the money went to honor five runs of 34 current and former lawmakers, almost 250 other federal officials and more than 100 groups, many of which can't lawmakers among the members. in a moment, we will open and up. the organizations that are affiliated with. studio city, calif., next on the republican line. rachel. caller: thank you for taking my call. my thing today is a this socialized medicine. i hear all these people, they want single payer health care. they don't really understand -- first of all, you are getting congress' approval, putting a stamp on socializing this country. i think they are very bad. if you need a heart transplant -- and we are paying for all the stuff, it is not free. if you need a heart transplant, let's say, and you have to wait six weeks to six months like they do in canada, you are going to go in there, and is up to the government whether you are eligible to get one or not. it is bad enough now. there are cures for a lot of diseases -- there are cures for cancer out there, all you have to do is go through the internet. gabrielle lowe plant, that as a cure, no

but i think it's important to note that whatever conversation i had with the federal reserve official that i did not in subsequent conversations with mr. lewis did not make that threat. >> why did you keep the sec in the dark? >> i did not keep the sec in the dark. we were working carefully and closely with other regulatory agencies. the agency's most relevant for the bank of america discussion with those involved in regulating the bank of america and in the transaction that would have been the treasury, federal deposit insurance corporation and office to control currency who were well informed. >> according to the new york general mr. cuomo said mr. paulson kept the sec out of the loop about efforts to push the bank of america merger with merrill lynch it seems to be backed up by the following exchange between your general counsel, scott alvernia as, and a new york federal official. the new york fed official is asked have we conveyed anything to the sec regarding the bank of america situation? the know something's up. how much if anything has been shared with the sec? mr. alvarez sai

requirements, including department of justice and review, and personal consideration by high ranking federal officials, ensuring that the state secrets privilege is used only when necessary to protect state secrets. i respect the sincerity. at the same time, that's in my judgment, is not what the founders designed when they created the constitution. there was meant to be these checks and balances. it is the duty in -- distrust of government. you indicated you are conservative. i share your conservatism in this particular area. secrecy will is the hallmark of the totalitarian islam. the transparency which is an aspect of a viable healthy country. i am not here to defend the obama administration. this is something that the united states congress must do. they must do it to reach a quarter of balance of powers and the separation of powers. we ought to be looking at, how are things classified? there is somebody in a cubicle somewhere that just 3's it. -- redacts it. you made a statement that says it can be unduly burdensome for the courts to review the information. what leads you to that conclusion? >> th

i'm disappointed some federal officials are moving in directions of government determined pay not justfor senior executives in the united states companies but for their secretaries and the janitor. i think that is a slippery slope or worse. don't get me wrong, financial criminals must be brought to justice. but most important risky behavior in the financial service industry must be addressed and i think we can do that with smart and more effective financial services regulations that rain and reckless behavior, risky leveraging, concentration of capital. in addition to the financial services institutions need to retain the best and brightest. we need to not induce fear in the future financial service leaders or workers provide them with improved guidelines that foster competition for the benefit of u.s. consumers, businesses, investors and economy. with that, i yield back. >> the gentleman from kansas is recognized one minute. >> i want to commend you for your leadership on executive pay and holding hearings so we can review how compensation affects risk-taking for better or worse as we

advisor at the state department supporting the idea that international bodies and unelected federal officials -- not the u.s. congress -- should be the ultimate law-making authority for the american people? i don't think so. now, this has manifested itself in a number of ways. for example, in a interview that dean koh gave on may 10 of -- for the "news hour" he said that he was asked about, for example, some of the interrogations that took place in places like guantanamo. and he basically said that the u.s. forces, including our commanders and presumably the intelligence officials that actually conducted interrogations and detentions, violated the geneva conventions and should be held accountable for that. does he really believe that u.s. officials should be prosecuted and perhaps convicted of war crimes because they did what the american people asked them to do, consistent with legal opinions from the office of legal counsel at the justice department? i think it, as "the wall street journal" points out today, in an article called "the pursuit of john yew." i'll read a couple of sentences fro

