much more difficult than in libya where there was a limited mission in protecting civilians and the gaddafi target. >> let me throw in the missile defense conversation you had with the chairman. jim wolf, you wrote about it. what did he say today? >> the bottom line is he is open to the possibilities of sharing in our band -- sharing a narrow band of classified information to work out a missile defense cooperation deal with russia. the russians and americans are at odds over this. they're talking about taking countermeasures including deploying missiles. his support for the id ministrations willingness to discuss this possible sharing arrangement is significant. >> kendis dates back to the bush

should ministration? "that's apparently the case. >> afghanistan. what did you hear, quickly? >> the plan is to remove the surge forces. he mentioned that he thought commanders on the ground would not want to remove remaining forces between then and 2014 as quickly of the white house would like setting up some tension between the two sites. >> and the number? >> post 5 in 2014 overall combat forces, 5000 type and 10,000 troops. anything yet, but i think that's impo for understanding that support trip. >> thank you both. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> fired j. edgar hoover? i do not think the president could have gotten away with it. >> the history of j. edgar hoover's fight against bias, some vs. >> he stands alone like a statue it encased in grime is one of the most powerful men who ever served in washington in the 20th century. 11 presidents, 48 years, from what will wilson to richard nixon. there's no one like him. a great deal of what we think we know is myth. >> on enemies, a history of the

fbi, tonight at 8:00 on c-span's "q&a." >> on "prime minister's questions," david cameron discusses the six soldiers missing and presumed dead following the explosion in afghanistan. on the withdrawal of troops, said. president obama next week. that is tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on c-span. on tuesday, president obama announced in a mortgage assistance program to provide relief for military members and veterans as well as government insured loans. in his first formal news conference of the year, president obama took a wide range of questions on gas and oil prices, the iranian nuclear

program, political unrest and violence in syria. this is 45 minutes. >> good afternoon, everybody. now, i understand there are some political contests going on tonight, but i thought i'd start the day off by taking a few questions, which i'm sure will not be political in nature. before i do, i want to make a few announcements about some steps we're taking to help responsible homeowners who've been struggling through this housing crisis. we've clearly seen some positive economic news over the last few months. businesses have created about 3. 7 million new jobs over the last two years. manufacturers are hiring for the first time since the 1990s. the auto industry is back and hiring more than 200,000 people over the last few years. confidence is up.

and the economy is getting stronger. but there are still millions of americans who can't find a job. there are millions more who are having a tough time making the rent or the mortgage, paying for gas or groceries. so our job in washington isn't to sit back and do nothing. and it's certainly not to stand in the way of this recovery. right now we've got to do everything we can to speed it up. now, congress did the right thing when they passed part of my jobs plan and prevented a tax hike on 160 million working americans this year. and that was a good first step. but it's not enough. they can't just stop there and wait for the next election to come around. there are a few things they can do right now that could make a real difference in people's lives. this congress should, once and for all, end tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas, and use that money to reward companies that are creating jobs here in the united states. i've put forward a proposal that

does just that, and there's no reason why congress can't come together and start acting on it. this congress could hold a vote on the buffett rule so that we don't have billionaires paying a lower tax rate than their secretaries. that's just common sense. the vast majority of americans believe it's common sense. and if we're serious about paying down our deficit, it's as good a place to start as any. and finally, this congress should pass my proposal to give every responsible homeowner a chance to save an average of $3,000 a year by refinancing their mortgage at historically low rates. no red tape. no runaround from the banks. if you've been on time on your payments, if you've done the right thing, if you've acted responsibly, you should have a chance to save that money on your home -- perhaps to build up your equity, or just to have more money in your pocket that you can spend on businesses in your community.

that would make a huge difference for millions of american families. now, if congress refuses to act, i've said that i'll continue to do everything in my power to act without them. last fall, we announced an initiative that allows millions of responsible homeowners to refinance at low interest rates. today we're taking it a step further -- we are cutting by more than half the refinancing fees that families pay for loans ensured by the federal housing administration. that's going to save the typical family in that situation an extra $1,000 a year, on top of the savings that they'd also receive from refinancing. that would make refinancing even more attractive to more families. it's like another tax cut that will put more money in people's pockets. oure going to do this on own. we don't need congressional authorization to do it. we're also taking a seriess to o have served our country. it is unconscionable that members of our armed forces and their families have been some

of those who have been most susceptible to losing their homes due to the actions of unscrupulous banks and mortgage lenders. over the last few years that happened -- a lot. so as part of the landmark settlement we reached with some of the nation's largest banks a few weeks ago, here's what we're going to do, if you are a member of the armed forces whose home was wrongfully foreclosed, you will be substantially compensated for what the bank did to you and your family. if you are a member of the armed forces with a high interest rate who was wrongfully denied the chance to lower it while you were in active serve, which banks are required to do by law, the banks will refund you the money you would have saved along with a significant penalty. the settlement will make sure that you aren't forced into foreclosure just because you have a permanent change in station but can't sell your home because you owe more than it's worth. some of the money will also go

into a fund that guarantees loans on favorable terms to our veterans, and there will be more foreclosure protections for every man and woman who is currently serving this country in harm's way. as i've said before, no amount of money is going to be enough to make it right for a family who has had their piece of the american dream wrongfully taken away from them, and no action -- no matter how meaningful -- will entirely heal our housing market on its own. this is not something the government by itself can solve. but i'm not one of those people who believe that we should just sit by and wait for the housing market to hit bottom. there are real things that we can do right now that would make a substantial difference in the lives of innocent, responsible homeowners. that's true in housing, and that's true in any number of different areas when it comes to ensuring that this recovery touches as many lives as possible. that's going to be my top priority as long as i hold this office, and i will do everything i can to make that progress. so with that i'm going to take

some questions, and i will start with mike viqueira. >> yes, sir. on the middle east and as it relates to american politics, a little less than a year ago moammar qaddafi gave a speech, and he said he was going to send his forces to benghazi, he was going to rout opponents from their bedrooms and he was going to shoot them. you frequently cited that speech as a justification for nato, the no-fly zone and military action against libya. in syria, bashar al assad is killing people. there's a massacre underway. and your critics here in the united states, including, most notably, john mccain, said you should start air strikes now. and on iran, mitt romney, on sunday, went so far as to say that if you are re-elected, iran will get a bomb and the world will change. how do you respond to those criticisms? >> all right, mike, you've asked a couple of questions there, so let me -- let's start with the iran situation since that's been the topic in the

news for the last few days. when i came into office, iran was unified, on the move, had made substantial progress on its nuclear program, and the world was divided in terms of how to deal with it. what we've been able to do over the last three years is mobilize unprecedented, crippling sanctions on iran. iran is feeling the bite of these sanctions in a substantial way. the world is unified, iran is politically isolated. and what i have said is, is that we will not countenance iran getting a nuclear weapon. my policy is not containment, my policy is to prevent them from getting a nuclear weapon -- because if they get a nuclear weapon that could trigger an arms race in the region, it would undermine our non-proliferation goals, it could potentially fall into the hands of terrorists. and we've been in close consultation with all our allies, including israel, in moving this strategy forward.

at this stage, it is my belief that we have a window of opportunity where this can still be resolved diplomatically. that's not just my view. that's the view of our top intelligence officials, it's the view of top israeli intelligence officials. and, as a consequence, we are going to continue to apply the pressure even as we provide a door for the iranian regime to walk through where they could rejoin the community of nations by giving assurances to the international community that they're meeting their obligations and they are not pursuing a nuclear weapon. that's my track record. now, what's said on the campaign trail -- those folks don't have a lot of responsibilities. they're not commander-in-chief. and when i see the casualness with which some of these folks talk about war, i'm reminded of the costs involved in war. i'm reminded that the decision

that i have to make in terms of sending our young men and women into battle, and the impacts that has on their lives, the impact it has on our national security, the impact it has on our economy. this is not a game. there's nothing casual about it. and when i see some of these folks who have a lot of bluster and a lot of big talk, but when you actually ask them specifically what they would do, it turns out they repeat the things that we've been doing over the last three years, it indicates to me that that's more about politics than actually trying to solve a difficult problem. now, the one thing that we have not done is we haven't launched a war. if some of these folks think that it's time to launch a war, they should say so.

and they should explain to the american people exactly why they would do that and what the consequences would be. everything else is just talk. >> that goes to syria as well? >> with respect to syria, what's happening in syria is heartbreaking and outrageous, and what you've seen is the international community mobilize against the assad regime. and it's not a question of when assad leaves -- or if assad leaves -- it's a question of when. he has lost the legitimacy of his people. and the actions that he's now taking against his own people is inexcusable, and the world community has said so in a more or less unified voice. on the other hand, for us to take military action unilaterally, as some have suggested, or to think that somehow there is some simple solution, i think is a mistake.

what happened in libya was we mobilized the international community, had a u.n.security council mandate, had the full cooperation of the region, arab states, and we knew that we could execute very effectively in a relatively short period of time. this is a much more complicated situation. so what we've done is to work with key arab states, key international partners -- hillary clinton was in tunisia -- to come together and to mobilize and plan how do we support the opposition, how do we provide humanitarian assistance, how do we continue the political isolation, how do we continue the economic isolation. and we are going to continue to work on this project with other

countries. and it is my belief that, ultimately, this dictator will fall, as dictators in the past have fallen. but the notion that the way to solve every one of these problems is to deploy our military, that hasn't been true in the past and it won't be true now. we've got to think through what we do through the lens of what's going to be effective, but also what's critical for u.s.security interests. jake tapper. >> thank you, mr. president. what kind of assurances did you give prime minister netanyahu about the role that the u.s.would play if diplomacy and economic sanctions fail to work to convince iran's leaders to change their behavior, and israel goes ahead and prepares to strike a nuclear facility? what kind of assurances did you tell him? and shouldn't we -- i recognize the difference between debate and bluster -- but shouldn't we be having in this country a vigorous debate about what could

happen in the case of a middle east war in a way that, sadly, we did not do before going into iraq? nowell, i think there's doubt that those who are suggesting, or proposing, or beating the drums of war should explain clearly to the american people what they think the costs and benefits would be. i'm not one of those people -- because what i've said is, is that we have a window through which we can resolve this issue peacefully. we have put forward an international framework that is applying unprecedented pressure. the iranians just stated that they are willing to return to the negotiating table. and we've got the opportunity, even as we maintain that pressure, to see how it plays out. i'm not going to go into the details of my conversation with prime minister netanyahu.

but what i said publicly doesn't differ greatly from what i said privately. israel is a sovereign nation that has to make its own decisions about how best to preserve its security. and as i said over the last several days, i am deeply mindful of the historical precedents that weigh on any prime minister of israel when they think about the potential threats to israel and the jewish homeland. what i've also said is that because sanctions are starting to have significant effect inside of iran -- and that's not just my assessment, that's, i think, a uniform assessment -- because the sanctions are going to be even tougher in the coming months, because they're now starting to affect their oil industry, their central bank, and because we're now seeing noises about them returning to the negotiating table, that it is deeply in

everybody's interests -- the united states, israel and the world's -- to see if this can be resolved in a peaceful fashion. and so this notion that somehow we have a choice to make in the next week or two weeks, or month or two months, is not borne out by the facts. and the argument that we've made to the israelis is that we have made an unprecedented commitment to their security. there is an unbreakable bond between our two countries, but one of the functions of friends is to make sure that we provide honest and unvarnished advice in terms of what is the best approach to achieve a common goal -- particularly one in which we have a stake. this is not just an issue of israeli interest, this is an issue of u.s.interests. it's also not just an issue of consequences for israel if action is taken prematurely. there are consequences to the united states as well. and so i do think that any time

we consider military action that the american people understand there's going to be a price to pay. sometimes it's necessary. but we don't do it casually. when i visit walter reed, when i sign letters to families that haven't -- whose loved ones have not come home, i am reminded that there is a cost. sometimes we bear that cost. but we think it through. we don't play politics with it. when we have in the past -- when we haven't thought it through and it gets wrapped up in politics, we make mistakes. and typically, it's not the folks who are popping off who pay the price. it's these incredible men and

women in uniform and their families who pay the price. and as a consequence, i think it's very important for us to take a careful, thoughtful, sober approach to what is a real problem. and that's what we've been doing over the last three years. that's what i intend to keep doing. >> sir, i'm sorry, if i could just quickly follow up -- you didn't -- >> jake -- >> you might not be beating the drums of war, but you did very publicly say, we've got israel's back. what does that mean? >> what it means is, is that, historically, we have always cooperated with israel with respect to the defense of israel, just like we do with a whole range of other allies -- just like we do with great britain, just like we do with japan. and that broad statement i think is confirmed when you look at what we've done over the last three years on things like iron dome that prevents missiles from raining down on their small towns along border regions of israel, that potentially land

on schools or children or families. and we're going to continue that unprecedented security -- security commitment. it was not a military doctrine that we were laying out for any particular military action. it was a restatement of our consistent position that the security of israel is something i deeply care about, and that the deeds of my administration over the last three years confirms how deeply we care about it. that's a commitment we've made. jackie. where's jackie? there you are. >> with the news this morning that the u.s.and its allies are returning to the table, are taking up iran's offer to talk again, more than a year after those talks broke up in frustration, is this israel's -- iran's last chance to negotiate an end to this nuclear question?

