lungren, and congressman jeff dunn them. this incredible tree has been decorated with more than 3000 handcrafted ornaments by golden state residents which reflect the california shines. it is quite interesting that this year's tree comes from the great state of california. for more than 40 years, the united states forest service and the capital have a partner to bring a christmas tree to the capital from one of our 155 national forests. they altogether compromise at 193 million acres of forest and grasslands in the united states. let's take a moment to specifically thank the dedicated for a service group,

both the staff here in washington and california for help make -- helping make this event possible. joining us tonight is the chief of the u.s. forest service. he has a holiday message to share with all of you. >> thank you. i will take full credit for the rain to let off. i want to thank those from california for sending been nice, warm weather this evening. as was mentioned, the things that i want to stress is that this is a collaborative effort. we are with the community in the california to come together and put all of the time and effort into this. it is not just the tree or the

ornaments that are decorated. there are another 100 trees spread throughout this town today. it is a message that this tree is a model for. it is a message about the benefits of people working together. coming together in a collaborative effort to do something much larger than a tree. if you think about the tens of thousands of hours of volunteer time that this tree represents, the effort put into the fund raising and also the food drive, this tree came across the country and stop in a couple of communities and delivered food to those food banks. i want to thank everyone from california. i want to thank everyone from the forest service that is a part of this every year. it is a great honor to be a part of it. thank you for letting us be a part of your christmas. [applause]

>> thank you so much. just nine days ago, this tree arrived here and our crew went to work decorating it. did they not do a great job? our grounds superintendent had the tough task of picking mystery out of the many beautiful trees available to him in the stanislaus national forest. it is my honor to introduce senator dianne feinstein. she has been serving the people of california since 1992. i have the honor of working

closely with her in 2002 as she served as chair of the congressional committee on ceremonies. ms. feinstein. >> thank you very much. speaker boehner, members of congress, ladies and gentlemen, it is great to be here to see this tree. i would call it slim, tall, and narrow. when it was harvested, it was 118 years old and 108 feet tall. it is down 65 feet tall and it weighs 8,300 pounds. it has come all across the united states through a number of different communities. it comes from the great stanis

laus national forest. it is about three hours north of san francisco. it is the home of a falcon and bald eagle. today, we have some students from that area. i want to recognize a seven- year-old student from sonora. it is my understanding that he is going to be joining you in lighting petrie. we also happy summerville high school choir that will place some holiday music for us. i just want to say that this is a bit california here and i hope that everybody understands this. i am and appropriators. the other day, the staff

director told me that he proposed to his wife at this tree lighting ceremony. i think it does have special significance. thank you very much and welcome. [joy to the world being sung] ♪

"joy to the world" being sung] ♪ ["the most wonderful time of

the year] ♪ wonderful time of the year"] ♪

["rocking around the christmas tree"] ♪

the christmasound tree"] ♪

[applause] >> jazz at eight from summville high school in california. it is my pleasure to introduce to you congressman daniel lungren from the third congressional district of california. mr. lungren. >> thank you very much. i love this place. if you do not get a chill up your spine when you come to this place, it is time to leave.

true americana is when we see the folks back home. today is the best of all possible worlds. we are here at the u.s. capital, yet we have home with us here today with our students doing a great job. the street from the home state of california, which i might remind you, our state is owned 45% by the federal government. it is nice when we can bring the federal government back here with you. i represent one county that is 96% owned by the federal government with parts of three national forests and wilderness areas. we are very proud by that part of the state of california. we are proud that this street took a 4200-mile trips to represent us and the nation as the u.s. capitol christmas tree.

god bless you and god bless america. let's have a wonderful celebration here in our nation's capital. >> thank you, congressman lundgren. >> from the 19th district of california, congressman jeff. >> thank you and good evening. it is an honor to have the people'history come from 19th congressional district in california. to share a part of california not only with the rest of the nation, but the world. it was brought together with partnerships with indians that help bring this year. we met with other native americans throughout the nation. we did food drives. this was throughout california and the nation. being able to raise money within

their community to pay for the expenses of having it come here , welcome to the nation's capital. we appreciate you being here as well. it has been an exciting process to be part of the planning of this. not only the people's tree and the festivities, but it really hit home when the trio arrived. the significance of being able to celebrate the religious holiday, because of our freedoms in this great country was overwhelming. i just want to thank you, mr. speaker, for having the people's tree. thank you. >> thank you, congressman. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great privilege to introduce the speaker of the house.

john boehner has served the people of the eighth district in ohio since 1990. he has held numerous positions over the years. he became the speaker of the house. ladies and gentlemen, the honorable john boehner. >> let me just say thank you. i want to thank all of my colleagues who have been here today and you who have come out this evening to help celebrate the lighting of the capitol christmas tree. it makes a worthy addition to this great capital tradition of hours. the winter is upon us. the christmas tree flourishes as a symbol of everlasting life. that life and light is christ, whose birth foothold a prophecy of joy and celebration. out in the field, and shepherds and angels broke the silence.

peace and goodwill towards men. we best serve this story by serving one another. it is more blessed to give than receive. especially when so many of our fellow citizens are without jobs and in need. christmas is not a distant historical event. i always bring it up closer to the story. on behalf of our family, i want to wish all of you a very merry christmas. [applause] now we are going to do what we came here to do, to light the tree. turn around here. to help in the honors is a 7- year-old from california. not just any seven-year-old, he

is a cub scout. if something goes wrong, i know he will know how to figure this out. his parents, lisa ann richards, his older brother ricky and his little sister. how about a round of applause for johnny crawford. this is the big switch right here. how about we do a count down? how about we start with five, four, three, two, one. [applause] good job. christmas tree" playing

