and applause] incredible. that is history. a true national treasure. out national treasures. it this is amy, a ranger with the national park service, and they care for presidents park, including that beautiful tree over there. if you like what you see, thank my friend and the rest of the national parks service. [cheers and applause] so, amy, like, how did this tradition that started? >> it began in 1923 under president calvin coolidge. at that particular tree had over 2500 electric bulbs and red, green, and white. the ceremonies featured a local choir and a quartet from the u.s. marine band. a lot has changed since then and the ceremony has grown. in fact, the tree we are celebrating tonight is a live tree that has been here since 1978. in fact, this year, the street is the most energy-efficient tree that we had it -- this tree is the most energy efficient tree that we had. [applause] >> well, this is just a set up for this park. but the national park service, you do work for parks all around the country. well, would you believe there are almost 400? in

[music] the united states is a diverse nation and recovery month reflects this diversity. there were 1,000 events held throughout the nation, posted on the recovery month site. they all helped to promote the 2009 theme, join the voices for recovery: together we learn, together we heal. there were walks, fairs, concerts, picnics, art displays, educational events, sober motorcycle rides, baseball games, and many other types of events in which millions of americans participated to celebrate recovery. these events brought together individuals who are living healthy and productive lives in recovery, their families, treatment service providers, and entire communities, to raise awareness about the benefits of addiction treatment and the hope of recovery. i would like to say "thank you" to each and every one of you who contributed to making this year's recovery month celebration a success. your tireless efforts helped increase awareness that addiction is treatable and recovery is possible. by organizing, planning, or participating in an event, you also supported individuals in reco

it's really a park way, and it's a parkway through the national park. make the road disapeer to the national park. >> and the road is about 20 feet lower, normally midday, you go through it in two minutes. looking back from the golden gate bridge to presidio, you are more aware of the park land and less of the roads. and the viaduct will parallel the existing one and to the south and can be built while the existing one remains in operation. and the two bridges there with open space between them and your views constantly change and not aware of the traffic in the opposite direction and notice the views more. and the lanes of course are a foot wider than they are today. and they will be shoulders and if your car is disabled, you can pull off to the edge. and the next area, the tunnel portal will have a view centered on the palace of fine arts and as you come out, you can see alkatrez island and bay. and the next area is about 1,000 feet long. and when you come into one, you can see through the other end. it's almost like driving through a building than th

to the nation and gain the wisdom of their personal stories of the nation's history. this year, like the last, we observed veterans day while engaged in conflicts abroad that required the dedication of our uniformed troops. our thoughts remain with those in uniform engaged in conflicts aproud. we must be united in making sure every soldier, sailor, airman and marine is welcomed back with all the compassion we can. we must support them because our freedom and liberty depend on it. this veterans day and all year through show your gratitude to those who responded to the call of duty. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves, the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. roe: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of house resolution 1622, a bill honoring the historic contributions of veterans throughout all conflicts involving the united states. all of our veterans have provided a great service to our country through their personal sacrifice. as a nation

and families all across the world. on behalf of the department, the national park service, and the national park foundation, thank you forpresident of the united states of america. he worked tirelessly everyday on behalf of all americans and, even in difficult times, the inspires each and every one of us to praise our nation's future. ladies and gentlemen, president barack obama. [applause] ♪ >> thank you. merry christmas, everybody. happy holidays. we are thrilled to have all of you here. thank you secretary salazar for the work you are doing to protect our national parks and our public lands for future generations. i also want to recognize everyone at the national park foundation at the national park service who helped put this event together. of what to thank the pastor for that wonderful i want to thank the pastor morton for the wonderful indication, and thanks to common and all of tonight's performance out as we light the national christmas tree for the 88th time. this is a very proud holiday tradition, snow or shine, in good times and in times of hardship. folks like you have gathered with presidents to write the n

and compete successfully. be the great nation it has been, is now, and will continue to be as long as we keep investing in that which grows an economy, education, science, mathematics, engineering. i know he has worked with some of the great industrial leaders of our nation on this legislation. mr. augustine comes to mine. we are very proud of him in maryland. i want you to know how proud i am of bart gorton. he said i was one of his close friends. i think he's one of the closest friends not just in congress but life. he and i have been here a long time together. the good news is the ranking used to be democrat now republican ralph hall is also a very close and dear friend of mine whom i have known all of my service here. he and i came together in the same class. he's a very good friend of bob schlegel who is a good friend of mine as well. i want to thank him for his service to our country. the america competes act expands support for research and development, helping the united states to remain the world's innovation leader. it

