviation board. what if we cannot do that? and secondly, point out a few crumbs of fact, most of the big airlines are unionized. one is not, delta. delta wants to have this lot changed so that it works to their advantage. the interesting thing is that delta has had -- for * unions have tried to organize delta up. four times they have failed. i do not know what is in it. it is an anti worker agenda which is driving them. the rest of us are trying to get

a very complex faa bill passed. if they did a clean bill of extension today, people would be paid. we could go ahead and proceed. we have always done in clean extensions. we have had 20 as harry reid said. now, august 21, they have to put attachments to it. -- now on this 21st one, the have to put attachments to it. my view is very clear. i think it is between a company and a union. it does not have anything to do with the federal government. back to my original point, it is so easy to solve. the clean bill of extension that allows us to get back -- and it will not. if they go along with a clean

bill of the extension, we could sit down and negotiate anything they want. >> thank you very much. here we are, and another made up crisis by the republicans. why do i say that? 20 times we have passed the clean extension of faa. we keep the contentious issues for the regular process. you know how would you went to school in the warehouse a bill became a lot, how do they disagree, they take their disagreements into a committee. they made up this crisis. they want to get their way on a number of issues, primarily an attack on working men and women. this attack has already begun. working men and women are out of work. it is time that they put the interests of jobs ahead of their

on petty agenda. that is what i call it. i want to show you what is happening on the ground. this is a picture of a tower. you can see the smaller tower which is getting more and more traffic. in a bipartisan effort, we were able to get funding for the new tower. we warned the republicans that if they shut down the faa like this, if there was bad weather, this could be damaged. sure enough, what happened? we had a rainstorm. it was unusual, but it happened. the drywall was damaged. now, we see some of it ruined. we were warned that this could happen, and it did happen. the contractor on the tower project is losing $2,000 a day in rental fees, equipment trailers, and fencing.

the superintendent there says the longer this goes on, the worse it affects us. now, we have tens of thousands of construction workers already suffering because of a housing crisis. now, they are suffering more. this is a made up crisis. this is government by hostage taking. i want to associate myself with remark.oyer's listen, if that were the case, we would not be standing here today. let us face facts. when you look back at the threat to shut down the entire government -- remember that? unless the got tax breaks from the rich along with holding the

government hostage, and now, here we are a third time. i hope the american people wake up. government by crisis that they make up. government by hostage-taking true government by threat. real people, the people they kick -- a claim to care about are hurting badly. i hope that my leader, harry reid, is successful in getting speaker john boehner back here to fix this problem that we have a fixed 20 times before. i stand with might chairman. i am proud to be a part of his committee, chairman rockefeller. >> thank you. i want to thank all my colleagues -- here read, steny

hoyer, and particularly rockefeller who has worked so hard. at this very moment, even if you may not know it, the faa is in limbo carried airports are the economic engine of small and large communities across the country. that engine is now stuck in neutral. time and time again, the gop has blocked a clean short-term extension of the aa -- faa until longer-term built in the past. under the cover of the debt ceiling prices, they have set in motion a second crisis. once again, they are holding the livelihoods of americans hostage until they can get everything they want. harry reid has reached out here today to speak -- to speaker john boehner and said let us

solve this problem so innocent people are not heard. we hope we are not met by silence from john boehner. i just want to make a larger point. once again, a far right-wing of the gop is hurting the american economy in whose name they claim to be acting. they are trying the same tactics they used in the cr and debt ceiling debate. they are trying to get their way by bridging a battle on the house of the floor and sat hurting thousands of innocent people in their wake. this is becoming a very disturbing pattern. a small uncompromising group dealing the righteousness of their cause for tens of thousands of innocent people and take them hostage until they get their complete way.

these debates should not be determined by which side is willing to take the most casualties. we will not submit to a government by extortion. we must pass a clean extension and do it quickly. to not do so would put the livelihoods of tens of thousands at risk for no purpose. >> if i can have direct this question to senator rockefeller, this court, sometimes you have to step back and find out what is best for the country and not be bound by some of your personal issues. kerry reed told us he was willing to accept the house bill. you have blocked it. are you partially willing to shut down the faa? correct i am not going to answer -- i will answer that question because you are courting me.

we recognize that there are a number of requests flying back and forth. they picked out a number of democratic senators. i was willing to give up. that was not good enough for them. >> are you not willing to give up -- >> oenone what? here is the issue. you -- and i say this respectfully. the way that we have america going today, there is no penalty for outrageous conduct. what they have done as far ridges. what you have said is what he said she said. that is not the way it is. everybody knows as rockefeller says, the issue behind this is the issue -- the labor issue.

they have said many times, the only thing we are concerned about -- there were not concerned about central air service, if they were there would not stick in a posse of four democrats. it is a labor issue. an anti worker issue of one airline. it cannot be covered up. central air service is an important part of our country. it is safe. it allows rural america to be in touch with the rest of america. my focus on central air force projects as are air service is the outrageousness of what they're doing. >> at the same time, you have all talked about how painful this shutdown for the faa will be.

help the american people understand, if it is like to be so painful to shut down, why not just accept the short-term and extension and fight another day? >> live to fight another day in september 15. where will be -- where will the hostages be then? they will go somewhere else. they refuse to go to conference unless there is a pre arrangement. we are not willing to do that. that is what this is all about. the sooner you folks focus on it, the better off you are. this issue has nothing to do with central air services. it has everything to do with the labor dispute between airlines and the american workers. >> and this is your line in the sand? no more you are saying? >> that is why we have reached out. we told john boehner, stop this

foolishness. we are not going to be held hostage as you did with the debt ceiling prices on this issue. listen, we understand. we have been the around the horn a few times. we had long conversations yesterday. we always wind up at the same spot. there are going to give us something else come september. in september, the have already eliminated -- it will have other hostages then. >> here is a certain night of the tea that comes with your question. they are not talking about resolving faa in a few weeks. this is not really what they are about. in 20 times we have had a cleancr. that is why the story here today is the fact that our leader is reaching out to john boehner to sec, if we want to resolve a

particular issue, let us talk about it. let us not have one side, take it or leave it or people are going to be out of work. the essence of your question does not understand that. that is the key. i have been here a long time, and you have been here long time. the fact is, you have to dig a little bit behind the surface of what this is really about. again, i would reiterate, whatever the issue is, this is about government by threats. government by one side making demands. our leader is saying, ok, let us sit down and negotiate something on what ever the set of issues might be. >> i would like to say something here to jonathan. and all due respect, the issue is not of central air service. it is not even a labor issue. it is the issue of hostage

taking. it is as if somebody says give me your money with a gun to your head. and then you say, why would you not give him the money? you leave out the context of a gun to your head. that is not fair, and that is not right. harry reid is right. we keep getting that situation. you cannot run government because the other side -- our side can do with as well. we can each say we can hurt innocent people to get our complete way instead of sitting down and negotiating as the founding fathers intended this government to be. for the media to say, we are ignoring the gun to your head, why do you not given to them? it is just not fair and not right. it is not even handed. >> senator rockefeller said mr. davis could be over. >> no. >> he objected yesterday.

>> we objected to the clean extension. >> let me say something. i do not understand why you are angry -- why you're angry and anxious to is not directed at one individual who says he is doing this to save american taxpayers money? he has already cost american taxpayers more than the entire eas will cost for an entire year. why? because he has taken as hostage. they are absolutely right. why are you not angry? why is the american public not directing their american anger at somebody who would to save $210 million cost over a billion dollars in just over a month? again, the house of

representatives has a bill. they can pass it within the power and put 75,000 people back to work. why will they not do it? because we will not do what they tell us to do. we cannot run a america or a democracy that way. that is the issue. >> thank you everybody. >> thank you. >> i am going to continue. can we have order in the house? of course i care about morgantown. but they said they did it for this reason. it picked up the senate of the finance committee, and the leader of the senate. they took a way things that were necessary for them.

what they are taking away from our bill is the fastest-growing airport and -- in the most prosperous section of the state. of course i care about that. that is not the point. the point is, that is not their point. john has said time and time again publicly, we did that to try to force them to deal with the national mediation bill. it really is not the point. if i can be critical for a moment, we have all been tremendously caught up in the debt ceiling crisis. the faa and the tens of thousands of parts that make up the faa is extremely complicated. we have been negotiating. we have gone from 210 points of disagreement and staff negotiations down to toile. they all can be settled. -- staff negotiations down to

12. it has nothing to do with morgantown. it is not about central air service. if i agree to that, then they will say, ok. we have that one. then they would come back and refused to have an extension. you have to understand that. speaker john boehner sent a direct message to me that he was only considered discussing or doing the clean bill -- the clean extension if i would agree previous to the discussion on the certification, and judicial review which is all about mnb. what i am saying gently and timely and loving to you, this

is a complicated issue. we are more to come out of a huge casket of complicated issues. there is context and history to what i am saying. there is clarity and what i am trying to say. it is so easy to do it. the question is, why will they not? >> it has been almost four years since democrats controlled both the house and senate. there was no permanent reauthorization. walker did not be done then? >> what you want me to say? we did not do it? we did not do it. >> why not? >> do you think it was because we do not care? i do not know why we did not do it. we did not do it. we are dealing now with the present. we have gone from 210 issues of contention down too -- thanks to k. bailey hutchison and some others, down to only 12 issues.

12 issues meeting this huge organization can work if we resolve it. there are little things like lithium batteries. you have to do homework on lithium batteries if you're going to ask questions. it is very complicated, but it can be easily done. a clean bill of extension, and then we both sit down. >> did the conversation take place yesterday? >> it was about three or four days ago. >> and he told you that -- >> he did not talk to me directly. he just passed it to me. >> he has indicated that he would accept a clean extension if you and the senate would agree to their immediate language? >> i do not know how to phrase it. he just said, our position on the certification and certification -- you have to have our position. it is a complex issue on itself.

is that terribly important? not to the average person out there. but try to get this bill saw, it is very important. that is the point i am making. we are not talking about fluff year or posture. we're talking about the most basic ways you do government. as history has shown us, you do a clean bill of extension. >> thank you everybody. >> what we are really trying to do is what they said they are trying to do. that is to ratchet up pressure. the airlines were all very silent. everybody was silent. the american transportation, 88,

the big thing that represents all of the airlines, they sent a letter that said they would like a clean bill of extension and about three days ago. did they work it? now. was there any pressure? no. that is what i think you'll hear from the white house today. i want to work out the problem. the lithium battery that you are also interested in is a very important problems. >> i am confused, some of those same people you are referencing holding hostage, their efforts were also removed from the senate bill. >> that was simply 12 times -- that was simply said 12 times publicly clear that was in leveraging technique to get

talked about. i will talk about it, but i cannot do anything about it. >> thank you. >> on "washington journal", the focus for a few moments of what led to the partial shutdown. host: why is there a reauthorization of the faa? guest: like anything else in government, you need to have a law that allows the government

to go forward and dole out money as it needs to hear it in this particular case, you're talking about aviation which is heavily regulated. we want to make sure everybody is flying safely. that is part of the nash -- natural workings of the transportation department. there is nothing unusual about it. in this particular bill, it has actually been expired since 2007. it may not be all that special, but it has and languishing out there for a water in host: how many times has it been we authorized and what are their short-term solutions? guest: typically five years. let us be clear, the actual authorization did expire in 2007. what they have been doing since then is a whole series of stopgap temporary funding bills. initially, they would go on for six months to a year. as time has gone on, the extensions have gotten shorter

and shorter because congress got a little bit closer to a longer- term deal. what they are trying to do, they can keep the airports running and all of the aviation systems running without too much trouble. what they are trying to do is fix some of the ways the formulas are set for how people can get paid. they are trying to put some date and place for updating air- traffic control system. they are trying to to take things that may be out of date from the last bill and just updated. that is what has been missing for the last five years. the plants are still flying. the aircraft control system is operating. that is why it has not gone as much attention as it should, and has been sitting out there for this long. >> how did we get to this point? how long have we been stalled? guest: stalled in the current situation, almost a crisis point probably about 12 days. i think it has been exactly 12 days. july 23 is when they instituted

the partial shutdown of the faa because the lawmakers were unable to come to an agreement on how to extend funding here we are talking about a six week extension. they were not able to come to an agreement. but i say partial shutdown because the air traffic controllers and people considered essential are paid out of general funds and of the transportation department. so there are other faa staff engineers and researchers, people who approve grants from the airport inspectors, there are all on furlough or not being paid for what the -- the inspectors are working, but not being paid. host: so how many people are working? guest: that have been working without any money for the last week and a half. now that congress is out, it

could go on for another six weeks. that is problematic for them. the about what thousand of those are in the washington d.c. area. that is not include estimates floating around that we do not really know. we do not know how many other people have been laid off in the private sector. these are jobs that have been funded through host: grants we saw one figure at about 70,000. to guest: i have seen as high as 100,000, there are numbers floating all over the place. 70,000 sound about right. we know there are hundreds of projects being halted. yesterday they said they could stop work on 200 projects. that does not include projects that might have already started. these are the ones that were in progress at the time. host: what are the sticking points on this? guest: the thing that drove it to a halt a couple of weeks ago was a provision that the house

