feinberg for being here. we obviously want him here in the future and we want everyone to file a claim. mr. feinberg will be meeting right here with the media so if you want to accumulate here, that will be fine. in addition, we will have the media here. i want to introduce some of our elected officials. we have the senator, the state representative, our councilman, we have a number of people on boards and agencies. anybody else? >> one question i want to ask mr. feinberg but i want the public to ask the question first is that we have a number of people because their claims have been so delighted that we need a moratorium with the banks and loan institutions to stop them from possibly foreclosing on businesses, homes, and people's assets. we need a lot of help in that area to protect those people that are going through this situation right now. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> kenneth feinberg oversees the $20 billion fund crea

feinberg would respond to. i would like t get people who live in alabama chance to have met with me before and who were promised certain things and they didn't get those promises fulfilled, would you have any objection to letting us get those questions submitted to you? >> no, i would welcome it. >> thank you. a couple of questions. vice president biden said the $20 billion is a floor, not a ceili. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> t's just rounded up, $6 billion. how much do you think before august the 2013, based on the trends you have seen thus far, how much you think you will exhaust? >> i would be reluctant congressman to take an estimate of that, but i remind you as you know, that $20 billion is used for purposes other than the gulf coast claims facility. local cleanup costs come out of the 20 billion, government claims that are being paid in alabama by bp comes out of the 20 billion. so ian't venture a guess as to how much the total amount will be that will be spent. i would like to think that the

feinberg? ms. feinberg previously the fra : has not taken action on -- mr. mica: they have not taken action on any of these. ok, and then 2008 was also a recommendation. they did not take action on that, is that correct? ms. feinberg that is correct. :mr. mica: in fact, it's been very difficult. in fact since then, many freight rails have installed those devices. are you aware of that, ma'am? ms. feinberg: yes, sir. mr. mica: in fact, but it's been difficult. in fact, they had to go through lawsuits. i want this to be entered into the record. here's kansas city southern was attempting to put into cameras in the cab. they were sued mr. comstock and his group. not only will both unions fervently apose the lawsuit, they will ask the court to join them from going ahead with a plan. could we put that in the record, please? thoost cameras and history and nothing being done. let's talk about financing these and positive train control. you just recommended you're going to have fra financing available?

his rulings are final, but feinberg desnries he is a pay czar -- feinberg denies that he is a pay czar. >> czar sounds like i am issuing imperial edicts that have to be followed without question. i think overall there was a healthy degree of cooperation and i'm grateful to these 7 companies for working closely with me on a voluntary basis. >> feinberg also said president obama played no role in the ultimate decision about corporate compensation. one exception to this, the $500,000 salary limit will apply only in november and december of this year, and the government will not take back compensation already paid out. bret: major, thank you. first-time applications for jobless benefits increased more than expected last week. the labor department said new claims shot up by 11,000. the index of legalling economic indicators rose 1% in september, up 1.567% in the last five months, the strongest performance since 1983. the dow gained 132 today to go back over 10,000. s&p 500 picked up 11 1/2 and nasdaq was ahead 14 1/2. president obama's top economic advisor says the $737 billion stimulus has

feinberg. the base salaries for these executives going forward will be paid in cash and salaryized stock. and the companies can appeal mr. feinberg's decision to the pay czar over the next 30 days. during the press briefing, feinberg called the process a difficult one, but said the companies were very, very cooperative. companies include gm, chrysler, their finance arms, bank of america, aig and citigroup. the plan submitted by these companies were not in the public interest. take a look at what the ceos of six of these companies will be paid for 2009. you might see that one name is missing from there, that being bank of america. ceo ken lewis has already said he will return his salary for all of 2009 to the company. here are the plan details. cash salaries will not exceed $500,000 for 90% of the top 25 executives. the exceptions include aig's ceo as well as two others at chrysler financial. they will receive $1 million in cash salary. the rest of it, again, in salaryized stock. the salaryized

