susie, the fed chief's comments came on a day when oil prices gushed higher. >> susie: tom, as bernanke was testifying on capitol hill in washington, oil futures trading here in new york surged to just below the $100 level. april crude rose $2.66 a barrel, or more than 2.5%. and those rising oil prices triggered a stock sell-off on wall street-- the dow fell 168 points, the nasdaq lost 44, and the s&p 500 off almost 22. >> tom: against that market backdrop, bernanke explained the fed's policy to keep the economy growing. darren gersh reports. >> reporter: the new normal for federal reserve chairman ben bernanke goes something like this: republicans in congress push back on the fed's bond buying program known as quantitative easing. the fed chairman argues the program is working, boosting the economy. today, bernanke went a bit further, giving senators a clearer sense of when the fed would begin reversing course. >> once we see the economy is in a self-sustaining recovery and employment is beginning to improve and labor markets are improving, and meanwhile that inflation is stable at app

thank you, chairman bernanke, for your patience. i think i'm last so that must be a bit of a relief. i would like to very briefly, if we could, go back to this discussion we had earlier about the debt limit because i think it's a huge mistake and factually incorrect for some to suggest that failure to immediately raise the debt limit is equal to a default on our debt. i'm not accusing you of saying that but i know others have. i'm sure you're well aware that the total fraction of government, projected government spending next year that would be necessary to serviceur debt's about 6%, even if the debt limit were not raised, ongoing tax revenue amounts to nearly 70% of the projectespending. so as much as i acknowledge that it would be extremely disruptive so i'm hoping we will have an appropriate and tily increase in the debt limit, given that there is so vastly much more in revenue than what's necessary to honor our debt obligations, seems to me that a treasury secretary would have to willfully choose to default on our bonds and it's

federal reserve chairman ben bernanke has indicated america's economy is growing at a faster pace thanast year but he cautions over soaring oil prices over continuing soaring prices in the arab world. >> sustained rises in the price 0 of oil and other commodities will be a threat to overall growth and price stability. >> reporter: bernanke submitted the policy report to congress on tuesday. he said commodity prices are high due to growing demand in emerging economies. referring to the current economic situation in the u.s., bernanke said there is increased evidence that a self sustaining recovery in consumer and business spending may be taking hold. he added the risk of deflation has become negligent libl. he said it could be several years before the unemployment rate returns to a normal level. noting the housing sector remains exception ally weak. he stressed the deed to ease monetary measures. >>> the european ministry has updated the forecast for the euro zone. they said the latest forecast of 1.6% growth this year is 0.1 percentage points higher than prediction made last autumn but

if if keeps at that pace, that unemployment rate will be far below what bernanke predicted. but i want to go become to what monica said. look, we're in a recovery. it's a slow recovery. we would not be where we are today if not for the tarp, for the auto bailout, not nor the stimulus or the obama health care legislation. they pump the money out. they pumped the jobs out. they kept the factories alive and brought us back. >> what do you think of this, even if the economy added 192,000 jobs every month, as we're getting to report this month, it would take three years to recover the 7.5 million jobs lost since december 2007. nor would we create enough jobs for new entrances to the workforce. we needs in excess of 200,000 jobs monthly for strong recover. >> the key is this is a very good job report. and they've revised the figures upward by 50 some thousand. but the point, 200,000 private sector jobs is terrific. this country is growing very rapidly, people are entering the labor force, you not only need the same number of jobs you had a few years ago you need even more to get t

guilty what is the difference between zenga and ben bernanke bernanke doesn't have any collateral in which to float trillions of dollars worth of worthless fee out if you only think backing up the us dollar as has been pointed out on this show by many guests is the us military that is to say there's no intrinsic value to the us dollar the only value is if you recognize this as an exchange if you don't recognize it will bomb you will kill you it happened to saddam was saying something to it in iran that if you don't use the dollar to trade oil and other commodities will kill you there still you think that backs up the us dollar that's the only thing that makes it of any value whatsoever it as a unit of currency is completely worthless it's less than worthless it's sunny even as valuables as zynga because people actually want worthless dollars to raise worthless virtual vegetables on worthless farmville part of worthless space blog which of course goldman sachs is taking public for fifty billion or more based on people voluntarily checking themselves into a casino good leg state known