our nation's veterans in life and in death deserve our utmost respect. they have engaged in one of the noblest forms of public service, defending this nation. it is their tireless work that has made our country great, strong, and most importantly free. these men and women have helped to liberate victims of oppression, spread democracy across the world, and preserve the freedoms our nation was built upon. our fallen heroes deserve our honor, our respect, and our appreciation this critical legislation will go a long way in ensuring it is always the case. it is a final thank you on behalf of a grateful nation. mr. speaker, it is important that we get to the bottom of this matter and correct this problem as quickly as possible and restore the respect that people need to have in this so important facility that carries such historic significance and the sacred remains of great men and women who served our country. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana will reserve his time. mr. buyer: i thank mr. goodlatte, he'

and god almighty will make sure that. the will of the song from god gives fulfill to the action of this nation. but you know nine eleven changed everything for the united states of america and changed things in the world. so as we train our soldiers to fight the war on terrorism the spiritual nature of this is very important it is very important at this point in time when our nation is here in this terrorism threat they are a fabric. tightly together so that we are able to fight this war on terror only. we've got to bend our knee as a nation we've got to repent as a nation and we've got to start heading in the right direction as soldiers troops and their families have an incredible influence over culture at large we take in the sons and daughters of america and we bring them into the military forces and they are mentally transformed they are physically transformed and in god's providence they can be spiritually transformed if we can influence the military for jesus christ we can influence nations regions and continents for jesus christ. and i want you to understand. god's love for your. heard th

and we will for you are with me. during this time when our nation is at war it is especially thrilling to hear that over one thousand young people accept christ every month at our u.s. basic training locations in the united states and that future leaders of our military are being released and disciples at the academies and are o.t.c. detachments and operation locations around the world i am impressed with your goal to change confidence for christ as we move forward together and helping to rebuild the great commission let me encourage you to continue fighting the good fight as you seek to bring faith to the foxhole hope to the home front and carry the message of christ to the ins of the earth. thank you god. if. he will have to apologize to sodom and gomorrah. and the world. to be looking to alert. earthquakes wars rumors of wars we're living in the final days before he turns. could overtake you sooner than you think all you have to do is turn on the evening news to understand that a cataclysmic drama is about to be in the theater world of prayer you

and space situational awareness. this bill is critical to our national security and i strongly urge its adoption today. i would be remiss, however, if i didn't say how disappointed i was that certain cyber provisions that i included in the original national defense authorization act were not retained in the final bill. the united states is very vulnerable to a cyberattack and we are woefully unprepared. i'm going to continue to pursue this as a top priority in the next congress but i thank the chairman for his great work on this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. forbes, the ranking member on the readiness subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. forbes: thank you, mr. speaker. i too want to echo my compliments to the chairman for his service to this body and to the armed services of this country, but seven months ago, mr. speaker, when this bill passed, my good fr

taught for over twenty five hundred years but the focus of the world would be on the middle east and the nations that are in conflict today and the very nations that are talked about the bible twenty five hundred years ago the first book we wrote was called left behind as the syrians were trying to make sure that people accept jesus while they have an opportunity so they do don't be left behind and the interesting thing robin is that all across america in fact around the world many people are calling on the name of the. say because there's no alternative either accept jesus or you're going to go through a terrible time but mom often says better get right better get right in these times and that we're living it intuitively in the heart of every human being is the desire to live after death and we have the answer it's not from our words but from the bible and we're just fictionalized that made it so popular it just caught up it has caught on over sixty million worldwide gentlemen always a pleasure to have been here and for your insight really do appreciate it. truly. snapped. i. should have. i don

and nonnation actors who seek to undermine and harm u.s. national security interests. many pundits have spoken about the urgent need to get the u.s. inspectors on the ground in russia to verify the state of their nuclear weapons system and to verify compliance. but when one examines the inspection protocols within this treaty, it will be clear that we must give such advanced notification and jump through so many multiple hoops just to get approval to visit a site that by the time an inspection begins, there's a high likelihood we will only see what the russians want us to see, and nothing more. other supporters of this treaty contend that by ratifying new start, we further enhance our relationship and leverage with the russians. with respect to the destabilizing threats posted by north korea and iran. but the russians already recognize the problems posed by these two countries because they are along their borders. the russians should not require this treaty as an incentive to protect their own regional interests. for these reasons, i remain concerne

