the state newspaper says, sanford e-mails outline his affair. and also his resignation as head of the national gop governors' group, the piece we read earlier about this 2012 prospects shattered and a statement from jenny sanford saying she and the governor supported two weeks ago, adding reconciliation is still possible. also heard extended statement available in the newspaper and on line. naomi is on the phone from jacksonville, florida. the republican line. caller: i was just calling about the subject this morning about governor's sanford -- gov. sanford. the lady two or three calls earlier comparing the democrats and republicans and the response from the news media and the difference and the contrast. as a female, i believe that the marriage is between the two people and what happens is between the two people and i think these two people are trying to work out their problems. i do believe, like the lady before me, that if you are a conservative, you are going to be treated almost -- different than the democrats are treated. and that is throu

i wanted to say that i believe there's a love affair with him.ow could you look past with chris matthews said in the campaign about having a tingle go down his middle leg. host: is there anything more recent you have seen? caller: yes, with kevin thomas saying that he is like god. the zip codes of most journalists, where they live, most white journalists live very insulated lives and don't have much contact with the realities of race in this country. obama is a symbol more than a man, a symbol of the unrealized integration. most to support him live in pockets of homogeneity -- the for the they live from blacks the higher opinion they have of them. you'll find very few reports of the reality of the brown/black were going on in the inner cities in prisons and school systems. it makes people feel good to believe we have turned a corner and are living -- the attorney general was right about us being a nation of cowards. we don't live in this racial utopia in our everyday lives. obama makes these insulated white liberals feel good about themselves. i

the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on foreign affairs and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 , the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken after 6:30 p.m. today. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise. mr. filner: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 407. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 407, an act to amend title 38 united states code to provide for an increase effective december 1, 2009, in the rates of compensation for veterans with service connected disabilities and the rates of dependency and indemnity compensation for the survivors of certain disabled veterans to codify increases in the rates of such compensation that were effective as of december 1, 2008, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant

sanford was having an affair. the whiff of adultery had not followed him, reporters remained skeptical. last thursday the governor to take an interview with sean hannity for fox news in which mr. sanford criticize the federal stimulus plan and said that he had not thought of running for president. later he left the governor's mansion without security and rumors about his absence percolated in law-enforcement circles, according to some officials. other politicians and government officials got wind of his accent -- of his absence and tick off reporters. thomas joining us on the phone from lafayette, louisiana. -- tom is joining us on the phone from lafayette, louisiana. caller: thank you for taking my call. thank you for c-span. i wanted to comment that we had a problem here with our senator, david vitner, who had some kind of a thing with prostitutes, and it seems like the republicans in louisiana overlooked that, maybe because of his politically conservative positions. but i am tired of these sanctimonious politic

paul, a member of our foreign affairs committee. the chair: the gentleman from tked -- is recognized for two minutes. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the chair: without objection. mr. paul: i thank the gentlelady for yielding me these two minutes. i rise in opposition to this bill. some are hopeful this will be a less militaristic approach to our foreign policy but quite frankly i don't see any changes. i wish it were something that would represent a humble foreign policy, but when you put an extra $100 million into the military operations of the united nations, i hardly think this is a change in direction. it's $18 billion, actually that is going into more meddling. we don't have $18 billion. the president now has asked us here in the congress to follow the pay-go rules. that might be a good idea if we setaside the idea we raise taxes. but we are not going to cut any domestic spending for this foreign spending. so the odds of this following the pay-go rule are essentially nill. i want to call atte

house to join us in support of this bill, h.r. 1016, which passed unanimously from the veterans' affairs committee last week. thank you, mr. speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arkansas. mr. boozman: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 1016, as amended, a bill that would authorize appropriations for several veterans health care accounts a year in advance beginning with fiscal year 2011. i also thank chairman filner for bringing this bill forward. and trying to solve a problem that we have had over -- in the past. the goal of the bill is to provide an increased level of fiscal certainty regarding operations of the v.a. hospital system. by funding the accounts for medical services, medical support and compliance, medical facilities, information technology systems, and medical and prosthetic research the department of veterans affairs should be able to manage its health care personnel

i'd like to commend the foreign affairs committee for all their hard work on the foreign affairs authorization act and thank mr. berman and his staff for working to include the daniel parole act to this legislation. it brings much-needed atonings a critical human rights issue this calls upon the secretary of state to greatly expand its examination of the status of the freedom of the press