thank you, chairman bernanke, for your patience. i think i'm last so that must be a bit of a relief. i would like to very briefly, if we could, go back to this discussion we had earlier about the debt limit because i think it's a huge mistake and factually incorrect for some to suggest that failure to immediately raise the debt limit is equal to a default on our debt. m not accusing you of saying that but i know others have. i'm sure you're well aware that the total fraction of government, projected government spending next year that would be necessary to service our debt's about , even if the debt lit were not raised, ongoing tax revenue amounts to nearly 70% of the projected spending. so as much as i acknowledge that it would be extremely disruptive so i'm hoping we will have an appropriate and timely increase in the debt limit, given that there is so vastly much more in revenue than what's necessary to honor our debt obligations, seems to me that a treasury secretary would have to willfully choose to default on our bonds and it's

well bernanke you would naturally have some city do that because you know he wants to defend his own policies but if you look at the third policies the federal reserve bank policies over the last two years three years they have been catastrophic a quantitative easing one in terms of the easing to which it was a euphemism for hyperinflation we are technically in the dollar so we will always be used to clean chinese demand or the libyan crisis or even any concerted action on the part of the opec countries or even business will or which is always in danger then to say our own policies have failed or that some standard i think we. have to look at be overriding the will power of term which is even above that of the agenda of the foreign of the state department and the federal reserve in the united states and so but it's catastrophic and these are your words not mine then why again why in athens policies. basically because we are seeing and this is the key point i think we have to keep in mind don't think so much in terms of actual countries although they are so important whether people ar

us, the dismal state of this financial and economic situation in our country, that the chairman bernanke told us that night, that if we did not act immediately would not have an economy by monday. that was the third step. working with the administration, we talked and initiative that by and large have to be voted for by democrats in cooperation with a republican president. i say this because i hear all this talk about the polarization, but when it matters in terms of a recovery package, stimulus package, in 2007, and avoiding the financial crisis, a global recession, we work together with a very unpopular measure, a predominantly democratic votes, overwhelmingly democratic votes, to support president bush in that regard. i would hope that the republicans in congress will work in the same corporate of way with president obama to keep government open. we have come a lamb -- a long way down this past. i will not fill in the the history of that. i will speak briefly about last december when we passed the continuing resolution, cutting $41 billion. the democratic initiative, cutting $41 billi

ben bernanke he seems perhaps a little too confident in this case thanks. now before we go it's time for our treated a possible presidential candidate mike huckabee said to president obama's worldview is most certainly colored by where he grew up how could we then said that he grew up in kenya i mean how many times is this issue with roomfuls obama was born in the u.s. only lived overseas for a few years a child and it wasn't in kenya so tonight we think that obama should be please write in two thousand and twelve it's going to be easy to win against somebody that stupid and separate a night show nature and come back tomorrow and in the meantime the news that's coming up next the latest headlines for us around. wealthy british style. market finance come to. find out what's really happening to the global economy with mikes cars are for a no holds barred look at the global financial headlines tune into cars a report on our key.

ben bernanke he seems perhaps a little too confident in this case thanks. now before we go it's time for our tweeted a possible presidential candidate mike huckabee said that president obama's world view is most certainly how they're by where he grew up how could he then said that he grew up in kenya i mean how many times is this issue true also obama was born in the u.s. only lived overseas for a few years a child and he was in kenya so tonight we think that obama should flee to huckabee please run in two thousand and twelve to be easy to run against somebody that's cute and they're pretty night still make sure you come back tomorrow and in the meantime the news is the aftermath of the latest headlines for us around. download the official policy of location to i phone the i pod touch from the i choose option. life on the go. video on demand keys minefield costs and this feeds now in the palm of your. question on the dot com. today violence is one city.

bernanke, for being here. mr. bernanke, under the humphrey-hawkins full employment act, the federal reserve has four benchmarks for the economy. one of the four is price stability. currently, economic statistics show an increase in energy prices. what are -- what can or will the feds do -- fed do to try to stabilize the prices in the energy sector. is there anything that can be done? >> you have to distinguish between the prices of individual goods and services like gasoline, for example, and the overall price level, what people pay for all the goods and services that they buy. again, i recognize that the increases in gas prices are very troubling for a lot of people and very difficult but they are not inflation per se. inflation is increase in the overall price level which is very low. the inflation rate right now is 1% for all goods and services. the main risk from a price stability point of view would be if higher gas prices, for example, would get people -- would start feeding into the broader basket. that

