the house is about to gavel in. the members are back after a weekend break. there will be working on naming post offices today both after 6:30, work on bills authorizing all conduit of facilities under the bureau of recommend -- bureau of reclamation. live coverage of the

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the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the spoom, washington, d.c., march 5, 2012, i hereby appoint the honorable jeff denham to act as speaker pro tempore on this day, signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 17, 2012, the chair will recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leader leaders and minority whip limited to five minutes each, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 1:50 p.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. dreier, for five minutes. mr. dreier: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. dreier: mr. speaker, i rise to extend congratulations to vladimir putin for his election to become president of russia. we saw the reports yesterday. there were nearly 100,000 web cams that followed the voting stations all across russia, and even though there have been reports from the organization from security and cooperation

in europe of voting violations, we are where we are. vladimir putin is going to be the next president of russia, and i believe that in light of that fact it's important for president putin to recognize that contrary to what he said in his acceptance speech last night, we do not want to destroy russia. i believe that it is very important that we take every step that we can to encourage a strong, vibrant, growing, ippedpent, democrat -- independent, democratic russia, and i'm not going to, as president putin said last night, dictate from the west what he should do, but i do think that those of us like the united states of america, a country that has had a 223-year history of democracy, could provide a little bit of advice to a country that is just now entering its -- beginning its third decade of democracy. and obviously has had more than a few challenges. mr. speaker, i think that if we

look at some of the recommendations, the economists last week pointed to some very positive steps that could allow president putin to rather than repressing the opposition that he faces, embrace it. what could he do? first, he could announce that this six-year term will be his last term. he will not run again as president of russia. second, it would be very important in light of all the controversy that took place following last parliamentaryry elections for him to call new parliamentaryry elections so we can have a greater degree of transparency and accountability. third, as we look at the prospect of provincial elections for governorships, having those elections being free and fair would be a very positive thing. additionally, and i was very glad to hear the news this morning from current president, medvedev, that the prospect of releasing my friend who sat with me on numerous occasions here in the capitol, mikhail,

who was the head of the oil company, one of the great energy companies in the world and great philanthropist in the country and was guilty of one thing and one thing only, that being opposing putin, the prospect of his release would be a very welcomed sign. i also think, mr. speaker, that as we look at the prospect of the appointment of a new prime minister, their names have been thrown out there. alexei who formerly served as finance minister would be someone who would be very welcomed in light of the fact that he has actually engaged the protesters. so, mr. speaker, i throw these proposals out simply because i believe that we need to have a strong, vibrant, growing russia. we need to recognize that those countries that are formerly part of the soviet union should also have an opportunity to be strong, vibrant, democratic, and independent. without facing repression.

and i do also believe, mr. speaker, that as we look at the debate that we are going to face here, that bringing russia into a rules-based trading system by seeing them join the world trade organization would be a very positive thing as we pursue our shared goals. so, again, as we look forward to the important relationship between russia and the united states of america, i wish president-elect putin hearty congratulations. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in reces

the annual policy conference to live remarks tonight from mitch mcconnell, house minority leader nancy pelosi, and the israeli prime minister. that starts at 9:30 p.m. eastern on c-span2. the president met with israeli prime minister at the white house today. held a briefing with the press prior to that meeting. we will have those comments later in the schedule. the president will hold his first press briefing of the year. president obama will make a press briefing tomorrow afternoon before members of the press. that will happen tomorrow here on the c-span networks.

mayors of three cities serving almost two and a half million students recently discussed education reform initiatives. the new york mayor and l.a. mayor and chicago mayor are joined by the education secretary. moderated by an msnbc host. >> i am president of american university. secretary, mayors, welcome to american university. and to this very important discussion, education now, cities and the forefront of education reform. i would like to think you have picked the right university to host this a very important event. american university has for decades, through our school of education, teaching, and health, provided teachers for these great cities, provided professional development in education for the teachers of

washington, d.c., in all eight of our wars. these cities represent the education of 2.5 million students. some of them facing some of the greatest personal challenges one could imagine, but they also represents some of our best and our brightest. i wish this morning a fruitful, engaging, and a stimulating panel. once again, welcome all of our distinguished guests to this very special event. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you very much very muchkerwin. i am andrea mitchell, and it is great to be here at american university, right across from our studios on nebraska avenue. we feel very much at home. education now, the theme of today's conference, cities at the forefront of reform.

the four brings together the leaders of our nation's three biggest cities. we're talking about 2.5 million of our school children. our largest within districts, obviously a mix of both the best and brightest and most of your problems that we face. we have los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa, new york city mayor michael bloomberg, and chicago mayor rahm emanuel. and education secretary arne duncan has convened all of us. in a few moments, we're going to be joined by the superintendents from all of the school districts to talk about how they're also dealing with the bureaucratic and hierarchical problems that some have inherited. education is at the forefront of all the problems that we face as a nation. every social and political problem really comes together at the crossroads of our school systems. it is the core of the twin

crises of unemployment and lagging behind in global competitiveness. so today's conversation will address how each of our mayors, these three big mayors, are addressing these challenges of reform and what their successes are and what they're continuing challenges are. i hate to say failures, but this is a work in progress. we're looking forward to a thoughtful conversation to engage you in questions and answers, as well as bringing in the superintendent's very shortly. first to you, mayor villaraigosa. you, unlike mayor bloomberg and mayor manuel, you have inherited systems were you do not have political control. how do you work around that challenge? >> first of all, let me say that i cannot be more proud to be here with both mayor bloomberg and mayor emanuel. both new york and chicago are doing what we need to do to improve our schools.

they're challenging a broken status quo and a bureaucracy that does not work for our kids. look, i would like to say that this is the economic issue of our time, the civil rights issue of our time, and the democracy of our time when you look at the issue of education, particularly in urban schools. you are right, i do not have made your control over the l.a. unified school district. i did go to the legislature early on, with support of mayor bloomberg, to ask for a partnership with our school district. i was given that partnership. the school district sued. i lost on trial and on appeal. but we have plan b, to elect a progressive school board that would support the accountability and the innovation that we need to compete and to improve our schools. in the last six years, although i do not run our school, l.a.

unified school district schools have doubled the number of schools at 800. that is the mark for the epic -- academic performance index in california. they have reduced the number of schools that are performing poorly, 650 and below, from 33% to 10%. we have doubled the number of charters in our school district. we have 130 schools on it think of public-school choice, which are schools that are failing that are in a program to approve. and i operate 22 schools, 18,000 kids, a turnaround model that we patterned after ausl in chicago. while i do not have fully oral control, i do believe that is what we should have. and importantly, that every mayor needs to be involved in our schools. because it is the economic issue of our time. >> briefly, secretary duncan, is

there anything that the federal government that the department of education can do to backstop mayor villaraigosa, given the political structure that he inherited? >> for all these measures -- first of all, i want to thank them for their amazing courage. this is one of the toughest issues they were gone. but we have here people who get the urgency and nothing is more important. they're putting their political capital on the line. whenever we can do, we want to be good partners. we want to listen. fantastic major world leadership, fantastic superintendents. we want to hear the challenges. we want to help with money to turn around schools. we have district level competition. and my job is to listen and whenever i can do, whatever my team can do, these are our customers. >> speaking of customers, mayor bloomberg, you have done a lot of controversial things that you have taken on all these issues. one is posing larger -- closing larger schools. what are the advantages or

disadvantages? you have gone a lot of push back but also a lot of success in creating these smaller environment. >> andrea, what is different today than 25, 50 years ago, the differences today we're starting to see their real-world impact of what we have all talked about. we have always said education is the key to participating in the great american dream. for the first time, you now see it in the marketplace. unemployment rate among college graduates is 4%. a lot higher among your college graduates. unemployment for kids to drop out of high school is so high that we cannot measure it. some of than the drop out, we cannot even find them. for the first time, we see competition for jobs from around the world, so we have to measure ourselves not versus some subjective standard but versus the objective standard on it can be done elsewhere better and cheaper. suddenly, everybody says let's have accountability. accountability is what we need to give parents the knowledge

they need to fewer teachers to supervise. we have a theme in each of the schools to attract the kids and make it more interesting for them. even though we really teach the same thing in most of the schools. and it lets us better measure the performance of everybody. the students, the schools, and the teachers, and give that information to the parents. because in the end, we need accountability for the management system, the principles, the department of education, and the mayor, but we need accountability data for the parents who have to make those decisions. you can see the yelling and screaming when you get that data to the parents, and the arrogance of the bureaucracies that say parents should not have data to know what to do with their kids is just astounding,

but we're fighting through that. everybody who talks about accountability and evaluation systems across this country, i do not think they have stopped to understand. it is not the evaluation system that is so important, it is getting the data to those who need it to make decisions. and the first group is the parents. >> first of all, i do not know how antonio can be held accountable and yet not have control. it is basically a catch-22. he is accountable for improving the schools, yet he has no ability to influence. neither one of us have that problem. all the pains we have with the authority or the accountability, i would not trade places for a person who is accountable with no ability to influence. it is from the sidelines. very bad. most important, as mike just said, for the economic stewardship. you're supposed to improve the economy in the area, and the biggest piece of the economic engine is the additional system

and you have no ability to given the. number two, for years in our system, principals were getting a report card on their school's performance. never shared with parents. we have now made the very report card that principals got available not only to parents but online to parents. ever since we have done that, we have had increasing enrollment by principals in training programs improvement. median impact of creating information, making it available to parents, we have had principles in it trainings and other types of things to improve their own skills. because now we have lifted the curtain. there's a culture of accountability in the system. and you're starting to see it in that behavior for people that, in my view, outside of parents and teachers, the most important group can work with are the principals or accountable for what happens in the building. giving parents the information to hold the principal and

teachers accountable for the results is essential, the first step to getting the changes rippled through the system. >> i would like to say something about what secretary donovan said. the reason for my being here and for helping to organize this event is that -- you said sending in your introduction. the three school districts that are represented here are bigger than most states. if you took our collective student, i think they are bigger than the students of some 44 states. yet, we cannot compete for race to the top of the idea that you just said that districts will now be allowed to compete for race to the top in states like mine where they have not really wanted to have a competitive bid is really heartening. because if there is the will in the city of los angeles, chicago, and new york to tie reforms, more money, to do the kinds of things come to get the kind of flexibility that we need to innovate and set the highest standards for our kids --

>> before you go on to the next question -- quick secretary duncan is making a point. >> we will now come on our own, be able to put our performance, reforms, and changes with an idea towards a set of results. it has a small hand to do it the concept of race to the topic is the giving our three cities a chance to get the resources. let's say, here are our changes, reforms, accountability, and here are the results we want. and not because what goes on at the state level. it is going to be a significant change, a change long do and welcome by all of us. he deserves applause. go ahead, do not be shy. [applause] otherwise on the car ride home, he might have a second thought. >> there is something that mayor bloomberg said almost in passing, but i wanted to 0-in on it. you pointed out that the unemployment rate for college graduates this 4%, compared to

what we have elsewhere. we know how profoundly hide the and a plan rate is -- heidi unemployment rate is for young high-school graduates, particularly minorities, particularly mail. so let's talk about whether or not this is snobbish to talk about higher education -- [laughter] >> weight, 20 years ago across the country, we closed what i called vocational schools. everybody said, what do you mean, like it is not going to go to harvard, yale, princeton? lady, never went on to your kid is not going to harvard, yale, or princeton. carper, yell, and princeton is not for everybody. there is a great piece in the "wall street journal" 9 was comparing going to harvard university with joining the corrections department of the state of california. it turns out the state of

california's corrections department is much more selective than harford. [laughter] and you almost never catch up. because instead of spending $50,000 for the first four years each year, you make money, and you had the benefits and vacation and everything else. [laughter] the issue is really we need people at all different levels. community colleges, vocational schools, college graduates. when we say college graduates, yes, that is a very desirable thing. but being a plumber, you have pricing power. being a plumber is something that society needs. it is a profession that people will pay for and you can be in a charge of your own destiny and a start your own company. let's not forget those. we have started new york opening a lot more but i would call vocational schools. we call them what? career technical -- only in career education speak cannot call the vocational schools. >> in the speech that many of us have been citing the the president did give, he was talking about --

>> all of that. >> all of that. community colleges, 1-year apprenticeship, what is your postgraduate education. and as secretary duncan wants to jump in. mayor emanuel, you have a program in chicago which works with the business community. i was out there and saw it as you're taking office. i wanted to catch up with you on how it has evolved. secretary duncan? >> the vast majority of children -- these three school districts are poor. the vast majority come from minority communities. latino. we continue to have high school dropout rates. these communities are destined to remain port. the families of these entire committees. we have to get as dropout rates down to zero. we have to make progress. none of the more we want them to become of the air moving in the right direction. there are no good jobs for high school dropouts. four year universities, two-year colleges, vocational training, that has to be the inspiration

for every single young person. we have to challenge the status quo that says it's ok to drop out or ok to have a high school diploma. it is not. there's nothing out there for these young people. >> when i talk to ceo's about their hiring challenges, the chairman of zaman america was working on a big -- siemens america was working on a big turbine plant. he said he was gone to the military because they're so well-trained. our veterans have had so much computer education, technical indication that they're not getting in many of the public schools but that they need in one-year, two-year, four-year schools. mayor emanuel, what you find when you talk to employers about what the gap is between kids graduating from public high schools and the people they need to employ? >> basic fact, all jobs in the future require post high school education, three quarters.

whether its four-year, plus credit, or two-years that the community college provides. in our city, we have instituted what is the college-to-career program. malcolm x will not only do health care. the presbyterian hospital, northwestern, walgreen's are all coming in. doing the curriculum, doing the training. that school will train you for the health-care field, which we're going to have 84,000 jobs over the next decade in chicago alone. we are a transportation and distribution logistics center in chicago. if it goes on railroads or runway, we do it. we have no school that does that. we'll have a trade transportation this bridge -- distribution center. ups and fedex, a canadian national, burlington r during the curriculum, the training. so we will produce the work force that will have a degree in that specific field. it gives you an example, we just met in the transportation area

for hal harvey. each year, two schools will do conventions in culinary. we're going to do i.t., professional services, and advanced manufacturing. every year we're going to do another two schools so all six are done. in transportation distribution, it is static given the shortage of truck drivers, who also require computer knowledge and technical skills. it is not just driving the way it was before. and logistics and working the warehouse. all the information that comes with working computer. we're giving those workers but of those kids are coming out of high school, going to community college, a career, a.j. jett employment. right now a community college, you get a degree in a put it on your resume, it does not have the economic value a four-year institution has. i have to get those kids were making the sacrifice a shot at the career. and never to -- hold on, i am giving you a compliment, so long

for a second. [laughter] this is a good one to the last year in august was reading the "wall street journal" about a high school that mike was setting up with ibm, ninth grade to 14. they get to drink, mentoring, and a shot at a job if they go all the way -- they get tutoring. i want to give sam at ibm a shout-out. we just announced five high schools in chicago. microsoft, of verizon, motorola's solutions at all stepped up with ibm, all taking a high school, ninth to 14th, in special areas to train the kids in stem education. it is a great idea. we will get these kids know luggage as high school, but they see a pipeline because their first in line for a job interview. the as are all the changes from community colleges to our high school to give kids a shot at a career, a shot at the job. >> by the way, let me just say that i stand with the president

and what he said. at the most educators in america stand with the president of the fact is, you have to be a career-ready or college-ready in this society. you write that a plummer is a good job. i cannot tell you the number of kids to come up to me and they want to go into an apprenticeship program as an electrician, a plumber, guess what, if you have not taken algebra or geometry, they cannot get in. the fact is, our kids -- you know, 75% of parents, if you ask them if they think college is important, they say yes. we want our kids in l.a. unified to be career-ready are college- ready. we want them to graduate from high school. in l.a., our unemployment rate is 12.7%. i met with a group of economists this week who said one of the reasons why it is continuing to remain at high is that we have so many people, such a high

percentage of our work force that are not even high school graduates. so they're going to be unemployed for longer time span. it is as simple as that. >> end of the kids feel that affect. it is a continuing cycle. >> we put a lot of money into our schools. one of the things that michele reed said this morning on msnbc, where we have focused on education nation and are now in our third year of, should said would have doubled what we spend in the last decade and public- school education and that testing shows that the outcomes have not appreciably improved. >> in new york city, we spend double what the national average is. >> what do have to show for it? >> we have made some improvements. competitive jobs are getting automated out of existence and jobs were you do not have to be

by your supplier or your customer moved to the lowest priced part of the world. so we have got to find ways to not only get people to stay in school and get degrees but to make those degrees and the skills they learn more rabble -- relevant not to what the jobs used to be but with the jobs are going to be down the road. that is an enormous challenge. and the conventional ways that government works is that we throw money at all problems. you think about it, what legislators do is they vote money. they do not run anything. so if they want to go on to their constituents and say i did something, they got a computer in the class. it is not clear that a computer in the class therefore it is a good idea. a lot of evidence says that is not making a difference but uses a lot of money. in the end, education is about a teacher looking at a kid face- to-face. so if you care about education, you have to care about the