and you said three years ago -- nearly three years ago, in a similar one-on-one meeting with prime minister netanyahu, that the time for talk -- by the end of that year, 2009, you would be considering whether iran was negotiating in good faith. and you said at that time that "we're not going to have talks forever." so here we are nearly three years later. is this it? and did you think you would be here three years after those first talks? >> you know, there is no doubt that over the last three years when iran has engaged in negotiations there has been hemming and hawing and stalling and avoiding the issues in ways that the international community has concluded were not serious. and my expectations, given the consequences of inaction for

them, the severe sanctions that are now being applied, the huge toll it's taking on their economy, the degree of isolation that they're feeling right now -- which is unprecedented -- they understand that the world community means business. to resolve this issue will require iran to come to the table and discuss in a clear and forthright way how to prove to the international community that the intentions of their nuclear program are peaceful. they know how to do that. this is not a mystery. and so it's going to be very important to make sure that, on an issue like this -- there are complexities, it obviously has to be methodical. i don't expect a breakthrough

in a first meeting, but i think we will have a pretty good sense fairly quickly as to how serious they are about resolving the issue. and there are steps that they can take that would send a signal to the international community and that are verifiable, that would allow them to be in compliance with international norms, in compliance with international mandates, abiding by the non- proliferation treaty, and provide the world an assurance that they're not pursuing a nuclear weapon. they know how to do it, and the question is going to be whether in these discussions they show themselves moving clearly in that direction. ed henry. >> thank you, mr. president. i wanted to follow up on israel and iran because you have said repeatedly you have israel's

back. and so i wonder why, three years in office, you have not visited israel as president. and related to iran and israel, you have expressed concern about this loose talk of war, as you call it, driving up gas prices further. your critics will say on capitol hill that you want gas prices to go higher because you have said before, that will wean the american people off fossil fuels, onto renewable fuels. how do you respond to that? >> ed, just from a political perspective, do you think the president of the united states going into reelection wants gas prices to go up higher? is that -- is there anybody here who thinks that makes a lot of sense? look, here's the bottom line with respect to gas prices. i want gas prices lower because they hurt families, because i meet folks every day who have to drive a long way to get to work and them filling up this gas tank gets more and more painful, and it's a tax out of their pocketbooks, out of their paychecks, and a lot of folks

are already operating on the margins right now. and it's not good for the overall economy, because when gas prices go up, consumer spending oftentimes pulls back. and we're in the midst right now of a recovery that is starting to build up steam, and we don't want to reverse it. what i have also said about gas prices is that there is no silver bullet and the only way we're going to solve this problem over the medium and long term is with an all-of-the- above strategy that says we're going to increase production -- which has happened, we are going to make sure that we are conserving energy -- that's why we doubled fuel efficiency standards on cars, which will save consumers about $1. 7 trillion and take about 12 billion barrels of oil offline,

which will help to reduce prices -- and we're going develop clean energy technologies that allow us to continue to use less oil. and we've made progress. i mean, the good news is, 2010, first time in a decade that our oil imports were actually below 50 percent, and they have kept on going down. on we're going to keep looking at every strategy we can to, yes, reduce the amount of oil that we use, while maintaining our living standards and maintaining our productivity and maintaining our economic growth, and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that consumers aren't hurt by it. now, there are some short-term steps that we're looking at with respect to -- for example, there are certain potential bottlenecks in refineries around the country that we've been concerned about. we're concerned about what's happening in terms of production around the world. it's not just what's happening in the gulf.

you've had, for example, in sudan, some oil that's been taken offline that's helping to restrict supply. so we're going to look at a whole range of measures -- including, by the way, making sure that my attorney general is paying attention to potential speculation in the oil markets. i've asked him to reconstitute a task force that's examining that. but we go through this every year. we've gone through this for 30 years. and if we are going to be competitive, successful, and make sure families are protected over the long term, then we've got to make sure that we've got a set of options that reduce our overall dependence on oil. and with respect to israel, i am not the first president who has been unable, because of a whole range of issues, not to visit israel as president in their first term. i visited israel twice as senator, once right before i

became president. the measure of my commitment to israel is not measured by a single visit. the measure of my commitment to israel is seen in the actions that i've taken as president of the united states. and it is indisputable that i've had israel's back over the last three years. aamer madhani. >> thank you, mr. president. do you believe rush limbaugh's apology to the georgetown law student was sufficient and heartfelt? do you agree with the decision of the growing number of sponsors that have decided to drop his show or stop supporting his show? and has there been a double standard on this issue? liberal commentators have made

similarly provocative or distasteful statements and there hasn't been such an outrage. >> i'm not going to comment on what sponsors decide to do. i'm not going to comment on either the economics or the politics of it. i don't know what's in rush limbaugh's heart, so i'm not going to comment on the sincerity of his apology. what i can comment on is the fact that all decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don't have any place in the public discourse. and the reason i called ms. fluke is because i thought about malia and sasha, and one of the things i want them to do as they get older is to engage in issues they care about, even ones i may not agree with them on. i want them to be able to speak their mind in a civil and

thoughtful way. and i don't want them attacked or called horrible names because they're being good citizens. and i wanted sandra to know that i thought her parents should be proud of her, and that we want to send a message to all our young people that being part of a democracy involves argument and disagreements and debate, and we want you to be engaged, and there's a way to do it that doesn't involve you being demeaned and insulted, particularly when you're a private citizen. jessica yellin. >> bill mahr apologized for what he said about -- (inaudible) -- should apologize for what they said about that? >> jessica. >> thank you, mr. president.

>> thank you. >> top democrats have said that republicans on a similar issue are engaged in a war on women. some top republicans say it's more like democrats are engaged in a war for the women's vote. as you talk about loose talk of war in another arena and women are -- this could raise concerns among women, do you agree with the chair of your democratic national committee that there is a war on women? >> here is what i think. women are going to make up their own mind in this election about who is advancing the issues that they care most deeply about. and one of the things i've learned being married to michelle is i don't need to tell her what it is that she thinks is important.

and there are millions of strong women around the country who are going to make their own determination about a whole range of issues. it's not going to be narrowly focused just on contraception. it's not going to be driven by one statement by one radio announcer. it is going to be driven by their view of what's most likely to make sure they can help support their families, make their mortgage payments, who's got a plan to ensure that middle-class families are secure over the long term, what's most likely to result in their kids being able to get the education they need to compete. and i believe that democrats have a better story to tell to women about how we're going to solidify the middle class and grow this economy, make sure everybody has a fair shot,

everybody is doing their fair share, and we got a fair set of rules of the road that everybody has to follow. so i'm not somebody who believes that women are going to be single-issue voters. they never have been. but i do think that we've got a strong story to tell when it comes to women. >> would you prefer this language be changed? >> jessica, as you know, if i start being in the business of arbitrating -- >> you talk about civility. >> and what i do is i practice it. and so i'm going to try to lead by example in this situation, as opposed to commenting on every single comment that's made by either politicians or pundits. i would be very busy. i would not have time to do my job. that's your job, to comment on what's said by politicians and pundits. all right. lori montenegro. >> mr. president, thank you. >> there you go. >> mr. president, polls are showing that latino voters seem to be favoring your reelection over a republican alternative. yet some of them are still

disappointed, others have said, about a promise that you've made on immigration reform that has yet to come to pass. if you are reelected, what would be your strategy, what would you do different to get immigration reform passed through the congress, especially if both houses continue as they are right now, which is split? >> well, first of all, just substantively, every american should want immigration reform. we've got a system that's broken. we've got a system in which you have millions of families here in this country who are living in the shadows, worried about deportation. you've got american workers that are being undercut because those undocumented workers can be hired and the minimum wage laws may not be observed, overtime laws may not be observed.

you've got incredibly talented people who want to start businesses in this country or to work in this country, and we should want those folks here in the united states. but right now, the legal immigration system is so tangled up that it becomes very difficult for them to put down roots here. so we can be a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants. and it is not just a hispanic issue -- this is an issue for everybody. this is an american issue that we need to fix. now, when i came into office i said i am going to push to get this done. we didn't get it done. and the reason we haven't gotten it done is because what used to be a bipartisan agreement that we should fix this ended up becoming a partisan issue. i give a lot of credit to my

predecessor, george bush, and his political advisors who said this should not be just something the democrats support, the republican party is invested in this as well. that was good advice then, it would be good advice now. and my hope is, is that after this election, the latino community will have sent a strong message that they want a bipartisan effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform that involves making sure we've got tough border security -- and this administration has done more for border security than just about anybody -- that we are making sure that companies aren't able to take advantage of undocumented workers, that we've got strong laws in place, and that we've got a path so that all those folks whose kids often are u.s.citizens, who are working with us, living with us and in our communities, and not

breaking the law, and trying to do their best to raise their families, that they've got a chance to be a fuller part of our community. so, what do i think will change? >> what would you do differently? >> what i will do -- look, we're going to be putting forward, as we've done before, a framework, a proposal, legislation that can move it -- move the ball forward and actually get this thing done. but ultimately, i can't vote for republicans. they're going to have to come to the conclusion that this is good for the country and that this is something that they themselves think is important. and depending on how congress

turns out, we'll see how many republican votes we need to get it done. norah o'donnell. how are you? >> thank you, mr. president. today is super tuesday, so i wonder if you might weigh in on some of your potential republican opponents. mitt romney has criticized you on iran and said, "hope is not a foreign policy." he also said that you are "america's most feckless president since carter." what would you like to say to mr. romney? >> good luck tonight. [laughter] >> no, really. >> really. [laughter] uh... lynn, since you've been hollering and you're from my hometown, make it a good one. >> my question is about the switch of the g8 summit from chicago to camp david. a reason given from the white house is that now you wanted a more intimate summit. people of chicago would like to know what do you know now that you did not know when you booked hometown chicago for the g8 that led to the switch? and what role did security

threats possibly play in the decision? >> well, keep in mind, lynn, we're still going to be showing up with a whole bunch of world leaders. we've got this nato summit. typically what's happened is, is that we try to attach the g8 summit to the nato summit so that the leaders in the g8 summit don't have to travel twice to whatever location. so last year, in france, we combined a g8 with a nato summit. we'll do so again. i have to say, this was an idea that was brought to me after the initial organizing of the nato summit. somebody pointed out that i hadn't had any of my counterparts, who i've worked with now for three years, up to camp david. g8 tends to be a more informal

setting in which we talk about a wide range of issues in a pretty intimate way. and the thinking was that people would enjoy being in a more casual backdrop. i think the weather should be good that time of year. it will give me a chance to spend time with mr. putin, the new russian president. and from there, we will then fly to chicago. i always have confidence in chicago being able to handle security issues. whether it's taste of chicago or lollapalooza -- (laughter) -- or bull's championships, we know how to deal with a crowd. and i'm sure that your new mayor will be quite attentive to detail in making sure that everything goes off well. all right? okay. go ahead, last one, last question.