that assumes you know who ben bernanke is. a separate survey finds seven out of ten americans don't know he's the fed chairman. so now that the federal reserve is going to hold regular press conferences, what will the world's most powerful central bank have to say to the american people who may not know him. darren gersh polled some experts. >> reporter: it is not exactly a news flash to say the federal reserve is not very popular right now. part of the reason for that is that the place is just hard to understand. >> i think monetary policy is quite mysterious to most people. >> reporter: alice rivlin knows that from experience. when she was nominated to serve as vice chairman of the federal reserve, she says even some of her very sophisticated, inside- the-beltway friends were unclear on exactly what she'd be doing. regular press conferences are an opportunity to change that. >> one of the problems of the fed is not just that it often has to do things that are unpopular, like raising interest rates to halt inflation, but that

i want to thank ben bernanke for being here but german bernanke, -- for being here. you are a reminder of how far we have come in just a few short years. it is also the challenge is that our nation continues to face. i am pleased that our country continues to show positive signs of recovery. and being able to strike the right balance of positive growth, low inflation, increased employment, and long-term deficit reduction. as chairman of the fed, you will strive to strike that balance. but not without some controversy. the fed has taken unprecedented steps to minimize the negative impact of the financial crisis and get us back on track. including a second round of quantitative easing. while some critics have been very vocal, going so far it to call for an end to the dual mandate, but i believe that you should be commended for your work. as the economy continues to struggle to recover, we should be using every tool in the toolbox to create jobs and spur growth. taking tools away from the fed now is the wrong idea at the wrong time. there are many challenges ahead and t

so bernanke doesn't understand that deficits fragilize the cision tim further. it's sort of like giving a cancer patient a double dose of pain medication. >> charlie: what he doesn't understand about deficits what a majority of the country doesn't understand about deficits. >> the problem of the black swan problem comes from high dose of unpredictability that people do not take into account. it makes the world less and less forecastable. if the world is not easy to forecast, what do you do? you have reserves. are you try to not have to rely on forecasts, okay. if you have that that system you need to be very good at forecasting. for instance now we don't show budget. the office of management budget and these people didn't get anything right. look at the forecast made in 2004, 05, and 6. these people are issuing employment forecast for next ten years. based on that they're going to bury. the smallest mistake in the forecasting can turn, you know, that thing into something like the -- so my point is that an environment that is robust and needs to have low level of

the lloyd blankfein ben bernanke lloyd blankfein diamond psychologically ill brain damage treated by a straight jacket started off to jail medicated heavily all right thank so much for being on the kaiser report thank you mack and that's going to do it stay right there because there's much more coming your way. the official publication. from the. video. with the palm of your. comb. the secret incursion into the country. the invasion by means of. tradition language. this is the first to go beat the beat. the dunes are still unaware of what's going on in their mind the still asking why did. i go to. the great. welcome back to the kaiser reports i'm out it's urn. bloomy ese assistant professor of modern middle east and islamic world history at georgia state university and he is the author of chaos in yemen societal collapse and the new tarion as i'm isa welcome to the kaiser report great to be here all right is a movie while all eyes are on libya what is happening any yemen and why is it happening in yemen the situation in yemen is a direct response to ongoing. power grabbing and realig

chairman ben bernanke has stated that congress must act. a year ago, in his testimony, he said it is very important for congress and the administration to come to some kind of plan that will show how the united states is going to bring itself back to a sustainable position. it would be very helpful to mark his confidence. we have more flexibility in the short term. that is in response to a question i have. featured deficits would not only enhance economic growth in the long run, it would yield substantial and near-term benefits in terms of long-term interest rates and business confidence. it will lead to more jobs. by definition, the deficits and debts that they outlined cannot actually have been. creditors will never be able to bring to the government debt relative to national income that is rising. normally, i would ask what we do. he has said that we need to get our physical house in order. the federal reserve is in charge of monetary policy. i think that is appropriate. the exhibit the -- the executive branch is in charge of physical po

ben bernanke is still answering questions before the senate committee.the focus has been on inflation. we want to show you a live picture from that hearing. it started nearly two hours ago. many of the senators are pointing out that rising gas prices and the resulting rise in food prices is really taking a toll on american families. consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of economic activity. so if meshes are having to spend more on gas and groceries, we have less to spend on other things to get the economy going. so the senators are asking bernanke if the fed's international policicies are working. >> i think the bulk of the commodity price movements are not resulting from federal reserve policy but from a global supply and demand factor. >> now, he did -- he did talk about the policies that are working. , says while a -- he says he sects inflation to remain low and only a modest fix in consumer prices. that probably ebbs means that we'll continue to see low interest rates. the chief warned that the house market is really what's preventing this

