the regulatory climate is eating them alive and the compliance cost is chewing up their profits, of course they're going to sit on their money. that's what's happening in america today. people have lost confidence. they've lost confidence in washington, d.c. we've got an administration that looks at energy policy and basically says, listen, you have to learn how to use green energy because that's where we're going. mr. president, , but washington, d.c., doesn't need to be forcing americans and saying here's the energy you are going to use. the president said prices are going to go up because we are going to green sources of energy with no regard to what's it going to cost. washington, d.c., doesn't have to mandate to the american people. quit trying to pick winners and losers.

the market will do that, mr. president. let us decide. we need to build a pipeline from canada down to the united states so we can have that oil refined into energy for america's use. open up the pipeline, mr. president. create the jobs. [applause] >> when the unions are building that pipeline, he's on the wrong side of the issue, period, quit listening to the environmentalists. they aren't going to leave that oil in the ground in canada. the other way it will go is to the west, to china. so pick one, mr. president. is it going to be china or going to be the united states? the pipeline has been studied for three years and one of the safest pipelines ever built, 20,000-plus jobs and $5 billion to the states in resources. this is a no-brainer.

build the pipeline and open up our federal lands and waters. we have 300 years' worth of energy in this country. that is a powerful, powerful message. we can be independent of those countries that don't have america's best interest in mind. but we have to have a president that's committed to this country, committed to this country's energy independence, committed to this country's military, committed to the young men and women. i see dr. hatfield and hold your hand up. this is the head of the school of military history at the university of texas and one of the great military historians in the world. dr. hatfield, thanks for coming

with us. you ask him any question on military history, and i appreciate you being with us today. he and i have been on magnificent trips to normandy and powerful influence on our young men and women back in my home state. mike, i wanted to take a moment, and as we wrap up here, i'm not going to talk a lot about mike. he was here last night. you all know his story. anybody that has that blue ribbon around your neck and that star, mike thornton truly is an american hero. his service to our country in the united states navy, navy seal. when you read his citation, the one thing that jumped out at me,

i suppose in the last century at least, the only medal of honor recipient to save the life of another medal of honor recipient, tommy norris, whose live he saved in that mission back in vietnam in 1972 was extraordinary. give it up for him. mike thornton, ladies and gentlemen, a great american and a south carolinaian of some repute and he is living in the state of texas but from the state of south carolina. [applause] >> there were two residents from the south of south carolina and ended up at the alamo together and travis was the commander of the ala mmp o and bottom was a

lawyer from a wonderful family and it's those people -- it's south carolina knows how to grow patriots. you have done it from 17 70's in the revolutionary war through all of the different conflicts that we have had in this country. south carolina knows how to grow patriots and heroes. and one of yours from whitestone, south carolina, mike thornton. >> thank you. it's great to be back among our friends. thank you. many of the ladies have served our great nation, too, in uniform and i say a special thanks to the spouses that are here and what they do for this nation because people don't understand the sacrifices our

spouses have made as we travel the world to keep our nation free. i have been to 76 countries in my life. thank each of you for being here. i have known lynn for years and years and my helped start the spartanburg post in 1968 and he signed my piece of paper and i became a lifetime member of the v.f.w. and still on the roster up there and my good friend dave moorehead is here, too and we thank you for your leadership up there and what you have helped with the state. ladies and gentlemen, i served this great nation for almost 26 years and i retired the navy seal team and a navy seal will be a hit man for the mamafffa

and i started a security company. i moved to texas when i met rick perry 16 years ago. rick is a doer and what he does, he surrounds himself with great people and people have the answers and rick gives up on the point, he moves forward. what he has done his past 11 years as governor, not counting the jobs, but what he has done for the men and women in the great state of texas and what he continues to support, rick, how did you do this and he tells them and they have taken that and projected to their states and they have raised the awareness for our military veterans. we have the greatest country in the world and we have veterans and 26 million are living in this this country and stand as one and keep this nation safe and free for our children and grandchildren and their future as americans.

and people don't look at it that way. we have to be strong and stand up for what's right because it's the right reasons. all of us went to war, we went to war for our nation but for each other. the medal i wear belongs to each and every one of you. it be longs to the ones who fought before me as i met several of the world war ii vets, but it be longs to the guys welcoming home from vietnam. we can't change the past, but we sure as hell can make the future better for our young men and women and that's what rick does in the state of texas. we have retirement homes, we have new cemeteries and places that we can take care of these kids. and we have the outreach for different organizations that want to support all veterans. no matter if you were from vietnam, world war ii, vietnam,

desert shield, desert storm, we are moving forward to take care of our veterans and that's the type of leadership that rick does. what he does with the economy is unbelievable. the job situation there and i have been all over text and veterans when they come out and retire and in places like fort bliss, texas and around houston and retire in that great state of texas because they have someone who cares about their retirement, someone who cares about their life after the military. someone hoist going to care this will the end of their life and somebody cares about their families and their children. and they will have a place that will be free and will continue to grow. i'm not going to stay up here much longer, but my home state of south carolina is the place i love. where my father's buried and where my mother lives and my

brother lives in greenville and sister and brother-in-law live in start tanburg and my grandchildren live in carolina beach. we have had a lot of great americans -- like williams who was a medal of honor recipient. there are more medal of honor recipients since 1906 in the state of south carolina than any other state in the united states. [applause] >> because the people of south carolina care and they understand and they are going to fight for what's right. and with your support and your vote, i would like to ask the next president of the united states to come back up here, rick perry, to answer some of your questions. god bless you, god bless your families and god bless america. thank you very much. [applause] >> mike thornton, ladies and

gentlemen. that is what our country is all about, men and women who understand that freedom is not free, there is a great cost. when he went back in across the field of battle to go get tommy norris, you know, the commonsense brain was saying don't go back in there because this guy is dead, that's what he was told and he said just like james butler bond, who was stopped as he had left to go find out the question whether reenforcements were coming to the a lmp amoo and why are you throwing away your life away? he said buck travis needs to know the answer to his question and his request. and in the book "lone star," he

spat on the ground, spun his horse and rode into i am mortality. mike thornton represents everything that's good about those people of south carolina like james butler bond, an individual, he went back in. he saved a life. he made a difference. he continues to make a difference. he continues to save lives with the service he gives today. having people like mike thornton stand up beside me and say, listen, i want this man to be the president of the united states. it matters. it's a powerful message. having the newest medal of honor recipient has endorsed us as well. the young navy seal who wrote the book "lone survivor," they will be here on thursday, having

those individuals, dan moran, a young marine, who has gone through 30 different surgeries, hit by an i.e.d. in iraq and spent two years in brook army medical center. i got the phone call one after phone from my classmates from texas a and m who was a major general in the marines and said i'm sending you one of your boys and probably won't make it because his lungs is burned so bad. third agree burns. and we looked after him, we looked after his wife. this young man is on the campaign trail with me. today. he's still in pain. he still has the demons that

attack him, but he loves this country so much. he has an incredible christian witness and he wants to help his friend, who he trusts and knows will lead this country be the president of the united states. so, mike, i want to say thank you to you and to your colleagues that have endorsed and working with us and for all of you here again, let me say thank you to the men and women who have served our country. your families who are here with you who kept the home fires burning and what a privilege it will be for me to be the president of the united states and the commander of chief of the greatest fighting force that the world has ever seen. god bless you and thank you. [applause]

>> let me open it up for any questions. kate dawson is your republican chairman here in south carolina. thank you for being here. yes, sir. >> got some oil in texas? got in trouble sunday night. seems like they are talking to drilling for oil. could you tell us how much potential there is in texas, colorado and maybe some day we will have to drill off this coast. >> it's your coast. >> you are damn right. >> south carolina's call. every state makes that decision about whether or not off their shore and if a state wants to do that, but the federal government should never force you into a position -- that's one of the things that is a real tenet of

our campaign, the powers not delegated to the united states by the constitution nor prohibited to it by the states are reserved for the states respectively or to the people. basically our founding fathers understood that there were a few and enumerated powers that the federal government was supposed to be involved with. military and it would be good if they would skire our border. we have been fighting for 11 years trying to keep our border secure with mexico and our federal government has been a a failure at that. but this issue of allowing the states to be making the decisions about whether it's how to deliver health care, how to deal with environmental issues or energy policy, the state

should be more engaged and involved and be the determining entity of that than one size fits all in washington, d.c.,. yes, sir, with the plaid shirt. >> i like everything you tell me, i agree with all of it, but i have one small problem. first presidential debate and everybody standing up there and i watched everything you said except one thing and it bothers the -- i'm sorry. >> there is a little misunderstanding there. this issue goes back to the issue of board security.

the reason that south carolina is getting sued and the immigration law, reason that arizona is also fighting that battle, reason these other states are having to deal with this issue of illegal immigration is because we have been forced to deal with this issue, because of the failure of securing that board. i don't get confused about where the real disease is. we are dealing with the symptoms. the disease is a federal government that has failed to put into place security measures to shut that border down and we know how to do it and we don't have the resources in the state of texas to do it ourselves. i deployed two gun boats to two lakes last month. we have texas ranger teams on that border that we pay for in

the state of texas. this president has pulled our national guard troops off. they are less than 300 and not even on the border, 300 national guard troops for an 1,800-mile border. that is irresponsible. we need thousands of national guard troops, thousands of national guard troops in preparation of training this border patrol that will be there day in and day out. we need the aviation assets that are available. the predatory drones to be able to shut that border down. if we don't, the issues, the symptoms of this disease are not going to go away. what happened in the state of texas is they decided that if young people were in our state because the federal government forces us to deal with this, forces us to get health care and give education and the people of the state of texas said, how are

we going to deal with this? are we going to have tax wasters or taxpayers? and the legislature said we're going to require these young people to get in the line to become citizens of the united states and pay full in-state tuition to get educated in the state of texas so they are not tax wasters, and that's what the legislature did. only four difficult sentencing votes. that was text' call. remember our 10th amendment? if any other state, you decide that issue on your own. and i would never as a president of the united states try to impose anything like that on the states. that's the states' call. the people of the state of texas said economically, this is in our best interest rather than have tax wasters that we will

have either in prison or welfare rolls because they aren't educated. that's how that happened in the state of texas. south carolina, free to deal with it as they see fit. but the next president of the united states, who i hope is me, knows how to secure that border, and we will have that board shut down, locked down and there will be a stoppage of the drugs and the weapons and the illegal immigration within a year of me taking my hand off that bible. [applause] >> i don't have a question but a statement. i was born and raised here. lived here my whole life but i was bred in the marine corps and i wanted to make a statement. as a 13-year-old kid i was going down the wrong path. at 17 years old, i decided i was going to join the marine corps

and spent nine years in and real fast, real quick, i straightened up. and you, sir, are the reason that i'm voting for you because you are the person we need to straighten us up. [applause] >> don perry, i'm sure we are a relative. my question is is with the e.p.a. 14 years to build a coal-fired plant. just as they get started to open it up and start construction, e.p.a. stopped it. closing down probably the plant over -- the cross plant and they cleaned the i am purities out of the environment and use it to

build gympsum board. what are we going to do with the e.p.a.? >> he gave a couple of examples of how they are killing jobs and actually taking an amazing energy source away from the united states, 25% of all the coal in the world is in the united states. we are the saudi arabia of coal. we've got over 300 years' worth of energy in this country, yet as i said earlier, this president is trying to force this country to go into almost exclusive use of green sources of energy, regardless of the cost. and that's where i have a real problem. i don't have a problem with green energy. if the state of south carolina wants to put incentives into place to get the wind energy or alternative energy sources to come and proliferate here, that's their business. but the federal government

shouldn't be doing it. if you need any other better example than a half billion dollars going to one company on the solar energy side, that ought to answer your question about the federal government picking winners and losers in the energy business. not how our country works and we need to allow the market to decide those things. but the e.p.a. is the biggest job-killing agency in this country. i'll give you one example. we have had a clean air act. listen, this is our air, our children that are breathing it, our grandchildren that are going to be breathing it, griffin's children -- get on the ball, son -- [laughter] >> when they inherit our state, i want that state's air to be cleaner than it is today and it can be because of programs we put into place in the state of texas, a flex i believe

permitting program. we cleaned up our air more than any other state in the nation. any other state, we cleaned it up more. but this administration said a year ago, they are going to come in and take over our process. our comptroller estimated their program they want to put in place will cost 360,000 jobs in the state of texas. they are about killing jobs because they are command and control. they want to control your life from washington, d.c.,. that's why this election is so important, that we elect an individual who is an outsider. i don't think changing one washington insider with another washington insider is going to make a difference. when i talk about a balanced budget amendment to the constitution and making congress part-time, it makes people real nervous and that's good. they need to be real nervous.