bill -- there was a temporary extension that the house passed. they included another piece of the bill that would have cut subsidies to rule -- rural airports. this is something that lawmakers generally agree about. the program has grown. they have been trying to scale it back. partly out of frustration due to the larger negotiations, the house included a provision to cut back some of those airports. they did not do it in consultation with the senate, that irritated people carry it is important to keep in mind when this happened, this was the same day that house speaker john boehner walked out of the negotiations with president obama during the debt ceiling. it was the 10th time on capitol hill. i think there is a lot of tension. it might not be affecting the actual debate, but certainly

people are -- they're tensions are running high. there is not a lot of trust. they want to come to an agreement. host: but the republicans on the house side want to cut funding. guest: yes, and actually people on the senate side. they have not come to an agreement on how to do it. i think what particularly irritated the senate was the chairman of the house transportation committee included this particular rural subsidy in the house bill. he said, i am doing this because we are stalled on the bigger bill. i want to get something done piece by piece. i think his intentions were good, but it looks like a giant chip on the shoulder. host: it would cut funding for airports in jay rockefeller's state? >guest: yes it does. micah added on a few of those

airports. one is an harry reid's state. agree to subsidies are coming in that thousands of dollars a ticket per airline. again, he sort of did it on his own and without the typical cordial back-and-forth that happens in congress. it made people mad. that is the best explanation i can come up with. >> transportation secretary ray lahood is calling on congress to come back from vacation to deal with the faa. he was at the white house press secretary meeting with jay carney. this is 20 minutes. >> hello everybody. back by popular demand, we have the transportation secretary, ray lahood, who will talk to you about an unfortunate situation where because of a refusal by

congress to compromise and do something that has been done without any problem 20 times in the past five or seven years, there are now 70,000 americans out of work in. this is a time we should be trading jobs, growing the economy, decisions by congress are throwing people off of the job. with that, i give you the secretary -- the secretary of transportation, ray lahood. >> i think all of you in mr. know that the last thing the administration wants is a republican to be their spokesman. i am not auditioning for junejay's job. when it comes to creating jobs, members of congress get a lot of great speeches. we heard a lot of great speeches from members of congress about creating jobs. they talk the talk, but they

have not walked the walk. their speeches ring the very hollow. to 4000 employees who are furloughed. hearing very hollow to 7000 construction workers who are not working right in the middle of the construction season on construction problem -- projects all over america. i was at one of those sites a few days ago. i met with these unemployed construction workers. they are ready to go to work. they are ready to complete the work taking down the tower. there are construction workers all over america who is ready to go back to work. this is their season. this is where they make their money for their families so they can pay their house payments, car payments, buy food. for members of congress to give speeches about jobs and then go on their vacations while

construction workers have that vacated their jobs rings very hollow. members of congress could easily have put 74,000 workers back to work. instead, they went on vacation. congress turned a blind eye to these workers and their families. the shutdown of the faa is now in its 12th day period with members of congress on vacation, this means they are leaving these 74,000 workers without a paycheck, without an ability to pay mortgages, rent, to make their car payments, to take their own families on vacation for at least six weeks. airport construction projects around the country worth $11 billion are sitting idle. as i said, we are smack dab in the middle of the construction

season. this is no way to run the best and safest aviation system in the world. it is no way to give americans oppose the economy moving again. i want to just say parenthetically, in addition to the $11 billion worth of construction projects, $1 billion in uncollected taxes will not go to the federal treasury. you heard all of the great speeches on debt and deficit for the last how many weeks about how everybody is concerned about debt and deficits. well, the way to tackle part of the debt and deficit is to have this $1 billion in taxes collected, which it will not be. congress needs to come back, resolve their differences, compromise, and put our friends and neighbors and colleagues back to work. they should not leave 74,000

people hanging out there without jobs and without a paycheck until september. i am happy to take questions. secretary, you noted your a republican member of congress. john boehner said today, they are ready for a deal. it is the democrats like rockefeller blocking the appeared why is the president on the phone and try to work this out? >> i will tell you -- i will let j tell you what the president does. i will tell you what i have been doing. i have been talking to congress since this started. one of the things i told them which they know, this is a thing that really makes the public mad. congress cannot do their job. when ordinary citizens and around the country here that their friends and neighbors ought to be working on a construction site at an airport and they are not because congress cannot do their work,

this is what infuriates the american people. congress should have passed a clean bill, could have passed a clean bill, i urge them to. they can still do it. congress can still do it. the resolutions that they have passed allowed them to come back every four days in the house and passed legislation. they can do it. i am asking congress to come back and do for the american people what they have been talking about. put 75,000 people back to work in good paying jobs. that is what congress should do. take a little detour from their own vacation, come back to washington, pass a clean bill. >> house republicans are very clear that date will not change anything to do with union organizing the, what senate democrats see as union busting. what do you say to that?

>> i say, do what you have done on 20 other occasions and in some instances a short period of time. pass a clean bill. when the house passes a bill and the senate passes a bill, there are always these disputes. there are always controversies. on 20 other occasions, congress did not hold hostage 75,000 people. what they did was pass a clean bill. congress could come back, the could come back today or tomorrow or next monday or next tuesday, pass a clean bill as they have done on 20 other occasions, people go back to work, people solve their disputes. that is how legislation gets passed. it gets passed by compromise and people sitting down at a table working out their differences. you heard me say this long time. there is a long and rich history in this town of compromise. that is what needs to be done.

compromise, pass a clean bill, work out differences a. >> is anything the president can do here? is there any emergency -- >> table have to talk about that. i am working hard right now. >> the you know any emergency action that can be taken to remedy this situation or halt all of these people out of work? >> i will let j answer that. >> the president can grant you, the secretary, the authority to shift funds. that would help of the faa. is that something you would consider doing? >> what i want done is what congress has done on 20 other occasions. send 75,000 people back to work, pass a clean bill, and work out your differences. they know how to do it. they have done it in a short

period of time. that is what they need to do. this is not fair to these people. these are people who work hard. these are people who are right in the middle of the construction season. there is no reason congress cannot do this. >> what the president be willing to give you that authority? >> i am not going to speak for him. let me just get a couple of other people. >> you talk about the impact of the 75,000 people and their jobs, with the american public trying to follow this, i am wondering if you can put this into terms for the american people. how does this hit this -- how does this affect the american people? does it have a broad impact? >> the way it affects them as this. their friends and neighbors are out of jobs. i used to represent a rural district. my home town is small. people on main street get this.

they know when their friends and neighbors are out of work, that hurts everybody. for politicians to run and around washington as they have done for the last seven months and talk about trading jobs and putting people back to work, this is not the way to do it. the american people see the fallacy in these very hollow speeches. if congress really believes in the words that they are saying about jobs creating jobs, putting people back to work, stop your vacation, come back to washington, pass a clean bill -- people get this. it is hurting their friends and neighbors. to me, people understand this. they really do. it is easily fixable. has been fixed 20 times. it is easily fixed. >> the president give a lot of ground in the debt talks bac.

d think democrats should give up on the subsidies? "i think congress should pass a clean bill. >> house republicans have been, from your perspective, unwilling to compromise. does the president not give you authority to move funds on your own? >> all of my efforts are to persuade congress to pass a clean bill and to try to keep the morale in faa high. but i went to the board, i met with an unemployed construction workers. these people are hurting. they really are. they cannot comply -- they cannot apply for unemployment yet. they are without paychecks. they do not know at the end of the day whether they will be able to make their next mortgage payment, car payment. their kids are old -- their kids

are going to be starting school in 30 days. this is why people shake their heads when they think about congress. >> does that not speak more than the words that they are not willing to compromise, whichever side is right or wrong? >> there is a way for congress to pass a bill today. that is why i am here. i am calling them back. come back to washington. the purification is. to for a couple of hours. come back, congress! >> if your message is that what ever action is necessary should be taken to bring these people back, and congress is not going to do this, when would you be able to accept the authority

from the president? >> i am thinking 24/7 how to get our people back to work. i am thinking about our 4000 people who are without a paycheck. they have been without a paycheck for two weeks. that is where my time and energy is. >> he urged the senate to pass the house bill yesterday. is that a similar position you have? >> my position today is that congress come back and in pro forma they could pass a clean bill. yesterday it was different because the senate was still in and i was trying to persuade them to do something different. today, both houses are in pro forma. come back and pass a clean bill. that is the easiest way to do this. >> so the leader of the house is john boehner, the leader of the

senate is harry reid. have you talked to them? they are the ones who have to bring them back. "absolutely. i spoke with harry reid half a dozen times yesterday. >> what is their response? >> you can call their offices and ask them about that. >> [unintelligible] >> i can continue to guarantee that safety will never be compromised. we have the safest aviation system in the world. we would never compromise safety. the people who are involved in safety inspections at airports that work for the faa, many of them are using some of their own money to do their job. you know why? because they are dedicated federal employees who believe in their mission of safety.

i can say without equivocation, safety will never be compromised. flying is safe. passenger schedules should not be compromised by this issue. >> with many workers out of jobs, these congressmen must be getting heat from these people. are you hearing anything from around as to what drama is going on in washington? >> we are hearing from people primarily -- we are primarily hearing from our employees. i have not had any calls from any other transportation ministers and around the

country. let me take a second one, and then you might. >> there are quite a few numbers in the republican caucus who are not willing to compromise. what makes you think there are willing to compromise over this? >> hopefully, the cloud of debt and deficit have been lifted. hopefully, they are hearing from their constituents who are laid off, whether they are faa or construction workers. many of these members of congress have projects going on in their states. we are going to keep hot iron drum beat, and hopefully constituents will keep up their drumbeat. hopefully, constituents will hold people's feet to the fighter who love to give great speeches about increasing jobs. >> couldn't inspectors

realistically work to labor day with out pay? >> we have them -- they work every day, making sure inspections are safe. making sure they are done by the book. i hope the american people are proud of these people. they are doing this, spending their own money to travel to airports and to their safety inspections out of their own pockets. >> i do not understand. they are federal employees like the traffic controllers? why would they not be reimbursed by the federal government for their travel. >> they will be, but they are

not right now. what they are doing is taking their credit card, they are taking a flight, inspecting an airport with the hope they will be reimbursed. we are going to reimburse them. ordinarily, they would use a government credit card to do these things. it argues in a personal credit card. how many of us could do that for very long? these are dedicated federal employees. >> d.c. the difficulty mainly on the house or senate side? >> the difficulty is with congress. i am focusing my attention like a laser beam on congress. we need to both houses. and your vacation for a couple of days, get off the beach. get out of your mobile homes or what ever you are traveling in. come back to washington. pass a bill. >> there is a vision.

>> i should have said rv. come back and pass a bill. >> is that it? >> thank you, sir. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> and a little less than three hours, president obama's fund- raiser in chicago. more about the partial shutdown from congressional democrats and transportation secretary ray lahood. several live event to tell you about tomorrow on c-span. a subcommittee will look at violence on the border between sudan and the new country of south sudan. that as at 10:00 eastern. >> this weekend on "book tv,

john farrell. live sunday at noon eastern, 3 hours of your calls and questions in depth with and culture. her latest is "demonic: how the liberal mom is in danger in america." signed up foon booktv.org. >> with some knowledge at the center of the worst drought to affect the region in 60 years. relief efforts have been

complicated since al qaeda controls part of the country. this is a little less than two hours. "i like to call to order today's hearing focusing on one of the most critical issues in the world today. as always, i am privileged to serve as my friend, and what to thank him for staying with me after the senate has adjourned to help preside over to date goes the hearing. this is a crisis. there are hundreds of thousands of children on the verge of death, suffering from malnutrition in the horn of africa. the center and i agree that this hearing could not wait. even while many of our colleagues have understandably return to their home states and districts, we both believe it was crucial to go ahead with this hearing today and not let another month ago by. the center has been a good

partner in highlighting an average of compelling issues. i greatly appreciate his leadership on the subcommittee. as everybody is well aware, the congress has been entirely focused on the deficit and debt crisis in recent weeks. while the issue was really at the top of the agenda of the united states, we must also consider global issues of greater humanitarian concern. today, we displayed in front of the hearing room, in images of the horn of africa to demonstrate the rising toll including on children who are facing increasing hardship. we will list numbers that quantify the impact of the drought. it is in these images that helped convey the powerful impact on human lives. i want to thank unicef for its help with the children worldwide. unicef has also submitted a statement detailing its efforts

in the horn of africa that i will submit for the record. the crisis has been calls to commit the worst drought in the region and more than 60 years. has resulted in bond nutrition, famine and somalia. it is the most severe humanitarian crisis and a generation affecting food security for more than 12 million people around somalia, ethiopia, and surrounding areas. according to unicef, 2.3 million children are estimated to be mild interest. half a million are at risk for imminent death. the broad public awareness of that crisis in the 1980's appears to be absent today despite a worsening humanitarian situation and increasing need for aid.