and it shouldn't be. it's about american national security. our country is stronger when republicans and democrats together, come together. but i would ask of them in good conscious to ask themselves why we are here at this late hour. as i said, senator lugar was asked 13 times -- they had counted them -- by their own colleagues to delay the process of s.t.a.r.t. so that centric i would have time to do modernization. we did do modernization. i think there's such a thing as reciprocity here in the workings of the state senate, and we are looking for it. the fact is that since january of 2009 we've had to file 125 cloture motions in order to go forward and do this business. that's why we're here late. that's as many cloture -- we need you to tell this story to americans. as many cloture motions that have been filed, in the last year as were filed between 1919, world war i, in 1974. and so they can't even say that we, we were guilty of the same thing because the fact is they've doubled the number of closures over the course of the last few just si

kan delivered the direct irv on monday in a meeting with finance and national policy ministers. he added that the move will spur economic growth and help the economy out of deflation. government has already secured around $7.7 billion to make up for the predicted drop in revenue after the tax cut. however, if the government lowers the rate, it will need another $5.9 billion or more to fully cover the loss. attention's focused on how the government will compensate for the projected shortfall when drafting the fiscal 2011 budget next week. >>> now we go georgto the marke. stocks remain fixed. for more we cross over to emily wong at the tokyo stock exchange. good morning. first of all how are the markets reacting to news on the tax cuts? japan? >> good morning. well the 5% tax cuts, investors i spoke to say that 5% was mostly in the cards already so they weren't surprised by the announcement itself but they do say they will be watching how it all plays out. now this morning in tokyo we are seeing a stronger yen and analysts say some technical indicators show signs after potential ov

government to establish reserves and protect national security. as i said, i'm bragging on my home state for a minute. although we're not the only one. missouri would be ideally suited for the development and location of a cooperative refinery given the significant amounts, 600-tons at the pearidge deposit. missouri's mining and work processing workforce, it's cost to utilities needed to operate a refinery in central location and transportation infrastructure all make missouri well positioned to help preserve our nation's strategic and economy security. in dealing with the tremendous costs of establishing a production and refining facility, the legislation would also provide the department of defense $20 million to support the defense supply chain and also $30 million for the development of rare-earth magnets. mr. president, the time has come for our country to act and for this congress and certainly the next congress to take the necessary steps to secure our economic and strategic future. by ensuring that our nation has its own domestic supply of

. >> at the beginning of every event we sing the philippino and national anthem. we shall have some [inaudible], that is company and dancers group, they are going to sing the philippine national anthem. >> i am going to read 2 or 3 paragraphs, my last farewell, our national hero. and in english. fair farewell to a stranger who brightens my well. farewell to all who i love to die is to rest. >> thank you. [applause]. [ foreign speaking ] [singing]. [applause] thank you very much. >> patricia leanne caldwell born in tennessee. daughter of robert and irma. at age of 3 moved to missouri and returned when she was 12 years old. patricia grew up with segregation and injustices which she writes about. she spent many countless hours in the nashville public library. it was her family life that was bountiful and flowing with tales told by her story telling grandfather. raised with love of reading and oral tradition. graduated from tennessee state and degree in english in 1964. she married her childhood friend on december 12. they are the parents of fredrick and twins robert a

louis and our nation. madam speaker, i've been blessed to experience and witness firsthand his commitment to opening the doors of higher education to young people. he selflessly invested his immense talents and boundless energy to build up his community and his country. and as we move to recognize the accomplishments of this great humanitarian, father and friend to many, i ask that we pass the underlying bill without reservation and pay tribute to a great american, earl wilson jr. and i urge passage of h.r. 6400 and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from illinois is recognized. mrs. biggert: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. biggert: i rise today in support of h.r. 6400, to designate the facility of the united states postal service located at 111th north 6th street in st. louis, missouri, as the earl wilson jr. post office. ma

