-colombia free trade agreement. colombia has enormous potential for u.s. businesses, especially in my home state of florida. miami has nearly $6 billion in colombia last year alone. signed nearly four years ago, the f.t.a. is one of the easiest, most obvious steps that congress can take to expand these important economic ties. we can ask for no better partter or trusted ally than the people of colombia. its commitment to the democratic process as demonstrated by this weekend's free, fair and transparent elections shows what can be accomplished when the basic tenets of liberty are afforded to a people of a nation. in closing, madam speaker, i'd like to congratulate president-elect santos on this momentus occasion and once again recognize the unbreakable ties of the people between the united states and colombia. i thank the speaker for the time and with that i reserve the balance of our time. if the gentlelady continues to reserve, i'd like to yield two minutes, madam speaker -- ms. watson: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentl

i congratulate president-elect of colombia, juan santos, and commend the people of colombia for their relentless dedication to the democratic process shown through this election. in an increasingly volatile region, colombia has continued on the path toward reform while combating drug trafficking and terrorism. efforts that have had a positive effect on colombia and the american national security. additionally, colombia has made remarkable progress on other fronts. emerging as an important growth market and the leading center for latin american businesses. in the face of%% u.s. interest d values, colombia has consistently proven itself to be an important friend and reliable partner and champion for democracy. the bilateral relationship between the united states and colombia has been based on many common, strategic, and idea logical interests. reaffirming colombia's position as an important ally and long friend of the united states. again i congratulate president-elect juan manuel santos on his victory. i look forward to the continued partnership between our two nations. i yield back th

colombia is one of america's strongest allies. with our help they have instilled rule of law, defeated the farc terrorist group, they created labor rights, and lowered their crime rate by 90%. while for three years, this congress has done nothing. other countries are now moving in line ahead of us and our u.s. farmers are losing their sales to colombia. congress does nothing. venezuela has imposed a trade agreement on our ally colombia, this congress does nothing. it's time for congress to take up and pass the colombia free trade agreement this year. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from nevada rise? ms. titus: to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. titus: mr. speaker, i rise today to congratulate chef rick noonian on his impressive second place finish in bravo's "top chef master" competition earlier this month. he's donating his winnings to three square food bank in las vegas wher

. >> sreenivasan: at least 16 miners have died in a coal mine explosion in northwestern colombia. it happened last night at the san fernando mine in amaga, just south of medellin. today, rescue crews searched for dozens of workers still trapped underground, and feared dead. the force of the blast collapsed an access tunnel that is more than a mile long and plunges 500 feet down. authorities said they believe a build-up of methane gas caused the explosion. at least nine people were killed at the same mine last august. european union leaders adopted new sanctions against iran today over its nuclear program. the restrictions are designed to block investments in iran's oil and gas sector, and limit its refining and natural gas capability. the e.u. penalties go beyond those approved by the u.n. security council last week. the u.s. imposed its own new penalties yesterday. israel has eased its blockade of gaza. a spokesman for prime minister benjamin netanyahu outlined the new terms today. they include letting construction materials for civilian projects into gaza. >> the government of i

and colombia. >> we wish them luck with lead. >> the extradition of walter emerson, the former head of human carbide, have you received a request for sedition? >> those requests are confidential. -- for extradition? >> those requests are confidential. if we do receive one, we will give them fair consideration. >> [unintelligible] a the safe return of mr. anderson in 1984. the person who dictated the intervention, she also claimed that the secretary told them that he was taken against ucil chief department at that time. does the state department have a role in finalizing the compensation for of the -- >> i do not know what the former dcm -- who is now a private citizen -- what he told the media. >> is there a claim for the international soccer association because of this goal? [laughter] >> i think there are a few things you do not do here. including sporting event controversies, including the world cup. we do look for to the game on wednesday. we do know how important it is. >> where is the race at? [laughter] >> you mentioned that he is a private citizen. i agree. but he is talking ab

