senator akaka, thank you for the question. the -- we've addressed -- we've talked about mental health earlier and the efforts we're making to try to assess whether there's adequate staffing there. i think you're probably talking about primary care, which is our largest outpatient clinic operation. we treat 4.2 million veterans in our primary care system, and it accounts for the lion's share ever our budget expenditures. we assessed staffing three years ago when we began to implement what we call the patient aligned care team, or p.a.c.t. program. we found we're now able to bring up the support staffing and physician staffing to reasonable levels associated with the standards around the country. i would like to take off record, offline any information you have about specific places where there's a 50% vacancy rate. i'm not aware of the fact we have this around the country. i would be delighted to meet and talk with your staff and find out where these areas might be so that we can address them specifically. >> my time has expire

senator akaka. >> thank you, madam chairman. general shin shinseki, as you k, we often face challenges in treating our veterans who live in many rural and remote areas. this is especially true in places like alaska and hawaii where you just can't get to some places by jumping in a car and driving there. i know that you're working on an mou with the indian health service to find solutions to help provide services to our native american veterans, and i commend you and all your, all your involvement in these efforts. many secretary, can -- mr. secretary, can i get your commitment to look into possible ways of working with the native hawaiian health care systems and the native american veterans systems to provide services for in this case native hawaiian veterans who live in many rural points of the state of hawaii? >> senator, you have my assurance that we will do our utmost to provide for any of our veterans, wherever they live, the most rural and remote areas the same access and quality to health care and services as we provide t

i wanted to thank the members of congress who have come here today, thank congressman cole, snore akaka and barrasso. their time is crucial but when we talk about supporting indian issues, not just because they're required to, not just because they have constituents within their legislative district but because they understand what it really means. that's what we need in indian country. we need the native vote to talk to those candidates, find out who and what they are, where they come from, do they support our programs? and if they do, let's support them. let's help them. that's what we need to do in a native vote but it's more than just talking about it. we need to organize and mobilize them. thank you. i got busy there. we have another question. >> i'm going to take a question from one of the reporters online. this is from mark truhan, a question for president keel. can this be used to treat tribes as a 51st state for medicaid and other entitlement programs? >> i think he's referring to maybe this bipartisan cooperation. that would be great. i would love to see that. i think that ind

. >> thank you. [ speaking foreign language ] good afternoon, chairman akaka. i'm honored to be here and represent this testimony on behalf of the great plains tribes and consisting of 16 sovereign nations. the great plains tribes have the largest geographical land base with over 11 million acres. our tribes have a total population of over 890,000 people second only to the navajo nation. although we're not adequately funded. no unit of government can or should ever be asked to operate essential services on competitive grants. these grants are short term funding solutions to long term problems. and now have requirements that some tribes aren't able to meet and this results in limited services. we have, therefore, call upon congress to maintain the b.i.e. and ihs budget. the only way to achieve sustainable games in education and public safety is to direct federal agencies to stream line their programming to indian country especially for large land base tribes. we like to see funding streams consolidated, reporting requirement simplified. and to start returning fu

. >> chairman akaka, we realize we're living in this era of constrained budgets. as we've consulted with tribes, we have received some targets by omb, you know, to craft budgets. this helps us figure out what our true priorities are. for instance we had to go through exercises where we went through 10% reduction then 7% reduction and even at the level we are now, in this proposal where it's .2 of 1% reduction it's very painful. we try to meet the tribes' priorities but like i said a few minutes ago we're stream lining and we're going after management efficiencies and this is painful for the federal government because we have trust responsibility to fulfill. so we have some feeling about how painful it would be to undergo additional cuts in the budget, and i'm just hoping that, you know, things can be worked through the congress so that the sequestration does not automatically trigger because we're down to trying to solve problems that are very significant in indian country with a constrained budget already. >> thank you very much. i have further questions that i'l

in order of appearance, senator akaka, we'll start with you. >> thank you very much, madam chairman. and i want to say aloha to secretary shinseki and his leadership staff at va. i want to thank all of you for your service to the veterans and of course to our country. and i don't need to tell you what you've been hearing, that secretary shinseki and the leadership staff has been improving the services because claims have dropped and that's an indication. the care and treatment which is our duty to provide to veterans is something we must continually strive to improve. and you have been doing that. i'm encouraged to see that the total budget request for va was $13 billion above last year. i know we have budgetary constraints. but we owe it to our veterans who have sacrificed for our country, and you have planned, and we're moving along and have been progressive about meeting those needs. i'm glad to see increases in budget requests for mental health, suicide prevention, and iraq and afghanistan veterans programs. i am also encouraged by major increases in funding for homeless vets and

side of the capital yesterday today taking questions from the senate house committee including daniel akaka. >> chairman bernanke, this is a question which is a followup on your discussion with chairman johnson and senator grapple. in your testimony you note there's been some modestly encouraging data recently including slightly better performance in the labor market, improved consumer sentiment and some increases in manufacturing. but these signs of economic recovery are not necessarily reflected yet in the experiences of our workers and their families in the communities. putting aside the crash in the eurozone, what possible set backs concern you the most with respect to in our economic recovery, for instance could action to cut critical investments too quickly send the economy back into a slow down? talked about in my remarks was there still is a little bit of a contradictions between the improvement in the labor market and the speed of the overall recovery in terms of growth, in particular, i mentioned that will income had been flat for consumers in 2011. the revises data from yesterday