requirements including the department of justice review and personal consideration by high-ranking federal officials, ensuring that the state secrets privilege is used only when necessary to protect state secrets. i respect the sincerity of his belief. but at the same time, in my judgment, it is not what the founders designed when they created the constitution, and there was meant to be these checks and balances. it is and distrust of government. >> you indicated you are a conservative. i share your conservatism in this particular area because it is so fundamental. secrecy is the hallmark of totalitarianism, and transparency is clearly the aspect of viable democracy. we are out of balance. i am not here to defend the obama administration. this is something the united states congress must do. to reorder the balance of power, the separation of power. we ought to be looking at how are things classified? i know how things are classified in some agencies. there's someone in a cubicle. you have experience that. you make a statement saying that it could be unduly burdensome for the courts to have to actual

the house transportation committee heard from federal officials about airline, train, and highway spending. the committee will come to order. and this is the second of a series of oversight hearings that i have committed as to undertake at the outset of the recovery act. in december of 2007, when i proposed an initiative to get the economy moving again, programs under the jurisdiction of this committee, actually, we had bipartisan initiatives in this committee to move things forward with the administration at that time. the president was not keen in doing that. not much has changed. the current administration is not interested in the transportation bill. we are moving ahead of them. i have set forth standards. one is that there be accountability, transparency, and recording. priority consideration should be given to the areas of the highest unemployment as measured by the economic development administration's monthly report on areas of high unemployment throughout the country. we committed to openness and transparency and accountability. this section of the hearings this good on that commi

when requested and approved by appropriate federal officials in accordance with the national response framework, we support civil authorities by providing specialized skills and assets to save lives, reduce suffering, and restore infrastructure in the wake of catastrophic events in the homeland. last year, during one of the most destructive hurricane seasons on record, we supported the department of homeland security and the federal emergency management agency in responding to three major hurricanes within a 13-day period. we continued to take significant steps in improving our response capabilities. first of all, we have incorporated the joint staff standing execution order to stream line defense support to civil authorities within operational planning for the 2009 hurricane season. this joint staff execution order provides u.s. northern command commanders the authority to establish operational staging areas, federal mobilization centers, national logistic support areas, and department of defense base support installations to support fema. in addition, our ten full time defense coord

section 532, none of the funds shall be used to fund any position designated as a principal federal official for robert t. stafford disaster relief and emergency assistance act. section 524, none of the funds may be used by the united states citizenship and immigration services to grant immigration benefit unless background checks required by law have been received by united states citizenship and immigration services. section 525, none of the funds may be used to destroy any horse belo

requirements including department of justice review and personal consideration by higher ranking federal officials insuring that the state secrets privilege is used only when necessary to protect the state secrets. and i respect the sincerity of his belief yet at the same time that's in my judgment is not what the founders designed when they created the constitution and that there were meant to be these checks and balances. it is the distrust of government, if you will. you indicated you were conservative. i share your conservatism in this particular area. because it is so fundamental. you know, secrecy really is the hallmark of totalitarianism and transparency is clearly an aspect of viable, healthy democracy. and i think we have got to keep that -- we are out of balance now. i am not here to defend the obama administration. this is something that the united states congress must do to reorder if you will the balance powers and separation. we ought to be looking at how are things classified. i know how things are classified in some agencies. there's somebody in a cubicle somewhere that is just red

. >> we also find that federal officials were potentially liable for violating securities laws by holding material information in your possession from shareholders before the vote to approve the merger with merrill lynch on december 5, 2008. mr. lewis, a look at the following e-mail from the fed's general counsel to german bernanke. a different question that does not seem to be the one lewis is focused on it is related to disclosure. management may be exposed if it does not disclose information material to investors. his potential liability will be whether he knew or reasonably should have known the magnitude of the losses when bankamerica made its disclosure to get the shareholder vote on the merrill lynch deal in early december. mr. lewis, did bank of america supplement the proxy solicitation it sent to shareholders that the cover -- company learned in mid november about the rapidly mounting losses at merrill lynch before the shareholder vote on december 5. losses at merrill lynch before the shareholder votes on december 5th? >> congressman, if we take disclosure very, very seriously. i