quality of the teacher. class size matters. i once said that it does not matter as much as the quality of teacher. it does not matter as much as the quality of teacher. it is important. it would be nice to have small class sizes. but in the end, your money on the teachers, the quality of teachers. get those who cannot do the job out of the system, no matter what the economic impact of that is. we worry about what it would cost as to remove a teacher from the classroom who is not doing the job but not stopping paying them. that is not the problem. it is having a teacher in front of the kit as decade spent another day of his or her life without learning. >> let me ask me about your loan forgiveness program. we have a history in america of not valuing teachers. grade schools begin with great teachers. if that is the case, how do we make teacher in more value profession, the way it is in finland, singapore, and shanghai, the places that are outdistancing as on the

international testing. you have a program that helps recruit -- >> we tried to negotiate with the teachers' union to pay a $20,000 bonus to a teacher the kids ranked in the very top of their profession two years in a row. to say thank you and keep them from being hired away or keep them from going into another profession. most people -- most teachers and into the profession when they did not have other alternatives. if you look and the questions, you'll still see when men for the first time having alternatives, so we have got to retain them -- you'll still see women for the first of seven alternatives. forgiveness for the loan is to let them take a profession where they do not have to make more money to take back the loans. let them go into a profession where the compensation is with recognition and respect and the pleasure of knowing you're making a difference. but you still have to pay back the loan. we're trying to help them with that. in the end, we do not have a

problem recruiting teachers. the real reason people want to come and teach in new york from around the country is we have a school system that is really changing and making a difference. no matter what the people in bureaucracy want to say if you're not making a difference, we are. are we any place where we want to be? no, but we're making a difference. we want to make sure that we keep the best teachers and remove the worst ones from the classroom. that is the battle going forward. in the end government, removing those who do not do the job is in the federal to the way government works. it is virtually never done in any part of government that i know, and in education, it is really the difference between these kids having their future or not. >> we are going to be introducing the superintendent's momentarily. >> while i agree with what might said about the importance of teacher, i would add you need a principal ready to be held accountable, a teacher motivated

to teach the class and, and an involved parent. i do not care where you are. you get those three things into the kid will succeed. we set up and raise a fund for -- for principal merit pay. we have both principals, teachers, the ceo on a merit pay system, top-to-bottom. we're also going to do, because i saw what mike announced the other day, we have been playing with this. from now on if we get a principal top of the class, reaching academic standards, we're going to pay him a $25,000 signing bonus to come in and be a principal and taking over a school. next year, we need 50 new principals of high-quality, so we're going to do signing bonus for the best people coming up at our school systems who are ready to beat principals and ready to take over as system and be

accountable. that is me using the bonus system, the merit pay system, for principals -- >> we had the same thing. we pay bonuses to principals to go into tough neighborhoods and make a difference. what people do not understand is that in government, management is a bad word. every time there's a budget crisis, cut the managers. you have to many managers. you're overpaying your managers. let me tell you, when you're going to do with -- do more with less, you need better managers. you need better paid managers. i know it does not sound good. the people being managed say, i do not know, i do not want to lose my job, and everybody worries about their own jobs. nevertheless, you need better management. and the management in education is called principals. a great principal makes all the difference in the world. they get people to do amazing things. >> i also pay in might turn

around schools, i pay a tiny bonus. i agree with them on that point. but in california, we have actually gone from the top five in per pupil spending when i was growing up to 47 i per pupil spending. that is not the direction we want to go to be there. i do believe that money matters. i do not buy the idea that it does not. i think you have to tie money to results. that is what we are trying to do. we want to invest money in things that work and innovation and schools that are improving and teacher development. teacher training, paying teachers more when succeeding. that, to me, is the third way. it is the way that we're trying to advocate for in california. >> we are now going to engage the superintendent to have been involved. we're going to rearrange our chairs just a bit.

let me introduce -- [applause] while we all get set, we're going to introduce, first of all, we have the los angeles superintendent john deasy. next to mike bloomberg is new york city chancellor dennis walcott. next to rahm emanuel is jean- claude brizard from chicago. thank you all for joining us. first to you, superintendent john deasy. you're facing a lot of challenges right now. one of the big issues, we want to know how you're dealing with this latest challenge, trying to get the teachers union to abolish the four-year time limit on disciplinary files after everything you have been experiencing. we all know that there have been charges filed and a whole

community and terribly involved. give us the latest. >> the thing about los angeles and a white thing it is so amazingly important, i mean, l.a. is enormously important for this country. the trans british reforms our anchor on human capital, who we hire, who we fire, who will promote suu kyi, a place to retain to accommodate the public school choice, high-quality choice, every single parent. and how you run the system to a strong performance management. those were brought to bear on a widow with the situation. it is problematic that there are laws in california that make it reduces -- ridiculously impossible to separate chronically low performers or poor performers and cause a problem in retaining the highest performers. we think about the way you respond to situations four ways.

you are in the center of a box. the four sides have been traditionally negotiation. we tried to negotiate ways to make things work. but that also has to include regulation. you work with school boards and state boards. it also includes legislation could you change laws that do not work. frankly, if those things do not work, then you address the courts and deal with litigation. we will use all four to make sure that the rights of youth and the rights of adults are equally protected and that the voice of youth is heard. >> dennis walcott, let's talk about what is happening in new york city. one of the big issues there has been publicizing the performance records. there has been a lot of push back. bill gates even take issue with this in a "new york times" editorial, microsoft as rigorous personal systems, but he said we would never have thought of using employee evaluations to embarrass people.

tell us again the justifications for making these performance ratings public. >> it is all about accountability. as the mayor indicated, parents have the right to of misinformation. i have been trying to make sure that the entire new york city community understands this is a limited piece of information. they have did you read in full context. part of our goal is to make sure we get the information out there and empower our principles to talk to their parents and explain what is going on. that way parents have a clear understanding of what is happening in the classroom and the teachers are doing. it goes back to what the mayors are talking about, accountability at all levels. teachers, students, parents. one of the things we have done when we talk about accountability with our high school director, we put in for the first time the high school graduation rates of those high schools. that way, parents, when they try to find a high school to choose from, they know how well or, unfortunately, how well the school has not done.

part of that is accountability. with the teacher data report, it is another level of accountability as far as making sure our parents of information and they understand what that information actually means. whether it is school grade, a teacher at the report, or high school graduation rate, we want to make sure that the entire school community has information available to them to help them make decisions. >> instant hit -- incidently, gates does get them -- give information that microsoft to the people who need it, mainly the managers of the people being evaluated. in our case, it is principals and the parents need that information. we're not doing anything differently than what microsoft does. >> that is known as the last word. [laughter] >> letting the mayor's speak. >> also known as someone out of the business world who knows how things work. jean-claude brizard, you have been facing a lot of challenges in your short tenure in the

tough and complex school system. i read that you went to the pulpit of the major church last weekend and explained just how passionately you feel about the reforms that you're trying to bring to chicago. you're facing opposition from some of the teachers' unions, from rainbow push coalition. tell us what you tell the congregants of that church and a white it is so important. >> we spent quite a bit of time talking about the work that we have to accomplish in chicago. going back to the data and a talking about exactly what has been happening in the city, we have an increasing achievement gap between black and white students. we have a five-year graduation risk by 57%. we have got the average student graduating graduatinga.c.t. score of 17, where 21 is the college readiness peace. we have work to do. some are calling for a moratorium on school reform or

calling for nothing. very simply, i went back to a place and been to a number of times and said we have work to do. let's not argue about what. perhaps talk about how we get there. we have work to do. it cannot be the place to do nothing. it was pretty well-received by the people. >> can i add one thing? our first battle as it relates to changing our schools, the chicago public schools, our kids have one of the shortest school days and a school years in the country. so you have a comparison. in new york, a child spends about 8000 more minutes a year in the classroom than a chicago child. in l.a. child every year, about 3000 more minutes in a classroom than in chicago child. we're all competing, our

children and our cities. shanghai, paris, let alone chicago, new york, or l.a. that is cumulative. a year status. 8000 more minutes in new york kid then chicago. mike -- great city. these kids are not more valuable than kids in chicago. 3000 more minutes than l.a. are first battle is getting the length of the day and the length of the year equal to their aspirations. that is the most important thing we could do. [applause] >> one of the things in this conversation that has come across a lot is this issue of accountability and being public around accountability. whether it is an individual test score or schools' performance, these are systems that we're all publishing report cards. i think the reason for that at the most important level is worth talking about. i fundamentally believe that information is the underground currency a privilege and has been for a long time. and that when every parent,

regardless of economic means, understands what is happening in schools and has the ability to make choices based on that, then you have equalized the playing field that is around the rights of both student and parent. you cannot just hope to know. you must provide information. the entire process of being public around results, and growth over time of around as a result, is really a rights issue for parents. >> it is. the school report card that l.a. unified now employs was started in my partnership schools. we took it to scale. it is not throughout the school district. now i am arguing, we should put a letter grade by that report card, just like kids get a letter grade to see how they are doing. our schools need it that as well. >> secretary duncan, it was suggested by the governor of connecticut this morning on morning joe that we should worry as much about early childhood education, if not more, that

between age 3 and 5 we're losing kids. so by the time they even into public schools, the cannot compete. they keep falling behind. and that that is as important s a high-school graduation rate in some areas. i do not know how you quantify that. >> everyone on this stage would agree with that. we talk about this cradle to career agenda. race to the top at $500 million to the states. do two things. increase access, particularly disadvantaged communities. make sure it is high quality. we all face achievement gaps between of children entering kindergarten reading fluently. others do not know the front of the book to the back of the book, have not been read to. we have to look it is continuing. early childhood is arguably the best investment we can make. we have to keep driving k-12 reform. >> is in pre-kindergarten really now the privilege of the middle- class and upper-middle-class?

>> no, i think -- these cities have hundreds of thousands of children. not enough. but we have to get poor children and black and brown children into high-quality programs or their literacy skills and socialization skills are intact once they enter kindergarten. >> how we implement common core in pre-k programs as well, pre- k through high school is extremely important. picking up on the superintendent from los angeles john deasy, what we're doing in new york around choice options is tremendous. under this mayor, we have been able to grade 500 news corp. -- small schools, of which 139 our charter schools. the ability of parents to choose high-quality options is one of the great equalizers out there. because they know how well a school is doing, and they know how well a school is not doing. it is our responsibility to get that information out on a constant basis. >> when we have closed the gap

between black and latino kids and a white and asian kids, we cut it in half. it is still much too great, but we're going in the right direction. by giving parents a choice, parents can influence whether or not the schools get better. one of our problems in new york city is that for some parents, private schools have become the backup schools. and the private schools, they are very clever. they give you an option of accepting and putting down a nonrefundable deposit or you do not get placed. you have not found out whether your kid will get on the republics will yet. i get calls. should i send them somewhere else or is my child going to get into the public school choice? we had people outside of new york city for the first time starting to lie about where they live so they can get their kids into new york city to go to the public schools. it used to go in either direction. >> i have a couple questions from the audience one is that the more that you concentrate power in the mayor's offices,

the farther you get away from parents on the ground. this is the perspective from the questioner. what you do to import -- to involve parents and bring them to the table? >> i sudley disagree. that is one. in new york, 2003, we invest in roughly $80 million in creating parent coordinators. every school has a parent coordinator. that is something that was done specifically to make sure that parents have a direct vehicle of an individual to talk to. we made a major investment in that. we have put a lot of information into the hands of parents. we have new technology available to parents. we have a computer online service for parents. our goal is to make parents get information in a variety of several levels. >> i actually think the opposite happens. i have worked in both systems in new york and chicago. where you have that single right of accountability. you know who to call and where

to get the answer. in chicago, we have a parent engagement of is that the cabinet level. our third level of reform. about empowering parents and providing information to them. notches the k-12 level that early childhood as well -- not just the k-12 level. parents can make a choice on what is good and not good. so life in the opposite. >> one quick thing. you look at what each of us are doing. we are all driving information to parents. if we did not have that accountability, there would be no impetus to give information to parents about the system and bring in their voice into it. >> the parents want you to call your professional educators to run the classrooms. -- the parents want you to hire professional educators. the parents choose whether to move their children or demand results. i do not think anybody suggests

that you should have the parents come and sit at the front of the class and teach the kids. that is why we educate teachers. that is their skill set. that is why they should have that job. >> and in every one of my schools, we have a parent center. i started off by saying we need to put parents and teachers in front of a movement to hold our schools more accountable and improve them. everyone of our schools we have a parent center. we have an administrator whose job it is to recruit parents, to involve parents. we helped to start the parent union in los angeles and the parrot trigger, which allows parents in failing schools -- the parent trigger, which allows parents in failing schools to make decisions. we are committed to the idea that we have to put parents and students and teachers into the equation. >> the reason why disagree with the statement is because i do not believe that power has been centralized. the power rests in the quality

of the teacher and the principal and that relationship with parent-to-guardian. it is digested to schools, and that has happened and in every one of the cities in ways that has given parents more information to be more powerful and has given teachers and principals more information to be more effective. >> the superintendent to work within the inner-city districts, what are you doing to ensure the safety of your schools in terms of school violence and a bullying and especially with the tragedy that we saw happening in ohio this week? i think funerals are going to be held this weekend. i saw one of the students, and it was breathtakingly painful to see that young man and his experience and escaping the gunfire. this was anything but an urban center. so bullying and school violence can happen anywhere.

>> in new york city in the beginning of the administration, we created what is called impact schools. we did very detailed analysis of the data as far as the number of incidents, types of crimes in our schools, and created a special set of schools were we infused those schools with both police and school safety officers principal. we also work officerss as -- we also work with principals about what to do. we have been able to reduce a number of incidents in new york city schools in crime up to 47% since the beginning of the administration. we have been clear about the schools cannot be run by that one individual who may want to create some type of problem or crime. it should be a for all the students. we're very clear about the rules and policies of both the principals as well as the police and school safety officers. the other thing we have done in new york city has been very clear. the training of principals

around suspensions and making sure that the appropriate policies in place. and whether we have principal suspension or superintendent suspicion. we're focused on the importance of safety budgets for our students but for the entire school community. >> we find a lot of synergy between new york and chicago. just two more lawyers. we actually have a system where we have the principals and about 38 high schools and with police commanders, we look at data in this school and make connections for people. what happens in the cafeteria may actually end up outside or vice versa. the kind of dialogue around safe passage, looking at corridors. safe-haven. we have a site where kids go after school because perhaps the parents are not at home given our short school day. in addition, the one thing i often push for principals is a

safety and security is not just a security peace. it is also youth development peace. we often forget that. having these systems are critical. youth development is critical to getting ahead of issues, identifying bullying. if the jobs through the door and you see something on the face amina something is going on. who is there to pull the child in to make sure it does not translate to an incident down the road? [applause] >> it is beyond obvious safety matters. one incident of violence is one instant to many. the process worth putting into this conversation is in los angeles, and probably in other cities, incidents of violence in schools are very, very, very small. the incidents of violence that youth experience outside school. the fact that is not about school safety. this has to be about the community safety issue. that is what the relationship

with community foundations and what safe passages and with our police departments are critical. students, unfortunately, live in a violent community where they come to school, which is a far more safer place. they noticed -- the notion of how to handle and make sure that you're engaged outside of school is important. >> we're all talking about different types of investment. there is no greater investment in after-school programs. no greater investment. [applause] whether it is all of us summer growing up experiencing on our own what our parents did for us -- all of us somewhere growing up. whatever the child wants to making sure between 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. that there's an after-school program available for children. essentially high school but all children. essential to their safety and personal development. it complements everything else that goes on during the day at school. >> secretary duncan, i know

we're short on time now and getting close to closing comments. i wanted to ask you about the budget crunch which you are about to face. because you have some very exciting programs, but you have to go to those people that mike the other piece is, with all of our programs, race to the top and the rest, have we put such a premium on testing that we have the unintended consequence of a rash of cheating scandals? >> let me take the second one first. we think there has been an overemphasize testing under no choice left behind and the big part of the emphasis on the waivers we're working with with states is to broaden out those things so we're looking at increasing graduation rates, reducing dropout rates, making sure more students are going to college, not taking remedial classes, making sure they're

persevering, trying to move in a much more comprehensive, holistic way. test scores tell you a piece of something but it's a small piece and we emphasize multiple measures and when congress reauthorizes no child left behind and fixes it, hopefully leadership will shine through. on the budget side, budgets reflect our values and we're going to invest in education or we're not and it has to be at every level, early childhood, k- 12. we're trying to walk the walk. the president is asking for a $1.7 billion increase in our budget. but we can't do it by ourselves. states have to step up. districts have to step up, cities have to step up. we're challenging colleges to keep down costs but as a country we're going to educate our way to a better economy or struggle and we're at a fork in the roads right now. >> if i could ask you to think of, j.c., perhaps starting with you, the single biggest challenge that you face and your greatest hope in terms of

being able to surmount that challenge. >> i'll start with the hope. i'll paraphrase a line a principal said to me a few months ago. he said the railroad is no longer underground. it is public, it is tangible and it is a high performing school. that is a solution for what -- much of what ails us. the challenge, i think, goes back to the power empowerment piece, making sure that our parents are making choices, we're providing them with the data to push the system to do better. as a parent, with three children or two, one on the way very soon. >> congratulations. >> thank you. that school. >> we have family medical leave now in chicago. [laughter] >> that school is a solution so what i have in terms of knowledge base selecting schools and classrooms, every parent should have. that, i think, is a fundamental solution to our problems. >> mayor emanuel? >> for our school system, i