as a member of the house oversight committee and a member of its national security and foreign affairs subcommittee, i've been to iraq and afghanistan on numerous occasions and i've had the pleasure of meeting with some of the brave iraqi and afghan workers who actually serve right beside our own men and women in uniform as interpreters and assistants in the military operations and also the civil operations that are going on in both those countries. extremely dangerous work. and they do deserve incredible recognition for taking a very difficult position in aiding our troops and their mission. and they are deserving of our admiration. there is a sad truth, however, that in choosing to support u.s. forces in iraq and in afghanistan to rebuild their countries, they're also putting their lives on the line and those of their families. the insurgents in iraq and in afghanistan have targeted these hardworking patriots and their families in hopes of terrorizing the local people and discouraging cooperation. it is because of this very real danger that congress created the section 1059 and 12 4

the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on foreign affairs now printed in the bill modified by the amount printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanyingp this resolution shall be considered as adopted. the bill as amended shall be be considered as read. all points of order against provisions of the bill as amendrd waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill as amended and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one. one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on foreign affairs. two, the further amendment in the nature of a substitute printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules if offered by representative ros-lehtinen of florida or her designee which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order except those arising under clause 9 or 10 under rule 21. shall be considered as read, and shall be separately debatable for 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the p

there is a love affair with him, but not a positive one. i get a lot of my news from watching you all or maybe cnn, or talk radio, but my point is, i cannot understand a country who is so upset that his not lashing out of another country about how the people feel about the president, but in this country, look at the lack of respect that this president gets. several of your callers you may ask them to give an example on how that feel the media is in love with him but you never correct them that he is liar. i think that is a rude, bold statement, but these american citizens to lash out at the president -- if only have one who can read and they are upset with that. the have a president who takes his time to speak to the people, to inform the people and not want the people to be in the dark and ignorant, but we are upset about that? america who wants to be the land of the free, but it is amazing they are so harsh and rude to the president of this country. let's show some respect and support to the president, mr. president barack obama instead o

and the department of veterans affairs. in an effort to expand the supply of veterans housing, the bill allingt rises appropriations for housing assistance for very low income and homeless veterans. a very low income veteran family has an income not exceeding 50% of an area's median income. a $200 million authorization would provide capital advances in planning grants to provide nonprofits with consumer cooperatives for the rehabilitation of permanent supporting housing for very low income veterans. it may also be used for project rental assistance. the bill also authorizes appropriation necessary to provide 20,000 additional housing choice vouchers for homeless veterans for f.y. 2009 and each year thereafter. other provisions in the bill include the exclusion of veterans benefits amounts from rental subsidy calculations for all federally funded housing programs and an authorization of $1 million in technical assistance grants to nonprofits who provide veterans housing or provide assistance to veterans seeking housing. all

, public affairs is doing something different, susan weinbergers the publisher. wenner you doing here? >> the group decided to take up the challenge to publish a book in 48 hours, which led from the opening day to today. if you want to stop by and celebrate, the addie at is to showcase a lot of things that are happening in publishing. one is that the way electronic files and formats and all the different printing technologies, how much is changing and opening new opportunities in publishing and bookselling. the other one, continue and intensify the collaboration we're doing with other companies, there are lots of companies with lots of new ideas that can be very innovative and when we announced we were doing this, we felt we would ask them to help and we found many of them came to us before we had a chance to call them. we want to help. we have over 20 companies participating in this project with us. >> let's walk over here because you have a whole schedule of events going on that you have done and you have a story board here. >> the first thing we had to do is h

overture to iran in the context of the iran-contra affair. in which there were many arrests of people close to centers of power. we had the removal of ayatollah month certificate ri as khomeini's designated success accesser in 1989. that seriously shook the regime. we had a serious rift over whether or not to end the iran/iraq war in 1987-'88 when iran was losing, and there were many senior figures that said, no, iran should continue. that was a major rift. in 1999 we had major student riots, several killed. just in 2000 we had -- 2004 we had the council of guardians which vets the candidates, basically disqualified almost all of the major reformist candidates for the parliament, and there were sit-ins and various protests right from within the regime, so the idea of a rift in the regime is new i think is not correct. ayatollah rafsanjani was actually a key figure in many of these rifts. he is a very, very clever back-room operator. he tends to lose elections. he did win for president in '89 and then again in '93, but that was after khomeini

