time. yes. oh, my goodness. how's he doing? >> he is doing great. [inaudible] >> please tell him i asked about him. he taught me a lot about being a good person. good person. how are you, sir? good to see you. how are you? good to see you. >> i do not know you. i want to know more about you. >> great. where did you lived before? i am going to be in houston next month. they say it is pretty high there. are really hot spell, like 110 degrees. maybe it was dallas. but it was hot there. nice to have you here. >> thank you. looking forward to hearing you.

we have checked all over the country. >> this is a good place. [inaudible] >> we used to be in broward county.

>> and now. >> you would say the wrong thing. >> i hear that. how are you? good to see you. nice to be with you. how are you? good to see you. nice to see you. [inaudible] you should be able to do better. the problem ais --

[inaudible]

[inaudible] >> they are all like this, right? good morning, everyone, and welcome to at charlestown retirement community. our senior tent -- town hall with ben cardin. at a nice crowd here. we're fortunate to have our friends and guests from c-span filming today's events so that others can share in the wonderful news the center will tell us about. let me introduce a couple of guests here today. from our partners at st. agnes hospital, he dr. adrian long and

surely such an. thank you for attending. -- shirley sutton. the delicate jimmy malone, you may know him. [applause] -- delagate jimmy malone, you may know him. charles tucker. the president of the resident counsel, chuck is here. and our vice-president of a government affairs, and tim kaine -- adam came. senator cardin has been called a legislatures legislator by the "washington post."

it has been on many committees. throughout his career he has championed the need for resources and services so that seniors can live independently in their communities for as long as possible. first elected to the senate in 2006, he serves on the environment and public works, finance, foreign relations, budget, small business and entrepreneur committees. he is busy barrett as a member of the finance committee, he believes that medicare and social security are two of the most successful programs that we have in our nation. he brings with him expertise like serving for 17 years on the ways and means committee in the u.s. house. during that time, his proposal to increase the amount americans can save for retirement and to expand medicare were enacted into law. during the 111th congress, he supported the affordable care act and successfully fought to include provisions eliminating

all co-payments for medicare. medicare preventive services, and providing free annual wellness checkups with no additional payment. please give a warm welcome to senator ben cardin. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is a pleasure to be back at charlestown. you experienced what i experienced this week. no electrical power, no power [laughter] you all had plenty of power. we are still without power as are many people in our region but it is good to be back here. this is a great community. i saw people walking around recent residents. i have been here many times with wonderful discussions over the years.

this is my town hall meeting when congress is in recess to get your views on what is happening in our community and for me to give you an idea of what is happening in washington. i hope we will have a free- wheeling discussion. normally you are not very shy. please be prepared. delagate malone has already been introduced, but he does a fantastic job representing you. i announce his family for a long time. thank you for your doing to help us in annapolis during these tough times. the government is pushing more and more off on to the states and he has exercised great leadership. thank you, jim, for being here. we appreciate you very much. i want to talk a little bit

about medicare and social security, about the budget in washington, the impact it could have on medicare and social security and programs that affect our seniors. and then we will open it up for your comments and your questions. so so security and medicare have been two of the most successful programs in the history of america. when social security was enacted in 1930, seniors were very likely to live in poverty. and social security was the way in which we were able to allow seniors to live in dignity in america. consistent with the value of our nation. that is what social security has met during the years, a lifetime guarantee inflation-proof annuity. you cannot live out -- you cannot outlive social security. it will be adjusted for you do not have to look at the stock market to see what your social security benefit will be. it is guaranteed.

it is there for you. we want to make sure it is there for future generations. medicare was enacted in the 1960's as a direct result of seniors not being able to get private insurance to provide health care for them. private insurance companies were not interested in ensuring older people. there is a reason for this. insurance companies make money by ensuring people who do not make claims. as you get older, you make more health care claims. you are not exactly the market they are most interested in. we found out in the 1960's that seniors at a very difficult time with private insurance companies. congress enacted medicare. it was controversy a lifetime. those in washington -- there were some in washington that the we should not do it. but our seniors for guaranteed

access to quality health care. that is what medicare is about in 1965 when it was enacted. since that time, we've improved medicare by expanding the benefits. i am particularly proud of the role i played in the late 1990's when we expanded medicare to include preventive health care services through legislation that offered, so it included mammography screenings, and that co rectal exams, and perhaps mirrors and diabetes self management. a lot of the preventive services were added in the late 1990's and we in continue -- and we continue to improve medicare today. i come here to tell you that these attack -- these programs are under attack in washington and we need to understand what this debate is about. let me lay out some of the politics of what is happening in washington and the impact it could have on programs that affect your life.

this is not theoretical. we know legislation passed the house of representatives. it did not pass the united states senate and the president is not going to sign it. but it indicates that there is support in washington to dramatically change medicare. the budget that passed the house of representatives would have changed medicare from guarantee program to a program that gives our seniors a voucher where they buy private insurance companies, no longer government insurance. when it is fully implemented, it it is estimated to cost a years at an extra $6,000 a year. seniors cannot afford another $6,000 a year for their health care costs. more and more seniors would be denied access to care. it would have required you to go out and buy private insurance.

it would make same years old and once again to the private insurance marketplace. -- seniors beholden once again to the private insurance marketplace. some came to maryland and they left overnight. there is no guarantee that private insurance company would remain in our market. they have left before and they could lead again. i oppose what the house is trying to do. we thought it is the wrong thing. we do not want to set up on the mold change in the medicare system, with a guarantee -- a fundamental change in the medicare system, with a guarantee would no longer be available for seniors. we thought that was the wrong thing to do. but looking beyond that, the house-passed budget also block

granted the medicaid program to this states. -- to the states. it provides the primary funding source for long-term nursing care. by block granting the program to the states, it is unlikely to be able to predict the future of medicaid. medicaid right now is a partnership between the federal government and the states. we know there's going to be guaranteed eligibility to participate at the national level. it was block granted, it would be totally up to the states. they would not have the same flexibility as the federal government. during tough times, this budget would be cut in the future of medicaid is uncertain. not only impacting our seniors, but american families, more and more children being covered under medicaid. that would also be in danger of losing their access to health

care. -- they would also be in danger of losing their access to health care. that was not part of a compromise reached in congress really very one of the things -- in congress recently. they have recommended the appeal of the affordable care at. it was somewhat controversial. i'm not sure of all the reasons were well understood, but let me go over what a repeal of the affordable care at, the bill the president obama signed into law in the last congress that provided at long last that every american was guaranteed to have coverage under our health insurance system. it said at long last that americans joined every other industrial nation in the world to say that health care is a

right, not a privilege. it took millions of americans who currently have no health insurance and gave them the opportunity to have health insurance. it told our small businesses that they no longer would be discriminated against as small companies in the insurance marketplace. they would be able to buy a health insurance plan for their employees that was competitive to the largest companies. it told individuals who perhaps could not afford health insurance that it would be affordable for all americans. because we subsidized health insurance, for low-wage workers. that was part of the plan. and we told private insurance companies that take a longer discriminate against american families because of poor -- that they could no longer discriminate against american families because of pre-existing conditions. it also has a framework to bring down health-care costs.

in the united states, we have the bill -- the best health care in the world, quality-wise. later today i will be speaking at john hopkins hospital in baltimore. --s where search of the role surgical residency is were first initiated. we are proud of that care. we have the best technology in the world. the problem is, it is out of reach for more and more americans. they cannot afford it. they do not have access to that. the affordable care act is an effort to say, let's bring this system available to all and bring down the cost of health care. how do we bring down the cost? by having everyone in the system. we say that everyone will be covered by the system so that we no longer have people visiting our emergency rooms to get health care needs because they

have no insurance. we no longer have people not paying their bills in the emergency room and we have to pay for that. by bringing down costs and by bringing everyone into the system, we also bring down costs by their use of health information technology. you might be surprised to learn that if you have visited an emergency rooms in maryland, there is very little chance that they would have your complete medical records. we want to change that. if they do not have your records, they have to put future test that they would not otherwise need to do, adding to your inconvenience and also adding to costs. so we can grow quality and reduced costs by improving the use of health information technology. it also manages serious diseases by keeping people healthier who have more serious problems,

investing in wellness programs. i can tell you about the program that safeway supermarkets as for their employees. if you take care of your own health care, exercising in dealing with high pressure and cholesterol and managing your diabetes, and if you smoke, stop smoking -- the rewards you by lower premiums for your health care and more benefits. and it works. they have kept health care costs down. we use that model in the affordable care at, using wellness programs in order to bring down the cost of health care. in the affordable care act, we deal with the cost of government. this is not what i say, this is what the congressional budget office has said. we will reduce health care -- government cost health care by hundreds of billions of dollars in the first in years, and by over $1 trillion in the second

10 years. reducing the cost the taxpayer, making the system more effective. for seniors it was particularly important. for seniors, it meant that benefits or expanded. more benefits coverage for our seniors. one you heard the most about is the coverage gap that we had in prescription drugs, falling into the doughnut hole. they would fall into that gap where they picked up the entire cost of their prescription trucks. starting last year, we started that fill in that coverage gap by sending checks to 55,000 maryland jurors who fell into that coverage gap. by 2020, that gap will be completely closed on to the affordable care act. in addition, it invested in the annual wellness' exam.

it will now be covered under medicare reimbursement. 9000 marylanders have taken advantage of this annual well this exam. perhaps the most important part of the affordable care act as it relates is seniors is that it extends the sovereignty of the medicare trust fund by a dozen years, making sure that is here today and tomorrow, that it is here for future generations. i am explaining this because the bill that passed the house of representatives would have repealed all of this. it would have repealed the ending of the coverage gap for prescription drugs. it would have affected the solvency of medicare by rid -- by a dozen years. it would have eliminated the annual wellness' examine all the other things i talked about. it did not pass the united states and will not pass the united states senate.

but it is an issue we need to be aware of. as i said, medicare and social security is under attack in washington, it is under attack. and his recent budget debate underscored that medicare or and social security are very much under attack in washington. i want to talk about this budget agreement and what happened and how it affects our seniors, but first we need to understand how we got here. i was part of the congress just 10 years ago that balance the federal budget. -- that balanced the federal budget. we actually brought that into balance, we had a surplus. that was 2000, we have a surplus, 11 years ago.

