it is something the congress ought to look into. what difference does the new electronic age make on the agency's work? >> we were pleased that the court, because the congress provided a year ago a small amount of extra money to put all of our proceedings into the online, so everything goes into the on-line, the opinions, within a matter of minutes. the result of that is about a million hits a day. i mean, huge. and that is wonderful because, you know, people can instantly find out what it is we have done and are saying and so forth. but, if you are on the opposite side, of course if you could have a million or 2 million hits, you could have a million comments. suddenly, you have to figure out, how do we separate the wheat from the chaff? then people get annoyed if they feel they did not get a good response. then perhaps millions of people who you cannot answer -- you can answer the kind of comment, but not necessarily be individual. i figure would be very interesting to find out what goes on, how do we respond online, how do we sep

congress is expected to agree on baunlt by april 15. the budget process at the beginning of each year sets the goals regarding total federal spending for the year. it is the budget that sets the stage for how fiscally responsible government spending will be. mr. god lat: since the passage -- mr. goodlatte: since the passage of the budget act of 1974, the house of representatives has never failed to pass an initial budget to set the spending priorities for the following fiscal year. not this year. we are now a month past the deadline and speaker pelosi and democratic leadership are showing no signs of complying with the law and coming forward with a budget for fiscal year 2011. in 2006 congressman steny hoyer, who is now the house majority leader, was quoted in saying enacting a budget was, quote, the most basic responsibility of governing, end quote. and congressman john spratt, who is now chairman of the house budget committee said, if you can't budget you can't govern. while i understand that the congress has the power to name public

same with congress. they could upset the workings of government by interfering with the information system if they were able to take control of command and control systems with respect to our infrastructure. you can imagine what could happen. it is multi-faceted. we are doing a better job. the defense department probably leads the government in ferreting out the threats and responding to them. the executive branch is doing a better job. i have to give both president bush and president obama credit on beginning to have a focus there. the congress is also coming plong on this. the real challenge is how we in congress make sure that we are not trying to establish what the particular mmans are to protect against a particular threat. it happens so fast you could not pass legislation that would anticipate everything. our obligation and challenge is to come up with a set of standards by which we suggest and requireethat the business community and private-sector involve thhmselves in those protections to help th

congress should share in spain. i propose every member of congress, every house member, every senate member, which should cut our budgets by 5%. we should feel the people's pain. this is how we can start shrinking government. talking about social security, i made a pledge that there would be no schemes to manufacture the privatization of social security. i'm going to stick to that. [applause] >> 60 seconds, mr. burns. >> thank you for it when it comes to social security, i am glad the question was asked. the first thing i would like to clear up, because my opponent is making more all south -- accusations saying that i was for privatizing social security. those accusations were completely false. but there is a pattern here and he apologized last week for all specifications. another topic. let me be clear -- i am not in favor privatizing sells a security. -- in privatizing social security. people are concerned and rightfully so about any social security money going into wall street. and we've seen what happened in wal

i stand here as a member of congress, a congress that's an organic, living being, that should be working toward -- who should be reverent to its past and living future. >> will the -- will the gentleman yield? mr. honda: certainly. mr. faleomavaega: i forgot to ask annapolis consent that all of my remarks be made part of the record. i skipped part of the speech and i want to see if that would be ok. the speaker pro tempore: wok. mr. honda: o nation was founded by immigrants who valued freedom and liberty who sought to be free from persecution, from tyranny, families fled from their home country because they, too, believed in life, liberty, and freedom from all. kpac supports legislation that shifts the debate from the anti-immigrant, enforcement only approach to one that confronts social and economic realities beyond immigration and honors all families and communs and honors the social and cultural contributions. those born in asian constitute over one quarter of the foreign born population. even with a relatively high naturalization rate, asian undocumented immigrants living, working, o

congress may consider modifying o.p.a.'s framework. potential options for congress include but are not limited to increasing the liability limits so the responsible party would be required to pay a greater portion of the spill cost, to increasing the per barrel oil tax to more quicklyaise the fund's balance. concurrently congress could remove or raise or put an instant cap on the trust fd. it might be noted that the -- 1 billion cap established in 1990 is equivalent to $600 million in today's dollars. authorizing repayable advances to be made via the appropriations process to the trust fund so that the fund would have the resources to carry out these functions. recent proposals have included these proposals. thank you again for the invitation to appear today. i will be pleased to address any questions at you may have. >> thank you very much, mr. king? >> you need to press the button on your microphone. thank you. >> i'll just keep going. my name is rawle king. c.r.s. has been asked by the committee to provide testimony on financing rec