>> thank you. mr. president, just to continue on that -- when the nato leaders gather in chicago in may, do you expect that they'll be able to agree on a transition strategy? and are you concerned at all that the koran burning and the episodes that have followed since then threaten your ability to negotiate with partners? >> well, keep in mind that the transition policy was in place and established at lisbon, and we've been following that strategy that calls for us turning over increasing responsibility to afghans and a full transition so that our combat role is over by the end of 2014. and our coalition partners have agreed to it. they are sticking with it. that continues to be the plan. what we are now going to be doing over the next -- at this nato meeting and planning for

the next two years, is to make sure that that transition is not a cliff, but that there are benchmarks and steps that are taken along the way, in the same way that we reduced our role in iraq so that it is gradual, afghan capacity is built, the partnering with afghan security forces is effective, that we are putting in place the kinds of support structures that are needed in order for the overall strategy to be effective. now, yes, the situation with the koran burning concerns me. i think that it is an indication of the challenges in that environment, and it's an indication that now is the time for us to transition. obviously, the violence directed at our people is unacceptable. and president karzai

acknowledged that. but what is also true is president karzai i think is eager for more responsibility on the afghan side. we're going to be able to find a mechanism whereby afghans understand their sovereignty is being respected and that they're going to be taking a greater and greater role in their own security. that i think is in the interest of afghans. it's also in our interests. and i'm confident we can execute, but it's not going to be a smooth path. there are going to be bumps along the road just as there were in iraq. >> well, are these bumps along the road, or are you seeing a deterioration in the relationship, based on the koran burning itself, the violence that has followed, that inhibits your ability to work out things like how to hand off the detention center? >> no, i -- none of this stuff

is easy, and it never has been. and obviously, the most recent riots or protests against the koran burning were tragic, but remember, this happened a while back when a pastor in florida threatened to burn a koran. in iraq, as we were making this transition, there were constant crises that would pop up and tragic events that would take place and there would be occasional setbacks. but what i've tried to do is to set a course, make sure that up and down the chain of command everybody knows what our broader strategy is. and one of the incredible things about our military is that when they know what our objective is, what our goal is, regardless of the obstacles that they meet along the way, they get the job done.

and i think that president karzai understands that we are interested in a strategic partnership with the afghan people and the afghan government. we are not interested in staying there any longer than is necessary to assure that al qaeda is not operating there, and that there is sufficient stability that it doesn't end up being a free-for-all after isaf has left. and so we share interests here. it will require negotiations, and there will be time where things don't look as smooth as i'd like. that's kind of the deal internationally on a whole range of these issues. all right? thank you guys. oh, can i just make one other comment? i want to publicly express condolences to the family of donald payne, congressman from new jersey -- a wonderful man, did great work, both domestically and internationally.

he was a friend of mine. and so my heart goes out to his family and to his colleagues. all right. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] clacks coming up on c-span, in a report on smoking trends in teens fallen by a federal education survey of schools. one of its findings, minority students facing harsher punishments in schools. then a look at the senate aide program were high-school students work as an aid in the senate. in "newsmakers," carl levin, chairman of the armed services committee, on policy towards iran, their nuclear enrichment programs, policies regarding syria and afghanistan. that is today at 6:00 p.m. eastern on c-span.

>> buyer j. edgar hoover? i do not think the president could have gotten away with it. >> detailing the fbi's 100-year history and j. edgar hoover proxy fight against spies and subversives. >> the uber stands alone. he is like the washington monument, standing like the washington monument encased in crime as one of the most popular man who ever served in washington in the 20th century. 11 presidents, 48 years, from woodrow wilson to nixon. there's no one like him. there is little about what we think we know and it is a myth and legend. >> on enemies, a history of the fbi, tonight at 8:00 on c-span's q&a."

>> smoking is down among youth according to the latest surgeon general's report but it has slowed. 1200 u.s. residents die from a tobacco-related disease. the report was released thursday by health and human services kathleen sibelius and surgeon general regina benjamin. this is 30 minutes. >> good morning, everybody, and thank you for joining us here today. i am delighted to be here to kickoff the announcements of the 2012 surgeon general's report on tobacco use among youth and young adults. i want to start by acknowledging some of my terrific colleagues, dr. regina benjamin, the surgeon general, who you will hear from in a few minutes. dr. david stature is with us, former surgeon general who has

been involved in this effort for a long time. [applause] prius assistant secretary for health, who you will also hear from. we have key members of the office of the assistant secretary of health staff, leadership, a wonderful team here from cdc, dr. perry who is the author of this report. he comes from texas to be with us today. a lot of you who have been involved in this effort for a long time. since the first surgeon general's report on tobacco was published in 1964, the good news is we have seen the percentage of americans who smoke steadily declined. in 1965, over 42% of americans smoked. by 2004, it had fallen to just

under 21%, and that is very good news. but while the progress we have made, tobacco use remains the biggest single threat to americans held. it kills an estimated 443,000 every year. every tobacco related debt is replaced by two new smokers under the age of 25. today's report brings more troubling news. it is the first of its kind to explore the causes and consequences of tobacco use among youth and young adults. it shows us just what we are up against. today, all over america, there are middle schoolers developing deadly tobacco addiction before they can even drive a car. the younger child is when they try cigarettes, the more likely they are to get and stay addicted to nicotine. one child picking up a tobacco

product is one too many. the fact that each and every day across america, more than 3800 kids under 18 smoke their first cigarette is completely unacceptable. but this report also underscores the importance of the historic efforts the obama administration has taken to stop youth from using tobacco products and to help adults quit smoking. since the numbers were not changing fast enough, we had to change the way we read our communities of tobacco. that is exactly what we are doing. we pushed wide-ranging legislation that among other things, makes it harder for tobacco companies to market to our children. it also restricts companies from using terms like light or mild on products and in marketing. it bans certain candy in fruit flavored cigarettes. although for techniques aimed at people often younger than 18. that legislation had been debated for years and years in

this country, and we finally got it done. we are also supporting local programs to help people quit smoking and stop them from starting in the first place. as part of last year's health- care law, we get americans better access to counseling to help them quit smoking before they get sick. from the country, we have great partners. we have seen states join this fight, with 28 states and washington d.c. passing smoke- free laws to improve health. over the last three years we have made great strides in our fight against tobacco, and our efforts are paying off. but today's report is an important reminder that we have a lot more work to do to make tobacco death and disease a part of our past and not a part of our future. again, thank you for being here today for this important announcement. i would like to turn it over to the assistant director for help, dr. howard coe. [applause]

>> thank you so much for being here, everyone. the secretary has another commitment in has to leave, but we want to thank her for her tremendous leadership and dedication to the tobacco epidemic. i am delighted to see so many wonderful colleagues and friends here. let me thank dr. benjamin, who you will be hearing from in just a minute. our rate colleagues at the department of health and human services, the cdc, and so many others. dr. perry, the senior sunset for of this report, and all of the colleagues who helped edit and right this very important product. most importantly, we want to thank each and everyone of you to support this important effort and this great day. we are here to bring heightened urgency to the tremendous public health burden that tobacco continues to impose on

our youth. a burden that is completely avoidable and completely preventable. too many of our children are addicted, too many cannot quit, and too many go on to die far too young. you heard from our secretary, mor than 1200 people died due to smoking, and each death is one too many. i have personally witnessed a cycle of dependency and despair as a physician who has cared for patients for over 30 years. it is heartbreaking when our patients tell us they want to stop smoking, but the have not yet been able to do so. it is tragic when our lung cancer patients tell us that they started smoking as kids, years ago, to be cool and impressed the other kids next door. today we understand even more

clearly that youth smoking is not an accident. it does not just happen. each year, the tobacco industry spends $10 million on marketing and promotion of tobacco products. this exceeds $1 million an hour, over $27 million a day in the u.s. alone. the tobacco industry says their intent is only to promote brand choice among adult smokers. but there is a difference between stated intent and documented impact. regardless of intent, its impact of the marketing is to encourage underage use. in fact, nearly 90% start by age 18 and more than 80% choose brands from among the top three heavily most advertised. you will hear in this report a

major conclusion that advertising and promotional activities by tobacco companies caused the onset and continuation of smoking among adolescents and young adults. research documents a dose- response relationship. the more young people are exposed, the more likely they are to smoke. far too many kids still see smoking images and messages every day that normalized as dependents. for example, in 2010, nearly one-third of the top grossing films produced four children contained images of smoking. just about half of their states continue to allow smoking in public places. images and messages normalized usage in the magazines, the internet, and in retail stores. in short, kids see smoking in the movies they watch, the video games they play, the web sites

they visit, and in the communities where they live. from 1997-2003, youth smoking fell rapidly, but since that time the rate of decline has slowed. in fact, there would be 3 million fewer smokers today if we, as a society, had sustained the success in the decline seen between 1997-2003. a great concern, you part consuming other tobacco products. in total, we can document 3.6 million in u.s. cigarette smokers as well as 1.7 million adolescents using non-tobacco smoking products. many of the people larkin currently using different types of tobacco. among those who use tobacco, more than half of high-school

males and nearly one-third of high school females use more than one type of tobacco products, whether it be cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, or a different form. this surgeon general's report but only provides powerful detail on the information that leads to use use but provides proven strategies to enhance prevention. we at the department hope and human services have committed to strengthening and fully implementing these proven effective strategy is as part of a comprehensive coordinated national approach. it in november 2010, we released ending the tobacco epidemic -- an action plan from the department of health and human services. a plan set -- that set specific actions for the department to implement progress, build on milestones, respond to the changing markets of tobacco

products, and support a robust tobacco control programs throughout the country. we have ample evidence that these comprehensive interventions work. such programs more than pay for themselves in terms of lives saved, and dollars saved. the current problem is that we have not yet fully applied the evidence-based tools that would in this epidemic. between 2005 and 2010, 20 states had declined the smoking province or -- prevalence. we need to accelerate these declines in each and every state and sustain them to benefit all our children for the future. until the end of tobacco epidemic, even more young people will become addicted, even more will die, and even more families will be left behind, devastated by a loss of loved ones. she was so much for being here today.

-- thank you so much for being here today. we must accelerate comprehensive programs, making services accessible and affordable and creating an environment that the normalizes this dependence an mostd mo galt -- in most of all, give our young people a chance to be healthy and tobacco free. thank you very much for being there. [applause] >> i am very pleased to introduce our surgeon general. [applause] >> good morning. it is such a nice turn out. thank you for being interested in such an important issue. thank you doctor for sharing with us the department's commitment to tobacco control. i would like to say very special thank you to the secretary sebelius for a strong and

unrelenting leadership on this most important public health issue. she has made it a top priority. i would also like to recognize by tobacco-free advocates, the young students and gerber have been working with through the years -- the young students i have been working with through the years. would you stand up, please. [applause] also, the others who are watching on the web. 2012 surgeon general's report preventing tobacco use among students and young adults is the result of the contributions of more than 130 health experts. i would like to recognize the editors who are with us today.

they will be here to help with the question and answers. also, i understand sablan is here to -- someone is here to recognize another doctor, as well. i would like to recognize my medical school professor and mentor. and all of the former surgeon general's work for their -- all of the surgeon general's for their work. everyone is called for immediate action to solve this problem. today's release is the 31st surgeon general's report on tobacco. it prevents tobacco use among students and young adults. it reminds us once again that the burden of tobacco puts a heavy burden on society. the report challenges us to end the epidemic of smoking amongst

young people the numbers are tracking. it is repeating. every day, 1200 americans die from smoking. each of those people are being replaced by a two young smokers. almost 90% replacement smokers smoke there for cigarette -- their first cigarette before 18. despite the reductions in use over the past decade, today, more than 600,000 middle school students smoke. 3 million high school student smokes cigarettes. also, nearly one in three young adults between the ages of 18 and 26 molk. -- 26 smoke. this is the highest among steny other age group. this is a serious issue. one of the most serious findings is about nicotine addiction and the younger they become smoking, the more likely they become

addicted. every year, 1.4 million youth under the age of 18 try their first cigarette. many of them end up being lifelong smokers. cigarettes are designed for addiction. nicotine is the key chemical compound that causes the powerful addicting effects of cigarettes. added ingredients and design features make them even more attractive and more addictive than ever before. many ingredients like sugar, when they are added, they reduce the harshness and improve the taste. chemical ingredients such as ammonia convert nicotine into what we call free nicotine that more quickly crosses the blood- brain barrier. ventilation holes and filters makes no easier to inhale deeply into the lungs. they also convert the nicotine into free-nicotine. all of these designs were

together to enhance the addictive kick and the pleasure that smokers feel. adolescents have bodies that are more second -- were sensitive to nicotine. this explains why 1000 teenagers become smokers daily. three out of court after high school students continued to smoke well into adulthood. even if they had attempted to quit in a few years. there are also other tobacco products that you find appealing. some of the cigarettes cigars include fruit flavors and candy flavors. strawberry and gary. some of the latest smokeless less.co products are spit l they can be used at school or at home in front of mom and dad, even so they cannot be detected. they may not even know their kids are using them.

understand that these products can also cause nicotine addiction, which can lead to serious disease and even death. this report also highlights some of the health effects. in addition to the increased risk for serious chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease and emphysema, there is an immediate damage to the heart and lungs. study showed that many non- smokers have early cardiovascular damage, particularly early changes in the order. that puts them at a higher risk for the arctic -- aortic dissection. smoking slows the development of along function. teens can end up with long's that never reach their full functioning capacity. -- lungs that never reach their full functioning capacity.

