mr. dold: and we're storing just literally yards off the shore of lake michigan, spent fuel rods. that is obviously not the place to be doing that and my understanding, correct me if i'm wrong, that younga mountain, we're talking about 1,000 feet underground, 1,000 feet above the water table, and at least 100 miles away from most of the individuals and inhabitants that are around. a perfect place. and we've spent $14 billion constructing it. it seems like common sense that we want this waste not around freshwater, not around some of the urban areas, but in a place specifically designed as yucca mountain is. mr. shimkus: as my colleague knows, reclaiming my time, senator kirk is strongly in support of moving high level nuclear waste to yucca mountain. senator durbin said the right things. we just want him now to lead on that issue for the importance of the state of illinois. another week i talk about the savannah river site. nuclear waste right on the savannah river. highlighted the senators th

handelman, and i'll just follow up on something that i think mr. dold asked. he talked about 14% fraud, and let's assume for a second there is 14% fraud. and waste. fraud, waste and abuse because if you spend money on something, even if it's not fraud and they don't build the stuff they're supposed to build, it might not be fraud, but it's at least waste. if there's 14% fraud and waste in this program that you and i agree is an important program, what's the impact on this important program? >> you and i certainly agree that this is an important program. um, i understand that you've asked me to hypothetically assume that the 14% number, i'll say for benefit of the committee, we looked at the numbers produced by "the washington post," we're unable to replicate them, and the post did not release its analysis, so i have no confidence this that program. >> okay. if there is that kind of waste, is it bad for the program? >> yes. >> that's really what i was looking for is, you know, we all want to agree when we agree that there's a worthy program, we want the money i

. -- mr. dold, for five minutes. mr. dold: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the american taxpayer is facing skyrocketing debt and political partisanship here in washington. while every american family must balance the budget, the federal government does not have to do the same. additionally, publicly traded companies are required to provide financial statements for their shareholders whereas the government is not held accountable to the american taxpayer. that is why representative mike quigley and i are introducing bipartisan legislation that would require the federal government prepare and publish online periodic financial statements that are independently audited and that are accurately reflecting the government's true financial condition. in the short time i have been in congress, i've focused my efforts on creating an environment that fosters job creation and gets our economy back on track. part of that effort involves america's fiscal house getting in order, and that is why i have worked to curb out-of-control government spending. moving forwar

mr. dold: madam speaker, i rise today to congratulate sandy pearl for receiving the a.j.c.'s prestigious judge learn at hand human relations reward. the learn had in hand reward is presented to leaders in the legal profession, displaying the highest principles and ideals of humanitarianism and betterment of the community. in both his professional and community activities, sandy pearl has shown that he carries on this proud tradition. a native of the 10th district of illinois, sandy has served in a number of leadership roles at his firm and is consistently recognized as one of the top lawyers in his industry. but what makes sandy stand out for this well-deserved recognition is his commitment to the civic and charitable causes. through his active leadership in organizations such as the jewish federation, the golden apple foundation that recognizes excellence in teaching, through his work on global issues with the chicago chapter of the a.j.c., and with the american-israel public relations -- or public affairs committee, sandy has dedicated himself to improving his community an

mr. dold: as a small business owner i can personally understand that access to capital is critical and sometimes determining the factor between success and failure for small businesses. small businesses do represent 2/3 of all net new jobs created in our nation. businesses, especially small businesses, must raise capital to create and maintain jobs. to invest in research and development, to sell and market goods and services and generally to expand their businesses. debt financing is very difficult and sometimes impossible in today's market, especially for smaller businesses like my own. equity financing is also very difficult with enormous transaction costs and very expensive and time-consuming s.e.c. regulation requirements. our capital market is struggle and expense of for small businesses, and so we need to find creative ways to reduce the regulatory costs and burdens. this legislation, this commonsense legislation, i would add, would do just that. it would give companies greater access to

mr. dold: that's why i have been focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education, or stem. so that those that are currently unemployed are those students who will be entering the work force can learn new skills and go on to the field with good, high-paying jobs. in my district, i'm working with high schools and manufacturers on recruiting students to go into stem fields. we are working on connecting students with manufacturers, who are looking for employees. i want to recognize the efforts of madusa consulting, illinois work net, and manufacturing careers incorporated for their leadership in bringing the manufacturing jobs fair to district 214 field house in arlington heights this upcoming december 5. i want to encourage my colleagues to support stem education and to work with their local businesses on hosting these important jobs fairs and manufacturing workshops. this is absolutely critical if we want to get america back to work. with that i yield back. the speaker pro