the congress created the federal reserve board. you go back and read the debate, the country was assured that this was not creating a strong central bank. there were just lead pipe assurances so that but, of course, that turned out not to be the case. nonetheless, the federal reserve board creates monetary policy, and there is a thought -- and i agree with that thought -- we don't want monetary policy created on the floor of the united states senate. we don't want to intrude on the creation or the development of monetary policy. we do fiscal policy, the taxing and spending side, which is called fiscal policy. the monetary side, that's the federal reserve board's terrain. but the federal reserve board ought not be unaccountable to anything or to anybody, rather, for anything. the federal reserve board, it seems to me, deserves, number one, to be audited properly, a government accountability office audit, which the sanders amendment would require. and i know the fed is having an apoplectic seizure about now thinking maybe this amendm

the policies on the stimulus, congress is left court, right, and center.ne of the reasons we are growing is because of the stimulus. you can look at folks who work on these issues and point out that the policies that have been taken are kind of in the mainstream of innovative policy solutions on the health care side. the health care bill as an awful lot to a republican promoted health care bill from the early 1990's that senator bob dole was one of the key architects of. we will promote smart solutions to these problems. if the other guys want to rely on labels rather than roll up their sleeves and actually help us govern a nation at a time when government is needed, does an abdication of responsibility but that will not help their case by doing it. >> how will the democratic party persuade doubters? that obama is not addicted to big government? >> first, the president in february 1 month after he was inaugurated, he rolled out his first series of program cuts and eliminations to try to deal with this issue. he said he would go through the federal budget b

this is something congress never will do. since democrats have taken over congress in january of 2007, the national debt has increased 42.4%, while the democrat leadership takes a -- talks a good game about addressing spending, we have yet to see any real action by them. the first step is to pass a budget to pride us with a blueprint, a simple road map for deficit reduction. the balanced budget act of 1985 set the target date for a budget for april 15. the same day as tax day for most americans. unfortunately, april 15 deadline for enacting a budget resolution has long since passed and we still have no sign of a budget resolution. the senate has not passed a budget and the house has not even begun the simple process. without a budget there arno controls in place to rein in spending. this is a sign congress lacks the leadership and willingness to set a framework to limit spending or control entitlement growth. not passing a budget resolution sends a message to the american taxpayers that congress is really not serious about ad

congress finds the following. one, on january 12, 2010, the nation of haiti was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, adversely affecting nearly three million people. two, the united states has provided millions of -- >> mr. chairman, i ask unanimous consent to suspend the reading. the clerk: on the grounds to give more of the next year. >> mr. chairman, i ask unanimous consent to dpense with the reading. the chair: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from new jersey -- pursuant to house resolution 1404, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. andre, and the gentleman from california, mr. mckeon, each will control 10 minutes. mr. andrews: thank you, mr. chairman. again, we appreciate the efforts of members on both sides of the aisle in working through a wide array of problems in a very thoughtful way. each of these amendments has beeneviewed and accepted by both the minority d majority staff. we thank the members for their efforts. and at this point, i would yield to the author of one of the en bloc amendments, t

are you saying congress knows better than the military? >> il tell you this money. d.o.d. been wrong about many programs. >> reporter: the alternative engine would be built by general electric, which lost out in the initial competition and since mounted a million-million dollar lobbying campaign to get a piece of the f-35 action. >> this is a $100 billion business over the next 30-plus years and we plan capturing half of that. >> reporter: as part of its lobbying effort, ge hired three former senators. the company promised new jobs in eight states, including michigan. home state for the chairman of the senate armed services committee, carl levin, who fay vorps the extra ge engine. >> we are taking money we could use for capabilities that we really need and spending it on something we don't need. >> reporter: ge and its supporters in congress say a second engine would create co competition and result in long-term savings. >> only in washington does a proposal where everybody wins get considered a competition. >> reporter: secretary gates says he will strongly recommend that

given to congress back in february. they are trying to live within their own shrunken family budgets with less income and less ability to save and with well over 10% of them unemployed. they know with the president's budget proposal, whatever magnitude of spending, it ensures more debt and borrowing, that we need to make the same hard choices that they are and the federal budget is comprised of their money. it appears this house will not vote because the majority will not vote for a sustained $1 trillion deficit that will compound the national debt as far as the eye can see. i'd also add that the president's much-discussed spending freeze comes after a 24% increase in spending among the affect agencies and programs. as others haveaid, if you cat budget you can't govern, and i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: fo what purposeoes the million from california seek recognition? >> to speak for a minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california is recogned for one minute to address the ho