the situation is the most severe in somalia were rising food prices and failures have regional security have exasperated -- exacerbated. and organizations and u.s. government officials estimate more than 1500 refugees every day are leaving somalia for kenya, flooding the world goes the largest compound which is well over capacity nearing half a million or fiji's where a population comparable to tucson, arizona. hundreds are fleeing the everyday four other camps in ethiopia. they're also well over their capacity. the international community in the united states are working closely with ethiopia and djibouti to address have this massive trans national influx of refugees. i present efforts to help these populations while their own

people also face severe challenges from the drought. the country's is that impacted by this drought are among the world's chorus. while the failure of two consecutive rainy seasons contributed to this crisis, the famine that has resulted highlights problems and needs in the region. this drop was not a surprise. there was an early warning system last year and it worked closely with the kenyan government's the ball as our own to enhance their ability to respond relief supplies. as the united states joins with its partners in the international community to provide assistance, which must consider the lessons learned in order to avert the next famine. to build sustainable capacity and mitigate the impact of this crisis on future generations. in response to the drought, the

united states has been the largest international donor -- providing him millions of dollars in food aid, treatment for children, and other assistance. the responsibility cannot rest on our shoulders alone. humanitarian response to this crisis must be a shared transnational cooperation. more than two million dollars will be needed to provide assistance. the international community must join the united states in providing this critical aid in the near term to save lives, especially those of mount are still children and others in need. we must also consider restrictions on access and given the volatile atmosphere and somalia. i look forward to hearing from

today's witnesses about the new policy which helps to provide additional assurances to partner organizations working and southern somalia. to hear more about the scope impact, we are privileged to be joined from two panels. we will hear from nancy lindborg. she will also be joined by donald yamamto, and reuben brigety. on the second panel, we will hear from jeremy konyndyk who has led humanitarian efforts throughout the region. also, j. peter pham from james

madison university. finally, we will hear from wouter schaap. i am privileged to lead this hearing. americans have demonstrated great leadership both in domestic and abroad. i appreciate each of our witnesses being here today, i look forward to your testimony. >> thank you. i want to welcome all of those who will testify today. i want to particularly thank schaap for being here as well as many of the other cure people.

i have had the privilege of being on site in ethiopia, and car for and seeing firsthand what they have done to deliver humanitarian aid as well as lifesaving techniques. it is so critical in areas of that poverty and here is not well educated. i appreciate care being here. i am particularly delighted that he is here because he can provide it inside of security dynamic, without constraints that an ngo must maintain. he will also be able to examine the persistent extremist vein that runs through somalia and the perverse impact at has on the region and international donors. the severity of this situation,

coupled with the u.n. and the united states alone challenging history in somalia, makes this a particularly challenging humanitarian response. it is in these areas that we are tested. i am delighted the chairman called this hearing today. this is one of the main humanitarian crisis before the world today. when need to work together to bring humanitarian relief to people struggling in a terrible part of the world. thank you for calling this hearing, and i look forward to hearing the testimony of all of our witnesses. >> thank you. it will begin up with the opening statement of ambassador yamamoto. >> i have a longer version for

submission for the record. i will read the short version. >> thank you. i would encourage five-minute statements, if possible and we will submit a careful statement for the record. >> senator, chairman, and ranking members of the committee, the worst humanitarian crisis in the horn of africa and 50 years has its roots in al-shababab, which until now has prevented the humanitarian assistance reaching those in need. it impacts vulnerable pastoral populations. we're working hard with our international and regional proctors to deliver quickly the life-saving in short-term relief critical to those suffering the effects of this crisis. the u.s. government and u.s.- funded assistance has prevented the loss of millions of lives. at the same time, we cannot rely on emergency assistance alone to

resolve the underlying long-term problems in the region. therefore, we're working with the governments in the region to support long-term political and food security in the region. let me be clear, the response to the drought has been complicated by the continued instability in somalia, especially due to the actions of the house about the -- actions of al-shababab. more than 2 million are trapped in their areas. they have largely prohibited international humanitarian workers and organizations from operating in the area it controls they continue to refuse humanitarian access and prevent the international community from responding quickly inside somalia. at as we seek to take advantage of any current openings to expand aid distribution, we're also working with our partners to counter their ability to

threaten our interests or hold the somali people hostage. at the same time, we're taking the necessary steps to support that urgently needed humanitarian need it to those who need it in the south central somalia, while working to minimize any risk of diversion. we have worked closely with the department of treasury to ensure that aid workers who are prepared with the u.s. government to help save lives under difficult and dangerous conditions are not in conflict with u.s. laws and regulation. it u.s. sanctions against al- shabab do not or prohibit the delivery of assistance to somalia, including those on the the defacto control of al- shabab. regional security requires political stability. the u.s. has already placed a long-term process to stabilize somalia. last year we announced our dual track approach to broaden efforts to taking into account

the complex nature of the somali society and also be more flexible and adaptable to our engagement. we tend. it would continue to support the peace process and the transitional government as a first line of efforts to stabilize somalia and expel al- shabab from mogadishu. the u.s. has supported the stabilization efforts by obligating to utter $50 million to amazon trading at an approximate $80 million to support the capacity to the forces. on the second track, we are partnering with a regional government and administrations through the central and south somali area. ithose who are not affiliated with the t.f.g. the u.s. plans to provide $21 million to support development efforts in the dual track policy.

we have further information as we go on to the questions, and i will reserve my other colleagues to speak. thank you very much. >> thank you very muchms. lindborg. >> thank you. i appreciate your time to hold this hearing and raise the level of attention. the situation is deteriorating, and i think we all share a significant concern. the horn of africa has long been plagued by cyclical drought. what we're seeing now is the worst in 60 years. what used to be 10-year drought cycles are happening literally every other year, and the current drought is affecting 12.4 million people in somalia, kenya, ethiopia, and djibouti. the crisis is humanitarian and security related.

we will hear from dr. brigety about the refugees that are pouring across the borders. internally, more than 1.5 million displaced somalis are crowding into the northern cities that are ill-equipped to handle the increased population. the july 20 un declaration of famine in their regions of somalia would not have been made lightly and reflects the dire conditions of the people. it is based on nutrition and mortality surveys, data that has been verified by the cdc, and we estimate that in the last best -- in the last 90 days, 29,000 somali children have died. this is nearly 4% of the children in southern somalia. our fear and the fear of the international community and the governments of of one of africa is the famine conditions in those two regions of somalia

will spread to encompass the entire eight regions of southern somalia. even if the rains are good, we could bear witness to another wave of mortality in the south because of waterborne diseases. in ethiopia and kenya, the situation is grave, but we do not expect it to deteriorate into famine or result in the level of need as we are witnessing in the south. ethiopia and kenya have large areas of arab land, populated primarily by pasteur lists. u.s. aid has worked extensively in both countries to increase the resilience and food security of these communities and drought-affected areas. if we strengthened and early- warning systems, support an ongoing safety net and protection program, and work to increase productivity and arab land.

-- and arrid land. we have supported the safety net program. as a result, 7.6 million people have been removed from the emergency caseload. in the drought of the 2002-2003, the government of ethiopia stated 13.2 million people in ethiopia were affected by the drought. by contrast today, only 4.8 million are stated to be in need. the needs in ethiopia and kenya are serious and will require a sustained focus and attention, but the results of our paribas and development programs are paying off and we're seeing results. the early-warning system alerted us in august that a drought was on the horizon. at that time, we began positioning food stocks, food aid, stockpiling food in djibouti, kenya, and south

africa. this fiscal year we have provided for under $59 million of aid in the horn -- $45 9 million of aid in the horn, including water sanitation, hygiene, education, and assistance in the refugee camps. we are now focused aggressively on working to update the potential for mass starvation in southern somalia. we learned in the drought of 1992 in somalia that the leading cause of death for children under 5 was deceased. we're focusing on three key areas. first, the availability of food, including those therapeutic foods essential for children under 5. access to food, and integrated health programs. in terms of key challenges, we identify three. first, time is not on our side. we have a small window to reach those in need or risk the additional deaths of several hundred thousand.

we're looking at about a six- eight week window. access is in the worst affected areas of south somalia the primary obstacle to relief efforts. the world food program and most international organizations suspended operations in early 2010, and since 2008, world food program has lost 28 staff members. until now, al-shabab has restricted access and has given miscast as symbols -- they have given mixed signals as to whether they will allow aid. in the face of extreme needs, we have guidance on the provision of assistance to allow more flexibility to a wider range of aid to those areas of in need. we could have clarified that aid workers are partnering with u.s. government to help save lives, not in conflict. the third challenge is scale.

the emergency will outstrip the resources currently available in the international community, in the traditional donor community, so we're working aggressively to encourage all donors and nations to step forward with assistance. we cannot stop drop from happening, specifically in this region, but we can strengthen communities and their ability to withstand these national calamities. president obama feed the future initiative is focused precisely on addressing these were causes of hunger and under-nutrition, and working to strengthen the resilience of committees. the chores of the ability of the population to withstand drought through commercial availability of excess of staple foods, reducing the trade and transport barriers that impede the movement and sale of livestock, and harvesting science and technology. we are seeing right now how these investments in the future make a critical difference. thank you, mr. chairman.

i live like this testimony to signal to the people of the horn as well as the somali-americans i recently met in minnesota and ohio that the american people are very much with them in their time of need. thank you. >> thank you. dr. briegety. >> good morning, and thank you for this opportunity to testify before you on the humanitarian crisis in the horn of africa. we appreciate the support and the attention congress has given to this crisis in the midst of some the other issues you have been grappling with. i will discuss the current situation facing refugees, our immediate response. and our plans to work with the world community to meet the challenges and save as many lives as we possibly can in the coming months. i have travelled to ethiopia and kenya in july to evaluate the

emerging refugee crisis in the region, where hundreds of thousands of somalis have fled. during my trip, visited refugee camps in each country, along with representatives from donor countries. i met with senior government officials, talked with officials from the un aid organizations and non-government organizations, and spoke with many refugees. it was clear the situation is developing into the worst humanitarian emergency the region has seen in a generation, at least since the great famine of 1991-1992. we must confront the refugee emergency within a protracted refugee situation. years of hard work by the host governments and their international partners to address just the basic needs within established camps quickly are being overshadowed by the need to add new, broader border crossing facilities, new camps, and additional emergency services.

both ethiopia and kenya are receiving record numbers of refugees from somalia, and both countries, refugees are arriving in appalling physical health. every refugee family with whom i spoke in ethiopia and kenya said they had walked days from somalia, with virtually no food and no water. brief visits to the health clinics and refugee camps revealed dozens of malnourished children, so nbc did and so weak that to the untrained eye, they appeared close to death. among the no rivals in the refugee camps in ethiopia, we're seeing up to 50% with acute malnutrition, reflecting the current state of affairs for children inside of somalia. camps in ethiopia and kenya are strained far beyond their capacity in every way, with regard to space, staff, food, and essential services, as they try to cope with the record

influx of refugees which continues unabated. somalis' represent the largest refugee population in all of africa. somalia's neighbors and eastern horn of africa now host 620,000 smollett refugees, some 159,000 somalis have sought refugees in ethiopia, with over 75,000 arriving just since january of this year. kenya hosts more than 4 per 48,000 somali refugees, with nearly 100,000 arriving since the beginning of this year. even djibouti has seen it and almost 20% increase in the number of refugees since the beginning of 2011. we commend the governments of kenya, djibouti, and ethiopia for their generous support of the refugee populations, even as they themselves are currently struggling with the drought that maybe the worst in some 60 years. while the current crisis is taxing already stressed system, i am confident the governments

of kenya, ethiopia, djibouti, and their international partners including the united states have the ability to confront this crisis had on and will be able to find new solutions to address the needs not only within the camps but also for those within somalia. let me give two examples of what i saw during my trip. first, the u.s. and our regional -- and our regional partners have helped wrap up emergency assistance. i traveled to the refugee camp complex on the ethiopian-somali border, accompanied by a u.s. ambassador, u.s. aid ambassador, government officials, country representatives, and senior representatives from several donor countries. as we wandered through the refugee camp, talking with people had been there several days or only just arrived, we heard versions of the same story over and over again. one man that i met had come all

the way from mogadishu, traveling nine days with his wife, six children, with very little to eat along the way. i talked with him as he sat on a hospital caught with his jaundiced child, a 3-year-old girl. as we spoke, she never stopped moaning. she could not get comfortable because of the heat and the flies, as her tiny bones threatened to pierce her paper- skinned -- paper thin skin. we saw many families with the same desperation in kenya. i spoke with one mother who had carried her polio-stricken seven natural daughter on her back for nine days, with little food and water, has her other six children trailed behind. it was clear that a number of recent interventions such as the provision of hot meals are vital steps beyond basic camp services to assist those making this heartbreaking journey.

i commend the u.n. high commissioner for refugees for finding ways to add these additional programs after he visited the area just a few days before i had. still, more and must be done. the second example is how the u.s. has increased overall refugee assistance through the region. the u.s. has long been a partner to governments and people in the horn of africa as they host to hundreds of thousands of somali refugees, providing approximately $459 million of humanitarian assistance just this fiscal year to those in need. this supports refugees, displaced persons, and other drought-affected populations. out of this funding, the u.s. is providing approximately $69 million specifically to refugees through the state department's bureau of population. detainee access to somali's and neighboring countries is critical -- retaining access to neighboring countries is

critical to saving lives. u.s. has supported the expansion of the camps and is now moving refugees into the new space following the government of kenya is agreement to allow the opening of a new site. we're also urging can you to quickly open a reception at center capacity said that incoming refugees can be properly screened had registered. we will continue support of our country efforts to provide that assistance to somalis, including through the office of the world food program and other international organizations and ngo's. representatives from other donor countries who accompanied me were also moved by the gravity of the situation. they said they would work with her own governments to support the efforts of eight groups. rigorous and sustained diplomacy will be required in the region and with other donor capitals to ensure the international community and host countries take necessary measures to save lives in the coming months. we're also committed to

addressing these humanitarian need inside of somalia, as my colleague spoke. there is an immediate need to reach vulnerable populations in sot of somalia so they do not have to travel long distances to save lives. unless we find ways to provide assistance to people inside of somalia, we will continue to see refugees arrive an appalling conditions and we will continue to see mortality rates in the refugee camps rise on a bit. this brings us to the security situation. al-shabab's activities have made the current situation worse. we expect the situation in somalia to continue to decline, especially southern somalia, where the u.n. has declared famine and the conditions worsen. there is not a simple solution to this regional crisis. we're working to tackle it through a variety of means and mechanisms, including addressing the underlying causes. thank you very much for your

time and attention and we look forward to any questions you may have. thank you. >> thank you. ambassador, if i may pick up where his testimony left off, being able to deliver humanitarian assistance within somalia -- southern somalia is vital to protecting refugees from having to make a long or week-long treks across the desert that are so difficult and stressful on them and their children. might understanding is that the eased restrictions on humanitarian groups in southern somalia. could you explain in more detail the modified policy, the extent to which it will increase the flow of data, and do you have confidence there is enough time left for humanitarian assistance to be provided in southern somalia given the famine? >> that is a multifaceted answer.