next a look at the constitutional and national security issues concerning wikileaks. rolf nader is among those testifying. this house judiciary committee hearing is over three hours. >> good morning. the hearing on the espionage case in the legal and constitutional issues raised by wikileaks before the committee on judiciary is now about to take place. we welcome everyone here to the hearing. in the texas versus johnson case in 1989, the supreme court set forth one of the fundamental principles of our democracy. that is that if there is a bedrock principle underlying the first amendment, is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable. that was justice william brennan. today the committee will consider the wikileaks matter. the case is complicated, obviously. it involves possible questions of national security and no doubt important subjects of international relations and war and peace. but fundamentally, the brennan observation should be in start as. it's an emotional matter. ther

comes to decision making he wanted to say i was going to power to the elites interact and i plan to go to a new nation state fan continue continue your point go ahead it's very it's very difficult to argue when there's somebody who interrupts or go ahead steph and you continue this country once again the research i reserve for the earliest going treaty was to make a more efficient and more democratic in relation to the enlarged european union up to twenty seven member states that are a loser look i write long term plan to centralize power harry what do you think about that i mean i want to talk about this bailout clause in this program but we've heard is the e.u. now more efficient and democratic. well first of all we have we have to do to bring the issue of sovereignty into the debate and i agree that the sovereignty is at stake because jus to the lisbon treaty powers are moving away from the member states to war it's the centralized european state it's not supposed to be called the state anymore because we don't call it the constitution anymore but it has effectively taken away veto powers from the

ideals and the nation's conscience. it is my hope that the senate will rise to this occasion by breaking through the partisan din to proceed to debate, as we have, and now vote on repealing this discriminatory and counterproductive policy. mr. president, i see my good friend and neighbor from across the connecticut river, senator shaheen, and i see the good -- my friend and colleague -- and i apologize, i did not see him -- the senator from north dakota, and i know he's waiting. i'll yield to him. and it's my understanding senator shaheen will be recognized after senator thune. i yield the floor. mr. thune: thank you. mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. thune: mr. president, i would like to speak to the start treaty, more specific the to the mccain-barrasso amendment, which is the amendment that's currently under consideration and which we will have a vote on late this afternoon. and i want to point out i guess, mr. president, at the outset that you don't have to watch the news very o

now we have a coalition of 49 nations. and this sends a powerful message that the coalition of nation nations that the force of afghanistan is strong and is growing. now, i'm not here to give a long speech. i want to shake many hands as i can. but let me say that at this time of year americans are giving thanks for all the blessings that we have. as we begin this holiday season, there is no place that i would rather be than be here with you. i know it is not easy for all you to be away from home, especially during the holidays. but i know it is hard on your families. they have an empty seat at the dinner table. sometimes during the holiday season that is when you feel the absence of some you love most acutely. but here is what i want you to know. as president of the united states i have no greater responsibility than keeping the american people secure. i could not meet that responsibili responsibility, we could not protect the american people, we could not enjoy the blessings of our liberty without the extraordinary service th

sport and russia's strength you say isn't that it's a country consisting of people of different nationalities and that once young people forget about this the country will start simply falling apart it will shut down and will start degenerating he promised that those were sponsible for the killing of the sparta football fans will and behind bars and steal the cold of football fans to stay independent and to shrug off extremism justice as police would the current situation with russian fans is not that different to problems in other countries and europe in particular both here and there are various destructive elements tried to make their way into supporter clubs which we need to bring the clubs under their control and i'm talking about radicals and they don't do it for the sport they don't do it to support gun clubs they do it for their own selfish political reasons as to be must they want to destabilize the country so that afterwards they can scream that they are the only ones that can save russia it would be a tragedy if we let that happen. on monday the investigative committee opened a cri

social marketing campaign, and on may 19, the national asian, pacificslander hiv/aids awareness day, and as all of you to check our web site to find out about the press conference, the big events we are having here to give light to hiv and the stigma and discrimination that is within our communities and perpetuating this, and to take part in the festivities and the celebrations, actually, of the achievements that we have made throughout the many years, thank you so much. causing >> well deserved. >> now, to present the award for lifetime achievement, i would like to call upon san francisco supervisor david chiu to help me present. if you could join me at the podium, that would be great. when he comes up, i just want to say that this award -- again, in your books -- it is for an individual's lifetime of community work, lifetime of seeking equal access and fair treatment for all. so, i guess, your own perfect the personal commitments. and we're going to call upon the finalists. they will be on the screen in this category. those of the finalists right here

