crimes. so whatever needs to be changed in the process, i hope you will give all of us that have expressed an interest in it a list so we can put a little more teeth into the punishment when people systemically a fraud that government. i want to move to the gentleman from california about in cic. ncic has arrests that don't result in convictions. it is other information that law enforcement may have an interest in seeing. but they're not convictions. but the remedy is very easy because schools do it in churches do at attend afterschool programs do it. just have one ncic trained operator on site, and then reject the non-convictions. the notion that we can do background checks on people who want to do business with the

government, people do them all the time. for schools, churches, everyone does it. redacting information, go to a law enforcement agency that does track convictions, go to the clerk of courts office, there's a way to get that information other than ncic. and is a need an exception to ncic, for government agencies that are looking at fraud, i can't speak for the gentleman from maryland but i will be happy. to do that, and adobe law enforcement would resist it one bit. ms. fong, you mentioned a 50% conviction rate. i would have been run out of office if i had a 50% conviction rate, and i don't think mr. cummings would have been hired as often if he had one. that strikes me as a low conviction rate. is it because you're negotiating a civil punishment instead of a criminal punishment?

does the statute needs to be changed? what needs to be done so we don't swing and miss half the time? >> let me take a look at that data, because i want to make sure that i get to the right percentage, and i will provide that for the record. and when we do that we will also provide you with our insights on the. >> all right. and my final question for you is this. if i wrote the numbers down by, you said there are 900 cases, 600 of which are gives retailers. i think your energies and efforts should be directed towards retailers, what not to the total exclusion of individuals who are providing a market, if you will, for this kind of fraud. so what do your numbers look like on prosecuting individuals who either sell their cards for cash, or otherwise engage in fraudulent activity? >> let me just generally address the approach that we take on

law-enforcement. we focus our efforts on the retailers, he goes when we go to the u.s. attorneys offices for federal prosecutions, they have certain thresholds for prosecution which involve dollar amounts, et cetera. and so the dollar amounts tend to be on the retailers decide which is much higher. when it appears there are recipients involves as there usually are, we partner with the states, the state prosecutors, because those tend to be violations of state and local laws. and so are most effective approaches are when we do joint work, where we take the retailers to the federal prosecutors, the state prosecutors worked on of the individual recipients and we can approach all of those as a global kind of approached. >> that sounds like a perfect match but if you're going to need witnesses against the retailers and sometimes the recipients make very good witnesses. with that the gentleman from massachusetts. >> thank you very much, mr.

chairman. this is exactly the type of oversight we need to be doing up rogue rounds. if we're going to programs were everybody agrees we need to reduce hunger and we agree that fraud can't be allowed, have the public support behind, this is a good thing for this committee to be doing on that basis. in my district, we have a lot of tremendous groups working very, very hard to try to reduce hunger. we've seen a 40% increase in people accessing kitchens, soup kitchens and pantries with the economy the way it is. it's been very, very difficult for them. massachusetts is the only state on the web as a line item for this type of issue under the mask emergency food assistance program. so all of my folks, 20% cut s.n.a.p. program, it's panic. they want to make sure that fraud isn't an issue as well but they want to make sure that they have the resources to want to hear the note of 4% down to as low as 1% on fraud, 20% cut in the budget, i understand why they're looking that way. you know, we have about 15,000

people in our district that benefit from these programs. i guess 35% of them have a household member over 60. 41 plus person like have a house member under 18. we're talking seniors and children. so it's important we get this right. julie fontaine who does art open door program, they serve about 5400 families. about 2200 families on that, but do we have bootstraps, a lot of people working very hard on the. we need to know that we're focusing, and this is a situation we have to do. but i do make the know, you know, this committee has a broader portfolio on the subcommittee which i sit. we've been looking at contracts in afghanistan and i just noted on food service, a subcommittee chairmen to have a hearing on the. we just reason a situation where the defense logistics agency thought that they were overpaying the food is triggered in afghanistan $787 million have