60% of those in need are in al- shabab-held territory. the issue is it has been extremely difficult and impossible to deliver food into these al-shabab-held territories. with the u.s. has taken is on the ngo groups. they have heightened to diligent procedures, but essentially it is to allow ngo groups to enter al-shabab-held areas if they can, even if it means paying fees or convoy fees or what have you, as long as they have done their due diligence and are no other alternatives. bottom line, even with these measures and procedures, it really is, is al-shabab: to

allow the deliveries? right now, if you see the internal displaced people, about 100,000 in mogadishu, 1000 per day going into those areas, you have al-shabab troops and shooters going into the areas and targeting refugees. they're making it more difficult. amazon has done a pre-emptive measure to try to keep the corridors opened to these idp's. the question is how we stabilize the area, how are we going to allow free flow of food into these areas. i guess i would refer to dr. lindborg for more. >> time and access are the critical challenges we face. thee working closely with

international community to explore a number of options that test the possibility of having greater access. there are airlifts bringing food into mogadishu. we are hopeful that there will be an opportunity to move more vigorously into areas where there is a willingness by al- shabab and others to allow assistance. i think the new guidance that was issued over the past few days creates greater assurance and greater flexibility, but fundamentally, this is a tough area to operate, probably one of the toughest operating environments globally right now, and it will take very seasoned humanitarian workers to be able to navigate through that environment. >> ambassador, how would you address the international community's response to the crisis compared with the u.s., and how successful have we been to encourage the african union,

the european union, other multilateral entities and groups that might be engaged? >> first, the response from the united states has always been -- it is not something we have responded because the effects of the famine. the of the last several years, the united states is the primary food supplier to the region. the horn of africa is our number one region for food around the world. ethiopia is our number one country the last several years. the issue that comes in, another example, to give you the depth of the problem, and a good day in ethiopia, you have something like 300 kids under the age of five dying every day from preventable diseases. under this situation, the rates are much higher. so the response has been how to get more food into the pipeline,

and sure its delivery, and working with the ethiopians and canyons to encourage access and expand camps. third is to work with the forces in mogadishu to make sure there is more feeding to the abilities -- fete -- feeding capabilities, and also making it operate.or ngo's to finally is to confront al- shabab, and how we can contain them or open up more corridors for feeding. >> ms. lindborg, you mentioned the imprints of harnessing science and technology, the role of feed the future. in doing the background reading, i was struck by ready to use food that is being deployed and has revolutionized our ability to revive children become to the edge of starvation, and also the

investments usaid has made on water drilling and how it has allowed people to sustain their lifestyle and still provide them with more water -- more reliable water supplies. any brief comments that you would like to add about our strategic investments in advance of this crisis and changing the ground and making this different from previous drought cycles? >> yes, thank you. i think the most striking is what i cited in my testimony. because of our work with the world bank and other donors and the ethiopian government cost community safety net, we have enabled 7.5 million ethiopians to not go into a state of urgent need. in addition, there has been significant work on increasing the ability of people to whether these droughts, through improving the health of their livestock, their ability to trade. as we look ahead to feed the

future, which is at the heart of president obama's vision for how to truly enable us to not have to mobilize large emergency response is every time there's a drought, we want to couple that with the kind of trade reforms and policies that unable vulnerable populations to have greater population -- greater productive capacity, and to use science and technology on issues like drought resistant seeds or better production techniques or livestock approaches. >> thank you. >> thank you all for testifying. ambassador, you said that sanctions did not inhibit the delivery of humanitarian aid. i think you were referring to somalia and al-shabab. what do our sanction say regarding humanitarian aid?

>> you mean the licensing? >> yes. >> when we debated the issue on deliveries and to al-shabab-held territories, the debate was payment of convoy fees to them to allow feeding in those areas. the second was what was al- shabab using the money and funding for? that was the second major concern. it is through this effort of feeding, are weaker contributing to the greater instability? . are we contributing to the greater instability? the problem comes in with the famine and malnutrition is how to use liberalize and open up the ability of ngo's to allow them to get into this areas faster. the problem remains even with all of the procedural openness,

will they allow them to enter? ethiopia and kenya have tried to open up corridors for feeding, pushing into somalia, but even those are not incentive enough given those remain in secure areas and dangerous. it becomes a big problem, how do you engage or open corridors or begin to feed in those areas where relief 50% of those in need are in al-shabab-held territories. >> the problem is the corruption where the chokepoints of al- shabab would issue their payoff fees and the use those -- and the use those to finance the organization? >> yes, sir. >> are we telling ngo's that are willing to travel and deliver humanitarian aid is ok to pay those fees? >> no, we are requiring them through procedures to do their

due diligence, to find any way possible to be able to feed and provide food to areas. without paying the fees. but if it becomes necessary. >> is there any security for ngo's, from the u.n. or african union, in terms of getting the material into somalia? >> i will refer that to you, nancy. >> i know you have an ngo panel after us. they will have much to say. i think most groups operating have a principled approach to not paying taxes or polls, and many are able to accomplish this. the easing of the legal restrictions simply removes any concern that an accidental or incidental payment will not jeopardize them with any legal action. it is creating a greater sense of comfort with the partners that that is not a barrier to

affecting assistance delivery. >> in somalia, still a dangerous place with al-shabab using violence to carry out its intent. do that ngo's have any degree of protection, other than their own provided protection? >> i believe most of them choose not to have any protection, other than the protection of the community is welcoming them and hosting them and the provision of assistance. ultimately, we all need to the kind of access that comes from the committee is one thing and understanding the importance of the international effort to help them at this critical hour. >> the chairman and i have traveled to africa together, seen the scourged and corruption through the continent, and this is not related to this issue, but what the u.s. is doing to get

democratic institutions to rid themselves of corruption in return for contracts and things of that nature is changing africa. this region, not necessarily because of al-shabab and other organizations, that is the single biggest inhibitor ic to u.s. investors in u.s. foreign aid going in through ngo's. doctor, let me ask you, i was in kenya two years ago. but that time, there were expressing their frustration with the pressure applied to them, the number of refugees they had said. your flyer said they are getting over 1200 every day and have expanded their camp. is that correct? other than providing the additional land for expansion, what pressure is being put on the canyon's by this number of people to provide help and at what cost?

>> that is the largest refugee camp in the world. it has been there since 1991. if you of refugees inside of kenya is very sensitive politically. they been very patient dealing with this refugee crisis for two decades. the order of magnitude, earlier this year, there were getting about 1200 new arrivals per week. it is now about 12 stoddert, 1300 per day. -- 1200, 1300 per day. they are asking them to open three major camps. there was an expansion, which we have long asked them to expand. when i was there three weeks ago, i was on the ground with the prime minister, who had a public press conference with the international media. at the press conference, he gave his word of the government of kenya would allow the expansion

to be open to, and the u.n. has begun to move refugees there and we look forward to the government of content -- the government of kenya to support that. the cost of the campus largely borne by the u.s. -- borne by the eight committees. the government of kenya provides some financial support through security forces around the borders, but the net is states has long been a leader in terms of supporting this. >> i think when we talk about tragedies like what is going on with the famine on the horn, we also ought to give credit to those countries who are trying to help. the kenyan government and their people i've been supportive for two decades and are bearing an enormous brunt of the burden and

the cost is significant. we need to acknowledge and appreciate what they have done. >> yes, sir, you are correct, and we do regulate. -- we do regularly. >> the other largest refugee camp in ethiopia, there were nearly 2000 somali refugees arriving per day up until a few weeks ago, but that has recently dropped. is there a sense of the cause of that? how do you assess the ethiopian government's increased willingness our capacity to provide support and the ongoing issues? >> when i was there three weeks ago, the arrival rate was about two dozen per day. it is now about -- the arrival rate was about 2000 per day. it is now about to open a 50 per day. we did not know why, we're trying to understand the nature of that dynamic.

in february this year, the major camps there had about 50,000 refugees combined. that number has doubled. at the rates we are seeing in mid july, it is conceivable that could double again by the end of the year. the government of ethiopia has been a very good partner in terms of supporting this refugee population, particularly since the onset of the current drought crisis earlier this summer. they have responded with alacrity providing additional staff, they have allowed ngo's to operate at the transit center. we engage repeatedly with the government of ethiopia, but the ministry of foreign affairs and also their refugee aid agency, to let them know we are effective aid partners and we're very pleased the extent to which they have extended their hospitality to these people in need. >> it is hard for a senator from

the state the size of delaware to grasp a camp of half a million people. that is the size of kansas city. how are the managing the health pressures and concerns and ensuring we do not have a follow on humanitarian crisis from disease? >> to be frank, the health pressures are enormous. the refugee camp complex, just can't, is now the fourth largest population center in kenya. having said that, there are a number of partners that provide health services in side of the camps. with the new refugees arriving, about 44,000 refugees are simply on the outskirts of the camp

because they were not allowed to settle in the expansion and the other camps were full. those settling on the outskirts, where there were no services or significant health services or others, are clearly suffering additional rates of all sorts of basic preventable diseases, including respiratory diseases. these are hot, dusty conditions, without shelter, and it is easy to develop the sort of problems. we're hoping the addition of this camp expansion will give people shelter, access to established health clinics, and other facilities that are already built. and we will continue to support both the u.n. aid and that the ngo's providing these essential medical services, especially to treat these horrible rights of malnutrition amongst children under 5 years old that we are seeing. science talking about

and technology. these nations are bearing an enormous burden in terms of the refugee demand. much of kenya's power is delivered by hydroelectric power, which due to the record drop has dropped by more than half. what is usaid doing to help deploy alternative power that might help provide electricity in ethiopia or can add to these camps or that might help reduce the strain on the host nations in terms of their electricity grid? is there anything we are going to streamline the process? >> senator, how like to get back to you on the specifics of that answer. there are a number of conversations with can and ethiopia about ways in which we could work closely with them to mitigate the impact of future droughts.

there are conversations under way and we would be delighted to get back to you with the details. >> thank you. the final question, what are we doing to avoid the significant security challenges facing somalia's spilling over into kenya, ethiopia? both of these nations have supported and sustained large refugee populations from somalia for a long time, and would have an understandable concerns about the possibility of a destabilizing comment either their nations, and last, the investment that is being made, is it sufficient from the u.s. and international community? what additional resources may be needed and how what might we be more effective -- and how might we be more effective in gauging the ngo's and the international committee on top of their commitments? >> it is so complex.

one at of every six somalis is in ethiopia. the issue comes in on security and stability. for ethiopia and kenya, somalia is a strategic interest because of security concerns. during the time i was there, 12 terrorist bombings in one year from groups emanating out of somalia into ethiopia. it is a concern for ethiopians, just as it is a concern for kenya, and is a concern for us. how do you ease the security concerns? i think the bull track approach is one approach we have worked not just with the regional states but the transitional governments to stabilize that region. that is really one area, to look at the security by the somalis themselves.

then the amazon troops from uconn that and burundi have done great steps and taking backed mogadishu -- and uganda. the problem as the security will be a long-term problem. do we have enough financialn is? but it is a partnership. >> if i may add, one of the principal crossing points is where the united states has long encouraged the government of kenya to operate a center. the government of kenya has officially closed their border, has for some years. we have encouraged the government of kenya to reopen the center, and we have committed some considerable funds to help them pay for that opening. that will be a means to help them know who is coming into

their country, in addition to providing assistance to refugees at their first point of crossing, before the have to make the additional 80 kilometer track. we hope the government of canada will continue and will open the center in short order. >> we are very focused on ensuring that the host communities around the camps also receive assistance. there are large drought-affected areas in ethiopia and kenya, and it is important that we work to meet those very great needs as well. on the awareness issue, it is critically important, i think, to mobilize the resources of the the very generous private citizens as well as donors, including nontraditional donors, and there is a significant effort underway to do that.