i repeat, we have no interest in interfering in iran's internal affairs. that era has ended. this resolution affirms the universeality of individual rights as well as the importance of democratic and fair elections. beyond that, and simply expresses its solidarity with iranian citizens who embrace the values of freedom, human rights, civil liberties, and the rule of law. i do not know how many of the demonstrators fall into that category, but i do know that many of them do. it is not a judgment on who won the iranian elections. it is an acknowledgment that we cannot remain silent when cherished human principles are under attack. mr. speaker, i want to offer my appreciation to our ranking member and to the gentleman from indiana for working together on a resolution which puts the house of representatives on the side of the people of iran. with that, i ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this resolution and reserve the balance of my time. >> i yield myself such time as i may consume. i would like to start out banking our esteemed and distinguished chairman of the foreign

conference chair and a member of our committee on foreign affairs. the chair: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. pence: i rise in opposition to the foreign relations authorization act and ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the chair: without objection. mr. pence: the american people deserve a foreign relations bill that respects our nation's budget and our nation's value and sadly h.r. 2410 does neither. at a time that ordinary americans are struggling to make ends meet this legislation would add billions of dollars in new funding to our foreign and state department operations, expanding taxpayer funding of peace corps and the u.n. regular budget by 1/3 in a single year without any u.n. reform is extraordinarily frustrating to many of us who have been fighting to use the power of the purse here in washington, d.c. to drive fundamental reform in that body. . beyond that increase, an increase in the state department's basic salary, this does a disservice to the values of the millions of americans who cheri

mark sanford last week in the revelation of his affair with a woman from argentina. south carolina's governor's wife, according to some, the sanford affair is evidence that there -- they need to be electing more women. what are some of the political fallout from this? guest: it is hard to get beyond a hypocrisy. he is somebody who was railing against president clinton and the late 1990's, and now is engaging in the same type of issues that he was railing against president clinton for. gov. sanford was not doing a project a good job for his constituents. south carolina has record unemployment numbers right now. he rejected stimulus funds. the unemployment rate and a minority population in south carolina is extremely high, 20%, 30%. what we saw from the governor both on the affair issue and stimulus issue is that he was politically grandstanding. he was taking positions that reflected a moral code that he wanted to sell as political gamesmanship. it wasn't he sought -- it wasn't something he believed in. the moral code was something he was trying to push on to others.

i rise in strong support of h.r. 2110, the foreign affairs authorization act. this authorization includes provisions that keep our country safe, advance human rights, and promotes gender equality across the globe. in the 111th congress i introduced -- 110th congress i introduced h.res. 554, linking drug trafficking to rising crime rates in caribbean nations. the measure calls for increased cooperation between the u.s. and caribbean officials to combat drug trafficking and promote counterterrorism. karacome, made up of 15 countries, including trinidad

your governments have insisted that they would not interfere in iran's internal affairs. i applaud that. any such attempt will give the tyrants the excuse they need to paper over their own differences and target every man struggling for freedom as a foreign agent. but that is not all they do. they are painting every statement in defense of human rights as foreign interference, benefiting from the confusion between the two. it is vital, it is vital that the free world not fall for such cruel cynicism in the name of application. the universal decoration of human rights knows no national boundaries. it's defense is not only a matter of ethics, but a mutual obligation of all governments who are its signatories. it is also in their interests. no one will benefit from closing his or her eyes to knives and cables, cutting into the faces of our young and old. or from bullets piercing our beloved. [applause] >> whose only thing was a quest for freedom. no one but tyrants in their hearts. do not let them define what is sovereignty what, is interference in others ace affairs. ladies

/iran contra affair. we had the removal of one ayatollah as the designated successor of khamenei in 1989. but seriously shook the regime. we have a serious rift over whether to end the iran/iraq war in 1987 and 1988. there are many senior figures who said no, iran should continue in 1999 we had major student riots, several killed. just in 2004 we had that the guardians -- basically disqualified all the major reformists candidates to the parliament. there were sit-ins, various protests right from within the regime. rifts are not new. rafsanjani was a key figure in many of these and he is a traditional, back-room operator. he tends to lose elections. he didn't win in 1989 and in 1993 but that was after khomeni died. people were just looking for continuity. after he left office in 1997 he has consistently lost. he lost to ahmadinejad in 1995. he is not popular. he is an underground, back-room operator. all of the senior figures, the reason why i think there will contain these and he'll these rifts is because