to do that, let's look at what congress has been debating and what congress has donemy today.t the stimulus package has in fact given us a sense of stability.ms federal funding in hawaii has always been very critical, o because it really is one of our major economic engines. it hasas been the federal one government and military fundingc in addition, we must start to look at how we can buttress tourism and buttress the construction industry all in als line with the creation of the new economy so that people will begin to feel good about where we are going and feel secure in their future. thank you. >> thank you.l and mr. case. >> good evening and aloha to our viewers. i agree with my colleague. t i'm the only candidate who has worked in the private sector and run aonprri business over the lt years.an that it'sdi been the world i hae lived in so i understand that world and there are three items we have to focus on here. big pitchere from a perspective, reasonable levels of taxation and regulation t mae business go. you cannot have excessive taxation and excessive regulation andna expect our b

as recently as this congress. the weapons system acquisitio reform act of 2009, where the house passed the conference report 411-0. and in section 202 we talk about thacquisition strategies to ensure competition throughout the life cycle of majorefens acquition programs. it's estimated, mrchairman, that 5,000 engines will be ordered for the joint strike fighter. 5,000 engines. and the proponents of is endment would have us do away with the competition, dpite the fact that this congress has invested almost $3 billion in this competition today -- to date. now that we're up and ready, now that the competitive engine is ready to move forward, they want to say, stop. stop the race before it even starts. we know better than that, mr. chairman. we know better because we learned on the f-15 and the f-16. we know that this will reduce costs in the long-term, as my grandmother woulday, this is penny wise and pound foolish. but also just this year in march 2010, the g.a.o. report suests this goes beyond financial specation.

congress has a gym? anybody in congress look like they work out?took barney frank 30 years to get that body? what is harry reid bench pressing now? five found? [laughter] >> the president has the most diverse staff in history. they represent every ward in chicago. and i think that is fantastic, mr. president. [laughter] >> michael douglas is here. where's michael? he won an oscar for high portrayal as a greedy wall street broker. where does hollywood come up with those crazy ideas? bill mar? he is the reason we had no opening prayer tonight. and speaking of that, you know, everybody complains about the lack of civility on both sides. you see it in sports, you see it in politics. i think we have the answer. take a look. >> the reforms i'm proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally. >> you lie! >> are you tired of hearing what people say what is on their minds. they have an opinion and compelled to share it with others. those annoying comments can go away with this, duct tape. this gray sticky fabric solves it all, the american solutio

per member of congress. so, look, if, in 2009, $465 million was spent lobbying washington, then there are 435 of us, there is more than $1 million, if you divide it by the number of people in congress. what's the point of this chart? the point is to say that folks who don't want real reform in the area of financial services are putting their money down to try and stop it and deploying lobbyists to convince members of congress that their interests are the ones that need to be first, not those of the american people. $3.9 billion in the last decade. that's a lot of money. and employed nearly 2,000 lobbyists, 1,726 washington lobbyists. i'm not hard on lobbyists. i think it's an honorable profession and help congress understand issues. but every member can tell you, a lobbyist does not come in to persuade you to do something other than that -- the people who pay them. they are paid to do a certain thing to convince members of congress to do a certain thing. not always a bad thing but it will serve the interests

why is congress involved? because one of our most serious responsibilities as lawmakers is oversight and investigation. and from what we have been able to tell from the facts so far, there is an urgent and compelling need for the public to know all the facts surrounding this and other recent mining tragedies. i come to this issue with a personal feeling. many of my constituents back home and some know i was born in harlan county, kentucky. some of my earliest memories are hearing the whistle blow at night over at the mine. even as small as i was then i knew what it meant. it meant serious trouble at the mine. the pain and suffering endured by miners in kentucky and west virginia and everyplace else should inspire us to do everything in our power to make this work environment as safe as we possibly can. the bottom line should never supersede a human life. the resolution before us today would give the house committee on education and labor staff authority to take depositions as they pursue their investigation. w