consumers mostly elderly by not all to canada to buy drugs and it was a peculiar thing for a federal official to take people to another country to buy prescription drugs that could have bought and a local drug store and the same brand name and same box even this exact same drug inner to an active ingredients but the price was have for a third or one for them in the cases and that is because canada and not because of a single payer health care system but because the government did with the v.a. does in this country negotiates drug prices directly on behalf of 30 million canadian consumers and with the drug industry got price savings of 50 or 60 or 80% as of the mccain approaches the right approach and cost savings that are so important will be contributed to this bill and we pass the mccain and language without the weakening language. out at those same cost savings we can see in the biologics when we do the section of the bill later because it would be how generic drugs have cut the cost of chemical pharmaceuticals and we also know the same process will save billions over 10 years plus and has

requirements including departments justice review and personal consideration by high-ranking federal officials ensure the privileges used only when necessary to protect national security. judges play a crucial role by ensuring it is properly invoke. though the results may appear harsh in some cases it is true of all privileges. for example courts unsighted this beach or debate clause two drought suits against members of congress and other legislators involving invasion of privacy, defamation, incitement to violence, age race and sex discrimination retaliation for reporting sex discrimination and larceny and fraud. a debate in this legislative body, in the same with the state's secrets privilege of vance is greater public good protecting our nation. my first point today is that there is no evidence of the state's secrets privilege being abused or is being used more frequently or in different ways than in the past. data from 1954 through 2008 showed that its use is rare. the reported opinions, the privilege was asserted seven times in 2007 and just three times in 2008. according to robert chesne

requirements including department of justice review and personal consideration by high ranking federal officials ensure that the privilege is used only when necessary to protect national security. and judges play a crucial role by ensuring it has been properly invoked. though the results may appear harsh in some cases it's true of all privileges. for example, courts have debated in members of congress and other legislators involving invasion of privacy, defamation, incitements to violence, age, race and sex discrimination, retaliation for reporting sexual discrimination and larceny and fraud. yes, these are harsh results but for a greater good. unfettered speech and date in this legislative body. in the same way the state secrets privilege advantages greater public good protecting our nation. my first point today is that there is no evidence in the state secrets privilege is being abused or is being used more frequently or in different ways than in the past. data from 1954 through 2008 show that its use is rare. in reported opinions the privilege was asserted seven times since 2007 and just thre

broad meaning of the law should be the guidance for all transactions done behind closed doors by federal officials? >> yes, sir. >> as we choose to find ways to resolve the ambiguity between ken lewis, hank paulson, yourself, and of course a number of people whose e-mails have been cited today, are you prepared to answer in writing, not to return here probably, additional questions that may come up that would help us clear that up? >> yes. >> do you at this time believed intentionally ken lewis, hank paulson or any people decided today in e-mails intended to lie in their statements? >> i have no judgment on that. >> but you believe in good faith they think what they are saying is true as far as you know? >> as far as i know. >> do you think the federal regulators should pick winners and losers as they go through trying to figure out in a crisis like this who gets to know who or who gets bailout money and doesn't? >> i did all these interventions are on fortunate and only made necessary by extreme circumstances. >> earlier one of the people we mentioned was mr. lacquer in light of his e-mail paraph

local, state and federal officials have stressed the need for policies to create jobs. this cap and trade proposal will fail to do that when america needs them. we will lose jobs, manufacturers will move their plants to other countries with cheaper energy and lower taxes, hurting american workers and the environment globally. in the past years i have watched house democrats defeat every meaningful proposal for job creation that has been proposed in this chamber and we have to bring an end to that. this bill is nothing more than the economic colonization of the heartland by the coastal states like new york and california. the one thing i will tell you, it is not about energy but confiscation of wealth. vote no to protect our children's future. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new york. mr. rangel: i would like to inquire. we have one speaker, and it would be me to conclude. i would like to see whether the other side s more than one speaker. mr. camp: we have five speakers remaining. mr. rangel: i reserve. the spe

it was a peculiar thing for a federal official in one country to take people to another country to buy prescription drugs, the same prescription drugs they could have bought in a local drug store, same brand names, same box even, the same -- this exact same drug, same inert or active ingredients. the price was 1/3 or 1/4. that's the only difference. that's not because of their single-payer health care system but the government did what the ba does this this country, negotiate drug prices on behalf of 38 million consumers and directly negotiate the drug prices on behalf of them with the drug industry and got price savings of 50, 60, 70, 80%. the mccain approach is the right approach in cost savings that are so important will be contributed to this bill if we pass the mccain language without the weakening language. i would add those same kinds of cost savings we can see in the biologics section of the bill later. when we do a generic, we know how generic drugs have cut the costs of chemical pharmaceuticals. we also know the same process and biologics will save some $10 billion over ten y