. >> akaka nobel is hooking up for the most unhealthy cocteau you can imagine.ing up at the top of the hour. right now, d.c. police investigating the death of a taller as a homicide. the 20-month-old boy found monday morning in the southeast. the child was taken to children's hospital where he died. investigators say the cause of death was a blunt impact from a. no one has been charged. >> women are upset after virginia gov. bob mcdonnell signed a controversial ultrasound bill. women must have in of donell to sow before getting an abortion. in early inversion -- an earlier version called for a more invasive procedure. the law takes effect on july 1. collect seven on your side as toyota is recalling nearly 700,000 vehicles, most of them to call what trucks made between 2005 and 2009. also toyota camrys made in 2009 and venza crossovers and need to have a stop a lamp switch is replaced. after a long streak of rising prices, some drivers announcing a dip in gas prices. the national average stands at $3.76 for regular. they are lower -- they are higher than that in

>> thank you, chairman akaka.we have previously submitted a written statement, but i will summarize my statement to begin with. we thank you for this opportunity to provide the department statement on the fiscal year 2013 president's budget request. the 2013 budget request for indian affairs within the department of the interior totals 2.5 billion in current appropriations. this is 4.6 million below last years enacted level, which amounts to a reduction of two-tenths of 1%. as you know, indian affairs meets with tribes on a quarterly basis on the budget through the tribal interior budget council, and through this informed consultation with tribes, we included in this budget request $43.8 million in program increases in priority areas, such as contract support costs, rights protection implementation and law enforcement. and chairman akaka, there are some reductions in the budget. the indian affairs 2013 budget request contains, or continues to provide funding for two of the department priority initiatives, strength

akaka: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. akaka: mr. president, i rise today to join my colleagues in supporting the invest in america act. the senate substitute amendment to h.r. 3606 that would add critical improvements and investor market protections to the bill that we received from the house. in order to keep our nation on a path to economic recovery, we must help small businesses access capital and reduce barriers for start-ups. however, we should not do so at the price of consumer safety or market integrity. we must be very careful to do all we can to promote robust capital investment and at the same time ensure invested protections are securely in place. many, many groups have voiced staunch opposition to passing an unamended h.r. 3606 for fear of its effects on the investors and the market. opponents include the aarp, afl-cio, afsme, americans for financial reform, consumer action, the consumer federation of america, public citizen, the economists committee for stable, accountable, fair and efficient financial reform, and u.s.

. >> chairman akaka, we realize that we are living in this era as constrained budget as we've consulted with tribes, we have received some target by omb, you know, to craft budgets. this helps us figure out what our true priorities are and for us as we do go through exercises where we looked at 10% reduction mm 7% reduction and even at the level we are now, in this proposal, where it is two tenths of 1% reduction, it is very painful. we try to meet the tribes priorities, but like i said a few minutes ago, you know, we are streamlining and we are going to management efficiencies and it's painful for the federal government because beatrice responsibility fulfilled. so we have some feeling about how painful it would be to have to undergo additional cuts in the budget. and i am just hoping that you know, things can be worked through the congress said the sequestration does not automatically trigger because we are down to trying to solve problems that are very significant in and dan country, with a constrained budget already. >> thank you very much. i have further questions that i will submi

. >> senator akaka. >> chairman bernanke, this is a question which is a follow-up on your discussionor crapo. in your testimony you note there has been some modestly encouraging data recently including slightly better performance in a labor market, improved consumer sentiment and some increases in manufacturing. but these signs of economic recovery are not necessarily reflected yet in the experiences of all workers and their families in the communities. putting aside a question in the eurozone, what possible setbacks concern you the most with respect to risks or economic recovery? for instance, cutting critical investments too quickly, send the economy back into a slowdown? >> well, let me just say first that one of the points that i talked about in my remarks there's still a little bit of a contradiction in the labor market and the speed of the overall recovery in terms of growth, in particular, i mentioned that income had been flat for consumers in 2011. the revised data from yesterday actually says it was a little bit better than flat but still less than 1%. so you've still got co