advertisements have been successful to young people. in this report, scientists use studies and evidence to show causality. the more the youth is exposed to marketing an advertisement, the more likely they are to start and maintain smoking. in the u.s. alone, more than $1 million an hour, over $27 million a day is spent on targeting messages and images to portray smoking as an acceptable and appealing activity. we know that prevention is the key. 99% of smokers began smoking before the age of 25. we want to prevent our next generation from ever starting to smoke. if we can just get them to remain smoke-free until they're 26, less than 1% of them will ever start. we know it works. we know that when we enact smoke-free policies, we reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and

prom smokers to quit. we know that when we increase the price of tobacco, smoking rates decline among steels. we also know that -- among the use. we know that when we educate the public, we informed them of their risk and prevent youths from starting to smoke. science tells us that that sustained multi component programs prevent young people from starting to use tobacco. we saw this approach in new york city. when they cut their youth smoking in half in as little as six years. we have implemented these types of comprehensive tobacco programs in the past. we saw a steady decline in the rate of to use use -- youth use by 2003. had we maintained, we have. -- we could get prevented 3 million smokers. we need to bring back the level

of commitment, bring it back to the programs today. it is time for us to really end of the cause -- the single most preventable cause of death in the nation. we are committed to say we can make our next generation tobacco free. i tried to describe to the many findings in this 2012 surgeon general's report. the full report is 900 pages long. it is written for scientific audiences. it is important that americans understand that we can end this tobacco epidemic by preventing youths from using it in the first place. we have developed a booklet that you can take home with you. that is written in plain language with good graphics and is entitled "the surgeon general's report, preventing tobacco use amongst you and -- youth and young adults became --

young adults." i would like to say thank-you to the center of disease control because they have helped us with a new project. i would like to formally and officially launched the surgeon general's video challenge. this is a competition to engage the people in developing original videos that feature one or more of the surgeon general's reports findings. contestants are encouraged to use the consumer piece that i just showed you as a guide to writing their health videos. the contest will have two age categories with english and spanish. 84218, and 18 to 24. age 14-18 and 18-24. after you submit the video, it will be screened. after that come eligible videos

will be put up on the youtube channel for public voting. then the top 10 of those will be judged by an expert no. -- an expert panel. there is a $5,000 grand prize. we are looking forward to having some good videos in this competition. for more information, go to surjitgeneral -- surgeongeneral.org. i thought i would like to show you my video. [laughter] >> at 12, i smoked my own cigarette. >> at 16, i was addicted. >> by 40, i will have lung disease. >> by 50, i will die of heart attack. >> cigarette smoke causes immediate damage. quit or die.

i am the united states surgeon general. go to cdc.gov. [applause] >> we will all be happy to take your questions. we only have some time for a few questions but we will take some now. [no audio] >> primary-care physicians in in

the -- and denny physicians are well respected by their patience. -- patients. talk to your doctor. as far as doctors, we need to always talk to our patients about ways to quit smoking. particularly in the primary care arena where we are dealing with adolescents and this age group. we can have a very strong effect. >> other questions? going once. [laughter] ok. thank you for being here. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> more about trends amongst young people here on c-span. we will look at a federal education survey at schools. one of the findings is that minority students face harsher punishments. a look at the u.s. senate program or high school students were a year for the senate. that is followed by a hearing on the department's 2013 budget, which includes more money to prosecute mortgage fraud. >> ernest hemingway is

considered one of the greatest american writers and his works still influence readers today. not many people know of his work as a spy were in world war ii. >> there were a couple of incidents is that he was aware of where germans. approached fishing boats and said, we will take your cash. ernest says, i will wait for them to come along and then my players are going to lob hand grenades and the other crew members will gun them down. >> nicholas reynolds on hemingway, the spy. that is tonight at 8:30 p.m. on c-span3. >> the education department has released a survey showing disparities and the types of educational opportunities available across the country. from pre-kindergarten to high school. the survey also shows that minority students face harsh replenishment at school.

education secretary arne duncan is joined at the seabed by assistant secretary for civil rights, and other representatives. this is 45 minutes. >> good afternoon. i am the president of howard university. on behalf of the university, welcome. and our representatives, members of the department of our education, and the secretary and assistant secretary and all other people who believe in the mission of higher education and its relationship with k through 12. i have an opportunity to awknowledge one of my colleagues from trinity university. we're so glad you are here. everyone knows about trinity's working teacher preparation and the valuable services they contribute to our entire community. it is my pleasure to welcome secretary duncan and the

assistant secretary. all of you know them a reputation and by their achievement. i am excited that the secretary is here today and assistant secretary and they have come for a very important occasion. a very important announcement. secretary duncan called it education the most important thing in america during preparing people for life is not just a moral obligation, but also an economic imperative. he further stated that education is the civil rights issue of our generation and is only -- the only sure path out of poverty and the only way to achieve moral -- more equal and a more just society. in february 2010, shortly after his inauguration, he can do hour to discuss the role hbc must

continue to play in preparing teachers who are the multi- cultural influences. he came back for a town hall meeting to encourage students to choose teaching careers. as part of our academic renewal process here at howard university, we have reviewed all 171 academic programs and are attempting to ensure quality. as a result of the process, the school of education had to determine a teacher preparation program for urban education, something we are proud of. the secretary has partnered with us on several occasions. we are glad that he is here today for this very special occasion and we welcome both he and the assistant secretary here. i would like to present to you for some brief comments, the dean of our school of education. [applause] >> welcome to howard university,

secretary duncan and assistant secretary. we stand on this ground once visited by the president of the united states, lyndon johnson. president johnson was a facilitator of the education and civil rights legislation and he was arrested teacher. during his presidency, he reference to his first job out of college as a sixth than seventh grade history teacher in texas in a small school serving mexican-american students. he said of that experience, "i often walked a late in the afternoon after glasses were finished -- classes were fin ished. calling it was to teach them with the hope to teach them -- to help them against the things that lie ahead. , i never thought then in 1928 that i would be standing here as

president in 1965. it never occurred to me in my fondest dream that i would ever have the chance to help the sons and daughters of those students, to help people like them all over the country. now i have that chance. i will let you in on a secret -- need to use it. " use it he did. the original intention of the legislation he passed was to use education as a lever to lift children out of poverty. we have before us the same opportunity that president johnson spoke of nearly one century ago. i pray we remain steadfast and our commitment to engage the two most successful strategies for obtaining equal educational opportunity, first to equalize state funding and second to provide children broader access the to certify teachers. we have the power and i hope we intend to use it in deep and

lasting ways so that the next generation of black, brown, and for children's will not have their chances circumscribed by lack of access to quality schooling. to our guests, howard university is responding to the charge of extrication of -- educational equity for our ready to teach program, which has produced for teachers of the year, one of which for chicago public schools. after the national foundation grant, studying hbcu models for national teachers. it we welcome you -- it we welcome you. i am pleased to represent -- i am pleased and reduce -- introduced the representatives. [applause] >> well, we cannot have found a more appropriate place because it was here at howard where much

of the work was done by legal scholars like thurgood marshall, doing the groundwork for brown versus the board of education. for secretary duncan to come today to release this report reminds us that we still have work to do to read a more perfect union. -- to create a more perfect union. because we can calculate the damage that is done when only 29% of the high schools where children of color attend at calculus available to them in our country today. we can calculate the cost to our nation that happens when we have such a gap in curriculum. these people need the opportunity to bring forth

their excellence in economic -- in education. we know what some have speculated and many have summarized for a long time, which is that when we looked at everything that is important in terms of a child learning, and children who come from very challenging circumstances get the least of everything we know that they need in terms of teachers who have content knowledge. in terms of a rigorous curriculum. in terms of really the gateway to college, that is high level math given at the time and in the sequence they are needed. in order to bring forth their ability to calculate and communicate and critically think. this report is -- should deeply disturbed the conscience of the nation. but moreover, i too should cause us to act. the only question -- id should cause us to act. the only question is, when you

have the power, what do you do with it? now, we are challenged to really take action to give the san people an opportunity so that one day, they can attend a great university like howard. they can be a teacher of the year. they can serve as secretary of education and even more. thank you very much. [applause] [laughter] >> the chair of the congressional education task force and braintrust, danny davis, from illinois. [applause] >> to live. q i very much -- thank you very much. to everyone here at howard, it is always a pleasure to be on this campus that has meant so

much to education in america. and has started the way for some individuals to obtain the enlightenment, that they needed to help make america what it is. i come especially to applaud president obama, secretary duncan, the assistant secretary, and the office of civil rights at the department of education for developing a national data tool examining equity and educational opportunities. we want to assure that all

students receive ok'd high- quality educational experience. the dramatic numbers confirm that the opportunity gaps are very real for students of color, students who are low-income, students with disabilities, and students who are learning english, especially for the first time. i am especially grateful to the office of civil rights for examining the experience of discipline, including the interaction of race and gender, iselin -- in discipline. i have fought for this for years. given my observation of the over-disciplined african- american boys -- demonstrate

that black students, especially boys, experience much harsher discipline than other students with one in five black boys subject to out of school suspension almost three times the rate of their white peers. the data released on a critically demonstrates the need for the civil rights data collection and for active federal partnership with states to inshore educational success. i am also pleased to announce that the congressional black caucus will host a congressional summit on discipline in april, to examine further these data points and to discuss federal policy reforms to address the disparities that have been revealed. i know that representative don

payne, who is our senior member of the education committee, would have loved to have been here to note at the progress that we have made. again, secretary duncan and the assistant secretary, we commend you and the department of for the germander court you have done -- the tremendous work you have done that leads us towards more formation of his perfect union. [applause] >> to the president, to the dean, to be how work-family. i am pleased to be here. -- to be how word -- howard family. i am pleased to be here. my thoughts are with congressman payne. he was one of my bosses on the

house education committee. we have a great legacy going forward. thank you for your leadership. why do we say education is the civil rights issue of our generation? no other issue holds greater promise of equality and opportunity for our nation. as the data we are releasing today shows, are too many students and schools have an equity as a reality. we issued the first round of south reported data ever collected from 72 -- round of data ever collected. it showed that schools serving minorities had less rigorous high school classes and were more likely to be taught by teachers with one or two years of experience. the second round of data confirmed these discrepancies. if we are serious about not just talking about this gap, but

doing something about it, we have to close the opportunity gap. there are three parts. teachers, access to rigor, and discipline. first, teachers. through the second round of data collected in 2009, teachers in the high minority schools were paid $2,200 less per year than their colleagues in other schools because they are younger and less experienced. these numbers vary by district. in new york, the discrepancy in high school is more than $8,000. in philadelphia, that number is greater. more than $14,000 per teacher. the best way to challenge this reality is for distance and unions to work together and reward great teachers and great principles for taking on tough assignments in the schools and communities where there is historically high turnover and positions are hard to fill.

we have to attract and retain great talent. great teachers and great principles make a great difference. we have to get them to be children activities that need them the most. the news was not always bad. there were some places where teachers were paid more than average. teachers in chicago public schools are and $1,800 per year than their counterparts in schools serving fewer minorities. in the chicago high schools, teachers in the high minority schools earned $5,000 less than teachers in schools with fewer minorities. the second topic was high school record. rigor. only 29% of high minority high schools offer cannot gila's compared to 55% of schools -- offer calculus compared to 55%

of schools with low or minority records -- numbers. while blacks and hispanics make up 44% of the students in this survey, they make up only 26% of students in the gifted and talented programs. many states are taking steps to try to address this opportunity deficit. top states received grants because of their commitment to increasing subject offerings in their schools. there are partnering with universities and training teachers so those schools can give their students more rigorous and challenging classes that set them on a path to college and give them a leg up once they get to college with that credit already in their back pocket. all schools, all districts and states need to challenge

themselves to do more to create access to rigorous classes for their minority students. third is discipline. the most alarming finding in the second round involves the topic of discipline. minority students across america face much harsher discipline than non-minorities, even in the same schools. african-american students, particularly males, are far more likely to be expanded -- suspended or expelled than their peers. black students make up just 18% of the students in this survey. 35% of the students suspended for black and 39% of the students expelled were black. students with disabilities were twice as likely to be suspended as students without disabilities. the worst discrepancies were in my hometown of chicago. we look for alternatives to suspension. we begin.

juries where students were responsible for disciplining each other and finding -- peer juries were developed where students were responsible for disciplining each other. there was training and professional development for teachers and principals in those schools. chicago and other cities still have work to do in this area. we will do everything we can to help. schools can use federal funds from multiple sources including title 1, title to, and grants to find new and better ways the west title -- title 2 to find new and better ways. it is incumbent on all of us to break these patterns. teacher absence was another finding in this survey.