these are bankruptcies negotiated with federal officials at taxpayer dollars are helping to maintain both companies. therefore these bankruptcies should not be used to change the rules that dealers have been operating under. i first wrote a bipartisan letter with representative chris lee of new york and more than 65 of our colleagues to the auto task force in may asking them to work with the companies to reconsider the forced closings. since then thousands of dealers have been informed by g.m. and chrysler through a seemingly arbitrary system their relationships were ending. essentially immediately. leaving some dealers with millions of dollars invested in car stock with no leverage for liquidation. in my home district in upstate new york, there is a dealership which has been the cornerstone of one of our communities for 50 years. mr. goodman opened his dealership in 1959 in syracuse. two years ago at the age of 82 mr. goodman passed away. but his dying wish was to make sure the dealership reached the half century park. his widow promised to keep it running, at least through the 50th

requirements including the part of justice review and personal consideration by high-ranking federal officials insure the privilege is used only when necessary to protect national security and judges play a crucial role by ensuring it is done properly and of. the the results may appear harsh in some cases, it is true all privileges. courts it cited the claws to drop suits against members of congress and other legislators involving the invasion of privacy, defamation, incitement to violence, age, race and sex discrimination and retaliation for reporting sexual discrimination and larceny and fraud. yes these are harsh results before a greater good. in the same way the state secrets privilege began to enhance its public protecting our nation. my first one today is that there's the evidence of the states a great privileges being abused or is being used more frequently or in different ways than in the past. data from 1954 through 2008 showed that its use is rare. and reported can use the privilege with asserted seven times in 2007 and just three times in 2008. robert chesney of wake forest and jury

lou, if you want us to do more work through hearings -- if you want more federal reserve officials appear in front of us, we cannot do that without subpoena power. there is still plenty we can do without our subpoena power. we can write a report that exposed misrepresentation about the value of transactions that were occurring under a tarp. i think that has been very valuable. we have been able to evaluate other parts of the program and there have been will take -- there have been real changes in treasury. a real effect is out there. about the act, in my view, and glass stiegel was about systemic risk regulation. the real point is that they understood during the depression that we had gone through these boom and bust cycles every 15 years or so, and the banks were big a risk takers. as long as they made money, their investors got rich. when it went down, they took everybody down with them. it's a done other depositors and a lot of local communities. the basic understanding behind it was that we cannot keep doing that. that is not going to work for us. you not only hurt yourself, you are t

for corporations, media organizations, universities, local and state governments, and federal agency officials the war on terror is now a major profit center, a funding bonanza, and a set of slogans and sound bites to be inserted into budget, project grant, and contract proposals. finally he wrote, for the country as a whole, however, it has become a maelstrom of waste. there is no agency for which those words are more applicable than the federal air marshall service. in case anyone is wondering, the service has done nothing to me and i know none of its employees. but i do know with absolute certainty that this $860 million we are about to give them could be better spent on thousands of other things. as far as i'm concerned, it is just money going down a drain for the little good it will do. when we are so many trillions of dollars in debt, a national debt of over $13 trillion, we simply cannot afford to waste money in this way. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message from the senate. the messenger: madam speaker, a message from the senate

to use inspections conducted by inspectors recognized state, local -- other federal agencies and foreign government officials fda apply to raise three issues about section 105. first, the amount of resources required to achieve these inspection goals would far exceed even the historic increases in the president's fiscal year 2010 budget. moreover, it would be difficult if not impossible for fda to hire and train thousands of additional staff so quickly even while relying on inspections by state, local and other federal and foreign government officials. as a result fda encourages the committee to modify this action to take into account the operational and resource challenges involved. second, as we develop a new food safety system, fda will came better information to guide the agency's approach to inspection and oversight. it will understand where we must as bator frequently because of a higher risk of certain foods, facilities and processing is, and understand where we can protect public health without conducting inspections has frequently. as a result, fda was support flexibility to modify the inspection re