price of crude oil that is the last thing americans need right now and just today fed chief ben bernanke he testified in front of the u.s. congress he told lawmakers that a prolonged rise in oil prices what impact was a danger to the u.s. economy but he didn't think that increase with last too long according to him the situation will not get out of control over more investigative journalist greg palast is talking to us from long island new york good to see is celebrating he seems to be sort of downplaying the current situation saying that these are just temporary increases the situation won't spin out of control do you do you agree with that assessment. that you know seventy. or a barrel oil as a low price it's like it's that old joke about you know someone keeps punching you in the face they say well we're now going to start slapping your face and say thank you very much you know i. yes i don't there's no question hundred dollar bill oil is is suspicious actually because we really haven't had much of a drop in production worldwide very little oil is sold on the stock market i don't see

ben bernanke taking center stage today and he did have some answers.says for now, there's no significant risk. bernanke predicts the most likely impact of costly gas will be a temporary increase in prices. he adds that he will not see a decrease or increase in unemployment. >>> in libya today, moammar gadhafi continues to lose grip on his country. these are gadhafi based forces. some call today's fighting the bloodiest yet. the fighting intensified against the backdrop of international maneuvering as the u.s. and other nations really stepping up efforts to really isolate gadhafi. robert gates has ordered two ships into the mediterranean and is deploys extra marines into the region. >> no decisions have been made on any other actions. i would note that the u.n. security counsel resolution provides no authorization for the use of armed force. >> and the rhetoric continues to come from the gadhafi family. today, his son warning western forces not to take any military action against libya. >>> the last time the federal government shut down was back in 1995

ben bernanke warned prolonged increases in oil prices could hurt america's economic recovery. gasoline prices an average of $3.37 over the weekend. bay area drivers $4 for unleaded. the rise comes as tensions mount in the middle east and northern africa and demand for crude continued to increase in a booming china. >> notably the past few weeks concerns about unrest in the middle east and north africa and the possible effects on oil supplies have led oil and gasoline prices to rise further. >> bernanke says he did not believe an upswing in oil prices to lead to runaway inflation. >> hillary clinton says libya is at risk of collapsing into a long civil war. this follows continues denials by leader moammer gadhafi he is attacking his own people from protesting over his region minute. >> colonel qaddafi insists these protestors are not libyan. they support his government and they adore him. >> they love me. they love me all. >> if they do have -- >> they would die for me, my people. >> the second largest city qaddafi has already lost control. one man told abc news, we don't want

blankfein ben bernanke you void lifeline diving psychologically ill brain damage treated by a straight jacket carted off to jail medicated heavily all right stacy ever thank so much for being on the kaiser report thank you matt and that's going to do it stay right there because there's much more coming your way. for the. world. bringing you the latest in science and signal from. the future. blogger maggie lake has a report time now to turn to is a gloomy is the assistant professor of modern middle east and islamic world history at georgia state university and he is the author of chaos in yemen societal collapse and the new author terry nasm isa welcome to the kaiser report great to be here all right is a movie while all eyes are on libya what is happening in yemen and why is it happening in yemen the situation in yemen is a direct response to the ongoing process these. power grabbing realigning offer our our alliances. are the response to what's going on in the south of yemen the traditional struggle between northern and southern and i mean it's also the consequence of since year two t

blankfein ben bernanke.psychologically ill brain damage going to straitjacket carted off to jail medicated heavily all right thanks so much for being on the kaiser report thank you matt and that's going to do it stay right there because there's much more coming your way. we'll. bring you the latest in. the future. soon which great. movie. from steve. santagati dot com. the anonymous. blogger mag of the kaiser report time out of turn to is a gloomy is their system professor of modern middle east and islamic world history at georgia state university and he's the author of chaos in yemen societal collapse and the new author terry is on east so welcome to the kaiser report great to be here all right it's a little while all eyes are on a libya what is happening in yemen and why is it happening in yemen the situation in yemen is a direct response to ongoing. power grabbing and realigning over our our alliances. part a response to what's going on in the south of yemen the traditional struggle between northern and s

in his semiannual testimony to congress, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke said the fed is not backing off of its quantitative easing program because the economy still needs it, and said a prolonged increase in oil prices would be harmful to the economy. but it's more likely we'll see a temporary increase in consumer prices, not runaway inflation. >>> and apple introducing its new version of the ipad this week. this big surprise wasn't the computer but who was there. steve jobs was there to show off the new tablet which boasts two built-in cameras and is thinner and lighter than the original. jobs has been on medical leave since january. >>> when it comes to the jobs report, it's not just the headline number but what is behind the number that says more says my next guest. mohamed el-erian is with us. he is ceo and chief investment officer of pimco. mohamed, great to see you. >> thank you, maria. >> we saw 192,000 new jobs created in the month. the unemployment rate dropping to 8.9%. but you say there is more that we need to look at in order to really get a true picture of the economy.