feinberg. i have a question for you. just make sure i'm clear it's my understanding that the fra, and this come from testimony, they will use all powers including enforcement fines and adoption. we know how they would assess adoption. we know how they would assess the fines. would they be assessed a daily? is there a policy that's been defined regarding that? ms. feinberg: the goal of our enforcement actions and any safety regulators is to bring about compliance. >> i understand the goal. do we have a policy? ms. feinberg: as we discussed earlier we are finalizing that now. most of the policy is public and has been public since 2010. there are various signs and penalty and most of it has been public since 2010. we are in response to the congress' request finalizing our strategy now. we want to be completely transparent about what the railroads and congress can expect. >> and might be daily and might be otherwise? ms. feinberg: that's correct. >> so a few days after you were here after the terrible mishap in philadelphia,

feinberg coming on board. he is bringing change with his leadership, and now he has met with the president. he is putting a face to the name, and he is driving that change through. >> suzanne: you have been very critical of how b.p. handled this crisis. >> i have. >> suzanne: if you were advising them, what would you tell them? >> i think they fell down on four key areas -- first of all, it was a failure to analyze failure. special since it was one that looked light it could be avoided in the first place. number two, they lacked a real crisis plan in the beginning. what happens in these situations is you need a bold response to this, and this wasn't happening. and there was too much inspection and not enough execution. and there are plans to correct that. and finally, the gulf between gestures and results. and all we've heard of is gesturing, but i think we are seeing that change. >> suzanne: at the end of the day, b.p. is an oil company. and a tarnished image doesn't mean much in terms of their product. peopl

ken feinberg, good luck. have an enormous challenge ahead of you, and we wish you only, only success. >> thanks, wolf. thanks very, very much. >>> summoned by the commander in chief, general stanley mcchrystal is called home to explain some stunning remarks in a magazine interview. will he resign? stay with us here in "the situation room." ♪ ♪ ♪ ay, yay, yay, yay ♪ ay, yay, yay, yay ♪ ♪ ♪ baby, baby, baby, baby... uh-oh ♪ ♪ >>> our top story. the u.s. commander in afghanistan general stanley mcchrystal is called back to washington after he and some staff made remarks in a "rolling stone" article that mocked top officials. he has apologized but president obama is said to be angry and all options are on the table regarding the general's fate. the president wants to meet with him tomorrow before deciding what to do. let's talk with in fran townsend, and gloria borger, and the host of ""john king usa"" that comes up at the top of the hour, john king. what are you hearing from your sources about general mcchrystal

. >>> ken feinberg says he will reveal how much bp is paying him to manage the fund. tom fitzgerald is live in the newsroom. >> reporter: this announcement came during a prewheeling forum hosted by public citizen after initially being cool to the idea of revealing his salary, kenneth feinberg says that we will all find out what he is being paid as soon as he does. for now he is days away from opening the doors on an operation that will hand out $20 million of bp's money to the victims that deserve it. when trouble comes calling, ken feinberg is the man who picks up the phone. >> i have experience. i think that's what people look to. >> reporter: experience few people have. feinberg has served as special master deciding how the victims of tragedies like 9-11, virginia tech shootings should be compensated. >> experience in dealing with these mass claim situations involving not only substance but the emotion of the people you are dealing with. >> we will make bp pay for the damage their company caused. >> reporter: last month when president obama announced bp would set u

the obama administration's special master on pay, kenneth feinberg, has decided those payments were "ill-advised," but not illegal. stephanie dhue talked with feinberg this morning and asked him about that decision. >> they were too big, some individuals were getting in excess of $10 million in bonus payments over a five-year period, there were severance payments where individuals, companies, after they received tarp, we're paying people walking out the door, no longer working at the company, there were gross-ups, where in order to cover tax payments, there would be additional money, allocated to these individuals, we concluded after months of review, these companies should not have done what they did. >> reporter: six banks that made what feinberg calls "ill- advised" payments still owe taxpayers. they are citibank, c.i.t. group, which has since gone through bankruptcy, suntrust, regions financial, m&t bancorp and a.i.g. 11 repaid tarp, including j.p. morgan chase, bank of america and goldman sachs. none of the banks rescinded those payments. feinberg says he didn't think he had the