our allies have to be competent and the enemies need to be nervous that we are going to have a strong military in place and the way we do that is have an economy and the way you have an economy that is strong is neuter the e.p.a. when i talk about neutering the e.p.a. and pulling all the regulations, fess them, audit, if they kill jobs, throw them out. if it is a job-killing environmental regulation, because the fact is, those coal plants that you are talking about, they spent almost $100 billion of putting in the cleaning equipment to make sure that that emission moots the standards of this count -- meets the standards of this country. they want to kill the coal industry. that's their goal. and if we kill the coal industry in this country, we will be more

indebted to countries like venezuela and hugo chavez and countries that don't have our interests in mind. mr. president, let's have our friends and our domestic energy industry what we're focused on and if the alternative and the green energy sources can compete, god bless them, let them all do it. but all of those tax credits and all of those subsidies for all of the energy sector and listen one more question. one more question. yes, sir. >> radio station here yesterday was taking a survey and they wanted to know who we thought would be the next presidential candidate to cut and run if they did bad on saturday and my

question would be if you do bad on saturday, will you cut and run? >> if you do good on saturday, i'll do good on saturday. you have my back on saturday and i'll have your back in the next four years in washington, d.c.,. do we have a deal? god bless you and thank you for coming out here and being with us. [applause] >> all right, brother. >> what was your first car, by the way? 1967 pontiac calalina selling bibles. 389, with that 400 -- >> they made a 389.

>> oh, yeah. >> two-door. i remember it like -- i was the proudest boy in texas. summer of 1969. i was going into my sophomore year of college. >> thanks for being here. i appreciate it. >> i have three of them. >> good for you, man. >> i know the value. >> good program. >> you are talking about shorten the terms of congress. >> we have to do it with a constitutional amendment.

i'm not a constitutional lawyer, but what my i stink is that we can combine a balanced budget amendment to the constitution and limit their time. >> every other year. we need odd year for 140 days. 600 a month. they go home and they are doctors and teachers -- there's a little bit of everything. they are part of our state. we have a balanced budget amendment to our constitution and they pass the laws that need to be passed and go home. >> great idea. >> that's how our founding

fathers wanted it. this full-time congress put it in by stat out. -- stat out. >> thank you. don perry. what little bit i know, there were three brothers that came over here in the late 1600's and one of my -- going back and he was born in 1760 and he was a young 16-year-old who fought in the american revolution. but they were north carolina. >> somewhere down the line -- >> i just want to say thank you,

sir. >> we were talking last night and bobby, says -- >> appreciate it, sir. >> i love your comments. my daughter lives in houston and we are pulling for you. >> she lives in houston? >> yes. going to see her in a couple of weeks. keep up the good work. thank you kindly for all you are doing. >> governor, when i walked in this door here this morning, i have been a newt gingrich supporter, but i'm walking out this door a perry supporter. >> god bless you, sir. >> i appreciate what you will do as our president. >> thank you, sir. >> i would like you to get rid

of the caccoon around washington. >> they are either an insider and that place isn't going to change. my purpose in life has never been to be the president of the united states or get rich but serve my country. >> we need you there. >> one last question for you, how did you bake out with your back surgery? i just went through it, too? >> i was off running for 10 weeks and how much we run in the last three days? 12 miles. mine's done and i hope you have good luck with yours. >> second time around.

>> like getting married, you only need to do it one time. >> good for you. >> i have a marine and air force . he is in wisconsin. your daughter? >> she was a nurse. >> i'm married to a nurse. >> god bless you. thanks for coming out today. >> say hello to george strait when you get back. >> i have a question. >> president obama is now trying to take the small business administration and commerce department and make one department. i was a veteran champion of the year for region two and they are

all talk, no substance. what are your plans? they do nothing. i was a small businessman. >> deal away with them. if you con sole dailt agencies and like the e.p.a., i would substantially reduce the size of it and be a repository of best practices and let it work out differences between states if there are issues like power lines or what have you. department of interior, department of agriculture, probably consolidate those two together. but department of education, do away with it. idea that the federal government has a thing to do with education, that's foreign to me. that's a state issue. >> he wants this to make another cabinet position. >> best thing we can do is eliminate -- >> thank you.

>> ok, cowboy. >> bless you. hopefully we'll surprise a lot of people on saturday. much obliged. >> come on. get in here. one, two, three. got it? >> i come from a long line of military. >> tell them thanks for their service. >> how are you? >> are you from spartanburg? [laughter]

>> yes, sir. >> much obliged, yes, sir. yes, sir. god bless you, thank you. >> yes, sir. let me sign it. there you go. thank you. >> yes, ma'am. there you go.

there you go. now we're cooking. >> yes, sir. thank you for being here. god bless you. everything's good. let me check in. >> study, ok? we've got a deal. captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> leading up to saturday, c-span's "road to the white house" takes you live. >> we need to eliminate the entitlement programs, cut them, cap them, send them back to the states, remove the federal oversight and let the states have the flexibility to deliver these programs. >> we have brought to the forefront and others have talked about it, they get in office and do nothing about it, that right now, it's this liberty movement, which is seen as a patriotic movement that is saying to the country and to the world, we have had enough of sending our kids and money around the world to be the policemen of the world. it's time to bring them home. >> as candidates get their message out meeting voters. >> we're so happy. >> thank you. thank you.

>> appreciate that. >> we feel very good about that. conservatives are coming around our campaign and will be good for us. >> and find more video from the campaign trail at c-span.org/ campaign2012. >> u.s. house returns in 40 minutes back from a holiday break. members will begin the second session of the 2012 congress. tomorrow the house will vote on president obama's request to raise the debt limit. legislative business resumes in the senate on january 23. this is a new "washington post" poll, 84% of americans disapproving of the job congress is doing. live house coverage coming up at 6:30 eastern. our spotlight on magazines

focuses on superpa crmp s and role in the 2012 campaign. "washington post" reports they are outspending the campaigns. our guest will be a white house correspond ept and can read his article and join us tomorrow morning for the conversation at 9:15 eastern on "washington journal." economy, job creation and presidential race dominated the white house briefing. this is 50 minutes. >> anybody see good movies?

>> anybody watch the golden globes? i have no announcements to make. welcome to the white house for your daily briefing. i will go straight to questions. ken. >> the president is going to be meeting with king abdallah today and what he is hoping to accomplish and what are the expectations for middle east peace? >> well, the president is meeting with the jing king of jordan, as you note. they will discuss a variety of issues, regional issues, as well as king abdallah's important leadership role in the region, notably pursuit of our shared goal of the middle east peace process and will discuss syria and the king's courageous statements calling on president assad to step down in that neighboring state. as for our view of the peace

process, we commend the jordanian king for the role he has played in the renewal of talks. we believe those talks offer the party the real opportunity to make pleengful progress towards peace. this is a long and difficult issue and it has its best chance of reaching a positive result when the two sides are sitting down negotiating face-to-face. that's the way to bring about peace and resolve the issues that divide the israelis and the palestinians. we support this progress. but we recognize that there's a long road to travel here to get to a final result. >> israeli prime minister netanyahu said palestinians have no interest in entering into

peace talks. did that put cold water on these discussions? >> we don't characterize other leaders' remarks. we are focused on a process here and the reality that the way to achieve peace is through face-to-face direct negotiations. the fact that there has been progress made in that regard is a good thing, but not going to overstate it. there are many thorney issues to resolve. but this is the forum by which you can get this done. yes. >> job council would like to stop taxing overseas' profits, does the administration support that proposal and what does the administration say about opening up federal land to more exploration of gas and coal? >> i don't have any announcements on the policy you

mentioned. of the 35 recommendations from the jobs council that don't require legislative action, the administration has completed action on 16 that includes most recently from last week the establishment of select u.s.a. -- rather that was in june, but the in-sourcing forum that the president had highlighting this important trend in american business is american companies bringing jobs back to the united states and the efforts that the president wants to take to increase that trend. the fact of the matter is on oil and gas production, we have higher oil production in this country in 2010 than we did in 2003. this president is committed to an all of-of-the-above approach in our development, which means

increasing production here at home, focus on natural gas and its importance for our energy future and investments in clean energy. we have on stats here on the fact that last month, the department of the interior held a major oil and gas lease sale in the gulf of mexico that are currently not leased. last month, as part of the president's effort, the department of the interior held a lease sale to cover over 140,000. and the point of this we are absolutely committed to increasing domestic oil and gas production and doing it in a responsible way and we believe it is possible and the facts i laid out demonstrate that. >> newt gingrich in calling the president the food stamp president?

