chu: mr. speaker, john adams once said, facts are stubborn things. they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence. well, when it comes to the economy, the facts are on our side. it's a fact that bush's economic policies created the worst financial crisis since the great depression. it's a fact that republicans produced a recession with nearly 800,000 job losses each month and almost doubled our national debt. it's a fact that eight years of tax cuts for the rich and trickled down economies only left the american people hosed. and it's a fact that this congress and those flawed policies enacted tax cuts for working class families and small businesses across america. democrats created nearly 200,000 jobs a month this year, cut over $800 billion in taxes and we're about to cut almost $300 billion more. democrats are rebuilding consumer demands, creating new jobs and getting our economy back on track and that's a fact. no matter how stubborn the minority wants to be. the speaker pro tempore: th

chu: thank you, madam speaker. the small business lending act is critical to helping small businesses across the country and therefore critical to helping people because small businesses create more jobs than anyone else. small businesses sustain their communities. our amendment ensures that we don't leave minority business owners behind. minority business owners need every opportunity to grow, create jobs and contribute to their community. but there are barriers. our amendment makes sure that bank lending plans, outreach and advertising are culturally and linguistically appropriate for diverse businesses. this provision is essential for the asian american-pacific islander community because government programs can miss important details when they don't account for cultural and linguistic differences. take the census bureau, for instance, which provides so many funds for our communities. earlier this year they mistranslated part of the vietnamese census forms. they used a phrase connected to the previous government

chu? >> while we are not seeking a military capability, we seek to make the weapons more secure and more reliable. that means we are replacing old electronics you cannot even buy any more. so they will be much less likely to ignite in a fire. something of that nature could set these weapons off. should any terrorist or anybody get ahold of these things, it would be impossible for them to set it off. modernization includes all of these factors. we are improving the safety, security, and viability of these weapons. no new military capability. >> ok. i appreciate the answer from both the year. as you know, when the nuclear posture review came out, there was language in net -- in its, o keep the nuclear stockpile secure and affected. the language in the review seemed to make it harder to replace. even parts, it sounded like. i think in section 1251 of the report which he made to congress, he clarified that. and when to ask two questions. one is the obvious one -- which you have said dr. chu, t

chu? >> while we are not seeking a military capability, we seek to make the weapons more secure and more reliable. that means we are replacing old electronics you cannot even buy any more. so they will be much less likely to ignite in a fire. something of that nature could set these weapons off. should any terrorist or anybody get ahold of these things, it would be impossible for them to set it off. modernization includes all of these factors. we are improving the safety, security, and viability of these weapons. no new military capability. >> ok. i appreciate the answer from both the year. as you know, when the nuclear posture review came out, there was language in net -- in it, to keep the nuclear stockpile secure and affected. the language in the review seemed to make it harder to replace. even parts, it sounded like. i think in section 1251 of the report which he made to congress, he clarified that. and when to ask two questions. one is the obvious one -- which you have said dr. chu, t

chu: madam speaaer. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california rise? ms. chu: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays have been requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 and the chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. chu: madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass senate bill s. 1660, the formaldehyde standards for composite wood products act.%% the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 1660, an act to amend the toxic substance control act to reduce emissions of formaldehyde from composite wood products, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewo

secretary chu joins me on some of those meetings.e find deficiencies such as looking at the fact now that we believe they teed to have additional redundancies in place as you look at hurricane season befo you get to the uimate sealing of the well through relief wells we order them to provide -- to provide those additional containment capacities and redundancies, so it's a dynamic relationship but it is a directive relationship between the united states and bp. which is what is contemplated by e law, senator corker. the law is very clear. bp is the respole

stephen chu, a nobel-prize-winning physicist and our secretary of energy. scientists, experts from academia and other oil companies have provided ideas and advice. as a result of these efforts, we have directed bp to mobilize additional equipment and technology. in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture 90% of the oil leaking out of the well. this is until the company finishes drilling a relief well that is expected to stop the leak completely. already, this is the worst environmental disaster america has ever faced. unlike a hurricane, it is not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. the millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the gulf of mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years. bbt make no mistake. we will fight this spill with everything we have got for as long as it takes. we will make bp pay for the damage their company has caused. and we will do whatever is necessary to help the gulf coast and its people recover from this tragedy. tonight, i would