asked for the money back. that a serious, serious money. i'm impressed, mr. concannon, that you will continue work on this and your numbers are getting a debit we need to do it right across the board on that because we can't allow it to happen. folks here, what i'm hearing is you think you have got and well below 4%, maybe as low as 1%, is that correct? and you are trying to get all the new permutations of the people -- do have a new website? >> we have a new website. later this spring we will be promulgated regulations that have increased the financial penalties when a source taken out of the program and it is sold to a new owner. i have been interested in increasing the financial penalties so people don't use it well, it was the cost of doing business, i'll flip the store. so we continue to add layers. >> how did you attack than? >> we have notified, that's the inspector general was talk about new types of fraud.

that's an example. we've had several examples that way. recently, and we have written craigslist comes on the other social media sites, but we have also amended our regulations. so even a simple intent, the express intent to sell your benefits constitute a violation. we consider that trafficking. you'll be out of the program. >> you try to increase some of the fines, things of that major? >> we have indeed. we have strengthened against requirements and to look for in a variety of, for example, tax. these are particularly from stores to the earlier comments that were made, on looking for additional corroborating information beyond what we have traditionally sought. and especially so in locations where we have had prior issues. these kind of issues of trafficking tend to congregate in the same locations. so we want those spots get moved up on our high-risk profiles.

but we also want to make sure that we are exhausting every of able source of information to us. >> on the debarment issue, that contract in afghanistan those overcharge $787 million, he is still operate on a single source contractor didn't have to compete for the contract and they're still in business so i know you're efforts of deporting people is important to this committee. and moving put on that i hope that you do perceive it but i'm hearing from pat baker does our mass lottery from secured in a very good job, and they're adamant to work with you on that. but people are clever and they keep coming up with different ways. one of the ones they've noticed recently, they're finding some women who are supporting their children on this are being threatened. sometimes even physically attacked by people to get them to turn over the electronic card. are you addressing that issue at all?

>> that would be the kind of incident where we have a number of partnerships with what we call state law enforcement bureaus as well. and we would have wanted to know about that because that absolutely is the worst kind of extortion. so we would want to work closely as inspector general faulkner mention. we work very closely with state agencies and a variety of things, but that would be horrific. would be happy to pursue that. >> thank you all. i think it's important work that you are there. thank you, mrthank you, mr. cha. >> i thank the gentleman from massachusetts. i apologize to the gentleman from virginia and texas. i got the order out of whack so i will now recognize the gentleman from virginia as i should have, and then the gentleman from texas. >> mr. chairman, thank you. no need for apologies. i know the pressure sitting in that chair. but you're always gracious and i thank you. mr. concannon, i'm old enough to remember some groundbreaking

books, like let there be promises, and the other america. and a groundbreaking work done by dennis its congress, especially by then senator george mcgovern, bipartisan basin within senator bob dole. to establish a food stamp program to address a pervasive problem of hunger and meditation in the united states. has the food stamp program in fact successfully address hunger and meditation in the trainings because i believe the food stamp program has been one of the most effective first line efforts to reduce hunger in the country. and it also has reduced poverty. we know even the census bureau in the last year pointed out that last year alone, 4 million additional americans would have sunk below the poverty line, absent the food stamp program. as has been mentioned here

today, almost half, 47%, of beneficiaries of food stamps our children, another 8% our senior citizens over 60. about 20% of households have a person with disabilities. and increasingly these days, the foods that program and serving households in which 41% of the household members live in a household where one of the adults is arne, that is, is in the work force. and i refer to that group of beneficiaries as in often many faces of s.n.a.p. these are folks who have been displaced in this difficult economy. they may not be getting as many hours at their work comes so it is really important that the s.n.a.p. program be responsive. across the country s.n.a.p. is now serving 72% of the eligibles in the country. and that reflects, that has been moving upwards from in the mid '50s, then the mid '60s, now 72%. we are serving more than 90% of

the eligible children across the country. there are few states that are still far below the rest of the country that we continue to dialogue with and work closely with. but the program really is responding, as they should, to the needs of folks in this country, is the most inclusive of both state and federal feeding programs. >> so if i understand your testimony, in the 40 push yourself we started this program it has in fact achieved its desired results in reducing hunger, malnutrition in rural and parts of urban america as well as reducing the poverty rate in the united states? >> yes, indeed. there's a measure the federal government use that we publish reports on annually, food insecurity. we have data that points to the impacts of the food stamp program as it is still known, about 20 -- >> what percentage of food stamp recipients are children?