think the way i look at it, the system was set up for the adults, without any of the kids in mind. you would never, ever start a system with the shortest school day and shortest school year in the country or one of them. the kids were never in mind when you developed that and it didn't just happen. it was negotiated. that's the sad part. making sure that we have a culture, i want in the end of the day, a principal that is truly accountable to what happens and the results that come out of that building because that you can get your hand around. i want a teacher who is motivated and excited about being this and a parent who doesn't think the system is too powerful but they can be involved in their own school and their own child's education, because all the information to date has been keeping them at a distance but they're the most important thing because the most important door

a child walks through for their education is the front door of that house and if they don't know the importance of that education, every other piece we're responsible for doing has the weakest link and will drive down and i have to make sure that parents know getting a kid to school is not the responsibility of just the education alone, but making sure they understand the value of that education is essential to everything else we do in the school door and pass through the classroom door and if we get those three things with a level of accountability and level of focus on results, everything else will flow from there and all the reforms we're doing are to focus on those three principals. >> chancellor walcott? >> how we make sure the students are the people in the front of the discussion. a lot of times when the discussion takes place, when the battle takes place, it's always about the adults and how we define education on how it benefits our students, what's in the best interests of our students, how we put a quality, effective teacher in front of that classroom, how we empower

our principals which we've done in new york city to be the true people in charge of their building, deciding on their budget to benefit our students, how we make sure those teachers have both the training, the support and the ability to carry out their job for the benefit of our students and how we make sure that we wage the battles that we wage on a constant basis for the benefit of our students which includes removing ineffective teachers who are not doing their jobs, removing ineffective principals who are not doing their job and the final piece for me is how we engage our parent to make sure our parents both have the information, know what the information actually means and find a variety of vehicles for parental involvement since parents sometimes can't be at the school on a regular basis so they can able to carry out their role as parents and reinforcing what takes place in the school. it's all about the students. >> mayor bloomberg? >> we have a saying that in god we trust, everybody else has to

bring data and i know of no ways for a teacher to know whether they are getting through to the child and whether the child understands and is making progress without testing those children and this business of we're teaching for the test is exactly what we should do as long as the test reflects what we want them to learn. if the test is, can you read, yes, you should find out whether they read by testing them. and the tests that we do are in the children's interest and in the teachers' interest and we want to walk away from responsibility because sometimes the tests don't show that we're doing a good job, so, oh, i don't want tests. sometimes the tests show we're not devoting enough moneys to the system or too much moneys to the system. i know of nobody in this room that doesn't get tested. you go to american university, you get tested. you get tested, it's called ratings. we get tested at the polls and with the press every day and

this argument that we shouldn't find out whether we're doing a good job is ridiculous. there was a pete sieger -- nobody in this room is old enough to remember it. >> we are. [laughter] >> there was a vietnam -- pete sieger had a song, knee deep in the big muddy and the big fool said to push on. without testing, that's exactly what you do and we are taking away the birth right of our children. we're turning out -- every time we say, well, we'll test next year or two years from now or three years from now, you're taking kids and sending them out into the real world with lack of skills and they will never catch up. >> i like the pete sieger reference, i'm just glad you didn't try to sing it. [laughter] john deasy. >> we're all glad. you asked for the greatest hope and greatest challenge. for me, the hope is that progress made in los angeles in the last couple of years continues at a much greater rate. so double in graduation rates, they have to be doubled again. the ability that we watch the highest levels of performance at every grade for every subgroup of students is great.

it's not where we want to be but nowhere where we used to be and that all students can graduate, every single solitary one of them, college work force ready, then i think we've honored the right for which we took the job. the challenge is how to overcome what i think is a systematic disinvestment in our youth and living circumstances, poverty, and youth who do not master english yet in this city and in this country. i do not believe that we fundamentally believe all students can graduate college work force ready or we would act differently, we would construct systems for them not just for the adults that work with them and that is a profound challenge. i think one of the things you see here is the era of superintendents and mayors

showing up at a press conference to celebrate a free token on a bus, that's gone. it is one team who are profoundly committed to advance rights and accountability. that's a positive sign, whether it's mayoral influence or mayoral control, this notion that this is two different teams, that is not the way it is anymore. >> and mayor villaraigosa? >> one hope is that in addition to districts like ours that are city states, being able to compete for race to the top that we also get waivers from nclb so we can innovate and do the kinds of things that states are allowed to do so on those two points, that's a hope. but the real hope, the macro hope, if you will, i want our schools to be world class schools and when tom friedman says that the world is flat and we're not competing, he's not just talking about the urban schools, he's talking about our kids. my daughter's at s.c., my son was at princeton. he's saying our kids aren't competing in math, science. i want our urban schools to be places of a world class education. i want our kids to be able to

compete and challenge, i do believe and one of the reasons why i really wanted to have these two great mayors here with us, superintendents, i do believe mayors have to spearhead the effort to reform our schools. we have to put parents and teachers first and focus as much on the kids as we do on the adults and that's something you've heard across here. we all know that people work hard and the teachers who get into the profession are people who care about changing the world but we want the best people in the profession and we want to be able to measure who are the most effective and highly effective teachers, hold them accountable, principals, as well, invest, but tie that investment to results and improvement. >> i want to thank everyone here today and thank secretary duncan and your wonderful team for letting me participate in this. if there's one clear message from all the mayors and

superintendents it's that the children should be at the center of all of this, the children, their parents, that accountability matters, that principals and teachers have to be held accountable and we all have to work together. 2 1/2 million children are led by the people on this stage and their lives are in their hands so that's the profound message we all take away. thank you all very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> i dropped my application. [laughter]

>> the u.s. house is in recess and they will return at 2:00 p.m. eastern for general speeches and will be back at 5:00 p.m. for legislative business. they will be working on naming post offices today. later this week they will work on bills authorizing all conduit facilities in the bureau for reclamation. the conduit power for public -- companies to go public. live coverage of the house, here on c-span. elsewhere here in washington, the american israel public affairs committee continues its annual conference. live remarks tonight from mitch mcconnell, nancy pelosi, and benjamin netanyahu. that begins at 6:30 eastern,

here on c-span 2. >> hello, everybody. we got everybody in? >> president obama met with the israeli prime minister, benjamin netanyahu, earlier today at the white house just before they went into closed session. >> well, i want to welcome prime minister netanyahu and the entire delegation back to the white house, the oval office. this visit comes at a critical time. we are seeing incredible changes taking place in the middle east and north africa. we have seen the terrible bloodshed that is going on in syria. the democratic transition that is taking place in egypt. and in the midst of this, we have an island of democracy and

one of our greatest allies, is real. as i have said repeatedly, the bond between our two countries is unbreakable. my personal commitment, a commitment that is consistent with the history of other occupants of this oval office, our commitment to the security of israel, is rock solid. as i said to the prime minister in every single one of our meetings, the united states will always have the back of israel when it comes to israeli security. this is a bond based not only on our mutual security and economic interests, but is also based on common values and the incredible people contacts that we have between our two countries. during the course of this meeting, we will talk about the regional issues that are taking place. i look forward to the prime minister sharing with me his

ideas on how we can increase the prospects of peace and security in the region. we will discuss the issues that continue to be a focus of not only our foreign policy, but also the prime minister's. how we can potentially bring about a calmer set of discussions between the israelis and the palestinians, and arrive at a peaceful resolution to that longstanding conflict. a difficult thing to do in light of the context right now. i know that the prime minister remains committed to trying to achieve that. obviously a large topic of conversation will be iran, which i have devoted a lot of time to in my speech today, and back yesterday. i know the prime minister has been focused on it for a long period of time. let me focus on a few points.

number one, we all know that it is unacceptable, from the israeli perspective, to have a country with nuclear weapons dedicated to the destruction of israel. as i mentioned yesterday, it is in the united states interest as well to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. we do not want to see nuclear arms race in one of the most volatile regions in the world. we do not want the possibility of a nuclear weapon falling into the hands of terrorists. we do not want a regime that has been a state sponsor of terrorism being able to feel that it can act even more aggressively, or with impunity, as a consequence of its nuclear power. that is why we have worked so diligently to set up the strongest sanctions ever with respect to iran. we believe that there is still a window that allows for a diplomatic resolution to this issue, but ultimately the

iranians have to make a decision to move in that direction, a decision that they have not made thus far. as i emphasized, even as we continue on the diplomatic front, we continue to tighten pressure when it comes to sanctions. i reserve all options. my policy is not going to be one of containment, it will be one of prevention of iran obtaining nuclear weapons. , as i indicated yesterday in my speech, when i say that -- weapons. as i indicated yesterday in my speech, when i say that all options are on the table, i mean it. we understand the costs of any military action. i want to assure the millet -- the american and the israeli people that we are in constant, close consultation. i think that the levels of

coordination and consultation between our military intelligence, not just on this issue but on a broad range of issues, has been unprecedented, and i intend to make sure that that continues during what would be a series of difficult months, i suspect, in 2012. so, prime minister, we welcome you, and we appreciate very much the french ship of the israeli people. you can always count on that friendship being reciprocated from the united states. thank you. >> thank you. mr. president, thank you for those kind words. thank you for the strong speech, yesterday. i also want to thank you for the warm hospitality that you have shown me and my delegation. the alliance between our two countries is deeply appreciated, by me and everyone in israel.

as you said, when americans looked around the middle east today, they see one reliable, stable, a faithful ally of the united states. americans know that israel and the united states share common values. that we defend common interests and face common enemies. the iranian leaders know that as well. to them, you are the great satan. for them, we are you and you are us. you know something, mr. president? at least on this last point, i think they are right. we are you. you are us. we are together. so, if there is one thing that stands out clearly in the middle east today, it is that israel and america stand together. i think that above and beyond that are two principles,

longstanding principles of american policy that you reiterated yesterday in your speech. that israel must have the ability, always, to defend itself, by itself, against any threat. and that when it comes to israeli security, israel has the right, the sovereign right to make its own decisions. i believe that that is why you'll appreciate, mr. president, that israel remains -- retains the right to defend itself. that is the purpose of the jewish state, retaining control of our destiny. that is why it is my supreme responsibility, as the prime minister of israel, to ensure that israel remains the master of its fate. i thank you very much, mr. president, for your friendship, and i look forward to our discussions. thank you, mr. president.

>> thank you, everybody. thank you, guys. >> a briefing from earlier today at the white house. the president will also be holding a briefing this afternoon and we will have live coverage of that. coverage of benjamin netanyahu speaking at the american israel public affairs committee tonight will be broadcast live, along with mitch mcconnell and nancy pelosi. that will be tonight beginning at 10:30 eastern on c-span 2. the u.s. house is in recess until 2:00 p.m. eastern. they will make general speeches and recess again to come back at 5:00 for legislative business. they will be working on naming post offices and a courthouse today. live coverage of the house here on c-span. right now, your phone calls from today's "washington journal." >> let's listen to the

president's comments yesterday. this is about his policy on iran. >> we have a policy to prevent iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. as i have made clear, i will not hesitate to use force when it is necessary to defend united states and its interests. host: here is how the headline was covered.

host: let's go to the phones and hear from ike on the line for independents in tampa, florida. good morning. caller: a lot of people make a lot of money off war. there are a lot of untold stories. in afghanistan, there are 500,000 refugees rolling around. this war stuff has got to end. it's perpetual.

it's nothing but profit driven. this oil stuff, just like afghanistan. it is insane, this war stuff. i do not think iran is that big of a threat. i think we can put a stop to it any time. i think we need to cut off all funding to israel. let them fight their own wars. host: let's hear from david, a republican in california. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: i think we need to stand up for israel. it is in the bible. if it is fundamental to who we are as a nation. obama has not been standing up for israel like he should. israel is on the verge of another holocaust. the iranian dictator,

ahmadinejad, might deny that, but that's what's about to happen. host: as a republican, what did you think of the president's message yesterday? caller: i am not sure i saw that message. host: do you want to hear more caller: about: sure. host: we will play more clips about that and get some response from the republican presidential contenders. let's look at the facebook messages that are coming in. host: joseph tweets in with his thoughts. next up on the phones is jim, an independent, joining us from south bend, indiana. good morning. caller: good morning, libby, and c-span. i saw the president's speech. of course, aipac -- i hope c- span will let me get my comments out.

while i think there is some room with concern for iran and the nuclear program -- i think it is unfortunate, again, that we have to police the world. i think the saber rattling it does not do us any good. of course, the president has to go there to aipac and do that. it is unfortunate that we are still police in the world like that, dictating who does what

when. i do not think iran would be suicidal, wanting to lob one weapon into israel like that. we all know what the results would be. host: let's take a listen to what's the president had to say yesterday at aipac. [video clip] >> about the resolve of the united states. [applause] just as they should not doubt israel's sovereign right to make its own decisions about its security needs. [applause] i have said that when it comes to preventing iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, i will take no options off the table, and i mean what i say. [applause] that includes all elements of

american power. a political effort aimed at isolating iran. a diplomatic effort to sustain our coalition and ensure the iranian program is monitored. an economic effort that imposes crippling sanctions. and, yes, a military effort to be prepared for any contingency. host: president obama speaking yesterday at aipac, addressing his stance on iran. what did you think about that message yesterday? what kind of a signal does it send to iran? what kind of message does it send to israel? what does this say to americans and the rest of the world? here is what jaime rights --

jamie writes on twitter. bill tweets in and says. dave, a republican in michigan. what do you think? caller: i do not think obama makes a strong enough statement. you know, when nixon was president, as he told barbara walters, "barbara, i would simply level tehran." if obama would launch two or three nuclear weapons to iran, i think that would solve all the middle east problems. all these things going on in afghanistan are driven by iran. host: dave, do you think the president should have the rhetoric that he is willing to go that far. it sounds like you think he should be willing to do that. caller: i think he should. usually, what ever i hear from obama and up being a lie. i think he should step down and let somebody who can run the

country take over. everywhere. solyndra and this stuff. i think he secretly goes over there and makes deals. he is kind of building up the arab world. they increased the price of gas. now they do all these things. he is selling nuclear material to korea. a total idiot president. the: let's try to keep conversation productive and focus on the issues and the questions. what do you think about the american tolerance or lack there of four iran? let's hear from james, a democrat in new jersey. good morning.

caller: good morning. how are you doing? there is kind of a simple solution on how to solve the problem between iran and israel. it is something i have been discussing with president bush when he was president. he did not listen to me in 2007. try to negotiate peace between israel and the cost indians and stop the settlements that the israelis are building. according to the bible, it is their country. they can build the settlements if they want to, according to the bible.

still, at the same time, try to stop building the settlements and leave the palestinians alone, and show iran you are stopping building the settlements. this week, iran with back of. host: let's look at "the wall street journal" opinion page. it says --

host: jim in buffalo, new york the, is an independent caller. good morning. caller: good morning. i think the president's -- i really think the united states needs to stay out of it. we cannot go into every trouble

spot in the world and keep sending troops. we need to let israel stand on its own and by its own battles. for all the callers that really supports the u.s. going to war in iraq, and sure of the took a leave of absence from their job, israel would be happy to sign them up in their army. host: let's take a listen to what ron paul had to say yesterday. he echoed part of your comment. he had something along the same lines of your opinion. here is ron paul on "state of the union" yesterday. [video clip] >> it does not make any sense to bomb a country that's no threat to anybody just because they might get a weapon and try to point out that containment worked pretty well with the soviets, and they work rather ruthless people, killing millions and millions of their own people. we stood them down in the cold war. i would try to calm it down a little bit. frankly, i do not think we should tell israel what they should or should not do. host: that is ron paul on cnn

yesterday. gary tweets in yesterday -- ron paul is joining cnn from alaska, where he was campaigning this weekend. alaska is one of the caucus and primary states voting on tuesday. that is tomorrow. here is the front page of "the fairbanks dailey news-miner." "the wall street journal" looks at the super tuesday contests and talks about who is leading the race right now. a new poll is out. let's take a look at what this says. this is "the wall street journal"/nbc news telephone

pole. here is what it shows. romney leaves with 38%. santorum has 32%. the story says mitt romney has regained the lead, thanks to new support from conservatives. host: let's take a listen to comments that majority leader eric cantor made yesterday on "meet the press." [video clip] >> mitt romney has put forward a bold, pro-growth, pro-jobs plan for the future. a lot of the things he is talking about in his plan we're talking about in the house of representatives. that's why i look to super tuesday.