>> great, thank you. question, and ambassador, this may be directed to you. in our briefing memo from the committee, there is a reference to ethnic somalis living in ethiopia had access given to ngo's to provide them with food and a humanitarian assistance, the inference being it was somewhat restricted. what is the case with ethnic somalis in ethiopia and is the restriction in getting food and aid to them? >> during the time i was the ambassador there, i spent most of my time traveling into the area to ensure that the u.s. food assistance was getting to the right people. during the last year i was there, we had something like 6 stoddert million dollars, 800,000 metric tons to deliver to the people -- $600 million of

food, and we were able to verify about 70% accuracy rate of getting the food out to the distribution points. the problem was getting the distribution points to the beneficiaries. we were only able to confirm about 20%. the reason is not only security, but also the process of delivery of food into areas where there is insecurity and conflict. we have been working closely with the ethiopians to open access and allow the ngo's groups to go into the areas to ensure that food was getting to the right, appropriate people. >> there is some difficulty getting it there? >> yes, sir, there is. >> we would like to thank all members of this panel. thank you for your testimony, service, and work on this important issue. we appreciate your testimony

today. we now would like to turn to our second panel. we will take a moment while they join us. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> we've been like to welcome the second panel. i encourage all three of you to correct my pronunciation of your names. we are grateful for you taking time out of your report work to join us today to add your testimony to the record and to the attention that is being paid by the senate and international committee to this concerning challenge in the horn of africa. i encourage each of you to try to contain your comments to about five minutes for your opening statements and we will submit to the record an additional state that you may have. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today. it is an incredibly important issue and we appreciate the focus that you and the

subcommittee are dedicating to this. i am the director of policy and advocacy with mercy corps. i'm here today representing their relief and development organization that operates in over 40 countries, but for today's purposes, and three of the most affected countries in the region -- kenya, ethiopia, somalia at -- where we are providing drought relief. i think everyone has been shocked by some of the photos that have been coming out of the region, particularly out of mogadishu. there was a very striking and shocking photo in yesterday's "new york times" with enemy seated child. as horrible as some of these images are, it is important that we recognize for every image of a child who has at least committed to a treatment center, there are many more children and adults to have not made it that

far. that is a growing tragedy. it is also critical to remember that as much of the attention has focused on somalia, the situation in kenya, ethiopia, and djibouti is critical as well. our teams are doing assessments through kenya and ethiopia, and initiating programs, and finding vast parts of ethiopia and kenya in a state of extreme humanitarian emergency. we're seeing landscapes full of dead and dying live stock, which normally forms the basis of the people to feed themselves and support their families. villages are being completely emptied by the drought because people cannot get water and have had to go elsewhere. they're seeing many families who are struggling to eat even one meal per day. that is a desperate situation. the superlatives that are being used to describe the crisis are not high broglie. this threatens to become one of

the worst, if not the worst humanitarian crisis we have seen in a generation. the good news is that the aid committee has a good idea of how to fight the crisis. we have learned how to respond effectively to hunker crises at -- to hunker crises. the big question is whether we will have the opportunity to apply that opportunity and understanding with developed. our entire sector is facing a massive shortfall in funding for the response. the u.s. has been very generous so far, the rest of the world also come up with some variants, but it falls far short of what we saw even if years ago -- a few yers ago. there does not yet seem to be global recognition of how severe the crisis is. we're seeing a fraction of the

engagement and level of resources we saw after the haiti earthquake, despite the fact that the people at risk in the horn of africa exceeds the population of haiti. the u.s. is working hard to respond and mobilize resources. the teams that are working this issue at usaid and refugee bureau or the best in the business and we deeply appreciate their commitment and expertise. they need resources to combat this crisis. so far this year, the u.s. contribution, while extremely generous, remains under half of what the bush and administration contributed in 2008 to the last major drought, and we're very concerned as we look at the upcoming fy-12 budget debate that there are proposals on the other side of the hill to cut

the assistance from the u.s. government for the response to this crisis, specifically the international disaster assistance account, and food for peace. food for peace should be highlighted because that is our food account and that is a proposed cut of 30% of that budget over fiscal year 2011 levels, which would be a 50% cut from 2008. the other challenge to the u.s. response is the legal restrictions which were discussed on the earlier panel. it does not appear that the u.s. government is moving to -- it appears that u.s. government is moving to waive fees. we do have some remaining concerns about how this will be implemented, which i would be happy to address during questioning. even as we hopefully move past this impasse, it is important recognize the fact that the administration issued this only several weeks after famine was

declared in several months after when is something very bad was coming, it represents a systemic problem. i don't think it makes sense to point at any particular part of the administration is bearing responsibility for this. i think they were struggling to hash these things out, but there is a systemic issues that bears further exploration in terms of the interaction between some of our legal restrictions and priorities. to the question of whether we can get into the south and how that will work, we don't know yet. the waiving of the legal restrictions takes an obstacle way, but there are a lot of questions about what can be achieved in the south, what kind of access we will see. i think dr. pham will talk about politics.

there were some success with unicef which gives us hope. we have a posture of hope and cautious optimism but we're not naive at this point. >> thank you very much. dr. pham? >> i think you for this opportunity to testify today on a very important issue. as we meet the situation, as the other panelists have stated, it is especially grave. the u.n. refugee agency described it as the worst humanitarian disaster in the world, with nearly half the somali population facing starvation by least another 11 million across the horn are at risk. given the grim reality, the first concern of the international community is understandably focus where it should become getting relief to the victims. however, in addressing immediate needs, attention should also be paid to the broader geopolitical context as well as the long-term

publications of the challenges before us. since other witnesses testifying today are better positioned it individually or institutionally to address the technical questions relating to the humanitarian crisis, and its impact on a vulnerable populations, and the logistics of getting assistance to them, i will concentrate on four key points that i think policymakers and the united states and other international actors should bear in mind in assessing the current situation and determining adequate responses to it, as well as planning long-term engagement with the region. at first, al-shabab has a responsibility for exacerbating the crisis. while the group cannot be blamed for the climate change or the meteorological conditions, the violent conflict it has engaged in, the economic and political policies it has pursued have certainly worsen an already bad situation.

although in the past al-shabab has profited by diversion or taxation of a humanitarian aid, the amounts represented at most had been a small fraction of their broader revenue stream. consequently, it is heartening to hear that the administration is working to clarify the relevant restrictions to facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations. whoever, allow me to cite one example where the major funding streams of al-shabab directly impact the humanitarian crisis. for example, the industrial production of export, for export, of charcoal. it is estimated that somewhere around two-thirds of the forest which used to cover 15% of somali territory has been reduced to black gold, acted to 25 kg bags and shipped to countries in the persian gulf.

one cannot underestimate the environmental impact of this, which has earned al-shabab million in profits that is recycled into violence and terror. if this were not bad enough, once the famine set in, al- shabab have alternated between denying the crisis and preventing affected people from moving in search of food. whether or not its former policy of the group, i have it from sources on the ground at least three holding areas where al- shabab are either using force or the threat thereof to keep displaced people from leaving the territory and finding help. far from being part of the solution, somalia as a transitional government is part of the problem. it is a not insignificant cause of the ongoing crisis. the unelected officials may be preferable to al-shabab

insurgents, but they represent at best the joys of a lesser of two weevils. hobbled by corruption, weakness, and infighting, they're the face of the present emergency. they are likelier to see the crisis as yet another opportunity to capture right, especially since they are already extending mandates in two as the mandate expires in two weeks, and the international community is not taking issue with the leaders arbitrary extension of the terms of office by another year. no wonder the official position of the government of the united states notwithstanding the engagements is not to recognize them or any other entity. we need to pursue a permanent resolution to the ongoing crisis of state failure in somalia if we want to avoid humanitarian emergencies of the future.

the sheer number of people moving in a have an enormous and possibly permanent consequences for the region. they threaten to up and political balances as well as present a new security challenges for the horn of africa and beyond. they're not to cause greater harm, harass mass migration needs to be factored into these considerations. finally, there is an opportunity to promote stability and security in somalia. there is a narrow window of opportunity through which it might be possible to seriously weaken and even finished the force in somali politics once and for all. the disaster is within the movement, expressing leadership.

the disaster has exposed divisions with some groups and at and there are ways the international community can get assistance to affect the populations and do so with a are rather than displace themselves and create additional challenges that will be dealt with down the road. i want to underscore that there are local ngo's, all the while avoiding diversion of aid. thank you for your attention and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much for this opportunity you have given us to testify today on this horrible situation we are facing in the horn of africa. i speak today on behalf of the leading organization fighting global poverty.

we have six decades of experience to prepare for and respond to international disasters. we place a special focus on women and children. and they bear the brunt of what is happening. myself, i see first hand in my work the consequences that tens of thousands of people are facing today. i worked for seven years now traveling extensively in somalia. i have returned from a trip in the north, and what we see there is probably less dramatic than what we have seen in parts of the south. a woman that i met in one of the camps with a severely malnourished child explained

that she did not have any money to go to the health clinic to seek assistance, that it was not available there. she was severely traumatized by the experiences. and that a father in the region that recently lost his wife, and he was nursing his five remaining cows. they were bleeding from their noses and he was trying to do something about it could not really knowing what to do. and he's kind of experiences my staff sees on a regular basis. they are stories that remain with you for the rest of your life. our response began the scale and 2011, when the early signs were clear that this was going to be a major crisis. today we are helping more than 1 million people with lifesaving

food, water, and nutrition. it is one of the largest agencies working. also support longer-term activities that help people become more resilience to drought. the severity of the situation is worrying. l d my remarks on that quite short. the worry is that the situation is not at its worst yet. the deepest part of the drought is roughly one month before the rains come and we will see a significantly increased number of deaths due to diseases that affect these weakened populations. as my colleagues have said, agencies and tell how to deal with this kind of situation and you can focus on a broader range of services. and address those multiple causes of death.

there is still a major funding gap in the region of about $1.4 billion u.s. for the consolidated the field of the land. this is a worry notwithstanding the contributions from various donors. the support the government, and we really appreciate that. but it is not enough. the crisis is so massive that it needs additional support. the ongoing conflict in the south is making it much more difficult to get access. and what we're seeing are that agencies already present there, other international ngo's that work there have been able to negotiate a level of access, but

it is limited. it is very important for all sides of this conflict to let neutrality and impartiality guide our discussions. we're determined to provide only assistance to those people that are most in need. authorities local to grant an uninhibited and unconditional access. the crisis means a concerted and thoughtful and careful diplomatic work of donors to get aid to the victims of famine wherever they are. it is really the time to have space and reached out to all parties and work to save lives. and avoid politicization of the issues. we have been speaking with

colleagues about the legal issues that have concerned us. we appreciate the recent steps taken by the u.s. government, is of a plea for programs funded by the department. questions remain on the ability of the u.s. government to program funding from non u.s. government owners. for instance, they give large sums of money from the u.s. public, but funding doesn't fall under the licensing that is put in place. it will only be covered if you have funding from the u.s. government. other funding will not be covered, those are major sources of funding. the long-term implications, we need to start thinking about those. i am sorry i am running a bit over time.

these are very marginalized populations and are among the most vulnerable to the impact of changes in the weather patterns. now it is just a continuous cycle of mr. seasons, and things are really changing. we know that there are things that we can do to help that. our recommendations, to some of, the expansion and the speed of funding for the crisis is really important. the urgency is there, but we're seeing that major donors to a essential time for funding to become available on the brown to support our work, and we urge them to be faster in the processes and to move things forward. we have to plan for increased

long-term support for these areas, and we need careful diplomatic work of the landowners and ngos. the effort by the u.s. government is really appreciated, but it is not enough. we are a risk when we use other government funding and u.s. public funding, for instance. on that last item, we really need some very urgent action forward. the community is ready to engage the appropriate u.s. government agencies to alleviate the effects of famine while controlling the risk of diversion. there is precedence headland and then -- in gaza.

first, issuance of a general license that would reduce the risk of prosecution due to transactions that may be incidental to the response, and favorable and a very expeditious processing from u.s.-based ngos. those things will really help agencies in a position where they can start negotiating on the ground. >> i hear a common theme. there are above naturally occurring clement driven causes for this regional drought and famine, but also those that arise directly from the control of a significant area, they are real concerns about the security and logistics', but in a more pressing lie about the interaction of our departments,

mr. -- you also raised concerns or questions about the implementation of the new license opportunity. we are grateful for their role that you play. funding wouldved operate unresolved questions about the licenses. would you expand, as you have suggested, you have concerns about implementation and clarity about the path forward to deliver assistance appropriately? >> as we understand it, we were only briefed on this yesterday afternoon, so we're still digesting it. we have our lawyers that are

reviewing this. our understanding is that the lessons that has been issued with only applied to programs that are wholly or partly funded by the u.s. government. if the agencies are working there, it would not be covered by the lessons that was issued. >> the concern by both the view -- of you is that it may still put the organizations at a legal risk? >> hopes so, as well. the other concern, at this point, you say it has all the authorities and clearances that it needs. it depends on what applies to their partners. >> all three of you emphasized that time is of the essence,

there are literally tens of thousands of children that are starving and hundreds of thousands that are on the verge of starvation. what further bureaucratic delay strike you as cruel and inappropriate? >> your words, not mine, senator. i think he's administration is moving not with great urgency to try to clear these things out of the way. what we were told yesterday is an important step forward and the side of sincere good faith in resolving these things. i hope we are to a point of detailed negotiations rather than been pictured political will. as i expand on my remarks, i think there is a larger issue here that there is an exploration going forward by the congress and the of ministration of why it even got to this point.