>> the fact of the matter is, this country is emerging from the worst recession since the great depression, the greatest economic and financial crisis of our lifetime. when this president took the oath of office in january of 2009, our economy was in freefall. we were hemorrhaging jobs at nearly 800,000 a month. the economy was contracting, the last quarter of bush's term in office by nearly 9%. the result of that terrible recession was a dramatic increase in unemployment and a dramatic increase -- or increase, rather, in the number of people who needed assistance. i would simply say that those are the facts and the economic policies that helped create that situation are warranted in the

candidates you just mentioned, he supported it and the kind of policies he advocates to this day. the president takes a different approach. >> these are people that president obama put on food stamps. >> that is crazy. >> the president has been in office more than two years. some are saying after two years, the president should take responsibility for some part of the economy. where does the bush presidency end and this president pick up in taking responsibility? >> the president took responsibility on the day he was sworn into office and began a process of creating policies and implementing them that have helped us return to economic

growth, have helped us have an economy that is -- has created more than 3.1 million private sector jobs in the last 22 months, i believe. the fact is the hole that was dug by this recession is very deep and we are still climbing our way out of it. there is much more that needs to be done and the president is focused on passing the american jobs act, the need to work with congress to do more to help the economy create jobs and grow faster. that's why he is so insistent that this congress act to extend the payroll tax cuts through the end of the calendar year and unemployment insurance through the end of the calendar year and the president expects that the congress will do that without drama and there is an indication that members of congress agree with that approach. >> you think we could go back

into that hole with another component of the economy, gas prices going up to $5 a gallon? >> this president remains concerned about oil prices and the fact that increase in gas prices can have on americans across the country who are struggling to make ends meet, that has been the case since he has taken office. it is an issue that we are always focused on as we were when there were surges last year during the arab spring and we continue to monitor that. that's why the president has the the all-inclusive approach to energy development and production that i described earlier at this briefing. and again, it's why it's so important to have domestic oil and gas production increase as it has and reliance on imports

decrease as it has. but this is long-term work, april, as you know. we need to take a multi-faceted approach to develop gas and oil resources here at home, developing clean energy resources as well as taking other measures to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. and broadly, not just regarding the price of oil, but helping the middle class through the measures that this president has put forward to get on sounder economic footing. that is the number one domestic objective that this president has. dan? >> back to the jobs council and recommendations, those that will require congressional approval, what are the chances there will be any real progress when the president pointed out that in an election year, it will be difficult to get these things done? >> that is certainly often the

case that election years can be -- create a difficult environment for legislative action. however, there are notable exceptions to that. those of us who are here in 1996 remember a great deal of cooperation between a republican congress and a democratic president. we certainly hope that will be the case this year. there is a lot of work that can be done and only done through legislative action, the kind of bipartisan cooperation that this president has stood for since he took office and a great deal of opportunity out there for that kind of cooperation if leaders in congress want to go in that direction and if republican leaders want to go in that direction. the president has put forward an agenda of economic and job-creating initiatives that are the kinds of initiatives that have enjoyed bipartisan support and garnered the kind of

republican support in the past that has ensured that these kinds of measures become law. spending on our infrastructure, for example, the kind of investments that help our economy in the long-term and help put people back to work right away, idle construction workers who could be working right now if that was passed by congress and signed into law by the president. certainly he hopes that happens and that is true of a variety of measures that could be acted on if we can get the kind of bipartisan support that can be tough to find in an election year but there is precedent for it. >> when the president views the economy overall, what does he rate it at right now, and where does he see it? >> i haven't discussed it in those terms with him, but he believes we are on a better path. the economy has been growing now for two years, roughly.

i forget the number of quarters, but after shrinking considering the recession, the economy has been creating jobs, 3.2 million private sector jobs thus far. and those are all good signs of positive progress, but none of it is enough. this president is keenly aware of the fact that there are too many americans out there who are still worried about losing their jobs and still looking for jobs and can't find them. that's why he's focused on doing everything he can working with congress and using his executive authority to address that need for economic security and the need to grow the economy further and grow jobs. >> back on newt gingrich, also on the trail today, someone in the audience was asking him about getting tougher on the president and when he was going

to bloody his nose. he said i don't want to bloody his nose but knock him out. >> i hadn't heard that comment. but campaign trail is filled with rhetoric and i will let that one pass. >> i'm sorry if you answered this one in the past, the national defense authorization act, the president expressed concern about the provision that would allow the military -- last night at the republican debate, not only did ron paul express a concern about that provision, but rick santorum not known for being liberal on these issues said that he thought the way the law was before was more appropriate than this new law. is president obama doing anything to rescin thr provision that gives the military the new power? >> i appreciate the question. i have talked about it in the past. but we had concerns with the

legislation as it was written. we worked with the authors of the legislation and changes were made that allowed the president to sign the bill. and we have made clear in the signing of the legislation and in our discussions afterwards that the president retains the flexibility that he believes is essential for the commander-in-chief to make sure all people in the field have all the tools necessary to do their job. and make sure that we are handling these matters that are consistent with our values. so we will implement the law in a way that makes that achievable. >> signing statement that says this is how you are interpreting the law that the military has the power to detain an american citizen if they suspect terrorism. i understand the president will interpret it his way and won't

be the president forever. >> since the law was just passed and signed on -- well, i would just say we make clear and made clear how we will approach implementation of it and how this is revisited, if this is revisited remains to be seen. at this moment, the president has been very clear the value he brings to it and the method or the approach he will take when the law is implemented. >> would he disagree that civil liberties groups and rick santorum are interpreting the law? >> i refer you to the president's signing statement about it. >> i'm talking about the law how it stands on the books. >> i understand that and we have made clear our position how it needs to be implemented in a way that is consistent with our values and in a way that maintains maximum flexibility for our operators in the field.

>> are you comfortable with how any president and their future might interpret that law? is the president comfortable? >> that's a hypothetical about the future and in terms of how we will approach this in the future, i can't speculate. i point you to the way we have discussed it and the signing statement that the president used when he signed it into law. rfer the centerpiece of the president's economic or tax policy that everybody pays their fair share, mitt romney was asked about that. he says he pays closer to the 15% rate. what does the president think of that? >> i haven't discussed that with the president. i think you know from what the president has said and others in the administration that he believes very strongly or he agrees, rather, with warren

buffett, those who are making millions of dollars should not pay a lower effective tax rate than middle-class americans. as warren put it, he should not pay a lower tax rate than his own administrative assistant, his secretary. the president shares that belief and this only i will umh nates what he believes is an issue that everybody who is working hard ought to pay their fair share and that includes millionaires who might be paying an effective tax rate of 15% when folks making $50,000 are paying much more. he thinks we ought to fix that and that is the element of the approach he takes in his economic proposals, as you know. >> romney calling to change the

law? >> the president agrees to change the law. his policies, the need for everybody to get a fair shot and we have had debates with congress and i assume we will have a debate about it this year once the republicans choose their nominee. the president feels very strongly that everybody needs to pay their fair share and everybody therefore gets a fair shot at the american dream, and that would apply to somebody paying 15%, an effective tax rate of 15%. . >> mitt reallyny said last night in the debate that he hadn't planned on releasing his tax record but that most likely he's going to get asked to do it in april.

>> well -- the question, i'm sorry. >> yeah. [laughter] chopping at the bit. >> i was anticipating, sorry. >> why should he have to release his tax records? >> it's >> it's not for us to call on someone to release his tax records but it is an established tradition for presidential candidates to release their tax records. then senator obama did release multiple years of his tax records and obviously has released his tax records as tradition dictates since he's been president. and the president's not unique in that regard. president george w. bush, president clinton, nominees for each party for years and years and years, i think going back to 1976, this has been a very standard tradition. obviously we think it's a good tradition and that's why then senator obama released his tax records going back i think six or seven years when he was a candidate for president in the

2008 election cycle. and i believe, you know, i think it was a tradition that was initiated by then presidential candidate george romney back in 1968 who released 12 years of tax records in 1968 as i understand it. >> can i just follow on bill's request about -- >> just happened to know that. [laughter] >> i just want to follow on bill's question about gingrich last night saying that -- >> presidential politics -- >> more people have been put on food stamps by barack obama than any other president in history. it is true that since barack obama has been president it's gone up 45%, the number of people on the food stamps so what is inaccurate about what speaker gingrich said? >> i answered this question already. i think everyone understands that this economy took a body blow in 2007, 2008, from which we are still recovering and that that resulted in an economy that was con

contracting, that was shrinking at an historic pace, an economy that was -- >> the number of people have has gone up more than any other president, you're just saying it's not the president's fault. >> i'm saying it's a result of the worse recession since the great depression, that was brought on by economic policies that certain he will predate this president and that this president has been working very hard with his team to try to fix and working with congress to try to fix and correct. so that we can grow as we have been growing on his watch, so that we can create private sector jobs as we have been doing, 3.2 million private sector jobs in the last many months. and that's the direction that we need to be going in. not the direction that we were headed into when he took office three years ago, almost to the day. when the economy was in freefall, when there was talk of another great depression, there was talk of unemployment as high as 25% potentially.

because of the actions that this president took, working with congress, we averted that absolute calamity but the im pact of the recession has been severe and it's been severe on the most vulnerable americas and it's been severe on middle class americans who have had to struggle to make ends meet as a result of it and that's why this president's focus is so keenly on help -- helping those americans deal with this economy, emerge from the recession on sounder economic footing and why he believes that the folks who benefited the most from the previous 10 years, who saw their share of the nation's wealth increase dramatically while middle class americans saw their income shrink or stagnate, that they need to pay their fair share which goes back to the buffett rule and the idea that someone making millions of dollars should not pay a lower effective tax rate than somebody making $50,000 or $75,000. all right.

>> over the weekend the white house expressed opposition to the current form of the online privacy act and i wonder whether it's fair to describe this as the white house siding with silicon valley over hollywood and how important it is -- is it to the white house that some version of this still pass? >> i don't believe that that's an accurate way to describe it. i think what you saw in the exposition of the administration's position over the weekend was a keen focus on the need to do something serious about online piracy, especially by foreign websites. it's a serious problem that requires serious legislative responses, but we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk or undermines the dynamic, innovative global internet. and that's the approach and the balance that we think needs to be taken as we work through this issue and as the stakeholders who have a lot of important contributions to make

to the debate engage with congress as this legislation moves forward. so we made very clear over the end end -- weekend our opposition to what's called the d.n.s. filter because we believe it creates a cybersecurity risk and that's something that we are a direct player in because obviously national security and cybersecurity are something we're engaged in directly. as far as the interests of private sector actors, i mean these -- there are legitimate concerns on both sides and those need to be addressed. that's why we need to maintain internet freedom and do something serious about online piracy from foreign websites. but our position on this, the approach that we believe is the best approach to take, you know, we did spell out over the wednesday, as a result of the we the people petition. yes, ed. >> you've said before from the podium the president spent i think about 10% of his time, some small number like that, on

the presidential campaign. how did you know about george romney's 12 years of -- >> i do a lot of reading, ed. [laughter] he didn't tell me about that. >> your percentage is what? 30%, 40%? >> i just read that in probably an article that one of your colleagues wrote. >> ok, good. [laughter] i don't know how many years you do, george romney released of his college transcripts, but the public likes to complain that the president hasn't released his college transcripts. what's his reason for that? >> i refer you to the campaign. i think we've answered this a bunch. i think that the tradition of releasing income tax records, for presidential candidates, for serious potential nominees and nominees of the two parties, is well established. it's not a law but it's well established. and, you know, it's one that this president abided by when he was a candidate, a senator. it's one that numerous republicans and democrats have

abided by and we think it's a good yt. >> i want to go back to the jobs count. the narrative has been that the president is acting on jobs and other things as the whole campaign. republicans as you can imagine are very excited this morning to read the report and it has a whole section, the president's own jobs counsel saying more oil and energy production and his own jobs cab sull -- capsule says this could create hundreds of thousands of jobs which has been a republican talking point on keystone, it could create hundreds if not thousands of jobs. >> or six or seven. some jobs, that's right. >> so the president's own jobs council seems to be agreeing with the republicans that at least -- they don't specifically mention keystone but a lot of jobs could be created. regardless of the number, a lot. so why hasn't the president signed the certification yet? >> well, first of all, the jobs council wasn't talking about keystone specifically. they were talking about the importance of expanding domestic oil and gas production. a goal this president shares

and has ex pounded upon at length and has taken action as a policy matter to demonstrate his commitment to. >> it's sitting on his desk right now. you say he's taking action, it's ready to act on right now. >> what -- >> the 60-day clock started running -- >> the political ideological action by congress to try to short circuit a process that is a long-established -- >> the president signed in a into law -- >> and you think -- you apparently know that there is no alternate route yet in nebraska, right? >> sure. but he has 60 days to decide. it's on his desk. you're saying he's acting on this. why hasn't he acted on keystone? >> the state department runs this process as you know which long predates this administration. the delay in the review was a result of concerns in nebraska

about the route by which the pipeline was meant to take, the route that the pipeline was meant to take through nebraska and how to would effect the aquifer there. concerns that were expressed by a number of stake hoders there including the -- stakeholders there including the republican governor of nebraska. when the state department decided that those concerns were legitimate and there needed to be an alternate route, that began another process and this process requires the careful weighing of a variety of criteria and that has always been the case. everyone -- a lot of people and certainly we made clear back in december that a political effort to short circuit that process for ideological reasons would be counterproductive because a proper review that weighed all the important issues in this case could not be achieved in 60 days. according to the state department which again runs this review process.