colombia. what she does think about the second amendment, those are the two clues and their very related to the constitutionle issue. we'll see a lot of questions about "this week in the d-league" week. host: next call. maryland. erik, republican, hi. caller: yes. i'm calling in about your lindsay graham comment. i think i take exception about elections result. republicans in the senate take this business as usual attitude. with nominee from this president in that the white house we're dealing with. they are fools because this man is a transformational president. this is not a business as usual country club setting with a senate just gives and asked appointed questions and you know, yeah and concerned about what the thoughts are. this is a man that's transformational they need all 41 to put her down. bye. guest: it takes some civil majority to confirm someone to any federal office including the supreme court. the senate has a filibuster rule and with 60 votes, you can overcome that. and the dem

hopefully congress can work on these and ratify them in the near future in panama, colombia and south america. there is a lot of trade opportunities outside of europe and we will continue to monitor and do business with them, but it is not dispositive of how we do if the european trade is off a bit. >> i would like to follow up with a trade questioned. the american taxpayers will be paying $147 million a year to brazil because the agriculture department was ruled illegal by the trade organization. what are you going to do about that? >> we have to educate people about what has been done about the credit export program that may be responsive to the concerns raised by brazil and the world trade auk -- world trade organization. it has been substantially less than the penalties that were assessed a would have compromised agribusiness in a very significant way. not only would we had terraces sensed -- tariffs assessed against them, but we would have intellectual property compromised as a result of that decision. >> would not be cheaper to revise the underlying cotton program that cost taxp

hopefully congress will be able to work on and ultimately ratify in the very near future in panama, colombia, and south korea. so there's a lot of trade opportunity outside of the e.u. we'll continue to want to do business, but it's not business, but it's not necessarily dispositive of how we're going to do if the european trade is off a bit. >> i'd like to follow up on a trade question as well, mr. secretary. america taxpayers will be paying $147 million a year to brazil because the agriculture department's cotton subsidy program has been ruled illegal. what are you going to do about that in the next farm bill? >> well, i think first and foremost is to educate folks about what has already been done on the credit export guarantee program that many have been responsive to the concerns raised by brazil. i would also say that the payments being made are substantially less than the penalties that could have been assessed by brazil that would have compromised agriculture in a very significant way. not only would we have had tearives assessed against our products but our intellectual property comp

police found the 42-year-old city in a yard in colombia. it is about a mile from the group hold he wandered away from onset of a. he was taken away to a hospital for evaluation and appears to be in good condition. >> matthew evans was convicted of stabbing anthony conaway. prosecutors charged evans with first-degree murder and conspiracy. >> the husband of a frederick woman is claiming police misconduct. the man believes authorities should have entered the home sooner. veronica perkins was killed last thursday after police barricaded her home. a trooper fired several shots when a gun was pointed at the police officer. police say the incident remains under investigation. >> it is day 63 of the oil leak in the gulf of mexico. bp may have underestimated the amount of oil coming out of the well. we turn to kate amara in our washington bureau. >> a democratic congressman said the new document raises a new question -- was the oil spill much worse than bp let on? 4 million gallons of oil could pour out of the deep seat well each day, according to

colombia has a new president elect. juan manuel santos won 69% of the vote, the largest margin in modern history in an election marked by low turnout. santos celebrated with his supporters in bogota last night. he is a u.s.-educated economist who plans to continue the security policies of outgoing conservative president alvaro uribe. firefighters in arizona battled a growing wildfire on the outskirts of flagstaff. strong winds spread the fire quickly to 13 square miles. about 300 firefighters fought the blaze, using helicopters and air tankers. evacuation orders were in place for several hundred homes near downtown flagstaff. the high winds were expected to continue today, as a federal management team took over the firefight. federal regulators have agreed to a plan to police financial institutions' pay policies. regulators would not set compensation, but they could veto pay policies they deemed risky. the rules are intended to make sure banks do not compensate employees for taking risky gambles like those that led to t