it would have paid off all are publicly held debt and had no debt in our nation. george w. bush enacted certain economic policies that i disagreed with. i voted against it. i say that because i know we got a deal with this deficit but it is important to know how we got here. george bush cut taxes not once but twice for the second time, we were at war. two countries, afghanistan and iraq, the first time that i know of that we went to war and cut taxes. we used our credit card to pay for tax cuts and two wars, we expanded government spending, and it was wrong. then we had a recession and when barack obama took the oath of office, the station was losing over 700,000 jobs a month and we

had huge, huge deficits. what barack obama did was work on government spending to get as out of the recession, something most economists said was the right thing to do. it is important to understand how we got to where we were over the past few months. we have a debt ceiling. a debt ceiling is an arbitrary limit as to how much the government can bar appeared raising the debt ceiling does not increase one dime of federal spending. not one dime. spending had already been incurred. the question is whether we were going to pay our bills or not. and what the house leadership decided to do was to use the debt ceiling debate as an effort to try to bring down federal spending. using that leverage, and we can argue with that that was the

right thing to do or not. i do not think we shouldn't jeopardize the federal credit. i felt we should talk about the budget in a more bipartisan manner rather than using the threat. but that is how the debate took place. i tell you as a senator that our current debts are not sustainable. i am not going to try to tell you what the budget agreement, whether it was a great thing are not. i will not try to sell that to you. the way that we did it was certainly wrong, no question about that. congress should have acted in the best interest of our nation. i hope that is what we will do. it is not what the democrats or republicans want, it is not what the president or the congress wants. we have to work together for the best interest of this nation. but the options we had available was either to pass this budget

agreement, which extended the debt ceiling until 2013 so we do not have to go through this potential defaulting on our credit, the estop defaulting on our credit. -- versus defaulting on our credit. if we did not raise the debt ceiling, then something would have had to give. we would not have been able to borrow enough money to pay for either social security checks or the government work force or contractors to sell things to the federal government and expect to get paid, defense, our soldiers, or our bondholders. something would have had to have to give. i supported the budget agreement because it extended our debt ceiling, and quite frankly, it could have given us a framework

to manage this deficit in a way that is balance. let me go through this quickly. i tell you, i was disappointed that the budget agreement did not include a more comprehensive approach. to me, a more comprehensive approach would have included revenues, because i do think we have to pay our bills, we have a moral, legal, and economic responsibility to have enough revenues ready for what we spend. then we have to pay for what we have incurred, and that are a lot of tax breaks and loopholes out there that we should close. i will get to that. i was disappointed that the agreement did not deal with the number one issue, about bringing our budget into balance, and that is to get our economy back on track and create jobs. create jobs. we do not have enough jobs out there. we need to invest in innovation and education and infrastructure in order to create jobs.

that needs to be part of this equation and it was not. i was disappointed with the budget agreement, but i thought it was the best option available. it does provide for an immediate reduction of $1 trillion over the next 10 years of deficit. doubt was the right thing to do for me. it was manageable. the $1 trillion is divided between security and non- security over the next 10 years. you cannot say we will cut student aid in order to fund the the military. we have a fire wall between security and non-security for the next two years. the budget amounts are manageable. we reduce federal spending next year by about $3 billion in the domestic side and about $7 billion on the security side. what does that mean?

let me give you a comparison. the house had already passed over a budget for next year. the house budget would have reduces by about $40 billion. 1:00 p.m. -- 30% below current year spending which was frozen over previous year expect -- previous year's spending. the zero programs that affect you and the older americans impacted by that. it also affects our students with pell grants and our youngest on the headstart program, those who get the benefit of early intervention into education so that they can succeed. they would have been affected by that. the research that we need to create jobs in the future with been affected by that. instead, the budget agreement that has been agreed to by

democrats and republicans and signed into law by the president is basically another freeze, less than 1% reduction, which allows us to invest in infrastructure and innovation and education, allows us to do that so that we can create jobs for the future. it is a manageable amount. and much, much better than the way that the house was looking at in a fyi 2000 -- was looking at. there no cuts in medicaid and in the first $trillion in social security, no cuts. none in this first round of

cuts. but then there is going to be a second round. we need to do it least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next 10 years. we have this super committee made up of 12 members of the house and senate that will have the ability to make certain recommendations that are voted up or down by congress. and they cannot filibuster. this committee must make its recommendations by thanksgiving and congress must act on it by christmas. so it is a short time frame. i do not know what they will do as far as recommendations for another $1.2 trillion in budget cuts. i will tell you what i like to see them do. i like to see them bring in more than $1.2 trillion. allen liked it to be around $2.7 trillion of budget savings, which would give us $3.7

trillion that would maintain america's strength moving forward on a manageable debt. i want them to bring in what president obama once called a grand bargain, where it can manage our deficit in a way that is fair. you can do that if you bring all of the elements of the budget to the table. we have what is known as the overseas defense spending, which is not part of the first $trillion. we can reduce our troops in iraq and afghanistan so that they can come home. using the current base line has a future barometer for our overseas operation is not realistic. we need to bring our troops home. that will save us, we believe, over $1 trillion over the next decade. we can get those savings. and i mentioned revenue, speaking on the floor of the

senate about the gas and oil industry. we've created a tax break for u.s. manufacturers said that they can better sell their products overseas. because of certain international trade rules, that tax credit has been extended to the gas and oil industry. they do not deserve it. they do not provide a product for manufacturing overseas. yet hearing on the senate finance committee and ask that question to the ceo of a large gas and oil companies. they could not justify these tax breaks. they made $34 billion in the first three months of 2011, in three months, while we were suffering the higher gasoline prices at the pump. they are making record profits. taken certainly give up a few billion dollars of tax which will help our federal budget. and there are lots of examples of loopholes.

we spend more money in the tax code that will -- then we raise. we give back more in what is known as a tax expenditure. the wealthy are the ones who benefit the most. we can certainly do a better job, no one talking about increasing tax rates. you're talking about everyone getting their fair share of the current taxes. doing that, we can bring this budget into a better balance. that is what i hope the joint committee will look at as an effort to bring our budget into better balance. now that they fail, we have sequestration. what is that? $one point to a jury in over the next 10 years. but here's the interesting point. it will be an equal amount of cuts from the department of defense and the non-defense. equal amounts. i do not want to see this happen to me, this is a failure. i do not believe in across-the-

board cuts. i do not want to see that happen. if it were to happen, it has to equal pressure on all members of congress. let me assure you that if that happens, if we pass sequestration, there are exempt programs. no cost whatsoever to social security. no cuts whatsoever to medicare beneficiaries. there will be cuts, limited to providers and insurance companies, but not to beneficiaries. no cuts to medicaid. no cuts to the low-income programs. i think the budget compromise has provided the protections that we need. and lastly let me mention social security. it is not part of the budget it

freeman because it did not contribute one penny to the deficit problems we have today, not one penny. if anything, it makes us look better because we use tax per -- tax surpluses in social security to mask the true deficit. social security should not be included in any of the numbers that i just mentioned. and i will fight for that. i know a lot of my colleagues will fight to make sure that social security is not part of the budget numbers that we need to cut that deficit. in social security, we like to have the 75-year sovereignty. we like to put it on a stronger footing. minor adjustments can deal with those issues. it does not take a lot of changes for example, we could look at the wage cap. if you learned in come -- if you

earn income, for every time you pay, it is capped. those who make over $100,000 in salary find that the social security contributions are capped. we could address that. there things that we could do that excessive security systems but should be considered only outside of the budget discussions dealing with managing the federal deficit. because this is not part of the problem. allen come back to the main point here. -- i want to come back to the main point. congress needs to work together. we cannot lose focus of the single most important ingredient here, and that is job creation. if we're going to balance our budget in a way to invest more

for americans, we need jobs, pure and simple. we need a level playing field. by now we have currency manipulation in other countries that affect u.s. manufacturers and producers. we have to deal with that. we have the funds are trained work forces and have better roads, and after looking at the storms, we need better energy infrastructure in this culture. all that will help create more jobs for the future. so as we go through the exercise of bringing our nation together for responsible budget, yes, i will fight to protect the dignity of our seniors. i will do that. to me, social security and medicare are the two principal programs that have protected the dignity of our seniors and i will do everything in my power working with my colleagues in congress to make sure that we protect that basic program. i will also fight for a

responsible, comprehensive budget plan that allows job growth in america so that we can have the jobs we need for our economy to grow. so with that, let me throw it open to your friendly questions. [laughter] remember, i bend at charlestown enough, i think i have an honorary membership in the community. >> how all about a round of applause from charleston? [applause] >> a couple of rules so that as many of you have questions can be answered by the centers for remember, we're not reporters here so do not give a three- minute, and then a question. we have jack and charles manning the microphone. let's start up front with someone. charles? >> how can we as citizens tell

the select committee that we need them to work together in a way that will produce a balanced approach to our deficit problem or the budget problems, and then how can we tell the congress that we need for them to work in the same cooperative, balanced way? >> we have taken a giant leap forward as i've said here. i know my colleagues around the nation are hearing this in their community. the people are tired of the partisan division. they want us to deal with the issues in the best interest of our country. i think most people understand -- it is not one way or the highway. we have to figure out a way to deal with a divided government. the republicans won control of the house of representatives and the midterm elections. democrats have maintained a very small margin in the senate, not enough to overcome a filibuster, but they do control the agenda

in the senate. and of course the president of united states -- of the united states is clearly a dominant player in this discussion for you put this all together, let's figure out a way to put -- to work together. i've listened carefully to the comments from my 12 colleagues serving on the commission. they appeared to be very conciliatory in their opening remarks and i hope that carries for it. the important thing is to be open-minded, look for a comprehensive plan, but i tell you, there are certain principles i hope all americans would agree with. there ways of bringing down costs but we have to create jobs and we have to deal with the vulnerable and the -- and we have to deal with a bubble. in our seniors depend on their social security and medicare programs. >> we've heard so much about the

cost of medicare and social security and one thing or the other. it appears to me that one of the basic things we ought to do is stop these people from coming to the united states illegally, sucking up every damn time, and send them back to where they came from. and why do they not in a peach obama? he is up violated that custom to since so many times, it is but that he is allowed to go round the way that he is. >> on immigration reform, i really do believe we need comprehensive immigration reform. we need that. let's understand that america was built in large measure because people were willing to come to america from all parts of the war. yes, they came illegally.