it was the federal government which was officially segregate. by 1913, all federal departments were officially -- officially -- segregated. it was the united states which kept african-americans who wanted nothing more than to serve their country segregated in the military and it wasn't until 1948 when president truman issued the executive order desettinging the military. -- desegregating the military. presidents have acknowledged the injustice of slavery. president clinton spoke of the evils of slavery and expressed regret for america's role in the slave trade n2504, president bush visited gorey island, a holding place for captured slaves in africa and spoke of the wrongs and injustices of slavery calling it "one of the great crimes of history." moreover, in 1988, congress rightly apologized for the interment of japanese-americans during world war ii n1993, congress justly apologized to native hawaiians for overthrowing their king. the senate has correctly apoll jiesd for its failure to enact antilynching legislation. and last year as part of the

however, internal e-mails we have obtained from the federal government indicate officials were very skeptical about mr. lewis' motives in threatening to back out of the deal. federal chairman ben bernanke thought lewis was using the marle losses as a bargaining chip to obtain federal fund. other e-mails reveal that federal analysts found it suspect that mr. lewis claimed to be surprised by the rapid growth of merrill's losses given the clear sign in the data. they noted that at a minimum it called into question the due diligence process. bank of america has been doing in preparation for the takeover cht in short, the treasury department had provided a $20 billion for a shot gun wedding. but the question may be, what was -- who was holding the shot gun? at today's hearing, we hope to better understand what happened in the four months between september 15, 2008, when the merger was announced, and january 16, 2009, when the public learned that bank of america had received $20 billion in taxpayer money. we will be looking for answers to some puzzling questions. why did a private business deal ann

internal e-mails we have obtained from the federal reserve indicate officials there were very skeptical about mr. lewis' motive in threatening to back out of the merrill deal. fed chairman ben bernanke thought lewis was using the merrill losses as a bargaining chip to obtain federal funds. fdic chairwoman sheila bair was opposed to providing assistance, saying it might ford does not want to do this. in essence, ken lewis claimed that the government made-- made me do it. but was bank of america forced to go through with the deal or was this just an old-fashioned shiekh down? these questions are particularly important with the administration's new proposal to give broad new powers to the federal reserve. i believe that before congress acts on the president's financial services, reform proposal, we need to have a thorough understanding of what caused the current financial crisis and how the federal government responded. unfortunately, much of what the fed, the treasury and other agencies did, in these transactions remain shrouded in secrecy. it is time to the-- and shine some light on thes

cases before them on the basis of the law alone and no outside influence, federal judges are appointed for life. unlike elected officials who may be removed periodically by the voters or serve a term that comes to an end. the founding fathers provided only one extraordinary method of removing a federal judge, that of impeachment. the president cannot remove a judge he has appointed and the courts cannot. conviction of a federal or state offense is powerful to remove a judge from office. only the congress may remove a judge and only then by impeachment of the house and conviction in the senate for treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors justifying their removal. because we have been blessed by an extraordinary judiciary and because the bar for removal is high, the extraordinary remedy of impeachment of a federal judge has been used only 13 times in the nation's history, but the matter before us today warrants its use once again. last month, the house judiciary task force on judicial impeachment was directed to inquire whether judge kent should be impeached. as the chairman, i would like to report on our wo

in the last two years alone, we have convicted nearly 1700 federal, state, and local officials for abuse of the public trust. for a nation that is built on the rule of law, we can and we should do better. whether the matter is local, national, or international, whether it concerns billions of dollars or million -- merely hundreds, there is no reason for corruption. the damage to the taxpayer is devastating. public corruption needs to start, and we can start to make every effort to recognize corruption when it is made at home, overseas, refused to participate in corruption of any kind. finally, call us. we are always willing to receive your calls. one last question. what do we see in the future? we and our counterparts in other agencies are working to prevent what has the potential to be the next wave of cases. fraud and corruption related to the tarp fund and the stimulus package. these funds are vulnerable to bribery, collusion,. there is an old adage that fraud is not behind, like bees to honey. we face a similar challenge in funding related to hurricane katrina. in the wake of that st