more than 1/3 of our teachers are absent at least two weeks per year. the data does not tell us why. i have asked schools to find out what is going on. havef america's hi schools no guidance counselors. -- highca's hi schools schools have no guidance counselors. this data is cut by gender as well as race. we have breakdowns at the school, district, and state level on our web site which will be up once this press conference is done. the power of this data is in the truth behind the numbers and the impact will it is married to with the truth and the will to change the status quo. the educational experience for

far too many students of color and disabilities violates the principles of equity at the heart of the american promise. it is in our best interest to change that with a sense of urgency. i caution everyone to avoid simplistic conclusions -- conclusions in looking at this data. these are often long held patterns of behavior. until this data is tracked and the body weight, many educators may not be aware of these huge discrepancies -- until this data is tracked, many educators may not be aware of these huge discrepancies. there is a treasure trove of information that can inspire conversations and actions at the district and state leaders of their state level. we are challenging leaders to work together to -- there is a treasure trove of the information's that can inspire

compensations and actions at the district and state levels. it is now my daughter -- my honor to introduce russlynn ali. this data represents an historic transformation for our country. we have an amazing level of transparency, from looking at the cold, hard truth. it will inspire our nation to action. please welcome russlynn ali from the office of civil rights. [applause]

>> thank you for being here today. our work is around guaranteeing that the achievement gap closes. without information about where opportunity is provided and how resources are being divided and distributed -- distributed, getting to our common goal is more difficult. i would like to walk you through what some of the data say a little deeper. you are receiving snapshots of the kinds of analyses that can be done with these data. this document will also be on our web site as soon as this conference is over. but for the cooperation of 7000 school districts over 72,000

schools representing 85% of our public school children -- but for their cooperation, we would not have these data before us today. these were self reported data. the districts have been reporting data like these since 1968. under the call of this administration, much more data was collected than ever before. lots of methodological problems were tweaked and more students were survey. but the first time, we are providing user-friendly tools so you can do your own kind of queries, ask tough questions about your schools, help parents understand what is happening as their students and children journey from pre-kindergarten all the way through the end of high school.

you will be able to download school level reports. you will be able to download district-level reports and look at these data yourself. let's take a moment and look at what these data say. as arne just closed his remarks with, these are the kinds -- we look at these data wanting to understand them, help districts and schools change the patterns, and ask ourselves the tough questions, and support people with the will to change. from our web site, you will be a watusi longitudinal tools -- from our web site, you will be able to see longitudinal tools.

we should not make national projections or estimations from the data we have now. those are coming soon. as we look deeper into these data, they reveal some important patterns that the students in the sample undergo as they journey k-12. what you are looking at here is across all disciplines sanctions, in school suspensions, out of school suspensions, once or more than once a expulsions. african american students in particular over represented in these disciplinary actions. you can, for the first time, look at what happens to students if they are referred to law enforcement, whether they are arrested. nowhere before have we had one place where we could understand these data. we have learned of disturbing anecdotes' across the country. as arne mentioned and

congressman dave this put so eloquently, looking at race and gender is using important. black girls and black boys in this country are suspended at a higher rate than almost any of their peers. black girls are suspended at higher rates than latino boys. seclusion and restraint. for the first time, we have national data that indicates how many instances of seclusion and restraint there are and broken out by type. here you are looking at seclusion data. what it shows in the yellow is that latino students are over- represented in seclusion when it cost to mechanical restraints. you will see that -- when it comes to mechanical restraints. these data allow us to always

point to solutions. the patterns we are showing you may be the norm in our too many places. the key is studying an understanding those places that are defying these trends, that are closing these opportunity gaps. in chicago where, despite its demographics, is largely ensuring that it has lowered disciplinary actions than the district as a whole. retention rates, you can study for the first time in these data. great love for retention by race, by gender, by disability standard -- disability status, an english language learners. what you are looking at is that while english language learners are represented by 6% of the high school students in the sample, they represent about 12%

of those students retained. we are digging deep into the access that students have to be courses they will need to succeed. we have seen amazing work by states over the last few years. 46 of them are adopting and implementing college and career- ready standards. if students do not have access to the courses, they will be hard-pressed to learn that rigorous material. here you have district that offered those rigorous courses. half of the high schools in the country offer that rigorous course. when we compared the schools that are offering that course rut into the demographics, high school with the highest -- offering that course, we see it that high schools with the

highest black and latino population are less likely to have access to physics and i get less. we can study who is enrolled in those courses by sub groups. latino students make up 20% of the student body in the high schools in the sample that offer calculusa. . ap course taking. a repository for ap access. study who is enrolled in those courses. who is taking at least one test and who is passing at least one test? the good news is that white students are extraordinarily successful in being enrolled in the ap exams. we do not see similar success

rates for students of other races. finding those places who are defying the ides -- odds. montgomery county in maryland. seeing so many of their courses -- students enrolled in progress science classes and taking those lessons and sharing them with their colleagues. you can look a little bit deeper into algebra. for a long time, we called out to but the gatekeeper. understanding when students are taking it and when they are successful in it is usually important. we are looking at one way you can cut the data collection. middle school algebra the best middle school algebra. who is getting its early. -- middle school algebra. who is getting its early -- it

early? they pass it in proportion to their enrollment. 79% of the african-american students who get algebra early as it. finding those success stories. finding those places that are and rolling most of their students in algebra early and are successful early. we are seeing that here in elizabeth, new jersey. they are closing b opportunity gap, showing us it does not have to be the way the trend reveals. this shows you who is enrolled in talented and gifted programs throughout their schooling career and finding those places that are doing a great job at enrolling students like we are seeing in dade county, florida.

when it comes to teachers, these data on allow you to study the first and second year teacher placement in particular. these data do not make any statements about teacher experience. they show us where our newest teachers are house. we see across the sample that they are more likely teaching students that are in schools serving mostly african american and latino students. the question here is to understand what the those teachers are being supported to stay in those schools. when you are looking at return rates, is about ensuring that the great teachers that go to

the schools stay in the schools and are supported so that these patterns can change. those data translate into real dollar differences. money does matter. we look at how our resources are being distributed. in the elementary schools and the schools in the sample, they are spending $2,500 less per teacher if those teachers are teaching mostly african- american and latino students. these data are useful to identify places that are balking these trends, where they are insuring equitable distribution of their most precious resources, including that which we know matters most when it comes to students learning, that is the power of the instructor in front of the classroom. you can find data about s.a.t.

and act test taking. you can find data about interscholastic athletics. you can find data about students objected to bullying, harassment based on race -- subjected to bullying, harassment based on race, an english language lerner status. this is a look at the tools and the kinds of ways you can do your own analyses. the tool will allow you to select from all the indicators available. it will allow you to create charts to better visualize the déjà and print out issue- specific reports -- this allies the data and print out issue- specific -- visualize the data and print out issue-specific reports.

this is the first time most of the districts have reported these kinds of indicators. we have a process in place to ensure that the data can be all the more accurate. when there is no kind of audit function to ensure its technical accuracy, we want to caution to make no sweeping conclusions from any one element that you see in the data set and to consistently check back on our website for updates in the events in its the data needs to be corrected moving forward. thank you for your time. we will open it up to questions. [applause] >> we will meet with the media in a couple minutes in the next room. >> miss ali, relative to the

fact finding you have done, will the department of education do anything to link money to this kind of treatment? >> we are trying to do a number of things. i talked about title $1, or whether it is titled -- title 1 dollars, or whether it is title 2 money. many districts will be surprised to see this and understand. we have an opportunity to get collective responsibility to move in different ways. we'll be resources can and will be used to address these major inequities. >> the department is joined with the department of justice. we seek to bring the best minds

together to study these problems. we have had a few amazing conferences across the country for educators and school district officials that are struggling with discipline. we will be releasing guidance on the subject. our hope is to provide a tool kit for educators and the public on how to studied these patterns and do something about it.

the office, over the last couple of years has launched 14 pro- active systemic investigations into this and practices in districts across the country. we be seeing hundreds of complaints about discipline practices. we work to resolve all of them. enforcement is but one tool. these numbers, though they tell a disturbing trend and to require all of us -- they are a call to action for all of us to study what is happening. they do not portend or automatically suggest that there is evidence of discrimination

sufficient to rise to the level of a civil rights isolation under the civil rights laws in education. >> i had a question about the discipline information. is there a distinction made between the types of infractions for which people are disciplined? i did not know if that is available on the web site. >> this collection does not look at all since type with specificity. it looks at distinction. in school or out of school expulsion or referrals to law enforcement. it does not break out by type. there are some studies that have analyzed it by some states. many schools and districts are posting this kind of information on their web sites. >> final question? >> secretary down again, you

mentioned that school to prison pipelines -- secretary duncan, you mentioned that school to prison pipelines develop. how are you working to accomplish your goal? >> when i left chicago public schools, we look at a rest data. we found that the chicago public schools were producing the bass majority of juvenile arrests in the city. it happened -- the vast majority of juvenile arrests. 7% of our schools were producing 53% of the arrests. we phone schools that were four or five blocks away, community, that had almost no arrests. something radically different was going on in those school buildings.

we did better professional development in training the principles and tried to drive down the arrest rates. that kind of thing we can do around the country and working with the department of justice. the answers are out there. folks are getting this right in the a lot of places. we are challenging the status quo when it is broken and trying to establish best practices. these teachers were not bad people. they did not know a better way to handle children who were struggling a little bit. this is a child who is hurting who might need a mentor or counselor or social worker. that is the count -- kind of support we want to provide. the last one here. >> good afternoon. in light of the sobering data you just share, i wonder if there will be some guidance

forthcoming regarding measures and policies school districts may be a to and that to address the disparity we just noted without -- school district may be able to use to address the disparities. >> this is happening on an ongoing basis. if you are asking for guidance under the civil-rights law, we are working on that to insure that schools know clearly what their responsibilities are under the civil rights law. we want to be clear. when we are talking about discipline rights that give rise to the level of a civil rights violation based on my anecdotal experience -- we have made these data available to you in real

time as they come to us. our first step is to dissect them as much as possible. the civil-rights violation is one to arise where you are talking about students being treated differently, for example when you have the same offense, the same history, the same circumstance and different punishment and when race is what is the differentiating factor when disciplinary actions are instituted. that is hugely important. we are moving on its aggressively working to ensure fundamental fairness. these data portend that we have a much deeper problem that is not just about race or exclusionary treatment based on a protected -- protected class.

they involve school and classroom management and culture. the positive behavior in the rich and supports and strategies to help ensure a healthy -- behavior and supports and strategies to help ensure a healthy learning environment while been disciplined for any particular infraction are also important things to showcase. civil rights enforcement is a piece of it. insuring folks have the resources to support the strategy is at hand to deal with these local and community and school level problems. it is what we are doing now and what we will continue to do moving forward. >> they all of you for helping us start making the way for an important national conversation. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> congratulations to all of this year's winners of c-span's the deal documentary competition. a record number of middle and high school students entered on the theme, "the constitution and you." join us morning's in april when we showed the top seven videos. we will talk with the winners during "washington journal." >> senator susan collins of maine talked about the fifth anniversary of the -- this is just under 10 minutes.