we want people coming here illegally and we won an immigration system for america. it starts with controlling our borders. we need to know who is coming into america and people made the comment in a lawful way. we also have to a knowledge that there have been many people, many of whom are innocent, who came here as young children. it was not their decision to come to america. they have been a law-abiding and adding to the economy of this nation. we need to have a fair way to deal with people who otherwise have been legal, productive, taxpaying, and willing to a knowledge their status and willing to pay the cost of remedying their situation and going to the back of the line, not the front of the line. but there has to be a way that we can online where we are today in a comprehensive way on immigration reform. unwind where we are today

in a comprehensive way and immigration reform. i take issue with your second point. president obama has dealt with extremely difficult times. he had a difficult time getting the legislation enacted in the law. dealt with that deficit as far as the economy was, an economic plan. he was able to pass the affordable care act, he put the cops back on the beat on wall street, some major environmental plans to build. the law lilly lead better act -- lilly ledbetter act. the last year has been more challenging because of divided government. we need to be careful how we express our disagreements. this is a political system where you can express your views and not being -- and not worry about

being arrested are being tortured. i think we have to be careful in the language that we use. the president is a toggle to exercise the power of his office. -- is entitled to exercise the power of his office. he is doing what he thinks is right here you can disagree with him, to say he does not maintain the legitimacy to maintain that office is inappropriate. [applause] >> by here in the front. >> this $14 billion deficit problem that brought washington to a stop is really the unfunded liability of 200 trillion dollars that should be -- it is

really the killer. it is going to kill the economy downstream and be a load on the economy and will come to a head 89 years from now. -- eight or nine years from now. if you double income taxes, it will not make up that deficit. is there a chance that there is political responsibility to take on this issue in the next few years? >> let me broaden that question, because we had a huge problem in our budget system in washington. our budget system does not work well. do not let that distract us from trying to get what is known as the grand bargain or the deal with the $1.2 billion in deficit reduction -- we have to get that done. it is important manage our debt

so it does not exceed a certain portion of our economy. but we also need to correct our budget system in washington. the budget system is badly broken. i think you put your finger on the number one problem. the united states of america 8 uses a cash-basis accounting system for its budget. it does not use of accrual accounting. for those of you with business backgrounds, really small mom- and-pop businesses use cash accounting. would you go to any size business, you go to accrual accounting. but the united states, the largest economic entity in the world, is working on a cash basis. it makes no sense at all. we need to move toward of kroll al accounting.

on the other side of the ledger, we pay cash for a building that will last a long time and we do not get the credit for capital expenditures that would even out some of the accrual responsibilities that we have. we need to balance it out better and use more general accounting principles and the way that we present our budget. the other side of that argument is that the government is the government and we have such a large impact on the economy that every dollar is the same. that is an economic argument that i disagree with. i agree with your point and i think we should change our budget system. i tried to do this when i was in the house. i worked with a republican from iowa who is the budget director under the first bush. we brought out by recommendations that move us toward accrual accounting and i

think that is what we need to get back to. >> senator cardin, i thank you for coming. everything you say seems reasonable to me. but i have one area of concern, and that is what medicare advantage. i am concerned that the congress has departed from the simple concept of justice and fairness, of having reimbursement rates for all seniors that are the same and fair. is there anything in the current law, the senate -- that senator obama signed into law, that affects the problem? >> this is complicated. medicare advantage is the private insurance option under medicare. if you are in traditional

medicare, and most seniors are, you are subject to a fee-for- service system where you get reimbursed at the doctor and hospital visits that you have. your other option is to go into medicare part d, with a separate premium. the medicare advantage program is the option. instead of going into the government insurance program, you go into private insurance. it must provide all the benefits in medicare but additional benefits are available. you give up some freedom of choice. you get additional benefits and you may pay additional costs for the plan that you are in. it may cover prescription drugs and it may be part apart d also. if you go into that plan, if you pay your part d premium plus

more. the government subsidizes the medicare advantage plan. here is the rub. the government subsidizes the medicare advantage plan by more than it subsidizes those in traditional medicare. we are paying more money into the private insurance company then we do subsidizing the majority of the people that are in medicare traditional plans. there is a second problem. for those who are in part d, 99% of seniors, you are paying the higher part d premium because you are subsidizing those that are in medicare advantage. that is just not fair. it is not fair. in the affordable care act, we started to equalize it. we do not equalize it because that would have to dramatic and immediate impact but we started

to reduce the disparity. that is a large part of the savings in medicare. he may have heard political ads in the midterm elections that accuse president obama of cutting medicare. the largest part of that was in the reduction of the subsidies to the private insurance companies. the second part of the criticism was that he reduced rates, for example, to hospitals because medicare was paying for uncompensated care as we go to affordable care, there will be less uncompensated care. i appreciate the problem. we are trying to fix this under the affordable care act. >> i am a registered democrat. welcome to charlestown.

>> thank you. >> my question is, what is your interpretation of the tea party? [laughter] >> i thought we would have friendly questions here. the tea party is hard to generalize. let me make that point may. it is hard to generalize, but it was clearly a reaction in the midterm election to people who were upset by what is happening in government. too many people had lost their jobs, lost their homes, too many people felt that things should been better, and they were upset. and they had various frustrations. some are quite frankly believing in less government and they would like to see less government. they like to see us reduce expectations of what government can do.

others are perhaps anti-democrat and were looking for a way to make inroads against democrats. clearly there were some pretty conservative elements that seized upon those opportunities, and the tea party has become a home to a pretty conservative group. they have a significant number in the house of representatives. perhaps as many 80 members of the house at a 4 to 35 that have identified themselves as tea party members of the house. the manner in which the house of operation -- the house of representatives operates, speaker boehner wrote plot -- relies upon his caucus to develop plans and the tea party members have a tremendous amount of influence in the house of representatives. in the united states senate, there are a few members that

identify as tea party members but they have nowhere near the same amount of influence. what will happen in the 2012 elections, what will be the future of the tea party? i have no idea, i really do not. it ended up being a factor in the nomination process right now an nomineesident' on side, and it is on the republican side. it is not having as much influence on the democratic sat on primary elections. on the general impact -- on the impact on the general election, i do not know. >> [inaudible] by raising your hand, do we see

whether they are doing a job? >> i think everyone has views. i do not disagree with the right of their views to be represented. i think they just have more impact in the house of representatives than they should. they should have the impact of 80 members. and members should have broader views. i am old fashioned. i believe that after elections are over, you should look across party lines to get things done. we have a responsibility to do that. [applause] i believe in compromise. i will not compromise my principles but i will compromise to get things done. i worked across party lines to get retirement savings plans done. i've crossed party lines in order to work on human rights

issues. that is how you get things done in washington. it has just been painful the last year. >> could you give us some idea on possible -- how many of voters voted? i understand it was very small. very few people collected the tea party. >> we did have a small number vote in the midterm coming in the 2012 -- and in the 2012 elections we expect a larger vote. i have never understood by people who did not vote. you want to protest, come out and vote for people who are in office. in the middle east, where people want the right to select their own government, and we in america say that the weather is bad outside, all we're not going

to vote, if the weather is nice, we're going to do other things and not bode. i think it is a responsibility to vote. too many people have given their lives for us to have this right to vote. in the midterm elections, it was a disappointing number of people who showed up. >> good morning, senator. i am from charlestown here. we all know that the federal government has grown rapidly over the last several decades. it seems to be expanding without bound. do you agree that at some point we have to have limits on the size of the federal government? and secondly, would you support some sort of hiring freeze on the federal government for a couple of years to help hold that growth down? >> i agree with you. it is critically important that the federal government reduce

its spending. i agree with that. i do think that you cannot lose sight of our principal responsibility in this particular moment. and that is to get our economy back on track. we have to create more jobs. we have to create more jobs. to me, that means we have to be very selective on where we spend our money. we have to get better returns on the money being spent, and our top priority needs to be job growth. i look at our schools, i look at our roads, i look at our energy, i look at our research, and those programs have to be high priority programs. i also want to make sure that we maintain public safety. public safety is on top only law enforcement but is also our public health, environmental, those issues which to me are critically important. government can always be more efficient. we need to figure out ways to be

more efficient. for all those reasons, and agree that we need to look for ways to do more with less and it will be over an extended period of time. we need to do it in a smart way. i think we did that with this budget compromise. the numbers that were unprecedented. we have a hiring freeze involved in almost eight -- every agency of government. the hiring freeze we're not replacing. those jobs are remaining vacant. look at the numbers on government sector employment. look at the monthly numbers, you see growth and employment. you have more jobs in america. it is the kind of sector growth, it has seen declines in

jobs. we have over 300,000 federal workers in maryland and it is important to our economy and country. i will be speaking at nih and thanking them. these are dedicated men and women. we're finding the answers to the most difficult problems in the world. we're creating hope for families and creating jobs. i will be supporting their efforts. that is important for america's future. the freeze. we're losing employment. >> we have time for two more brief questions. take your pick. >> i wanted to ask a question. i live on the eastern shore. i was wondering if y you have ay

correspondence or worked and i was wondering what his views are in some of the things you have been speaking of. >> i work with every member of our delegation. the two of us work closely together. three congressmen and a key player. we worked closely with the democrat on the -- ranking democrat on the committee. also in elijah is one of the leaders on infrastructure. i do not want to leave anyone out. he is on the super khomeni. one of the 12th. steny hoyer in the house of representatives. not only for a strong leadership but his ability to work across party lines.