as well as military and national security affairs. it is my opinion that this legislation in truth on that power that the executive has. for that reason, it would be unconstitutional? >> you cite these cases, the supreme court has said that secrecy inherent in the executive, it is true, is it not, that the supreme court always said these powers are not absolute. the pentagon papers, no executive power, no congressional power is absolute? >> you are correct that no power is absolute. at the same time, no power is empty. to avoid the executive of any discretion -- >> this bill simply subjects the executive's power to secrecy. in the context of court cases, supervision by the court. and ultimate approval by the court. that is what it does. just to throw around phrases about the executives or this and that, congress's power to regulate evidence, the admissibility of evidence, that is what this is doing. >> i would argue that it is limited. >> you would argue that general power supersedes the specific grant of power? >> it is not unlimited

and we never interfered in any external affairs of the different countries. and what is important for us is not a personal question but a question of policy. and what we saw during these elections, it was only one point that every candidate was united, it is [inaudible]. what is important for us is not domestic problems of iran but their policy. and we hope that they will change their policy. >> madame secretary, given the latest unrest in iran and the way the regime is moving to quash the protests, does the administration still believe there is room to engage diplomatically with iran, and are you concerned that such engagement may involve ahmadinejad and his regime? >> first let me say that the people of iran deserve the right to have their voices heard and their votes counted. the outcome of any election should reflect the will of the people. and it is for the iranians to determine how they resolve this internal protest concerning the outcome of the recent election. but it is a fundamental value that the united states holds with respect to free and fair and

do not let them to find what is sovereignty, what is interference in other's affairs. the 12th of june. it is not islamic or anti- islamic, it is not for capitalism or socialism, nor any other ideology or specific form of government. it cares little about the historical squabbles before its birth, but it is about the sanctity, even more, the sovereignty of the ballot box. it may not succeed immediately, it may have ads and flows -- and sen flows, but let me assure you, it will not die. we will not let it die. a week later, the supreme leader of the islamic republic decided to stand erect as a dam in front of this movement, sanctioning theft of the ballot box and flagrant fraud, all in the name of islam. it was an ugly moment of disrespect for both god and man. it will not stand. the citizens of iran will not stand it. and at the end, he will not stand. rest assured the movement of 22nd o-- movement of the 22nd, already invested with the blood of my brief countryman, with support from and recorder of the globe, will not rest until it achieves unfettered democracy and hu

the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on foreign affairs and ordered printed. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2009, the gentleman from virginia, mr. wolf, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. wolf: i thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, as ranking member on the commerce, justice, science appropriations subcommittee which last week considered the f.y. 010 appropriations bill -- 2010 appropriations bill, i have a keen interest in and oversight responsibility for a host of counterterrorism and related initiatives. the bill which is expected to come before the full house next week includes $7.7 billion to support the work of the federal bureau of investigation, the f.b.i., whose top priorities including protecting and defending the united states against terrorism and foreign intelligence threats. the f.b.i. was intimately involved in a 15-year investigation what's culminated last fall in the holy land foundation that five of its former organizers be being found guilty of illegally funneling more than $12 mi

you are the ranking member on the foreign affairs subcommittee. are you satisfied with the u.s.esponse to what is happening in iran? >> i very much welcome the president taking to the podium earlier this week and expressing the very strong denunciation of the united states of america for the violence being perpetrated by the government of iran. i also appreciated the president and his words bearing witness to the courage of the people of iran who have taken to the streets on behalf of their own freedom in free and fair elections. i was privileged to work with my democratic colleagues on the foreign affairs committee, the chairman, in offering a house resolution that garnered four hundred five votes on the previous friday. it expressed the sentiments the president expressed at the podium on tuesday. i truly believe what we are seeing happening on the streets of iran is extraordinary. people are taking to the streets, risking their liberty and their lives on behalf of freedom. the american cause is freedom. it always has been and always will be. in that cause, we must never be neu

as well as in military national security affairs. it is my opinion that this legislation intrudes on that power that the executive has. for that reason it would be unconstitutional. >> mr. grossman you cite these cases the supreme court has said the secrecy is inherent in the executive, but it is true, is it not that the supreme court has always said these powers are not unlimited, not absolute, for instance limitation and secrecy. in fact no executive power, no congressional power for that matter is absolute. >> you are correct that no power is absolute. at the same time no power or is empty there and so to avoid any discussion whatsoever -- >> this bill we are discussing that doesn't avoid anything. it simply subject the executive's power of secrecy in the context of court cases to supervision by the court. and to ultimate approval by the court. that's what it does. so just to talk about -- to just throw hour of phrases about the executive power and this or that, in fact the congress's power under article 1,, to regulate the negati