. >> thank you, chairman akaka. we have previously submitted a written statement, but i will summarize my statement to begin with. we thank you for this opportunity to provide the department's statement on the fiscal year 2013 president's budget request. the 2013 budget request for indian affairs within the department of interior totals $2.50 billion in current appropriations. this is $4.60 million below last year's, which amounts to a reduction of 0.2%. as you know, indian affairs meets with tribes on a quarterly basis on the budget through the tribal interior budget council and through this informed consultation with tribes, we included in this budget request $43.80 million in program increases in priority areas such as contract support cost, rights protection implementation, and law enforcement. chairman akaka, there are some reductions in the budget. the indian affairs 2013 budget request continues to provide funding for to the zero of the department's priority initiatives -- strengthening tribal nations and a n

senator akaka, thank you for the question. we have talked about mental health earlier and the efforts we're making to try and assess whether there is adequate staffing there. i think you're probably talking about primary care, which is our largest outpatient clinic operation. we treat 4.2 million veterans in our primary care system, and it accounts for the lion's share of our budget expenditures. we assessed staffing three years ago when we began the implementation of what we call the patient alive care team, or pac program, and have done it again recently. we have been able to bring up the support staffing and the physician staffing to reasonable levels associated with the standards around the country. i would like to take off record, off line any information you have about specific places where there is a 50% vacancy rate. i am not aware of the fact that we have this around the country. i would be delighted to meet and talk to your staff to find out where these areas might be so we can address them specifically. >> my time h

we will now turn to the centers for opening remarks in order of appearance and senator akaka, we will turn to you. >> thank you very much, madam chairman. and i want to cielo ha to psychiatry shinseki -- secretary shinseki and his staff at the va i want to thank all of you for your service to the veterans and of course to the country. i don't mean to tell you that what you've been hearing secretary shinseki and the leadership staff has been improving the services because claims have dropped, and that's an indication. the care and treatment which is our duty to provide to the veterans is something we must continually strive to improve and you have been doing that. i have encouraged to see the federal budget request for me was $13 billion above last year. i know we have budgetary constraints when we owe it to our veterans who are sacrificed for the country and you have planned in moving along and have been progress of about meeting those needs. i'm glad to see increases in the budget request mental health prevention in iraq and afghanistan veterans programs. i am also encouraged by majo

watch live coverage at 9 akaka 30 a.m. eastern on c-span -- 9:30 a.m.astern on c-span3. >> think of the fdr memorial. it was not just three designs, it was three plus designs before they got to a final plan. i think we should not be afraid of looking at this issue because we are building something for the centuries. we want to get it right. >> with the eisenhower memorial opposed by his family, a house committee discusses the memorial to the president. watched sunday at 7:30 p.m. eastern and pacific. >> now, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke and federal reserve chairman -- treasury secretary jim geithner talked about the economy and the threat that the european debt crisis has on the economy. >> the statement is we exist for a fundamental principle. perce, americans have a right to know that the money washington has is well spent. americans deserve an effective government that works for them. our duty is to protect these rights. our responsibility is to hold government accountable to taxpayers. they have a right to know what they get from their gove

want to thank my colleagues, senators johnson, graham, shelby, warner, schumer, brown, hagan, coons, akaka, kirk, durbin, mccaskill and casey for all sponsoring this important amendment. the reason we're out here is to make sure that our colleagues know this is the 25th time this legislation has -- has been up for extension since its original executive order establishing it. i'm looking at the record here. 1983, passed by voice vote on the reauthorization. passed by unanimous consent, 1992. again passed by unanimous consent, many of the times. so here's a program that for over the last several decades has been passed by unanimous consent and yet all of a sudden this legislation is being stalled or held up, and what i want to make sure my colleagues know is what an important tool it is for job creation and why it's so important that we not take the capital that's left over in the ex-im program and delay it because what's going to happen if we don't get this reauthorization done right away is that they're going to stop the activity that is actually helping job creation in the united states.

will now turn to our senators are opening remarks in order of appearance with senator akaka, we willith you. >> thank you very much, madam chairman. and i want to say aloha to secretary shinseki and his leadership staff at va. i want to thank all of you for your service to the veterans, and, of course, to our country. and i don't need to tell you what you have been hearing, that secretary shinseki and the leadership staff has been improving the services, because claims have dropped, and that's an indication. they care and treatment which is our duty to provide the veterans is something we must continually strive to improve. and you have been doing that. i am encouraged to see that the total budget request for va was $13 billion above last year. i know we have budgetary constraints, but we owe it to our veterans have sacrificed for our country, and you have planned and moving along and then progressive about meeting those needs. i am glad to see increases in budget requests for mental health, suicide prevention, and iraq and afghanistan veterans programs. i am also encouraged by major

akaka, a senator from the state of hawaii, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the leader of the senate is recognized. mr. reid: thank you very much, mr. president. i'm very happy to see you there this morning. it's not often that we get our senior members to preside. we appreciate it very, very much. following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of s. 1813, the surface transportation bill. today we'll continue to work with the republicans, hopefully find a path forward. there will be no roll call votes today. the next vote will occur tuesday morning. mr. president, it's the new year and thankfully it's brought new signs of economic recovery. not as vibrant as we would like, but some recovery. but it will never be good enough while we have millions of americans unemployed in this country. as we say in the senate, those on this side of the aisle, that's democrats, are not going to be taking our eye off the target. that is a healthy economy. the bipartisan transportation bill before the senate