>tavis: you mentioned this is a measure that congress ought to take of immediately.ew questions in that regard. president obama said he did not believe that congress had the appetite to handle this kind of debate in this year. so your thoughts about that are? >> he was probably reflecting reality. you ask the congressman, what is the one issue you do not want to vote on, it is immigration. there is no votes either way and probably more negative votes if you espouse comprehensive immigration act. i am talking about the totality. for the hispanic voter and the hispanics in this country that are growing and getting more powerful, this is a very important vote. tavis: you think is going to be taken of this year? >> i do believe so. it does not look like it right now. an outline of the bill just came out a couple days ago. you have to wait and see. these things build up steam. when there are more demonstrations and states take the line into their hands and public pressure, you will see the congress i believe acting. there is some political repercussions. there is an elect

congress has become omnipotent. path was left to the state and weave, the people, is self evident. there is a terrible abuse of power in congress under this president and administration. they have gone into areas they have never gone into before. we want to restore the individual freedom of americans, the 10th amendment, which is there to protect our freedoms. in conclusion, what the congress can destroy by statute, we can restore by statute. it is our goal to pass federal laws. we will repeal and restorer -- we will repeal obama care and restore the americans' right to buy their own health care that is affordable. there are a variety of things that we can do. what congress can destroy a bylaw, we can passed several laws to return the power to the state. that is the purpose of the 10th amendment task force. i will be drinking by the federal glass. host: new had a steady hand there. we are here to take your phone calls about the 10th amendment task force. the lines are running away. that begins with a call from cleve

here's people in congress saying, what we need is comprehensive reform. and when i hear that i realize they don't know what they are talking about. when you talk about comprehensive reform, putting everything in one package it is a recipe for gridlock. i think congress to learn a lesson from the character curly played by jack palance in the movie with billy crystal called "city slickers." i think you'll love it. >> you know what the secret of life is? >> no, what? >> this. >> your finger? >> one finger. just one thing. >> what's the one thing. >> that's what you have to figure out. >> that's it. one thing. not the finger. no, the one thing. you know what that is, secure borders. why can't congress figure out their credibility with the american people doesn't even exist, we're talking single digit credibility. as far as the people of the country, left, right, middle, doesn't matter, as it relates to them doing something significant to deal with the immigration issue. i have a view that america was really designed to be like disney world. disney world, it's

during the 111th congress. mr. speaker, without objection i'd like to yield and give him control of the time, the vice chair of the page board, mr. bishop. the speaker pro tempore: i there objection? no objection heard. the gentleman is recognized. mr. bishop: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: will the gentleman suspend. the gentleman will proceed. mr. bishop: thank you. for all of you who are giving us your riveted attention right now, on behalf of the page board we would like to turn your attention to the rail in the back where some of the 67 pages who have been here this year, some of the best and brightest, high school juniors in this nation, have been here. these 67 pages were nominated by you. they have been serving you. they have been here for the past semester observin you, listening to you, learning from you which makes you-all guilty of child abuse. or at least contributing to the delinquency of a minor. however this is their final week. they are in finals right now at the accredited high s

congress should not be managing our monetary system. i don't think we could do it in the current political structure, but is it our job to provide accountability and transparency to what's going on at the federal reserve. last week i spoke in support of the sanders amendment. and i still plan to support it today. but that amendment has been changed and it air inos the scope of -- narrows the scope of a complete audit. it really can't be called a complete audit anymore. it's really more disclosure in various aspects of what the federal reserve does. it doesn't include now what they would refer to as monetary policy. my understanding was that's pretty much what they cat the federal reserve. -- did they cat the federal reserve. cutting that out cuts out a big part of what we need to know what they're doing. it blocks us from finding out what the federal reserve is doing with banks all around the world. it would block us from finding out a lot of things that could give us indication whether or not the federal reserve is putting our monetary

congress should share in the pain. i think every member of congress, every house or senate member, we should have to cut our own budgets by 5%. we should feel the pain that the people in the feel are feeling. this is a way we can start shrinking government of i made a pledge that there would be no schemes to manufacturer to privatize social security. i've made that pledge, i'm going to stick by that pledge. thank you. [applause] >> 60 seconds, mr. burns. >> thank you. when you comes to social security, i'm glad the question was ask. because the first thing i would like to clear up because my opponent is making more fault accusations. even the nonpartisan fact check on org said those were false. there was patterns last week on false accusations on another favorite. i am not in favor of privatizing social security. there are people who are concerned and rightfully so about any of the social security money going into wall street. as we've seen what happened the last couple of years, i can understand that. i think social s