>> 47%. >> and that translates into how many people? >> there are 46 million people, so in round figures -- >> million children. it's too bad the tide of this hearing is food stamp fraud as a business model. usda struggle to police store owners but it seems to suggest or one could infer from that title that we've already prejudge the case, apparently fraud is rampant to a kind of begs the question on the purpose and original mission of this program, and was it in fact has achieved that mission or some fraud that has to be stamped out not withstanding. but let me ask you a question. given the title what percentage of s.n.a.p. funds were improperly issued last year? this committee, subcommittee i sit on has looked at improper payments. what percentage of the federal program has been classified as improper payments to? >> last year we achieved record low.

we instead, i should point out we were closer, all of our benefits are extended through states, and we achieved an improper payment rate of three-point 81% to about 3% of that was overpayments, and just under 1% of that was under payments, meaning the beneficiary based on his or her income or household income, 3% of them received more than they should have. less than 1% received less. this is part of our quality control effort. >> mr. chairman, your pitch hitter as chairman offered to give me one extra minute, i think. >> he is so much kinder than i would be. >> i lucked out, mr. chairman, batch right. so i would ask the chair to honor that request. 3.8% roughly of improper payments. to all of that was not fraud? >> correct. >> what percentage of fraud against the rest of fraud figure

we have is 1% stake have we reduced over the last decade? >> that is one of the charts i think we handed out. we have reduced it considerably over the past decade, and continue to focus on it as well as reducing fraud in the program. >> so it's good that this committee is having this hearing to absolute highlight there are still problems. we have to get, agriculture always be to get dizzy or. but let's not overstate the problems and let's not lose sight of the mission. especially at budget time when some people might be thinking of $100 billion cut in the program. ms. fong, you mentioned to us that you still think that mr. concannon's operation still do a better job of department and suspension, corrects? >> that's correct. >> mr. concannon, could you address that come in my final question? >> as i speak in your second overrun minute. go ahead, please. >> i mentioned earlier that we believe that the approach that we take of moving people out of

the program immediately is a more effective way, and two, most of the beneficiaries, stores i should say that we're concerned with, don't do other business with the federal government. but even to cover that, we have been working with the general service administration to have these stores or companies put on the excluded parties list system, which will prevent them from being able to participate with other governments, government programs but we're also, we continue that dialogue with the office of the attorney general to see if there are ways we can do both. our desire, we will have an aversion to the debarment process. it's that it slows it down. and we like the authority we have right now. when we find that a store has misled us about their business relationships, or being debarred before, we can take them out of the program. we send them a letter, given 10

days, they are out. i don't have to give them more hearings. i don't have to give them due process. they are gone. >> mr. chairman, i thank you for your consideration. >> because i know he wants full disclosure, ms. faulkner, i think of something to say on those questions, to. >> i wanted to talk about what my s.n.a.p. trafficking program has done in the fiscal year 2010-2011. we conducted 584, just s.n.a.p. traffic investigations. we scheduled 150 administrators with its recitation back of over $250,000. we disqualified 77 recipient of s.n.a.p. benefits. which really gave us a cost savings of close to $500,000. and that's with the limited staff we have. so in pennsylvania as i stated earlier, we are seeing more fraud. we are. and that we have little staff, hope to get a little more.