and middle eastern affairs but she has one other important role on her resonate. she is also a wife and the mother of five children one of whom is with us today. liz cheney has the qualities that make great conservative women leaders love of country commitment to family and brave defenders of conservative principles. and you know, buy standing still firmly, liz, you inspire all conservatives to be courageous and feisty and not to back off when we know we are right but it might be easier to back down. many liberals do all they can to silence women like liz jeannie but at the clare boothe luce policy institute we are eager to on our leaders like liz cheney and so we want to recognize her today. she is a leader like clare boothe luce preus beautiful persuasive and principled. for standing up and defending all that makes our nation unique and special week like to get you the special award the clare boothe luce policy institute's 2009 leadership award with grateful thanks. [applause] >> while, thank you very much, michele and it is an honor for me to be here and to see

, but that it will provide top cover for iran to continue this policy of meddling in the internal affairs of states. two dynamics may be at work here. the first is that arab leaders may in fact actually believe their populations are susceptible to the mobilizing appeal of iran. particularly, it's rejectionism on the israeli front. they remain sensitive to the fact that the islamic publics hyperactive isn't on the palestine issue exposes their own deficiency especially their dependence on the u.s. and their paralysis to domestic and regional audiences. certainly iran does have a number of important links with nonstate actors in these societies. the second dynamic is that these regimes may actually be benefiting from threat and inflation. the artist in chile stamping a return and dress on problems that are fundamentally internal and homegrown. in saudi arabia and discussions with a normal of informants and acted as we found that the criticism of the ironic threat especially the fear of spillover from iraq provided a convenient pretext for deferring on internal reforms, the logic here was th

i'm pleased to yield to my dear friend and member of the foreign affairs committee, the gentlelady from nevada, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. berkley: i thank the gentleman from california for yielding and for his steady leadership on this and so many other issues, the ranking member, ileana ros-lehtinen, and i thank the gentleman from indiana, mr. pence, for his leadership on this and so many other middle eastern related issues as well. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of this resolution and in support of the people of iran whose voices deserve to be heard in a free and open and democratic way. we are not here today to discuss the outcome of this election or involve the united states in the internal politics of iran. the american people, through their elected representatives, are here today to stand with the people of iran and people all over the world who yes or no to express their -- who yearn to express their opinions. it takes an enormous amount of courage to stand up to your government in a repressive society, and the

sanford admitted -- continued his admittance with the affair with the woman from argentina and apologizeed to his cabinet. also this morning from the associated press, the united states has announced a new drug policy for open yum rich afghanistan saying it was phasing out funding for eradication efforts and using it for drug interdiction and alternate crop programs instead. good morning, and welcome to the washington journal. we begin this morning's program talking about the latest developments on iran with sir richard dalton, former united kingdom ambassador to iran. he was at that post from 2002 to 2006, and he will be talking with us in just a few seconds. the numbers, if you want to get involved in the conversation... you can send us an e-mail, and you can also send us a message via twitter. that address is c-span wj. >> first we want to look at a couple of headlines from the brittish newspapers. "the telegraph" has this. iran election protestors worthy of execution says the cleric. this is from yesterday's speech prayers at tehran university by ayatollah khomeini, who says the regime

last month i held a hearing on our homeland security/government affairs committee, and we invited people who have been high-level officials and i think -- in i think every census in -- since the 1970's. we asked them to come and talk to us about how they think we're doing in preparation for the 2010 census. and at the end of their speeches, i asked them to give us the names of two people that they thought would be excellent census directors, and they were good enough to do that. and i think every one of them complud in their recommendations the -- included in their recommendations the name of a fellow from michigan. i am an ohio state guy. but they recommended a fellow from ann arbor, whose name is dr. gross. dr. gross is an expert in survey methodology. he spent decades working to strengthen the federal statistic statistical system, to improve its training programs, keep the system committed to the highest scientific principles of accuracy and efficiency. dr. groves knows how the agency operates and what its employees need to successfully implement the dicennial census. he is one of the

affairs. in this capacity she was the second ranking state department official responsible for u.s. policy in the middle east. she practiced law in the area of international project finance for three years and then served on assignment with the international finance corporation where she provided legal advisor on investments in the middle east and central asia. from 1989 to 1993, she served at the department of state at the agency for international development. during the 2000 and 2004 presidential campaigns, she managed vice presidential debate preparations and served as a national service for the bush-cheney campaign. she is currently collaborating with the father, vice president cheney, on his memoirs, covering four years of his career in washington. she earned her law degree from the university of chicago and her bachelor's degree from colorado college. like our organizations namesake, clare boothe luce, ms. cheney is a very accomplished woman an expert in the area of foreign affairs and e