>> when i was chosen in 1971, i had never been to washington or been on an airplane. this was the program that changed my life in many ways. it is a great program. >> what was it like to meet the woman who held your seat, the seat that you now hold? >> the highlight was the meeting of both of my senators. i had the best senators in the whole united states. what was really special was that senator smith took nearly two hours talking to me about the issues of the day. she gave me a copy of her famous

declaration of conscience in which she spoke out against the excess is up senator joseph mccarthy. she was the first shensi who really confronted him. -- the first senator who really confronted him and taught me to stand tall. >> you saw so much, from being in the capital for the first time and meeting these leaders. what they do take call with you? >> i did not -- what did you take home with you? >> i think it was the first step in a journey that led me, 25 years later, to run for public office, to run for the senate and 2 win day seek she was held. it taught me the importance of getting involved, a lesson my

parents always reinforced at home. it taught me that you could make a difference. i met wonderful students from all over the country, as well as a wide variety of public figures. it opened my eyes to the fact that you could make a difference in government, but you needed to get personally involved. >> tell us what inspired you to run for office all those years later. >> i ran for office because i was convinced i could make a difference. i remembered my parents say to me, you had no right to complain about government and policies if you sat on the sidelines and not -- and were not willing to get involved. both of them were involved in community in the state in politics and simple -- civic organizations. the senate youth program helped me put it all together and to

see government and politics at a whole different level. it really is an extraordinary experience for the students who are chosen to participate in this program. i happen to be the only alumnus who has become a united states senator, many of the other alumni have gone on to jobs, whether it is a house member, to jobs in politics, to be judicial branch. they have made a real difference in their communities. if you ask them, they would point to this program as an important reason why. >> you andy congressmen from colorado are two of the alumnus who are here. the-you and the -- you and the congressman from colorado i am the two alumnus who are here. >> so many young people and

people in general are afraid to take the risk of running for office or whatever their dream baby they talk themselves out of it. years later, they are filled with regret that they did not try. the biggest disappointments in life, not when you try and fail, but when you fail to try. i would encourage them to follow my lead. if they are interested in running for public office, go for it. i was particularly say this to the young women. a lot of times, young women talk themselves out of running for office. they convince themselves that they are not ready, that they are not prepared enough. young girls growing up need to have more confidence in their ability. young women and older women need to know that america needs their talent. >> your colleague and fellow

maine republican announced she is not running for reelection. she cited a breakdown in partisanship -- bipartisanship and collegiality in the the senate. what is your take on collegiality? what is your hope for the future? are you concerned young people will find other ways to serve not running for office? >> it is a huge disappointment to me that olympia snowe has decided not to run. it is a huge blow to the state of maine and to me personally. i would tell young people not to be discouraged. they are the ones who hold the future of this country in their hands. i believe its is the public that needs to demands -- it is the public that these two demand. if they start demanding that

members work together, it will happen. it did used to be that those of us who brought people together to try to solve problems were applauded for our efforts or tried to find solutions and for compromising on it -- efforts or tried to find solutions as for compromising. now compromising is a dirty word. we have been vilified by the far right and the far left. we need to try to solve problems rather than score political points. that will be part of my message tonight when i speak to the delegates of the senate youth program. >> senator susan collins of maine. and alumnae -- an alumni of the

senate leaders program. >> a look at the federal trade commission 2013 budget request. testifying on capitol hill, the ftc chairman who supports the budget and a commissioner against the plan. >> fire j. edgar hoover? i do not think the president could have gotten away with it. >> phyllis a prize-winning author details the 100th year -- pulitzer prize-winning author tim weiner talks about being 100 year history of the fbi and j. edgar hoover. he is like a statue encased in grime as one of the most powerful man who ever served in washington.

11 presidents, from woodrow wilson to richard nixon. there is no one like him. a great deal of what we think we know about j. edgar hoover is meant -- is myth and legend. >> a history of the fbi tonight at 8:00 p.m. on c-span's "q & a ." >> british prime minister david cameron discusses british soldiers who are missing and/or dead. the prime minister's upcoming visit with president obama next week. prime minister's questions at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span. attorney general eric holder went to capitol hill to explain the justice department also budget request for 2013.

it includes more funds for fighting mortgage fraud. he warned lawmakers against allowing cuts for sequestration. he said the department would lose face of that number of agents, which would impact the justice department forever. the hearing is just

>> good morning, everybody. the commerce justice appropriations subcommittee will come to order. this morning we welcome the attorney general of the united states. as is the usual and customary way, a senator hutchison and i will make opening statements. to be will go to you attorney general. you can summarize that all statements but in the record. does this sound ok?

>> we expect participation. we will strictly adhered to the five men and roll. having laid the groundwork, i want to say good morning. welcome to our first subcommittee hearing. we will hear his presentation on the department of justice budget. we have a very positive relationship. he has brought the career prosecutor experience. he has been dedicated to fighting violent crime and terrorism. he is now working with our team.

how do we protect our citizens and our civil liberties? people are we get into the numbers about the money, i've read like to thank you and all the hard been in women that work at the department of justice. there are 119,000 employees. they have done some amazing accomplishments which i will talk about when i get to my question. we want to thank them. they have either done prevention and intervention, to make sure they make traditional violent crime work to all over the world.

as the chair of the subcommittee, i three priorities when examining the budget, communities, security, and the community safe. national security to keep america safe and oversight and accountability. i want to make sure the justice department has what it needs to do its mission. i saw there was only one new initiative. that is the expansion of

mortgage in financial fraud. that was $111 million. we have seen such a rising number of scams and schemes and predatory lending practices. we want to know what you need to do with the money. we cannot have a vibrant community unless it is safe. i want to know how the budget will keep america safe at home the requests for $2 billion for grants and local law- enforcement, i wonder if it is sufficient. it is $32 million below the 2012. the state and local one seems to bear the brunt of budget cuts. grants have been cut by $1 billion in local funding. some of this is the acts of the congress itself.

we need to hear your view on what we can do. they have recommended that you should conduct a review and eliminate unnecessary deportation. we also want to look into protecting our children.

we understand you are requesting $328 million. we look forward to seeing how you will allocate that. the southwest border, senator hutchison has worked in that area. this is not only a bipartisan support, we think it should be non-partisan. i will let her raise those questions. we need safe and resilience networks. we worry about the safety of our power groups in air-traffic control systems. yes today the congress held -- yesterday the congress held its cyber exercise. this was chilling and terrifying to know what happened there. we need to know about cyber. i want to know how the justice department is improving.

we have very specific questions. the number of people here will speak. i will turn to senator hutchison and then to you. >> thank you. thank you very much not only for the deference on border security and where i live but also on the way you run this committee which is for us to do what is right for america. i do want to address some of the areas of border security. the finding is something that continues to be short changed by your budgets. it is the reimbursement for local counties that incarcerate illegal prisoners.

along the borders they are very poor and not have this kind of resources. we did not get the money back in. i would hope that you would support increasing that as we go through this process. we must incarcerate these illegal criminals, are mostly in the drug cartel and operations. this cannot be borne by the counties. language was included in last year's bill that would prohibit

law enforcement agencies from selling operable weapons. this removes that language, saying it is unnecessary. we just want to make positively shore that what happened is that happen again. last year are, as justice provided to million dollars to expand the capacity at the overcrowded a passel intelligence center. this is critical for our southwest border and information sharing. it has the potential to become the borders social point. it is imperative that this

center take full advantage of the resources available from the department of justice agency. i hope that you can give us an update on the status. they are attempting to recruit college students to smuggle drugs. miners are more appealing because criminal penalties are leiter. one of the good parts of your budget request is 312 million for the prevention programs. i will be interested in hearing if you are aware. we tried to make sure we help our youth. there is a request a cut of 1.5% of law enforcement grants which are very important. the local agencies have such a burden with the trafficking that is coming across the border. but i help you would help us restore that funding.

the violence against law enforcement and officer resilience and survivability is one that i applaud your efforts to put in place. unfortunately, the number of officers to died in the line of duty in america last year increased from 153 to 173.

the feedback from the research being conducted is very positive including the alert center at texas state university which was credited by the two officers who came into fort hood when major nidal hassan started shooting unarmed military people. both of those officers survived even though the sergeant was shot several times. they both credited of their swift response to the alerts acted shooter training program that they had received. to that is something that is good that i applaud in your budget. and what to state a concern i have about the park service. they're pushing for construction that is in service.

this is not the department of justice decision. it is going to affect some of the personnel. the i am concerned this is an area where illegal immigrants can walk across. you walk across their river and into big bend and have been on manned border crossing. i think it is insufficient. we'll see if we can get the fbi, border patrol, somebody to get in a case like that. i am like to ask you some questions about your public integrity unit. i am going to give you full

credit for dismissing the case again senator stevens. atlanta as the questions. their report will be public within days. if there's anything you should take, it is that the public corruption unit is fair and evenhanded. clearly that is not the case and presentation for many of us. there are very badly abused. he did dismiss the case when he

learned of the mass behavior. and give the credit on the senate floor. i will ask you about the report when we had time to ask questions. >> thank you. >> i want to thank you very much for the opportunity to appear before you today and for your continued support. i afford to discussing the fiscal year 2013 budget. the president's proposal demonstrates the commitment to augment our important obligation, and that is protecting the american people. despite the fiscal constraints, the dedicated employees who serve in the office have made significant progress in safeguarding our citizens from terrorism, cyber crime, and from a range of threats that often threaten the most vulnerable members of our

society. we have proven our commitment to acting as stewards of precious taxpayer dollars. we have proven our commitment to acting as stewards of precious taxpayer dollars. in the most recent request, proposed spending increases have been exceeded by proposed cuts. as a result of numerous steps taken to streamline operations, almost $700 million worth of savings have been developed, and we invested in critical mission areas. i believe the department is more efficient than ever before. recent achievements, especially when you consider our national security efforts -- by continuing to work alongside u.s. and international partners, we have identified and disrupted numerous alleged terrorist plots, including one by two iranian nationals to assassinate the saudi

ambassador, and we have secured convictions against a number of dangerous terrorists. in october, the department obtained a guilty plea from abdul mutallib. in november we secured the conviction of a notorious arms seller. the list goes on and on. with the sustained investments

included in the budget for the comprehensive national cyber security initiative, the joint terrorism task force, and other key national efforts, the department will be able to strengthen our surveillance and intelligence gathering capabilities. it will allow us to bring our fight against financial fraud to a new level. on monday, the president issued a proclamation to mark the beginning of this year's consumer fraud protection week, and i know the justice department branch has established a record of success in defending the interests of american consumers. in 2011 alone, our consumer protection branch obtained a 95% conviction rate, and obtained sentences totaling more than 125 years in prison against more

than 30 individuals. this represents a remarkable progress, but is only the beginning. since the start of the administration, the justice apartment has signaled an unwavering commitment to combating and preventing a wide range of financial and health- care fraud crimes, and we have taken steps. charges have been brought against numerous ceo's, board members, and other executives of wall street firms, hedge funds, and banks who have engaged in fraudulent activities. we have attained prison terms of up to 60 years.

just this week we secure a conviction against a former board of directors. the task force has established new working groups, the consumer protection group, which will enhance civil enforcement of consumer fraud and the residential mortgage bankers group, which will help investigate and prosecute abuses in the housing market. both will foster cooperation and collaboration in the department's response to problems. a similar approach that the departments of justice and housing and urban development and 49 states attorneys general to achieve a settlement. this agreement builds on the record of fair lending obtained

last year and will sustain relief to homeowners. it provides a blueprint for future collaboration across government and party lines. there is no better illustration of our progress than the work to combat health care fraud. in cooperation with the department of health and human services and others, by utilizing authorities provided under the false claims act and other statutes, we were able to recover nearly $4.1 billion in funds that were stolen from federal health-care burdens, and that is the highest amount record in a single year. we also opened more than 1100 new criminal health care fraud investigations, secured over 700 convictions, and initiated more than 1000 investigations, and for every dollar we have spent, we have returned $7 to

united states treasury. these numbers are stunning, but my colleagues recognize we cannot be satisfied, and this is no time to become complacent. that is why in addition to helping us build on this record of success, the budget request will bolster our fight against drug trafficking, gangs, and cyber criminals, and increase efforts to protect the law enforcement officers who keep us safe and expand on the work being done by our civil rights division to guarantee the rights of all americans are protected in border areas and work places and voting booths. i am committed to build on these and the other many achievements, and you understand in this time of uncommon threats and complex challenges we simply cannot afford to cut back on the amount and quality of justice that we are obligated to deliver. the department must remain

diligent in protecting and enforcing the law, and these efforts must be funded. i look forward to continued to work with the members of this committee to accomplish this, and i will be happy to answer any questions you might have. >> thank you, mr. attorney general. we will now turn to senator shelby. he has a banking committee that he must attend, and then i will pick up with senator hutchinson. we will recognize members in order of arrival and follow the five-minute rule. >> thank you, madam chairman. good morning. two key justice department facilities will soon be operating -- the fbi's terrorist explosive device or analytical center, and the national center

for explosives training and research. these assets will help officials deal with a growing threat posed by terrorists and criminal use of powerful explosives. you and i have discussed these previously, and you agreed then that the missions of these groups are distinct but complementary, and that makes sense to collate them at redstone. can you describe how the department of justice will utilize these agencies? >> it deals with the examination of the ied's that we see coming out of afghanistan, and the agency run by atf deals with

the other, the more prevalent explosive devices we see, and you're right. they have fundamentally different responsibilities, but they complement one another, and the location of them in that place makes a great deal of sense. >> could you describe locating these in the same arsenal? >> there may be breakthroughs they can exchange with people relatively close by. having the agencies responsible for explosives determination and prevention having been close by, although distinct roles, have been pretty well delineated.

it is clearly having them there and talking to one another. [unintelligible] >> highest per-capita ph.d. communities in science and engineering. >> there are a lot of smart people there. we use smart people when ever we can find them. there are a lot there. that is fair. [unintelligible] >> and pay for it. attorney general holder, the justice department is seeking funds to activate a new women's prison in alabama. this present was designated as a female-only facility based on input from your department, and it cost nearly $250 million. [unintelligible]