chu: thank you, congressman garamendi. thank you for bringing this very, very important special order to the floor tonight. i would like to focus for a moment on the oil spill and it's impact on victims. -- its impact on victims. mr. tran doesn't know how he's going to pay his car insurance and he doesn't now how he'll take care of his mortgage but he doesn't know when he'll get in the water and start working again. he's a deck hand on a commercial fishing boat stationed near louisiana. he's part of a close knit community of vietnamese and cambodian shrimpers that the gulf oil spill has hit particularly hard. many of them came to the gulf coast in the 1980's as war refugees from vietnam. they did well. it's estimated that the vietnamese americans earn between 1/3 and 1/2 of all the fishing vessels in the gulf coast. after katrina, they were one of the first groups to rebuild. but figuring out how to recover from the recent manmade disaster has been difficult. you see, for many of these fishermen, language is a barrier as b

secretary chu joins me on some of those meetings. when we find deficiencies such as looking at the fact now that we believe they teed to have additionaledundancies in place as you look at hurricane season before you get to t ultimate sealing of the well through relief wells we order them to provide -- to provide those additional containment capacities and redundancies, so it's a dynamic relationship but it is a directive relationship between the united states and bp. which is what is contemplated by the law, senator corker. the law is very clear. bp is the responsible party. they are responsible with respect to dealing with the oil spill.they are responsible for g with a the damages that flow from the oil spill. they're responsible for compensating those that are damaged from the oil l, and the president has been very clear and very direct as all his team has been that we will hold bp accountable. >> are you through -- >> i have more questioning but i'll stop t honor the time again, thank you for the way you've conducted yourself tod

regarding the request, secretary salazar and secretary chu are in houston and will report personally.hink what they will do is to extract the saw and bring it to the surface but i don't have the exact details of the location on that, but we will make an announcement later today on it. one more question, please. >> "washington post." >> [unintelligible] has there been any -- [unintelligible] >> sir, could you get a little closer to the telephone and restate the question, please? >> can you hear me now? >> yes, go ahead. >> some of it washed up short last week -- ashore last week. if any of them have been killed by the oil -- >> this is jane lubchenco. i don't know offhand what the latest number of dolphins is, but we will get that for you and make it public. we have been collecting all the dolphins that have been stranded. the national -- the initial indications that i have seen suggest that there were no evidence of oil internally, but the tissue samples and necropsies have not been completed. we need to wait for those results to come in to say definitively if oil might be a factor in

at the industry meeting that was held last week hosted by secretary salazar and secretary chu we were looking for alternatives that would help us increase capacity. there was an idea in the room, this is the reason we bring other people in to look for better ways to do this. they talked about whether or not within the immediate area where this well was being drilled if there are other production facilities that are already there that could be used if we are to extend a pipeline among he bottom of the ocean and that's what we're looking at right now. there is a question of how many of those that might be available. and the capacity is being looked at right now as far as a request of information we are looking. it could allow us to continue production out of that well without the required surface vessel to be there which is problematic. >> so you extended pipeline back in the reservoir to return3 >> we would extend the pipeline to an existing facility that's not being used for well production right now, that has access to a different reservoir. johnson. >> hi, admiral. [inaudible] routi

those are all big chus. some people might say do not touch defense. to not touch it. that weakens us. let us take the $250 billion out of the other accounts. i think what that comes down to is an approach that saps the fundamentals of our nation's strength. if we are in this for the long haul and we better be,, we have to pay attention to the fundamentals of national strength. that means our econo, our people. when we look at how to allocate productions, the pentagon is fair game. what we have tried to do in identifying at least $100 billion in cuts and in some iterations more, is to try to have a new way of thinking about national security. many people talk about rebalancing security instruments. mostly what people are thinking about this rebalancing assets and resources between the state department and defense and other instruments of security. we're tina further steand say we have to rebalance our sense of national strength. it is not just come down to the peagon. it comes down the fundamentalsf our nation's economy and of our people. we need to take care of that i