in colombia, hopes of finding 50 coal miners dimmed after an explosion at a mine wednesday night. rescue crews recovered 18 bodies at the site. the others were trapped underground and feared dead. three more american soldiers have been killed in southern afghanistan. their deaths raised this month's u.s. deekt toll to 34. another british soldier was killed today as well. and at least 27 people died in violence across iraq. they included an iraqi translator for the u.s. military police said he was killed by his own son, an insurgent linked to al qaeda. a convicted killer was executed by firing squad early today in utah after his numerous appeals failed. it was the first such time that know that method has been used in the u.s. in 14 years.jú uard was executed just after midnight. he was dressed in black, strapped to a black metal chair, and hooded with a target placed over his heart. then a five-man team took aim and fired. by 12:17 a.m. he was pronounced dead. several reporters witnessed the execution from a separate room >> loudness of the gun shocked me, even though i grew up wi

redletter is president of the group and also heads colombia university's national center for disaster preparedness. he said a lack of information only exaggerates people's worrieds about their health. >> there are people that live in lowery plaque min parish who have dimpt accessing health services. there are people who are not insured, not well insured, yet there are costs to getting health care, which a lot of people can't afford. there's an ongoing series of challenges. >> reporter: people here have been frightened by stories they've heard in the media about the possibilities of dealing with cancer and other illnesses in the years to come. >> our lives are down here. our kids are down here. my biggest fear is 10 years from now is my child going to be in a wheelchair, mentally able to sit and speak and hold a conversation because of this? >> reporter: currently, there are few long-term studies that examine oil spill impact on human health." kendraed fisherman husband was sick for six weeks with respiratory problems. >> they're finally starting to subside. my daughter has broke out i

noww177 permanent bases in 84 countries world, including brand new, permanent baases the country of colombia. if they're going to deal with the overruns of the budget, when are theyygoing to deal with this bloated, wasteful, black hole is the military budget?%- guest: that is something policy discussing. robert gates at the pentagon called for trimmed down spending. barney frank has put together a experts to recommend%% major cuts in the budget. recently they came up with their roughly $1 trillion%% to cut back that they say will not hurt defense. standing lawyer in a speech he today will say defense spending needs to be on the table. we need to look at the defense bbdget -- steny hoyer wiil say. other tax increases or defense cuts, eveeything must be on the% table. that is what the fiscal commission is looking at. it is made up of lawmakers. host: he says any conversation leaveshe deficit that out defense spending is flawwd befooe begin's -- that comes from hoyer. how does that play back home? everyone is not eager to seee like a fiical hawk. one reason that the defense not get cut is it br

bases in 84 countries around the world, including seven brand new, permanent bases in the country of colombia. if they're going to deal with the overruns of the budget, when are they going to deal with this bloated, wasteful, black hole that is the military budget? guest: that is something policy makers are discussing. robert gates at the pentagon has called for trimmed down spending. barney frank has put together a group of experts to recommend major cuts in the budget. recently they came up with their condition of roughly $1 trillion to cut back that they say will not hurt defense. standing lawyer in a speech he will deliver today will say defense spending needs to be on the table. we need to look at the defense budget -- steny hoyer will say. other tax increases or defense cuts, everything must be on the table. that is what the fiscal commission is looking at. it is made up of lawmakers. host: he says any conversation about the deficit that leaves out defense spending is seriously flawed before begin's -- that comes from hoyer. how does that play back home? everyone is not eager to seem li

look at their track record up in canada, up in alberta, what we had done down in peru and colombia. multinational corporations. why don't we nationalize the as ?bies -- sob's it is just like band-aids. part of the frustration of being an american here, it is absolutely hopeless. the whole system should be thrown down the toilet. you can't repair it. host: from "the washington post" is this notation about the fund. enough money to cover nasa's annual budget. the next phone caller is from columbia, maryland, david on our democrats line. david, and it is columbia, missouri. i can hear everybody talking about all kinds of problems and stuff like that but nobody is trying to look for the solution. a simple solution would be to get a big casing made of steel and bring it out and set the casing on top of the oil leak with the hose coming off of the back so that all of the oil that is running free can be collected and place on the oil tankers such as the valdez and i'm wondering why nobody thought of doing that? why not captured the oil that is running free into the ocean instead of just le