islands, chairman burton, in consultation with the department of defense and other federal agencies and key officials of the administration played a pivotal role whereby as a result of these consulting as resulted in the congress approving certain compacts of free association for the republic of the marshall islands, the federal states of micronearbya and a relationship between the united states and the commonwealth of the northern mariana islands. the president of palau has consented in helping us in terms of dealing with the wee garr people that hope -- the weeger people that hopefully the -- the weeger people hopefully this can be worked out. mr. berman: i yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds. mr. faleomavaega: he was also instrumental in helping establish the pacific island development program. on that, i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from florida. ms. ros-lehtinen: i continue trow serve. the chair: the gentleman from california. mr. berman: for purposes of a colloquy, mr. chairman, i'm pleased to yield a minute to a former member of the committee, memb

this project, impressive in itself, will require a unique part of of federal, state and local officials and the private sector and we would very much look forward to working with this committee with amtrak to make that happen. thank you for having us here. looking forward to questions. >> miss fleming, we welcome you and ask you to make your remarks. >> mr. chairman, ranking no. 19, thune, ranking member hutchison, thank you for the opportunity to discuss passenger rail, and the reinvestment act. the $8 billion provided by the act for high speed and other intercity passenger rail project have focused more attention on and generated a great deal of anticipation about the possibility of developing high-speed rail systems in the united states. my testimony have 2 parts, i will discuss the fact is that we have identified that affect the economic viability of high-speed rail projects and how f r a's strategic plan incorporates these factors. the potential benefits of high-speed rail projects are many, these projects are costly, take years to develop and build and require substantial up-front

and the last two years alone, we have convicted nearly 1700 federal, state and local officials for abuse of the public trust. for a nation that is built on the rule of law, we can and we should do better. whether the matter is local, national or international, whether it concerns of millions of dollars for merely hundreds, there is no level of acceptable corruption. the violation of the trust is the same, the damage to the taxpayers. [inaudible] >> we can start by making every effort to recognize corruption when it is seen either at home, overseas, refuse to participate in corruption of any kind, and finally, you can call us. we are always anxious and willing to receive your calls. one last question, and that is what do we see in the future. we and our counterparts in other agencies are working to prevent but has the potential to be the next wave of cases. fraud and corruption related to the tar ponds and a stimulus package. these funds are inherently vulnerable to conflict of interest, inclusion. there isn't old adage that where there is money to be made, fraud is not far behind like be

is unique because for the first time we'll be hearing directly from the administration officials overseeing federal assistance to america's domestic auto industry. failure of any one of detroit's big three poses obviously i believe a grave systemic risk to the economy threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs directly provided by these companies and imperiling more jobs with related industries from suppliers to car dealers, some 20,000 people in my home state of connecticut alone that are directly employed or indirectly by the automobile industry. it is for these reasons that president bush and later president obama martialed the resources of our government, not only to preserve countless american jobs but to help re-establish a foundation for a viable and competitive domestic auto industry. when general motors and chrysler buckling under colossal liabilities racked up after years of incompetent management over $170 billion in debt for general motors and $55 billion in debt for chrysler, the obama administration auto task force helped develop a plan to recapitalize and overhaul the strategic, finan

part of the reason the government opposes such a large risk is the misguided federal policies we've seen. yet government officials with long-term track record of success continue to come forward with proposals with 1 degree or another dictate private firms how they should properly compensate executives and measure performance. there's certainly room for improvement on particular companies putting together compensation practices and the extent this discussion today says the gentleman from the other side just made the comment helps to inform boards as they take a closer look up the compensation policies that could all be a positive development but i have a problem and i believe the american people are growing weary of recent government over reach into the private sector. with the government owning gm and with the way double-fault was disregarded and the chrysler bankruptcy case, dangerous actions are taking place which would create an uneven playing field increasingly inject political decisions with sell any unintended consequences into the economy so individual boards from companies have responsibility for establi

i was assigned to work with the federal system, the governors, mayors, and local officials. later on they added the political office, so i supported the president in those ways. >> that came to an end in what year? >> 1987. then i went home and went into private life, where i thought i would stay the rest of my working days. i had a great experience for the next 15 years. >> doing what and for whom? >> i was ceo of a research organization called the hudson institute for a few years. i practiced law on the side. the legal profession was spared the embarrassment of my services for very long. one day the phone rang, and it was eli lilly and co. >> based in indianapolis? >> yes, and with one of the single biggest pieces of good fortune that came my way. i went to work over there for 11 years. >> back to politics in what year? >> the phone rang in december of 2000. it was an inquiry about coming to be part of the incoming bush administration, which i accepted. >> you mean the george bush administration? did they offer you a job as director of omb right there? >> not initially. th