>> we want to activate it. it was specially designed to deal with the unique needs that female prisoners have. we have a need to expand our capacity to handle female prisoners in the federal system. given the fact the facility was specially configured, it would be our hope to activate it as quickly as we can. >> it is finished, and i would hope he would do that soon, because activation cost hardly anything compared to build. >> the need is clearly there for the expanding female population that we see in federal prison system. >> is that a priority for you? >> we want to bring online as many of these facilities that

we can, and this is one that is extremely close -- we're just about ready to open it. >> thank you very much for taking me out of the order, and i appreciate it very much. >> mr. attorney general, i have two questions -- i have many, but i will submit them for that record. federal prisons. as i look at the department's budget, almost 1/3 of the justice department money is going into federal prisons. that amount is now at $6 billion, and is rapidly approaching almost what the fbi budget is coming $8 billion. my question is, what is going on with federal prisons? people are incarcerated -- we want the bad guys and gals off the street.

we want you to prosecute and incarcerate, particularly where there are people who constitute a danger to our country or our communities. i do not know if we can sustain this growth, and i am concerned about once we put them in, it is a revolving door and keep expanding their presence with the same people. they keep coming back. could you elaborate on the department's needs? is there any recommendation you would have to contain the prison population? are we federalizing too many crimes? is recidivism the problem? this is an ever increasing part of our operations. >> there are a variety of reasons why we see the prison population in expanding. we have about 215,000 people in the federal system.

that number goes up every year. for that reason we come back to this committee asking for additional funds. there are a variety of reasons why you see people coming into the system. we are good partners with our counterparts, help them to the extent we can, so some cases that violate federal and state law and if we have serious criminals, we bring into the federal system. the point you hit on, something we need to focus on, how can we rehabilitate people so we cut down on recidivism? one of the things we talked about is the second chance act, coming up with ways we make available to people reentry possibilities so they have the chance of not being recidivist, coming up with educational, vocational, drug treatment programs while they have been in prison. we have seen good success being

done with state systems that has been shared by the pew research foundation. we have learned from them in that regard. >> i want to go forward to specific recommendations, where our federal and law enforcement to prosecute and get bad people off the street, whether terrorists or terrorizing a neighborhood, like some of the drug dealers in some of my own communities in maryland. at the same time, we do not want our federal prisons to be an incubator for more crime, where the lessons they learned when they could is not commit crimes again, but how to be better crooks. we want our presence to teach them how to be better citizens. and then to come back to the community support system where they do not fall back into the situation that got them there.

i am concerned that our federal prisons are such that we need to look and evaluate and learn these lessons. we want to work with you. you are very experienced in street crime. it takes me to the other area while you have done this fantastic job of fighting terrorism, keeping america safe. it has been stunning what our national security services have accomplished, the military, and some believe -- i will come back to streets and neighborhoods. we have communities that face crime every single day, and we talk our local law enforcement, our local prosecutors' offices and so on, and they feel they are under the gun. they need grants, cops on the beat, and so on. do you feel that this is sufficient funding, because in the last couple of years, in

2010, we had $3.7 billion that went into state and local grants due to acts of congress and so on. now we are down to $2 billion, and yet everywhere i go in maryland, from our local police commissioners to local district attorneys, state's attorneys, as they're called in my state, people say we need those justice department grants. they give us better technology, tools to deal with violence against women. they need you. they love having you as a partner. do we have enough money in the right places to do the job to protect our communities? >> we have in the request, $2.04 billion for state and local assistance programs, $290 million for cops, $412 million

for the office of violence against women. this is a level equal to the level we requested last year. it is lower than numbers you had said. given the budget realities we face, the amount we have requested is strong on law enforcement, science, victims. would i like to have more money? yes, but the budget realities we confront and the need to stay within a budget in the executive branch have gone to this point. through the provision of this money, through the assistance we can also provide to our partners, we can i think do the job. i met with the association of attorneys general, and the partnerships we have is an

unprecedented one, and the combination of the partnership and the money we're seeking here will allow us to be a good partner. >> i will turn to senator hutchison. what i would find it helpful is two things -- if you look at your grants, cops on the beat, what was the amount of money requested by state and local people to apply for those grants, and what could you find. my time is up. i would like that for the record. the second thing is the gao report raises issues related to duplication of services, and i would like to have your reaction to the gao report on how we can streamline, get more efficiencies. i think you are already on that road. >> we will have questions for the record, but i wanted to pursue this public integrity unit's conduct against senator

stevens. the court appointed counsel after you moved to dismiss the case. the court appointed counsel to investigate the prosecution of senator stevens and found the prosecutors engaged in systematic concealment of evidence, but they were not guilty of criminal contempt. according to the summary that was put out, the full report coming later, it said -- the court said despite findings of widespread and the intentional misconduct, the special counsel recommended against contempt charges because prosecutors did not dissipate a clear and

equivocal order by the judge as required under law. the judge set upon review of the dock and proceedings in the stevens case, he concludes no order existed in this case. the court accepted to repeat its representations of the subject, that they were familiar with their obligations, they worked complying, and proceeded in good faith. does it concern you that the only reason these prosecutors escaped charges is that judge in the stevens case did not file an order specifically telling the prosecutor to follow the law? >> you have to take into account a variety of things. when i was made aware of issues that led to the inquiry that judge sullivan ordered, i made sure the case was dismissed. i ordered the office report be done as an internal report, which has now been completed.

it is in its final stages of being worked on. >> will it be made public? >> i hope we can. there are privacy interests, but i hope to get as much of the report made public as we can. it is an exhaustive study, and the people have done a good job and have made recommendationsat avaibl >> i am going to request that you do. >> i am not at liberty to discuss the report. we have gotten a limited number of those reports, and we are under orders by the judge not to discuss those. i have had a chance to review the summary and portions of it and some of the findings made there are disturbing.

they were disturbing when i made the decision to dismiss the case. we have done a lot since that time to come up with ways to prevent this kind of mistake from happening again. we have a training program. we have hired somebody responsible as a coordinator to make sure discovery in criminal cases and civil cases so we do not fall back into this same kinds of errors. we have talked to members of the judiciary, all to make sure that what happened in the case does not replicated. i would urge everybody to understand that this justice department, when we make that determination that mistakes occur, took the extraordinary case -- stepped up dismissing the case. >> i give you full credit for that. four of the six prosecutors who were investigated opposed

releasing the report, and their names have been redacted. i want to ask you if any of these prosecutors are still in the justice department system. >> i have to check that to make sure, but i believe all prosecutors who were involved in that case are still in the department. i believe that is true, but am not totally sure. >> does that trouble you that there would be a finding of misconduct in such a sensitive area that they would still -- that you would not let them go outside of our justice system? >> it depends on the nature of the misconduct it is that they did, the mistakes that were made. one has to look at the report that is about to be released, combined with the opr report and recommendations for

sanctions contained in that report, to look at what exactly should happen to these people. was the incident isolated? >> are you going to do that? are you going to make a decision regarding people who have clearly exhibited that they do not have the integrity to prosecute in the sensitive area? will you tell the committee what your actions are when you have made that determination? >> the actions we take -- there is no privacy act that prevents us sharing with the public what we have shared with this committee. >> i ask that you report that the committee. thank you, madam chairman. >> thank you, madam chair, and thank you, attorney general, for your service. you established a new working group. thank you for that. i want to talk about that, but last week the former chair of the financial crisis inquiry commission observed the number of lawyers and other staff of the working group -- i want to mention that is fewer than the 100 professionals dedicated to the bank fraud task force during the savings and loan era. he suggested congress should extend the statute of limitations for financial institutions fraud up to 10 years as congress did in 1989 when it passed the federal institutions reform and recovery enforcement act. you are aware of the public sentiment of anxiety, frustration and outrage toward the fact that so few people have been prosecuted. talk to me about the working group, the dollars you are dedicating, the increase you are asking for. is it going to be going into the working group, and comment on the recommendation that the statute of limitations, when it was lengthened to 10 years by congress then, it that is something we should do.

>> first off, i will say this whole mortgage fraud problem -- scandal -- that we're dealing he suggested congress should extend the statute of limitations for financial institutions fraud up to 10 years as congress did in 1989 when it passed the federal institutions reform and recovery enforcement act. you are aware of the public sentiment of anxiety, frustration and outrage toward the fact that so few people have been prosecuted. talk to me about the working group, the dollars you are dedicating, the increase you are asking for. is it going to be going into the working group, and comment

on the recommendation that the statute of limitations, when it was lengthened to 10 years by congress then, it that is something we should do. >> first off, i will say this whole mortgage fraud problem -- scandal -- that we're dealing with is something we have taken seriously. we have brought charges against 2100 people last year in connection with the mortgage problem. the number of people, 55 federal personnel to go to this task force, that is the federal

component, but one unique thing is we're working with partners and states attorneys general, so the number of people who will be devoted to that task force will be substantially greater than that, and i suspect we will be adding people from various offices around the country. we're looking at up to five that will be intimately involved, so that number will ultimately go up. we will have adequate resources to do the job we need to do with regard to the residential mortgage-backed securities working group. with regard to the extension of the statute of limitations, that is something that i will be glad to discuss with members of this committee after i have had a chance to speak with the prosecutors on the ground to see if that is something that we need. we want to use all the tools we have and consider any possibilities we might want to acquire so we can hold accountable the people and institutions have had a devastating impact on the economy and continues to have a lingering impact, particularly on the housing market.

>> thank you for that, and we will be following up with her office. the people and institutions who really had a devastating impact on our nation's economy and continue to have a lingering effect on our nation's economy and in particular the housing market that drags down the recovery.

>> we will reif following a on the wisdom from your office that in the middle of these cases, the importance of that extra five years in the statute of limitations. let me talk about gas prices. oil prices are now over $100 a barrel. the cftc have told us inventories of oil are sufficient, domestic production is up. consumption is down, all reasons the gas prices should not be going up, understanding the turmoil in the middle east and the discussion of iran. it is my understanding that some analysts have estimated speculation may be adding 50 cents to the price per gallon of gas. it is my understanding doj organize the price broad working group to pick determine the role speculation prep review potential price manipulation are having on the price of gasoline. what are your neck steps and what can we expect? >> networking group continues in effect. they are discussing the situation that we find yourself with these rising gas prices and the working group itself will be meeting before the end of this week. the work of that group has been ongoing and looking to see if there are inappropriate manipulations of the market. the ftc is also working in this area. i understand that are working on a report of some sort that we should be seeing relatively soon. within the department, that working group has been active and has a meeting today -- a meeting that will happen by tomorrow. >> i would like to request that

after that meeting that the task force read me and other members of the subcommittee who have expressed interest. >> we will certainly do that. >> we really would like to see that. this is very, very important. i will turn to senator mikulski. >> mr. attorney general, welcome this morning. i want to follow on senator hutchinson's questions regarding the prosecution of senator ted stevens. i think so many of us were radically shocked. i was horrified as a friend and an alaskan to read judge sullivan's comments that this ill-gotten verdict not only resulted in him losing his seat, but in his words, tipped the balance of power in the united states senate. pretty powerful in terms of

what the department of justice did to a great man. i appreciate and i recognize and i thank you for your actions in dismissing the case and in your decision to not attempt to retry and i join senator hutchinson in that. there are questions that still remain. you know that. i have a long series of them. what i would like to do is submit them to you today and ask that you respond to them prior to the release of the report which is due to come out next wednesday the 15th of march. i would appreciate your attention to that. i have a question regarding what is happening now with the release of this report. "usa today" reported the part of justice has spent $1.8 million in defending prosecutor

from allegations that they broke the law in the stevens prosecution. senator grassley was one who mentioned that it things like this is an unseemly high amount of money being spent by the taxpayers to defend what appears to be egregious misconduct again, center hutcheson has noticed -- noted the word that judge sullivan used in his report saying it demonstrated significant widespread an intentional misconduct by prosecutors. i understand that the $1.80 million went to attorney fees to defend the actions of the justice department prosecutors who were under investigation for content by the council appointed by judge sullivan. the report of that council is due to be released on the 15th. in addition to spending taxpayer money to defend your attorney, did the taxpayers also pay for the attorneys to argue that the contents of this report should not be publicly released? you have stated that this is a

matter that has risen to a level of public attention. if you can answer that question for me, and also whether the justice department supports the merits of the appeal that has been raised by mr. edward sullivan, who is one of the prosecutors at the u.s. court of appeals for emergency stay to prevent the release of this report next week. the question is whether you support the merits of that appeal, and again, whether or not the taxpayers are on the hook to pay for his attorneys to argue that this report should be kept from the public. any don't think we take position with regard to what he has said about his desire to keep the report sealed, but the justice department has indicated that we do not object to the release of the report.