i don't have any updates for you. i refer you to the state department on where that stands now that the legislation has been signed into law. but it is a fallacy to suggest that the president should sign into law something when there isn't even an alternate route identified in nebraska and when the review process, there was an attempt to short circuit the review process in a way that does not allow the kind of careful consideration of all the competing criteria here that needs to be done. >> shouldn't the council say, we could create hundreds of thousands of jobs -- >> i understand -- you're trying to conflate something here that the jobs council didn't say. the jobs council supports increased oil and gas production which the president supports and in fact as i read out earlier has taken action on. the president believes, for example, that natural zpwass be a important component of our -- is an important component of our energy future and he's very

supportive of exploiting that recess in this country in a safe and responsible manner. going forward. as he is and as he has shown he is with regard to oil production here in the united states. he also is committed to an all-of-the-above approach including the development of clean energy resources here in the united states, all with the aim of he deucing our dependence on foreign oil. and the fact of the matter is, domestic production is up and imports are down. we will continue to pursue this all-of-the-above approach because it's the right thing for the united states. it's the right thing for our national security and it's the right thing for our economic security. >> does the president have any reaction to the departure of his former ambassador to china from the republican nomination? >> i don't have any for you. i haven't -- much to the chagriven a lot of people, i haven't talked politics with him today. >> does the president have any

reaction dish know this is probably another no but does the president have any reaction to the entry of steven colbert into the election process? >> i have none to report. >> do you think there's a point to the made about superpact? >> i haven't had the -- i haven't spent my valuable time with him today talking about these issues. >> and lastly, if i can go 0-4, does the president have -- >> could you try one that i could answer. >> any concerns -- [laughter] does the president have any concerns about moving his acceptance speech? >> the president -- well, first of all, i would refer you for more information about this to the campaign, but the president looks forward to delivering his acceptance speech in a stadium with a large capacity much as he did in denver in 2008. that allows for greater participation by americans from all walks of life, that's the reason why he did it in 2008

and that's why he'll do it later this year in charlotte. that's the biggest venue and he looks forward to holding that event and cliffer -- delivering his acceptance speech before tens of thousands of americans in person as well as we certainly hope many millions of americans watching on television. >> so the choice was made based on the size of the venue? >> yeah, he wants as many americans as possible to be able to participate. >> move the state of the tour -- >> that is a great idea. [laughter] >> where does the state of the union stand? how far has he gotten along with it? will he be able to incorporate some of the long range proposals particularly something like significant tax reform and is this speech this year because it's a re-election year a far more political approach than he would have last year?

>> i don't want to reproo -- preview any specifics. i can say he's obviously engaged in the process of deciding what he wants to be in the state of the union address. the issues he wants to address, the policy proposals he wants to include. i think that it will be his tradition, something that is very substantive, a speech that will contain a lot of policy substance and i think that he looks forward to the opportunity to describe his vision going forward about the kinds of things he can do and with congress to help the american economy grow and to help middle class americans feel more economically secure. look, there are going to be a lot of opportunities including in charlotte for the president to give political speeches.

this will be heavy on substance. >> you talked a moment ago about this being a difficult environment in an election year for legislation. will he be more along the track of going to do things my way without the help of congress? >> i think he will echo the themes that we've been talking about, he's been talking about for a long time now. broadly speaking that he's been talking about since he began running for this office back in 2007 which is the need to help the middle class which even prior to the beginning of the recession had been under a great deal of stress. that will be a theme that you'll hear certainly at the state of the union address. and he'll talk about the need to do everything he can legislatively, working with congress, as well as the imperative that he will do everything he can to help the american people to protect them, to give them greater economic security. those are themes that you'll hear but they are also themes that you have heard from him

and there will be a great deal of consistency in that. >> sounds pretty familiar. >> well, no, you know, again, there will be, i think, -- there will be plenty of things within the speech that you will consider new and newsworthy. >> when we hear the phrase win the future or is that -- >> i'm not going to preview specific elements of the state of the union address from here today. kristen. >> thanks. during the jobs council meeting, the president talked about the consolidation of authorities proposal he's going to be sending to the hill. is that legislative language complete and is the goal to send that to the hill before the state of the union? >> i'll have to get an update on you for that. we will be sending proposed legislation to the hill. i don't have a specific day for you. >> do you know if there have been any phone calls, letters written? >> i expect there has been

communication at least at a staff level but also i'm sure with some members about it. those members who take a specific interest in it. the president looks forward to congress taking action on this. this goes back to some of the questions i had earlier about whether or not there's the potential for bipartisan cooperation in this election year, if you will, and i think this is a perfect indication of an opportunity. consolidating government, streamlining it, making it more efficient and writing into law through the consolidation authority the requirement that the president who receives that authority use it in a way that reduces costs i think something that every american should support and certainly that republicans would normally be supportive of. so, with any luck republicans as well as democrats will support granting the president consolidation authority and

then he can move on his -- the first initiative which was described for you last week which is to bring under one roof the six agencies that deal with promoting american business and our competitiveness abroad. >> on iran, the opec governor there said on tuesday that a european embargo on iranian oil would be, quote, economic suicide for europe. the administration still view the tone that's coming out of iran to be suggestive of the fact that their concernsy is in a downward spiral or is there a real concern that we could in fact be nearing some sort of a military engagement with them? >> i think there is no doubt that the concerted effort of this administration, working with our international partners and allies, to implement the most stringent sanctions against iran in history have had a significant impact on

iran, on the iranian economy, and have contributed to the fissures within the iranian leadership that many of your colleagues have reported on. they are also probably a precipitating factor in the kind of provocative statements and diversionary tactics that the iranians have used to try to change the subject from the fact that they will not abide by their international obligations and that is why they are the subject of this of pressure and this kind of isolation. we will keep up that pressure, we will keep up the effort to work with our allies and partners to further isolate iran, even as we make clear that there is a solution here. and that is for iran to get right with the international community. that is for iran to abandon efforts to pursue nuclear weapons. and to abide by its

international commitments. that's the path forward for iran. we will continue the effort to isolate and pressure iran, working with our international partners, going forward we think it's been effective and we hope that the iranian leadership will choose the path of working with the international community to abide by its obligations. steve. >> just to follow up on. that that being the sanctions doesn't seem to be shared by prime minister netanyahu who said yesterday they they would only be real and effective if they included petroleum sanctions, sanctions on the central bank. and there were reports also that the administration had asked israel not to take a unilateral early strike. are israel and the u.s. not on the same page of deterring

iran? >> the remarks that i believe the prime minister made to the australian actually were of a different nature where he talk about the effectiveness of the sanctions regime and we certainly share that view. you know, israel is a key ally and partner and israel has a profound interest in the effort to pressure iran into abiding by its international obligations, as do many nations in the region and the world. we believe that, as i was just describing to kristen, that that effort is unprecedented, i mean, it is a demonstrable fact that it's unprecedented, that we have the kind of international consensus the likes of which we have not seen in the past. certainly the kind of consensus that did not exist prior to this president taking office. and that has made the fact of iran's noncompliance all the clearer to the international community. and it has contributed internal

tension that you've seen within iran and it certainly had a dramatic impact or a significant impact on the iranian economy. >> so you take the israeli position to be what was expressed with the australians and not what netanyahu -- >> you can cherry pick some of the quotes. we have worked very closely with the israeli government, with the prime minister. as we do on a number of issues. and we believe that the approach we've taken has put unprecedented pressure on iran to change its behavior. it has isolated iran far more effectively than past efforts and we certainly hope that -- and we will continue to rash et up the pressure and the -- ratchet up the pressure and the isolation working with our allies until iran abides by its international obligations and works with the international community in a way that assures

all of us that it is not and will not pursue a nuclear weapon. ken. >> when the president meets with the king, king abdullah, shortly, how important will the effort to talk israel out of a military strike on iran be? >> i don't have any specifics to provide to you about a conversation that has not yet taken place. there are a variety of issues that the king and president will discuss including the middle east peace process, including syria, including the king's efforts towards reform in jordan, which we support. i would note with regard to syria that one of the signs of

desperation that we've seen in the assad regime is the fact that the head of the force visited damascus and the fact that assad is relying on essentially his last friend for support in his repression against his own people makes all the clearer that his time has come, he must go he must step down. >> have you been in touch with the prime minister or italian authorities? do you have any comments? is there any statement on americans taking ships that might be under foreign control is there a danger to us? >> i would refer you to the state department where they've been handling pressures -- questions about americans aboard the cruiseship. this is obviously a terrible tragedy. we've seen the horrific images and our hearts go out to the families of the victims.