the federal government to pick up 100%, but we are asking the federal government to have clear rules and regulations so the local officials can actually begin the recovery because without the debris removal there is no recovery. >> madame chair, diprete and emergency protective measures are those things i think we have to make sure we know what the outcome is so we can get there quickly and that is to get debris where we can get access and the community and number two we get the debris upsweep prevent the problems it creates and begin the recovery. there were some successful programs, they were pilots i would like to revisit that provide a better incentive financially to the local governments and states who went ahead and developed the plan said they had many of these questions answered and they knew what they were going to but i think it is also incumbent upon us to make sure guidance is providing clear direction without being a process that is a difficult as a local official the only way i can understand is to hire former fema officials to explain the rules i am now having to seek reimbursement from the federal governme

federal workers. this will be during an early evening oval office event. the official said the administration would outline details on wednesday. the state department recently made similar changes to its policy. the administration is making the move as mr. obama faces criticism for not repealing don't ask don't tell. alabama, you're up first. frank is on the line. caller: i wanted to get hold of that fellow before to ask him what he thinks about censorship against fox news. i watched fox. you see things. you do not see anywhere else. he came on yesterday and criticized fox and cnbc and probably some other places also. he won't interview with fox. he has something against fox because they tell the truth. thank you. host: tampa, florida. go ahead. caller: the elections in iran do not really matter. all national candidates after the prescreened and preselected by the guardian council. half are selected by the supreme leader. they are prescreened by the guardian council. true reform, there will not criticize the closed circle of power within iran. some are not allowed to r

standard judge sotomayor lived up to in ricci when she deferred to the elected local official in new haven and to federal title 7 law and to firm second circuit precedent. it's always been my view that a commitment to modesty is key in a judge, a judge who is modest understands that any concept of doing justice must have as its touchstone the meaning that the authors of the text intended to give it. i also believe it is consistent with judicial modesty to acknowledge that our constitution is written to endure. it doesn't live and breathe like a flesh-and-blood child does, who evolves throughout adolescence and adulthood to become irrecognizable. i don't believe in using those terms. rather, mr. president, the constitution endures. it endures because the people whom it governs, the people who retain all of the many, many rights that are not listed in the document itself, believe that it continues to apply to them. and the only reason that it continues to apply to them is through guardianship of judges who are modest in reaching their conclusions. they understand that people have to live by the court's int

but we are asking the federal government to have clear rules and regulations so the local officials can actually begin the recovery because without debris removal, there is no recovery. >> madam chair, debris and emergency protective measures are two of those things that i think we have to make sure we know what the outcome is so we can get there quickly and that is to get debris where, one, we can get access in the community and, two, we get the debris up so we prevent the problems it creates and we begin the recovery. there were some successful programs started. there were pilots. i would like to revisit those that provided a better incentive financially to the local governments and states who went ahead debris management programs so they had many of these questions answered and knew what they were going to do but i think it's also incumbent upon us at fema to make sure that our guidance is providing clear direction without being a process that is so difficult that as a local official the only way i can address it is hiring fema officials as a contractor of the rules that i'm having t

we do not ask the federal government to pay for this completely but we ask for a clear rule and regulation so the local officials can begin the recovery. without the removal there is no recovery. >> these are two of the things that we have to make certain that we know the outcome so we can get their quickly. we get this up so we deal with the problems of recovery. they provided a better financial incentive to the governments and the states so they had many of these questions, but this is also incumbent, to make certain that we have clear directions without being a process that is so difficult, the only way to understand this is to hire a former official to explain the rules where i have to look for reimbursement from the federal government. >> thank you very much. the panel has been wonderful. if the second panel would come forward? >> if you would take your seats? thank you very much for joining us. i would like to introduce all of you and you are asked to proceed with your opening remarks. the first witness today, will be george -- the the co-chair of the advisory board for the corporate response officers asso