connolly find some other ways? we don't have to go through this long brought out the bureaucratic process. >> was turned to the question, understandably, they are subject to sanctions by the united states. have done everything that we can to restrict the opportunity for them to gain funding for their terrorist activities. he said the real opportunity here because of some tensions within the organization, speaking a few of the, a little bit further about whether it is appropriate for us to be issuing broad licenses in allowing humanitarian resistance. >> the question is really to understand that it is not a monolithic organization. at its core, it is a very

radicalize the leadership with very close connections to some very dangerous people in other parts of the world and we need to be seriously concerned. they have shown themselves capable of carrying out attacks in neighboring countries as well. it is a marriage of convenience. some of the factions now, a year ago, possibly with the government, the our plan to factions and militias. i can name some where they have stated they will bring us paid and we are willing to switch allegiances. that is where it is important, the secondary track, we need to get that going. it was announced a year ago, but we still have not really

developed it. it would allow us to have information if partners on the ground can distinguish where the areas are that we can work. it is a concept, a very valid one. >> like most groups, it is made up of a variety of different splinter groups, some that are bent on international terror and others have frankly our local tribal groups that are aligned with them out of convenience? you mentioned there is reason to believe that they be holding by threat of force thousands of potential refugees that could find assistance elsewhere. why do you think they might be doing that? >> there have been several districts where they did not exercise that type of control and the rule, literally, a

desert. 100% of the livestock is dead. they have a dozen to themselves. you want a population. this gets into some of the quandaries of aid delivery. eventually, aid is going to flow. we have to be careful how we allow it to flow and we had this experience in somalia. the more refugees you have, the more displaced persons and the more resources will flow to your area of. some of them may very well be simply holding people so they can increase headcount. >> another country we have not referenced is one of the most totalitarian regimes in the world. there is very little information about the conditions on the ground.

any insight from members of the panel on the likely humanitarian situation? and the tension between the security situation is unresolved? >> just to give an index of how bad the situation probably is, somewhere slightly under 50,000 people have crossed the border into ethiopia. it is a mine layton track. they risked everything not just to walk across the desert, but these are the survivors. the show's something about the level of desperation. i know people that have spoken with them and the situation is pretty dire. >> i will yield to senator isaacson. >> how to ask you a specific question regarding what you refer to as a systemic problem

in the administration regarding licensing. is there too much bureaucracy? >> i know if i would say there is too much. there are different agencies that have different priorities in different angles on some of these issues. be set up we have right now in terms of the legal restrictions, what is prohibited in terms of what is considered to be material support makes it very difficult for those different agencies that all have a stake to resolve this kind of thing quickly. our suggestion would be to look at me as a first step, the patriot act exempts of medical supplies and religious materials from the definition of material support. we would be interested in exploring whether that could be

broadened to include other humanitarian assistance, so it would not require a drawn out bureaucratic process to enable agencies to respond to this kind of situation. >> a is my understanding that in many cases, they are better equipped to deliver aid that a non-resident. i think it is a group of women that deliver support, but would probably be prohibited from having assets because this restriction is only u.s. delivered funds? >> one of their problems was that they were falsely accused about a year-and-a-half ago of having made payoffs. they were exonerating in the

subsequent follow-up report. but they were cut off from the international funding. those were 18 months that they lost. very effectively, but partner in with traditional elders and the local community members, that is the production. during the fighting, they were the only entity that had operations in all districts of the city. it was just a tremendous organization. the scale of what they are delivering is amazing. i know my two colleagues are somewhat constrained by relationships to comment. we focus a lot, we focus on obstacles in our own process he's. we also look at the

international level. the world food program works i three month delivery cycle. how is it that knowing that this is coming down the line, a major resource for the region, they did not put more food in the region. they were for show. about 14 tons, i understand. we spoke earlier, it goes through 65 tons. it was really more for the cameras than anything else, frankly. >> i understand that the administration in our country and everything they can to prohibit the usa coming into terrorists' hands. when you do reach a crisis point

in a humanitarian problem like this, it seems that there ought to be expedited procedures. or the people you're trying to help are going to be dead. as the comment i was trying to get to. there is no question they operate on cash flow from corruption. and the organizations affiliated with al qaeda or other nefarious groups, they have exceeded to the maximum extent possible. i noted that love was supposed to testify today, the causes me to make an observation for the people here today. he suffers from a small area of. it reminded me that my first trip with care to ethiopia, the representative of worked with also had malaria. i want to thank you for the risk

you take in very dangerous parts of the world to deliver humanitarian aid, people don't equate the risk and exposure of your own health, so thank you for doing that. one last question, he talked in your remarks about them keeping people from getting help. they are stopping refugees from leaving the country to get help, is that correct? >> from these sources on the ground that i have spoken with in the last 24 hours, there appear to be three different areas. one that appears to be a camp of sorts are there actually holding people. they treated enough violence allow them to crowd them.

it is a threatening one. it will be -- the other areas seemed to be preventing people from heading south toward kenya. >> is the goal to strike fear in the population? >> is hard disaggregate them. ruling on an eland is not what they were planning to do. there might be local interests of commanders to have people as resources. people will attract a that they hope they will be able to tax, the verge, or tap into. >> one of the big problems in

africa, organizations will use rape and violence against women of the tool -- as a tool for accomplishing that goal. >> i am not getting reports of anything systemic. there are cases of violence against women very clearly and some of those are being documented, but not as a systematic attempt to exert control or terror unlike other tragic cases in africa. >> in various camps in the region, sexual violence is a serious problem. and not just within somalia, but also outside. >> thank you for testifying today. >> a comment in response to the earthquake in the iran in june

of some three, there was an exception to the licensing procedures. and that might be a useful example. >> i don't have the technical details, but we can get back to you on that. >> we're looking for irresponsible, swift, and appropriate path forward. i understand that different entities within the united states government are charged with enforcing a different legal obligations and that sometimes, the desire for prompt and effective humanitarian assistance runs up against the barriers we put in place in order to prevent assistance from being provided to those that are also enemies of the united states and pose a threat to the international order. i will be interested in your input, if i could. first about future planning and

of the united states can better assist countries in the region. especially were the climactic conditions seem to be worsening, how do we help them build a sustainable capacity to deal with these so that we don't face them periodically? several have referenced cuts to u.s. aid, the house has taken up the budget and proposed -- hood was a 30% cut over last year. how you see our efforts to sustain american engagement development with assistance playing out? what assistance might you have for us in helping the average american understand why there is value in doing this? >> the need for recovery in the resilience programming is

extremely high, and the think it is important to get the planning for that start to, now, even while we are in such a crisis. around ensuring livestock health and improvement of natural resource management. diversifying the income streams that people have, lived and worked on savings groups to help insure asset diversification of people have a clear assets during a drought. this needs to be scaled up in response to the drought because people have lost all of their assets. the want to avoid a situation where after this drought, it is going to be massive. people are left for a long time while agencies are planning for recovery and resilience programming afterwards.

if i may add a point on bureaucratic obstacles, this is a serious concern. we're looking at a two or three month window of opportunity in which we can still save lives. the pace we have seen, not just with government owners, but with other donors as well, it takes months to get to the process. he added complications of u.s. anti-terrorist regulations have had significant periods of time. we have such a short time frame to prevent it. >> i would fully endorses what he says about the need to build resiliency. these sorts of programs that the u.s. government has funded, they are really important reasons why the impact of the drought is not as severe as we are seeing in

somalia. regardless of the political factors, the lack of sustained development programming going back years and far before the political configuration was in place is a significant factor in why it is so much worse there. and looking forward, we need to invest in response right now that is not thinking about the next three months, but the next five or 10 years. in terms of the u.s. government's support, in gauging the american public, we have been very concerned so far that this situation doesn't seem to have really broken through yet in terms of the american consciousness. i think there is a very clear link between the level of engagement and the level of

private donations and private support that the u.s. government is motivated to provide. obviously, we strongly support the accounts that i mentioned earlier. it is also a really important for u.s. political leaders to signal to the american people just how healthy the situation is. the president of the first lady were very vocal about the means there, the implants of providing aid. we have not seen the level of engagement out of the white house, yet, and hopefully in the coming months, we can see more engagement on that. as well for members of congress, going back to the district, this is an important issue to discuss with your constituents.

we would love to see joint calls from the congress and the administration for american engagement. >> following up, what guarantee or assurance do we have the funds will get to the communities? the russian there are a range of measures in place. as with any private american charity, there are procedures in place and we get audited every year. they are very intensive every year. we also are part of collaborating with various accountabilities within our sector. it is sort of the umbrella organization for international charities that has a number standards that we here to get into exactly that. and as a partner of the u.s. government, there are very rigorous standards that we have

to live here to in order to qualify for u.s. government funding. there are a lot of overlapping community standards and august and all of those things that help hold us to account. >> in those standards or your own internally control standards, is there an acceptable amount? i understand you're dealing with very difficult areas of the world. is there an acceptable level of leakage? and another that as low tolerance? >> yet never want to say, here is the exception of a level of leakage because you'll be sure to get that level. our priority is absolutely to ensure that it gets where it is supposed to go. i think we have a very low tolerance for leakage. it is always on a case by case

basis. as i have written and earlier articles on this, one of the factors that caused us to scale back operations in 2010 before we were formally expelled, we were receiving unacceptable levels of interference. no level of leakage is really tolerable. i think that what we are willing to work with is minimal, but it can be defined on a case by case basis. >> i want to be sure to give you a chance to express herself. >> there is a constant dialogue about what mechanisms we have to severely limit the ability of that to happen. there is the leadership that has

been quite strong and the last couple of months to push back on those of been pushing for taxation on the ground. the systems internally are very tight, to make sure that whatever we pledged to provide are going to beneficiaries and nowhere else. >> thank you very much for joining me, i like to thank you for your personal service and the risks of taking in order to deliver relief and the leadership role that your organization has taken. and for the inside you've given us. as you have helped make clear today, this is the greatest humanitarian crisis facing the world today. it was foreseeable, one for which preparations were made.

and where there is investment that has made it less severe than otherwise might have been, it is expected to occur again because of the combination of governments and climactic social factors in the horn of africa. it is my hope that will be working together, the people of the united states, to heighten public concern and strengthen international engagement. not just respond to this the media and very real crisis that will likely take hundreds of thousands of lives and laid the groundwork for preventing a recurrence of this crisis. the senator and i share a view that africa as a continent of enormous promise and it is tragic to have this particular crisis be what most americans will be seeing about africa and the months ahead. it is my hope that they will be seeing more of it.

i am grateful for your role in addressing this very serious humanitarian crisis. i will keep the record open for the senators that were not able to join us today to make statements. this hearing is adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011]

>> in a few moments, president obama's fiftieth birthday fund- raiser from chicago. and more about the partial shutdown of the federal aviation administration from congressional democrats and transportation secretary lahood. and we'll hear more about the drought and famine in the horn of africa. on the "washington journal, will focus on the group of lawmakers as they acquire a debt limit bill. our guests are congressional quarterly writers and bloomberg business week economic person peter coy will take questions. and we'll look at the african famine. with the united nations high commissioner of refugees.

live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. >> these are the stakes, to make a world in which all of god knows the children can live. we must either love each other or we must die. >> to vote for president johnson on november 3. >> will look at the history of political campaign ads. and a former homicide detective on the day that jack ruby killed a man under his protection.

and former speechwriters reveal how his messages were crafted and communicated. but the complete weekend schedule. the supreme court is not available as a standard and enhanced e-book. 11 original c-span interviews. this includes an interview with the newest supreme court justice elena kagan and watch multimedia clips from all of the justices. available wherever e-books are sold. >> now, a chicago fund-raiser for president obama's fiftieth birthday. a joint fund-raising committee authorized to buy obama for america and the democratic national committee.

>> are you ready to sing happy birthday? [singing happy birthday] >> ♪ happy birthday to you happy birthday to you happy birthday dear president happy birthday to you ♪ [applause] ♪

>> hello, chicago! [cheers and applause] it is good to be with some good friends. this is a warm welcome right here. first, let me say thanks to the extraordinary talent on stage. herbie hancock. [applause] ok go band! give it up. dj greg carter. give it up. [applause] the lovely and talented jennifer

hudson from chicago. [applause] the not as lovely or talented, but -- [laughter] but very determined. very brilliant. very loyal. very tough. mayor of the city of chicago, rahm emmanuel. [applause] i am watching from washington, but it looks to me like he is doing a pretty good job. as far as i can tell, he hasn't

kirsten public yet. -- cursed in public yet. he's come close, he says. but what he has done is provided extraordinary energy and an extraordinary vision, a job that he has wanted for a long time. i don't know too many people who love the city of chicago more than your mayor. i cannot be more proud of him. [applause] we have of few more dignitaries in the house. the governor of the great state of illinois. [applause] we have one of the finest centers in the united states of america, dick durban is in the

house. [applause] we've got one of the greatest members of congress in the country in the house. [applause] ageless jesse white, the secretary of state in the house. a great friend of mine, somebody that i would not have been elected to the united states senate without him, the former illinois state senator, emile jones is here. [applause] and i know we have a lot of other important people like you in the house.

it's hot,s warm and and you just listened to some good music and you don't want to have a long political speech. but i just want to, first of all, say i could not have a better early birthday present than spending a tonight with all of you. i love you back. true, that i turn 50 tomorrow. which means that by the time i will wake up, i will have an e- mail from aarp asking me to call president obama and telling him to protect medicare pe.