that was our 2010-2011 a loan. we don't expect it to go down. >> i know ms. fong has previously said that you don't necessarily concur with those figures independently at this point. and i would only ask since the secretary said that they're going to redo them again, i would hope that we could expect them to be mutually agree to biometrics that then you could essentially concur with. >> yes, we have some work planned for this year to take a look at methodology and those numbers. >> thank you. we not go to the gentleman from texas. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and i'd like to do with something that i hear about from my constituents, and that is the stretching of action items that qualify under the program. for instance, i received a photograph from a constituent of a sign outside of a place that

prepares pizzas to order. they just don't cook them. so apparently it qualifies under the letter of the law, certainly i wouldn't think under the spirit of the law, the sign that they are said it accepts the lone star card, which in texas is our method for doing that. and you also see an instance of grocery stores in convenience stores also offering quite a few hot food items that i would think would not qualify under the program. what are you all, i guess i will address this to ms. fong, what are you all saying with respect to that? and what can we do to combat that? >> we, as far as i know, have not received any allegations along those lines that would indicate fraud or criminal activity. i would defer to the undersecretary because i think it's really a policy question. >> i would be happy to try to answer. to the second part of your question, when you look at, first of all, consumers cannot

buy hot food, period. they can buy frozen foods, and there are pizza chains that have been admitted into the program over time. i mentioned earlier, my testimony, one of the definition of who's eligible for the program in terms of the 231,000 providers is set in the statute through the farm bill. and it requires a minimum number of certain food groups is what referred to as the depth of require that i would like to see that strengthened. >> let me follow up on that maybe with ms. hatcher because we have the technology now in place through upc codes. we can actually determine what items are qualified and don't qualify. and i guess if you want to get into a big brother senator, could actually probably linkup who is buying what. and with the cost of upc readers

or 20, $30, look up to a pc, i can't imagine any sort being too small to implement. do you see some technological solutions to these problems? and could some of these technological solutions -- i will let you answer and i will come back, the undersecretary. >> i guess the question about hot food, that one is already taken care of now because our members come and we educate them very clearly, hot foods are not eligible. we code in anything that is a hot food item as an eligible in the store. so, and then i think the question on the pizza thing, you know, it would depend exactly, if it's a frozen pizza in the frozen section then it would be eligible. if it's a heated pizza over in the deli area would not be eligible. >> it strikes me, made to order pizza cooked on a coat is stretching it.

mr. undersecretary, i guess my question to you is do you see a technological solution? another complaint that i hear consistently from constituents is people will go in and buy highly processed food with low nutritional value. i mean, i don't want to get in the business of dictating what people do and don't eat, but to some degree our money, our rules. i mean, what do you see as an optimum situation there? >> unfortunate on the processed food question, i'm not talking about those many care to come from larger cares, i'm talking about processed foods that has too much sodium and too many trans fats and so on, all of us unfortunately as americans, we eat more processed food in any country in the world. so we are trying to another part that i've responsibility for, the center for nutrition policy, to encourage americans to eat healthier, more fruit and vegetables, my plate is a simple but i think a very effective icon. and would also encourage access to farmers markets, in your case

lone star beneficiaries, to try to nudge them, direct them to buying healthier often locally grown foods. but i'm also still, i remain very interested in increasing the requirement for these small stores to have better choices and fresh fruits, healthier foods rather than just the overabundance of processed food. >> i see my time has expired. thank you very much. >> i thank the gentleman. all time has expired. i want to thank our panel of witnesses. i think this was informative. contrary to what might have been perceived, this was a limited hearing, limited to businesses do in fact defraud the government and deny our children, that 22 million or more children, the receipt of the actual food rather than trading 50 for 100. our attention -- intent is to allow for at least five days for

members who were not able to get different questions to supplement by asking all of your questions. would you agree to respond to them if you get them in writing? >> certainly spent i want to thank you out also like to ask unanimous consent that any witness who thinks of something that you didn't say that wants to supplement their own record be allowed to do so. without objection, so ordered. we stand adjourned. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible [inaudible conversations] >> next, president obama's