] ♪ >> thank you so much, speaker boehner. does the tree not look wonderful, ladies and gentlemen? thank you for coming this evening to join speaker boehner, members of congress, cast the california delegation, the army band and other guests to like the united states capitol christmas tree. goodnight to everyone -- a good night and merry christmas to everyone. thank you. [captioning performed by

national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> obama criticizes republicans in congress for blocking the nomination of former ohio attorney general richter -- richard court jury. he renewed his call to republicans to extend the payroll tax to middle-class americans. john maynard -- and boehner talks about part of the gop jobs bill. that will be taken up next week. >> today, america faces a make or break moment for the middle class. it is the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. some want to return to the same policies that got us into this mess. the same policies that stacked the deck against working americans for too long. the part of the philosophy where

everybody is left to fend for themselves and play by their own rules. i believe we are greater to gather that we are on our own. i believe this country succeeds when everybody gets a fair shot, everybody does their fair share, and everybody engages in fair play. last year, we passed the toughest financial reform in generations. for too long, the rules were at not the same on wall street as on main street. risky bets were made with other people's money. it was wrong. irresponsible behavior on the part of some contributed to the greatest financial crisis since the great depression. we focus on what is really important. giving capital to entrepreneurs who want to grow their businesses and getting financing for people who want to buy a

house or send their kids to college. the important part of that is having a consumer watchdog to protect american families from being taken advantage of by payday lenders and debt collectors. tens of millions of americans use these services. protecting them from unscrupulous practice is a big job. i am nominated richard to serve as head of the consumer watchdog agency. as a former attorney general of ohio, he worked to a get millions of dollars. he has the support of most attorney general's across the country, both republicans and democrats. members of both parties say that he is qualified for the job. on thursday, republicans blocked his nomination. they refused court -- to allow it to come up from -- for a vote. does that not make sense?

do they think that there will be too much oversight of mortgage collectors or debt collectors? of course not. another day that america has to wait for a watchdog is another day where people can take advantage of students and others. it is time that consumers had someone on their side. while they are at it, republicans in congress should stop the games and extend the payroll tax cuts for americans. if they do not, nearly 160 million americans will see their taxes go up at the end of this month. congress cannot end the year by taking money out of the pockets of working americans. now is not the time for playing politics. now is the time to do what is right for the american people. nobody should go home for the holidays until this is solved.

tell them to do the right thing for you and our economy. thanks. >> there is no more urgent task for washington-that getting there -- our economy back to creating jobs. millions of americans are looking for work or simply have stopped looking altogether. that is unacceptable. the republicans have focused all year on our effort to remove barriers to job creation. our jobs bills are never -- are now waiting for a vote in the democratic-run senate. this would require congress to review any new regulation that has a major impact on the economy. nearly three years ago, president obama promised a stimulus plan that would keep unemployment below 8%. it did not work. because his policies are not

working, he wishes to pass legislation that would extend unemployment benefits for americans. the house is going to do just that. to help americans that are struggling in the current economy, we will pass a jobs bill that will extend tax relief and cut government spending. there will be no tax hikes on america's job creators. this includes several bipartisan that issues. that allows employers to invest now in new machinery and equipment for the businesses and create jobs. another parts and provision supports the job-creating keystone energy project. the keystone energy project would create tens of thousands of american jobs and reduce our dependence on a wealth from the middle east. this project has bipartisan support in the house and the

senate. it is backed by a broad based coalition. you have heard president obama say that the american people cannot wait to take action on jobs. the keystone energy project is the very definition of an idea that the american people cannot wait for washington to take action on. stephen harper, the prime minister of canada has warned that banks the united states does not approve this project, they would be forced to move onto other customers, probably china. we cannot afford to let that happen. they have chosen to wait on the keystone project until after next year's election. they will reject the jobs bill if includes support for this project. this is no time for the same old, my way or the highway theatrics. it is the secret that

republicans and democrats often disagree on the best way to create jobs. there is bipartisan support for extending the payroll tax relief and benefits. there is bipartisan support for tax incentives that allows employers to expand. there is bipartisan support for the keystone energy project. we should get these things done. the american people cannot wait for action on jobs. the keystone energy project is something that the president should support. we remain ready to work with the president. this is what the american people expect and deserve. merry christmas. >> coming up on c-span in just a few moments, britain's new defense secretary testifies for

the first time before a committee. at house program security committee hears testimony about a recep released committee report showing that military communities have become the most saw after targets for a u.s.- based terror attacks. here is our guest on washington journal. the national association of realtors will discuss housing and mortgage trends and their impact on the economy. at 8:30, a panel of reporters will talk about the latest developments in the presidential campaign. there will be a discussion on political and social unrest in russia. washington journal airs every day beginning at 7:00 a.m. on c- span. tomorrow on c-span's "newsmakers" a freshman congressman from illinois joins

us. he will also discuss and amend it that he recently co-authored that has to do with iran's central bank. the senate approve that measure 100-0. "newsmakers close " airs sunday at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. on c-span. >> i pride myself on telling people what i thought. the worst thing you can do is let a senior leader head down the wrong road. maybe we should take another look at this. maybe we should look at this from this perspective. people's lives could be at stake. we have an obligation and a duty to be good stewards. you have to be courageous in a meeting where everybody's head is going up and down.

>> marsha anderson on her career as the highest ranking female african american in the history of the army. this is on c-span's q&a "." >> the new british defense secretary testified for the first time in front of the parliamentary for the first time last week. he replaces somebody that broke the ministerial code of conduct. he will discuss the priorities for the coming year and the current drawdown of troops from afghanistan. this hearing from london is just over two hours. >> thank you very much for