kenneth feinberg was aware of that. >> the pay czar. >> he's the pay czar. he did try to say we have to keep the good human capital at the companies if we want to get them back on their feet. there was no way he was going to satisfy everybody. >> paul: right. ism possible job. >> what is more troubling here also is the fact that for example feingogol goldman s also part of the bail-out money but paid it back completely gets off the hook. they don't fall under any of the compensation limits that feinberg is assigning. >> they don't fall under feinberg but they would presumably fall under the fed guideline because they're a deposit taking institution. >> go back to when they took the tarp money. they claim now we didn't really need and there are a lot of people around the table that said we were worsed. but another subject is why was there a lack of transparency. a closed door session where paulson decided what he decided. >> paul: now it's the wheel house on the lack of transparency. >> the czar thing is the danger is it spreads to the whole economy. it's fun

it's not an unfamiliar role for feinberg. he made a name for himself 30 years ago, quickly settling a long-running dispute between makers of the defolian agent orange and a quarter of a million vietnam veterans. he's served as the government's pay czar determining compensation paid out to companies. and victims of the aurora, colorado and virginia tech shooters, boston marathon bombings and families of 9/11. during his three years in this role, feinberg's empathetic and practical approach to a seemingly unsolved problem brought him praise. >> he'll have meetings, try to reach out. he does it in a way that's fundamentally therapeutic. he's not someone who uses a mathematical formula. he doesn't attempt complete decision >> reporter: he isn't above reproach as overseer for victims fund for b.p.'s deep water horizon oil spill, the critics krit said he held his company's interests above theirs in a statement feinberg said he'd draw on past experience. experience that's focused on answering the thorny question of what a life is wo

the white house pay czar kenneth feinberg announced plans this week to drastically cut the salaries of highest paid employees at the seven companies that received the biggest taxpayer bailouts. the cash portions will be slashed an average of 90% over last year and the federal reserve proposed new pay guidelines for all banks it regulates whether or not they were bailed out. president obama praised feinberg's ruling, calling it an important step forward in curbing the influence of executive compensation on wall street, while still allowing those companies it succeed and prosper. >> i've always believed that our system of free enterprise works best when it rewards hard work. this is america. we don't disparage wealth. we don't begrudge anybody for doing well, we believe in success. it does offend our values when executives of big financial firms, firms struggling pay themselves huge bonuses even as they continue to rely on taxpayer assistance to stay afloat. >> joining the panel this week, mary o'grady, assistant editorial page editor james freeman and washington columnist kim strossle.

feinberg for being here. i applaud your diligence in the difficult task that was set before you reeling in excessive executive compensation is an important mission and is of great benefit to our economy and to the american taxpayer. i continue to be alarmed by the reported trends in executive compensation that exposed a disproportionate nature of corporate pay packages. according to the research paid to ceos is at an all-time high at over 400 times the average workers' pay. how has executive pay grown to these extreme amounts and what factors contributed to these trends? >> i'm not a historian in terms of the causes of the growth. i confronted under the statute and the regulations clear directives to rein in compensation while at the same time making sure these companies repay the taxpayer. others have written on the various reasons that the gap has grown between executive compensation and workers, and i've tried to take that into account in limiting executive comp and undermine mandate. >> you know, i have l

feinberg and mr. koos. i just want to say first of all, i am a long-distance guy, too, and we've been fighting like hell with everybody dealing with amtrak. it seems like they want to cut the long-distance routes. i have the same perspective as senator moran does on this. and i'll tell you i think would be a huge mistake. but we have been playing defense. if you get confirmed to the amtrak board of directors, what are you going to do on offense to make thiss long-distance routes more appealing and more writer friendly. >> i'm happy to start, senator. thank you for the question and i hope you can see me because suddenly i can't see any of you sunk is going to assume you can see me and go with it. thank you for the question. look, i think one thing that amtrak needs to do is take over how we can approve improve ridn those routes. whether it's through the dining experience or the experience in the private rooms or the reliability experience, service experience, i think there are things we can do that will brin