once secretary salazar and secretary chu have looked at that, we will have a conference call to make sure we understand theetime element paris is it soon enough? then we will properly task assignment out. they need the shuttle tankers because production platforms have to be shipped by hose and then go ashore. >> what is their assessment of the flow now? >> that is what they have proffered in the plan that they are -- that we are reviewing right now. we are checking to see if the plan they have given us is appropriate and meets all requirements. we will also require them to be flexible in the future. they have brought in systems that have a generic capacity, which is in this case is 40 belsen-50,000 barrels. -- 40,000-50,000 barrels. >> was it the president's idea to invite bp to the white houue? >> i have had several conversations with tony hayward about it. there will be some more conversations about the agenda which will specifically address issues on both sides. we want to come up with some measurable outcomes are related+ to both bp and the administration. >> was this the present

chu: when you buy a car, you expect to put a key in the ignition and go. when you eat at your favorite restaurant you expect a memorable meal. when california invested in mortgage funds with a.a.a. ratings it expected a safe return. instead, it lost $1 billion when subprime mortgages unravelled leaving taxpayers high and dry. the wall street reform bill ensures this won't happen again. it ends taxpayer bailouts, lets investors know what they're buying and making sure that banks are never too big to bill. i'm backing this bill and helping those 1.6 million california retirees and countless americans. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, madam speaker. today i rise to encourage the leadership to expand our trade opportunities by calling up and passing our pending free trade agreements. j

the government issues are like i could sit and chu had all day long and people will look alike i am crazy. they are not living it. i invite anyone to come spend the weekend in our shoes. i've got employees that cannot keep up right now because of the stress. we have people hired on by bp or whoever working for bp or what have you, we're not getting paid. my husband has been working for over four weeks now. he is not gotten a paycheck that. our bills are piling up on the kitchen table. they want to see what is like? let me -- let them come work with me in the kitchen. a cheeseburger and a cheeseburger. bring in on. for it -- bring it on. >> next, a searing helene on the oil spill's impact on the local economy defense secretary robert gates testifies on capitol hill about the defense budget. and later, members of the armed services -- senate armed services committee questioned david petreaus about afghanistan. on tomorrows "washington journal," a look at the war in afghanistan with congressman joe wilson. we will talk with kathy castor about the gulf oil spill. and david michaels on protect

i commd chairman fran and chus. el back. the speaker pro mpore: the gentleman yields bthe balance of hisime. fowh purpo does the maomouisiana ris >> asknanimous csent t address the e for one minute. the spear pro tempor witht objection. mr. fleming: mr. speaker, the sein o obamacareo the americ publicas been trade marked by one ety promise afr another. on september 9,2009, president obama infamously promised amerans, and i qote, if you are ong e hundreds of millions of amerins who ready have heah insurae thh yo job, nothing this plan ll require u your empoyer to change the coverage othe doct you have. twist the ama ministration released dra rations indicating that to 6 of employer provided plans may be rced to change their health pls when the new health care mandates and requirents begin. speakelosi was quoted as saying tt, we wll he to pass this bill tfi out wh's in it. as t fine print iseing placed we are learning bad news daily about this unpopurw. mr. speaker, i aga ask, how many promises will obacare have to break with

chu but somebody needs to vet. if there is a reasonable idea, put it to work. >> questions? >> thank you. mr. hayward, is -- is the most optimistic date for the relief well to be completed still august? >> that is -- that -- current time. >> is august also the earliest date the leak can be stopped or would it take more time after the relief well is complete before the flow of oil is permanently halted? >> the relief well will halt permanently the flow. >> mr. hayward, in 2009, an independent firm that b.p. hired, to serve as its ombudsman headed by former federal judge stanley sporken, substantiated that b.p. was violating its own policies by not having completed engineering documents on board another b.p. rig operating in -- if the gulf of mexico. the b.p. thrts. when it gan operate -- operating in 2007. one official warned the absence of these safety documents could lead to catastrophic operator error. let me read to you from an internal e-mail. this goes from -- from barry duff, b.p. employee to other, other engineers at b.p. here's what he said. he said, the -- the p.i.d