i think that given the issues we found there, the magnitude of the case, and the magnitude of the errors that led me to dismiss the case, that there is a legitimate public interest in knowing as much as we can about what happened, why it happened, what steps the justice department has taken in connection with these findings of misconduct. glaxo is the justice department paying for his attorneys' fees in this matter to keep this from being made public? >> i don't know about him specifically. i know that as a result of the charges that were brought against him, i think the determination was made that there would be a conflict of interest for the justice department to defend them, which would be typically how we would do it, and they were allowed to get outside counsel and under the regulations, the justice department then pays for those legal representation, which has happened in a variety of circumstances. former attorney generals have had lawyers that have been reimbursed by but the

government. i am hoping i will have to do that, but other attorneys general have very grex even now that the independent counsel that judge sullivan had appointed, even though that counsel has found that members of the stephens prosecution had engaged in significant, widespread and at times, intentional misconduct -- does the government have any recourse to recover the funds that have been paid for their attorneys these? when they have engaged intentional misconduct? you mentioned in your comments to senator hutcheson that after the office of public responsibility report that there may be sanctions that we will see, but is their recourse? are you pursuing any recourse? it seems to me that in an

instance like this where it has been made clear that peak conduct was intentional, that it was substantial, and it was widespread, that we should not be defending and paying for the attorney's fees to again allow these individuals to conduct such acts, and then to learn that they are still within the part of justice does not give me much confidence. >> certainly one of the things that happens is that because the justice department cannot represent these people and they have their own views of what happened, they want to be able to explain with counsel -- defend themselves. cut that is why the expenditure of money actually occurred and why they were allowed to get

outside counsel. as i said, that has happened not frequently, but it hasn't happened in the past, and we acted with regard to them as we have done in the past with regard to the retention and outside counsel. >> i would think that $1.80 million to go to defend these attorneys who had engaged in intentional misconduct is just stunning to me. i would like to think that there could be some recourse. >> it is important that you had the opportunity to pursue your line of questioning. the situation that has been presented by you and senator hutchinson reminding the committee is deeply troubling. we must have public integrity and an independent judiciary. regardless of which party is in the white house, we must have a justice department that we believe in and that the american people believe in. i know the attorney general will be responsive and we will take it from there. >> i just want to thank you for those comments and agree wholeheartedly. i do think the attorney general took a major for step when he

dismissed the case. that was huge. but now we must follow up so that there is no question that the people who did this, and the report will show what average shows, that they are not able to prosecute ever again, ever. >> thank you, madam chair. general, welcome to the committee. thank you for being over here. i just want to add my voice to something that was said earlier about prison overcrowding. i could go through the facts and figures on that but you know those better than any of us do. it is just a real concern. one of the presence on the short list is actually in arkansas, and in fy 2010 it was scheduled to be funded in 2014. now keeps getting pushed back and now it is in 2018. just an example of not being able to get to some of the real needs we have. i know i am not alone in that, so i just want to voice my

concern there. let me ask about sequestration. i am curious about what in the justice department view -- what will happen to doj funding and what steps you will take. >> in node justice component would be exempt from those cuts. from an operational perspective, we would have to cut funding and non personnel funding. we are estimating that we would have to kick furlough all position types including the federal agents and attorneys who try and investigate cases. we would have to lose a

substantial number of jobs. this across-the-board cut would have a devastating impact on the justice permits ability to protect the american people, to do investigations. it would be something that would just simply be devastating. my hope would be that congress will find a way to avoid this sequestration, which from my ownthe people and institutions who really had a devastating impact on our nation's economy and continue to have a lingering effect on our nation's economy and in particular the housing market that drags down the >> my concern or do we want

the best and the brightest trying cases on both sides. our criminal justice system is critical we have representation

on both sides. i am afraid we will lose a lot talent if we do not have a program like this. i was wondering if you share that concern and what steps you think we can do to try to keep the best and brightest on board. oughtwe want the best and brightest to come and take what are low-paying jobs on the prosecution and defense side. these younger people coming out of law school with the enormous amounts of debt, and i don't want them to make career choices based on how they are going to repay those loans as opposed to following their passions, and take their great skills to become members of the justice department, state and local prosecutors' offices, or on the other side, to be good defense attorneys. that is one of the things i am concerned about. we have a tough budget and the money is not there to the extent that it was in the past. to the extent that we can work on ways to come up with

creative things to do to make sure those career decisions -- especially those first job career decisions by people coming out of law school, is not a function of their financial concerns, but really a function of how they want to help build a better society. >> i don't really have time to ask another question but i would like to make an observation. the chair of the subcommittee hearing yesterday took a leadership role in a cybersecurity exercise in a classified setting, and we appreciate her leadership on that. it was very informative and interesting. i know the department of justice has been very involved in what is going on with federal government, cybersecurity issues and everything you are working on. i also hope that you will not neglect the private sector as

well as state and local governments, because they have a role to play in this as well. >> this is not something the federal government can handle by itself. this is a national security issue and also an infrastructure issue that involves our state and local partners. one looks at just the amount of intellectual property theft that occurs, so that the private sector has to be involved as well. we have to come up with a means by which all of those various components talk to one another if we ultimately want to be successful in what i think is the most pressing thing we will be facing in the coming years. >> thank you. >> i want to go back to the question senator pryor raised about the impact of sequestered. can we have that answer in more detail in writing so everyone will have a chance to study it and go over it in programs, so

we can really grasp the full consequences. >> i would like to add my voice to what you just echoed and senator pryor, that sequestration would be devastating to the bar of justice and our ability to defend ourselves, and destroy the military. surely we can find a better way to do it than that. i think you are dead on, this is just an ill-conceived idea of cutting money blindly, in my view. you were in self carolina a couple of days ago, is that right? >> yesterday. >> we were glad to have given hope to spend money while you are there. the national advocacy center in columbia you visited, what would you tell the committee about it in terms of being a value to the nation? >> it is an invaluable resource. >> did you all hear that? >> it is an invaluable resource

for the training that goes on in the justice department. i think it could actually be expanded. i am concerned we are not interacting with our state and local partners to the extent that we once did in doing training with them. we are trying to bring into the advocacy center people from the defense side as well. it is where people learn to be good trial lawyers, learn the ethical obligations. >> we appreciate your visit. it is a place where cybersecurity is the issue of the 21st century. it depends on who is involved, but a lot of local law enforcement folks probably have no idea how to handle this, and it would be a good way to educate the country as a whole. the collaboration with the university of south carolina i appreciate. we took 200 or 300 departed justice jobs out of washington because after 9/11 we were worried about having every part

of our government in one city. we moved those folks down to south carolina and columbia can and lease the building from the university, saving about $35 million. i want to applaud you for trying to be creative, to decentralize the permit justice we are ever attacked here, we don't lose all of our national assets. >> we have that relationship with the university about the rule of law component as well. quinn has been a good synergy. >> we are trying to develop a rule of law program without some -- without some basic rule of law, no country can develop. all of the lessons we have learned the hard way from making mistakes and finally getting right. and those who have been overseas can share their thoughts about what worked and what did not. you could train before you went.

the part of justice, agriculture, defense, this is a team. this war requires a team concept and we are trying to reach out to the islamic world and create partnerships with lawyers and attorneys general and judges in the islamic world so we can understand each other better. i am excited about it and i appreciate your support. justice scalia came out talking about he thought it would be wise if we looked at our federal criminal code, particularly in the drug area, and see if we could reform it. i think he is right. i think we federalize way too many crimes, creating work that could be better handled at the state level. what do you think about the idea of revamping the federal criminal code and undoing some of the over federalization? >> when i came into office, i'd put in place a number of working groups to look at that issue.

are we bringing the right people into the federal system? are the sentences for the federal crimes appropriate? >> like crack cocaine. that was sort of an indefensible sentencing disparity. >> the bipartisan effort that resulted in the lowering of that ratio was something that was long overdue and i think it was a great example of republicans and democrats getting together and doing the right thing. it was something that was morally right as well. >> the recess appointments made by president obama a while back to the nlrb, is there a situation similar to that in history of the senate of appointing someone to a federal

agency under those circumstances, that you are aware of? >> if you look at the 23-page report by the office of legal counsel, they go through a variety of precedence. they look at a loss -- look at tradition and the conclusions they reach was that given the links of the recess, 20 days or so, that the appointments were, in fact, appropriate. it is obviously something the courts will ultimately defense predict ultimately decide, but i think the opinion was accurately cry. >> i think center alexander will have a discussion about that. i think maybe it was last week we had a plea bargain could the military commission detainee who is one of the ksm close confidence. i do support the article for terrorism trials when appropriate.

one should not lecture support for military commissions inappropriate circumstances, and with your help, i think we have these things up and running. i look forward to more action coming out of guantanamo bay to get some of these people through the legal system. to all those at guantanamo bay doing your job, you are doing the country of great service, particularly the defense counsels. >> people should understand that when i send people down for military commission treatment, the result -- as i said in a speech at northwestern, many of the elements of due process that we consider vital to the american system, we have great defense lawyers down there. the military system does not get the credit it deserves for the fair way in which it deals with people and under the direction of mark martinson, i think we will be proud of the work they do.

>> thank you very much, mr. attorney general. i thank you and others for mentioning this cyber exercise yesterday. next week we will hear from the fbi can do an open hearing and then a classified hearing. this will be an opportunity to ask many of your cyber questions and go into the level of detail of the committee would like. >> thanks very much, madam chairman, and welcome, general. i want to associate myself withy comments of senator hutcheson and senator murkowski. to meet the tragedy is that ted stevens died before he knew this was a faulty prosecution. that elevates this to a new height. i think this investigation is really important, and i think that actions have to be taken.

i just wanted to express that. i wanted to follow-up on senator brown's comment. it is my understanding that there is more oil available in the united states than demand calls for, and as a matter of fact, surplusage being sold outside. i think this would bring to special attention the issue of speculation, and i hope the study you are doing is going to take a good look at the financial marketplace with regard to its ability to impact price in this way. >> as i said, the oil and gas working group we formed last year as part of the president's financial fraud enforcement task force has been meeting. it just happens that they are having a call today at a meeting either tomorrow or on monday. the full committee will be getting together to look at the

issues you have raised. >> thank you. as you know, title 7 of the foreign intelligence surveillance act expires at the end of the year. this allows for electronic surveillance of targets outside the united states. senator mikulski and i both serve on the senate intelligence committee and we have done extensive oversight of the government use of the surveillance authorities. i live for to working with you to make sure congress can reauthorize title 7 well before the end of 2012. we need to maintain collection of critical of foreign intelligence and provide certainty to intelligence professionals in that regard. for members of this committee that don't follow this issue closely, could you explain need to reauthorize title 7 and the efforts taken to protect the civil liberties and privacy of

americans at this title is carried out? >> their surveillance authorities in the fisa a minute are critical to our national security. on a daily basis, it is a critical tool that we have in keeping the american people safe. the administration strongly supports the reauthorization and hope it occurs well before the end of the year so the certainty that is needed by the men and women in our intelligence community will have some degree of assuredness that those schools will remain there and that our fight against those who do harm to the united states can continue. >> i also want to thank you for your enormous help and the help of the fbi with respect to national security.

the fbi now has some 15,000 people located around the united states, essentially doing intelligence work. that transition has been effectively made. corrector moeller at a worldwide threat hearing indicated to us that in the past year there have been 20 arrests in the united states of people in this country planning or participating in attempted terrorist attack. as you mentioned in your recent testimony, amar farooque abdul mutallab was recently sentenced to life in prison. i also want to say that even though specific activities are classified, in your written testimony you mentioned the high value detainee interrogation group. i can say that we have seen me excellent intelligence it is producing. earlier this week, the more

principled members of hacking groups were charged with computer hacking and a fifth member pled guilty. now to my questions. i think we have to begin to look for redundancy and duplication of effort. we now have a counter-terrorism center, homeland security intelligence, and we also now have the fbi. so i hope you will take a look it that, because the dollars are precious, and we are already experiencing cuts in the intelligence budget. copper so here is my question. what are your budget reductions in the national security and area?

what will that mean for counter-terrorism and are there any gaps in our efforts? >> i think we have adequate amounts of money contained in the budget that we have requested. if you look at the amount of money or -- since 2001 we have had a 300% increase for the justice department. it might have been 400% for the fbi. even with the black budget we essentially have for the justice department and its components including the fbi, i think we have adequate amounts of money to keep the american people safe. to the extent i feel that is not the case, my voice will be heard. >> thank you, madam chairman. >> thank you, madam chairman.