today we'll consider the nomination of feinberg. efficient movement of people and goods throughout our nation's rail network. that rail network is vital to the nation's economy so it's important that those who directly oversee the safety and efficiency of this network have the skills and experience. miss feinberg has been serving since january prior to her current assignment she served as chief of staff to transportation secretary from 2013 to 2014. from 2011 to 2013 j she was the policy and crisis communication director of facebook. before that, she served as a communications director for the house democratic caucus. she has an admirable commitment to public service, are concerned about the lack of experience in railroad safety. it's noted, former facebook executive and white house advisor whose resume is long on communications and policy posts and short on railroad experience, end quote. so in addition to asking miss feinberg to respond to the concerns, i'll be asking her about the looming deadline to implement positive train cont

it's read. >> reporter: feinberg has his hands full.l street executives. the week before last he stepped back into a previous role. he'll review old claims froms 9/11 first responders, but he's promised to begin payouts in the gulf quickly starting in 30 days. he has more money to spend on the oil spill than he has ever had before. he's ready and able to see how make right. >> osgood: ahead bugsy siegel's losing bet. and its winning legacy. since our beginning, we've been there for clients through good times and bad, when our clients' needs changed we changed to meet them. through the years, when some lost their way, we led the way with new ideas for the financial challenges we knew would lie ahead. this rock has never stood still. and there's one thing that will never change. we are, the rock you can rely on. prudential. get on e-trade. set up a real plan. frank! oh wow, you didn't win? i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. [ gasps ] [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works... at e-trade. but my smile just wasn

feinberg. however, the congress has an obligation to ensure that this fund is operating properly and fairly so that the people in the gulf remain whole for the harm caused to them and that the economy of the gulf is to get back up and running again. it is not absolutely clear if the fund is actually under the jurisdiction of this or any other congressional committee, and i is chairman appreciate your willingness of mr. feinberg to, and to sit before this committee today. today there is a large hole in proper oversight and accountability to ensure legitimate claims are getting the attention they deserve, and that the process of the ministry of payments is conducted in a timely manner. there is an appropriate effort in congress to direct an open transparent funds and i certainly hope and expect the fund will comply. and it can be expected the committee will continue to to properly conduct oversight into the process, payments and operations of the fund in order to ensure that there is a transparen

feinberg's $40 million share landed in her family's bank account a few weeks ago. booz allen admitted no wrongdoing, saying in a statement that the company has always believed it acted lawfully and responsibly and noting that a criminal investigation was closed without charges. >> did they underestimate you? >> i wish they would have taken me and the issue more seriously while i was there. >> reporter: today $40 million richer feinberg says she plans to give much of it to her church >> i've got three kids ♪ i tell them doing the right thing is the right thing no matter what the outcome is. there's very few times in this life where you'll actually be rewarded for doing the right thing. but this is one of those unique situations >> reporter: ken dilanian, nbc news, washington >>> up next, as we continue tonight with tensions high between beijing and washington, is the giant panda in the middle >>> we're back now with a long good-bye at the national zoo. three giant pandas are set to head to china after captivating millions for decades in the backdrop the escalating t

and feinberg said he doesn't remember. you don't remember the name? >> i don't remember. >> reporter: $10 million check, i would certainly remember that. >> this was -- this was simply a request of bp and the claimant to pay out of the gccf the settlement. that's what we did. >> reporter: was there a review? >> no. >> reporter: even so, feinberg insists he's now going to change, and the bp money will soon be out the door. for darla rooks, it's not fast enough. >> it's a lost cause. it's too little too late now. >> reporter: matt gutman, abc news, miami. >>> and now, the personal drama unfolding on the mormon campus of brigham young university. it has everyone debating what is a fair promise, a rule, and what is a just punishment? and what about the student, the star on the red-hot byu basketball team? abc's abbie boudreau is in utah. >> reporter: at the strictly mormon brigham young university, all students must promise to adhere to a formal code of ethics that almost seems quaint in 2011. students pledge to not only "use clean language," "abstain fro