remarks on jobs and the economy. it live at 7:00 a.m., your calls and comments on "washington journal." >> congratulations to all this year's winner of the student, documentary competition. a record number of students entered a fitial on the theme of the constitution and you show in which part of the constitution is important and why. watch them all at studencam.org and watch the top 27 videos on c-span in april. >> i believe it is yet possible that we will come to admire this country, not simply because we were born here. but because of the kind of great and good land and that you and i want it to be and that together we have made it. that is my goal. that is my reason for seeking

the presidency of the united states. >> as candidates campaigned for president, we look back of 14 men who ran for the office and lost. go to our website, c- span.orgthecontenders. >> leadership of this nation has a clear challenge to go to work effectively and immediately. not just prior to election day, either. >> c-span.org/thecontenders. >> president obama? about the new manufacturing initiative to help american companies -- president obama talks about the new manufacturing initiative to help american companies grow. he spoke about creating new hubs taking it is from the laboratory and moving them to market. this comes on the heels of the labor department's report that says to under 27,000 jobs were created in february -- 227 jobs

were created in february while the unemployment rate is still 8.7%.

♪ [applause] [cheering and applause] >> hello, virginia. thank you so much. u.s., everybody. wow, what an unbelievable crowd. please have a seat, if you have one. [laughter] thank you, james for the rousing introduction.

i went to awknowledge bob mcdonnell. [laughter] [applause] we have your mayor. [applause] and i want you very much say thank you to our outstanding secretary of commerce who is doing rework trying to create jobs and investment and opportunity all across the country. [applause] it is great to be back in petersburg. last time i was here was during the campaign. i had my bus pull over so i could get a cheeseburger. you-said the tin at the deli where i went. some of you may think that this

violates michaud's program. -- michelle's program. she gives me a pass when it comes to a good burger and fries. that was in 2008 we were talking about our working americans were already having a tough go of it. we're working harder and longer worked for less. it was getting tougher to afford health care. or to send your kids to college. the economy was already shedding jobs. in less than a decade, nearly one in three manufacturing jobs have vanished. then, the bottom fell out of the economy. things got that much tougher. losing 7000 -- 700,000 to 800,000 jobs a month. the economy was hemorrhaging.

three and a half years later, we are still recovering from the worst economic crisis in our lifetime. we have got a lot of work to do before everybody who wants a good job can have one. before middle-class folks regain that sense of security that had been slipping -- slipping away even before the recession. the four towns like petersburg get fully back on their feet. here's the good news. over the past two years, our businesses have added nearly 4 million new jobs. [applause] we just found out that last month, in february, we added 233,000 private-sector jobs. 2 -- [applause]

more companies are bringing jobs back and investing in america. manufacturing is adding jobs for the first time since the 1990's. [applause] we just had another good month last month in terms of adding manufacturing jobs. this facility is part of the evidence of what is going on all across the country. this company is about to hire more than 200 new workers, 140 of them right here in petersburg, virginia. the economy is getting stronger. when i come to places like this and i see the work that is being done, it gives me confidence there are better days ahead.

i know it because i would bet on american workers and americans every day of the week. [applause] the key now, our job now is to keep this economic engine churning. we cannot go back to the same policies that got us into this miss. we cannot go back to an economy that was weekend by outsourcing and bad debt and phony financial profits. we have to have an economy that is built to last. that starts with american manufacturing. it starts with you. [applause] for generations, manufacturing has been the ticket into the middle class. every day millions clocked in at foundries and assembly lines -- making things.

and the stuff we make -- steel and cars and jet engines, that was the stuff that made america what it is. it was understood it around the world. the work was hard but the jobs were good. raise kids and send them to college. it gave you enough to retire on with dignity and respect. jobs that told us something more important than how much we will work, it told us what we were worth -- told us that we were building more than just products. it told us we were building communities, neighborhood, building a country. it gave people pride about what america is all about. that is why one of the first decisions i made as president was to stand by manufacturing,

to stand by the american auto industry when it was on the brink of collapse. [applause] the heartbeat of america mfg.on was c stake in-sospan than a million jobs -- the heartbeat of america manufacturing was at stake, and a million jobs. [applause] together over the past two and a half years, the entire auto industry has added more than 200,000 jobs. and here is the thing -- not just building cars again, but better cars. for the first time in three decades we raised fuel standard so by the middle of the next decade, the cars that are built in america will average more than 55 miles to the gallon.