[video clip] >> mitt romney has put forward a bold, pro-jobs plan for the future. a lot of the things he is talking about in his plan, we're working on in the house of representatives. that is why i look at super tuesday and mitt romney getting all the super delegates. i look to mitt romney winning all of virginia's delegates. i cast my vote already in virginia for mitt romney. i am here today to tell you that i am endorsing mitt romney in his candidacy for the president of the united states. host: that is majority leader cantor yesterday giving his endorsement of mitt romney. he is not the only one supporting the former massachusetts senator governor. tom coburn weighed in in an op- ed piece over the weekend. he says he thinks the person who can work on this problem is

mitt romney. that is the endorsement the romney camp is happy to have. let's look a little bit more at this "the wall street journal"/nbc news poll looking at the killing of americans -- the feeling of americans. it says -- host: here is the gop presidential primary preferences. mitt romney turns out on top

during the latest poll that nbc and "the wall street journal" did. our question is about the president's message on iran. it will also be talking more about politics, super tuesday, and how the republican field is shaping up. a couple of stores in the international press first. "the wall street journal" -- putin wins a disputed victory.

host: there is an image here. it says, "putin shed a tear." also, in iran, since we're talking about this morning. here is a piece coming to us from "the new york times" international section. "it appeared the supreme leader had gained the ironclad majority he needed." host: we will be following that story as it develops. what do you think about the president's stance in iran? doug, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning.

mr. ahmadinejad has no control over the military over there. his rhetoric has been counterproductive as to what the ayatoll has said. two, 16 telligence agencies have all come to the conclusion in the united states that iran host: john is an independent in maine.

good morning. caller: good morning. it is like history repeating itself. it is like the iranian leaders are trying to relive the persian empire again. he was right about the appeasement process. history, again -- chamberlain, all over again. the israelis -- i would not hold out waiting for somebody to make promises. president obama is a little naive. i do not know what he is thinking. he's a little too young for me to be president, anyway. anyway, the guy from staten island stole my thunder. thank you. host: how old do you think someone should be to be president? caller: 60 and more. host: that's the cut off. let's hear what sarah has to

say, a democratic caller. caller: good morning. first off, with the presidential candidates comments -- of course they're going to spend their time fear mongering. if we look at the last three years, he did get osama bin laden, which was a big threat, and end the war in iraq. from the outside looking in, we can judge however we want.

it's obvious from the past what he will do in the future. he will continue to try to create peace. host: blood did you think about his message yesterday? caller: i think it was good. you have to take steps in that direction. we want to first try to create peace among other nations. we want to create bridges. we do not want to create walls. we do not want to make it to where nobody talks to each other. host: looking at an e-mail from mona in florida. two tweets. we have a dialogue on twitter going on right now did you can join the conversation. to's take a another listen -- let's take another listen to president obama speaking at aipac.

[video clip] muchready, there's too loose talk of war. in the last few weeks, such talk has only benefited the iranian government by driving up the price of oil, which they depend on to fund their nuclear program. host: "loose talk of war" led to some headlines, including "the new york times." go ahead, ken. caller: good morning. i am also the president for foundation for democracy in iran. i work with the pro-freedom movement in iran. i can tell you this president has missed a great opportunity in june of 2009 when you had 3 million people on the streets of tehran and other cities in iran beguine the united states -- iran begging the united states to do something. i believe nancy pelosi and van

hollen are taking us through their appeasement policies. he is not taking all the measures that he says he is, that he could use all our power to prevent a war. the most important thing we should be doing is to be helping the pro-freedom movement inside iran. host: how should that be done, in your opinion? caller: for one thing, we could get the iranian agents out of the voice of america. it's an absolute disgrace. congress is doing some oversight. i'm a republican candidate for congress in maryland. if elected, i will conduct fears oversight of the voice of america. secondly, we can help the pro- freedom movement on the ground with money. f with secure communications and

advisers, not people on the ground in iran. we can give them advice and information and help them to connect with each other. in 1999, you had uprisings in 18 different cities, but they did not know what was going on in other cities. host: let's look at a full page advertisement in "the washington post" today. this was paid for by the national iranian council. it says -- "not every challenge has a military solution." you can see who this is signed by. it has some comments and quotes. joe writes on twitter -- jerry, independent line. good morning. caller: good morning.

thank god for c-span and the internet. we all know about the hebrews. if they just do a bing or yahoo! search for israel and the zionists. host: let's go to rick, democratic caller. good morning. caller: good morning. i am really blessed with the idea that we can watch c-span and express our ideas as the common man meeting the populace.

i called this morning because, you know, israel and iran getting together -- if israel attacks iraq, it will bring the iranian people to draw nearer and closer to the idea that we really do not want to go there. it really seems like we need to use the diplomatic sources. we have been through so many wars in the last 20 years. the diplomatic source needs to be exploited to its most -- well, until it is exhausted. if israel goes in and does a pre-emptive strike and does not do it all, they're moving all the underground facilities -- i

hate to be doom and gloom, but we are talking about the idea of possibly armageddon. i do not really want to go there. i would like to get past the year 2012. i hope mankind figures this all out. we need to know what to do. i am open for suggestions. i wish hillary clinton would help us all out. host: let's see if david has any ideas or questions. he is a republican in biloxi, mississippi. caller: good morning. i was curious -- when india becomes a nuclear power -- it did not seem like there was much hoopla over that. i did not know. it seems like this iranian thing -- it seems like everybody ought to be a nuclear power.

it's kind of a deterrence. israel -- everybody ought to have them get this thing over with. i have a question for c-span. how come c-span don't get some ceos -- they're going to biochips the whole world. host: you mean by that? caller: they are biochipping babies in the hospital. right now, they ask the parents of they want to be. they're planning on biochipping and the american people. i do not understand why you do not have some people from there and let everybody know. host: let's look at more comments from the president yesterday at aipac on american's perspective on iran.

he wants to be seen as holding a firm line when it comes to iran. here is the opinion page of "the wall street journal." the story is, " israel's economic miracle."

host: tim, independent in los angeles joins us now. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. host: let's go to ryan, democrat in st. louis, missouri. caller: hello. how are you doing? my comment is to a lot of the rhetoric i'm hearing from the conservative right. the saber rattling.

have we not learned anything? >> we are leaving washington journal of this point. the u.s. house is about to gavel we're expecting members to go into recess until 5:00 for legislative business. now, live coverage of the house.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. father conroy: let us -- chaplain conroy: let us pray. dear lord we give you thanks for giving us another day. at the beginning of a new workweek, we use this moment to be reminded of your presence

and to cap the resources needed by the members of this people's house to do their work as well as it can be done. may they be led by your spirit in the decisions they make. may they possess your power as they steady themselves amid the pressures of persistent problems. may their faith in you deliver them from tensions that tear the house apart and from worries that might wear them out. all this day and through the week may they do their best to find solutions to pressing issues facing our nation. please hasten the day when justice and love shall dwell in the hearts of all peoples and rule the affairs of the nations of earth. may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson. mr. wilson: everyone, including our guests in the gallery, please join in. 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 pro tempore: the chair will entertain request for one-minute speeches. the gentleman from south carolina is recognized. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, last friday the department of energy announced its decision to bring small modular nuclear reactor technology to the savannah river site in aiken, south

carolina. s.r.s. play as vital role not only in this community but also on the national level as it enables the united states to honor its international nuclear nonproliferation commitments. at a time when gas prices are an all-time high and american families are increasingly facing tough choices, commonsense measures such as using existing government facilities and technical expertise for developing s.m.r.'s are welcome. i would like to congratulate duane at the savannah river nuclear solutions and dr. terry of the savannah river national laboratory. i'm also very proud of dr. moody's efforts in creating such a fitting environment to host this technologically advancement at no new cost to the taxpayer. congratulations to chief engineer gordon simmons and dr. cross for their article on the biomess and small modular reactors in this month's "the military engineer" magazine. in conclusion, god bless our

troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. cohen: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. last night i rested very well on my sleep number bed. knowing that the company had pulled its ads from rush limbaugh's show. in light of limbaugh's recent misogynistic attack on georgetown student sandra fluke's fight to obtain affordable, legal birth control for women, i have been drawn to the important part that advertisers play in politics. the use of airwaves to spread hatred of women is wrong. those advertisers who support broadcasters who do so are nothing less than accessories to the crime. advertisers monon keep the vitriolic and hateful shows on the air. talk radio has gone too far and it's long past time that advertisers take the initiative and recognize shows that support -- that they support often spread lies and hateful

speech. i commend those advertisers who pulled their ads from the show and i'll await those who follow. companies like sleep number will keep my business and my next order of flowers will come from pro flowers. but this isn't just about mr. limbaugh's recent, as he called it, quote, insulting word choices, as was his substandard apology, it's about every advertiser who chooses to endorse and spread hateful words and misinformation on american airwaves. i yield back the balance of my time. soin the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. burgess: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one min. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, health care continues to be an important topic in this country. a lot of people ask me what keeps you awake at night? i'll tell you right now the supreme court is going to hear this law. they could find the individual mandate is unconstitutional, i hope they do, but what if they relieve the rest -- leave the rest of the law intact? then we have a real problem and this house, this house needs to be prepared to deal with that

problem and lead on this issue. in recent filings by the administration it's apparent they even acknowledge the difficults -- ifts inherent in throwing out the individual mandate but keeping things like commune rating. they ask these two co-dependent policies be severed under the law. states' attempts in the past to inshureb guaranteed issue and community rating have resulted in insurance costs becoming higher. the number of people who purchase insurance lower, as a consequence the entire system is at risk of completely imploding. mr. speaker, we need to be prepared for this. the supreme court is going to hear the case next month. they'll rule by the end of the -- end of june. this house needs to be ready to lead. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from american samoa seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. faleomavaega: mr. speaker,

president obama stated recently that, and i quote, no issue will have a bigger impact on the future performance of our economy than education. i commend president obama for backing up his statement with key proposals that will make higher education more affordable for college students throughout our great nation. president obama's proposal will increase federal investment in the perkins loan program from $1 billion to $8 billion while rewarding colleges and universities that lower tuition costs provide value to especially low-income students. president obama also wants to increase the pell grant program for millions of college students. also propose add pay as you earn plan to allow students to put a cap on their monthly payments and allow debt forgiveness balances and 20 years of payments. like the g.i. bill, education bill that help provide college education for millions of our veterans after world war ii, these programs are critical in giving our young generation of college students a greater chance to complete their

college education. as a vietnam veteran, even i would not have completed my education if it had not been for the g.i. bill. mr. speaker, i commend president obama for his leadership. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. faleomavaega: to provide good quality education for all our young generation of americans. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> ask to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. we are glad that the president took time out of his schedule from apologizing to people who apparently want others to pay for their contraceptives so that he could see prime minister netanyahu today. he reiterated again what he said last may, when he said in the middle of a lot of other comments, that israel must be able to defend itself by itself. he reiterated that again yesterday and today. the problem is for israel to defend itself means they are

defending us. we have been described as the great satan in the united states and israel the little satan. it's time for this president to quit trying to suppress our friend, israel, and stand with israel. but if this president will not stand with israel, then don't make threats to them about what we are going to do with they defend themselves without our ok. they have already been give the ok by the president saying they must defend themselves by themselves. and i hope and pray we'll stand by israel as they defend themselves and us. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. permission to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. chairman. today i rise to commend the air capital chapter of ambucs.

it provides mobility and troorgs for people with disabilities. they provide therapeutic bicycles and tricycles for children and veterans with disabilities. last year my local chapter, appropriately named the air capital chapter, provided marine sergeant jonathan of augusta with an amtruck bike. having lost both legs in afghanistan has been in physical therapy to learn to use his prosthetic legs. mr. pompeo: it helps strengthen his body helping him walk sooner. it has now provided over 30 specialty bikes that were first charted a year and a half ago to one of the top five organizations across the country. i would like to thank the air capital all volunteer staff for the amazing work they do and their dedication to this very

noble cause. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair lays before the house a communication. the speaker pro tempore: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on march 2, 2012, at 10:18 a.m. that the senate agreed to senate concurrent resolution 35. that the senate agreed to senate concurrent resolution 36. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house

of representatives, i have the honor to transmit a sealed envelope received from the white house on march 2, 2012, at 11:23 a.m. and said to contain a message from the president whereby he notifies the congress he has extended the national emergency with respect to zimbabwe. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas, clerk of the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will read the message. the clerk: to the congress of the united states, section 202-d of the national emergencies act provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration the president publishes in the federal register and transmits to the congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. in accordance with this provision, i have sent to the federal register for publication the enclosed notice stating that the national emergency with respect to the actions and policies of certain

members of the government of zimbabwe and other persons to undermine zimbabwe's democratic processes were institutions is to continue in effect beyond march 6, 2012. the crisis constituted by the actions and policies of certain members of the congress of zimbabwe and other persons to undermine zimbabwe's democratic processes or institutions had a not been resolved. these actions and policies continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary thread to the foreign policy of the united states. . for these reasons i have determined that it's good to maintain in. the united states continues to modify the targeted sanctions regime when blocked persons demonstrate a clear commitment to respect the rule of law, democracy and human rights. the united states has committed -- has committed to continue its

review of the targeted sanctions lists for zimbabwe to ensure it remains current and addresses the concerns for which it was created. we hope that events on the ground will allow us to take additional action to recognize progress in zimbabwe in the future. the goal of a peaceful, democratic zimbabwe remains foremost in our consideration of any action. signed barack obama, the white house. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on foreign affairs and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately 5:00 p.m. today. >> the house is in recess until about 5:00 p.m.. live coverage of the house here on c-span coming back at 5:00 eastern. our route to the white house

coverage continues here on the c-span that works. tomorrow is super tuesday. gop contests and 10 states. there are caucuses and alaska, idaho, north dakota, primaries in georgia, ohio, virginia, and massachusetts. rick santorum will be holding a campaign rally in cuyahoga, ohio. live coverage of his remarks begin at 6:30 eastern on c-span2 today. back in washington, the american israel public affairs committee, otherwise known as aipac, continues its annual policy conference. live coverage tonight from mitch mcconnell, nancy pelosi, and israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. habra covered from this morning's henne aipac session, beginning with remarks from

howard kohr. he spoke about iran's nuclear ambitions. >> good morning, everyone. i want to start this morning with a few comments and words of appreciation. first, i want to say thank you to rosy, for your leadership over these last two years leading this organization. i look forward to continuing for many years together with you. [applause] i also want to say congratulations to a michael cassandra and the cast and family. thank you for your leadership and dedication. i look for to our partnership becoming even deeper and stronger as we work together to strengthen the bonds between the united states and israel. i also wanted take a moment to recognize the close to 2000 students who are here with us this morning.

thank you for joining us taking time away from your families and school. [applause] in particular, i want to recognize the midshipmen who are here from the u.s. naval academy in annapolis and the cadets that are here from the united states military academy at west point. thank you. [applause] finally, i want to express what an honor it is to share this podium with our next speaker, senator joe lieberman. senator lieberman has been truly

one of the giants on behalf of the u.s.-israel relationship for the past 24 years on every single issue facing our relationship. i want to say what an honor it is to be here with you this morning. i am here today to talk about a danger to america and to the world. i am here to talk about the nation, that should it become a nuclear power, will present a long-term threat to other oil- producing nations in the persian gulf, and dominate opec and drive up the price of oil. it a nation that should not become a nuclear power would trigger a race for nuclear weapons that would proliferate

across the middle east. imagine if you can, syria, saudi arabia, tomorrow's egypt, armed with nuclear weapons. i am talking about a mission that should not become a nuclear power could well provide nuclear know-how and even devices to international terrorists, to hezbollah, hamas, other radical islamic groups, all operating under the umbrella of one of nuclear nation. this is not speculation. this nation has publicly declared it is prepared to share this technology with its friends. nor are these dangers distant from our shores or our cities. i am talking about a nation,

should it become a nuclear power, can bring terror here. terrorists armed with nuclear devices here to our own hemisphere. this nation could share its nuclear technology with venezuela, nicaragua, bolivia, its friends who are no friends of america. taken together, these many challenges pose a serious danger to america. i am talking about a nuclear capable of iran. that changes everything. it is not necessary for man to even have the bomb -- iran to even have the bomb. it is the demonstration that they have cross the nuclear threshold. simply with the capacity to

produce a weapon is a risk to peace and a threat to the world. iran is a threshold nuclear state will strengthen our post and frighten our enemies. we know today, in a way that we never knew before, just how close we came to war with the soviet union during the cuban missile crisis. we were seconds away. melos differed from the soviet leaders, which at least operated on a cow callus on the severe consequences to them about using the world's most devastating weapons. there is ample evidence that we cannot count on this regime in

iran to use the same calculus. that is why, as president obama stated yesterday morning, containment, a policy that would allow iran to having a clear weapon, is not the answer. [applause] preventing iran from ever having a nuclear weapons capability, that is the answer. [applause] a nuclear capable iran means real risks for the united states, friends and allies. the risk is the greatest. the threat existential for one country in particular, israel. there is a unique place for

israel in iran's ideology. iran says it is ready to pursue normal relations with every state except israel, which they say should be erased from the map. consider the prediction the moderate former iranian president, that israel could be wiped out with one nuclear weapon, while the muslim world would survive any such exchange. or consider the diagnosis of the supreme leader khomeni -- khamenei, that israel is a cancer that must be removed. some will explain away the statement, others say we should dismiss them as simply the unfortunate examples of this regime's rhetorical style. but iran has gone beyond ideology to action. pursuing a strategy today of

targeting israeli is on a global scale when we say it israel faces an existential threat, what precisely does that mean? how does it differ from the threat a nuclear iran poses to other nations? israel his small. it is distant from danger measured in seconds. israel is strong but its strength cannot diminish the factors that make it especially vulnerable. placefactors, israel's and ideology, its size, proximity to danger, all these create a disequilibrium, a divergence, about when iran's

actions present a critical danger, to the u.s. or to the west, and when they pose a critical danger to israel. even as we act to stop iran, we must be clear and candid about where we are now that iran has progressed to this very point. we must guard with an appreciation of iran's extraordinary efforts to mask its work, to shield from the world just how close it has come to a full nuclear weapons capability. no nation can gamble its sovereignty and security on perfect knowledge of a clandestine efforts by an avowed enemy.