chairman bernanke, nice to see you again. thank you for your testimony. you talked a little bit in your remarks about the importance of not just about cutting, what the composition of the spending looks like, what the comprehensive approach to taxation looks like. your view is more nuanced than the headlines that come out of this place and i appreciate it very much. and i wanted to ask you in that context how you evaluate the product of the fiscal commission. what do you think of their suggestions about their mixes of cuts versus -- cuts to spending versus revenue? do you think it should weighted one way or another? i know you're here to talk about monetary policy, but n fiscal policy. i wondered if you would spend a few minutes sharing your views on it. >> what i think was impressive about thedeficit commission is that it -- first of all, it highlighted the size of the problem. secondly it, for the most part made a set of proposals that while obviously painful would address the problem. i say that for the most part because, you know, in some areas they k

bernanke will be giving his twice-a-year economic report to congress. he is likely to be more upbeat about the economy, but not unemployment, which he expects to remain high. >>> slightly high oil prices are lifting stocks overseas this morning. tokyo's nikkei average climbed 1.2% today. hong kong's hang seng gained 0.25%. and in london, the ftse opened higher. on wall street, the dow jumped nearly 96 points yesterday. meanwhile, the nasdaq ticked up one point. >>> high marks for ford on a "consumer reports" latest report card. the magazine said ford made the biggest jump of any automaker in its annual rankings. improving in both road tests and reliability. but the magazine said that honda and subaru still make the best vehicles overall. >>> well, at&t customers can now sign up to get special shopping alerts when they're near some of their favorite stores. customers will get the mobile deals and promotions by text message when they're near to a store. not bad there. >> get the deals when you need them. >>> next on this tuesday morning, charlie sheen. ne

the best source that i think of right off is ben bernanke, chairman of the federal reserve. who has said h.r. 1 would have no negligible -- harmful impact on the economy. if the chairman of the federal reserve says that, i tend to believe im -- him. i yield three minutes to the chairman of the energy and water subcommittee, mr. frelinghuysen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. frelinghuysen: thank you, madam chairwoman. i rise in support of this resolution, it's rm an a thoughtful path to avoid a government shutdown. the american people have made two things perfectly clear. first they want their government to stay up and running and second, they want us to cut spending. we need to do both. i would have greatly preferred the senate act on h.r. 1, the seven-month continuing resolution that we debated for over 90 hours. that included indeed the largest spend regular ducks in the history of any congress. 0 days ago this committee in the house took the president's budget and cut it by over $100 billion. terminating dozens of government pro

ben bernanke, the g.o.p.'s plan will cut jobs. economist mark zandi, the g.o.p. plan would cost 700,000 jobs. another analysis, house spending cuts will hurt economic growth. so what we have is economist after economist telling us that h.r. 1 is a recipe for disaster when it comes to the question of jobs in america. now, that analysis that says that we would slash 700,000 jobs directly impacts the lives of middle class and working families struggling to get back on their feet. they are severe cuts that run roughshod over the green shoots of economic recovery just to satisfy a political agenda. now, i favor smart, commonsense cuts, cuts made with a surgeon's knife, not a meat ax, cuts that are thoughtful, surgically precise, cuts that actually reduce the deficit, not cuts that eliminate jobs and disinvest in educational opportunities for millions of promising young americans. not cuts that hurt middle-class families struggling to make ends meet, make our work force less competitive, our communities less safe and strip away basic protections americans have come to

the clock is ticking, as chairman bernanke reminded us before the banking committee this morning. with that, madam president, i look forward to locking in a vote on this matter and in the consent that establishes that, we will be happy to withdraw the other amendment and simply have one vote on the now-combined toomey-vitter amendment. with that, madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: i'd ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coburn: madam president, i wish to thank the chairman of the committee for his work on this patent bill. i still have a few small problems with it but i'm extremely grateful for his consideration of an amendment in terms of the fee diversion. what most people in america don't understand is there's no tax dollars taken from any general fund for the patent office. it's all fees that when you file a patent or file a trademark or fil