. >> feinberg is a good man, but he's a lawyer. we have had a lot -- not a lot, but with some dealings with lawyers. who knows? one man can only do so much. you know, you see all the p.r. campaigns. like mr. feinberg, i respect and appreciate him coming, but really it's p.r. that's why he came here today is p.r., really. >> feinberg told us their skepticism is understandable. >> talk is cheap in doing this. they're absolutely right. it's all well and good to give people a comfort level that you will respect their claim, that they make a credible argument that they will be paid. until the check is in the mail, i must say everybody has a right to be skeptical and question the legitimacy of this and will it work? and that is fair and i understand that. >> reporter: with the fishing fleet still in port and no new seafood flowing through the system, the towns along the gulf wait for feinberg to make decisions that may ultimately spell financial life or death for thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of people. >> ifill: now,

feinberg. he has experience in this arena, having disbursed funds as a result of the 9/11 incident. it is my understanding that he will be taking control of 36 bp offices and hundreds of employees. mr. feinberg is charged with administering the $20 billion gulf claims account and paying legitimate claims to affected parties. it is an admirable and difficult position, because we know that paying claims in this kind of situation is certainly an inexact science. we -- will downstream suppliers due to the tourism industry qualify for compensation? there are a lot of unanswered questions. we want to see that people are reimbursed who have legitimate claims. and we hope there will be some -- we know there'll be some filing claims that will not be legitimate. one other question that i think will have to be answered as we go along is the drilling moratorium imposed by the administration. it will have an impact on the economy and the terrorism as a result of this bill. there is going to have to be some

, has not made things better. >> so we're very upset with the overall performance of ken feinberg. >> reporter: in an interview, feinberg acknowledges problems. >> we haven't processed all of the claims as quickly as we should have. i oversold this program at the beginning and i'm paying the price for it. i do not work for bp. >> reporter: he's been the target of anger and frustration at recent town hall meetings. we went back to two businesses we've kept up with. jeff hardy owns a shoe and apparel business and says his losses are now more than a million dollars. he's received one check for $5,000. these twin sisters who plan weddings on the beach have received $29,000 on a claim of $240,000. >> we feel like we deserve what we lost and that's what we're asking for, give us what we lost. >> reporter: do you understand how angry and desperate some of these people are when you send them these tiny checks? >> i understand the frustration. i understand the concern. remember, though, that there are thousands of citizens in the gulf who received very very generous checks. >> reporter: his of

>> reporter: stephen feinberg is a billionaire, as you said. he is a founder of an investment firm up in new york. he is an ally of donald trump. and now there are suggestions that he might be picked to lead a review of the intelligence agencies. now, this was first reported by "the new york times," confirmed by our jim sciutto here at cnn. we do know that some things would have to be worked out, namely the fact that the office of the director of national intelligence has complete purview over many of these issues. and the question is how a feinberg review would fit into that. here at the white house, we did ask a white house spokesman just a little while ago to confirm that feinberg would be leading a review. we were told a review would be occurring and it would be looking into the leaks. but we were not given a sense that the feinberg name is finalized to look into this. apparently a work in progress but feinberg's name is definitely in the mix. >> joe johns reporting breaking news at the white house, thank you, joe. let's go to our panel, ka

feinberg really is independent. really is neutral and understands the need to have everyone see him that way. i think that mr. feinberg really believes that he has that reputation, that he can do the right thing. >> bob, quickly, how many other clients do you expect to take this compensation? are you actually recommending it? >> it will not be a blanket recommendation. for some it may fit the plan better than others. i will give them recommendations. my intent right now is to look at all of my clients individual fact patterns, what the damages are, give them what i believe there award would the end of the plan and let them look at the trial and thento make recommendations. it is not an all in or all out, it will be very dependent on the facts. >> we really appreciate your insight, bob. we will be talking to ken feinberg in the next hour. breaking news out of washington, companies with religious objections to contraception can refuse to pay for them. megan hughes has been covering the story. megan, go ahead, take it

one feinberg unveils the plan in d.c. and answers questions of how much victims will get and how much more will the company.ost gm already asserted faulty ignition switches to 57 crashes, 13 deaths, $680 million in and rentals for customers. it agreed last month to pay a record $35 million fine and a probe into how the company handle the recall. piece ofust the latest the puzzle for gm. the cost is put at $3 billion for how much we will eventually .ave two pay up >> what about more than 100 losses against the company? >> the idea is to settle all of those. today's announcement, a voluntary plan, and they will have to give up their right to gm to reject the deal that reaches too few victims or makes inadequate settlement offers and those victims can pursue those claims. feinberg has become quite the expert at putting the price on tragedy and is known for persuading people to settle rather than sue. only 94 people out of 3000 eventually went to court in the 9/11 case. >> the victims should feel good that can feinberg is beh