and stability in the u.s.-russian nuclear relationship. former national nuclear security administration administrator linton brooks put it best when he said and i quote -- "transparency leads to predictability. predictability leads to transparency." i'm sorry. "transparency leads to predictability, predictability leads to stability." unquote. it's that stability that we seek. the opportunity to ex inn russian -- that could result from a lack of information. bill building trust with regard to our respective nuclear arsenal, progress on other important issues like the war in afganistan and our policy as it relates to iran becomes more likely. some have asked whether we lost any valuable elements of the original start treaty's inspection regime. in june of this year i chaired a hearing of the foreign relations committee that addresses this very issue. we examine the implementation of the treaty with result to both inspection and verification and how the treaty would be executed in russia and the united states. critics point out under the original start treat

and space situational awareness. this bill is critical to our national security and i strongly urge its adoption today. i would be remiss, however, if i didn't say how disappointed i was that certain cyber provisions that i included in the original national defense authorization act were not retained in the final bill. the united states is very vulnerable to a cyberattack and we are woefully unprepared. i'm going to continue to pursue this as a top priority in the next congress but i thank the chairman for his great work on this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california. mr. mckeon: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. forbes, the ranking member on the readiness subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. forbes: thank you, mr. speaker. i too want to echo my compliments to the chairman for his service to this body and to the armed services of this country, but seven months ago, mr. speaker, when this bill passed, my good fr

and nation. when a nation house or when a nation so all the victims are veterans severely disabled. basically that exam it was out as i remember that. island lost in the service because they didn't want this reminder of the horrors of the war yeah ok so so i'm very glad to hear from you that there that the situation is changing and the attention of the president in his lays the latest addressed a nation is also it's also gives us an optimism here's another quote from mr madrid statistics say that terms of thousands of children with disabilities go without education this country and the president said in his address i quote quite often a disabled child visit to school turns into torture and quote do you think that this attention on such a high level will improve this terrible situation yes i'm sure. it was dark put more emphasis on the. and get some children at sandy mansour schools. those children result as abuse and have disabilities. they would start getting used to. they be yours was it inabilities from at from age at the age. course. it's was it it was a very interesting quote a

and other nations that have less secure situations than the russians do. and while it -- it could be very beneficial to have a good treaty with the russians, this is not the core of the danger this nation faces today. we've had very little work, very little success getting the kind of robust support from china and russia that we should have with regard to north korea and iran. it's inexplicable to me why they would jeopardize their reputations as a positive force in the world to curry favor with the rogue nations like iran and north korea. but this administration has been unsuccessful in gaining the kind of support to ratchet up the sanctions against those countries that could perhaps make a difference. and the russians, they're steadfast in their nuclear program. they have absolutely no intention of going to zero nuclear weapons. i had an opportunity to talk to some of their people, and -- and it was pretty clear to me that they thought it was outside the realm of good judgment to discuss going to zero nuclear weapons. they were never going to zero nuclear

and c.e.o. of the national committee to preserve social security. one of the strong senior groups in america and this is what barbara says and i -- quote -- "even though social security contributed nothing to the current economic crisis, it has been bartered in a deal that provides deficit-busting tax cuts for the wealthy. diverting $120 billion in social security contributions for a so-called tax holiday may sound like a good deal for workers now, but it's bad business for the program that a majority of middle class seniors will rely upon in the future. and that's what the national committee to preserve social security and medicare says about that agreement and i agree with them. so for all of us who understand that social security is life and death for tens of millions of americans today and will be vitally important for working people as they reach retirement age, that we understand that social security has done a great job. you know, mr. president, a few minutes ago you were on the floor talking about the strong work that our federal employees do

transformed they are physically transformed and in god's providence they can be spiritually transformed if we can influence the military for jesus christ we can influence nations regions and continents for jesus christ. i want you to understand. god's love for your. heard the voice of god. and i can see god. in everything. and i pray they will be comforted by a power greater than any. spoken to the ages in song twenty three. even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death. the evil. for you are with me. during this time when our nation is at war it is especially thrilling to hear that over one thousand young people accept christ every month at our u.s. basic training locations in the united states and that future leaders our military are being read and disciples at the academies and are o.t.c. detachments and operation locations around the world i am impressed with your goal to change colors and that's for christ. as we move forward together and helping to rebuild the great commission let me encourage you to continue fighting the good fight as you seek to bring face to the foxhole hope to the home front and carry the message of christ to the ins o