and donna edwards. one of the members who works in prince georges county. roscoe bartlett, one of the brightest science minds we have in the house of representatives. a scientist to brings that sensitivity to congress and has been a strong spokesperson on energy and environmental policy on the republican side. and andy harris who is the newest member of our delegation lives in baltimore county but represents the western shore and the western part of the shore. i have worked with congressman harris on some of the chesapeake bay issues. we have different views. our voting records are

different. we do -- we try to work together to try to represent the people of maryland. >> i want to make a suggestion the reason there is a low turnout and the rise of the tea party is the respect with which congress has been held. i wonder if this is due to the fact that some of the congressmen were more concerned about the party then there are about people or more concerned about getting reelected than they are about the good of the country. [applause] >> i agree with you, your assessment about the low image of congress. i will take exception to the turnout at the polls. because we never had great

turnout in the polls. it may have contributed in this midterm. i agree. i do not believe there is -- i do not understand why people did not vote. if you do not like what is going on, come out and express yourself. do not said how men complain. there is no excuse. i could not agree with you more with your assessment. your assessment is on target. that is this may sound self- serving. i did not get elected to the senate. i got elected to do things. it is incredible when i can do. it is a great honor. also an opportunity. i do not want to waste a single moment.

i was as frustrated as you are. i agree with you. i see people and i am not sure it is a pre-election issue as it is my way or the highway. a political system was built on compromise. from the first day. if you have not read about abraham lincoln, read about how he compromise. this compromises that built this country. we were not perfect when we started. women could not vote. we had a lot of problems. we developed and figured out a way to get through all that. people who felt differently did not take their marbles and go home. they did the best that could. this is what the system needs to be about and you're right.

it is about using the opportunity. i do not want to give up one moment of that to try and do that job. and if everyone just sits down and relax and put america's interest first and recognize that compromise is not a nasty word. let's get things done and move this nation forward. maintain our principles, and never go beyond our basic principles but understand it may take more than one day to get things done. that is what we have to do as a country. if we do that, their reputation of congress will go up. more people will participate in the voting and let elections take care of themselves.

when we tried to do every vote, i voted thousands of times. do what is right. people told me i would never win reelection. i thought it was the wrong thing for america to do. you need to stand up for what you believe in and use the system the way it was meant to be used to get results. your question is on target. congress should look carefully at our approval ratings. it is a clear signal that the way we are conducting business in washington is not what the people of this nation one. we have to change that. [applause] >> thank you for coming and

thank you for your words. >> thank you. always a pleasure to be here. appreciate it, thank you.

>> i agree. >> why do they make maryland a heaven? >> i will check it out. i promise you that. i could have mentioned that but there is no cuts in the

retirement benefit. no automatic -- there is no question. [inaudible conversations] i guarantee you that. absolutely. [inaudible conversations] >> it will not come up this time. i think we'll get back -- [inaudible] >> in a moment on c-span2. advances in emergency communications since the te

september 11 attacks. the white house released a list of proposed federal regulations that it says could save businesses $10 billion over five years. we will get reaction from daniel mitchell on tomorrow's "washington journal." then dan glickman will talk about humanitarian aid to foreign countries and the federal budget. after that, james kinter will discuss climatology and hurricane irene. later in the morning, a discussion on jobs in the economy. we will go to the u.s. chamber of commerce for its annual labor day briefing. live coverage under way at 10:00 a.m. eastern.

now, remarks by attorney general eric holder at a government emergency responders conference on communications technology. his remarks are 10 minutes. >> thank you. good morning. thank you for those kind words and especially for your outstanding leadership. it is a pleasure to stand with you this morning and to join you in welcoming so many of our colleagues and critical partners to this important conference. i like to recognize the great work are co-sponsors from the department of defense and homeland security have done to bring such a wide range of stakeholders together. from two federal partners to researchers and for line practitioners. each of you is an essential part of the response. each of you has a perspective that will enrich and enhance our understanding of the issues at

the center of this. as you move through the agenda, each of you have not only the power about the opportunity to strengthen our nation's ability to prevent, respond to, and to recover from critical incidents. wherever and whenever they occur. i believe it is fitting we come together this week as we approach the 10th anniversary of the most devastating terrorist attack ever carried out against the united states and it is appropriate we assemble across the river, one of the targets

that al qaeda struck on that terrible day. i know there is not a single person in this room who has not reflected at length on the unspeakable events of 9/11 or the lessons that they carried four men and women in our line of work. just as we have been inspired by the heroism we saw from first responders and ordinary citizens, we have thought about the things that went right. we have thought about what -- might have been done differently. one thing is clear. we have come a long way in the last decade. we've seen break through technological advances and more effective communication platforms and techniques. in spite of the improvements in the innovations that have marked the last 10 years it is important to remember the most crucial first seconds after an incident is reported, even the most advanced technology is just a tool. it is the individual who wields the tool. the local, state, tribal, or federal provider.

that is why get rings like this are important because they give us the chance to showcase the capabilities that at our disposal as we work to shape and ran force in multi- jurisdictional coordinated approach. i am proud of the pivotal role in our department plays in advancing these efforts. we are ensuring an effective response to emergencies ranging from industrial accidents to natural disasters. these coast responders were put to the test last week. of course, terrorist act as well. our commitment runs deeper than components like the national security division, the fbi, and the atf. less visible but no less important are the department's efforts to build the capacity of our nation's criminal-justice community to prevent, to respond to, and to recover from

incidence of all types by conducting and supporting research, providing training opportunities, administering grants and offering direct assistance to partners at every level. these partnerships not only form the backbone of our response capabilities, the play an essential role in informing the work we do at the federal level. the national institute of justice research that guides the development of new equipment, insuring the tools used are safe and effective. at every step along the way, we rely on your feedback. we depend on your engagement and to be blunt, we need your help. i am grateful that you have always stood ready to provide it. this was clear last year when in response to the interagency board, the national institute of justice help to spearhead efforts to develop strategies

and standards for equipment to protect law-enforcement from chemical, biological, radiological, and a clear hazards. i think we can be encouraged that researches and address this need. by commissioning a study. by taking direct action, convening stakeholders the range from scientists to engineers to themselves and publishing a new set of standards that met the requirements. and i jay is working with the department of homeland security to insure the new protective ensembles will use grants administered by dhs. we did not just listen to your concerns, they stepped up and solve the problem. this reflects the new focus that reinforces theand commitment that drives efforts

from the ground up. in the same spirit i am pleased to report the department has taken steps to work with law enforcement partners in implementing critical policy updates. and to prevent possible terrorist acts. at the center of this is the network of partnerships between agencies in washington and our counterparts at the state, local, and tribal levels. the success is the result of outstanding leadership. by the bureau of justice assistance. members of the global justice information -- and of course by our many partners. we have established a national capacity for gathering, processing, analyzing, and sharing suspicious activity reports we receive every day from law enforcement officials. from private security organizations, even from members

of the general public. we're connecting the dots quickly and more effectively. as we have seen all too often, most clearly on september 11 and a half to it -- aftermath of hurricane katrina, the best information is rendered useless if responders are not able to share broadly and immediately. that is why the department has taken an active role in helping to insure the communication needs a federal, state, local, and travel agencies are met. it encompasses jurisdictional barriers are broken down? to the leadership -- thanks to the leadership of the office of justice programs and the national institute of justice and the c.o.p.s. office. we are opening a series of discussions concerning the

network and the future of the d block. so long as i am attorney general we will advocate for the access to the radius vector whenever needed. this is a priority. for as long as it takes, we will continue to bring policy makers together with leaders from law enforcement, the broader public safety committee and the telecommunications industry to make sure we have access to the resources you need. despite the recent progress we made and especially in this time of growing demand and limited budgets, your work has never been more difficult but there is no question it has never been more important. as threats to our national security and public safety continue to grow and to evolve, we need to bring strategy and capabilities and technological tools into the 21st century. the collaborative approach we have adopted is showing signs of

promise. initiatives like the nsi and fusion centers. efforts to ensure safety. we have developed important innovations and and achieved significant results were working together. i'm not yet satisfied. we can never afford to become complacent. as we look to the future we must continue to cooperate, advocate, and raise awareness about the fact we can fight crime were successfully. we can protect our fellow citizens by ensuring that public safety officers -- and the best information techniques available. although significant obstacles remain, we will help bring these efforts to the next level. this morning let's renew our

commitment to increased collaboration. let us sees the opportunity to expand our circle of partners and engage more researchers and policy makers in this important work. i think we're on the right path. i cannot help but feel optimistic about our ability to move forward and to build on the record of progress we have held. thank you once again for everything you continue to do and for the work you're helping to lead every day. i am honored to stand with you as partners and i look forward to what we will accomplished together as people and the nation that we are so privileged to serve. thank you very much. [applause]

>> president obama will milk -- marked the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by visiting ground zero, the pentagon, and pennsylvania where flight 293 crashed. they will attend an evening of interfaith service at the washington national cathedral. watch coverage of the 9/11 anniversary on the c-span networks.

♪ >> next, a conversation on afghanistan with brigadier general cosentino. hosted by the atlantic council.

i would like to welcome you to what will certainly be an interesting discussion this afternoon. the south asia center which was launched in 2009 has quickly become a central forum for policy makers, members of congress, and european and south asian leaders. the center focuses on the greater south asian region which includes the gulf, iran, afghanistan, and central asia. the center has become a central point of discourse on issues related to afghanistan. with the onset of the drawdown

of u.s. and isaf forces and a deadline for transition to take place by 2014, many questions remain about the afghan security forces' ability to effectively take on command operations to ensure long-term stability and success. to address these important issues, we are pleased to have brigadier-general cosentino, the deputy joining us today. to moderate, i would like to pass the microphone over to barbara slavin. she is also our non-resident senior fellow and a vital participant of our iran task force. >> thank you and thank you for coming. we did not expect quite this turnout in august but we're

delighted to have you here. i had the great pleasure of meeting the general when he was a colonel. he had a fellowship in 2007, 2008. since that time, he has gone on to a more distinguished things, worked for -- at the pentagon and more recently was in afghanistan. he has long experience working on these issues. we're delighted he was able to make time to comment talk to us at this pivotal moment. as we all know, the mission in afghanistan has been very difficult. very complicated. it is the bloodiest year for u.s. forces. last month at the highest number of usu.s. casualties. there is a lot that is expected of the afghan national army and the afghan police and a lot of skepticism about whether they will be up to the task, which

regularly if the u.s. withdraw its forces steadily starting this summer and continuing through 2014. i am going to ask a preliminary question or to and we will open it up to questions from the floor. i think one of the major concerns that i am hearing is that the ethnic mix, in terms of the officer corps is not right. there is a very small percentage of pashtuns from the south and very few in the officer ranks. they are mostly tazhiks. can this be a successful national army as long as southern pashtuns want to stairway in great numbers? >> it is good question. thank you for coming today. especially on a beautiful

washington, d.c. day in august. this ethnic balance issue is critical, but it is tied to a few factors. besides the historical factors, there is practical issues, especially in the leadership ranks for the army and police. most specifically, the literacy rate or illiteracy rate of these southern pashtuns is one of the biggest problems. finding enough water it southern pashtuns to put into officer and then see a training has been a challenge. now, we have done is a few things to address this issue. first one is very active recruiting for southern pashtun. more success to date for the

police and for the army. that is largely a result of the fact that it is a local assignment. they can work and live in the same area. while the army is filled the nationally. the second thing, we have opened up a regional training centers for army and police in the south which did not exist 18 months ago. we built a regional military training center down in helmand province. we have a regional military training center in kandahar and we have police training centers that we have built in kandahar and helmand. by dispersing and disaggregating

this process down to the regional level, we have had a huge uplift in southern postern in the last six months. the numbers are starting to change. initially, the success has been in the police then in the army. the third piece is trying to get after it literacy, the illiteracy issue. two years ago, nato -- even though we have been in afghanistan as a mission as isaf, the nato training mission is -- one of the things we realized right away is literacy in afghanistan is bunched at the two ends of the age spectrum.