miss feinberg and mr. boardman, can you speak to the future of amtrak and passenger rail if congress continues to use patchwork approach to continued improvements? >> well, i would like to say mr. sires that my concern has been the reliability of the railroad. the reliability of what we do for our hardware on our system. the reliability of our use of tunnels. whether it's in new york or through the baltimore tunnels. that our reliable on the portal bridge that's ready to be rebuilt that doesn't always shut properly. so the funding for infrastructure on the northeast corridor is absolutely behind the curve. in the last reauthorization of our funding in the pria act, there was a commission established out of all the states, the federal government and amtrak, along the northeast corridor, and that's where the $21 billion backtjt came from of the necessity for us to rebuild corridor corridor. we also have a requirement because of the growth of traffic on this corridor. we're handling over 2,000 trains% a day o

feinberg, myñr husband was a fireman.ade center who worked foreign ron. i don't get it. what do you have against my husband. and you have to explain how the law works. and how economic loss is açó factor. but it is very, veryt& >> rose: now has all that been settled? >> yes. thereÑi are about i think maybe one or two death cases from people who didn't want to go into my program, into the fund and wanted to litigate against the airlines, et cetera. there are some physical injury cases, many, many physical injury cases, thousands pending before judge hellerstein in federal court in manhattan. but i'm hopeful they will settle as well. >> rose: what other arbitration kinds of things have you done. >> agent orange, that was the first one that i did in in which one of the nation's most distinguished federal judges jack weinstein, brookline, asked me to try and mediate a resolution of that case involving vietnam veterans who claim that they had been injured by exposure to the defoliant argument orange in vietnam. that case had b

and andrew feinberg got it right today, as he has in the past, which is why andrew feinberg will be joining us on this program tonight. when donald trump made the mistake of calling on andrew feinberg for the first question of the press conference, he heard the best questions asked by a white house reporter this year. thank you, mr. president. >> earlier today, you told me that you believe that. foreign countries. pay tariffs, but. americans who are concerned about higher prices believe, as most people do, that they're paid by consumers and importers when they import things into this country. can you explain how you came to this belief that foreign governments are paying tariffs? and for the prime minister, did you discuss with president trump his repeated statements of desire to annex canada? and has the king expressed any concern over the president's apparent desire to remove one of his realms from his control? >> wow, it doesn't get better than that. both of those questions were perfect. and yes, sadly, canada is part of the realm of the king of england, who unfortunately still appears o

feinberg: we do an end run on theories of tort. we invite people to come into a system which does not to fix blame, does not deter. it compensates, that is all it does, individual victims. 9/11, 94 people, 3%, decided voluntarily not to come into my program. i met with them and i said to each one, why aren't you coming into a program that will compensate you in 60 days with an average award tax-free of $2 million? some would say, i lost my wife at the world trade center. she would want me to sue to make the airlines safer. to make the airlines safer. you are not going to make the airlines safer by suing. the airlines are as safe as they are going to be. even if you believe that a lawsuit will help make the airlines safe, let the other 93 people sue. let 93 people litigate to make the airlines safer. come in and get your money. >> without the threat of a civil jury trial, would bp or gm ever put up that kind of find? mr. feinberg: i doubt it. >> tell me of any kind of civil case where the biggest issue, the one that amounts to the m

feinberg. not only has he a spectacular record in terms of addressing issues such as this, but he also comes from a community that i once represented. that's the city of brockton in massachusetts, and for those of you that are unaware, brockton is the city of champions. brockton was the home of the rock. that's rocky marciano, undefeated heavyweight champion of the world, and then, of course, there was marvelous marvin hagler, an now we have another champion in ken feinberg, whose success is extraordina extraordinary. it's a great commuty. as i said, this is an outstanding appointment. the president should be congratulated. he has a litany of accomplishments in addressing issues ranging from 9/11 compensation to overseeing executive compensation pursuant to the top legislation, and i'm confident that given his leadership and his talent that e concerns that have been expressed by members of the panel will be addressed by this young man from that hard scrabble community in massachusetts, the city