that will save the typical family about $8,000 at the pump over time. that is real savings. that is real money. and it shows that depending on foreign oil does not have to be our future. it shows that when we harness our own ingenuity, our technology -- and we can control our future. america thrives when we build things better than the rest of the world. i want us to make stuff here and sell it over there. i do not want them selling it over here. [applause] and that is exactly what you are doing here. at the largest rolls-royce said -- facility in the world, that

is what you are doing by building the key components of nowhere, faster, more fuel- efficient jet engines. i just took a tour and then learned a bit about how a jet engine comes together. don't quiz me on it. [laughter] i am a little fuzzy on some of the details. i did press some buttons back there. a few weeks ago i actually got to see the finished product. i went to boeing in washington state and i checked out a new dreamliner. i even got to sit in the cockpit. there, though. if it started going, there would have been a problem. [laughter] this airplane, the dreamliner, is going to keep america at the cutting edge of aerospace technology. american workers are manufacturing various components for it, in ohio,

oklahoma, south in petersburg. in fact, the demand for their airplanes was so high last year that boeing had to hire 13,000 workers all across america just to keep up. and boeing is gaining more and more share all the time. so, think about that. rolls-royce is choosing to invest in america. you are creating jobs here, manufacturing components for jet engines and airplanes that we will send all over the world. that is the kind of business cycle we want to see. not buying stuff that is made someplace else and racking up dead, but by inventing things and building things and selling them all over the world stand with three proud words, "made in america." [applause] made in america.

think about how important this is. imagine if the airplane of the future was being built someplace else. the auto industry -- imagine if we had given up on the auto industry. but we didn't. we are americans, we are inventors, we are builders, thomas edison, the wright brothers, and steve jobs. that is who we are. that is what we do. we invent stuff, we build it, and pretty soon the entire world adapts. that is so we are. and as long as i am president, we will keep on doing it. we will make sure the next generation of life changing products are manufactured here in the united states of america. [applause]

that is why we launched the all hands on deck effort. we brought together the finest -- brightest academic mines, the boldest business leaders, the most dedicated public servants of our science and technology agency's, all with a big goal, a renaissance in american manufacturing. we called it the advanced partnership. and today we are building on it. i am laying on my plans for a new national network of manufacturing innovation. institutes of manufacturing excellence where some of our most advanced engineering schools and our most innovative manufacturers collaborate on new new processes.

and if this sounds familiar, that is because what you are about to do right here -- later this summer, the commonwealth center for advanced manufacturing will open its doors. it is a partnership between manufacturers, including this one, uva, virginia tech, virginia state university -- [applause] vsu is a little over represented here. the commonwealth and the federal government. think of this as a place where companies can share access to cutting its capabilities, and at the same time students and workers are picking up the skills, they are training on state of the art equipment, they are solving some of the

most power and still an experience coming together in this hub, and that makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts. it allows everybody to learn from each other and figure out how we will do things even better. it is going to help get that the next great idea from a paper or a computer to the lab, to the factory, to the global marketplace. and that is especially important for the one in three americans in manufacturing will work for a small business to the not always have access to resources like these. obviously the big companies, boeing, larose voice -- they to be able to create the platforms, but some of the smaller and medium-sized businesses, it is a little bit harder. so, this gives them access and

allows them to take part in this new renaissance of american. and we have to build these institutes all across the country. i want it everywhere. to do that, we need congress to act. hmm. [laughter] [applause] it is true. but that does not mean we have to hold our breath. we are not going to wait. we are going to go ahead on our own later this year. we will choose the winner of the competition for a pilot institute for manufacturing innovation, help them get started. with the pilot in place we will keep on pushing congress to do the right thing because this is the kind of approach that can