both american and from everywhere else. but in terms of the other questions you had about it, i would refer you to the state department. >> is president obama going to call the italian -- >> i don't have any updates on foreign leader calls. >> focusing on domestic issues, the economy, etc., how much of this -- the state of the union will be on international money as well as the euro and the european countries basketball down graded by s&p 500? >> i will ask you to listen and read the speech. i'm not going to preview it. as part of the tradition, i think it will be broadly cast but i don't want to get into percentages about how much on domestic issues, how much on international, which ones have more attention, we'll let you guys judge that after he

speaks. >> i want to ask you about a settlement -- [inaudible] a military contractor. a stray employee there was -- straight employee there was harrised and when he complained the company did nothing. he was awarded $155,000 -- [inaudible] they receive more than 96% of their revenue in the amount of $2 billion each year making it the 32nd largest federal contractor. does the white house have with a problem with companies allowing this antigay harassment? >> why don't i take that question because i know none of the details that you just described so i don't want to make a general statement about it. since i know nothing about the specifics but i'll take the question. again, i don't want to do it, if you just listed a number of details about a case that i don't have any information on so why donte -- why don't we take that question and i'll get back to you. yes. >> back on food stamps for a

second. what policies did newt gingrich advocate as speaker 15 years ago that now are resulting in more people -- >> i said that the economic policies that contributed to the great recession were supported by and are being proposed by i believe all of the leading contenders for the republican nomination. i mean, that's fact. [inaudible] well, are you contesting that the economic policy -- that economic policy had nothing to do with -- i mean the approach say to regulating wall street that was taken by -- in the lead up to the worst financial crisis since the great depression, this isn't an approach the president shares but we've heard from every major republican candidate that they'd abolish dodd-frank, the reforms, the wall street reforms that this president signed into law. astounding youly you hear from some folks running for office that they would not only either water down or abolish those

important wall street reforms, but they would further reduce regulation of the very financial sector that contributed so mightily to the economic hardship of so many millions and millions of americans. that's just an approach we disagree with and we look forward to the debate with whomever emerges from the primary process. yes. and then all the way in the back. >> some supporters of the occupy movement on the air this morning had a huge banner saying, liberals admit it, obama let you down. how worried is the president that liberals won't show up on election day? >> these are questions i would direct to the campaign. this president's focus on the job he needs to do as president of the united states and he is focused primarily when it comes to democratistic policies -- >> we will leave the last moment or two of the white house briefing with a remind that are you can watch all of it online any time.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> u.s. house is gaveling back in. members will begin the second session of the 11th congress by issuing a quorum call of the house and they will also election a new sergeant at arms which will be paul err syringe who is a former -- erving who had a former secret service career. the main action in the house tomorrow, the house will vote tomorrow on a resolution of disapproval, a vote on president obama's request to raise the debt limit by $1.2 trillion. meanwhile legislative business? the senate is set to get under way on january 23. this is a new "washington post" -abc news poll d today finds a new low for congressional approval. 84% of americans disapproving of the job congress is doing and news that republican congressman todd flats of pennsylvania is planning on leaving -- platts of pennsylvania is planning on

leaving congress. he won't run for re-election in 2012. coming up next, live coverage of the house here on c-span. to ascertain the presence of a quorum. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. house house -- [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the

united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

that's one huge factor developing in maybe ten years. i think this is such a big project and we've got only one year to do it. it's just out of our hands. the world's changing without us even noticing and we've got many

here where we can make a change, and i think with these different things that we've seen, through more things that affect us, we can change easier. thank you. [ applause ] >> members of the youth parliament, as you know, i'm striving for balance, and you might be interested to know that my assistant has just turned to me and said, "mr. speaker, you need a woman from the northeast." so, i need to call to speak a woman from the northeast, if one wishes to do so. please. >> i'm a ninth grader from the northeast. people have constantly said it is such a big issue that is out of our hands, but it is such a big issue and it's getting bigger and worse. it's an issue we need to tackle now because in years to come, it will just become bigger and harder to tackle. this will be an issue that will affect young people not just in this generation, but in many generations to come, and in those many generations to come, they won't be able to tackle it anymore because it will be literally too big to handle.

if we sort this out now, we may be able to tackle this issue and people wouldn't have to deal with it later on when it's too big to deal with. [ applause ] >> okay, i could do with, i think, another speaker from scotland, if there is such. what about the gentleman right at the end there, just pointing at himself and now looking -- no, the chap in the front row, the very front row. that's it. >> before talking -- oh, sorry, neil mcdonald. i represent scotland. before we start talking about how we should focus on a green future, but studies have shown that the half of britain that recycle. so if we can make it more available to everybody, it is not going to happen. we need to focus more on local authorities and make it more -- give them more opportunity to extend, because after it's been shown to the less fortunate that it's worth doing, then it's not going to happen.

[ applause ] >> how about london? who have we got from london? certainly somebody who hasn't spoken before. yeah. the woman with the pale blue top. yes, you. >> thank you very much. i'm representing the londonboro. who has been watching "frozen planet"? yeah? how cute are the penguins? and you look at the landscape, and it's absolutely fantastic. i'm awed at our world, how beautiful it is and how selfish we are to not even be able to recycle because we're lazy and we don't want to split our rubbish and we don't want to take the bus instead of getting dropped off at a friend's house. this is a pragmatic campaign. everyone in the uk can work on this. and as my fellow nyp said, the government has already signed a form to say that we have to reduce our carbon emissions by 2015. let's work with them.

let's help them. let them help us and we can really make a change. that's my point. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> what about somebody from the west midlands? i think that you are in a state of uncontrollable excitement, and we must hear from you. >> i do think we're making britain greener is a good issue, but i don't think -- i don't really see as a national campaign. i think it should be focused more kind of locally or maybe even regionally. and as the uk's going through a current, you know, financial crisis, should we be using our money on this? and yeah, it costs quite a lot to do these kind of things, and

i don't know if, like, we should be using money on this topic. and instead of doing little things which can make a big difference in our local communities. [ applause ] >> what about a speaker from the northwest of england? the northwest. yeah, the young woman here. thank you. >> i think that this isn't so much as -- oh, sorry, i'm from north flats. i think this isn't quite a private campaign. i think it's tied in with the transport, because i think if the transport costs were more cheap, more people would be going on the buses. people in the buses are not in the cars, and if they're not in the cars, it's less carbon emissions. [ applause ] >> okay, i think we need to hear somebody from the southwest. what about the southwest? what about this young man here, with the -- yes, blond hair. thank you. >> following up from what my

colleagues said over here, we can't rush into it. i'm george poole, south flats. the environment, a greener britain, a greener future. our future is going to affect every single person in this room and every single person outside of this room. we face a decision, a decision i think could only be reasonably answered with one answer, and i'm afraid it's we can't support this project. uk youth parliament has one opportunity this year to make one decision, to support one project. one project, not two, not three, not four. we have to be reasonable. international and transatlantic communications, protocols, copenhagen, everything seems to focus, it's the environment and nobody seems to get anywhere. the problem still stands. i completely respect every single person in this room and i believe everybody in here can be

who they want to be and do what they want to do, but i have to look at it reasonably, respectively, and look at what uk youth parliament is really capable of doing. this is a global issue, not a uk issue. it needs to be left to people who are in the foreign office, to people who are working internationally, people who are scientists and specialists in that area. we are not. i am afraid that we are not and i cannot say that we are and i cannot say that we can do it. i can say that we can help our young people how we can, where we can and when we can, and unfortunately, this area is not one of them. not yet and not now. when you sit in here in ten years time, that is when you can make that decision and that is when you can say i can do something for my people that i represent, i can do something for my constituency. until then, we cannot support this. we can support something that can affect our young people now. [ applause ] >> thank you. is there a young woman from northern ireland who wishes to speak? no? we haven't got a young woman from northern ireland who wishes to speak?

have the woman who stood frequently in the red dress. we'll have you. >> elizabeth from southeast. thank you, mr. speaker. however important recycling is to our planet and making a difference, we are getting better at it, but the environmental agency told us at the end of 2010 that we only have eight years left. so this is awful. something needs to change, but this change can't happen as a thing over the uk, like lots of you have said, because it's not working, because there can't be one project that fits all. we have different size local authorities and different size people, so we need to go back to our local authorities and try to make the change there. but when you think about things with people dying and poverty campaign and people not having futures. thank you. [ applause ]

>> this is far and away the most difficult thing, i'm afraid. we have reached the point at which we must conclude the debate, and i must call -- i know it's disappointing for people who have stood and tried. we've worked as hard as we can to accommodate as wide a variety of people as possible, but i now hope that you'll warmly welcome mr. alec howells to conclude the remarks. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm alec howells, southwest. i'd like to thank the gentleman up here for his impassioned speech earlier. the points he makes are really the ones i'd like you to keep in mind through the speech. i'll begin my summation with a stressing of the size of this issue, as across all of the following points, this really is the most important thing you

must keep in mind. climate change affects everything. it is possibly the largest challenge faced by man to date. the planet we live on, the global machine we're a part of, the cycle of natural balance of the world is being skewed by human actions, and something must be done. this is to be debated on here, of course. it is in our top five priorities. soon, you'll be voting for which campaign you wish should be the national one for the next year. i'll ask you to keep in mind the following points when voting for the greener future as the national campaign. we can talk of issues such as transport and tuition fees, and under one canopy, we can see every single consequence to our action, every single implication to our words. a greener future simply isn't like this. the enormity of the issue means that we'll be campaigning into the grand beyond. indeed, as the against motion stressed so well, the answers have not yet been

with agreements such as the 200 2008 uk climate change. do we want to campaign on an issue already being prioritized by the country or one where there will be no voice to replace ours? the motion would argue shouldn't we help anyway? the issue touches all of mankind. it is larger than us and has implications well beyond what we can imagine in our lifetime. are we obliged to help together? should we campaign for this because it is such a large issue? is it our duty to do so?

i'll close on an optimistic note. i want to remind you of the power we have. the true question you must ask yourself today when you reach the ballot box is not what can we do. we can do anything. no matter how insurmountable these issues may seem or how much opposition we may face, if we work together as an organization of young people for a year, we can make irrelevant reversible changes that will benefit young people for years to come. the only question you may ask yourself is an ethics-based one. what is our duty to do? where do our responsibilities as members of the youth parliament lie? should we fight injustice in the areas where we know we have a voice or rather should we be giving a contribution to the fight over problems that are larger than ourselves. i ask you when you place your

vote today, where do your duties really lie? thank you. [ applause ] the speaker: a quorum is present. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings of january 13, 2012, and announces to the house his approval thereof and pursuant to clause 16 rule 1, the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas rise? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker:

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have. it the journal stands approved. >> mr. speaker. i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from florida, mr. west. mr. west: please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the house will be in order. members will please take their seat.

the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, i hereby offer my resignation as sergeant at arms of the house of representatives effective january 17, 2012. it has been a privilege and honor to serve this institution of sergeant at arms. if i can ever be of service to the house of representative notice future, please do not hesitate to call upon me. signed, sincerely, wilson livinggood, sergeant at arms. the speaker:, without objection, the resignation is accepted. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? >> i offer a privilege resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the -- the speaker: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 511, resolved that paul d. irving of the state of florida be and is hereby owes choasten

sarm at arms -- sergeant at arms for the house of representatives. the speaker: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the house will be in order. will the sergeant at arms designate please take the well? the sergeant at arms of the house. you'll raise your right habbeds. members, please rise -- hand. members, please rise. do you solemnly swear or affirm that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic? that you will bear true faith and witness to the same, that you take this obligation clearly without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that you will well and faithfully discharge the

duties of the office of which you are about to enter so help you god? the sergeant at arms: i do. the speaker: congratulations. the speaker: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 512, resolve that a committee of two members be appointed by the speaker on the part of the house of representatives to join with the committee on the part of the senate to notify the president of the united states that a quorum of each house has assembled and congress is ready to receive any communication that he may be pleased to make. the speaker: without objection,

the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table pursuant to house resolution 512, the chair apoints the following members on the part of the house to a joint committee on the part of the senate to notify the president of the united states that a quorum of each house has assembled and that congress is ready to receive any communication that he may be pleased to make. the clerk: the gentleman from virginia, mr. cantor and the gentlewoman from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, unfinished is business is agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal which

the chair will put de novo. the question is on agreeing to the approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise. mr. cantor: i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 513, resolved that the clerk of the house inform the senate that a quorum of the house is senate and the house is ready to proceed with business. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the resolution is agreed to. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia rise? mr. cantor: i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask

for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is correct. the house is not in order. mr. cantor: i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 514, resolved that unless otherwise ordered the hour daily meeting shall be 2:00 p.m.'s and noon p.m. on wednesday. noon on wednesdays and thursdays and 9:00 a.m. on all other days of the week. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the resolution is agreed to and a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. cantor: i ask unanimous consent that the order of the house of january 5, 2011

providing for morning hour debate be extended for the remainder of the 112th congress except that house resolution 514 shall supplant house resolution 510. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> mr. speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 515, resolution addressing a motion to proceed under section 3101-a of title 31, united states code . the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to withdraw my name as co-sponsor for h. rrment 1161 -- h.r. 1161. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a co-sponsor of h.r. 3261. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the house will be in order. please take your conversations off the house floor. the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of absence requested for congressman farr

of california for today, january 17 and, wednesday, january 18, mrs. napolitano of california for today and mr. reyes of texas for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requests are granted. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order.