we've had the affairs of inquiry, the intelligence inquiry and it to others. it's not as if the issues have not been addressed, they have been. it is important to look at this in the round because what we want to do is learn the lessons so they can be applied for the future. >> we all welcome the demise of the saddam hussein regime, but the question is could it have been -- could it have been done differently and could saddam hussein have been indicted and could more iraqis not have lost lives. we all grief the soldiers that have lost their lives, but should we not regret the deaths of hundreds of thousands of iraqis and the displacement of means? when he is ringing prime minister benjamin netanyahu, such as the expansion of the settlements that's not good enough, the settlements are illegal and there will be no two-state solution unless the settlements are closed down. that is something no one is talking about and we will might get peace without a willingness to move on settlements. third, i agree with those who said a membership with this inquiry is feeble.

it's financed by the department of narcotics and nat law enforcement affairs. the film has been viewed in their country. it has been on the voice of america's website and in six separate parts on youtube. mr. speaker, voice of america has received several requests for a clean copy of the documentary in its original high resolution. and in one single piece for viewing at u.s. venues because of the film's educational value. among those seeking access to this single clean copy are the john hopkins university school of advanced international studies center of politics and foreign relations and an afghan students group at the university of virginia. on the area of cost that my good friend on the other side pointed out, there is no cost. any additional copies of the film will be made available for purchase which would cover the cost of copying, however small it may be. mr. speaker, during the history of u.s. i.a. and the broughting board of governors, congress has passed legislation to waive the domestic dissemination ban known as smith mutt to make a film able to vi

cheney is accomplished woman, an expert in the area of foreign affairs, especially the least and affairs but she has one other important role on her resume, she is also a wife and the mother of 5 children, one of whom is with us today. liz cheney has all the qualities that make great conservative women leaders, love of country, a commitment to family, and brave the fender of conservative principles. by standing so firmly, you inspire all conservatives to be more courageous and and feisty and not to back off when we know we are right but it might be easier to back down. many liberals do all they can to silence women like liz cheney. but at the clare boothe luce policy institute, we are eager on

interference in iranian affairs. can you comment on that? does the outcome of the iranian alexian change israel's position in any way and will your discussion -- outcome of the iranian election change israel's position in any way? >> the united states believes strongly in the basic principle -- principle of free expression. we believe that it is a fundamental human right for people to be able to communicate and express their opinions and take positions. this goes back to the founding of our country. we stand firmly behind it. we promote the right for free expression. it is the case that one of the means of expression, the use of torture -- twitter is an important one. apparently it is very important to especially to young people. keeping those lines of communications open and allow people to share information at a time when there were not many other sources of information is of importance. the right to speak out and be able to organize is a right that we value. >> we support evolution not revolution. we want to work on policy. at one point e

look at the affairs, world affairs. if you look at a situation in the middle east. if you look at the economic situation across the world. if you consider the issues of our neighboring countries in iraq and afghanistan and pakistan. this is a critical point, a critical juncture. all of us are duty bound at this historic juncture to remain vigilant, to be careful to be cautious, not to make mistakes. in the election, people did what they were responsible to do and they did it the right way. but we have heavier responsibilities on our shoulders. those who in some ways, those who are looked upon as a source among the people of those politicians and those orchestrating the political weight, those people and party leaders, they should be so cautious about their words and deeds. if they showed just a little bit of extremism, then this extremism will penetrate into ranks of the people and will lead to dangerous consequences which will get out of their control. they themselves cannot control it at a point. we have had instances, extremism in the country and society. any ext

distinguished group of leaders who have influence not only german-american relations but a world affairs. this remarkable leader whose career began as a young east german has had an historic influence on her own country in the transatlantic alliance. dr. angela merkel has traversed steep intellectual mountains and physics, chemistry, academia, has been ineffective and respected leader in the worlds of environmental affairs, youth, women's rights, governments and politics. always a later breaking new ground in grasping in the vision of a bigger picture as well as the minutia of detail, but never coming untethered from her corporation purposeful effort to focus on building a better world for all mankind. i recall the first time i met angela merkel, eshoo is general secretary of the christian democratic union. we had lunch in berlin and we talked about german-american relations, nato, the transatlantic alliance and her concerns about a world that she sought as drifting in a very dangerous way. that included a german american draft, attention and building in our relations affecting each othe