succeed, but we have to have this all across the country. i want everybody thinking about how are we making the best products, how are we harnessing the new ideas and making sure they are located here in the united states. and sparking this network of innovation across the country, manufacturing gained. of course, there is more we can do to seize this moment, to manufacturing in america. we have to do everything we can to encourage more companies to pivot and a vat, the this is the place with the best workers, the best ideas, the best universities. [applause] this is the place to be. we've got to give them a little

more encouragement. breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. companies that choose to invest in america, they get hit with the world. does that make any sense? it makes no sense and everybody knows it. so it is time to stop rewarding businesses who ship jobs overseas and reward companies to create good jobs right here in the united states of america. that is how our tax code should work. [applause] at the same time, we got to do everything we can to make sure our kids gets the education that gives them every chance to succeed. [applause] i have been told that last year's balloted korean at petersburg high -- valedictorian at petersburg high, she had a good statement. she said her cap and gown was the best down anybody could

hang in their closet. i like that. let's make sure students like her have teachers to bring out the best. let's make sure if they want to go to college, their families can afford them to go to college. [applause] and legs -- let's make sure workers have the skills this company is working for. we need folks in beijing and lifelong learning. the days you started off at 20 with one company and you do the same thing for 40 years, it is not going to happen anymore. as i was meeting some of the folks here -- they have been machinists, they have been in manufacturing for years, but they are constantly upgrading their skills and retraining. some of them have been laid off

and have gone back to school before they came to this company. so, we need to make sure those opportunities for people mid career and onward, that they can college and retool to make sure they are qualified for the jobs of tomorrow. at a time when so many americans are looking for work, no job openings should go unfilled just because people didn't have an opportunity to get the training they need it. that is why i have asked congress to join me in a national commitment to train 2 million americans with the skills that will lead directly to a job right now. [applause] we need to create more partnerships like the one this plant has with a community college.

we should get more community colleges the resources they need. i want them to be community career centers, places that teach people skills that companies are looking for right now, from data management, to the kind of high-tech manufacturing being done in this facility. so, day-by-day, we are restoring this economy from crisis. but we can't stop there. we've got to make this economy day by day we are creating new thatnot until everybody who is out of there pounding the pavement has a chance to land one of those jobs. every day we are producing more oil and gas than we have in years, but we can't stop there. i want our businesses to lead the world in clean energy, too. [applause] ande got the best colleges

universities in the world, but we can't stop there. i want to make sure more of our students can afford to go to those colleges and universities. everybody knows we've got the best workers on earth, but we can't stop there. we've got to make sure the middle class doesn't just survive. we want them to thrive. we want them to dream big dreams and to feel confident about the future. i did not run for this office just to get back to where we were. i ran for this office to get us to where we need to be. [applause] and i promise you, we will get there. some of these challenges may take a year. some may take one term. some may take a decade, but we

are going to get there, because when we work together, we know we are capable of. we've got the tools, we got the know-how, we have the toughness to overcome any obstacle. when we come together and combine our creativity and our optimism and our willingness to work hard, harnessing our brainpower and remained out -- manpower and hp, i promise you we will thrive again and we will get to where we need to go and add american century. thank you, god bless you, god bless the united states of america. [applause] an allahabad ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

. >> next live your calls an comments on "washington journal" then a senate hearing on syria with the defense secretary and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. then a house hearing on the fema 2013 budget request with the

administrator. he details the f.b.i.'s 100-year hidden history and j. edgar hoover's fight. >> he stands alone. he is lake the washington monument. he stands land like a statue encased in grime as one of the most powerful men who ever served in washington. 11 presidents, 48 years, from woodrow wilson to richard nixon. there is no one like him. and a great deal of what we know and think we know about him is myth and legend >> this morning we look at the latest unemployment figures th