members, please take your conversations off the floor. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. members, please take your conversations off the floor. the house will be in order. the chair is prepared to entertain one-minute ifs request. -- minute requests. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. poe: request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

spow poe -- mr. poe: mr. speaker, the little tyrant from the desert in iran is rattler of nerves of many americans. ahmadinejad is threatening to block oil from going through the strait of hormuz. this would raise the price of gasoline in america. meanwhile, three years have gone by and the administration continues to delay, delay, delay a decision on the keystone x.l. pipeline project. approval of this pipeline would immediately create 20,000 jobs in america and bring in 700,000 barrels of oil a day. at first the administration decided not to decide until 2013. however, new law requires the administration to make a decision by february 21. but there are grumblings the administration may find a way to ignore this provision of the law. americans are in need of a stable source of energy and they are thirsty for jobs. this country needs to -- energy from a reliable and stable country like canada. we should make middle eastern

oil and its politics of turmoil irrelevant. the administration needs to pick a horse and ride it. build a keystone x.l. pipeline from canada toport arthur, texas, and that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the house will be in order. will members please take their conversations off the floor. for what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi rise? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, today i'm proud to recognize an educational keystone in mississippi's fourth congressional district. jones county jr. college celebrating 100 years of educational leadership in excellence since 1911. located in ellisville, jones is

the largest single campus two-year college in our state. and it's among the top ranking community and junior colleges in the nation for enrollment. j. -- jcjc boasts competitive programs including nine am democratic divisions and award-winning athletic teams. it does -- how does jones county live up to its motto of inspiring greatness? during the past 100 years, jones' outstanding faculty and five presidents including current president dr. jesse smith have brought commitment and consistency to this cam us -- campus. it is not unusual to see dr. smith visiting casually with students around campus, leading by example and investing in student success. i salute dr. smith, the staff, faculty, alumni and students on more than 100 years of excellence. congratulations on a job well done and go bobcats. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north dakota rise?

without objection. mr. berg: mr. speaker, today i want to congratulate the north dakota state bison on an incredible football season. that led to winning the 2011 f.c.s. championship. more than 10,000 fans cheered on the bison in frisco, texas, where the bison defeated sam houston by a score of 17-6. the bison, coach craig bowl, worked hard this season and their determination resulted in n.s.u. -- ndsu's first championship in division i. these student athletes represent ndsu's commitment to both academic and athletic excellence. their character and perseverance truly exemplifies the north dakota spirit and they have made our state proud. congratulations, coach bowl, the bison players and ndsu fans

everywhere on an excellent season. thank you and go bison. i yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota rise? >> address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the courage of two young minnesotans whose lives have been drastically changed recently while playing a sport that they truly love. mr. paulsen: a december 30 high school hockey game began brightly for 16-year-old high school socky player sophomore jack who scored the opening goal of the game. but a shocking check from behind during the second period unfortunately left jack paralyzed. and sadly one week later another young hockey player, 18-year-old jenna, from st. croix lutheran high school, was hospitalized after being injured during a game. mr. speaker, despite this, these two young athletes have not lost their love of the game and have shown incredible courage in the face of facing

such terrible accidents. i'm pleased that this weekend the minnesota high school league took swift action in announcing new rules that aim to make the game safer. i urge all of us to keep jack and jenna and their families in our thoughts and prayers and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, h. kenyon chemical separations facility at the savannah river site near akin, south carolina, which is valued at nearly $1 billion, is the only shielded nuclear chemical separations plant still in operation in the united states. during its operating life, h. kenyan facility routinely recovered uranium 235 and 237 spent fuel and has aided america in honoring its international agreement by returning these fuels for the

purposes of nuclear nonproliferation and safeguarding. today the operations are supporting the d.o.e. highly enriched uranium blenddown program and plutonium disposition program. by blending down highly enriched uranium and isolated plutonium from surrounding corrosive elements, they ensure our country's national security while simultaneously providing fuel which is currently being purchased by the tennessee valley authority to power commercial nuclear reactors. as difficult funding decisions are made in this congress, i urge my colleagues to support the mission of h. kenyan. it is a vital national asset that has served our country since victory in the cold war and will continue to protect and serve americans both home and abroad for decades. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: are there further requests for

one-minute speeches? are there further one-minute requests? for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas rise? ms. jackson lee: address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, you would wonder how do you claim victory out of a season that if you are a professional football player does not end in the is super bowl? -- in the super bowl in i rise today to congratulate and thank my hometown team of the houston texans. a very young franchise that came together and showed their mighty might and kept on plugging until they got into the playoffs and even to the point of meeting the baltimore ravens last sunday. there are many good things to

say about this team. in the backdrop of the holiday of dr. martin luther king, it is also a tribute to them that these young men worked together and showed themselves as brothers coming from so many diverse backgrounds from around the nation. their owner, their coach, their defense coach, their general manager and some of their stars like number 80, arian foster, and their young quarterback and many others show themselves to have good character and good examples for our community. and, yes, let me thank them for the service they've given to the young kids in houston, texas. from the foundation of number 80 and the many individual acts of kindness, we appreciate the houston texans. so tonight you may not be in the super bowl but you are our winner. we thank you for being the kind of young men that are modeling

yourself to be the kind of leaders that middle school boys and girls and others can have as a shining example. go, texans. maybe not this year, but i know you're on your way. but most of all, you have served yourself well in the area and the arena of professional sports. we can truly be proud of you. congratulations, young men, do well in the offseason and we're ready for you to come back. houston loves you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. members are reminded to direct their remarks to the chair. are there any further requests for one-minute speeches? any further requests for one-minute speeches? under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from ohio, mr. latta, is recognized for 60 minutes as the dess anything -- designee of the majority leader.

mr. latta: thank you, mr. speaker. and, this is a very important hour tonight. because we're talking about the security of this country and we're talking about having a secure source of oil and energy into the future. and as americans around the country know, it hasn't been too long, they just go out and look at what the gas pump says, and i know when i left my hometown in ohio this morning, gas was $3.49 a gallon. you know, we only have to go back to january of 2009 when president obama took office and gasoline was $1.78. so we've seen a dramatic increase in the price of gasoline. what we need to do is we need to talk about not only about the security but where we're getting our oil from. because oil runs our manufacturing and it's very, very important. i serve on the energy and commerce committee. earlier this year, manufacturing jobs in this country, on just our committee

aown on energy and commerce, we had 1,729,250 manufacturing jobs on our committee alone according to the national manufacturers. today that number has dropped to 1,526,941 or a loss of 202,309 jobs in manufacturing. and folks in the manufacturing, small and large, one of the things that really hits them is what the cost of energy is and where it's going to be coming from. and when we've got the problems over in the middle east and with iran and the question is if we're going to have a secure source in that region of the world, it pushes up the price of energy and it effects the jobs in this country. . we have a unique opportunity in this country, and the president does, the president can get the keystone pipeline going. we've urged him in committee and we're urging him in congress to make that decision to get this going. let me go through a few facts,

if i may. first of all, a lot of people may not realize, canadians are the largest folks up there to the north provide energy to us in the form of oil. we get 13% of our current u.s. oil needs from canada, or 23% of all u.s. imports come from canada. a lot of people think they come from the mideast but they don't they come from our friends up north, our good neighbors up north. another statistic i think is important to point out, when we send $1 to canada for canadian products, we're getting 90% back from canadians on purchases they make of u.s. goods and services. it's a great relationship we have with the canadians because it's a great relationship, our largest partner to the north, and when it comes to trading. canada is second only to saudi arabia for proven recoverable oil reserves with more than 170 billion barrels in the form of

oil sands. 170 billion barrels. again, as the largest supplier of oil to the u.s., canada provides consistency and stability with nearly two million barrels per day, which is currently more than, again, of the 20% of the u.s. import. approximately 56% of all canadian oil in the u.s. flows to the northern midwest region, ohio, illinois, indiana, minnesota and wisconsin. 94% of all those imports come from canada. 76% of the oil from oil sands. 40% of all the oil refined in this region comes from that area of the oil sands. a report that was somebodied by the canadian energy research institute states that jobs supported by canadian oil will grow from 21,000 jobs today to 465,000 jobs by 2035. i think it's also important to

note we're looking at 20,000 jobs right now, another 100,000 jobs on ancillary if the pipeline gets approved and gets moving. it's incumbent that the president takes action and we get jobs in the united states but also more importantly along with those jobs, to make sure we have a secure source of oil in the country. 2,400 american companies in 49 states involved in development of canadian oil sands. it's not the canadians up there doing this, it's american companies, american jobs making sure we have that. when it comes down to it, we need to have the president act immediately and favorably on this to get america moving on jobs but also to make sure that we have a stable and secure source of energy in this country. with that, mr. speaker, i'd like to yield back the balance of my time to my friend mr. terry of

nebraska. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from nebraska, mr. terry is recognized for the remainder of the hour. mr. terry: thank you, mr. speaker. why are many of us on the house floor tonight, after regular business, talking about the keystone pipeline. -- pipeline? because it's a win-win. 20,000 immediate contracting support jobs for the construction of a 1,700 mile pipeline from alberta, canada, down to our refineries in south texas and then over to louisiana. beginning when this pipeline is

fin herbed, it'll bring about 600,000 or 700,000 barrels of oil to the united states, from our good friend canada. now just to put that amount in perspective, 700,000, they expect that by the time it's fully operational it will be a million. to put it in context, today we are importing 900 million barrels from venezuela. 900,000. we import 1.2 million from saudi arabia. so take it which way you want, but our friends from canada, alberta, just a few hundred miles north of our border, will be enough oil to almost completely offset the heavy crude from venezuela or saudi

arabiaian oil. the reality, my friends, is that we have enough energy resources in the united states and canada to be free of opec oil. now, we talk about 20,000, 20,000 direct jobs from a $7 billion project that is sitting, waiting to go. they have their project labor agreement sitting. there's union folk ready to go to work. all it has to do is be approved, the permit for this, approved by the president. once he says yes, 20,000 people go to work. and we put ourselves on a path to greater energy security. that's one of the reasons why i fought so hard to get on the energy and commerce committee,

to set us on a path to energy security where we don't have to send our money, u.s. consumers' dollars to buy our energy necessary to propel our economy. but, a funny thing happened on the road to energy security. the environmentalists said this is heavy crude and it is going to expel in the process too much co-2. they want to stop fossil fuels. so instead of using the most energy efficient refineries in the world that would have the least emissions of co-2, i guess the environmental community would rather it go to china where they have few pollution and carbon controls on their refineries. by the way, china just bought half of the oil sands just a week ago. they'd be glad to buy the other