it's not just be in colombia. it should be working with the local folks to find out what they need. whether it is plastics right here in this area. i have been to taiwan and build a relationship with them. we need a port in south carolina for when the panama canal is finished. i have been there and met with the shipping companies. you have to start planning for the future. whether you do a public-private partnership, we need eight intermodal port. we have to do something about our tax structure. we do everything we can to discourage people from investing in south carolina. if you look at what we charge to properties owned by businesses. we are putting the burden on businesses. >> time is up. the next question will be addressed to mr. mcmaster. >> you made the fight against internet crimes against children and more recently the fight against the federal health care bill some of the hallmarks of your time as attorney general of the state. what can you do to make economic development for all of south carolina a hallmark of your time as governor? >> as i began to explain one minute ago,

yalman onaran, he is a senior write wear bloomberg news, born in istanbul and got a masters degree at colombias been with bloomberg since about 1998, prior to that worked for theap. we have this tweet that just came in. a little off the topic but i'd love to get your response to it. too many americans think the dollar should be strong verses other currencies because, well, strong sounds good. guest: [laughs] i didn't realize that too many americans wanted the dollar to be strong. but i mean past administrations have slow kateed a strong dollar, and i don't always understand the debate on weak verses strong dollar and high we should have one or the other. i haven't followed it that closely but weaker dollar would help boost exports and stronger dollar, probably helps us pay our debt easier. i think those are the true debates and i'm not sure. it's always something positive and negative for on both sides. hard to figure which one is better. host: another tweet if the big banks would buy back all the toxic assets it sold to freddie and fanny they could then dismantle them. any response? guest: we

all these people fighting in the jungle with the farc, until they saw their compatriots in colombia and around the world, they thought they were on the winning side. people were still skeptical. it does not answer the question of technology -- maybe they use the protests, but is technology really behind it? . >> it is not like these people had background. it was a random group of unlikely leaders. i would argue that we now -- we call them on likely because we don't typically view them as leaders. they are the more common later than the more traditional ones. we do not necessarily acknowledge them as the modern- day leaders because they do not fit our historical context. but they are. what is the symbiotic relationship between the traditional leaders and the nontraditional leaders? he tried to build an organization, a traditional organization and it failed. he did not know how to do it. the 21st century leaders understand technology and how to organize movements around an event. i would argue that still the traditional types of organizations and movements should be at the epicenter of+ c

i say we shod pass the trade agreements othe shelf with panama, colombia, and south korea, and we should negotiate more. the is -- these havbeen good for american workers and consumers. host: pot took represents global trade watch -- the watch todd tucker represents a global trade watch. daniel griswold is also a specialistn this topic cou. caller: mr. griswold, you mentned pharmaceutical companies. don't you know that a pharmaceutical comnies have been bought up by foreign countries? also, almost erything i use in daily -- in the morning when i eat my food, they are from chile. even the dead of loss i use is from ireland. -- even that dental floss i use is from ireland. the only time i like to eat those with and candies and other rock and is -- ribbon cands and rockdies, they are made in mexico,anada we hardly produce anything anymore. and of course, it all started with motels and hotels quite a number of years back. i don't even think we own our own of anything anymore. sure, it looks like ey are run by our own people, but america has been bought out. wake up. guest: ild just say that

yalman onaran, he is a senior write wear bloomberg news, born in istanbul and got a masters degree at colombia. he's been with bloomberg since about 1998, prior to that worked for theap. we have this tweet that just came in. a little off the topic but i'd love to get your response to it. too many americans think the dollar should be strong verses other currencies because, well, strong sounds good. guest: [laughs] i didn't realize that too many americans wanted the dollar to be strong. but i mean past administrations have slow kateed a strong dollar, and i don't always understand the debate on weak verses strong dollar and high we should have one or the other. i haven't followed it that closely but weaker dollar would help boost exports and stronger dollar, probably helps us pay our debt easier. i think those are the true debates and i'm not sure. it's always something positive and negative for on both sides. hard to figure which one is better. host: another tweet if the big banks would buy back all the toxic assets it sold to freddie and fanny they could then dismantle them. any response? gues