congress can do the same here. thank you and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much. i will start with you. you state that my bill will actually harm, not help claimants because the bill will apply the same standard congress enacted on a bipartisan basis as part of the 1991 civil rights act whereby a plaintiff who perceived in a mixed motive cases-- i want to emphasize in my bill the plaintiff has a choice of whether to proceed with the traditional, causation standard or proceed as a mixed motive case where remedies as you know would be limited. is at your issue not with my legislation but rather what the compromise that was forged as part of the 1991 civil rights act? >> no. the mixed motive provision of title vii has largely become a dead letter. out of its value in litigating cases both on behalf of the united states government when i served at the equal opportunity commission and in private practice on the behalf of the plaintiff and defendants ended nearly 20 years since that bill was amended

identified the laws congress intended to amend and congress can do the same here. thank you and i look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much. mr. dreiband. mr. -- i'll start with you, you state my bill will harm, not help plaintiffs because it would apply the same standard congress enacted on a bipartisan basis as part of the 1991 civil rights act. whereby a plaintiff who proceeds in a mixed motive case is only eligible for injunctive relief and attorneys fees. i want to emphasize, under my bill the plaintiff has a choice of whether to proceed with the traditional causation standard, or proceed as a mixed motive case, where remedies as you know would be limited. is it your issue, not with my legislation but the compromise forged as part of the 1991 civil rights act. >> no. the mixed motive provision of title 7 has largely become a dead letter. i will tell you i have been litigating cases on behalf of the united states government when i served as the eeoc commission and, in private practice on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants and in nearly 20 yea

we can't say that's prestigious we're in the library of congress. and we're so honored to be presenting it to dr. james billington. [applause] >> our presenters this evening are both cultural icons in their own right. one is an emmy award-winning drack whose films tackle issues such as the role of media in contemporary life, urban crime, race relations and poverty. the other is an actress who has been welcomed in american homes for the last two decades. most recently for her emmy award-winning role on the hit television show "medium" ladies and gentlemen it is my honor to introduce spike lee and patricia arquette. [applause] >> thank you, tim. tonight patricia and i had the honor to bestow the spotlight award on dr. james h. billington in recognition of his commitment to the arts, past and present. >> james hadley billington was sworn in as the librarian of congress in september 14th, 1987. he's the 13th person to hold the position since the library was established in 1800. since his swearing-in, dr. billington has championed the library's american

it's my job to work with members of congress to see that happen. and it's also my job to work with the mexican government to make sure that it happens. because president calderon recognizes that he has responsibilities on his side of the border as well. the last point i'll make on this topic is this, i think all of us recognize that some of the pressures with respect to immigration just arise out of economics. people in mexico are looking for opportunity and they feel they can make more money here in the united states. what we also have to recognize, and talked about this with president calderon, every nation also has the right to secure its borders and make orderly decisions about who comes in and who comes out. and the key here is for us to keep both principles in mind. that people want to find a better life where they can. and if they have an opportunity in america, they are going to want to come here. we can't just try to use force to prevent that. on the other hand, the united states has to be able to make determinations about who comes in and

congress should share in spain. propose every member of congress, every house member, every senate member, which should cut our budgets by 5%. we should feel the people's pain. this is how we can start shrinking government. talking about social security, i made a pledge that there would be no schemes to manufacture the privatization of social security. i'm going to stick to that. [applause] >> 60 seconds, mr. burns. >> thank you for it when it comes to social security, i am glad the question was asked. the first thing i would like to clear up, because my opponent is making more all south -- accusations saying that i was for privatizing social security. those accusations were completely false. but there is a pattern here and he apologized last week for all specifications. another topic. let me be clear -- i am not in favor privatizing sells a security. -- in privatizing social security. people are concerned and rightfully so about any social security money going into wall street. and we've seen what happened in wall

i hear people in congress say what we need is comprehensive reform. and when i hear that, what i realize is, they don't know what they're talking about because when you start talking about comprehensive reform, putting everything in one great big package, it is a recipe for gridlock. you see, i think that congress could learn a lesson from the character curly played by jack palance in a great movie with billy crystal called "city slickers" listen to this, i think you'll like it. >> now what the secret to life is? >> no, what? >> this. >> your finger? >> one thing, just one thing. >> what's the one thing? >> that's what you've got to figure out. >> and that's it, one thing. oh, not the finger (laughter) >> no, the one thing, now what that is? secure borders. why can't congress figure out their credibility with the american people doesn't even exist. we're talking single digit credibility. as far as the people of the country, left, right, middle, doesn't matter as relates to them actually doing something significant to deal with the immigration issuemen