[applause] when i look out at this crowd, i think back to that incredible night in november, i am still trying to figure out how the weather was over 60 degrees. in the park back in 2008. [applause] and it was the culmination of this incredible journey, this long journey that we took together. a campaign that drew on the hard work and support of all of you and people all across the country. men and women that believes that change was possible. in the face of odds. in the face of frustrations and setbacks. we don't have to except politics as usual and we can once again have a country that is living up

to our finest ideals and our finest aspirations. that was a lovely night, but remember what i told you? i said yes, we can. but that this will not be easy. the end ofat wasn't the journey, it was just the beginning. the economy was already hammer and families. -- hammering families. things that were deferred in washington were catching up with us, things gathering all at once. and we knew the road ahead was going to be difficult and the climb was going to be steep. i did not know how steep the climb was going to be. [laughter] we just found out a week ago that the economy the last few

months in 2008 was worse than we had realized. the economy contracted by 8%, the worst economy we have ever seen. the same kind of thing, we love 8 million jobs. -- lost 8 million jobs, like that. we haven't seen anything like it in most of our lifetimes. you did not elect me president to duck the tough issues. you elected me to do the tough things -- [applause] you elected me to make sure that the economy was working, not just for those at the very top, but that we have a broad base.

from the machinist on the line to the ceo in the board room. i ran because i believe our success is defined not by stock prices or corporate profits alone, but whether ordinary people can find a good job to support their family. they can send their kids to college and retire with dignity and respect. [applause] it might be of little -- a little bit older for a ball game, not be bankrupt when they get sick. we took a series of emergency measures to save the economy from collapse. i promise you not all of them are possible, but we did what we needed to do. it has been growing.

we got the economy growing instead of contracting because we want to help families get back on their feet. [applause] we went in and we said, i did not sign up to be the ceo of an auto company, but i will not let 1 million jobs, and especially here in the midwest, go away. we're going to ask that the auto companies restructure themselves and weed out things -- for the very first time, all of the automakers are making a profit. making a profit selling small cars, compact cars, and doing stuff that could not be done any more. even as we are saving the economy, there are still some issues out there that have not been dealt a with in a very long

time. we're going to make sure that we have equal pay and equal work. i don't want my kids getting paid less to do a good job. we are going to make sure that in this country that we love, nobody is discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation. we are going to make sure that they can serve that our military and protect the country that they loved. -- that they love. [applause] and we are going to invest in clean energy because we are tired of being dependent on foreign oil. we want wind turbines and electric cars made right here in the united states of america. [applause] we're going to increase our

investments in basic research to find cures for cancer and alzheimer's. we will revamp the education system and start working for every child and not just some children. [applause] and yes, we are going to go ahead and make sure that every family in america can find affordable health care and that they are not losing their homes or going bankrupt because they get sick. because of you, we kept on driving and we got it done. [applause] it has been a long time. but we have made some incredible strides together. yes, we have. bu the thi -- but the thing

we all have to remember is, as much good as we have done, precisely because the challenges were so dark. precisely because we were in hearing some many challenges. -- inheriting so many challengees. -- challenges. i did not say change we could believe in tomorrow or next week. we knew that this was going to take time. because we have the big, messy, tough democracy. that is the thing about america, there are all these contentious ideas that are out there. and we have to make our case. and we knew that these challenges were not made overnight and we were not going to solve them overnight. and so, as we look forward, we

know that we have a lot of work to do on the economy. i hope that we can avoid another self affected wound like we saw over the last couple of weeks. -- self inflicted wound like we saw over the last couple of weeks. [applause] toause we don't have time play these partisan games. we have too much work to do. [applause] over the next several months, i hope congress is focused on what the american people are focused on. making her the economy is growing. making sure that businesses and young people are getting trained for the jobs of the future. making sure we are getting those construction workers the got

laid off and putting them to work rebuilding roads, bridges, rebuilding chicago. rebuilding detroit. rebuilding and rural communities across the country and putting people back to work. i want to make sure that america is not just an importer, i want to export. i want to build electric cars in america and ship them over the world because we have the best technology. [applause] i want us to focus on how we can revamp old buildings. and we can start cutting down of electricity bills and we can start cutting down on carbon emissions. and we can stop being so dependent on foreign oil and you don't have to pay as much of the pump.

that is what we have to focus on. we have got more work to do to make sure that we have an immigration system in this country that makes sense. we are a nation of laws, and we are a nation of immigrants, and we want to welcome the extraordinary talents to our children and have a legal immigration system that works for everybody. a lot of the stuff we have done, we have to make sure it gets implemented. we finally put some common sense rules on the banks so they will not take the kinds of risks that led to an economic meltdown and that consumers are protected when you get credit cards and mortgages.

frankly, there are some people who are trying to make some progress. we stand up and we say that we want a financial system. there's nothing wrong with that. you elected me in part based on a promise that we would end the war in iraq and we have ended combat operations there and by the end of this year we will have our troops out of iraq as i promised.

we have a lot of troops here at home to bring here in america. our policy should be about peace. it has to be about helping countries feed the hungry it has to be about helping country's transition to democracy and helping countries and making sure that america continues to be a beacon of hope. that is part of the unfinished business of this administration. as we think about this world, we understand that it had shrunk and it will be more competitive and if we will lead the kind of america behind for our children

and grandchildren, then we have some work to do. yes, we need to get our fiscal house in order. i want you to understand that we cannot ignore this deficit, we have to do something about it. economic growth, making ourselves more competitive is not just about cutting programs, this is also about making investments in our people and making sure that we have the best education system in the world. that we have the best scientists, engineers, mathematicians. [applause] making sure that we prize our diversity, making sure that we have a social safety net for the aged and infirm and our children. that is what makes us a great nation. in chicago, we have more work to do.

we have more work to do. let me just say this. it will continue to be challenging, every single step of the way. >> we can do it. >> but we can do it. [applause] i am always a mood of -- and use with the pundits in washington say, boy, obama has not gotten this past yet, some of the supporters are disappointed about this, the campaign, it was so smooth. i'm thinking, what campaign with a watching? i mean, there was at least once a month, people would say, he can win. at least once a month people would say, that was a terrible debate. he has lost support in this group or that state will go read

on him. of what they did not understand was that for all the mistakes, for all of the bonehead moves i have made war might make, for all the frustrations and challenges and assistance we have to bring change, what i have is you behind me. when i have the american people, when i listen to them and i am reminded of your decency and those core values that said that i am my brother's keeper and sister's keeper and what makes us a great nation is not just the height of our skyscrapers or the size of our gdp or the power of our military but the fact that we look out for one another and we take responsibility for ourselves but also for our

neighbors. we are working together. we're working with black, white, asian, native american, and gay, straight. of the american people joined together, we cannot be stopped. we say to ourselves, yes, we can. it does not matter how tough a week we have in washington, you have my back when i travel across the country. i know that we cannot be stopped. [applause] i know that america is the greatest nation on earth. i know that we will bring about the change all of us believe in. god bless you all and god bless the united states of america. [applause] ♪ ♪

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[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> in a few moments, more about the partial shutdown of the federal aviation administration from president obama. in a little more than an hour, a hearing on the drought and famine in the horn of africa. several live events to tell you about tomorrow. a house foreign affairs subcommittee will look at a violence along the border between sudan and the new

country of south sudan. at noon, the center for american progress will host a forum on security along the border between the u.s. and mexico. panelists include the commissioner of u.s. customs and border protection. >> following a series of tweaks remarking that the capital looks beautiful tonight and turn on c- span now. grilled giffords -- gabrielle and giffords returned to the capital. >> there is not a name that strs more loved -- that stirs more love and admiration and wishing for people to be like her than the name of congresswoman gabrielle giffords. >> watched her return to the house on line. this is washington your way.

>> 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. [explosion] >> these are the stakes to make a world in which all of god's children can live. we must either love each other or we must die. >> vote for president johnson on november 3rd. >> this weekend, we will look at the history of political campaign ads. also, a former homicide detective on the day which jack ruby killed the man under his

protection, lee harvey oswald. we got the complete we can schedule. -- the complete weekend schedule. >> president obama called the partial shutdown of the faa lose lose situation before meeting with his cabinet. this is five minutes. >> all right. obviously, this has been uneventful last few days. as i said yesterday, we have now averted what could have been a disastrous blow to the economy and we have identified on the front and over a trillion dollars in spending reductions that can be done sensibly and safely without affecting core programs. we now have a committee process in congress that is charged to

find additional savings. i am in charge in congress to take it with the utmost series. the american people have been worried about the americans did economy. they're worried about their wages, the economy is still weak and because of things that we could control -- of things we could not control like the japanese earthquake in the situation in europe. unfortunately, the debt ceiling crisis of the last month has had an unnecessary - impact.

they are redoubling their efforts to talk about what matters most to the american people. how to make sure that they recover from the worst recession. i will be hearing from ray lahood. and the situation that is looming as a consequence of congress not acting. the faa routinely gets authority extended through congress. this has happened 20 times 32007.

congress has decided to place in politics with it. as a consequence, the have left town thousands of workers are followed. -- as a consequence, they have left town. thousands of workers are furloughed. it means projects all across the country is also including tens of thousands of workers being suspended. that means folks who were on construction sites. there are important projects which are left undone. here is what happens. it turns out that this extension gives the authority to collect fees from airlines. the airlines are still collecting these fees because it is priced into their tickets but they're not turning it over to the federal government and the

federal government stands to lose too glutted million dollars a week. that would be a billion dollars at a time when we are worried about how we pay for everything from education to head start. we don't anticipate it will be easy to get that money back even though the airlines are collecting it, they are keeping it. this is a lose-lose-lose situation that can be easily solved if congress gets back into town and does its job. they don't even have to come back into town. the house and the senate could through a procedural agreement, maybe do this through unanimous consent. they can have the fights that they would like to have when they get back, don't put the lives of thousands of people at risk, don't put the projects at risk, and don't lose a billion dollars at a time and we are scrambling for every one that we can.

i am urging the house and senate to take care of this. this is an example of a self- inflicted wound that is unnecessary. this gets resolved before the end of the week. okay? thank you very much, everyone. >> [inaudible] >> i have made calls to key leaders. this is not the kind of situation that is complicated. all i'm asking is what they've done 20 times since 2007. there is not a big issue in terms of drafting legislation or arguing about the details of policy. just do what they have done in the past to make sure that these folks are on the job.

thank you. i will get advice about how to handle this problem. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> congressional democrats on the partial shutdown of the federal aviation administration. the senate majority leader and the transportation committee chairmen were among those who spoke to reporters for half an hour. >> we have had a lot of employment in las vegas. we had the good fortune of having a new reconstruction project. one individual contacted the office and he was so happy to be there. he worked for three days and then this happened. what is this? the republicans playing games with house -- the house

republicans' plan games with the faa. they have had 20 extensions to get to this. that was not good enough for them. they had to try to hold a number of issues hostage. i call upon speaker boehner to and this. they can do it. this is unnecessary. they should send a clean extension and let these people go back to work. 75,000 construction workers. 4000 federal employees are out of work. then, to pour salt on the wounds, we now have safety inspectors paying for their own hotel rooms, their own air plants so that they can go do the safety inspections. those are the primary individuals responsible for making sure that they comply with federal regulations. they also have run away teams

come oversee the construction plan. they investigate the inspirations and make sure that the corrective action is over -- is taken. these men and women are now being asked to spend their own money to do their jobs. they are not being paid. this is where the most outrageous things that i can comprehend. so many people in desperate for work are told that they cannot because once again the house republicans rather than legislate we have done -- the way we have done around here for a long time, they are hurting individual people. the issue here that everyone understands is not the central air service. they have taken a number of democratic senators and then

this was an extension for a few weeks and then they would want some more hostages. that is not the way to legislate that is what they are doing. i hope republicans understand how desperate people are out there. i commend and applaud kay bailey hutcheson who has been so strong on this issue and recognizing what they have done in the house as wrong. the secretary of transportation to said that his republicans are doing this. i just felt so bad and the airlines, how about that. a million dollars a day, they're taking money. i say to the speaker to stop this nonsense. >> i'm speaking of behalf of

leader pelosi and myself. as senator reid has pointed out, almost 4000 federal employees and some 70,000 workers and contractors around this country are being held captive. they are out on the streets and republicans have refused to work with us to find common ground. this will shut down $11 billion in construction projects. this will cost more than $200 million per week. this has already cost us $360 million. this is from the party that as word about fiscal responsibility. furloughs of thousands of people come of critical aviation

engineers, safety analysts, and personnel. we owe it to these workers to come together and reach a compromise. we owe it to every american taxpayer to come together and reach a compromise. we need to get this done and we need to get it done today. republicans continue to practice the politics of confrontation and hostage- taking. this is severely damaging our economy and the livelihoods of people across the nation. we have been holding 315 million americans and the entire country hostage to the threats of taking us over the press it is into default -- over the press this -- over the edge into default. we avoid that at the last minute. 75,000 people are now over the

edge. they are worrying about whether the people in washington on the republican side of the aisle will responsibly say enough. these are the people who are responsible for modernizing our airports, keeping up our infrastructure. the competitors continue to invest in infrastructure and growth, america is losing ground. every day because of republican hostage-taking. for the sake of more than 75,000 americans, waiting to work, willing to work, wanting to work, and we asked them to work for the safety of economic competitiveness. it is time for publicans to put our country first and these workers first before themselves and the petty politics that are pursuing and work with us to

forge a long-term compromise. there is a bill and the house of representatives, if it is passed within hours, if the speaker would agree to a unanimous consent agreement and mitch mcconnell would agree to pass this within hours. the senate can pass it within minutes. [laughter] i will quickly go back to the house of representatives and report that no matter how much my credibility will suffer. >> we need to act on this issue now. 75,000 americans demanded, our country demands it, this is irresponsible.

i now yield to a distinguished former colleague of mine, the chairmen of the congress committee, senator jay rockefeller. >> ladies and gentlemen, it is very easy to solve this. this is embarrassingly easy. shamefully easy. all we have to do is to have the house send it to us and we have a clean bill of extension. the leader talked about how we are on our 21st extension to reauthorize the federal aviation administration bill. this is a pretty large percentage of the gross domestic product. that is all it takes.

virtually every day, and barbara boxer was down there last night offering a clean bill of extension and it was objected to. i was there the day before and i offered a clean bill of extension. that is the first point. this is so easy. then all of those 4000 people paid and they're out of work now and things could back in line. the other thing that needs to be made clear is that the union bargaining relationship between a private company come in this case, delta. and a union is not something that the faa discusses. the faa has had sometimes labor

problems with the transportation security folks and have resolved some of these things. we cannot have in the bill, you cannot take it up a union contract with the private company. you cannothe cannot do it. one will never come to an agreement on that. it does not belong in the bill. one further thing, why are they doing this? i think it is an extension of this thing began in wisconsin, the anti-worker thing. i think they have fastened onto it. surely they know this cannot be. but it is all they talk about. my counterpart in the house

says, that is being used as leverage on rockefeller or whoever else, to talk about the aviation board. if we cannot do that, most of the big airlines are unionized. one is not. delta. tell tell wants to have this law changed so that works to their advantage. delta has had unions tried to organize. four times they have failed. i do not know what is in it for them. it is an anti-worker agendas. the rest of us are trying to get a complex faa bill passed if

they did a clean bill of extension. people would be paid. it could proceed. we have to always done clean extensions. 20 as harry reid said. they know they have to put attachments to it. their agenda is clear. my agenda is clear. it is my view toward the organization. that is between the company and the unions. it does not have to do with the federal government. back to my original point, it is so easy to solve the extension that allows us to get back. we had this 100 days ago. they will not do that. if they go along with the extension, we could sit down and negotiate.