i say we should pass the trade agreements on the shelf with panama, colombia, and south korea, and we should negotiate more. the is -- these have been good for american workers and consumers. host: pot took represents global trade watch -- the watch todd tucker represents a global trade watch. daniel griswold is also a specialist on this topic cou. caller: mr. griswold, you mentioned pharmaceutical companies. don't you know that a pharmaceutical companies have been bought up by foreign countries? also, almost everything i use in daily -- in the morning when i eat my food, they are from chile. even the dead of loss i use is from ireland. -- even that dental floss i use is from ireland. the only time i like to eat those with and candies and other rock and is -- ribbon candies and rock candies, they are made in mexico, canada we hardly produce anything anymore. and of course, it all started with motels and hotels quite a number of years back. i don't even think we own our own of anything anymore. sure, it looks like they are run by our own people, but america has been bought out. wake up

are free trade agreements converse will hopefully be able to work on and ratified -- in panama, colombiathere is a lot of trade opportunities outside of the european union. host: you can see the entire interview on "newsmakers" at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. let's take a look at other news right now going on. this from the associated press, two new jersey man who allegedly intended to kill american troops were arrested saturday before boarding flights on their way to joined a group in somalia. this looks at the star-ledger of newark reported that two men were arrested at jfk international airport before they could board separate flights to egypt and continue on this about. officials familiar with the details spoke on condition of anonymity. also, looking at the "miami herald." looking at the news from there. bp bosses on likely to face jail. well they can expect heavy fines from the oil spill, past catastrophes show that company officials rarely face criminal charges. they are following that story very closely as it relates to florida's shores. they have a photograph -- beach patrol workers

care costs, law enforcement -- all those things have a drug nexus, and our foreign relations with colombia, mexico, russia. host: how does u.s. drug use, both legal and illegal drugs, compare with some of our biggest partners? guest: well, because we are such a large nation, so many people, we have the largest number of consumers. because our economy is still fairly strong in many ways, we do use far too many drugs. secretary clinton has mentioned this a couple of times. as i understand from the most recent reports, we are no longer the number one per capita consumer nation, but just given our size, we use too many drugs. reducing our own demand was certainly help us and it would help a lot of other countries. host: you mentioned the nexus between the drug issue and national security. i wanted to show you a headline from just this week, writing off fromresident statement mexican president felipe a. calderon, calling the u.s. the world's biggest drug addict. guest: we have heard that an awful lot. secretary clinton and others have talked about how we have to recognize mexico in a variety of

yalman onaran, he is a senior write wear bloomberg news, born in istanbul and got a masters degree at colombia. he's been with bloomberg since about 1998, prior to that worked for theap. we have this tweet that just came in. a little off the topic but i'd love to get your response to it. too many americans think the dollar should be strg verses other currencies because, well, strong sounds good. guest: [laughs] i didt realize that too many americans wanted the dollar to be strong. but i mean past administrations have slow kateed a strong dollar, and i don't always understand the debate on weak verses strong dollar and high we should have one or the other. i haven't followed it that closely but weaker dollar would help boost exports and stronger dollar, probably helps us pay our debt easier. i think those are the true debates and i'm not sure. it's always something positive and negative for on both sides. hard to figure which one is bett. host: another tweet if the big banks would buy back all the toxic assets it sold to freddie and fanny ty could then dismantle them. anyresponse? guest: well,

177 permanent bases in 84 countries% world, including brand new, permannnt bases the country of colombia. if they're going to deal with the overruns of the budget, when are they going to deal with this bloated, wasteful, black hole is the military budget? guest: that is something policy discussing. >> we're leaving this recorded program now to go back live to the house oversight committee on afghanistan. >> reeurning to order. and we're now going to receive testimony from our second pannl of witnesses. i thank you for your patience and waiting while we had the first panel to testify. i will introduce our panelists all at once and then start again with mr. schwartz. moshe schwartz is part of the congressional research service. before joining the congressional research service he served as the senior analyst at the government accountability office and is n assistant district attorney in brooklyn, new york. he received his b.a. from rasheba, an m.b.a. and masters. carl forsberg focuses on the security dynamics in southern afghanistan. previously he worked at the marine corps headquarters an