come before the congress. it's rare that we see any bill that comes before the congress that you get your hand on it. others will say to you, what are they complaining about? they did the same thing. aha. maybe so. but guess what? we promised we weren't going to do it that way anymore. and the speaker made that commitment. and the majority leader made that commitment and they promised it when they got control of this house. and they campaigned on it that they would give us the time to read the bills to know what's going on and that things would be open and that sunshine would fill the room as far as knowledge that various members of congress would have and it didn't happen. and it's not happening. once again, we have to ask the speaker, how's the swamp draining coming along, because that was one of the swamp facts that you talked about that you were going to fix. how come it wasn't fix snd yeah, it's an important agenda. sure. and maybe you don't want people arguing with you about your important agenda, but th

i've been in congress now 16 months. but it doesn't take that long to figure out that washington does more talking than listening. and it certainly does more spending than saving. often in the name of creating jobs that never seem to come. the trillion dollar stimulus was supposed to keep unemployment below 8%. but joblessness is now near 10%. the new healthcare bill is fairing no better. it was supposed to lower american's healthcare costs but the obama administration own experts determined that it will actually increase them. it was supposed to help reduce the deficit. but the up in the congressional budget office now says that new law will cost taxpayers more than $1 trillion. and now after leaving taxpayers on the hook for massive stimulus programs and permanent bailouts, democrats in washington have no credible plan to put our fiscal house in order. in fact, house democrats may not even offer a budget this year. families are making tough choices each month in order to live within a budget. and government should be d

president, the american legion is concerned about reports you might seek an amendment in congress which would end the military's don't ask, don't tell policy, which amendment will be before us shortly this evening. as the nation's largest wartime veterans oh,, we feel strongly that the current policy has served the u.s. military well for 17 years, and it would not be wise to make a major cultural change in the middle of two wars and with tension rising on the korean peninsula. moreover, the department of defense has already directed a study on the policy and it would be premature to act before the mmission conducting the study releases its finding. it defies logic. and i would like to, madam chairwoman, put that letter in the record. the chair: without objection, so ordered. mr. mckeon: from the national military family association. the letter says the national military family association has long been an advocate for improving the quality of life of our military family members who have sacrificed greatly in support of our nation, while our association does not have a position on the do

that is what you made in the congress. [applause] -- that is what you need in the congress. [applause] the biggest thing you have to do now is not just preach. that is the problem with these rallies. i love them but there are very few undecided voters here. undecided voters and on certain outside of here. what you need to do now is to promise yourselves that if you want somebody who can deliver and somebody who will connect all these issues as they relate to the economy, health care is an economic issue, energy is an economic issue, you are going to have to figure out a way to take the current dioxide out of the ground or put it straight into plant food. they do that in arizona. it is great. they take the carbon dioxide before comes out of the ground and put into algae. they let out clean oxygen you have to be in the house business. you cannot be frustrated or mad. we all need to rolled our sleeves and go to work and do it together. what mark critz will do. [applause] i feel is so strongly. you need to think of every person you will pass between now and when the polls closed

sometimes called loopholes, the way congress uses them as a way to control the economy. or they think of it that way, to manage the economy. it's a way of the government reaching out and managing the society, managing the society with carrots rather than states. so reagan thought, i believe, that if you got rid of those preferences, those loopholes, that you would pull government back from the private sector. you would pull government back from society and you would in a sense create greater freedom and less government. now, this required some imagination because in fact tax reform up until that time had been a democratic issue. they thought, without reason, that a lot of these preferences were really just going to powerful interests. so reagan was able to put together, and through his own force and potential for the basics would not have happened if reagan hadn't been behind it and willing to expend capital on a. he was able to get that through, and it did lead come it was tax neutral ticket lead to a shifting of taxes rather than a reduction. but he did lead, i would a

these are the words they told congress at that time. the border patrol should not be excluded nor should the national security of the united states be sacrificed in order to create a wilderness area that is not even roadless, as required by law. it has almost produced a state of war on drugs. there are break ins, high speed chases, fatal and nonfatal shootings. the pristine areas of the proposed wilderness areas have already been trash. drug smugglers should not take precedence over honest, hardworking people whose livelihood is damaged. they estimate $6.2 million damages. they said we are in fear of our lives and safety and that of our family and friends. we have been refused legal protection for our property and our lives when dealing with border issues and illegals, we are the victims. mr. crents is no longer here, once again because we put a higher priority on the sacred ness on the wilderness land than we did on controlling the boarder to stop the drug cartels, the human traffickers and the potential terrorists. a couple of weeks a