on right now, understanding from the national -- the best scientists in the world, including cretary chu, including the members of the national academy of engineering and others, to make sure that when we do move forward it can be done in a safe wa. >> thank you, senator dorgan. senator murkowski. >> thank you, madam chairman. as has been noted, these are difficult times, certainly. and the effort to restructure mms, i think we all have agreed is one that is necessary. we'll have an oppornity to have you before the energy committee tomorrow to discuss further that restructing. the comments i've gotten this morning relate to the moratorium. the judge's decision yesterday, you have to admit, is pretty scathing. when he uses words like arbitrary and capricious in statinghat the ban exceeded federal authoriy, when he says that the report makes no effort to explicitly justify the more tore and goes on to say doesn't discu irreparable harm, it's a pretty direct and a tough statement. you've already affirmed that you do intend to issue yet another moratorium. i have to assume that it's going to

secretary chu said data is being provided about the malfunctioning blowout provider.e says that transparency is not only in the public interest but part of the scientific process. we want to make sure that independence -- i would echo those statements. the public in the scientific committed the and all interested parties can review it. we have a lot of work to do. with that, i appreciate the opportunity and look forward to the comments from the secretary. >> thank you. as the senator says, we welcome you back to the committee, mr. secretary. your deputy and your counselor, we've all come them, as well. please go ahead with your statement. >> thank you very much. it is always good to come this committee even when we are dealing with difficult challenges. i have prepared a statement. and the interest of having a dialogue with you but i want to focus on a couple of key issues, the first is the status of offshore drilling and the safety program which the president has directed which we are in the process of implementing. the second is the reform that we have underway at t

chu: in 1970 dr. keller traveled to a convention in canada with his wife and daughter. tragically their plane crashed leaving behi his children george and diana. george cared for his sick grandmothewhen they didn't have anyone else. he planned to be a dermatologist. stead, he took over his father's general practice when he saw that local patients didn't have yone else. soon after women asked himf he would do wha his father did they were desperate women who needed reproductive control over their lives. geor said yes. and now you know wh george tiller began the careerthat cost him his life, because he decided he would be there for women facing a crisis when they didn't have anyone else. the speaker pro tempore:or at purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> unanimous consent to address the house r one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. smith: mr. speaker, the american pple demand real ange in washington. from record defit spending to the passage of health care bill, most americans don't want, there is a s

the skipper would put one engine forward and one in reverse, drive into the spill and chu it up.t -- i don't want to name me rig but they just had a big re. according to the rigman, that there'll wld get rid of several hundred barrels of oil. the reason -- my theory, and i don't ha a card in the game, my theory is you have a company that makes their own disbursement, ships and on their own boats and injects it into their own well. when you a hauling a product the those land to the reaig only solid handled in bulk monitored is normally just helicopter fuel. when you go to the dock they will fill your tank in bulk. they will tell you how many gallons you are carrying. they will pump it out. you d't measure it. they measure it when it goes in and when it goes out. it is hired by the compa, so a company that cannot tell they are leaking 26 gallons in minute or 550 gallons a minute, that is --do you follow me? >> i followed you. i appreciate the phone call. the problems there is a disbursement that is less tox that cld have been used. the one we are using now corrects at 950 developed

chu, you're recognized for five minutes. >> i find it disturbing that our budget for private security contractors is $2.16 billion and that is such a large percentage of the g.d.p. of afghanistan, which is $13 billion. it's 1/5 of the g.d.p. of the entire country offafghanistan, therefore it's a lucrative source of revenue for the quessioning what proportion of our taxpayers' dollars are going to the taliban. let me ask general nicholson aboutta summer, 2008, incident where agents is accompanying a host nation trucking company along highway one allegedly tipped off insurgents about an approaching convoy and were alaaed to pass unharmed before they attacked the convoy. rahalla, who is responsible for the convoy security in southern afghanistan that he has a working relationship with the taliban? >> ma'am, i would have to take that ince tent and examine it. i don't have the details of the incident at my fingertips. if that was in the report we received this morning, we'll get together with our investigative team in country and develop that and see if they can tell whause they found. >>