[applause] this is the reality. this is the context in which israel must decide a course of action. if she can put her faith in the hands of anyone, even her closest ally, america, or if she must conduct a strike to postpone iran from acquiring a nuclear bomb. israel was created to ensure the jewish people would never have to put their faith in the hands of others. [applause] let us be clear. israel does not want iran to force her to have to strike. for 20 years, israel has sounded the alarm about the dangers of iran becoming a nuclear power in

an attempt to avoid military confrontation by anyone. israel has never traded force as the first resort. it has always been and still is the last resort, but israel does not control the path iran is on. if at some point israel or someone else must act, only iran will be to blame. [applause] but if israel is forced to take military action, that she and the world did their best to avoid, and then america must stand with the jewish state. [applause]

so what do we do? despite the danger, despite the hour, there is still time to stop iran without the use of force, but that time is running out quickly. president obama and his administration are to be commended. they have, more than any other administration, more than any other country, brought unprecedented pressure to bear on tehran through the use of biting economic sanctions. [applause] they have build a broad coalition to isolate the iranian regime and have brought the military assets to the gulf and iran's neighbors in order to signal iran has the power to

act. in addition, this congress has demonstrated strong, bipartisan leadership by passing a tough senate -- financial sanctions, even on the central bank of iran. that was a key element in the decision to ban european imports. all of these accomplishments by our leaders have led to important progress. iran's mullah's are under pressure, the economy is under pressure, the regime is under more pressure than it has ever been. the problem is, progress is not enough. this is a test, but there are no grades.

the only measure is pass or fail. [applause] we know when the regime in tehran feels frightened, it will stop its likely -- nuclear pursuits. history shows us when this regime in tehran was scared, it froze its nuclear program. when the american soldiers entered iraq in 2003, and pteron feared it would be next, iran stopped work on developing a nuclear weapon. fearhen the mullah's diminished, a nuclear scientist return to business as usual and have been at it ever since. the reality today is that the iranian regime is not frightened enough. [applause]

so we must increase the pressure where they fear of failure to comply will lead to their downfall. that is why we must bring more pressure to bear. four tracks are critical. tough, principled, disciplined diplomacy, truly crippling sanctions, destructive measures, and establishing a credible threat to use force. all four are necessary, essential to _ beyond any doubt that the united states and the west are serious, serious about stopping iran. [applause] and all four, taken together, author the best chance to avoid

a war that no one -- not the united states, not israel -- seeks. and that is why all u.s. officials must speak with one voice. one voice, so pteron here's america is unified in its determination to prevent a nuclear-capable iran. [applause] our leaders and our allies should always be ready for productive discussions, but for any diplomacy to succeed, iran's leaders must demonstrate in advance that they are serious about giving up their quest for nuclear weapons. [applause] we should demand that they, again, verifiable freeze their

nuclear program as required by the un security council, before talks begin. [applause] the best way, the only way to stop iran and avoid the possibility of war is to demonstrate to tehran that we will use every diplomatic, economic, political, and if need be, military tool available. [applause] and that is why tomorrow we will go to capitol hill together, as one unified community, to make clear to our leaders that we must ramp up the pressure now through crippling sanctions. together, we will tell them iran, not our ally israel, is

the problem. [applause] and that all options, except containment, are on the table. [applause] to be sure, this is a time of testing. not long ago, an israeli author and political figure, who is with us here this morning -- [applause] he recalled the words of his late father tommy, a holocaust survivor, a noted israeli leader and a great friend of aipac. the speech he gave on the occasion of a holocaust remembrance day.

his words are relevant at this hour. he said, the on-line world advises us to be compromising and assumes risk for the chances of peace. yet, we ask the in line the world, on holocaust remembrance day, all those that preach to us. what will you do if we assume the risks and sacrifice victims and put our trust in new, and then something goes wrong? what if the other side does not act as if it is expected to, and instead, hurls at us fire and plagues, and poison, and possibly even nuclear-weapons. what will you do then? will you ask for forgiveness? will you say we were wrong?

will you send us bandages? will be open orphanages for the children of the survived? will you pray for our souls? that nightmare vision, that day after must never come to pass. [applause] israel can never let that nightmare, because israel's promised to those who felt the flames of the holocaust, never again. [applause]

we have our own role to play. we must persuade our decision makers to ratchet up the pressure so that they cripple iraq's's nuclear ambition. we must be prepared at any scenario to persuade our leaders that america must stand with israel. -- iran's nuclear ambition. [applause] as we make our way through these dangerous and difficult days, all of us must remain completely unified. we must recall from any inclination to make this situation, or allow others to make this about parties or politics. [applause] this moment can only be about the safety and security of america and israel. [applause]

it must only be about a world, which but for our leadership and actions, will be changed forever. that is why we are here. here to ensure, on this day in history, in a moment of great decisions, we set forth the principles and paved the way for america and israel to continue their shared commitment to values and a vision. a vision of a world free from the tyranny of violence, hatred, and oppression. a world where strength and security, peace and prosperity reign.

thank you. [applause] ♪ >> thank you. good morning. it is so exciting to be here at aipac. yesterday, hearing from president obama and president peres, and today have an opportunity to hear from senator joe lieberman and aipac's executive director howard kohr, thank you for those powerful words.

[applause] those of you who are my age or older, if you have an awareness of me, i began my career in fashion in the last century as a model. [applause] today, i serve as a designer, ceo, mother, wife, a christian, and a very proud pro-israel american. [applause] it is humbling to stand before you. since i have arrived, many of you have kindly asked me, why are you here? [laughter]

i am here to speak loudly, to you and to the world, with a turret -- personal testimony, that israel is not only a jewish value, it is a cherished american value. [applause] christian faith brought our family to israel. our journey bear awakened us, as well as friends and loved ones who joined us to the reality that only israel in the middle east is truly protecting the values of freedom, of democracy, and of individual liberty, and that we in america hold so dear. and that is why i know, as do all of you, that if israel is not safe, no one in this great

country of ours is safe. [applause] and that is why it is so important for me and for all of us to speak in support of israel against the vicious attacks that are hurled at this great nation in weapons and in words. [applause] i want you, our friends in israel, and israel's detractors to know, from washington, d.c., to mobile, alabama, from my church in california to churches in juneau, alaska, americans value of israel.

[applause] i have had the great pleasure of visiting israel always knowing that i will return. i have met with people of every age and socio-economic level. i have met with the youth of the nation. young men and women serving in the israel defense forces, who won there are strolling the beaches of tel aviv, and the next, targeted by terrorists who seek nothing less than the eradication of their nation and their lives. i have met with mothers who are , families that have lost children, peoples whose bodies are permanently

disabled by the ravages of terror. i have stood beside doctors and care givers and hospitals in israel who give healing to the wounds of terror, and unbelievably, these same doctors and caregivers give care and healing to the very people that attacked them. from hurricane katrina to the devastating earthquake in haiti, from the deadly tsunami in japan to catastrophes across our globe, consistently, at israel is among the first responders. [applause] despite this on wavering

humanity, israel exhibits each and every day, there are still those around the world who are, unrelenting in their war of words against the jewish state. personally, this is something i find extremely disturbing. how often have we heard, why can israel just give back the land? why can israel stop the fighting? israel seeks no battles. israel wishes to live in peace. israel stop the fighting? [applause] israel is one sixth of 1% of the entire middle east.

it is real is surrounded by oil- rich neighbors who could invest more and their people, their development, and their humanity, instead of devoting resources to the slaughter of innocent lives. [applause] >> america, indeed, the world

owes an unbelievable, unpayable debt to israel. we must honor these courageous people who are yearning for peace, who offer us protection and inspiration. that is why so deeply believe that there is no place on earth -- let me repeat -- no place on earth like israel. [applause] dr. martin luther king jr. wrote that piece for israel means security. i am going to read what he wrote because i do not want to distort one of his words. dr. king roped -- wrote that "

the united states must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist. in israel, i see one of the great outposts of democracy in the world and a marvelous example of what can be done. how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy." [applause] dr. king's and vision for israel and america is something that we cannot take for granted. it is a vision that needs to live within each of us, the values of freedom, equality, and the justice -- and justice.

my christian faith opened up my eyes to the importance of israel. you do not need to share my faith to know that israel possible values cut across every political and state line. they are values cherished by people of faith, a respected by every race, ethnicity, and gender. embraced by people with a true understanding of humanity. these are american values. [applause] and friends, i do not stand with it is ralph -- israel out of any minor celebrity or

entrepreneurial designer, only because of my christian faith. i stand with israel as an american who sees in israel what i see in our own country, a great people with a strong commitment to the values of freedom, the goal of equality, and an unrelenting pursuit of justice. [applause] israel and america have a shared vision. it is such an honor to be here with all of you here today at the aipac policy conference. the critical and heroic work being done by aipac and all of you -- it is amazing to look

out and see democrats, republicans, christians and jews, and people of every race and background coming together, and to know, that at aipac, we all have a home. as incredible as that is, it is not enough. we need more people making a difference. i believe is the responsibility of every american to stand up, speak out, and do all we can to make sure the united states always stands with the state of israel. [applause]

and please know, standing with israel, in no way, implies any anti-arab sentiment. the throne of god is made up of every tongue, tried, and nation. scripture teaches us through the unconditional for everyone, abraham make covenant, that you all, the families of the earth will be blessed. [applause] it is my personal promise to stand with israel for the rest of my life. [applause] i asked you to please join me in that stand and to please make a promise of your own to the

people of israel. thank you. god bless america. and god bless israel. [applause] ♪ >> thank you. dear friends, thank you so very much. it is a great personal privilege to join you today in this largest, and i would say, most important aipac policy conference ever. thank you very much. [applause]

i also want to thank whoever planned the program this morning because in the thousands of times i have been called on to speak, i never had a better warm-up act than kathy ireland. [applause] thank you, kathy ireland. god bless you for all you do. [applause] now, as many of you know, later this week, the holiday is celebrated in which we read from the book of esther, the story of a miraculous rescue of the jewish people from annihilation. the hand of god is there on every page of the story of the book of esther. the work is ultimately brought about by the acts of a single,

principal, courageous, and beautiful woman named esther. this week, i would be remiss if i did not introduce to you the beautiful, principled, and courageous woman i am blessed to have as my wife. [applause] thank you. i am sure you will agree with me, the best proof of her courage is that she has lived with me for 29 years. [laughter] ok, as you know, this is a special moment for me. it is the last time i will have the honor to stand before you at this conference as a u.s. senator. but i want to make clear, next

year i am just leaving the senate. i am not retiring. [applause] and i specifically want to pledge to you now, that whenever the next chapter of my life springs, wherever it takes me, i will continue to stand with you as you have stood with me, to fight for the causes that brought us together, year after year. a strong america, a strong israel, and an unbreakable relationship between america and israel. [applause] i have been fortunate, to put it mildly, to serve in the united states senate for 24 remarkable years, during which time, the world has transformed in ways that defied both prophecy and imagination. the fall of the soviet union. the rise of the internet.

in 9/11 attacks. in the middle east, we witnessed with a great sense of hope the oslo accords of 1993, whose promise sadly has yet to be realized. on the other hand, in 1994, israel and jordan signed a peace treaty which remains today a mutually beneficial model for the rest of the middle east, israel and arabs alike. [applause] in the 24 years, we have sadly seen two terrorist intifada us. now in recent times, the arab world's historic democratic uprisings. through the ups and downs, israel, year after year, has grown more and more vibrant, diverse, and secure. and the u.s.-israel relationship has grown closer and closer. the bond between our two great

democracies and our two great people is deeper, wider, and stronger than ever. that is obviously because americans and israelis have so much in common, from our humanitarian values from our belief in god to our faith that the bible is the word of god. americans and israelis come together not in an alliance of convenience but in a relationship of family. that is expressed most powerfully in the unprecedented long-term, bipartisan, pro- israel majority in both houses of congress. [applause] the truth is that the ultimate guarantor of the u.s. is

relationship is each of you. it is view, the american people, who from every corner of our country and every possible demographic the finer take the time to call on your elected leaders to stand with israel. that is why presence today, as it has been every year, is so important, and that is why what aipac does every day is so important. i want to say to you that as much as we have accomplished during the last 24 years in the u.s.-israel relationship, i must admit that i leave the u.s. senate with two big items of unfinished business. the first is that despite a great deal of work, israel still has not been able to achieve the peace with its palestinian neighbors that its people want and deserve and that everyone in

the middle east would benefit from. but we are never going to stop working for that piece, and one day, with god's help, it will come. -- we will never stop working for that peace. my second personal disappointment, and i feel it personally, is that the american embassy in israel is still not where it belongs in the city of jerusalem, the eternal capital of the jewish state of israel. [applause] but neither you nor i will ever forget jerusalem. and we will continue to fight for a day when the american flag flies proudly over an

american embassy, and that day, too, i believe will come soon. [applause] today, the united states and israel face a new and even greater danger, as iran marches toward a nuclear weapons capability. that challenge is rightly the focus of this conference. do not let anyone tell you that a nuclear-armed iran is just israel's problem. it is not. do not let anyone tell you that you can learn, or we can learn, to live with a nuclear-armed iran. we cannot. i do not let anyone tell you that the problem with iran's nuclear program is what is real may do about it, and when. it is not. the problem is what iran is doing with its nuclear program,

and win. -- and when [applause] . the iranian nuclear program as a threat to the entire world, but especially the united states, israel, and the arab nations of the middle east. if iran is allowed to acquire nuclear weapons capability, it will set off a cascade of nuclear proliferation. the other countries in the regent seek atomic arsenals of the wrong. if iran is allowed to acquire nuclear weapons capability, it will make us terrorist proxy's. groups that have already -- that already have the blood of thousands and thousands of americans, israelis, and arabs on their hands, infinitely more dangerous. if iran is allowed to acquire a nuclear weapons capability, it will be able to bring the global economy to its knees. whatever it wants. if you think gas prices are high

now in our country, imagine what will happen if iran could back up its threat to close the strait of hormuz with a nuclear weapon. this is a future which cannot afford. it is future we can, and must, prevent, and together, we will. [applause] it is definitely within our power to stop iran from achieving a nuclear weapons capability. the question is not whether we can stop them, but whether we will choose to stop them. that is why together with my colleagues, senators bob casey, lindsey gramm, and many others, have introduced a non-partisan resolution that says when it comes to iran, all options must be on the table except one option, and that is containment.

it will not work. [applause] that is precisely what president obama has said. now it is time for the other end of pennsylvania avenue to say the same thing. with your help this week, we will soon, and i ask you to bring this up when you visit capitol hill tomorrow -- with your help, i am confident we will soon have many more than a majority of members of the united states senate, of all parties, supporting this resolution. now, let me say that i do not believe that military action to disable iran's nuclear project is unavoidable. that choice is iran's. [applause] and so far, though economic sanctions applied have clearly

affected the iranian economy, the fact is that they have not let the fanatics who today run that country to slow up their nuclear weapons program one iota. now, we also have choices to make. if a nuclear-armed iran is unacceptable, we all say it is -- we must make clear to the world that we are prepared to do whatever is necessary to prevent the unacceptable. the president has said -- neither can we in congress. the fact is that there is nothing, in my opinion, more harmful to our chances of stopping iran peacefully and the suspicion that in the end, we will give up and let them have nuclear weapons. the iranian regime must hear a

message from us, and we must state it loud and clear. either you peacefully negotiate an end to your illicit nuclear activities, call or they will be ended for you by military attack. [applause] it is time for us to make an ironclad pledge, which will be hurt both by our friends and enemies in the middle east and throughout the world. the united states will prevent iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability by peaceful means, if we can, but with military force if we absolutely must.