chairman ben bernanke has stated that congress must act. a year ago, in his testimony, he said it is very important for congress and the administration to come to some kind of plan that will show how the united states is going to bring itself back to a sustainable position. it would be very helpful to mark his confidence. we have more flexibility in the short term. that is in response to a question i have. featured deficits would not only enhance economic growth in the long run, it would yield substantial and near-term benefits in terms of long-term interest rates and business confidence. it will lead to more jobs. by definition, the deficits and debts that they outlined cannot actually have been. creditors will never be able to bring to the government debt relative to national income that is rising. normally, i would ask what we do. he has said that we need to get our physical house in order. the federal reserve is in charge of monetary policy. i think that is appropriate. the exhibit the -- the executive branch is in charge of physical po

senate hearing, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke said the resulting spike in gas prices has not damaged the economy. >> higher gas prices take income out of the pockets of consumers and reduces their spending and their confidence and so it can also be a problem for recovery. so we have to look at it from both perspectives. my sense is that the increases that we've seen so far are obviously a problem for a lot of people do not yet pose a significant risk either to the recovery or to the maintenance of overall stable inflation. >> sreenivasan: bernanke did suggest the recovery would be hurt if prices stay high over the long term, and that assessment sent wall street tumbling. the dow jones industrial average lost 168 points to close at 12,058. the nasdaq fell more than 44 points to close at 2737. the securities and exchange commission has charged a former board member of goldman sachs with insider trading. rajat gupta allegedly leaked information about the investment bank's earnings, and an impending investment by berkshire hathaway. the s.e.c. says the tips went to a hedge fund m

those are the steps bernanke has not told the public about yet. a lot of people would like to know when the fed finally starts to pull back from this massive unprecedented stimulus to have given to the economy and markets. host: chairman bernanke, if you are watching and want to respond, give us a call. we're going to go to palm beach florida. lewis is on the line for republicans. caller: i would like to make a few comments about the callers that have called in. every revolution happening in the middle east will in the of benefiting this country and the world. -- will in the up benefiting this country in the world. the only democracy that started the work recently was [unintelligible] otherwise it is dictatorships and so on. then there are the terrorists. the other thing is social security. it is not a big deal. when it was enacted, it had a 62-year life span. to raise it by one year to 52, at that age i did not think about retiring. it is not an outrageous situation. i do not know why it is a big deal to raise it by a year or 80 months. host: sco

chairman ben bernanke has stated that congress must act. a year ago, in his testimony, he said it is very important for congress and the administration to come to some kind of plan that will show how the unid states is going to bring itself back to a sustainable position. it would be very helpful to mark his confidence. we have more flexibility in the short term. that is in response to a question i have. featured deficits would not only enhance economic growth in the long run, it would yield substantial and near-term benefits in terms of long-term interest rates and business confidence. it will lead to more jobs. by dinition, the deficits and debts that they outlined cannot actually have been. creditors will never be able to bring to the government debt relative to national income that is rising. normally, i would ask what we do. he has said that we need to get our physical house in order. the federal reserve is in charge of monetary policy. i think that is appropriate. the exhibit the -- the executive branch is in charge of physical policy

thank you, chairman bernanke for your service. my main goal every day is how do we agree the economy, how do we get people back to work, certainly from my home state of new jersey and for that fact every american. and it was my hope that the quantitative easing that the fed was in the midst of would produce more jobs, more exports, more investments and ultimately a smaller budget deficit by obviously generating profits that would go into the treasury's coffers. but as we expand this balance sheet, and buy treasuries and buy goldman sachs and expect that these ultimately get deposited in banks so that those banks woul ultimately lend, i have to be honest with you, i not quite sure, and this is where i'm headed in terms of my question, i'd like toget a grasp from you, i don't see that lending still taking place and i hear it all over my state. i see food prices rising. i see gas prices rising, even before what was happeng in north africa. that certainly is an exacerbating reality. tuition rates rising. and so while we are worried ab

bernanke. >> this is the old way of doing things. something that we want to do is rest use some of those. if you want to separate the system and say what do we do with the water, we put it in a creek. the question is, maybe this is something that we can work on while the clock is ticking. are there any changes that need to be made to the design or construction said that we will be able to create this once we figure it out. my concern is that the program here has no hydrological goals. it will be capturing storm water, we don't know what we wanted to do. this is phase two of the flooding project. there is no measure of what this is supposed to handle. this is an investment without a purpose. we have an understanding of what we are spending money on and why we are spending it. maybe this will be great and we will find out it does a lot but right now what it is is window dressing. this is not what we should be spending our money on. it will not look good when we say how much water we have diverted. >> thank you. >> this was reviewed sub