children are going to schools that have opened since 2001. the generation that went to school prior to the soviet invasion in 1979 have a degree of literacy. and the age group you want in your security forces, 18 through 40, there is a 14% literacy rate. >> is that countrywide or in the south? >> it is worse in the south. the areas they took over shut the schools down. what you have now is when you take a few officers that you can clean who have high school educations. those who have some level of literacy to non commissioner officer training was it 100% illiteracy rate for soldiers. any kind of functioning, basic

military functioning is almost impossible. you cannot take a police report. if you come to me with a crime and i cannot write it down you are going to think, he is not doing anything about it. we have now got every single soldier and policemen going through, they get literacy training. that is starting to have some traction. one of the things with southern polish town is we have an accelerated program to take those southern postion at any level of literacy and train them up so they are qualified to be police or soldiers. >> what percentage of the officers are in southern pashtun? >> i cannot tell you off the top of my head. i do not have the number. the general balance is still

about one-third, when you think of the total afghan force are in southern pashtun. we are working to address that balance. >> one other question. this seems like the model when you have the sons of iraq. you cannot get a certain ethnic groups to join the national army. how subservient are these local forces to the interior ministry? you have a contradiction. one of the goals is to create a strong afghan government. a strong code here and afghan government. on the other hand you are building up local police, local militia forces. do the peanuts -- are these going to be separate and go their own way and not answer to the national government?

>> what i would say is there is two different types of police at the local level. what are the uniformed police. and the others are the local afghan police which is ones that similar to the sons of iraq who are trained by special operations forces that are there. to date, we are nationally fielding the uniformed police. we have seen good results on their tieback to the provincial government and the central government. i would argue they do not feel

the effect of the central government. that identified the role of their provincial government. most of our afghan police are from the southern portion areas. we are recruiting and we have had great success. again, it is defending their home. once you bring the local leaders into the process, of security, those afghan local police are defending their own homes. it has been effective. there are elements out there. they call themselves afghan local police that are not sufficient. we are clear that we do not pay them, we do not supply them. when we are talking, the only

ones that are certified are the ones that have been trained by a special operations forces. >> this is the summer we have seen some colossal incidents. we have seen an attack on the intercontinental hotel. we have seen situations where afghan forces cannot manage on their own. why should we feel any sense of confidence these folks will be able to deal with the insurgency? >> i have to respectfully disagree. the intercontinental hotel was s success. it was handled totally by the afghan security forces. there responded in a very rapid manner. they dealt with it with a minimum of civilian casualties. they were professional in their approach.

is the enemy able to execute spectacular attacks? yes. if we had that enemy in the united states, they would be able to execute spectacular attacks. is the enemy able to fight and hold ground in kandahar and helmand? i would tell you they're not. we have as a team, the enemy is almost in headlong retreat in helmand and kandahar. they're running but they cannot hide. like i said, the ability to conduct a spectacular attack, anyone is willing to blow themselves up and kill lots of people. we have seen that with the world

trade center, with 9/11 coming up. we have seen it in london. to be- you're not going able to address that fully with the security forces. a lot of that is going to have to be addressed long term through the reconciliation process through the education process. as far as the ability to totally disrupt this society, the insurgent shrek, the taliban for lack of a better term as increasingly in the places -- limited in the places they can do that in afghanistan. i think the response to the attacks in kandahar are success stories. for the afghan security forces. we did not have to go in and

deal with it. they dealt with it. afghanistan is going to be under support for a long time. there will not have airforce fully functional. i am talking the troops on the ground for afghan commandos that deal with that situation. >> thank you. the general has decided not to do the powerpoint right now. if people ask questions that are appropriate, he will report to it. >> i think he would rather get your questions that have a dialogue. please identify yourself and wait for the microphone. >> one is to -- different

questions, what afghans are asking. what is their future after 10 years? they are now free from the taliban. what they are asking now, they do not have enough confidence in the government have now. what is the future of afghanistan? >> that is a really broad question. what i will do is i will come back to what i know and if you want to do a follow-up, we can go from there. what i know is that from 2009, until now, everybody knows that

the united states surged 30,000 forces to help address the security situation in afghanistan. what less people know is that nato serves 10,000 additional forces. it is more than nato. we have 34 nations in the training mission in afghanistan. what is often not known is the afghan people surged 101,000 forces. the forces have gone from approximately under 200,000 to about 300,000. i have been gone for several weeks and i cannot give you the exact number. they surged 101,000 going to an additional 156,000 for a total of 352,000. a country that does not have people committed to their own security could not have done that in the last 20 months.

it would have been impossible. i would say that the first thing is, i think we are fielding and effective army and police that will provide baseline security. we're not done with that. it will take all the way through to the end of 2014 to build those sustaining pieces, logistics', complex capabilities. from security, i am the guy in uniform so you will hear my perspective. when we say that they're going to provide security, i do not mean that the war will end. i do not think the war will be over on december 31, 2014. it will be the afghan army

police will be securing their own people. there will be occasional dramatic attacks they will have to deal with. by and large, we have driven all over afghanistan and in the last eight months, i have never seen so much economic activity. helmand province is a boom town. there is somebody putting up a business or putting up a building. people do not invest their own money. this is not usaid, not the world bank, it is afghans. and some of their neighbors. india, iran, others and i am talking private entities, not the government. people -- if you want to see where there is security, follow the money.

people do not make investments for their investments -- where the investment is at risk. i am optimistic. if we finish the mission that afghanistan will be able to progress and ride out the security situation. >> thank you for the answer. the success of afghanistan depends on the neighboring pakistan. >> a lot of that is political, diplomatic, as well as the security situation. the two are tied together. the security of afghanistan is

tied to pakistan. the focus of general petraeus is to get an afghan army police fielded in the country and to turn back the injured -- insurgency which i think he did over the last year. ambassador crocker and general allen have almost a laser-like focus to get the government of afghanistan and pakistan discussing their security charges. i would be disingenuous if i did not say it was a serious security challenge especially in eastern afghanistan that is related across the border. as much success as we have had, we are greatly challenged in the

east of the country. i think you will see a great deal of diplomatic and military effort go into that situation over the next six months to sell. >> i have seen a lot -- i [unintelligible] concerns is the trust between the security forces and i sousaf. isaf hasnow if

inserted some mutual trust lessons or ideas for the national army and police. >> that is a good question. the way i would address if it is that just like the isaf forces and troops and the afghan troops are -- so is the enemy. even when the enemy gets rollback, this is a counterinsurgency fight. the enemy is still out there. elements among the people. we recruit from the people. these are not like foreign mercenaries. as much as you try to fully force, occasional bad

actors come in. the second thing is that working with the government of afghanistan, the government of afghanistan with our assistance has put into place and eight process.ettinvetting it includes a technological advances like biometrics and other techniques, which could vet the force. we have no problem meeting our recruiting requirements or our ethnic balance requirements. in the army, the police were over our numbers. now it is a leadership training issue. not a recruiting issue. in the army, we met our 6500 goal of the month including last

month. we turned away 1400 people who tried to recruit or join the military. some of them or things like medical. there is a variety of bad actors. they had bad associations that were worrisome or you have criminal pasts or issues of corruption. that was 1400 that were turned away through this process. i think the progress is there. and that is providing a great deal of assurance and trust, knowing that you have this active process that is going on. but there are thousands of members of the afghan army and police and scattered throughout

there may -- i am sure there are a few bad actors. that is the second thing. the third thing, you have a lot of people who claim to be jihadis and insurgents. at the moment where they are captured or they start trying to fight their way out is that is a much more honorable way in their view to go then being and out and out criminal. what we found in some of these cases is these guys are not really insurgents. they are criminals. as i got caught in their criminal activity, they turned on the their ally or they turned on their afghan, their fellow afghan members.

the news was closing in on them. to some degree, the stories are -- who are insurgents is overplayed. it is still a threat. there is going to be some folks to get through. >> can i ask you about retention? you mentioned recruitment. if you have some figures about that. >> it is still a challenge. i would say it is a huge problem. we are -- we get as many as we need to get to maintain the force. attrition has dropped. some significant drops occurred in the last several months. 2.2% a month.

on the national, figured over year, that is a lot. 24%, 26%. it is a big turnover. there is a couple of factors in that. the biggest factor is there is no law that requires you to stay. if you enlist in the u.s. army and you sign a contract and you cannot just leave whenever you want to leave. in afghanistan you can pick up and go home. often what happens is you have mostly young men who have come of the first time they have been away from home. they do not like it. the first time i was unlisted i might have gone home, too, if i had not signed a contract. it is not necessarily fun the first time you go out and to military duty.