how does this congress cut spending? this congress has never cut spending. im delighted to be a member of congresses at a time of economic turmoil because i come from the state of wyoming. wyoming is a state where we have had boom and bust cycles because of our dependence on the economies of oil, gas and coal. as commodities go, the state of wyoming goes. when i was in the wyoming legislature, i experienced both a boom and a bust cycle. and we had to reduce spending. recently, the wyoming legislature reduced spending to the tune of over 10%. and in wyoming, it is customary to just to these types of belt tightening and expenditures during times of largesse. when we have money, we have invested in the university of wyoming, invested in the bricks and mortar of our k-12 system, invested if our technology, in our economy. and yet, when we have to tighten our belts, we do it across the board. you know, it's not the best way to budget. we acknowledge it's not the best way to budget, but i do believe if we could cut domestic spending across the board, we would have

and it's time for congress, time for the senate -- excuse me, congress did it back in december. time for the senate to pass a strong bill. send it back. let's get this thing done. let's rein in wall street. ms. kilroy: i voted for the house bill. i supported the house bill. i would welcome an even stronger bill from the senate if they would pass something along those lines to make sure that the excesses of wall street are reined in. there's appropriate regulation. these exotic products don't bring our economy down again. there's accountability. and if some big house gets in economic difficulty, that's not in the position for taxpayers to bail them out. we need to make very clear that there's not going to be a taxpayer-funded bailout. and there needs to be the kind of resolution authority or some kind of orderly method to protect the rest of the economy from a company that has gotten into trouble. mr. garamendi: you know, there's -- and it's something i learned way long ago at the university of california and i had taken an economics class and that was the american private system

congress did make them back down a little from that. i would treat auto dealers a little different than everybody else. the basic action which you finance, that's not regulated. if you arrange financing through a third party, that should be covered the same way. >> one last question, maybe the hardest one here. why have these bills become so big? >> because the economy got so big. i reject the notion -- first of all, if you read 1,300-page bills, get a page of the bill and read it. it takes about four or five of those pages to make a real page. if you look at the pages, seriously -- >> all the margins. >> we leave room, because these bills are going to be marked up. that's why they are numbered. it's three, four, five pages to a bill, because in the committee that i chair, we had committee sanctions -- we had, i think, eight separate committee mark-ups on separate segments. and it is dealing with the whole economy. and the reason we're doing it all at once is things are interrelated, and if people want to tell me, oh, you can deal with

we don't worry too much about the sensitivities of the members of congress. i'm not sure why we should assume that the justice are so delicate gentleman. >> especially when they have life tenure and members of congress sure don't. >> that's right. so i think it's entirely appropriate for a president to criticize a supreme court decision, to criticize as many supreme court decisions as he thinks need to be remarked upon or corrected. but i do think that court packing episode shows us is that there is serious political danger for a president in personalizing a conflict in the court, in having, as it seemed a couple weeks ago, we might have pa kind of running back and forth between the white house press office at the very least and the chief justice, and other justices, not only did we have alito's reaction during the state of the union address as you mentioned and the keefe justice's comments, but clarence thomas said something similar in between that didn't get as much just notice, because we're sort of used to clarence thomas saying things like that. >> but n

>> my own experience with congress was very positive because twice i needed to go to congress with extraordinary requests and twice they reacted before disaster struck. democrats and republicans -- like a lot of people, i don't like partisanship but i saw people on both sides of the aisle come together. i think in terms of how to solve the issue, you can get some experts the better equipped than i am to answer that question them thank-you senator graham. >> mr. secretary, it is good for you to be here. i would like to follow up a little bit on one of the questions that was passed about the rescue of bear stearns. to me, this was one of the most consequential decisions that has ever been made by our government. a kicker is a substantial argument that gave rise to moral -- there is a substantial argument that it -- that it gave rise to the collapse of lehman brothers. once bear stearns was rescued, it encouraged lehman brothers to keep its price somewhat higher than it might otherwise have been in dealing with potential acquirers. on the other side, lehman brothers had a reasonable expectation tha