half if we don't. so it's going to be refined. the president has until february 21 to say yes or no to this. that was by act of congress. setting that deadline. because the original application was filed september of 2008. three years and four months ago. the average is 18 months for a transcontinental pipeline. this administration has been dragging its feet because they don't want to irritate the environmental community which has been heightened now sense we're into an election year. i wish we could have done this before we got into 2012, where it could be based on the merits, not the politics, but politics is what we're dealing with right now. the president said several times in the last few weeks that,

jeeze, because the congress has forced my hand on making a decision before february 21, that's not enough time, i may have to deny it. well, that's complete bull. here's a document, i apologize to the gallery and maybe our c-span viewers because the print is rather smile, but this is an administration document from their agency dated july 25. executive office of the president. july 25. let me read the important sentence here. the significant sentence in their document. the bill that we had then on july 25, they say, is unnecessary because the department of state, who makes the recommendation to the

president, has been working diligently to complete the permit decision process for the keystone xl pipeline and has publicly committed to reaching a decision before december 31, 2011. two other documents from the state department have said that they have all the information they need, they're working diligently, and they will have the recommending ato the president on -- by december 31, 2011, which of course they have not made, and the president said, gee, congress, no reason for you to get involved, because we're working diligently, we have the information we need and we will make a degrees. then, just prior to december 31, they started to say, we want more information, or you're

puttings in a box, we have to say no, bull, this is all politics, stop playing politics, mr. president and put us on a road that we can be energy independent and at a time of high unemployment, where these trades people are standing around waiting for work, put them back to work now, mr. president. at this time, i'd like to yield back my time to the chair. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will remind the members to address their remarks to the chair. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from illinois, mr. shimkus, is recognized for reremainder of the hour. -- for the remainder of the hour. mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. it is important that as soon as we get back here today we get

back on focus of creating jobs in this country. not jobs that government says we can create, but sustainable jobs that are created by the private sector. private capital, assuming risks, hoping for a return, to get economic growth. there's no better opportunity to do that than with the keystone x.l. pipeline. this is what we're talking about. here's the oil in edmonton, there's a pipeline that goes down into my district, actually, and a new refinery also in the eastern, central eastern part of the state of illinois. the keystone x.l. will be this blue line which will bring more crude. why do we need another pipeline, a bigger pipeline? there's so much crude oil in canada, they don't have the ability to refine it, they don't have the ability to market it, let's get the crude to the

markets. the great thing of the folks from the midwest, as you had mr. terry and mr. latta, we understand the keystone pipeline because we're already receiving the product to our refineries. this is the oil sands. it's just oil that coats sand. and they boil it off, they recover the froth, they turn it into a liquid product called bitumin, that gets turned into synthetic crude and that's what we're talking about. the third largest oil reserves in the world are right here. how do you get it? a lot of times you do it through service mining. here's an example. the trucks are actually a little bigger in the mining operation, they're about seven stories tall, the story -- the tires are at least one story tall, built by a u.s. company, caterpillar, located in illinois, that's where many, 50% of all the hev yes dump trucks go to mining

operations around the world, one of the big markets right now is in canada. robinson oil refinery is the other refinery in illinois. it's -- it's receiving the oil sand product, moving it into a product to move to the market. these are real jobs at a realtime that will create real jobs. 20,000 immediately and as my colleagues have said, ancillary jobs. you have pumping stations, you need to build the pumps. need the eelect trigs to operate it. this is something private capital, return on investment, energy computer ask, the president said he believes in the free flow of oil when he's trying to address ahmadinejad in iran and the strait of hormuz. there's no better free flow of oil than permitting the skistone -- keystone x.l. pipeline. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield

back my time. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. scalise, is recognized for the remainder of the hour. mr. scalise: thank you thank you, mr. chairman. you're going to be hearing a lot, mr. chairman, we're all going to be talking a lot about the keystone pipeline. the reason we're talking a lot about it is because between now and february 21, president obama has a decision to make. president obama has been tasked by this congress to make a decision by february 21 on whether or not to approve the keystone pipeline. . the president should have approved this. back in august the state department which was tasked by the president to make a recommendation was getting ready to actually make a recommendation and move forward on the pipeline. and of course what we're talking about is creating jobs

in america. 20,000 american jobs will be created if the president moves forward with the keystone pipeline. but also american energy security is at stake here. and so the president continued to punt this issue and in fact just a few months ago the president tried to push this issue off until after the election. because just right after the state department was getting ready to say, let's go forward with the keystone pipeline, all of a sudden some of the radical environmental groups came forward and these radical environmental groups who are against any form of american-created energy that does not involve wind and solar power, whether it's oil, gas, nuclear, they're against all american energy. and so these radical environmental groups went and had a protest over at the white house. and they intimidated this president enough to where president obama said, ok, he's going to push it off until after the election. thinking that he could just hide behind radical environmentalists and say, oh,

well, we got to look at the environmental issues. this has nothing to do with whether or not it's gd for the environment because -- good for the environment because frankly the state department looked at the environmental issues already. president obama knows that. the state department looked at those environmental concerns and said they're not there. in fact, if the president approved keystone tomorrow and said yes to those american jobs , the canadian government and the company that would be building the pipeline would still have to comply with the environmental laws of every single state that that pipeline would go through. so it's not a question of whether or not keystone would comply with the environmental laws, they have to comply with all the environmental laws. but, what is at stake is whether or not we're going to take these 20,000 jobs in america or whether those jobs are going to be shipped to china. because china's already said they want the keystone oil, they want the oil that would be created by these oil sands in canada. and so the question is, are we

going to have that oil from canada sent into america? or is that oil going to go to china? and of course what that really means is, are we going to take the 20,000 jobs in america or is president obama going to send those 20,000 jobs to china? what does president obama have against the creation of 20,000 american jobs? you know, and the president loves to give all these speeches talking about the middle class and, mr. chairman, you know, when the president talks about the middle class, he can't say he supports the middle class if he rejects the keystone pipeline. because he'll be turning down 20,000 american jobs that will be coming down with over $7 billion of private investment that's coming from one of our best partners in the world, canada. canada's a great trading partner with america. if the key stone -- if the keystone pipeline is built in america and we start partnering with and taking about 700,000 barrels a day of oil from canada, that's oil we don't have to get from middle eastern countries who don't like us. so look at the policy.

first of all, they have to comply if they do this, they have to comply with the environmental laws, not only of the united states but every state that it goes through, so the environmental issues don't exist at the -- that the president raises. but, what is at stake is whether or not we're going to be -- we're going to get 20,000 american jobs and whether or not we're going to get oil from a friend in canada or we're going to get oil from middle eastern countries who don't like us. and so that's what this debate is about. between now and february 21, the president's got to decide whether or not he's going to say yes to american jobs or is he going to side with his radical environmentalist friends who went over to the white house and threatened him and all of this kind of foolishness and said that they want to send that oil to china? well the good news is that the president doesn't really have to decide whether or not that's going to happen because he can just go look at what his own state department said. the state department said they want -- they think those jobs should stay in america but the

president has got to decide whether he's going side with the radical environmentalists or whether he's going to side with american families and workers who just want jobs and want american energy security and frankly if we've got a choice, because our demand for oil hasn't gone down, it's a question of whether or not we want oil from canada, who's a friend, or from middle eastern countries who are not. and if we want to create 20,000 american jobs. so that's what's at stake between now and february 21. with that, mr. chairman, i urge first of all the president to side with america in those creation of 20,000 jobs, but to approve the keystone pipeline and with that i yield the balance of my time. >> if the gentleman would yield. i'd love to go back to something that he mentioned. mr. scalise: yeah, if the chair will allow it, i'll be happypy to yield to the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you. i want to go to the heart of the issue that we're talking about and i would like to

highlight this with our colleagues. mr. scalise, who knows this issue so very well, because he is from louisiana, he has constituents who work in this industry every day, and he said, what the president had done was to choose, to make a conscious decision to push off making a definitive pronouncement on the keystone pipeline. and, mr. chairman, i think that is so important and what mr. scalise is saying gets to the heart of this. the president made that decision. usually, and mr. scalise can illuminate us on this issue a bit, but it is my understanding that generally a presidential permit requires anywhere from 18 months to 24 months to secure. and that currently the keystone pipeline is in its 40th month

of trying to get a permit from this administration, from the president. and that if the president has his way on this, he is going to push that and it would be another 12 months and i would yield back to the gentleman. mr. scalise: the gentlelady from tennessee is correct. in fact, when you look at the time line for keystone, as you said, it's been 40 months. and the thing is here that the state department has done the review. you know, the president right now is trying to give some indications that now february 21 might not be enough time for him. when in fact he's had much longer than the normal process for any review. mrs. blackburn: bleak if the gentleman will yield. mr. scalise: i'll yield in one moment. there's also the fact that china is out there saying they want the oil. so as america, through president obama, saying that he doesn't want to do it or he wants to delay it until after the election, where canada's indicated they can't wait until after the election in november, they've got to make a decision.

and they want to send the oil to the united states of america because we're great trading partners. but if the president, president obama, keeps saying no, china right now is saying they want the oil. so we don't have an unlimited amount of time for the president to keep cowing to his radical environmentalist friends. the decision needs to be made and february 21 is that date that's currently available and we're trying to push the president to make that decision in the affirmative way and say yes to those 20,000 jobs that would be created here. and with that i'll be happy to yield to the gentlelady. mrs. blackburn: the gentlelady's point i think is so important to make. the president has already taken twice as long as most presidents would take to enter into this decision. so he's already had twice as much time but he's asking for half again as much time to make this decision. and why he can't make a decision, it's like voting

present. when you come to the floor to cast a vote. not being able to make a decision, being indecisive on this. while that is transpiring, the united states is looking at 20,000 direct american jobs and an additional 118,000 private sector jobs that would be linked to this project. if my information is correct that i have received. so you're talking about a total of 138,000 direct and indirect american jobs, good paying jobs that are american products, that will produce energy that is right here, that we would be getting from canada and bringing in, about 700,000 barrels of oil a day, so that we could begin to break the ties that are existing with

opec and middle eastern oil. and i think that it's so important for us to look at this. this is not an issue of taking more time or additional time. the time is now. because we've already spent twice as much time as is generally needed to do the due diligence and to check the process and to make that decision that will move us toward energy independence and i yield back to the gentleman from louisiana. mr. scalise: well, i thank the gentlelady from tennessee. i think it's been clear what's been laid out, the decision that should be made by president obama. unfortunately he continues to drag his feet, try to punt on this issue. but ultimately a decision's going to have to be made. if we're going to be able to get those 20,000 jobs here in america or whether or not they're going to go to china. who's also asking for them. so with that i yield back the

balance of my time to mr. chairman. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentlelady from tennessee, mrs. blackburn, is recognized for the remainder of the hour. the gentlewoman from tennessee. then under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from mississippi, mr. harper, is recognized for the remainder of the hour. mr. harper: thank you, mr. chairman. you know, the president has spent a lot of time during the last three months traveling around the country these many months, demanding that congress put aside party differences and pass the bill referring to his $447 billion so-called jobs bill. but if the president were to get off the campaign trail and focus on the facts, he would realize that house republicans have been advancing a pro-growth agent that creates jobs without expanding the

federal government's role. the house of representatives has voted numerous times this year, in the 112th congress, to increase american oil production, which would put americans back to work. reduce our country's dependence upon foreign oil and lower prices at the pump. and i ask you to think back to when the president took office, the average price for a gallon of gas in this country was $1.83. we can only barely remember such a time. these are steps that we can take that can turn that around. those bills that we did pass out of the house would speed up the permitting process for drilling in the gulf of mexico. require the secretary of the interior to conduct more offshore oil and gas leases, direct the department of interior to proceed with exploration and production in the areas estimated to contain the most oil and gas. and eliminate this

administration's bureaucratic delays that have stalled offshore energy production in the outer continental shelf. further, the house has voted multiple times to push for a final decision on the keystone pipeline. the keystone x.l. pipeline application was filed more than three years ago and a final decision on whether to let the pipeline go forward is long, long overdue. in his first term in office, the president has talked about the need for energy independence. keystone x.l. could help provide the united states with the certainty of almost a million barrels of oil a day. and that oil comes from our friends and largest trading partner, canada. not the middle east. at a time when the president has tasked three aircraft carrier strike groups with protecting the strait of hormuz, wouldn't this oil be good, plain, common sense? the president has druggled with

turning the economy around -- struggled with turning the economy around since take office three years ago and his speeches often center on the subject of jobs. if approved today the keystone x.l. project would create 20,000 construction jobs and an estimated 100,000 indirect jobs during the life of its operation. for americans who desperately need them. look at these 20,000 jobs that are there, that are held up. you know, i think back to my late father, his first job as a petroleum engineer was in tinsly field in mississippi. those jobs matter to families. it's time to move forward and approve this. instead of issuing the necessary permits to begin construction of the pipeline and putting american families and americans to work, the administration is in the third year, almost four years now, of dragging its feet through bureaucratic delays and indecision.