ros-lehtinen: i want to thank the distinguished chairman of the foreign affairs committee, mr. berman, for working with us in a bipartisan manner, reaching out to our side to bring this timely resolution to the floor. i especially want to thank our republican conference chair and a great member of our foreign affairs committee, mr. pence, who authored this legislation and i rise in strong support of the fundamental, universal human rights and civil liberties to which the iranian people are entitled. for 30 years, these rights and freedoms have been thenied again and again by an -- denied again and again by an oppressive iranian regime which uses a sham process with candidates hand-picked by the ruling apparatus. there has been no election in iran for decades. the candidates and winners were picked in advance by the regime. real reform, real democracy were never an option. this repressive regime relies on so-called elections to provide a veneer of legitimacy but that facade has been shattered by the protest taking place in iran this week. the brutal nature of the iranian regime

minutes to my good friend from indiana, the former chairman and now ranking member of the veterans affairs committee, mr. buyer. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. simpson: for three minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. buyer: i thank both gentlemen for their leadership. in spring of 2007, the condition in the 14 national cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the national park service are not maintained at the same high level as the national cemeteries administered by the department of veterans affairs of the of these 14 cemeteries, two of them, one in georgia and one in tennessee are still open and interveterans. while on active duty as a colonel, i visited andersonville with officers. and i discovered the conditions of the cemetery to be unacceptable and not to the standard that these heroes have earned. the grave markers had not been washed in some time, as you can see in this photo. the markers are completely out of line. the weeds have grown up around the markers. shrubbery had not been cared for in the manner that it should. a

>> this does not concern military affairs or national security. >> into this reference, there are many more suspicious activities taking place with that hypothetical organization that i will not name as acorn. i would ask the chairman and the full committee to reach consider to take a look at the evidence that has been filed into this record, which has been set -- a substantial. i would ask that you do so. >> i will consider that request. i now recognize five minutes from the distinguished gentleman from massachusetts. >> thank you. you are sorely missed. it would be good to have you back on this side. i read your testimony, and i am in total agreement. i think he really captured what the issues are. when we talk about the separation of powers, what we are really talking about our limitations. letitia's on the power of the coequal branches -- limitations on the power of the coequal branches. his understanding of articled to are clearly in line. i believe that what has occurred over a period of time, simply too much power to the executive. i want to be clear, i think we are really talki

do not let them to find what is sovereignty, what is interference in other's affairs. ladies and gentlemen, a movement was born on the 12th of june. it is not islamic or anti- islamic, it is not for capitalism or socialism, nor any other ideology or specific form of government. it cares little about the historical squabbles before its birth, but it is about the

and foreign affairs but just the buttons could have control of their religion and their culture and their local trade as it were. partly because the rett principle of budhism is independent so for him and makes sense that tibet should be part of china. and that china gain something from having this rich, deep ancient tradition within its boundaries and tibet has something to gain from being part of one of the world's great ancient, huge nations. >> a question over here. >> just a follow-up, do you see any reason for optimism that china will accept this view, the reports from the talks and the arts pessimistic. is there really any chance china will grant-- do you see aipac? >> i don't see what the path, what form it will take part of the dalai lama always says short-term, no hope long-term debt and a resolution and i think he has great faith that some point, who knows it is five years or 50 years more and more people coming to power in beijing to take a more realistic or sensible view and see that actually china has a lot to gain in terms of pr and in terms of its legacy. it has noth

in closing, i would like to strike a note of optimism about the state of affairs in the gulf region. i think it is warranted because many of the problems in the middle east have a long history. we should also stop and recognize the elements of the overall picture that has changed, include in iraq slowly but surely fighting its way out of the darkness of the recent decade, a positive political trends in places like lebanon, pakistan and iraq. last but not least the unprecedented cooperation between the nations of the gulf as you and we face is very difficult and dangerous threats to our common security. as i said at the outset, american administrations led by both parties going back some six decades have regarded the stability of the region as the vital interest to the united states. the president's i have been privileged to serve all recognized our security and prosperity were closely tied to the security and prosperity of the middle east. president obama is no different. he has president -- pledged that we will continue to be engaged in this part of the world. as we look ahead, let