some of those folks go home and come back later on. the real factors that drove attrition when the nato training mission was stood up and looked at it was bad leadership, for pay. bad living conditions, and less about the fight. the afghans are fighters. they're not afraid to get into a scrap. what we did is we focused on leader training. we had 500% more capacity for leader training. we're focused on helping the afghan army develop competent, honest, good leaders. that has helped. we looked at the army and police and we brought the police up to the same pay as the army which has helped on the police side. and we worked in incentive pay

so that every soldier, once they leave the training base is considered at war. they get combat pay. it is a 360 combat environment. the facilities are much better. there has been a huge investment in facilities to make a living standards of the afghans better. all those factors have started to drive down the attrition rate. it is not where we would want it yet. it is not a desperate situation because we're not losing. we were able to meet our requirements. like any big organization, there is an investment they have to make that they cannot retain. >> how about at the end? >> i served in the marines and i work for the u.s. side. i have a two-part question. could you provide us with an

update on the status of the afghan public protection force? there are three levels of training in the works. at two week program and for weeks for convoys security as well as a six week program for development types security. i understand it does not fall under the ministry of interior or defense or rather a state- owned enterprise. i wanted to see where you stand or where we stand with regard to the legal steps as a state-owned enterprise. going to digress for a second. i am not dodging your question. we have 6000 trainers, advisers

in the country. i have 3004 deployed it rises. -- advisers. in six commands. my interaction with the avpf is small. what i will tell you is the efforts up to this point have been clarifying the laws that will govern how the appf are brannan board and paid for. and much may have changed in the last three or four weeks. since i have been on leave and back here tty in washington, d.c.. when we left the first real classes for appf were ongoing. they were very well attended and

seemed to be successful. the afghan justice department representatives who came to observe at of the interior was positive. i cannot give you much more than that. it is a unique program. we have the facilities protection force in iraq. even in those cases they were paid by the government. this is a very unique, time will tell how it goes and there may be a few fits and starts as it goes forward. initial reports from the training is that it was going successfully.

>> i am frederick ericsson. i have two question. -- two questions. there has been some criticism of it, and there were some pressure ports a couple of weeks ago that some units have been closed. -- some press reports a couple of weeks ago that some units have been closed.

>> to me, that means we have to be very selective where we spend our money. we have to get a better return for the money spent. our top priority needs to be job growth. therefore, i'd look at our schools, our roads, our energy, our research, those programs that say they have to be high priority programs. i also want to make sure we maintain public safety. it is not only our law enforcement, but it also is our public health, environmental, those issues, which are critically important. yes, government can always be more efficient. we need to figure out ways to become more efficient. for all those reasons, i agree

that we have to look for ways to do more with less. and it is going to be over an extended period of time. we need to do it in a smart way. i think we did that with this budget compromise. the numbers that were reached or ones that were basically allowing us to do what i just said. i must tell you, freezes are unprecedented at the national level, at any level. we have a hiring freeze involved in almost every agency of government right now. in fact, we are not replacing people. they leave those jobs and today jobs -- the jobs are remaining vacant. you look at the monthly numbers and to see growth of and plummet. every month, we add more jobs in america, not enough, but it is the private sector where the jobs are. the public sector has seen

declines in jobs. we have 300,000 federal workers in maryland. it is critically important to our country. tomorrow, i will speak new hampshire. these are dedicated men and women who are finding the answers to the most difficult problems in the world. health care and creating hope for a lot of families and creating jobs. i want to be supporting their efforts, because i think that is important for america's future. i agree with your premise. we are well past the trees. we are actually losing employment at all levels of government. >> two more brief questions. one from this side and one from that. take your pick. >> good morning. i live on the eastern shore, and i was wondering if you had any correspondence or work with andy harris. i was wondering where his views

are in some of the things you've spoken of today. >> i work with every member of our congressional delegation. i have worked very closely with senator mikulski. we work closely together. the three congressmen from the baltimore region, elijah cummings a key player in the house of representatives. i am close with the ranking democrat on the intelligence committee and the john sarbanes, one of the leaders on the environmental and health issues. the baltimore delegation, i do not want to beat anyone out. from the washington area, not only the ranking democrat on the budget committee, he is on the super committee. he is one of the 12th. steny hoyer, the number 2 democrat, the person that is known not only for his strong leadership in the democratic party but his ability to work across party lines. one of the best bridge builders we have and the house.

don edwards, one of the younger members who works in prince george's county. -- donna edwards. roscoe bartlett. one of the brightest science mines in the house of representatives. he brings that sensitivity to the congress and has been a strong spokesperson on energy and environmental policy in the house from the republican side. and then andy harris, who is the newest member of our delegation. he lives in baltimore county but represents the eastern shore and the western part of the short in anne arundel and baltimore counties. i worked with congressman harris on some of the chesapeake bay issues. we try to work together to bridge our differences. we have different views. are voting records are very different. but i met with him many times

and we try to work together as a team in maryland to represent the people as effectively as we can. >> a final question. >> senator cardin, i want to thank you on behalf of all of us for coming and being here. i want to make a suggestion that the reason why there is a low turnout and the rise of tea party is the low respect with which congress is generally held. and i wonder if this is due to the fact that some of the congressmen are more concerned about the party than they are about people, or more concerned about getting reelected than they are about the good of the country. [applause] >> i agree with your assessment about below image of congress, but i will take exception to the turn out at the polls. because we never had a great turnout in the polls in midterm elections. yes, perhaps, it may have

contributed in this midterm. i agree with you on that. but i did not believe there is any -- i do not understand why people do not vote. if you do not like what is going on, express yourself. do not sit home and then complain. to me, there is no excuse for not voting. i hope people followed in the 2012 elections. i could not agree with you more about your assessment. i think is right on target. that is -- this may sound self- serving. i did not get elected to the senate to get reelected to the senate. i did not. i got elected to the senate to do things. it is incredible what i can do in the u.s. senate. it is an incredible body. it is a great honor, but it is also an opportunity i have. so i do not want to waste a single moment. not a moment in getting things done. i am as frustrated as you are, because i agree here.

i see people -- i am not so sure it is a real election issue as it is just my way or the highway kind of thing. to me, our political system was built on a compromise. from the very first days. if you've never read about abraham lincoln. please read about abraham lincoln. one of the greatest presidents in the history of america. what about how he compromise on the freedom of slavery. is compromise that built this great country. we were not perfect when we started. women could not vote. we have a lot of problems and we started this nation. and we developed and figured out a way to get through all that. the people that felt differently did not take their marbles and go home. they stayed and they fought and they did the best they could adn nd they lived to fight another day. that is what the system needs to be about. you're absolutely right. to me, it is about using the oopportunity.

the greatest honor of my life was when the voters of maryland told me to represent them in the united states senate. i do not want to give up one moment of that in trying to do that job. if everyone would sit down and relax and listen to each other and put america's interest first and recognize that compromise is not a nasty word. let's get things done, move this nation fourth, maintain our principles. never go beyond our basic principles. but understand it may take more than one day to get things done. that is what we have to do as a country. if we do that, the reputation of congress will go up. i hope more people participating in voting. and let elections take care of themselves. voters are a lot smarter than we think you are. you'll figure it out. you will vote for the people you think will do the right thing. when we try to do it every vote

in washington. i voted thousands of thousands of times. if there is anybody in this -- a lot of you disagree with my votes. that is a fact of life. do what is right. i voted against the war in iraq, people told me i would not did reelected. i voted against it because i thought it was the wrong thing for america to do. need to stand up for what you believe in, and use the system the way it was meant to be used -- to get results for the people of this country. your question is right on target. congress should look very carefully at our approval ratings, because it is a clear signal that the way we are conducting business in washington is not what the people of this nation want. and we have to change that. [applause] >> on behalf of charles town, thank you for coming here. thank you for your words. god bless you. around of applause for senator

cardin. >> always a pleasure to be here. appreciate it. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> oh, my goodness. you have to be kidding me. >> she took me under her wing . i'll never forget. >> oh, my. [inaudible] >> thank you.

we need people in this country -- >> i agree with you. >> they say on record. 300,000 people. withbama did away him. >> you have to have secure borders, absolutely. >> we will not deport these 300,000 people. >> i was not aware of it. >> people right here in maryland -- why do they make maryland a haven for these people? >> i will check it out. promise you that. epsilon, yes. -- absolutely, yes. there are no cuts in retirement

benefits. nothing in the first round, no automatic cuts. >> that is only the first round. >> it is all the super committee. there is no question of the obama support. >> thank you so much. >> [inaudible] under the mandate, americans to buy a government insurance policy. >> the public insurance option? i think it will come up. i think you'll get back to a public insurance option. >> now, freshman republican congressman allen west meets with constituents in his district at palm beach gardens,

florida. he recently returned from a trip to israel and the palestinian territories. [applause] >> good evening, thank you. i am the district manager. i want to welcome you to our 15th meeting. [inaudible] first off, we will have a presentation of the colors by the city of palm beach. we will have the pledge of allegiance and the national anthem. the mayor will make opening remarks and introduce the congressman. we will bring you a washington update. then we will have a "q&a" session. with that, we will be

started and present the caller. >> detail, atten hut. forward march. left, left, left, right. left, left. your left. left, right. mark time. detail halt. left face. present arms. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of

america, and it to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. ♪ >> o, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? whose broad stripes and bright stars. through the perilous fight. watched ramparts we were so gallantly streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night

that our flag was still there o, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave of the freed and the home of the brave ♪ halt.er, detail, right face. forward march. left, left.

left. [applause] >> good afternoon. welcome to palm beach gardens. thank you for coming out in this wonderful weather we're having today to see our congressmen. i feel that one of the most important duties of an elected official is to come out and meet with his constituents and discuss issues and ideas and bring that back to the government body and make decisions on their behalf.

i would like to commend allen west for coming out and doing that. as a congressman, i would like to commend him for coming here. he needs to take our ideas and thoughts back to washington and better represent us. congressman allen west proudly served the constituents of the 20 ce2nd district. born and raised in atlanta, in the same neighborhood were dr. martin luther king was -- [inaudible] his father was a corporal in the u.s. army and served in europe in world war ii. his mother, the outspoken and lovable snooks west, worked on a military installation.