[applause] some have asked why we continue to say that we must stop iran from getting nuclear weapons capability, rather than saying we aim to stop them from getting nuclear weapons. the answer to that question is direct and it is very important. the time for action is before iran has crossed the line of capability to put together a weapon. when all they have to do is combine the components that have developed to give them a nuclear weapon. my friends, if we wait until iran has nuclear weapons, it will obviously be too late. [applause] the threat from iran is more serious than anything faced by the united states and israel during my 24 years in the

senate. but if america, israel, and our allies stand together, i know we will meet and defeat this threat. the great soviet dissident, andrea sakharov, once said, the country that does not respect the rights of its citizens will not respect the rights of its neighbors. [applause] for the sake of the people of iran and all of its neighbors, israeli and arab, the days of the despotic regime that now rules iran must be numbered. [applause] and i am confident they will be, because the majority, the vast majority of the iranian people who are, after all, pairs of one

of the world's great civilizations, --heirs of one of the world's great civilizations, reject the despotic rule the have been forced to live under. they want the same freedoms and rights as everyone. that is the story we are seeing across the middle east right now, and it is the reason that the people of syria are fighting courageously as we speak against iran's only ally in the arab world. it is why we must do more to help them overthrow bashar's evil dictatorship and in his campaign of slaughter. -- end his campaign of slaughter. [applause] we simply, based on our own knowledge of history, and a lot of it recent, can no longer stand passively by all people are being murdered by their own

government. we must do more to speed the day when the people of government and -- the people of syria and the people of iran will again be free. [applause] let me close now with a few final words of thanks and encouragement to each of you. you know, when you come to a conference like this, you step into history, and you try to influence its course. the history of the jewish state of israel is not brief, although some of its enemies today still want to convince people that it is. israel's history did not begin in 1948. it began thousands of years before in genesis 12:1 quinn got called abraham to the land i will show you, and promised abraham, i will make you a great

nation there. [applause] through the millennium since then, through good times and bad, sometimes there were very good and sometimes that were very bad. through times of state could and times of diaspora, the jewish presence on the land of israel has been continuous. in the late 19th century, they began the modern zionist movement to reestablish the jewish state in the land of israel. as you know well, i suspect, when people told herzl he was a foolish dreamers, he told them, if you will hit it, it is no

dream. , it is nowill leit dream. so many after him, jews and christians, willed it, work for it, and died for it, and in 1948, the dream did become a reality again. and now, as the expression goes, we are blessed, because we are living the dream, art week art weekaren't we? yes we are. but don't ever take it for granted. even divinely inspired dreams need the work of steadfast men and women here on earth to keep them real and keep them alive. i will say to you, standing

before this enormous and devoted throng, i am full of confidence that in the years ahead, and in the generations to come, the work that you and i have been privileged to do together will go on. the dream will never die, and our destinies call, which is for universal justice and peace, will forever be heard. thank you, god bless you. god bless israel, and god bless the united states of america. [applause] >> a quick reminder that we will have more from aipac tomorrow -- from mitch mcconnell, nancy pelosi, an israeli prime

minister benjamin netanyahu. the u.s. house taliban at 2:00. they are in recess right now -- the u.s. house of gaveled end at 2:00. on the agenda, naming post offices in florida and new york. live coverage of the house, here on c-span, starting at 5:00 p.m. eastern. transportation security administration had discussed how his agency has changed after its creation in the wake of 9/11. last week announced it that jfk airport had become the ninth airport in the country to implement an expedited screening program for frequent-flier. he speaks for about an hour. >> that afternoon, and welcome

to the national press club. my name is theresa warner. we are the world's leading professional organization for journalists, committed to our professions futures for programming with events such as this, while fostering a free press worldwide. for more information about the national press club, please visit our website asks www.press.org. of our members worldwide, i like to welcome our speaker, and those of you attending today's event. a our table includes guest of our speaker including working journalists who are members of our club. your applause and our audience, we would like to know that members of the general public are attending, so does not necessarily a lack of

journalistic integrity. i would like to welcome c-span and our public radio audience during our lunches are also featured in our weekly podcast from the national press club, available on itunes. you can follow the action on twitter, using the cash tagged -- hashtag npc lunch. it is time to introduce our guest, and i would ask each of you to stand up briefly as your name is announced. jennifer, time warner cable, julio, dave nicholson, tsa acting chief of staff, michael boldin, washington post, tsa deputy administrator, alison fitzgerald, freelance journalist.

andrew stone, huffington post and speaker committee member who organize today's event. chris mclaughlin, office of security operations, rachel oswalt, global security news wire, nagin hurts of roll-call. hertz. and hnathan >> he is the unwitting face of everything americans hate about airport security in a post-911 carroll. every time we are asked to take off our shoes at the airport, pull up our laptop, or submit to an uncomfortable pat down, we have this agency to blame. he spent most of his career chasing the bad guys in the fbi, and he can take it.

he said, my hope is that whatever people want to call me, they recognize that we are simply doing everything we can to work with people to provide the best possible security. the son of a church of god minister, he graduated from anderson university in indiana and in the inner -- indiana university law school in indiana. he joined the fbi in 1983 in minneapolis. he worked in new york before moving to the bureau headquarters in washington to supervise and organized crime section. since 1999 when he helped lead the inquiry into the collegiate plot from nantucket massachusetts, he has worked on some of the nation's highest profile cases involving national security. after the 9/11 attacks, he was put in charge of the fbi's expensive counter-terrorism branch, eventually becoming the bureau's executive assistant director of counter-terrorism and counterintelligence. he led our was involved in a

number of high-profile investigations, including the 2003 suicide bombings in saudi arabia, the break above a plot to bomb new york city subways in 2009, and the case of the would be underwear bomber on christmas day. he also took part in the investigation of attempted car bombing in times square in 2010. in 2004, he was named deputy director of the fbi and was serving in the no. 2 position when president obama tapped him to fill the top spot of the tsa. today, he oversees 60,000 employees to provide security at more than 450 airports and for the federal air marshal service. his agency is also responsible for the security of the nation's highways, railroads, ports, mass-transit systems, and pipelines. since taking over the agency nearly a decade after the 9/11 attacks, he has worked to evolve the tsa screening of

nearly 1.8 million people a day drivenmore intelligence base. he has had to answer to angry travelers about pat-downs and naked body scans. i am sure he will have much to say about all this. please welcome our guests, john pistol. [applause] >> thank you, theresa, for most of that introduction. i have been described in a lot of different ways and that was kind of a compendium of a lot of things come together there. it is an honor to be here today. i appreciate the opportunity to meet with you and speak on the continued evolution of the transportation and security in ministration. our place in the global counter- terrorism community and our latest efforts to strengthen aviation security through the ongoing development and implementation of risk based,

intelligence driven security initiatives. last fall, will mark the 10th anniversary of both the 9/11 attacks and the legislation known as atsa, passed by the u.s. congress on november 19, 2001, signed by the president several days later. an important part of our country's response to those horrific attacks. the tsa was created through that legislation and we continue to be proud of how it was staff and operational in less than one year. most americans do not know that the billing of tsa required the largest, most complex mobilization of the federal work force since world war ii. as tsa administrator, have been privileged to know and work with and never of dedicated individuals who know our agency story better than anyone, because it helped write it. dedicated public servants like

deputy secretary michael jackson, who later became deputy secretary at the newly created department of security. the administrators, david stone and the next three administrators. also in that list is our current deputy administrator who is seated here who was also there at the start, and is one of a handful of public servants given the urgent task of standing in a new security agency whose mission has always been to protect our nation's transportation systems to ensure the freedom of movement for people and commerce. gail served for 18 months as the acting a bit straighter before my arrival, and the american people are more secure because of her outstanding service. at its core, the concept of risk based security demonstrates the progression of work tsa has been

doing throughout its first decade of service. it is an understanding, really acknowledgment, that we are not in the business of eliminating all risk associated with traveling from point a to point b. risk is inherent in virtually everything we do. our objective is to mitigate risk, to reduce it as much as possible, and ensure that the potential for anyone to commit a delivered act against our transportation system is mitigated. before i go further, i want to take just a moment and then another significant anniversary within the tsa family. last friday, the men and women of the federal air marshal service, who today comprise the primary law enforcement component of tsa, celebrated their 50th anniversary. originally safety inspectors for the u.s. customs agency, the first-class of 18 peace officers

was sworn in 50 years ago and began filling a legacy of protection which today's officers of polled every time they board an aircraft. while the core mission to protect the flying public has remained constant over the years, federal air marshals today have an ever expanding role in homeland security and the work closely with other law- enforcement agencies to accomplish their mission. air marshal's their integrated with key counter-terrorism partners such as the national starting center and on many task forces around the country. they are also critical part of the affected partnerships that are central to everything we do it tsa. to help set the stage for the emergence of the risk-based, intelligence driven transportation security system we are billing in tsa, is helpful to take a brief look back and recall what transportation security look like prior to the september 11 attacks. as you are aware, what was in

place then bears little resemblance to the strong, multilayered system in place today. that is especially true when we talk specifically about aviation security. remember that before september 11, there was one, note cohesive system in taste -- in place to check passenger names against terrorist watch list, a limited technologies place for uncovering threats to passengers. no comprehensive federal requirements to screen checked our carry-on baggage, minimal in-flight security on most flights, and from intelligence coronation standpoint, before 9/11, there was a lack of timely intelligence in both directions, both from a federal level to the individual airport and from the individual airport to the national level. i came to the fbi more than a year-and-a-half ago, having worked the previous 26 years ever try to position that the

fbi. with the range partners inside the law enforcement intelligence communities both in the u.s. and overseas, it helped shape my approach to solidify tsa's place within the counter-terrorism continuing. everyday, we strive to ensure our operational planning and decision making process is timely, efficient, and core that it is possible, and critically, based on intelligence. we were to share critical information with key industry shareholders, many of whom are here today. wherever program, and we constantly communicate with our front-line officers through briefings held several times a day. thanks to some of these affected partnerships, including with our airline and airport partners, and of law enforcement colleagues at every level, tsa has achieved a number of significant milestones during its first 10 years of service. these include things such as

matching 100% of all passengers flying into, out of, and then the united states against government watch lists through the secured loan program, which was previously run by the airline. includes screening all cargo and passenger planes domestically. we are closely with international partners to screen 100% of high risk inbound cargo from passenger planes. we are working with these partners to screen 100% of all internationally bound cargo and passenger planes by the end of this year. it also includes improving aviation security through innovative technology that provides advanced baggage screening for explosives. i want to touch for a moment on surface transportation also. i want to mention our viper teams. in time have conducted over 17,000 by operations. we currently have 25 teams

working in transportation sectors across the country to prevent or disrupt potential terrorist planning activity. since 2006, we have completed more than 190 based on assessments for security enhancement for transit, which provides a, in assessment for security programs in critical transit systems. we are seeing the benefits of how the steps, combined with multiple layers of security, which includes the opportunity we have for -- help keep america safe each and every day. since 2002, we have screed nearly 6 billion passengers. think about that, 6 million passengers. our front line officers have detected thousands of firearms and callous other prohibited items and we have prevented those weapons from entering the aircraft. or then 10 years after 9/11, tsa officer still detect

between three and four firearms every day in carry-on bags at security checkpoints around country. that is down slightly from the 2011 averages. technology continues to factor significantly into our multilayer approach to transportation security. we see the efficacy of the advanced imaging technology as hundreds of passenger security checkpoints around the united states. from a security perspective, last year the office of the inspector general assessed the manner in which tsa and specs, maintains, and operates a i.t. machines. tsa was found in compliance with standards regarding radiation exposure limits and sector requirements. as a result of intensive research, analysis, and testing, tsa believes the potential health risk of screens are minuscule. a finding by the departure of

public health command in a report issued just last month. while there is still not perfect technology, our officers have the best opportunity to detect both metallic and nonmetallic devices such assaults on christmas day 2009, including those of other devices which are concerned about that terrorists may be constructing as we speak. manufacturers continue enhancing detection capability and strengthening the privacy features of the machines. we maintain the ability to upgrade the software ahead of the rapidly shifting landscape, and maintain a high level of adaptability which enables us to keep important technological advantages. throughout 2011, technology helped our officers detect hundreds of prohibited, dangers, or illegal items on passengers, not just on carry-on bags. these good catches illustrate how effective are people,

processes, and technologies are at detecting items either on the person or in their carry-on bag. in an ongoing effort to educate the traveling public, we highlight many of these good catches every week in blog posts up lated to tsa.gov. if you have not looked at that, i encourage you to take a look at it. there have been a number of items concealed in shoes, in hollowed out books, to ceramic knives, and strapped to passengers lakes. as strange as some of these stories may be, they are a stark reminder that now, more than 10 years after the events of 9/11, people still try to bring deadly weapons and other items onto aircraft. our officers to take numerous weapons every day and keep all of them off the planes. less than one month ago, over presidents' day week in february, 19 guns were found in

various bags around the country. 30 niner six unprotected at airport checkpoints. while working hard to deploy the latest technological advances to secure transportation, we have also made significant steps and strengthening privacy protection for passengers screamed -- screened with the advanced technology. automatic recognition is the new software upgrade that enhances privacy protections by eliminating passenger specific images and displaying a generic outline of a person. we know that the software also makes the process more efficient. it provides in his privacy protection and gives greater resources efficiently. that is a winning formula for all travelers. these technologies could not

stand alone. that is why we continue our efforts to strengthen where possible standard operating procedures already in place throughout 40050 airports we secure. one way we are doing this is by developing and putting into practice a series of risk based processes to further strengthen aviation security. in 2011, we implemented several new screening concepts, including a program to verify the identity of airline pilots and provide them with a guided screening. adjustments in screening procedures for children 12 and under an enhanced techniques. most widely known security in his will have put in place is one of several risk-based intelligence driven measures helping us move away from a one- size-fits-all security model and closer to our goal, to provide the most effective security in the most efficient way.

the one-size-fits-all was necessary after 9/11 and has been effective, but thanks to two key enablers, technology and talent as, we are able to move towards a risk-based security model. initiatives enable us to focus our resources, as passengers who could pose the greatest risk, including those on the watch list, while providing expedited screening and a better travel experience to those consider lower risk, more trusted travelers. it began implementing this idea last fall, and since then, at the nine airports where currently expanding, that are participating, more than 460,000 passengers around the country have experienced the new procedures and the feedback we are getting is consistently positive. it is made possible by the great partnerships with participating airlines.

they work with us to invite eligible passengers to opt into the initiative, and then are able to extend recheck benefits to any u.s. citizen who is a member of one of the trust to travel programs such as global entry. i encourage anyone who is interested to apply for global entry. -- exempted, you get benefits at participating airports. by the end of this year, we expect to be offering passengers at 35 of our business -- busiest airports and benefits associated with the pre check because we have done prescreening of them before they get to the airport. a constantly evaluating new ideas and adding strength to layers of security throughout the screening process, we accomplish several things. course of all, it allows our officers to focus their attention on those travelers we believe are more likely to pose a threat to our transportation network. focusing our efforts in a more

precise manner is not only good for strengthening aviation security, but also for improving the overall travel spirits of 1.8 million people to fly in the u.s. every day. later this month we will begin evaluating additional changes to checkpoint security screening procedures. our ability to find the proverbial needle in a haystack is improved every time we are able to reduce the size of the haystack. strengthening our aviation security screening procedures with risk-based initiatives is getting it done, and we continue expanding the program wherever we can. all those who have a vested interest in this process. we will also continue to explore ways to adjust our standard screening procedures for certain segments of the general traveling public, as we did in the last year with younger travelers 12 and under. in addition to expanding our use

of intelligence, we are using a risk assessment model that drives the airline industry's no crew member effort in other ways. by the end of this month, we will expand the pre czech population to include active- duty u.s. armed forces members of the common access card traveling out of ronald reagan washington national airport. service members will undergo the standard like prescreening and if we can verify the service member is in good standing with the department of defense by scanning their car at the airport, they will likely receive pre check screen benefits, such as removing their shoes or life jackets and allow them to keep their laptop in every case and they are compliant liquids in their carry-on bag. u.s. service members are entrusted to protect and defend our nation and citizens with their lives, and as such, tsa is recognizing that these members pose little risk to aviation security.

as review and by weight effectiveness of these enhancements, is possible that additional changes to security screening process may be implemented in the future as we continue to work toward providing all travelers with the protective security, provided in the most efficient way. of course we will always retain the ability to reincorporate random and unpredictable security measures throughout the airport, and no individual is never guaranteed expedited screening. we appreciate the ongoing support and cooperation of the aviation industry and the traveling public as we strive to continue strengthening transportation security and improving, whenever possible, the overall travel experience for all americans. there are also significant economic benefits to strengthen aviation security, most notably in the area of cargo security and our ability to predict to facilitate the secure movement of goods. the interconnectedness of the global economy requires that each and every link in the global supply chain be as strong

as possible, whether for business or pleasure, the freedom to travel from place to place is fundamental to our way of life. to do so securely is the goal to which everyone at tsa is fully committed. thank you again for inviting me here today. i look forward to taking whatever questions you may have. thank you. [applause] >> you mentioned over presidents' day on how many knives and guns were found. what happens to the people found with guns and knives getting onto planes, and how many of them have malicious intent? >> we believe very few, if any, have malicious intent if you are talking from a terrace perspective. it depends on the local jurisdiction whether they are arrested or cited by the local law enforcement authorities. they are always cited by us for trying to violate the security protocols.