last year, i had an affair. i violated the vows of my marriage. it is the worst thing i have done in my life. if there was ever anything, that i could take back in my life, this would be it. i take full responsibility for my actions. i know the have deeply hurt my children and my wife, my friends, my staff and all of those who believed in me. to all of them, especially my wife, i am very sorry. i am blessed to have a wife who has sounded in her heart to forgive me. last year we sought counseling and through the strength of family and friends, we have rebuilt the marriage so that this is stronger than ever. i will not mention any names, but the woman who i was involved with and her husband, were close friends and they both worked for me. the families were very close. that closeness put me in situations during a very difficult time in my marriage. this led to my inappropriate behavior. this caused pain to both of the families. for that i am very sorry. i am committed to my service in the united states senate and my work on behalf of the people of ne

he took over her financial affairs. as a set, i do not think she was at an age where she could have very precise judgment. they took over the financial affairs. later on, he ended up setting up as i am reconstructing this, he set up this public relations firm that became allied with the neo-nazis and white supremacists. i found as by investigating. he turns out to be a paid informer for the fbi. according to some reports and interviews from other newspapermen, he says that he was paid $8,000 a month to survey all -- to surveil white supremacist organizations. we get into the periphery of behavior and comments that would be an attractive for other races and other people's heritage. he was the one recommending all of this. we find he is actually a paid informant of the fbi. i go back and i looked at my list i have different lists of members. there are other fbi people here. they decided to be a sustaining member. [laughter] i see all these people connected with it we get up and have a member -- president obama was asked t

the vice minister of foreign affairs, and the national energy director. i would not characterize my discussions on climate change as producing any breakthroughs, but we talked very openly and candidly and then a lot of detail about what needs to be done on both sides to advance towards a successful outcome in copenhagen. by the way, never had any notion in my mind that we were going to -- it was not what the trip was about. we did not agree with each other on everything, but we each came away with a better and clearer understanding of each other's views and perspectives. i will say, and i have said this before, but it is again true during this trip, i was very favorably impressed by actions that china has already taken and their commitment to develop a low carbon path forward and to take potentially far-reaching steps to contain greenhouse emissions. at the same time that they pursue what is an undeniable need to develop and grow, i think it is accurate that china is both a developed and a developing country. they are developed and some of their major cit

. >> you are watching public affairs programming on c-span. next, and house budget hearing for the military special operations units and after that, an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the tenements where a anniversary protests. -- cinnamon square -- tiananmen square anniversary. then "washington journal." this begins every weekday at 7 :00am eastern. >> sunday on "q and a," mitch daniels on the gop. >> we have to think about how to speak more meing-- meaningfully to the problems and the young people of today. you don't have to be a candidate. >> q and a on c-span, also on xm radio or download the podcst. -- podcast. >> now i house hearing on the military operations unit, including the navy seals. this is about one hour. >> members come in as we proceed. i would like to get started on time. it is a pleasure to see you and we appreciate what you do for the country. i have an opening statement that i have written, then i will submit for the record. i want to say how important this is to the national security of our nation, and how much we a

senator ensign is acknowledging an affair. this is from the washington post." >> last year i had an affair. i violated the vows of my marriage. is the worst thing i have ever done in my life. if there was ever anything that i could take back in my life, this would be it. i take full responsibility for my actions. i know that i have deeply hurt and disappointed by what, darlene, my children, my family, friends, my staff, and all of those who believed in me. and to all of them, but especially my wife, i am truly sorry. i will not mention any names. but the woman i was involved with, and her husband, were both close friends and they both worked for me. our families were very close. that slows this put me in to situations during a very difficult time in my marriage which led to mike inappropriate behavior. we caused the pain to both families. for that, i am truly sorry. i am committed to my service in the united states said and my work on behalf of the people of nevada. host: and "the post" writes that the news was the latest setb

mckeon: i yield at this time to the gentlelady from florida, the hamm on the foreign affairs committee, ms. ros-lehtinen, two minutes. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. ms. ros-lehtinen: i thank the chairman and thank you so much, the gentleman from california. i rise in strong opposition to the amendment on afghanistan offered by the gentleman from massachusetts, my friend, mr. mcgovern. in late march of this year, the president announced his comprehensive outline for afghanistan and pakistan. highlighting the threat to critical u.s. security interests that would arise should al qaeda and the taliban reclaim or establish safe havens in those countries. the president clearly outlined our goals. to disrupt, to dismantle, and to defeat al qaeda. i agree with him on those goals. but success requires a sustained commitment and sustained support for both the mission and tra