>> another made up issued by the republicans. you know when you went to school you learn how a bill becomes a lot? they take their disagreements in to a committee. they have not appointed a committee. so they made at this crisis because they want to get their way on a number of issues. it is an attack on working men and women. this attack has hardly begun. working men and women are out of work. it is time they put the interests of the jobs ahead of their own petty agenda.

that is what i call a. i want to show you what is happening on the ground. you can see the smaller tower at palm springs airport. we were able to get funding for the new tower. we warned republicans that they shut down the faa, that if there was bad weather, this work would be damaged. sure enough, what happened? we had a brainstorm. the dry wall was damaged. now we see some of their ruined. we were warned this could happen. the contractor is losing $2,000 a day in rental fees and fencing. the superintendent said the

longer this goes on the worse it affects us. we have tens of thousands of workers already suffering because of a housing crisis. now they are suffering more. this is a made up crisis. this is government by hostage taking. i want to associate myself with a leader hoyer. nancy is still speaker. that is the nile. -- denial. [laughter] if that were the case, we would not be standing here today. when you look down at the threat to shut down the government, followed by holding the full faith and credit of the government hostage to their desires to cut spending, here we are a third time.

i hope the american people wake up. this is their modus operandi. government by crisis. government by threat. real people, the people they claim to care about, the private sector businesses are hurting. i hope that my leader, senator reid, is successful in getting john boehner back here to fix this problem that we have fixed 20 times before. i stand with my chairman. i am proud to be a member of his committee. >> thank you. i want to thank my colleagues, whip hoyer, chairman rockefeller who has been a daunting in his desire to try to get this done.

senator boxer has been a leader on the committee. at this very moment, though you may not know it if you're an airline passenger, the faa is in limbo. airports are the economic engine of a small and large communities across the country. that in june is now stuck in neutral. time and time again, the gop has blocked an extension of the faa and delay the bill can be passed. they have refused to negotiate. under the cover of the debt ceiling crisis that they manufactured, they have set in motion a second crisis. once again, they're holding the livelihood's of americans hostage until they get everything they want. leader reid has reached out here today to speaker bitter and said let us solve the problem so that innocent people are not heard. we hope we arnett -- not met by

silence. i would like to make a larger point. once again, a far right wing of the gop is hurting the american economy in whose name they claim to be acting. they are trying the same tactics they used in the c.r. and a debt ceiling debate. they're trying to get their way by waging a battle of attrition on the floor of the house, hurting thousands of people in their wake. they have taken brinksmanship too far. this is becoming a disturbing pattern. a small, uncompromising group feeling the righteousness of their cause. taking tens of thousands hostage until they get their complete way. these debates should not be

determined by which side is willing to take the most casualties. we will not submit to a government by extortion. we must pass a clean extension into a quickly. to not do so would put the livelihoods of tens of thousands at risk for no purpose. >> if i can direct this question to senator rockefeller, we heard from senator reid's yesterday sometimes you have to step back and find out what is best for the country and not be bound by your personal issues. senator reid told us he was willing to except the house bill. are you willing to shut down the faa? >> i am answering that question because you are quoting me. we recognize that there are many issues -- unanimous consent

requests going back and forth. i would be willing to eliminate nevada. that is what i was talking about. they kicked out a number of democratic senators. that was not good enough for them. >> are you willing to give away subsidies? there are no labor issues. >> you know, jonathan, here is the issue. you, and i say this respectfully, the way we have america going today, there is no penalty for outrageous comments. what they have done is outrageous. that is not the way it is. everybody knows the issue behind all this is the labor issue. of course it is part of the issue. they have said many times, you

understand the only thing we're concerned about, they were concerned about -- the issue is of labor. an anti-worker of delta. that is what this is about. that is what republicans said. i can defend essential air service. it is important to the country. it allows rural america to be in touch i would like to focus on the outrageousness of what they're doing. that is what you should be doing. >> at the same time, we've talked about how painful the shutdown for the faa will be. how can american people understand, why not just accept

the extension? >> live to fight another day in september. what will we hostages be banned? they will go to something else. this is a subterfuge for the number one issue. they read as that. we're not willing to do that. that is what this is all about. the sooner you focus on that, the better you are. this issue has nothing to do with essential air service. it has to do with the labor dispute between airlines and the american worker. >> this is your line in the sand. no more. >> that is why we reached out to john boehner. stop this foolishness. we're not going to be held hostage as you did with the debt

ceiling. listen, we understand. we have been around a few times. we had long conversations yesterday. we end up in the same spot. they're going to give us something else, september. they have party eliminated essential air service. they will have other hostages and. -- then. >> they are not talking about resolving faa in a few weeks. this is not what they are about. 20 times we have had a clean -- one time there was an issue. both sides agreed to. that is why the story today is the fact that our leader is reaching out to john boehner to say, if we want to resolve a particular issue, and let's talk about it.

not to have one side say, a take-it-or-leave-it or people are going to be out of work. your question does not understand that. i have been here a long time. you have been here a long time. the fact is, you have to dig a little bit behind the surface of what this is about. again, i would reiterate, whatever the issue is, this is about government by threat, one side making their demands. our leader is saying, ok, let's negotiate something. [overlapping] >> i would like to say something here to jonathan. the issue is not a labor issue. it is the issue of hostage taking. someone it is ias if

puts a gun to your head. that is not fair. that is not right. harry is right. we keep getting the situation. the issue is you cannot run government because the other side -- we can each say we will hurt innocent people to get our way instead of negotiating as the founding fathers intended this government to be. for the media to say that, oh, we are ignoring the gun. why'd you given? it is not fair. >> we would have had our temper extension. right? you objected yesterday.

[overlapping] >> let me say something. i do not understand why your anchor and an expert -- anger and angst is not directed at one individual. he as are the cost taxpayers more than it will cost for an entire year. it has taken us hostage. you are right. why're you not angry? ye not directing that anger at somebody who cost a billion dollars? just over a month of this kind of hostage taking. again, the house of representatives has a bill. they can pass it within the

hour and put 75,000 people back to work. want to do it? because we will not do what they tell us to do. we cannot run a america or democracy that way. that is the issue. thank you. >> i am going to continue. can we have order of the house? [laughter] of course i care about morgantown. the point is, they said they did it for this reason. the leader of the senate. they took away things that were necessary to them. what they're taking way in our bill is the fastest-growing

airport in the most prosperous part of the state. of course i care about that. that is not the point. the point is, that is not their point. micah has said we did that to try to force them to deal with the national mediation bill. if i can be critical for a moment, we have all been caught up in the debt ceiling crisis. the faa and the parts that make it up is extremely complicated. we have gone from 210 points of disagreement down to 12. all of which can be settled. but it has nothing to do with morgantown. we have a better air service

that costs less money and finds a better way of doing it. it is not about the essential air service. if i had agreed to that, then they would say, well we got that. they refused to have an extension. you have to understand, jonathan, that john maynard cent -- john boehner sent a message to me that he would only consider the clean extension if i were to agree, previous to the discussion, on the certification and a judicial review. what i am saying to you is that this is a complicated issue. it is highly charged.

it is complex. it is history to what i'm saying. there is clarity in what i am trying to say. it is so easy to do it. the question is, why and what they? -- why won't they? >> there was no permanent reauthorization. why wasn't it done during that time? >> what you want me to say? we did not do it. >> why not? >> to you think it was because we didn't care? i do not know why. but we did not do it. we're dealing with the press. we have gone from 210 issues down to 12. 12 issues mean this system can work if resolve it.

there are little things. lithium batteries. you have to do your homework, within batteries if you're going to ask these questions. it is very complicated. but it can easily -- easily be done. >> did that take place yesterday? >> a few days ago. >> he told you -- >> he did not talk to me directly. >> he has indicated that he would accept a clean extension if the senate would agree to a deal on an mb? >> he said you have to have, our position on certification and on judicial review.

is that terribly important? not to the average person but in terms of getting this bill solves it is important. that is the point i'm making. we're not talking about posturing. we're talking about the most basic way we do government. as history has shown us, you do a clean bill of extension. you negotiate the issues. >> we will get the details on that after. thank you, everyone. >> we're trying to do what they said they are trying to do, to ratchet up pressure. the airlines were very silent. the chambers of commerce. they were all very silent. the big thing the represents the major airlines.

they sent a letter saying we would like to have a clean bill of extension two or three days ago. did they look at it? did they make phone calls? no. that is why you're going to hear from the white house today. [unintelligible] i want to work out the brought -- problem. lithium batteries is an important problem. >> some of those that you are referencing, they were also removed from the senate. >> that was simply, 12 times publicly, that was a leveraging technique to get you to talk about the board. i will talk about that when i

can. >> thanks. >> on washington journal, we focused on what led to the partial shutdown of the faa. we are back with fond johnson, a correspondent with "the national journal -- fawn hnn, corresponded with "the national journal." why is there reauthorization of the faa? >> like anything, you need and now that allows the government to go forward and allow money as it needs to. in this case, we are talking

about aviation, which is heavily regulated, for a reason. you want to make sure everyone is a flying safely. that is part of the natural workings of the transportation department. there is nothing unusual about it. this particular bill has been it expired since 2007. it may not be on that special, but it has been languishing out there for awhile. host: how many times has it been reauthorize, why these short- term solutions? guest: the actual authorization for faa did expire in 2007. since then, they have been doing a series of stopgap temporary funding bills. they would go on for six months or a year. as time has gone on, those numbers have gotten shorter and shorter as members of congress get closer to a longer-term deal.

they can keep the airport running, aviation running, aircraft control without too much trouble, but what they are trying to do is fix some of the ways the formulas are set for the way people are paid, but some dates in place for upgrading of -- aircraft control systems, they try to take things that may have been out of date from the last bill and updating it. that is what haseen missi, but the planes are still flying, air-traffic is still operating. that is why it has not gotten as much attention as perhaps it should. host: so how do we get to this point? how long have we been stalled? about 12 days. it was july 23 when they instituted the partial shutdown ofhe faa because lawmakers were unable to come to an agreement about how to extend

funding. we are talking about six-week extensions. they were not able to come to an agreement. i say partial shutdown because the air traffic controllers -- people considered essential for safety, are paid out of the general fund in the transportation department. there are other have a staff, engineers, researchers, people who approved grants, airport inspectors, they are all on furlough, or are not being paid. airport inspectors are working but they are not being paid. host: how many of them in the faa? caller: about for a guest: -- guest: about 4000. now that congress is out, it could go out for another everywhere weeks.

about 1000 of those in the washington, d.c. area. there are estimates floating arnd but we do not really know how many other people in the private sector that have been laid off. construction-related jobs that were funded through faa grants that have to be halted. i have seen as high as 100,000. there are numbers of floating all over the place. 70,000 sounds about right. we know there are hundreds of projects that are being halted. stop work has been put on 200 projects. at the not include projects that had already started. host: what are the sticking points on this? guest: the thinghat drove it to a halt the couple of weeks ago was a provision -- the was a temporary extension that the house passed. they included another piece of

the bill that would have cut subsidies to rural airports. this is something not lawmakers generally agree, those subsidies which had been in place to keep airports in montana or nebraska alive, so that people could apply. the program has grown, so they are tried to sit -- scale it back. the house included a provision to cut back some of those airports. but they did not do it in consultation with the senate, which irritated people. it is important to keep in mind, when this happened, this is the same day that house speaker john boehner walked out on the negotiations with obama on the debt ceiling. it was an intense time on capitol hill. i think there is a lot of tension that might not be affecting the actual debate, but certainl there is not a lot of tr