and it will not happen by itself. it is up to us. america is an exceptional nation because each generation has been willing to make the difficult decisions, and, yes, the occasional sacrifices required by their times. america is a great nation not because it is preordained but because our forebears both here in the senate and across the nation made it so. for ten generations, the american people have been dedicated to the self-evident truth that all of us are created equal and have been endowed by our creator with inalienable rights. from the beginning, it is freedom that has been the touchstone of our democracy. freedom, not from the benevolence of the king, not by the forbearance of the majority, not by the magazine anonymity of the state, but from the hand of almighty god. the freedom to enjoy the fruits of our labors, the freedom to speak our minds and worship god as we see fit, the freedom to associate with those of our own choosing and to select those that would govern us. from the hillsides of ancient athens to the fields of runny meade to the village greens

thus did he uphold the best traditions of the family and the nation he loved. patrick's success as a member of congress came not easily, not from the charm or charisma so characteristic and ready in his family, but rather from simple hard work, unshakeable integrity, and his own quiet formidable determination to win what others had only sought. henry wads worth long fertsdz wrote, the heights by great men reached and kept were not achieved by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept with toiling upwards in the night. the story of patrick kennedy is not a story of glamorous, sudden flight to glory. it is a tale of long and silent toil, upward and in the night in the shadow of his own challenges. the best part of this story is that patrick's work is not yet finished. neither his father nor his uncles got to experience life after public service. but stepping away from the congress at the age of 43, patrick kennedy's road stretches ahead for many miles. i know that patrick will continue to look for ways to give back to state that gave new hampshire chanc

and a national center for accessible media in boston. h larry and w gb h have been leaders in successful programming technology for the past several decades. larry will demonstrate the accessibility solution that will become more widely available as a result of the planned landmark legislation. >> thank you, thank you for the opportunity to show some of these technologies that are available today and will be promoted and required by the new act. most are familiar with closed captioning the description of a lesser-known but equally essential service to access tv. video description is defined as recorded narration of visual elements of a tv program or movie time to fit into gaps and dialogue and scripted to enable understanding and enjoyment of visual media by people who are blind or visually impaired. video description is available in some movie theaters, on dvds, on line and a number of television shows. here's a sample, from arthur. listened to the additional voice in the video. .. >> as increasingly complex home media components -- excu

thanks to the color guard for the colors and that wonderful rendition of the national anthem. [applause] good afternoon. i am jeff neally, with gsa region 9. this is a very exciting day. we all have the honor in participating the kickoff of the modernization process and the renovation of the historic united nations plaza, and for these events we have a number of special guests. i would like to recognize these guest speakers who are with us today. the first is honorable avenue some -- gavein newsom. then dan bernal, speaker of the house nancy pelosi's director. we have megan miller, field representative for barbara boxer. also joinin us is the vice presidnent. moving here is a great treat for gsa. it will the -- be the hub of activity. this will be a state-of-the-art facility. during the depression, arthur brown jr. designed a new federal building in san francisco. he went out of his way to make this a complementary feature of the nearly-completed pacific center area. the civic center is a scene of events of great importance, including the founding of the united nations and the

and county. we competed nationally for this grant and it was awarded. as a result we will be able to work to solve many of the cases and increase public safety in the city. at this time i will take any questions. supervisor elsbernd: just a quick budget question. these are new positions, not money being used to replenish the general fund or anything like that? >> this is new money, $424,000. supervisor elsbernd: this money was not on the revenue side back in july? it was unexpected? >> i am getting the fiscal director saying no. we were not anticipating this at all. supervisor chiu: these folks will be on staff under this grant for how long? >> 18 months, if i am not mistaken. of course, low. supervisor chiu: -- of course, we will. supervisor chiu: thank you, cmdr. are there any members of the public that wish to speak on this item? >> supervisors, my name is san francisco [inaudible] whenever we get grants and they are applied directly to maintain standards, the consider and of san francisco is appreciated. what we would like to see in the southeast se

spending and our national debt. and i yield to my friend from montana. a senator: snrp. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. tester: i would like to thank senator wick for his remarks. i tries share a few words about the debt and about the bipartisan tax cut compromise that we will vote on this evening. before i get into these remarks, i want to thank senator warner and senator chambliss for their good work in putting together a group of senators to help address there issue -- this issue in a bipartisan way. aas far as the compromise tonight, i look forward to voting for this compromise. it is a matter of rebuildin cre. it is a plan that i would have written? no. but it does cut taxes for the folks in a need it the most. they are the real job creators in this country and aiming tax relief at them required compromise and working together and it happened and it is a victory for all montanans. it is a victory for all americans. mr. president, i want to point out another example of working together. over