it can only be for political reasons. pro-business groups like americans for prosperity and the chamber of commerce are supporting keystone x.l. to give a much-needed boost to the economy. even pro-labor groups are supporting keystone x.l. because they know it will create jobs. americans are across the country are -- americans across the country are asking this president to approve this project. they realize its importance and they deserve to be answered. . the keystone x.l. pipeline is just one exarm -- example of how house republicans are working -- working to create jobs without stimulus money. every day that the president kicks the can down the road is another day without the jobs and another day without the relief from middle eastern oil and another day that americans should be asking this administration, this white house, where are the jobs? with that, i yield back, mr.

chairman. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from colorado, mr. gardner is recognized for the remainder of the hour. mr. gardner: i thank you for the opportunity to address the house on the issue of the keystone x.l. pipeline. there are pipe dreams and pipelines out there that people talk about. apparently when it comes to jobs, maybe the pipeline is a pipe dream. we have an opportunity in this country to secure our energy future with north american energy, to create american jobs on a project that is a 1,700 mile long pipeline. i hear all the time from constituents in colorado about, hey, what's the deal with this pipeline? why can't we go forward creating jobs using north america's great resources to help our country

create jobs in a more secure energy future? and the conversation then really revolves around commonsense ideas. here's a president who, the president has said in the past that we need to support shovel-ready projects. that the stimulus bill that passed in 2009 was all about shovel-ready projects and if you go back to last summer, i believe the president had said, well, i guess shovel ready wasn't as shovel ready as we thought it was. here's a shovel ready project. here is a pipeline a private-funded pipeline that's ready to be built. 1,700 miles. 20,000 american jobs. we could get started on that today. it's been years since this pipeline was actually first -- the permit process first started. and yet here we are, waiting, once again. this isn't a surprise to anybody. this shouldn't shock anybody

that the issue of the pipeline came up. the bill that we passed in december said, you got to make a decision. the president has said he would make a decision. yet we still have no decision. and i find it difficult to understand what is really the tough part of this decision? we can create jobs right now with a truly sholve-ready project. earlier this year, actually, back in february of last year, we had testimony before the energy and commerce committee that talked about the development of the alberta oil sands and what it would mean to jobs in the united states. the keystone pipeline is part of that. according to the testimony we received in committee, between 2011 and 2015, 6,000 jobs could be created in colorado alone because of the development of the alberta oil sands. the fourth congressional district of colorado that i represent has two counties. when you look at the true unemployment rates, the unemployment rates that take into account people who have just given up work, given up

looking for work, just decided they can't find work so they've stopped looking, two counties in my district have over 19% unemployment when you look at it through the lens of people who have stopped looking for work. a project like the keystone pipeline, 20,000 direct jobs, 100,000 jobs indirectly created, the alberta oil sands creating 6,000 jobs over the next three or four years, these are good-paying american jobs with american energy that we could be putting for the benefit of this country. we know there are willing partners, other people who said go ahead, we'll take the business, we'll partner with you, we're not afraid. china has more than once said this is something they'd look at. canada said they won't just stop if we say no. shovel ready projects. here it is. our opportunity to create american jobs. three years ago, the application was filed to build a pipeline.

most americans at town meetings i attend know about this pipeline, they know what's happening with it. it's been our goal in this 112th congress, advance projects that make sense when it comes to american energy and north american energy and american job creation. that ought to be the goal of every single one of us in this congress. every action we take should be looked at through the same lens we look at the keystone pipeline. creating jobs. i'm awed at the energy resources we have in north america, how simple it would be to advance policy it is to make us more energy independent, yet we still can't move forward because no decision has been made. baffled at how difficult this administration has made it when it comes to weaning ourselves off of overseas oil, at the same time creating more jobs right here at home. the administration has done everything it can to stand in the way of a project that can help americans get back to work, a $7 billion private sector

infrastructure project. when construction jobs around colorado, around this country have been some of the hardest hit by the recession, this project provides a lifeline to thousands of construction workers seeking ways to get back on their feet. but the inaction of this adhrgs -- of this administration has led us down a path of dependence on other countries, other countries who have great animosity toward us. it is unacceptable. not only do we have the resources in our back yard, in north america, but beff the -- but we have the ability to utilize friendly and willing neighbors like canada to import that oil. our unemployment rate has hovered around 9% for far too long. there's no reason the government should not be supporting private sector solution with private capital at a time like this. with rising gas price, the threat of the strait of hormuz being blocked and unemployment so high, we cannot afford not to

act. mr. speaker, the president has had plenty of time to make a decision. the studies have been submitted. the conversations have taken place, the debate has occurred. but what's winning this debate is the fact that the american people understand how many jobs would be created with the north american energy project. mr. speaker, i yield back my time and thank you for the opportunity tonight. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from kansas, mr. pompeo, is recognized for the remainder of the hour. mr. pompeo: thank you, mr. chairman. in 36 days, the president will have an opportunity to do a great thing for america, he'll have the opportunity to allow private industry, with private funds, to build a pipeline to carry petroleum across the country to lower the price for consumers driving their cars,

for manufacturers who use these products, and to do so in a way that is environmentally friendly. it is indeed my hope that the president will take this opportunity to do just that. today, we've got oil at over $100 a barrel. it was not all that long ago in the history of our country that we stared at north american energy production and wondered, will we have enough natural gas? will we have enough oil, here, domestically, so we don't have to depend on the mideast? i remember when i was much younger, sitting in car lines, lines of cars waiting to get gasoline. we can only get gas on even days because that was the license plate that we had on our car. today, technology and innovation, american style, has led us to a place where we've got an abundance of energy. all we're asking is that we permit a pipeline to carry the product safely across the

country so we can get that energy to the places we need it, for prices that americans can afford. we know, too, that we suffer much like we did in the late 1970's. at the same time we had the perceived shortage of fossil fuels. we also had enormously high unemployment. we had a misery index in the low 20's. today we have a similar phenomenon, far too many people out of work. unemployment officially at 8 1/2%, but if you talk to people you know it's much higher, among people who would rather work for more hours, or just found the workplace so unappealing to them in terms of their job prospects that they've given up. yet here we sit with a project that everyone agrees will create 20,000 jobs. most of those jobs are with trade unions, folks that are building and welding and riveting and will make the

pipeline safe and secure. yet we've got a president who continues to reject this as an option for our country. we need this capacity. we have got oil -- we have got oil in north dakota, we've found oil in capps, we've got to make sure the oil can get to the market in places it needs to be. this pipeline would do that. i can't figure out for the life of me why this pipeline has become the caus celeb of the left. -- the cause celebre of the left. we have tens of thousands of miles of pipeline across the country. this product is transported safely, in fact, this year, in a year with a lot of bickering between the party well, passed a piece of pipeline safety legislation which will continue to further improve the way we transport fossil fuels around our country. this pipeline can be done safely too. the objection that there's risk to groundwater and to environmental harm is greatly

overblown. industrial accidents certainly happen. but we know to make america move forward, we've got to do it in a way that is responsible, i have a i have a -- safe and everything about the way the pipeline has been engineered and developed meets that mark. this president has shared this notion of energy independence as -- that we see the need for it. yet he's taken approach so different from what we're tri-ing to do with the keystone x.l. pipeline this approach has real people meeting real demands in the marketplace. the president's approach has been different he has spent hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money trying to sucksdies energy sources that america does not want. it's not that america wouldn't like solar energy or wind energy, it's simply that today they can't be provided in a cost effective manner. so we force tax payers to subsidize those to bring them to market. we've seen what happens when you

do that. you get things like so lind rah. we -- like solindra. the risk will be taken by private industry. they'll provide the capital and hard work, they'll provide innovation and provide energy for america at a time we so desperately need it. i just returned to washington, d.c. today. i was in the airport in wichita, kansas, i talked with half a dozen folks. each talked about jobs being the most pressing issue they wanted me to take care of when i came back to washington, d.c. i talked to folks who provide energy, we have a lot of independent drillers and e&m companies and folks who provide service to the oil patch in kansas and all around. we need these products, consumers need these products. i hope that the president, 36 days from now, will pass, will decide he agrees, affordable, american energy coming from north america, provided safely

so that the keystone x.l. pipeline can move forward. with that, i yield back the balance of my time to the chairman. the speaker pro tempore: thank you. under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lankford, is recognized for the remainder of the hour. mr. lankford: thank you, mr. speaker. living in oklahoma city, if you come through oklahoma at all, you'll drive around and see our beautiful land and drink our beautiful water and breathe our beautiful air. but you'll also realize there are thousands of miles of pipeline underneath your feet. you see, oklahoma is the center of pipeline movement through a lot of the united states. in fact, just north and east of my hoss in oklahoma city is a small town called curbing, oklahoma, and if you know anything about pipelines and oil, you know about that town. there's a lot of storage facilities for petroleum products, it's the hub of everything that moves through pipelines in the midwest.

curbing, oklahoma, is part of the connection for the keystone pipeline. when you talk to people in oklahoma about pipelines, we are familiar with what they are, how they move nrnl and how important they are to our economy. let me touch base on a couple of things, though. when we talk about keystone, it's interesting, i'm 43 years old, for my entire life i've heard people say in politics, we need a national energy policy. we need to be dependent on energy from our soil, or from our nearest neighbors, canada and mexico. we need a north american focus on energy. i agree. we have never had a time in our life where we are closer to that than right now. the rising alternative of fuel options, solar and wind and i hope all of them come to be, we're still decades away from them being fully established and out there. we are dependent on oil and gas and coal. we are finding new reserves in north america of oil, gas, and coal, solving the energy issues coal, solving the energy issues we have right now.