>> what happened to the puffer machines from the airport checkpoint? >> the puffer machines are those machines that were constructed in a push to try to find explosives -- explosive residue on persons. the idea was simply to have somebody walk into the machine and have a puff of air, on them, and then the explosive detection equipment would detect that. what we found is that we did not have sufficient testing done prior to deployment, and basically some fundamental design features, for example the air was brought in from the floor to create that puff, so simple design change would have been much more effective. the decision was made several years ago to not fully deploy

those. the few that had been deployed retaken out of their and put away. re.were taken out of thei >> how you continually monitor the people who are part of the project or trusted traveler program? >> they still go through physical security. someone asked one time about the fort hood shooter and if he had the intent to do something bad on airplane. he is still going through physical screening, albeit a different type, perhaps. so those weapons would be detected. we do recurrent betting against the terrorists green database every day to ensure that no one in that category, and we work with the airlines in terms of additional vetting, which we

don't talk about in detail, because we don't want terrorist to game the system. >> is everyone who feels nervous while traveling now -- >> my daughter is always nervous traveling and we critics obviously not. the but -- the behavior detection officers are trained at looking at those physical manifestations which may be of concern. given my fbi background, i am a firm believer in the benefits of that, but clearly, nervousness in and of itself may just be something like my daughter. >> the perceived threat from the terrorists have changed since 9/11. shifting from the idea of using a plain as the weapon -- does tsa regularly review its

training procedures to adapt to new perceived threats? >> yes, we start every day, the senior leadership team, with an intelligence briefing from around the world, not just the u.s. intelligence community. probably the best example goes back to october 2010 when we learned about the plot coming out of yemen, the two packages with the toner cartridges packed in them. working very closely with the industry and our counterparts overseas, we took a number of steps to shore up security as it relates to cargo, particularly how we could detect such devices that are well designed, well concealed, and then shipped in a way that makes it difficult to detect. so yes, every day, week recalibrate, if you will, looking at what steps we need to incorporate at the checkpoint where passengers or cargo screening.

>> given the increased growth of international trade and movement people, what do you envision as a good cooperation with foreign countries? >> clearly, from a security standpoint, we want to have security for passengers and cargo that is commensurate with what we have here. for those who have traveled overseas, at some airports you will remember it that you went through perhaps a central checkpoint and then an actual gate before you board the plane, you go through another set of security. those are tsa requirements for various reasons, to make sure that every passenger getting on a flight to the u.s. has been thoroughly screened, commensurate with tsa standards. there are over 270 of those last points of departure that lie directly to the u.s.. our challenge is to work with our partners, similar to tsa, and with the industry to make sure that we have the best possible security provided in

the most efficient way. >> currently, how much u.s. downed air cargo is green and passenger airplanes? -- it is difficult to say precisely, but working with industry, we believe perhaps 9% of all cargo on u.s. bound passenger planes is currently being screened, and our goal in working with industry and our regulatory counterparts overseas is to have one errant -- 1 under% of that done by the end of the year through a risk based model similar to what we are doing on passenger train. >> what constitutes high-risk cargo? >> of course, we don't define it, because we don't want to terrorists to go to our website and say this is high risk, so i will do something that is not high risk. for example, if somebody such as the bombers out of yemen 1.5

years ago were shipping computer printers and clothing and books to chicago, and paying $500 in shipping costs, just from an advance cargo information perspective, what somebody be shipping computer printers, which they can buy in chicago for much less than the cost of shipping. in the advance information have helps go into assessing and defining high-risk cargo, and then working closely with the cargo industry, which has the manifest information of to the shipper is, what the type of shipment is. comes down to trying to define and distinguish between known shippers and shipments versus unknown shippers and shipments. >> to talk about mitigating risks rather than eliminating it. how to you balance your decisions against the reduction in real risk? >> the bottom line is, we have

to make sure that everybody who gets on every plane, 29,000 times or so in the u.s. every day, that the have been thoroughly screened so there is not a punitive tariffs on there who is one to blow up that airline. what we are doing with this risk based model is to recognize that the vast majority of people travelling are not terrorists, so how can we afford them some type of expedited physical screening, by doing more prescreening. part of that is based on my background as an fbi agent where any time travel, i flew armed, and would never go through a security screen. the protocol was to go to a predicted the exit lane and find a law enforcement official, have my credentials verify, and then get on the plane armed. we've differentiated between passengers because we knew or trusted them for whatever reason. the idea is the same, just to extend that concept and say we

already know something about people who are willing to share information with us, and we can make judgments and decisions because we have done more prescreening on the front end. >> how can travelers give informed consent to search procedures and the tsa refuses to describe exactly how searches are to be conducted? >> it is taunting situation. we don't want to publish our exact protocols, so an innovative and creative terrorist, as we have seen with the human cargo plot and the attempted plot against the saudi minister, and then of course with the underwear bomber, we don't want to publish exactly what we do so they can look at it and see what they could do. " there was information about

the same terrorist to devise those three devices who were looking at ways to beat our advanced imaging technology machine by doing surgically implanted devices. they would get a passenger on the plane with a surgically implanted device in hopes that are advanced imaging technology would not pick that up. to provide the best possible review possible security while respecting the dignity and privacy of everyone involved. we realize we don't get it right every time, but our goal is to provide the best possible security in the most professional way. that is what we strive for every day. we work toward that, and his the something we welcome feedback from the traveling public. i hear from travelers on a fairly regular basis, and we work with them to try to address their needs. in december, we initiated something called tsa cares, which is a phone number you can

call, especially if you are elderly or have medical conditions which may require different types of screening. it is a hot line. if you call in advance, it gives us the opportunity to work with that particular passenger in a way that we can help expedite their screening process while respecting the privacy and dignity, and ensuring that there is not a terrorist trying to use that person unwittingly for bad reasons. >> the tsa is sometimes in the headlines for reasons that do not relate to catching terrace. a mother in a white was denied entry onto a plan for carrying a breast pump. -- a mother in halothawaii was d entry onto a plane. >> with those millions of

passengers and 450 airports, it is, cellist to provide 100% total customer satisfaction -- it is a challenge to provide total customer satisfaction. many days, we don't do that. there are opportunities for us every day to engage with the public in a way which most agencies or businesses -- i am trying to think of any businesses that have 100% customer satisfaction with that many customers on a daily basis. i am not aware of any government agency that has that record. there may be some businesses out there. it really comes down to, the better informed a passenger can be before they get to the airport, by looking at our website. we have a lot of helpful suggestions and tips on how to pack, how to travel. what we look for, and what are prohibited items, what think you can and cannot take on, and what

can go in your checked bag. a lot of gun owners know that they can take their guns in their checked bag, but there is a protocol for doing that. opinion on where you are, you need to make sure you follow the protocol of the local police and that you declare that weapon appropriately. there are all kinds of subtle nuances that more informed the traveling public and become a better job can do providing effective security. >> following the rules of what you can and cannot take, why can a passenger take on three on10 3-ounce bottles of hair gel but not 110-ounce bottle. >> the limitation on aerosols

and gels goes back to when the group of terrorists in the united kingdom actually took a sports drinks and drilled to bottom out of the sports drinks, drain the dow -- drained it out, and filled with liquid explosives. the whole purpose was, when two types of liquid explosive would have been combined on the plane, it would have caused an explosion. so that is what we are dealing with, we know that in certain amounts, that terrorists can combine those in a way that would potentially cause a catastrophic event on an aircraft. where we look at multiple small items, it becomes an issue of how effective is that, if they are the equivalency of the same larger amounts, but there has to

be some point where we look as much at the person as the items they are carrying. part of that means -- that is where prescreening and behavior detection comes in. there is a whole list of prohibited items, which some of them make a lot of sense, some we are revisiting to see whether they do make sense as we further deploy this risk-based security model. again, there are a lot of challenges and opportunities in that regard. >> how do you justify the tsa having more than 65,000 employees, more than the department's day, the part of energy, department of labor and energy combined? in this day of calling for less government infringement on our lives. >> the bottom line is this is a huge job to provide the transportation security and work

with our state and local partners in mass transit, rail, over the road buses, microsystems. there are multiple times millions more people travelling on subways, trains, and buses every day than in planes. that is not the primary responsibility of tsa. that was part of the enabling legislation that congress passed, to say you need to be responsible for all modes of transportation security. how'd we do that? in terms of efficiency, yes, we have tens of thousands of employees. 24% of those are veterans, people who served in the armed forces. over 14,000 of our security screeners at airports are part time, because for those of you travel regularly, you know that in the early morning there is a

rush hour and in the afternoon there is a rush hour. rather than having people on full-time status throughout the course of the day, from an efficiency model, we have a number of part-time people in the morning and the same thing at the afternoon at the largest airports. we try to find the exact staffing model that makes sense to provide the most security in the most efficient way. >> if you were fully granted your wish list, how much better with your budget become and how to allocate the extra money? >> i testified last week and we are asking 200 moving dollars less than we did last year, so that is my official statement. obviously, i think we are well sawdust right now. i think there are some additional things we could do if

the administration and congress wished us to do that, particularly in surface transportation, more internationally, especially on the cargo side. i can also see the possibility of some efficiencies and savings through this risk based security model. in the out years, we will be interested in seeing what the metric star, to see whether we might be a will to achieve some new efficiencies. >> is there still a place for air marshals, and are they good use of taxpayer dollars? >> i am a firm proponent of the federal air marshals. obviously they provide a believe me, that extra layer of security, that in the case that individual who has not come up on anyone's radar, if somebody has ill intent for an aircraft and someone is able to go on line and learn to construct a

device similar to what we saw on christmas day 2009, a nonmetallic bomb that could bring down an aircraft, and that person has not been detected by anybody, whether through the task force of state and local police, nobody has come up on anything in the person is able to get through a metal detector i see them as a valuable asset over multiple layers of security. even if they are not air marshals on a particular flight, terrorist see that as a

deterrent. we are fortunate to have a number of pilots that are also armed. even if there is not a federal marshal on board, it is possible there would be an armed pilots on board. peter thinks the campaign is working? >> -- do you think the campaign is working? >> i think it is something that we saw with the times square bomber. the vendor saw something suspicious and reported it. that is incumbent upon all of us to say if there is something that seems out of whack and i have concerns about this person for this event, it makes sense to let the authorities looked into it and resolve those concerns. as far as identifying particular

terrorists, i know from my fbi experience that a number of investigations were initiated based on that same principle. somebody is doing something suspicious and i am concerned they may be planning something that is not good. there is clearly value and the public being aware of what is going on and reporting at. >> does tsa have any procedures in place of responding to a biological weapon on an airplane? >> there are a number of protocols that have been practiced. i've will not go into details, but the short answer is yes. depending on what the type of toxic or poison may be, with different levels of the

effectiveness. the short answer is yes. >> most people think of tsa as an airline passenger screener. can you tell me more about the viper team? >> it is based on the premise that terrorists are deterred by two or three primary things. one is law enforcement, a k-9 teams, and cctv. we know from the london attack that if they are suicide bombers, the cctv is not effective. we saw some of the bombers in london before they went into the london tube looked up at the cctv as if to say, in 10 minutes, i will be dead. does it is a testimonial to that

person suicide mission. for those who want to do something in terms of leaving a bomb or something like that, we know the cctv can be effective. armed officers and canines are good deterrence. the whole purpose of the viper team are to try to throw off the terrorists. in terms of law enforcement comment they say, ok, next tuesday, we will try it again. the third tuesday at 10:00, on that tuesday, there is 18. -- there is a team. it is always involving the local

police authority. it is designed to be visible deterrent to any terrorist. >> what is being done to be more open about how to manage the no- fly list? >> the no-fly list is based on intelligence that has been provided to some other component of the u.s. government. or to our foreign counterparts. if you are on a no-fly list, there is information about that you are a potential threat to aviation. that is the reason for denying you the privilege of flying. there are others who would receive the additional scrutiny

because the derogatory information about them. only people where there is some derogatory information about from a credible source is on the list. the lack of transparency gives to the point of revealing what the derogatory information is. in some instances, the government needs to protect sources and methods of collection of that information. in some instances, that is the case. to provide that intelligence in a public forum or to the individual, would be seen as detrimental to the national security. that is the background on it and that is the reason why we have these intelligence briefings every day. we look at the next several days in terms of who are no-fly individuals who are wanting to fly and two are known -- who

will receive additional scrutiny. to see if there are patterns or groupings of people that we should be focused on. >> over 500 screeners have been arrested for stealing from passengers. do you see this as a security flawed? -- flaw? >> i am not sure where the 500 number comes from. there have been a number of employees arrested for theft. it has been a problem. it is also a security concern and that is why we use cctv extensively to inshore the protection it -- to ensure the protection of the security office and to deter theft in

those instances. we have been able to rebut allegations by going to the m cctv and showing exactly what the security officer dead. when we do have a credible -- what the security officer did. we have taken steps to have those individuals fired and prosecuted. >> what are your reasons for favoring using government security officers at airports over the privatization proposal? >> we have the private security regiment setup prior to 9/11. tsa was created for the core purpose of preventing another 9/11. philosophically, at its core, i see it as a u.s. government run organization.

there are benefits of doing that that have been discussed. what has also been one of the issues for me is from a cost perspective, up until this point, to have a privatized airports has cost more for the u.s. taxpayers because they are still paying the cost of a privatized screening. screener still have to follow the same protocols that we use every other airport. that is one of the reasons why we have not seen that many airports actually apply. we have 16 currently being run as privatized workforces. san francisco is the largest. we have had two new airports of license -- apply seince the faa authorization bill. we will work closely with the congress. >> do you worry that urging the

public to report subsist -- suspicious behavior can cause paranoia? >> i am not worried about that. if somebody is predisposed to that, that may feedback. it is just common sense. if people are aware that there is some action that can be taken the did the other side of that, once in awhile, fbi and other agencies will get poison pen letters. somebody is wanting to be smart somebody else's reputation. they will say, this person is going to try to get on the skirt -- this aircraft and they are a terrorist. he looked into that and that is not the case. the person who made the allegation is charged with a criminal offense. it is just common sense.

let's all work together as opposed to it is just the government's responsibility to do this. we each share a common goal of providing the most effective security transportation. we want to get it from here to there safely. let's just do that. >> what work is perhaps tsa doing with highway transportation? >> we work closely with the over the road buses, which carry millions of people every day. we also work with the commercial truck drivers, and those who have a hazardous materials endorsement because of concern over what a terrorist may do with the hazardous material. we work with them to strengthen their security protocol. where we have grant funding

available, we try to address the highest vulnerability areas. we have some regulatory authority for who is working, for example, as commercial drivers, and we work closely with the industry to make sure their workers have then that it -- vetted against the terrorist screening database. >> we are almost out of time. i have a couple of housekeeping matters to take care of. i would like to remind you all some upcoming luncheon speakers. on march 14, we have former president of patrick kennedy to talk about the mental health. the act. -- parity act.

the commissioner of the internal revenue service. i would like to present our guest with the traditional press club small tmugs. it holds more than 3 ounces of liquid. have you ever had to be submitted to a packed down -- pat-down when going through airport security? >> multiple times. one of my recent international trips, i was transiting through a well-known western european hub and when the metal detector and the alarm went off. they said, over here, sir. they did not know who i was. i received a thorough pat-down. it made me stand up straight. [laughter] >> how about a round of applause

for our speaker today? [applause] thank you for coming. i would also like to thank the national press club staff and the broadcast center for organizing today's event. here as a reminder that you can find more information about the national press club on our website. if you would like to get a copy of today's program, check out our website. thank you for attending. we are adjourned. >> tonight, the american public affairs committee continues its annual policy conference. we will show you live remarks from mitch mcconnell. nancy pelosi and benjamin

netanyahu. that starts tonight at 9:30 on c-span2. right now, we are waiting for the u.s. house. they should return at about 5:00 eastern time. for debate on bills that named post officers in florida and new york. votes will happen at about 6:30. later this week, a look at a couple of bills that would authorize, and would facilities to be developed for hydropower. another measure that would phase in regulatory requirements for companies that go public. watch super tuesday election results tomorrow night. while you watch, use our second screened what page with your tablets or laptop computer.

you can also monitor our blog, or you'll be posting super tuesday program information and news stories. c-span.org/screen2. >> i know it is very popular to want to create a cyber security to oversee this. i think that is folly. the adversary we are dealing with this is becoming more sophisticated. we talk about the advance of persistent threats. >> how real is the threats? cyber securities executives on how to handle the threats the government and business communications networks. tonight at 8:00 on c-span2. >> a look at women's issues being debated during this election year. this is 45 minutes.

this 2012 election not only is going to be a year of historic races with women candidates in them but i really do believe that this is going to be a cycle that is determined by women voters that are going to stand up and vote against these outrageous republicans. host: tell us how the dialogue has changed over the last couple weeks?

we heard so much focus on economic policy, the future of the american economy. there's been a shift in focus towards social issues. the white house decision on contraception. and something about abortion. how was that playing out? guest: very interesting. i would say women in this country, we want to talk about the economy, we want to hear about jobs, that's the number- one priority facing americans today. what we have seen and not really in just the last month but in the last year is a republican party that has really stepped up the debate on social issues, defending planned parenthood and the contraception issued. it's been nonstop. in the last few weeks it has really picked up. what we are seeing at emily's list and what our campaigns are seeing around the country is that this is not what women voters are interested in. everybody is concerned about the economy, but they are also not putting up with it.

it's not the conversation we want to have. these are women across the country who support access to birth control and support planned parenthood. republicans keep on this path, we will continue to energize women voters this november. host: let's look emily's list pac campaign contributions in 2012. total receipts, over $15 million have come in. and dallas about the money coming in. and the money in. guest: absolutely. emily's list has doubled in size in the last year. we just crossed over 1 million members. those members across the country have really stepped up in giving. a $50 contribution or a $100 contribution, we have seen an increase of money going directly to our candidates.

much of what emily's list does is we are a national network of women and men who care about electing pro-choice democratic women. in that, much of our support goes directly to campaigns. we call it bundling. we get $200 checks directly to the campaigns. that has also increased this year. we expect that to continue all through 2012. host: as far as some of the candidates emily's list is especially excited about that you are pouring money into the races of. guest: the list is longer and longer. we are working with 11 specifically. mazie hirono, congresswoman in ohio running a great race to elizabeth warren in massachusetts.