the congressman served in the army, before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. he served as a field artillery officer in operation desert storm. in operation iraqi freedom, where he was a battalion commander for the army position and in afghanistan where he trained afghan officers to take on the responsibilities of securing their own boundaries. in 2004, west retired from the military and brought his wife and their two daughters to south florida to be closer to his wife's family. he taught high school for one year and return to afghanistan as a civilian adviser to the afghan army. in november, 2010, he was honored to be able to take the oath of office when he was

elected as a representative to the united states congress. he is wearing a nice suit. but the -- his commitment to protect the people of the united states is still this mission. time saying hard this -- volunteers. scuba diver and a motorcycle rider. without further ado, i like to introduce our congressmen allen west. [applause] >> thank you. thank you so much, mayor levy. get this out of the way.

thanks, mayor levy, and thanks to the men and women that served to protect each and every one of you in palm beach gardens, your police. the most important thing is you and your safety and your security, especially with what we saw back in january with gabrille giffords. it was an incredible honor to see your casting that final vote before we left on recess. that is a miracle that occurred. i want to tell you something. everybody's seat of the cameras are around here. i do not know when there are going to do it, but you are all being taped for c-span. make sure you sit up straight, suck it in. smile, because the world is watching us down here. obviously, something happened while i was away in israel. i did a media interview and they ask me, was i going to start charging people to come to town

hall meetings? i do not know who is doing that, but in no, maybe i can pick up a couple of dollars here or there. i can go to chick fil-a afterwards. it is so important we stand before you to let you know what our perspectives and our insights are.

fans out there. we have two offices, the one that serves you. palm beach county, on the dixie highway. and then if you are in browerd county, at the intersection of cypress creek and andrews avenue, off the i-95 exit, that is our fort lauderdale office. here we are, the month of august. one of the things i have been talking on is that when we had that s&p downgrade, we should've gone back to washington and dealt with the issues with our fiscal situation, finding additional spending cuts to restore our credit rating. but here we are, in this last week here in august. we will head back into session next week. i head back up to washington, d.c. on the fifth. i have duties on the house floor on september 5. this is the last week, august being dedicated to members of congress to go back and meet with constituents, having town

hall meetings, and keeping you informed on what is going on. next slide. sorry. i can do it. thank you. i told you i went to the university of tennessee. let's talk about this budget control act. not the perfect plan, no doubt about it. one of the things i did not like was this commission, the super committee, what ever you want to call it. i think it is so important to have gotten back there as soon as possible. there is spending that has to be curtailed in washington, d.c. it is sad that we have to have this nuclear option hanging over our heads if we do not find the additional spending such as major cuts to medicare systems and major cuts to our defense systems. i do not want to see that happen. when i look at what we were able to do come up with the first time in history in the united states that this debt ceiling was raised and said -- and we said we would have spending cuts of all. was it the amount i wanted?

no, but there were better than having no spending cuts. no one can talk about raising the debt ceiling going forward without having massive spending cuts in washington, d.c. it avoided a very bad situation as far as default and the raising of our interest rates. that is not the kind of thing i want to see happening when we have so many people in the indicted states, and in florida, -- in the united states, and in florida, struggling. unemployment rates high, foreclosure rates high. we don't need more hot coals heaped upon you. the other thing we must stay away from -- now's not the time for tax increases. i will show you some numbers to show you why we do not need that. now's the time to talk about reforming our tax code. we will talk specifically about that.

the thing i want everyone here to understand -- a year ago everyone was upset about a $2 trillion health care law. now everyone in the united states of america is upset about not cutting more spending. that is a change in the conversation in washington, d.c. we have an incredible apparatus and culture in washington, d.c. which is a self-licking ice- cream cone. it perpetuates itself and the problems that it has. it is really hard to take that candy out of the baby's mouth in washington, d.c., but we are getting to the point that we're doing it. the conversation is not about how much more we can spend, but the conversation is how we can cut back on our spending. and we have to do that. we are at a point, what they've $14.5 trillion in debt, 75% of

our gdp, with the federal government spending about 24%. we're bringing about 20% of revenues in this country. that is why we have that separation of what you are bringing in, revenues, and what you are pushing out, outlays, and that creates the deficit. we're about to have our third straight year of a $1 trillion plus deficit. now we are estimating $1.5 trillion dollars this year. in the first quarter, the deficit was zero -- was 0.4%. they estimated gdp was 0.3% and just downgraded it. it only grew 0.1%.

compare that with china. china is growing at 9.5%. that is the danger of where we are at right now. i always like to show this because we have to understand, it is a culture that will not be changed in eight months. it takes 5 miles to turn around one of the aircraft carriers that we have. but we are turning and we have started that motion. and that is what we have to stay focused on. we can take the incremental steps to get us going in the right direction, but there is no way in eight months we are going to rectify almost 30 years of fiscally irresponsible policies that have come out of washington, d.c. and that is what we face. we have to do something about our medicare program.

in 13 years, medicare is bankrupt. for people that are 55 years and above, the reform plan put forward, it does not touch anyone 55 years or older. i am 50 years old. if we do not do something for medicare right now, it is not going to be there for me. even more so, it will not be there for some of the people in medicare at this time. we have to start looking at the viable solutions that we can do. we have to move away from this fee-for-service. we have to look at the fraud, waste, and abuse in medicare. south florida is ground zero for fraud, waste, and abuse. we've got to look at the means by which we can rectify that. one of the things out there, there are medicare senior

patrols, people in the senior committees talking to each other about how we go out and share information about fraud, waste, and abuse? i had the opportunity to talk to one group of individuals that does that pathological lab tests. they talked about the means by which we could streamline this program so that we do not have increased costs on seniors with all these additional technologies and tests that they have to take. their means by which we can improve the systems. or else medicare will not be there for anyone. our debt. slowly but surely, it is overtaking our gdp. right now the debt is 73%. any economist will tell you that when your debt to gdp ratio hits 85%, you are about to destroy your economy. that is where we are. we have to turn it around. we can not get to the point where will we owe equals what we produce. 43% of the debt in the united

states is held by foreign nations. 27% of that debt is held by china. but while i was in israel, there was a peculiar visitor there. it was the chief of the chinese liberation army. it was very weird. 47% of wage earning households in the united states of america pay no federal income tax. that is a very dangerous statistic when you sit down and understand that we have about 53% pulling the wagon in this country. let's talk about facts. let's talk about that top 1% of wage earners. they pay about 37% of the taxes in the united states of america for the top 5% pay about 54% of the taxes in this country.

the top 25% of wage earners in united states pay 86% of the taxes in this country. that is why it is not about shared sacrifice. we have to make more people shareholders in the united states of america. that is why i believe in the flat tax system. anywhere from 13% to maybe 16% and you have two deductions. a child tax credit and you have a mortgage interest tax deduction. we want families and we want families to have homes. those are the two deduction is that if we could simplify the tax code, and very simple. $240 billion in two months. the federal government right now is spending about $3 billion a day. it is not a revenue problem. it is a spending problem in the united states of america.

>> can you repeat that? >> $3 billion a day is what the federal government is spending. it is a revenue problem. and that is what i said, it is about spending -- expanding this tax base. that is a proven thing in the united states of america, but free market enterprise system. if you cannot lower these -- if you can lower the tax rates and curtail spending, it will increase the revenues being produced. the more money we put into your pocket, it will happen. it is about going out and spending. it is goods and services. if you purchase more goods and services, the small businesses are growing. with the regulatory and tax environment that we have, that is not happening. the united states of america has the second-highest corporate tax rate in the world at 35%.

when you combine that with 46% - with the 4-6% state rate -- -- when you hear that corporate profits are up, they are, but they are not up in the united states of america. they are up overseas which is where people are going. they have a competitive tax rates. if we took a corporate business tax rate in the analysis of american bring it down to 21%, and eliminate loopholes and subsidies, just give them a competitive tax rate. then you would see trillions of dollars of capital come back to the united states of america and making get back to doing what our corporate business sector want to do, and grow businesses and higher americans and get back to producing and manufacturing in this country. that is what we have to be able to do. here are some points that i brought up that i think will be

very helpful as we go forward. we have to find additional spending cuts up in washington. it is not that hard to do. in my first 90 days, i was able to find three wasteful programs in the department of defense that resulted in $800 million of savings to americans over the next 10 years. if every single member out there did the exact same thing, with whatever agency they have oversight of, what would happen with the debt, what would happen to the deficit, what would happen with spending in washington. that is what we have to be able to do. we do not have a budget. we're looking at 855 days that the united states has not operated with a budget. can you run your house all that way? can you run a business that way? but nothing has come out of the senate as far as a budget, jobs

bills have passed and they have been sent to the senate. no one can run their organizations the way the house is run right now. we have had $200 billion of those programs, out in the gao report that whatever -- it was published in march of this year. nothing has been done. they would be a great place to start. reform the regulatory systems. in the month of july, about 600 new regulations were sent down from the federal government. they will cost businesses up to $10 billion of compliance. if we continue in this fashion, we're going to preclude our businesses from being able to grow. things such as the epa criteria

which says that farmers and as a polities have to have runoff -- and municipalities have to have runoff water that as parts per billion purer than rainwater or else they will be fine. that is coming out of washington, d.c. that is frustrating business. this is the symbol of the inaction that we have had here recently. these other bills passed in the house and as you can say, nothing is getting through to the senate. people said i should run for the senate, and i said i would rather go up there and work. i don't know what these guys do. [laughter] [applause] here is a flow chart. back in february, the president proposed his 2012 budget. it failed in the senate, and the house of representatives passed the ryan plan, it went to the senate and sat there.

there are 12 appropriations bills that have to be passed in order for the federal government to continue to operate itself. so far in the house, we've only passed six of those. we are working through the interior bill which is something we have to pick up when we get back. but the senate has only passed one of those appropriations bills. what is going to happen when we get back up there in september? we're not going to be able to finish those other six bills in the house. we definitely will not complete them in the senate. two words you will hear. continuing resolution or omnibus. that is why congress has a 14% approval rating. we know what we are supposed to do and yet we are failing to do it. i grew up in the united states military. you do not go home until the mission is accomplished. that is not how you do it in washington, d.c.