truman went on and said, the message of bethlehem best sums up our hopes tonight. if we as a nation and the other nations of the world will accept it, the star of faith will guide us into the place of peace as it did the shepherds on that day of christ's birth long ago. i'm sorry to say all is not in harmony in the world today. we have found that it is easier for men to die together on the field of battle than it is for

and iraq went unpaid for. instead of rallying the nation during a time of war, asking for sacrifices from everyone, congress and two presidents chose to pass this massive debt on to future generations, the first time we have done so in modern times. but the real issue is not what we are spending to protect our nation but whether that spending is making us safer, which leads to the question, is our continued involvement in afghanistan worth the cost to our larger national security priorities? our commitment in afghanistan is pulling time, energy and funds from other equally important national security priorities, priorities like energy independence, counter proliferation -- counterproliferation, and countering terrorist activities in yemen, somalia and many other places around the world. that's why this review is so critical. we have to decide as a nation if our prolong the involvement in afghanistan is worth it, and we must decide on an exit strategy. we have a responsibility to answer that big question with the thoroughness and honesty that honors the sacrifices of our military men and women. i believe we answ

and good morning. welcome to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. today, we begin with no easy compromise. not long after lawmakers touted a new era of cooperation on capitol hill, democrats and republicans have gotten off to a rocky start in their search for common ground over bush era tax cuts. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. tracie, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, good morning, everyone. republicans claim that what the white house is saying is different than what democrats are doing here on capitol hill. they are moving forward with a vote only on tax cuts, continuing for the middle class, which republicans say they absolutely will not support as a result, senate republicans, all of them in a letter, are now threatening to block any legislation until there is a deal on this issue. providing those tax cuts, continuing them past the end of this year, could actually add to the nation's debt. and we've now heard from the deficit commission, and what some are saying is a radical plan to cut down on the nati

fixing immigration and the dream act would improve our national security. leaders from the armed services have been nearly unanimous in their support of the bill because they recognize it would help our military shape and maintain a mission ready all-volunteer force. colin powell spoke in support of the dream act as has defense secretary robert gates. i don't frequently make moral arguments in this chamber. i heard my -- one of the earlier speeches from mr. gohmert, but we try to find common grouped, the members come from the faith chris fan, various tradition go, we like to consider ourselves moral people. let me quote, fathers shall not be put to death for their sons nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers. there is not a moral code that suggests that it is moral for humanity to visits the since of the father upon the sons. they are reflected in our legal codes. when someone dice, their debts aren't sent over and a that's exactly what in this debate some people are advocating, ticket the 2-year-old who is along for the ride, what he was doing was

there's a 31, africans and the developed nations, and states and so forth. i think india really played a particularly role in trying to find solutions that would bring everybody to the table. one good example of that is on the issue of transparent he, which was very important. it's important because if you don't understand -- it's great for countries to make budgets, but it's important for all countries to have confidence in each other that the pledges are actually being carried out and implemented in so forth. it is an important issue, it can, very different views that india found. india made a proposal that i think people fundamentally came around and ultimate language wasn't exactly in the suggest, but it was quite important and it did that. yes. >> given the way major industrial countries feel about second commitment period koto, and what you just said about the u.s. position of finding agreement under the commits presumably, then what is the best the u.s. hopes to have been in durban? >> when you know, from our point of view, what just happened is reall

each and every one is irreplaceable. issues of national security, war and peace are too important to lose sight of the real men and women who answer our nation's call and do the bidding of our commander in chief. you can't do the job as a member of congress for so many years unless you love it and i do. it's a labor of love. to paraphrase my fellow missourian, harry truman, i've done my damnest every single day and forever be grateful for the trust missourians have placed in me through the years and for the opportunity to serve missouri's fourth congressional district. the u.s. house of representatives and the united states of america. as i leave this house, these lines from alperiod lord tennyson's "ue lit us "express my feelings. much of what i've seen and known, climates, counsels, governments, and my peers, some work of noble note may yet be done. come, my friends, it's not too late to seek a newer world. mr. speaker, thank you for this time. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california se