and tammy baldwin. the list goes on. to step back, it is a group of women, and a store number of women stepping up to make this an historic year for democratic women. it is a narrative about how important it is to get women in the house of representatives in the you -- and in the u.s. senate. women only represent 17% of congress today. let's think about that. that's one in six members of congress are women today. we feel that must change, that we have a great opportunity in 2012 to make that change. we know that when we do, when we get more women in their -- in fact some day when we truly have an equal number of women and men sitting at the decision making table it is that day that we will get the best policies for the bulk of americans. host: a tweet -- guest: emily's list' mission is

clear. we support pro-choice democratic women and have fro 27 years. we have elected 15 u.s. senators and 87 members to the house of representatives and hundreds and hundreds of democratic women across the country. our focus has we did it is where our focus has been. i would like to see more women across the board. our focus is pro-choice democratic women. host: a recent story is about another group that is working on women's issues. this is from the republican perspective. what do you think about this? guest: we need more women to run

across the board. i certainly hope that we see more republican women, but i have to say we have to see more pro-choice republican women. when emily's list started 27 years ago, which started as an organization dedicated to electing pro-choice democratic women, there were so many pro- choice republican women at the same time. now we have seen the republican party move to the right so much that those moderate republican women really have no place to succeed in their party. and so, we say come on over to us and you can work with us in this endeavor. i can say that i am very excited about the number of women that the democrats have running right now. we have been working with 11 senate candidates. already 20 house candidates.

with another 20 possibly coming on line in just the next few months. we have a really good cycle building and we need to help these women, because we need the cha -- need to change the dynamic in washington. the time is now. host: we are talking about women's issues in campaign 2012. a tweet -- if you would like to join the conversation, here are the numbers to call -- let's take mark's call in washington, d.c., in the penn line. caller: hi, i wanted to know of your organization is going to do anything concerning the comments from rush limbaugh, because i think what he's said on the radio was truly insulting to women. if he is allowed to say that, i

think it sets the women's movement back. i remember when trent lott, the company said about black people in the south and then in d.c. there was a disc jockey who said something about martin luther king. he was taken off the air. i wondered if this could happen to rush limbaugh. this might be the only time you have a chance to do this. i wonder if you'll take advantage of the opportunity. host: stephanie schriock. guest: i certainly hope that this ends up with rush limbaugh off the air. his statements last week about a student at georgetown university and women in general was disgusting, insulting, and

inappropriate in any political discourse in any society. i am happy to see that a number of companies who once sponsor the show have been walking away. i ask all companies who are involved in sponsoring his show to walk away. anyone who has a daughter or a wife or a mother should be discussed by his statements. i certainly hope that everybody just walks away from his show. enough is enough. there's no place in our dialogue for this. kind of this host: here's a story -- majority leader republican in the house representing virginia weighing in on the debate over the white house rule on contraception and whether or not

religious organizations should cover it. [video] >> it's about the administration saying to the catholic church that we know what your faith holds and you have to abide by that. it's about like saying to those of us in the jewish faith that we know what the laws of being culture means and we will tell you what that means. that's not who we are in this country. that's why the rule has no place in american politics. again, i think it is very important that we uphold the tenants of religious freedom. it is at the core of who we are as a country. host: that was yesterday. david gregory had asked if he sees the other side of the issue, does he see this as a women's rights issue rather than a religious rights issue?

stephanie schriock, do you see the conversation as being about religion as well as that it's about women's rights? guest: i think it is absolutely about our freedom. and as americans we have the right to believe in what we want to believe. we have the freedom to do what we need to do it. as women in this country that means we should be able to believe what we want and we should be able to have access to the necessary help care that is going to give us all the ability and opportunity to succeed in our lives. this is a core principle. this conversation is a core principle about american democracy. it is about individual freedom and freedom to do what we need to do across the board. i think this discussion would look incredibly different if we had many, many more women in the house and the senate. i think about the day when the house hearing occurred that

congressman darrell issa had and that you probably saw where there were five men on a panel to discuss contraception for women. that is not going to happen when there's an equal number of women and men in the u.s. house. it is something emily's list is working on every cycle and feel like this year in particular is one where we can get a lot more women elected and we need their voices. host: let's go to ed, democratic caller in manhattan, kansas. caller: good morning. i have to agree with the young lady. i don't understand the way that these republicans can in the name of religion and christ tell people how to run their lives. i feel like if they want to keep the women back in the 1930's, a slave to the kitchen and being barefoot and pregnant.

i just wonder if they feel the same way about the contraception issue for men? viagra and that sort of thing. guest: it is an interesting point. these debates continue to be incredibly one-sided. as you have put it, it's about the place of women. i think the vast majority of americans agree that there is equality among women and men and that women should have equal opportunity and the ability to make all the choices they need to make in their lives and that this is not the time to send women back 50 or 60 or 70 years into the kitchen. and i am concerned about the discourse that has been going on particularly in the republican party right up through the presidential nomination. again, as i look at 2012, not

only are women and men like yourself engaging in this and saying where are we going, we also know that one of the ways to stop this kind of debate so we can focus on the economy and getting more jobs is really truly to elect more women. if we had more women sitting in the senate's plan to house right now, i really think this discussion and would look very different. i am not entirely sure we would be having this debate. the: let's look at some of money emily's list is contributing to campaigns throughout the country. contributed $39,000 to federal candidates.

why are some of these candidates appealing to emily's list? guest: our mission is to elect pro-choice democratic women. all the races you just mentioned -- that is just a snapshot of what we do -- are all incredibly important as we try to change the dynamics and make washington work again. if you just spoke about the contributions were made to these candidates. the way emily's list works, is that is one of the smallest things we do for these candidates. what we really do is go out to our network of over 1 million members. if you would like to join, we ask our members to make contributions directly to those candidates. we may send a $5,000 pac check, but we raise tens of thousands

or hundreds of thousand dollars to help these women get started, get organized. you mentioned suzanne. she is the recently elected congresswoman from oregon. we were with her sitting around a kitchen table talking about how that race was going to go before the ship that in the race. we stuck with her as an organization until the very last vote was counted. our women vote independent are also went out and was involved. we are happy to have her in the house and hoped to repeat that in november. host: a tweeet -- guest: interesting question.

one thing about citizens united, it will cause chaos in all these races. men and women are going to have to deal with this in ways that we hate to see. it has opened up the floodgates of unregulated contributions from sources that we may not even know about. so what i tell our women candidates, this store number that are willing to step up this year in this environment, is that we have your back. we tried to do everything we can to give as much money into the hands of the candidates so they have the ability to tell their story and dr. cook to the voters. at the end of the day, that's the most important thing. these big organizations that are going to be spending it sounds like hundreds of millions of dollars and karl rove keeps talking about an american crossroads and we are hoping that our candidates will have the resources that they need to get their message out to the

voters. voters across the country, i believe, are going to see through all of this big spending and look directly at who the candidates are. host: steve is in baltimore, republican. caller: my wife and i talk about politics all the time. both of us are republicans. the thing that both of us are frustrated about it is a couple years ago when obama was hammering through congress is health care reform, the republicans were not able to really speak about anything because they had the house and the senate. now that the republicans have the house and we want to start talking about changing part of the health care bill, not totally get rid of it, but changing it, we are looked at as the bad guy, people saying they are anti-women, anti this or that.

i am in my mid 40's and she's in her early 40's. we have two kids that are two and six months, none of which was ever denied by our insurance company. it is just democrats are hammering through with anti- women's rights. no. we are trying to fix women's rights. guest: i'm glad that you have had good health care. that's important. that is what we are hoping every woman in every family across the country has. i have had friends that have had health insurance and ended up

getting pregnant but did not have maternity coverage and therefore was denied maternity coverage for her baby. ever situation is different. i think all americans want to ensure that everybody has the same coverage that your family has. i think what happened is when the republicans did take over the house, the first thing they did was not to maybe make some changes around the edges. unfortunately, the first thing they try to do was repeal the whole health care bill. i think that set us all off on the wrong path. this health care reform really did open up the opportunity for women to get coverage across the board. as nancy pelosi said, it ended the era of women being a pre- existing condition. that is a huge thing for all women across the country and something that is incredibly important that we maintain. i look at our women members of congress that emily's list has supported over the years.

congresswoman jackie spear of california, and a congresswoman from wisconsin, during the debates and even last year during the debates on whether or not we should make changes, they were there to share their very personal stories of motherhood, of trying to get pregnant, of dealing with pregnancies. i can say we absolutely need more of those voices so we ensure that policies we end up with in this country really do balance the needs of the entire family, women, men, and our children. we have a lot of work to do. host: stephanie schriock, president of emily's list. white house initial decision on contraception and how it should be covered by religious- affiliated organization has changed. they amended its zero insurance

companies would cover that cost. were you ok with a compromise? do you think the white house has done enough for the issues you? care you guest: president obama and the white house have been very good on issues smattering to women and families across the country since the moment he got in. there was the living ledbetter act, which was about allowing women to fight for pay equity under obama. this has been -- this administration has been very pro-women. i am proud of the president and the administration. on the contraception decision, the most important thing was to ensure that all women across this country were going to have access to contraception, for the birth control they needed. this compromise, to me and i think the woman across the country, makes a lot of sense. most important thing is to make sure women have access to this. i think about the women that we

work with in the senate. senator patty murray and senator barbara boxer, who were so strong in the debate to ensure that women across the country have all the opportunities and choices they needed in their health care system. they need. some need if we have five new members of the u.s. senate who are pro-choice democratic women, policies are only going to get better for women and families in this country. host: independent line, california, lori. caller: i am proud represented by barbara boxer. i am a mother and grandmother. i'm so pleased with her. i believe rush limbaugh will go the way of howard stern. i was working in obgyn 20 years.

the birth control pill is used for so many other things regarding women's health. it is used to regulate the menstrual cycle, if it's used to help with hormone stabilization and used to treat some tumors. it is used for so many other things. i think it is funny if that these gentlemen think that you can just take a birth control pill one day and suddenly you are not able to have children. as if viagra -- also when a woman is on the pill, imagine a woman who was on welfare, my daughter for a time had to receive public assistance and she did not want to have

children while on public assistance to, so she turned to the birth control pill to prevent unwanted pregnancy, because she cannot afford to have them. i just wanted to say thank you very much for your assistance on this issue. guest: you think about the debate is happening in the house and the senate. you really do start thinking, at these conversations are going to be really different when there are more women in these debates. the u.s. congress is only 17% women now. what is missing from so many of these conversations is exactly this story. what it means for women to have access to a full range of health care. it is not just about birth control. there are so many other reasons for women to have access to the birth control pill. it is about health care, the

economy, about what women need to do to protect their families. i am with you. sometimes i wonder where these conversations are going. when there is an equal number of women and men at the table, sharing their personal stories, this debate is going to look different and the future. list was putting out an advertising blitz. has this been good for your organization?

we have seen record growth in the last year. women and men are stepping up and saying this debate should not be happening. it happened 30 years ago. we need to focus on what is important for our families. up why emily's list went with the advertisement to show that yes, there are really wonderful when men in the house and senate. yes, in 2012, we saw a house hearing with a panel of only men. where are the women's voices? it is up for all of us across the country to stand up and say, we need an equal number of women and men at the table. did did that, we have to elect more pro-choice democratic women. in 2012, we have a great

opportunity to make significant gains in the house and senate. i think about the number of women running for the house. a police chief in florida is looking to run in a house seat in orlando. these are women who will bring us strong points of view and experiences that are not there right now. that is what we need to do to change congress, to get us back on track. instead of the debate we're having right now. it looks like a debate that we had in the 1950's. there is no place for that. it is 2012. host: john joins us from albuquerque, new mexico. caller: good morning.

i am enjoying the show. it seems a fundamental dishonesty with the republicans. it does no good to look to the past, but every election cycle, i have a complaint letter against rush limbaugh. he insulted the president's mother. he insulted every black person in this country. our local radio station played those parody's. host: some of our tweeters are talking about a bill marr. he made comments about sarah palin. is that what rush limbaugh did?

caller: you cannot help but if you are born black or born a woman. i am going to facebook right now to have rush limbaugh removed from the airwaves. i am of the opinion that rush limbaugh has so much money, he can keep this thing in court for two or three election cycles. host: is that similar? guest: there is no place for this kind of dialogue.

i would argue that in the case of rush limbaugh, he has gone so far. he has done very little to get himself out of it. i was so insulted by the first round of statements. i was shocked that he doubled down the next day. instead of having an apology, he threw something up on his blog over the weekend. this is on an american airwaves. it is enough. he has been doing this for years and now he is insulting 51% of the population. our daughters, mothers, grandmothers. it is unacceptable. i certainly hope that he is done. the best way to do that is for

all of us to join together to say, it needs to end. everybody has to focus on their pieces, but right now, rush limbaugh continues on the american airwaves. we have to pull back and walk away from that. absolutely. host: hbo was different? guest: there has been a long history of what rush limbaugh has been doing. we keep having the same conversation about rush limbaugh. i think he has gone so much further. it has been outrageous. david, a's hear from republican in detroit. caller: bill maher, the term

used against sarah palin is disgusting. he pretty much double down on it this weekend. host: you do not not have to tell us what the word. caller: he double down because he does not have sponsors. there was no outrage from lemon. there was no average from the left. -- from whomen. there was no outrage from the left. host: let's ask. guest: there is no place in the discourse for any of this. there is -- there should be a demand for apologies and everybody should be held

responsible. he also had an apology. we all need to hold these folks responsible. there is no place for that. you just listed off -- is this just another example of why we need more women involved in all of this? it is a lot more difficult to make this kind of statement if you are sitting at a table with a woman across from you. the entire dialogue says to me and to a lot of men who care about this, too, you really do need to work to change this political dialogue. one of the best ways to change it is to involve more women in the process. the first place to do that is by

electing more women. collecting more women to the house of representatives, the united states -- electing more women to the house of representatives, the united states senate. i really do believe that emily's list, as the work with an historic number of women, we have an opportunity to make great change, november. host: amanda is an ohio, independent line. are you involved in super tuesday? caller: i cannot wait. ron paul. with all due respect, you are being very disingenuous. rush limbaugh is an american citizen, the same as you and died. -- yu and i -- you and i.

that have the right to practice my religion. you keep referring to this as america. the last time i checked, the supreme court said that nazis have a right to say what they want to. but republican women to not have a seat at emily's table? look what you have done to any conservative woman. guest: we focus on electing democratic women. non emily's list started, democratic women had won a seat and the united states senate. that was only 27 years ago. across the board, we need more women to run. we need more republican women to run. i call on all women to find a way to run for office today.

are really do believe that when there is more women at the table, we will end up in a much better dialogue. i absolutely think that is the case. does emily's list often disagree with our republican women counterparts on policy issues? we do. but i do believe that more women across the board involved in politics is going to help this country. i am concerned that the republican party right now has moved so far out of the mainstream, a lot of good strong republican women who used to be really involved do not have a home right now. i look at what just happened in the maine. i really do think that as an american woman, it

is a loss for this country to have her retire. her voice, as a moderate, was incredibly important, and we need to find some more like her. caller: i want to mention, stephanie, that it has been upsetting to me that alcohol and beer has been raised to 5.9, is otherwise stated. 7.9. host: what does that have to do with the topic at hand? caller: domestic violence against women. host: other issues, alcohol content can contribute to problems.

is that anything you guys are involved with that all? guest: not specifically. i cannot really address the points of that question. i do believe that as we work to elect more pro-choice democratic women, you end up with a variety of views that we are missing right now. discussion points will be brought up in much different ways. host: north carolina, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for taking my call. i have some comments. i will agree with this lady on one point. we do need some more women and we need some conservative women in congress. we do not need any more women like nancy pelosi or barbara boxer. the new conservative women. host: have you thought about running for office? caller: i would really like to.

since i retired, i watched c- span all the time. i know what is going on in this country. i watched the hearing with the palace and the democrats have been so deceptive. i heard mrs. boxer did on the floor and said there were no women on the panel. she even showed a picture. they had to paddles and there were no women on the first panel. on the second panel, there were two women. guest: is the major panel had no women on it. he saw the picture. they're talking about women's health care. i do not think -- that would not happen if there were more conservative women on that committee. i hope you consider running. i do think we need more women to step up and run for office.

is focused on electing pro-choice democratic women. we've had good success, but i am hoping for better success. on the democratic side, we have seen an historic number of democratic candidates step and not to run across the country. -- stepped up to run across the country. stepping up to say it is time to change the dynamics of the united states senate. that is what we need to be doing. --t: one last wtweet one final article. certain list owns states. this is a story i am looking at from san jose. the report -- "who owns your

member of congress?' you expect something in return? -- do you expect something in return? guest: we just want to elect more pro-choice democratic women. that is our job. we do not lobby, we do not we're not an advocacy organization, we are about campaigns and elections. we helped recruit, train women candidates. we helped build the staff around those campaigns. we help advise and counsel as the campaigns go to the elections. we ask our membership to help fund those campaigns. on election night, we will sit