am i optimistic about it? yes, i am. i stand here and i see americans. any time americans are pushed into a corner, we figure it out. winston churchill once said americans will eventually do the right thing after they have tried everything else. [laughter] that is why he is the only person not an american that we named a naval war vessel after. he is absolutely right. we have had several different big fights on this battlefield. if any of you have ever read the book "the killer angels'" or saw the film "gettysburg," you can understand what i'm saying

there. if one colonel could hold a piece of high ground in gettysburg and delay in time for the armies of the potomac to race back up to him, then they could possibly defeat the army of northern virginia, which up to that point had never lost a battle. in those three days at gettysburg, thanks to a man such as joshua chamberlain who held that far right flank, they were able to defeat the army of northern virginia because of a foolish attack by this confederate general, george pickett. he charged across an open field and of course lost 16,000 men in one day.

this is how we have to stand and be able to fight this thing incrementally. like i said, we're not going to turn around 30 years of fiscally ir responsible programs in eight months. but if we can hold on and fight and if you can once again ask yourself, what made america great, then that battle that is coming on november 2012, america will rediscover itself and we will set the course for a new and brighter future for this great nation. and that is what i believe will happen. is it going to get tough? absolutely right. but we have to trust in the values that made this country great and that is what i stand for. all right. let's talk about my trip to israel. the american-israeli education firm sponsored the trip for delegations, democrat delegations and two republican delegation.

we were allowed to bring our spouses. it was my wife angela's first trip. the only place we did not get a chance to go down into was southern israel because of the rockets and mortars being fired out of gaza at the time. the people of israel are very appreciative to the united states of america, because we helped them with the new system called the iron dome. they can fire a rocket which can intercept a medium or short-range missile in flight. it has proven to be very successful when it engages missile to missile. it has been 100% accurate when it has been fired against incoming missiles. the people of israel thank you for that. [applause] the thing we have to understand -- why is there such an incredible bond between america

and israel? it starts with the shared judeo-christian heritage. if you read the writings of the founding fathers, that enabled this country to be established. that is one of the key parts. the shared values that we have with israel or freedom, liberty. we see a pluralistic society in israel just as we see it here. you see members of the knesset who are arabs there. just as you see various members all across our society who are congressmen. it is that commitment to those democratic principles. but the most important thing we must understand is that america and israel have a common enemy. and those are the words coming right out of the mouth of prime minister netanyahu when he sat there and spoke with us. militant islam, or what i called islamic totalitarianism, that they are fighting against

that we must understand. if israel goes, then we are next. what this enemy sees is a smaller satan and a greater satan. we were supposed to meet with president mahmoud abbas. i was not aware of a scheduling problem. i questioned if they are a credible peace partner. listening to him and his 35- minute speech, i do not believe so. number one, during that time i was there, no one from the palestinian authority denounced the terrorist attacks. let me tell you about this attack which claimed the life of eight israelis.

three of the attackers were egyptians. when they traced back their routes, they came out of egypt, they tracked across the sinai desert, which is nothing but a no man's land now, and they went in in a very well-planned, well coordinated ambushed and killed eight israelis. afterwards, the rockets and mortars that came in and out of gaza, no word from the palestinian authority denouncing those rockets and mortars. president abbas put out a statement that said that he felt that israel was using firing back as a means to delegitimize the september vote of the palestinian statehood. he would not even recognize the fact that israel had been attacked. we have have people who will recognize the existence of the modern state of israel and we have to have people who will denounced terrorist groups in

action. when people talk about a two- state solution, mahmoud abbas has not been to gaza in about five years. they are two totally different organizations. fatah in the west bank does not have any connection with hamas in gaza. there will probably be a three state solution. gaza is not going to be talking to the folks in ramallah. this is what it looks like. in a couple of countries, we do not have them. we have turkey and down here you have syria. over here, afghanistan and pakistan. -- and down here somalia. that is israel. that small little bastion of

freedom and democracy in a sea of despots, dictators, autocrats, and theocrats. what concerns israel right now? with hosni mubarak being deposed, you have iranian warships going through the suez canal for the first time in 30 years. the oil and gas pipeline has been attacked four times. egypt brokered this reconciliation between hamas and fatah. they were talking about some type of agreement. we know what just happened in libya. we know what is happening in syria. here in the gaza strip, where you have hamas and a coordinated group of other tourist organization. here in lebanon, southern lebanon, where i look down, completely controlled by hezbollah. as the law -- they have rearmed

and refitted themselves where there are 50,000 rockets and missiles in southern lebanon. the united nations has an intervention force in southern lebanon. a spanish and italian contingent. they are now refusing to go into these different towns and villages in southern lebanon because hezbollah is now attacking them. they just lost about six spanish soldiers. that is why israel has to have the golan heights. when you look across the sea of galilee, you can understand the strategic importance of it. that is why israel has to have a protective border. that is why israel has to finally come to the realization -- we have to come to the realization that their security is so important when you look at this greater neighborhood in which they live. turkey finds himself becoming

more islamist and anti-israeli. iran is fueling all this unrest. at the end of the year, american forces are supposed to leave iraq. while in iraq, maqtada el-sadr has returned and his mahdi army is stronger. that is the neighborhood that israel is living in. oh. strategic depth. there was a place i stood in israel and i could see the entire industrial base, 22 miles, and one piece of high ground dominated that entire coastal plain of israel, tel aviv included. 1.5 million israelis. that piece of ground that i stood on was just inside the

"green line." that is what we have had. israel has to defend itself. we have had a credible peace partner double recognize the -- that will recognize the state of israel and renounce terrorism. this is so important. there has to be an undivided jerusalem. i have a great opportunity around the old city three times. an incredible experience to run around the old city of jerusalem. to climb that hill of zion, it almost killed me, but that is ok. [laughter] next month is a critical moment in the united nations. they will bring forward a declaration of a unilateral palestinian state. the united states must vote against it in the security council. the united states cannot continue to provide the millions upon millions of dollars of

support for the palestinian authority which will not recognize the modern-day state of israel. and we have to dismantle the terrorist threat that threatens israel. probably the most emotional thing is when a woman came up to brief us and she was down from southern israel, and she talked about how her child spends most of its day in a bomb shelter. that is not a way to live. i do not think any of us here want our children to grow up living in that type of environment. in our greatest ally, that is the environment they are living in. with that being said, what are your questions? [applause]

>> good afternoon. i am the legislative affairs director for palm beach county. i'm in a non-partisan capacity for the board of county commissioners. it is my honor to help moderate some of your questions that you have for congressman west. we've had over 50 questions submitted. i apologize if we do not get to all of them. some of them are redundant. i have split them up into eight different areas, health care, budget, war, tax reform, environmental, jobs, israel, and some administrative

questions. without further ado, i will rapid fire as many of these as we can. if i say something already covered, say you've already covered. we will start with health care. what will you be able to do the work with your friends in the senate to remove obamacare as soon as possible? [applause] >> as you know back in january, we voted in the house to repeal the patient protection and affordable care act. that has been sitting in the senate. as long as harry reid is the majority leader in the senate, nothing is going to happen with health care being reformed. understand that everyone has seen their insurance premiums go up. insurance companies recognize that in 2013 or 2018, they will be stuck. they're trying to milk the american people up front before

they get to that point. it is so important to change that policy, that health care law, before 2013. after that, you're talking about 159 new government bureaucracies. that will kick in. we can go back and reform health care, but we can do it by using the right type of market principles that put you in charge of your health care and not the government. >> recent court cases about the constitutionality of obamacare. what is your opinion about the constitutional nature of it? >> the 11th circuit court of appeals out of atlanta ruled the individual mandate was unconstitutional. when you study previous supreme court decisions, the federal government does not have the authority to mandate to an individual citizen that they must buy a private commodity. some tried to liken that automobile insurance.

but you do not have to buy a car. if you do buy a car, you operate on public roads systems and you are required to have automobile insurance. but the mandate that the american people purchase health insurance or they will be fined, that is not constitutional. i believe this will be coming up in the supreme court sometime next year. >> you discuss medicare earlier. [inaudible] >> i am asking the people's questions, sir. i would be happy, i would say the names on each of these questions. i am moderating, sir. please, i'm sorry, but we will get to as much as we can. >> [unintelligible] >> the next question is from palm beach about medicare. what can you do to get medicare

spending under control? >> one of the most important things to do is move from the fee-for-service to a defined benefit. if you have the defined benefit based on the individual, that puts them in charge of their medicare. right now people go in and get medicare. they do not know what that bill is, going forward. a lot of times you see a service billed at $200, they bill medicare for $1,000. you have have that system -- we have to have that system cleaned up. we have to get rid of defensive medicine enacted by so many of our doctors. they go in and require people that have many tests that are not necessary. they do that because of tort reform. one of the key things that we need, not for medicare, but the entire health care system, is tort reform so that doctors can

go in and do what they want to do, protect the patient. we talked about the fraud, waste, and abuse in the system. we have to rectify the billions of dollars that we can save there. let's start talking to some of those medical professionals like i did with a group practicing anatomical pathology for quite some time. how you streamline and make sure that the copays we put on our seniors are less. every time a senior goes in and is one of these pathology tests, that is another little copay. all of the sudden, the 20% copay that you have, it adds up. we have to reduce those tests. >> we have about six questions regarding military action going on around the world. with polls showing 80% to end the war, why do we continue to

vote to finance the wars? >> you're looking at a guy that said we should not be in lebanon. i mean, in libya. i was one of the most outspoken people about the war powers resolution. we should not have supported any action in libya because it did not meet the war powers resolution test. after we found that osama bin laden was killed in pakistan, we should cut that money off. thee about to celebrate 10th anniversary of 9/11. 10 years ago, none of us would have thought that airplanes flew into buildings. the enemy has a vote, ladies and gentlemen. whether or not you like that vote, you have to do something about it. i've been in desert shield, desert storm, iraq, and afghanistan. we could do better in fighting this 21st century battle. it is not about nation-building or occupation-style warfare. we have to focus on where the enemy is and taking the fight to the enemy.

we are not responsible for fixing everything that is broken. [applause] but you have an enemy that is not going to go away unless you crush him. if we do not get back to the point of understanding that sometimes your enemy has to be crushed, the last time the united states fought a total war where they were committed was world war ii. [applause] every time you fight half measure warfare, you get residual effects. you did not finish the job like korea or vietnam, you see what happens. we did not do the job in desert storm, and guess what, we were back over there. you have to develop the right kinds of strategically maneuverable military to take the fight to the enemy. a great example -- we had 546 navy vessels in 1990. navy vessels in 1990.