, congress has to make the law. in the end, the president has to sign it. what also said it was that if congress approves spending money, the president cannot compound those funds. the president must spend the money that congress tells him to spend. host: off of twitter -- guest: we talked about crosscutting, we're looking at the demographics of the bill -- demographics of the voters. who are the conservatives? who are the liberals? i am in evangelical protestant christian, but i happen to be african-american. protestant christians tend to move to the right and african americans tend to move to the left. you have to factors pushing into different directions. this is what makes our voting electorate so interesting to study. host: illinois, to students. good morning. caller: would like to ask a question about mandates and the different types. guest: this is a discussion about federalism. it is a discussion that the federal government wants to impose its power on the states. how do you do that? how the states decide to

the first is the was appointed, the individuals are unaccountable to the congress verio -- the congress, unlike the administrators, who remain accountable to the president and remain accountable to the american public. the limitations of the advisory board are such that it focuses on one narrow area in these issues, but mainly i am hopeful that we see authorities granted or triggers put in place that would implement some of the pilots shown to without reliance. >> the second half was addressed to mark miller. how will it interacts with the independent board, which presumably is going to have a relationship with congress with respect to payment? >> this is the first i am hearing of this. i have to say, it is freezing cold. but if there is someone from our staff, if they can make any adjustments, it would be very helpful i am having trouble pressing the button to turn the microphone on. >> a couple things before a very myself further. there were several things as we went down the table that i agree with, and just to go back to the point, the first point, i think whether it is effective or

madam speaker, i was a staffer before i was elected to congress. i started working here a few years after muftiah started her career on the hill, but i understand the role the staff play here. and i understand this institution would not be the great body it is without the great staff that put their lives into what we do here. she embodies that dedication and we are going to miss here. let me say, madam speaker, in conclusion to muftiah, i want to thank you for all the incredible work you have done here. you will be missed and we love you. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. diaz-balart: madam speaker, we have great differences, great disagreements often here on the floor of this house. rare is the occasion when there is no debate, when there are no differences. muftiah mccartin enjoys the admiration of all members on both sides of the aisle who have worked with her. she personifies the best of this institution. she pe

during the 111th congress, this congress, democrats have taken a series of steps to make these positive job numbers a reality. i want to talk about those tonight, mr. speaker, because it's important that the american people know that with the progressive vision often led by the progressive caucus, that this democratic caucus has been doing the right thing for the american economy. for example, we passed the hire act. this is a bipartisan bill to create 300,000 jobs with tax incentives for businesses that hire unemployed americans. this is helping people out and the hire act is helping small business add people on their rolls so that they can work. the american workers, state, and business relief act. this bill offers tax incentives again to spur business innovation and tax cuts for families with kids headed to college and disaster relief for states combined with economy boosting, unemployment benefits, and health care for americans hit by the recession. we also passed the small business and infrastructure jobs act. this bill extends aid to states to provide subsidies to employers, inclu

the ultimate blame is with congress. host: the president is expected to travel louisiana on friday to look at the latest efforts to stop the oil spill. here is the editorial from "the wall street journal." "changes will allow for new rig safety, additional inspection will be required to verify safety procedures and environmental precautions were in place. regulatory changes are detailed in a 30 day review ordered by the president last month. ken salazar is expected to reveal many of those recommendations during testimony today." remember, live coverage of that on c-span 3 and seized and radio. "if the oil is still flowing on thursday, mr. obama will also address what more can be done. this step up response comes after political heat is rising as critics said they were too dependent on bp for a solution. others said the government's response has been sluggish and not well coordinated. the office of bill -- bill nelson calls on the president put the military in charge of the clean up." thiensville, north carolina, independ

, congress has to make the law. in the end, the president has to sign it. what also said it was that if congress approves spending money, the president cannot compound those funds. the president must spend the money that congress tells him to spend. host: off of twitter -- guest: we talked about crosscutting, we're looking at the demographics of the bill -- demographics of the voters. who are the conservatives? who are the liberals? i am in evangelical protestant christian, but i happen to be african-american. protestant christians tend to move to the right and african americans tend to move to the left. you have to factors pushing into different directions. this is what makes our voting electorate so interesting to study. host: illinois, to students. good morning. caller: would like to ask a question about mandates and the different types. guest: this is a discussion about federalism. it is a discussion that the federal government wants to impose its power on the states. how do you do that? how the states decide to

create the congress. so the congress does have control over this issue, and i think we need to look at it and say let's look at what is appropriate and what's proper here, and this is clearly one piece of it. i think the fed has done a number of things quite well and quite right, yet i don't see any problem whatsoever with having a simple audit, that that's going to somehow reveal the genie in the bottle and let out all these secrets that are going to be harmful to the development of monetary policy. this seems to me to be a lot of -- a fair amount of overstatement on the other side of the terrible damage that this audit would do. that doesn't seem right to me. it doesn't seem right to my constituents. my constituents look at this and say i don't want to harm the development of monetary policy. i want it to be wise and good and sound, but i don't see how it's harmed boy an -- by an audit of an entity that's created by the government, that's created by the congress, so why shouldn't we do something like th